life groups | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts Follow Up and Follow Through

Really enjoyed reading this post over on the Generation to Generation blog. They hit on two critical youth ministry concepts that you have to grasp early and often: follow up and follow though! Here’s a clip, head there for the whole article:

Sometimes one of my faults is not following up on things. I really need to write things down, keep things in my Outlook calendar to remind me to do something or to re-visit something I’ve started but not finished. Sometimes I get so busy with a new project that I forget to go back and make sure the old project I was working on is complete or if it needs some further attention. I need to do this with with my high school small group as well. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in presenting a new lesson or new scripture or a new life application that I forget to go back and see how my guys are doing with things we’ve already talked about.

I don’t forget about one of my guys who has been going through a tough time or dealing with a specific issue, I’m great at follow up with that, but sometimes I forget about the general topics we talk about. For instance a few weeks ago my guys asked if we could do a lesson on girls and dating and sex and what the Bible says about these things. We had a great lesson that night and I know I made them really think about how a relationship would look like and how to make sure that they put God in the center of all of their relationships. This past week I got a text from one of my guys asking some very specific questions about what the Bible says about an issue. That should have been my reminder that I need to follow up with all of them and see how they are doing with that topic. I need to build a reminder into each small group time to begin and ask questions about past topics and make sure everyone is still on task with prior topics.

Head over there for the rest of the thought!
JG

1 View Comments March 16, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts LIVE Curriculum for Student Leadership

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

Add Comment February 6, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Free Valentine’s Lesson from YM360

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

Add Comment February 2, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: How to Have a Conversation About Porn with a Student

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:

3 View Comments January 28, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts 1-Day Only: 99 Thoughts for Small Group Leaders – $2.99/each

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 leaders–and 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

Add Comment January 26, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Awesome Email to Parents from a Life Group Leader

Got this from one of our Life Group leaders and asked her for permission to post it as an example of incredible communication with parents. Wow!

Happy Friday Parents and Beauties!

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.

I am so grateful to serve, I welcome your feedback. April

Talk about ownership …. what a great youth pastor to these girls!

JG

Add Comment January 24, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Discipleship According to Costco

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

2 View Comments November 21, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts How Not to Pack Christmas Shoe Boxes

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