The Download Youth Ministry Blog } DYM Blog w/ Doug Fields. Josh Griffin & more!/
26 Mar 2024

Exciting New Updates to This Year’s National Day of Volunteer Youth Ministry Training

By |2024-03-26T00:10:31-07:00March 26th, 2024|Leadership, Training, Volunteers|0 Comments

This video-driven, fun, and momentum-building event, with practical youth ministry training for your volunteers, is back for it’s 6th year! And we’ve made some exciting updates to ensure it’s tailored perfectly for you and your team.

  1. NEW: You get to CHOOSE the training date!
    We’ll deliver the training to you on August 1st, 2024!
  2. NEW: Customize the training how you want the day to go.
    The training will be hosted on Coleader, which means you can customize it however you’d like! Lots of flexibility… you can choose to make it shorter or longer.
  3. NEW: Gold/Gold+ Members get 35% off!
    Only $161 to own exclusively for your church or $259 to host (before April 1)! Learn more about Gold and Gold+.
  4. NEW: Gift it to your community or CHARGE for admission!
    Those who host can charge whatever they want. You’re in control of the pricing. Use it as a fundraiser or invite people to come for FREE.
  5. NEW: Platinum Members get the training included in their membership! Learn more about Platinum.
  6. NEW: Training topics & NEW speakers just announced!

Doug Fields
Author, Speaker and co-founder of Download Youth Ministry

Kristen Lascola
Junior High Pastor, North Coast Church and creator/host of “The Ministry Coach” podcast

Josh Griffin
Junior High Pastor at Mariners Church, Speaker and co-founder of Download Youth Ministry

Oza Jones
Director of African American Ministries for The Texas Baptists Convention

Zach Luben
Director of Chapel, Seaver College, Pepperdine University

Brock Morgan
Associate Pastor of The Bridge Chino, Speaker and Author of 20 books including The Anxious Teen

Jessica Sanchez
Youth Worker, Spiritual Director and part of the Download Youth Ministry team

Sean McDowell
Author, Speaker and Biola University Christian Apologetics Professor

 

2024 TRAINING TOPICS

Why your Youth Pastor NEEDS your Teamwork

5 Secrets of a Veteran Volunteer

Effective Up-close Discipleship

The Power of Asking Questions

Navigating Youth Group Drama

Faith Formation to the iPhone Generation

When Interruptions Become Ministry Opportunities

The Anxious Teen: Ministry That Builds Resilience and Connection to God

 

Prices increase on April 1st, sign up now to save $50!

Have questions?

Reach out to our team [email protected] – we’d love to connect with you!

25 Mar 2024

Empowering Students in Evangelism: The Power of ‘Who Is Your One?’

By |2024-03-25T09:04:17-07:00March 25th, 2024|Youth Ministry Ideas|2 Comments

When it comes to evangelism, many students find the concept overwhelming. The idea of going out and telling all their friends about Jesus can seem daunting. There’s a common misconception that evangelism requires boldness, public speaking, or street preaching. However, there’s a simpler and more effective approach that breaks down this big idea into something more manageable and realistic: “Who Is Your One?”

“What is ‘Who Is Your One’?”

“Who Is Your One” is an initiative we have been doing in our ministry that encourages students to be intentional about reaching out to a friend they already have who doesn’t know Jesus. It’s about nurturing existing relationships, being there for them, praying for them, inviting them to church, and engaging in conversations about faith. The goal is for students to demonstrate their own relationship with Jesus through their friendship, ultimately leading their friend to a deeper understanding of faith.

This approach to evangelism is rooted in Jesus’ own interactions with people. He often spent time with individuals, inviting himself into their lives and showing them love and acceptance, regardless of their background or beliefs. It’s a relational approach that students can relate to and implement in their own lives.

Why “Who Is Your One” Matters:

In our ministry, “Who Is Your One” has been instrumental in driving growth and impact over the last two years. By encouraging students to focus on just one person, we’ve seen a significant increase in effectiveness and engagement.

How We Implemented “Who Is Your One”:

  • Vision Series: At the beginning of the school year, we introduced the concept of “Who Is Your One” through a dedicated vision series. This series laid the foundation for why this initiative is important and challenged our students to take action.
  • Business Cards: We created business cards with the prompt “My one is ________,” allowing students to fill in the name of their chosen person. These cards served as a daily reminder and were also shared with small group leaders for accountability.
  • Leader Training: We provided training for our leaders at the start of the school year to equip them with the tools and understanding to support their students in reaching their “one.”
  • Curriculum Integration: We integrated “Who Is Your One” updates into our curriculum, ensuring that the topic was regularly addressed in small group discussions.
  • Storytelling: We shared stories of success from our campuses, highlighting instances where someone’s “one” had come to church and started a relationship with Jesus. These stories served as inspiration and motivation for students.
  • Celebration: We celebrated students and leaders who embraced the “Who Is Your One” initiative, both privately and publicly. Recognizing their efforts encouraged others to follow suit.
  • Service Integration: We made sure to incorporate “Who Is Your One” into every service, reinforcing its importance and keeping it at the forefront of our ministry culture.

The Impact of “Who Is Your One”:

By empowering students to own and embrace the concept of “Who Is Your One,” we’ve witnessed a transformation in how we approach evangelism. Students are better equipped and motivated to reach out to their friends, knowing that they have the support and encouragement of their community.

The beauty of “Who Is Your One” lies in its simplicity and accessibility. It doesn’t require fancy events or elaborate strategies. It’s about genuine friendship and creating a safe space where students feel comfortable inviting their friends to explore faith together.

“Who Is Your One” is not just a program; it’s a mindset shift that empowers students to be ambassadors of Jesus in their own circles. By focusing on one person at a time, students can make a meaningful impact and share the love of Christ in a tangible and relatable way. Let’s continue to nurture this culture of evangelism and support students as they embark on this journey of faith and friendship.

– Justin

Need help with a resource from DYM? We got you!

Want to get your students moving? Our faith is meant to be one of action. Get your students to understand these 3 key teachings from the life of Christ, all including the challenge to “GO”:

22 Mar 2024

Meet A Sidekick Hero: Zak Cummings

By |2024-03-23T06:39:16-07:00March 22nd, 2024|Sidekick Hero Blog|0 Comments

From Doug: I’ve only met Zak Cummings briefly… actually, I seem to remember playing him in pickleball a few years ago… but I know a lot of people who know him really well, and from what I can tell, Zak is the kind of youth worker that commits 128% (no, seriously, I heard something about him dressing up as a court jester and a cowboy for most of high school camp??). He’s the youth pastor of a growing youth ministry at The Chapel in McHenry, Illinois. But more importantly, Zak has a heart for seeing his students grow closer to Jesus. He recently got a chance to use Sidekick Live Voting during his teaching time, and I couldn’t wait for him to share his experience with you. So please give a standing ovation to our next Sidekick HeroZak Cummings!!

Hey everyone!

Over the past three years, I have been looking for ways to make my student night programming easier and more efficient, and I believe that I have found the perfect tool… The New Sidekick! I have been Sidekick Legacy in my ministry for the last two years, and it has always been a helpful tool. From doing giveaways using “Pick Me” to utilizing the “Boxes” for new student prizes, Sidekick Legacy has been so helpful.

But then, an even better resource came along: The New Sidekick.

Zak1

(click image to enlarge)

Here are 3 reasons why Sidekick will help you CRUSH your student nights:

1. Say goodbye to switching back and forth between programs.

If you’ve used Sidekick Legacy, you know what it’s like to flip-flop between ProPresenter, Boxes, Pick Me, and back to ProPresenter. And you know what that’s like, then you know how inconvenient that can be. Thankfully those days are over! You can now run almost all of your programming through Sidekick without having to go back and forth between programs and presentations. The first time I used the New Sidekick, I had Pick Me, Live Voting (Which is AMAZING), and all of my message slides in the same presentation! I did not have to switch between software or change presentations once! I simply clicked the next button, and everything flowed smoothly.

2. Student engagement will increase using the Live Voting tool.

As most of you know, it can be challenging at times to keep middle and high schoolers engaged during announcements, games, and the message. The new Live Voting tool will help you engage with students in a way that is speaking their language: technology. I recently started using Live Voting  during my messages, and it has allowed students to engage and participate like never before! All your students need is a phone to scan the QR code, and they’ll see real-time voting results. Plus, it’s incredibly easy to set up your presentation using the premade slides that the Sidekick team has made available in the FREE section.

No seriously, check it out:

3. It is incredibly user-friendly!

Recently, I had a student who was supposed to run the presentation for my student night but was unable to do so at the last minute. So, I gave one of my young adult leaders a quick run-through on how to use everything, and he was a Sidekick pro in no time! This leader ran the presentation flawlessly. If you didn’t know better, you’d believe he’d been using Sidekick for years! I am excited to continue to teach students and leaders how to use Sidekick, because they’ll look awesome, they’ll be encouraged, and most importantly, they’ll feel competent in their role.

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Don’t just take my word for how amazing the new version of Sidekick is. Go ahead and see for yourself!

Quick Note From Doug:

I actually found a picture of when me and Josh beat Zak and Drew in pickleball back in 2022. Don’t think that this means Zak isn’t good at pickleball… It just means that Josh and I are better at pickleball!

If you’re using Sidekick and you run into any issues, or if you just have a question, please feel free to reach out to our support team at: [email protected]. Or you can check out other helpful articles and walkthroughs at the Sidekick Help Desk by visiting https://help.sidekick.tv.

Finally, if you choose to use the new Sidekick… let us know how you do it and what types of polls you do because we want to highlight you. Our goal is to highlight a youth worker every week with different ways they’ve used Sidekick to help their students engage. If you’re interested in being recognized as a Sidekick Hero, just click the big red button below:

If you’re using Sidekick and you run into any issues, or if you just have a question, please feel free to reach out to our support team at: [email protected]. Or you can check out other helpful articles and walkthroughs at the Sidekick Help Desk by visiting https://help.sidekick.tv.

Finally, if you choose to use the new Sidekick… let us know how you do it and what types of polls you do because we want to highlight you. Our goal is to highlight a youth worker every week with different ways they’ve used Sidekick to help their students engage. If you’re interested in being recognized as a Sidekick Hero, just click the big red button below:

20 Mar 2024

New Feature Alert: SLIDE LABELS!!

By |2024-03-20T13:37:22-07:00March 20th, 2024|Sidekick, Sidekick Hero Blog|0 Comments

Have you ever noticed how sometimes it’s the littlest things that bring you joy?

That’s why Skittles aren’t 32lbs each. And it’s why we don’t put Toyota Corollas on engagement rings.

But you want to know what little thing you can do to bring you joy right now? Yup! You can now add and edit…

SLIDE LABELS!!

That’s right! You can now change the label on any slide in your Sidekick presentation!

And the best part is that it’s SUPER easy! Check out this step-by-step guide to adding and editing slide labels in Sidekick:

And you wanna know the best part? Of course, you do!

The absolute best part about the SLIDE LABELS in Sidekick is that it’s available right now for all users!

We’ll be posting more about other new features in the coming days, but in the meantime, feel free to keep exploring Sidekick! And if you have any ideas for features that you think we should work on next, you should head over to our Feature Suggestion Page by clicking the button below:

Request a New Sidekick Feature!

That’s all for today, but if you’d like to see the other blog posts in the “How Do I…?” series, you can do so here: How Do I…?

If you’re using Sidekick and you run into any issues, or if you just have a question, please feel free to reach out to our support team at: [email protected]. Or you can check out other helpful articles and walkthroughs at the Sidekick Help Desk by visiting https://help.sidekick.tv.

Finally, if you choose to use the new Sidekick… let us know how you do it and what types of polls you do because we want to highlight you. Our goal is to highlight a youth worker every week with different ways they’ve used Sidekick to help their students engage. If you’re interested in being recognized as a Sidekick Hero, just click the big red button below:

If you’re using Sidekick and you run into any issues, or if you just have a question, please feel free to reach out to our support team at: [email protected]. Or you can check out other helpful articles and walkthroughs at the Sidekick Help Desk by visiting https://help.sidekick.tv.

Finally, if you choose to use the new Sidekick… let us know how you do it and what types of polls you do because we want to highlight you. Our goal is to highlight a youth worker every week with different ways they’ve used Sidekick to help their students engage. If you’re interested in being recognized as a Sidekick Hero, just click the big red button below:

18 Mar 2024

How does a youth pastor Sabbath?

By |2024-03-18T12:32:18-07:00March 18th, 2024|Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

Youth pastors lead busy lives! We run from event to event and youth program to youth program! We have meetings to attend, volunteers to care for, students we want to check in on, and other duties as assigned that get delegated to us fairly regularly. On top of that, having kids and a spouse can make finding the time for Sabbath almost impossible! So, how does the Youth Pastor Sabbath?

Block out intentional family time

Whether you have young kids or teenagers, it’s important to let them know that they are a priority to you. Spending time together as a family is an important way to observe Sabbath. It can be a meal, a hike, or playing a game together. You give your time to a lot of people. Make sure when you observe Sabbath, you intentionally plan time for your family! That includes your spouse, who will have difficulty finding Sabbath rest since they probably play a larger family role when you work the hardest. Show them they matter to you!

Disconnect from work

Put your phone away. Turn it all the way off. Don’t open your laptop. Flee the county. Do whatever it takes to disconnect from work. It’s tough when work is spiritual, and our rest can sometimes bleed into work. One way we can ensure that we are totally disconnected is by ensuring that the only people who can contact us are the people we are close to. If there’s a real emergency, we’ll find out about it.

Delegate responsibilities

Most youth pastors don’t get to Sabbath on a Sunday. It’s just not going to happen. So, if you are resting during the workweek, ensure your responsibilities are delegated to somebody else. If there’s some type of important information that needs to be disseminated, make sure the church secretary knows all the information that’s going out. If your church is small and you don’t have a dedicated admin, put the robots to work! An automated out-of-office email reply with a link to all the important information or the retreat discount code will save you a lot of time! Schedule posts to happen while you’re out and have a volunteer check in on social media to make sure nothing gets weird.

Find the spiritual practice for you

If you can’t read your Bible without preparing a lesson, maybe you need to try listening to worship music. If you have difficulty praying without thinking about reaching out to a student, maybe you should go on a hike without your phone. It’s tough when so much of our job is connected to spiritual practices. Find the practice that helps you reset, connects you to God, and doesn’t accidentally lead you back into work.

Connect with the community

Whether you are single or have a family, use your Sabbath time to connect with people who invigorate you. Find those life-giving people you can spend time with and plan a coffee or a lunch together. Talk about spiritual things and build one another up. Ministry can be lonely. Find someone with whom you can share life and invite your struggles.

What did I miss? Is there a way that you find to Sabbath that you feel is helpful?

Think you may be on the verge of Burnout? We’ve got a resource for you to check out:

12 Mar 2024

Empowering Group Leaders: Key Strategies for Ministry Success

By |2024-03-12T09:34:28-07:00March 12th, 2024|Youth Ministry Ideas|2 Comments

Group leaders play a pivotal role in the success of any ministry. They are the frontline ambassadors who carry out the vision and strategy, impacting the lives of individuals and families. However, to truly empower these leaders and ensure their effectiveness, it’s essential to provide them with clear guidelines on achieving success.

Here are 4 key elements we lay out for our leaders so they know if they are being successful:

  1. One of the fundamental aspects of effective leadership is facilitating faith conversations. Leaders must be encouraged to steer discussions back to matters of faith, especially in small group settings. By using provided discussion questions and consistently pointing students back to Jesus, leaders can create meaningful opportunities for spiritual growth and reflection.
  2. Follow-up is another critical component of successful leadership. Whether it’s reaching out to new students or responding to prayer requests, effective follow-up demonstrates care and commitment. By implementing best follow-up practices such as making personal contact after meetings, extending personal invitations for future events, and integrating students into group communication channels, leaders can foster a sense of belonging and connection.
  3. Building connections with students’ families is an often overlooked but impactful aspect of ministry. Leaders are encouraged to make intentional efforts to connect with parents or guardians, as they play a crucial role in students’ lives. Whether it’s through simple introductions, sharing positive feedback about their child, or engaging in social media interactions, these gestures contribute to building a supportive community and partnership.
  4. Engaging students beyond weekly gatherings is essential for building deeper relationships and fostering continuous growth. Leaders are encouraged to interact with students both in person and digitally throughout the week. By having faith discussions in various settings and leveraging digital platforms where students are active, leaders can create meaningful connections beyond traditional church gatherings.

Empowering group leaders requires providing them with clear guidelines and strategies for success. By emphasizing the importance of faith conversations, effective follow-up, building connections with families, and engaging students beyond weekly gatherings, leaders can make a significant impact in the lives of individuals and families. As leaders embrace these key strategies, they become catalysts for transformation and growth within the ministry, ultimately fulfilling its vision and strategy.

Need some resources to help empower leaders? DYM has got your back!

8 Mar 2024

Youth Min Roundup – 03/08/2024

By |2024-03-08T08:23:22-08:00March 8th, 2024|Youth Ministry Roundup|2 Comments

Here are just a few interesting finds this week from around the Youth Min Multiverse:

😂 From Our Online Community

Last week, we asked our Instagram followers and Facebook Group members to tell us about their worst youth ministry-related injury. They did not disappoint. Here are just a few of our favorites:

  • I had Volunteer Leader who didn’t want to wear the helmet in the Sumo Suit…fell backwards and cracked her skull.

  • Dislocated my pinky during dodgeball game and popped back in…unfortunately the tendons never reattached in the “healing process “ so now have a janky pinky

  • Leader hid on a roof for a game of capture the the counselor. Got too into getting away that he jumped (1 story about 8 foot) and broke his ankle. He didn’t have insurance. I did a duct tape splint to get him to a doc we knew… after he finished the game.

  • Just say no to the blob. You are in your 30’s, and landing on your feet because of a panic attack isn’t going to feel good. (Spoiler alert, you broke your leg in front of 75 students, parents, and children)

  • Ugh. We were playing marshmallow baseball at a lock-in. It inevitably turned into a marshmallow food fight. A 7th grader pelted me in the face with a jumbo marshmallow from point blank. So I picked it up and chucked it at him as hard as I could, as he ran away laughing. I missed him and tore my labrum (shoulder ligament).

  • Broom hockey. Metal handle broke. Girl kept playing with the broom. Sliced a girls finger almost off. Bad. No more metal handles. But we still play broom hockey. But only wood handles. Let that be a lesson to you all.

  • Going all in on slip slide kickball led to 5 months of intense pain, discovering a major herniation on my back and ending in surgery. Now I cheer.

  • Built a Karate Piñata Game 🪅
    Leader is blindfolded in the middle. He goes hard and kicks a piñata… kicks too high and the carabiner clip someone goes right into his calf muscle. He is bleeding. He can’t see anything, and keeps going. While attached to the mechanism, he pulls the arm down that’s holding the piñata. The game is now destroyed. Blood spewing everywhere. It’s a mess in so many ways. Leader needed to be taken to the hospital. Meanwhile I’m running a parent meeting in the other room.
  • Broke a students finger playing volleyball during a mission trip. Thought it was just jammed, and we kept pulling and tugging on it all week. We got home, and the student had surgery for a separate finger, and split bone. That’s only one

  • Brought a group to Alaska in 2021. Our pastors son broke his leg within 24 hours of being there. He had to have surgery IN Alaska… I still have my job and we’re going back this summer with the same kid. This time our pastor is coming too haha

  • We had a volunteer leader who was wearing a suit of armor for a VBS skit…a student whacked the helmet with a sword, the face guard fell off and split the volunteer’s lip and knocked a tooth out.

  • Jumbo beach ball, kid ran straight into it not seeing the kid on the other side. Kid on other side goes flying. Compound fracture to arm. Thankfully it was the child of a volunteer and the family was very gracious.

  • We were doing a massive slip and slide event, decided to use stakes to pin down the tarp. A student found one of them with his foot and severed the webbing between his toes. It was gnarly…

  • Set of twins. First 24 hours of camp.
    Twin 1 -Sunday night, one twin tries to jump a rope fence and his foot nicks the top, and he fell head first – concussion.
    Twin 2 – Monday Mid-day, tries to do a gainer off the diving board. Water pushes his legs back into his face on impact – he knocked one of his front teeth out with his knee and also gets a concussion.
    Needless to say, they hit their deductibles that year!

If you didn’t get a chance to contribute, don’t worry! We post a new discussion topic every Friday. You can find them on our Instagram feed and in our Facebook Group.

👀 Meet DYM Author Janelle Prenkert!

“I have been serving in youth ministry since 1998 in both volunteer and staff roles. Small groups have always been a passion of mine. From leading my own group to coordinating and training small group leaders, I love watching God work!”

See all of Janelle’s resources!

5 Mar 2024

How do I minister to parents?

By |2024-03-05T07:55:06-08:00March 5th, 2024|Parents|2 Comments

Parents are busy! They’re rushing their students around from one sports game to an extracurricular activity and trying to juggle all of their normal home life and chores as well. Oh, and they work full-time jobs. Additionally, one of their kids is probably sick, and youth group is going to happen in an hour, and they just remembered that their student has a really big project due the next day.

It can feel incredibly frustrating when we are trying to reach out to students, and their parents are all over the place. How can we, as youth pastors, minister to parents in a helpful way? I’ve got three quick tips that you might implement.

Plan a year in advance.

This doesn’t have to include every single detail, but you absolutely need to have events on the calendar at least one year in advance. Think of when schools hand out their yearly calendars. They’ve got spring break, fall break, the beginning of school, and the end of school all right there. Parents don’t typically plan a month in advance; they’re usually six months to a year out. If you don’t have the dates for the summer mission trip in their hands, their students are probably not going to go. Take advantage of some of DYM’s fantastic calendars and put them to good use!

Communicate frequently.

If a parent has 40,000 notifications on their phone, that’s their problem. You still need to regularly let parents know what’s going on in the ministry and what their students can do to be involved. Here’s some great news: you get to decide what works best for you and your parents! Whether it’s a weekly email where you explain the teaching series for the week and plug upcoming events, or Facebook posts letting parents know about upcoming deadlines, it’s essential to stay in contact with parents. Whatever you choose, stick to it. If you commit to delivering a weekly email, make sure you send it out. If you tell parents that the primary way you communicate is through your website, make sure it’s updated! You know what would be a really easy win? Making a podcast where you share what’s going on in the youth ministry on a weekly basis. You could share what you’re teaching, what parents need to know for the upcoming summer camp, and even tell a funny story or two. And parents can take in that information while they’re driving! Win.

Take them out to lunch or coffee.

Parents are busy, but they also have to eat food. Offer to get lunch sometime in the next couple of weeks with two or three families. You don’t need to have an agenda for your meeting; you can just ask them questions about their family and how things are going. If their kids haven’t been in youth group in a while, don’t guilt trip them; just ask them how things are at home. Ask them how you can pray for them. You would be blown away at how parents have reacted to me doing this; they feel so seen and supported when all I do is ask them to share how family life is going.

Ministering to students is a challenge! Ministering to parents can be a steep mountain to climb. But you can show parents how much you care about them by intentionally reaching out and communicating!

Did I miss something that you would add? I’d love to hear it!

Need a calendar to send to parents for the summer? Get ready with this fully editable calendar below!

1 Mar 2024

Meet A Sidekick Hero: Nick Clason

By |2024-03-01T08:51:02-08:00March 1st, 2024|Sidekick Hero Blog|2 Comments

From Doug:

Nick Clason is a national treasure. Not only is he one of our more prolific DYM authors (no seriously, go check out all the stuff he has created for the DYM Store), but he’s the kind of guy that never settles for things just being “good enough.” He’s constantly pushing the envelope and challenging youth workers everywhere to be more creative and to meet students where they’re at (which Nick will tell you is online).

Recently, I asked Nick what he thought about the new Sidekick, and he said that he’d rather show me than tell me. So without further delay, I present Nick Clason’s take on the new Sidekick:

And seriously, if you haven’t checked out Nick’s YouTube channel, you definitely should: https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick

If you’re using Sidekick and you run into any issues, or if you just have a question, please feel free to reach out to our support team at: [email protected]. Or you can check out other helpful articles and walkthroughs at the Sidekick Help Desk by visiting https://help.sidekick.tv.

Finally, if you choose to use the new Sidekick… let us know how you do it and what types of polls you do because we want to highlight you. Our goal is to highlight a youth worker every week with different ways they’ve used Sidekick to help their students engage. If you’re interested in being recognized as a Sidekick Hero, just click the big red button below:

If you’re using Sidekick and you run into any issues, or if you just have a question, please feel free to reach out to our support team at: [email protected]. Or you can check out other helpful articles and walkthroughs at the Sidekick Help Desk by visiting https://help.sidekick.tv.

Finally, if you choose to use the new Sidekick… let us know how you do it and what types of polls you do because we want to highlight you. Our goal is to highlight a youth worker every week with different ways they’ve used Sidekick to help their students engage. If you’re interested in being recognized as a Sidekick Hero, just click the big red button below:

1 Mar 2024

Youth Min Roundup – 03/01/2024

By |2024-03-01T08:04:53-08:00March 1st, 2024|Youth Ministry Roundup|1 Comment

Here are just a few interesting finds this week from around the Youth Min Multiverse:

😂 From Our Online Community

Last week, we asked our Instagram followers and Facebook Group members to tell help us come up with a list of youth ministry’s “unwritten rules.” They did NOT disappoint. Here are just a few of our favorites:

  • There is the deadline you set, then the deadline you’re working with for the “Is it too late to sign up?” crowd.

  • The Youth Pastor gets to keep all the points when the bus stops at McDonalds, Chick-Fil-A, Taco Bell, or Chipotle. There is no wiggle room here.

  • Whatever time you actually need to leave, tell everyone you’re leaving 30 minutes earlier.

  • When you’re at camp with a few hundred middle schoolers and we pass out grape juice boxes for communion, you are NOT allowed to poke the hole in the top and SHOT GUN your juice box.

  • On the way to camp, when we stop at a gas station for a bathroom break you are NOT allowed to buy 2, 2-liters of orange soda and try to drink them on the bus, even if they were on sale for $2.

  • It would also be in your best interest if you also knew first aid, how to edit videos, broadcast online, run a soundboard, drive a bus, fix a vehicle on the side of the road, work a snack shop, lead worship, know everything there is to sound systems, live on 3 hours of sleep, be well versed n the law, this and many other things in the “other duties” section 😂. I feel very well-rounded now, though.

  • The students are where you lead them, if you are dissatisfied with where they are lead differently.

  • An eating contest is a pre-show for a vomit contest.

  • Hear me out: NO GLITTER OF ANY KIND… EVER…

  • Do not hand cash to the youth minister on Sunday. Give it to a mom in an envelope.

  • Don’t grow the kids ministry from the youth ministry.

  • The same number of people that leave on the trip come back on the trip. No more no less.

  • Don’t post negative comments about anyone in your church thinking they’ll certainly never see it and infer it’s about them.

  • Don’t take a life. Don’t make a life.
  • When you cross the border, NO ONE SAYS A WORD. For example, when the border agent asks. “Do you have any weapons to declare?” A student should not say, “just these guns,” as he tries to make muscles.

  • The person before you in the job had way more kids show up.

  • No licking your boyfriend’s face.

If you didn’t get a chance to contribute, don’t worry! We post a new discussion topic every Friday. You can find them on our Instagram feed and in our Facebook Group.

If you’ve ever had any questions about how to run the best Nerf War… Joe definitely has you covered.

Everything About Nerf Wars

Ever wanted to do a Cereal Bracket for March Madness? Then check out what Skylar made!

March Madness Cereal Edition

👀 Wild Youth Ministry Story of the Week

Identity kept anonymous because… JUST KIDDING IT WAS MICHELLE ANDERSON.

During a winter camp one year, it stormed like crazy. 5 feet of snow overnight! Our big white 15-passenger van (a youth ministry staple) was totally stuck.

“Grab something and start shoveling, we have to get this unstuck!”

We started using anything we could find: garbage lids, dustpans, etc. Well, a student took this to heart, and without me knowing, he climbed UNDER the front of the van and started using a dustpan to clear the wheels. (NOT SMART FYI) The other youth pastor had me get in the van to see if we could get some traction, and THANKFULLY, the student was in between the front wheels because I got traction and started rocking back and forth. The students jumped up from under the van, and it totally hit him and knocked him over and down the side of a hill.

We never saw him again…

J.K., he was fine. The moral of the story? Um..check under your van if you ask kids to help clear away snow. That seems extremely specific, but YOU NEVER KNOW.

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