Reviewing Your Mentoring Program

Heading into the Christmas season is a great time for reflection and evaluation. Certainly some of that energy needs to be focused on your ministry, but don't forget to make sure your mentoring relationships are in order, too. Here is one simple strategy to consider:

Look Forward – Who Is Leading You?

It is imperative that you find someone who is a little further down the path than you; somebody a little older, and a little wiser. Many youth workers are pioneers, but the benefits of a seasoned mentor shouldn't be overlooked. Being mentored from a distance is possible, but having someone in real-life is a better option. Being mentored through blogs and books is also a possibility, but without access to discussion the dialogue is decidedly one way. Because things slow down a bit over the holidays, it's a great time to connect, reconnect or start a relationship with a youth ministry mentor.

Look Around – Who Are You Leading With?

There is nothing better than sharing in ministry with a close friend. They might be an incredible intern, a parent who jumped in to help or a volunteer who is so like-minded people think someone cloned your brain. In addition to the mentor who is leading you, make sure you are "doing life" with another youth worker and are journeying together.

Look Back – Who are You Leading?

God is going to do something special with several of the students in your ministry. His Kingdom is going to be built because of these young men and women. Why not pick one or two of them to pour a little extra into? Sure, you can lead the whole group from "up front", through your programs, but what could it look like if you hand-picked one or two and gave them some customized mentoring? If you take a second to think about your own experiences growing up, no doubt there were several people along the way that distinctively shaped you toward becoming God's man or God's woman. Pass that experience on!

Very few good things happen by accident. Don't leave the concept of mentoring to chance; it's too important!

Resource Review: YS Games Video Addition

There is a new resource put out by Youth Specialties entitled "Games: Video Edition-Explanations of 20 Great Games for Youth." If you want whacked-out, run-till-you-drop games, then here they are. What's unique about this resource is not only do you have 20 really great, unique games but all the games are explained in short video segments. All you have to do is pop the DVD in, pick the game you want to play  and watch how the game is played and an example of what it will look like. These games are great for parties, informal gatherings or just about any occasion. They use simple supplies and products that most any youth director can get their hands on.

For over 30 years, Youth Specialties has worked alongside Christian youth workers in every denomination and have produced time tested products to help with youth ministry. This is another one of those great resources that you should get your hands on. If I have one critique of this resource it would be that there are only 20 games on the DVD. I wish they had put more like 40 or 50 games on it because you will go through these games rather quickly. Couple that with the cost of nearly $20 for this resource and it becomes a question of how much do you want this.

If you are a church or a member of a church in the Susquehanna Conference of United Methodist Church, I would point out that we have a copy in Discovery Place, the Conference’s Resource Center (discovery-place.org) and you can borrow this resource for free. However, overall this resource is in keeping with Youth Specialties’ long-standing reputation of producing great youth resources, so give it a try.  

Simple Youth Activities Vs.Big Youth Events

There is a lot of debate out there as to whether Big Youth Events are more successful than Simple Youth Activities. While Big Events do get large numbers of students to be involved and are great jumping off places for youth ministry, simple youth activities are where the meat and bones of transformational ministry occurs with young people. 

When I was a youth, I grew up with Big Youth Events. They seem to be the norm. They were exciting, flashy and always got a crowd. Whenever I heard about these events in my area, I flocked to them. They were filled with lots of exciting activities like dances, concerts and legendary speakers. But what I discovered was that after the big event I would go home to my local church youth group and not know how to apply what I had experienced, so that I could capture the same feelings I had at the big event.

When I started leading youth ministry in the local church I found it challenging to get students who wanted to attend these big events. They were more interested in staying local and doing things in and around the community they were growing up in. This was especially true for small town and rural churches that I served. The big event just seemed to be “too big.” There are still a lot of great opportunities to have students get involved in large youth event gatherings both regionally and nationally. And I'm sure they have their place in a general youth ministry.

But as we are discovering more and more, putting on these large youth gatherings is becoming more and more expensive and they are becoming less and less productive at doing what the job of the local church is to do, which is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. If I had to choose between doing a big youth event or doing a simple ministry in your immediate community, I would probably choose the latter. Regardless of what kinds of programs you should offer for young people, be sure that they involve making direct connection with young people and stick to the focus of what the mission of the local church is all about.

Resource Review : The Leadership Lab

It is often this very hard to find a well done leadership program for young people. In the past, I have had to piecemeal together various parts from several different sources. However, recently the United Methodist church’s General Board of Discipleship’s Division of Ministry with Young People have come out with a leadership development resource for senior high youth entitled "The Leadership Lab”. This new program has been tried and tested over a two-year period and has proven to be an excellent program to help develop young people into leaders.

At the heart of this program it approaches leadership from a holistic perspective keeping a balance between improving leadership feels and helping young people grow in their relationship with others and with God. There are seven different modules that include exploring the principles of transformational leadership, discovering vital leadership skills and knowledge about oneself and how that relates to relationships, and practical active learning that will put what you learn into action.

Resources included are the following : (1) facilitators guide, (2) participants handbook, (3) PowerPoint presentations, and (4) handouts. All of these resources are on a CD-ROM that allows you to print as many copies as you need. I would highly recommend that you check this resource out to help develop student leaders in whatever setting you find yourself.

Imagining the Best of Yourself

When I was young, I was severely bullied and picked on as a young person. It deeply affected me in ways that I just now understand. When I see young people being bullied or thinking less of themselves for whatever reason, there is a part of me that hurts inside. As I grew up and went into ministry, I vowed that if I ever got the opportunity to work with young people that I would do my best to put a stop the ridicule and the bullying and look for ways to let those awkward young people know they were unique and special children of God.

Recently, on the show "America's Got Talent" a song was featured by Kirk Franklin entitled “Imagine Me.” While I had never heard this song before it was amazing! Kirk Franklin, a contemporary Christian gospel artist, writes in this song about how we should view ourselves, pulling from his own personal experience of self-doubt, abuse and neglect. As I listen to over and over to this song, I have imagined all of the young people who experienced themselves as "less than." Below is a Youtube link to the song. I highly recommend you use it in your young People's ministry to highlight the fact that regardless of how we might feel about ourselves, God sees us at someone unique and special that God created and loves.