Josh Griffin | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts See You in 7

I close each youth service with the phrase “See you in 7.” It reminds kids that our ministry is here every week for whatever they need and also lets them know I’m inviting, even expecting, them to make church part of their life and routine. Yet it’s also a sometimes-painful reminder to me that another service is right around the corner, no matter how this one turned out.

Creating a compelling youth service or meeting every week can feel weighty. Just as you collapse to recover from one, you have to prepare to do it all again. My team has been discussing a new strategy to get things accomplished with such short turnaround. Our services are on Saturdays and Sundays, so you may have to adjust the days below to fit your program.

“See you in 7″ falls from my smiling mouth to my ringing ears each week. But with the right preparation and goals, it’s an achievable task.

1 TUESDAY
Delegate —What tasks do you need to dole out to ensure success? For that matter, what are you even doing next week? Make sure all the projects, videos, music, humor, and handouts have an owner; then be confident that people will follow through. Ideally, list program elements on a whiteboard so a few volunteers can start moving on their assignments. For me, as the primary communicator, Tuesday is an important day to get a jump-start on message preparation, too.

2 WEDNESDAY
Do—This is the day to really accomplish things. Shoot the video. Buy prizes. Test out games. Whatever needs to happen for the weekend, do it on Wednesday. As I write this, a student is preparing a testimony to share, a volunteer is editing video, and my sermon draft is halfway complete.

3 THURSDAY
Done—Today it all comes together. The student outline is finished, slides are made, videos are selected, handouts are copied, and anything that was ordered is ready to go. By the end of Thursday, the sermon is largely done and in the hands of a few trusted friends for review.

4 FRIDAY
Dream—You must make space for greatness and creativity, so force yourself to finish things early instead of succumbing to the uncontrollable chaos of last-minute details. That cushion also allows you to work ahead a bit and be intentional about relational ministry.

Originally appeared in the November/December issue of Group Magazine. Don’t get the magazine yet? Hit this link to subscribe and get in on the action today!

4 View Comments March 30, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: So What’s Next for You?

Sometimes I get the occasional comment that goes something like this: “So when are you going to get a church of your own?” What they are really saying is ‘when are you going to grow up and be a Lead Pastor, Sr. Minister, or other more responsible position within the church?’ I generally just laugh off these comments while secretly thinking to myself “when are you gonna pull your head out of your rear end and realize I already hold a responsible position?!?!?!” Over my 14 years in this thing called youth ministry, I have been asked this question more than I care to count. I’ve noticed something, however, that gives me some encouragement…the more time I spend at a given location, the less I receive these comments. This has to do with two main factors that I hope will encourage you…

1. Relationships! with parents and especially grandparents and the older generation in the church are a HUGE factor to your success and credibility in youth ministry. Remember, they have been around the block a time or two…raised their children (or are right in the middle of it) and learned from years of making mistakes. The more time you spend developing solid relationships with them, the more they will respect your judgement and leadership.

2. Risk Management! This is a term not used much in the church world but in the Insurance industry it’s huge! People want to know their kids will be safe. As ministers of teens, it can be tempting to let them act out of their desire for Adventure and Excitement *a Jedi craves not these things* in the immortal words of our pointy-eared friend. The part of a teenager’s brain that controls the realization of actions vs. long term consequences has not fully developed. As youth ministers, we must have the wisdom to harness that desire and steer it in productive directions that will glorify God instead of making a parent mad because Jimmy decided it would be a good idea to peel out of a parking lot into oncoming traffic because he wanted to get a head start on the scavenger hunt. (yes it happened) When we can be responsible, parents notice!

As they notice your ability to develop relationships with people other than teens, and as the “adult” side of you makes responsible decisions with the well-being of their kids, your stability in ministry will improve and you won’t have to field the question of “So, what’s next for you?” so often.

Lyle Parker is the Youth/Worship Tech Minister in Fayetteville Christian Church.

Add Comment March 30, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Free Easter Lesson from YouthMinistry360

Our friends over at ym360 are giving away an awesome free Easter Bible study lesson. The download comes with a Leader’s Guide, PowerPoint, and a Student Guide. Give them some info, and grab the freebie. Nice!

JG

Add Comment March 29, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Fantastic Mission Trip Mistakes You Need to Avoid

Mission trips are the best! Unless they end up being the worst. We have made more than our fair share of mistakes over the years. Here’s a little list of fantastic mission trip mistakes you need to avoid…that we didn’t:

• Drinking the water. Never drink the water.

• Getting to the ticket counter about to leave for a trip to Africa and having a student whose passport was about to expire so the ticket lady wouldn’t let him on the plan. He joined us 24 hours later after literally walking his passport renewal through the renewal office.

• My (Josh) wife accidentally knocked a sink off the wall while shaving her leg. Cut herself so deeply she needed stitches.

• Did I (Josh) mention my wife was a nurse and stitched it up herself?

• When the host Pastor says, “You MIGHT preach tomorrow”, actually believing it is only a possibility! “might preach” means “will preach”.

• Leaving a student behind at a truck stop.

• Allowing a student who I (Josh) knew shouldn’t be on the trip on the trip. And had to send them home early. Saw it coming, but didn’t have the guts to disciple/coach him beforehand.

• Offering to split the money with everyone who shows up to the fundraiser. Next time, say, “to everyone who shows up AND WORKS at the fundraiser.”

• The water. Seriously, don’t.

• Wait, we’re out of money already? It is day 2!

• Driving the church bus (Kurt) down a highly crowded one way street in Tijuana, Mexico.

• Getting pulled over by local police for driving the church bus down a highly crowded one way street in Tijuana, Mexico

• Handing out a schedule of activities to the students. This only causes mass confusion when (not if) the schedule changes!

What’s the worst mistake you’ve made on a mission trip?

This post was written by Josh Griffin and Kurt Johnston and originally appeared as part of Simply Youth Ministry Today free newsletter. Subscribe to SYM Today right here.

8 View Comments March 29, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts SYM’s Deal of the Day: 50% off LIVE Holiday

Today only another Simply Youth Ministry Deal of the Day: Get the LIVE Curriculum Holiday Edition for half price! Get access to Easter messages, Christmas series and other great holiday stuff, too! ~~$59.00~~ $29.50 but today only!

JG

Add Comment March 29, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Digital Kids Initiative

Excited to point you toward a new resource this week from Walt Mueller and the team over at the Center for Parent and Youth Understanding: Digital Kids Initiative. Last week they launched a new website for parents and youth workers to help their teenagers survive the world we live in. Check it out!

JG

Add Comment March 28, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Awaken Worship from Southeast Christian

I stalk a few churches around the country – one of them in Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. I know a few of their staff and love how they’re leading students toward Christ.

Their student ministry released a new worship CD recorded live in the Block (their student building) and just set up a site that includes 3 videos, chord charts, and more. Check it all out at Awaken Worship – I bought the album on iTunes last night – already soaking them up!

JG

2 View Comments March 28, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Teenagers: Then Vs. Now

From: BestEducationDegrees.com

Thanks to Gerri for sending this awesome image that is making the rounds on Facebook. Great take on teenagers today. Enjoy!

JG

1 View Comments March 27, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Jesus Pursues You Video

Funny video our students made for El Toro’s You Own the weekend last week. Their theme was Jesus Pursues You … video made me laugh out loud when I saw it the first time. Enjoy!

JG

3 View Comments March 27, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts A Parent Complains About a Youth Event … You Should:

From time to time I’m asked to contribute to the Slant33 blog and this week this scenario was presented: A parent complains about a recent youth group event; how do you respond? Here’s the first half of my timeless wisdom on the subject:

Easiest question in youth ministry history! Seriously?

The first thing you should do is ignore the parent as long as possible. You are taking some well-deserved time off after the world’s Best Overnighter in the History of the Universe (TM). Here’s a handy rating scale to let you know how seriously you should take the criticism they level at you:

If the complaint comes via voicemail… Listen carefully to the voicemail, then shake it off and go back to relaxing. A voicemail tells you that the person is 50+ years old, and to help them take a technological baby step, you need to delay returning the call for at least 48 hours. Unless, of course, they name-drop a key elder, deacon, or even hint they might go over your head to the senior pastor. Deduct 1 hour from the projected response time for each time they cry or scream in the message.

If the complaint comes via written letter… Don’t even open it for a few days. Snail mail, really? Did someone use a Portal gun and drop me back in 1974? After a few days, simply toss the letter in the trash then claim it must have been “lost in the mail,” and when you see them across the pews, just say you are so sorry you didn’t respond earlier, but you had no idea.

If the complaint comes via text message… Quickly reply with a short apology and promise to make everything right within 24 hours. This is to honor a parent who knows how to text and is also savvy enough to spread some serious thumbs down on social media if you don’t jump into action.

Obviously meant to be funny … lots more of the answer on the Slant blog if you want to head over there to catch it. HA!

JG