resources | More Than Dodgeball

Colton HarkerMore Posts Moving On

It is crazy to believe that the school year is almost over! For student leadership, we like to give our graduating seniors a big going away party, complete with a farewell/thank-you present from our ministry. Along with a few hand written notes and some other goodies, we are giving our seniors Doug Franklin’s “Moving On.”

This is the second year that we have given “Moving On” to our students. We love it because it is more than just a book, it is a resource. It helps students start to answer some of the big questions they have as they graduate high school and move on to the next chapter of their life. Questions like, “what should I do?” and “what does God want me to do?”

“Moving On” helps them answer those questions by walking them through the formula:

Burden + Passion + Vision= Mission

The students we gave the book to last year loved it so we are bringing it back for another run. If you want to pick the book up for your students, you can buy it here.

What are you giving your students for graduation?

Colton [Email||Twitter]

1 View Comments May 20, 2013

Chris WesleyMore Posts Build Your Minister Depth

It’s hard to recruit an adult into youth ministry; however, to keep them for the long haul is another story. I would like to say that everyone that served with me in my first year is still with me today; but, that would be a lie. In fact there is only one person that has stuck around for the last 9 years. Fortunately, that trend has changed and the turnover is much lower today. THE PROBLEM is that ministers were leaving because they did not feel value. They felt like they were treated like doers and not leaders.

If you want your ministry to grow, you need to take the volunteers you have and give them the opportunities to lead. You can’t just wait around for the perfect leaders because they may never come. Instead you have to look at opportunities to build your ministry depth. That’s done when you:

Take A Risk: Doesn’t matter if you ask them to hand in a resume or if you pick them out of a hat, when choosing a leader you are taking a risk. To take a calculated risk it’s important for you to develop parameters and steps that will allow them to grow as a leader. That means giving them room to fail.

Give Over Control: In order for a leader to grow, they need opportunities to lead. Give them a project, an activity or event to run. Not only will it give them confidence as a leader but the understanding to what you feel as the youth pastor. This will allow them to understand the work that goes into reaching the vision for your ministry.

Equip Them With Resources: You need to set your leaders up for success. To make that happen you need to give your leaders resources to educate them on ministry and materials that they need to perform certain tasks. This means understanding how and where they need to grow.

Step Away: You can be the biggest obstacle to your leader’s development. While you think you are giving them control you could still be micromanaging. Encourage your leaders to come to you with any questions and then trust that they will follow through on the invitation. This means allowing them to fail. It means giving them permission to run the ministry in “their” way. By stepping away and allowing them to lead you give them the most important gift as a leader, trust.

To build your ministry depth you need to equip, motivate and empower leaders. They will extend your reach and influence. They’ll help you create more capacity in your schedule. When you grow leaders you build momentum behind your movement.

How are you empowering and growing leaders?

Chris Wesley (@chrisrwesley)

Add Comment January 29, 2013

Geoff StewartMore Posts Gangnam Everything!

With more than 400 million views and still increasing, Gangnam Style has solidified it self as a cultural phenomenon. There are thousands of parody videos out there an its s a golden Youth Min opportunity to do something great. This opportunity was not lost on my friends Nathan Pawluck and Kyle Reddemann who work full time at a great camp here in B.C. called Sunnybrae and are well known for their creative video work like this. I saw this video on Facebook and had to share it with all of you.

A classic youth game with an awesome Gangnam Style twist. Copy the link and use it with your group if you want. We are going to try it out in a few weeks, should be awesome.

Enjoy

-Geoff (Twtter)

1 View Comments October 8, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Comforting Teens in Crisis

We decided to give out a great little book to our volunteers we just discovered called Comforting Teens in Crisis. I don’t know how I’ve missed it in the past, looks perfect for our life group leaders!

Failing grades. Pregnancy. Addictions. Cutting. How do you even begin to help teens through their greatest struggles? What if you make things worse? This go-to guide gives you the confidence to share God’s love and comfort! Includes:

Counseling advice
Tips on what to say and what not to say
Real-life scenarios
Scripture connections
Resources for reaching out in love

JG

1 View Comments September 7, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Deal of the Day – Volunteer’s Back Pocket Guide to Sex by Craig Gross

Today’s Deal of the Day from Simply Youth Ministry is the Volunteer’s Back Pocket Guide to Sex by Craig Gross. Until midnight tonight it is just $2.99 – and a great resource to get in the hands of your team as they talk about God’s plan for their sex life.

Teenagers live in a sex-saturated world. And for many of them, sex has become a purely physical act, fully divorced from spirituality, love, and commitment. Sex, pornography, and “hooking up” are all met with the same response: “It’s no big deal.”

Too many of our students don’t know where to turn to learn about sex, leaving many feeling confused, fearful, and alone. Teenagers who struggle with sexual addiction or unhealthy patterns don’t know how to find freedom and healing from the choices they’ve made, and they’re afraid the church will label them as perverts if they’re open and honest about their deepest struggles.

But amidst these sobering realities, there is good news: Youth workers are on the front lines of the battle to shape, challenge, and encourage teenagers toward sexual wholeness and purity. The Volunteer’s Back Pocket Guide to Sex will help you as you aid students in navigating a path that honestly addresses all the challenges they might face, while honoring God along the way.

Authors Craig Gross—founder of XXXchurch.com—and Cris Clapp Logan—an Internet safety expert, artist, and writer—don’t sugarcoat the realities, and they don’t hold back in bluntly, honestly tackling the toughest topics, including pornography, sexuality, masturbation, and purity. Using God’s truth as the foundation for the conversation, they’ll equip you with practical information and powerful strategies to help you become a volunteer youth worker who helps teenagers live wisely and walk in freedom!

JG

Add Comment July 19, 2012

Geoff StewartMore Posts Free Resource From LeaderTreks

I may be Canadian, but I am no stranger to the Fourth of July and it’s less than a month away. LeaderTreks has produced a great and FREE resource themed for the 4th called “Real Freedom” which focusses on the freedom that we have in Christ and that it is a freedom we must share. The lesson is based around Galatians 5 and is a solid message that your students are going to really dig into. You can download it for free here.

-Geoff

Add Comment June 9, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts How to Help Students Grow on Their Own

Helping students develop a desire to grow on their own is an important part of the discipleship process. Too often, youth ministries primarily encourage attendance at programs, which sets students up for a spiritual drift after graduation if they can’t find a “program” to attend. Here are a few ways to help students develop their own relationship with Christ.

Give them a book you’ve read.
Think about the books that shaped you as a teenager and find the equivalent today. Tell students the story of why this book was important to you and your faith and encourage them to take steps down that journey as well.

HINT: Avoid the temptation to assume the same book is perfect for each student. If you can say, “I picked this out just for you…” it will make reading the book much more compelling.

Issue a challenge that’s out of their comfort zone.
Owning your faith usually takes root when a student rises to a challenge. Want to see someone grow? Push them to participate in a missions trip a long way from home. Watch them grow raising the funds to participate, and enjoy a front row seat to the refining process as they get to push past their breaking point into a moment of deep spiritual cementing.

HINT: Again, a personalized challenge is stronger than a generic one. Seeing a pattern, here?

Read something alongside them and meet occasionally to discuss.
You gave one of your core students a prayer journal? Did you share a 1-Minute Bible with them? Read a copy of it yourself at the same time, and meet up a couple times to check in and discuss what you’ve been learning.

Equip your small group leaders.
Last year we did “grow on the go” tubs filled with a few resources for leaders to give out to their students along the way. A push for a devotional during a message is great, but a personal nudge and gift of a devotional from a small group leader is the best.

Live it out yourself.
If you want to help your students grow on THEIR own, model it to them yourself. So much is caught rather than taught, so frequently do personal “check ups” in your own life to make sure you’re growing, too.

How are you helping students grow on their own right now?

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.

Add Comment May 31, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts SYM’s Deal of the Day: 50% off LIVE Holiday

Today only another Simply Youth Ministry Deal of the Day: Get the LIVE Curriculum Holiday Edition for half price! Get access to Easter messages, Christmas series and other great holiday stuff, too! ~~$59.00~~ $29.50 but today only!

JG