Youth Ministry Stuff

Question of the Day

2012-02-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

Share your thoughts in the comments!

GAME: Celebrity Spotlight

2012-02-10T04:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a no-prep, no-props, quick and easy game you can pull out of your back pocket anytime at youth group.

SET-UP: None really. You just need a group of people and a room/area where you can send someone off where they can't hear you.

PLAY: At the beginning of each round, you send someone out of the room. After they are out of earshot, you decide as a group what famous person/character the person outside the room will be (let's use Shrek as an example). You then call the person back in the room. They stand up front, and then everyone else in the room begins to raise their hands, and as they are called on by the person up front, asks them questions that hint (SUBTLY) to who the character is. For example - "Is it easy being green?", "Do you really have layers like an onion?", "How's the princess doing?", or "Why are you so mean to that donkey?" Keep playing until the person up front guesses who they are or makes it clear that they are not going to get it (at that point, have a funny way to tell them time's up, like a loud sound effect or something).

TIPS: Make sure to make it VERY CLEAR to the big group - the question askers - to keep their questions subtle, and only hint towards the celebrity/character. In the above example, you don't want someone to ask, "Did you know your name rhymes with Shmek?" Sort of defeats the fun... Also, when you're choosing the celebrity/character, keep them fairly well-known. If you pull out some obscure person/character, the game isn't fun because no one will know what questions to ask and the up-front person won't know who they are.

Have fun!

Published! (sort of...)

2012-02-09T04:44:00.000-08:00

I had a few little blurbs published in the January/February issue of Group Magazine (an awesome resource for youth workers!) as part of an article called "The Secret Dreams of Teenagers". I love Group and the ministry they have going - I've made a lot of connections with some brilliant youth workers through the organization and I know that they LOVE those of us in the trenches in youth ministry. I would definitely recommend you check out their website and subscribe to the magazine!

You can check out the article I'm quoted in online by clicking right here.

Let me know what you think!

ARTICLE: Congregations Gone Wild

2012-02-07T12:42:00.000-08:00

I stumbled on a great article from the New York Times called "Congregations Gone Wild" about emerging expectations churches place on their pastors (and subsequently, I believe, their youth pastors). It's super-relevant to those of us in YM. Check out this excerpt:

"The pastoral vocation is to help people grow spiritually, resist their lowest impulses and adopt higher, more compassionate ways. But churchgoers increasingly want pastors to soothe and entertain them. It’s apparent in the theater-style seating and giant projection screens in churches and in mission trips that involve more sightseeing than listening to the local people."

Click right here to check out the whole article, and see if you, like me, resonate with the environment we so often find ourselves in in YM.

VIDEO: Dangers of a Youth Ministry Sub-Culture

2012-02-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

What do you think of Voddie's comments? This video is relevant and challenging for me especially as I begin to take on some college ministry responsibilities at FBCCS and my title is possibly being changed from Youth/Worship Minister to Student Minister. Post comments!

WORSHIP: Open Mic

2012-02-06T05:52:00.000-08:00

Do you ever include an "open mic" time in your youth ministry? I've been doing them for a while in student gatherings, but recently we've settled on making it a regular part of our IMPACT services. We don't have musical worship every week, just once or twice a month, and so as a break between songs, we'll have open mic time. During that time we give students (and adult leaders) an opportunity to share their "God sightings" or things they're learning/reading/whatever. There are some great benefits to doing this sort of unplanned sharing:

- New voices. Chances are that your youth only get to hear one or two voices on a regular basis - yours and maybe one other leader. Doing open mic sharing gives students a chance to hear from their peers and other adults who don't necessarily feel called to teach/preach/speak on a bigger scale.

- Fresh insight. Your students will share perspectives and thoughts that may surprise you (in a good way!). I've actually learned a lot about where our students are at spiritually and what the "temperature" of our group is as I listen to them share during open mics. Often "themes" or similar thoughts/experiences will be echoed by several kids.

- Encouragement. I can't think of a single time we've done open mic where several, if not all, of those sharing were encouraging towards our overall ministry and what we were doing. Win! I can stand up front talking about how great IMPACT is all day, but when youth hear their peers echo that, it does something different!

Here's a few pointers for you before you do an open mic sharing time in your group:

1. Remind them to respect each other. No laughing at, teasing, or tearing down others in any way.

2. Remind them to be brief. You might even want to have a cue to help them know when they've gone over whatever time limit you want to set (I usually think around 3-4 minutes is plenty). I'm good at interjecting and moving them along, but you might want a sign to hold up in the back or a wrist tap from you or something.

3. Tell students this is a chance to point the spotlight on God and what He's doing in their lives or around them. Keep that spotlight aimed on Him and you'll hear great things come out of these times.

I hope this is helpful to you - I know doing sharing times like these can seem rough around the edges and not as polished or planned as your usual message or study, but they can be such encouraging and uplifting times for your group and for you!

Do you do open mic times? How do yours go?

Question of the Day

2012-02-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

Share in the comments!

GAME: Shuffle Your Buns

2012-02-02T07:47:00.000-08:00

So this game is actually an old youth group standard, but believe it or not, I'd never played it with my youth before! All that changed last night... And it was hilarious! They loved it! Here's how to play:

SET UP: You'll need a circle of chairs, with one chair for every person in the group (I usually have them grab a chair, then stand behind it until we're in a good circle shape, then have them sit down). Pick one person to stand in the middle, so you should have one empty chair.

PLAY: The goal is for the person in the middle to sit in the empty chair. BUT, everyone in the circle is going to try to prevent this, and the way they do it is by shuffling their buns to the empty chair. When the person finally does sit in the empty chair, the person to their left is the new person in the middle (and they have to move all the way to middle and wait for you to say go to move toward the empty chair).

TIPS: Remind your students that this isn't a full contact UFC match. They're just trying to sit down, not take someone out! Also, make sure your chairs are close enough together so that kids are able to shuffle to the one next to them, but not too close together (it can get crazy).

Have fun!

Question of the Day

2012-01-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

Share in the comments!

VIDEO - I Had Sex

2012-01-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

There's a great new video resource available from the Skit Guys called "I Had Sex". This video would be a great intro into a discussion on sex, choices, teen pregnancy, parent/youth relations, and more. Trisha and I have had several young girls (and guys) in our ministry go through unplanned pregnancies over the years. Have you ever had that experience? What helped you help them?

You can watch and download "I Had Sex" here: http://skitguys.com/videos/item/i-had-sex

WORSHIP: How He Loves

2012-01-24T07:48:00.000-08:00

One of - if not THE - most popular song among our students for the last couple years has been "How He Loves" by John Mark McMillan. They just don't seem to get tired of it, and honestly, I'm not tired of leading it yet. Every time we hit that big chorus at the end, into the bridge, and into another big chorus, man, it just really takes us there! Above is the original artist teaching how to play the song. I play it a different way, and you can see that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GfpLuzq82Y&feature=related

Enjoy!

SERIES: Exodus

2012-01-23T13:46:00.000-08:00

I'm currently teaching through a six-week series I've created called "Exodus". The series is a walk through the book with an emphasis on the main character, God (not Moses!), and who He reveals Himself to be, and ultimately what that means for students today. Check out this brief summary of each week below:

Part 1 – “God Hears”

- Exodus1:1-2:25

- Theplight of the Israelites, God hears them and lays the groundwork for theirrescue.

- Youmay question God’s will and purpose, but He is faithful to His people, hearsthem, and is working out a plan for good in your life.

Part 2 – “God Calls”

- Exodus3:1-4:17

- Godreveals Himself, His plan, and His calling to Moses. Moses objects, but God reassures him.

- Goddoesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.

- WhateverGod has called you to do or be, trust Him that He knows what He’s doing.

Part 3 – “God Challenges”

- Exodus4:18-12:51

- Mosesgoes to Egypt, confronts Pharaoh, Pharaoh says no, the ten plagues, Pharaohcaves.

- Thereare consequences to disobedience. If wedon’t obey and follow God, we should expect difficulties, trials, or hardship,but obedience can lead to blessing.

Part 4 – “God Provides”

- Exodus13:1-31:18

- RedSea, manna, water, direction, the Law.

- Whenyou follow God, He provides what you need to follow Him and stay in His will.

- Bewareof becoming dissatisfied…

Part 5 – “God Corrects”

- Exodus32:1-33:6

- Goldencalf, consequences.

- Whathappens when we become dissatisfied in God? Idolatry. What are theconsequences?

Part 6 – “God Restores”

- Exodus33:7-40:38

- Tentof meeting, Moses and the glory of the Lord, the return of the Law, theTabernacle, and the recommitment to the Promise.

- Nomatter how unfaithful we are to God, He is still faithful to us and Hisultimate goal is restoration the story He wants to tell is one of redemption!

As always, feel free to steal any of my ideas and use them for your own!

GAME: Human Tic-Tac-Toe

2012-01-23T13:41:00.000-08:00

Set-Up: You'll need 9 chairs set up in a 3x3 grid. Space them apart some, enough so that youth can move in between them easily. Divide students into two equal teams lined up single-file on opposite sides of the grid.

Play: Play with regular tic-tac-toe rules. One team is "X's", the other is "O's" (you could have them make the letters/shapes with their arms when they sit down). Pick a team to go first, and have the first person in line run to a chair. QUICKLY point to the first person in line for the other team and have them go. Keep the back and forth going quickly until one team wins. Play best 3 out of 5, or however long you want to keep it going! When a game is over, send the kids sitting down to the back of their lines, so that everyone gets a turn.

Tip: If you don't move fast enough, it can get boring, AND kids will strategize too much which leads to stalemates.

Have fun!

- Tim B.

New Home!

2012-01-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

A fairly accurate representation of me done by one of my students!

Welcome to the newest version of my blog, Youth Ministry Stuff! I've made the switch over/back to Blogger for several reasons, none of which I'll bore you with here, but plan on bringing you the same content as before - lots of YM resources I'm currently using myself or that I find online! Thanks so much for those of you that are "regulars" for stopping by, and for any newbies, welcome! Introduce yourself in the comments - I'd love to hear from you!

I look forward to posting more soon!

- Tim B.