Thought Matt and Doug had a great series of questions for small group leaders to ask their students – getting to know your kids or getting to know them better. Head there for the whole list and some tips on how to use them, and if you’re not getting the daily email from YouthMinistry.com - sign up for it (it is FREEand awesome) right here.
35 trigger questions to spark conversation: 1. How are you involved at your school? (Clubs, cheer, band, sports?) 2. What was a highlight of your week? 3. What is something you did this summer that was fun? 4. What is your absolute favorite thing to do? 5. If you could have free tickets to any concert, where/who would it be? 6. What is your favorite subject at school? 7. Who is your favorite teacher and what do you like about him/her? 8. Are you the type who gets things done early or waits till the last minute? 9. What do you normally do when you have free time? 10. Where?s your favorite place to eat? 11. What?s the best Christmas gift you?ve ever received? 12. What?s the best thing that?s ever happened to you?
JG
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Summertime is in full swing, and Doug, Matt, and Josh are joined with week by Cathy Fields, sitting in for Katie. After recapping summer camp (and sharing some great ideas), the team discusses your questions. ;Topics include: not having enough leaders for camp,
On Thursday afternoon of last week I got a phone call asking if I would be willing to speak in our adult services the upcoming weekend due to Pastor Rick having suffered an eye injury. The conversation went almost exactly like this:
voice on phone: Kurt, Pastor Rick is hoping you can teach this weekend…he is still in quite a bit of pain.
Kurt: Ummm….ummmm….sure. I would be happy to. Is there something specific for me to speak on?
Voice on phone: No….do you have something in your file you can use on short notice?
Kurt: Ummm….ummmm….I have only taught adults three times in my life so my file is pretty thin.
Voice on phone: Okay. Thanks a ton for being willing to help out…you will do a great job.
I love my Pastor, I love my church, I love that they felt comfortable making a last minute request, and I loved the opportunity to speak to the adult congregation at our church. Here are a few observations that struck me.
- Adults are a pretty easy audience. The pressure I felt was purely one of what I would call “content creation”….can’t give adults the same level of content you can give JH students….BUT adults are an easy audience! They all want to be there, they don’t send text messages or get up in large clumps to use the restroom. They don’t flick the ears of the kid in front of them and they don’t pass gas loud enough for the entire room to hear.
- Despite that….they really are just big teenagers. They have similar insecurities, similar struggles and similar hurts…..they are just packaged a little differently.
- Many of them have no clue about our youth ministry. I was shocked at how many parents introduced themselves to me saying things like, “we had no idea the youth ministry was in such capable hands” or, “we have never been down to the youth area…what else is going on for my teenager” etc. This was an eye opener for me and a reminder that no youth pastor can assume parents are as informed, connected, in the loop etc as we often think.
- I am glad to be a junior high pastor! In 14 years at Saddleback, I have spoken in the adult services two times. I would certainly welcome the opportunity again, but last weekend reminded me that my giftedness and my calling (funny how those two [...]
Here’s just a few things I did in the last 2 years:
All this and my wife still likes me. That’s amazing. Well, I think that’s a testimony to the type of wife God has given me!
But the truth is my family and I need a break. I’m not burned out, but I don’t want to be either. I try (key word there is “try”) to keep up on email, Facebook messages, twitter mentions and DM’s, blog posts and comments, on and on. I think these things are ultimately helpful and I plan on continuing this part of my ministry. However, Sunday afternoon (after teaching at Colossae) I will be completely disconnecting from all these things for the next two weeks.
I’m going on vacation with my family. I’m not bringing my computer – I won’t even open it. I didn’t even want to bring my cell phone, but my wife talked me into that in case we happen to need to get a hold of one another. I’m sure it will take me 4-5 days before my brain shuts down, but I’m praying it will. I want to take naps, play with my kids, laugh as a family, and spend hours upon hours putting together Hello Kitty puzzles, building forts, and having tea parties with my girls. And I’m really looking forward to sitting outside, enjoying the beautiful Oregon summer weather, with my wife after our girls are asleep and just talking for hours with her – and not about ministry stuff.
I want and need to disconnect entirely. I have a lot to do before I get there, but I am looking forward to this time. See you August 2nd…
I’ve been a little crazed of late and haven’t given the blog the time it deserves (I have some fun posts coming very soon, including my Comic-Con wrap-up), but for now enjoy this bit of Summer Happiness.
Our friend, Doug Franklin, had a great post on his blog the other day about this difficult but important aspect of the ministry of youth missions. When/if to send an adult home from a trip. Our ministry has some of it’s own processes and steps we take in the context of what we do, and Doug’s thoughts echo our sentiments…
Sending an Adult Home
What do you think? Is our ministry and Doug’s thoughts on the right track? Do you agree or disagree?
There are a lot of changes happening in our student ministries right now. In the midst of the crazy summer so many other components are moving in different directions. Many of the changes are great, and needed. And it will be exciting to see how God will unfold all that we have been praying for. But there are a few changes that I (as the wife) do not like so much and don’t understand. It is these changes that I don’t know what to say, and not say, and just what to do. My pride wants to shout at my husband, “Hey, did ya think it all through? Are ya real, REAL sure about that one?!” And my favorite, “Listen to me, listen to me, just listen to me!” BUT…..I know I shouldn’t.
I don’t know if I’m alone on this one, or what?? Anyone else fear change as much as me? I totally trust my husband and his call to this ministry. I do believe he is brilliant and gifted and a wonderful leader. Buuutttttt, what do you do when you don’t agree with it all?? Nothing? Pray? Vent, and visit this site?
I did take a big step (for me) this weekend. Our Pastor asked us to choose one area in which we would come to God daily for the summer and ask his guidance. I was certain that I was going to ask for wisdom concerning all these changes happening for us [...]
Sometimes the pleasure of having a blog is just dumping whatever is inside your head or the refuse of what’s currently “on fire” on your to-do list. A trip into the recesses of my mind is scary for those that know me especially before coffee and a daily ADD pill.
In the bathroom this morning, it occurred to me that working students and their parents is a lot like moving from FL to TX…which I’m doing August 16th. How you say? Let me tell you:
1) Some things just don’t fit in a box: I have two large pictures that don’t fit into anything. They’re going to have to ride in the car with me, right behind the front seat. Same with students. The ones that don’t fit have to stay even closer to you.
2) Get rid of the junk before the trip: Before anything gets packed,its either beendusted, washed, fixed, or thrown away.Its a fresh start and I’m not dragging my junk with me. Good thought for any youth ministry trip or event: don’t take any emotional or relational junk.Clean it up before heading out.
3) Don’t wait till the last minute and expect things to go well: I hired my mover back in April, started packingboxes a fewat the same time and made reservations.Now I’have more head room for the last minute craziness that will pop up. Works the same for youth [...]
If you came last your and loved it, this year is going to be even better! Yo, there is a new URBAN TRACK, that is going to be HOT!!!!!! You need to check it out!!!!!
Whitney Houston has made some serious missteps in the past few years, many of which were documented by the media and even her ex-husband’s ill-conceived reality show “Being Bobby Brown.” Understandably, Whitney wants all of us to forget her past drug and marital issues and focus on her music again, which leads us to her new album, “I Look to You.”
On her first album in seven years, Houston makes it clear that she has fought her way back into the musical spotlight, hoping she can win our hearts back, while still accepting that there may be those who doubt her.
Before delving in too deep, it is necessary to address Whitney’s new voice. Once lauded as “The Voice,” Houston has certainly lost a bit of her range due, undoubtedly, to her age and drug use; but that doesn’t mean that she can’t hold a tune. For the most part, Whitney consciously stays within her new range—although the ballads sprinkled throughout tend to draw out notes that are less steady.
This is really this album’s pitfall: The ballads don’t really match the quality of the ones from previous albums or many of her other songs on “I Look to You” itself. The biggest proof of this lies within the album’s first leaked track, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.” Certainly those who are looking for more of Whitney in her “I Will [...]
Written by Sam S. Rainer III
Many people realize that the church is losing people. What is not realized is that the vast majority of people drop out as students and young adults. In fact, research reveals that seven out of 10 people who drop out of the church will do so between the ages of 18 and 22.
This age group gives a variety of reasons for the departure: They wanted a break from church. They didn’t connect with the people in the church. They perceived existing church members as out of touch with current reality. The results boiled down to one simple reason: Church was not essential to them.
Instead of finding meaning in the church, students and young adults are finding it in the culture around them. Some blame resides with the students who don’t like the answers the church gives, but churches have done a poor job of demonstrating for students how believers are salt and light of culture, the flavor and guide of society.
Ultimately, church and culture don’t have to be mutually exclusive. The church should be the place where students learn how to interact with the culture without being swept into it. What are some practical ways churches and parents can help stem the tide of a young adult exodus?
Continue Reading “How Parents Can Impact the Church Drop Out”
Written by Bill Wade
There are more than 250,000 college students involved in Southern Baptist churches and campus-based collegiate ministries. Of this total, more than 16,000 have indicated they feel God’s call to a full-time Christian vocation.
These future national, church, and denominational leaders must be given opportunities to develop basic leadership skills and use their spiritual gifts. Therefore, they must also have opportunities to develop basic leadership skills and use their spiritual gifts.
There are boundless opportunities for collegiates to experience such growth within your church’s student ministry. Many college students feel they live in a world in which there are few ways they can truly make a difference. As a result, many become spectators in an adult world; and we, in turn, criticize them for being lazy and uninvolved. Moreover, churches are guilty of not expecting and not challenging this emerging generation to invest in Kingdom growth. Yet, there are wise churches that have tapped into this incredible spiritual resource.
These churches have stressed the importance of college students being involved in the total life experience of the local church. They encourage students to serve in the church’s worship, children’s ministry, student ministry, outreach, and serving ministries. They urge them to be involved in teaching Sunday School and discipleship groups. This involvement helps college students define and develop their spiritual gifts and leadership abilities. These lessons in church leadership help them see where God may use them in the local church, regardless of their vocational choice.
It’s important to realize that the most [...]
Continue Reading “How College Students Can Help Your Student Ministry”
No boy is guaranteed the privilege of manhood because manhood is more than just physical maturity- it’s a vision of faith, discipline, and masculine nobility that directs life choices and shapes the boy’s core identity. Robert Lewis offers guidance and resources for fathers desiring to intentionally establish foundations for manhood into their sons.
Images of Manhood and CeremoniesI
If you doubt the power of vision, flip on your television. Look at the images of manhood. Too often you see men who never grew into manhood. They are indecisive, selfish, and altogether shallow. They run around many of the responsibilities of genuine manhood. Here’s the true reality: without an authentic vision for manhood, many adult males will spend their energies in self-serving, misguided ways.
Christian dads know what’s at stake in raising boys, and they try hard to do right. But even Christian fathers need the power of a manhood vision to guide their choices in life and to help them raise their sons to be men.
Continue Reading “Molding the Man”
There are more than 250,000 college students involved in Southern Baptist churches and campus-based collegiate ministries. Of this total, more than 16,000 have indicated they feel God’s call to a full-time Christian vocation.
These future national, church, and denominational leaders must be given opportunities to develop basic leadership skills and use their spiritual gifts. Therefore, they must also have opportunities to develop basic leadership skills and use their spiritual gifts.
There are boundless opportunities for collegiates to experience such growth within your church’s student ministry. Many college students feel they live in a world in which there are few ways they can truly make a difference. As a result, many become spectators in an adult world; and we, in turn, criticize them for being lazy and uninvolved. Moreover, churches are guilty of not expecting and not challenging this emerging generation to invest in Kingdom growth. Yet, there are wise churches that have tapped into this incredible spiritual resource.
These churches have [...]
Continue Reading “College Age Leadership for Your Student Ministry”
Every person in your church brings a variety of emotional, physical, psychological, and spiritual needs. Your college students also have a variety of needs that are specific to this season in their lives. Here is a list of life needs for students that can help guide your collegiate ministry.
· Students are seeking a place to belong.
· Many come from dysfunctional families. They seek a stable environment and people to love them.
· Continue Reading “The Needs of College Students”
At 14, a teenager can’t legally drive, purchase tobacco, or vote. But, thanks to a nation’s fixation on the sexual practices of a former president and increasingly explicit coming-of-age films like the American Pie series, oral sex is something teenagers know all about. We are raising a generation so “sexualized” that even the moral compass of many conservative Christian teens are skewed.
How Did We Get Here?
Aside from obvious cultural influences of the media and Hollywood, one main contributor to the way teens view sex education is presented in schools and in public health campaigns. With the onset of AIDS came a shift in sex-education. Programs became either “abstinence based” or presented a “safe sex” message. One-in-three high school programs are now abstinence based thus preventing educators from even addressing the risks of oral and anal sex.
It’s widely agreed among health-care professionals that in both cases, teens are interpreting “no sex” as not having vaginal intercourse, and that as long as a condom is worn or penetration is [...]
Most people know director Sam Raimi for his blockbuster Spider-Man movies—or perhaps from A Simple Plan, his underappreciated tragic tale of greed. But he first burst onto the scene in the ‘80s with the Evil Dead series—over-the-top campy horror films that were large on both gore and laughs. Well he’s come back to mine that same vein in his latest film, Drag Me to Hell
“At the moment she has to make her choice, I want the audience to make that choice with her. They sin with her.”
Most teenagers won’t be familiar with, or care about, his previous horror films; they’ll only know that this is a horror film that’s only rated PG-13.
Make no mistakes: This is not the torture-porn horror that’s (unfortunately) been so prevalent in recent years, as seen in films such as Hostel and the Saw franchise. Nor is it another American remake of a better-done Japanese horror film. Raimi’s horror makes you cringe and laugh at the same time—it’s quite a feat.
Continue Reading “Drag Me to Hell!”
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