Killer new T-shirts for the blog will premiere at the nearly sold-out Simply Youth Ministry Conference in just a couple of weeks. Want one? Find me and the conference and let’s barter for something until I run out each day. I’ll be giving a few away on the blog if you can’t make it!

JG

There are 5 parts I think are in a typical small group night in our youth ministry (add a 6th in the comments if you would like). These don’t happen each week, they don’t always happen in order, but these are definitely things we want to happen regularly in our high school small groups.

COMMUNITY || Talk about life and hang out.
It feels most natural to start off a small group night with a relaxed atmosphere. Students usually show up over the span of the first 15-minutes of group, so some casual non-programmed time up front talking about the water polo team or the hilarious new Youtube video is usually time well spent. Plus, it’ll give you a little honest glimpse into what your students are into when they’re not with you at group.

ACCOUNTABILITY || Spend time sharing the good, bad and ugly in our personal life.
Transition the time of hanging out into a time where you talk about real-life stuff that’s going on. If there’s something we talked about the week before that might make a good transition, throw it out there. It doesn’t have to be super serious – some nights it will and some nights it will be random, funny stories everyone shares. Begin to focus the group and talk about personal discipleship decisions, Bible reading, girls/guys, purity, etc.

TEACHING || Instruction encourage students in their walk with God.
Part of the purpose of small groups is giving students a lesson/teaching, so we spend a few minutes talking over a story, passage or principle from the Bible. They key is helping them make it personal.

CHALLENGE || Ask them to take a step forward.
What is your challenge this week? Students are asking “so what” I issue a challenge to the group. Maybe the challenge is a resource I want them to tackle with me. Maybe it is a article I read online I copied for them to check out on their own. Maybe it is a prayer I ask them to pray. Either way, make sure you invite them to take a spiritual step forward.

PRAYER || Spend a few minutes in specific prayer for the members of your small group.
Cover last week’s prayer requests quickly and then jump into what is on the hearts/minds of students this week. Usually the group ends in prayer than quickly moves to the COMMUNITY stage again for fun/games/stupid for the last bit of time in the evening.

JG

Is it just me or is living a Christian life like riding a wicked roller coaster?  Some days I feel close to the Lord, like I’m at peace with everything and completely unstoppable.  Other days I feel distant from Him, like my life’s a mess, and as though everything I stand for is hanging by a thread.  C.S. Lewis called this crazy cycle the Law of Undulation.  I don’t know what to call it, but I do know that I despise the times when I feel distant from the Lord.  I almost feel helpless.  I’ll wake up in the morning and right of the bat I know I’m not as “in tune” as I should be.  I recognize this immediately and try to pray for help, but before I know it my mind has wondered to what I’m having for lunch or something.  Aarrrgggg…this is so frustrating!  I think all Christians can relate to this in some way.  So what can we do when our walk with the Lord feels more like a lone trip into the wilderness?

Here are 5 Prescriptions for Curing the Spiritual Doldrums:

1.  Give Yourself a Spiritual Check-up.

Let’s stick with the medical theme for a second.  Next time you’re down, maybe you should play doctor:

Dr:       “Ok Mr. Hughes what brings you in today?”

Me:      “Well doc, I just…just don’t feel as close to the Lord as I know I should.  I bought some Pray-Quil from the pharmacy yesterday and it didn’t even touch it.  I’m just really tired of feeling this way.”

Dr:       “Alright, that’s a common problem for people like you.  I saw a lady just yesterday for the same exact thing.  Let’s go ahead and check your spiritual vitals before we do a more thorough assessment.”

Me:      “Sounds good.”

Dr:       “Well your spiritual pulse is kind of weak.  Have you been reading your scriptures daily?”

Me:      “Uhhhh….no.  I’ve been really busy.”

Dr:       “And your respiratory system sounds awful.  Have you been praying regularly?”

Me:      “……I guess I haven’t.”

Dr:       “Your blood pressure is through the roof!  How’s your media diet? We talked about lowering your inappropriate TV, movies, and music during your last visit.  How’s that been going?”

Me:      “Not so good, I guess.  I was doing good for a while, but looks like I really need to do better.”

Dr:       “I’d definitely say so.  Well Mr. Hughes, there’s no need for further assessment.  It’s pretty clear what’s causing the symptoms you’re experiencing and there’s no need for any invasive treatments.  I’m writing you a prescription here for “Christian Common Sense”.  You can have it filled right around the corner.  Work on the things we’ve discussed and come back and see me in two weeks.”

Let me just say that the majority of the time this prescription works for me.  I seem to always justify not

doing the basics, but then I’m somehow shocked when things “mysteriously” start to go south.

2.  The Spontaneous Fast.

Most of the time when I’m having a “downer” it’s because in some way, my carnal nature has gotten the best of me.  I’m in a greedy, selfish, or prideful mindset that results from putting my will before the Lord’s.  It’s been my experience that there is no quicker way to align our will with the Lord’s than a heartfelt fast. By doing so we make a conscious decision to literally starve the natural man inside us to death…or at least put him to sleep for a while.  Every time I have done this I have been blessed, and the most effective times have been when it’s a spontaneous decision.  I’ll be riding down the road, sick and tired of feeling distant from the Lord, and decide to start fasting then and there.  If you decide to do this, and your fast is sincere and prayerful, it’s my testimony that you will immediately begin to feel closer to the Lord. The best word I can think of to describe this is ‘liberating’.

3.  Find Someone to Serve.

The bible verse that most influences my life is Matthew 25:40.  Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me.” Through serving others we literally serve Jesus. I have written about some awesome experiences I’ve had on this subject, and this paradigm has changed the way I see the world.  When we serve others we make a conscious decision to make someone else more important than ourselves.  It’s another way to get the natural man to ‘tap-out’ (to speak in UFC terms).  Here’s a question:  What happened to your problems the last time you went out of your way to help another person?  It’s funny, our problems seem to either disappear or seem less dramatic while serving someone. This is especially the case when we are experiencing the spiritual doldrums.  Try this exercise:  Next time you see someone who could use a helping hand, whether it’s unloading groceries at the store or just in need of a smile and a kind word, replace their face with that of Jesus, and see how one small act of service can fill you with joy.

4.  Talk to Someone.

I remember in elementary school I used to have a bathroom buddy.  Any time one of us had to ‘go’, we had to ‘go’ together.  I think all Christians need a spiritual buddy. Someone we can share our deepest feelings with about living a Christian life….the ups and the downs.  This could be your spouse if you’re married, best friend, or even your church leader.  Nothing could ever replace expressing our most intimate feelings with the Lord through prayer, but I have found that when I’m down, a conversation with a ‘spiritual buddy’ makes all the difference in the world.

5.  Be IN LOVE with Jesus.

What’s the difference between loving someone and being in-love with them?  I have eternal love for my wonderful wife, but I find that the degree to which I’m in-love with her fluctuates on a daily basis.   The same is true with my relationship with the Lord.  I believe the difference is a matter of focus.  When we are in love with someone our focus is on satisfying their every desire.  Next time your down, pause for a moment to think about what desires the Lord may have of you.  He’s told us point-blank some of the things he wants, so maybe we could give these a try:

• Serve Him.  We’ve already discussed Matthew 25:40 and its powerful effects.
• Obey Him.  In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
• Believe Him.  In John 14:6 He stated, “I am the way the truth and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.”  He atoned for our sins.  We can show our love for Him by utilizing the power of His atonement in our lives.
• Share Him.  In John 21:16 Jesus said, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?…He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”

It’s my testimony that there is nothing we can do that will make the Lord love us more.  His love is unconditional and that knowledge has brought me such solace during difficult times.  Unfortunately, it’s our own thoughts and actions that place limitations on the amount of Love we can receive from Him.  Spiritual doldrums are frankly just a symptom resulting from our decisions to place more emphasis on our will than His.  These 5 prescriptions are simply different ways of bringing our will in alignment with the Lords so we can feel a greater measure of His love.  Next time you’re down in the dumps give them a shot; I’d love to hear about it.

What techniques have you found that have helped you cope with the “spiritual doldrums”?

Have you ever tried any of these suggestions and found them helpful?

Jason Hughes is a blogging youth pastor. Check out his stuff at www.figliving.com

Today’s huge storm reminded me of the very first time I really understood servanthood in youth ministry.

Oh, I’d heard it taught a lot, and even seen it modeled in a few key figures in my life (growing up, my dad; in college, the Dean of Men and the Head Football Coach) – I even knew well the stories of Jesus and the calling for Christ-followers to be servants, too. But this was when I was truly shocked by serving.

It was pouring outside, our church parking lot looked like Lake Michigan. I’ve never seen it rain like that, and it wasn’t letting up. In fact, the storm was just getting started and our old church building was starting to feel it. The storm drains along the roofline were bursting with water, clogged with leaves, sticks and random debris from years of neglect. My pastor said, “put on your coat” and when a senior pastor speaks, good youth workers listen (in all fairness, we sometimes still do our own thing, but in fairness, we at least listen). We grabbed ladders, climbed up and pulled out fistfulls of rain gutter gunk for a half hour until the church was free from its aquatic bondage. We made it back inside, now soaking wet and put everything away like we found it. Then we went back to work – nothing more was said, and it didn’t have to be.

He had said it all.

Serving is the key. Big church, small church, rookie, veteran, influential, relative unknown – it doesn’t matter. All of us are called to be servants. I learned it that day and the lesson was burned into my psyche forever.

So here I am just a few minutes ago, now some 13 years later, walking back from dropping my kids off at small group here at the church. The whole place is flooded out and the parking lot looks like the Pacific ocean, complete with waves. One spot is particularly rough and I realize it is because a bunch of trash has been swept into the drain, blocking it from working correctly. So in an attempt to free the drain, I’m standing ankle deep in water and pulling fistfulls of junk out. Instant flashback.

Now, this happens to be a story of when I actually did something right. I could regale you with plenty of other tales where I looked away, pretended not to notice and skipped out on serving. In my heart, and I think in yours too, I want to be a youth pastor that understands and lives out this concept of servanthood.

To go the extra mile. To show unusual attention, make intense eye contact. To lend a hand and to stay longer than you are required. And maybe … even clean out the rain gutters.

JG

We wish it didn’t have to happen, but from time to time it simply has to – you’ve got to kick a kid out of your small group. Later this week I’ll try to post some reasons NOT to remove a student from your small group, but here’s a few reasons someone just might have to go:

Disruption
Sometimes the entire group suffers because of the misbehavior of one, and that simply can’t be. Now don’t penalize a student for not having the social skills in a small group setting, but coach them along on how to be an effective participant in a group environment. If that doesn’t work and a student is still a consistent source of major distraction, it might be time to let them go.

Conflict
Conflict can be healthy, but at some point it again might come at the expense of the group. If you’re having conflict with the parents and their expectations of the small group, or with the student with his or her expectations of the group, a possible resolution might be to ask them to join another group. Hopefully you’re not a conflict avoider, because a little conflict is good. Be sure not to flinch as soon as someone airs a concern, but if the conflict escalates without expected resolution, it might be time to move along.

“Fit”
This one is ambiguous, and if we’re not careful it could become the “catch all” to remove a student on not much more than a whim. But there is something to be said for the way a student fits into the group – usually they know it and so do you, so a conversation giving them permission to seek out a new group where they fit better is probably in order.Be careful with this one.

We all have “that one” kid in our small group – so be patient and long-suffering and ask God to make it clear if a student genuinely needs to be removed from your group. The goal must always be to “repot” a student into a group where they can connect and grow.

JG

An article I did for Sermon Central went live this week – it deals with the relationships of senior pastors and youth workers.

A few years back, at one of Saddleback’s youth worker conferences, we offered a workshop called Senior Pastor: Friend or Foe.

Unfortunately, it was a really popular seminar.

It seems that youth pastors deal in extremes in many ways—not just in the lives of students at a critical and often misunderstood age, but extremes in their relationships with their supervisor. No matter how good or bad your relationship is with the lead youth worker in your church, I applaud you for reading the title of this article and at least being mildly interested in the perspective of a guy who’s played number two his whole career.

I’ve sat in my church office (which was located in the basement, though I’m sure that fact was no reflection on my value), completely frustrated with my leader. Wrongly, I’ve done youth ministry all alone, frustrated by the lack of camaraderie with my boss. I’ve dug myself into some pretty terrific pits in my time as a youth pastor, too many without the confidence of a trusted partner in ministry. Someone on your team might be thinking or feeling this way right now … in their basement office.

The relationship between the church staff team has to be effortless. But it takes a ton of effort. When people look at a great marriage, they may not realize the arduous amount of hard work that it takes—and your staff is like a second spouse. (I’m just being figurative here, in case you felt like I was endorsing concubines.) You’ve carefully invested day after day in your marriage and built up trust; the same has to be true with that guy sitting in the basement.

I want someone to offer a workshop for pastors on how to partner with your youth pastor—the room would be packed! And I want that person to be you. In order for the relationship to change, there will have to be some game-changing effort put into it. Here are a few first steps to challenge you, the senior pastor, to make the first bold move”

Take them out for lunch
My love language is food, but beyond that, it’s always easier to talk to someone over food—your treat (hey, you get paid wayyyy more than we do). And don’t let your youth pastor choose the place to eat, either. Our cars will autopilot us straight to Taco Bell, so make sure you have a nicer place in mind when you make the ask. And offer to drive, too—no senior pastor should ever have to experience the disaster of the passenger seat of a youth worker’s car. It could take them a half-hour just to make room for you to sit down. Once you’re there, spend time communicating and developing that all-important relationship with one of the key leaders in your ministry. Bonus: Even if they can’t make it to lunch that day, you’ll still get major credit.

Spontaneously buy them a gift
When your youth pastor walks into their office (or is starting the trek downstairs to find it), they’ll be greeted by voicemails, a mountain of email and a list of items to respond to, all with varying urgency. But also waiting for them is a little gift from you. And while thoughtful, it isn’t a gift-with-a-hidden-meaning, like a book on better time management or a polo shirt as a subtle reminder to dress up a bit. Here’s a little gift equation as a guide: A little thought + unexpected – agenda = super meaningful. Something little could be really big.

Invite them to speak in the adult services
I knew this one would be tough; that’s why I put it in the middle where it wouldn’t shock you as much. Go ahead—take the risk and let them speak every once in a while. You know you could use the break, and we always talk about God’s Spirit showing up when the pastor speaks, so why not give it a shot? You could start by giving them the Sunday night message, I suppose, but we both know that doesn’t really count.

Offer to cover for a getaway weekend
This shows you care about your youth worker beyond the workplace. Think of how valuable it would be if someone on the elder board did it for you (I may have just stumbled on my next article). Offer to give them a break, and once you’re there, (with the youth leader’s permission) cast the vision of the church and clearly show how students fit into that plan. Be sure to brag on the youth worker when they’re gone.

Just drop by youth group for no reason
When my senior pastor does this, I totally freak out. I immediately begin to come up with excuses why attendance is off a bit and come up with plausible explanations for the mysterious new hole in the drywall by the drinking fountain. It would be tragic for the only time the senior pastor enters the youth room is when there is a problem. So make it normal for you to drop in. Become the youth group’s unofficial cheerleader, and your youth pastor will take the ball further down the field than you ever imagined she could.

Let me wrap up with a single suggestion: Put one of these ideas into action this week; it could change your church staff relational culture overnight.

JG

I want our student ministry to be safe … but totally unpredictable. Let me explain what I mean.

Safe
Our goal is that our student services are outsider-aware – that we are friendly to people there for the first time. That when anyone walks in, they realize we’ve been planning this for a while and have something important to say. I also want our regular students to trust us – that if you take that bold step and invite a friend we’re not going to embarrass you or them with the program or the people. That the weekend service, on any given Saturday/Sunday, will be a safe place to bring someone to hear about Jesus or be challenged in the faith they already have. I want our students to feel so safe/welcomed/proud that they would want to introduce their friends to me.  Practical: add a “welcome to first-timers” even if they’re aren’t any attending your service/event. Cast the vision for it on a weekly basis. Work with a core group of students to find out what a “safe environment” means to them in regards to them trusting you enough to invite a friend to church. Avoid insider language, illustrations that exclude certain people groups.

Unpredictable
At the same time, I want us to be unpredictable – you never totally know what’s going to happen when you walk into church. Yes, it will always be safe, challenging and outsider-friendly, but we’ve probably got something special planned that you didn’t expect. Too often the order of service and tradition trumps the desire to present the Word in a creative and “sticky” way. Too often we rest in the “safety” of the way we’ve always done it at the expense of people’s attention. We don’t have services for the purpose of creating buzz and I even like traditions, but people truly being fully engaged and then applying truth is most important. Practical: change up the order of service every month or every other series. Change the seating arrangement, bring in a special speaker, add in a new teaching style, don’t have music/double the music, etc.

I hope this New Year we’re always safe … and never predictable.

JG

This week is the time of the year when I take the HSM team away for a morning and give the State of HSM address. It isn’t as epic as it might sound, but we do sneak up to have hot chocolate at Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel and sit in front of the fire while I diesel on our youth ministry for a while. It is now an annual event, and each year we mark the occasion by taking a group picture in front of the giant tree. Here’s what I hope to accomplish in our time together:

Reflection
This is a time of just thinking back through the year and telling stories that happened through the course of the ministry. Usually there are some funny stories in his part, and some tears when a particular memory strikes a chord. Pausing to reflect is a huge key here – if we continue to go, go, go – and even grow, grow, grow – we lose the heart behind what God is doing and can become gears in a machine churning out a product. Reflection brings us all back to the heart of why we do what we do.

Affirmation
This is a time to talk about specific people – we think about each other, strengths and successes of the past year. Usually some funny stories come out of this time as well, as well as life-giving words of kindness as we build each other up.

Correction
We haven’t had to do this too often, but from time to time a team-wide dysfunction creeps to the surface. I would always lean toward individual discipline as needed continually, but when something affects everyone or everyone is participating, a time to bring it out into the light is wise. This is usually brief and direct if it is indeed necessary.

Changes
As the ministry changes, shifts in focus or adapting to growth – we may have to move some players around. I try to save any significant team changes for this meeting, though it isn’t always possible. Team changes seen out of context are often a cause of team conflict and strife, changes made in the backdrop of this annual vision usually accepted far more quickly because one can easily see the big picture.

Vision
This is where it all comes together – we’ve celebrated where we’ve been and built each other up. We’ve gone after any team-wide course corrections and set up the infrastructure to build on where we think God is taking us in the coming year. And then we put it all out there – where are we headed for the year – what are our goals – what is success for our ministry until we sit around the fireplace in the Grand Californian next year? Then we pray about it, eat, and get back to work.

JG

I’m taking a break and letting my brain breathe from a project that I’ve been working on this morning. (This is actually one that I’ve been working on for months and will probably continue to develop it for years) But what I’m working on is something I call Mission Critical Jobs. These are coordinator jobs that are critical to our youth ministry. It’s our goal to have a volunteer in each of these roles and empower them with the ability to do more than just fulfill a job description but to have a passion and vision for that ministry area and how it will help advance God’s work at our church and in our community. (Craig Groeschel once said “Delegate authority, not responsibility”)

Some may say, isn’t the youth minister supposed to do these jobs? Yes and No. Yes…the youth minister should oversee and work with these coordinators to see that all these major areas are being developed and led in a productive way. No…it would be near impossible for one person to truly devote themselves to all these areas. No one excels in all these areas. No one is a “people person”, a visionary, a detail-er, an organizer, a designer….you get the point. We all have strengths and so we should capitalize on those and let others with a different set of strengths focus on theirs and fill in those gaps where we struggle. Not only that, in the majority of churches, youth ministries are overseen by one youth minister and there is only so much one person (especially those with a family) can do.

That is why I am convinced that without a team of key, high-level volunteers, our youth ministry (and others) will quickly reach it’s wall of effectiveness and sooner or later, even begin to regress. So, if you’re in youth ministry, start today working on what your mission critical jobs are. Be sure to develop some sort of job description or at least a detailed list of responsibilities. Then, prioritize them in order of what is needed now and start finding people who want to do more than just chaperone a trip or bring in donuts. Find those adults who want to pour their heart into a vital part of youth ministry.

This will probably an ever growing and developing list but here are our Mission Critical Jobs right now (in no particular order)…

• Bible School Coordinator
• Breakaway Coordinator (our weekly youth worship)
• Sunday Night Coordinator
• Wednesday Night Coordinator
• Service Coordinator
• Mexico Mission Trip Coordinator
• Teen Lounge Coordinator (our youth room)
• Big Events Coordinator
• Shepherding Coordinator
• Outreach/Evangelism Coordinator
• Prayer Coordinator
• Volunteer Coordinator
• Technology Coordinator
• VBS Coordinator (don’t judge, believe it or not, our teen VBS draws a pretty large crowd)

Joe Thompson is the mission critical Youth Minister at Fairmount Christian Church. Check out his blog right here and tell him JG sent ya.

Been doing some interesting thinking about the purpose of small groups – wondering if it is possible for us to use groups more strategically in the discipleship process. As it stands right now, they are 70% fellowship (adult life with student life, accountability, relationship) and 30% discipleship (Bible study).

Some of this happens organically now, but what if we mixed it up a bit and it looked like this:

Learn – 2-3x a month
A couple of weeks out of the month, the small group does significant and intentional Bible study. The leaders prepares a lesson selected from the materials provided/approved by the ministry, and concentrate on helping their students grow in Christian education and faith.

Grow – throughout the month
Throughout the month, the small group leader checks in on their students’ spiritual disciplines and holds them accountable to growing on their own. The idea here is to gently disciple students to a faith that they can take with them beyond high school. The leader looks for spiritual conversations and opportunities to challenge a student personally. Tons of resources are close at hand to help a student take a spiritual step forward.

Serve – 1x a month
One night a month the entire group spends time serving together. Care for one of the student’s teachers that lost a spouse recently, serve at a local shelter, help someone with yard work, adopt a city block, visit a home for the elderly. The ministry provide tons of options and ideas, but each group has the flexibility and freedom to create their own monthly service project.

Play - 1x a month
Take the night off! Pool party, lazer tag, pizza buffet, world series of poker marathon, sledding – whatever, it doesn’t really matter. Just something super fun and community - no agenda, just life on life happening.

Just thinking out loud. Your thoughts?

JG

A little update on our goals from the Do Something series that ended last weekend – we’re going to continue a few of the goals until Christmas and see if we can’t top them off. Exciting!

JG

This fall, we began a series on Sex and Dating.  It is not the first time we have talked about this topic but it was the first time in over 2 years that we have done that.  One of the reasons we didn’t talk about it for a bit was because I did the teaching the last time and it was a very awkward time.  I know that is a lame excuse, but it definitely caused me to think twice about teaching it again.

So this year, we decided to bring in a local Christian non-profit come in and teach about it.  They came in and taught for 2 weeks (1 group for the high school students and 1 group for the middle school students).  Although I was grateful that they taught about this subject, it did not go exactly as planned.  Because of this, I thought of many things I that I did wrong during this process.  So, I figured I would pass on my lessons learned on in case anyone is getting ready to bring in an outside person to share to your youth.

Here’s what I learned:

Meet with the teacher beforehand and share what you hope to accomplish during their teaching time. Although I did meet with our teacher beforehand, I did not let them know the make-up of our youth program.  Not all youth groups are similar in students that attend, so had they been better prepared for the type of students we have, they might have tweeked their overall presentation a bit.

Make sure you know exactly what they are going to share. You don’t want to be thrown any curveballs during the presentation as they may share something completely outlandish.

Be prepared to follow up afterwards.  When you teach on anything, it is always good to have a follow up strategy.  This is even more important when you teach on such an important subject or an outside teacher comes in to share.  One of the best things Katie, my Associate, did after one of our meetings was she grabbed a bunch of girls immediately after the presentation was over and began to process with them what was said and how they were feeling.  You may not need to do something like that, but following up in the next week would be a great start.

Do a thorough evaluation afterwards. Oftentimes organizations will give you an evaluation to fill out.  However, I have found that most of them are pretty generic.  This particular group’s evaluation was very generic.  Therefore, instead of writing out an evaluation, I went and met with the person who presented and gave them a verbal one.  I have found that when you write up something, people may misconstrue your comments.  So, if you have some harder things to say on an evaluation, it is better to talk it over with them rather than write it.  Speak the truth in love, but definitely speak the truth.

In the past we have had a variety of outside teachers come in and share and overall I highly recommend them.  Working at a non-mega Church, it can get overwhelming and you can drain yourself too much doing multiple teachings every single week.  So, if someone else can come and share competently with your youth, why wouldn’t you take the night off?  But, just great as it can be to have a night off, it can be a lot of work as well if not done right.

Have you had similar experiences and learnings?  Post them so we can all know how to do a better job on the front end so that we don’t have as much to do after they share.

Tom Pounder is the Youth Ministry Director at Cedar Run Community Church in Herndon, VA. He blogs regularly at NotaMegaChurch and can be Twitter-stalked as well.

Weekend Teaching Series: Do Something (series finale, week 3 of 3)
Sermon in a Sentence: People all over the world are hungry – let’s do something about them in Jesus’ name.
Service Length: 61 minutes

Understandable Message: This weekend the message was all about action – there wasn’t a ton of talk needed! For the previous two weeks we’ve been doing something – packing shoeboxes for kids to have a Christmas and hear about Jesus, signing up for ministries, bringing in hundreds of canned goods and clothing items to give to the needy. And this week, we put out the most impossible goal: to pack 100,000 meals in one weekend. We would be packing food for our Saddleback food pantry, local foodbanks in the community, and food items to be taken on mission trips to Mexico, even Africa. The message this week was in the activity – my heart was that the experential elements of this weekend would create a memory that would last a long time in students’ minds.

Volunteer/Student Involvement: This weekend was the culmination about 5 weeks of meetings, logistics and empowerment. Honestly, the whole project kept growing and growing until we had more than 30 pallets of bulk food ready to be packaged for families. It was an incredible concert of moving parts and personalities, we learned a TON and despite a few minor hiccups and blowups the whole thing really came together. Student leaders stepped up, our adult team was unreal, and as always, my teammates on our HS team were super.

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: This was work this weekend! But we had some fun by doing the “big church” welcome live from down in The Refinery. It was a total blast, and helped the whole church see what we were up to. We had a great background playlist going as well, so lots of great music (Party in the U.S.A. was the most popular, by far, right or wrong) filled the gym as everyone pitched in to package meals.

Music Playlist: iPod playlist

Favorite Moment:  The whole event was run by one of our killer 2-year HSM interns, making that by far my favorite moment. Becka took this thing to a whole nother level and things really came together, she is a great minister with a huge heart. Other highlights: amazing students staying late, student leaders being at many/all services, an exhausted late night Denny’s run, seeing everyone work so hard, watching pallet after pallet being loaded up on the trucks.

Up Next: STORIES (1-off)

This week we had an incredible experience for our Do Something series – we did Hunger Day where we challenged everyone not to eat for 24 hours and experience what it was like to feel hunger. I joked about how I continually graze throughout the day, and assured them that all of the adults would join in as well. It was amazing! We had a ton of responses to the text we sent out half-way through the day, thought it might be fun to share a few with you, too:

• It was great and really eye opening… After I had fasted it was hard for me to eat again which is weird because I love eating.
• At least I knew I was going to be able to eat come 8:30. And it’s scary to think that there’s people who don’t know if theyre going to get a meal when they get home.
• I’m hungry, but the thing is, at 9:40, 24hr, i get to eat. a lot of ppl dont have that.
• Spent lunch talking with 3 friends who also weren’t eating about poverty around the world, what we can do in our everyday lives, and in prayer. It was awesome.
• Im doing horrible…Today was pizza day. I frowned. Oh well, kids are starving, so i can go a month without pizza day.
• Its harder than i thought! I want to complain and stuff but i know that that will ruin the purpose. But its such an eye opening experience!
• im so hungry but im using every opportunity to tell people about it. i prayed my entire PE period. its hard but its totally worth it
• this is hard! i didn’t realize how lucky i was just to have food. i’ve prayed for all those who aren’t as lucky as us.

JG

Here’s a little Flash update of our progress on HSM’s Do Something goals so far.

JG

Weekend Teaching Series: Do Something: A series about social and spiritual action (week 2 of 3)
Sermon in a Sentence: You can “do something” in many different ways – personally, locally and globally.
Service Length: 81 minutes
Bible: Acts 1:8

Understandable Message: This week’s message was again very short – it was almost more of a verse challenge – so we could focus on action right there in the service. I talked about how Jesus’ last words to continue His mission on earth until he returns in Jerusalem, Judea and the uttermost parts of the earth. We divided up each service into 3 groups and sent them to 3 areas in The Refinery – they stayed in the theater to take some personal action [walk], headed to the gym to sign up for local opportunities [drive], and spent 15 minutes in the classrooms to hear speakers talk about global opportunities and action [fly]. Anyhow, we also updated everyone on our goals for the series (clothing drive, food drive, offering, etc) and we make some good progress, too!

Volunteer/Student Involvement: This was the first week of our rotation of schools that rally students to serve by greeting, handing out programs, clean-up, setup, etc. We had a TON to do for a weekend like this, so the extra help was HUGE. So proud of them! The band, camera, lights, sound and control room were also handled by students, and our adult volunteers really had the opportunity to engage with students with the extra help on tasks.

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: We had some great music, and a very welcoming environment, and used Poll Everywhere to ask students to text in what they been doing since the series is called “do something” – seeing the responses fly on the screen during the opening song was really cool. This video called “He > You” was a neat element, too.

Music Playlist: Use Somebody, Life of Love, Solution

Favorite Moment: Seeing all of the student leadership kids in action was great! I really liked the global action room where the students could hear from James, a Kenyan-born young man who sees the opportunity/need for helping spiritually and socially. And tons of students signed up for local serve opportunities … so while it was crazy with all of the people-moving, there were lots of favorite moments, I guess.

Up Next: Do Something (series finale, week 3 of 3)

This past weekend I shared breakfast with my YS roommate. Bruegger’s Bagels and chocolate milk, case you were wondering.

Our discussion centered around the question, how do you know when God is moving you? It a good question and often asked when we feel the push to move on to something else. As we talked, I thought about my own experiences and knowing when God was moving me from one spot to the next. Here’s what I learned:

1. Prayer. Without a doubt, prayer is the most important part of the process. Seeking God diligently is a must. Each time we thought a move was coming, my wife and I bathed the possibilities in prayer. We pray together, we pray separately, we pray for specifics, and we pray for the unknown. We’re not afraid to ask God to answer and provide the details. Like Gideon, we put out the fleece and ask God to send the dew. And don’t forget, prayer is a two way street. Spend as much time listening for God as you do listing your requests and demands. God still speaks, we just have to learn to listen.

2. Godly Wisdom. Wise counsel is priceless. Surround yourself with trusted, Godly men and women, who can give you unbiased and confidential advice and support. These need to be people who love you and can be strong enough to say no. Tell them what they need to know. Ask them to pray specific for you for a designated time frame, then set up a time when you can meet and hear what they think God is saying. And listen! The counsel they bring might not be what you want to hear.

3. Watch and Know. God speaks through what happens around us. Events and circumstances help to push us the direction God wants us to go. I am a firm believer that God opens and closes doors as He deems necessary. Watch what’s happening around. Too often, irony is the hand of God turning a door knob. And know your history. How has God moved you in the past? How has He moved in others lives? How did He move people in the New Testament? How did He move people in the Old Testament? Our God does not change. The same God who moved Abram to an unknown country is the God who might be moving you into the unknown. Knowing how He works will help you recognize when He is moving in your life.

I can’t say that these three things were my own brain child. They were shared with my wife and I many years again when we were considering our first full time call to serve a ministry. We practiced each of these three points then, and God was faithful in revealing what we needed to know and where we needed to be. Since then, we have applied each point for every move we’ve made and we have been blessed.

The only other suggestion I would add is idea of total surrender. Two captains cannot steer the ship. Each one will have his own agenda and desired destination. With both at the helm, confusion reigns. The ship needs one captain and one first officer. The captain commands the ship. He sets the direction and navigates the terrain. The first officer’s place is to obey the captain, follow his lead, and stay on course even when the captain steps of the bridge.

Not too long ago, I staged a mutiny. My wife and I knew we were done serving a ministry and that it was time to move on. What we didn’t know was the where. For us, the when was as soon as possible. So we made some phone calls, did the job search, and let some people know we we’re looking. But really, our minds were made up. We were going back to Philadelphia. My office was packed into boxes, and in my mind, I was already planning for a new youth ministry. We did everything we could to make this happen.

But despite all our efforts, nothing was working out. We pushed and pushed and pushed. But the doors closed every single time.
After four months of trying to force the square peg into the round hole, the final door was slammed in our faces. We were not moving back to Philly. This was a crushing realization for me. Because of the nature of the work I was doing, I had to resolve to do what I was called to do. I asked for a peace about everything and the ability to surrender the situation and wait on God.
Three months later, we heard the youth pastor who was serving the church we were attending had left. We went away for a weekend as a family right after hearing about the opening. My wife and I agreed to pray about the news and w would talk about afterward. When we returned home, I made a call. Three weeks later, I had a new call. God moved me when He was ready to move me. He was just waiting for me to surrender to Him. If you are at that point. The point where you ask yourself, Is God moving me right now? Take the time to pray, seek counsel, watch for the signs, and surrender to what God is doing. He’s got it all taken care of.

Just have to let him Captain the ship, then enjoy the cruise.

Jay Higham is the youth pastor at Crossroads Youth Ministry at St. Paul’s.

Cool contest from SnapshotWeb happening this month. Want a makeover? Check this out:

We see lots of church websites every day. Some of these sites are being used as effective tools to reach their community. In contrast, some of these websites are in dire need of some serious help.  That’s where we come in.

Want a major makeover for your church website?

We’re going to take a few of the church websites that are most in need and turn them into something beautiful, clean, and effective… for FREE. We’ll help with design, layout, content, images, google ranking and more.

JG

I really liked Josh Treece’s blog post today about lessons that the church can learn from retail. Here’s a clip of it and if you’re looking for a former Saddleback intern that is looking for a youth pastor position, check him out:

1) Presentation is important… We spend a ton of time on presentation at the store. Several times a day, we walk the aisles making sure that there are no holes on the shelves, products are where they should be, and that things are facing forward. Things are dusted all the time. Floors are polished. Seasonal decorations are hung. All of these things are done with the customer in mind. If perception is reality, then we want to be perceived as a clean, organized store.  I’m not sure if we think about presentation enough in ministry. What’s the first thing a guest sees (and therefore thinks) when they walk into our space? What kind of environments are we creating and how do they affect our message? When we hand over our promo for camp to a parent, what impression does it give them? We need to start recognizing how much presentation can add to our credibility.

2) But it’s not as important as great customer service… It doesn’t matter how good the store looks, without paying special attention to the customers, the store can never be successful. Our store policy is that we’re always asking customers “Can I help you find something?” Providing great customer service is the first thing on everyone’s job description. All of us in professional ministry have struggled with balancing being task driven vs. relationship driven. While presentation is important (we could have the best looking ministry around, with the biggest programs, sweetest print work, and most awesome videos) unless we’re working hard to encourage growing relationships (with God and others), we’re never going to have a successful ministry. Life change happens within the context of relationships.

JG

This week for the “Do Something” series we put signs up all over the Refinery to help spur students to action. Here are a few shots around the building.

JG