Consumerism Starts Young

(I haven't posted in a long time)

This Saturday night we are showing a movie, having a little "movie night" with the students. The movie is a great film about a girl who goes through a terrible tragedy and turns that tragedy into an opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ and the power of God with others. We took the students to see it when it was released in the theaters.

Last night after middle school youth group a young lady walked up and asked, "Why are you showing a movie we have already seen?". Her attitude was one of "why should I watch this when I've seen it already?". Great question.

At that point I was reminded of two things:

1. Consumerism ("it's about me") in the church starts young. We (the adults) do everything for the kids from the time they are little toddlers all the way up through high school rather than teaching them to "do" for themselves. We minister to them constantly and consistently rather than train them to minister to each other. The result is we produce the adults that we have all encountered (and have been that person at times) in the church that thinks church is for them and about them, "Cater to my needs. Feed me. Deal with my problems". The person who doesn't reach out and minister to others in any way shape or form or roll up their sleeves and get involved in ministry themselves.

2. I failed. I failed to communicate the "vision" of the event. Every time we do an event that has a purpose (which we should have a purpose every time) and that purpose needs to be communicated.

The purpose of showing this great movie that we have seen already is not for our students entertainment (they will enjoy it) but for out students to have an opportunity to bring a friend to see a movie about a girl with a strong Christian testimony. I guess, in a way it is, for our students. It's for our students to give them an opportunity to open up conversation with their friends about Jesus Christ.

So my lessons learned (or reminded of) at middle school youth last night:
1. Train students to serve. The servant's attitude will impact the rest of their life and the church.
2. Communicate vision over and over and over and over.

The Event Envelope

Years ago I threw sign up sheets away. You know the struggle of a student signs up so his 18 buddies sign up then student changes his mind and crosses off his name then the domino effect.
I got tired of that. I also got tired of kids looking first before deciding to go. Be a leader and sign your name up! The kids aren't broke but the system is.

So I came up with the envelope system. When we have events students register or sign up either online or by using the event envelope. It is a great way to keep track of the cash but also a way of getting information and keeping a list of who is going with better accuracy. Students can also take the envelope home to remind them to bring their money the next week. Perhaps you have done similar?

Planning The Event

We just wrapped up our 10th The Call here at Nags Head Church. With that in mind and after a super long weekend here are a few thoughts I have about planning an event.

>Establish the purpose

>Make sure the theme fits the purpose

>Acquire a speaker(s) and a band. Lots out there but remember if you want to make it a "big" event it may take a "big" name which leads to the next one:

>Establish a budget. We have pulled off The Call in the past for as little at $1500 and as much as $7,000 depending on the band and guest speaker(s) we have used.

>Decide on a registration fee (if having one. I divide the budget by the attendance goal to come up with the registration fee. It's not rocket science and it is also a risk).

>Have a plan if registrations don't meet the budget.

>Publicity - use the web, Facebook, Constant Contact, e-mail. (never mail things to the youth director "care of the pastor" because more than likely it will sit on the pastor's desk or get thrown out or passed on too late)

>Publicize in advance. We start promoting The Call in April usually and the event isn't until February. I get invites to youth events often and with little to no notice.

>Recruit a team of volunteers from your church. Decide what you need. At The Call we had folks doing registration/check in, refreshments, clean up, tech stuffs. We could not pull off The Call each year if it were not for our team of volunteers from the church. Awesome people make and awesome event.

>Keep records. We use an excel spreadsheet to track expenses and registrations of both individuals and churches.

>A quality event requires months of prep and publicity.

>Be prepared to be wiped out and tired after the event is over. (last week I put in almost 60 hours at work. Our band put in many hours as well. It's normal to be tired after a big event so plan on getting some rest. I'm taking an extra day off this week to rest and spend time with my family.)

The only event we currently invite other youth groups to participate with us is The Call. Keep in mind that youth pastors who plan ahead will often have months if not the year completely planned out. We try to limit our youth group events outside of youth group to one or less a month. Kids' lives are plenty busy today. I don't want to be a "cruise director" I want to be part of something that is making an impact on students' lives.

Several students came to know Christ this weekend and many were equipped to defend their faith. The Call was well worth the effort.

The Call 2011, Feb 18-19

Register as individuals or as a group today at The Call's web site,

Contagious Youth are Going

Winterfest

As a reminder to our parents and students - Winterfest balance is due on Sunday, December 13.

Call Me Crazy!

There is a "dirty" word among youth leaders.  The word is "Lock In".  I have only done a few lock ins in my youth ministry years.  I have come to the conclusion that locking your youth group in the church and planning on watching movies and eating sandwiches all night is not the most intelligent youth ministry move.  Once I was even stupid enough to do this by myself. 

The Lock Ins that I appreciate, and even almost enjoy, are the lock ins outside the church.   Friday night I will, along with several adults, be joining our youth group at a laser tag lock in. Laser tag, 3D golf, arcade games, billiards enough stuff to keep us busy to pass the time and have fun.  

As I looked through the online registrations today I noticed that we will have about 13 guests. I'm excited about our students reaching out and look forward to sharing the gospel with them.

Some youth ministries only allow students who attend their youth group to go on events and activities.  I wonder where is the outreach in that approach?  What an excellent opportunity to introduce students to the youth group, church and most importantly the Lord!

So Saturday don't call me, don't call my house, my cell or my office.  I'll be sleeping most of the day away (which should be interesting with twin 9 month olds in the house).  Sunday ignore my bloodshot eyes.  Wednesday don't ask me about my continual yawning.  The older I get the longer it takes to bounce back from these things.

All Part of the Plan

It is easy to get in the routine and then get stuck in a rut.  This summer we met each Sunday night at the beach for our youth gathering.  Now that school has started we will be moving back to the church building.  I noticed this summer several of our students who didn't attend even one youth group gathering at the beach, I also noted that we need to see some new faces at youth group.

So what do we do?

I thought that between the transition from the beach to the church building it would be good to do something just for fun.   The idea was that for the student who has faded out it would be an easy and fun way to fade back in.  The other thought was that it would be a good non-threatning way for students to bring a friend.  So we went to Galaxy Golf.  The fine folks at Galaxy Golf there were closed but opened just for us.

I totally whooped the 3 middle school boys I was competing against, so I feel like a bigger man today. :)  (Just a side note)  It was cool how our YM team played with groups of students rather than with other YM team members.  The great part is I didn't have to tell them to do that, they are just that good at what they do and know their purpose to their ministry.

The plan worked.  We had the best turn out of students we have had since last school year's end.  We saw a few of the faded out students fade back, we got to meet several new students who were brought by their friends.  A few parents even hung out and played with us, which is cool.

At the end all the students were reminded of our Movie Night on Saturday night.  We will be showing the film, Walking on Water, outside in the parking lot.  Students are to bring a chair and a friend to enjoy this great film.  My hope is that the Galaxy Golf would be a great way to springboard into Saturday night's event which will be a great way to ease some new guests into Sunday night's youth gathering.  It's all part of the plan.

So when planning events and activities ask yourself, "Why are we doing this?"  If there is no purpose or ultimate reason don't plan the event or activity.

We are going August 19th. 

Registration ends August 12.

$70 for ticket and bus ride.

SHAPEd to Surf

Today we will teach 20 something middle and high school students how to surf.  Most of these students will actually surf before the camp is done today.  Some won't surf but will have a better understanding of how to surf and they will be able to continue to practice on their own.  It's awesome to watch a student catch their first wave and pop up and ride the wave.

A little over ten years ago Steve Wise, one of NHC's pastors, decided to do something with what he is passionate about.  The H of his shape is his heart, surfing is what Steve is passionate about.  Steve loves to surf so he took this passion for surfing and combined it with his desire to reach people to discover life in Christ and Hukilau was born.   This summer is Hukilau's tenth summer of teaching students to surf and sharing the gospel.

So in about a half hour from now I'll be loading up in the car to head to surf camp.  I'm excited to see these kids learn to surf but I'm most excited that we are going to share the love of Jesus Christ with them today.  Another awesome part of surf camp for me is watching a whole bunch of NHC partners serving in missions by serving at surf camp.  It's rough but someone has to do missions on the beach.

What are you passionate about and how could that be used to reach people to discover life in Christ?

Holiday at the Hut

Featuring the Ugliest Christmas Sweater Contest!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like . . .

Every year we have a youth group Christmas party.  Every couple of months we have an outreach night.  Outreach night is focused on sharing that a relationship with Jesus Christ can radically change life both here and now and in eternity.  This year we are combining the party and outreach night.  Our prayer is that we see some students accept the best Christmas gift ever.

In the past the Sunday night right around Christmas break would have really low attendance.  Last year we decided that since there would be a small group of students we would go bowling.  Ended up that we had just as many students as usual and a few guests.  Hmmmm...the experiment worked!  So now this will be an annual event.  Students and their family group leaders will gather for a couple hours of bowling together.  Following the bowling we are going to Taco Bell for some festive holiday tacos.

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!

We are going!