More than anything else, students want people to spend time with them.

A bunch of my youth group kids took an online love language test I posted on our youth group site and all of them, except one, scored highest in “quality time.” The one exception is a student who feels loved most through “acts of service,” but even that was only ahead of “quality time” by one point.

The application is clear: more than anything else, students want people to spend time with them. Quality time with a kid communicates love more than gifts, saying nice things, hugs, doing nice things for them, preparing great Bible studies or even putting together fun youth group events. If you want to impact a student, drop whatever you’re doing that probably feels important to you and instead go do something that’s important to them. Just hang out and have fun. That communicates more than you know.

And get their parents to do the same!

Posted on October 15, 2007