recruiting the right youth leaders

I recently helped out with some recruiting efforts at my church for youth ministry.  I assist in Family Ministries there and recently just did a three-week push for children’s ministry recruitment and received a total of 17 new volunteers in one recruitment effort (email me here if you want to know how it happened!).  During the effort, we were able to explain exactly what areas of ministry we needed assistance with and prepared position descriptions to let people know exactly what the volunteer position entailed.  All the position descriptions were custom made to supply our children’s ministry with what we currently need to achieve more maximization of our vision and serve our children and their families well (and better in some circumstances).  For a sample of our children’s ministry position descriptions, shoot me an email and I can send you a few.  Coming in March, we will be launching our Examples Family website which will have a section dedicated to Children’s Ministry and items like this for you to download freely and use for your ministry. 

Anyway, as the e-mails began to fly around preparing for this next attempt to recruit for youth ministry, I began to wonder about youth ministry positions - are our current positions tailor made for our ministry and what we needed?  It reminded me of a question a Youth Ministry Director sent me a few weeks ago after reading an article on our site called “Relational Youth Ministry – Leader Communication with Parents.”    See the question below:

I would like to hear some more suggestions related to this article. We have horrible troubles with communicating to parents even though we do all of the things suggested above. We’ve tried mailing letters, and they say they never get them. We try e-mailing multiple times about everything we do, but parents still act oblivious to what’s happening in the youth group. I really don’t have time to call each parent in the youth group individually for every event. We’re just not sure what to do about this problem.

Well, the problem she describes is definitely not uncommon when working in youth ministry.  A couple of things come to mind when I consider her issue:

1. She may need another hand or two to help out in her youth ministry…or at minimum have her current leaders, if she has the luxury of having leaders on her team, take on additional responsibility to assist her.

2. Maybe creating a position called “Parent Connections Coordinator” could help in directing a new or current volunteer on this specific need and how to go about meeting it.  Just think about it – having one person dedicated to building relationships between the parent and the youth ministry…especially in a smaller church (1 – 500 members is what I’m thinking) – this could potentially go a long way and be very effective.

The volunteer positions that you create don’t have to be ones that are common to other youth ministries.  Drama Coordinator, Small Groups Leader, Jr. High Coordinator, Game Room Supervisor, Alter Worker, etc…all of these are definitely positions that volunteers can fill.  But when you have a specific need, and no extra hands to help meet it, then recruiting may be in order…and having a description to explain your specific need can help you find just the right volunteer match as well as let them know exactly what they are committing to.

Here is a sample position description template for you to use for reference when creating yours.  This is a position we created specifically for what we need here at XYM.  If you have any other questions regarding developing position descriptions and recruting, feel free to comment below!

Position Description – Entertainment/Youth Culture Researcher

 

using polls in your youth group with YouVersion

Several months ago, I came across a tool that has really been a tremendous help to my word study time.  This tool is called YouVersion, and from the first day I downloaded it, I became excited about it.

YouVersion is a multi-featured web based application developed by Life Church in Edmond, OK.  The main feature I use from it is its online Bible tool.   If you have an iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android mobile device, there is a downloadable YouVersion application for your convenience.  If you have a different brand of mobile phone, there site is optimized to work in your mobile web browser.   One of the cool things about YouVersion is the convenience of having multiple Bible versions/translations in the palm of your hand – so no matter where you are, as long as you have your mobile device with you, you can read your Bible.

Another cool feature with YouVersion that I’ve recently come across, and what I think will be of a benefit in live events, is their live polling feature.  This feature gives you the ability to poll your audience/youth group/congregation and get instant results.  This would be a great feature to incorporate into your youth Bible study.  My church has used the live polling feature during service and it is eye opening to see the responses and results – almost instantly –  from others in the congregation.

There are plenty of other features that YouVersion offers that could add value to your services.  For more information please visit http://www.youversion.com.

youth leader “RELATE” tip – “praise to parents”

Here’s a quick tip to help build relationships with your teens and their parents.  This month, chose one or two (or a few if you have a bigger youth group) of your teens and write something nice about them.  It can be something that they did that was note worthy, an area of growth that you see them developing in (like reading the Bible more, taking the lead in small groups, praying in front of the group, bringing a friend to Bible study, etc.), or maybe something that they recently achieved in school or somewhere else.

Say something nice and encouraging about them to their parents in a note, put the note in a card or something, and mail it or give it to them personally.  Chose different students to do this for each month and watch the connection between you and their parents start to grow!  The students will feel great too!

For more great Youth Leadership Tips, buy a copy of “Your First Two Years of Youth Ministry” by Doug Fields.

youth group game – “over the mountain!”

This is a good way to get the teens talking and interacting with each other.  Some groups might need to be encouraged to keep the statements appropriate, but it is typically fun and hilarious!

Materials: Chairs for every player minus one.

Instructions:

1.)    Each player sits in a chair in a circle facing the center. One player stands in the center to start the game, (usually the youth leader after he or she explains it.)

2.)    Whoever is in the center makes a statement that applies to him or her and follows the format “Over the mountain if you have ever/never ___________________.” For example, the youth leader may say “Over the mountain if you have ever got called into the principal’s office.”

3.)    Anyone around the circle who can identify with the statement gets up and moves to a new chair. The last one left standing makes the next statement.

You can decide when to end the game. When time gets short, let everyone know when one round is left.

strategically market your ministry website – web analytics

Having a web site is key in today’s world. If you tell someone you have a ministry or a business, one of the first things they will ask is “Do you have a web site?” If you don’t have a web site, it could be beneficial for you get one. It is possible to have an awesome web site on a small budget. If you would like more information on how to do this, please feel free to contact us here.

For those of you that do have web sites, you may ask yourself, “Is my site effective?” “Are people visiting my site?” There are several things you can do to determine the effectiveness of your site, however in this article, I’m only going to introduce one of the ways – Web Analytics.

According to Wikepedia.com, Web Analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of internet data for purposes of understanding and optimizing web usage. In other words, it is recording the activities of visitors to your web site (and possibly gathering information such as browser type, geographical location, etc.), and using this data to improve the online experience of your visitors and/or communicate more effectively with your online audience. For example, suppose you have a big event coming up, and on your web site, you have a page in which you showcase a featured video. You may discover through Web Analytics that your featured video page is very popular, and therefore it may be a good idea to promote your event using that page.

On a different note, you may discover that although your ministry is located in Florida, a huge number of vistors are from California. This may prompt the initial steps to possibly grow your ministry in that area. Do you see how important and useful Web Analytics can be? (It can also be very encouraging to see an regular increase in visitors to your site!)

There are several tools out there that will allow you to perform analytics on your site, but the one that I like the most and implement for Examples Ministries is Google Analytics. It is very robust, easy to use, understand, and is capable of growing with your ministry – and the best part about it is that it is FREE. For more information about this product, go to http://google.com/analytics.

Again, if you have any questions or need help getting started with this tool, please don’t hesitate to contact us by clicking here. We are more than willing to assist you as you seek ways to make your site have more impact.

relational youth ministry – leader communication with parents

OK, if you have ever been a teenager, then you may be able to remember how many of  the “details” you let your parents in on about your life…well, at least in a reasonable amount of time so that the family can respond as needed.  For example, what time a game started AND ended, when a major assignment was due, when the college financial aid paperwork needed to be completed…you understand.

Well, the same is true with the youth we work with – they in general DO NOT fill their parents in on any details that we ask them to during youth group.  So, instead of staying on them to communicate with their parents, I think we should just cut out the middle man and communicate DIRECTLY WITH the parents.  If you happen to be a parent (like me), then you can probably appreciate this piece of advice (LOL!).  Some ways you can keep in regular contact with the parents are the following:

1. Email them bi-weekly or monthly – create a e-mail distribution that allows you to send mass e-mails out about any upcoming events or important information that you need the parents to know about.  We had a pregnancy prevention speaker come speak to our youth group and because we knew that the subject matter was sensitive, we made sure that the parents were notified prior to the speaker coming…just in case they may want to keep their 7th grader home that night, you know??? 

Think about utilizing an e-newsletter that can provide links to the church web site and other resorces you would like to make available to them (online sign-up for events, camp registrations, permission slips, etc.).  You can also use this as an encouraging tool, spotlighting a different student and family each month – this really goes a long way…parents like other people bragging on their children; I know I do!  My kids were just in a wedding and I cannot get enough of all the people talking about how well they did coming down the aisle!!!

2. Create a youth ministry web page or some sort of social networking page (like facebook) that allows you to post quick updates, downloadable forms, and important information for parents to be able to access  whenever they need too.

3. Don’t send things home with the teens for the parents as the only option of communication.  Many times, parental consent forms get lost on the way from the youth room to the parking lot (ask me how I know…I have collected many that were used to pass notes around during service, some were left in the seats, the bathrooms…etc.).  So, if we make things available directly to the parents (like in the church lobby, via a web site, or e-mailing an attached form), we can take some of the responsibility off of the students (even though I would still send a form home with the students).

These are just some quick ways to connect with the parents that will help create more of a relational youth ministry.  Parents will feel more connected and believe that you care for both them and their student…because we do.

from grad to gone! what do we do with graduating high school seniors?

One of the Examples leaders recently informed me about some of the young ladies from her church that went away to college this past school year. The report, unfortunately, was dismal. All three ladies had strayed away from serving God. One was pregnant and had not informed her family that she was expecting. All three young ladies were sexually active. All three were involved in hetero and homo sexual lifestyles. Drinking, smoking, drugs…etc. All were between 18 and 19 years old. As I said, the report was not the best (at least from a Christian perspective).

As I talked with her about this, I heard the sadness in her voice. She wanted to know what went wrong. Was there anything that she could have done as a youth leader that could have helped prevent some of these decisions these young ladies had made? Is there anything she could do now? Did she have a responsibility to inform their parents and families of whom she still attended church with? What does she do???

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon thing. I have worked with youth for a long enough period of time to see many of them go away to school, marry, and have children. I have watched enough of their journeys to know that many times, they don’t continue on a path with God. I have also wondered if there was anything that I could have done differently to have prevented some of their unhealthy life choices. I know oh so well the weight of responsibility that is felt when one of the students I helped to shepherd in the Word does not choose God as an adult.

So, is there anything that can be done to stop this? Well, maybe not completely “stop” it. Every person has to choose their own path and whether or not they want to serve God. That’s just the way it is. Youth Ministry is most effective when it works along side the parents/families of the students to equip them in the Word. The family is the primary sphere of spiritual influence, and Youth Ministry (and the church for that matter) will never replace this. So, a student that does not have a family/home setting that imparts, models, and equips them in the Word on a regular day to day basis, well…sometimes Youth Ministry becomes a band-aid for deeper issues that are there. God DEFINITELY can and does use the church to plant the Word and equip us all to do the work of the ministry, but we cannot ignore the fact that whatever is sown, good or bad, it will be reaped. So, I say all of this to say, much of this is out of our control and only in God’s; we cannot wallow in guilt and blame about what we did or didn’t do.

OK, here is a big HOWEVER…

However, as leaders in church and Youth Ministry, WE MUST take on the responsibility of doing all that we can to reach this age group. Many churches do not have anything in place to serve and minister to young adults during this pivotal time period in their lives. One of the most challenging times for young adults is when they are transitioning from being a high school “kid” to a responsible, functioning adult. In my many years of working in Youth Ministry, time after time I have seen seniors graduate from high school and continue to hang around the youth group each week. A few may have identified a call to work with students and want to become youth leaders…but MOST are there because they don’t want to (or don’t know how to) let go of the old OR are still stumbling upon finding their life direction and destiny. They may not feel they quite fit into the adult worship service, but they also no longer want to be labeled a “teen.”
Just as an elementary school child needs help in transitioning to middle school and a middle school student help transitioning to high school, a high school senior needs help transitioning to adulthood…and this is not done in a one or two time sit down Bible study setting or summer program. This is a two to four year process for this young adult – and this is a VITAL time period for them spiritually. The church should be aware of this and work to walk with them hand in hand in order to help them reach their destinies in God.

What can we do?
I think there are many things that can be done and each ministry will probably have organic needs that are unique to their location and church body. But below are some things to think about and are probably applicable for any church location.

1. Expect some of these students to re-evaluate who they are and what they believe – As much as we don’t want it, it is perfectly normal for a student at this time in their lives to begin to re-evaluate what they believe spiritually. This is sometimes when they discover whether or not they have been living on the faith of their parents or on their own faith. This is common. Our responsibility is to help them process this and, if needed, redirect them back to the Word. This can be done by:
a. Creating a Bible Study for this age group that possibly meets during the same time the Youth Ministry meets (many of them are showing up anyway) that addresses some of these issues.
b. Help the student recognize if they truly have a personal relationship with God and if not, how to develop it (if they even want to!) If you have students that decide that they don’t want to serve God and don’t believe the Word, well, then your service to them now changes. You are no longer discipling, you are now loving them, praying for them, and looking for opportunities to share the Word and love of God to them. Maybe one day it will assist in drawing them to Jesus.
c. In your Bible Study, introduce them to apologetics and make them aware of other religions and belief systems. Then, teach them how to effectively articulate their faith in the Word – helping them get to the point that they can express clearly what they believe and why they believe it. IMPORTANT – they can only get to this point on their own. This is not something that can be taught. This has to be personal revelation for each individual. We can ask questions to provoke thought and help them find answers to specific questions they have, but we cannot “teach” someone to have faith in the Word. This is so important. At this time in their lives, they will begin to meet people and become exposed more to other beliefs that could challenge their faith – especially if they are going away to school. Helping them process through what they believe to a point of clear expression will send them away with a solid foundation and, prayerfully, an unwavering faith.

Also, we cannot wait to do this right before they go off to school. Beginning the above during their senior year of high school would be the ideal time to start working through these things.

2. Mentoring – Assign each high school senior a mentor at the beginning of their senior year. Ideally, this mentor will work with them to encourage them, pray for them, and disciple them until they graduate. This mentor can be key in helping the student determine if they want to go to college or figure out what they would like to do after graduation. Also, once they graduate, a mentor can continue on with them throughout their college experience or the years after graduation. Some things that can be done are:
a. Help a college bound student find a church to attend on campus if they are going away for school.
b. Help them connect with Christian organizations on their campus that could introduce them to other Christian students, student Bible studies, events, etc. Helping them create a healthy social circle.

3. Do not mistake a grounded, sound-thinking high school student as one that will not have any issues with their faith walk after graduation. – This is a huge mistake that some parents and church leaders make. We have to give allowance for these responsible students to go through “the process of transition” as well and not assume they won’t have issues transitioning during this stage in life. They most likely will have some questions and issues, we just need to make sure we extend them the same graces as explained above and be there for them to help, serve, and assist. Don’t make the mistake and assume that these teens are more stable than what they really are; that could prove to be very costly.

These are just a few things to consider as you ponder on what is the best way for you minister to this age group. There are significant needs for them during this time in their lives. Pray, talk it over with other leaders and parents, and get the mind of God regarding these young adults at your local church and see what He may have for you to do for them. I believe He has something for us all…

For more information on this topic, visit www.youthministry.com. Below is a link to an article called “Gradating from Church: An Honest Look at Transitioning High School Grads” http://www.youthministry.com/?q=node/4867

Relational Youth Ministry – More than a Bible Study

When I first starting working with students, I was all about establishing programming. A program for the young ladies, a program for the young men, a creative arts program – dance, drama, music, camps, discipleship…on and on and on. The “tighter” the program, the better we reached the students, right?

Well, over the years, I have come to realize that when it comes down to it, students are much more easier to satisfy than I thought. Although the “programs” are enjoyed, they are not where the “real “ministry takes place. The real ministry seemed to happen individual by individual, interaction by interaction, and impact by impact. It was the “after Bible Study gatherings” at a local restaurant. The breakfasts with a couple of the young ladies on a Saturday morning. The showing up at the birthday parties. The letters in the mail. The small notes. The facebooking. The texting. The reaching out to the parents… It was within these types of interactions the ministry of the Word had its greatest impact and lasting effects.

Below is an exerpt from the book “Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry” by Doug Fields. When I read this, I was like, “Yeah, this is it. This is how we do this.” Now I am not saying do away with “programming,” but I am saying to make building relationships with each and every student a top priority. Become the “Word made flesh” to these students, and watch God move in their lives.

[Start]
Ian was an intern in my ministry for two years prior to his current youth ministry position. Recently I met a man who attends Ian’s church. He gushed, “I love Ian! Actually, my entire family loves him. He’s a great youth worker.”

As I talked with this Ian fan, he never said Ian’s youth ministry was growing, that he has started new programs, or that he was breathing fresh life into a tired volunteer team. I got the impression this father didn’t care about the trappings of youth ministry. Instead, all he talked about was how Ian cared for his son, wrote him notes, went to his football games, and occasionally called him. Then, in the middle of praising Ian, he looked at his watch and said, In fact, Ian is meeting with my son right now!” His eyes watered and a thankful tone emphasized his words as he continued to describe this effective youth worker.

I happen to know Ian has worked hard to change dead programs and inspire weary leaders; however, I’m most proud of him for how he has cared for students. He knows youth ministry programs are needed and can be effective, but he understands that relationships are the key to a healthy youth ministry. His relationship with Jesus is at the center of his ministry. Relationships with students and leaders are central to his focus. Jesus is center; people are central. That’s an equation for a healthy youth ministry. [End]

If you are the lead youth leader at your church, depending on the size of your group, it may be impossible for you to develop personal relationships with every student. Your goal, however, should be to equip and motivate your leadership team to do so. Also, not every student is gonna want a relationship with you and your leaders. Be mindful to not take this personally. Maybe your personalities don’t gel, maybe they would do better connecting with another leader, or maybe they just don’t want to be bothered at all! Whatever the reason, do what you can as a youth ministry team to reach out to each and every student that comes through your doors. That is our responsibility, no matter how the student responds.

The Small Things Matter
Here is a list of small things you can do to reach out to your students and have BIG impact:

1. Send a personal text to the students just to check in on them or to say hi.

2. Send a letter/email/text etc. to the parents bragging on their student.

3. Call the student to pray with them before a big test.

4. REMEMBER THEIR NAMES!!!

5. Invite the student to dinner.

6. Lock-ins with you and a couple of leaders with a group of “same sex” students – keeping the groups small can be very impactful.

7. Send small packages with a note to their home on their birthdays.

8. Slip the student a note of encouragement during a Bible Study.

9. Attend their games and school activities, and stay after to interact with them and their family.

I am sure you can think of many other things that would count as a “small but impactful” thing to do. The point is, BUILD THE RELATIONSHIPS – with both the students and their parents and watch God open the doors of opportunity to share His Word and love with them.

P.S. – If you stick with youth ministry long enough, you may be blessed to connect with your former students as they enter into adulthood. If you ever get a chance to ask them what impacted them the most while in youth ministry, watch how much of the relational things they held on to. It may not be a message or a teaching, but you may hear something like, “When you prayed for me when I broke up with my boyfriend…it meant so much to me.” Relational ministry at its best.

the power of text messaging

Did you know that on average, 13 – 17 year olds in the US send 1,742 text messages each month? That’s about 57 text messages per day. I personally know people that will respond to a text faster than an email or a phone call. Voicemail? Forget about it. You might as well consider that a waist of your breath. And sending a letter? What’s a letter?

My point is, the use of TEXT Messaging is growing exponentially and it is phenomenal at communicating with people. In fact, some popular social networking sites allow individuals to send and receive posts via text messaging, which can be pretty handy in promoting that youth event…

Speaking of which, below are some tools that may be useful in maximizing text messaging (taken from http://youthministryideas.net)

Simply TXT: Send individual or group text messages to your students, parents, or volunteers. Simply TXT lets you build groups and send messages whenever you like–you can even schedule them in advance–and the pricing is pretty reasonable.

Poll Everywhere: Create polls and free response questions your students respond to via text message. Results are updated live and can be displayed right on the screen. Pricing is also very reasonable with a free option for audiences under 30 people.

Twitter: Self described, “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?” People have used Twitter to send text messages to their whole youth group without paying a dime. Here’s how: Set up a Twitter account for the youth group, tell students about it, and show them how to sign up for “mobile updates.” Every post you make to your Twitter will go as a text message to the entire group!

Hope you find this info useful in getting you started in the right direction to better connecting with your youth.

Thanks to the following…

http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/category/mobile

http://youthministryideas.net

http://simplyyouthministry.com/txt.html

http://www.polleverywhere.com

http://twitter.com

Eddie Mason III

are you spending time with God?

This year is going to be a year of “on purpose” efforts with Eddie and I. We are going to be husband and wife to each other “on purpose.” What does that mean? It means that we are going to do whatever it takes to manifest God’s goodness towards each other. The things I know are a blessing to Eddie, I am going to do on purpose. That could be cooking, making sure the house is clean, keeping up with my spending better, etc. Whatever those things are and whatever areas God is nudging me to get better at regarding Eddie, I have made the decision to do it without excuse and with great intention. Same with our children – we are going to be parents “on purpose.” Spending quality time on a regular basis. Teaching and training them. Imparting God’s Word into them, not provoking them to anger, etc. We are going out of our way to make this happen in order to see God’s best in their lives and our lives as well. Other things, like having fun, reading and learning, being organized, being frugal and wise in our spending, etc. All will be done with the intentions of doing it the way we believe God is directing us and to see His goodness in every area.

The same is true with our relationship with God. What does our consecration look like? Are we spending time with God on a regular basis? Are we praying? Are we studying? All of these things have to be done with intent and purpose. They just don’t “happen,” we have to make them happen just like the items on my lengthy list in paragraph one. This is also my question to you – “What does your consecration time look like?” Is it daily, a couple days a week, a couple times a month??? Let’s get real and figure out where we really are with God.

I want to encourage all of you to take time to evaluate this area and make a decision to purposefully spend time with God daily. How this is done can look different for each and everyone of us. Here are some of the things Eddie and I do to spend time with God daily:

1. I am currently reading through the entire Bible going off of a schedule I received from church. It’s about three or four chapters a day. If you want a copy of this schedule, e-mail us here.

 

2. We read books on spiritual/Christian topics and make notes and go over the scripture references in the books by reading them in context in the Bible.

 

3. We watch DVD’s and listen to CD’s of our Pastor (really Pastors – we have two sets!). We also go online and listen to them and take notes. We listen to the same message many times repeatedly (not neccesarily in one day, but we may listen one day and then listen again the next day…and the next…).

 

4. I pray in the shower A LOT. I have my prayer confessions laminated and posted in there and I spend time praying the confessions and praying in the Holy Spirit.

 

5. We listen to the Word on CD while we sleep.

 

6. I journal my prayers to God and pray them while I write.

 

7. We are reading through the book of Proverbs (a book FULL of God’s instructions on wisdom), taking one chapter and reading through it each day for 10 days. We began on January 1st and will read Proverbs Chapter 1 until January 10th. So on January 11th, we will start Proverbs Chapter 2 and continue like that throughout the year. If you want the schedule for this, e-mail us here.

NOTE: WE DO ALL OF THESE IN A DAY – not just throughout the week. These are items we do EACH day.

Some other ideas for you:

• Read the Bible in a translation you understand and is easy to read for you (right now my favorite is the New Living Translation).

 

• Find a good devotional book to go through each day.

 

• Journal “life lessons” that you learned that day and try and locate scripture that support it.

Anyway, these are just some things I wanted to list out for you to either jumpstart you or further you along in your time spent with God. Eddie and I pray that this year you have more of God in your life than ever before!

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