When people wonder why we do youth ministry and why we think it’s SO important to the life of the church, this is big part of the reason why…
We are so thankful to our volunteers and team workers who work alongside us. Thank you for what you do; it’s SO important.
Does measuring success in youth ministry = playing the numbers game? I’m a firm believer that the fruit of ministry does NOT boil down neatly into how many warm bodies are in a room at one time. Numbers are important, though, because numbers — in this context — are people. Hopefully, these “numbers” are lives that are being influenced.
Measuring this kind of influence isn’t easy. How do we know when we’re growing? When we’re succeeding?
I suppose it comes down to… (I’d better stop and think here. I’m supposed to be a paid “professional”. I should know the answer to this.)
…Jesus.
Jesus showing Himself larger in a student’s life than the influences of the culture.
A student becoming the hands and feet of Jesus through outreach, serving, and loving people that everyone else rejects.
A student that desires daily communion with Jesus.
Jesus living through a student that stirs up some old, religious thinking.
A group of students that have Jesus‘ heart for others more than they are interested in getting self-gratification out of a weekly service experience.
A group of students who value worshipping Jesus, not just by singing songs, but with their lives.
Student’s who have given their lives over to Jesus on Mondays and Tuesdays, not just Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights.
Students who don’t just pay lip service to the words of Jesus, but act on them.
Lives that have been transformed and set free by the incredible, extraordinary love of Jesus.
Numbers are good. They help us to measure things. But numbers aren’t everything. I’d much rather have Jesus.
So, yesterday proved it: Kyle Goings is DA BOMB! Go here to download Kyle’s hand-out (MS Word .doc) from yesterday’s discussion on student ministry administration/scheduling.
At next month’s gathering we’ll be discussing YS Marko’s book “Youth Ministry 3.0″. Click on the banner below for an interesting review of the book from Dan Kimball…
Click here to order the book direct from Youth Specialties.
This one’s a good one to pass on to your senior pastor… but how do you get it forwarded to them without passing it on yourself? (grin)
HT ts
A featured post from our friend, Clay Conry, who just finished up planning, promoting, and hosting the region’s biggest New Year’s Eve outreach event…
Well, it’s over. Done. Fin.
And now that I have had sometime to consider last Wednesday’s New Years Eve Teen Blast. We had a great time and learned a lot!
The first thing I learned is that when you coordinate the event with this many logistics, if you try to remember it all… you won’t!
So the First thing on the list for next year’s event is delegate!
The next thing I learned is that people who participate in the ministry don’t just magically appear. They need to be prayed for and asked and prodded and asked again. They will come and when they do come they will be blessed to participate as a volunteer. At first they may not want to, but when they get involved, they will be blessed. When they have participated they will be more concerned for the success of the event. When they have invested themselves, not just their money, they will want to see if flourish!
So, the Second thing on the list is like the first! Delegate, not just for the sake of your sanity, but for the blessing of those being involved as well.
The last thing I learned is that buzz only comes from excited people. When people see the benefits occurring in their own life and the lives of those they are serving, they will talk. You won’t have to ask them to, they just will! You won’t have to print out 400 flyers and postcards each (which I did) you won’t have to put it on the radio (which I did) or put it in the newspaper (which I did) or being annoying with mass amounts of email blasts, blogs, and social network buzz (all of which I did)! If people are excited about what is happening, all of that will happen on its own!
So, the final thing is a no-brainer! Word of mouth is your best marketing! However, how do you generate that word of mouth? By having a subject that is truly buzz-worthy!
WARNING! Buzz and attracting mass amounts of people to your event is only a good thing if you have the Gospel/Jesus as the #1 priority for the night! All of the crappy marketing and buzz in the world is vanity and meaningless if Jesus isn’t lifted up and people aren’t drawn to Him!
That’s my soap box and I’m stickin to it! Here is a highlight video for your trouble!
Every youth pastor eventually comes across students that have behavior issues. Here’s a snippet from a recent guest post over at More Than Dodgeball on how to handle behavioral problems in your student ministry:
Recently, because of a few factors, there has been a dynamic shifted in our youth group. With this dynamic shift we’ve begun to encounter some behavior issues. Thankfully, the extent of the problems we’ve faced have been nothing more than disruptive behavior like talkativeness, goofing off, and things like that. Though these problems can seem minor they can quickly begin to wear down volunteers and cultivate a culture of disrespect in a youth group.
So, through some reading on the issue (Les Christie’s “When Church Kids Go Bad” and David Arp’s “Suddenly They’re 13”) and learning as I go, here are some insights that I’ve found…
Was really kicked in the pants by the Andrew Marin’s thoughts about the prayers of those called to lead. It’s the last thing on the YS podcast this week. Give it a listen…
Andrew is president and founder of The Marin Foundation, a organization created to build bridges between the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) and religious communities through scientific research, and Biblical and social education. He has been published in academic research journals, been featured in national media publications, and appeared on various TV and national radio programs.
Kurt Johnston posted this exchange between him and an upset parent a few days ago on his blog, Simply Kurt. It’s good for a couple of reasons:
#1) It reminds me that I’m not the only one who upsets parents from time to time (sheepish smile) and #2) it also reminds me of the high importance of quickly and lovingly dealing with conflict.
