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5 Feb 2024

How Do I Recruit Volunteers?

By Ronald|2024-02-05T08:34:06-08:00February 5th, 2024|Leadership, Volunteers|2 Comments

We can’t do this ministry by ourselves! While it might be possible to take a group of students on a trip in the church van alone, there’s always a high likelihood that you misplaced a receipt, got lost on the way, or somehow lost a kid!

And I know I’m not the only one who really wishes there were someone else in the audience to help keep students focused and on task when I’m teaching a message or leading a game. For crowd control and to prevent receiving as many angry parent emails, volunteers are an integral part of any Youth Ministry! So how do you get them? Speaking from the Sunday morning pulpit might not be your best bet. Instead, try these four tips:

Ask parents to help make student ministry better: Some youth pastors don’t like asking parents to serve in ministry. Maybe it’s because they feel like students can’t be themselves if mom or dad is hanging around. Sometimes it’s because a Youth Pastor might feel intimidated by parents. Odds are, they’re older than you, and it might feel weird having volunteers around who are twice your age or could legitimately be your parent.The real reality is that they are invested in Youth Ministry going well! These are their kids we’re talking about! Parents can make the best volunteers because they have an inside track on what’s going on in their students’ lives, and they want the ministry to thrive.
Ask students who want to help lead the youth group: You might be surprised about how perceptive students are. Or maybe you know that students can tell who they would like to be around. If you were to ask a couple of students in your youth group who they would like to see volunteering in the student ministry, odds are that they have some names from your church.They may not be the people you would’ve chosen first, but if you ask them to serve because students mentioned them by name, you might find yourself a really helpful ally in your ministry journey!
See who naturally hangs around: When you have a youth group, is there somebody who is hanging out with the kids throwing a football in the parking lot? Is there someone who pops in just to help set up chairs or ask if you need any more snacks? Are there people who ask to be involved in Youth Ministry? This might seem like an easy win, but the reality is people might not volunteer if they’re not asked.When you see people at church naturally gravitating towards students, they might be worth getting to know a little bit better, and seeing if they would be a good fit for serving in the student ministry! Make sure to watch out for older church members as well who take time out of their day to stop and talk to students. Don’t ever discount a volunteer because they might be too old! If they love Jesus and like kids, they might be a great volunteer!
Ask those already serving: Does your church have people who already like to help, maybe they cook in the kitchen or hand out coffee or open doors before service. People who like to serve usually are looking for more ways to serve! There might be some church members who do too much and need to take a break, but don’t discount people or try to be the Holy Spirit for them. Ask if they would be willing to serve in student ministry and let them pray about it!

Have I missed any ways that you’ve recruited volunteers at your church? I’d love to hear them!

And need some resources getting these new volunteers on board? Check these out:

30 Jan 2024

Numbers don’t matter. Until they really do.

By Ronald|2024-01-30T06:41:24-08:00January 30th, 2024|Youth Ministry Ideas|2 Comments

When I started in Youth Ministry 16 years ago, I had a really big aversion to counting the number of heads in the room. Some of that involved my senior pastor calling me into his office every Monday morning. When I was just starting out, I envisioned doing devotionals with my pastor. Maybe we would spend time praying for each other and our church congregation.

But that wasn’t ever the reason for the Monday morning meeting. He wanted to know how many students I had on Sunday morning.

I dreaded that meeting because I didn’t enjoy letting him know how many bodies were in the room.

The amount of students I had didn’t speak to how many of them were reading their Bible throughout the week! Or how many of them had shared Jesus with a friend. Or how many of them were beginning to pray And begin their own spiritual journeys!

But I kept on going to those Monday morning meetings and telling my senior pastor how many kids had showed up.

Maybe you’ve got a similar aversion to talking about numbers in your youth group. You don’t wanna brag about how many kids are coming or, just as likely, maybe your number of regular students seems pretty low when you compare it to the church down the street or the really active youth group on Instagram.

I would agree with my younger and much less mature self. The number of students inside the building doesn’t say how spiritually mature they are, or whether or not, they are actually doing something with their faith beyond youth group programming.

But do play a role in helping you Assess some parts of your Youth Ministry.

And can even be a small part of determining health in your ministry.

Let’s look at a couple ways numbers can actually help you out.

Percentage of your church that’s student ministry

Let’s say you have a student ministry of 20 kids. But you have a regular church attendance of 150 in your church. You have a little over 13% of your church attending student ministry. A stat that gets thrown around that comes from Tony Morgan is that a healthy church should have about 10% of regular church attendance (that’s adults, kids, and students all combined). It holds water. It’s USUALLY a good stat. But take into context a few things: Is your church primarily young families or all retirees? If so, your pool of students may be low. Give yourself some grace. If your church is LOTS of middle-aged families with teens, but you’re just running 8% of the attendance, there may be something you need to look into.

Decrease or Increase Year Over Year

Again, let’s say you have a youth group of 20 kids. And you’ve had 20 kids on average for the last two years. If, during the spring, your weekly average drops to 15 and stays there for a couple months, it’s time to see what’s going on. If it doesn’t jump back up in the fall, when students normally dial back into involvement, you REALLY need to ask what has changed and what needs to happen.

On the other hand, if you start averaging 25 or 30 and the church continues to run 150 to even 200, that’s a BIG reason to celebrate! Be excited and ask for a bigger pizza budget.

Hey, we can all dream.

Volunteer to Student Ratio

For you personally, it’s good to have a team around you. It will increase your longevity, your joy, and your ministry!

Do you have one leader for every ten students? In your youth group of 20, that’s you PLUS one volunteer. I would encourage you to get some help! Having at least two to four OTHER volunteers in your ministry is such a good idea. It helps your accountability, allows people to have life come at them, and does not rock the ministry. I would encourage you to keep getting volunteers until you have at

Students Attending vs Students on the Role

I grew up Southern Baptist. We were BIG on keeping people on the “role,” meaning the list of students who have visited the church, attended at any time, or lived close to the church.

It could get out of hand, honestly.

We had students on the role who had attended VBS in 3rd grade and just got moved up each year, but really, they had no connection to the church. If you’ve got a role, clean it up and get it down to the students attending regularly or are at least really connected to your church.

Then, see how many of them are coming to the youth group! If it’s a healthy percentage, maybe 75% to 100%, awesome! Keep at it! If it’s less healthy, maybe 50% to 25%, it’s time to see what keeps those students away from the youth group.

Numbers are a resource. Not THE resource.

Really. Numbers can be helpful. If you use them well. Don’t get discouraged when numbers don’t match what you’ve hoped and prayed for. Use them as a tool to see what could change and what has worked in the past.

God gave you THESE students at THIS church for a reason. Lean into it! Learn your community and your church culture and reach who God has put in front of you!

You’ve got this!

29 Jan 2024

New Feature Alert: (Re)Introducing the Spinning Wheel!!!

By Josh Boldman|2024-03-06T08:27:18-08:00January 29th, 2024|Sidekick Hero Blog|4 Comments

🚨 This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill! 🚨

The Sidekick update we’ve all been waiting for is finally here!!

Starting today, all Sidekick users can now add a Spinning Wheel to any slide in their Sidekick presentation! Plus, because the new Sidekick is absolutely incredible, you can now customize the wheel in ways you never could before, like:

You can resize the wheel and move it to any part of the slide (even off the edge of the slide!)
You can assign a positive, neutral, or negative sound to each wedge on the wheel
You can choose the odds of winning for each wedge on the wheel (2x, 1x, 0.5x, or 0)
You can add/edit/remove wheel items DURING your presentation!
And a lot more!

Check out the video below for a detailed walkthrough:

It’s really that easy! Thanks to the most recent Sidekick update, you can now add a Spinning Wheel to any slide in your presentation!

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:

25 Jan 2024

How We Used Sidekick Polls at Our Mid-Year Training

By Josh Griffin|2024-01-24T07:55:21-08:00January 25th, 2024|josh griffin, Mariners Youth Ministry, Sidekick Hero Blog|9 Comments

What a fun night! We just kicked off our 2024 Life Group session with a leader training night, and of course … incorporated Sidekick and it’s killer new live polling option.

We asked several questions, but this is the one that had the most buzz:

After we’d given an overview of our upcoming Asking for a Friend series, we asked which of the topics they were most nervous to cover or teach. The answer wasn’t surprising – in fact, it confirmed what we had guessed which ones they would be apprehensive about.

(click image to enlarge)

And here’ the killer twist … the poll results helped us knew where to spend our time during the training. The top 2 results got the rest of the time in the training. It was incredible … all made possible by a simple phone poll (using Sidekick, naturally). Just another way to use the incredible Gold+ membership presentation software!

Josh

24 Jan 2024

Great Idea: Pre-Service Polls

By Josh Boldman|2024-01-24T07:16:48-08:00January 24th, 2024|Sidekick Hero Blog|1 Comment

Yesterday, we received a comment from @Joshua-sb1cb on the most recent episode of This Week with Doug & Josh on our YouTube channel, and we just had to share it:

Brilliant Idea from @Joshua-sd1cb on Youtube

When I shared it with the rest of the Sidekick team, it immediately sparked a bunch of ideas that we just had to share:

1. Using Sidekick to Engage Parents During Check-In

Depending on your group’s process, check-in can be long and tedious… especially for the parents of younger students. That’s why we love @Joshua-sd1cb‘s idea so much. Because Sidekick is so portable, you could easily hook up a laptop to a TV cart and place a “Parent Poll” next to your check-in stations. And if you set the poll to “Show Live Results,” parents could see the results in real-time!

You could even use the results to start off your parent email each week!

Here are a few ideas for “Parent Polls” that our team came up with:

(click image to enlarge)

2. Using Sidekick to Engage Students Before The Service Starts

This one is pretty similar to the first idea, but this one is aimed at a different audience. If your group is anything like the groups I’ve worked with, you know that “youth group starts at 7pm” means the first student will show up at about 5:32pm, right? Right. 😂

What better way to engage students who show up early than by featuring a few live polls on the screens in the space where students hang out before your service starts? Not only does this give them a little something extra that they can do, but they can also see the results continue to change as more and more students arrive.

Plus, since the QR code for Sidekick Live Polls stays the same throughout the entire presentation, if you decide to use more polls during your service, any student who voted in a “Pre-Service Poll” won’t even have to re-scan the QR code!

Here are a few ideas for “Pre-Service Polls” that our team came up with to get you started:

(click image to enlarge)

So, how are you using Sidekick Live Polls to help keep your students (and parents!) engaged? Let us know in the comments!

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:

22 Jan 2024

Coming Soon: Spinning Wheels!!!

By Josh Boldman|2024-01-22T07:21:02-08:00January 22nd, 2024|Sidekick Hero Blog|1 Comment

Ok, so… I just made a video for our Sidekick Beta Crew about a feature that is going to be dropping VERY soon for everyone, but I’m just too excited to keep this a secret. Sure, I’ll post a full walkthrough after the feature is officially released, but I just want you to see what you can expect to see on your Sidekick dashboard in a few days…

Oh, and one more thing… I’m not 100% sure that I’m actually supposed to post this… so let’s just call this an instance of asking for forgiveness instead of permission… 😂

If you can’t tell by the video, I’m just a tad bit (ok, maybe that’s a slight understatement) excited about this new feature… and I can’t wait until we can make it available to everyone!

In the meantime, just don’t tell anyone that I posted this, ok? Thanks.

shushing-face-emoji-emoji-493×512-5b4s55zg

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:

22 Jan 2024

Nurturing Health in Youth Ministry Teams

By Justin Knowles|2024-01-22T14:51:25-08:00January 22nd, 2024|Leadership|2 Comments

In the dynamic world of youth ministry, volunteers are the heartbeat that keeps the mission alive. It’s not merely about filling roles; it’s about finding the right individuals for specific roles, about how people “feel” when serving on our teams, and if they feel like they know what they are doing when they show up. The journey towards a vibrant and impactful ministry team starts with pursuing clarity before pursuing people.

1. Pursue Clarity Before Pursuing People

Effective leadership begins with a clear vision. Before diving into recruitment, take the time to define your mission, goals, and the specific needs of your youth ministry. When you have a crystal-clear vision you can make crystal-clear asks. You can identify the right volunteers who align with your objectives.

The adage “Leaders who know how to win, win” holds in youth ministry. Set clear targets for your team, outlining specific roles and responsibilities. This clarity not only guides your volunteers but also enhances the impact of your ministry.

2. Creating a Vibrant Team Culture

Beyond simply filling volunteer spots, creating a vibrant team culture is essential. It’s about fostering connections and building a sense of community among your volunteers. They become more committed and engaged when they feel connected to the mission and each other.

Host regular team-building activities, both within and outside of service hours. Encourage open communication and celebrate successes, big or small. A team that shares a strong sense of community is more likely to weather challenges and stay dedicated to the cause.

Here is an example of what I like to do:

Connect Weekly: Instead of trying to touch base with everyone every week, I encourage setting up weekly one-on-one sessions with leaders. Aim to connect with your crew individually every 4-6 weeks, fostering deeper relationships.
Gather Monthly: Designate a consistent date, perhaps the last Wednesday of the month, for a casual get-together. It could be a trip to In-N-Out or a similar outing after services. Initially, it may start slow, but as leaders engage, it will naturally grow into a valuable time for bonding. Informal ministry discussions are likely to occur in this relaxed setting.
Train Quarterly: Dedicate intentional quarterly sessions for training that focus on collective improvement. This includes team-building activities, learning sessions, and, of course, enjoying some good food together. Striking a balance between training and fun ensures growth and camaraderie within the team.

3. Effective Leadership: Being Available When It Counts

Leadership isn’t just about showing up; it’s about being available when it truly counts. Delegation and purpose are the cornerstones that empower leaders to be fully present during crucial moments. As a youth pastor, setting up your team for success is part of your leadership responsibility.

Delegate tasks based on individual strengths and skills. When your team feels equipped and confident in their roles, it frees you to be available for mentorship, guidance, and support during key moments. Successful leaders know how to empower their team, allowing everyone to contribute their best.

4. The Vital Elements of Health in Ministry Teams

In the pursuit of a thriving ministry team, focus on nurturing four vital elements: clarity, defined wins, community among leaders, and effective delegation.

Clarity: Clearly define your mission and communicate it consistently. This clarity guides your team’s efforts and fosters a shared sense of purpose.

Defined Wins: Establish clear goals and celebrate victories. Recognizing and appreciating your team’s accomplishments reinforces their commitment to the ministry.

Community Among Leaders: Build a supportive community among your leadership team. Encourage collaboration, open communication, and a sense of belonging.

Effective Delegation: Delegate tasks strategically, ensuring each team member plays to their strengths. This not only maximizes efficiency but also fosters a culture of trust and empowerment.

Youth pastors, remember that your volunteers are not just contributors; they are valuable partners in the ministry journey. By prioritizing clarity, building a vibrant team culture, and being available when it counts, you set the stage for a healthy and impactful ministry. Focus on these vital elements, and watch your youth ministry team thrive!

– Justin

19 Jan 2024

Sidekick: Adults Love It Too!

By Doug Fields|2024-01-19T08:36:57-08:00January 19th, 2024|communication, Sidekick, Sidekick Hero Blog, Teaching, Teaching/Programming, Technology|2 Comments

It’s no secret that when we created Sidekick, we had youth workers in mind (they are our favorite, of course!), but recently, my wife (Cathy) and I were asked to teach a course at our church called Intentional Parenting (based off a book by the same name we wrote back in 2018). We had an idea that the course would be popular, but we had no idea we’d have hundreds of parents seeking advice each month! It’s been a whirlwind, to say the very least!

After seeing how much students love the new interactive features (such as live voting) in Sidekick, we decided to see if adults would feel the same way, and—spoiler alert—THEY ABSOLUTELY DID!

For the past few sessions, throughout the teaching, we’ve been sprinkling in questions like this:

(click image to enlarge)

And, even though we knew it would be a hit, we were BLOWN AWAY by the response! Cathy and I have taught this curriculum in many different settings over the years, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is the most engagement we’ve ever seen with a group of parents!

Here are a few things I’ve noticed about the parents in our course since we started integrating Sidekick Live Polls throughout our teaching content:

They are more attentive – Since they know I might ask another question at any time, I genuinely think they pay more attention to the material we are presenting.
They’re having more fun – I can’t even tell you how much I love their response when the “Show Live Results” feature is enabled. It’s not uncommon for people to cheer as the results come rolling in!
They’re more likely to come back – I don’t need a lot of research (although it certainly is out there!) to tell me that people who enjoy an experience are more likely to come back a second, third, or even fourth time. That’s EXACTLY what we’re seeing right now with Intentional Parenting.
They’re more likely to bring their friends – I’ve seen this in youth ministry over and over again, but this is one of the clearest examples of this happening with adults I’ve ever seen. Couples who attend one session are inviting their neighbors. Plain and simple: People want to attend engaging events.

Now, before I close out, there’s one more really important thing that I realized during our most recent course. It’s in the picture below. See if you can figure out what I’m talking about:

(click image to enlarge)

It’s right there at the bottom of the screen. I’ll zoom in to help:

(click image to enlarge)

During the session, I asked what grade parents would give themselves based on how well they show affection to their children. And 5% answered that they would give themselves a big ole F. I can say with 100% confidence that most of those parents would never have admitted this if they weren’t able to answer anonymously.

You see, Sidekick doesn’t just promote engagement, it gives people the chance to be honest without facing immediate judgment. You can absolutely be sure that the next words out of my mouth after this poll were different than they would have been had we not done the poll. Because of what we learned with this poll, I was able to pause and tell those parents that they aren’t alone and that simply by attending the Intentional Parenting course, they were already taking steps in the right direction. I’m not going to say it solved all of their problems, but you could actually feel the sense of relief in the room.

And none of this would have been possible without Sidekick.

Blessings,

Doug

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:

12 Jan 2024

Casting a Vision: Empowering Volunteers to Transform Young Lives

By Justin Knowles|2024-01-08T08:41:30-08:00January 12th, 2024|Leadership|0 Comments

Casting vision for recruiting volunteers isn’t just about filling roles; it’s about painting a compelling picture of how their involvement can shape the destiny of young hearts. Often, younger leaders find themselves seeking guidance on how to effectively communicate this vision. Here are some practical strategies to cast a vision that inspires, empowers, and transforms within youth ministry:

Storytelling: Narrating Impact and Transformation

Stories resonate deeply. Sharing instances where volunteers impacted a young person’s life amplifies the tangible outcomes of their service. These stories bridge the present to a future where volunteers become catalysts for lasting change.

On weekends, as I engage in conversations with people, I make it a point to have a few ‘back pocket’ stories of leaders who have experienced life changes by serving themselves. These stories serve to help other adults realize the impact God can have on them as they endeavor to influence others. They’re quick anecdotes I can share amidst conversations.

Clarity of Purpose: Defining Goals and Objectives

A clear vision breeds commitment. Articulate the ministry’s purpose, goals, and the role of volunteers in realizing these objectives. Define how each individual contributes to the larger narrative of transformation.

One of the most significant mistakes we can make when addressing potential leaders is to say, ‘Just show up on Wednesday, and we’ll immediately get you involved.’ Unfortunately, I often witness this approach, and it’s truly alarming to me. It’s a disservice to those considering leadership roles. It’s crucial to properly prepare them, providing a clear understanding of what they’re committing to rather than throwing them in without guidance.

Vision Casting Events: Shaping the Bigger Picture

Events propel vision. Host gatherings solely dedicated to casting vision. Illustrate the impact of volunteering and showcase the opportunities available for those interested in joining.

One of our ministry practices involves hosting leader training nights wherein we cancel the ‘youth group’ session, giving the youth the night off. However, we extend invitations to all our leaders to join us for an evening of enjoyable activities, training sessions, and casting visions for the upcoming season. I appreciate this approach because it doesn’t add another night out for our leaders; it aligns with a night they’re already accustomed to attending.

Consistent Communication: Enabling Connection

Communication maintains enthusiasm. Regularly update volunteers on wins, challenges, and ongoing needs. Sharing success stories fosters motivation and a sense of belonging.

Involve Them in the Vision: Collaborative Leadership

Collaboration fosters ownership. Encourage volunteers to share their ideas and feedback. Involving them in decision-making processes strengthens their commitment. You can effectively address two needs by allocating time during leaders’ gatherings to plan for ongoing activities in your youth ministry, seeking their insights, and involving them in the planning process while they are all present.

Consistent Follow-Up: Sustaining Commitment

Consistency affirms dedication. After recruitment, maintain regular contact. Celebrate achievements, address concerns, and offer continuous support.

By integrating these strategies, youth leaders can effectively cast a vision that not only inspires volunteers but mobilizes them to actively engage in transforming young lives. It’s about creating a narrative where every volunteer becomes an integral part of the discipleship journey, influencing and changing eternity, one young heart at a time.

9 Jan 2024

Sidekick Poll to Kickoff our “So You Got a Phone for Christmas” Junior High Series

By Josh Griffin|2024-01-12T14:31:48-08:00January 9th, 2024|Sidekick Hero Blog, Youth Ministry Ideas|5 Comments

This week, we kicked off a brand new series in my junior high ministry – So You Got a Phone for Christmas – a series to help students think through a biblical lens about the newfound technology in their pocket. The point was that the whole world—every thought, every person, good, bad, and UGLY—are now just a tap away. It was fun to kickoff the series, and in the coming weeks, we’ll cover what we listen to, what we watch/stream, and what we post/comment/share.

(click image to enlarge)

To kickoff the series, in my first message called Screens Are Everywhere, I started things off with a Sidekick poll so we could put all of the new iPhones to the test. Just how many screens do you have in your house/world? The answer may shock you!

It sure did for me! We have 5 services, so the answers were slightly different in each service, and of course not everyone in JH has a phone, so it’s not scientific, but it sure was fun!

I can’t believe I did this, but I also showed my “Screen Time” to be honest with students about how adults deal with these same issues as well.

Sidekick makes it so easy to takes phones … remember, our students digital natives and have never known life without them 😳 … and embrace them to help students engage with the message even more. Already excited for next week!

Josh

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: