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Do you take the time to follow-up on a student’s committments?

August 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Are you taking the time to follow-up with students? Sometimes we get wrapped up in the moment when students make important decisions to follow Christ and truly desire a deeper relationship with God. I love being with students during those times. But it’s also important to follow-up with students and help them keep their commitments.

Two weeks ago, on the last day of high school summer camp, our high school Pastor asked students to stand up if they had made a decision at camp to accept Christ, or to commit to a deeper relationship with God or if there was a habit or behavior they wanted to change when they got back from camp. We had 750 students at camp and about 150 of them stood up during this time, publically proclaiming the decisions they had made. It was an awesome moment and not gonna lie, I had tears in my eyes seeing some of my own students stand up.

Today I sent a message out on a Facebook page that is dedicated to students who went to camp. This is what I said:

I know a lot of you made commitments at camp two weeks ago. A lot of you stood up on the last day and publically proclaimed your desire for change. How are you doing?

 If you need help or prayer or just someone to talk with, I know I speak for all of the leaders when I tell you that we didn’t just make a commitment to be there for you the week of camp. We are still here for you! We would love to help you if need something.

I want to make sure students know they have a support system that leaders at camp don’t just care about them the week of camp, we still care about them!  This is a simple step but it’s one that encourages students and lets them know you’re there for them.

 

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

It’s time for Summer Camp!

July 24, 2012 by 1 Comment

As you read this I’m at our High School Ministry’s Summer Camp! I love this week, it’s such an awesome opportunity to reach out to students, to meet new students and see God change lives right before your eyes. For me it’s also a chance for me to meet the majority of the guys that I’ll have in my small group in September.

I’ve spent a lot of time in prayer before camp this year. Very intentional prayer asking God for some very specific things for camp. First I’ve prayed for all of the students at camp. We’re taking 750 students this time, the largest summer camp we’ve ever had. Just the logistics of camp need prayer this year! Once I got the list of students who will be in my cabin I’ve been praying for them by name, asking God to use me in that student’s life as He needs me to work and that camp will be an amazing, life changing experience for them.

I’ve prayed for our high school staff. I love these guys, they do a ton of work in a short time and always manage to plan out and pull off amazing camps every year! I’ve prayed for our high school pastor, and for all of the volunteers that will be going to camp.

I’ll be back next week with some great posts about camp and the amazing things that happened this week. But for now I ask for your prayers. After you read this, say a prayer for Saddleback Church’s High School Ministry Camp and for the students and for me and keep us in prayer this week.

Filed Under: Summer Camp, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , ,

Quick Summer Camp Reminders

July 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This is a time of year that Steven and I both love; it’s time for summer camp!  I leave this Sunday for high school camp and in two weeks Steven leaves for junior high camp. We’re both really looking forward to camp this year because we both will have entirely new groups of students.

There has been so much written about summer camp these past few weeks but if you’re a leader at camp this summer here’s some quick reminders:

1. Pray like crazy. Pray for camp, for the students, for the leaders, for the worship team, and for your pastors.

2. Be intentional like crazy. Make sure every student in your cabin knows you care and do your best to establish a relationship with each one.

3. Know their names! One of the huge things that say you care is when you take the time to remember their names. I’ve made a goal to have that done within the first 24 hours.

4. Be involved. Don’t sit on the sidelines; don’t be afraid to be crazy, get dirty, whatever it takes to connect with students. Put your cell phones, smart phones, tablets, etc. away and make the week about the students, not the work that might be piling up at your office. The work will be there when you get back; this might be the opportunity for you to make a huge impact in a student’s life. Don’t miss the chance!

5. Don’t get so wrapped up in serving God while you’re at camp that you forget to worship God while you’re at camp. Find a few minutes each day for a quiet time. Reconnect with God yourself each day. For me being a morning person I slip off early in the morning before my guys wake up and have a quiet time.

This year I have a cabin of 10 freshman guys…pray for me!

Filed Under: Summer Camp, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , ,

Be Awesome at Summer Camp

July 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It’s almost time for summer camp! Steven is a leader at our junior high camp and I serve with our high school ministry. We both are so excited for camp because we’ve seen firsthand how lives can be changed during that week. We will both have an entirely new group of students this year and that has its own excitement and is a challenge as well. We don’t know these students and they don’t know us yet. If you’re a camp volunteer let me offer some quick tips here for you to help make the camp experience for students as awesome time.

1. It’s not about you.  Camp week is all about the students and not the leaders. Do all you can to make the week an awesome week for students.

2. Be intentional. Make each student feel like they are the most important kid at camp. If you’re a big church this can be hard to do sometimes but with a little work on your part you can be successful. A great way is to have some one-on-one time with each one of the students in your cabin during the week.

3. Know their name! I can’t stress how important this one is. When you remember their name that shows them you care, you took the time to remember who they are. Make it a goal within the first 24 hours to know every one of  your student’s names.

4. Be involved. Don’t sit on the sidelines. During recreation time get out there with them. Get dirty, get messy, whatever it takes. One of the ways to bond with them is to be one of them. Eat meals with them. In short, be a kid again.

5. Don’t be the only voice during cabin discussion times. Get them talking, use stories from your life to get the discussion going but make sure you’re not doing all of the talking. Involve all the students in a discussion, call on the quiet ones, and ask leading questions, not questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no.

6. Pour into students. Jesus’ way to minister was to show His love. You are His advocate at camp; let your students know you care and that they matter to you. This is the best way to make a student feel comfortable at camp. Find the quiet ones, the awkward kids, don’t spend all of your time with the “cool kids”. Make sure every student in your cabin knows you care.

7. Let students know how important they are. If you’re constantly on your cell phone or checking e-mail on a smart phone you are sending the wrong message. If you have to do either of those things, take a minute to go off where students can’t see you, do what you have to do and get back to your students. Some kids have parents who send the message that checking e-mail is more important than what their kid has to say, don’t let them think that their camp leader is the same way.

8. Pray. Pray. Pray. Start before you go to camp. Pray for camp, for the student ministry staff, the volunteers and pray for each of your students by name as soon as you get your roster. Pray every single day leading up to camp and while you’re at camp.

Filed Under: Summer Camp, Training, 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: , , , ,

Summer Camp is Only Six Months Away

January 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Our high school ministry summer camp is six months away and I’m already thinking about this year’s camp and praying about it. For the past two years I’ve seen lives changed in that week at camp, I know how powerful it can be for students who meet Jesus for the first time at camp. I’m taking a freshman group this year, so I’m also praying for me and hoping I can find a good co-leader for camp this year.

I have a friend who I work with at Saddleback Church and he just got involved with being a student ministry volunteer this year and I want to con him…I mean convince him into coming to camp this year, I think it will grow him and be a great thing for students to have him there this year.

As a camp veteran now, there are some things I want to be sure I do. I want to make sure I make the most of cabin time at night with my group. Our camp is one week long so I have four chances (Friday we are on our way home and there is no cabin time) to share God with students and help them along in their walk. I look at it as each night 25% of my cabin time is going to take place and I need to make the most of it.

Activities during the day with students are super important. I learned that last year when I had a group that I hadn’t met until the day we left for camp. I made a concerted effort to spend as much time with them during the day and find some one-on-one time with each student during the week. It paid off; those guys are all in my small group now and I thank God every day for each of them. However I will stress here, it’s important to find some time during the day for a quick quiet time with God. Don’t get so wrapped up in serving God at summer camp that you forget to spend time with him yourself!

I also think it’s important to find some time during the day to slip away and have a quick few minutes with other leaders:

  • After about 24 hours of total immersion with students I need to have a conversation with someone that where every sentence does not start with the word “dude”.
  • I want to hear how other leaders are doing, how they are handing problems with their groups. I might be having the same issues or someone else might be dealing with what I am. Two are stronger than one; we need to help each other out.

I’m also praying for the students I’ll have a camp this year, who I don’t even know yet. I’d love to hear how you start preparing yourself for summer camp.

Filed Under: Summer Camp, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , ,

Junior High summer camp recap

August 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I got back from summer camp with our junior high team last Friday, and I can’t even describe how amazing it was. This was my fourth year going, and I can honestly say this was my favorite year by far. 7 out of 8 of the guys in my cabin were from my small group, and the other guy was in our cabin last year. Everyone got along great, they wanted to spend all their time together, and it was a great learning, growing, and bonding experience for all of us.

I’m still trying to process everything that happened, and I’ll probably pull out a lesson or two to write about on the blog later. For now, here’s part of the parent email Katie Edwards, the junior high ministry pastor at Saddleback, sent out on Friday:


-14th summer at Thousand Pines Christian Camp….and I believe it was our best yet!

-324 Junior High Students (7th & 8th Graders!)

-67 Adult Volunteer Leaders

-8 buses filled with each team – dressed in team colors

-1 amazing worship band (led by Taffy & Team)

-1639 Shakes and Icees consumed at the malt shop

-0 trips to the ER, despite the giant game of steal the bacon and kickball on the slip and slide

-80 students at early morning worship each day (at 7:15am there was a packed house…and it was optional!)

-67 AMAZING counselors connected with their students in incredible ways – one on one time, cabin time, etc. I think I had one of the best counselor teams EVER

-3 very incredible rounds of “Just Dance” in chapel

-At least…300 paintball welts & bruises

-1 AMAZING camp speaker…Erika Thomas…she challenged our students through the story of Gideon each night. She seriously ROCKED our students socks each night

-Countless students connecting with Jesus each day in a variety of ways

-1 Malt Shop dance party

-1 amazing Open Mic night…hosted by Matt Hall…the one thing I wish we had video of…but sadly, we don’t. It was seriously the cutest thing ever

-324 Junior highers singing their hearts out to the Lord each night. Worshipping through song in such a beautiful way

-200 voices lost from singing their hearts out….and screaming and cheering on the recreation field

-256 rounds of “Spoons” the card game – it got vicious toward the end

-1 Junior High pastor totally ate it flat on her back at Slip n Slide Steal the Bacon. I’m ok.

-Countless connections made and relationships formed

-324 invitations handed out to join a C-Group this year

-5 days of life-changing, Spirit-filled Wildside camp

Filed Under: Summer Camp, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Don’t Try to do God’s Job for Him

July 27, 2011 by 2 Comments

As usual with Student Ministry – when you set out to teach on a subject to students – God also teaches you something at the same time. I learned a lesson at High School Camp two weeks ago that I wanted to share.

I had eleven guys in my cabin, eleven guys that I didn’t know. I know literally hundreds of students here at Saddleback Church and somehow our High School Ministry team managed to pick eleven students that I didn’t know. My first thought was “Thanks guys, this will be fun, I don’t even know any of these kids.” And then I remembered how God works and I remembered that God had picked these students to be in my group a long, long time ago and these were the ones He wanted me to have. And besides, I love a challenge.

Camp was amazing, the first couple of days I watched as ten of these guys were changing right before my eyes and growing closer to God and in their spirituality. One guy however, just didn’t seem interested no matter what I tried. By Wednesday I thought to myself, “Well ten out of eleven are going to come back different from they were when we got to camp and God is going to play a bigger role in their lives, that’s a good average.” I hadn’t written this one student off, I just didn’t think I was getting through to him and it still bothered me. Then on Thursday morning he came up to me and asked if he and I could talk. We spend about an hour and a half talking about his life, what was going on with him, his struggles, and also about how he felt God was moving in his life now.

I sat there listening to him and thought to myself, “Wow, I was ready to give up on him and devote my time to the other guys. Had I given up too soon?” No, I hadn’t but what I forgot was that I had done my job, and was trying to do God’s job also. I didn’t need to. God knew when this kid was going to be ready to talk. If I would have pushed him into the conversation we had I’m sure it would have gone differently.

Here’s the bottom line. Open yourself up and let God use you, and then let God do his job! He does it better than any of us ever could. His timing is perfect.

Filed Under: Summer Camp, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , ,

We never know everything about our students

July 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

For our junior high ministry at Saddleback, camp is only one month away. As the time winds down and I have been praying for all my students going to camp, I flashed back to a camp experience I had two years ago.

I was leading a group of my small group guys at camp, mostly made up of our “core” group who never missed small group. My co-leader and I had taken a bunch of the guys out for one-on-ones to get to know them throughout the school year, so we were fairly certain of where everyone was spiritually.

That year at summer camp, the typical salvation message was done in the middle of the week, on a Wednesday. With the group of guys we had, I was absolutely sure that none of them would be affected by the talk that night because all of them had already given their lives to Christ. I prayed for other groups that I knew had students that had been holding off on the commitment, but I wasn’t really praying for mine because I knew they were all set.

Then something crazy happened.

As soon as the talk was over and the speaker was praying and asking people to commit their lives to a life led by Christ, two of my guys raised their hands to make the commitment. These guys were ones I was absolutely sure about – there was no doubt in my mind before that day that they were Christians, but I learned that they really weren’t. They were just feeding into what we wanted to hear as their leaders.

That’s when it hit me – how many of the students I come into contact with really aren’t giving us the whole story? Surely it couldn’t just be these two. Maybe none of the guys in my group were being honest with me… there was really no way to know.

Why do I write all this? To open up our eyes as leaders. Don’t take for granted that you’re getting the full story when you talk to your students. Be in constant prayer for them, praying that God will come into them and help them make the right decisions and life choices. Remember that you’re not always getting the full story.

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

Words from Summer Camp

July 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

As you’re reading this I’m away at our High School Ministry Summer Camp. First off, let me ask for your prayers. Pray that the Holy Spirit will stir in the students that really need it, that God shows up big time and that lives are changed at camp this year. Also pray for our staff, volunteers and our speaker that we help those students who have not yet made the decision to give their life to Christ, that we can help them with that decision.

Last year the day I got home from a week of Summer Camp, I was physically and emotionally drained… and could not wait to go back to camp again this year. Summer Camp is all about the students. As leaders we put our needs behind us and work to make this an awesome experience for the Students. But God shows up in the leaders too! It’s a great way to get re-charged in student ministry, it’s a great way to let God use you. We’ve said this many times, you do not have to be a 20 something to be an effective leader in Student Ministry. I’m living proof of that.

Here are some things I learned last year that I want to pass along:

1.  When your group gets back, stay in contact with new students that were assigned to you. Let them know you wanted them to be connected not just for the week they were with you at camp, but for a life time! I know many, many people who will tell you that a summer camp with their church was a life-changing event for them, Steven is one of them.

2.  Students are on a “camp high” when they get back; you can’t help but be that way because of all of the positive energy and the life changing experiences that happen at camp. If a student does not come back a changed person, they know someone who is. Keep building on that feeling, if you know they are not in a small group; encourage them to get into one. Talk to them about how your life has changed with Jesus in control.

3.  At camp you are with students all the time, get to know each of them if you don’t already know them. I don’t mean just know their name, get to KNOW them. Find out what’s going on in their lives and how you can help them. If they come from an un-churched family you may be the only example they have of how to live a Christian life, be the best example you can be!

4.  Look for that one student who just seems to be off by his or her self. Shy kids have a hard time blending in no matter what the circumstances. Pay some extra attention to them; introduce them to other students, GET THEM INVOLVED!

5.  Have fun. That’s right, have fun.  When is the last time you played a game of kickball or soccer or whatever? There will be times when you need to be serious and be a leader, but there will be plenty of time to just be one of the guys. Nothing makes you fit in more, and makes you a part of a student’s life than when you just hang out with them. That’s where a lot of the real ministry happens.

Filed Under: Spriritual Life, Summer Camp, Uncategorized, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , ,
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