serving | More Than Dodgeball

Colton HarkerMore Posts Helping Students Serve

We recently just wrapped up a series called “You Are Here” where we explored God’s purpose for our lives. The fifth week of the series was on serving, the why and how. Of course, we wouldn’t be able to finish a weekend on serving without a “call to action.” Normally, that would be us having a ministry fair where students could go and sign up for the different ministry teams that our ministry and our church have to offer. The problem with ministry fairs are that only half the students that write their names down on the sign-up sheets actually take their commitment seriously. There seemed to be something missing. When we reflected on it, we thought it stemmed from a misunderstanding of their SHAPE and a misunderstanding of what serving God means.

Now you can have as many ministry teams and service projects as you want, but if you don’t paint a good portrait of serving, you’re going to have some problems getting students out there. So during the weekend, we talked about how the students were created to serve. That each of us is created to be serving in our own unique ways. Instead of following this up with a ministry fair, we decided to provide our students with the opportunity to have one-on-one time with a staff member to talk about their own personal SHAPE and how they can start serving in their church, school, and community.

So throughout the week, my teammate, Hannah, and I have been meeting with students and had some really awesome conversations. I would really recommend doing something similar to this. It has helped boost some of our ministry teams and it has helped me build new or stronger relationships with students in our ministry. Here are some things that I have learned while doing it:

-The goal is to help students see the big picture of their lives. They have all the pieces, they just need help putting them together. So the first part is just getting them to talk about themselves so you can figure out all of their pieces. Here are a few of the questions that I usually ask:

Are you involved at your school?
Are you in any extra-curricular activities?
Have you ever served before? What was that experience like?
What do you think you are good at?
What do you love to do (anything counts here, even video games!)?
Have you ever thought about what your spiritual gifts might be (this one is always a long shot)?
Is there a particular people group that you have a passion for or a connection to (single mothers, hospitalized children, etc.)?
What’s your story?

-When you start suggesting serving ideas to them, keep in mind that serving doesn’t have to be joining a ministry team or coming to a service project. Serving can be them making better use of the situation that God has put them in. Meaning, serving for them could be being a light on their soccer team or getting involved with their school’s Christian club. But feel free to push the student out of their comfort zone and offer some big things like a weekend serving retreat or even a mission trip!

-You also don’t have to have all of the answers for them during your first meeting. The one-on-ones are opening up a door of communication up with the student where both of you can follow-up with each other later on.

If you’ve never heard of SHAPE or want more information on it, check out Doug Field’s book “Congratulations…You’re Gifted!” It is an awesome book and a really helpful way to look at how God has designed us!

Colton [Email||Twitter]

2 View Comments March 6, 2013

Josh GriffinMore Posts NEW! The Basics DVD Curriculum

I’m excited to let you know about a new resource that Simply Youth Ministry and I will release next week – The Basics: Foundations for Your Faith is a new 4-week DVD curriculum for small groups. It might be a good series for a new believer’s class as well. Here’s a little blurb from the official description:

The best coaches, the most effective teachers, and the strongest leaders all know this truth: If you want to build something that endures, you have to start with the basics.

That idea applies to our spiritual journey, too. The Basics will help students explore, discuss, and apply some of the core truths of the Christian faith. The truths in this series aren’t called “basic” because they’re childish or simplistic; they’re “basic” because they’re foundational and essential to leading a life that honors God.

Each week, your teenagers will explore key Scriptures that relate to these topics, discuss the significance of each biblical truth, and consider how it relates to their lives today.

The Basics is ideal for students who have recently become Christ-followers or for teenagers who are exploring the claims and truths of the Christian faith—but students who’ve been followers of Jesus for years will benefit, too.

You can order it right here!

JG

3 View Comments February 22, 2013

Josh GriffinMore Posts Spring Break 2013 Serve Project Promo Video

Here’s a highlight video one of our students created from footage he shot at last year’s Spring Break serve project. We started promoting it this weekend – excited to partner with CIY (Christ in Youth) again this year in serving our community!

JG

Add Comment January 18, 2013

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Student Leadership Renewal Forms

When our student leaders commit to our program, they are committing to a full six-month “cycle.” At the end of every cycle, we launch applications for new student leaders and we give out renewal forms for the current student leaders. Besides asking if the student intends on committing to another cycle, the form includes a handful of other questions that provide us with valuable information that allows us track the progress of our students and help our program become more effective.

Thinking about putting one together? Here are some questions that I would strongly recommend to you:

1) What is the state of your faith? Obviously, it is important to know where your students are at in their relationship with the Lord. Some students might be afraid to answer this question thinking that they might get kicked out if they aren’t doing great at that moment. Encourage them to answer honestly, knowing that you are there to help them along no matter how good or bad their spiritual walk is.

2) Recycled Questions. One way to check progress is to reuse questions that are on your application. It is really interesting to compare their responses with what they wrote on their original application. My favorite question that we recycle is “what does it mean to be servant-hearted?”

3) How has the Student Leadership program impacted you? A more straightforward way to check progress is to directly ask the student how the Student Leadership program has grown or challenged them. Greater insight into how they have grown as a leader and as a servant can help you keep them accountable with the lessons they have learned and it can equip you to be more helpful in finding leadership opportunities that they would excel at.

4) What have you enjoyed about the Student Leadership program? Ask them what works. Instead of tracking the progress of your students, this question helps you examine your program. When the time comes for you to switch things up and refine Student Leadership, it will be helpful to know the strengths of your student leadership model.

5) What can we be doing to improve the Student Leadership program? You can’t refine your program without knowing where it can grow! This can be a scary question to ask, but the answers can lead to some really incredible changes. I love this question because it gives you another opportunity to empower students and allow them to speak into your ministry.

Does your ministry do something similar? What would you ask your students?

Colton Harker is the Student Leadership Director at Saddleback HSM. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact him at coltonharker@gmail.com or on twitter at @ColtonHarker.

Add Comment January 5, 2013

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Lost Messages

Holiday season is here! We are all running around; shopping, decorating, cooking, traveling, spending time with family, building snowmen, more shopping, giving, receiving. Wait! What kind of message are we sending our children?

A twist to the “wish list”
Let’s switch this up! Instead of writing a “wish list” of things; sit down with your kids and make a goals “wish list”, including short and long term goals. It could include a list of faith goals, education goals, behavior goals, etc. Be sure to make it on a large poster board and hang it up. That way, they can track their progress throughout the year. I also suggest giving rewards or certificates for their progress. As an extra benefit; make one yourself! It will show your children that you are in this as a family and not putting expectations on them you are not willing to return.

Pros and cons
What do you do with the “wish list” your child comes home from school with? Sit down with them and make a pros and cons list about every item on their list. You can help them by giving suggestions if they get stuck (this will usually happen in the cons section). By the end they can only pick one…or however many you are willing to get them. Before making the list, be sure to tell them how many they are to narrow it down to. That way it won’t come as a shocker when they can only pick one or two things from a list of 20. So they don’t get overwhelmed by so many options; I suggest breaking the items into groups. E.g. Items #1-3 in a group, #4-6, etc. or video games in a group, action figures in another, etc.) Once you get it down to one item per group, put them together into one group and continue narrowing down. My son did this with 3 things he REALLY wanted but he only had enough money to buy one and after that list, he bought that one thing and hasn’t even thought about the other two since!

Giving back
Giving back is what it’s all about! My son and I are beginning a new tradition this year that I am challenging you to begin with your families as well. For one of his presents, I will be giving him $25 to creatively bless someone in need. He cannot just turn around and give the $25 to someone. This will be a time for him to get involved in his giving. Some examples are; to find his area of interest like starving children and to go out and find some children who are hungry then buy them some food, or for us to go for a walk and intentionally look for needs in the area and fulfill the need as he sees a need. If $25 is not enough, he can take the money and flip it by buying supplies to paint with and selling his artwork, etc. to raise however much is needed to help the person in need.

Healthy alternative
What are you putting in your child’s stocking? Instead of candy and other trinkets that will get played with once; try healthy alternatives. Like a jump rope and other toys that will get them moving and foods like nuts and fruit snacks. You can even go for a healthy alternative with your advent calendar, buy one that allows you to choose what you put in it. We put vitamins in ours last year and this year, folded up pieces of paper with simple fitness challenges on them. E.g. First day of the countdown was 25 seconds DANCE! Day two: 24 jumping jacks, etc. Do the challenges as a family to add to the fun! We call it 25 days of Christmas Fitness Challenge and it has been a big hit!

And most of all, remember to celebrate Jesus this Holiday season; He is the reason!

Ashley Fordinal is the Children’s Church volunteer at Family Life Church in Sulphur Springs, TX.

Add Comment December 9, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: How to Win this Christmas Season

If you have been in ministry long you will have realized Easter and Christmas are the playoffs for ministry personnel. If we want these times to be successful we prepare for them in advance.

I probably don’t have to tell you that Christmas is super important in our church cycle. It is a time we see lots of visitors, and some families who seem to come to church at random will make a special visit this time of year.

So this means we have a huge weight on our shoulders, we as youth workers are required to perform well during this season. If you haven’t felt this pressure before I pray it is out of preparation not ignorance.

I think we can all agree that because of these new or irregular people we need to win during the playoffs, so how do we do it?

WE WIN BY…

…stepping up: There are going to be many seasons when we are exhausted or perhaps feeling a little lazy but that can’t be the case here. Christmas can provide a once in a lifetime shot for some people to hear the message of Jesus. You better step up and give one of the best Jesus talks you have ever given.

…prepping your team: You are not alone, its not your job to do everything. Talk to your volunteers about the implications of the season. We often get focused on ourselves during the Christmas season, but we have the opportunity to make everything about Christ. You and your team will never be perfect, but if your hearts are prepared for what you are there to do God will move.

…serving others: Everyone who works in ministry during the Christmas season will be pushed. We will be stretched and challenged if we are putting in our best efforts. But what would it look like if you took your skills and talents and lent them to the Children’s ministry, or maybe you are amazing at graphic work and helped do some awesome graphics. If everyone spread around their talents to the other ministries we might take some of the weight off our teammates and it would free them up to help one another.

What are some ways you have won during the Christmas season?

Kyle Corbin has been serving as a volunteer or youth pastor for over 10 years. He is currently the youth pastor at the Bridge Church in North Vancouver B.C. You can follow his blog at: kylecorbin@blogspot.com or Twitter: @CorbinKyle.

2 View Comments December 2, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Campus Outreach Brainstorm

One of my favorite things to do is meet up with other youth pastors. I walk away from each meeting feeling challenged, encouraged, and/or inspired. I recently got to meet with an awesome youth pastor named Jon from a church that is doing some pretty incredible things with campus outreach. Over some coffee, we talked about what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and what we’re going to. I walked away with a ton of really great ideas and (hopefully) he walked away with one or two. Here is a little of what I shared about our campus outreach projects:

Sticky-Note the Girl’s Restroom: At the beginning of the school year, some of our student leaders put encouraging sticky notes on every student’s locker and we were blown away by how well it went over. One of our student leaders was inspired by the success of the project and started planning another that was aimed at girls. So she rounded up some friends and put encouraging notes all over the girls’ restrooms at her school. The notes had encouraging Bible verses on them as well as affirmations like “you are beautiful,” “you are precious,” and “you are loved.” It was such a great and easy way to do ministry for girls.

Janitor Breakfast: When we were looking at different people groups that we could be serving on campus, we almost forgot about the janitorial staff. They are some of the most unnoticed/unappreciated people on the campus, so our leaders wanted to make sure that they knew they were seen and loved. Our leaders are planning to get to school before the janitorial staff so that they could serve them a fresh, warm breakfast and spend some quality time with them. I am a huge fan of projects like these because it has students serving and ministering to adults! We are currently making our way through the office approval system (fingers crossed)!

Trash Pick Up: A great way to keep Christian club meetings fresh at school is to mix them up. Most of the time, Christian clubs will sit, eat their lunch, listen to someone talk, and leave. Sometimes that works great, but Jesus called us to do more than just that. We are encouraging our school club leaders to put their club members to work. One of the lunchtime serving opportunities that we came up with was trash pick-up. If you haven’t seen a post-lunch high school campus recently, let me tell you, they are a warzone. Picking up trash not only helps put a dent in the litter problem, but it also makes a huge statement. Let’s face it, litter patrol isn’t a glamorous job and any student that does it is instantly going to be set apart, providing them with incredible opportunities! If a student gets asked why they are picking up trash, than they are getting an awesome opportunity about their love for Jesus and their love for their school!

How is your ministry doing with campus outreach? What ideas can you share about how to do ministry on campuses?

Colton Harker is the Student Leadership Coordinator at Saddleback HSM. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact him at coltonharker@gmail.com or on twitter at @ColtonHarker.

4 View Comments November 25, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: VBS Chaotic Purpose

Vacation Bible School is a funny thing: its a week long of insanity in the hopes that you can turn and point some kids towards Christ. Someone recently asked me why as a youth pastor do I get involved with VBS? I am not working with teens, I am working with kids up to my ministry’s age group. These are a few of the reasons I believe I should do it as a youth worker:

1. Anything to further the cause of Christ is worth my time.
- While there are many opportunities to share the love of God that I have to turn down, this is an easy one where I have little prep and I can make a big difference in a lot of lives.

2. It gives a good example of devotion to the cause and volunteering for my students.
- Students don’t want to be just kicked out the door and hear about how serving the church makes a difference. They want to see it tangibly, and this is a way I can show them that I value it in my own life.

3. Its a great time to hang out with my students and work alongside them.
- Some of the greatest bonding experiences I have had with students are during periods of work. It puts you on a level playing field with students and helps to foster a great relationship.

4. Its good for my students to see I don’t have to be in the spotlight.
-Youth workers are often in the spotlight, and we often enjoy it. By just helping out and not being in a “show” role, we show that ministry and life is about a team not about ourselves.

5. This is a great opportunity for me to meet kids who will be coming into our ministry
- Many churches rarely have age groups mix. I often don’t get to meet kids who are not yet in grades 8 and up. By helping out with VBS kids who will be moving into my ministry in a year or two get to see my face and become familiar with me. While I likely won’t remember them all, I will be a friendly face who they can connect with to help their transition.

So if you have time this year and its not to late at your church get involved. See where you can help out; you don’t have to run the show; just enjoy the ride.

Kyle Corbin has been serving youth as a volunteer or pastor for over 10 years. He is currently the youth pastor at the Bridge Church in North Vancouver B.C. You can follow his blog at: kyle.corbin@blogspot.com
or Twitter: @CorbinKyle.