How to Create A Killer All-Nighter Without Killing Yourself

I LOVE all-nighters! You might think I am crazy BUT… It is a night to party, hangout, and point teenagers to Jesus.

If you are reading this, you must love teenagers… so much so to have an all-nighter.  With that said, I hope you are reading this MORE because Jesus cares about those who are far from God.

Creating a killer all-nighter is AL about the lost. It is about creating a venue/program/event where teens will feel confident to invite their friends to.

So, here are some ideas to have a killer all-nighter:

All-Nighters are ALL about Jesus

YES… All-nighters can be all about Jesus IF you design it in a certain way.

This is how we designed all-nighters about Jesus:

Youth Rally:

-  crowdbreaker,

- worship,

- message,

- KILLER Response that would point to action (prayer, small group discussion, repentance, salvation, offering towards a city-wide mission)

- Pizza

All-Nighters need to be FUN

A mentor of mine once told me that teenagers NEED to know how to have fun without drugs + alcohol. Even more so, teenagers wont say NO to drugs + alcohol unless they have a better YES. I agree… Ultimately, fun connects, builds memories, and can be clean. Here is how we made all-nighters fun:

-  Have a rotation of venues to go to throughout the night

- Venues would include bowling, local pools, skating, tobaggining, sports/gyms

- Keep it CHEAP

- DON’T do a lockin… Lockin's SUCKS!

- Show teenagers that Jesus is FUN through purpose (John 10:10 stuff...)

… And after ALL those venues and activities, teens are zombies (YES)

All-Nighters need to be about teens WHO are far from God

Last, we designed all-nighter to be ALL about people who were far from God. Teens were stoked to invite their friends because it was fun (for me, it was about Jesus BUT you get the point).

… And here are some ways to have a killer all-nighter without killing yourself:

DESIGN an all-nighter once a year.

Debate is when the best day(s) to have an all-nighter… but I would suggest having an all-nighter on the last day of school in December. I believe it is the BEST time for an All-nighter. Here’s why:

- Because venues are cheaper (rather than a holiday/June event),

- Because you will be able to have MORE leaders/chaperones with you,

- Because you will have MORE teens at the event.

 LEARN how to take care of yourself during an All-Nighter

Here is a veteran YP tip: RED BULL does NOT help during an all-nighter! You will have a burst of energy and then crash. The more red bulls you have, the shorter the burst of energy and the harder the crash.

Drinking lots of water, healthy snacks (fruit, protein), and pacing yourself will make you feel like a stud/lady afterwards.

TAKE a nap… don’t sleep in AFTER the All-Nighter

This might sound crazy but don’t sleep in after the all-nighter. Try to stay up, take a small nap, and then crash for bed early (around 7pm). If you crash and sleep in, your sleeping patterns will suck and it is harder to bounce back.

Hope this helps! A killer all-nighter can be killer for your youth ministry (and wont kill you)

Cheers…