Building a Youth Choir Ministry

Now is a great time to start your youth choir ministry in your church. I found a great article on the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention website that I thought was relevant and helpful. It’s a great read for anyone who is looking to start a youth choir. I am available to help in anyway with your ministries. – Keith Chandler, state missionary, kchandler@gabaptist.org.

Is youth choir still relevant in today’s local church ministry? With the ever-changing music styles in the modern church, there are relatively few youth choirs in local church ministry. If you are asked to begin a youth choir in your church, what steps would you take to implement a successful ministry?

Here are some key points for building a youth choir:

1. Visit with the student minister. Get his/her support. This is a key element of beginning a new choir. Developing a working relationship with the student ministry will help tremendously.

2. Spend time with students. Form relationships with students by supporting them in other activities—sports, band, and theater. Attend events and encourage them through personal contact or written notes.

3. Develop a relationship with school band and choral directors. Developing these relationships will give you contact to prospective singers for the youth choir. Youth choir can become a means of reaching students not only in the church but those who do not have a church relationship.

4. Once you determine to begin rehearsals, start with a big enrollment event. Make it student oriented—pool party, etc. I call it RUSH, patterned after Randy Edwards’ wisdom on working with youth choirs. Advertise it well and get your students excited about the new choir year.

5. Once the choir is ready to sing, schedule them to sing in worship or other ministry opportunities on a regular basis. (Salvation Army, Children’s Home, etc.) This is very important.

6. Have a goal in mind for the end of the choir year. Choir tour or weekend trip. This helps motivate your students to stay committed to the ministry during the choir year. Develop a list of requirements to participate in the tour. This helps students learn the value of making a commitment.

7. Use your students to provide leadership. For example, I use the senior students to help determine the destination for choir tour. I develop their leadership skills to help motivate the younger students. Ask your older students to take time to mentor younger ones. One of the most encouraging things for a young middle school student is for an older high school student to take an interest in them.

8. Always be aware of recruiting. Recruitment should always be an ongoing process, not just at the beginning of the choir year. Ask the students to bring friends to choir. When you attend school events, you will probably discover students who sing in the school choir, but who aren’t involved in the church’s youth choir ministry. Get to know the 6th graders well. Develop a relationship with them. If they already know you, then the transition to youth choir is not as difficult.

9. Follow-up on students who are absent via text, phone call, mail, etc. We contact every student who is absent from a rehearsal every week.

10. Use as many forms of communication with students and parents as possible. Parents are just as busy as students. We use email, Facebook, mail-outs and texts to communicate with them. Students are notorious for not relaying information to their parents, so don’t depend on them for communication!

11. Give your students a vision of what the youth choir can be. Teach them about worship. They want to be part of something great!

12. Challenge them musically and spiritually! Take time to explain spiritual truths as you rehearse. Ask them questions about the song. This helps you make an assessment of their spiritual maturity. Work to build a musical choir. Teach them the proper mechanics of singing. All the things that we expect from an adult choir can be expected from a youth choir.

13. Give a break during the summer. After tour or the end of the choir year, take time off to rest, relax and prepare for the next year. The students usually are ready to come back after the break.

14. Pray! Seek God’s leadership. Fellowship with other Ministers of Music. Get their input about youth choir ministry. You can learn great ideas that way.

Is a church choir or youth choir still relevant in your church? Are you raising up future worship leaders and preparing the next generation of worshipers?

Written by James Ervin, Minister of Music and Senior Adults at Coggin Avenue Baptist Church in Brownwood, Texas.