discipleship | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts Weigh In — Volume 7: Going Deeper

From time to time I post a youth ministry question that I’ve received and leave it to you, the MTDB youth ministry community, to answer it. This one from a youth worker in Canada, but it could be from anyone since it applies to so many ministries. Chime in with your wisdom, response and best practices. Go!

Last week I had a meeting with 4 students who said they needed our Youth Program to be deeper. There are few words that bring a more unclear and vague feeling to my mind than the idea of deeper. Depth is such a personal thing, taking the whole group there in a one size ministry (grades 7-12) isn’t easy and even if you have just Senior Highs, reaching the core and the crowd can be hard to do. So the question is this: How do you respond to students that want to go deeper? How does this work out in your youth services?

JG

7 View Comments April 18, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts Life Group Discipleship Classes Started Tonight

This week we started a new experiment with our small groups – Life Group discipleship classes as an option for groups to attend together.

Now, we love what is happening in homes and relationally with leaders, but as we thought about areas where we’re hoping to improve, the topic of foundational doctrine and theology showed up pretty strong. HSM has been moving toward balanced health for several years now, and discipleship has always been on our radar but we thought we might be entering a phase were we needed to give it an extra emphasis. We don’t typically offer a ton of classes, we depend on the weekend service, small groups (we use the LIVE curriculum) and encourage students to grow on their own with all sorts of Bible studies, books and tools.

Ryanne had the idea to offer up some discipleship classes specifally for Life Groups. They attend with their adult volunteer leader and sit around tables listening to a master-teacher (for this 4-week session we asked our adult teaching pastor Tom Holladay) to teach the lesson. He teaches for 45minutes to an hour on a particular subject like the authority of the Bible or End Tiems, then leaves them to have a time of guided questions and discussion.

We thought it would help groups who are strong relationally but need help on the teaching side
We desire for all of our students to be firmly grounded in their faith
It would also make for a geat change of pace this time of year

So, this Tuesday/Wednesday night (both of the nights we offer Life Groups we wanted to offer these classes) were the first of our 4-week experiment to see if there would be interest. We had an incredible turnout … might be on to something here.

JG

2 View Comments March 9, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts Links and Videos from Today’s Radicalis Youth Track: Individual Life

In the last of our 3 youth track sessions we focused on the individual student. We talked about everything we do outside of the large and small groups that are options for individual students to take steps forward in their faith. Here’s a few links for more depth on a few topics:

JG

Add Comment February 27, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Rethinking Retreat Planning

Like many of you, when I signed up to be a youth pastor, I signed up to help students do life with God. I also believed then, and still do today, that there is no shortcut. It simply takes time. I also know that there is no greater way to spend big chunks of quantity time with students than the retreat setting.

So far, so good.

But what I didn’t know was that in order to do those retreats, I’d have to sign contracts that would cause me countless nights of stress leading up to them. I had no idea that 12 months out I’d be asking my church to leverage thousands of dollar on the belief that students will eventually express interest and sign up. And for me, times have been a changin’…

Gone are the days where if a student went last year, had a great time, and even connected with God on the trip that they’d automatically sign up and bring a friend next year.
Gone are the days where families could afford to send students to special retreats and functions with relative ease.
Gone are the days where I am willing to roll the dice and sign random contracts based on faith and my “guesstimations”.

So what am I to do?

I still believe the same basic premises that started this post. I still believe in retreats and life change. But I no longer believe that camp contracts (or even doing contract-free retreats) is the only way, and certainly not the best way to get this done. I’d like to propose that youth ministries can learn a lesson from places like coupon based websites. If you’re unfamiliar, coupon websites that offers services that become active once a minimum number of people buy in. For example, someone offers a deal on tourist attraction or something for 50% off. If you’re interested, you sign up and give your credit card and then once 15 people buy it, the “coupon” is on and they charge your card.

So, in youth ministry, this might look like:

Summer camp brochure is made months earlier than normal. We promote the trip and encourage students in the same ways we always have.
But now, students are told 2 things. #1. The cost for the first “x” number people is “$$$”. Maybe we could offer some kinda early buy in discount. All prices could be refundable and the trip is tentative until we have ______ people going. Once we have ______ people going and maybe by a certain date, then the trip is on and a deposit of “$$” is non-refundable, but is transferable.
Here, if you need a minimum of 10 to do the trip, the onus is on the participant to invite friends and push the retreat. They want to go, so they’ll encourage friends that if they don’t go, he or she can’t go either.
As a youth pastor, I don’t have to pay now, and pray like crazy later. Or at least I can do way less of that.
I can spend more time encouraging students and less time being a travel agent.

Brian is a youth ministry veteran of 16 years, currently the student ministries pastor at Journey Community Church near San Diego, CA. And he blogs!

4 View Comments February 14, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: True Inspiration

As we wrap up the first month of 2011, one truth that has changed my ministry is surrounded by the word… inspiration. One of the greatest gifts we can give our students as their Pastors is inspiration. Beyond the obvious of helping them encounter Jesus, and promoting growth in their journey towards Christ; our students must be inspired. At the heart of our ministries needs to be a Godly fuel to change the world. An inspiration for our students that pushes them to live their faith in a relative and relevant fashion. However, this comes only by seeing it modeled.

Through genuine inspiration we are able to empower our students to know they can change the world.

Barnabas is a Biblical example that transcends time. As the mentor to Paul, he understood Paul’s impact would extend further than his own. By living a life of inspiration he empowered Paul to take the message of Jesus to the world no matter the cost. Paul saw the life he wanted lived out through Barnabas. Can our students say the same about us?

We are compelled to ask “Is there anything in our life our students want to emulate?” For my life I know this is something I personally need to strengthen and it’s always been a battle. I haven’t conquered it, but this is something I am actively trying to put into place.

Through a mixture of God moments since the beginning of 2011, which included attending Passion Conference with our college age group, as well as reading Sun Stand Still by Stephen Furtick, my 2011 mission is simple: Inspire my students by proclaiming Jesus and not myself.

Since sharing this with others this New Year’s proclamation has spread to some of my friends. Our first stop is connecting with the International Justice Mission, a Christian organization that helps bring awareness and help to those being violently oppressed through the tragedy of global slavery and human trafficking.

Our group of seven is joining around the anthem of “There’s a Bigger Story”. Meaning simply there’s a bigger story to serving Jesus than just attending church and doing little. We are on a mission to inspire.

So join us in our mission of inspiration as we pray a God size prayer to raise $100,000 to help those stuck in the tragedy of sexual slavery. And by doing so, we will inspire a generation of students to change the world.

Jay Porter is the Student Life Pastor at Christ Central Alachua. Hit up his blog right here: http://jayportercca.wordpress.com

I’ve been thinking about the big question of “what does it mean to have a healthy youth ministry?” I recently finished reading a book by Kenda Creasy Dean entitled “Almost Christian: What The Faith Of Our Teenagers Is Telling The American Church“. In it Kenda describes the growing trend within the american teenage culture of being “spiritual” but not Christian. Teenagers today are focusing less on who God is and more on how connecting to a higher power makes them feel. Christian sociologists have used the phrase “Therapeutic Moral Deism” to define exactly how this paradigm plays out. I don’t have time to get into everything about Therapeutic Moral Deism, but you can learn more by reading this article by Christian Smith who wrote the book “Soul Searching”.

So how can we build a healthy youth ministry in the midst of our current teenage culture? What do we focus on as we build our youth programs? As I am sitting here in a cafe writing this, I’ve drawn two different strategies on some napkins concerning where we as youth workers can put our focus. The first is what I am calling a “God-Centered Youth Ministry”. Here’s the concept:

In a God-centered youth ministry all of our teaching/small groups/etc. focus in on “theology” which is the study of who God is. We focus on what the Bible says about God (what He is like, His characteristics, His plan, Salvation,etc.). From there we then move on to “anthropology” which is the study of human beings. Simply put, it means this:

1) FOCUS ON JESUS & WHO HE IS

2) IN LIGHT OF WHO JESUS IS…WHAT IS A TEENAGERS RESPONSE?

So what is the other option? What is the opposite of a God-Centered youth ministry? Below is my doodle concept of a “People-Centered Youth Ministry”:

With a “People-Centered Youth Ministry” the focus in not on Jesus, but on the students. This kind of youth ministry will focus on particular types of teenage behaviors and how those students attempt to navigate the ideas of spirituality. Simply put, a “People-Centered Youth Ministry” looks like this:

1) FOCUS ON THE STUDENTS AND HOW THEY FEEL

2) STUDENTS BECOME RELIGIOUS.

The problem with the second model of youth ministry is that religion will never save anybody. In our world today there are tons of religions and I hear students (and adults) say all the time time that “as long as your are sincere about your faith it doesn’t matter what you believe.” However, no matter how sincere you are, you can still be sincerely wrong. Check out this event from the book of Exodus:

“When Joshua heard the boisterous noise of the people shouting below them, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp!” But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a shout of victory nor the wailing of defeat. I hear the sound of a celebration.” (Exodus 32:17-18 NLT)

Moses has just come down from Mount Sinai where He received the Ten Commandments from God. Suddenly he and Joshua hear the sound of the entire people of Israel celebrating together. They here a united people shouting and singing and worshiping. However, just a few verses before we here what God has to say about their worship:

“The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.” (Exodus 32:7-10 NLT)

Even though the people of Israel were being sincere, God told them that they were sincerely wrong! We have to be diligent in our effort to point the students in our ministry to Jesus and not to the world. We need to place our focus back on to the study of God and not on the study of ourselves. If we don’t, we can fall into the same trap that the Apostle Paul spoke of in the book of Romans:

“Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Romans 1:21-23 NLT)

Which model above can be seen in your own youth ministry? Which aspects of your current programs would you have to change in order to bring Jesus back to the center?

Rob Ham works on the WILDSIDE Jr. High Team @ Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA and blogs at I (Heart) Youth Ministry.

1 View Comments February 11, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: The Thing About Spurs

Let me tell you about a train of thought I had the other day, and where it led me. I was thinking about word-pictures, and now much they help me understand what I writer is talking about. What, everyone doesn’t sit around thinking about literary devices? Anyways, I love it when authors create good word-pictures. I thought about authors I’ve read like Don Miller, Francis Chan, and others who are really good at this. Then I thought about Jesus, and about how he taught using parables and word-pictures a lot. You know, “The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed…” Stuff like that.

Then I thought about the writer of Hebrews. In Hebrews 10:24-25, he (maybe she? Who knows…) writes, “And let us continue to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Have you ever seen spurs? Like, for-real cowboy spurs? They’re basically ninja stars that people attach to their boots in order to help get their horse to move. With spurs on, an accomplished rider can urge the horse to do things that the horse really doesn’t want to do.

That’s because spurs hurt.

Spurs literally dig into the horse’s side with a sharp point. The horse doesn’t like the pain, and so it tries to run away from it. Presto! Now the rider is moving, and focuses on controlling the direction of the horse with the reigns, bit, and bridle.

Novice riders are not provided with spurs. That’s because it takes an experienced rider to a) be able to handle a galloping horse, and b) use spurs responsibly and effectively. A inexperienced rider with spurs usually just ends up hurting the horse and getting thrown, possibly resulting in broken bones or death.

Here’s the point: in youth ministry, one of our jobs is to spur our students on towards love and good deeds, and towards personal spiritual growth. Spurring often involves a little bit of pain in order to motivate movement. Don’t be afraid of making your students a little uncomfortable, if it will motivate them towards growth. But also don’t spur them on too hard, either. We want to motivate them, not injure them or turn them off of Jesus.

Just a little encouragement for my youth ministry friends today!

This guest post was written by Joseph Robinson.

2 View Comments February 7, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Time Isn’t Enough

I want my students to like me! I really do. I hope to gain the trust, confidence, and “right” to speak into the lives of my students about important spiritual matters, but I realize that doesn’t come free. Hanging out with them at Sonic after school, going to eat chicken rings with them at their school lunches (how in the world does chicken become rings?), attending their choir concerts, talent shows, band recitals, and athletics events are all ways that I can show my students that I care about my relationship with them. Depending on the depth of those relationships and the number of students in my ministry, I could spend countless hours growing these relationships. It costs a lot of time for me to show my students that I truly care about their lives.

But is that enough? Is it enough for me to care about the lives of my students and have them be aware of it? Allow me to answer my own question…that depends on what I believe God has actually called me to do. All of those activities may be enough if God has called me to be a mentor or to develop moral people. You mean to tell me that you can sacrifice all of those hours outside of your “office hours”, away from your family, listening to some pretty amateur band music, and cheering on your freshman boys in a basketball game that ends in 14-12, and that still may not be enough. The problem is that God has called us to guide our students spiritually, not simply influence their life. God has called us to pastor/shepherd our students’ spirits. To guide their spirit means much more than spending quality time with them. Don’t get me wrong, quality time is important and necessary, it’s just not enough.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” Psalm 19:7 Our students’ souls need constant revival. That revival cannot come from our relationship with them; they need spiritual revival and growth that is only found in His revealed Self, found in his Word. Shepherding our students requires us to understand and completely surrender to the fact that their relationship with God is infinitely more important than their relationship with me. They don’t NEED to know me, they NEED to know God. Their relationship with God is not found in the number of hours that you spend during a given week developing a relationship with your students; it is found in the number of hours that your students spend in their Bible learning about their God. The way for them to know God is to know his Word. Knowing God leads to life transformation and revival.

Let’s face it, how many of your students maintain a close relationship with you five years after they leave your ministry? Statistics (a student pastor’s worst nightmare) suggest that many of our students not only dissolve their relationship with their student pastor after leaving the student ministry, they dissolve their entire relationship with God. The purpose of this article is not to figure out all of the dynamics at work that explain that trend, however it points back to the foundational question, what is enough? The key to developing students that are more likely to maintain their relationship with the Lord is to develop Bible-hungry students through a Bible-hungry student ministry.

A Bible-hungry student ministry cannot exist without a Bible-hungry student pastor. I know there are thousands of things that compete for your time. There are always notes to write, emails to send, students to disciple, and meetings to attend; however, a student pastor’s time with the Lord in his Word is critical. The model that you set for your students is determined by what you value. Make sure to set a high value on your daily consumption of God’s Word. “More desirable than gold, than much fine gold. Sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.” Psalm 19:10

Expository teaching ensures that a student’s relationship with God through his Word is emphasized as greater than a student’s relationship with their student pastor. Simply put, expository teaching is the careful drawing out of the exact meaning of a passage in its original context leading to contemporary application. Instead of brainstorming a topic and finding a passage that speaks to what you are attempting to communicate, expository teaching uses the text of the Scripture to drive the series of lessons. By allowing the text to drive the series of lessons you are allowing God to speak using the structure of his Word, not your creativity to think up topics that the students need to hear. This type of teaching also teaches your students to learn to study the Bible for themselves. Just like you would not encourage your students to flip open to a random verse and apply it without studying its context, don’t model that wrong behavior in your method of teaching!

“God’s Word is vital in developing an on-going relationship with Him.” Don’t just tell it to your students, model it for them.

Tony Richmond is the High School/College Student Pastor at First Baptist Church Keller.

2 View Comments February 6, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts Free Missions Trip eBook from LeaderTreks

Talking to the guys over at LeaderTreks this week – they have a new FREE eBook out today that looks really solid. Doug Franklin wrote an 18-page eBook about a subject he’s very familiar with:

Why not look at short-term missions a little bit differently? Why not craft the short-term missions experience to be a greenhouse for student development, using every experience to give them the best chance for growing into a strong and healthy Christ-follower. These trips can give you the materials you need to build a greenhouse for your student’s growth — multiplying the effectiveness of service and tapping into new potential.

Download The Student Mission Trip Greenhouse right here! Here’s a little clip of the inside from the “preparation for the trip” section:

Team Building Training
Every team will experience interpersonal conflict on mission trips. It’s unavoidable. But having team building training beforehand will help them deal with this conflict in a mature way. Teach your students about the power a team can have when they are unified, focused, and caring for each other. Using team building initiatives and games are a great way to build these values. Plus, it’s a ton of fun.

Spiritual Training
Take time in pre-trip training to teach your students about the spiritual value of missions and the ways in which their personal spiritual growth connects with God’s plan for the world. The Kingdom of God is huge, and while your students’ mission trip is just a small part of the Kingdom, it is significant for their future work. We often focus on logistics during our training time and miss the opportunity to train our students spiritually. What a shame if their trip program is prepared, but their hearts aren’t ready.

JG