One liners from a forward

Here are some one liners from a forward... Maybe you can start a message with five of the "least funny"

• I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
• Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
• Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
• The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.
• The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
• To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
• When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.
• The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
• A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
• A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.
• Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with stalking.
• We'll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.
• When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.
• The math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a number on it.
• The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.
• The dead batteries were given out free of charge.
• If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.
• A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail.
• A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.
• A will is a dead giveaway.
• Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
• A backward poet writes inverse.
• In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.
• A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.
• If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
• With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.
• Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.
• When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
• The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
• A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France, resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.
• You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
• Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.
• He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
• A calendar's days are numbered.
• A boiled egg is hard to beat.
• He had a photographic memory which was never developed.
• A plateau is a high form of flattery.
• Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
• When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.
• If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in Seine.
• When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.
• Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.
• Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
• Acupuncture: a jab well done

Sorry :)

A MUST READ for Communicators

If you haven’t read Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley, do yourself a favor and pick yourself up a copy this week. Andy challenges communicators to limit their talk to one clear, easy to apply, one point message. I found it to be an easy read with tons of practical applications. Drop me a comment and let me know what you think. You won't be disappointed.

Living It

We all know that teaching principles is easier than living them. We also know that when a lesson is experienced it is much more impressionable on our lives. While at a retreat in October another youth minister shared how he brings those concepts together. Every month he has his students participate in a service project once a month. He selects the project for the following month by having students write ideas on flash cards and then drawing one from bowl. He uses the weeks leading up to the event to plan out all the logistical details for the event.

I have adopted this philosophy into our student leadership team. They submitted the following ideas: reading to students, visiting the elderly, yard work for neighbors, and a soup kitchen. Rather than drawing a card I had them vote on their choice for November. While planning the visit to the soup kitchen, a need was brought to my attention. Someone my wife new was put in a situation requiring her to move near her parents. As a result, the team and I decided to push back the soup kitchen to December and tomorrow we will be helping with the move.

I'm thrilled to be able to provide the students with an opportunity to help a family truly in need. This is a lesson they will never forget.

Do your students serve? If not, opportunities for service are only a relationship away.

Bored

Two weeks ago, while at our student leadership team meeting, one of the leaders said, "Dude, I've been getting bored on Sunday nights." We need some different activities.
My first thought was, "Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Okay, that wasn't my first thought. My first thought was "Wow, what else can we add? What else can we do?" We have basketball, a room full of video games, a hang out room etc.A few days ago I was thumbing through my planner and saw a quote I had written down from a speaker, "Never assume what worked yesterday will work today! Re-evaluate what is working today - it won't work tomorrow."

It's funny how often we need to re-evaluate and try something fresh. As the weather changes we have realized that the outdoor free-time activities are going to come to an end and more and more students will want activities available indoors. Our solution to this problem is a radically different layout on Sunday nights. We will switch teaching rooms and use our largest space in the building for free time during the winter months rather than the worship service. If you saw our layout, it is a pretty extreme decision.

We will go to a stage that is a third of the size. We will be going from three screens to one. The band will be playing direct from their amps not our sound system. We will be abandoning round tables and going to row seating. Why this drastic change? We realized by not thinking outside of the box we would keep a Wow factor service but have poor relational, activity time by not having sufficient activity space.

Going to the alternative room won’t be bad by any means, we will have a much more intimate setting. Messages and content will have a “different” vibe. There will be less opportunity for distractions in this location. The large room will be an awesome hang out activity station.

What extreme decisions do you need to make? What worked for you last month that might not be working now? Think about it before you find yourself out in the cold.

Important Survey for Pastors

Hello Readers,

If you are a Pastor at a church please take a minute to read this blurb from our senior pastor and complete the survey.

Hey, I was wondering if you would be willing to help me do something really cool for Aids orphans in Africa. This isn't some nutty spam thing.

I am in the process of developing a strategic partnership to launch a school/Aids clinic/church plant in Nairobi Kenya.

As an author, one of the ways I want to help fund this is through a book that I write that is packaged into an all-church campaign, much like what other author’s have done.

Here’s where I need your help. I’ve created a survey to help me determine what topics/issues would be most helpful to pastors who might want to do an all-church campaign in their church.

Could you take this quick survey? I would really value your input.

Also, would you mind putting a note about this in your blog (or emailing other pastors) and encouraging them to take the survey? I will post the results to this survey on my blog on December 15th. I think the info. we gather could be really helpful to dynamic church leaders out there.

Here’s the survey link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Cn3ERIeQFZpudTx9cZzEXw_3d_3d

I really appreciate this!

Brian Jones
http://www.brianjones.com/

The End is Near... The Golden Compass

The buzz is in the air, I've received several emails urging me to get the word out, "Avoid The Golden Compass... especially if you have young kids!"

My suggestion would be to take your kids to see the movie and enter into a dialogue with them. Why should we ruin a perfect teaching opportunity? I will be going to see it and look forward to a potential series we can do here on Sunday nights.

I have a few challenges for everyone who is quick to forward an email: Did you go to the movie site as well as do research on the author to confirm the claims on snopes.com? (Check out an interview on MSNBC) Does your forward go to "non-believers" and if so what emotion are you trying to evoke?

Perhaps the subject line could be... "Great teaching opportunity, Hollywood produces a movie that mentions a creator being overtaken by its creation." I've seen a similar story with a different outcome in Isaiah 14:12-14. Maybe you should check it out with me.

Events

If you want expert advice on event planning you should probably go to Jonathan's website http://www.blogger.com/www.thescource4ym.com. On his site you will find a book and a podcast addressing the issue as well as some event ideas.

If you want my two cents, read on. Regardless of the size of your ministry events are a great way to get students to show up. This is true if you have 4 students or 400. Here is a quick list of some things to consider as you plan your event.

• Determine the Purpose - Every event doesn't need to have a theological component. Don't try to spiritualize your middle school trip to the corn maze.
• Pick a Strategic Time - Push to have your event either during your regular youth group time or if you meet on Sunday mornings, immediately following your youth group time. We used to do our events on Friday night in order to get students to show up for something fun. The problem was they already had fun plans for Friday night. Our youth group time is on Sunday nights for the convenience factor. If a student can show up on Sunday for an event, they can certainly show up the following week for group.
• Get Them to Return - Give them a reason to come back after the event. This is not budget dependent! If you have a budget that allows you to give out t-shirts to every student who shows up the following week do it! Showing pictures or a video of the event the following week, that's free!
• Count the Cost - The larger the number of attendees for events, the more planning you need to do. There will come a time when you can't do an event every month of the year. When I first started, we had a fun event for every month: Jan - Ski Trip, Feb - PCTC Conference, Mar - Camp Tockwagh (Service Project), Apr - Movie Night, May - Bowling, Jun - MS Camp Out/HS Graduation Service, Jul - MS Mini Golf/HS CIY Conference, Aug - Movie night, Sep - Amusement Park, Oct - MS Corn Maze and Bonfire/HS Haunted House (the following week we would teach on Demons), Nov - Shady Maple (All You Can Eat Smorgasbord), Dec - Mall Scavenger Hunt and Christmas Party. Currently we do a large scale quarterly event.
• Big Yellow School Bus - Contact a local bus company for transportation. You will be surprised how affordable they are and here are three benefits: you get a professional driver, you can easily accommodate a wide number of attendees (from 1 to 72), you can actually talk to students and not have to drive!
• Cell Phone List - Put parents at ease by giving them several leaders phone numbers.
• Event Release Form - Keep a form on hand for the entire year that works as a waiver and insurance purposes.
• Split the Groups - If you want HS Students to invite their friends, don't have MS students be a part of the event.
• Bring a Friend Incentive - We've done this two ways in the past; first, the kid who brings the most friends gets a prize like an (ipod shuffle) or gets to (shave Sally's head). The second option was "for every two friends you bring you get (a movie ticket) gets a chance to win (four movie tickets). Whoever brings the most friends seems to be going better for us now because we have some powerful bringers. In the past, an incintive for everyone to bring others was better because the same kid was winning every time.
• Hang out before and after - Before and after your event, depending on the time, encourage your leaders to get together with the students. Sleepovers the night before or after the event were huge for the students.

That's all I got for now. If you have any other great tips please leave them as comments. If you have any specific questions email me!

Great Resources

If you're like me you are always looking for great resources. Here is a list that our teaching team came up with. Enjoy, and please add any additional that we missed in the comment section.
Video Ideas:

http://youtube.com/ (use tabs for highest rated/most used)
http://www.preachingtoday.com/
http://www.sermonspice.com/
http://meatloafmedia.com/
http://www.bluefishtv.com/
http://www.ministryandnmedia.com/
http://www.36parables.com/
http://www.thesource4ym.com/
http://www.worshipfilms.com/
http://www.lifechurch.tv/
http://www.mediashout.com/
http://www.creativepastors.com/
http://floodgateproductions.com/
http://imeem.com/
http://barnafilms.com/
http://www.churchmedia.net/
http://postmodernparables.com/
http://worshiphousemedia.com/
http://radiatefilms.com/
http://sermonvideos.com/
http://visualscripture.com/
http://www.highwayvideo.com/
http://www.ignitermedia.com/
http://www.atomfilms.com/
http://funnyjunk.com/
http://www.collegehumor.com/
http://ebaumsworld.com/
http://funmansion.com/

Preaching, Stories and Information:

http://Sermonnews.com/
http://Willowcreek.com/
http://northpoint.org/
http://www.creativepastors.com/
http://GCCwired.com/
http://Pastors.com/
http://www.lifechurch.tv/

Blogs:

http://Evotional.com/
http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/

Songs:

http://Billboard.com/
http://www.myspace.com/
http://www.rhapsody.com/
http://www.apple.com/itunes/
http://MTV.com/
http://www.vh1.com/
http://Pandora.com/
Any radio station’s playlist

Worship Music:

Rhapsodyradio http://internetradio.wetpaint.com/page/Rhapsody+Radio?t=anon
http://Christianmusic.com/
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/
http://Christianmusic.org/
http://Worshipmusic.com/
http://todayschristianmusic.com/
http://www.christianmusicplanet.com/
http://www.ccmmagazine.com/
http://Klove.com/
http://Worshiptogether.com/

Dramas:
http://Dramashare.org/
http://Churchdramas.com/
http://willowcreek.com/ServiceBuilder/


Thanks!

More of Me

Because you just can't get enough information about me... check out my new blog at http://www.mattsilver.org/.

Enjoy :)

Podcasts

So I finally broke down and got an Ipod. Although I've had a shuffle for a while for activities I finally forked out the money for a nano. One of the primary reasons for the purchase was the ability to listen to Podcasts. My drive times are now opportunities to learn a few things or to listen to some entertainment that I actually care about. For me it's like Tivo... I'm not watching more TV, I'm watching better TV!

I'm sure my subscriptions will change in the future, but as of now here they are...

As you can tell, I enjoy listening to other communicators (none of which compare with BRIAN JONES:) ). Youth Ministry specific stuff comes from Simply Junior High, Simply Youth Ministry, Youth Specialties, and the Source for Youth Ministry. The rest are either entertainment or leadership training.

If you don't have an Ipod yet... go get one and get Podcasting! Did I mention that all of those listed above are free!

Also, post any of your favorites that I should check out!

Rise and Shine

So... the early bird gets the worm. I'll settle for a bowl of cereal or perhaps some eggs and bacon. At least that's what I've said for the longest time. It seems everyone I talk to who has a consistent daily quite time with God, does so at the crack of dawn (or earlier)!

My argument has always been I function on Vampire time. I have always possessed the most energy in the evening. The times I did the early morning thing it would only take 1 late night and BANG, I'm sleeping in again and going back to my preferred schedule. I would get up at 7:00 (high school students would have to get up earlier than me!) and still be able to have at least a 1/2 hour of time to read and pray. But then out of nowhere my son became mobile. It happened just a little over 2 months ago. Poor little dude can't get up when he falls, but he can get around as long as he's up.

While reading I would here him running around and screaming and in that moment I wanted to just be with him. I would call whatever time I had spent reading and praying, be it 25, 15, or occassionally 5 minutes, as "good enough" for the day. After all I would inevitably have God moments throughout the day.

Well for me the well began running a little dry. Not concrete, but not fresh water either. So I made the decision to join the early bird club and get up at 5:??. It's quite a feeling to look out your window and see that no one else is awake in your neighborhood, no lights are on. It really gives you a feeling that it is just you and God.

I then go down to the basement and spend some time with God. I can't say I feel perky when I get up yet, but I am excited to actually have some time to think, pray, journal, read, and reflect. I feel the water's rising in the well.

So when is your quiet time? God is available 24x7 not only in the wee hours of morning, but when are you available. If you're like me, good intentions to read in the evening fell victim to catching up with my TIVO shows. Morning became a necessity.

Leader Retreat 07

For the longest time I've wanted to take the adult leaders on a retreat to provide them an opportunity to bond together, get refreshed, and even take on some training. The solution in the past has been to invite our leaders to join me on a trip to a student ministry conference such as NYWC, NYMC, or Willow Creek's SMC. The current number of volunteers as well as the addition of student leaders has limited that options appeal. I knew in order to effectively train and motivate our leaders we would need to put on our own retreat. To me that sounded like a daunting but necessary task.

While in a forum at the Orchard Group retreat, a meeting designed for the churches planted by the Orchard Group, I began to network with the other youth ministers. One of them, Jon Hentrich, said he had been putting on retreats for the last few years. After a few discussions we determined that we should team up and do one together.

Last weekend we had our first. We met at a church in the heart of Brooklyn (NYC baby). Although the accommodations were not at the Hilton caliber, we had a great time. The format was very simple and flexible...

Friday - We arrived late in the evening and had a time of Worship and Prayer.

Saturday - Pancakes and Eggs for breakfast! Through the course of the day we kept the same format for three training topics: First, watch a conference DVD, then have a large group discussion, followed by a breakout within our own ministries. Our topics were mentoring youth, the Sunday night program, and personal evangelism. Following the training we went to Time Square for dinner and to hang out.

It's amazing what you can do in a day and a half. I am convinced that these retreats are invaluable to your ministry. You know the ways conferences impact your students; don't expect any less from a retreat for your adults. Take care and have a great retreat!

What is STRETCH?

STRETCH is our summer event designed explicitly for middle school students. The purpose of STRETCH is to connect students with peers, our ministry, and ultimately God. This event isn’t designed to cause a conversion experience, although that happened for some students last year, but is designed to get students interested in God. In our area students embrace many of the stereotypical thoughts about church: it’s boring, irrelevant, and a waste of time. We try to program an environment to shred those beliefs.

This years theme is "Out of the Box" and breaks down for the three days as follows: Day 1 - the box your peers put you in (dealing with the pressures to fit in), Day 2 - the box adults place you in (believing in yourself despite being stuck between childhood and adulthood), and Day 3 - the benefits of allowing God to take you out of the box. Here are the top things I would recommend when hosting a middle school camp:

Promote it
We created flyers, placed door hangers in the community, and continuously sent out emails to our people. Utilize your web-site and create a MySpace (ours isn't utilized to its potential)!
Involve Others - Your event will not be great if it rests on your efforts alone. Events are the best way to find new leaders for your ministry because you get to observe others in a short term volunteer commitment. Events are also a great way to allow your current team members to STRETCH their leadership potential. Obviously this allows for specialization in ministry areas allowing for great success.

Bring on the WOW
This event needs to take your normal programming to a much higher level. For example, we always provide an hour of free time for our students to get involved in activities. For STRETCH instead of the normal games and regular fun stuff, we are bringing in inflatables, a laser tag course, makeover station, dance instruction, video game room, etc. Do things for as many groups of students as possible. You need to have awesome elements (countdown timers, opening songs, funny media). Everything is a WOW!

Get a Speaker
If you are the point person and key coordinator for your event I would strongly discourage you from being the key speaker. I am the MC for the event and have plenty of stage time to allow students to know who I am. There is just too much going on right now and too much exhaustion setting in to speak at a high caliber for this event. Last year we used Jeffrey Dean (awesome!) and this year we are going with Travis Crim.

Utilize Local Talent
Last year we brought in a comedian for all three days but this year we did a local talent search. We are using a fire eating, uniclyclist, juggler for day 1. A illusionist/comedian (lot's of box tricks) for day 2. For day 3 we are having a local karate team come in and break stuff (they're doing it for free)! This allows for "themed" variety and keeps cost down.

Bring in a Ton of Food
Enough said. PS - Get a donation specialist on your team!

Bring a Friend Contest -
For each day of the event we give a $50.00 Credit Gift Card to the person who brings the most friends.

Give Stuff Away
Each day we are giving away something to keep the excitement of the event alive. Day 1 - Temporary Tatoos and Wristbands, Day 2 - Carabiners, Day 3 - Bouncy Balls.

Get Them Back

The week following STRETCH we show a highlights video during student ministry and give a STRETCH t-shirt to every student that attends the following week. This has been great for bringing students back to regular youth group nights and that's the point of the event!

Here is the schedule for the event along with the key elements:

• 5:45-6:30 - Registration - during this time students will be arriving, signing in, and permitted to do some of the free time activities.
• 6:30-6:42 - Students enter the building - In order to create a high energy introduction, we open the doors to our lobby area but keep the auditorium doors closed. In the lobby we will have a countdown timer as well as some funny Youtube videos looping in the background.
• 6:42-6:45 - Doors open, fog machines are kicking, and countdown video is playing with the sound system cranked. You cannot underestimate the energy created by a cranking coundown timer. Last year we did a movie collage but this year we went more of a computer generated feel from five:am productions. I know these guys personally and they are top-notch and do not charge near enough!
• 6:45-8:00 - Programming - The opening song is cranked and the kids are going nuts. We then transition into three worship songs which take students from highly energetic, to medium, to serious and focused. We then do some announcements, give-aways, games, and bring out the evening talent. The last thing of the programming segment is the main speaker.
• 8:00-9:00 - Free Time - This is when students have the blessing to be themselves! We try to have something for everyone.
• 9:00-10:00 - Optional Free Time - For those whose parents want to expand on their date night.
• 10:00 - Clean up!

If you would like any additional information or have specific questions about our event please don't hesitate to email me at matt@moviechurch.com. Please also take a moment to pray for this event being held on July 20th - 22nd.

STRETCH Yourself

This is the second year our ministry is doing a blow-out event for middle school students called STRETCH. We call it a camp but it's more like a conference or maybe better stated - our youth ministry on crack! Our entire staff, as well as over 80 volunteers, come together to make this event a success. That is what is so amazing to me!


No one can ever say that this event is a success because of his or her solo effort. Although this year has gone smoother than the previous, it is still an "ACT OF GOD" that it comes off successful. It is the passion placed by God in the hearts of his people that allows and motivates...

• 40 people to deliver 15,000 door hangers in our community to promote this event


• Props people and staging people to give up countless hours cutting themselves with scissors, getting paint on themselves, and smashing their thumbs with hammers


• Band and tech members grinding their way through both early and late practices


• People giving up their entire weekend (at the expense of vacation and shore time)


• Volunteers rising up to great heights in leadership


• Staff members bonding and loving on one another through the stress of the event

To all those involved in STRETCH or other student events in the country, THANK YOU! You inspire me!

Lightning Crashes

Sunday, June 24 - I was greeted by a tear filled student who asked if he could talk to me. We’ll call him Sam. He asked if God could speak through nature. I was baffled because wrapped in this 15 year old shell is one of the most critical thinkers I have experienced in student ministry. I’ve entered into countless conversations with him regarding the origin of evil, God’s sovereignty, is God involved in the world, why do the Eagles always lose. Yet this student seems remarkably open to God.

We grabbed a spot to sit on the side of the building and he began to share about his recent experience. He was hanging out with a friend and touched on a conversation about God, shortly after the conversation the other guy threw down his cigarette. The moment it hit the ground Sam shouted BOOM just joking around. Immediately following the joke lightning struck and thunder boomed simultaneously in less than 100 yards away.

What many would consider a random chance coincidence, Sam was convinced was an encounter with God. What I loved about the timing of our conversation is that it occurred one day before we left for the CIY (Christ In Youth) Conference. I asked him, “What are you doing this week?”

He replied with the typical… “I don’t know.” I then told him he needed to go on our trip even if we had to pick up the tab. He agreed and decided to join us.

Sam the Skeptic continued his spiritual journey the entire week. Sam decided to be baptized and give his life to God while on that trip. Sam, who was primarily concerned about himself prior to the trip, was crying and praying over students who needed God’s touch. Sam who struggled with the message about Christ stood up declaring an interest in entering vocational ministry.

Time will tell what will come of Sam’s life but one thing is for certain. God used a lightning bolt to grab his attention.

What has God used to jar you recently? What was your response?

The Big Game…

Summer is here and now the students are hanging out outside again. It wasn’t long ago that our video game room was packed and people were lining up waiting for there turn in Halo. Now basketball, football, and ultimate Frisbee are the in free time activity. I love playing outdoor sports despite the need for 600 mg of Advil the next day.

When it comes to competition, I suppose I’m not a typical athlete. I don’t really care about winning or losing. Don’t get me wrong I love to win… but I don’t get mad and stuff if I don’t. This is not the case with many of the students and even many of our leaders. They have something to prove; we have professional scouts coming to our property on a weekly basis (definite lie there).

Here are a few basic suggestions for your next big game…

Try to provide two of every sport. Have one for the athletes who love the thrill of competition and who want to win badly. Have another court/field for people who want to goof off and learn the game.

Choose the typical last student first. When it is time to choose teams and the students line up have the captains pick the students that look straight down at the ground, the ones who usually get picked last. They love it.

Ensure everyone touches the ball/disc. During our games we typically have an every other possession approach in which we alternating trying to score and trying to involve. We typically say things like “all touch” meaning that before we score everyone has to possess the ball/disc.

Create heroes. There is nothing like watching the most shy and timid student score some points. They might as well have caught the winning touch down at the Super Bowl. Make these moments come true for as many students as possible.

Remember you’re old now. You don’t have to be the best. It’s not worth the pain the next day. Take it easy on yourself.

The Evangasmack

Proverbs 12
1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates correction is stupid.

When was the last time you “got smacked?”

Last week at our Staff Lunch we all got a good lashing on the topic of evangelism. The smack didn’t come in a verbal assault delivered by our Senior Pastor but in one simple question presented by him. How many people in the last year have you brought to Christ from outside of the church? This question was difficult for me because I had to report a goose egg, A BIG FAT 0!

The way the question was asked took away the conversations I was able to be a part of as a result of students bringing friends to the ministry. I couldn’t count the conversations I had with adult visitors of the church. I simply couldn’t count the conversions that resulted in other people doing the hard part of getting people to church in the first place.

Understand that this question wasn’t asked in a competitive nature. We don’t have a big score card posted in our staff office with check marks next to our names for all the conversions we’ve been a part of (But man that could be a sweet deal! Instead of check marks we could do crosses! AWESOME!). Instead, it was a way to communicate “speed of the leader, speed of the team.” If we expect our volunteers and other attendees of our church to bring others to Jesus, then we need to be sure that we are able to communicate our own stories of doing so. We need to be able to share rejection stories of the times people weren’t interested in hearing the message and to be able to share all the joys and pains associated with being an evangelist.

So what are your conversion stats looking like? Any crosses next to your name? Do you remember what it feels like to meet a neighbor, build a relationship, and share the message of Christ? Do you remember the passion that occurred when a friend met God for the first time? I look forward to hearing your future stories and being motivated to do the same!

Welcome to Disney

Welcome to Disney,

Okay so the impossible happened… I am now a Disney fan. After spending a week there, I now think it is an awesome place to vacation. I have been one of those bah humbug Disney kinda guys until now. A few years ago I went as a guest as some friends and thought the location was great, but I never could understand why people were wowed by silly characters. My wife in particular loves the little winged demon called Tinkerbelle. Although it will be years before I cover my body in mouse ear parafanalia, I certainly have an appreciation for Disneyworld.

While there I went on a “Keys to the Kingdom Tour.” http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/tourDetail?id=KeystotheKingdomTourPage&bhcp=1

On the tour you are given some “insider” information. It’s the kind of stuff that if I told you, I would probably get my blog shut down. Okay, that’s a whole lotta dramatization. Truthfully, it would be a whole lotta typing.

Many of the things revealed on the tour are worthy of discussion but here is something that I would encourage you to reflect on. While on the tour they told us the four keys to the kingdom. Our guide explained that they are the keys to a door with four locks. She continued, “If one key is missing then the door does not open, symbolizing a less than “magical” Disney experience.”

The four keys were simple… not a list of 10 or 15 but a simple list of four:

• Safety – the number one priority of the day
• Courtesy – all cast members (employees) must treat every visitor as a guest and be hospitable
• Show – every aspect must be tied together to build a theme
• Efficient – the park must run smoothly
  

I would suggest doing an inventory of your ministry on those four simple things. As a church we must always question our spiritual direction, as a church, we must always keep the other four in check to pursue excellence.

Graduation Event

What are you doing to recognize your seniors for graduation? Over the years we have done a variety of things to give these students the props they deserve. Here is a short list of ideas that perhaps you can utilize.

– Personalized Elements – Ask all the seniors to contribute all their favorite personal pics and songs and have them loop in the beginning of the service. You could also create a “Know the Seniors Quiz” including questions about favorite quotes, best memories, etc.

– Have someone write a letter to them – Every graduating student is honored by someone reading a letter about them. The student can choose anyone they wish. Typically it’s a parent, but there have been many ministry leaders, teachers, and even fellow students chosen for the letter writing. There won’t be a dry eye in the place!

– Make it a banquet – Allow the seniors to invite guests, serve awesome desserts (or even a meal), and bring a little formality to the event. We seat people at round tables and spice up the room with decorations.

– Give meaningful gifts - Give them something they will keep for the duration. I’ve went to Five Below and bought little items to utilize in an object style lesson, but for the past two years I’ve kept it simple. Every senior receives a Bible (This year it is the TNIV College Edition – see resource list) with a personal message from me written on a blank cover page and a devotional of some sort. Hopefully with a message inside they’ll never get rid of it J

– Give them a gift from everyone – Give other students and adult leaders the opportunity to write all the seniors a message. You can simply put up a piece of poster board up at the event or like my friend Tony in MD, you can purchase a blank journal from the dollar store have these books available for an entire month at youth group.

– Pray for your seniors – Gather your seniors in a huddle and send them off in prayer.

Hope you have a great event!

Summer Heat…Evaluating Dress-Code

Last weekend was a scorcher! It was nice to have a day full of sunshine and heat (especially after several weekends of unseasonably cool temperatures)! Just like your favorite four legged friend sheds as summer approaches, it seems that some of the students that attend our youth group do the same.

We have an interesting demographic at our church because approximately 50% of our students come to our youth group without the support of their parents and without any church background. We have always followed a distraction policy. Unless a student is “hanging out” or wearing something see-through we do not comment initially. Our hope is that the student will get to the place where they develop relationships with other students, adult volunteers, and ultimately God. I am convinced that through those relationships life change will happen and the dress issue will take care of itself.

I sent this issue out to some youth ministers via email. Check out some of their responses…

- Aaron Thomas - "Well, it’s 85 in January out here and the West Coast is…let’s say, a little more liberal in their dress. I have quite a diverse crowd at youth, about 40% churched students and 60% very unchurched (which is my target audience). If I see a churched girl dressed like a hooker, I’m going to tell her that. However, unchurched students should “come as they are” and once I feel there is a trust and connection there, I (with a female leader present) will address her clothing."

– Tim Schmoyer - "Personally, I require that girls wear one-piece bathing suits or wear a non-white shirt on top of a two-piece suit. Other than that, it's kinda like an ambiguous distraction policy. If it's distracting to me or someone else by diverting attention away from the point of the meeting (like, a Bible study or something), then it's addressed. I'm not really a fan of legalistic "skirts no shorter than 6 inches above the knees" sorta rules.

However, unchurched students are a different story. I like Aaron's response. It's a good principle to follow, depending on how far you allow the "come as they are" thing to go. There are some lines that just must be drawn even for unchurched kids. Like, is a bra-less girl wearing a see-through t-shirt acceptable? I think I'd address that one right away even if she's straight off the street. It's not too much to expect students to follow certain rules. That's just a part of life: school has rules, families have them, even driving on the roads have rules. I want to create an environment where students' attention is drawn to the Lord, so if someone's inappropriate dress or behavior is severely hindering that, I'm going to address it. There's a difference between criticizing someone's dress and criticizing them personally. I think most students can tell the difference."

So... What do you think?

Closing Shop

How do you handle the ministry shutdown at the end of the evening?

Do you simply kick everyone out at a set time and it’s over? Every ministry, regardless of size and scale of programming, has to deal with the shutdown process. Maybe you deal with some of the same issues that I have. No one is passionate about cleaning up, everyone wants to be a relational superstar during the clean-up time period, the same people seem to be doing all the work and then complain about it.

I’m a firm believer that despite the program shutting down some of the best ministry happens during the time frame after the "program" has finished. About a year ago our High School Ministry met in our church office because our main services were in a movie theater. We basically had one large room full of couches, video games, AV equipment etc. Our program was from 7:30 till 9:00 and students could hang out as long as they desired up until their driving curfew. It amazed me how many students didn’t leave until 10:00, 10:30, up until 10:45. During this time frame leaders had the ability to connect with students at a deep level. They were able to pray for students and challenge the students’ relationships with God. The great thing about that office is that you could clean the entire meeting area in 15 minutes with only one or two people.

Over the summer of 06 we left the movie theater and built our first building. This greatly enhanced our ability to connect with students as we are able to offer more “stuff” for them to get involved with as well as create a higher level of ministry programming. The down side is that it would take one or two people an hour and a half to clean it all up on their own. I didn’t want to discourage the hangout time that we once had at the office but many leaders are understandably ready to leave at 10:00 in order to prepare for a long work week.

We have adopted a strategy over the past couple of months that seems to be working well for us. Maybe this will help you and perhaps you can contribute something that works well for you!

Here’s the timeline of our ministry:
4:30-6:00 Set-up
6:00-7:00 Middle School Hang Out Time
7:00-8:00 Combined Teaching for Middle School and High School
8:00-9:00 High School Hang Out Time

At 9:00, just like the old days many people are not ready to leave. Just like the old days, this is still awesome relational time! Not wanting to waste that time, we put the following timeline into practice.

9:15-9:30 Evening Recap. Four of us (myself, our arts leader, a volunteer Administrative Assistant, and a volunteer Volunteer Coordinator) get together at this time to recap the evening. We discuss every detail including set-up, the programming elements, and the hang out time. From that meeting each of us gets a task list that we will work on the following week. This meeting is great because it is weekly! We are able to recap both positive (things to keep doing) and negative (things to improve) elements. Everyone else is free to do as they please. Some people begin the clean-up process while others continue to be solely relational.

9:30-9:45 At this time we call all remaining leaders and students to come together into the large room to do a recap. At this time I ask basic questions such as “What was the God moment for you tonight?” “What was a meaningful conversation that you had with a student?” “Who interacted with (new student)?" “What is God doing in your life now?” This is also the time I share a short training tip and we pray for one another.

9:45- 10:00/10:15 This is the time we initiate the clean up sequence. It is at this time I thank everyone for being a part of the ministry and say goodnight to those that are exhausted. This goodbye time is key because I never want leaders to feel bad for leaving, they have been there for hours already! Those that remain are given direction on cleaning up. It is a beautiful thing to see students and leaders unite to accomplish a common goal, leaving ASAP to grab a bite to eat!

10:00/10:15 Optional time to eat and hangout. Although I rarely “feel” like going out after such a long day it is a lot of fun and culminates huge relational payback. We either go to Applebee’s (half price appetizers) or McDonalds. Just like the old days, we kick students out at driving curfew.

12:00 Go to sleep!

Monday – Vegetation and recovery!

I will close with these two questions:
How often do you and your volunteers get together to review the services?
Do people want to leave as soon as your programming is over or do you have to kick them out?

If Only

Need… What a funny concept. What do we really NEED? What do we NEED to have an awesome youth ministry? What do we NEED to have a great marriage? What do we NEED to have fulfillment in life? Beneath every NEED there is the potential of an excuse lurking below the surface. You can identify this with the “if only” statements. If only we had more staff. If only we had committed volunteers. If only my spouse understood me. If only Rita’s Water Ice was fat free.

This week I was at the PCTC (Pennsylvania Christian Teen Convention) planning session for 2008 and we were invited to attend an “optional” prayer meeting from 9:30 to 10:00. Truth being told, I had been doing a lot of praying that day. Tuesday was the day Ben, our Student Ministry Arts Intern, was going to give his decision as to whether he was going to come on full time or not. I had also been praying for friends of mine who have been going through a terrible situation. I honestly didn’t want to go to that room, but inside I knew I needed to be a part of that moment.

As I sat down to pray I felt restless so I decided to read the book of Philippians. When I came to Philippians 4 I was struck by verse 6 in the NLT. Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. It continues… If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. It was then I came face to face with the question, “What do I really NEED?” I decided to go before the Creator of the Universe and tell Him what I NEEDED. It radically changed my prayer. I found myself saying I think I NEED. It was easy to thank Him for all He has done. This simple exercise brought me peace and strengthened my faith.

NOW WHAT?
1. Create a list of the things that you think you NEED?
2. Pray through that list saying, “God I NEED…”
3. Spend time thanking God for what He has done.