You are here: Home / Archives for students

Helping students communicate with God

April 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

When Steven and I plan our blog posts for the week the only day we plan out a topic is Monday. That’s a post he and I write together. The rest of the week we split who is going to write on which day but we let God lead us to a topic each day. This week God seemed to lead us both to write on communication because for the past three days that’s what our topics have been. I figured I might as well round out the week with one more.

What happens when students stop communicating with God? The same thing that happens to everyone else…we move away from God if we’re not communicating with Him. When I look back over my life, the times I’ve felt the most removed from God were times when I stopped praying or even opening a Bible let alone read one. It wasn’t until I was an adult in my 40’s that it dawned on me that the times I felt the farthest from God were not because He moved, it was because I moved away from Him. He was always there waiting for me to come back!

I preach almost every week to the guys in my high school small group about the importance of a quiet time everyday with God. Martin Luther said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” If students are not communicating with God they will never realize the full potential of a relationship with Him.

The dictionary defines communication as the act of exchanging information. In other words you both talk and you both listen. God communicates with us through the Bible and through Prayer. A daily quiet time allows you to hear from God and to talk to God. If you get students to be involved in a daily quiet time with God you will help them strengthen their walk with God and be in a closer relationship with Him. When students are communicating with God, it makes the communication between you and parents and the other students in their small group that much stronger.

Question: Are you encouraging your students to have a daily quiet time with God?

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

Student Ministry is in Good Hands

April 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I don’t pretend to have all the answers.  I love serving in student ministry but I also know there’s a lot of folks out there who are a lot smarter than I am. I do know that the techniques I use, work. I’ve seen several students change and grow in their relationship with God. I’ve watched students just get on fire for Jesus and I love it. I have wondered about the next generation and I used to be worried about the fate of student ministry, would the next generation be up to the task of spreading God’s message.

These past few months I don’t worry about that anymore. I’ve seen some pretty awesome leaders emerge lately. A month ago I stood at the back of the room and watched Steven as he led the lesson in our Junior High services. I know he’s good at teaching I just didn’t know how good until that weekend. I tell him all the time that he is going to make an awesome pastor but I was wrong. He already is an awesome pastor! I was proud standing back there and knowing that I played a small role in helping him realize that God was calling him to ministry and in his ultimate decision to change his major in college and move towards becoming a pastor. I’ve attached a picture from that weekend. I wish it was better quality but just know that Steven’s message was a lot better than this picture! This week I watched  with pride as Steven was one of the leaders on a local mission project that our Junior High ministry participated in for students this spring break. At Saddleback Church we have a lot of amazing young people who either volunteer or work in our student ministry. I’ve been blessed to watch several of them as they mature as Christians and at the same time they are helping younger students grow in their faith. Your church has young adults out there who may just need a mentor like you to help direct them and  develop their skills.

I also know there are a lot of “Steven Orel’s” out there and that God is preparing them for a career and calling in ministry. If you know one, reach out to them and use your experience and knowledge to help mentor them on their way. Whatever gifts and talents God has given you in this student ministry world you need to pass those on.  If you’re a “Paul” be a mentor to a “Timothy” in your church, by that I’m refering to the next generation. If you’re a “Timothy”, look for a “Paul”. For me it not only meant passing on some knowledge to the next generation, but has grown into an amazing friendship.

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

Don’t Give Up Don’t Give In Keep Pushing Forward

December 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Do not worry. Do not keep saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘What will we wear? The people who do not know God are looking for all these things. Your Father in heaven knows you need all these things. First of all, look for the holy nation of God. Be right with Him. All these other things will be given to you also. Do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own worries. The troubles we have in a day are enough for one day. –Matthew 6:31-34  NLT

We all have seasons in our lives that are tougher than others. I think when we come out of those seasons; God has made us tougher in the process. It seems that all through the year I’ll have at least one student going through one of those times in his life. Right now I have two that having a rough time and the funny thing is…so am I.

 As I was talking to them separate from the group the other night and encouraging them and telling them not to give up or give in but to keep pushing forward and pray and trust God- something hit me. Those were exactly the words I needed to hear at that moment! God was using my rough time….to help two students…and their rough time was helping me. What an amazing God we have!

I’m constantly telling students that God never wastes a hurt, he will use your hurt to help others one day. I love when I see it play out right in front of me.

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

Small Group Lesson – Five Minutes To Live

November 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Here’s a powerful exercise you can do with your student small group.  I did this with my high school small group last night and judging from the text messages I got from almost all of them today, last night’s exercise really sent a message to them. Here’s how it goes:

Give your students a pen and a piece of blank paper. You need to be in a room that has a light switch that is close to you, and if the lights were turned off the room would be completely dark. (This will make sense to you later)

Tell them they have five minutes to live, so here is there chance to tell the important people in their life how they feel about them. Tell them to use to pen and paper to write a letter to parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, friends, whoever is really important in their life, and tell them how important they are to them and that they love them.  Use either a stop watch or a stop watch app on your smart phone. Let them know when the five minutes begins.

After one minute, in a loud voice let them know one minute has gone by and they now have four minutes to live. You will notice they start writing a little faster. Wait about another 30 seconds and then turn off the lights in the room, making the room completely dark. When you do that you’re going to hear your students say things like, “Hey, I wasn’t finished!”. That’s when you say, in a loud voice, “That’s because you don’t get a five minute notice, you usually don’t get any warning!  At anytime you can be gone, or someone you love can be gone! If you haven’t taken the time before to let the important people in your life know you care about them, they might never know so what are you waiting for??”

In my group, and I’m sure in yours at this point you can hear a pin drop, and I had a few guys in tears. It’s a powerful lesson in life but it works. It opens the door to a lot of discussion afterwards.

I’d love to hear comments back how this works in your group.

 

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

What Are You Thankful For In Your Life

November 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I’ve seen a lot of people on my friend’s list on Facebook doing “30 days of being thankful” during November. At first I thought that was sort of cheesy but the more I thought about the idea it made sense to me for a different reason. Sometimes we forget that we all have stuff to be thankful for. Writing it down makes you remember and it makes it real to us.

Students might not feel like their life is blessed if they don’t have the most current iPhone or Droid, or the latest video game that is all the rage. Some feel that if they aren’t wearing the latest fad in jeans that they are missing out. When you take the time to write down everything that’s in your life, material objects, family, friends, good health, salvation,etc. it makes you realize that God has truly blessed your life.

We forget about family and friends or we take them for granted. We should be thankful all year round but this time of year we should really make an effort to stop and tell the people in our life what they mean to us and thank God for putting them in our lives.

Today I began a two-week post on my high school small group’s Facebook page and I’ve asked them to put down things they are thankful for and to put those things front and center in their lives. Every day I’ll ask them to post something different and this week during our small group time we’ll spend time talking about it.

We’ve also done a couple of serve projects as a group, helping those in our community who are less fortunate. Those are “God moments” when you realize how blessed your life is when you see those a lot less fortunate than you.

Question: What ideas do you have to help your students know that they are blessed?

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

What Role Do You Play In Your Students’ Lives?

November 9, 2011 by 1 Comment

This morning during my quiet time I was praying for each of the  12 students in my high school small group. It was during my time of praying for them individually and for what’s going on in their lives that it dawned on me that I play a different role in each of these guy’s lives. Some who do not have a dad living with them or have a close relationship with their dad see me as a father figure, some see me as a friend, some see me as that crazy uncle we all have but don’t talk about. And a couple that are new to the group still see me as their small group leader, but I know that will change over time. (don’t rush that time by the way, see Steven’s post from yesterday!)

If you’re a small group leader here’s some things you need to know. God formed this group, you didn’t, your student ministries didn’t and your church didn’t. God did. He knew a long time ago who he would place in your student small group. Each one of those students is a piece of the puzzle. As a small group leader I’ve had to commit to God that I’ll do what it takes. Some of my students need a lot of my time, some not so much. My commitment to my guys and to God is that I’ll do whatever it takes to make a difference in their lives. Sometimes that means spending a lot of time putting together a lesson that they need to hear. Sometimes it means getting hit in the head with a dodge ball at 2:00 o’clock in the morning during a sleepover with the group in our student ministry building. Sometimes it means just being there and listening to them. Not judging, not telling them what to do…just listening.

Make sure you take the time to figure out what role you are playing in your student’s lives. When you know your role, you know how to reach that student and how to make a difference, a real difference. When you know your role, it helps you to be more intentional in your contacts with them and also how to love on them and let them know you’re there for them. When you know your role it helps you strengthen your student’s walk with God and grow their relationship with Him.

Have you taken the time to figure out what role your students have for you?

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

“Service” vs “Serve Us”

November 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?  Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.        – James 2:14-17 NLT

I want to get my high school small group active in serve projects this year. We have our first one coming up this Saturday; it’s a huge food giveaway for families going through a tough time in this recession that seems to have no end in sight. I think this will be a great experience for high school students. I want them to know and feel how blessed they are, while at the same time seeing the faces of those less fortunate.  So far this year our food pantry at Saddleback Church has given away 706,500 pounds of food to over 33,000 families. In the process they have also brought over 700 people to Christ.

I want my students to see firsthand how when you show love to others in need you are doing what Jesus did! I want them to show their love for Jesus by helping others. When you get students involved in a serve project they learn the difference between “service” and “serve us”. I think for a lot of students it’s when their eyes truly get opened up to what it means to be a Christ follower.

Have you thought of ways to get your student small group involved in a serve project?

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

Daily Quiet Time Challenge

October 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

How do you challenge students in your small group? I’m trying to get my small group guys dedicated to a daily quiet time with God and asked them to start with just 15 minutes a day. So this week I challenged them to sacrifice something, anything, each day so that they would have an extra 15 minutes in their schedule.

Last night in our small group time we talked about worship and sacrifice and how they don’t have to be at church singing songs in order to spend time in worship, they can worship God at any time in a number of ways. I explained to them how when they sacrifice they make their worship time during the day even more pleasing to God.  Some of their ideas for sacrificing time they normally spend doing other things were: less time playing video games, less time on the computer and Facebook, getting up a little earlier to make time in their schedule for a quiet time. I think they are all on-board with this and to help them along the way here’s what I’m doing.

1.  I text them all this morning to remind them what we had talked about and I’ll text them back tonight and ask them to tell me what they sacrificed today to find an extra 15 minutes for a quiet time. I’ll keep the text messages coming for the next 3-4 days.

2.  We have a private Facebook page for our group, I’ve asked them to post what they are sacrificing.  So far two of the 12 already have!

3.  I don’t want to constantly harp on this to them, but I want to keep this idea going in their mind and get them to develop a quiet time as a daily habit. I know what a change it made it my life and I want them to experience the same thing.

It takes 21 days of following a routine to make it a daily habit, so three weeks from today I’ll update you on how we’re doing.

How do you challenge your students?

 

 

 

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

Small Problems vs. Big Problems

October 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Sometimes small problems are BIG problems to others. I have found this to be especially true in student ministry. A student will call me with a problem and he will be just beside himself with worry and my first thought sometimes is, “Wow, you’re this worked up over this trivial problem?” The answer is yes, they are! I have to remember back to my teen years and something that now seems like nothing was a big deal back then.

It’s important to remember that some times, students know the right answer to solve a problem,  they just need some affirmation. This past week I had a student call me in a panic over something and I gave him some advice and without revealing the problem, my answer to him was simple, “Honestly is always the best policy, just call your mom and tell her what happened and I bet it all works out.” I know he knew that. I know he knew that was what he was going to do; he just needed someone to tell him that was the right  thing to do.

He made a mistake, he called his mom and told her what happened and then called me back. He was totally at ease now, his mom understood what happened and he didn’t spend the rest of the day worrying about it. This was an easy problem to solve, but I felt good for a couple of reasons.  First, he trusted me enough to confide in me what happened. Second, he wanted advice from me, and third he followed the advice!

Sometimes students just need you to be there for them.  They need a sounding board, or they need someone to tell them they are doing the right thing. I don’t mind being that guy one bit.

Are you there for your students for little problems and big problems?

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

Checklist for a Successful Small Group Session

October 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

We’ve been talking alot about the start of small groups this week. I love this post from Doug Franklin, it’s a great checklist of things you should do before every small group meeting! You can find his original post here.

Before you teach through each session, ask yourself:

Have I:

  • Reviewed the material sufficiently so that I can teach it confidently?
  • Reflected on what God is teaching me personally in this area?
  • Prayed for God’s wisdom regarding what I will teach and asked Him for insight into
    my students’ lives?
  • Identified my small group’s leadership strengths and areas still needing to be
    addressed?
  • Anticipated any new developments or outcomes that might occur as a result of this
    lesson?

Am I:

  • Enthusiastic about what I am about to teach?
  • Committed to being as open and honest as I want/expect my students to be?
  • Ready to challenge my students out of their comfort zones to reach the next level?
  • Clear about where I want to lead the group and how this session will help us get
    there?

Are my students:

  • Learning what I want them to learn? Are they “getting” it?
  • In the best setting/environment) to learn? (Is the room set up? Is it adequate? Do
    they have the resources they need – pens, paper, etc.?)
  • Growing in the areas of unity and trust regarding the team?
  • Confused about anything from a prior session that I need to address?
  • Excited about becoming all that God wants them to be?
Filed Under: Repost, Small Groups Tagged With: , , ,
«Older Posts