From Adam Sharp, Youth Pastor Crystal Valley Missionary Church

Have you ever had a student who came to your youth ministry for a couple of months all of the sudden just disappear? Without giving any reasons why they left, you just noticed they haven't been around in 2 or 3 weeks. You start asking their friends about where they've been and how they're doing, and all you get is "they're good, but they don't want to come to church". So, your heart sinks. If you're like me your mind starts going to all the worst possible scenarios, like they are never going to church again because of something we did, or they are going to start spreading gossip about our youth group and we are going to get a bad name in our high school for being unfriendly and judgmental. After your mind slows down, you have an important decision to make. To chase the student or not to chase the student.

Here are some things that I try to remember when chasing a student:

1. Don't suffocate them. You want them to know that you care, and that if they are ever going through a hard time, you are there to talk, to give counsel, and to just listen to them. Don't go overboard on the Facebook comments, the text messages, the constant invitations to Sunday School. They will like the fact that even though they aren't going to your youth group every single week, they are still loved and thought of as important.
2.  Pray. Pray. Pray. Sometimes my biggest fault is that I think I can do it on my own and I can win them back to the fold and claim a massive victory in my honor. When we all know half of the things we say and do comes straight from the Holy Spirit. Even on our best days we couldn't win over students on our own merit. We have to remember that sometimes the best way to love that student is to pray for them because you might be the only one doing that on their behalf. Continue to pray for them to fall in love with God, and connect somewhere with other believers to strengthen their relationship with Him!
3. Empower other students. Allow other students to come along side you and pray for them, talk with them, and seek them out to encourage them. As a youth pastor/youth worker you will never be able to reach the amount of students as your actual students are able to reach every single day at their schools. Empower your students to encourage them and see how things are going in their life. But again, I would remind you to look back at point #1 when empowering students.

The main goal is not to get them back to "your youth group". The goal is to help them have a healthy relationship with Jesus Christ! Let's keep that in mind while we're chasing students!