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12 Mar 2020

How to Hold Youth Group If You Have to Cancel for Coronavirus *COVID-19

By |2020-03-16T12:46:41-07:00March 12th, 2020|Teaching/Programming, Technology, Youth Ministry Ideas, Youth Ministry Resources, Youth Pastor Life|2 Comments

This week many churches are making the tough decision whether to hold services or not — even in the church where I (Josh) serve, we’re making decisions today that determine the plan this weekend and probably our local church gatherings for the next 30 days. With high profile systems like the NBA and many colleges and universities canceling events, there will be enormous pressure to put church gatherings on hiatus as well. While this may be frustrating to some and relieving to others, there’s no doubt among followers of Jesus that gatherings are essential to their faith and walk with God.

So what do you do when you CAN’T gather? For centuries the church was unable to have large-scale gatherings because of persecution. Only in recent times is the regular gathering of the church a reality. So what do we do in the case of a pandemic like this? How do we hold the value of community and “breaking bread” when the very gathering together brings significant risks to our people?

 1. Gather together online
There are more powerful tools than ever to help you gather online. I would suggest YouTube.com first. They have the best tools and are built for community, chat, replays and voting. It’s also one of the key places where your students already are, so it makes it easy to point them to your channel and go live at the service time and/or times you normally meet. I think Instagram is a GREAT option as well, potentially even easier, and the “request to join” allows  others to appear on screen as well and share or sing or win an online game. You can look into others like Zoom but your students don’t have those apps or tools installed already and it is out of the “digital ecosystem” they frequently use.

2. Keep it fun
Download Youth Ministry is uniquely positioned to help you create a super fun online service. We have thousands of screen games you can use in person or online, as well as tons of social media resources and much more to help you keep it fun as well as meaningful. In a time of fear, isolation and frustration, it’s a great opportunity to have some fun and relief from the tension in a time when everyone is stressed and scared. Remember, DYM isn’t ONLY about having fun, it can certainly be a powerful tool in a time of trial and pressure.

3. Remember this is an incredible opportunity to really pastor
In a time like this, there is also a chance to really pastor students well. Love ones who get sick, care for students who lose someone they love, the fear surrounding it all, creates a GREAT opportunity to reach out and love well! You can still text, call, send messages over social media, and encourage students even when you aren’t in the same room! This is THE time to show up … even in a culture where we can’t necessarily physically show up

Another idea — kinda random I know — but I just bought www.youthgrouplive.com and am thinking about doing an online youth group 5-6 times this weekend: a youth ministry program/service for the whole country. Would that be helpful to you? Let me know in the poll below:

[crowdsignal poll=10519354]

And finally — for what it’s worth — my mom has a pre-existing lung condition and is 72 years old, so I really do take this one in particular very seriously. To speak frankly, she won’t make it if it the virus spreads to her. So if you’re gathering, be safe and smart, and remember to wash your hands and dab your sneezes. It helps her — and all of us.

So welcome to your new role as an online youth pastor — your students live in this space, and God has given us an incredible calling and opportunity even in the face of adversity.

Blessings,
Josh Griffin

PS: Grab a Hand-washing 101 freebie video here as well.

PSS: We also just recorded a spontaneous podcast on the subject once our church cancelled for this weekend. We planned to talk about youth ministry mission trips but this went sideways, and for the better. It’s a great very open, fluid and raw conversation. Listen now!

PSSS: We’re in this together – grab a ton of DYM freebies and articles and podcasts to help during the pandemic.

11 Feb 2020

Team Incentives For Sign Ups

By |2020-02-11T12:40:16-08:00February 11th, 2020|Games, Podcast, Youth Ministry Hacks, Youth Ministry Ideas, Youth Pastor Life|20 Comments

This video is one we have made because we did a big ol’ incentive campaign for our first ever Youth Winter Conference. The idea came because since we have never done this event before and we had no pictures, no video, no context in order to promote it. So we thought in order to help students understand how series we believed in this event, we came up with incentives for when a certain amount would sign up, our team would do something in return.

I got the idea from Frank Gil when he talked about how he got 80% of his group to sign up for camp on day one (listen HERE). Well, we had way more sign up than we had thought and I don’t know if it was because of the incentives or not but either way it was fun to come up with and almost as fun to do.

Our incentives went as follows:

  1. We would choose 10 VIPS who got to bring a friend out of the first 100 that signed up. They got special treatment for the 3-day event.
  2. We would eat hot peppers and film it. See the above video.
  3. One of our youth leads had a great mustache so he would dye it blue.
  4. The male youth leads would wax their armpits. Video to come.
  5. I would get a tattoo. I chose 4 images that were fun, and we let students choose which one I would get.

I love it. It’s been super fun to have this interaction with our students and it’s even better because of most of this doubles as great content for our youtube channel.

More videos to come.

@justinknowles3

5 Feb 2020

Mariners JH Weekend in Review: Volume 5

By |2020-02-04T20:32:04-08:00February 5th, 2020|Games, Leadership, Mariners Youth Ministry, Teaching/Programming, Youth Ministry Hacks, Youth Ministry Ideas, Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

Weekend Teaching Series: How NOT to Get Grounded (series premiere, week 1 of 4)

Sermon Synopsis: This week I got to speak for the first time in JH this year and it was a total blast! I gave a new talk called “make good choices” and spoke from the book of Proverbs on how we can avoid getting grounded by walking with Jesus each step of the way. I compared the wise to the foolish, and had a few pictures of what wisdom (Chick-Fil-A, catchy tunes) looks like vs foolish (Popeyes, face tattoos). Students seem to respond well to the talk and there was good discussion around tables for the 10m at the end of the service.

Service Length: 61 minutes

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: This week we played DYM’s Super Bowel in honor of the big game happening this past weekend as well as a few rounds of Impossible Shot. Both games absolutely crushed and kids were surprisingly into dietary fiber. We’re going to really expand impossible shot in the future and make it a semi-regular segment as well. This week was SUPER fun, engaging and silly. The students were eating it up!

Music Playlist: Freedom

Volunteer Involvement: We had a few new volunteers this week! We’re pushing hard to have 12 volunteers at each fo the 4 services every weekend, and this week we came super close! We had some people checking things out, and some faithfuls as well. We used a high school student leader on stage with Cooper to co-host the game and that went super well. VERY happy to see the boost, now we’re got to give them mission critical roles and prep them well for the discussion time to help them stick!

Favorite Moment: I loved the fact that students are really digging the two things we’ve asked them to do this New Year so far: 1) check in with their (or their parent’s) phone number and get a name tag, and 2) share a little bit of what they learned from The Weeknd service with their parents. There’s a note/announcements for parents each week on the back of the program, and I’m continually surprised that kids talk to their parents and then text in “WETALKED” to our contact number. Pretty great!

Up next: How NOT to Get Grounded (week 2 of 4)

[also a few people have been asking to follow Mariner’s JH ministry, you can on Instagram right here!]

31 Jan 2020

Mariners JH Weekend in Review: Volume 4

By |2020-01-31T11:04:28-08:00January 31st, 2020|Games, Leadership, Mariners Youth Ministry, Teaching/Programming, Youth Ministry Hacks, Youth Ministry Ideas, Youth Pastor Life|3 Comments

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

Sermon Synopsis: This week we wrapped up the RESET series from the start of the New Year with Doug Fields teaching (4th week in a row, yeah!) and

Service Length: 62 minutes

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: This week we played a fun active game called Extreme 4 Corners Impossible Edition (you can find it here on DYM) but we tweaked it to have 4 colors instead of multiple choice letters and had lights in the corners of the room they kids picked their answer by going to the color they thought had the correct answer. Questions are intentionally impossible, here’s an example of how the modified slides looked:

If I’m honest with you … it didn’t go great. We switched up the game for the other services, hey it happens! Ha! But the star of the show was bringing in our friend David Wood to perform some card magic before/after services and to do a fun set on stage as well. He was awesome! Totally junior-high friendly show, through he worked super well with our high school students as well for Youth Culture Weekend which happened the past few days as well. If you’re interested in bringing in David, get details/watch videos here.

Music Playlist: Freedom

Takeaway: This week we continued to use “Pick Me” from DYM’s Sidekick App to help parents text in if they had a conversation with their kid about the program/outline service. It is working and we’re trying out best to connect JH students and their home for discipleship!

Volunteer Involvement: We’re working hard to get volunteers at each service. Having them lead at tables is SO huge and we will be working hard on this so if you come visit our youth group next time you’re in California, you’ll see 12 adults at each service!

Favorite Moment: I LOVE David Wood. Is that weird? He’s SO unassuming, so humble and so good. He may have sold his soul to the devil to get this good at magic, but I’m a fan and he crushed with our students.

Up next: NEW series! How NOT to Get Grounded(series premiere, week 1 of 4)

28 Jan 2020

Youth Workers: Fight the Thursday Discouragement!

By |2020-01-28T10:46:55-08:00January 28th, 2020|Leadership, Teaching/Programming, Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

So, it didn’t go well last night in your opinion, eh? Record low students? Record high disciplinary problems? Record hard unsolicited feedback from THOSE kids? Record number of tech issues? Record count of lies you started to believe at the end of the message?

Oh. Was that last one a bit too close to home?

Look, I get it. after ten years of youth ministry, I’ve felt the sting of a “bad night” over the course of the years. And while the beginning of this blog post seems more like an infomercial on public television on Saturday morning, the reality is that many youth workers have been there. That night that just didn’t seem to go as well as you wanted.

In the midst of “bad nights” some of the lowest moments for me have come on the heels of feedback that I received from the students that I’m trying to serve. And it never matters if it is solicited or unsolicited, when it is negative and it hits on the wrong night, it stings. The reality is that left unchecked with truth and reality, it can sting hard and sometimes hard enough to push you out of ministry.

So, when you get the negative feedback from “that kid” (and to be clear, we all know him and his name is Jimmy and on his best days he is annoying and on his worst days he crushes you with his sledge hammer of opinion) here are some things to think about and help you “capture every thought and make it obedient to Christ,” as Paul might say:

  1. They are students.

I’m not sure how old they are, but they aren’t old enough to have enough wisdom and experience to know what is effective or not. They aren’t cognizant of what is financially possible, or what can be resourced with the people that you have on your staff. While they think they know everything, they absolutely do not because their age and their shoe size are not distant enough apart yet and that, unfortunately, is the way to determine just how much expertise and street cred comes into the conversation.

So keep that in mind when you hear their feedback.

  1. You aren’t doing EVERYTHING wrong.

You might not be doing everything “right” or great. But you are not doing EVERYTHING wrong. You may be not be connecting with a few students, but you aren’t missing EVERYONE. Don’t let the lies of the Enemy convince you that every effort you are putting forth is worthless. When our emotions and feelings drive us, truth won’t be the thing that directs us. Their uneducated analysis and your unfiltered emotional response will only lead to the belief of lies that, quite simply, are not remotely true. If God has placed you there, then He is going to use you there. You are doing SOMETHING right but just showing up for kids and investing your life. So keep that in mind when you process their feedback.

  1. Feedback reveals more about the giver not the receiver.

I refer you to #1 and remind you that they just revealed something to you that not every student does: where they are in their faith. While it stings because, and I remind you of #1 again, they seem to be blaming you for their spiritual apathy, they just indicated that they clearly aren’t ready for the spiritual meat you prepared for them in the way that you have prepared it. Some students are ready to jump to the New York Strip, Medium on the Rare side, with garlic butter on top. But not every student is. Some students are only ready to drink the milk from the sippy cup with the handles on the side so you can hold it with two hands. So, perhaps this unfortunate and stinging indictment wasn’t of you, but more an indicator of them. Give them grace and recognize that you need wisdom from Jesus on how to lead them more specifically so you can connect with them more precisely. So keep that in mind as you try to consider next steps.

  1. Remember that you are not the fruit

Remember that you are not the fruit; you are the branch. Your job is to do branch-like things and stick to the vine so that you can bear more fruit. This morning, press hard into Jesus and then do whatever He says. That’s the branchy thing to do. Often we can get so involved and so invested in our ministry and the fruit of our lives that we begin to believe that we begin to focus on our fruit that we forget to do branchy things. Branches can’t produce fruit if they don’t first do the branchy thing of sticking close to the vine. He will produce fruit through you or the Father will prune it so you can produce more fruit. But you have to remember that you are the branch. So remember that when the Enemy tries to convince you to quit.

  1. You are loved.

Remember that you are loved. Because you are. And nothing in the world or above the world can separate you from the Love of Christ Jesus. I didn’t say that, Paul did and he seemed like a pretty confident dude who went through some stuff. So keep that in mind throughout the whole thing because on your worst day and on your best day, His love still remains and that will never change.

Find the blessings and then get back after it tomorrow.

Geoff Cocanower loves Jesus, his wife, the Church (primarily students, families and youth workers), and has been doing the youth ministry thing since 2008. Geoff is all about authentically leading and empowering others to flourishing life in Christ. You can find him online at www.pastorgeoff.com or on all the socials @geoffcocanower.

 

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

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