Category: youth ministry

  • Towards Holistic Youth Ministry

    degrees-360I’ve been blogging the Harbor Mid-City journey as we head towards a launch of student ministry. Up until now in the life cycle of the church plant youth ministry has always been around– part of the DNA– but never emerged as a priority. That’s changing rapidly as the church has formed to the point where ministering to adolescents is bubbling to the top of needs.

    Here is where we are:

    – We are doing a “soft launch” next Tuesday. 8-10 students are coming to one of the pastors house where we will eat dinner, get to know one another, we’ll crack open the Bible, and break off into discussion groups.

    – We’ve got a core team of 4 to start “youth group” with. (That doesn’t seem like the right term, but it’s what we have.)

    – We are creating a ministry aimed at ministering to the whole needs of our students. So Tuesday night youth group is really just one part of the greater sum of what we’re doing. We already offer mentorship, we’ll be adding to that academic help, regular community service projects, leadership development, and family assistance and probably more stuff as we go. The antithesis of what we’re after is entertainment.

    – For now, we’re focusing on high school and recent graduates. The church has a pretty solid kids ministry and for now, that’s where the middle schoolers will be ministered to.

    – For the first quarter, we are meeting in a house. But an early goal is to secure a meeting site somewhere more suitable.

    – Unlike anywhere else I’ve worked with students… getting rides is a big deal.

    – The concept of plural leadership seems to be in the DNA of what we’re creating. I’ve committed to leading up to 25%. For now that means I’m in charge of content. (Either teaching or lining up the teaching, but helping develop the content for the group.)

    – There’s a lot of excitement as we get started. I’d call it naive but the truth is that there’s a lot of experience in the leadership group. We know what we’re getting into and we’re pumped at what God is doing!

    – I think it’s a good idea that we don’t have all of the details, vision, and particulars nailed. Since we already have a solid group of students to launch with… it just seems better to launch with what we have and line-up the rest as we go.

    – We are looking to learn. I’m picking the brains of the urban youth workers I know, putting feelers out to meet more, and our team is all doing the same thing. We know we aren’t inventing something even though it feels like it.

    – Yes, we have a sexy acronymn for what we’re doing. I just can’t remember it.

  • Youth Group vs. Youth Ministry

    Youth Group vs. Youth Ministry

    Last night I sat around a table with some people to talk about youth ministry in our church. As I’ve mentioned a number of  times, our church is in a working class neighborhood of San Diego. We are a community of people with tangible needs. There is real poverty. Real educational problems. Real family trouble. Real gangs. Real violence. Not that life in the suburbs is all perfect, but the needs of students in City Heights are different from their peers just 6 miles to the East in La Mesa. It’s outside of my evangelical, middle class, white culture. And that’s what I like about it.

    Thankfully, there was a ton of agreement around the table. We all can see that we need a ministry and not just another program. And we know that our little ministry has no hope if it isn’t holistic. This is an opportunity to live out more of the Gospel practically than we’ll teach formally.

    I came home last night with one phrase: “We want to create a youth ministry, not a youth group.” As we defined that, we implied that youth group points inwardly and creates a cluster of kids around a common purpose. Not intrinsically bad, just not our target. Instead, we are trying to form a ministry that looks at the whole person and pushes those students out into the world, transformed to transform their world. While I have no doubt that we’ll do youth group-type things… retreats, events, Bible studies, and stuff like that. That won’t be our focus.

    As I shared last week. I’m not in this to waste my time or keep busy. Not being on the church’s staff changes my perspective completely. Oddly enough, not being on paid staff emboldens me even more!

    I’m interested in developing leaders for influence in their culture, I’m interested in upsetting Satan’s plans, I’m interested going where the kids are, and I’m interested in sharing leadership. I’m not interested in a group, to babysit and entertain the apathetic. It seems like those parameters are common with the others in the group of people trying to figure it out.

    Shared values are a good place to start. Going to the next step, I feel pretty good about beginning something that is focused first on ministering to students.

    Photo credit: Camaradas by Julián D Gaitán via Flickr (Creative Commons)
  • How Far is Too Far, part 2

    How Far is Too Far, part 2

     

    I haven’t otherwise answered the post from a few days ago, so here are the notes from my talk on Wednesday night. I’ll be getting caught up on all my talk notes over at the LF site pretty soon.

    (more…)

  • Moving Onward

    Moving Onward

    This is just one of those observation posts. It’s what I’m seeing from the corner office of my life.

    The summer between high school and college is both exciting and depressing at the same time for graduates. Unlike any other class, I got really attached the class of 2006. And, whether they like to admit it or not, they got attached to Kristen and I. It was a great 3 years with them. I love them, I don’t regret my time invested in them, I can’t wait to continue being a part of their lives as we begin the transition from Pastor-Student to Pastor-Adult. It brings me a lot of joy to have been apart of their lives and to know that I get to be a part of the next stages of their lives somehow. (If they let me share it!)

    But their time with me, at least in the form they have known it, is ending. It’s a natural cycle in youth ministry as graduates leave and new students come in. We have no other choice but to let the graduates leave and pick up our boots and begin investing in the next group. Every single year it is hard on the ones leaving. Trust me, it’s hard on Kristen and I as well.

    What about them? Perhaps the hardest part for the class of 2006 is knowing that the things they were working so hard on are not completed yet. Being a part of the beginning process is never as much fun as being in the glory days of the final product. This is extremely evident to them in two areas:

    1. Music. For 3 years we’ve struggled to get music off the ground in Light Force. The worship team has worked hard and prayed hard and done everything possible to jump start music. It’s been good but during their time we weren’t able to get it to the final stages of development. We had always hoped it would get there… and it just didn’t. Obviously, this summer we’ve taken it to a different level with having Dave here. It’s not that we don’t appreciate everything they’ve done… we’re just finally getting it going and somehow I sense they are frustrated. But they need to know that even if it didn’t happen through them… they set it up so that it could happen.

    2. Leadership development. I’ve invested in them, they’ve done a great job. Now I can feel their frustration at our investing in younger people. Our time isn’t exclusively theirs anymore… and that’s a bitter pill to swallow. At the same time… they are leaving and it’s time to begin the process of doing with a new crew what we have done with them… of course it will be different and hopefully even better. But that pill is awful bitter nonetheless. (A pill made more bitter as they see my time most invested in Dave this summer.)

    All this to say, while the youth ministry cycle is at times harsh and at times may seem unfair, it is a cycle. We have no choice but to, for lack of a better term, move forward. God’s agenda is not limited to the past. Instead we invest in the here and now for His glory. In the same way that I expect my graduates to take what they’ve learned and embrace the next stage in life, I challenge the up and comers to take the batton, step up and take Light Force to a whole ‘nother level.

    It’s a little easier for me to say that because I’ve experienced it many times. As a student, as a volunteer, and as a youth guy. I see it coming and even though I warn the seniors it’s coming… every single year they don’t.

    p.s. The best thing about recent graduates is seeing them come back the first time from college. It’s then that they see how time just marches on. Is that an evil thought?

  • This morning I sat outside in the brisk cold air and read my morning devotions. As I was too tired to do my read.walk.think.pray devos… I sat beside a stone wall across the road from the Methodist College’s chapel and read, thought, and prayed.

    I was there about an hour or so since breakfast wasn’t until 9:00 AM. (Irish people sleep in and I get up around 5:30!) As I sat there I was a bit distracted by a large seagull at the steeple of this church building. He was cawing like crazy and getting on my nerves! It took me a little while to realize that he was protecting his turf on the steeple from another seagull who wanted his spot. Every minute or so the seagull to his left would get a foot closer or so… too close for the bird on it’s perch. So he would caw and scream and stamp his feet in anger. As the hour went on the two got closer and closer making racket all the while.

    As I think about this and the troubles [as they call them] here in Belfast I can honestly come to the conclusion that the groups here are so divided so deeply that even the birds fight just to fight about nothing. Of course, it’s nothing to me… Because I’m not involved… But it is important to them. Just like the birds this morning.

    In our training we’ve learned a fair amount about the troubles. We know what to look out for and we know some background information. But we don’t understand it. We know that in about 30 years of these troubles there have been about 3600 people murdered… Half of them innocent bystanders. [Contrast that with gang and crime in Detroit for the last 30 years and Belfast seems like Mayberry!] We know that 90% of the crimes go unpunished. We know that the factions now look more like gangs in some way since they have started to generate income by selling drugs.

    Peace. Is it possible in Northern Ireland? I think so. I am stupid enough to think that Christ’s love compels people like our team to action for change. This change begins with introducing kids, students, and parents to the Peacemaker. We’ve been trained and had drilled into us the simple thought that we can change this world with our service. It’s my prayer that what God does here is merely the beginning for these 8 folks from Romeo. Our goal has always been and continues to be bridging this experience here to home and igniting a passion for evangelism in Romeo that starts with these 8 and spreads to the rest of our church family. Please pray for that!

    Updates
    As I type this, all of the teams are packing for departure. We’ve had a great time here at Methody but it is time to go. We won’t be staying up late and learning new Irish terms or watching couple sneak off to go snoggin’ or hopping the fence to go snag fish & chips before curfew. [They lock the gates one hour before curfew… We’re like a bunch on Mexicans!] It’s time for us to head to our towns and get down to business.

    Last night was one of the most powerful worship services I have ever been to. I’m not sure I can explain it. Awesome music. Jon described it as the best worship he’s ever experienced. He was greatly moved.

    Beth is doing great. She’s headed to a town that is pronounced “Maura.” She thinks her team is great… They are all a lot like her. Quiet, studious, considerate, and highly influential. She’s been a great help to me this week in helping all of us adjust to team life.

    Dawn is very ready to go. She will have the most internet access of all of us so expect to hear from her. I am very excited to see what God has in store for her in Ballyclaire. [I think that’s her town!]

    Katie and Autumn are ready for Kilelea. They’ve been told their work will be hard but rewarding. Please pray that their team would get really tight. Also pray for Autumn… No major homesickness yet… But one asthma attack last night might bring that on. [SHE IS FINE, relax Barb… We’ve got Beth!]

    Jon has it all together as his team is headed to the 2nd largest town in NI. Partadown. They will be working with an existing youth group that needs a serious kick in the pants. Portadown is about the size of the Romeo area…. Yeah, that’s right. 40,000 qualifies as the 2nd largest town.

    Andrea had a very happy birthday. Lots and lots of singing and embarrassing moments. She’s been told her town is pretty rough… If you know Andrea you know that makes her excited.

    Lisa is headed up to Monkstown. I know we were told before that this was a high crime area. It is. But never fear, Lisa has a massive Highland Games guy that is a former bouncer. He’s more protective of his teammates that I could be.

    Adam I guess that leaves me. We have a very loud team. We’re going to be taking little 5 miletown by storm. I don’t think the pastor was lying when she said emphatically “all of Fivemiletown” is waiting for you. The 4 churches, about 900 families, have a combined active student population of 5. That’s not a type-O. 5 in Fivemiletown!

    Prayer requests: Safety on the roads is a major thing. Europe has very, very narrow road. And yes there are road hazards like cows and sheep to contend with. There was a YFC staffer killed in a motorcycle accident just 2 nights ago. His name was Matthew. Team health. We’ve been told that many team members have reported mysterious extreme pain in their hands and feet in previous years. Pray that Satan would be bond from here while our work is going on. Team group dynamics. Putting this many cultures together in a stressful environment will be crazy. All of our teams have several nations represented. Pray for our leaders as the travel around fixing problems on teams. They are judged and jury and will be stressed out. I’ve been told I will get to go around and visit all of the Romeo team next week… Pray for wisdom since I am not sure I want to do that. Pray for me as I will be preaching on 7/31. I hope they can understand my accent and that I don’t say anything that has a meaning I don’t understand! Pray for Dawn’s team. There is a team member they have already decided to “vote off the island” as he is very very rude!

    Last thing. I’ve added more pictures. Check them out in the gallery.

  • YS Forum Credibility

    YS Forum Credibility

    I’ve wanted to do this for a while. But I thought it would be fun to run through the top 50 most active list of YS Forum posters and just give my simple gut reactions about what I know of them. I don’t think I’ve ever personally met ANY of the top 50. This isn’t done to judge or anything, it’s just what I think.

    Here’s the Top 25 posters… I’ll do the rest later.

    My scale will be 1-10 on my “credibility chart”

    1. DKST0426 6 Derek is a cool guy. A fellow golfer. But he is so involved in the fun discussions that when I read his posts I have a hard time taking him seriously. (See blog link)
    2. Deneice 8 Deneice strikes me as an intense person who longs to have fun… but struggles to. I respect her openess in her struggle and I know that she knows pain. (See her blog link)
    3. amzgrc 7 How did he get so many posts? When Brian posts seriously, I listen. He often has excellent things to say. (See his blog link)
    4. MSLeader 6 I don’t think I’ve interacted with this poster very often. He’s got some good resources, a nice perspective.
    5. TML N/A I have no idea who this is. All the posts must be on the back-end.
    6. wmhartz 4 I used to respect Bill a lot more. But he so rarely posts anything of value. Sorry! I’m sure he is good at what he does though… we would probably get along in person.
    7. AtypicalGirl 8 Spunky and fun. Always has good things to say. She strikes me as not being super experienced in ministry… but has a great perspective.
    8. Xtreme_Xian 6 Old X has had his moments. At times he can be good and thought provoking. But most of the time he can just be argumentative for no reason. Seems overly concerned with his point of view.
    9. Casper 9 Very good guy. Rarely if ever read a post that I didn’t like.
    10. POPYouthGal 6 Hangs out mostly in the silly areas. But I’ve also seem some good questions posed and some nice answers.
    11. Sir Andy Of Here 9 A solid admin person. I like the fact that he still posts whatever he wants even though he’s gotten slapped with a forum title. I listen to what Andy says.
    12. Ruthless 10 She lives up to her name. Very respected by all.
    13. drew That’s me… I have no idea where I stand with people.
    14. strongbadgirl 6 Rarely read her posts. Hangs out mostly in the misc. category.
    15. barndog 7 Low rating reflects only that I’ve never really had much interaction. Can’t think of many discussions he’s jumped on.
    16. mac 6 No real reason… just doesn’t have a lot of cred with me.
    17. preacherphelps 6 Still feels pretty new. Can’t think of a lot of discussions I’ve seen with him as a big player.
    18. JeffPom 8 I’d like to read more of his posts.
    19. youthministerman 8 Same as above.
    20. Schnerples 9 I really like the way he handles himself on the boards.
    21. mbrow 7 Don’t know too well
    22. Pastor Matthew 9 Been a good moderator. But he also has had a lot of good things to say.
    23. StMarysLoren 5 Don’t think I’ve ever really seen her outside of the misc. category.
    24. kitkatyouthmin 5 Other than being Derek’s girlfriend… I don’t think I know much about her. She’s really nice but I would like to see her contribute more to the think tank.
    25. whd507 5 A NorCal boy… he strikes me as making loads of mistakes in the name of ministry. I lost a lot of respect for him over the IRS thing.

    Isn’t this fun? I’m sure I’ll take flack for having this list out there…. but it’s only what I think. If you don’t like it, no one is forcing you to read it. I’ll do 26-50 later.

  • Getting past Daniel 9

    Getting past Daniel 9

    Last night went pretty well. I don’t I lost too many students as our group worked it’s way past one of the “big Baptist passages” of Scripture. Not being the hugest fan of the pre-trib view I think I was able to skirt past it, was true to the passage, and didn’t turn it into a stump speech for a view that I officially hold, but largely question.

    As I was getting ready this morning I was realizing how much I’ve tried to avoid teaching that passage. In our Bible Study we skipped over chapter 9 and went straight to chapter 10. I’m not exactly sure why I had stressed myself so much, but I had. I am thankful to be done with it.

    I am greatly looking forward to next week. I plan on working about 1/4 time to make up for the hectic fall I’ve had so far. There won’t be much going on here, and Light Force is cancelled, so I can just relax and spend some time with the kids.

    I dropped off Megan this morning at pre-school. She is such a strong willed little girl. She made sure to bring doggie. This was somehow tied into her fantasy that the day we took in batteries for Ele-fun was going to be doggie’s 5th birthday party at school. Doggie has his 5th birthday party at our house no less than 4 days per week, but this is the first time she’s ever forced it on the kids at school. One day soon the little wolves in her class are going to give her a fantasy reality check and she will be very sad. It will be a bittersweet moment for my precious baby girl. The big news in her life is that there is a thanksgiving breakfast party today in her pre-school class. Even though she wasn’t really looking forward to it, I am sure it will be a nice memory.

  • Leave a Legacy

    Leave a Legacy

    Well, all day I’ve been working on and thinking about this legacy talk. Some people on the YS boards don’t think that legacy thinking is important. One person quoted Rich Mullins and said, “leaving a legacy is fleshly.” Really? I don’t think so. I maintain that millions of people come and go on this planet with no legacy because they never desired to leave one.

    Another helpful thought. All people, on some level, and especially those in leadership, leave a legacy of some kind. In my opinion, it’s your rationale choice to build a positive one.

    _______________________-

    Not every person gets to leave a legacy

    ? Millions of people come and go… with no real legacy left to show for it.

    ? Theirs is a lifestyle of mediocrity. Perhaps they were well liked at work, married a long time, raised some kids, worked real hard and had a good life. But at the end of the day, there passing is just a name on a sign as people drive by or a small obituary in a local newspaper.

    ? For many of us, this is our reality. We are stuck thinking that we will live our lives with no legacy, at least not a positive one. We fear that our lives will be judged by failure. We fear this so much that we are paralyzed into doing nothing.

    ? We never make waves in the world

    ? We quietly blend in

    ? We have to introduce ourselves to people all the time, no one ever introduces us

    ? We have some ideas, but never feel like we can voice them and lack the confidence to step out on our own.

    ? When we pass on, or even move away people are sad for a moment… but they quickly move on.

    ? But for others, a legacy is born when a person moves on that lasts generations.

    ? There are 3 kinds of these people

    • Superheroes

    o Abe Lincoln- brought a broken nation together

    o Thomas Jefferson- wrote words that govern us today

    o JFK- Took us to the moon, led a generation to dream big

    o MLK- Spoke for the little guy, his dream carries on in the hearts and minds of minority peoples everywhere.

    ? When these men died, nations stopped. Millions took notice. The nation mourned together. A generation of people can mark the moment when they heard the news that that person had died. Public memorials were built, institutions sprung up to bear their name and legacy. Streets and schools are re-named.

    • Personal legacy bearers

    o Barney Hazen

    ? Kristen’s grandfather.

    ? Had two jobs his whole adult life

    ? Sang in the church choir for decades

    ? Was the churches gardener for as long as anyone could remember

    ? Though I barely knew him, I was deeply effected by the massive outpouring of love to mark his death

    ? He quietly, even secretly, served and looked out for others. He helped many and led many to Jesus.

    ? My son bears his legacy.

    o Larry Wendt

    ? We see his legacy alive and well in his sons today.

    ? The faithfulness he displayed in his life is being carried out by Sean and Eric, they don’t have to think about it… they just do it.

    • Biblical legacies

    o Moses, Joseph, Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, The list goes on and on…

    Tonight we have a chance to look at the legacy of Joshua, the leader of Israel through it’s most triumphant time in history. It’s found in the last chapter of the book bearing his name, Joshua 24.

    Before we get too far, it’s good to take a look at an evaluation that’s written of his life and legacy.

    Joshua 24:31- “Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.”

    There is no higher compliment for a man then that, is there?

    No president, or athlete, or preacher or king has left a legacy quite like Joshua’s.

    But what is this legacy?

    Read Joshua 24:1

    In the following verse, Joshua rehashed all the God has done for the nation of Israel from the time of Abraham until that very moment.

    Having covered all of that history, of mans victories and failures, or God’s tremendous faithfulness and terrible judgements… he leaves them with this challenge.

    Joshua 24:15 “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”

    – Here Joshua was stating something that all of us have to deal with as well.

    – You must each make an individual decision that you must act on… are you going to serve God?

    In the second half of 24:15, we see Joshua’s simple phrase that shaped many that day. He says, “Y’all can do what you want, but me and my people… we’re going to follow the Lord.”

    This is something that each of us have the chance to do in our own lives and in our own families. Why? Because it’s an individual commitment!

    – It’s not dependent on your parents faithfulness, but on your own.

    – It doesn’t matter that you meet people who are hypocrites who use the name of Jesus

    – When you make an individual choice to follow the Lord, it’s not dependent on anyone else… but you and your actions.

    Then something weird happened.

    Joshua throws down his gauntlet, says “Y’all can do what you want, but me and my people… we’re going to follow the Lord.”

    Joshua didn’t say this like it was at a pep rally or anything… but he got a pep rally response!

    So Joshua was said “Y’all can do what you want, but me and my people… we’re going to follow the Lord.”

    And the people said “So are we!”

    And Joshua says “You better not say that unless you mean it!”

    And they say “We mean it!”

    And Joshua says “Well, if you mean it and go back on your word… God’s going to punish you.”

    They say “No, you don’t understand…. We want to be like you. We will follow the Lord!”

    So Joshua and the people got together and drew up a promise, a covenant that they made that day.

    Read Joshua 24:16-24.

    We all have that choice to make, don’t we?

    I’m not talking about the choice of whether to become a Christian or not.

    Those people back there in Joshua’s keep weren’t going to cease being God’s people if they didn’t make this covenant. But this was a rationale choice they were making between themselves and God… a covenant to follow God.

    Again, we see Joshua’s legacy in 24:31, “Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.”

    Tonight, I want to ask you to make a decision like that.

    I want you to be able to point to tonight as a moment where your legacy starts.

    Where you make an individual decision to follow the Lord.

    A line in the sand where you can say “yesterday… I did things different. But tonight, I want to give myself over to the Lord.”

    I want to make an individual choice.

    In the next few minutes, we’re going to give you some time to make that choice. We’re all going to close our eyes and quietly reflect. And if you want to, and I mean really want to, we’re going to give you the chance to stand up and come up here… then when the music fades, we’re all going to stand here and pray for you by name…

    Pray