YouthTRANZ

Follow up: The SEVEN Essentials

Thanks for registering for YouthTRANZ. If you are contacted by a youth leader about a young person moving to your town/city please take the approach very seriously and give follow up a high priority. Yours may be the only group in your area they (the young person and /or youth leader) may have chosen to make contact with, so don't let them down. Use the guidelines below in following up young people new to your area.

1. Ensure you have all the details you need.

Find out their name, where they are staying, a phone number and when they arrive. Ask their youth leader if there is any additional information you should know that would help, for example the extent to which they are committed to their faith.

2. Be appropriate

Make your first contact a telephone one (not a text!). Introduce yourself, say how you got their contact details and ask if you can meet with them to welcome them to your town/city, get to know them and talk with them about finding a church home. If they are reluctant, don't push it, but if they are happy to meet find out what venue to meet is most appropriate. Needless to say meeting them alone in a dorm room is not appropriate, especially if they of the opposite sex! Maybe meet in a lounge area at a hostel or take them out for coffee. Give them opportunity to bring any others with them who may be interested in meeting with you.

3. Be prompt

Those who fall away from church attendance upon moving to a new town or city do so in the first few weeks. Follow them up promptly, as soon after their arrival date as you can. Let their previous youth leader know that you have been in touch and let them know how you felt it went and any outcomes.

4. Be sensitive

Remember that YouthTRANZ is not primarily about getting more people into your youth ministry. It is about ensuring young people make a smooth transition to a new place and that their faith flourishes. Try to find out what their needs are. For example, are they wanting to know something about other churches in your area - not just yours? Are they excited about the move or fearful? Do they already have friends in your area? Don't make assumptions or see your contact with them as a recruitment drive. It is a pastoral visit from someone who has their best interests at heart.

5. Be practical

Offer all the practical help needed to help them integrate into your church if that's what they want to do. Ensure they have transport, and even if they do, offer to pick them up the first time so that they do not arrive alone. If they have no way of getting to your programme you don't need to necessarily bring them every week - maybe they can be introduced to someone who is passing their place. If your group is large create opportunities for them to meet people their own age in smaller settings - perhaps invite them round for a meal with a few others.

6. Be evangelistic

Ask them if there is anyone else they have met who is new to the city who might like you to visit them or give a lift to your programme. It may or may not be someone who has been previously involved in a church.

7. Be persistent

Persistent but not pestering! Make your contact ongoing until they have either indicated they have settled comfortably into a church (yours or another) or they make it clear ongoing contact is not desired. Remember some pastoral issues can take a few weeks to surface such as loneliness and homesickness so plan follow up contact to see how they are getting on. If they appear uninterested in finding a church home make a diary note to contact them every few months. Sometimes "student life" is not as attractive as it first seems and they may be more open to an invitation to your church later in the year.

Caring for these people can be time consuming but remember how critical this stage of their faith development is and give it your very best! Be sure to bookmark this page or print it off for future reference.

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