Goal for the Life Night:
To build community within the program by taking common themes and situations played out at a “family wedding” and drawing all the teens into greater participation, fellowship and joy.
Life Night at a Glance:
WARNING – This Night is great fun, but you can’t throw it together. To pull off this Night, you will need at least 3-4 weeks lead-time: the longer the better. Once you read through it you will understand why.
Socials are great opportunities to reach out of our own comfort zones, to help the teens reach out of theirs. It’s also a great way to get the parents involved. Ask several parents to not only provide food, but to be there to staff the Night and serve the food. Involve them in every stage of the planning and get their “buy in”.
We have all been to wedding receptions that have been “cheesy” just as we have all been to receptions that have been incredibly fun. Combine the realities of both for the teens. Most of them have only been to a handful of weddings that they can distinctly remember. This Night will offer them the full spectrum of experience – from the toasts, to the videos, to catching the bouquet, etc. (but no garter – sorry, fellas). It’s vital that the CORE go overboard with the Night. The teens can help with setup, so not to take too much time from the CORE, but the tone and mood of the Night has to be “sold”. Realize that a social like this is daring. If you go overboard, it will be a great time*. If you go at it halfheartedly, the teens will not get into it. The Youth Minister and/or CORE Member will fulfill the Best Man and Maid of Honor duties. They will be on the microphone guiding the teens through the Night. It is vital that they work out the details of the Night ahead of time and have a thorough schedule of the rundown.
*This is a great opportunity to let loose and encourage the teens to do the same. It’s a great idea to have at least one CORE Member videotaping the entire Night (and be sure they have a microphone set up so they can actually hear what is happening – don’t use the camera mic, it doesn’t work). The video footage will be fun to have and cut into a shorter highlight video at a later date.