Realistic Integration of Youth Ministry and the Church

This comes from Kirk Johnson and Josh Griffin, contributors to Simple Youth Ministry. I like most of their stuff and this one really stood out me. Enjoy !

All this talk about working to integrate our students into church before they have to make a huge leap from youth group to the adult services is helpful. But what isn’t helpful is the voices who simply want you to drop everything you’re currently doing (and is working) and go with some new plan.

Sometimes you have to get rid of something and start over completely—but we’re not convinced this is one of those times. So here are a few suggestions to help you take baby steps toward the integration of youth ministry and the church.

Serve together…mostly
An easy way to get some quick intergenerational ministry happening in your church is to combine some of your service projects immediately. Consider cancelling the majority of your youth group service projects and join those in place for the church at large. Imagine the conversations that will take place as people serve food, rake leaves, or paint together. Chances are the older people in your congregation will be just as surprised as your teenagers at how fun it was to serve side-by-side!

Worship together…occasionally
Most youth groups have their own worship service or Sunday School happening at the same time the rest of the church is gathered for worship. What if you completely cancelled your youth stuff once a month so the teenagers could attend church with their parents? Sure, some might choose to stay home that weekend, but it’s a fairly simple way to make a statement that says, “25% of the time, our church worships together…and we need the teenagers to be part of the action!”

Mission trips…maybe
One of the big steps we’re considering is to integrate mission trips. Offering a Spring Break trip? What if everyone got involved? Is there a big church-wide trip to South America or Africa? Get behind it and take some students! Each church has their own missions agenda/format, but this is something worthy of consideration.

Overnighters…never
Hey, there are some things adults are happy are totally separate from them. Keep overnighters this way…but be thankful for the adults who do show up, give up sleep, and care for your students.

High School Graduation Gift Idea

Here is a great idea for any high schooler who you know is graduating this year.

If you want to keep your graduating seniors involved in their faith, especially when they are away from home, then you'll want to get them a subscription to Relevant magazine. 

Relevant magazine is a periodical specifically devoted to the spiritual enrichment of Christian young people. The magazine it published every other month (6 times a year) and is filled with articles, devotionals and information dealing with young people’s culture and faith. There is a lot about this magazine that I like, starting with its price. A years subscription is only $14.95. It also is not filled with a lot of advertisements, and what few advertisements are in the magazine have to do with Christian related events.

They have recently come out with an electronic version for the iPad and that's where they take it up a notch.  The electronic version has embedded video, special web links, and found it with the various articles. 

To learn more about this excellent resource visit http://www.relevantmagazine.com/

Teen's and Technology Video

The following link is from a blogger who I follow religiously. If you don't follow them, you should.

His name is Paul O'Briant, and he is a member of Pilmoor Memorial UMC in Currituck North Carolina, where He is a Certified Lay Speaker, UMM Chaplain and a Sunday School teacher. He has spoken at state and national events on the subjects of cyberministry and cybersafety and is the author author of Reflections on a Beach: A Spiritual Parable and Cybersafety for Families. (two great books if you don't have them). 

The link is of an interesting video produced by the New York Times a year or so ago concerning teen's heavy use of technology.

Let me know what you think!

http://21stcenturysheep.net/2011/10/09/teens-and-technology/

Planning A Great Summer Calendar

Here are a few great tips to have a great summer youth ministry program.

Plan Ahead - Here’s some good news right up front: If you’re thinking about summer now, you’re in good shape. Next year, start even earlier! If you plan in advance, even in broad strokes, it will greatly improve the chances of your summer’s big ideas becoming a reality. Resist the false belief that waiting until the pressure is on makes you better—it doesn’t; it just makes you more frantic.

Change Things Up - Get out of the school year rhythms and programs and shake things up. Always have youth group inside? What about taking it "under the stars." Always have small group? Change it up and go with midweek Bible study. Some are allowed to try some new things and experiment in the short term effectively. If it doesn't work out, you don't have to keep doing it. You might even stumble onto something that will make your youth ministry even better.

Free is Always Better - Summer events can get very expensive. Try to find as many free or low-cost activities and programs that you can. Your parents will love you for it.

Focus on Central Event - Summer is a great opportunity to do a big event and get excitement for the fall. Summer music festivals, a weeklong camp are great examples of this.

If it Worked, Use it Again - If you did something in previous summers that was a hit, then bring it back. When I was in the local church my students loved going to this one Christian music festival. So every year we kept it on the schedule.

Borrow from Everyone Else - Why reinvent the wheel? Scour the Internet for youth ministry blogs, game ideas, tips and anything else you can find and use it. Ask members of your congregation about their favorite memories of things they did during the summer as a student, you might be able to re-create it.

Don't Forget Your Family - We had youth and young adult ministry spend a good bit of time in the summer running from one activity to the next. Take care of yourself and make time for your family. There is always one more ministry thing you can do, however, if you don't set boundaries you'll burn out and hurt the one’s you love the most.

Start Planning Your Back-to-School Event - I know this is supposed to be about summer calendaring, but if you don't make a plan now for the fall kickoff, your summer and winter may just swallow it whole. You don't have to plan every little detail, but you need to start getting an idea of what you want to do and make the necessary preparation in advance.

Maximize Relationships - Your students are out of school. If you spend your entire summer running yourself ragged, you're gonna miss that sweet one-on-one time that you can only get during the summer. Find a safe way that you can hang out with your students. Go out for ice cream or invite them to help with your planning. Don't miss this opportunity to form relationships that will pay big dividends later on. 

Great Anti-Bullying Video Done by Youth

Brian Kirk who writes a blog one rethinking youth ministry highlighted this anti-bullying video on YouTube.

It's a great message and best of all it was created and done by youth.

Enjoy!