Hey all,
We’re going to be discussing this book at our September 2nd gathering. Get yourself a copy early and dig in!
Why We Do Youth Ministry
When people wonder why we do youth ministry and why we think it’s SO important to the life of the church, this is big part of the reason why…
We are so thankful to our volunteers and team workers who work alongside us. Thank you for what you do; it’s SO important.
Text-to-Movie?
I’ve been seeing videos from a service called Xtranormal pop up here and there and wanted to check it out. This could have some cool youth ministry applications.
Here’s what they say about the service on their site:
Xtranormal’s mission is to bring movie-making to the people. Everyone watches movies and we believe everyone can make movies. Movie-making, short and long, online and on-screen, private and public, will be the most important communications process of the 21st century.
Our revolutionary approach to movie-making builds on an almost universally held skill—typing. You type something; we turn it into a movie. On the web and on the desktop.
Is what they say as easy as it sounds? Well, you’ll see rather quickly that I’m no J. J. Abrams, but I was able to quickly — in about ten minutes — throw together this little video for your viewing pleasure. All it takes is typing in a script, dragging and dropping in some physical reactions, picking the background scene and music, and clicking publish…
Kind of fun, huh? Youth group announcements, anyone? Give it a try!
Numb to Numbers
Does measuring success in youth ministry = playing the numbers game? I’m a firm believer that the fruit of ministry does NOT boil down neatly into how many warm bodies are in a room at one time. Numbers are important, though, because numbers — in this context — are people. Hopefully, these “numbers” are lives that are being influenced.
Measuring this kind of influence isn’t easy. How do we know when we’re growing? When we’re succeeding?
I suppose it comes down to… (I’d better stop and think here. I’m supposed to be a paid “professional”. I should know the answer to this.)
…Jesus.
Jesus showing Himself larger in a student’s life than the influences of the culture.
A student becoming the hands and feet of Jesus through outreach, serving, and loving people that everyone else rejects.
A student that desires daily communion with Jesus.
Jesus living through a student that stirs up some old, religious thinking.
A group of students that have Jesus‘ heart for others more than they are interested in getting self-gratification out of a weekly service experience.
A group of students who value worshipping Jesus, not just by singing songs, but with their lives.
Student’s who have given their lives over to Jesus on Mondays and Tuesdays, not just Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights.
Students who don’t just pay lip service to the words of Jesus, but act on them.
Lives that have been transformed and set free by the incredible, extraordinary love of Jesus.
Numbers are good. They help us to measure things. But numbers aren’t everything. I’d much rather have Jesus.
May’s Network Gathering
So, yesterday proved it: Kyle Goings is DA BOMB! Go here to download Kyle’s hand-out (MS Word .doc) from yesterday’s discussion on student ministry administration/scheduling.
At next month’s gathering we’ll be discussing YS Marko’s book “Youth Ministry 3.0″. Click on the banner below for an interesting review of the book from Dan Kimball…
Click here to order the book direct from Youth Specialties.
Holy Hangover?
Anybody ever feel like this after a long weekend or event? I know I have.
Is it too easy for us to overcommit ourselves? Yes.
Do we find ourselves burnt out on ministry because we say “yes” too often? Definitely.
How many of you have seen youth worker peers dropping like flies (leaving the ministry) beside you? Mmmm-hmmm.
How can we prevent ourselves from having the “holy hangover“?
Extreme Youth Ministry
What do you think about these thoughts from Josh Griffen’s “More Than Dodgeball” blog in regards to the extremes in a youth worker’s life?
- They’re aren’t really any typical weeks – every day is completely different from the last.
- Youth ministry is called on most at both ends of the spectrum – when things are good and when things are really bad.
- Youth ministry pays extreme. Extremely little.
- We minister in extremes – when marriage is at an extreme, and the kids are about to face their parents’ divorce. When a life is at an extreme, we’re at the emergency room or performing the funeral.
- Youth ministry is focused on essentially an extreme age group – when students are figuring themselves out and parents are at the most challenging point in relating to them.
- Youth ministry is about asking a student to give over total control of their life to Jesus – an absolute extreme.
- We ask students to be baptized, to demonstrate their faith to their friends, family and the world at the time when peer-pressure and image are the most crucial in their life.
- Extreme pressure and expectations – from senior pastors, staff, parents and from yourself.
Extreme hours, extreme emotions, extreme work. Youth ministry seems to be about pushing everything to the limit. So why would anyone want to do it? Seems like a nice, safe, well-paying nine-to-five is more what people look for in life.
Extreme fulfillment.
Wouldn’t want to do anything else. You?
I agree, Josh. Well said.
Rite of Passage Relevance
I can remember having to put together a whole rite of passage project for students “coming of age” when I was in the School of Youth Ministry at Christ for the Nations Institute in Texas. It was my last year as a student at CFNI and this was the big project for a class called “Adolescent Development”. We studied adolescent development (big surprise), how junior highers process things differently on a mental level, social groupings, and different ways that the church can celebrate their transformation from “tween-ager” to teenager. It all seemed so simple and easy to me then. I even got an “A+” on the big project.
Fast forward ten years… I’ve been in full time youth ministry since graduating and now have two teenage daughters of my own. I feel like I am more perplexed about how to walk through this thing called adolescence than I was ten years ago — especially as a parent! Woo-boy! It’s easier to disseminate head knowledge to someone’s kid and share with them “how it is/should be” and how “scientifically, it’s been said…” It’s an entirely different thing to go through the process and experience adolescence with your own kids.
I’ve thought to myself several times… “oh, so this is what Mom and Dad felt like when I was [doing that crazy stuff when I was in junior high].”
The emotional extremes and craziness that I’ve always known to exist — because I lived it out myself (and laugh about it now) — is being played out every day in front of me. It’s just weird watching it from the other side, as a pastor and a parent. It’s such an important time in the formation of spiritual and moral disciplines. What can we do to help our young ones step into this next phase of life?
- I’ve seen full blown bar mitzvah-type ceremonies with parents and loved ones offering their prayers and words of advice.
- I’ve seen programs where leaders walk students through physical, mental, and spiritual challenges.
- I’ve seen camping trips with the guys and sleep-overs with the girls along with cake and candles.
I’m not sure what works best, but I am certain that any chance to celebrate students’ growth and relationship with Jesus is worth it. And I definitely believe this is a tradition that we should encourage parents and youth workers alike to carry on.
Check out this short clip taken from my family’s recent celebration of my daughter, Cynthia, turning 13. It was during a time that we had several adults saying prayers of blessing / protection over her and giving our “words of wisdom”. Autumn, Cynthia’s older sister by one year, had been downstairs watching the little ones and we had just brought her up to pray over her sister. This was her prayer…
I won’t soon forget this moment. It’s my prayer that Cynthia won’t either.
Family Force 5 Encourages Youth Workers
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Family Force 5 fan. Which is why I was extremely excited to see them featured on this month’s edition of the Youth Specialties podcast. Watch ‘em share their hearts here…
Be sure to listen to some of their newly remixed tunes on MySpace.
Also, it’s cool to see Brooklyn Lindsey’s face in front of the camera. She’s a new contributor on the YS blog.
