Youth Pastor Life Archives - Page 9 of 13 - Blog

22 Mar 2017

Nothing Beats A Personal Invite

By Justin Knowles|2017-03-22T08:42:49-07:00March 22nd, 2017|Leadership, Small Groups, Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

Two of the most commonly asked questions when it comes to recruiting leaders:

What do you feel your biggest need is?
How do you recruit small group leaders?

I feel the first one is easy. Biggest need? Probably like many churches, volunteers. We need people to lead groups. The second question however is a lot tougher. If you happen to know, please let me know. How do you make sure you don’t get just anybody but make sure to get quality, teachable, adults who have a heart for teenagers? Great question.

I feel like we have done an announcement in the bulletin. We have made announcement videos for the main weekend services. We have sent out emails to the church. We have talked to our college ministry. All of which we would maybe get a few good candidates out of all of those. Surprisingly the best way I have seen and have done is pretty simple.

Nothing beats a personal invite.

No one told me at the beginning of my youth ministry career that I would have to have the same qualifications as a college football recruiter. When you meet people around the church, look for people who you feel would be great to volunteer and simply just ask them if they ever considered leading a group. If they have, then you got them. If not, you at least got them thinking about it and then follow-up.

Also, send your leaders out into the world and have them each talk to two friends they think would be a great group leader. You will be surprised a how many more quality hits you get from a bulletin announcement.

When someone is asked personally, it means you see something good in them. They feel valued. They feel like they can make a difference and you think they can as well. That’s powerful. Some of the greatest leaders are the ones you would never expect. The ones you would never have known about unless you or another leader saw something in them and planted a personal invite to get them thinking about it.

Get asking.

@justinknowles3

20 Mar 2017

The Fall, Sacred Cows & Change

By Justin Knowles|2017-03-20T11:38:17-07:00March 20th, 2017|Leadership, Teaching/Programming, Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

Fall is coming.

If you are thinking, “It’s way too early” then I think you are already behind. When summer hits, events, services and camps will already be here and you will fall behind (speaking from experience here). We are talking through our fall this next year and I have been processing a bit.

Here are some random thoughts:

The best idea wins. Every ministry has those events (sacred cows) in which it’s something you have always done. I love annual events and I think some continue to work. We have a Fall Flannel Festival every fall wear students wear flannel, carve pumpkins and have inflatables and they love it. It kills every year. But we need to be careful that events do not become so untouchable. That’s why I love our team operates on the “best idea wins” mentality. If there is a better idea on the table then what we have been doing, that idea will win. Having this idea right up front will help protect you from having a sacred cow because everyone knows the best idea wins and if it better than what we do now, it’s gone.

Effective over longevity. Kind of sounds like the first but it’s just taking it a little further. Far too many youth pastors are putting on events or programs just to fill their calendar. Putting on things just to do things is not effective. Be strategic. Know what will work with your students. If there is an event that is supposed to be an outreach type event but no new students are showing up. Kill it. Regroup. Come up with an event that will actually reach students who come to church. If there is a discipleship thing you do but no students sign up, get rid of it. Think through what will get your students to actually want to take their next steps in their faith. If the event or program has been going for a long time, you need to ask yourself the question, “Is this effective for what I want out of my ministry?”

Play to your strengths and know your culture. Like most ministries, fall is a natural momentum time. Students are back in school and are looking for something midweek. It’s great time for students to bring friends. We also know it takes a few weeks for our students to get into the swing of things with school. So we wait until students are in school for a few weeks before we launch our fall kick off and the big events so there is enough time to promote them and for students to get in the new swing of things. Knowing our culture and our timing only helps us plan for better events.

Don’t just change to change. What worked last year could work this year. It just takes you being intentional with your review process after an event or new program. Our team personally goes through: RIGHT, WRONG, MISSING, CONFUSED after events or looking back at the year to try and get a good read on what was successful or not. But careful, repeating could turn into ruts. Trying new things just to try new things could put in you in a hole. Be sure to be seeking god on where He is calling you to go, to try, to keep and be intentional with the change you want to see.

@justinkknowles3

6 Mar 2017

6 Tips For Putting On Events

By Justin Knowles|2017-03-04T12:05:55-08:00March 6th, 2017|Leadership, Volunteers, Youth Pastor Life|6 Comments

We have all put on an event for our student ministry that was a total flop.

We have all put on an event in which was a total hit and students loved it.

Have you ever thought of what the difference was between them? Why one worked and one didn’t? All last year we started to be really intentional about the events we put on for our students and here are some of the things we noticed in which made a big difference:

1. Don’t just do it to do it – One of the biggest mistakes we can do it to put on an event just to put it on. We need have a destination for the event. What is the end goal for your students when the event was over? When we throw an event together it falls in the category of one of our church values of evangelism. We want to put on events in which the goal would be for our students to invite their friends who normally do not go to church and have them come, have fun, interact with us and come back. It’s a great first step. Have an end goal for the event.

2. Make sure it’s not in vain – You might like the event, but your students might not. Sometimes we plan events because we like them not because our students like them. We don’t do it intentionally. I know I like to have some passion behind the things I plan but we defeat the purpose if our students are not all about it. I sat down with our student leadership team and we reviewed last year and they gave me the run down of the events that they loved and the ones I loved but they did not. You bet we won’t be doing some of them next year.

3. Get your leaders involved – Believe it or not, your leaders want to help. You might feel like you need to do everything because everything needs to be just right but when your leaders get involved they can take ownership and take it to the next level. One, you won’t have to do everything. Two, when you give away authority you create more buy-in from your leaders. Three, it gives your leaders opportunities to interact with students in different ways.

4. Promote, promote, promote – This might seem like a no brainer but even though you could talk blue in the face about an event, students don’t always see it, pay attention to it, or info does not get home to parents etc. For any event we do, we have a plan for a month out, the weeks leading up, the week of, the day of.

Month out: post on social media and mention in service
Weeks out: two posts a week on social media and mention in service
Week of: mention in service with some sort of bit or video to promote it, post every day from Sunday to Wednesday, and an email to parents letting them know details and when it will end
Day of: post right after school gets out, post an hour before students get to campus

5. Keep it short – There is nothing worse than an event that should have ended 30 minutes ago. We all have been to an event or wedding or some thing that the momentum just died or ran out. I always love ended events on a high note and leave them wanting more. I think it’s okay to keep it short and have them think, “Man, that was so much fun, I didn’t want it to end” rather than thinking, “Okay that was great but when is it over?” You want to let them go home on the high note.

Typically when we do an event after our service, we end service at 8:30-45 and the event will stop at 9:30 sharp. Seems like that is a sweet spot for us and always ends on that high note.

6. Capture it – If it is a reoccurring event, make sure you grab video or pictures. One of the best ways to promote events is show them what it was like last time so they can get excited. Plus, they love to see themselves on the screen. If you cold give them an idea of what they will experience in the video they will be able to share it with friends.

What else would you add for successful events?

@justinknowles3

2 Mar 2017

Saying Good-Bye Well

By |2017-03-02T05:22:21-08:00March 2nd, 2017|Leadership, Youth Pastor Life|2 Comments

Three years ago, our associate pastor left to take another call. Our church immediately scheduled a farewell dinner. I assumed the students who she’d worked closely with during her tenure at our congregation would attend. While some did, most didn’t. But by then it was too late to help them say good-bye, something that was difficult for them.

As soon as our senior pastor announced he, too, had taken another call I flashed back to that experience. This time, I realized that part of my role as a staff member was to help our pastor and students say good-bye to one another.

Our senior pastor has served our congregation for 15 years. For all but our oldest high school students, he’s been their pastor their entire lives. He baptized most of them. He confirmed many of them. He’s walked with their families through difficult times. As a result, I knew teens needed to say good-bye to him, outside our congregation’s formal farewell, in a way that was developmentally appropriate.

So we scheduled a farewell party for our senior pastor, confirmands (our junior high youth ministry), and our high school ministry. Our student leaders planned it, ensuring it was age-appropriate – not too sad, but not too silly either.

We played games – a classic, semi-messy youth group game but also some games specific to our senior pastor. We blew up pictures of him wearing his clerical collar and played “Pin the clerical collar on the Pastor”. Both our junior high and high school students played a version of the Newlywed game designed to help them reflect on their time together, while staying light-hearted and fun. Indeed, throughout the first part of the night, there was much laughter.

Then our student leaders each spoke. They shared a memory of our pastor along with something they’d learned from him. Then they presented him with gifts they’d chosen based on things they knew about him: Custom guitar picks featuring a picture of him playing the guitar on one of our winter retreats; A wooden fountain pen (He’s a little nuts about them); and a handmade leather journal (He’s a writer).

One of the things our teens associate most with our senior pastor is his love of music. So our student leaders also requested our pastor lead us in song during our celebration. That is, after all, what we do in the Christian faith: We sing to worship God in times of celebration and in times of sorrow.

We finished the night by laying hands on our pastor and praying for him. Immediately, some of our junior high kids burst into laughter. Being in such close proximity to one another was just too much for them.

And yet, we prayed anyway – grateful for laughter in the midst of tears. We prayed prayers of thanksgiving for what our pastor has brought to our congregation and prayers of blessing for his ministry at his new church.

Then we hugged it out.

The night was simple, fun, and meaningful for our pastor and teens. It gave everyone the chance to actually say good-bye.

A few weeks ago, our senior pastor remarked at a staff meeting that the best gift a departing pastor can give his congregation is to say good-bye well.

I couldn’t agree more.

Saying good-bye well gives people the space to grieve and lament. It gives them finality and allows them to have closure, which, in turn, makes it possible for them to embrace whoever comes next without feeling like they’re betraying the person who’s left.

That’s what we did at our party.

We celebrated, yes. We laughed. We played. We remembered.

And in the process, we said good-bye well.

1 Mar 2017

We Cannot Change Students

By Justin Knowles|2017-02-28T20:21:32-08:00March 1st, 2017|Leadership, Youth Pastor Life|4 Comments

I think one of the hardest things about a job as a youth worker/pastor is watching a student who used to be so involved not be anymore. A student who you have seen God made a complete 180 degree turn in go back to the ways they struggled with before and become more and more distant. It is heart breaking. It is even more heart-breaking when you need to console the mother of that student because she doesn’t know what to do anymore. What does one do with this? What can we possibly say in times like this? What can we actively do with this to move forward?

I’m going to be honest, I don’t know. It’s hard.

I have been working through this myself lately with some students and what I keep coming back to is this verse:

“How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God. That power is the same divine power which was demonstrated in Christ when he raised him from the dead.” (Ephesians 1:19b-20)

Something I have learned more this year than in my previous years in youth ministry is that we have the power to change no one.

As much as we want to, we don’t have the power to do this. But we serve a God who can change the hearts and minds of those He created and loves. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power in which can cause someone to be open to listen to God, to others and take advice to turn their hearts around.

I don’t know if there are more steps to this, but this is what I have been doing this past year and I have seen God move in students who used to be far from Him to call them back and I am confident in prayer that He will do the same with those students right now that are far from Him as well.

Pray- Prayer is simple but it is not always easy. Patience is key to prayer. Pray God begins to soften their heart to be open to talking about what is happening.

Pursue- For students who are not coming like they used to because they know they are doing things that are not right, constantly pursue them. Let them know that you are thinking of them and praying for them and are there for them. Whether if they text back or not, they will know that you are still thinking about them.

Persist- We don’t know how long it will take, but we need to persist. I have seen in my own ministry, I have gotten a random text from a student months after them not being around but because they knew I was thinking about them weekly, when things got hard I would get a text to meet up with them because they knew I was wanting to meet with them for months.

Prepare – If they do reach out to you, be prepared for what is coming. Be prepared to listen. Listen well. Most of the time when I have these meetings I don’t say anything because I just want to hear what’s going on. I’m not quick to give advice unless asked. Usually this is the first of many meetings to follow.

God has the power to bring people back to Him. We do not. So pray, pursue, persist and prepare for those students who walk away. God can still move in huge ways and we get to be a vessel in bringing students back to Jesus. What an awesome job we have.

@justinknowles3

23 Feb 2017

Students Mess Up My Work Day

By Justin Knowles|2017-02-22T09:04:19-08:00February 23rd, 2017|Leadership, Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

Today was a non-stop kind of day for me. Ever have one of those. I had a meeting with a volunteer, then a long, tough phone conversation with a parent, edit a sermon that a high school student is giving this week and meet with a friend who needed some encouraging words.

Non-stop.

If I am being honest, I would have not felt as rushed if we did not have a bunch of students coming in and out of our offices all day long and if I didn’t have students come sit on my office couch and interrupt me while I was working. When asked, “Why are you here, in our offices, right now?”

They say, “Because you guys (SM staff) are here.”

I love it.

Jesus was available. When he was asked to come to a guys house to heal his child a woman touched his cloak and he stopped to engage her. He had stuff to do, but he chose the relationship with the women over the task that was on His “desk”. Look what happened when he did that.

Obviously my tone above is one of a joking manner. Hopefully you got it. Was my day stressful? Yes, it really was. Was it interrupted at least 5 times today by students coming in and sitting on my couch? Yes, it actually was.

Would I trade that for getting my work done quicker? Absolutely not.

As youth workers, I think when we get interrupted from our office hours because students want to hang out with you, it means we are doing something right. It means we are not only locked to our desk (which sometimes we clearly need to get stuff done) but we are making lasting, meaningful relationships with students who are choosing to come to a lousy office to hang out with you instead of being somewhere else.

That is amazing.

So stop. Pay attention. Turn to that student on your couch and engage them in a great conversation. A fun conversation. Take them to Starbuck’s really quick. Take them on the errand you have to run. Yes, your work will be pushed back a bit but that relational time with them is priceless. Know you are doing something right outside your office when students are willing to come chill with you while you need to be in your office.

Be available. Be present. Enjoy it. We have the best jobs on the planet. Students mess up my work day, but I love it.

@justinknowles3

14 Feb 2017

How To Fight Through The Interruptions And Distractions

By |2017-02-13T06:39:19-08:00February 14th, 2017|Youth Pastor Life|1 Comment

Speaking to a room of middle school students can often feel like speaking into a wind tunnel filled with cats and dogs. It’s distracting and can sometimes leave you wondering, “Are they ever going to listen?”

Youth ministry is filled with interruptions and no matter what you do some of them are unavoidable. To get through the craziness that ministry sometimes brings you need to: (more…)

14 Feb 2017

3 Seasons Of Ministry You Need To Identify To Maintain Your Sanity

By Justin Knowles|2017-02-15T10:00:27-08:00February 14th, 2017|Leadership, Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

I live in Southern California so we don’t have seasons. Well, we do but I think we just skip the crappy ones. Just like how every year we have the seasons and they change, every ministry leader will go through seasons as well.

I am entering into a new season.

New dad.

Incomplete team.

Learning how to be a dad and husband in ministry.

Every ministry and pastor has season in which they ebb and flow from and they all look different but essentially they all fall into 3 same types of seasons. I think it is impossible to run at the same speed the entire time you are in your role. 1) You will die 2) the people who are with you will you will be tired or frustrated and 3) it’s just not wise.

A mature leader is able to self-evaluate which season mindset they need to be in.

If you can’t, you will be in rut, run yourself down or never be able to move past what is blocking you. You will go crazy if you don’t identify it. So what season are you in?

Taking new ground – I don’t know about you, but my personality is the type in which I do not like the status quo. I’m constantly looking to the future and working on things in order to get to the goals in which we have set. You know this season, things are rolling! Your team is full, your leaders are the right people and they get the vision and they are doing what you need them to do. Students are excited and inviting people and a bunch of new people are coming to your service.

You really are taking new ground.

This is a fun season and it is easy to know God is working.

Building – This one, not so much. During building seasons, it is not as easy to “see” God moving like in the taking ground seasons. But we do need to know and identify WHEN we need to be in a building season. Somethings that you would want to be in a building season with your group are:

If there is something in which you know you need to change.
When you know you need to rearrange your methodology or approach.
Casting new vision and direction in your ministry.
When you see something unhealthy going on and needing to change course and rearrange.

Just to name a few. Building seasons are tough but needed.

You can’t take new ground unless you build something to sustain the growth.

There is no way we can run at “take new ground” speed in a building season. You will run thin and run tired. Knowing that you need to be in a building season will help keep you sane. Knowing you won’t really see the things happening right away (but don’t be mistaken, God is moving even when we don’t see it) our human-side can get down in the building seasons.

Whether that is recruiting new leaders, re-training the ones you have so they do what you need them to do, going a new direction with groups or your service or adding new things, in building seasons you will need to lay down the foundation and be patient.

When you plant something, you might not see the effects for years. Same when it comes to ministry. Plant vision. Building it up and defend it and fight for culture and it will poke its head and you will see it’s so worth it.

Are you in a building season? Know it and keep going and build to sustain the “take new ground” seasons.

Maintain what you got – This season is a needed one sometimes. Maybe something is incomplete in your ministry. You don’t have the right people in the right place. A tragedy happened and you need to address it. Something happens where you can’t spend the time to build something up but you cannot take new ground yet. Sometimes you just need to maintain and focus on what you have.

This one is the hardest for me. Taking new ground and building have to do with movement and working towards something. I don’t maintain well. I have learned something about myself; I need movement. I get antsy. But right now, this is the season I am in right now. I have an open spot on my team (JH pastor). We have a solid group of leaders. There is momentum in ministry right now. So with an incomplete team, I need to maintain with what we have until we get this spot filled. I need to do all the things in which our junior high pastor was doing, taking care of the leaders, and students so building something and taking new ground is not an option. It would not be healthy.

Over the years I have been doing this full-time (next year will be 10 years, weird) here is what I discovered:

No matter what season you are in, God is living and active and moving. He is still working in the lives of your leaders and students. He is there. It’s our responsibility as the leader to establish what season we are in and then able to match our mindsets with it because we want long, lasting and healthy leaders leading our ministries. I promise just knowing what season you are in you will be able to get through it utilize it for the best.

What season are you in right now?

@justinknowles3

9 Feb 2017

GUEST POST: Dreaming on the Road

By Josh Griffin|2017-02-09T22:40:31-08:00February 9th, 2017|Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

When was the last time you just sat and dreamed about God?

I have a hard time remembering my dreams. In fact, I’m convinced I don’t even have any most nights. I’m not talking about that kind of dreaming, though. I want to know when you last allowed God to take over your mind and envision what He wants for you.

In our busy lives, it’s not always easy to make time for God, let alone have time to dream. Between our ministries, families, and fantasy football leagues, we often find ourselves reading less Bible and barely praying. The demands of ministry and life often leave us burning out too soon.

That’s why it’s important to find a place where you can dream.

I recently made a discovery in my own life. I already knew that I did not like being in the church office. In fact, many of us from DYM100 were talking about our shared aversion to office time. I did not, however, realize how much I enjoy driving around town. Although, when I look back at the times I get out of the office, I recognized that I am often driving.

For me, driving does something that going to a coffee shop or a local park does not. It takes me away from distractions. It gets me to put down my phone and computer. I can get incredibly distracted by devices, the internet, and games — sometimes worse than our students. There is always something there to grab my attention away from where it should be. Though, when I am driving, I can’t be on my phone, and that is when God starts speaking.

Lately, it has been about my future, what He wants to do through me, what he wants me to write about, and what I can do to grow as a disciple-maker. He also speaks to me about my marriage and how I can grow with my wife. Those are all things in which I want to excel, but I am often guilty of trying to do it on my own. In the car, though, I am forced to put down the phone and just dream (and drive carefully, of course).

Another place I go to seek God is the mountains or ocean. Both places do not have great cellular service, so again, I am forced to put the device away and just listen to God. As I sit in awe of God’s creation, I begin to hear His gentle whisper guiding my thoughts. It’s amazing what He reveals to you when you just give Him a chance.

Where is that place for you? Where are you able to just sit and let God speak to you? Some of you are more disciplined than me and can put the phone away when you are in the office or at a park. Others need times when you are forced to let go of the distractions. Wherever it is for you, make sure you regularly go there.

In the middle of our busy ministry lives, we cannot forget to dream!

Steve Cullum is the Student Minister at Rockingham Christian Church and a DYM member. Follow him on Twitter @stevecullum

9 Feb 2017

Gold Rush Contest Winners Are…

By |2017-02-10T11:12:04-08:00February 9th, 2017|Youth Pastor Life|0 Comments

If you purchased a DYM Gold Yearly Membership in the month of January, you were entered to win one of three great prizes in our DYM Gold Rush 2017 Contest!

On Tuesday, Doug and Josh entered the names of all of the contestants into “Pick Me” in the DYM Games App and randomly selected the winners of these three Grand Prizes.

Take a look at the video to find out if you’ve won! (Did you really think we were just going to tell you outright?)

Congratulations to the winners! Please email [email protected] to claim your prize!

And if you didn’t win the registration to DYM100 2017, but are still interested in joining us for The Greatest Event in the History of Youth Ministry, head over to the DYM100 page and enter your email to make sure you are alerted when the application begins.