Tag Archives: teenagers

What Rekindled My Passion For Middle School Ministry?

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You may be shocked by the answer: Kids Camp. Yes, Kids Camp. Our children’s ministry had no make adult leaders for camp, and I drug my feet, hoping someone would step up. I love kids, I have kids, but kids are not my forte’. Granted, I am more childish than child like, but I still think in teen terms, which made the three days I spent with 9 boys very interesting.

Five of the kids were adopted/foster kids and new to our church. Four were church kids. It was an interesting dynamic. The four kids from the church will be coming into youth this year and that is where my passion button was pushed.

I saw how these kids interacted. I saw their need for conflict resolution skills. I saw how easily their feelings were hurt. I saw how they jocky’d for friendship position like a race car at Talledega. I saw life from a Jr. High perspective in a way I had not seen in a while and I live with a Jr. High student, my son, who was also part of this camp.

So, what am I going to do about it?

Months before, I was approached by a parent about focusing more on middle school and allowing them to meet separately.  I blew it off because the incoming group was so small and mostly home schooled. This should not matter but my corporate brain took over. I was wrong and now I must re-evaluate. At this point, with our new 45 and 45 program mix (I’ll explain in another post)

I am going to do a Middle School Boot Camp to help new and existing Middle School students adapt and overcome the new school year.

I plan on increasing face time with theses new students and their families.

I plan on being more strategic in my teaching.

How about you? Where is your passion for middle school right now? Do you have a Middle School plan for the fall? Let’s collaborate and let the fire for middle school burn bright.

Five Places You Could Be Instead Of Your Office

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I used to like being in my office, until I figured out I was being ineffective in my ministry and sheltered from those who I need to spend time with. If I am not in my office, here is where you may find me and you may want to join me

 

1. I am with other church members, including my Pastor

I may be having lunch, dinner, or breakfast with all kinds of people. Why? Because I want to hang out. I want them to know the real me. The best way to do that is to not be in my office, but to be where they are. I may be playing golf, eating, or something else but I am trying to get know my congregation so I can share my vision and passion for young people. I am also listening for red flags about the ministry and for needs our youth group can meet for that person.

2. I am at the library or coffee shop thinking

“Thinking?” you say? yes, thinking. I need think time. I need time to process what God is saying to me through His Word and prayer. My to do list is not as important as my think list. I need time to think about that kid, that parent, that staff member, and that challenge I am facing. Can’t I do that in the office? Not me. I need the change of atmosphere.

3. I am at the thrift store.

Why am I at the thrift store?

  • I am building my library cheaply with good books
  • I am find cool things such as games, trophies, and more to use with our youth ministry
  • I am finding whacky costumes and hats
  • I am finding weird giveaways for the next game night. 
4. I am home
I lived for too long, living out of my car and my office and letting my house get wrcked. I go home occasionally for lunch or otherwise to do laundry, dishes, and general clean up, so the burden is not completely on my wife. My home, and yours, is more important than the office because the people we love the most live there.
5. I am working
You mean you are working and not in the office? That is right. Shuffling papers is not my style and is not very productive. It is an illusion of real work. More people work out of the office than in these day. Check out the Mobile Work Force InfoGraph from Mashable. I am
  • I am taking pictures and posting them on Facebook
  • I am textting kids and parents
  • I am sending e-mails 
  • I am creating
Could I do this from the office? Sure, but it cuts down on my being able to multi-task effectively.
Do you have office hours? What are they?  Do you have an office?  Are you in it too much? Where do you go when you are not there and is it productive? Let me know, I’d love to here about it.

Seven Reasons Why Johnny Can’t Lead

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If you are concerned about why your students will not step up and lead, see if any of these may be true. I have been guilty of all of these, but no more. This generation is too important for us to ignore or waste the opportunities God gives us.

1. Johnny can’t lead because he is  burdened  and buried under a culture of average.

Even though numbers drive us, can we all work to get past this?  Can we get beyond numbers or competing with First Church down the street for the sake of finding out what God is doing  and do that. Average youth ministries won’t cut it for Johnny and he won’t be there.

2. Johnny can’t lead because he doesn’t understand the gospel.

The gospel says, lay down your life,  but Johnny’s culture says to save it, hold on to it, don’t sacrifice. Johnny can’t lead because he does not understand the gospel as Jesus taught it. Unfortunately we perpetuate that because we are afraid to challenge Johnny and fear losing him.

3. Johnny can’t lead because has had no one to model leadership for him.

Where have all the leaders gone? We have silo’d our ministry so much, our young men are never a part of men’s ministry. Our men need someone to mentor and out kids need mentoring. We should try to make this kind of connection a regular part of our ministries.

4. Johnny can’t lead because no one told Johnny he could.

We should be affirming our young men in their gifts and then invite them  to use and fine tune their gifts in the ministry as well as the chance to fail greatly.

5. Johnny can’t lead because Johnny doesn’t see the value in it.

Have we turned the Christian life, the great adventure into the great list of rules? Who wants to lead that?

6. Johnny can’t lead because his youth pastor can’t keep his or her hands off things.

Stop. Just stop. Quit trying to save your job and save your soul.

7. Johnny can’t lead because he is constantly being saved from failure.

Here is a quick primer for how failure should work

  • Give Johnny a task
  • Make him accountable
  • Equip him to succeed
  • Let him fail, but not to the point that it would crush him.  Protect but don’t save.
  • Thank him if it was his best effort and rebuke him if it was not.
  • Repeat

Why  should it be our goal to erase any excuses or blockades to the door that leads Johnny to taking his place? I believe, if Johnny steps through that door, it will be awfully hard for him to go back. Isn’t that what we want?

The Best Story Wins

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Seen any good commercials lately? Any stick with you? I bet the the ones that did told the best story. One commercial I saw was for Pizza Hut and strangely I cannot find the video anywhere. The commercial has real Pizza Hut employees doing the commercials and the theme is Your Favorites Your Pizza Hut. Some of the themes they use are

This is not just a pizza this is

  • your kids favorite Friday night meal
  • your ball teams favorite way to celebrate

Pizza tells a story and so does your youth ministry, but is it worth telling? Here are three bad stories youth groups tell intentionally or otherwise

  • We’re right and everyone else is wrong story

This story is an old story. I understand we follow a narrow path but that does not mean we have to narrow our story so only a few can investigate it. If Jesus is for everyone,  broaden your story so anyone can hear it, understand it, and receive it.

  • We have to be bigger and better story

This is a selfish story. This makes the gospel a story about us and our group. The story is about Jesus and becoming more like Him for those who believe. For those in our ministry who do not believe, God’s story is about redemption. When we focus on us, we rob the True Story of any real power

  • Be Afraid, Be Worried Story

Is Jesus coming back? Yes. Is the world crumbling around us? Sure looks like it. Is Hell hot? That’s what Book tells me. But is  this the story we want to tell with out the redemptive nature of Christ. Too often we use the horror story of hell and the second coming as a way to manipulating students to greater commitment or to come to an altar. If this is the whole story, we’re all in trouble. I believe in telling the truth in context and not as a stand alone truth. Truth in context is a always a deeper, richer story. A solo truth, out of context, is a shallow, short story and will only motivate so far and challenge students to only go so deep.

What story is your group telling? Try writing your groups story, start with Once Upon Time There Was This Youth Group... and see where the story leads you from there.

The better stories you could tell? Coming in Part II.