Youth Ministry Ideas » youth ministry pastors

How To Get Your Youth Ministry Students To Connect With You

Steve — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:34:30 +0000

This picture was from a youth ministry where we had a Friday Night connect time called: Chill Time

One of the things that I have come to realize is that of getting your youth ministry students to connect with you as their leader. This is important so that when you move them towards being active with some type of event or activity that you would like for them to do – they are more likely to do it and respond to you.

So how do we get them to connect with us?

I watched a video about marketing recently and in this video the guy speaking talked about how great companies always had a face to connect people with. When you think of Apple you thought of Steve Jobs, Facebook – Mark Zuckerberg, Christianity – Jesus. This was a pretty extensive study and we are wired to follow and connect with people so that is why Facebook and Twitter are so popular because people are interested in people and not organizations.

I have heard many times, and admittedly myself, that people like Jesus but not the church. Jesus knew that he had to invest and picked his disciples to “follow” him. And in the same way we need to connect with students to help them follow us so that we can speak truth into their lives.

It all comes down to this: Spend Time With Them

Duh right? But seriously, how much real time are you “spending with them” outside of the up in front of them thing? Create times of recreation where students can see you in action. Where they can see you laugh and run and play and allow them to peer into your life. A lot of youth ministry leaders get a lot of crap for having “fun” events and actvities for students, but its because they don’t understand that you need to connect with them and get them to a place where they want to follow you.

The best time to do this is right at the beginning of your ministry job but can be built upon if you have been there awhile already. We get too wrapped up in administrative stuff that others could be doing for us and we need to hand that stuff off as much as possible.

So much of being effective comes down to relationship. When I feel like I have failed it was due to lack of relationships with people. So get active and create times of relationship building. Build bridges don’t destroy them. Explain this part of your philosophy of youth ministry to your leadership so that they get it.

What kinds of connection activities are working for you?

Youth Ministry Wednesday Night Recaps

Steve — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:52:17 +0000

Last night I decided to ask a simple What did you do? question on Youth Ministry Ideas Facebook last night and below is some of the interaction. You can read more by visiting the Facebook page. So I will do a Wednesday night re-cap session and discussion on Wednesday evenings. I may make it a live chat session or just commenting on the post. The live chat can be set up so that you can chat at any time with other youth leaders you just have to let them know but it’s better to schedule a time for it soooo: Scheduled time for Wednesday night re-cap idea sharing will be Wednesdays beginning at 8:30pm Central Time November 2nd and will continue as long as you want – yes even if im not participating – lol.

New Movie Divided asks, “Is Modern Youth Ministry Biblical?”

elicork2 — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:01:12 +0000

A controversial new film, titled “Divided”, is stirring up youth ministers across the continent. “Divided” seeks to find the solution to the problem within modern youth ministry. In it’s 54 minutes of interviews, it boldly concludes the there isn’t just a problem within modern youth ministry; the problem is modern youth ministry. Personally, this has got my conscience stirring.

According to the movie’s website, Phil Leclerc is on a journey to discover why modern youth ministry is failing. In documentary style, he interviews youth, youth ministers, and pastors. With much research he learns the shocking answer: “modern youth ministry is not founded upon the Word of God but upon the ideas of men.” This, Divided claims, is why 80% of youth kids leave the Church when they become adults.

Divided has a sobering message: Modern youth ministry is not Biblical. If it’s message line up with Scripture, then the implications are extreme for the Church and it’s youth ministers. How extreme? If very idea of what we consider to be youth ministry is not ordained by God, then we have been violating God’s law! It is apparent that we have been following man’s wisdom instead of God’s. Therefore, repentance would be in order. Then a total shift would take place in the format and methodology of properly ministering to youth. That’s the very thing Divided is calling for.

The message of Divided is not one of hopelessness and finger-pointing. The men of the interviews give us this solution: “Conformity to the Scriptures… [is the key] to rescuing youth.” Deuteronomy 6, Psalm 78, Ephesians 6, and others are offered to support this forgotten model of youth ministry. In these passages we read that the duty of instructing children is the parents responsibility. Thus, this gives youth Pastors a new job. No, youth ministers will not be unemployed. Instead, they may find it s fitting position to come alongside parents to disciple their children, as entire families worship and learn together. The short film hopes that this simple solution will bring change to today’s Church.

I Highly recommend that everyone watches this brief documentary. It can be viewed in it’s entirety (until Sept. 15, 2011)www.dividedthemovie.com.

Please consider the integrity of this film. Ponder it’s controversial message. And, of course, look to the Scriptures for verification.

Do you agree/disagree with Divided? Why/Why not? Is it’s message accurate, helpful, harmful, or heretic?

I encourage you to comment and discuss this important movie.

Eli Cork

3 Questions That Will Inspire Discussion

mikequery — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:55:04 +0000

In my time as a youth ministry leader, I’ve lead many Bible discussion groups for high school aged kids in the Bay Area. Most of them have been fun and engaging, but many have been dull, lifeless, and uninspiring. I’ve learned a lot from those not so great sessions, and what I’ve come to realize is that inspiring teens to want to learn about God means you really have to speak to the heart.A teenager’s life is filled with insecurity (how do I look to my friends?), fear (I don’t know if I’m going to make the team!) and worry (so much homework…), so they want to hear something that will speak to what they’re going through. Also, the word needs to be packaged in a way that is attractive to them. Consider Jesus’ approach to teaching:

This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

Matthew 13:13 (NIV)

Jesus realized that people needed illustration and animated discussion to get points accross. Unless we’re in a lecture hall that we paid thousands of dollars to sit in, we all need stimulation to understand deeper insights.

The following are 3 questions that should help stir discussion in your smaller groups (6-12 kids). A good approach to take would be to open with a question, engage in conversations with several kids giving answers, before looking at a scripture that relates to the topic, or an issue that relates to the questoin.

1. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

This is a great question because the answers will almost certainly be up the wall. It’s usually not a bad idea to ask the question, then open with your own crazy story to give teens the time to think of their own. Don’t be afraid to set the bar high with some wackiness…just make sure it’s not too outlandish.

The spiritual concept you’d want to drive here is that your true self comes out in crazy situations. It isn’t always negative…sometimes crazy stories illuminate instances of courage or love. Try looking for scriptures that talk about being real.

2. What is the hardest thing to talk to parents about?

Parents will always, always be a sensitive and emotional issue for teens. One thing to be wary about going into a time with teens is to get an idea of the backgrounds of some kids in the group, so you can be sensitive to their tougher situations. For example, this may not be a good question for a group that largely consists of kids from broken homes.

Scriptures that talk about love, honesty, and being freed up from guilt would be good for this question after 10-15 minutes of discussion. James 5:16 comes to mind, which talks about getting things out on the table in order to feel refreshed.

3. What do you look for most in a friend?

A goal everyone should always have is how to be more loving. In high school, teens are constantly plagued with insecurity, and are always wondering what people are thinking of them. Getting a group together and talking about great qualities will inadvertedly encourage everyone when they start seeing ways they’ve exhibited them already, and how there can be hope for a confident and secure high school life.

Scriptures about loving one another would be great to bring up here. John 13:34 is a great passage that talks about how taking the initiative to love will actually attract people to you. The best way to get friends (which everyone in high school wants more than anything) is to be active in loving people. You could also look at 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, which talks about changing yourself to win people over.

Mike Query is a web dude for http://www.bacc.cc and contributes to various Christian, technology and community service blogs.

Ideas Take Inspiration, Where I Found Mine.

nheyboer — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:35:04 +0000

We are all inspiration seekers.

In youth ministry we seek to inspire the youth in our communities. We seek to inspire for God. How creative can I be? How long can we walk that culturally relevant tight rope? Can we make cooler logos and use “artsy’er” PowerPoint backgrounds? We seek to inspire.

There isn’t anything inherently wrong with creativity, cultural relevance, logos or artsy graphics—truth be told the ministry I lead is saturated with that list—but all too often those things can place the pressure of inspiration solely on us. You may ask. “What’s wrong with that?”

When we seek to inspire for God, when we take on all that pressure, we are essentially swallowing a little red pill called Control. We love the illusion of having control and the power that ultimately lies in God’s hands.

So how do we combat the pill? I suggest we take the time to lower our guards and experience God through our students.

This past winter our ministry took 50 Junior High students to Spring Hill Camps in Evart, MI for our winter retreat. Spring Hill puts on superb winter retreats for Jr and Sr High groups providing hours upon hours of excitement with snowboarding, sledding, euro bungee, indoor pool, coffee shops, caffeine, more caffeine, the list goes on. In fact, the fun side of the retreat is the selling point for most students—and leaders—who attend with our group. Every day of the retreat there are 2-3 camp-wide worship and lesson sessions that simulate a youth group or church service. This is when students rock out with a live band leading worship in a style that electrifies campers. It’s loud… it’s crazy; there is a lot of running, screaming, smelly bodies bumping into one another and exposing their rancid pits with arms raised to the heavens. This is not the time to touch base with another person one on one; there is zero chance of audibly communicating with anyone because of the deafening volume of the music and crowd. It’s youth ministry paradise.

Yet, she heard it.

I look over at a cluster of students who came with our group and they are all smiling and shouting with joy… well, all of them but one. Let’s call this student Melissa. She’s crying. Standing amidst this joy she is showing sorrow; or so I thought. In situations like this I typically get the attention of one of our female leaders and direct them over to a student like Melissa, but not this time. I darted over to Melissa and her tear drenched face asking what was wrong. Not atypical of a 13 year old she glanced up at me and mouthed, “Nothing.” But it wasn’t her somewhat audible response that shocked me… it was her expression. She was smiling. Grinning ear to ear. Surely Melissa sensed my confusion—as it undoubtedly was visible now by my expression—she pulled my shoulder down, stood on her tippy toes, and said into my ear, “I just heard God’s voice. He told me he loves me. I heard God said, ‘I love you’.”

I smiled at her, mouthed the words, “He certainly does,” and walked out of the auditorium into the gathering area to be by myself for a moment. My eyes filled with tears; I had a hard time composing myself.

I wasn’t emotional because God showed up: he always does.

I wasn’t emotional because a student of mine encountered God: that’s our ministries Goal, we are somewhat prepared for that.

I was emotional because God showed Melissa who He is in that moment. He spoke who He is to a 13 year old girl at a retreat that is 75% fun. He inspired a little girl in an unexpected moment… because she was seeking.

And He inspired me… a measly youth pastor who prays he is serving the Kingdom properly. A measly youth pastor who needed to hear those words because life and ministry were wearing me out. I had popped the pressure of control pill in the prior months and I needed to hear from my Father that He loves me. God spoke to me, though a student. He inspired me, through a student.

While I aim to inspire students, while the camp aimed to inspire students, God ended up inspiring at least one student and her youth pastor with three little words, “I love you.”

It’s too easy for those of us who lead ministries to get caught up in inspiring others, creativity, cultural relevance, and the like. I encourage you to seek God in your students. You may be amazed at what you find.

Nate Heyboer

Director of Junior High Ministries

Community Church, MI