Celebrate the Graduation Milestone

Jeff on June 9th, 2009

Graduations are milestones that cry out for recognition and celebration. Select a group of parents to help you plan and coordinate a graduation service to honor and recognize your graduates. Here are some suggestions for celebrating end-of-school graduations in your worship service.

Preparation for a graduation celebration needs to begin as soon as possible. Those most qualified to help with the planning are youth leaders, along with designated staff members.

The type of worship experience will demand research and creativity on the part of leaders and students. Materials used should not be expensive or difficult to acquire.

Organization

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Cultivate a Strong Relationship with Your Pastor

Jeff on June 8th, 2009

Whether you have been a staff member for a short time or for more years than you care to count, you already know that getting along with your pastor can be trying. Maybe you serve with a pastor who has not expressed his expectations. Maybe because he has not or cannot express his expectations, the two of you are at a loggerhead. Having been on both sides of the fence, I think I can help. 

It’s All About the Team
Whether on a professional football team or a church staff, the quickest way to create problems is to be a grandstander. By the nature of student ministry, it is easy to create a church within a church. Most student ministers are gregarious and can easily draw a crowd of students. They also generally have great influence over the attitudes of both students and their parents. This precious influence must never be used to create and “our church/their church” mentality. The church is a single organism growing toward one goal, which the pastor must set, with the Holy Spirit’s leading. The growth must express itself in multiple ways, but is must always be toward [...]

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10 Ways to Minister to a Fatherless Generation

Jeff on June 7th, 2009

“Who’s your daddy?” can be one of those funny little sayings that students say to each other as a way of giving someone a hard time or picking on them. Today, unfortunately, it is a legitimate question for too many students in our culture. Sometimes called “millenials”, “boomer echo”, and the “Y generation,” many students in this generation have no father present in their lives.

Church leaders have an obligation to step in and not only offer training for men and fathers, but to provide living, breathing surrogates that will be willing to step in and make a difference in the life of a fatherless child. Here are some suggestions on how your church and student ministry can make an impact on those who are fatherless.

1. Accept the fact that you have fatherless students in and around your ministry.

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The Impact of Hispanic Culture on Student Ministry

Jeff on June 2nd, 2009

Businesses have figured out that the Hispanic buying power represents a new market opportunity. They are developing new strategies, products, marketing messages, and hiring Hispanic personnel to help encourage Hispanics to visit their stores or to purchase their products. Businesses have looked at a growing market and have determined to have a strategy to meet the needs of the Hispanics.

One in seven persons in the USA is Hispanic. In 2006, 90 percent of the students in the Fort Worth independent school district were Hispanic. There are now 200 Hispanic national magazines, more than three hundred local Hispanic newspapers, and continued growth in Hispanic radio, television, and cable stations in the US. Hispanics represent a growing group of people who need to hear the message of Jesus Christ. Our student ministries must be ready to respond to the need of Hispanics in our communities.

What Do I Need to Know about Hispanic Students?
Three groupings represent Hispanic youth. First-generation Hispanic youth were born or have parents who were born in another [...]

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Fun on the Run: 7 Ways to Take Back Your Schedule this Year

Jeff on June 1st, 2009

Fun on the Run: 7 Ways to Take Back Your Schedule this Year

By prioritizing, your family can have fun without feeling they always are rushing from activity to activity. After all, running should be part of the fun, not the way you get there. 

Consider these family friendly principles for prioritizing your schedule.
 
1. Family Mealtimes
How often do you choose fast food because you have not planned ahead? Plan ahead which evenings will be restaurant or drive-through evenings and which will be cook-at-home nights. Stick to the plan.
 
2. Downtime.
Without downtime, you will burn out quickly. God did not create people (including children) to be on the go nonstop. Plan time to be at home without structured activities or responsibilities. Refresh, recharge, and get reacquainted with those you love.
 
3. Church Activities
Stay involved in worship and Sunday School. Pray about which other church activities will best help your family grow in their relationship to Christ.
 
4. School and Community Activities
Consider a reasonable amount of involvement for community and school activities. Many parents of young children find that one extracurricular activity at a time per child is a good limit.
 
5. Family Outings

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How Parents Can Impact the Church Drop Out

Jeff on May 27th, 2009

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 [...]

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Ministering to the Military

Jeff on May 25th, 2009

Written by John S. Powers

As a boy growing up on the rich farming soil found in the hills of East Tennessee, I was intrigued by thoughts of being in the military. Several of my relatives served with great pride in various branches of service. My father served in World War II in Europe. Over the years, I have listened intently as my dad weaves his military experience through various stories.

When my father was drafted in the early 1940s he was forced to leave a good paying job to fulfill his military duty. For someone who had grown up during the Depression, and had often been unable to purchase what he needed even when he had money, leaving a job was just the first of the memories created by his years in the military. Stories about his bouts of loneliness, fears, anxieties, and antics were so vivid that one could brush them away like a butterfly.

Upon reflection, it is [...]

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Fellowship That Rejuvenates

Jeff on May 22nd, 2009

One of the things God longs for is fellowship with His children. Not the “in-passing” kind of fellowship but the “sit-down-and-enjoy-one-another” kind of fellowship. In fellowship, we discover that one of the other ways we get to know Him better is by getting to know other Christ followers better as well. Students are good at this kind of fellowship relationship. They seem naturally to gravitate to their peers who are like-minded.

Have you ever thought about how fellowship is like rain? The right amount of rain brings life and refreshment. Spring is the time the earth longs for rain so that seeds can begin to sprout and grow. In a similar way, Christ followers long for the fellowship with the Father and His children. Fellowship helps believers grow and sprout spiritually.

We all experience times in our spiritual lives when things click along at a good pace; then suddenly we find ourselves in a slump. Maybe the slump is a lack of spiritual vitality. The remedy may include more intentional, consistent time with the Father through prayer and Bible study. It may [...]

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Life Lessons in Losing!

Jeff on May 20th, 2009

Every competitor would choose the thrill of the victory over the agony of defeat. But the reality of life is that one team or person wins, while the other has to lose. A parent has to help teens navigate the wins and losses in life and see that playing the game is about more than winning.  

Parents can help their teens see the benefits of playing a sport and setting personal goals. Student athletes learn to manage time by attending practice and still getting their homework done. Sports participation can also provide an “appropriate” vent for teen stresses in a controlled setting. Teens can also develop exercise habits that can be carried throughout their lives. Losing also opens the door for character development.

Strategies

Losing is rarely fun, and it’s never easy. Here are some strategies that can help your family deal with losses in a positive manner.

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How to Get Your Student Leaders Crunk

Jeff on May 19th, 2009

As a full-time Youth Pastor, one of the most enjoyable pieces of ministry was watching students emerge as leaders. I looked forward to investing in the lives of a key group of students who then became motivators of spiritual and numerical growth in our student ministry. 

There are some things to consider before building your student leadership group. First, be careful in how you select your group. You don’t want to exclude a quiet student who really would emerge as a leader if just given the chance. I would suggest that you ask all students to indicate their interest in being on a leadership team. Allow students from all grades to be on the team.

Ask students to complete a leadership team application to reveal a little about their personal relationship with the Lord and their desire to be a student leader. You can design your application to reflect your desires for your group. You might ask the students to make a personal commitment to things such as the following: attendance at Bible study and youth activities, a personal daily quiet time with God, [...]

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