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Jeff ThompsonMore Posts The biggest pain for Youth Workers

Over the last week we’ve been meeting with youth workers and hearing from them about their ministries. It’s been fun and rewarding to hear what God is doing in ministries all over the country. I posted about some great things happening here. I’ve also heard some stories of things that are painful and frustrating. Here’s a few of the most consistent points of pain we’ve been hearing:

- Finding resources can be difficult: many youth leaders express frustration with finding a resource (curriculum, lesson plans, games, activities, etc.). It’s very difficult to find something that they felt met all their needs. The common response was to find and use several resources that added together to what they needed.

- Parents just don’t understand (just like The Fresh Prince): youth leaders everywhere are struggling with parents not viewing youth ministry as important to their kids life as school, sports, music, whatever. We blogged about this issue here. Parents don’t believe a Bible study, Sunday school class, youth group meeting, retreat, mission trip, or service experience is as important in the life of their child as those other things. It’s almost universal in youth ministry right now.

- Students are over-committed: nearly every conversation I’ve had in the last 2 years with youth workers involves this topic. Kids just have so much (too much) going on. Between school, jobs, sports, family commitments, boyfriend/girlfriend, and whatever else their is youth group can barely be fit into their lives. They have to be here, do that, finish this, attend whatever and then try to make it to youth group if they can. It’s really hard to develop deep relationships with students you don’t see very often.

- Money: it’s a fact of ministry life right now. There isn’t as many dollars available for ministry as there used to be for many people in ministry. And yet great youth ministry is still happening. People fundraise, do less, choose less expensive programs but they are still doing ministry.

What about you? What’s the big pain for you in ministry right now? We’d love see if we could help.

1 View Comments April 3, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts What’s working with youth leaders

We’ve been out this week meeting with Youth Leaders. It’s been great to hear the stories and meet folks who are giving their lives to the students in their churches. Here’s a couple things they’ve said are working well in their ministries.

- Mission trips and service experiences: Students love serving. The youth leaders I’ve been speaking to hear from their students that they’d rather serve or get involved than just meet, discuss and play games together.

- Relationships are key: Every youth leader this week has said that the youth in their church seem to be crying out for relationship. They value time together with their youth leader outside of “normal” church activity. Meet over coffee. Watch a sporting event. Go to a movie. These times are just as valuable (sometimes more valuable) than a regular youth group meeting.

- Great curriculum works. Bad curriculum is almost worse than doing nothing: Many youth workers have expressed frustrations finding great curriculum. But when they do – the students really respond and are engaged.

- There actually are some churches that aren’t just focused on #’s: It’s been very refreshing to hear about youth ministries that don’t feel pressure for numbers but are free to pursue transformation and life change. A very cool part of this week.

What’s working in your ministry? Please share some of the ideas and things that you feel are going great and helps you to love working with the students in your church?

2 View Comments March 28, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts The Future of The Church and Youth Ministry

This week Simply Youth Ministry Today had a couple great articles from Kurt and Josh about the Future of Youth Ministry.

The Future of Youth Ministry

The Future of The Church

Two things jumped out from these acticles:

1) Kurt gets it right when he says that youth ministry will move to being less “professional.” We talk to a youth leader, virtually every day, who were full-time and are now part-time or were part-time and are now volunteer leaders. It’s just a fact of life youth ministry is facing…

2) I really appreciated Josh’s acknowledgement of missions as an integral part of preparing students to be the future of the Church. We believe that whole-heartedly and love when others preach that message as well.

If you like what you read in those articles, please subscribe here. It’s a great great read!

Add Comment March 17, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Parents just won’t let go

We’ve recently posted about the difficulty of getting students to commit to a mission trip here and here. But it’s an issue that many of you face as you try to finalize the people who will attend your mission trip this summer. Let’s address one more of the reasons kids don’t commit – Parents not letting go.

I have a teenager that calls my house “home”. I make him wear pads when he rides his skateboard. I make him wear shin guards even when he’s just playing a pick-up game of soccer. He takes his cell phone with him to school “just in case” he needs us. We (parents of teenagers “we”) are a protective group of people. I never did or had any of the things I just listed I do for/to my son. And yet… I “make” him. However, I consider myself a pretty “easy-going” parent. I don’t make my kids wear helmets when they ride bikes. Only my teenager has a cell phone not his two younger brothers. Etc…

But all of us in youth ministry have dealt with or are dealing with a parent who just can’t seem to let their child go on the mission trip. It doesn’t really matter what the reasons are. They simply don’t think it’s a good idea or safe for their child to go with you.

Here’s how you can help them feel more comfortable.

1) Be Professional: I’ve said this before but it bears repeating. Parents can’t possibly trust you or put their kids in your hands if you come across to them as a sloppy, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, make-it-up-as-you-go-along leader. Why would they trust you with their child? Here’s a couple specific ways you can appear to be professional (even if you’re not really there yet).

- Plan as far in advance as you can. Most mission trips take 6 – 9 months to plan really well. You can do it in less but it just compresses the schedule.

- Make sure you know the details of your mission trip. Parents care about the big stuff – the “major” basics. Where you’re going. Where you’re staying. What you’re doing. Who you’re serving. Be as specific as you can about these big things.

- Bring along other great adults leaders with you on the trip. This is especially important if you are a younger youth leader. Parents will like the fact that you understand the importance of mature leadership.

2) Have an end result in mind: Parents that are reluctant to let go of their kids will be more likely to let them go if they see a concrete benefit for their child. Be sure to to spell out exactly what you believe students will receive as a result of attending the mission trip. A new perspective on life. Leadership experience. Less materialistic. A closer relationship with Jesus. Tell parents what their kid gets by going with you on the mission trip.

3) Have a safety plan: This should be basic but it’s very important to a protective parent. Have plans, back-up plans, and “then what” plans. Here’s some basic things to include in a safety plan.

- Supervision: what’s your adult to student ratio. 1 to 5 is good but no less than 1 to 7. How many adults will be serving with the youth when your at the project.

- Driving: How do you chose drivers? Do you charter buses with professional drivers? What about insurance?

- Medical Issues: Release forms. Insurance information. Nearest hospital or urgent care to your mission location. Make sure you cover these things.

4) A “What-If” List: Another name for this is the “worst-case scenario list”. The best way to plan this list is to think through everything that could possibly go wrong on your mission trip and what you’d do about it – step by step. Vehicle breakdown. Food issues. Serious injury. No supplies for projects. Death. Take the time, in advance, so you won’t have to think if something like this happens. You’ll have a plan.

None of these four steps are going to guarantee that a parent who struggles with letting their kid go will suddenly let them. But it will take you four big steps in that direction. Overcoming the fears of parents is not a easy or one time thing. It will take time. You’ll be proving yourself over and over again to them. These ideas will help.

Add Comment February 28, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Growing up too fast and staying young too long

Kurt Johnston, over at juniorhighministry.com, had a really interesting post earlier this week about youth ministry and students and societal pressures.

Too Old, Too Soon; Too Young, Too Long

As Kurt admitted, this is an issue that we all know about but we aren’t sure what to do about. It’s becoming a personal issue for me. My oldest son turned 13 a couple weeks ago. Something about that age has made me take notice of things. What he watches. What he listens to. What he and his best friend talk about as I drive them to school each morning. What words does he use? How does he dress? It’s evident to me that he’s feeling some kids of “pressure” to be too old, too soon.

But… how do I prepare him for adulthood without stretching him beyond just being a kid? How do any of us in our ministries safely do that? That’s a great topic to discuss with your ministry team. How do you keep kids form growing up too fast and prepare them to be adult followers of Jesus?

Kurt mentioned these ideas are going to be part of his Junior High Ministry workshop at Simply Youth Ministry Conference. If you’re going to be at SYMC take advantage of this opportunity to dig deeper.

Add Comment February 23, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Planning a Mission Trip is way more than details!

Mission trips can be very heavy on logistics. Where you go. Where you stay. Who you serve. How you serve them. What you eat. How you get there. And many more details… Ugh. In the mountain of all that info, it’s easy to miss planning and preparing for what may be the most important thing that will happen on your mission trip.

Your students encountering Jesus in new and powerful ways.

Let’s quickly make sure we agree on a few things (I’m sure we do, just double-checking):

The goal of youth ministry overall is to help young people grow closer to Jesus.
As youth leaders we’re always looking for the best method to “transport” our students closer to Jesus.
Missions are one form of “transportation” that are remarkably effective.

OK, do we agree? If so, then…

In order to make a mission trip most effective you need a clear idea of where you want your young people to go… and how to help create that environment on the trip for Jesus to work.
Having a well-developed plan for a deep spiritual experience is key to reaching your ultimate goal. This is true whether you build the experience or you select an experience built by others.

To get started here’s several questions to ask to help shape the spiritual growth goals you have in mind as part of your mission experience.

Where are my students and adults at spiritually?

- individually

- the group as a whole

How do the following issues impact your times of worship or spiritual programming.

- the location of the mission trip

- the geography (urban, rural, jungle, hotel?)

- the travel required to get to your mission location

- the stories and background of those you’ll serve

- the type of service or outreach you’ll be doing

Where would I like my participants to be at the end of this trip? In terms of

- knowing God more?

- understanding service more?

- personal faith / salvation?

- understanding compassion?

- or what else?

Now, look at all the answers to those questions, and you’ll begin to get a picture of the spiritual aspects and possibilities of your mission trip. Use all of this thinking and information to come up with a top spiritual goal of trip. Then apply this thinking and goal to the following aspects of your mission trip…

The Before…

Preparing the hearts of the congregation you’re leaving behind

- Make your spiritual expectations clear and realistic to other ministry staff, pastors and parents.

- Emphasize spiritual goals as equally important as the service part. This will help others understand why you’re focusing so much on this aspect.

- The more realistic and clear you are, the greater support you’ll get before, during and after the trip.

The same applies for your students and adults who are participating in the trip

- Let them know what to expect

- At the same time, don’t give away the best parts

- Prepare pre-trip devotional content that prepares everyone for the experience.

The During…

- Do what you planned to do AND be prepared for the unexpected

- The more you’ve carefully planned, the better you’ll be prepared to experience and process God’s unexpected events. The things you should plan for:

Devotions – daily during the trip

Worship time – at least daily

Times of debriefing and reflection – if not daily several times during the trip

Special Note:

Asking good questions is a great way to help people dig deeper and encounter Jesus — the hard work is preparing them in advance. An example from our ministry: a couple years ago we did a foot washing experience as part of worship during our mission trips. After the experience, we planned a time for small groups to debrief. We started out with pretty standard questions, “How did this feel?” What was difficult or easy about the experience?” But it never felt like we were helping people dig deep. Then we came up with this question — “How would this experience have been different if Jesus was sitting in your circle?” That changed everything. The level of depth and interaction caused by that single question was amazing. Students really began to think about how Jesus might have handled a situation or how He would’ve acted or what He would’ve said. Pretty cool…

The After…

- Post- trip devotions — be sure to create “space” for people to continue processing the experience after it’s over. A great way to do this is through personal devotions that give participants a chance to focus on what happened and how it has changed them.

- Post- meeting and celebrations — plan times for the entire group to get back together. One more way to keep the experience top-of-mind and help make decisions made during the trip “real” now that everyone is home.

Reunion for everyone a couple months after the trip

Celebration worship service for all who attended.

Give a report to your church of the mission trip experience. It could be at a worship service, a board meeting, etc…

Implement local, ongoing community service. The service doesn’t need to end just because you’re home. There are needs right in your town.

It’s easy to get caught up in the mountain of details just to make a mission trip happen. My encouragement to you is to take that little extra time and focus on that other part of the mission trip. The God changing lives part. You won’t regret do a little “detail” work in that area. I promise.

1 View Comments February 21, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Making your mission trip easier for you… and a great experience for your students

So… you’re going on a mission trip this summer. You’re the one in charge and you’re planning everything. You’ve selected the location, the local partner, the service you’re doing, how long you’re going to be there, the place you’re going to stay, the meals you’re going to eat, who’s speaking during your worship services, and who’s driving the vans. Whew! Did I leave anything out?

That’s a ton of work. And then, you’ll be the one in charge the whole time that you’re there (not to mention the trip to and back). Wow… that’s a lot. But, wait…

Doug Fields’ post about Serve first… lead second made me think about all the incredible leadership opportunities that exist in a week-long summer mission trip. Within the context of that week away from home, in uncomfortable situations, real significant growth can be be produced in a teenagers life. It’s a great situation to give them a chance to lead. Here’s a few ways you can facilitate that and make your life easier during the mission trip.

1) The Service Project: Why not let one of your youth be the leader at the project site? Once you know that details of the project and have made sure the basic safety issues are covered – let one of your kids lead. How cool would it be to see a 15 year-old girl organize and direct the work of her peers and adults? Imagine the pride a teenager would feel knowing they gave the guidance and encouragement everyone needed to serve well. You’ll be there to make sure nothing “goes wrong” but maybe you can give up control and see your students succeed.

2) The Worship and Devotions: You’ve planned for times of worship during your mission trip. Think about how you can give students a chance to lead in those moments. Can a student lead a devotion during lunch at your service project? Could a different student pray each night as part of your worship service? You could also encourage your teenagers to share a testimony or “God Sighting” of what God is doing in their life (recently or during the trip).

3) At Your Lodging Facility: This is great place for your kids to step up and take the lead. Let a student lead free-time activities. Give a student the opportunity lead the dish washing crew or the bathroom cleaning crew. If you’re cooking your own meals, give your students the chance to actually cook (please follow applicable safety guidelines).

Your mission trip experience can be so much more than only serving someone in need. And it can be so much more than you being the only one leading. There are many, many opportunities for you to see real growth in students. Don’t miss out on the chance to see the teenagers in your group grow as leaders as well.

Add Comment February 17, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Preparing Volunteer Adults to Lead

The summer mission trip season is only 5 months away. By now, you probably know the students and adults who will be going on your mission trip. I know that feels like the important work (can’t have a trip without people, right?) but getting everyone ready is just as important – especially the adults.

Here’s a few important things to focus on as you prepare your adults for their experience:

Refresh

Mission trips can be stretching, challenging, rewarding, overwhelming and inspiring. But let’s be totally honest. They are tiring. Your adults will be serving long days. Working hard on projects. Dealing with youth and issues and other adults. They’ll be getting less sleep than they are used to. That’s a recipe for exhaustion. You will need to think ahead and take advantage of every opportunity to “Take care of yourselves.” You will need to look for opportunity to grab downtime while on the trip. Agree together to be honest with each other during the week of the mission trip. If anyone needs a break or a nap or just a quick run to get a cup of coffee, make a promise to tell each other. Your teenagers will know if you are worn out, tired and maybe grumpy. When there’s a chance to get a break, take it.

Something else that’s part of Refresh is “Be a bungee cord”. Mission trips are hard work. It will feel like you’re “on” 24/7 each and every day of the trip. And, truthfully, you are. There may come a time where an adult may just want to throw in the towel. They’ll feel things like – It’s too hot, the kids are too difficult, the food is not like home, I can’t sleep on my air mattress, I’m way out of my comfort zone. You will need to bounce back when things are harder than you thought. All the youth on the mission trip will pick up on the attitude and behavior of you and your adults. You are the example the teenagers will follow. Be ready to bounce back from whatever may happen on the trip!

Relate

Your adults will be relating to a bunch of teenagers on your mission trip. Here’s some ideas to help us Relate.

#1 — Don’t be a Control Freak!

Remember the trip is about the teenagers — not us. Your role as adults is to encourage and guide. Not be a director or dictator. One way any of us can fall into being a dictator is on the project site. Allow the kids to lead. You’ll be there to give guidance and encouragement. The one time you need to be sure to be the leader is when it comes to safety at your project. If you ever see something at camp that looks unsafe or inappropriate or just something you are uncomfortable with, please let the mission trip staff know right away.

#2 — Don’t be creepy.

Being a creepy adult is not something that any of us want to be. But you need to make sure that none of your adults are interpreted that way. A creepy adult is someone who acts inappropriately — telling off-color jokes, makes comments about teenagers of the opposite gender that could be construed as sexual in nature, or makes inappropriate physical contact. And yes, that could even include a misinterpreted hug. The key is “misinterpreted”. There have been adults that have done things or said things unintentionally that still made a teenager feel uncomfortable. Our advice to you is to always err on the side of being overly cautious. Nothing would ruin your trip faster than someone not understanding something any one did or said. Enough said.

RELAX
Your adults are going to do a great job serving on your mission trip. You are going to be with some of the best, most idealistic people — teenagers. They feel indestructible and invincible. They are willing to take anything on and believe they can accomplish it. Here’s a great way to Relax and still be the adult on your mission trip. “Play zone defense.” This means giving kids some space and seeing how things work out. Playing zone defense is another way to say that you and your adults are present. You are setting the big guidelines and boundaries but allowing your teenagers to grow and learn within the experience of your mission trip.

And the last idea is simply — “Look to Jesus.” There will be moments of joy, stress, anxiety, excitement, fun, and any other emotion you can think of. Jesus will be right there with you. Know that. Look for ways to help your youth understand that. God is right there with you the entire mission trip. That’s the magic of a mission trip. You’re immersing yourself in what God is doing — every minute of every day. So be ready for God to show up and do something!

These ideas and principles will help your adults be ready for the greatest week possible!

Add Comment February 14, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts What to do when parents aren’t supportive

Last week I posted about reasons youth workers are struggling to get kids to commit. One of the most frequent “complaints” was that parents weren’t supportive of the mission trip. Or said another way – Going on a mission trip isn’t as important to parents as band camp, sports camp, summer job, family vacation, etc.

What can you do when you face this? Here’s a couple helpful hints and action steps you can take.

- Make sure a mission trip isn’t just “something the youth group does.” If your group’s mission trip isn’t integral to your overall ministry, parents will sense that. Going on a mission trip shouldn’t receive the same attention and energy as every other retreat, amusement park trip, summer camp, lock-in. You need to make the mission important – integral to your ministry – if you want parents to even begin to see it as important to their child. A mission trip is a big deal. Make sure yours is!

- Help parents understand how a mission trip develops their child. Parents want to know that going on a mission trip, instead of summer camp or a summer job, will help develop their kid into the adult they hope they will be. That’s why parents feel soccer camp, dance camp, band camp, or a summer job are so important. Those things teach their child life lessons. Lessons like – working hard, responsibility, getting along with others, learning new skills. Well… So Does a Mission Trip! Anything you can learn at another summer experience you will learn on a mission trip. Mission trips teach teenagers about working hard on a project, getting along with others in sometimes difficult situations, learning new skills while serving someone in need. Tell parents that. Let them know that their kid will get so much more than just a week away from home.

- Be professional and organized. Going away from home is big deal. Even if it’s just two states away. But more if it’s an ocean and a continent away. How can you expect parents to commit their child to a trip, if you aren’t completely prepared and organized. You can get away with a permission slip and “show up at 7 am” for a trip to the water park. You can’t behave like that taking your students on a mission trip. Period. Parents need to trust you. They are giving you their kid and you’re going to have that kid swinging hammers, sleeping who-knows-where, eating who-knows-what, serving the kind of people they probably would like the to avoid… It’s a big deal!

- Explain how a mission trip fits into the overall spiritual formation goals of your ministry. Whether you take your group on a mission trip every year or every third year as part of a rotation – you have reasons why you do that. Tell parents those reasons. If you believe a mission trip every other year in conjunction with an evangelism training event is the best way to give students a balance of living out their faith and sharing their faith, tell parents. If you believe that the combination of things that happen on a mission trip (students outside their comfort zone, serving someone in need, being away so God can connect with them) is the absolute best way to help students grow in their relationship with Jesus, make sure parents understand that. A parent that understands a mission trip is part of something big that is good for their child, they more likely they are to support it.

The more you completely integrate and highlight a mission trip with these ideas – the more parents will understand why they should make sure their child is part of the trip.

Add Comment February 11, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts The Big Day of Serving – Spring 2012

We’re very excited about our newest ministry – The Big Day of Serving. The Big Day of Serving is a one-day service event designed to be easy for a youth leader to get their youth group involved in service. The goal of Bid Day is to transform a neighborhood in a single day. It’s only $29 per person and includes lunch, a t-shirt, an opening Kick-Off Rally, all major materials and supplies for projects, devotional content during the day, and Block Party to end the afternoon.

Check out the 2012 Spring Locations:

April 21: St. Louis, MO | Medina, OH

April 28: Denver, CO | West Palm Beach, FL | Lynchburg, VA

May 5: Chicago, IL | Minneapolis, MN | Manassas, VA | Dubuque, IA

May 12: Nashville, TN

May 19: Nashua, NH