missions | More Than Dodgeball

Geoff StewartMore Posts Celebrating and Inspiring With Story on Video

Its no great secret, but the power of story is massive and in youth ministry and getting students to articulate their experiences and testimony is key. For years we’ve done our best to share students stories, but its been something we have nearly always done live. When students stand in front of one another and testify to the impact that Jesus has had in their life I get chills but it often ends there. We don’t record our services as of yet, and after that night many of the finite but important details of a students story or experience are lost or forgotten

It is for this reason that as the end of last year we made a conscious switch to doing all story via video. The motivations for this move were 5-fold:

1 – When the video is posted online, it can be shared or watched again by students who were impacted by it.

2 – Students tend to rehearse a bit more and have come more prepared for filming because we don’t allow them to read off a sheet of paper. Because they are prepared they also tend to be more concise and clear.

3 – It allows our creative type people to use their skills and passions to serve in the production and editing process.

4 – We are able to share some stories without using any words.

5 – Students connect well to media (no surprise there)

The benefits have been huge already and the reaction so far to our “Journey Stories” have been very positive with leaders providing names of students whose testimony we need to hear. Students are drawn to media, so leveraging that into a vehicle to share the Gospel is a must do and something that there is great potential in for those that aren’t doing it already. My disclaimer is that it does take a lot more work. I like many of you am a bit of a Youth Ministry generalist, and wear a lot of different hats week in and week out so adding filming and editing video to my job description has been challenging, but the time invested is still more than worth it to me. I will be the first to admit that there are nights when a students testimony is more applicable, and communicates more effectively the life changing power of Christ than any sermon I could preach.

So with that, here is out latest project which is an overview of our trip to Uganda this summer. The goal was to tell the story of our missions trip in a way that could be shared over social media. The response from our students has been overwhelming and the next missions trip might fill up very fast now and I am thrilled that, that could be a reality.

-Geoff (Twitter)

1 View Comments September 17, 2012

Geoff StewartMore Posts Honouring Adolescence

Do you know someone that has a job and you think to yourself, how on earth do you do that all day? I used to know a guy, who worked at a plant that took whatever parts of the pigs, chicken, fish and other animals that were not good enough for hot dogs. They would take these parts and add in deep fryer oil, feathers and who knows what else, boil them, heat them and do all sorts of horrifying processes to them and somehow render them into useful products and chemicals that they sell to other companies. I often asked him, how do you do that all day? He of course, really liked what he did, he turned waste in to useful things and loved it.

The strange part is, I have people ask me all the time, how do you work with teenagers? They are impossible! Its true, students can be really challenging to work with, they are often passionate, sometimes unreliable, regularly fickle, occasionally emotional and changing daily. I can see how youth workers tap out after a few years. When people ask me how I deal with working young people I will remind them, that it often starts with honouring their adolescence and appreciating the way they see the world. Here is a few ways we can do that as Youth Pastors.

Acknowledge their feelings: My life does not hang in the balance of the status of my friendships or what my friends think of me but there was a time in my life where I did feel that way. So when a student comes with their world crashing down over a problem with a friend, telling them to get over it likely won’t help. Acknowledging that you understand how they could feel that way, but also following up with some sound Biblical perspective on the challenges they are facing.

Harness the Passion: High School students are passionate, its up to us to help them focus that passion. Whether into local missions work, justice projects, service or anything like that. Students have more time than money, we need to help them find ways to invest what they have in a way that is productive, God honouring and fruitful.

All of us were that age: When adults try and knock teenagers for being crazy about Biebs or 1 Direction I remind them about the Beatles or NKOTB. When parents talk about students listening to sexualized music I ask them if they remember anything about the movie Grease? I was a teenager, my parents were teenagers, Jesus was a teenager. We can not forget what the world looked like through the eyes of teenage us, our idealism, flippancy and constant wonderment of “who is going to be there” before committing to anything. We were not that different.

Its so important that we as leaders not dismiss the challenges of teenagers as trivial or inconsequential, but instead help them navigate, and understand what scripture says about what they are going through and help them realize that there is more to life than this, but we can understand why at this point, they might not see that.

-Geoff (Twitter)

1 View Comments July 3, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts HSM’s Rwanda Prayer Guide 2012

When you read this … I’ll be on a plane with a group of amazing students headed to the country of Rwanda. The blog will be filled with guest posts and plenty of other articles from my friend Geoff Stewart who will be handling things while I’m away.

Thought I would post our prayer guide here on the blog as well, if you would take some time to pray for our safety and for lives to be changed for Christ on this trip, it’d be great!

JG

Rwanda Prayer Guide
Please pray for health, strength, and safe travel for the team

Day ONE & TWO: Travel to Rwanda
Pray for a smooth airport check-in. Pray for safe travel to Rwanda. Pray for rest and the preparation of our hearts for ministry. Pray that all goes smoothly with the logistics of traveling with a group our size.

Day THREE: Community Work Day, Genocide Memorial
Pray for our team, that we would be able to connect with people in the community and serve them well. Pray that our students would be excited on their first full day of ministry, loving the people whom they are serving. Pray for safe travels to *********.

Day FOUR: Church and meeting with pastors
Pray for the people of Rwanda, that their hearts would be open to the Word of God as it is preached today in churches. Pray for great conversations as we meet with the pastors of local churches. Pray that we would be able to accomplish much with them in preparation for the week of ministry ahead.

Day FIVE: PEACE activity with local church and Reach for Life groups
Pray for your student today. Pray that each student leads boldly and courageously as they lead their Reach for Life groups for the first day. Pray for energy and excitement as each van gets to know their Reach for Life groups.

Day SIX: Youth Ministry Conference and Reach for Life groups
Pray that we would be an encouragement to the pastors and their children as they come to the youth ministry conference. Pray that we can love on and train pastors well. Pray for endurance for a long day of ministry.

Day SEVEN, EIGHT & NINE: PEACE activity with local church and Reach for Life groups
Pray that Rwandan students would continue to return to the Reach for Life groups day after day. Pray that our team connects with each Rwandan student making them feel loved and cared for. Pray for friendships to be built among Rwandan and Saddleback students.

Day TEN: Youth Rally and travel
Pray for your student today as they put on a youth rally for Rwandan students. Pray that the message and rally elements would draw students closer to Christ and challenge them. Pray for safe travels and rest as we return to **********.

Day ELEVEN: Church & Dinner with Rwandan families
Pray for our last day of ministry. Pray that we would stay focused as team and that fatigue would not set in. Pray that we would make the most of our time as we visit the homes of Rwandan families. Pray that we would love and encourage them.

Day TWELVE: City Tour & Team Debrief
Pray that, as we conclude our time in Rwanda, we would be able to reflect on what God has taught us and encourage one another with stories of God’s work. Pray for your student today.

Day THIRTEEN & FOURTEEN: Return Home
Pray for safe travel back to America. Pray that we adjust well spiritually emotionally, and physically. Pray that God would continue to work in our hearts after we return. Pray that we would continue to remember and reflect our journey in Rwanda. Pray for protection from sickness and fatigue.

Add Comment June 28, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Realistic Integration of Youth Ministry and the Church

All this talk about working to integrate our students into church before they have to make a huge leap from youth group to the adult services is helpful. But what isn’t helpful is the voices who simply want you to drop everything you’re currently doing (and is working) and go with some new plan.

Sometimes you have to get rid of something and start over completely—but we’re not convinced this is one of those times. So here are a few suggestions to help you take baby steps toward the integration of youth ministry and the church.

Serve together…mostly
An easy way to get some quick inter-generational ministry happening in your church is to combine some of your serve projects immediately. Consider cancelling the majority of your youth group service projects and join those in place for the church at large. Imagine the conversations that will take place as people serve food, rake leaves, or paint together. Chances are the older people in your congregation will be just as surprised as your teenagers at how fun it was to serve side-by-side!

Worship together…occasionally
Most youth groups have their own worship service or Sunday School happening at the same time the rest of the church is gathered for worship. What if you completely cancelled your youth stuff once a month so the teenagers could attend church with their parents? Sure, some might choose to stay home that weekend, but it’s a fairly simple way to make a statement that says, “25% of the time, our church worships together…and we need the teenagers to be part of the action!”

Mission trips…maybe
One of the big steps we’re considering is to integrate mission trips. Offering a Spring Break trip? What it everyone got involved? Is there a big church-wide trip to South America or Africa? Get behind it and take some students! Each church has their own missions agenda/format, but this is something worthy of consideration.

Overnighters…never
Hey, there are some things adults are happy are totally separate from them. Keep overnighters this way…but be thankful for the adults who do show up, give up sleep, and care for your students.

Where else is there opportunity for easy integration between your youth ministry and the church?

This post was written by Josh Griffin and Kurt Johnston and originally appeared as part of Simply Youth Ministry Today free newsletter. Subscribe to SYM Today right here.

6 View Comments April 10, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts SYM 1-Day Deal: Prepare. Go. Live

Last week was so much fun Simply Youth Ministry is bringing it back!

Today from now until 7pmEastern time you can get the 3-part mission trip kit Prepare Go Live for 80% off! Here’s a clip from the product description:

Few things will bring the gospel to life for your students like heading out onto the mission field. Spending a day, weekend, or longer in service to God, for his love, and with people in need brings the calling of Christ vividly into focus. With this easy to implement 3-part missions trip curriculum, you’ll get everything you need to get your students ready (Prepare), devotions for the trip (Go), and follow-up materials (Live) to make their experience part of an ongoing, godly lifestyle. And what good would we be if we didn’t include helpful stuff for leaders to make the whole trip more fun for everyone? No good at all, so we’ve given you plenty.

JG

Add Comment September 26, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts New HSM Staff: Hannah Rich

I’m excited to announce a new addition to the HSM Team! Hannah Pratt-Rich has been a small group leader the last few years and she recently accepted an offer to join our team part-time. She’s going to be working to help strengthen our pastoral care ministry to girls and has a huge heart for serve projects and missions. So excited she’s on the team!

JG

Add Comment August 4, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts HSM Costa Rica Prayer Guide 2011

I’m excited to be travelling with our youth group on a mission trip to Costa Rica. The team put together this little prayer guide for the trip – thought it might be a good example of something you may want to do for an upcoming mission trip of your own. Would appreciate your prayers of course, too!

HSM Costa Rica Prayer Guide

Students: Please pray that the Lord will work in their hearts and minds as they learn how to do ministry on the Mission Field. Pray that they will grow in their faith as they minister to others in Costa Rica; that they will have open hearts and open minds to however the Lord might want to use them there. Please pray for good attitudes, energy, peace, and a gentle spirit. Pray for relationships with their peers and leaders. Pray that the students will rely on the Lord to help them know what to say and how to act when they may feel uncomfortable.

Leaders: Please pray that the Lord will guide us as we lead our students. Pray for energy and enthusiasm, wisdom, discernment, strength, peace, and patience. Pray that we would have open hearts and minds to all the ways the Lord will want to use us in the lives of our students and those we’ll be ministering to in Costa Rica. Please pray for our relationships with the students and people of Costa Rica.

The People of Costa Rica: We will be working with a number of people in Costa Rica (Pastors, teenagers, children, etc.). Pray that the Lord will give them open and hearts and minds to the message of Jesus we are bringing to them. Please pray that we would be able to help and love on them in whatever way possible.

Churches: Please pray for the churches we will be partnering with in Costa Rica. Pray that the help we give would be sustainable so that they can continue to grow in health and outreach even after we leave.

Events: Please pray that all will go according to plan, and when it doesn’t, that we would be flexible and ready for anything. Pray that the people of these events would see Jesus working through them and understand His love.

JG

Add Comment July 28, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: The Mission Trip High

The ‘Mission Trip High’ as I call it is no secret in ministry. It’s that feeling people get after experiencing God in a unique way and they feel like they are spiritually on top of a mountain. It’s a great feeling, but it certainly can be dangerous if it is not handled in the right way. I think the enemy licks his chops when he sees Christians on that ‘Mission Trip High’ because he knows they are easy prey.

Most Christians who return to normal, everyday life after their mission trip or retreat do not prepare themselves for re-entry into the world and therefore fall prey to the onslaught the enemy throws their way as soon as they get home. So what can we, as youth pastors, do about it? Here are a few ideas:

Make your students aware that life after the mission trip, or retreat, is going to be difficult. Let them know that the enemy will be waiting for them and will want to make them fall. A firm realization that they are in the midst of a battle is a must.
Give them practical, user-friendly ways to spend time with God after the trip. It could be a devotional packet, a book, text message reminders, a prayer request list, or Bible reading; the point is that you are setting them up to succeed. You are giving them the opportunity to meet with God on their time and encouraging the development of their spiritual disciplines as well.
Pray earnestly for your students after you get back from the trip. Commit time to surround them in prayer and let the Holy Spirit do his thing.
Follow up with your students in the days and weeks after the trip. Ask them how their experience on the trip has changed the way they live and serve God. Reinforce the concept that discipleship = life change. When we meet God on a mission trip or a retreat, or anywhere really, our response should be worship and a change of life that more closely aligns us with God. This is an ongoing process and is not without its setbacks, so be sure to encourage your students to press on and when they fall to get back up and keep on moving closer to God.

These are just a few of my thoughts, I’d love to hear yours. Comment and let the discussion continue.

Cam Brennan is just finishing his first full year of Youth Ministry and is the Youth Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Gardner, KS. He blogs regularly at www.anewgravity.com.