The Foundations of a great youth group

First off I want to make sure every thing's clear here about my youth group situation. First I've been going to "Oasis" since 6th grade (it starts at 6th grade) and I've been going to Oasis's church my whole life. I've been going to "Lifeguards" since October of my sophomore year in high school (I'm a junior now) and we've just started attending the lifeguard church recently. Oasis is a much smaller youth group but we all know each other really well. While Lifeguards is a way bigger youth group that's fun but I don't know the people as well. In my years of experience of youth groups I'm going to tell you what are some of the major (and minor) foundations of a great youth group.



Great Youth Pastor/Leader:
It all really starts with this guy. If he makes youth group fun but you don't learn anything about God the parents are going to get mad at him. But on the other hand if he doesn't make youth group fun then the kids won't come! This guy has got to have a lot of patients with teens because he's going to be a prime target for pranks and jokes.



The "Hugger":
These people are usually older girls who will talk to you even if you're new. These people are ESSENTIAL for growing your youth group because new people can always rely on them to keep them from being left out. These people are always happy no matter what, and while it's kind of creepy at times you know they are a solid foot hold for you.


The Crazy Freak:
This guy does stuff that not many people would do even if they got paid! Like go put on a fake beard, wear shorts outside when it's 5 degrees out etc. This guy keeps the youth group alive and alert. This guy usually doesn't get too embarrassed easily and he always can make people smile.


The Prankster:
This guy/girl will learn where people are and their habits. It's a good idea to keep your eye out of this fella because sooner or later the prankster is gonna get you. If your new to the youth group be sure to find this person and make sure you hang out with him because the sooner you're pranked the faster you're accepted in the group.


The Best Friends:
These people are usually in the same "category" in this list if they're best friends. Like for my friend Mike and I we were partners in crime. These friends usually have each other's back when at a youth event or something similar. If you're new don't try to squeeze you're self into one of these groups right away or you'll be shunned.


The Flirt/Gossip chick:
As much as these girls may bug you they do seem to spice it up at youth group. These people are the one's who get all the guys numbers at retreats or trips. These people do get in a lot of drama though so be careful not to spill any info to these girls who will tell all.


The Comedian:
This guy is the funniest person in the youth group. Everyone stops what they're doing to hear what this guy says because it's probably going to be funny. This guy usually lives on energy drinks to keep him crazy in our case it was red bull.


Mr Jeckle and Hyde:
This kind of person is extremely rare I only know one person that fits under this category. His name is Donny he seems really normal just a funny guy. Then if there's an event that's an over niter watch out! He turns into some creature that talks to himself, grabs you in the dark, and loves to collect shoes. This person really maximizes the fun on trips.


The Spiritual guru:
This person seems to always be on a complete spiritual level higher then everyone. This person tends to be a pastors kid and pray for like 20 minutes straight. People wonder how this person can be so close to God. While sometimes these people can be a little stiff when it comes to being crazy in the church but they have good intentions.


The short girl:
This girl usually is pretty use to being called short so she is okay with people joking around about it. Which is good because the guys usually do this to it's full extent. Now if this girl is gorgeous and single she better watch out for the guys, because they're gonna be coming.


The Sports Fanatic
This person is almost always busy with some kind of sport. They are good at just about every sport invented and are usually very competitive. For Oasis this actually is the same girl that's the "short girl". She plays field hockey, basketball, and softball. No matter who this is you definitely want this person on your team for games.


The Bear
This is usually a guy and is bigger than the rest of the group. If there's a broken bone among the group then this guy is almost always part of it. This guy is hopefully not (for the small people of the group) also the "Crazy Freak" who will hurt people in ways you wouldn't expect, sadly that's not the case for Oasis.


The cocky freshman
Even though in a youth group it's not really recommended to beat up some freshmen it sometimes must be done. This is usually done by the upper class men to "break in" the freshmen and teach them that they aren't on the top of the todem pole.

If you can think of some more leave a comment and I'll update it.