#1 An unsuitable, uninviting room

Warm, inviting rooms foster community, make discussion easier and help break the ice. The furniture needs to be easy to rearrange; in discussion circles you can easily do without tables. Teenagers also like sitting on the floor, if the floor allows it (with floor cushions, for example).

Some teenagers feel most comfortable when they can lounge close together on the carpet and get “cozy.” Other groups may have a different vibe. Either way: always stay open and sensitive to their habits and needs, and set up the space accordingly.

Tip: Groups can get lost in rooms that are too big. Where there’s no alternative, it helps to make the room smaller artificially.

#2 Being late

Not starting and ending on time is often the beginning of the end! Many youth leaders (and often adults too) find this surprisingly hard. No teenager wants to wait around, killing time, before things finally get started. A sluggish start makes getting into the session unnecessarily hard. The discomfort sticks. Members stay away. It’s well worth paying attention to a clear outward structure. Only then will the content be right too.

#3 Unclear programs

Predictability is very important to many teenagers. They want to know what exactly they’re signing up for. This is especially true for newcomers. A published monthly schedule works well and tells people the topic as well as who is in charge and who is speaking.

#4 Weak teamwork

When the team isn’t working well, it can easily happen that everyone relies on everyone else and no one feels fully responsible. In the worst case, nothing happens at all. Every task needs one person on the team who is personally responsible for it. Otherwise things get murky, and teenagers won’t put up with that for long. They’ll simply stop coming. There’s no such thing as “half” involvement: volunteers need to give themselves fully. They matter and are recognized as such.

Source: Christoph Hilsberg, Jugend in der Kirche (a German book on youth ministry in the church), pages 41 and 42.

English version: October 2026