Youth Ministry Ideas » Youth Ministry Events

Cloverton

Steve — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 04:02:50 +0000

Back on August 27th – I had the privilege of seeing Cloverton (Oh and “Like” em too on Facebook) in my home town of Muscatine, IA of all places. Most people know there hit song, “Take Me Into The Beautiful” – it’s a great song. I wanted to give a little time to recommend them to book in your community.

They were extremely passionate and real and deep – just what I think we need to expose the youth to. I was a bit surprised at their energy and rock sound that the bring in a live performance too! They were very gracious and kind and the reason that they ended up in our downtown was because of youth at a local church that wanted to bring a Christian Concert into the community!

If you never have taken some time to take in the lyrics to their song, Take Me Into The Beautiful – then do so:

Take me into the beautiful
Won’t you take me back again
With a love unexplainable
Come and fill up this dry land
Let it open our eyes
To see a world we’ve never seen
Let it open our hearts up
To feel You inside of us
You’re here inside of me

Take me into the beautiful
Where the rivers flow
Where the love that never ends
Oh I wanna go
To the beautiful
Lalalalalalala
Take me into the beautiful
Where the faces glow
Where the lights that never dim
Oh I wanna go
To the beautiful
Come on and take me again

Take me into the mystery
Gently lift me with Your grace
Make the chaos a chorus
With Yourself come fill this place
Cover me with Your mercy
Come and cover me with love
Cover me so that all might see
That it’s You not me
It is You that I am singing of

A love that’s brighter than diamonds
When I am with You
A love that always invites us
To be with you
Your love is brighter than diamonds
Now that I’m with You

15 Years of Youth Ministry Feet Washing?

JoeyPhillips — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:54:00 +0000

Years ago we did a foot washing ceremony during a short-term mission trip. It was one of the most powerful moments of the trip, and it was a power image of biblical servanthood. It quickly became a staple of our annual summer mission trip. We’ve done this ceremony yearly for nearly 15 years, and in that time we have come up with a mostly seamless process for pulling off this ceremony. This process works best with a group smaller than 20. When I have had larger groups I split into groups smaller than 20, and I place a leader in each group to begin the ceremony.

You will need:

Music. I have used a worship mix from an ipod and speakers, and I have used a live musician.
A Bible
A chair for each participant.
A plastic (waterproof) shoebox sized box for each participant
A bottle of water for each participant.
A small travel sized tube of shampoo or soap for each participant.
A small washcloth for each participant.
A bit of darkness and candles help the mood.

The set up:

I set all the chairs in a circle facing inward leaving a bit of space between each chair. Under each chair I put a shoebox sized plastic box. Inside each box I put a water bottle, shampoo or soap, and a small washcloth.

Introduction:

Before walking the teens to the place where the ceremony will be, I instruct them that this ceremony is to be done reverently and in silence. Once all are seated I grab my Bible and stand in the middle of the circle. I instruct the teens to take off their socks and shoes.

“Tonight we are going to have our foot washing ceremony. This ceremony goes back to the time of Christ, and Christians throughout the centuries have continued to do this. It would be very easy to giggle and make light of this time, but do you best to take it seriously. Also I know some of you are uncomfortable with people touching your feet, or maybe if you are like me you are ticklish. To you all I can say is suck-it-up. You will be blessed by doing so. I will wash the feet of a person in this circle. When I am finished I will give that person a hug, and they will wash someone else’s feet. This will continue until the last person washes my feet.”

Next I grab my Bible and begin reading aloud John 13:1-17

Scripture:

1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

The foot washing:

Once I have finished reading the scripture I have a leader hit play on the ipod. I put my Bible in my chair and walk to one of the youth.

I kneel in front of the youth
I pour water from their water bottle into their plastic box
I take their first foot, and I place it in the water.
I use the soap to wash their foot. I set an example to the group by washing their foot very well.
I rinse the soap off of their foot
I use the washcloth to dry their foot.
I do the same process for the second foot.

Once I am finished I stand up and hug the student. Then I sit in their chair and they go to the next teen.

When every person has had his or her feet washed the last person will wash my feet. After my feet are clean and I hug them I grab my Bible again. I stand in the middle of the group, and read John 13:12-17

John 13:12-17

“You may now leave this area. Please go in silence.”

http://thejoeyphillips.blogspot.com/

Local Youth Ministry Missions

Steve — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:11:01 +0000

Let me just start by saying that I see this as a HUGE thing for our youth today! I see this as something that can be done across the country! I may be dreaming big here, however, I wanted to give you a wonder youth ministry idea about doing a local missions trip.

Last week I participated in a local missions project in our community called REACH. We named it REACH – you could name it whatever you like.

What is REACH?

REACH is a week long local missionary experience available for participation among the local churches in the county area. The whole idea behind REACH takes on a “missions in your own back yard” approach to mission trips for youth ministries. While participating in REACH, students will be divided into crews that will work together on “hands on” projects ranging from cleaning up yards to roofing houses. At the end of each day, students will come together for a time of corporate worship, reflection, and inspiration.

With that being said I have attached a packet that you can download to see how we organized it (at the bottom). I highly recommend that you pray about this for next summer as an opportunity that you can have with your youth ministry! Start by downloading the packet and going to the website we created for it: www.REACH2010.org and just pray within your youth ministry alliance in your community.

The things I enjoyed about it:

Physical labor – im not a physical labor kind of a guy – but it was good for me and my students to learn how to “work” and see something accomplished together through a team effort.
Spiritually encouraging - at night we had worship through a live worship band and a guest speaker all week. It seemed as though those times were more intense and enjoyable as we had worked all day helping those in need and then coming together and worshiping God.
Results – We got to see our project getting completed each day. We got to see and share with the residents! It was great!
Encouragement bags – At our place where we were staying each crew had bags with each crew members name and you could write encouraging notes to each other and drop little candy gifts inside them.
Youth Ministries Coming Together – It was SO awesome to see the youth ministries coming together to get this done and I think it will actually strengthen all of our youth ministries because of it.

Here’s a video of the event we just got done last week:

Here’s a picture of my crew: (we painted this house all week long)

Below is information that you can download:

Reach 2010 Packet

Medical Release Form adult form old format

Adult Volunteer Information

Community Information

Reach 2010 Brochure

If you have any other questions you can talk or contact those that administrated the event at www.Reach2010.org

This Year’s Best Youth Ministry Conference Meet Me There

Steve — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:30:32 +0000

I’m excited to share with you about a new Youth Ministry Conference called Scribble Sessions.

I will be going to Scribble Sessions so I’m looking forward to meeting any that may also be attending this event. I believe it will be one of the best youth ministry conferences this year!

I spoke with Chris Ball who is helping to coordinate Scribble Sessions and I wanted to share with you about what it will be about. I want to apologize first because I wanted to write about this last month, but I have been swamped trying to move to my new position in Poteau, Oklahoma so I’m just now getting to it.

This is straight from Chris Ball:

I have been doing youth ministry for ten years now. Over the past ten years, I have been to plenty of the big youth ministry shows. I have seen the crowds, the lights, and I have heard the redneck jokes. All great stuff, but it’s a new day. Please let me explain why we are doing Scribble:

1. We are living in a recession and many churches are cutting back on their conference budgets. We want to offer a quality affordable one day experience for youth ministers.

2. Scribble is about Jesus and great ideas. Students are processing information at an alarming rate. Much of it is done through networking and a more concentrated focus on information. Look at Myspace vs. Facebook vs. Twitter. It’s getting smaller and faster not fatter and louder. Scribble is about deflating the four day conference and getting down to the nuts and bolts of key youth ministry ideas. Scribble will offer 8 great ideas from 8 great youth ministry minds in one day.

3. We have an unbelievable speaking lineup. We have been really blessed to have guys jump in who want to speak into the lives of youth ministers. They all come from different arenas of life and they may even disagree on certain issues but we know they all have something important to say and a deep passion to see students connect deeply to Jesus.

4. Louisville is a perfect location. It is less than three hours from Cincinnati, Nashville, and Indianapolis. Afterwards you can stop by 4th Street and have a look around, hang at Waterfront park, catch a Bats game, or check out the Louisville Slugger Museum.

5. Ultimately we love Jesus and want to serve the church. Over the years I have been honored to link arms with other guys whose blood, sweat, and tears go into youth ministry. It is a world few people understand. For one day, we don’t want to link arms with you, we want to lift your arms up and pour into you. We appreciate you and are praying for you. We are also looking forward to scribbling with you.

See you in October,

Chris Ball

The Event is coming very quickly (again apologize on the lateness, but it’s not too late to register) October 9th is the day of the event and it’s held at Northside Christian Church Louisville, Kentucky. The cost of the conference is $129.

See you there!

Here are the 8 Youth Ministry Minds:


		Duffy Robbins is a twenty-seven year veteran of youth ministry, having gained extensive experience as a youth minister in both para-church and local parish positions. He currently is an associate staff member at Youth Specialities, speaking across the country at many gatherings for youth. Duffy is the author of numerous books, as well as curriculum for youth ministers around the world.


		Steve Argue is the Life Development Director at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI. His role involves thinking through formation development children and student ministries. In addition, he also teaches youth ministry at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary; and is the co-founder of Intersect, a non-profit dedicated to innovative training and consulting for emerging leaders.


		Joe Myers is a multiprenuer, interventionist, conversationalist, author, and thinker. He has spent the last several years in study and research discovering how language influences community development. His consulting firm, FrontPorch, specializes in creating conversations that promote and develop community. He is a founding partner of a communication arts group, settingPace; and the President of the Board for BLOC Ministries.


		Michael Novelli has invested more than 15 years leading youth ministries and serving youth workers. Michael develops interactive curriculum and events to help students, educators and youth workers learn in new ways. Michael has written numerous resources, including the book, “Shaped by the Story: Helping Students Encouter God in a New Way”, recently released by Youth Specialties/Zondervan.


		Braun Brown and Rob Thomas created the characters, Johnny and Chachi, for their church family camp and have continued to create videos and perform live with the characters. Rob (Johnny) is the president of RT Productions, Inc. This company includes Igniter Media, WorshipHouse Media, COLLIDE Magazine, and the ECHO Conference. Braun (Chachi) is the Student Ministry Director at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas.


		Bob Russell is an accomplished author and retired pastor. At just twenty-two years of age, Bob became the pastor of Southeast Christian Church. Today that small congregation of 120 members has become one of the largest churches in America, with 18,000 people attending the three worship services every weekend. Bob retired from Southeast in June 2006.


		Matt Reagan is the Student Ministry Pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. He’s been in youth ministry for over 10 years, with the passion to “awaken a generation to the glory of God.” He’s a creative visionary and thinker. He’s been involved in leadership and spoken at several CIY (Christ in Youth) conferences.


		Jon McCallon is on the student ministry team at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. For the last 10 years Jon has been grabbing hold of “light bulb” moments in student ministry: the moments where students, parents and/or volunteers may finally say “aha” to an idea or action God is calling them to. He primarily works with programming and pastoring junior high students.


		Chad Rehnberg is on the student ministry team at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. He’s passionate about reaching urban communities, and continually learning how to develop urban and suburban partnerships that will change and benefit both communities. A husband and father of 4, his family is located in the west end of Louisville–a very unreached area of the city. His mission field is with his neighbors, as well as the east end, where he desires to show others that money doesn’t negate your need for God.

Persecuted Church, Prayer, and Worship Night

Steve — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:07:28 +0000

Last week for our youth ministry we did a persecuted church, prayer, and worship night. It was awesome!

Here’s what we did so that I can share the idea with you:

We estimated the size of the group that was showing up and picked a small room to squeeze everyone in close together.
We had candles for the students to hold and a sheet of paper with songs on it for them to follow.
We opened in prayer, watched a voice of the martyrs film about Christians being hurt for their faith and how they have to have secret meetings in order to worship Jesus.
Music was led with an acoustic guitar (unplugged).

Things to work on:

Schedule out every minute – make sure that you have an order that you are following and think through the transitions that you want to take place for example: from praying to singing, to watching a video clip, testimony or whatever you line up.
Have the music sheets ready and printed up for students to follow along. I thought it was much more effective not using a projector for the words of the songs for this particular event.
Run through the activity before hand with the person leading the worship and all those involved in the leadership to see if everything is transitioning smoothly.
Pray that God would work on hearts. Pray that the Lord would use the event to spur students to a deeper commitment to Him, getting involved in missions, or simply praying more for the Christians that don’t have the freedom that we do in the united states.

Go here for a sample of a concert of prayer outline.

Has anyone done something like this? How has it worked for your youth ministry? What are some other variations?