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22 Jan 2020

Mariners JH Weekend in Review: Volume 3

By |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.

 

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 |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 |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

13 Jan 2020

Fun Youth Group Traditions

By |2020-01-11T22:09:46-08:00January 13th, 2020|Mariners Youth Ministry, Teaching/Programming, Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

There’s something powerful and fun about youth group tradition! You have to be careful, of course, that your routines aren’t ruts you’re simply stuck in. But there’s something super fun about inside jokes, events, activities and traditions that you do again and again. People look forward to them and get excited – even at some of the biggest events I’ve gone to (like an LA Lakers game or a college football fight song or cheer) traditions play an important part of the experience.

So … we started what is a new tradition this weekend in our junior high ministry. Whenever someone wins a game or gets a question right, we’re going to play a clip of the video above. It’s just a silly Pokemon video that is upbeat and silly and made everyone laugh. And now … it’s a tradition. You win the game, this is your theme song. Ha!

JG

8 Jan 2020

Fresh Youth Ministry Eyes … For Just a Short Time

By |2020-01-08T10:10:11-08:00January 8th, 2020|Leadership, Mariners Youth Ministry, Teaching/Programming|0 Comments

I’m walking into Mariner’s Junior High ministry as one of the youth pastors on staff. I’m joining a couple of other great youth workers and have served this ministry before as a guest speaker and even the High School Ministry as a camp speaker a summer ago. I love this church!

But today, I’m walking in brand spankin’ new to this whole thing. A significant part of the responsibility of the ministry lands squarely on me. And since I’m the new guy … I’ve got fresh eyes. Which is huge! It only takes a short time before you become accustomed to the way things are, you stop asking probing questions, and you lose that advantage of sharing from a new perspective. I’ve got a huge list, tons to work on, and am probably annoying people with questions. But I’ve got to take advantage of this little window.

How do you take advantage of “fresh eyes”?

    • If you’re new, make a massive list and ask tons of questions.
    • Find a new volunteer or parent to be your fresh eyes this week.
    • Ask your mentor to swing into youth group randomly one weekend and surprise evaluate your program.
    • If you’re not new, walk out the door, come back in, and intentionally see what you normally miss.

JG

6 Jan 2020

Mariners JH Weekend in Review: Volume 1

By |2020-01-06T15:15:24-08:00January 6th, 2020|Mariners Youth Ministry, Teaching/Programming, Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

Weekend Teaching Series: RESET: Jesus, Fresh Starts & Screaming Goats (series kickoff, week 1 of 4)

Sermon Synopsis: This weekend was a special one because it is the first weekend of the New Year and featured a special guest speaker: Doug Fields! Fun and games then one song and right into the talk. Fields taught through the passage in Luke 8, helping students understand that Jesus is available and His touch brings healing. He played the clip of the Pope from this week, which was a perfect cultural moment to illustrate the point of a healing touch, and helped students understand that Jesus can bring healing in their lives emotionally, physically and spiritually as well. He invited them into a “reset” moment as part of the closing. It was a great start to a series in a New Year reminding them that Jesus is all about giving people a fresh start.

Service Length: 66 minutes

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: We are going all out for this series to capitalize on the momentum of the New Year. We had a fun promotion where if you bring someone who has never “checked in” … both of you get a free T-shirt! Huge win – had lots of visitors. We also played the incredible and hilarious Screaming or Fainting Goats game from DYM and had lots of donuts for winners. We also tried out a fun skit idea that totally worked (you can download the skit here for free). Good times, lots of laughs and energy all around.

Music Playlist: Just one song this weekend: Endless Praise

Takeaway: This week if a student made a decision to “reset” something with Jesus’ help, they could take a round Reset sticker with them when they left and were challenged to place it somewhere to remind them of this moment.

Home/parent emphasis: This series we’re working to connect students’ experience at the weekend to their parents/home. So at the bottom of the program there was a little  “have any conversation with your parents about the service and have them text in” and students would be entered to win a prize. So far the response has been quite minimal honestly, but we think it’s a good idea and something to build on!

Favorite Moment: Seeing my son jump right into a 7th grade boys group was really awesome, and since we had more students than we expected, we were short of leaders, so he just jumped right in and asked the discussion questions on the leader sheet like a boss. Proud youth ministry dad moment right there!

Up next: RESET (week 2 of 4)

6 Jan 2020

“In the Year 2026” Skit from This Weekend in Mariners JH

By |2020-01-06T13:14:34-08:00January 6th, 2020|Mariners Youth Ministry, skits, Teaching/Programming|0 Comments

I Tweeted about working a Baby Yoda joke into our first youth service of the New Year, and people wanted to know how it worked. We did a funny skit that got a surprising amount of laughs so thought I would post it here for you to grab quick if you want to use the skit next week. Enjoy!

Download it right here!

 

3 Dec 2019

Opening Crowd Guitar Video from #NYWC19

By |2019-12-03T14:46:09-08:00December 3rd, 2019|Teaching/Programming|1 Comment

Crowd Hero Christmas – Lil Drummer Boy (2015) from Ernesto Bautista on Vimeo.

Many of you have been asking about the opening video from the National Youth Workers Convention 2019 (#NYWC19) and we haven’t been able to secure the rights to it – BUT, this version is pretty close and may inspire you and/or work for a Christmas service. Thought you would enjoy it either way! JG

31 May 2019

Four Weeks of Programming Done For You!

By |2019-06-01T00:50:54-07:00May 31st, 2019|Help Me With..., Membership, Teaching, Teaching/Programming, Uncategorized, Youth Ministry Ideas, Youth Ministry Resources|2 Comments

Every season of Youth Ministry includes programs and events, but none is quite as busy (and, often, crazy!) as Summer. The end of a school year leads right into a new routine/rhythm of events, camps, and (hopefully somewhere in there) a week to breathe before Fall planning begins.

Often, weekly programming can falter because of the influx of tasks in your head.

We get it. We’ve been there. And we’re here to help!

On the first of the month, every month, DYM Members receive a digital delivery of new, top-of-the-line programming elements. Gold Members get a new video, game, Sidekick file, Student Leadership resource, and Mystery Item every month. That’s about $25 of free resources every month, not to mention an additional $20 Store Credit they receive every month, and the discount of 35% OFF store prices every day! (Not yet a Gold Member, try it free for 30 days–no credit card required–and you’ll get access to all of these resources, discounts, and $5 Store Credit!)

A handful of new resources can feel a little overwhelming if you’re not sure quite how to plug them into your weekly program. So, this month, we’re helping shoulder some of the heavy lifting with a curated month of suggested programming combining the June 2019 Member Items with some of our favorite resources in the DYM Store.

**Already have your series for this month? No problem! Download the member items now and use this programming plan another time!

Let’s start with the Series:
Blood & Guts by Sabrina Hadro.
(FREE to DYM Members this month as the Member Mystery Item! Log in now to download this free resource.)

Building around this series…

WEEK 1:

Message: Blood and Guts Week 1: Jesus’ Divinity and Humanity // Bottom Line: Jesus was fully God and fully man

Welcome Video: we suggest Service Welcome Video OR grab this WELCOME VIDEO 4-Pack and use a new one each week of the series!

Icebreaker/Mixer: we suggest Extreme Row Makeover Volume 2 (Or check out Volume 1 rated 4.5-stars!)

Game: Hot Hands (FREE to DYM Members this month as the Member Game! Log in now to download this free resource.)

 

WEEK 2:

Message: Blood and Guts Week 2: The Old Testament Sacrificial System // Bottom Line: Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament law

Icebreaker/Mixer: we suggest Find 2 (DYM Members got this video pack for FREE in February 2019. Try DYM Gold Membership FREE!)

Video Illustration: we suggest supporting the bottom line of this week’s message with Magic Illustration: Jesus Took Our Place

Game: we suggest Will It Burn: Summer Edition

 

WEEK 3:

Message: Blood and Guts Week 3: The Hall of Faith // Bottom Line: It takes guts to change the world

Icebreaker/Mixer: we suggest One-Question Interview

Video: We suggest you kick-off your service with the finest bad jokes around: Bad Joke of the Day or Vol 2 or Vol 3

Game: we suggest Blender of Doom (included in the 45 file starter kit that comes with Sidekick!) 

Response Element: we suggest challenging your students to serve their family and community with Wheel of Service

 

WEEK 4:

Message: Blood and Guts Week 4: Perseverance & Hope // Bottom Line: Don’t quit—hope has come and will come again

Sidekick: we suggest adding a little flavor to your announcements with Announcement Roulette (included in the 45-file starter kit that comes with Sidekick!) 

Game: we suggest Nailed It or Failed It: Pool Party Edition (or Cat Edition Vol 1 or Vol 2, or Marriage Proposals… Honestly, you can’t lose with any Edition.)

Creative Programming Element: we suggest Ultimate Escape Room. A tangible lesson in perseverance and not giving up!

Video: we suggest this Countdown Video Ft. Party Llama (Hilarious and FREE in the DYM Store!)

 

Looking for a little more to round out the month of programming?

• Add The Retro Animation Transition Videos each week to create continuity in your program throughout this series. (FREE to DYM Members this month as the Member Video! Log in now to download this free resource.)

• Grab this Countdown Video 3-pack and kick-off each program with energy! (DYM Members got this video pack for FREE in June 2018. Try DYM Gold Membership FREE!)

• Use these summer-themed Instagram images. Giving new meaning to ‘insta-content’.

 

If you’re using this plan in June, add a top-rated Father’s Day to Week 3: Dad Texts Real or Fake, My Dad is Smarter Than Your Dad, Who’s Your Daddy?

Planning ahead? Here are some 4th of July games loved by the DYM Community: Crowd Charades: United States EditionUnited States Citizenship Test, ‘Merica Trivia Volume 2, (or Vol 1)

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