You are here: Home / Archives for Josh Griffin

Moving On to College

May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The end of the school year means a time of transition for eight grade students to high school and a time for high school seniors to move on to college. This transition time has been a concern of mine for a couple of years now. I don’t think we do enough on the hand off, especially in high school ministry. We need to move the goal post back a few yards and realize that just because high school is over we’re not done with these students. We need to help them transition to college ministry or often times with students who move away to college, we need to help them find a new church to attend. I just read a great blog by Kurt Johnston and Josh Griffin on this subject and they bring up some great points. This is a must read article. Click here for their thoughts.

One of the problems we have is getting students to move on from a ministry they love, especially your “core” kids. The ones that are at every service and event you have. I think they have a big problem making the move for several reasons. First off they are going from a ministry where everyone knows them to one where they are unknown.  They go from being the big fish in the small pond to being the small fish in the big pond. They are stepping out of their comfort zone. If you have a student who hates change more than the Amish this is really a problem.

We need to get students plugged into college ministry programs before they get out of high school. If your student small group is composed of all seniors, get them signed up as a college small group so they can get to know the small group leaders for college ministry and the college ministry leaders can get to know them.

We need to get college ministry leaders to attend summer camps and begin building relationships with outgoing high school seniors. I almost think we need a separate summer camp just for this!

If you have students moving out of the area to go to school, help them find a church close to their college. Don’t wait for them to leave and do it on their own, chances are unless they are really strong in their walk with God they won’t follow through. Spend some time helping them research the area and the churches there so you can find one that closely follows your beliefs. If you know of previous students in that area, connect the students together so they can know someone there before they move away.

Follow up! Keep in contact, make sure they know you’re there to help and advise them and pray like crazy for them.

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

The Gift of Encouragement

August 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I saw this guest post on Josh Griffin’s website, Morethandodgeball.com and it really hit home with me. I like to be an encourager and Colton Harker really points out what we need to do. Here’s a tease below, go here to read the entire article.

 One of the things that the Lord has really put on my heart recently is encouragement. So far, I have realized two things about encouragement: 1) Encouragement is powerful – with just a few words, we are able to affirm, refuel, and inspire others, and 2) encouragement is a gift.  I am blown away by the fact that we have the ability to use our mouths to build each other up.  We can be used by the Lord to communicate His love to His children!  Crazy!

When we encourage others, we are glorifying the Lord.  We are appreciating the unique ways that He has gifted His creation.  We are celebrating the fact that He uses sinners to do incredible things for His Kingdom.  Because encouragement is so important, we need to make sure that we are practicing it in our lives! 

Click here to read more.

Filed Under: Encouragement, Repost Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Some More Thoughts About Mentoring

June 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

We’ve written before on this blog about the importance of mentoring in a student’s life. Unfortunately I think a lot of people assume that a mentor is an old gray-haired guy (or in my case a bald guy) who is at the end of his useful time on this earth and he is passing on his knowledge to a younger guy so that his lost craft or art does not die with him.

Mentoring is so much more than that. At Saddleback Church where Steven and I work, if you’re over 30 you are expected to mentor someone and if you’re under 30 you need to be mentored by someone. The concept is, “Every Paul needs Timothy and every Timothy needs a Paul.” I get that, and I totally agree with that. But here’s the problem with that- I think people in my age group who are mentoring someone don’t realize that they need a mentor as well.

Ironically one of the mentors in my life is younger than I am. Josh Griffin, our High School Pastor at Saddleback has taught me so much about relational student ministry and he has kept me on my toes and kept me always wanting to learn more. On the other side of this coin, if you’re younger and you have a mentor in your life that does not mean you can’t mentor someone younger than you. No matter where you are in life, you know more than someone and have life experience that can help someone else to grow.

Earlier this year I loved seeing Steven take on a mentoring relationship with one of the eighth grade guys in his junior high small group. (Click here to read Steven’s post.)This student will soon be moving on from Steven’s group but he is going to continue the mentoring process with this kid. Why? Because Steven saw a lot of himself at that age in this student and realized that he could help this student avoid some of the pitfalls that tripped him up when he got to high school.

This next school year I’m bringing on a co-leader to my high school small group and as part of the process he has asked me to be a mentor to him. Without hesitation I said, “Yes!” Well as I remember I practically yelled it, but I digress.

I could write all day about what I think about mentoring and its importance in everyone’s life but here’s the bottom line. Pass on what you know to the next generation. Learn from the previous generation, that’s the entire premise of our website. God wired us to always be learning and always be teaching.

 

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

Why did you choose Student Ministry? How the heck do you do it?

March 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Why did you choose student ministry and how the heck do you do it?  Don’t teenagers drive you crazy?

Those are questions that Steven and I get asked over and over. Josh Griffin over at Morethandodgeball.com has the best answer to these questions that I’ve ever seen. It totally sums it up for me. My worst day gets better after I spend just 15 minutes with my high school small  group guys. I love seeing lives get changed right before my very eyes. Check out Josh’s post below:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is Why I Breathe

Most people don’t understand what I do
When I tell them I’m a YOUTH WORKER they
Put their hand on my shoulder and say with a sigh
“I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU DO IT”

And occasionally I still get asked when I’m going to be a “REAL PASTOR” or “WHEN I WILL BE TOO OLD FOR THIS” but they don’t get it: THIS IS WHY I BREATHE
· I live for the CRAZINESS OF CAMP it is there I most remember God’s call
· I live for the MESS OF MY SMALL GROUP because I know God will make something BEAUTIFUL
· On a shopping run for the overnighter I almost wait with anticipation for the checkout lady to ask WHAT IS ALL OF THIS FOR?
· I live for the LIFE-CHANGING CONVERSATIONS even if they happen between the hours of 2-4AM on a mission trip

The long hours, the challenging work, the highs and lows … the office in the church basement …it all doesn’t matter to me. This is why I am on the earth. This is why God made me.

I was created by HIM. For THEM.

THIS. IS WHY. I BREATHE.

JG

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

Parenting The Spiritually Orphaned

March 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I love this post from Josh Griffin at Morethandodgeball.com. I have a huge heart for students who are motherless or fatherless, probably because I lost my parents when I was a teenager. This is a great post that tells us how to “parent” those students and be a great example to them. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In my first few years as a youth pastor I keenly remember a faithful student named Scott. He was the child of a single parent, and like many students he struggled as a result of not having a father figure at home. I was like a father to Scott, and he looked at me the same. I was a voice of encouragement that took pride in his efforts and successes. He required extra care and time and in many cases grace as they things you would expect that he know were not fair to assume.

So many students are fatherless, motherless, spiritually orphaned or from a home that claims to be rich in their spiritual lives but in actuality is bankrupt. Your encouragement to them, your willingness to pray for them, to value their opinion and to be a good role model to them can make a world of difference. Don’t take lightly the fact that you are the best example of a man or a woman in their lives and that can have lasting implications on who they become and eventually marry.

It is for these students that we need to remind them often that in the midst of a void in the area of an earthly father that there is a heavenly father and He is the father to fatherless. While pointing our students to Him, you need to know that these are the students that need more of your time; they crave it to know that they are acceptable and loved. This is an incredible opportunity to show these students who Jesus is and what He is about and I challenged to seek out these students and make time for them.

4 quick takeaway points to think about today as you youth pastor-parent:

  • Think like a parent – What are the needs of that student? If they were my son or daughter, what would I say or do. Be that spiritual voice of truth like they were your own kid.
  • Share your pride of your students – Tell them you are proud of them and why. Notice the little things they say and do. Balance correction and hard truth with lavish and genuine praise.
  • Remind them that they are loved – By God, by your leaders, by you.
  • Be a solid role model – You might be the best image of what a man or a woman is to them.

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. -Psalm 68:5

Josh Griffin is the High School Pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA and is also a great friend and mentor to Steven and Matt!

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

Five Questions with Craig Gross

February 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This week I met a good friend and trusted advisor, Josh Griffin for coffee and we had an amazing hour together. I’m unique in that one of the mentors in my life, is younger than me but I can’t begin to tell you how much he has guided me on the path of working with students. One of the things we talked about was major issues facing students today. In my opinion pornography and pornography addictions are right up there with spiritual emptiness. If those of us in the trenches don’t address this issue with students and if we try to pretend it’s not there, it will keep getting worse and more teens are going to suffer. If you’re a female leader of a girl’s group please don’t stop reading here, girls are getting addicted to porn too!

If you don’t know who Craig Gross is…you should. He’s the founder of XXX Church.com.  Recently Josh sat down with Craig and asked him five questions. Here’s a tease of the post here. You can find the entire post here. Please read this carefuly…it might make a huge difference in a student’s life if you do.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

As a young pastor in Southern California, Craig Gross began to notice a recurring theme among those he cared for – a struggle with pornography. Boldly and courageously, he decided to address the root of the problem, so he went to the porn industry to ask some questions. This passion led him to start XXXChurch.com a website devoted to telling the truth about porn. It now has had over 70 million visitors to the website and almost a half of million people using X3Watch Accountability Software.

1) what are you most proud of in your work with the church and sexuality/pornography?

I am most proud that we have taken an issue that was silent in the church but widespread and in the 10 years we have been doing this we have seen openness to talk about this issue now like I never would have imagined. I find myself speaking at different churches each weekend in different parts of the country that I always ask myself.. are we sure this is the right place? Along the journey, I have met a lot of people that tell me they are accountable now using our software. It’s not about the software, it is about the relationships that I believe are changed and challenged because of this conversation and that means a lot to know that we have 1 million people now using our accountability software.

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

40 Days in the Word

January 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

How well do your students know the Bible? How well do you know the Bible? I think I’m like most volunteer leaders, I can find stuff in the Bible when I’m looking for it, I can use the index and the concordance in my Bible and eventually I can find what I need. But I’m not content with that. I want to be able to have scripture at the ready when I’m dealing with a student going through a tough time. I want to be able to give him the right words at the right time. To do that I need to spend some intentional time in my Bible study each day.

At Saddleback Church we just kicked off a church-wide campaign called, “40 Days in the Word” Click here for more information on how you can participate in this awesome study. I want to use this 40 days to my advantage. I want to greatly increase my knowledge in scripture so that I can use God’s word not only for myself but also be able to minister to my high school group. When we as leaders show our students that we are willing to take the extra effort to know the Bible and read it on a daily basis we are showing them how they can do the same thing. I’m afraid that in the past, my fumbling through my Bible probably sent the wrong message to students.

In our student ministries at Saddleback, we are also participating in the “40 Days in the Word” series. Click here for Josh Griffin’s (our high school pastor) link on his website for the series arc that he is teaching on. The first week went really well and I’ve had a ton of positive feedback from students about the weekend service. It showed me that students are just as hungry for more Bible knowledge as we leaders are. If you’re not teaching students on Bible study methods or on ways to unpack scripture your students are missing out, and you’re missing out on better ways to use scripture to walk a student through a crisis in their lives.

Are you taking the time to teach students how to read study and interpret the Bible?

Filed Under: Small Groups, Volunteer ministry, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , ,

Youth Ministry is a Calling of Extremes

September 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Saw this post yesterday from Josh Griffin and Kurt Johnston and knew it would be popular among youth workers. This simple reminder about youth ministry was a part of the Simply Youth Ministry Today newsletter, and the post can be found in it’s entirety here. Check out the first two below, then head over to MoreThanDodgeball.com for the full post.

—–

Not long ago, we were chatting it up with a couple of students who had expressed interest in being youth pastors. Our conversation ran through various aspects of youth work when it hit us: youth ministry is a calling of extremes. If you’re new to the gig, you might not feel it just yet – but ask anyone who has been doing it for a while and they’ll tell you it is true.

Extreme schedule
In youth ministry there is no such thing as a typical week. Quite often every day is completely different from the last. This summer alone I (Kurt) ran from event to mission trip to vacation to camp to … I don’t even remember what came next because the schedule was so extreme. It was even busier for Josh…in addition to all the youth ministry stuff, he had to schedule time play video games, watch Star Wars and snack on pretzels.

Extreme salary
Youth ministry pays extreme. Extremely little.

 

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

Retro Friday // Bumper Sticker Jesus

September 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Here’s a post we did for Josh Griffin at morethandodgeball.com  You can check out the original post here.

Do we show our love for Jesus in a “bumper sticker” or in how we live our life? Either way, its the example we are showing students.

Driving on the freeway today I saw a bumper sticker that said, “No Jesus, No Peace…Know Jesus, Know Peace.” Cute, I thought to myself. But it made me think, am I showing students how to love and praise and worship Jesus in bumper stickers or in the way of living my life? Bumper stickers get right to the point, but I want to be an example to students, not in sound bytes, but in the way I act in all situations. When it comes to words, I’m good and witty and clever, it’s one of my spiritual gifts. But I don’t want students to think that “God is my Co-Pilot.” He’s the pilot. Period. I’m not even worthy of being the guy who cleans the plane after a flight. Students need to see that when I get angry, I don’t start spewing a ton of four-letter words, when hard times come my way, I still praise God for what is good and try not to dwell on the bad.

I used to be the “bumper sticker Jesus” guy. I knew the right things to say, but usually didn’t put them into practice. I knew about tithing, but didn’t, I knew about prayer, but usually waited until I was in a bind before I would turn to God in prayer. I knew about the need for a quiet time everyday, but I seldom made the time for one. I’m happy to say I’m not that guy anymore. If I go a day without a quiet time I feel it, I begin to feel disconnected and I don’t like how that feels. I’ve learned to pray throughout the day, not just in the morning or when I go to bed. I want to help students by-pass the “bumper sticker Jesus” time in their life and have them put good, solid ways of worship and praise into their lives. I want to be a good example.

It’s not just about saying the right things at the right time. It’s necessary to live out what you talk about with your students. I can say “love your neighbor,” but if I don’t live that out, what good is it? It not only pushes me backward as a Christian, it shows my students that I don’t really care about what I’m teaching them. If I don’t care, why should they? Is it easy to tell people what they should do and then continue living our lives the way we want? Absolutely. But it’s not what we’re called to do. Maybe you’re not realizing that you do this. Now is the time to evaluate: am I a “bumper sticker” Christian, or am I someone that people know live out God’s Word in my life every day?

 

What are some steps you take to make sure you’re more than just a “bumper sticker” Christian?

Filed Under: Retro Friday, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , ,

Retro Friday // Being Territorial With Your Students

August 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Today on Retro Friday we’re reposting a blog we wrote for Josh Griffin on his website, Morethandodgeball.com.  You can find the original post here.

Josh’s website is one that we read everyday, if you’re not reading Josh’s blog everyday, you should be!

I know that I can be a jealous person. Because of that, I have to resist the temptation to feel hurt when one of my students doesn’t come directly to me. At times, I know I set up a wall around my “territory” of students, not wanting to allow anyone else in to help them. They have to get through that wall to get to my students, and I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure they don’t get through the wall. My students are mine. Your students are yours.

That’s when I remember Rick Warren’s famous line, “It’s not about you.” Do we really want to see the student get the advice and help they need, or are we more concerned with our own pride and desire to be the hero that solved the problem? Our goal should be that a student gets the best help possible, and sometimes that doesn’t come from me. Isaiah 5:21 says, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” If we keep on thinking we can fix all the problems, we’ll soon find out we’re not as wise as we thought.

I have to ask myself, “That student feels a bond of trust in the leader he went to, so am I doing everything I can to build up the same level of trust in that student?” The first thing I need to do is realize that we’re all shaped individually to handle different situations. If I know that someone else is better equipped to handle a specific issue, I should be more than willing to send my student their way. We all have been through different fires and come out with a better understanding of how to face the problem. Who better to help a student with a drinking or drug problem than a former alcoholic or drug addict? They know how hard it is to get to the other side, and they can help a student way better than someone who hasn’t had the same experience. We can’t let our pride get in the way when someone better equipped to deal with a problem is called upon. In fact, why not store that in our Rolodex of the mind, so that next time I know who to refer a future student to when they’re dealing with drugs or alcohol? If a student comes to you knowing you’ve been through something like that, it’s also important to make sure their leader knows what they’re going through. It’s great that you can share your past pain or hurt, but their leader needs to know what their student is struggling with as well.

Last week I was faced with this exact issue, but I was the one “trespassing” on another leader’s turf. One of my former students had turned to me in a time of need, but not necessarily because I was better equipped for the situation. I think in this case, he felt comfortable with me as one of his leaders, and he was too ashamed of what he did to talk to his current leader. When it happened, I did my best to counsel him and make sure the situation was taken care of, but I did make sure to refer him back to his leader and make sure to fill him in on everything. Here’s the bottom line: don’t build a “kingdom” in your youth ministry. Know that you have weaknesses and that other people are way better equipped for some things than you are. With God’s help and some discernment, you can turn your youth group from an island into an alliance.

Are you doing everything you can to team up with other youth workers for the benefit of your students?

Filed Under: Retro Friday, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , ,
«Older Posts