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Students are Getting Busier

May 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment

We all have busy lives. We have to juggle work, school, families, social lives, everything. We try to keep all the plates spinning, which sometimes leaves us with little to no free time. Students know this too, and they feel it like no other generation before them. Just last night I was talking to a student who has school every day, homework every night, churchy stuff a few times a week and sports (2 different teams). That’s insane! I can’t remember anyone being that busy when I was younger, but this seems to be the norm with our students these days.

I’ve noticed this among the students in my Life Group, who all seem to be involved in at least one sport (often more). As a result, they’re left with very little free time. They’re harder to communicate with, they have less time to meet at Starbucks or Taco Bell and they sometimes feel overwhelmed by it all.

I don’t know all the implications of this, but the biggest thing seems to be a lack of free time. It’s easier for a student to play off the “church stuff” for something “more important.” It’s also harder for us to get them to part with their precious free time to spend it with God or by serving others. The challenge I’ve seen this year is getting them to use their time to communicate with their leaders. There’s always something they can be doing, and our job is to help them realize where their time needs to be prioritized.

Filed Under: Culture, Youth Ministry

Conversation starters

May 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

At Saddleback Church it’s not uncommon that we have students that come with their parents who drop them off at our student building while the parents go up to the main Worship Center, or what I refer to as “big church”. Because of the size of our campus those two buildings are several acres apart. It’s easy for a student who is really not committed to church to skip a service and sit someplace until service is over and meet back up with their parents. Because of the size of our student building it’s sometimes easy to just blend in and not be seen. It’s one of the downfalls to a mega church. Often times these are students who don’t live close to the church so they don’t see another student that they might know from school or their neighborhood. These are the students I try to reach out to. I look for students sitting alone in a service or students sitting someplace in the student building trying to avoid the service.

Starting a conversation with a teenager can be a chore especially when it’s a teen that has been brought to a church service by their parents and they can think of a hundred other places they would rather be. I remember when I first was starting out volunteering in student ministry I was afraid I wouldn’t know what to say or I’d say the wrong thing. Now it just comes easy to me. Here’s what I do to start a conversation:

  • Pray. I ask God to help me be able to see a student who is trying to blend into the woodwork and to be able to start up a conversation with them.
  • Be yourself. Nothing is more creepy to a student than an adult trying to act cool…and you’re not. Just talk natural. Limit your use of these two words, “dude” and “totally”.
  • Tell them your name and THEN ask theirs. If you do it the other way around you come off like a creeper.
  • Keep current in stuff that teens keep current in their world. I’m not a big rap or hip hop fan but I know enough to know names, I know who the latest celebrity crushes are, what sport teams are in the lead and what the latest stupid thing that Justin Bieber has done.
  • Ask the right questions. Don’t just be superficial. If you ask how a student is doing and they say “okay” but you sense something is wrong ask “No, really how are you, can I help you with anything?”
  • If it’s a student new to your ministry try to hold back having them accept Jesus, get baptized and sign up for a mission trip all on their first visit to your church. Don’t rush it or you’ll scare them away.

 

Filed Under: Culture, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , ,

Almost Half of US Teens Have iPhones

April 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Last Tuesday, I ran across this article on an Apple news site I frequent. Feel free to follow the link, but the basic idea is that in a recent study, nearly half of US teens surveyed had an iPhone.

…so what does this tell us about our students, and how does it affect student ministry?

  • Students are big on brand recognition. Even as an iPhone user, I know there are “better” phones on the market than iPhones. If someone wants more technology in their pocket, they would get something different than an iPhone. To me, this says that students are more concerned with what their friends see them possessing than actually being an individual.
  • There are computers in every pocket. iPhones (or any smart phone) are basically tiny computers. They connect to the internet, they can send pictures, texts–huge amounts of information–to anyone. The other side of this is the accessibility to sites that students shouldn’t be visiting. They no longer need to hide these things on their family computers because their computer is always with them.
  • Students are more connected now than ever. This one kind of goes along with my previous point. Not only do they have computers in their pockets, but they are constantly connected to their friends. They are in a perpetual state of texting, waiting for texts, Skype’ing, FaceTime’ing… the list goes on. There is so much connection now compared to just 10 years ago, and that connection is significant.
Filed Under: Culture, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , ,

“I Don’t Have Time for God Right Now”

March 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The small group I’m currently leading is the third group of junior highers I’ve had the opportunity to pour into. For the first time, this year my group is made up of a lot of guys that play sports and do a lot of stuff outside of just school and church. I have guys that play multiple sports throughout the year (and are REALLY good), so they’re very committed to the sports they play. Along with this, they are the busiest 7th graders I’ve ever met. One of my guys has baseball practice almost every day, for 3 hours or more per practice. It’s insane.

With all this business, it’s easy for students to think they don’t have time for God. Not only do they make commitments to sports, clubs, drama and other things, but they have normal, everyday tasks to keep up with as well: homework, parents, friends. It’s hard for some students to make the connection that all these things eventually start to drill into the time they should be spending with God. This faith loophole of “I’m too busy for God” is one that will probably be increasing as time goes on in our culture.

How do we combat this? I tell my guys that no matter how busy they are, what they value most should come first. I compare my own busy life to theirs, and I tell them that I’ll always give God the best part of my day. For me, I spend time with God right before I do homework. It’s my way of showing that I trust God enough that I’m spending time with him before another important thing I need to do. Modeling this for students is huge, and it can speak volumes of the importance of making time for God.

Filed Under: Culture, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , ,

My Thoughts on History Channel’s “The Bible”

March 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past few days, you probably know that History Channel premiered the first of five parts of its new miniseries, The Bible, on Sunday night. The show had an astounding 13.1 million viewers and has created a lot of buzz among both Christians and secular audience members. I watched most of the episode on Sunday night and have been processing a few things since then:

  • History Channel is making a HUGE implicit claim by putting The Bible into its programming. In essence, the network is saying that the Bible is true history. That’s a huge step for a network to take. An argument can probably be made that there are shows on the network, like Clash of the Gods, that are more toward fiction, but the argument still stands: The Bible is history.
  • The show definitely took some creative liberties with a few parts. The angels drawing samurai swords in Sodom to protect Lot and his family? Probably not how it happened, but whatever. If it’s going to draw more attention, it probably has to be a little more theatrical than other projects previously made on the Bible.
  • There may be too much focus by Christians on how “biblically accurate” the show is. I totally agree that the show should be an accurate representation of what the Bible actually says, but there are some things that simply can’t be conveyed in only 10 hours of programming. Example: I’ve heard it said, “Abraham and Sarah weren’t called those names until after Isaac was born. They should’ve been called Abram and Sarai.” True. But someone who hasn’t read the Bible wouldn’t know that, and there’s only so much time the producers can give to that part of the narrative. Does it really take away from the portrayal of the biblical story? I would say no.

Update (3/6/13): There was a press release today from History Channel that the show was seen by over 27 million viewers.

Filed Under: Cool stuff, Culture, Movie Review Tagged With: , ,

Everyday Thanksgiving

November 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It’s Thanksgiving. You probably have someone you want to spend time with today, so this post will be short and (hopefully) sweet.

Today is Thanksgiving. A day when we, as a nation, stop to give thanks. We have traditions like going around the family table and each person telling something they’re thankful for, telling stories with different colored jelly beans, and others. Ultimately it’s a day for us to reflect on the gifts and blessings God has given us.

My question is this: why don’t we have thanksgiving every day? We dedicate one day out of 365 to giving thanks, but we experience God’s grace and love every day. We have so much to be thankful for, but we only give one day a year to celebrate. Let’s be a people that make thanksgiving part of our everyday lives, not just one day a year.

Filed Under: Culture, Spriritual Life Tagged With: , , , , ,

What We Can Learn from the 2012 Presidential Election

November 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Honestly, I’m not sure what we can learn yet. This post is not going to be political, but I do think the election has some effect on not just us, our country and our government, but our students as well.

Last night I had small group with my 7th grade guys. As soon as I walked up to the house with my “I voted” sticker on, the political comments started flying! It was so funny to hear the comments from these guys who clearly have no idea about politics or why one candidate is better than another, but they had no shame in saying who they’d vote for.

I guess if we take anything away from that exchange, it’s this: students (especially JHers) are extremely connected to their parents’ views and beliefs. Because of that, we need to be really in tune with parents of the students in our ministries. We need to realize that we’re only one small voice in a sea of adults who are around our students. Between parents, teachers, coaches and others, it’s so important that we stay in contact with parents to keep on the same page as them and best serve their kids.

I don’t know what the next 4 years will look like, but one thing is clear. Our students notice things. Maybe not from CNN or Fox News, but from the people closest to them. Let’s do our best to be a light in an age when darkness is so abundant.

Filed Under: Culture Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Infographic: Social Media, Social Life: How Teens View Their Digital Lives

July 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Question: How does this new information about social media affect the way you think about relational ministry?

Filed Under: Culture

Memorial Day and Student Ministry

May 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

At random, I asked seven students at our weekend services this week to tell me what Memorial Day was about. I regret that only one could tell me that it was a day to remember those who died in military service while defending this country. I took that as another sign of our failing education systems but I digress. Memorial Day has turned into a day that is more about half off sales, the start of summer and buying new patio furniture than it means a day to remember our fallen military heroes.

My dad, Jerry Reynolds, served in the Army for four years during World War II. In fact, he and most of the men in the small town where he lived in Tennessee went and enlisted on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor Day. I remember when I was a kid we always celebrated Memorial day. It was a day for family, for good food and I always remember my dad had the flag flying in front of our house. In fact, I remember almost every house on the street had their flag flying on Memorial Day.

My dad took the time to talk to us about the guys he served with in the army who lost their lives. He wanted us to know the human cost of war, and that he was one of the lucky ones who made it home safe, and that he thanked God every day that he did.

If you’re a student ministry leader take the time this week to make sure your students know the true meaning of Memorial Day. That would mean a lot to Jerry Reynolds if you did.

Filed Under: Culture, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , ,

10 Thoughts for Guys: Finding a Christian Girlfriend – Part 2

May 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This is part two of a series for student ministry workers to share with guys in how to find a Christian girlfriend. Part one can be found here. 

6. If a girl constantly needs to know where you are and who you’re with and what you’re doing…that’s only going to get worse as the relationship progresses. If she is constantly texting you its a sign that she probably does not trust you.  If there is no trust you really don’t have a relationship in the first place. If a girl needs to be with you 24/7 you’re going to feel smothered really fast and the relationship will crash and burn. Been there done that, trust me on this one.

7. Okay this one is going to make me sound like a total prude so hear me out first. Do you and your girlfriend pray on dates? Like at the beginning or the end of a date? Try it! It makes the awkward time at the end of the date less awkward when the two of you are praying and not trying to figure out how far a good-bye kiss or hug is going to last, what to say, what to do, etc. It just slows things down.

8. Don’t find a girlfriend because you need someone to fix your problems and at the same time don’t think that you are going to fix her problems. Make sure you’re at a point in your life where you are ready for a relationship.

9. Don’t put the rest of your life on hold when you get a girlfriend and if she expects you to never spend time with your family or friends, move on!  This is not the girl for you. Girlfriends will come and go, real friends will always be there, don’t desert them for a girlfriend. If you do when the relationship ends you’ll find yourself all alone with no one to help you work out your hurt.

10. True Love Always Waits.  ‘Nuff said. Once you have sex you change the relationship forever. If she does not want or have respect for boundaries it’s time to move on.

Filed Under: Culture, Spriritual Life, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , ,
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