Trunk Or Treat 08

Trunk or Treat 08 is over and was bigger than ever.  Now to plan for ToT 09. . .

Tonight we saw around 1,000 children come through and they were loaded with candy.  We gave out several hundred pounds of candy.

The inflatable games were a blast and they were huge.

We ran out of the popcorn about an hour or so into the night (note to self - order more popcorn)

We gave out around 300 bags and cones of cotton candy.  (order more cotton candy)

I saw many sipping on cups of hot coffee and hot chocolate.

Boars Head was serving up the hot dogs.  (thanks Fred Flintstone)

The traffic team was working hard directing the hundreds of cars that came through tonight.

The trunks were great.  I saw several that were fantastic and it would have been hard to pick a winner this year.  A few of my favorites:

The Penguin family complete with infant penguin.

The Men in Black family complete with infant alien.

Aunt Jemima and her pancake.  (Mark was a good Aunt J.  Sue was a great short stack)

Shreck and Fiona were quite green.

Cat in the hat was popular this year.

We were fair and balanced with both Obama and McCain there and even Sarah Palin paid a visit.

The ToT team did an incredible job, I'm not sure of the count tonight but I think we had at least 80 from our church helping pull of this most excellent bridging event.  All the teams did the great job.  Now it's time to evaluate and adjust.  Wonder if there is any candy left in the house?

Evaluate and Adjust, Evaluate and Adjust

Seven years ago NHC had a "Harvest Party" at the church for the children.  The children would come in their costumes eat some junk food, hear a Bible story, and play some games.  The only children that attended were our usual crowd of 15 or so from Sunday morning.  Six years ago was my second year at NHC and we did the Harvest Party again and I quickly realized the event did not fit with the purpose of our church.   We did some evaluation and made an adjustment.

The next year we started Trunk or Treat at NHC.  We put up a few posters and had around 100 show up for Trunk or Treat.  The Harvest Party was typical of a small church with no desire to grow.  Trunk or Treat screamed "reach the community".  The Harvest Party was not a quality event that would draw people in.   We evaluated Trunk or Treat and made adjustments.

Each year Trunk or Treat has grown and each year we made adjustments.  Last year we made the adjustment of really promoting the event, we were even able to send TOT cards home with kids in our local schools.  We added hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy and hot chocolate and games with prizes and made the event more of a fair atmosphere.  Over 1,000 attended!  Each child got a gospel tract in their candy bag and each parent went home with the Purpose Driven life booklet.  We evaluated because with that many people traffic flow was tricky to say the least since our parking lot is no where big enough for that size of crowd.  We have also added more inflatable games.  Our auditorium has been cleared out and will be set up with lots of games and prizes, the goal, besides giving the kids a fun time, is to get people to simply walk through the doors of the church.  We will have Kidmo playing on the big screen and music in the background.

Tonight is Trunk Or Treat. I'm about to head out the door and spend my day with volunteers who will be dropping in setting up for this now huge event.  It's going to be a fun day and I look forward to watching Trunk or Treat unfold tonight and see what sort of crowd we attract.  I hear that Elvis may even be spotted in the crowd.  After ToT is all cleaned up and packed up we will evaluate and adjust again.  Anything we do in the church should be evaluated often to make sure we are hitting our target, accomplishing our goal, carrying out our purpose.  This may mean killing off some sacred cow programs.  Have a safe night!

Please Pray

My brother Mark had a heart attack last night and is in the hospital.

Your prayers for him would and his family would be appreciated.

Thanks.

My Focus

Something I learned as a young driver is the fact that I drive where I look.  If I focus on something on the side of the road then that is the direction the car will drift.  I also learned in driving a tractor that if I'm not focused on the other end of the field I'm plowing then my rows tend to get a little lob-lolly and then when I look back I can see exactly where I lost focus.

Matthew 14:22-33

Peter had his focus right where it should have been.  He was focusing on Jesus, of course who wouldn't find it easy to focus on someone walking towards you in the middle of the night on the water?  That would surely get my attention.

It is very easy for my focus to shift and then when it shifts my life goes off the direction that God would want me to go.  My relationship with Christ, as a believer, should be my focus. Problem is I get off track very easily.   

Peter took his focus off of Jesus and put his focus on his current circumstances.  The moment Peter did that is the moment Peter began to sink.  It is so easy to move my focus from Christ and put my focus on my current circumstances, whether the circumstances are good or bad. 

Sometimes I find that ministry is where I focus.  Ministry is great!  Ministry is what we are all called to do, serve others with the love of Christ.  When ministry becomes my focus rather than Jesus Christ this is when I begin to sink.

When ministry gets my focus rather than focusing on Jesus Christ does ministry then become my god?

When you focus on ____________ rather than focusing on Jesus Christ does __________ become your god?

Staying Ahead

I recently wrote a post about growing your team ahead of the growth of the youth group.  I recognize the need to have more team members than you need to make sure you can adequately minister to student's as a team.  

At the time of writing the first post our team was in need in of two men to join our team.  Since the beginning of summer our team has grown by adding two new ladies and two new men to be family group (table) leaders.  We also added two new kitchen queens to the team, these ladies are vital to the success of Hang Time as they prepare the goodies we put in our bellies.

I'm still convinced that if I am going to pray that God would grow our youth group then I need to stay ahead of the growth.  So where do we stand now?  Right now we are at the exact number of YM team members for our current need and numbers.  So this means that I am, as the team leader, on the prowl for 4 more team members, two men and two ladies.  The goal is to get them into place with another family group leader so they can learn how to lead and then as a group grows we can multiply that group by sending some of the students to another table with their new leader.

This whole idea is true for any youth ministry even if you don't go family or table groups.  If you have decided the ratio for your group to be one adult to ten students then you should staff ahead of the growth as well, especially if you are asking God to grow the youth group.  On a side note I like the ratio of 1 to 8, I think the lower number makes shepherding  group of students easier, especially if you are going to truly shepherd them and build those super important relationships.

Trunk Or Treat Commercial

Hey man, check this video out.

Northwest River Adventure

We returned this evening from the NW River Adventure.  A fun time was had by all.

We arrived shortly after noon and quickly commenced to cooking lunch.  There is a screened in group pavilion with a huge fireplace on one end.  This is where we set up the "kitchen".  

The pavilion was used for many games of chess and a few other games as well as our Bible study last night.  We kept a fire cranking in the fireplace pretty much the whole time.  Last night we got the fire going in the fire pit near our tents and ate smores.  My smore's mallow was toasted to perfection and the gooey goodness oozed out when I took a bite.  We also kept a big percolator cranking out the hot water for hot chocolate.

The students played some man hunt and had fun running around the campground.  We basically had the place to ourselves.

Most everyone slept well in sleeping bags, only a few comments on the cold temps last night.

This morning was mountain man breakfast, a traditional favorite.  Here's the recipe to feed 30:

• Chop up 2lbs of bacon and fry it up.  Reserve the grease as a "marinade" ;)
  
• Brown 1lb of sausage
  
• In some of the bacon grease cook 2 bags of potatoes O'brian.
  
• Crack 3 dozen eggs and add a little milk 
  
• Pour the "marinade" into the pot and scramble the eggs
  
• As the eggs get close to getting done dump in the potatoes, bacon, sausage
  
• Stir in 2 packs of shredded cheddar
  
• Serve up on 60 tortillas
  

Today was spent running around the campground and playing farkle and then packing up the tents.  

The night of tent sleeping was fun but I certainly look forward to sleeping in my king size bed tonight in a heated house.  Picture will be posted soon.

Planning a camping trip (Updated)

Northwest River Adventure happens this weekend.  To pull off a camping trip with students takes a little bit of planning.  Here are a few steps we took in our planning process:

Purpose: Fellowship 

Decide what the purpose of the event is first.  If the event has no purpose you are better off not having the event.  The purpose behind NR Adventure is for students to have some time away and be placed in a setting that will help them form bonds and build relationships with other students.

Date: October 26-27

Make sure your calendar isn't overloaded with activities.  We do about one a month and some months we don't have an event or activity.  Check the school calendar and look for a long weekend if doing a camping trip during the fall or spring semester.  It's too hot here in the summer to do a tent camping trip.

Location:  Northwest River Campground

After choosing a date find a location that is doable from your location.  If you are going on a one or two night camping trip you don't want to travel more than 1 to 2 hours from home.  If your trip is longer you can travel farther.  Pick a location that has space for large group camping because you want your group all camping in the same location.

Cost: $10

Contact the campground and get the prices for the space you will need.  We reserved 4 large group tent areas and the screened in pavilion with a fireplace.  Take the cost of the camping fees and divide it by the estimated number of students you will take camping.  We are pitching in some from our youth budget to offset the expense keeping in mind the present state of our economy. 

Enlist Adults

Before even publicizing an event it would be a wise move to have the team in place needed to pull off the event.  I learned this the hard way last year on our spring retreat.  I also hear stories of a lone youth leader taking kids on a retreat or event, that is edging very close to danger.  You should always have at least one another adult involved for liability reasons.  "What if I can't get volunteers?"  Then don't do events then when parents or the church begin to question why there are no events or activities for the youth you can share that there is no one volunteering to help.  Of course volunteers don't magically appear they need to be invited to be part of a fantastic ministry opportunity.  Our camping trip has 21 students going and 7 adults, 3 men, 4 women, that is a really, really good ratio.  I would never do an overnight event without at least 2 men and 2 ladies on the team, I think one to ten is good ratio.  It's not wise for a husband/wife team to be the only adults either, have at least a third adult there.

Registration Deadline: October 19

Set a registration deadline and stick to it.  For a camping trip you need to know how many you are feeding and sleeping in tents a week before to give adequate time to get prepared, two weeks would be even better.  If you set a deadline and then always flex and give in and let students in at the last minute you will struggle with deadlines forever in youth ministry.  We don't use sign up sheets.  They are registered when we have their non-refundable deposit or registration fee.  This approach helps with the ones that teeter on dropping out and then the domino effect it has on their friends.  Medical releases are also required for any overnight trip.

Food: Students bringing the food

We made our camping trip fee low on purpose and then are having each student bring a couple of the food items needed for the trip.  Other approaches we have used in the past: charge more and buy the food (a good one), Food sign up sheet (allows other church folks to get involved).  The registration deadline helps you know how much food you need.  We are going simple: chili dogs, stew, Mountain Man Breakfast, PB & J  sandwiches.

Equipment: Stuff we need to pull of the trip

Transportation, tents, cooking equipment, first aid kit, firewood, Coffee, games (we plan on playing lots of table games by the fireplace in the screened in pavilion).  Students are responsible for their own sleeping bags, toiletries, etc.

Schedule: Flexible

Some events require a rigid set schedule, some don't.  This event about the only thing we are "set" on is our departure and return times.  We plan on being flexible.  The overnight trip will involved, time setting up tents, playing lots of table games, sitting around the fire, one devotion and one quiet time,  hiking and meals.   If this were our spring retreat there would be more of a set schedule.  Part of the purpose of this overnight retreat is to simply give the students a chance to unwind and relax, no busyness, or hectic pace.

Our Understanding: Rules (no one likes that word)

No one is ever alone.  No electronics/cell phones/mp3 players,etc.  No guy and girl alone together at any point in time.  Be on time for meals, help clean up.  Look for opportunities to help.  Let an adult know if you are going off  somewhere in the campground and where you will be.  Rule of Thumb - "if you have to wonder if you will get in trouble or not then don't do it."  Don't play in the fire.  Keep tent zipped up.   Don't feed the bears or pet the deer.  Wear deodorant.  (if I confiscate a cell phone or mp3 player etc. the student will not go on the next overnight trip) No going into the tent of the opposite sex.  No food or drinks in tents (We had some serious raccoon problems once when a girl ignored the rule, raccoons love Oreos and one coon was as big as a german shepherd.  Another girl was stung by a bee because they left their tent unzipped and an open can of coke which attracted bees).

Packing: Saturday, October 25 (this is the updated part)

Today I have been busy since about 10 packing and loading.  Two things I thought of as I worked my backside off: (it's now 3:00)

1.  use this as an opportunity to enlist some youth to help and build relationships in the process.  A "no brainer" but I thought about it too late.  What does that say? hmmmm

2.  Plastic tubs and lots of them.  I loaded all the paper goods in one tube, all the bread  in another, etc...  How did we survive before plastic totes and tubs?  Invest in the tubs!

In my research this week for looking for an extra tent I discovered that Coleman has a program for non-profits and you can buy tents and camping equipment directly from them and some for more than $100 less then they sell for in the store and it is free to join.  If a camping trip is something you would do as a youth group on an annual basis it would be wise to invest in  some quality, big tents from Coleman.   I learned the hard way that borrowing tents isn't good.  You can quickly ruin a tent or get there to set up and be missing some vital parts to the tent.

Enjoy the woods!

Brittany is Back

Center for Parent/Youth Understanding has an eye opening post on Britney Spears' latest music comeback, you can read a good blog post from Walt Mueller  here , also Walt has done a review of the song.  Britney's newest video skyrocketed from #96 on the Billboard to #1 immediately and I don't think it was her singing skills that accomplished this for her.

I post this link to CPYU's web site for two reasons:

1.   It is a good site for resources on the youth culture.

2.  I want parents to know what  teens are watching on TV in case there are a few other channels that parents may want to block. :)

Music videos have always pushed the envelope and I think Spears'  latest video has even pushed that further.

With teenage boys hormones in a rage the last thing they need is this image of Britney burnt into their minds . . . "Oh be careful little eyes what you see."

The Truth is Out There

With the release of the British X Files (confidential UFO files released this week) I feel the need to come clean and share my two close encounters.  Were they aliens?   I do know they were UFOs.

In 1986 I woke up in the middle of the night and had a little insomnia.  I walked out on the front porch to get a little fresh Lynchburg, Va air.  I looked up and noticed a very clear and starry sky.  As I looked at the night sky I saw a ball of light.  The light was flying up, down and across in a figure 4 pattern. The UFO did this over and over again and then disappeared.  It was not an airplane, I know how to recognize airplane lights, it was not a helicopter either.  What was it?  It was an unidentified flying object.  

You may think I'm crazy and so would I if this only happened once.  

In the early 90's living in Oklahoma I woke up in the middle of the night and went to the little boy's room.  I looked out the window in the bathroom and what did I see?  The same sphere of light again.  The sphere this time was flying the same figure 4 pattern.  Now in the past I had shared my UFO story with my lovely wife and she thought I was cooky.  This time I woke her up and got her out of the bed and took her to the window to watch the sphere of light.  We both watched the light and then it disappeared.  Now I'm not cooky because I had a witness.  Believe me if it wasn't real I would never have woke my lovely wife up and got her out of the bed in the middle of the night, that would not be the actions of the smart husband that I am.

The truth is out there.  Next time you wake up in the middle of the night you may want to take a look out your window.

While on vacation in Florida I think I did spot an alien. . . .

Last Night at Contagious

Much Farkle and ping pong happening last night as students and the YM team hung out in the lobby and up on the balcony playing games together during Hang Time.  Our kitchen queens were busy cranking out the snacks.  I'm not sure how many bags of chips and popcorn were consumed but I do know that the Oreos numbered in the hundreds.  I took a peak at one student's plate and there were at least 20 Oreos.  Hang Time was mucho fun last night.

Last night our students set a goal to have 65 students at youth group in two weeks.  I noticed yesterday during our worship gatherings that there were several students attending Sunday morning but not involved in youth group.  I encouraged our students to look around on Sunday morning and invite these students to join them at Contagious on Sunday evenings.

We continued our study, Welcome to the Planet:  Why on earth am I here?"

Last night focused in on the fact that we were created for God's pleasure.

Worship = what we value, idolize, and honor.

Three tests to figure out what you worship = time, money, and thoughts.

1.  What is worship?  

Giving God Worth 

Giving God Focus 

Getting God's Strength

2.  Why honor God?

To Experience God Personally

To Have Your Heart Changed 

3.  How to Honor God?

Give God Your Love 

Give God Your Praise

Give God Your Devotion

If you like more info about this series or how you can use this curriculum, and others like it, in your youth ministry simply click on the blue SYM box at the top of my sidebar.