morethandodgeball.com

GUEST POST: Training Day

As student minister?s one thing we have to always strive for is to be a perpetual student of our craft. We can never know too much about youth ministry. This is one thing that I defiantly do not have a problem with. No matter what I have done in my life I always threw myself into it full force. When I played drums in band in high school I studied, not only in school, but on my own. I listen to instructional by well known drummers at the time, I went to drum clinics, and dissected drums solos by popular drummers. When I joined the Army as a Military Police officer, I took baton instructor classes, correspondence courses, and unarmed self defense training. As youth ministers we must constantly be students of our own art. How do we do that? Here are some quick sources for training!

1: The Bible: I know I know, you?ve heard it a million times but that doesn?t make it any less true. The better your relationship with God the better off your ministry is.

2: Blogs: The cheapest form of training out there! Find a youth ministry mentor such as Josh Griffin at morethandodgeball.com, Doug Fields? Blog, Stephanie Caro?s blog, or even my own at lifeintheymfishbowl.com. Want find great ideas to try? Read a blog. Want training on ideas to help grow your youth group? Read a Blog. Also there are non blog websites out there that are great. One I love is youthministry.com. Great articles and great ideas.

3: Certificates: Many colleges offer online youth minister training for a small price. Plus you get a handy certificate to hang up on the wall. Another place to check out is youthsphere.tv. This site offers a great certificate and great training under the giants of youth ministry.

4: Group Magazine: Some of the best youth ministry ideas delivered to your door once every two months. Nuff said!

5: Other youth ministers: Your local youth minister?s network is a great source of training. You can pick up great life lessons while sitting down for a cup of coffee.

6: Youth Minister?s support networks: many denominations offer great youth minister support networks who can offer great advice and ideas.

7: Conferences: I?ve often heard conferences called the poor man?s seminary. That?s about the truth. With SYMC coming up you have the option of the large conference and it?s many options but also don?t over look the smaller local conferences that are out there, if money is an issue.

8: College: This option is not for everyone, but if you feel like God is calling you for a deeper commitment this is a great option. I?m currently enrolled online for a degree with a Student Ministry emphasis. There are many great colleges that offer Youth Ministry Masters degrees also many Seminaries that offer degrees with youth ministry minors.

9: Books: Some of the best training I?ve ever received was through two books, ?Purpose Driven Youth Ministry? and ?My First Two Years in Youth Ministry? both by Doug Fields. Books are the best way to glean ideas from well renowned youth ministers. Not just Doug but many giants of youth ministry have published books that are great training resources.

10: Last but not least: This one may strike you as odd?..your senior pastor. I know your thinking ?He did not just say I could get training from the old man/woman? Yep I went there! Some of our senior pastors were youth ministers once. They can be great resources for ideas and wonderful sounding blocks. I was thinking about revamping our ?Sunday School? class and asked our senior pastor what he thought. Low and behold we had the same idea and he had many small details that I hadn?t pondered.

If you look around there are many great resources out there for youth ministers to learn from. We really have no excuse to not stay on top of our game. You owe it to you church, your kids, and yourself to be the most well trained youth minister you can be.

Kevin Patterson is the youth pastor at Dawson Springs First Baptist Church in Dawson Spring, KY. Be sure to check out http://www.lifeintheymfishbowl.blogspot.com/ to regularly get in on his learnings, too!

simplyinsider.com

What It Is All About?

I, Jon Batch, am apart of the SYMC team and have been helping with the conference for several reasons allow me to explain.

DISCOUNTED REGISTRATIONS are still AVAILABLE

1. I really get pumped pup and renewed when I am with people (friends really) who are alongside me in the youth ministry trenches and they get me.
2. I really enjoy extra learning and time developing my youth ministry mind and faith in God
3. I spend a lot of time in my student ministry creating and fostering a safe place mentality, a place where any student can come to and feel safe to be at, and I want that for each youth worker who comes to the simply youth ministry conference. Each person who walks the halls or browses the book store or sits in the main session and needs a renewal.

DISCOUNTED REGISTRATIONS are still AVAILABLE

My prayer is that this conference helps you feel inspired, challenged, loved, equipped, supported and a part of the family. Then you can return to the trenches and help students and their families to Christ.

Jon Batch Director of Student Ministries Dearborn Hills UMC jbatch@dhumc.com twitter: @jonbatch

juniorhighministry.com

Keys To Longevity #5: BLEED IT, BUT DON?T BLEED TO DEATH

Posted by Kurt Johnston

This is the 5th in a little series about some of the things that have helped me last for almost 25 years. There is no silver bullet here, just a little insight about things that have seemed to make a difference in my journey as a youth worker.

BLEED IT, BUT DON’T BLEED TO DEATH!

Every now and then, a young youth worker will say something like this, “Youth ministry is my life!”. To which I always reply internally, and upon occasion even blurt out, “Really? That’s too bad.”

I think youth ministry, or any ministry endeavor for that matter, deserves some extra effort. Youth ministry isn’t for folks who are clock-watchers, who only want to do the minimum job requirements. I actually think it deserves to be led by men and women who aren’t afraid to “bleed” it a little bit. But we should NEVER bleed to death!

- When you consistently sacrifice your family for the sake of your youth ministry…you are bleeding to death. - When your friendships suffer because you spend too much time at youth ministry events…you are bleeding to death. - When you have no outside hobbies because you spend your free time with teenagers or planning events for teenagers…you are bleeding to death. - When you fail to take your day off, or you skimp on vacation time due to the demands of youth ministry…you are bleeding to death. - When you spend time in the word out of the need to [...]

marriedtoayouthpastor.com

In regards to a comment?

You are right, there are far more dangerous jobs than youth ministry. I am extremely thankful that my husband does not stare down the barrel of a gun. I cannot imagine the kind of strength a wife would need for that. No matter what the job each one of us, including myself, has and will face great tragedies. Just in each day there are so many ups and downs. Our lives are sprinkled with many different feelings and emotions from happiness to thankfulness, to frustration to sorrow. My hope is that not one of us would deny ourselves the right to feel validated in each and every feeling that we have that gets mixed up inside of us. I hope that in some small way this blog may be a place for someone in ministry to feel heard, connected, and uplifted through a comment, a funny story, or a serious post. And what I love so much about this community of women is the honesty shared about their lives, and the tone that we all take loving God and our husbands seriously but don’t take ourselves too seriously.

I write this in no way with a defensive voice, but with so much concern that many pastor’s wives are told that their feelings are silly or not important. Whether from someone at church or their own inner dialogue. Our “perspective” should be to accept and embrace our feelings whatever they may be and then with God [...]

simplyurbanministry.com

You need VISION

q Jeremiah 1:4 ?The Word of God came to me saying, before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.?

q God had a vision a plan for you. Do you have one for the assignment He has given you?

q Vision: The picture of God?s potential, purpose, and possibilities for your life.

q Show me a person without vision, and I will show you a person who is at a standstill in life.

q Proverbs 29:18 ?Where there is no vision the people perish.?

q Life Point: The key element to getting out of my present state is the vision that I have for myself.

q Jeremiah 29:11 ?For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope,

q True vision goes beyond what I can accomplish on my own.

q True vision adds value to others.

q True vision attracts vision.

q True vision must have God in it.

q Acts 2:17 ?And it shall come to pass in the last days says God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.?

1. Not knowing who you are. If you don?t know who you [...]

morethangossip.com

the end game

I’ve noticed something lately about the way the church and youth ministries tend to talk to girls. We (unfortunately at times I would include myself) communicate that the end game for a girl is getting the right kind of guy. Even though we don’t mean to it just happens. Books sold to teen girls about how to get the right kind of guy (a christian book nonetheless…and I haven’t read it but I am assuming the title is meant to mislead by promising to help girls snag a guy.) A youtube video for Christian girls on how to attract a godly guy. And than we are surprised and frustrated that all girls care about is boys. Oh the irony.

We need to change the end game.

The end game for every girl we encounter should be a radical life following after Jesus. That life may include an occupation in the public circles, a life of full time ministry, marriage, kids or all of the above.

When we begin to believe in a bigger or more radical end game for girls it changes how we communicate to them. We tell their stories better. And in my heart I believe we help girls move their attention from dating to bigger dreams…from drama to radical living. Don’t we all really want that for our girls?

What do you think? What are your thoughts about changing the end game?

smallchurchyouthministry.com

#5-Top Twelve Countdown to a GREAT YM Year

Don’t sell Jesus short.

I spent the weekend with a church in a faith tradition I am fairly new to. They have a rich heritage of liturgical worship. But if one made the mistake of thinking this church’s denom is bereft of showing feelings of faith or the goodness of God, one would be wrong.

The YP of this church had a similar epiphany today. She has a deep love for Jesus but thought her diverse international students would be uncomfortable with referencing anyone but “God.” After all, they don’t declare an emotional faith and “Jesus” is just too intimate, right?

After she had a discussion with my ministry partner, Adam DeVries, she told her students she was going to unashamedly call Jesus by his name. How shocked and delighted she was when they were happy for her AND them. They cheered.

My point? Don’t sell Jesus short in your youth ministry. Kids KNOW when they come near you that there’s a good chance they’re going to hear about God. They’re even disappointed when they don’t.

Remember: Jesus is the name of the one to whom everyone will bow. It’s just a matter of when.

S

holysoup.com

Dumb Questions Heard in Church