Youth Ministry Tool Box

What is Right? Part 2

2009-10-02T16:20:00.002-05:00

After closing the last lesson, I showed this video as well. I used this as an example of "What is Always Right." Way to go Beyonce. She remembered what it was like for her when she was Taylor's age, and had the courage to act. She saw a wrong and she "righted" it.

2009-10-02T16:10:00.002-05:00

This video is a perfect example of someone who is WRONG. The way I used this video was for a lesson I entitled "What is Right"

Opening: Have youth shout out things they believe to be "Always Right" Do not critique or discuss, just write them down on a big sheet of paper, or into power point. Next have youth do the same with things they believe to be "Always wrong"

Go through each list and discuss if there are any that need to be taken off the list because they do not fall into the "Always" category. Narrow the list as the group decides.

I then got the youth into small groups. Each was given a scenario and were to decide "What was right." One example was recently Oregon University football player LeGarret Blount punched an opponent after a game. I showed the video from the tv coverage and asked them based on what they saw, what was the right thing to do (suspend him, have him apologize, etc.)

I ended with this video as an example of "Always wrong." I thought it summarized how I feel about something that is so wrong, it cannot be excused. Kanye West steps on stage and steps on Taylor Swift's heart.

Discuss:

Why is what he did wrong?

Where do you get your sense of right and wrong?

How do you decide what is right in a given situation?

Select scripture that applies based on your youth.

I ended explaining that even if Kanye's opinion was right (which is debatable), even if Beyonce did have the best video of all time, he was still wrong. You can be right, and still be wrong.

I had the youth flesh that out for a while and then I closed in prayer (because they were all too whimpy to pray! I would love some suggestions on changing that!)

David Robinson Teaches Us - It's Not About Us.

2009-09-23T10:31:00.003-05:00

I am not a big NBA fan. In fact, I usually only watch the playoffs. And typically I am reading the paper or facebooking while the game is on, so I am not even totally interested then either. Although I am not an NBA fan, I am a fan of an athlete that uses the stage their achievements provide them with to show appreciation and thanks to God and the people God has placed in their lives.

That is exactly what David Robinson recently did during the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. He used the spotlight to turn the spotlight around on his family and friends, and to turn the spotlight upward to God. While Michael Jordan used his 30 minutes to tell the world what we already know, that he is the best basketball player ever, David who was given only 7 minutes, told us something we may know, but certainly need to be reminded of. First, it is not about us. Second, we need to always be thankful

I have heard the parable of the ten lepers preached on dozens of times. Every time the focus has been on the 9 that did not return. The sermons have been about how ungrateful we are towards God and how we are always wrapped up in ourselves. David shifts that to draw focus to the one who was thankful. David is the one.

Thank you David for an inspiring message and a wonderful reminder to be thankful. Thank you God, for creating such a Godly man who used the platform you provided him to recognize Your presence and power in his life and in all our lives. The old commercials may say "I want to be like Mike." No disrespect MJ, but "I want to be like David."

Another awesome place for FREE resources

2009-08-10T15:02:00.001-05:00

LifeChurch.tv broke the mold when they decided to make all their media and creative work available for free at http://open.lifechurch.tv Now, thousands of churches are reusing LifeChurch.tv’s media.

Check out their site for videos, small group discussions, talks, series, and more. Pretty awesome and it's all FREE!

Make your own animated videos - for free!

2009-08-08T10:06:00.003-05:00

Hey. I wanted to tell you about a cool website I have found. www.xtranormal.com. This site allows you to create your own animated movies. Best of all it is free. In the free mode, you can choose up to 2 characters, 5 camera angles, and a couple of dozen animations such as hand gestures, facial expressions, and even dance moves. You simply type in the text and drag in the animations that you want. The program does the rest.

I made a couple of "announcement" videos for my ministry and a fun one with my kids to tell their "mamaw" and "Grandad" that they love them.

Lots of fun and easy to use.

You can upgrade for a fee of about $30 that gives you a lot more characters and animations. Check it out and have fun!

Traveling - Be back soon!

2009-06-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

Hey. I am traveling for the next two weeks or so. I am attending DCLA in Los Angeles, then off to a lead a student leadership camp in Pennsylvania. Finally, I will meet up with my family for a vacation. I'll be posting some more ideas for youth ministry in a couple of weeks.
HANK

More Two Minute Fillers!

2009-06-18T13:27:00.003-05:00

Here are some more ideas for the next time you forgot to turn the projector on and have to wait on it to warm up, or the guest speaker is running a few minutes late. These saviors can keep the youth engaged until everything falls back into place.

1) Talk for a Minute Version 1: Invite 3 youth to come up front. Ask the audience to offer up three separate subjects that someone might want to talk or hear about. Make sure they are rather general such as Major League Baseball, Camping, Best movies of the summer, etc. Once you have 3 subjects, have youth select which categories they will each speak on. You could have them choose in order according to age, whose birthday is closest to today, or some other easy way to establish an order. One by one, youth attempt to speak on that subject for exactly one minute. Have someone time each of them. The youth begins to speak. Once they feel they have spoken for exactly one minute, they stop. The timekeeper records the time, but does not reveal how long it was, which would give the next youth an advantage. The youth who spoke the closest to one minute wins. The fun in this comes mostly from what they youth say. Sometimes they will get a subjec they know well, while other times they know nothing about the topic. Either way can be funny.

2) Talk for a Minute Version 2: Ask for a volunteer. Get three ideas for topics on which this person will speak. The youth gets to choose from one of the three topics. The object is for the youth to speak for exactly one minute without pausing or using filler words such as "uh", "um", etc. Have one person time the contestant. Another person is equipped with a small water gun (not a super soaker). Everytime the volunteer pauses or uses a filler word, the person squirts them with the water gun. The fun comes from the fact that the youth almost always begins speaking very quickly an often runs out of things to say so they begin making up random information to keep from being shot. Then of course, when they do get shot, it is funny. For an added surprise, have the speaker and water gun person switch roles for round 2.

3) Card Trick: This is a very simple way to keep youth engaged for a few minutes. Learn a few simple card tricks. There are many books teaching how to do this. There are even videos on http://www.youtube.com/ that show you how to master simple tricks. Keep a deck of cards handy and break them out when you need to fill a few minutes. You can even teach the trick to the group after you perform it a few times. They will love learning something to show off at school the next day.

4) Mind Reader: This is a very difficult looking trick, that is actually very easy. All that is needed is one person who is clued in to how the game works and a stick or broomhandle. Ask the person who knows how the trick works to step outside the room. Send a volunteer out with them to verify they are not listening in. Ask the crowd for a word that you will convey to the other person through mind reading. Bring the person back in once you have settled on a word. The trick works like this...

Begin swirling the stick on the ground. Make random patterns, some big some small. This will draw the youth's attention to the drawing, which has nothing to do with the trick.

The word is given to the other person by simple spelling.

The first letter of every statement you make is a consonant.

To spell vowels, tap the stick on the ground to represent vowels. 1 tap = A, 2=E, 3=I, 4=O, 5=U

Do lots of swirling and pausing in between.

For example, let's say the word is B-U-R-N

Swirl the stick.

Say "Be careful to pay attention so you will get this word."

Swirl the stick.

Tap the stick 5 times

Say "Really concentrate so you can zone in on my brain waves."

Swirl

Say "Now, tell us what the word is."

Works every time.

After a few times a youth or two may figure out how it works. Swear them to secrecy and invite them to guess a word.

Okay, Have Fun!

Two Minute Saviors!

2009-06-10T08:34:00.003-05:00

If you have been in ministry more than a week, you have encountered a minor mishap or two during your programming time. You forgot to turn the porjector on for the video and have to wait for it to warm up. The youth who are leading a skit are still getting dressed in the other room when it is time for them to be on stage. You left all the pencils in your office!

I can't count how many times I have stood awkwardly at the front of the room waiting on things like these. I decided I needed to keep a few things on hand to fill up two minutes. First, this keeps me from feeling awkward. Second, it keeps the youth engaged so they do not check out of what is going on to text friends, go get a drink from the soda machine, or one of a million other activities that will take away from the purpose of the gathering.

Having a few activities that require little to no supplies that can take up 2 minutes or so, has been a huge help in my ministry over the years. I hope it will be a help for you as well.

Here are 5 ideas. I'll post 5 more soon.

1) TOY BOAT: Invite 3-5 volunteers to come up front. Ask them one at a time to attempt to say the words "toy boat" 10 times as fast as they can. Can't figure out why this is fun? Try it. You can also use the words "bad blood" for another fun effect.

2) Sit Down If... Have everyone stand up. Tell them that you are going to make a statement. If that statement applies to them, they must sit down. The last person standing wins. (prizes optional). Keep the categories fun, light, and non-threatening.
Sit Down if...
you are wearing flip flops.
you have not taken a shower today.
your birthday is in July.
you use a red toothbrush.
you have ever been to Hawaii.
you can run a mile in under 6 minutes.
you are texting someone right now.
you are a boy.

3) Beach Ball Volley. Keep a beach ball handy. (deflated is okay, if you can blow the ball up quickly) Tell the youth the object is to keep the ball from hitting the ground. Throw it into the crowd and have them hit the ball in the air. All people must keep their rear ends on the ground. For an added challenge select 2-3 people to be traitors. Their job is to try to mess the other players up.

4) Basketball Hoop Necklace. This is a fun prop game. Buy a simple nerf hoop, or a more sturdy hoop) Add rope to it to make a necklace. Have a few nerf balls that will fit into the hoop. Have a volunteer stand up front and wear the hoop. Have two other youth serve as rebounders. Other youth try to shoot as many balls in the hoop as possible in 30 seconds. All shooters must keep their rear ends on the ground. Rebounders toss balls back out to the crowd as quickly as possible. For added fun, divide the group into two teams and play boys vs. girls, Junior High vs. Senior high, etc. For a less active version, toss one ball out to selected youth and have only one person shoot at a time.

5) Line Charades. Have 5-6 volunteers come up front. Have them line up front to back facing sideways. You get in the back of the line. You act out an action. This should be something readily recognizable, but have at least 3 steps in it. You tap the person in front of you o nthe shoulder. This person turns around and watches you charade your action. This person then taps the person in front of them who turns around and watches them act out your action as best as they can. The game continues as a kind of visual "phone game." (the old game where you said something and whispered it in the ear of the person next to you and on and on.) The last person then acts out the action for the crowd to see how well the action was communicated through the line of people.
Possible actions:
Serving a tennis ball.
Getting ready for bed - brush teeth, floss, rinse, wash face.
Shooting a bow and arrow.
Make up your own.

Graduates Give Back

2009-05-22T09:11:00.002-05:00

In the last post, I shared some ideas about gifts to give to graduates. In this post, I would like to share about graduates giving back and leaving a mark on the ministry.
I inherited a tradition when I came to my first youth ministry job 14 years ago. Each year on the summer trip to Florida, the recently graduated seniors would make awards for the rest of the youth in attendance on the trip. They would stay up all night to come up with clever names such as "Beach Babe Award" and "Most Friendly." Each youth would receive an award made from construction paper and stickers.
As the years wore on, this the awards got the be clever and frankly, less appropriate. It got to the point where I asked to review each award before the ceremony since some awards had actually begun to cause hurt feelings among the recipients. Also, as the years passed, attendance on the trip grew, making it more and more difficult for the graduates to complete the task in one night. Moreso, the graduates didn't know the youth as well, so the awards became more impersonal. Finally, the schedule for this trip changed, making it difficult to offer the needed time for the presentation to happen before we needed to get on the buses and retun home.
I decided to put a stop to the tradition. The two mistakes I made were first, I did not let the graduates know until we were already on the trip. They were surprised. Second, I did not include them in the decision or let them in on the "why's" of the decision beforehand. They were hurt by this.
We had one year of rough transition. Then the next year the graduates really stepped it up. Because they had an entire year to plan what they wanted to do instead of awards on the Florida trip they were able to think creatively and have plenty of time to plan and put together their gift to the youth group.
They decided to give two gifts. First, each senior picked a song that they felt most described their faith and/or their experience in youth group. They put each of these songs onto a cd. Along with the cd each senior wrote a small testimony as to why they picked that song. They then burned copies of the cd for each youth in the youth group. Second, they held a car wash to raise money for a gift to the youth area. We had just renovated our youth lounge. It was really nice. The additional space we had was great, but needed some furniture. The youth raised over $500 at their car wash. With that money, they bought two really nice foutons for the lounge.
Not only were these great gifts that honored the youth and showed them how much the seniors cared for them, but the senior themselves felt empowered. They came to the realization the youth minstry was not all about them. It was about giving and serving others.
Encourage your graduates to give back. Yes, it is important to recognize them and give them a gift to honor them. Along with this, don't forget to give them the opportunity to give back. No doubt, they will come up with something that far surpasses your expectations.

Graduation Gifts

2009-05-18T09:57:00.002-05:00

Wow, I am really embarrased about this picture. Braided belt, white jean shorts, and socks with topsiders. This picture is from my first day at college. Yep, my dad drove me since I did not have a car.

There must be a good reason for me to post such an embarrasing picture. There is. It is graduation season, and soon many of the seniors in your youth ministry will find themselves posing for a similar picture, in their dorm room their first day on campus.

I have always struggled with what to give seniors or do for seniors to recognize and honor them before they go off to school. Below I share some of my journey in trying to send them off from the youth ministry in such a way as they feel loved and valued. Let me know what you think...

I used to do the typical that now I really consider to be the bare minimum. I scheduled a Sunday with the preacher to have the seniors stand and be recognized. I drove to the Christian bookstore the Friday before and bought whatever Graduation book was available. Sunday morning, the seniors came to the front where I presented each of them with the book and we sent them off with a round of applause. Two or three books were left behind at the church each year and most or all of the rest of them were no doubt left on the floor of their old room without ever being opened.

I decided it was time for a shift. To honor the seniors and make them feel loved, I needed to give them something personal not educational. Here are some of the things I tried over the next few years.

Dollar Store Extravaganza: Of course, we were always on a limited budget, so this made perfect sense. And I was amazed at what you can get for a dollar. I picked out a container for each senior. I used everything from baskets, to bags, to big straw hats. I picked something I thought fit their personality. Some of the gifts were standard that I thought all College freshman could use: Bag clips, pizza cutter, laundry bag, toothpaste, etc. The rest of the gifts were fun and catered to each individual person. The dollar store offered endless opportunities. The seniors really apprciated the time and thought that was put into these. It was fun for me as well.

Memories: It is always good to include an item that the senior can take with them to remember back to these wonderful days. College can be a struggle and homesickness can be very real for some. Having an item around to remember they are loved and supported are important. PHOTO ALBUM: I had a huge stach of pictures from over the years. I also asked other youth to bring in pictures. We made several pages of collages and then took them to be color copied. Each senior had 8-10 pages of pictures from their youth group years. INTERVIEW BOOK: I spent the summer passing around books for each senior. In the book was a page for other youth, parents, and volunteers to answer some basic questions like: What do you love most about (Senior's name)? How do you see God in (senior's name)? What is your favorite youth group memory with (senior)? By the end of the summer each senior had 30 or so pages of encouragement and memories to look at over and over. FRAMED PICTURE: One year I took a picture of all the seniors on our annual Florida trip. I blew this picture up to 8x10 or so and got a large mat and frame for it. The mat was large enough for each youth group person to sign and write a brief note to the senior. Many parents told me their seniors had this picture hung on their wall the first day they moved in. (For seniors who were not on the Florida trip, I gathered the best picture I could find of them with other seniors in the group.) MAILBOX MEMORIES: A great way to gather memories is to have mailboxes like you see in offices or just a box with large envelopes available in your office or youth room. At the beginning of the year, make one for each Senior. Throughout the year you can collect pictures, ticket stubs, post cards from trips, autographs, wrappers, receipts, brochures, and just about anything that are memories of youth group. Get your volunteers and youth involved in this too. Over the year, fill up the boxes or envelopes. By the time they graduate you have a ton of material to make scrapbooks or whatever you want to make to present to the seniors.

PILLOW CASES: Most everyone uses a pillow case. This is a great way to help seniors remember they are loved every night when they lay down and every morning when they wake up, by making personalized pillow cases. You can get these made a most hobby stores where they have an artist hand paint the person's name. If you have a talented youth or adult, you can save some money having them do this. It is important to make sure it looks professional. This shows you took care to give them something quality. Then have youth and volunteers sign and write notes of love and encouragement on the pillow cases.

I hope this gives you some ideas to honor and encourage your graduates.

More graduation ideas coming soon!

2009-05-15T15:04:00.002-05:00

Long time no post. This is a video for Pray With Africa. This is a movement to pray "with" the people of Africa instead of "for" Africa. A powerful and innovative approach to community, prayer, and service.

To learn more go to www.praywithafrica.org.

This summer PWA is hitting the road for four months and is looking for 8 people to join in to learn, pray, and act.

NO COST MINISTRY - LAST OF SERIES

2009-04-29T12:53:00.003-05:00

In this last post about low and no cost ministry ideas, I want to bring to the forefront the many awesome opportunities for FREE places to go and events to attend with your youth group. A big part of youth group is having shared experiences. These build community, add countless memories to the memory bank, and develop trust and love among the youth group members. To do this, you don't always have to spend $10 a person to go to a baseball game or a movie. Opportunities to go to fun, exciting, and memorable places are all around you. You just have to look for them.

FIND OUT WHAT IS FREE ALREADY: I can almost guarantee you that there is something going on in your city or town this week that would be a great place to take your youth group for free. I live in a town of about 46,000. There are free festivals, concerts, and shows all the time. There are countless parks, museums, shops, and green spaces. To find out what is going on in your community there are a few things you can do.

1) Check the paper: Every city I have lived in has a section at least once a week that lists all the community events. Many of these are free. If you don't subscribe to the paper, ask a church member if you can have theirs on the day(s) when this section is published.

2) Local magazines: At many grocery stores there is a rack of magazines. Our town has one called "Williamson Parents" that comes out once a month. In it, there are events and activities from street festivals to art classes, from high school sports to water parks listed by day of the month and by area of interest. Each event that is free is written in red, so it is easy to find. Oh, and the magazine is free too.

Here is a sampling of some ideas of places to go that will form community, make memories, and even allow opportunities for teachable lessons.

The Zoo: I held a “Free Day at the Zoo” outing a couple of years ago as an end of the summer event. I expected to have about 20 youth attend. Over 50 showed up. I was shocked at the excitement the zoo generated in the youth. Many of them said they had not been to the zoo since they were little kids. We piled in vans and the church bus and headed to the Memphis Zoo. The total cost of the outing for 50 youth and 7 adults… FREE. The Memphis Zoo, which is normally $13.00 per person, is free on Tuesday afternoons. Some other examples of zoo freebies include: Portland, OR is free on MLK day. Washington D.C. and the St. Louis Zoo are free all the time. Check local papers or zoo websites to see if and when the zoo offers free admission.

Cultural Experiences: Most cities offer various types of activities throughout the year. Even in my town of just over 46,000 people, there are 4-5 festivals throughout the year. There is always music, food, and various activities. Some of these cost money, while others are free. There are also many opportunities for church groups to be involved in the festivals from singing in choirs to handing out free treats to festival goers. Check your local paper or city visitor bureau for information on festivals, museums, and other free opportunities your city offers.

Play Day: I am always amazed at the power the simplicity of play has on youth. The youth always have a great time when we simply play Ultimate Frisbee or whiffleball. Maybe it is because play today is usually so structured and so competitive. My son Tanner just got invited to try out for a travel baseball team. Tanner is five. (He will not be trying out.) Grab your favorite game equipment, find some green space, and bring a smile and positive attitude. Play will grow your group, and won't cost you a penny.

Adventure and Role Play Games: There is something special and exciting about taking on the role of a special agent or bank robber and running around in the dark with your friends. There are countless games to play that allow for tons of fun and amazing teachable moments. A google search will turn up dozens of options. Most games require little or no equipment to play. Youth love the excitement of hiding and chasing, ducking and dodging, and seeking and finding one another. Tap into this. Have some fun and grow together.

Service: Serving others doesn't have to cost money. Often when we go to do a service project we are collecting supplies or having youth bring extra money to purchase things for those we are serving. There are many things you can do to serve others that don't cost anything. Opportunities for random acts of kindness are everywhere. You can find many with a google search. The acts that are the most simple seem to be the most meaningful. For example, one group spent an afternoon outside a Home Depot helping people load things into their cars and trucks and returning the carts. Another group stood at a busy intersection and held up signs with positive messages like "Have a great day" and "Someone loves you." Yes, the hungry need food and the naked need clothes. But if your desire to serve exceeds your budget, supplement your regular service opportunities that cost money, with a few here and there that are free.

I hope that helps! This does it for the Low and No Cost Ministry Ideas posts. I'll be back soon with some other ideas for you!

Don't overlook coupons!

2009-04-23T09:33:00.003-05:00

My wife recently started a new hobby. Coupons. She is all about coupons. She has subscribed to the Sunday paper (she used a coupon for this as well) in order to get the large stack of coupons it offers each week. She reads coupon blogs (a local Nashville favorite is called Faithful Provisions) and downloads coupons from websites. She even attended a coupon workshop recently. The results? She came home from Walgreen’s last week with six cans of soup, some Kit Kat candy bars, and a pack of toothbrushes and spent zero dollars and cents. After coupons and rebates she got all that for free. Just the other night, she went to Publix, the local grocery store. Her receipt showed she spent $68.23 and saved $97.50 in coupons. WOW! I never would have imagined coupons could save us so much money. They can save you dollars in your ministry as well.
1) Make a list of items you purchase regularly. These could be things like markers, paper towels, zip lock bags, or other supplies. Give this list to church members or post it in Sunday School classrooms. Also, make up a special lists when you have an event coming up that requires additional purchases. Ask church members to bring in coupons for you to use as you purchase these supplies. At the urging of my wife, I now collect left over coupons from co-workers after they have clipped the ones they want from the Sunday paper. This has been a great source of additional coupons and savings for us. Church members, no doubt will have coupons to help you save big money on items you have to purchase for ministry.
2) Go to the places that offer great coupons. A few years ago, I was looking to take our leadership team out for a nice dinner to end a weekend of hard work in planning, organizing, and dreaming for our ministry. I settled on this Hibatchi-Style Japanese restaurant. It made for the perfect place, as we all got to sit together around the grill laughing and sharing stories while enjoying the entertaining chef and tasty food. The best part was this restaurant offered a “buy one entrée, get one free” in the paper every Thursday. I asked parents to bring in the coupons and had plenty to treat the team to a meal at half-price. The youth all loved the restaurant, and we ended up going there many times for various events. We even booked nearly the entire place on one occasion for a youth event, and the owner let me photocopy the coupon so we all could enjoy half-price meals. Years later, this restaurant is still a favorite of the youth group, and all the meals are still “buy one, get one free.”
3) Keep hunting for coupons: Subscribe to the Sunday paper. The coupons it offers could be well worth the $1.50 to $2.00 you invest in the paper. An added bonus is the opportunity to read the paper. This allows you to stay current on happenings in your community and the world as you plan programs for your ministry, and find other opportunities for free or lost cost events and places to go. Look on the internet. Many stores offer on-line coupons. There are also several sites dedicated to offering downloadable coupons for visitors to print.

Do You Really Need a Four Dollar Coffee?

2009-04-17T14:39:00.004-05:00

Do you really need a $4.00 coffee?
"In an economy that increasingly favors cheap deals, Starbucks has been flailing while its competitors take advantage. McDonald’s is expanding its McCafe into more and more markets, while Dunkin’ Donuts is running various promotions as well as investing in advertising and new stores. Both companies are aggressively targeting Starbucks customers."
–Katherine Glover industry.bnet.com

A valuable part of youth ministry is spending time in small groups and occasionally meeting one-one-one with a youth, as long as this is done in a public place and does not violate your Safe Sanctuaries Policy. (For more information on Safe Sanctuaries, see Safe Sanctuaries: Reducing the Risk of Abuse in the Church for Children and Youth; by Joy Melton) A favorite place for youth and many youth workers to hang out is Starbucks or other gourmet coffee place. These places offer a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere to meet and discuss issues, counsel youth, or just share stories and laughs. However, it is easy to walk out of these places having spent $15 or more, especially if you or the church is picking up the tab for the youth. Believe it or not, there are other places to get a decent cup of coffee and have a great conversation with youth at the fraction of the price. Now, I will make a disclaimer here. I am not a coffee drinker, so if I am way off base or offend you coffee drinkers out there, please forgive me or just feel free to skip today’s article and wait until next time.
1) Cheaper Coffee: I hear from coffee drinker friends of mine that there are some options for good, less expensive coffee. Dunkin Donuts coffee receives high marks from many and can cost 50 cents to a dollar less than what some gourmet places charge. At the Dunkin Donuts near my work in Nashville, a medium coffee is $1.74 compared with the Starbuck’s down the street at $2.02. McDonald’s has even launched a website at http://www.unsnobbycoffee.com/ and bought billboards in Seattle claiming “Four Bucks is Dumb” playing off the name some patrons of Starbucks have used, calling the chain Fourbucks. Like I said, I am not a coffee drinker, so maybe the extra dollars are worth it.
2) Talk over tea: I am from the south and live in the south. Sweet tea is an important part of my life. Many a great conversations can be had over a nice glass of tea, even when it is unsweet. Tea is also much less expensive than coffee. McDonald’s currently offers any size tea for $1.00 for example. If you are meeting a youth for a chat, enjoy a tea (or soft drink) instead of coffee.
3) Eat some caramels: In the movie Good Will Hunting, the main character Will, meets a girl in a bar across from the Harvard campus. After a brief encounter, Will spends the remainder of the night with his friends on the opposite side of the bar. Finally, the girl, Skylar, comes over and tells him she has been waiting for Will to come talk to her, but now she is tired and is going home. She invites him to go have a cup of coffee with her sometime. Will responds by saying they instead should go eat some caramels. His point being the coffee is not important. Being together is what is important. Will is right. The coffee serves as a nice excuse and a good distraction to help conversation flow, but it is arbitrary. Next time you go to meet with a youth, just pick out a table in the mall food court and bring a dozen caramels. You can purchase a whole bag for under $1.00.

Remember that the coffee is arbitrary. The youth who is coming to meet you most likely could care less about what kind of drink you consume while talking. This teenager wants you. Your attention is what they crave, not the caffeine or sugar in the drink. Save the $10 and just sit and talk, and listen.

2009-04-15T15:12:00.000-05:00

Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but don’t give him extra:

Since it is tax day, I thought I would share a cost-saving tip as it pertains to taxes!

Churches are non-profit businesses and qualify for tax exempt status. This means most anything you purchase for the ministry is exempt from sales tax. In my state of Tennessee, the sales tax is 9.25%. So for every $100 I spend, I can save $9.25 if I take advantage of my tax exempt status. Your church should have on file somewhere a copy of your tax exempt form from the state in which you are located. Simply make copies of this form and take one with you whenever you are purchasing items for the ministry. If you have another person doing any shopping, make sure to give them a copy of the form. It is a good idea to keep one in your car and in your purse or wallet. Using tax exempt forms can be a bit of an inconvenience at first as it takes time for the store to input all the information. However, most stores will enter you into their database after the first purchase and will issue you a card to use for future purchases or have your church’s info in a book by the register that can be scanned quickly and easily. It won’t take long to see big savings by taking advantage of this.
In addition, you can apply for tax exempt status in other states. If you live near a state border and shop in another state from where you church is located, or if you take a regular youth trip to a certain place in another state, this is worth looking into. For example, at my last church, our youth group took an annual retreat to the beach in Florida. With a short phone call and a little paper work, I was able to get tax exempt status for my church in the state of Florida. This allowed us to save money on purchasing supplies, food, and even visiting local attractions thanks to our exempt status.

Good luck and enjoy the savings!

Did You Know? Fascinating Video about today's world.

2009-04-14T10:01:00.000-05:00

I am taking a break from the low cost ministry ideas to throw this video out there for you. I am using this as an introduction for a workshop I am leading on Youth Culture. This video has some amazing statistics about the world today and the direction in which we are heading.
The video ends by asking the question "So what does all of this mean?"

This could make for a great discussion starter in almost any setting: Youth worker training, youth group, or even at an intergenerational gathering.

Let me know what you think!

2009-04-13T09:13:00.000-05:00

Attending School Activities: An important part of youth ministry is being a presence on school campuses. If you want to show a 14 year old you care for him, show up to his soccer game. If you want him to know God loves him, show up for at his mathlete competition. But going to soccer games, football games, school plays and talent shows can get expensive. High school football games can cost $8 or more. I paid $20 for a school play last year. Because supporting these activities is a great way to show love to youth and build relationships with your youth and their peers, how can we continue to do this without spending hundreds of dollars a year?
1) Free Passes: This can be accomplished by simply dropping in to visit the principal’s office. Explain to the principal you are not attending activities to evangelize the school or promote your events and programs. Instead, you are seeking to build relationships with your youth and their families and friends. Assure the principal you want to work together to serve and help grow the young people in your charge into responsible, loving, caring people. Most principals care for the students as much as you do. Explaining to the principal how fast ticket fees add up, she might be willing to offer you season passes to several of the school sports. She may even work with you on getting admission charges waived to concerts and plays. It can’t hurt to ask. Even if the answer is no, you have made an important contact with the principal.
2) Volunteer: If you can’t get passes, offer your services. Work the concession stand, clean up the bleachers, or sell tickets at the window. I even heard of one youth minister who volunteered to deejay all the dances. These are not only great ways to get in free to the school activities, these offer you plenty of opportunities to serve alongside students and their parents.
3) Ask parents: Many school sports offer discounted season passes for families. So if you didn't succeed with getting a free pass, ask parents if they might be willing to purchase an extra pass for you. These extra passes are often very affordable and parents can be so overjoyed you are showing an interest in their child, they are happy to buy the pass for you. These passes usually do not have a name attached to them, so you can pass them around your volunteer team to save others from having to pay as well. Parents often are happy to purchase tickets to the school play, band concert, or orchestra recital for youth ministers. Make sure to thank the parent, and sitting by the parent who bought you the ticket is always a good idea as well.

I hope this helps, and if you have any other great ideas for lowering the cost to attend school events, please post them.

Low and No Cost Ministry Ideas

2009-04-09T09:18:00.000-05:00

I have had a lot of requests lately from youth ministers who are seeking ways to save money in youth ministry.

For the next week or so, I plan to post an idea each day that will either help you save money in your ministry or ways in which to find things to do and ways to minister that will cost little or no money at all.

Tough economic times are certainly challenging and can be an obstacle to ministry. They can also serve as huge opportunities to be creative and push our boundaries. Tough economic times also challenge us to be good stewards of every dollar and every asset we have in ministry.

Please offer any ideas you have as well! Thanks. Here we go...

Here is a simple idea that can save you tons of money!

Pizza Deals: Pizza is a youth group staple. Although we get tired of it, let's face it, pizza is convenient and quick. It can also be affordable if you check around and simply ask for a good deal. At my last church, I had a deal with Papa John’s to receive large pizzas delivered for $4.00 each. (this later went up to $5.00.) After a year or so of the same pizza from the same place, I began hearing some grumblings. I called Domino’s. When I told the manager how much pizza we ordered on a regular basis, he was eager to earn our business. When I mentioned the price Papa John’s was giving us, he matched the price. We later expanded by calling our local Pizza Hut. They offered $7.00 larges. Although this was a bit more expensive, it was still more than $5.00 off the menu price and made for a nice change on occasion.

All it costs is a few phone calls. Call your local pizza places and ask for the manager on duty. Tell the manager that you order pizza regularly and if this partnership with the youth group works out that you will be willing to share the success with the other groups in the church. Managers are always looking for new business. Some places may have a set rate for non-profit businesses. Others may be willing to negotiate. Once you get one pizza place on board, it will be easier to negotiate with others.

It never hurts to ask. Good luck and enjoy the pizza!

Celebrating friends...

2009-04-05T20:26:00.001-05:00

I am back in my hometown of Memphis, TN for a few days. I am working around my parents house and catching up with some friends. I went to the church today where I served as youth director for 13 years before moving to Nashville last year. It is also my home church. It was so much fun running into old friends, parents, and former co-workers as I walked my kids to and from Sunday School and into the late service.
Most amazing was getting to see so many of my former youth. I have been away from the church for about 15 months. Some of the youth I had not seen since I moved. WOW! I couldn't believe how fast they had grown and how much many of them had changed. Puberty is a strange process.
I was so glad to see so many smiles and so much excitement in their voices as they told me about the youth group and all the "cool stuff" is going on.
I am very excited for tomorrow. I am going to lunch with the current youth director who also happens to be a long-time friend of mine. I can't wait to catch up on all the happenings of who is dating who (and dumping who), and all the other things that really matter in ministry.
I'll be on vacation for a few more days. When I return home, I will begin posting some more things that will hopefully be helpful to you in your ministry!
For tonight, I am happy and celebrating my visit with some of the best people in the world. May you take a few moments to thank God for those people in your life who mean so much to you. Someone, somewhere, is celebrating you tonight as well.

Amazing Display of Sports(wo)manship

2009-04-02T10:38:00.000-05:00

A senior college softball player who had never hit a homerun in her entire life, finally knocks one over the fence. In her excitement, she misses first base. As she turns back to step on the base, her cleat catches the ground awkwardly. She collapses and crawls back to first base unable to get up. Watch this video to see what true servant leadership and love for others is truly like. This ended up being the last at-bat of this players career. This will be a moment she and many others will remember for the rest of their lives.

What a hopeful story in the midst of such a competitive world! This video can serve as a great jumpstart to discussing sportsmanship, witness, and service.

* Have you ever had another do something like this for you?

* How would you feel if you were the girl who hit the homerun?

* Why did this simple act make such a story? Why did this become national news?

* Although God was never mentioned in this report, discuss where and how you think God was in this story.

2009-04-01T13:57:00.000-05:00

Law and Order: SVU Highlights Child Soldiers in Africa
Last night I sat down at 9:00 p.m. to watch SVU, my usual custom on Tuesday night. I love this show and it is one of the few shows I try to not miss. One draw this show has for me is the story lines. A lot of times the show is based around things that are happening in real life. (Although this is very sad since the show is all about greed, violence, and sexual depravity.)Last night the story revolved around a young girl who was attacked by a grown man. The first suspect was an "adult friend" in her life, who it was assumed was molesting her which escalated to the man trying to murder her. As the detectives investigated, they found this man to be a former child soldier from Uganda. Elliot, the detective in charge of the case questioned him and tried to get him to confess. During this amazing scene (the actor playing the Ugandan man was awesome), Elliot plays upon the man's guilt for the many murders he committed in his home country to try to get him to confess all, including his harming of this girl. After the interview however, Elliot believes the man is innocent and truthful in his claim that he was with the girl that night in order to protect her from someone she called "the devil." He had gone with her to kill this man for her. As the case unfolds, the police discover "the devil" is a former commander of the LRA and responsible for some 10,000 deaths. He now lives in NYC and works as a janitor in a law firm. Elliot confronts him at work. The man attacks him, but Elliot is able to subdue and arrest him. Once in custody, the girl asks to go see this devil. In another amazing scene, she enters the room and spits in the handcuffed man's face. The same man who had previously raped and tortured her in Uganda, and tried to kill her only days before here in NYC. The International Court officer makes arrangements to take this man back to Uganda for trial. In this process, Elliot finds out they plan to take the other man back as well to face trial for his killings. Since he did not leave the army until he was 18, he was legally responsible for the murders he committed as a child soldier. In a panic, this man takes the children of the church where he works and the priest hostage. Elliot enters and convinces him to let all the children go. The man wants to kill himself. He fears what will happen to him in Uganda is far worse than death. Elliot is able to get him to come outside. As the man walks out with Elliot, the scene flashes to the crowd who has assembled to watch the stand-off. In the crowd, you can tell the man recognizes a few of the on-lookers. He immediately runs into an officer and makes a break across the street. He is shot several times. In his dying breath he whispers to the girl something that is inaudible to the watcher and then dies. Elliot asks the girl what he said to her. She replies, that he said he had to die in order to protect the other child soldiers. The camera pans the crowd and you see 3-4 people who are assumed to be other soldiers hiding in NY.

The show did an awesome job of educating watchers about child soldiers. Throughout the investigation there are conversations about what child soldiers are and what they endure. There is discussion and debate over what responsibility they have and do not have for their actions. There are many moments where detectives and D.A.'s are educated through pictures and the stories of those they are investigating.

Thank you NBC for bringing this issue to light in a way that opens the door for conversation and to seek understanding. I hope that the people who watched this episode will be inspired to learn more about the tragedy of child soldiers and the confrontations in Africa.If you missed it, and want to watch the episode entitled "Hell", go to .nbc.com/Law_and_Order_Special_Victims_Unit/

There are a couple of great scenes you can use in your ministry. The interrogation scene between Elliot and the child soldier is moving and shows the tragic circumstances of child soldiers. The hostage scene in the church is another riveting scene.

Taking a couple of days off

2009-03-28T08:56:00.000-05:00

I am spending the weekend at home with the family, so no blogging, tweeting, etc. I have LOTS of meetings next week so posts will be sporadic, but will post if I get the chance. Let me know of resources you need. I will happy to look for resources for you and post them.

THANKS! Keep checking in!

Alternatives to Leaving

2009-03-27T08:53:00.000-05:00

Shifting Roles in order to keep good volunteers.
Volunteers will leave your ministry. It is estimated that there is a 30% average annual turnover rate of youth ministry volunteers. That means, on average, if you have 10 volunteers in your ministry, you will lose 3 of them this year. You will lose another 3 the following year. My first year in ministry I lost over 50%! This can be a good thing. Sometimes a volunteer needs to leave, or be asked to leave. Other times however, a quality and dedicated volunteer calls and asks to take us out to lunch (or for us to take them to lunch) and we get that feeling in the pit of our stomach. We know something is up and before we bite into our hamburger, we realize our fear is true. She’s leaving.

It is at this point that youth directors can make a huge mistake. The mistake is in seeing that there are only two options. Option one being simply accepting the resignation of the volunteer. Option two being throwing yourself on the cold, sticky tile floor of McDonald’s and asking them to reconsider and hang in there one more year, or two, or three.

These are not the only options. There are alternatives to leaving that may allow the star volunteer to stay involved in the ministry and keep your turnover rate below the Mendoza Line. (This is a baseball reference. You can Google it, but it is a way of saying 20%).

JOB COMPRESSION: This option is simply reducing or simplifying the role the volunteer is currently playing. Life happens. Parents get sick, babies are born, marriages occur, careers change. All of these things affect volunteers’ abilities to serve in ministry. Sometimes the life change requires the volunteer to pull out completely from ministry. She may become so overwhelmed or stretched so thin, that she must eliminate something from their responsibilities list. Sometimes the person may not need to eliminate completely their role as a volunteer, but do not know there is an option of scaling back. Other times a volunteer may feel overwhelmed by the role they play in the ministry. She wants to continue but feels either ill-equipped or unable to fulfill all the requirements of the position. Job Compression can relieve these stresses and allow the volunteer to continue to be a valuable piece of the ministry. Job compression is about reducing the requirements or the role the volunteer plays while still having them stay active in the ministry where they can continue to engage in healthy relationships with students and offer their gifts and expertise to serving the ministry at a level in which they feel comfortable.
Here are some for instances.
John and Allie where two of my most dedicated volunteers. They were stars. The students loved them. They came every Sunday night, on every trip and on most weekend events. Then in a period of three weeks they found out they were pregnant with twins, John got a new job that was going to involve traveling, and they bought a house that was 30 minutes from the church. Allie asked to leave and I honored this request. However, they both wanted John to remain involved, but just didn’t see how it was possible. I offered Job Compression. Our volunteer team members were expected to be there every Sunday night. If they couldn’t come, they were expected to notify me. They were also expected to clear their calendar to attend two trips per year. I compressed these for John. I suggested, he come two weeks on, two weeks off on Sundays, and commit to just one trip in the next year. Also, I suggested he take a break from teaching on Sunday nights and simply come be with the kids. This would eliminate all prep work that would no doubt add stress. John and Allie jumped at the idea, and he was able to continue in the ministry while honoring his family and career commitments.
Scott was a dad in the ministry. While his kids were involved he was one of my core parents. He served on the Parent Committee. He cooked meals on Sunday nights. He hosted pool parties. His biggest contribution and where he truly shined was going as a leader on our mission trip to Mexico each summer. He built houses for a living and would organize our work projects. He was also a leader all the kids loved and respected. Most of all I trusted him and he trusted me. When his daughter graduated, he decided it was time for him to graduate too. He thought it was an all-or-nothing deal. I offered Job Compression. I told him I loved having him serve in all the various placed in ministry, but that his service on the Mexico trip was invaluable. I asked if he could commit to going on the trip each summer. For the next six years I was the youth director, Scott was still serving as a leader on the Mexico trip each summer.

JOB ENLARGEMENT: Most ministries have gateway opportunities for volunteers to begin serving in ministry. A volunteer might plug in initially to ministry by helping run a fundraiser or by driving the church van on a Saturday outreach project. The youth leader needs to be intentional about watching for volunteers who excel in these smaller focused roles. It is important to always keep an atmosphere of recruiting when it comes to ministry team volunteers. Some of the best team members can be found in-house in the people who are serving already in small ways. Quality people seek challenges and opportunities to grow. Job Enlargement can attract quality volunteers into bigger and longer lasting roles.
The mom who served dinner once a month and hangs around to clean up and talk to students may make a great small group leader. The college student who helps with events when he is home from school might be a perfect summer intern.

JOB ENRICHMENT:
While Job Enlargement is about increasing the width of the role of the volunteer, job enrichment is about increasing the depth of the volunteer’s role. Let me being this with an example. Sarah was a Sunday School teacher. She had been leading the Senior High class for about six months, teaching usually 2-3 times a month. She was doing a great job. Her lessons were always engaging and well-thought out. The kids respected her and knew that she cared for them. I was shocked when Sarah came to my office one day and said she didn’t want to teach Sunday School anymore. I asked her why. She said she did not feel like she was connecting with kids. She longed for deeper, more meaningful relationships with the kids. She felt her true gifts were listening and mentoring. Teaching was more a chore for her. She was crying out for Job Enrichment. It just so happened one of the Senior High girl’s small group leaders was asking for Job Compression about the same time. It turned out to be a perfect fit. After a month of them doing the group together, the former leader was able to turn the group over to Sarah who got the Job Enrichment she was seeking.
We want our volunteers to be growing spiritually and in the ministry skills. In fact, a big part of our job is helping our volunteers grow. As a volunteer grows, he may seek to move deeper in ministry. It is always an awesome experience to be able to offer a place for him to go deeper and take some youth along on the journey.

If you have a volunteer struggling in their ministry, perhaps they need their job enriched. If a volunteer is feeling overwhelmed, perhaps they need their job simplified. As the leader, it is important to stay connected to your volunteers. Know them well enough to recognize when a job switch may be in order. See your volunteers as people not as positions. The person is what is important. And if changing the position means keeping the person, you should always Enrich, Enlarge, or Compress the position.

Sexting becoming more popular with teens

2009-03-25T15:44:00.000-05:00

Nearly half (47%) of US teens say their social life would end or be worsened without their cell phone, and nearly six in 10 (57%) credit their mobile device with improving their life, according to a national survey from CTIA and Harris Interactive.
Second only to clothing, teens say, a person’s cell phone tells the most about their social status or popularity, outranking jewelry, watches and shoes.
The study also confirmed that texting is replacing talking among teens. Teens admitted spending nearly an equal amount of time talking as they do texting each month. The feature is so important to them that if texting were no longer an option 47% of teens say their social life would end or be worsened - that’s especially so among females (54% vs. 40%).
Teens say texting has advantages over talking because it offers more options, including multitasking, speed, the option to avoid verbal communication, and because it is fun - in that order, according to the study.

Texting has now moved into a new realm. Sexting. More and more young people are sending nude and explicit photos to their boy/girlfriends.

Discussion Questions:

1) Why would someone send an image like this to someone else?

2) What are some of the bad things that could happen as a result?

3) What would you do if someone sent you a picture like this?

Article and Interview with Pastor who hands out shot glasses.

2009-03-24T15:39:00.000-05:00

Here is the article from the Des Moines paper about UM Pastor Glen Hanson using shot glasses to reach out to people. Below the article are some notes from a phone interview I conducted with Pastor Hanson earlier today...

Pastor reaches out with shot glasses
By REID FORGRAVE • rforgrave@dmreg.com • March 21, 2009

A pastor walks into a bar.He carries a box full of hundreds of shot glasses."I do things a little differently than other pastors," Glen Hanson says with a smile.Six months ago, Hanson, 45, formed a new United Methodist church that would meet in the Bondurant-Farrar High School auditorium. He didn't want to be seen as an unapproachable "high church" figure, so Hanson decided to mix things up a bit. Like by using glow sticks instead of candles on Christmas Eve. Or bringing his 140-pound Burmese mountain dog along on ministry calls. Or, on Ash Wednesday, handing out barf bags to symbolize cleansing all our nastiness inside.

Pastoring, you see, is his second career. His first was in marketing — no surprise there. He would market his church to people who don't regularly go to church. So when the happily married father of three heard a wacky idea at an evangelism conference earlier this year, about advertising churches by passing out shot glasses at bars, it struck a chord. He thought of a weeping George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life," drinking shots at Martini's bar: "Dear Father in heaven, I'm not a praying man, but if you're up there and you can hear me, show me the way. ... Show me the way."
People drinking shots might be trying to escape pain, Hanson thought. What if a message of hope had been served to George Bailey at that bar?Three-fourths of Americans don't go to church, Hanson thought. Why can't churches go to the people?And so, on a recent afternoon, Hanson takes a paring knife and slices into a fresh batch of shot glasses at Cory's Irish Pub in Bondurant. When people order shots, bartenders will serve them in this pastor's shot glasses. Then they can keep the shot glasses.
Hanson takes a sip from his Diet Coke. He hands a waitress one of the shot glasses."That's a church I wanna go to," Denise Hiller says.She admires the 2-ounce glass. On one side is printed the name of the church, Cross Point United Methodist Church in Bondurant.On the other side is Hanson's cell phone number. "Give us a shot," it reads.There is one thing Hanson hasn't figured out yet: What to say if his cell phone rings this weekend at 2 a.m., and it's someone asking the pastor for a ride home from the bar.
For now, he's going to turn his phone off when he goes to sleep.

After an email from me, Pastor Hanson took the initiative to call me, twice. He was excited and eager to talk about the shot glass campaign. Pastor Hanson said this campaign comes from his strong heart for evangelism. It is this call to reaching the unchurched and dechurched that caused Pastor Hanson to start this church plant last September. That first Sunday, while some of his staff hoped for 50, 293 people showed up for worship. Since then, the church has begun making a positive impact on the community and is beginning to change the many negative perceptions people of the community have about church.
Pastor Hanson, although very conservative in his theology, sees a lot of value in using non-traditional methods in order to reach out to God's children. This shot glass campaign has put the small community of 3000 in this rural suburb of Iowa on the map, and in the news. Community interest in and support for the church has exploded over the last few days. In an email, Pastor Hanson stated "lots of folks are talking about Cross Point U.M.C. in our community and surrounding communities, lots of opportunities to witness to folks that I wouldn't otherwise has a chance to, and our young congregation is 100% supportive of this evangelism effort! Personally, Hanson has had several people call his cell phone (which is listed on the glass), to tell him things like "The article was an answer to a prayer. I've never talked to a pastor before." He was able to pray and connect with this person and invite her to "Come to our church as our honored guest"
Although the publicity has admittedly been good for his church, Pastor Hanson is most excited about the opportunities to witness to others the shot glass craze has offered. While in a store mailing glasses to some fellow churches, Pastor Hanson had the opportunity to strike up a conversation about Jesus with a young bystander who took an interest in the unique collectible.
Shot glass compaigns are not for every church. But Pastor Hanson urges churches to find their niche, their way of best reaching out to their community, and focus on reaching them.

I am appreciative to Pastor Hanson for his time and his servant heart. I am thankful that there is a UMC that is getting some positive press and exposure. Although there have been some negative comments by way of blog on the newspapers page, most seem to be thankful for the efforts of this church. This campaign offers an opportunity for us to review our own efforts at reaching out to those in our community who need to feel and experience God's love. Keep pressing on and doing the best you can!

Princeton Institute for Youth Ministry

2009-03-24T09:39:00.000-05:00

Hey. I recently did a podcast on Building a Volunteer Team for Princeton. I have it posted on my facebook page here...

www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=57082742223&h=8FCrL&u=0PM8U&ref=nf

or you can visit Princeton's podcast site at...

www2.ptsem.edu/iym/podcast/

This was my first podcast, so I felt rather awkward. So far, those who have listened tell me I sould pretty relaxed. Take a listen to hear some tips on Building a Team, or just try to pick out the places where my Southern Twang kicks in.

Local UMC Shotglass Marketing Campaign

2009-03-23T13:14:00.001-05:00

I came across this picture with the caption "Shot glass that says “Give us a shot,” handed out at bars by Cross Point United Methodist Church in Bondurant, Iowa. "

This is a new marketing campaign of a local church. This could make for lively discussion at your next youth group program or even staff meeting.

I might contact the church to see what kind of reaction and response this new campaign is getting.

Getting visitors to our church involved in our youth group?

2009-03-20T14:30:00.000-05:00

I got this question in an email the other day. Below is my response. It doesn't just happen. Becoming a welcoming youth group takes time, energy, and intentionality. I focus on two things when it comes to growing in your ability to be a welcoming youth group.
1) A realization and common understanding in the youth group that it is important to be welcoming.
2) Youth and adult workers need training in how to be welcoming to visitors.

A really important thing you can do as a youth group is to become intentional in growing in your ability to be a welcoming group. This takes two things.
* First it takes the realization a common understanding that it is important to be welcoming of new people. Some people, especially youth get so caught up in the excitement of being around friends when the group is together that they simply do not pay attention to there being a new person. If youth do recognize there is a new person, they still are so caught up in being with friends they do not invest in welcoming or getting to know the visitor. People are often self- centered. It takes time and hard work to shift your thinking to being other-centered. The leader of the ministry needs to regularly be instructing the youth and other leaders that this group is not theirs. (It’s not yours either) It is God’s group and we want to be the group he is calling us to being. He wants us to welcome all of his children.
* Second, youth and adult volunteers need training on how to be welcoming. Initiating relationship is a skill. For some, especially socially capable extroverts, this comes rather easy. For more introverted or socially insecure youth, this is a very difficult thing. They are as intimidated by the new person as the new person is of the group. The group needs to take time regularly to work on their skills of initiating and sustaining relationships. Things like how to remember someone’s name when you meet. How to introduce them to your friends. Listening skills, etc.

Here are a few ideas for helping with this…
Undercover visitor –assessing of where you are in your welcoming atmosphere and skills. Have a youth from another church or a friend of one of the youth from school come visit your church or youth group. Select someone that few if any kids in your group know. Contact the visitor before along with the friend who has invited them to work out the purpose of the night and their role. This youth (or pair of youth if you cannot find and individual who will come alone) will simply visit your group. The program time can be on being a welcoming youth group. This visitor then gets up and shares an honest assessment of how you are doing. This person can be very specific in how she felt, who reached out to her and who didn’t, etc. I have done this a couple of times and it has served as a huge affirmation to the youth who are welcoming and an even bigger wake-up call to those who aren’t.

Youth members share about why they are here today, visiting experience. Work with 2-3 youth who are active in your youth group ahead of time to share their testimony of what this group means to them. Have them share specifically about how they felt when they first visited and who reached out to them and helped them get involved.

Adults share what they church means to them and buy in to being welcoming. Do the above with adults in your church. These adults then can be asked to help you promote an atmosphere of welcoming into the larger congregation.

Think like a visitor. Imagine everything a visitor sees or experiences from the time they pull into the parking lot to the time they get into their car (or their parents car) to leave. How can you be welcoming every step of the way so that when that visitor leaves they feel cared for, they have connected with at least 2-3 people, and someone in the group is committed to following up with that person (which means you need contact info). This must all be genuine and not forced or fake, which goes back to the importance of your youth really buying in to this first.

I hope this helps.

Testing out the Blog

2009-02-04T21:06:00.000-06:00

Since this is my first time to blog, I need to practice this to see what it looks like. So this is a test, only a test.

Check back for my first real post soon.