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22 Jan 2020

Mariners JH Weekend in Review: Volume 3

By Josh Griffin|2020-01-21T09:38:25-08:00January 22nd, 2020|Games, Leadership, Mariners Youth Ministry, Teaching/Programming, Youth Ministry Hacks, Youth Ministry Ideas, Youth Pastor Life|1 Comment

Weekend Teaching Series: RESET: Jesus, Fresh Starts & Screaming Goats (week 3 of 4)

Sermon Synopsis: This week Doug Fields was back for a 3rd week in a row (what a way to start the New Year) teaching about the miracles of Jesus to our students. Doug used Sidekick Pick Me to have some fun with some students who used the “check in” system from the church when they arrived and kids loved seeing their name on the screen and win King Size candy, too! The emphasis of the message was on the Living Water and the Samaritan woman at the well. no pain, past or problem keeps Jesus from loving you.

Service Length: 66 minutes

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: We got to play the brand-spankin’ new Screaming or Fainting Goats Volume 2 game from DYM this week and as always that game is a huge hit. We also played into the goats theme with a clip from Justin Bieber’s Baby Baby Baby Goat music video which is a classic and made for a quick laugh, too. Attendance was a little down since 1/2 of the student ministry was at Winter Camp (also this weekend) but when you add them together it was a HUGE weekend for JH! Yeah … smart to have services for kids who couldn’t make it to camp while also going all in on the retreat, too.

Music Playlist: Alive, Only Wanna Sing

Takeaway: This week we had a couple of parent meetings that (for the first time in my ministry career) we’re actually well attended. Gave me hope! Had a blast playing games with parents, sharing the vision of the youth ministry and a short training by Doug. Get more details on that here!

Volunteer Involvement: This week our volunteers were WAY up again, but only because the team worked super hard to shake the trees to round up friends and family to serve this weekend. Most of our core leaders were away at Winter retreat, so we brought in an all-star substitute team for one week, and now it’s my job to recruit them to come regularly.

Everyone is up at Winter Camp except @DougFields who had to stay back and run junior high services @marinerschurch here’s a live look at the service now in progress: pic.twitter.com/PScCtsxmqf

— Josh Griffin (@joshuagriffin) January 18, 2020

Favorite Moment: I LOVE that we had full JH services while 1/2 of the ministry was away at Winter Camp. And I LOVE Doug being back in youth ministry! Ran point on this whole thing, practically alone. Ha! It’s so fun … I was away, too, speaking at a Winter Camp in Ohio, so missed this one but sure do love this church and team. What a weekend!

Up next: RESET (series finale, week 4 of 4)

17 Jan 2020

Generation Gap Game at Parent Night

By Josh Griffin|2020-01-16T10:28:04-08:00January 17th, 2020|Games, Mariners Youth Ministry, Parents, Teaching/Programming, Youth Ministry Ideas, Youth Pastor Life|8 Comments

So this game just absolutely crushed last night! Generation Gap was a huge hit for our parents, they loved knowing half of the answers because they were from their generation and were about flat stumped when we asked a question that today’s teenager would know. I want a sequel to this one! If you haven’t used it yet … almost guaranteed success. So fun!

Here is a great screen game to test the most retro students and the most hip adults! Get a team of students and a team of adults (or one of each) and see if they can name the popular item from the other person’s generation. The students must name popular things from the 80’s and 90’s, while the adults must name things from today’s student culture. It’s a great game to get adult leaders involved, or to play at a parent night!

JG

16 Jan 2020

FREEBIE: 3 Things on a Cracker

By Josh Griffin|2020-01-16T09:20:25-08:00January 16th, 2020|Games, Mariners Youth Ministry, Teaching/Programming, Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

On a previous episode of the More Than Dodgeball Show a while back (the Pilot Episode, by the way) we played a silly game called Put It On a Cracker where you have to guess what 3 things are on a cracker while being blindfolded. It’s a VERY hilarious intimidating game, and way more difficult than you may think, too! You can see us painfully playing it on this episode:

Well this week in our Junior High ministry we brought back the game and made it a bit more accessible. Each cracker is divided into really 3 rounds, where you identify 1 topping, then that 1 + another, then those 2 + another. So your tastebuds aren’t SO overwhelmed in one bite. It makes the game a bit longer but also makes it more fun and not just super gross. The students LOVED it, I was amazed at how they liked the reactions and laughed. It was a total hit …

So maybe it’ll be a hit in your youth group, too! We thought we would just give it away FREE on Download Youth Ministry – grab it right here!

JG

6 Aug 2018

My Fall Programming Picks Bundle

By allisonhibbard|2018-08-06T15:59:07-07:00August 6th, 2018|Games, Help Me With..., Teaching, Teaching/Programming, Uncategorized, Youth Ministry Ideas, Youth Ministry Resources|5 Comments

Hey friend!

I’ve done Fall planning in youth ministry for more than 20 years. Summer is over and I even managed to sneak in a few days of “staycation” – it’s time for Target “back to school” sales and Old Navy’s endless ads. I’m excited about what God did at summer camp and watched students grow, and I’m now asking God’s Spirit to guide me as I set the course for the Fall.

There’s a lot to process heading into this season—and a lot of opportunities and obstacles to be aware of. Here’s what I feel like learned over the years about heading into Fall:

Back to school means back to Jesus
Many students take off in the summer months or their schedule is just so random with vacations, sports camps and beach days that they can’t always be counted on to be a part of our youth ministry. My own kids experienced summer school, a first job and intense sports camps the past few months making for a crazy, always-running house. But going back to school is the grounding force that brings everyone back and the more formal schedule allows church to be dropped into the mix and a priority once again.

Momentum for the whole year starts in the fall
Momentum is a fickle thing, so the start of the school year with a big Fall Kickoff or Back to School bash feels like a good chance to rally students together and encourage them to make the right friends and participate in the right community. So I carry over any momentum from summer (a great camp, baptisms, etc.) and go right into a big Kickoff event and felt-need series to get everyone back in the groove. I want to launch small groups or mentoring around this time to keep the momentum rolling through Christmas to get to the New Year.

Familiar themes work great in the fall
I like to focus on some familiar themes in the Fall. They’re timeless… Honestly, I can get tired of teaching the same things every year, but they are too important to pass up – so I find a way to “reskin” these themes every year: purpose/identity, relationships and spiritual growth.

So having done this more than 20 times, I thought it might be fun to show you a plan for what the fall could look like, and wrap it up in one sweet bundle if you want to a) get a great deal and b) let me do the planning for you.

FALL KICKOFF

Weirdo (1-wk series)
T-shirt Frenzy (Sidekick file)
Locked Up for What (Game)

FIRST SERIES OF THE SCHOOL YEAR

Swipe Right (a completely revamped version of Facebook Official: a 5-wk series from me and Doug Fields)

Pair it with these games with an easy connection to a biblical truth from a purity/relationships series.

Maybe Baby Game
Ice Cream or Nail Polish
Who’s the Baby Daddy?
Birds Bees and Other Animals

SPIRITUAL GROWTH SERIES

Charged (2-wk series)
Week 1 game FAIL GUESS 2 (Sometimes we start a spiritual habit and fail. Enjoy some other failures!)
Fun countdown video Simon Says False Facts (The Bible is always true, when things all around us aren’t!)

A FEW ADDITIONAL TOOLS:

Instagram Story Icons (to help take your social media to a new level for Fall)
Parent Texts (Helping bridge the connection between your ministry and parents)

All of these resources have been written and created by youth pastors and trench-tested. That’s what DYM is all about! This is a great deal–$97 worth of resources for just $50–BUT if you become a yearly DYM Gold Member, you’ll get this bundle for FREE. We already call the Gold Membership ‘The Greatest Deal in the History of Youth Ministry’: (a new game, video, student leadership lesson, and mystery item on the first of the month every month, PLUS monthly store credit and DAILY discounts) but adding an additional $97 of free resources? That’s just too good to pass up! Click here to find out more about becoming a Gold Member.

Praying for an incredible fall!
Josh Griffin

20+ years youth pastor

Co-founder, Download Youth Ministry

P.S. – ADDED BONUS: Fall is also THE key time to train your volunteers, so I’m tossing in a $25 off code to unlimited, on-demand video training courses for you and your team on Download Youth Ministry University. It’ll revolutionize the way you train your leaders! https://www.dymuniversity.com/ (Psst! If you go Gold, you’ll save $50 on DYMU!)

30 Nov 2017

Best of 2017: Top-Selling Games in Youth Ministry

By Josh Griffin|2017-12-03T20:55:05-08:00November 30th, 2017|Games|5 Comments

The Best of 2017 is a collection of lists – best-selling resources, most buzzed about blog posts or products that moved the #youthministry needle this past year. Up first, we take on the games of the year. Out of literally 1000’s of games, these rose to the very top:

Best of 2017: Youth Ministry Games

GAME OF THE YEAR
Dead Cat
Imagine that your youth group was given a cat to take care of…now imagine that to keep this cat alive, your group would have to make some pretty ridiculous decisions when faced with even more ridiculous circumstances. Dead Cat is a video-based game in which your students get to choose their own adventure based on the choices that they make.

RUNNER UPS
Name That Sound
Chair Trivia
Did They Pumpkin Spice It: Volume 2
YouTube Showdown: Volume 3

HONORABLE MENTION
17 for 2017 Bundle

What was your vote for Game of the Year? What game surprised you? Any games that should have made the list and didn’t? Leave a comment below!

JG

UPDATE: You can buy this very bundle now in the DYM Store, too!

28 Nov 2017

FREE GAME IDEA: Christmas Wrap Battle

By Josh Griffin|2017-11-28T11:22:17-08:00November 28th, 2017|Games|0 Comments

Christmas Wrap Battle
shared with DYM by Matthew Fry

Supplies (Per Contestant)
– 2-3 empty boxes (shoe box size)
– 1 Pair of scissors
– 1 Thing of Scotch Tape
– 1 Thing of wrapping paper

Instructions
Select 3-4 students that will “battle” against each other in a “wrap battle.” Each student is given 2-3 boxes and must cover the boxes with wrapping paper as quickly as possible. Variations could be having students compete to see who can wrap their boxes the fastest or set a specific amount of time (1-2 minutes to keep things exciting) and have the audience vote on who wraps the boxes the best.

Prize Suggestion
The ugliest sweater Wal-Mart has to offer

3 Nov 2017

Custom Backgrounds in DYM Games!

By steveostudios|2017-11-03T08:36:00-07:00November 3rd, 2017|Games|0 Comments

DYM Games just got waaaaaay more customizable. In the past there were limitations to the customization… for example, building a game with Wheel of Destiny. Only so much of it could be changed, so it often ends up looking similar to other games created using the Wheel of Destiny.

It didn’t feel quite as new and fresh as a game with its own name, look, and feel… like the games you get from the DYM Store.

BUT NOT ANYMORE! We are thrilled to announce this very exciting new feature in DYM Games (1.6.5).

With this version we introduce the ability to add custom backgrounds, or choose from some already included backgrounds, to many of the builders in DYM Games. Couple this with the ability to have custom Title Slides and BAM! You have complete control of how your games look!

Check out how to make a sweet game in under two minutes using DYM Games.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi-Eih5q5vk]

We’ve also given a much needed facelift to the included games in DYM Games to show you how this new feature can make your games unique!

Calling all Authors!

If you have a .dymgame file that you have made, consider submitting them to DYM so other youth workers can play them in their ministry! You can find out more about becoming an author here.

You might be asking: How do I get these amazing updates?

To get the latest version of DYM Games, all you have to do is open up your current version. It should ask you to update automatically. If it doesn’t, you can go to https://dymgames.com to download the latest version.

You also might be asking: Wait, what is DYM Games?

Now, if you’re asking yourself “What is DYM Games?”, you should really spend the next minute-and-a-half watching this video… and then a few more minutes trying it out for FREE. You’ll thank me later!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiio3oFCmqA]

7 Sep 2017

New features in DYM Games – Trivia

By steveostudios|2017-09-01T05:56:10-07:00September 7th, 2017|Games|2 Comments

Trivia, one of the “game builders” in the DYM Games app, just got a whole lot more awesome! Check out these cool new features:

Facts

Now, you can add a fun fact after the answer to each question! Educate your students while you pummel them with ridiculous questions! Simply add the fact to the question and when the question is answered, you can display the fact! Easy as that!

A little confused?! No problem…watch this video to better understand this new feature:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xRqtGXUChM]

Open-ended questions

Multiple-choice is for chumps. Let’s make our games harder! Now, in Trivia, you can have open-ended questions! Make your audience really use their brain muscles! To do this is so simple (just don’t put in more than one answer!) DYM Games does all the work!

Check it out!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS0ZerpndoQ]

You might be asking: How do I get these amazing updates?

To get the latest version of DYM Games, all you have to do is open up your current version. It should ask you to update automatically. If it doesn’t, you can go to https://dymgames.com to download the latest version.

You also might be asking: Wait, what is DYM Games?

Now, if you’re asking yourself “What is DYM Games?”, you should really spend the next minute-and-a-half watching this video… and then a few more minutes trying it out for FREE. You’ll thank me later!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiio3oFCmqA]

5 Sep 2017

DYM Games Is Now Faster Than Ever!

By steveostudios|2017-09-11T06:57:53-07:00September 5th, 2017|Games|0 Comments

We’ve made A TON of performance improvements in the latest version of DYM Games (1.6.4), specifically around starting up the app and logging in. These aren’t just changing paint colors and adding a turbo button, so I want to give you more detail about three of these changes:

1. Faster app startup time!

DYM Games is now smoking-fast! We rebuilt DYM Games from the ground up. Without getting into any of the nitty-gritty code details (and believe me – we can!), this is important because it means the new version will start-up (on average) 2.5x faster than before!

There is nothing worse than those painful seconds of time as you wait for an app to load in the middle of service! (Actually, I can think of several things that are worse… running out of pizza at a volunteer training, losing a student on a mission trip, lock-in’s… but I digress…) But, since double-clicking on DYM Games now takes a LOT less time, we can scratch that fear off the list!

2. Login instantly

Some of you have had trouble logging into the app when you need it most: right before of during youth group! Say goodbye to that problem!

Let me explain…

On Wednesdays, a bunch of procrastinating youth pastors (we’re not pointing any fingers!) hit the DYM site to purchase and download resources for “TONIGHT!” Sound familiar? We’ve all been there…

In the past, this has caused issues logging into DYM Games. But no more! Now, DYM Games checks your membership status on a completely different server. Beep, boop, boop, beep. (If this means nothing to you, don’t worry about it. Just know that from now on, logging in should be painless.) Your DYM Games app should login faster than a middle-schooler can make any situation awkward. Huzzah!

Want hard proof? Take a look at this!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCQIhco5O2M]

3. Offline login

Finally, we noticed that even though our students have never lived without the internet, a lot of youth rooms still do! (Sorry, cheap shot.)

Now, as long as you’ve logged into DYM Games before (on that specific machine) AND your membership hasn’t expired yet, you can get in even without internet access!

You can check ahead of time by going to Account Info in the app… (Mac: DYM Games > Account Info | Windows: Help > Account Info) to see how many days you have left until you need to be on the internet to re-login.

We do have plans in the future to do some pretty cool things with DYM Games that will require internet access, so make sure that you get iaccess in your youth room!

You may be asking: How do I get these amazing updates?

To get the latest version of DYM Games, all you have to do is open up your current version. It should ask you to update automatically. If it doesn’t, you can go to https://dymgames.com to download the latest version.

You also might be asking: Wait, what is DYM Games?

Now, if you’re asking yourself “What is DYM Games”, then you should really spend the next minute-and-a-half watching this video… and then a few more minutes trying it out for FREE. You’ll thank me later!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiio3oFCmqA]

2 Aug 2017