Iam the Mom of a teenage boy, grown daughter and am a volunteer YP with 8 short years of experience so I cant claim to have "the answer" but I would like to share some of what I have learned..I have a small group..some of which have no parental guidance/manners. It is no exaggeration when i say 60% of them are diagnosed with ADHD..one of which is my own.. and I have a few that have even more profound psych problems. More than once I've been on the verge of resigning because I felt I was inadequate for the task after horrible youth night experiences. Praise God for a faithful senior pastor and a God that is faithful to show us what we need when we need it. It was a challenge every week to keep the peace much less create an environment where the Holy Spirit reigns.
After years of struggling with how to keep their focus...Ive found I have to do things that involve getting them on their feet....every bible story/parable is an opportunity for them to act out a role..this group is into drama so I exploit that at every opportunity..Im not the most creative person so I had to get over the pride of not wanting to use youth skits/games etc that can be found at your friendly neighborhood bible book store...I would so love to go into youth night and just preach a sermon and have them hang on every word..and pay attention to every question but..lets face it..Moses himself couldn't keep some of my kids attention for more than 10 minutes just talking to them unless he was carrying the burning bush. The activities really work to engage them into the lesson part of the night.
I refuse to have a YG that is just a social club/fun and games...It has to be a God centered time of teaching, but my kids learn more by doing...I have to break up the bible preaching time through out the 90 minutes into 10 minute segments sprinkled throughout the evening..more often then not..someone,,usually more than one has gone through something relevant to what I'm teaching..and kids love to share...the most effective nights are when they do most of the talking and I guide with the word...Try to ask questions that require answers longer than yes or no...that make them feel that what they have to share matters...and part of making them feel that they matter is not allowing others to be outright disrespectful.
...if they cross the boundaries you have established for behavior...you may have to ask them to leave and not come back until they agree to the standards you have established for conduct...its a tough road...but sometimes necessary..I tossed my own son and my senior pastors boy within the same month. We don't put our time in so a few can make it impossible for the rest to learn...God isn't honored by that nor can we be a respecter of persons. The few that are there to learn something need to feel that their time isn't being wasted. As long as those that get tossed understand that it is out of love for them that you have those standards..because you know they are capable of raising their conduct standard,,,fruit of the spirit is self control,, and its not because you are ticked.
Ive only lost one kid I tossed in 7 years since I started making the boundaries clear, and he was trying to deal drugs to my kids.(working with the local police dept as my full time job may have had a bearing on him not returning)..the attendance has actually increased and I haven't had to ask anyone to leave in 3 years. Im not saying the issue doesnt exist any longer...but it has really improved.

This is my problem with HIGH SCHOOLERS - my middle school students are the ONLY ones engaged! :( We're living in a time of "spoon feed me my spirituality".

I find that what helps keep students interested is two-fold: 1) Develop relationships. It's all about relationships. If you know them and who they are, and if they know you and who you are, then you can gain their respect and not just be some person up front who talks to them for 20 minutes a week. (Some of us have bigger groups than we can get to know personally, this is what volunteers are for. Encourage your adult leaders to engage in relationship building with the students.) 2) Live and Love what you are teaching. If it's boring and un-real to you, why are they going to be interested in it? Make sure you are teaching with your heart, and hopefully the students will realize, by your life-style, that what you teach is true.

Of course there will always be those who are distracted, but I'm always encouraged by the words of Paul to his disciple, Timothy: "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." (2 Tim. 4:2)

Lots of comments here about what is not happening, how about some comments about what works! 1) Remember that whether they are JR or SR hight - they are still kids. I always save a "reward" for the end of the program. The group can choose an extra worship song (same one every time - Light My Fire) or they can all go down to the gym for an extra fifteen minutes, etc. But not until I get through the lesson. When they get rowdy, I remind them that I WILL get through the lesson one way or the other, but it will cost them if they don't quite down. Works 90% of the time. 2) Sometimes I find the whole group is very distracted. When that happens, I ditch the lesson and ask them why they are distracted. Most of the time it is something that happend at school (third time someone pulled fire alarm and they are worried that the administration will take an extra day out of their summer. Once I find out what issue is, I use it as a teachable moment. You gotta go-with-the-flow when you deal with kids of any age.

This is certainly the case in our student ministry, and the brief thought in this article is valid, and there's so much more to this. Our student ministry staff clearly sees a shift our culture toward the deep conviction of entitlement on the part of students. So, it's not so much that kids are bored, it's that they're wondering "What's in this for ME?" The worship service is seen as a "right", rather than a precious opportunity to connect with God.

I have no idea how to control my bunch. they are rowdy, during class its unbearable. Talking to the parents don't work really....