Here we are with out next Youth Ministry Lite, your source for the best ideas, tips, and resources for Youth Ministry. Our first resource can be found at your nearest Lifeway Christian store and is titled, The Invitation. It is a cd which contains music by a variety of artists, scripture, and narration by Rick Warren, which takes the listener through an invitation to accept Christ. This is great to hand out to first time visitors, regulars whom you arent sure of their salvation, and for the teens to hand out themselves. They are only a buck a pop, a deal you can't pass by!
Our second resource is a tool which I have learned to use often, a poll/survey. You can create a survey on your lesson topic and let the teens fill it out and hand it in prior to class or you can create one to simply get to know the teens on a more personal level. The possiblities are endless and from my experience, the teens love to take a survey and they like hearing what their peers answered.
For our talk-sparker I want to discuss a very tricky topic. It's tricky because it requires the youth leader to take a stand. The topic is "creating a safe-haven" youth group. Now when I say safe-haven, I mean having a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bullying and picking. Every teen should be able to walk into your youth group and know that they will not be berated, bullied, or picked on. I am a stickler for this in my youth group and my teens know that so long as I am their youth leader, I am will not tolerate it. So how do you go about creating this environment? Here are a few tips to help you make your youth group a "safe-haven":
1. It starts by letting the teens know that you mean business.
2. Hold your teens accountable. Talk one on one with any offenders, build them up and let them know they are better than that. If you have repeat offenders, find out why they bully and come up with a plan to prevent it from happening again.
3. When you see it happen (since we arent living in a perfect world), handle it immediately! You've got to keep your eyes and ears open at all times.
4. Make sure there is always a teen to youth leader ratio of 5:1. If this isnt possible right off the bat, begin recruiting! Pray and begin asking. Enlist the help of adults whose sole purpose is to be your "Eagle Eyes", you can even come up with a clever name for them. Meet with them as a group and train them in how you want them to handle any bullying situations and what constitues bullying. Always talk with them about any incidents they handle.
Have a great week and I'll see you soon!
Showing posts with label youth workers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label youth workers. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Youth Ministry Lite #7
Welcome to this weeks Youth Ministry Lite. We have some great resources and ideas so lets get right to it! Our first highlight is the book, Choose Your Top 3...500 Dynamic Discussion Starters to Get Your Teenagers Talking by Brian Schulenburg. This is a must have for anyone involved with Youth Ministry and is a resource you can use as often as you like. You can start off each meeting with one, use it for discussion nites where you choose a couple funny ones and a couple serious ones, and the so on.
Our second highlight is something I came up with and have been using for numerous months with my teens, weekly announcements. At first thought you think, "How boring. Why do this?". The announcements I handout each Wednesday nite consist of a scripture, News (youth group and the world- (funny or very important), a topic to discuss with their parents, prayers/praises, stats, and more. The key is to make them fun and interesting for your teens. They don't take much time to put together and have been a blessing for us.
Our talk-sparker this week is about keeping a positive attitude as a leader, which can be hard to do at times. I was reading Phil. 1:12-30, which tells about Paul when he is in prison. Regardless of where Paul was and what he was going through, he stayed focused on his mission and kept a good attitude when doing it. As a leader, we can either surrender to our circumstances or we can surrender to a cause so great, our circumstances won't matter. So the next time your down because the teens act like they don't care or you're struggling to get through to that one student who just doesn't get it, remember what your purpose is and that a good attitude goes a long ways.
For the Students and Because of Him,
Ashley E.
Our second highlight is something I came up with and have been using for numerous months with my teens, weekly announcements. At first thought you think, "How boring. Why do this?". The announcements I handout each Wednesday nite consist of a scripture, News (youth group and the world- (funny or very important), a topic to discuss with their parents, prayers/praises, stats, and more. The key is to make them fun and interesting for your teens. They don't take much time to put together and have been a blessing for us.
Our talk-sparker this week is about keeping a positive attitude as a leader, which can be hard to do at times. I was reading Phil. 1:12-30, which tells about Paul when he is in prison. Regardless of where Paul was and what he was going through, he stayed focused on his mission and kept a good attitude when doing it. As a leader, we can either surrender to our circumstances or we can surrender to a cause so great, our circumstances won't matter. So the next time your down because the teens act like they don't care or you're struggling to get through to that one student who just doesn't get it, remember what your purpose is and that a good attitude goes a long ways.
For the Students and Because of Him,
Ashley E.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Youth Ministry Lite #6
Hello Once Again! What a week it has been. Last weekend our church hosted "The Great Youth Event" and had Jason McLeod, who starred in Facing The Giants and Fireproof, as our guest speaker. It was amazing! I realized my next column needed to be written and her I am a bit late. A couple of weekends ago I watched one of the best films I have ever seen, Defiance. Now, while it isn't a "Christian" film per say, I feel safe in recommending it. The film only had a couple of curse words in it, but you can screen the film, know when they are said, and mute or run over them. I only recommend it for high school students and older. The film tells the true story of the Bielski brothers who hid in the forests in order to hide from the Nazis. By the time the brothers were able to safely come out of the forest, they were accompanied by over 1200 fellow Jews. These brothers managed to pull of the biggest Jews saving Jews venture of the WWII. Their story is extremely powerful and relays the message to never give up. This is a great film for movie night. Make sure you let the parents know what you will be showing and how you plan on combating the few curse words. Also explain to them why you are showing this film in particular.
Our second highlight today is the game "Bible Ball". All you need to play is a small-medium sized ball and a group of teens. Have your students sit in a circle and explain how the game works: You (youth leader) will throw the ball to one of the students, upon catching the ball the student must name one thing from the category you have chosen. Let's say the category is men of the bible, the teens must name someone like Moses or Adam. Once they have said their answer they then pass the ball to whoever they want. You will have to make the rules of no hard throws and must give everyone a chance. Have several categories prechosen and when a student cant come up with an answer...they are out. The last 1-2 left are the winners. This is a great game to get the teens loosened up, as well as reinforcing basic bible knowledge.
For this weeks talk sparker, I want to talk about making mistakes and what to do. What I want to say is summed up by this little saying: Good People - Weak Moments. How true this is. As Youth Leaders, we talk a lot about what things the teens should stay away from and how they should act, but have you ever taken the time to talk with them about what they should do WHEN (not if) they mess up. None of us are expected to be perfect, we are human and as humans we are going to slip up at times. You need to make sure that your teens are aware of this often overlooked fact and then walk them through handling the aftermath of their mistake. This little illustration may help them better understand: The only difference between a sinner and a saint, is a saint picks himself back up when he falls down. He doesn't wallow in his mistakes. Give the teens solid real life guidance in what to do. They will appreciate it more than you will know.
Our second highlight today is the game "Bible Ball". All you need to play is a small-medium sized ball and a group of teens. Have your students sit in a circle and explain how the game works: You (youth leader) will throw the ball to one of the students, upon catching the ball the student must name one thing from the category you have chosen. Let's say the category is men of the bible, the teens must name someone like Moses or Adam. Once they have said their answer they then pass the ball to whoever they want. You will have to make the rules of no hard throws and must give everyone a chance. Have several categories prechosen and when a student cant come up with an answer...they are out. The last 1-2 left are the winners. This is a great game to get the teens loosened up, as well as reinforcing basic bible knowledge.
For this weeks talk sparker, I want to talk about making mistakes and what to do. What I want to say is summed up by this little saying: Good People - Weak Moments. How true this is. As Youth Leaders, we talk a lot about what things the teens should stay away from and how they should act, but have you ever taken the time to talk with them about what they should do WHEN (not if) they mess up. None of us are expected to be perfect, we are human and as humans we are going to slip up at times. You need to make sure that your teens are aware of this often overlooked fact and then walk them through handling the aftermath of their mistake. This little illustration may help them better understand: The only difference between a sinner and a saint, is a saint picks himself back up when he falls down. He doesn't wallow in his mistakes. Give the teens solid real life guidance in what to do. They will appreciate it more than you will know.
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