pastoral care | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts 4 Goals for Our Youth Ministry High School Campus Pastors

Today was a huge step in a more recent dream for our high school ministry – we are in the preparation and launch phase of a new care system. Simply put, we have some incredible volunteers that are willing to pray and be available to the students at a specific high school in the area. Like many youth ministries, we serve multiple schools – so there will be two campus pastors for each (of the phase one) local high school. There will be one guy and one girl – we figured the team approach works best and liked having both genders represented as well as those types of specific needs arise.

This is a non-program, just caring adults who want to engage with the students on campus. Here’s the thinking behind the challenge I asked them to take on this morning:

Be available for contact
We’re going to publish this list of volunteers and their contact information in a ton of places – the announcements during the countdown, at our student leader meetings, etc. We want them to get some attention! This is not a program, so it is all about students organically contacting their campus pastor when they have a need. When a new student comes to our ministry from one of these high schools, we’ll immediately get them the contact person of their campus pastor to help follow-up. A girl named Bethany visited this weekend – how awesome would it have been for me to give her the text number of a caring adult who will pray for her and grab coffee with her after her first couple of days of school?

Be ready to care/counsel
I posted a couple weeks ago about Caring for Students, and I think I’m ready to add this new layer to that drawing. These campus pastors will be available, trained and eager to jump in and listen to students needs and pastorally care for them. They aren’t meant to replace a small group leader or The Landing, but be a bridge to a next step.

Show up on campus
Be visible at sporting events and fine arts stuff. Walk the campus occasionally and pray for the students. Use your relationships with core students to meet their friends and expand the reach of care. When there is a need or crisis in their life or at the school, our prayer is that their first thought is to turn to you for help.

Speak occasionally in clubs
From time to time speak in the high school Bible club, FCA or Cookies for Christ. Identify and encourage teachers who are representing Jesus in the public schools. Take advantage of the club platform to help students grow into campus pastors themselves.

Each school will look different – none of them are programs, just opportunities for relationships with students right in the school. Excited about this idea! Just a thought that might trigger something for you – maybe pray about 3-4 volunteers to step up in your context and take on a similar role.

JG

2 View Comments September 15, 2010

Josh GriffinMore Posts Youth Ministry Pastoral Care Basics

Enjoyed a youth ministry conversation recently that hit on the subject of pastoral care basics. Here was a few key thoughts that rose to the top as my buddy and I talked together:

YOUTH MINISTRY PASTORAL CARE BASICS

I am a pastor. I am called to minister to these teenagers. They are my sheep. Caring for them is not a hassle or an obligation. It is a welcomed responsibility and an honor to serve them.
Seek after. Be sought after. Be available when a student would expect and show up when they would least expect it. Have discerning eyes and ears in every conversation.
Be quick to respond. Really quick. Surprise them with your response time and availability to them.

JG

pastoral care

1 View Comments August 19, 2010

Josh GriffinMore Posts Caring for the Needs of Your Students

Journaled a little bit last week about pastoral care – how we’re called to care for the wounds of the students that have been entrusted to us as youth workers. In the setup we’re launching soon, we’ll have a 3-pronged approach to helping students with the hurts in their lives. Here’s the breakdown:

Small group leaders
One of the most effective groups of pastoral care volunteers in our ministry are the small group leaders. Students that have taken a step beyond the entry-level program of the weekend service come to experience being known, loved and cared for. When they have a problem (or a celebration, for that matter) they most often turn to “their pastor” – a title we’ve quick to award these amazing leaders. The majority (that part isn’t represented well in my Moleskin drawing above, sorry) of struggles and issues are addressed personally and directly here.

Pastoral care volunteers
This is the area where we have a great opportunity to build, we don’t have this yet so I’m talking in more ideal than real. What if there was a team of adults who pray for, counsel, guide and respond to students in need? If a student doesn’t have a small group leader, or needs more than what that leader can provide, we have a response. When a student is looking for prayer on the weekend, there’s a place for them to go. When they finally get up the nerve to call or Facebook, someone is quick to respond back.

The Landing (check out this program in detail here)
On the other end of the spectrum there are kids dealing with major life issues perhaps considered to be “above the pay grade” of the care team or their small group leader. And while we hope leaders know they can take on anything, we want to offer a program with specifically trained and called volunteers who’ve “seen it all” and can help coach and love these students through recovery. That’s where The Landing comes into play – a Celebrate Recovery for students that is available every Friday night of the year.

How do you care for students? Just thinking out loud today – hoping it triggers and idea to care for your students, too!

JG

1 View Comments August 17, 2010

Josh GriffinMore Posts How to Become a Trusted Counselor

Appreciated the post over on VolunteerYouthMinistry.com today about being a sought after counselor. Thought Dennis had some good insight and thoughts, here’s a clip of his thoughts, head there for the rest:

- Longevity in ministry is gold. Stick it out and you’ll be the go-to person eventually. Even if you don’t have your own teenagers, there’s a great amount of relational wisdom to be gained by spending a few years working with students. Your beliefs will be solidified or revolutionized by what you encounter. When you go to counsel a student, you’ll come from the perspective of observational or hands-on experience rather than tentative theory.

- Sharing your story lends credibility. When I talk to students about their issues, I relate something from my own life that shows I understand what they’re going through. I’m careful not to dominate the conversation with my stories, I just share enough to relate and build trust. The key is to not only share a couple of facts, but the emotions that I felt when I went through what I share. Doing this during a regular conversation builds the trust needed to become their go-to person for counseling when they’re ready to open up on a deeper level.

JG

1 View Comments August 15, 2010

Josh GriffinMore Posts Pastoral Care Pamphlets Topic List

Quite a few emails and comments from people this summer about the new self-service Pastoral Care brochure racks we launched for our High School Ministry. Honestly, it has taken a whole lot longer to produce each brochure than we originally thought, and they’ve gone a lot faster than I expected – so it’s been totally worth it. Anyhow, some youth workers were recently asking about publishing a topic list of the different pamphlets, so here’s the list of ideas as of today. I wish we could have done them all, but some ideas had to get cut and only a few are [done].

Pastoral Care Issues
1. Relationships, Dating [done]
2. Sexual Temptations/Porn [done]
3. Identity/Value/Worth [done]
4. Bullies
5. Anger
6. Peer Pressure
7. Insecurity
8. Loneliness
9. Marriage/Divorce
10. Death
11. Feeling Lost/Purposeless
12. Unplanned Pregnancy/Abortion [done]
13. Gender Issues
14. Domestic Violence/Sexual Abuse
15. Addiction
16. Parents
17. Eating Disorders [done]
18. Academic Problems
19. Stress
20. Depression
21. Homosexuality [done]
22. Cutting [done]
23. Grief [done]
24. Forgiveness
25. Suicide [done]
26. Stealing

Christian Life
1. Habits
2. Following Jesus [done]
3. Salvation
4. Serving
5. PEACE
6. Purposes [done]
7. What It Means to be a Christian
8. Baptism [done]
9. Communion [done]
10. Small Groups
11. How to Get Connected
12. M Video Games/M Music/R Movies
13. Alcohol/Drugs [done]
14. How To Grow/A Few Ways to Grow

Theology
1. The Bible [done]
2. God [done]
3. Heaven/Hell [done]
4. Is Jesus the Only Way [done]
5. Theology Terms
6. Environment [done]
7. Humanity
8. Sin

HSM General/Funny
1. Snuggies
2. Fun In the Refinery
3. HSM Insider Terms
4. Ninjas
5. Star Wars
6. Pirates vs. Ninjas
7. Fashion Don’ts [done]

What are we missing? Leave a comment!

JG

5 View Comments August 13, 2010

Josh GriffinMore Posts Self-Service Pastoral Care Brochures

This weekend we launched a project we’ve been working on for several months – I’m really proud of it and the team that have put it together. We built some self-service pastoral care racks and filled them with brochures and postcards that help address common issues students face. I’ve been thinking of it as a way for students to get help and go deeper on their own, when they’re ready for a baby step forward. We’re hoping that they really take off – here’s some of the heart/strategy behind it:

The brochure racks are always there, so students can find help outside of service times.
They can pick up 1 or several that might interest them.
A hole is punched in the top of them so they can put them on their HSM hook.
Brochures focus on helping students learn about Christian doctrine and real-life issues.
We wrote and included some goofy topics as well for fun. Each category has a clear color, too.
There are 5 racks around The Refinery, we figured why not really make them available if we’re gonna do it.
We also include other relevant handouts/information in the racks as well (like summer calendars).
Volunteers will refill the racks as needed. Seeing what brochures ae being taken give us a pulse of the needs of our students.
Parents get a good glimpse at what we believe/are teaching their students.
Students that are afraid to admit a problem or talk to someone face to face about it yet can find help.
Next steps are clear – small groups, baptism, etc.

The writing of the content took far longer than we expected – but it turned out REALLY strong. Interested to see which ones get taken first …

JG

12 View Comments June 27, 2010

Josh GriffinMore Posts HSM’s Prayer Patio

This fall we launched HSM’s Prayer Patio – a simple place for students to hang out after the service. Right outside the auditorium you’ll find chairs and people, waiting to counsel or pray with you. And I love it! It has grown to include some strong elements beyond a live person praying for a student – now there’s a cross you can nail your sins/prayers/confessions to, a whiteboard for you to write praises/requests on, and a place for more information and help beyond the moment. Future plans include a serious pastoral care Facebook page and a rack of pamphlets and information to help students dealing with tough stuff.

Here’s a few reasons why I love what having the prayer patio says about HSM:

It allows us to express care
We have an easy, immediate step where a student can find help. No questions, no abiguity – an ultra clear name and literally 5 steps away from where you’re sitting.

It helps you focus on people
I don’t know about you, but I’m just a *little bit* addicted to programs. This flies directly in the face of that people are what’s most important, not programs. Too often that’s where I default, and this helps us stay balanced.

It gives different types of volunteers an outlet to serve
Some volunteers would thrive to have a place like this to care for students. Someone who is wired to love on students, have impactful conversations, this prayer patio is practically made for them.

JG