Josh Griffin | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Holding the Bar Unapologetically High

Before I was a Youth Pastor, I was a volunteer in the same ministry I work in now for a decade, loving and serving High School students week in and week out and pouring myself into them and trying to point them to Christ. It was a passion, to see them grow in their Faith and grow as people, learning to be in the world and live a life for Christ. It took time and effort to be a part of, but it was life giving, and having the opportunity to see God moving in my small group was a privilege.

The Bar has always been set pretty high in our ministry when it comes to expectations of our team but I am sensing that it is time to consider how to raise the bar again to a level that I think is unapologetically high, but attainable, and it all starts at the top.

Don’t ask for more than you would give: In the first 7 years of being a volunteer at our Church I missed Youth 3 times, which I recognize is extreme. But the reality is that if I am going to ask my team to prioritize their week around investing their time at our program week after week, its important that I am able to model the high standard that I ask of them.

Volunteer like they do: Youth time is not work time. I ask our volunteers to give up 6 hours of their week including our weekly program and connecting with their students mid-week. If I am going to ask them to give up their free time to serve our students, I am willing to do the same and don’t count our youth night as paid time but as volunteer and shows that you value their time as you do your own.

Students deserve the best: Warm bodies are filler at best, but as the spiritual leaders of our flock, they deserve the best volunteers you can find to lead small groups, worship and any other event. They need Christ focused adults who model a healthy spiritual life and spur them on to do the same and our time with these students is too short to settle for less than the best. Allowing people to serve half heartedly can’t not only be discouraging to other leaders, but detrimental to their students when your committed leaders are constantly filling in the gaps each week. Recruit and train the best leaders you can find.

Make Time For Leaders: If we ask our team to connect with their students during the week, then I need to make time to connect with our leaders. Whether it’s a coffee or a McDonalds breakfast, face-to-face connection, encouragement and discussion goes a long way to keeping your team engaged.

God honours commitment: I truly believe that God honours commitment, and that we can and should ask our volunteers to be 100% in, that their Yes be their Yes. There is nothing more disappointing than a small group leader fizzling out half way through the year, but outlining and modeling the expectations will go a long way to building a culture of longevity in ministry. Longevity encourages longevity and some of the most fruitful youth ministries I have seen have been lead by Pastors invested long-term in the lives of students.

Geoff Stewart is the Pastor of Jr & Sr High School for Journey Student Ministries at Peace Portal Alliance Church and regularly contributes GUEST POSTS to MTDB. Be sure to check out his Twitter stream for awesome ministry goodness. Want to get in on the fun and write up a guest post yourself? See how right here.

Add Comment June 4, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts The 10 Reasons People Attend Church: #1

Here’s the #1 reason that people attend a particular church – based on a survey of over 8,000 people upon the completion of Saddleback’s new members class.

#1 — Preaching and Teaching
THIS is the biggest reason people choose one church over another – the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. I’m sure it has some to do with content and some to do with style – but regardless it is the most important distinctive between churches. The conversations “how was the pastor’s message” isn’t just dining room table talk – its real and it matters. It certainly isn’t fair … but this list is just a presentation of reality and nothing more. So according to this research – the teaching at church is the central strength or weakness.

Youth ministry application: You don’t have to be the world’s best communicator, but you need to be good and getting better every week. Use volunteers who are solid communicators. Don’t be afraid to use video curriculum or try a style way outside of what is normal. The preaching and teaching of God’s Word is central in the health and growth of the church. Sermon preparation and your personal time with God are critically important to success.

JG

Add Comment June 3, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts The Leap from Youth Group to Big Church

I thought that Kurt (my boss and Student Ministries Pastor here at Saddleback) may have posted his best blog post so far – this one not really about junior high ministry but about the idea to subtly shift youth ministry a little closer to the adult services so the leap isn’t impossible after graduation. Here’s a clip, definitely worth the click over for the rest:

- We are going to eliminate much of the “competing activities”. We currently do a whole lot of “youth versions” of things such as a youth version of our membership class, a youth version of missions trips, a youth version of deeper learning bible studies etc. We are going to take a close look at these and determine which ones we can eliminate and jump on board with the ones offered for adults.

- We are going to creatively look for ways to get our students to actually attend an adult service on a somewhat regular basis! The older the students, the more effort we will make. So we will work extremely hard to get our college kids in the adult services, work sorta hard to get high schoolers there, and work a little bit to get our junior highers there.

- We are going to create a few easy events that intentionally get our students to rub shoulders with the adults (the above strategies also do this…). For instance, I friend of mine just shared that his group invited the senior citizens in their church to a movie and popcorn night to watch the movie “UP”. He said it was one of the easiest, most effective things they have done in a long time.

JG

2 View Comments June 3, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts The 10 Reasons People Attend Church: #2

Saddleback Church surveyed over 8,000 people who were finishing the required membership class and asked them why they were joining the church. Here’s #2 on their list of things that were most important to them:

#2 — Worship
Worship is the second most important thing people think about when they consider joining a church. This is far more than music – the atmosphere of your church is huge. Music plays a VERY significant role. The place of worship, the intentional program, the clarity of the big idea that is being shared even people’s faces matter every Sunday morning. The church service as a whole is a deal-maker or deal-breaker in the minds of many people choosing your church. Passionate, God-centered, inspiring and authentic churches invite people in.

Youth ministry application: When someone, especially a teenager, gives you an hour of their time – make it great. Never miss an opportunity to create a moment for students to pause and listen to God. Never waste an opportunity on the platform by starting service prep on Saturday night. Plan ahead and allow people to be creative. Take risks.

Be hard on yourself and your church. How do people feel when they walk in the doors for the first time?

JG

1 View Comments June 2, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts Stories Weekend: Ryan

Here is one of the student testimonies from this past weekend in HSM. It was part of our occasional STORIES weekend where students share what God is doing in their lives. Good stuff, if you want to see the other 5, hit up this link, too.

JG

Add Comment June 2, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts Book Review: The Dilbert Principle

I was at a “everything is $2″ bookstore recently and stumbled on a book I couldn’t pass up – The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams. Dilbert has long been one of my favorite comic strips, probably because of my connection to his world through my business degree. Everyone can relate though, because we’re all to familiar with bosses, org charts, and where we rank in them. The best chapters (which are each filled with comics, too) are on teamwork and management. So funny and painful. Amidst the sarcasm and humor comes a few really tangible potential learnings that may surprise you. By making fun of what leaders to, he begins to point us all toward better leadership that cares and our people and our products. All in all this old book (first published in 1997) made for some fun and highly-entertaining reading the past couple of weeks.

JG

1 View Comments June 1, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts The 10 Reasons People Attend Church: #3

#3 — Service Opportunities
This was the only surprise to me in the Top 5 – people we surveyed in our membership class valued opportunities to serve even over children’s and youth ministry. I guess it shows the depth of people wanting to play a part in what is happening, not just watch it on stage. Churches that are attracting people are creating places for them to serve within and without. Within the church there are many opportunities to use your gifts, talents and passions. And we must also create missional opportunities to serve without in their community as well. In some senses, this creates a new pathway for other people to attend your church – they were served in some way and are so curious they come to check out the organization that sent out the people in the first place. If your congregation is just sitting they’re not sticking.

Youth ministry application: Focus on getting students in ministry inside and outside the church. Make a list of places students can serve on the weekend or in youth group and place a key volunteer over it all. Find another leader to oversee service projects in your community and schedule at least a few times a year. There is huge momentum in social causes right now, and it is a big reason why people choose a church.

When is your next serve project coming up?

JG

Add Comment June 1, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts HSM Weekend in Review: Volume 140

Weekend Teaching Series: Stories (1-off)
Sermon in a Sentence: Real-life stories of life change from core kids who are making a difference by serving and sharing their faith.
Service Length: 62 minutes

Understandable Message: This weekend was all about students sharing their stories. We typically do a couple “stories” weekends a year, but this time we concentrated on students raised in Christian homes that were living out their faith. I’ve noticed from time to time that when we ask someone to share, they have a great story – drugs, alcohol, messed up home, etc. So this time we looked at the core kids who have typical Christian, even stereotypical environments to be raised in and used that as a basis to encourage their peers in their faith. The result was an extremely positive service that had great messages about sharing your faith, getting involved in ministry, purity, sportsmanship and more. Really terrific.

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: This weekend we had lots of student greeters and students running the band, lights, cameras, sound, etc. They program included another push for HSM Summer Camp, and a interview with the lady who runs Saddleback’s food bank. Solid program that clocked in right at the hour mark.

Music Playlist: The Earth is Yours, Like an Avalanche, With Everything, Beautiful Things, Your Name High

Favorite Moment: I think my favorite moment was the students sharing and how positive the message was from the weekend. Everyone has a story – it was great to hear how God is working in our core students lives and to have them as an example to other students. So good.

Up Next: Communion (1-off)