Every youth pastor needs to decide what it means to make disciples in their specific context. Of course, the baseline of disciple-making is the same no matter where one’s church is located: youth pastors present the good news of Jesus to students through the proclamation of the Word of God in interpersonal relationships and corporate gatherings, while anticipating in prayer that God will work in those who hear His Word according to His plans and timing. However, if that description is the bones of ministry, then the flesh of ministry will look different based on the context of the church’s location.

With that being said, I would imagine that most churches in America are in towns where high school football has a cultural influence. Sure, maybe it is stronger in the South than in other areas, but I would go as far as to predict that your town is affected by high school football. I live in Northeast Ohio, and football still generally owns Friday nights in the fall.

When I was hired at my church in 2016 as the pastor of high school ministry, I inherited a 5th Quarter program that had already been happening for 11 years. The blueprint was (and still is) pretty simple: after home football games, we invite students from our local high school to our church gym for food, fun, and to hear the gospel. Now, even as I type that, I know someone is reading this and immediately thinking to themselves, “This is just another one of those bait-and-switch evangelistic events.” If that is you, don’t quit reading just yet.

Ministry is more than experience, but let me share with you my experience inheriting, pivoting, and leading 5th Quarter.

When I inherited 5th Quarter, I was fascinated by the idea that kids would actually come to a church after a public school football game. Originally, any school was welcome to attend, but I decided we would pivot to only inviting the local high school closest to the church. This was not because we dislike rival teams or other students in our church who don’t go to the local high school. The reason this pivot was necessary is our 5th Quarter became the go-to destination for large portions of the high school. It wasn’t a question of “Where are the students coming from?” Instead, the question was “How many students would come?”

We unapologetically hold three things at our 5th Quarter.

First, we unapologetically host students with the desire for them to be in a safe environment after the football games where they will build memories and have fun. As a church, we desire to engage as many students as possible by hosting them. We feed them good and tasty food while also having dodgeball and volleyball tournaments. I met a new visitor at our church a few months ago. Within minutes he told me that he graduated high school a decade ago and attended fifth quarter here at our church. This also expands the joy that comes when I have seeing students just having fun by being with their friends in our church building. There are many things students can do after football games. I am thankful one of the options is coming to a church.

Second, we unapologetically pray for the students who come. It is impossible to evangelize someone who you don’t first engage. We pray that God would allow us to engage these students with love and friendliness. This isn’t a bait and switch. I genuinely love the students of our town and want them to know Jesus, so we pray that God would save them. One of my friends says that in events like this we show “gospeltality,” which means that we share the gospel through hospitality. Now, I’m not sure that is a word, and I do think that words need to be used to truly share the gospel, but I do think my friend is onto something. We need to pray that the students would sense the gospel through the hospitality shown in outreach events, and we should unapologetically pray that is the case.

Last, we unapologetically share the gospel. Another friend of mine helped me understand through the years that oftentimes we think we share the gospel at evangelistic events, but in reality, we just brush up against the gospel. Through the last ten years of 5th Quarter, we have tried a variety of ways to share the gospel with students who are not coming with the main goal of hearing about Jesus. We have prayed the gospel, attempted to show a video with the gospel in it, and even had students share testimonies of being changed by Jesus. These all have pros and cons compared to each other, but the main goal is this: the true gospel should be proclaimed clearly. Just this year, I was able to clearly explain the gospel to our church gym that was full of over 200 students from our 735-student high school. God miraculously got them quiet as I shared about the good news that Jesus is the only true way to heaven, as explained in John 14:6. 5th Quarter is a place to unapologetically share the gospel through large group proclamation, but also through interpersonal relationships. Volunteers can talk to kids, build relationships, and share truth. This was evident last year as a student found one of our volunteers while she was cleaning the cafeteria beside the gym and asked a question about eternity. That led to this student putting his faith in Christ.

Now, you might ask, what does 5th Quarter look like or how should I start one? Here are five tips I would suggest to you:

First, I suggest having them for only one school. If it can become the popular thing for students in a school to go to 5th Quarter after games, then it will become a rhythm that will advertise itself. This is also helpful with safety and security, since most of the kids know each other.

Second, serve good food. Students are hungry, and they are worth excellent food. I’m not talking about steak and potatoes, but serve food they want to eat, not cheap substitutes for their food desires. Again, I don’t think this is a bait and switch, but instead a way to love students well.

Third, we have found it helpful to have one tournament or game each night. We rotate between volleyball and dodgeball. The kids know the rhythm and like the competition. We give t-shirts away that say “5th Quarter Champions” to the winning teams, and the students love to try to win them!

Fourth, we have kids sign in at the door on sheets of paper and then use that for drawings for gift cards. That lets us know the names of the kids and how many kids arrived. It also gives us a built-in time to gather everyone together, which paves the way to sharing the gospel.

Fifth and last, have fun. This type of ministry happens late at night after football games and takes effort and energy. Enjoy the process. Love kids well. Throw a dodgeball. Eat some pizza. It is a gift that we can serve students in this way.

When Jesus said the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves, I have to think He would consider 5th Quarter as a way to follow this commandment. Love the neighbors in your community by giving their high school students a safe environment to spend a late Friday night. Beyond that, love them enough to share the hope of the gospel, which can truly bear fruit in this life and in the life to come.

I love watching high school football. Yet, I still think 5th Quarter is the best quarter.