Tag Archives: youth ministry

3 Program Prep Ideas From A Recovering Procrastinator

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To my YouTube Subscribers, here is your free cartoon to use as you please.  For those who are not subscribers, watch my show The Tuesday Panic below and then download the cartoon. 

Onward.

As I say in the title, I was a pretty bad procrastinator. I would leave things to the last minute and then cry about the fact that I had no time. That wasn’t true. I had all the time in the world and I “wasted it”. We’re all given 24 hours in a day and we have to use them wisely. Here are a few preparation tips I live by:

1. Make a template of what your youth meeting will look like. 

Create a template or worksheet you fill out every week with the elements you most normally plug in (Games, Worship, Communion, etc.) to your mid-week meeting or bible study. If you know you are doing a series on friendship you can plan your four weeks of “get to know you games” already.  A template is only a guide and not a god. If you feel like the program needs to change mid-meeting, change it, but at least you had something to change.

2. Prepare your message first. 

Some argue about which comes first the chicken or the egg. Others ask what comes first, the scripture or the idea. Some have an idea and then look for scripture to back that up. I believe, that if we are well read in the scriptures, an idea will line up with what we already know, we only need to re-read the text and make sure we are literally “on the same page” with God. If you get your message down, the rest of the meeting can all fall apart if need be. Games can flunk, the worship can sound awful, and the tech can stop working but if the message is bad, in my opinion, the rest of the night  was a waste.

3. Take care of the details

My details may not be your details, but the small details matter. My details inlcude

a) Print off attendance sheets

b) Make sure I the offering baskets are near by

c) Make sure I have e-mailed my notes to my IPad

If I forget any of these, it seems to get me started on the wrong foot because instead of greeting guest and making small talk I am at the copy machine making copies or consumed with my computer instead of making eye contact and engaging with our teens. Preparation isn’t just a want to it’t have to if you desire to be effective and not distracted.

If you get past procrastinating, you won’t have to watch videos like the one make every week for those who do procrastinate, it will be a luxury.

care of to be confident in your program?

Are you a procrastinator? Vote below or leave a comment.

Not All The Action Is At The Front Of The Church

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Altar-Call

I have been to many church and camp altars. I have made public expressions of faith and commitment at the  front of the church “in front f God and everyone”. I have experienced powerful moves of God at the front of the church, but there is nothing sacred about the front of the church. God uses all the parts of the building to minister. I had such an experience yesterday.

In Sunday service I normally go to the front to pray with people during the “altar time” but I saw that our prayer team had it covered pretty well, so I made an altar for myself at the back of the church, on my knees. My friend Band Aid (his nick name) came and prayed for me and gave me such strong words and images of encouragement. It was a much needed drink of water to a dry soul. I would not have received that a the front of the church. Thankfully, God’s blessing is not limited to my proximity to the front of the church.

As youth workers, many of us build to a time of commitment in our services. The altar call. I love altar calls, but I am not married to them as the exclusive way for God to move on the hearts of kids. I have started some new practices:

1. In Sunday service, many of our students will come and pray for people, but not necessarily come and receive prayer. So, I have circumvented that by going to kids and asking them if they have any needs and asking if I can pray with them right at their seat.

2. I asking kids to kneel at their chairs and allow our volunteers to go and pray for them.

3. I ask kids to break up into small groups and pairs and pray for one another.

I’ll continue to  call teens to the front for prayer because it requires an act of courage and some kids need that “stand up and be counted” or “This I believe” moment to give their faith a jolt. But, not all the action is the front of the church. An altar can be built anywhere. If we help kids learn to build altars everywhere and anywhere, no matter where they are (college home, etc.), God will be there to meet them.

Youth Camp Week Day Three : Discipline At Camp

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Photo Credit

Discipline is no fun, but especially no fun at camp; but sometimes it has to be done. I had a student one time who had signed up for our camp. I did not know the camper very well, but he seemed a bit young to go. I was write. He was too young for this trip. He would wander way from the group and was basically on his own schedule. Here is how I handled it.

First offense: A warning to call his mom.

Second: A call to his mom and let her talk to him.

Third: A second call to his mom with the warning that if I had to call again he would have to go home.

Fourth: Called the mom and asked her to come pick up her son, six hours away.

It worked out fine. All the kids gathered around this kid and sent him off with prayer and well wishes. I don’t think he ever came back to youth group (for a different reason)  but that moment of discipline, with love, was worth it.

Here is what I think this process communicated to the parent

1. I communicated that I loved her son and wanted him to stay

2. I wanted her to be a part of the solution. She knows her son better than I.

3. I wanted to build a track record with the parent about behavior. If I would have told her to come pick up her son on the first call I would have shown that I did not  care.

Here is  a thought from veteran youth worker Greg Schmidt:  The first thing to remember is, you and the kids are representing Christ first, church second, and the rest after that don’t really count lol. JK. I always like to set the bar high and see if they can exceed my expectations. In my 25+ years of student ministry I have seen a lot of teens at camp that have gone home and a whole lot that should’ve went home. The one thing I always did was at the parent mtg. show the parents the guidelines and expectations and let them know if their perfect son or daughter happened to not follow them, THEY (the parents) would be either coming to get them or sending money for bus ticket home. With this I made sure I had the pastor and everyone else on the same page that way when something happens, and it usually did, they won’t be blindsided by an angry parent of a perfect teen.

Discipline is part of discipleship. Don’t shy away from it, even if they don’t thank you for it later.

Don’t forget to read Day 1: Tips For Sharing Devotions At Camp  or Day 2: 3 Ideas To Get Your Campers To Bed

 

Who’s Leading You?

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The worst example of a boss, in my opinion, is Bill Lumbergh from the movie Office Space. He is a coffee sipping, pencil pushing, disengaged, visionless knucklehead and some of you work for him or someone like him. It’s appropriate to scream out loud if you’ve just realized that. If you have a boss, it’s time to search for a leader. That’s doesn’t mean quit, it just means you need to find someone you’re willing to let lead you equip you, and inspire you in spite of who you are employed by.

There are bosses and there are leaders. Bosses boss. Leaders lead. Bosses tell you what do to, how to do it,  and you do it because they are your boss. You are paid to be compliant.  Bosses are only worried about the bottom line and getting the task done. Bosses love status quo.

Leaders lead. Leaders are not afraid of new ideas even if they are better than their own. Leaders create room for innovation and change. Leaders are concerned for those who follow them and the fulfillment of the dream or vision God has given them.

What we all have to decide is, who will lead us.

Is your pastor/priest your leader or your boss?

Is your network coordinator your leader or your boss?

Is your employer your leader or your boss? 

So, who are you working under right now? A boss or a leader?

Are you a boss or a leader?

If you are a youth worker or volunteer, I’d be privileged to have the opportunity to lead you.

I co-lead a loose network called EQUIP whose only goal is to help you get better at what you do. Next week I am offering a Google Hangout session next week on How To Make Your Summer Events Sizzle. It’s scheduled for Tuesday April 30th at 11:00 a.m. . You can join the conversation live by getting in early, otherwise you can watch it and ask questions by watching it live on my You Tube channel.

Let me know if you’d like to be a part of the discussion on Tuesday or if you are in the Birmingham area, let’s have lunch and talk in person.

Now, Go lead.

 

4 Ways You May Be Hurting Your Youth Ministry’s Brand

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branded

Whether we like it or not, our youth ministry is a brand. It’s how our parents, church, kids, and community sees us. Does your youth ministry have a logo? Do you slap it on everything? That is called branding. Like cowboys burning their ranches name or symbol into their cattle in case they ever get lost or stolen. When people see our logo, they match it with who we are, what kind of group we have, and what we believe in.

Here are 4 ways you could be hurting your brand, which in turn sends out a the message that your youth ministry may not be even worth trying.

1. Sloppy Promotions

Are the posters, flyers, or postcards you are mailing out worthy of a second look? Do they pop? Before you send out your promo for an event, pass it by a leader or a student to see if they “get it”. Ask them to be honest about their initial thoughts if they received this in the mail or saw it posted on FB. Chef Robert Irvine  of Food Networks Restaurant Impossible, will not a send out a meal that’s beneath him. He says, “I cannot send that out, it has my name on it.”

2. Over/Under Communicating 

There is such a thing as over communicating. I can’t tell you how many people (good people) I have unsubscribed from because they jammed my e-mail with junk.  Sending your kids too many texts, flyers, etc, could have the opposite effect you desire. Ask yourself, “If were receiving this many (or not enough) connections, what would I think of our group?” Try planning out the frequencies of your communications. Will your text go our every Monday? Will you post once a week? Try getting

3. Not Preaching The Gospel With Passion, Conviction, or Love

Right or wrong I preach with certain amount of passion. I tell my kids that I may get loud but I am never angry, I am just passionate. I want our kids, and visitors, to know that if they are generous enough to give me their time; I am going to give them my best effort and the truth of God’s word with love.  God’s message is worthy of our best.

4. Living Sloppy

The leader of the group is the representation of the brand. How we live, dress, and act, are what people are looking at more than anything else. It’s how WE live, even more than our kids live, that could help or hurt our youth ministry. We don’t have to be anal about everything we do and say but we must be authentic. Loving caring leaders produce loving caring students. Sloppy living leaders produce sloppy living students.

Jesus said, ” They shall know you by your love.”. Jesus has branded our hearts with the cross. His love for us. We could do all the things above with perfection, but if we do not have love…well, I think you know the rest (I Cor. 13)

Which of these four do you think is hurting your groups brand (what others think)?

Do have another suggestion to add to the list? Leave a comment below.

 

 

 

Would You, Could You, Call Yourself A Christian?

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You’ll have to pardon me this morning if my words seem incoherent, last night at youth there were rubber chickens, a water fight between a leader and a student, a message including Dragon Ball Z, and I think there was prayer, it’s all a bit blurry after that. I think I blacked out. Onward.

I was reading the Huff Post religion section this morning about the band Mumford and Sons and found out some interesting things, such as Marcus is the son of John and Eleanor Mumford,  national leaders of the Vineyard Church in the U.K. and Ireland.

The Vineyard church was huge, musically, in the 90′s and I am therefore not shocked by Marcus’s musical chops or faith centric writing. The Huff Post quotes Marcus in Rolling Stone as saying of the definition of what is a Christian,

“I don’t really like that word. It comes with so much baggage. So, no, I wouldn’t call myself a Christian. I think the word just conjures up all these religious images that I don’t really like. I have my personal views about the person of Jesus and who he was. … I’ve kind of separated myself from the culture of Christianity.”

 

This is a great quote, totally accurate, and what many of our students may believe. My mind flashed to the words of Jesus

 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.“The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’“But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’“I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

This verse, “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt” is me. It is a part of me I fight every day. In my drive to perfection, it’s so easy to swerve into the Pharisaical lane. The danger of swerving into this lane is that I have a trail of cars, filled with students, following me. I have to stay in my own lane and make sure I don’t “think more highly of myself than you ought.” and not to teach it to the students I lead in word or deed.

I agree with Marcus. I am not a Christian as the world sees Christianity. Marcus has opted out of the cultural definition of Christianity “Go to church. Read your Bible. Go home and live like hell”

Last night I talked with a guest, a young lady, a young adult. We spoke afterwards and she said. “Yeah, I told my boss I had to get church and he said, “You? Church? The girl who drinks, curses, etc?” I said yeah, me.”

I told her, “Is there any place better for us sinners to gather?”

Steve Camp said it well,

“Could I be called a Christian and believe not His holy word
If I take Him as my Savior and then refuse Him as my Lord
If I could not love the outcast and am not burdened for the lost
If I fail to deny myself and each day take up my cross”

- from Could I Call Myself A Christian from the album Consider the Cost

Do you agree with Marcus? Do you feel yourself fighting with how the culture defines your faith? What can we do to help our kids remain in the mercy lane and keep from swerving into the “look how righteous I am lane” ?

Painters and Players: Game Store Discipleship Part 2

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Painted and Upainted

(above: my actual army painted and ready for action)

Yesterday I shared a conversion I had at a game store that sold me on a hobby I was interested in. As a youth pastor who focuses, (some say obsess) over the process of discipleship, I knew what was happening to me, I was being evangelized and offered the opportunity to be discipled in the Warhammer 40k way. As with many things, such as sports, Warhammer 40k is not a hobby but a lifestyle to some. They live it, breathe it, talk about it and share it. Isn’t that what we desire for ourselves and for our students who claim the name of Jesus? With that said, let’s look at how my conversation with a game store owner breaks down into some practical principles for our youth ministry.

Let’s start again:

Her: Welcome to Games Workshop!

Me: Thanks

Her: What brings you by today?

Note: This is a key question. Why did that guest come? Why do our regulars come? Asking students why they come to our meetings may seem obvious (social, parents make them, etc.) but when I entered this store I was looking for information and connection, not just a salesman who wanted to sell me stuff. The same can be said of the kids who come to our meeting.

Me: Just looking

Note: Defines many of our kids.

Her: Do you know what you are looking at?

Note: Great question. Do our kids know what they are looking at? Even our most seasoned kids may not know. They don’t know or understand that we are Christ’s hands and feet, His church. We should ask this questions more often.

Me: Yes.

Her: What are you working on right now?

Note: She knew I had some gaming affinity and thought maybe I already had an army, etc. I include on my guest cards and I ask, “So where do you normally go to church?” I think a better question is, “What are you currently working on in your life right now? ” The answer to this quesiton will clue us in to where kids are with Christ and not just their religious affiliation.

Me: Nothing at the moment, I’m a newbie. have some unpainted models at my house.

Her: Would you like to put some paint on a model?

Note: Here’s what she did not do: “Let me tell you all the rules of Warhammer 40k and it’s history.” She had me start painting and engaging to see if something would spark. I have decreased, to almost nil, of what is required to be a leader in our youth ministry. The “rules” to becoming a leader became impediments to kids “putting paint on a model.” If you want to see how we get kids “putting paint on models” you can watch my video HERE and HERE

Check out this Model Painting Video

Note: Once she knew I had an army, unpainted, she knew I had interest but not desire. Many of our kids love God in theory, but their desire has lapsed. It should be our goal to get kids re-engaged with the God who called them in the first place.

Me: Sure

When I finished my basic paint job,

Her: Would you like to put your model in a game?

Me: Sure.

Note: Now, after I painted, she challenged me to play. Se knew, “if I can get him to play, I can show him how much fun this is.” We should always be introducing the next level of joy in knowing Christ.

She taught me some basic rules and had me moving pieces and rolling dice. After we were done she continued:

Her: What did you like best? Painting or Playing?

Note: In the end, this gaming evangelist wants to sell product and create another gaming enthusiast which will add to the gaming community synergy. In the Warhmmer 40k community there are painters and they enjoy collecting and painting models, but that is it. There are players who enjoy the game but not the painting process. It’s the same with faith.   We will always have students who like to paint. they like the artistry and color of religion. Students will come to events and enjoy the pageantry. We know the joy of living our faith and our joy of knowing God, let’s create and offer the next level of joy to our kids every week.

Me: I liked both

Her: Great, how would you like to get started?

Author Donald Miller, in the forward of his book Blue Like Jazz, talks about not being  interested in jazz until he watched a man passionately play jazz on his saxophone.  It goes without saying, but I’ll say it. Christianity is not hobby. It’s not something we dabble in. Jesus is life and lifestyle or he is no life at all. Lets’ all live passionately for Christ but let us also create and offer every kid a chance to “put paint on their model” (know Christ) and play it out (live for Christ).

How are you getting kids to experience or re-experience faith in your youth ministry? Share  your process of how you get kids to re-ignite their faith

Play Warhammer (or not) and want to compliment me on my fine paint job? Leave a comment below.

 

Detecting and Protecting Your Team From The Negativity Virus

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Super-bug viruses are powerful and deadly. Doctors are frantically trying to keep up with how it spreads, where it is spreading, and it’s make up to come up with a shot that will counteract it. Equally as powerful and deadly is the super bug called Negativity and it can take team out quick.

Let’s start with a preventative first step: Don’t Recruit Sick People. 

When I recruit leaders for our team I check for symptoms of the super bug. I look for sniffles or the occasional cough through simply watching the potential volunteers life. I ask other ministry leaders whether this volunteer has ever been “sick” with negativity. I ask my Pastor if they have ever had problems with the person I am recruiting. If we recruit without doing a “healthy spirit” check, the negativity super bug may be lurking and you team will have an outbreak. Never recruit out of crises. Pray through the process and choose the healthiest people.

Second, Watch those who are prone to the negativity virus. 

In the virus world, doctors say the most vulnerable people are the very young and the very old. I think this principle has some validity in the team work world as well.

The Apostle Paul recommends some guidelines for deacons and would be a good rule of thumb for those who would oversee the lives of kids. One of those guidelines says,

and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

New converts bring energy and excitement to any ministry team, but their ministry life and their personal life are running parallel. If a difficult challenge hits them in their personal life, it will bleed into their ministry life. I had this happen with one volunteer and I had to ask him to step back and he eventually left the church, which was a negative for the whole team.

The second group susceptible to negative virus are “older people”. These folks have a wealth of experience and that is both a blessing a curse. It’s a blessing because they can spot our blind spots, but hat also means they judge everything by the way they have done it before. If we are not meeting a previous standard or a standard they hold, that can lead to a negativity outbreak.

I am not saying you should not let these people on your team. I am saying these are types of people that could could be prone to the virus. Anyone can carry the virus, students, parents, etc. but we are like the CDC of our youth ministry, determining the risk factors for healthy ministry.

The last step would be to Detect and Protect

I cannot let negative talk run rampant or the whole team or group could catch it. If I hear or witness some negative talk or behavior patterns I am quick to detect and protect. If I detect it I will usually have a conversation with the person quickly to isolate the bug. I try to treat it with “antibiotics” such as as listening to the complaint, confirming what the person is saying, and then try to work on a solution with that person. If that does not work I do my best to protect the rest of the group by switching the persons responsibilities from hands on to hands off. If they are a small group leader I may ask them to take a break or ask them to serve in a different capacity. If the bug persists, I move into full quarantine mode and remove the person from any leadership or ministry position.

Has your team ever been affected with the negativity virus? How did you deal with it?

Fighting The Resistance: Challenging Teens To Share

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photo credit HERE

Have you ever come back from a retreat, camp, or event where God moved powerfully and then were met with resistance when asking kids to share their experience? Yeah, I’ve been there too, but recently I have tried to head off the resistance with a simple plea to those who went to our yearly youth convention. Here is what I asked of them, feel free to steal, modify, etc.

Hey All,

It’s been a few days since convention and I hope you all had as good a time as I did. I believe God did something in my heart and I am pretty sure he has done something in yours as well.

I’d like at least one of you to share tomorrow night at Fusion. I know what you’re going to say “not me” “I am not a good speaker” etc. etc. but consider a few of these reasons why you should share before you answer:

1. It will encourage people to go next year. If the rest of our group does not know that God did a work in our hearts, why would anyone want to go next year?

2. Like the messages we heard, it’s time to step up. It’s time to stop using excuses like the ones above. Sharing is a simple way to be obedient to what God did in our hearts.

Finally, and maybe the most important,

3. If we don’t share what God has done, if we don’t declare his goodness to others, how long do we expect that good work God did in us to last? It’s funny how many times kids come back from camp and within a week “lose” whatever they got. One quick way to hold on to, keep, nurture, and protect what God has given us is to share it, we need to let our own ears hear what God has done.

Revelations says 12:11, “They OVERCAME him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their TESTIMONY; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

I want you to be over-comers. I will help you.

So, with that said, I am asking you to pray through the fear, the doubt, and the anxiety and share what God has done in and for you.; for your benefit and the benefit of others.
If you say no, no hard feelings. I will not put you down or think any less of you. This is what I do guys. I lay the challenges out there, so you can pick them up.

I love you all.

Pastor Paul

What has been your experience with kids sharing/testifying in your youth ministry? Is it like pulling teeth or easy like a hot knife through butter? How do approach kids to share what God has done in their lives?

 

Avoiding Buzzer Beaters In Youth Ministry

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One Second

 

Tis’ the season for buzzer beaters. I love watching buzzer beaters, but I don’t want to ever be in a situation where the game is down to one shot. Like this latest one.

The clock is always ticking in youth ministry (and life)

  • the clock in ticking until our seniors graduate from our ministry. 
  • the clock is ticking until camp (make those arrangements)
  • the clock is ticking until you are supposed to have that talk with that person (and you are ignoring it)
  • the clock is ticking until you have to turn in those receipts
  • the clock is ticking until you burn out from lack of time in rest and prayer
  • the clock is possibly ticking on our time as full time youth pastors
  • the clock is ticking on our current job/role/ministry
  • the clock is ticking until we the day we die

I don’t want my life, faith, or ministry, to come down to a buzzer beater. I want to be ahead by 20 points in the final minutes. My production on the court of life means taking every opportunity to build a relationship, share the gospel, preach that hard message, confront sin in my own life, and produce as much art, like training videos and extra articles to equip youth workers who watch their own countdowns tick down.

So, If I should be blessed enough to die at 85, here is what my count down would look like. I hope when the final second ticks off I’ll be exhausted, fulfilled, and way ahead in every area of my life.

 

Where are you at? What quarter of the game are you in? What event are you counting down to? Are you ahead? Tied? Behind? Where are you trying to beat the buzzer? Will your life come down to one more shot? Tell me about your countdown below.

If you are looking for more Buzzer Beater advice where I share my weekly schedule and other tips, you can check out my article Buzzer Beater Secrets For Youth Workers