youth worker training | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts Simply Youth Ministry Conference Advance Registration Deadline Tomorrow

It won’t be long before the Simply Youth Ministry Conference sells out … in fact, tomorrow’s advance registration deadline discount may push it over the edge. Either way, I hope you’ll consider attending what I consider my favorite youth ministry training event of the year. Jake and I will be doing another music video, hosting all of the general sessions, hanging out in the geek/technology room and chilling with youth workers like yourself. You in?

JG

Add Comment January 13, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts It Costs $30 to Join a Youth Ministry Life Group

A couple years ago, we started to charge students to join a small group in our youth ministry. Why? Good question – honestly, I’ve had to explain this on occasion to parents, so writing it out here will help me articulate the answer. Just for perspective, as a youth group we budget $0 for Life Groups, the money raised by registration fees goes to cover resources, trainings and materials. Here’s the details:

LIVE Bible
The most important item a student will receive is their new Bible. This year we moved away from the Life Application Bible to use the LIVE Bible. Really, really like this Bible, excited to get it in students’ hands. The Bible retails for $22.99 but can be picked up for $15-18 pretty easily.

Alternate Resource
In the case the student already has a LIVE Bible, we offered up some alternate resources for students to use over the course of the year. This year we gave a Bible study book or a pocket Bible commentary.

Student Journal
We gave students a small journal to write down their learnings and record prayer requests from their group. We’ve printed different ones over the years, sometimes they’re simple like a little Mead notebook with a sticker on it, sometimes more complicated. Either way, we want students to have something in their hand to write down what they’re learning.

LIVE curriculum
Students don’t feel the actual return on this one like getting a physical item like a Bible or journal – but they’ll feel it each week during the teaching time. LIVE isn’t cheap – $499 for the first year and $99 every year after, but we love it and it has quickly become part of our 4-year teaching plan.

Training
Once again, something students won’t feel tangibly, but it should be felt intangibly every moment of the school year. We pour into volunteers, giving them training, discussion groups, resources (like 99 Thoughts for Small Group Leaders) and more. Every minute we pour into small group leaders is a chance to pour into 5-10 students.

Not saying that your youth ministry should charge for small groups next year, but it is working for us, and students are getting a TON of bang for their thirty bucks.

JG

4 View Comments November 5, 2010

Josh GriffinMore Posts Common Sense for Small Group Leaders: Think Wisely

Taught a small group leader training for our volunteers a couple weeks ago – just ran across it in my Moleskin tonight and realized I haven’t had a free moment to share it with you. Simple stuff, just an encouragement for our Life Group leaders, young and old, to think wisely:

Think wisely about what you post on Facebook
Please realize that what you post is public, permanent and reflects on our ministry as a whole (see more on this subject here). Use common sense when you post pictures or status updates – read everything through a second time before pushing send or submit. And don’t forget – something that is questionable will always be taken out of context. There is a huge difference between a joke between friends at a coffee shop and a joke that will most certainly be misunderstood posted for the world to see.

Think wisely when you drive students
I’ve taken tonss of students home from small groups or to an outing – and done some questionable things while doing it. We used to “hit mailboxes” – we didn’t really, I just had a student leader in the passenger seat whack the side of the church van when I swerved dangerously close to the side of the road. If you’ve ever used the phrase, “shoot that was close” or “I wonder if we can bury the speedometer” you aren’t using common sense.

Think wisely when you consume media
Here’s the key: what you do, say, watch, listen to, eat – whatever – it all becomes a ringing endorsement in the ears of your students. As the leader of your small group, take extra caution to think about what you’re consuming and if that would be good for your student to see as an example or to participate in themselves. Your words, actions and ideas have incredible power. Think before you watch.

Think wisely when you talk to parents
You are the youth pastor of your small group – so remember that when talking to parents. I guess first off – remember to talk to parents. Communication, good or bad, directly effects the reputation or the student ministry. Take a few minutes to share with parents what you’re covering in small groups, and share a personal observation about their child. It is OK to talk differently to parents than you would to their student.

JG

1 View Comments October 18, 2010

Josh GriffinMore Posts GROW ON THE GO: Mobile Discipleship for Small Group Leaders

I couldn’t be more excited to launch a new non-program for discipleship in our ministry we’re calling Grow on the Go (actually we’re revising and bringing this back from HSM past). We’re taking some simple small plastic bins from Target and dropping in some great biblical resources to help our small group leaders challenge students to take a spiritual step. To get a fuller understanding of how small groups are connected to spiritual growth and discipleship, maybe check out 5 Parts to a Typical Small Group Night or 6 Ways to Help Small Group Students Take a Spiritual Step.

So when a Life Group leader recognizes an opportunity to challenge a student to grow on their own, they have some tools right there (or in the trunk of their car) at their disposal. So what’s inside the bins? Glad you asked! We put 1 or 2 of the following resources in the mobile version of our Grow Booth:

Help! I’m a Student Leader
One Minute Bible for Students
31 Verses Every Teenager Should Know – Here & Now
31 Verses Every Teenager Should Know – Identity
The 2nd Greatest Story Ever Told
Fresh Start With God
Rootworks: Philippians
Rootworks: 1 John
Rootworks: Psalms
Each of the HABITS from the Habits Production Pack
Every Young Man’s Battle OR Every Young Woman’s Battle (depending on gender of group)
Spiritual Ruts (this is an in-house, as of yet unpublished resource)

I’m convinced that including a little bit of training on these tools at the beginning of the year and putting them in leader’s hands will make a big difference!

JG

Josh GriffinMore Posts Simply Youth Ministry Conference CONTEST Winner!

Congrats to Jeff Stapleton, random winner of the contest this week for 2 tickets to the Simply Youth Ministry Conference in Chicago this March. Get to the Windy City for some youth worker training with 3,000 of your closest friends, too!

Jeff Stapleton at 10:31am September 2
I’m a youth minister just beginning my third year in a small East Texas town. The resources and support from SYM (newsletters/products/podcasts) have been huge in my development as both a teacher and a leader. To learn and worship with other youth ministers is a tremendous encouragement, and something I look forward to. I hope to make it to the SYM conference one way or another…and get the chance to sit in on an epic live podcast. Thanks for all you do Josh!

JG

1 View Comments September 8, 2010

Josh GriffinMore Posts Cuponk: The Perfect Youth Ministry Small Group Game

I’ve seen Hasbro’s Cuponk for a while now – a simple game of bouncing a ping pong ball into a cup, with ever-increasingly difficult challenges. Then it hit me – how fun would this be as a fun little ice breaker with the teenagers in your small group? I love the idea that this could become an insider tradition where the group start out each night playing a little Cuponk then diving into Bible study and sharing life together.

Random idea, I know – I never said every post would be brilliant. Either way, I bought a couple of them at Target today to give away as prizes at our upcoming Life Group Leader Training Night. Thought I would share at least an illustration of small group fun with them.

Just as an aside, if you like the idea, I would spring for the actual official Cuponk game for $15. At first it seemed like a lot to pay for what a ping pong ball and red plastic party cup could do, but I realized there may be comparisons to beer games if you take the cheaper route.

JG

3 View Comments September 4, 2010

Josh GriffinMore Posts 4 Questions for Your Youth Ministry Fall Kickoff and Suggested Resources to Help Answer Them

August is here – summer programs are winding down and school is about to begin. Scratch that – for more than half the country, kids are already in classes this week! You’re heading toward the Fall kickoff of your youth ministry, and thinking about what’s next. I posted When to Buy Youth Ministry Resources last August, but thought something tangible with solid suggestions for the fall might be a good idea as well. Here are the questions I’m asking with a couple weeks to go before our official kickoff:

1. Is your youth ministry service ready to go?
Take the time to lay out the fall teaching calenda r. Create or purchase a teaching series that is compelling and make it easy for your students to bring their non-believing friends. The start of the school year is one of the most opportune times for Friendship Evangelism. Then think about the atmosphere that first-time student will walk into – are a few crowd games or a cell phone poll the way to go? Is the room setup ideally for what you’re trying to accomplish? Do you have a way to contact students during the week? How can you give your youth group a jolt of fresh energy this Fall? Suggestions: 2nd Greatest Story Every Told, Heart of a Champion, Awaken Your Creativity

2. Are your small group leaders and volunteers trained?
Capitalize on the fall to get some good reading into the hands of your leaders or good material into your hands for training meetings. Suggestions: Youth Worker Training on the Go, Emergency Response Handbook for Youth Ministry, Connect

3. What are you reading for your personal development?
You meant to read a few good books over the summer – and honestly, they’re still in the bottom of your backpack. Take them out and get cracking! If you’re looking for a good book Terrace had a good list for young influencers and Kurt’s new book The 9 Best Practices of Youth Ministry looks challenging. My favorite book this summer was Linchpin. Pick up a book for your own development. Suggestions: Tribes, Switch, Steering Through Chaos, Crazy Love, The Next Generation Leader

4. What is it time to launch?
For us we’re talking about helping hurting students, so we’re concentrating on our pastoral care program for teenagers who are at risk. You’ve got the pulse of your student ministry – what is it time to launch? Or maybe what is it time to re-launch? Maybe it is time to stop something, so this January you can breath new life into it? Suggestions: The Landing, Help! I’m a Student Leader, LeaderTreks

JG

tp://terracecrawford.blogspot.com/2010/08/top-20-books-every-young-influencer.html

Josh GriffinMore Posts Learnings and Observations from Being a Temporarily Single Dad

My wife is in the middle of taking her longest trip ever since we started to have kids. All told she’ll be gone a grand total of 18 days. Last February when I was in Kenya I called her excitedly and shared with her what I was experiencing and said, “You HAVE to get here as soon as possible.” Little did we know was that in 5 short months she would be calling me from the same place that conversation took place.

So, I’m taking 100+ hours of stored up vacation time and doing some Dad Minus Mom Plus Four (I should try to get a TV show – the only problem is that we have a good marriage) while she’s away. Here’s a little glimpse into my world, now just 8 days in:

5 loads of laundry
167 miles driven in the minivan
13 Instant Streaming kids titles on Netflix
3 DVD rentals
2 free family fun movies at Regal
1 trip to the beach
7 trips to the pool
1 small investment in a backyard water-propelled Buzz Lightyear flying spaceship
11 runs of the dishwasher
4 trips to the store
4 runs to the park
1 run back to the park to pick up forgotten sandals
1 nap
9 boxes of sugar cereal
$38 in fruit (something to tell mom about when she calls from Africa)
5 gallons of milk
6 fast food stops (1 Taco Bell, 1 Del Taco, 2 McDonald’s, 1 Chipotle, 1 Chick-Fil-A)
1 meal from a neighbor who felt sorry for the kids eating habits

And these numbers, along with me being far outside my normal routine and duties, has led to a couple of observations as well:

My youngest son produces about 1/2 of the laundry.
My daughter produces almost the other half.
My 2 oldest sons produce curiously little laundry. Especially in the undergarment department.
Cookie Crisp isn’t quite as good as you remember as a kid.
Potty training sounds awesome in a Twitter, tough in real life.
We devour an entire box of cereal and nearly a gallon of milk at breakfast.
All that laundry, not a single sock.
The washer and dryer should be in sync, instead of the washer ending 6 minutes first.
I hate Play Doh.

JG