From Matt Ransom, Youth Director: Brenneman Missionary Church

That One Kid

I'm sure we've all been there. Scratching our heads after "that one kid" did something that we would have never expected. And, generally it is not a good thing! And ever since "the event" you've had to come up with a rule. I think we all have those in our ministry history. 

In my own personal ministry, some of the rules that I have had to make after "that one kid" event are as follows:

• Energy drinks and missions trips don't mix
• It is not a good idea to toast marshmallows with your fingers (especially if girls with long hair are around)
• Duct tape and pocket knifes don't equal a good outcome
• Be sure to check for low branches when playing hide and go seek at dusk.

Those are just a few of the rules I've come up with over the course of my 13 years in ministry. Fortunately, none of those incidents led to any major accidents or upset parents. But it would have been a whole lot easier on me if someone would have told me that I needed those rules ahead of time.

So, what are some of your "that one kid" rules? Share them in the comment section below and maybe you'll save one of us fellow youth pastors from having to make that rule after the fact. As always, change the name to protect the innocent. Share your stories and you may even get something in return for educating the rest of us ...until that next "that one kid" event.

From Joel Greenwood: Youth Pastor, Fairview Missionary Church

I know that this isn't going to be the first time you have ever heard about this topic, but it's importance merits repeating often.

A doctor who is sick cannot take care of his/her patients. As youth ministers, it is way to easy to get involved in doing good things that we forget to do great things. C.S. Lewis says that it is easy to get rid of the hurtful things in our lives in order to focus on the best things, but it is much harder to not allow great things to get in the way of doing the best things. Ministry is a great thing, but taking care of our personal health is the best thing.

Have you ever been in an airplane? If you have, you remember the speech the flight attendant takes you through about the seat belts and other things. The one that stands out to me is that they make it clear that if the cabin loses pressure and the oxygen masks come down, you are supposed to put yours on before you help anyone else.

Now it might seem like a heroic thing to run around the plane and help as many people as possible with your last breath, and it would be, but how many people could you help ...20, 30, if you were really good? What if you put on your mask first and were able to walk around with it? You could save everyone on the plane!

I want to encourage you to make sure your personal relationship with Jesus Christ takes priority over your ministry.

I had the opportunity this week to get alone with God in the woods for a three-hour chunk of time and it was more refreshing than anything else. I feel re- energized to do ministry, be a better husband, and a better father!

Take time to make sure you are healthy this week, even if it is a couple hours of solitude with God!

From Adam Sharp, Youth Pastor: Crystal Valley Missionary Church

Leading Volunteers Toward Success

One of the hardest things we have to do as youth pastors is recruit, train, empower, energize, and schedule volunteers. They are the life blood of our ministries; we can't operate if we don't have those committed volunteers sitting next to students every week. Through my years of failing and messing things up with my volunteers, I have come up with three things that are essential for volunteer growth and longevity.

1. EMPOWER YOUR VOLUNTEERS. THEY ARE YOUTH PASTORS: When meeting potential volunteers, I tell them that the youth ministry revolves around them. They are the youth minister to students. I don't need chaperons to serve punch; I need adults who'll listen to kids' stories and have encouraging words for them. In our monthly meetings, we are always reiterating that to them. They are what makes this ministry move forward. Every month we allow the volunteers to tell others what they are learning about God. It's amazing to me when our entire meeting consists of God stories from our leaders. They just want to talk about what God is doing in their own lives. It's fantastic! So empower your volunteers to do ministry because they are the real youth pastors!
2. EMPOWER YOUR VOLUNTEERS WITH THE HEART OF CHRIST: It takes time to build a healthy team. There are no short cuts or drive thrus when it comes to building a team whose heart is set on Christ. During your meetings allow your volunteers to be real with one another, talk about personal issues, and allow for prayer time. There needs to be space for depth in your meetings. It's okay if you spend less time on the youth calendar if there is a felt need being met and your group is becoming closer. Email your leaders resources and articles that you feel might be helpful to them. This is one thing I have been trying to work on this year. I feel like in the past I have thrown volunteers out to the wolves without being properly trained. Now, I listen to my leaders, I give them advice, but as I am reading on my own, I send that leader an article specific to what we talked about at the last meeting. Resource your leaders and you will be amazed at what they will glean when you supply them with the right training.
3. EMPOWER YOUR VOLUNTEERS BY BEING HONEST WITH THEM: A lot of youth pastors back down from confrontation and hope that the situation will go away with prayer and ignoring the issue. There will be times where you need to pull a leader aside and be honest with them. They might not be ready to be a small group leader, worship leader, sound guy, greeter, or driver. Your job is to help them grow towards Christ and when you ignore the situation, you aren't doing your job. Whenever you confront someone with an issue, allow them a path back to the group. I have seen too many people removed from a ministry and they have never come back because they thought they weren't wanted anymore. Have a plan for them whether its counseling, or one on one meeting with another volunteer, to help them grow through the situation they are in. Try to bring restoration in that relationship. Christ's heart is all about restoring shalom back to His people.

Be a blessing to those students and adults you serve. Keep fighting the good fight...don't give up, don't give an inch, and to God be the glory!


What are some things you have learned in working with volunteers? All legitimate comments from MCNCD youth pastors will receive a $5 iTunes gift card.

From Aaron Burdin: Youth Pastor, Hillside Missionary Church

AM I MISSING SOMETHING IN YOUTH MINISTRY?

In youth ministry there are so many things demanding our time. We are easily consumed with building relationships with teens and adults, youth group, small group, mission trips, meetings, planning material, explaining to parents why their son or daughter jumped out of the church van, and so on. Just kidding about the church van bit, but we all have times where teens do things we think will cost us our jobs.

No matter how long you have been in youth ministry, there are some key essentials we must not forget. 

• Our influence on teens will rise and fall on our relationship with Jesus. 
• Our prayer life is what connects with the God of the impossible.
• Teens must have a relationship with Jesus.

This is not to say that all the other things we spend our time doing aren't meaningful, but without Jesus we will completely miss the point of ministry.

I was reminded of this truth this past week about how important it is for you and I to be in right relationship with the Father. I was also reminded about how important it is for us to share our relationship with Jesus with our teens.

Saturday I had the opportunity to sit down with two college ministry leaders and hear about what they were doing to help college students develop their faith. Afterwards, they told me that the number one problem they face with college students is that most of them have never really listened for God's voice or have any idea what a relationship with Jesus looks like. I made note of this comment and I had to ask myself, "Am I missing something in youth ministry?"

If it is true that that most college students don't know what it means to have a relationship with Jesus, what are you and I going to do about this in our ministry? Fortunately, I beleive God gives us these moments to stop and re-evaluate what we're doing so that we can be better in line with Him. 

Youth ministry will always be demanding. Whether you are full time, part time, or a volunteer, we must first focus on our relationship with God. These students need leaders who not only care, but are constantly connected to the One they desperately need, so they can see Jesus.

Share your comments ...how are you modeling a personal relationship with Jesus to your students? 

**MCNCD youth workers who leave a legitimate comment will receive a $5 iTunes gift card. Yep, that's right! So, leave your name!

From Joel Greenwood: Youth Pastor, Fairview Missionary Church

THE IMPORTANCE OF DOWN TIME

A "normal" day in the life of a youth pastor is hardly normal! On any given day, my schedule can be changed multiple times and I never quite know what to expect. 

I try to plan out my calendar for the whole week on Monday mornings so that I can remember everything that I have to do. We are all aware of the emergency phone calls we receive that seem to throw off our planning. Although, I don't believe this is an excuse to not plan.

I do my best to plan my week, leaving some down time, for those unexpected situations. I try to work on an average of 45-55 hours a week at the church and doing things related to my job. Some weeks I spend 40 hous in the office and other weeks I spend only 20 hours in the office, depending on the time of year. 

I have been at Fairview for over seven years now and I am glad that I read two books by Doug Fields before I even started (Purpose Driven Youth Ministry & My First Two Years of Youth Ministry). I don't think it is ever too late to read these books. They helped me see the importance of having a purpose and being scheduled.

I always wanted to go against the common generalization that "youth pastors are lazy and just hang with teens and eat pizza"! I wanted to do my job to the best of my ability to serve the LORD and have a reason for everything the youth ministry did. I found out very early how important my "down time" was. 

I call "down time" anything that is NOT youth related. This does not mean going to a football or basketball game or a play at the local high school. This is time that I specifically block out of my calendar for either "me" time or my family.

I do a lot of things in my "down time" such as; hang out with friends (and not talk about church or ministry), golf, run, do yard work, spend time with my wife, spend time with my son, spend time as a family, and read non-youth related books.

I realized when I first started working at the church that my job is never done. There is always one more thing that I can do. Since I was never done, I had to learn to walk away and leave the rest up to God (really it is all up to him)!

Make sure you are incorporating "down time" into your schedule so that you can be refreshed and stay strong to lead the ministry that God has put you in charge of!

From Jon Andrews: Wakarusa Missionary Church

TOP TEN LIST

During the last 12 years of youth ministry, first as a volunteer, then as a part-time preteen director, to now being full time staff, I feel like I have learned a little bit about what works and a lot about what doesn't work. I have put together a Top Ten list. So here goes ...

10. TIME: Students love having time with youth workers! Get the most bang for your buck. Use high school sporting events. You can connect with both junior and senior high students. You not only get to hang with the athletes, but fans (parents), band members, and all of their friends on a neutral turf.

9. LIKE-MINDED ADULTS: Students crave relationships and acceptance from adults that are like-minded of their parents that are NOT their parents. I think back to my own time as a student. It was my uncle that could speak truth into my life. Often times it was almost word for word what my parents said or would have said. Yet, coming from him it just seemed to click with me. I was able to not just hear what was being said...I actually listened.

8. CARE: For yourself! This means mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I know that over the last couple of years since I have begun to run, I have most of my memorable times with God. There have been times that I ran 3 to 4 miles and don't remember running them ...okay, my body does ...however mentally, emotionally, and spiritually I was so connected with God that was all there was. I heard this question one time and it always makes me think. "Can you ever be at your best spiritually, if you are not at your best physically, mentally, and emotionally?"

7. SHUT UP & LISTEN: I have discovered that over the years there are many times that I need to shut up and listen. Awkward silence is called that for a reason, it is meant to be awkward. It isn't always our job to fill it. Students are smart; they usually have the answer to their own questions. It is our job to help them find the answer.

6. LONE RANGER: This one may seem a little obvious and still needs to be here. You are dealing with people, and people are messy. Find a person or a team of people that you can meet with to bounce ideas off of, to be held accountable to, to travel this ministry journey with you. There is a great team of youth pastors and others that passionately love students. I would encourage you to tap into one or all of them. YOU can't do youth ministry alone. It is not about YOU!

5. TOUCH: The invention of the fist bump is a terrific way to connect with those students whose love language is physical touch. I would also suggest lots of high fives and the famous one-armed hug. While doing this, remember there are students who are uncomfortable with invasions of personal space.

4. COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE: In this day of technology, there is absolutely no reason that someone should say, "I didn't know." Utilize text messaging (there are some great websites that will allow you to send group texts), Facebook, Twitter, blogs, webpages, PowerPoint's before service ...and those are just for the students. While parents are indeed catching up to the students in the use of technology, they still appreciate an old-fashioned phone call or post card.

3. TALK: Spend time talking with students one on one, and in small groups. They are craving your attention. They want to feel like they are the only ones in the room, that they are more important than anything else.

2. BOUNDARIES: These must be in place. I have been at the point of working 80 - 100 hours a week. That was not healthy on so many different levels. Now understand me ...there are times that you may need to be there for your students that don't fit into a nice 8:00-5:00 time frame. However, YOU are the one responsible for YOUR marriage and your family. You should never jeopardize them by having an affair with the Church.

1. PRAY: You should start your day and end your day in prayer. That is what this is all about. It has been my experience that there is NO way to answer the call to youth ministry without God's help.

From Matt Ransom, Youth Pastor: Brenneman Memorial Missionary Church

What Are You Reading?

Whenever I have a conversation with a certain friend of mine, beyond the casual, "hi, how are you?", I know that this question will be asked: "So, what are you reading?"

As he asks the question, he's not looking for the usual suspects, i.e. the newspaper, Sports Illustrated, People, etc. He is wanting to know what books I am reading to better myself...what books I'm reading that are challenging me in my walk with Christ.

Sometimes that can be a difficult question to answer, because as I look at my schedule, I find that outside of Scripture, there is not anything that I am reading that is challenging me. At other times it is encouraging to be able to talk about what God is showing me through the different books I am reading.

So today, I ask you that question ...what are you reading? Beyond the fun, beyond the betterment of your student ministry, beyond the have to, what books are you reading to challenge you and to grow your personal relationship with Christ?
 

Planning with Purpose: YW2YW Lunch & Training

Saturday, April 30

9:00a - 1:00p

Crystal Valley MC

Speaker: Terry Bley

Cost: First two FREE

Each additional only $5.00

 Register by April 22!

Focus of discussion will include:

• short range & long range planning
• goal setting
• team building (working with volunteers)
• building a discipleship process that matches your community, your church, and you
• building intentionality into your scheduling that allows your heart to stay hot
• time management techniques
  

From Adam Sharp, Youth Pastor: Crystal Valley Missionary Church

 

 

 

A Recap of a Youth Group's Commitment

I have a little puppy named Harriet and every time we take her outside on a walk she always sits and looks at the birds and just wags her tail. I don't know why but it brings me so much joy knowing she is having fun outside and noticing things that I pass by every single day. Mainly because I just don't have time to look at the birds.

This reminded me of what our students were going through this last month. They were taking time out of their day and noticing the little things that God is whispering to them. I know during one of the days when we fasted from lunch tables, we had a couple of students go and sit with a different group of students. They had a great time talking with them on why they were moving lunch tables for the day, and they had a great conversation on why they were fasting.

So many of our students have talked about how much they enjoyed actually hearing from God in different situations. Another fun story ...we had a freshman girl on a day when we were fasting from food who went into the choir practice room to pray. As she was praying for a specific friend to come to know Christ, that same friend walked into the choir room to find her. They had a great conversation about God. That freshman called me right after school in tears because God actually listened to her and then gave her the words to say to her friend.

I could go on and on about different stories from this fast and how even for me as a youth pastor, doing this fast with our students brought me to a very humble state. I had to confess to junior high students who didn't eat food all day or didn't have any caffeine, that I did. They were angry because they fought through the hard times and won out in the end and I failed. It was great getting called out by a junior high guy who saw me drinking pop on a day we were fasting from caffeine. He came and snatched the pop out of my hand and threw it away. I loved it!

I would highly encourage all youth groups to go through a fast like this. It will be a test and you will have students who totally hate it, but the ones who grasp it ...it can change their lives! Our student ministries won't be the same.

A GETAWAY FOR YOUTH WORKERS & THEIR SPOUSE

STOP! OKAY ...NOW READ CAREFULLY! When you saw the title of this post, you may have decided to stop reading because you have already decided that you won't be going! Here might be some of your reasons:

• Too hard to get childcare
• The money is just not there
• I've never gone before, I don't know these people
• I have to teach on Sunday
• I have an ingrown toenail

MOST of these are very legitimate reasons! (That last one was just to see if you're still reading.)

Now let us give you some reasons to go:

• You spend all your time with teenagers (not a bad thing), but ...
• It's time to spend a weekend with your spouse and other youth workers
• It's a "getaway" ...get away!
• You will be encouraged through worship & great teaching & sharing
• The hotel is awesome!
• There's a Starbucks in the hotel lobby
• You don't HAVE to attend any sessions...make this weekend what YOU need it to be
• Spend Saturday afternoon doing something fun during the free time with other youth workers ...or just sleep, or swim in the indoor pool
• You will have fun!
• You will be so glad you made the decision to go

Speaker/Facilitator

Now that you're convinced, let's talk details.

Date: May 6-8 (you have the option of staying one or two nights)

Location: Courtyard by Marriott, downtown Ft. Wayne (website: http://tinyurl.com/4njmlzh)

Worship Leader

Go to the MCNCD website to download a registration now!