Our student leadership is just getting off the ground again right now (you can download our application later this week if you want to adapt it for your ministry) and we’re looking at curriculum to take our students through. Up first we’re going to do a book study of Doug Fields’ Help! I’m a Student Leader book, then we’re probably going to adapt LIVE’s Leadership lessons. We already use the LIVE Curriculum in our Life Groups, seems like a great fit. Here’s a bit of the company line if you want to check it out, too:

We’ve partnered with our good friends at LeaderTreks to help your students and adults discover indispensable biblical principles that are relevant both to daily life and to youth ministry. LeaderTreks has built a solid reputation as a national ministry committed to helping congregations pursue the goal of consistent leadership development within youth ministries.

JG

Our friends at youthministry360 are giving away a FREE Valentines lesson. It’s a solid lesson that uses the story of Ruth and Boaz to talk about the God-centered love we see in the Bible versus the broken image of love the world bombards students with. The lesson also makes the connection that the aspects of love seen in Ruth’s story are perfected in the love we see in Christ. The lesson features a really cool, really interactive PowerPoint slideshow as well as a Leader’s Guide. If you want to teach the lesson, all you have to do is roll over there to check it out.

JG

You have a porn problem in your youth group whether you know it or not. High school, junior high, college—it’s present at every age. No longer do students have to go looking for porn, because in today’s age, porn comes looking for them. It might not be an easy topic for most students to talk about, and you may need to find a different way to communicate with students in your group, but it’s a topic that needs to be discussed.

Over the past couple months, we have both taken a week to meet with our junior high and high school small groups to discuss God’s view of porn, how to avoid and battle the temptation, and open the door to conversation. Here are some things we did right, and also some things that we learned from:

·     Make sure all your students are there—especially the ones you know need to hear it most. Both times we had this discussion, there were key students that needed to be there and didn’t show up. This could have been planned or not, but either way it’s important to encourage everyone to be there.

·     Don’t wait. If possible, start the conversation as early as possible. Make sure your students have a comfort level with you, and make sure they know they’re in a safe place. Once that’s established, you’re in the clear. The longer you wait, the more the struggle can root itself.

·     Let them know they’re not the only ones that struggle with it. One of the things I did when having this discussion was made all my guys put their heads down and raise their hand if porn was a struggle for them. 8 out of 9 raised their hand, so I told the group about it. That brings a huge relief factor for the guys, knowing they’re not alone.

·     Use Scripture, but don’t go overboard. You don’t want to hit your students over the head with Bible verses about how lust and porn are bad, but they do need to know what God says.

·     Encourage accountability. XXXchurch.com and their web accountability tool, X3Watch, are GREAT resources for your students. It encourages accountability with someone they trust, which is the best tool for overcoming the temptation of porn.

While it may seem like a daunting task, you can start the discussion to change the course of a student’s struggle with porn. Let God guide your words, and expect him to guide the discussion.

Matt Reynolds and Steven Orel are volunteer youth workers at Saddleback Church. They come from two different generations and work together to be a resource to other youth workers through their blog at GenToGenYM.com.

Beyond excited when the gang over at Simply Youth Ministry told me that they were doing a 1-day sale on Doug Fields and I’s book, 99 Thoughts for Small Group Leaders.The book is normally $6.99 – TODAY only it is $2.99!

A small group is a powerful place!

Lives are changed. Important decisions are made. Spiritual growth is enhanced. Jokes are shared. Lifelong friendships are formed. Cliques disappear when a small group becomes a loving community. The result? Spiritually mature teenagers, empowered leaders, and a healthy youth ministry.

Good small groups requires leadersÑand that’s where you come in. If you’re a small group leader, you may have lots of questions: Am I making a difference? Am I wisely investing my time, energy, and resources? Can I really do this? If so, how can I maximize my impact in teenagers’ lives?

Find the answers you’re looking for in 99 Thoughts for Small Group Leaders. This book delivers insights, tips, and veteran advice for anyone leading a small group (from young to old). When these bite-size, consumable pieces of wisdom are put into play, leaders will be better equipped and more confident. This book is all about setting them up to win.

UPDATE: They sold out of the deal already! Wow!

JG

Last Night
Last night we had our first meeting of 2012.  We watched the YouTube video that has gone viral http://youtu.be/Q0p6lVdtGKI.  We talked about why it is so powerful, and the girls then read the words and rapped their own version.  We also talked about how we approach reading God’s word, and the importance of focusing on DEPTH, not distance (thank you Pastor Buddy).  Many of the girls feel like they have so much on their plates with school and sports, that they don’t have time for reading God’s word.  I have coached the girls to start small, just a few minutes before bed, reading God’s word for comfort and direction.  Our current memory verse is Matthew 7:7.

My 2012 Intentions
We also talked about the importance of writing down your goals (intentions), so we used the attached document as template with scripture references for inspiration.  I have encouraged the girls to take some quiet time to reflect on what they would like to achieve in their life this year with their faith, family, school and any other area of life that is important to them.  We will share our intentions when we meet next on Wed. Feb. 1st.

We will not meet next week due to Finals.

HSM Life Group Covenant
We also reviewed our HSM Life Group Covenant.  For those who couldn’t join us last night, please take out your HSM journals and review it.  This year one of our primary goals in group will be to focus when we are studying and listen to each other and not talk when someone else is sharing.  This is important to demonstrate respect for everyone.

Group Event Calendar
I have asked the girls to come with one idea and bring it to group on Feb. 1st so we can create our group calendar for the year.  It can be an idea to serve, a fun outing, a unique way for us to connect & bond.  I have encouraged them to think BIG!

Snack Schedule
Finally, I will send out a separate email with this year’s snack schedule, so everyone has a chance to contribute.  Last night I made the girls smoothies with my new Vitamix machine and they asked for seconds!  It’s my way of nurturing them with something healthy for their body and mind.

A while back I was in Costco Warehouse store [read: Sam's Club] for lunch and to stare at the display of magical flat screens that call my name when I walk in. Josh … you NEED a 75″ 3D cinema display…

After drooling over for the TVs for a while I like to head toward the food area, largely because of the incredible amounts of free samples they give out. They allow you to get a taste, see if you like it or the product speaks to you, and encourage you to buy it and then heat it up for dinner. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t – either way it is a good experience and one that I began to think about over the next few days that translates to our youth ministry philosophy.

Youth Group is the sample
The purpose of our large group meetings is to expose students to the Gospel of Jesus and encourage them to see  a step they could take in their spiritual life. The message is neither shallow nor deep – it is a sample of the whole counsel of God designed to push them forward i their relationship with Christ whether they are a devoted follower or even hearing about Jesus for the very first time.

Small Group is where pick up the package and inspect it
The large group is designed to give students a taste of what Jesus is all about. Small groups are the next step where students begin to experience Christian community and are surrounded by changed lives and an adult mentor. Small groups are the place for questions, doubts, fears and decisions.

Individual Life is taking it to the checkout and making it your own
Our desire that a student sampled who Jesus is in a safe, relevant way during our weekend services. We’ve challenged them to inspect their faith and examine their lives in community and study the scriptures together. Now we want them to own their faith, that they would grow on their own and express their faith well into adulthood with Jesus. They serve on mission trips, follow Christ’s example in baptism and have a walk with Jesus that is their own.

Costco wants you to sample, inspect and own. We want our students to expose, experience and express.

JG

Shoe Boxes with Parker from HSM on Vimeo.

Another in this fun series about a really terrible leader named Parker. His previous video helping promote Life Groups is one of my favorites! This weekend Parker helped us learn how to pack shoeboxes for Christmas during our Do Something series. Love it!

JG

This year we’ve trying a fun new idea that we’ve been cooking for small groups – we’ve just launched HSM’s Life Group Leagues!

From time to time throughout the small group year we’re going to host a few casual sports nights here at the church where groups can participate in some fun activities like volleyball, ping pong or basketball. The games are all for fun, not highly competitive and simply give small groups a chance to take a break from the pace of the year and have some fun together.

I’ve always liked the idea of intramural sports in college and wondered if it would translate to high school ministry. We’re off to a great start so far – thought the idea might be a good one to share here, too!

JG

I was at Chipotle hanging out with a volunteer named Kevin this past week. His co-leader Oscar and him make a great team. As we talked, he rattled off 5 or 6 good reasons why he was teamed up with another all-star leader this year in Life Groups. I couldn’t get them all written down in time, but it was genius so I had to share what I could remember! Here’s what I remember from our conversation – 4 benefits of having a co-leader for your small group:

1. Different voices win
For the same reason I share the teaching platform with other speakers, it is important to share the teaching time in groups. We don’t require every group to have 2 leaders (ideal, but not practical), but one of the biggest benefits when it happens that second voice can really be heard loud and clear.

2. Co-leaders encourage each other
It is going to happen – at some point in the year you’re going to get discouraged. Maybe it will be disappointment with a student’s poor choices or maybe attendance will drop off a bit and you get frustrated. A co-leader gives the opportunity to bring the other up in a time of need.

3. Filling in for each other
You’ve got maybe 30 weeks of Life Groups during the school year – from time to time conflict is going to happen. Business trip, family crisis – sometimes real life gets in the way of small groups. A co-leader jumps to the rescue and saves the day. Same thing when there isn’t a crisis and one of you just need a night off.

4. Neither one has to always be the bad guy
Every small group leader has to come strong with discipline sometime during the year – so it’s great to have a second voice to talk through the drama and even play good cop/bad cop as necessary.

Got another benefit to small group co-leaders? Here’s a post that made it into the book 99 Thoughts for Small Group Leaders called 4 Signs You Might Need a Small Group Co-Leader that you might want to check out, too!

JG

Was talking to one of our awesome Life Group leaders last night about how he follows up with his small group of boys. I’m so glad he blogged about it, too, so you can share in our conversation. Here’s a clip from Matt’s post called “Quiet Time Challenge” over at Gen2Gen:

1.  I text them all this morning to remind them what we had talked about and I’ll text them back tonight and ask them to tell me what they sacrificed today to find an extra 15 minutes for a quiet time. I’ll keep the text messages coming for the next 3-4 days.

2.  We have a private Facebook page for our group, I’ve asked them to post what they are sacrificing.  So far two of the 12 already have!

3.  I don’t want to constantly harp on this to them, but I want to keep this idea going in their mind and get them to develop a quiet time as a daily habit. I know what a change it made it my life and I want them to experience the same thing.

JG