Follow-up Dysfunction

 Hey all!  Spring is just around the corner and we've been at youth ministry for this school year for half a year now.  Some students who were excited to start out the year coming to youth group are a little less than enthused now and attendance starts to drop off a little bit.  Other students start getting busy with spring sports and activities.  (Who wouldn't want to be outside when we've been indoors for the good part of this school year?)  A drop off of attendance can be taken personally.  Sometimes it should be, but mostly it shouldn't.

I used to have a great system for those who didn't attend.  Religiously, I would write cards to everyone who wasn't there for one week.  And after two simultaneous weeks of missing youth group I would make a phone call to let them know I missed them at youth group.  I didn't see a lot of fruit from my efforts so I bagged this system entirely.  Now, every once in a while I will send a text saying I missed them.  There is no system with this method and this extreme in the other direction can be bad as well.  What if I miss that a student hasn't been at youth group in awhile?  What if I finally notice and it has been months since they've been there and no one from the youth ministry staff (professional or volunteer) has made any contact?  Then it just gets awkward.

When it comes to follow up, we must swallow our pride.  If it's true that the lack of attendance isn't about us, then there's nothing to worry about.  If there is something we need to change about our program or our personality, then we should listen, take note, and change if we deem necessary.  It is a humbling experience chasing after someone week after week.  But, let me ask you, would you want someone to do the same for you if the roles were reversed?  Is it worth it?  Let us count the cost of effective student follow-up.  Have you had some success stories when following up on a student that is MIA?  If so, I'd love to hear about it.  Thanks for reading!