youth leadership | Youth Missions Insider

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Change Is The Only Constant

Change is one of the only things that is always present in our work with Group Mission Trips. I’ve had at least 6 job titles in my 11 years working with this ministry. I can’t tell you how many different job descriptions I’ve had during that time. We’ve gone from doing only one kind of mission trip, Workcamps, to 3 different mission trips (Week of Hope & Lifetree Adventures) and a single-day of service youth event (The Big Day of Serving). Things have changed from a single team of people focused exclusively on organizing and supporting mission trips to combining forces with our partners Group Youth Ministry/Simply Youth Ministry to help bring everything we can to support youth workers.

But…

Change is hard. Change isn’t easy. Change can cause pain. For some people change is welcome and they jump on board fast but don’t fully take stock of the potential trouble spots. For others change is difficult and they seemingly fight against it every chance they get. And many people fall in the middle of those two extremes.

It’s not any different in church ministry than in a mission organization. How you manage change is just as important and dreaming and thinking of the change. Here’s three great ideas for managing change in your ministry:

Make sure everyone involved in the change is part of the process. One member of out team is constantly preaching the message of communication to the rest of us. And he’s right! Especially when it comes to change. You cannot communicate enough. Before the change is even finalized. When you announce the change. While the change is being implemented. After the change is now the new normal. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. And the biggest part of communicating – listening. Listen to what people are saying. And try to hear what they are not saying. Involving everyone will help to give people a chance to make the change theirs.
Help people understand how the change will benefit them. In every change there are good things for everyone. New opportunities. New ideas. New responsibilities. New working relationships. New results to shoot for. New. New. New. And new can be very unnerving unless you help people know what is in it for them. Even in ministry, your team will want to know how this change will benefit. Them as an individual. The ministry as a whole. The youth who area part of your ministry. Giving everyone an understanding of how the change is good will go a long way to navigating the process of implementing the change.
Regardless of how good a change is, someone will be negatively affected – at least in their mind. Seek those people out. If a team is getting a new role in the ministry because of the change, spend time with them as they adjust. If it means there isn’t a spot for someone, give the the space and time to grieve the loss and give them your time to process. If possible, implement change in stages or steps so that those affected the most have time to adjust. If the change you are implementing has a bunch of negatives (even small ones), spacing out the change will allow those most affected to move through the process with grace.

Change isn’t always easy (I know) but it can be incredibly good. Keep these steps in mind the next time your team and ministry go through change.

Add Comment February 28, 2013

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Bronx Webinar for Big Day of Serving!

Making a Difference in the Bronx! A Webinar about the Big Day of Serving.

Join Jake Rasmussen Wednesday, February 20 for a LIVE CHAT about the Big Day of Serving in the Bronx.

Tune in to this Webinar and discover answers to all these questions and more:

What IS this event?
Why will your students LOVE it?
How do you SAVE big bucks when registering?

This is a fantastic opportunity to learn all about our work in the Bronx this spring!

Check in out Here.

Add Comment February 19, 2013

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Not too late. Really I meant it! It’s not…

To plan a mission trip. It’s really not too late. It may seem like it is. It might be scary. You might think, “I’ll just wait for next summer.” Please don’t. If you’re not planning on getting your group engaged in service away from home this summer. It’s not too late.

Here’s 5 things you could do today or this week to still plan a trip for this summer.

Contact a mission organization to help with getting your trip together: An organization like our, Group Mission Trips, would love to help you organize and plan a life-changing experience for your group.
Connect with the mission pastor/director/leader in your church: These folks have many contacts and lots of information about needs that could be met and maybe even trips for your youth group to join.
Ask a fellow youth leader (in your town/denomination/network/etc.) if they are going on a trip: There’s a good chance a friend of yours in ministry might have room in their group for you and several of your students to join their group. What a great way to get some of your group involved!
Find out if there is church plant or inner city ministry or rural community center (some kind of ministry that is different from your own) within a days drive: Ministries like these can often use help. Many may even be set up to bring in groups for summer ministry. All you have to do is ask.
Stay at home but serve! Find a local ministry you could truly bless with a week of no-strings-attached service. Get a bunch of tents. Camp out in someone’s back yard. Use the church kitchen to cook meals. Make your own local mission trip. But serve, please!

I believe there is something amazing God does when you go away and serve people. It’s a great thing to help your students leave their comfort zones and see God work in them and through them. Please don’t miss out. IT’S NOT TOO LATE! I promise…

Add Comment February 11, 2013

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Leadership in Flux

A couple months ago I came across this article – “The Secrets of Generation Flux.”

I found it fascinating and very applicable to ministry life today. These younger leaders and the description of how to lead a new generation speak directly to who we serve and lead with.

I would love to know what you think? Did you find parallels to your ministry? Did the article ring true for you? Or did it seem too far fetched for you – off base?

Add Comment February 7, 2013

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts A new devotional for your teenagers

Our friends at Simply Youth Ministry have created a great new resource for your students. I wanted to share it with you. Imagine empowering your students to spend just a few minutes each day discovering a life-shaping, thought-provoking, Jesus-centered truth that can transform them into the kind of people God crafted them to be.

Sounds like a worthwhile investment, doesn’t it?

The Simple Truth Bible features 366 daily devotionals—each one a tasty, bite-size morsel that powerfully reveals what it means to deeply love and trust God, to lead a Jesus-centered life, and to lean on Scripture for guidance and wisdom.

Teenagers will discover how to experience hope in the middle of tough times, how God deeply and passionately loves them, how to build an authentic friendship with Jesus, and how they were created to lead a life of impact in this world and for eternity.

Each devotion includes:

Thoughts on a specific passage of Scripture and how it relates to students’ lives
Insights to help teenagers turn their thoughts into prayers as they spend time with God
Ideas to follow if students want to spend more than a few minutes each day with God
Perspective on how that day’s passage fits into the big picture of the Bible

Add Comment January 25, 2013

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Three strikes and you’re out

I’m not a big baseball fan. I grew up in Chicago and when I was young there wasn’t much baseball to root for in either the Cubs or Sox. So, you can understand if I’m not passionate about our nation’s past-time.

I have however been watching a little of the playoffs this year. I’ve really like the winner take all games (the one game Wild Card playoff and the game 5). The pressure. The intensity. The “if I don’t do this now our season is over” feeling you see on the players faces. It’s crazy sometimes how it all comes down to one play…

I remember a similar feeling in my youth ministry. The feeling that every event, every Bible study, every mid-week meeting was that one moment that would give someone a chance to find Jesus or not. It was intense… I felt pressure. It was like every illustration, game, discussion, every talk… every word was going to bring a student closer to Jesus… or not. It caused me to plan and rehearse and schedule and, well, do all kinds of crazy things.

I now realize that Jesus uses any and all experiences to bring people into a deeper relationship with him. It comes during planned times and spontaneous times. Jesus connects with us wherever we are, whenever the time is right. I don’t believe I would plan and schedule and stress the same way with any youth group I was leading. I would want to create an environment in youth ministry where Jesus could step in at any moment – where Jesus was free to break in and change everything.

I guess it would be like a home run in the bottom of the ninth – without the fear of striking out.

Add Comment October 24, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Best Summer Job Ever!

It’s not a joke… I really think serving a summer with Group Mission Trips is the best thing a ministry-minded college student could do. Part of our DNA is believing in youth leadership. It goes all the way back to our very first mission trip. That’s why any student who is hired is given a tremendous amount of responsibility. We literally believe in and trust college students to lead our mission locations each and every summer. There is no other experience I know of that gives as much hands-on, real-life ministry experience as serving with us does. If you know a college student that is interested in or loves ministry, please have them check out the opportunities below.

http://groupmissiontrips.com/about/join-our-team/

Add Comment October 22, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts RePost: You May Need to Teach Your Students HOW to Bring Friends

We’ve reposted from the the Small Church Youth Ministry blog before. Stephanie Caro writes that blog and is really good friend of ours. The other day she posted another gem and wanted to share it with you.

You May Need to Teach Your Students HOW to Bring Friends

Add Comment September 21, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts This summer’s trip was especially amazing for our students…and for me.

We’re still hearing great stories about all the changed lives during this summer’s mission trips… incredible stories of people in need receiving real help – along with stories about youth growing closer to God and feeling a new and renewed strength in their personal faith. These stories are a great reason to invite you and your group to experience a Group Mission Trip next summer.

Don’t take my word on this. Here’s a testimony from a veteran youth leader about how a mission trip has changed her ministry and her students:

This summer’s trip was especially amazing for our students…and for me. In my 10 years of ministry, I have never seen a group more bonded and committed to one another. The way in which they were encouraged to grow together is truly a blessing and I am indebted to the Group Mission Trips team. Our post-trip summer has been phenomenal—student leadership, the addition of summer youth group (planned and lead by upperclassmen), strong relationships, and excited adult leaders. Thank you for helping us become a stronger youth group, for helping my students live out their faith with passion and for helping me reconnect to my calling. Your trips make such an incredible difference in the lives of students and leaders. Thank you, thank you!

Heather Oysti – Chrystal Lake, IL

Add Comment September 19, 2012

Jeff ThompsonMore Posts Biggest Struggles: The pressure to grow

I don’t know if you struggle with this but I do… I feel pressure from so many different places. I feel it from the leadership I report to. I feel it from those that I work with. I feel it from everyone that is served by our ministry. But… it’s not what you think.

The pressure I feel may not actually be real. My leaders expect great things from our ministry. But, they don’t put pressure on me – personally. My coworkers have high hopes and big goals for what we do – but they don’t pressure me. The churches we partner with want to see more people at the mission trips they attend because it makes the experience have that much more impact and therefore that much better. But they don’t pressure us.

The truth is… I put the pressure on my self. I love what we do. I’m very blessed to have a job that I want to go to every day. I believe we create amazing experiences and have the privilege of seeing God use those experiences to powerfully transform lives. I would love to help as many people as possible be a part of what we do. I believe in our ministry.

And that’s where the pressure comes from – me. I put pressure on myself grow our ministry. I put pressure on myself because I believe in where God has put me. I believe that God has called me to be part of this ministry. I believe that we have a purpose and a ministry to fulfill. I believe we can help more people if we grow.

And so… I feel pressure to grow. Pressure to grow the ministry. Pressure to serve more people in need. Pressure to serve more churches and youth workers.