by David Hanson | Oct 15, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Every week people spend countless hours behind a desk doing things that get very little attention or appreciation. It’s no different in Student Ministry. In fact, many people ask me the question, “What do you do all week?”
Fair question. After all, when they see me on Sunday’s and Wednesday’s I’m giving a sermon, leading games, or giving announcements. How hard can that be? Surely it doesn’t take a whole week to do that?
When a student asks me what I do all day, it usually has no effect on me. I simply reply, “I play Bop-It all day waiting for you to get here.”
But when that question comes from an adult, parent, or volunteer…the depraved, needing of affirmation side of me wants to sit them down and walk them through my weekly schedule. Show them the time that takes me away from my wife and kids. (Meetings, emails, meetings, sermon prep, vision casting, volunteer recruitment & training, school visits, bible studies, football/volleyball games, choir concerts, care visits & meetings, service planning, discipleship, emails, meetings)
Apart from wanting to “prove” our worthiness, I feel that Youth Pastors must ask ourselves this question: “What do you do all day?”
Are we being faithful in the small things, the unseen things? Or, are we only being faithful with what is seen, what happens from the stage?
What do you do all day?
Yes, you are preparing a sermon, but are you letting the Holy Spirit lead and speak to you? The fact that you are writing a sermon or Bible Study, does not mean you are being faithful.
Shoot, I’m guilty!
I’ve prepared last minute and given awful sermons. Ones where I felt completely fake. And you know what? They were awesome! You know why? Because I’m REALLY good at winging it! And you probably are also.
So let’s pull back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz and see what’s really under the surface.
Write down everything you do during the week. Where are you wasting time? What could you remove from your schedule in order to be more faithful in your writing and preparation? Are you spending time on your knees? Are you spending time in the commentaries? Do you know how to say “no?” Do you know how to delegate? What small things are taking a back seat? These are just a few of the questions we MUST answer in order to be faithful with the time He has given us.
You may be a good speaker, team member, small group leader, youth pastor, mom, dad, husband, or wife. But what would happen if you started being faithful with the small things?
“‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” –Matthew 25:23
Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava, Student Pastor at
LifePoint Church in Plano, Tx, table tennis (ping-pong) extraordinaire, addicted to coffee. For anything else…you’ll just have to ask,
Email David.
by David Hanson | Oct 14, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Ever feel like GIVING UP in Student Ministry??? You need a FOLDER!!!
Lets face it Student Ministry isn’t the easiest thing in the world! Sometimes, a student will get on your nerves or you get that parent email that makes you just want to throw in the towel. It’s not easy because we are sinners dealing with sinners.
But we ALL NEED to REMIND ourselves WHY we do what we DO!!
“To BRING students to JESUS who can CHANGE their LIVES!!”
There is MORE JOY in that than anything in this world!!
No student is ever worth you quitting over!!
No parent is ever worth you quitting over!!
No leader is ever worth you quitting over!!
No email or text is ever worth quitting over!!
SEEING one STUDENT meet JESUS for the FIRST TIME is worth years of MINISTRY!!
In times that you feel like giving up in Student Ministry, do this!!!
-Start a folder where you can collect emails, tweets, Facebook posts, notes, and cards of how God has changed lives in your Student Ministry
-Pull that email out from the parent who emailed you saying how God changed their student’s life!
-Pull out that hand written card a student wrote you saying how much of a difference you have made in their life!
-Look back at your Student Ministry and see what God has done and rejoice!!
-Pull out that tweet and Facebook post of how a student’s life was changed!!
You will encounter times of wanting to give up and when you do PULL OUT that FOLDER and remind yourself of why you entered ministry in the first place!!
This suggestion came from Doug Fields book, “Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry.” It is a must read!!
Michael Hux is the Student Pastor of Team Church in Matthews, NC.
Connect with Michael on Twitter or Instagram: @_Hux
by David Hanson | Oct 11, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog, Youth Ministry Videos
We recently made some videos to highlight how our students are using their time, talents, and resources for the glorification of His kingdom. Adrian is a rapper, and Matthew is a singer. Both only Sophomores they know why they have been gifted. Check it out:
Adrian Stresow from LifePoint Plano on Vimeo.
Matthew Berry from LifePoint Plano on Vimeo.
by David Hanson | Oct 11, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Last weekend I was fortunate to go to something very unique, my youth group’s reunion. That’s right, some 15 years after many of us graduated 50 of us gathered together for a night of reconnecting, dinner and worship. Some of us traveled great distances to be there, including my own youth pastor. We even had our old worship band play some of their old tunes. Singing those songs in our old youth room with my old friends really brought me back to those formative years in my faith.
As I was interacting with my friends I was reminded that one day my current students will graduate, get married and become adults just like we did. Through the conversations I was hit with some themes that made me reflect on how I do youth ministry.
Theme # 1 – Special Ingredients.
Throughout the night people kept talking about what made our youth ministry so great. They talked about how everyone was welcome, no matter who they were and what school they went too. They talked about how everyone experienced God’s grace at a deep level. This is what drew people to our youth group. I hope I never take for granted how powerful a warm, accepting ministry can be for a growing ministry.
Theme # 2 – Life after youth group.
Many of my friends had found it hard to connect with the church and it wasn’t because they didn’t try. The community they found so compelling in high school was lacking as an adult in the church. Some had even experienced deep wounds by church leadership. I was reminded that the faith formation of teenagers requires that we help them connect in the larger church body. It also requires that we prepare them for the inevitable reality that they will be disappointed by the church because it is filled with broken people just like you and me.
Theme # 3 – Life will get hard.
So many of my friends shared about how they “needed” our reunion. There were those who had gone through divorce and others who lost parents. I heard about shattered dreams and broken hearts. For many, these wounds left them disillusioned about God’s presence in their lives. Our reunion was an opportunity for them to be reminded that the God who worked in their hearts as teens is still with us today. I think most youth ministries fail to adequately prepare teens for the reality of living in a broken world. We paint the picture that if we follow Jesus, life will be rosy and fun. When life gets rough, they question their God because we didn’t do a good job of helping them encounter Jesus in the midst of their pain.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get to have a reunion with any of my youth groups, but I hope that I lead mine knowing that I will leave a legacy. I hope that our ministry will be known for displaying Jesus’ amazing grace and helping teens embrace Jesus through the ups and downs of the rest of their lives.
Kevin Libick is a Middle School Pastor living in Fort Worth, TX with his wife Kara and her two cats. He is a novice banjo picker and expert Hawaiian food eater. Kevin loves to connect with other youth workers and equip them to live out their calling in God’s Kingdom. Connect with Kevin on Twitter: @kevinlibick
by David Hanson | Oct 10, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Have you ever felt sleepy driving on the interstate? It’s the moment when your tires start to “humm” as they roll over the small ridges on the side of the road that becomes a warning sign and wakes you up! It is only when you realize you are headed off the road that you can make a correction to stay on track.
In ministry and in life, we must set up boundaries.
Emotions are powerful. Emotions are a part of our makeup as human beings. God created us as emotional beings. The first step in breakdowns in boundaries is allowing emotions to be the driving factor to leadership.
Emotions left alone will lie to us most of the time. A lot of people think that sexual temptation is simply physical, but it truly begins emotionally.
5 Emotional Boundaries Every Leader Needs to Build:
1. Avoid talking heart-to-heart with other women besides your spouse.
I will talk and encourage girls but then connect them to a trusted female leader for further counsel. As leaders, our heart should be in pursuit of our spouse with reckless abandonment. Build healthy boundaries that support your families, especially your spouse.
2. Avoid the pressure to make a quick decision based on momentary feeling.
Emotional decisions are usually fast. They are impulsive and without discretion that take a long time to clean up.
I try to ask the questions, “Is this worth spending my emotional energy?” or “Will I regret what I’m about to do, in an hour?”
3. Stop worrying about things we cannot control.
Emotional conversations are usually without thought and usually include gossip and slander. Control is an illusion anyway.
When I feel the urge to complain or become angry, I’m trying to learn to surrender it to God.
4. Ministry does not define me.
We all want to succeed in ministry. But, at the end of the day, our identity is found IN Jesus and not through our ministry job. I’m a follower of Jesus first, then I’m a pastor. This truth helps me process the good or bad days of ministry.
If someone praises you, let it go to God and not your head. We are the instruments of God, and He deserves praise.
5. Always Forgive.
In ministry, we will face hurt. Jesus taught us to forgive and through His strength we can live free of bitterness. Bitterness eats away our passion for people, because we are reliving a moment in time over and over in our mind. A lack of forgiveness in a leader’s heart eventually saps them dry and leads them to look for sinful choices to fill the hurt. Forgive no matter what someone has said or done to you. Remember, we will never have to forgive anyone more than how much Jesus has forgiven us.
When our emotions and thoughts are in line with the Holy Spirit, then you will see clarity and peace.
How important do you think emotional boundaries are in ministry? In your life, where have you set emotional boundaries?
I’d like to hear your thoughts!
Josh is the student pastor at Church @ The Springs in Ocala, Florida
(www.thesprings.net). Josh has served in student ministry for 9+ years and has a passion to lead students to imitate Christ and influence the world! He has a personal blog at
http://joshrobinson.cc
by David Hanson | Oct 8, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
My favorite movies growing up consisted of some form of Karate. I loved the never say die attitude in them, the fighting and the sound effects. One thing you learn quickly in martial arts movies is that you “Never Give Up, Never Surrender.” While this makes for a thrilling movie, it’s not consistent with life, especially in ministry. Many pastors take these unrealistic expectations with us into ministry. We bring a refusal to give up or trust anyone mentality with us into ministry.
When I say “give up”, I’m not trying to get you to quit your job. I mean doing your job better. I mean giving up on your ego and trusting God. It’s a better way of doing ministry when we trust and know Jesus. Here’s a few things I’ve given up on in my three years of doing youth ministry.
1. Give up on changing students lives’
Realize that it’s the Holy Spirit that changes lives and not your words, actions, or power. I’ve spent much of my young ministry trying to be the difference maker. I thought if I phrased things perfectly or spent enough time crafting my message that it would change lives. In reality, it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to change lives… not yours. If I’m not connecting with Jesus then I’m trusting my own power, strength, intelligence, ideas or words to change students’ lives. This is a lonely road that ends with many youth pastors trying to grow their own ego, quitting when they see little fruit, and moving on to something else.
2. Give up some of your power
Empower your people! I know it will take a lot of time and training, and sure, they won’t do it as well as you (or so you think), but you need to trust them. Ministry can’t be done alone and sometimes an effort you deem as “B team” is actually better for your ministry. It gets people bought in, and gives your ministry multiple voices. When people are bought in, they will devote more to a ministry. Multiple voices are needed for your ministry, and I don’t just mean from the “pulpit.” When people are invested it gives them a fulfillment and you shouldn’t hold back that joy from people.
3. Give up your need to be “right”
This mentality infiltrates every area of your ministry. You work with students, and guess what??? This means they are going to make mistakes. How you love and guide them through this has a profound effect on the rest of their lives. I find myself being too judgmental and not showing grace or love often enough. We love to hit students with rule following, but how do we show grace?
Needing to be right, hinders our ability to listen when others are critical of our ministry. That parent or other staff member might be right… It hurts our pride when we’re wrong and often we take it personal when others are critical of our ministry, but what if they’re right. If you don’t always need to be “right” then you might get some valuable information for your youth ministry. I’ve been guilty of getting so fixated on doing ministry my way that I’ve missed out on opportunities to grow.
Giving up takes confidence in what Jesus is doing in you and your ministry. You have to be able to hear God’s voice in it or it can wreck your self esteem. All of that said, it’s a better way of doing ministry. It requires you to find the gifts of those around you and bring them out. It means not getting offended by the fact that someone in your ministry might be better than you are at something. It means loving others enough to give them a shot. If we never give up, we’ll never see what all God can do through us.
Brandon Weir is the Student Pastor at The Fellowship Round Rock near Austin, TX. What does Brandon love? “I love my wife Jules, my dog Ranger, Texas Tech, being outdoors, the Texas Rangers, camping, hiking, reading, Torchy’s Tacos and I love me some Jesus.”
by David Hanson | Oct 8, 2013 | Podcast, The Youth Ministry Blog
[powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/theyouthministryblog/04_TYMB_004__Josh_Evans_Interview.mp3″]
On Session 4 of The Youth Ministry Blog Podcast, we welcome Josh Evans of Union Grove Baptist Church who discusses the ups and downs he has seen in his Student Leadership Team. In addition, he discusses interesting ways he is reaching the schools in his area.
Summary
– Use your Student Leadership Team to develop students who you want other students to follow.
– Where there is no leadership, there is no direction.
– We must call leadership OUT of students, not just expect them to stand up and lead.
– Inviting students into our homes is a great way to break down barriers and build trust.
– You won’t know about the needs of a school until you ask them!
Way too much to summarize in a few lines, click Play below!
Also, go to iTunes and give us a rating and review. We want to hear from YOU! (You can give us a ranking & review from the iTunes application. GO HERE then click “View in iTunes,” then “Ratings & Reviews.” We appreciate your feedback!
by David Hanson | Oct 7, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Many students see the Bible like they see a Stephen King novel. They look at it and think there are so many pages with no pictures. They think to themselves I have no clue where to start. They think there is no way I could tackle such a massive book.
If we want students to be passionate about Jesus, we have to get them in the Word.
If we want students to begin to walk, talk, and think like Jesus we must get them in the Word.
Gods Word is what changes us from the inside out so we must get students in the Word!!
So how do you get them to into the Word??? BUY DEVOTIONALS!!!!!
-Include Devotionals in your cost when you go to Summer Camp or go on a Retreat and hand them out to every student. Have them begin to start their devotional at camp and encourage them after camp to read their DEVOTIONALS!!
–Make reading Gods Word EXCITING by asking your students to take pictures of their daily time with God on instagram and twitter, then BRAG on them!! Get the WHOLE STUDENT MINISTRY in on it!!!
-Send out daily texts, tweets, instagram posts encouraging them to STAY in their Devotional. Challenge the parents to challenge their students to STAY in the WORD and hold them ACCOUNTABLE!! Some parents can even do the devotional with them!!
-Make getting a DEVOTIONAL EASY by purchasing some for your Student Ministry and asking parents to buy them!! Then they don’t have to go to Lifeway and its right there for them!
-Make sure to GET a 60 day Devotional to start out so they can see a goal and feel like it can be accomplished!! Here’s a strong recommendation for a DEVOTIONAL http://www.christianbooksbibles.com/product-p/9780310730040.htm
I truly believe you can get students EXCITED about Gods Word!!! Watch God transform their lives right in front of you as they ENJOY reading GODS WORD!! Watch them HUNGER and THIRST after Gods Word!!
Get DEVOTIONALS next time for CAMP or RIGHT NOW for your STUDENT MINISTRY!!
Michael Hux is the Student Pastor of Team Church in Matthews, NC.
Connect with Michael on Twitter or Instagram: @_Hux
by David Hanson | Oct 3, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
We all need boundaries in our lives, especially in ministry.
Nobody starts out ministry with the mindset of dropping their guard and cheating on their wife, church or family. Without a clear set of boundaries, a leader becomes blind to fade of their character.
The reason to build healthy physical boundaries is to avoid distracting people from the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.
What we surround ourselves with will have an influence upon our actions. A leader who has a lack of physical boundaries is setting themselves and their ministry up for failure. Too many leaders have traded in character for a moment of pleasure. Never before has character and integrity been more needed in today’s church leaders.
3 ways to build impenetrable physical boundaries:
1. Never be alone with a student of the opposite gender.
– Students of the opposite gender expressing the need to talk should be encouraged to talk to their small group leader. If you have to talk with them, it must be in a ministry setting in public.
– Make the hard choice to walk out and away when alone. What we do behind closed doors is just as important as what we do outdoors. In today’s world, an accusation is one step away from destroying character.
– Transportation: Do not drive them home alone. If a student of the opposite gender is last to leave an event, ask a leader to stay until they are picked up.
2. Avoid counseling students of the opposite sex.
– Focus upon helping guys if you are a guy and vice versa. It is healthy to help, listen and encourage students of the opposite sex.
– Choose not to prolong counseling with the opposite sex, because it creates an unhealthy emotional bond. Make the wise choice, and urge guy leaders to counsel guys and girl leaders to counsel girls. I usually praise them for their decision and say something like, “I’m so grateful about you taking this step towards God, so I have a great leader that can help encourage you further” and connect them to the leader.
3. Maintain healthy physical touch.
– Help students feel valued by showing that you love them.
– Start giving high fives, side hugs and fist bumps. Physical touch should only happen in a public space, never in private.
Character is who we are when no one is looking and how we act when everyone is looking.
How important are physical boundaries in ministry? What would you add to the conversation?
Josh is the student pastor at Church @ The Springs in Ocala, Florida
(www.thesprings.net). Josh has served in student ministry for 9+ years and has a passion to lead students to imitate Christ and influence the world! He has a personal blog at
http://joshrobinson.cc
by David Hanson | Oct 2, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Moses had it. Elisha had it. Jesus had it. They all had moments in their ministry where the burden of leadership seemed too great. They saw what God called them to and saw the impossibility of it. We do it in ministry too. The family that’s barely holding it together and only you know how close they are to the brink. The student who wants to believe but just can’t seem to fully give Jesus everything. The leader who is struggling with an inner battle.
As a Christian it’s our calling to sit down and enter into the pain and brokenness of other people’s lives. We pour out our lives and sometimes we pour too much of ourselves. We are left empty, tired and burned out. In the midst of these times there are three truths that you should take in to protect you from emptying yourself too much.
Jesus is the Savior, not you.
I’m pretty sure that no one would argue this theologically, but practically we deny this all the time. In pastoral ministry we start to believe that spiritual growth is all up to us. We do this when we say “yes” to meeting with more people than you can handle. We deny this truth when we can’t let a phone call or text wait until the next day. Jesus was doing pretty fine without me before I got here and He’ll do fine when I’m gone. Think about this. God never tires, do you? God won’t give up, will you? God is immortal, are you?
It is a blow to our ego to know that we are not the center of our ministry, but it’s the truth and this truth will set you free. When you free yourself from being Savior, then you are less likely to have your heart rise and fall with your ministry successes and failures. We are protected from pride. When a student accepts Christ, it’s not because we presented the Gospel in the right way. We are freed from guilt. When a student you’ve been pouring into messes up, it’s not because we failed them.
You aren’t alone.
It’s easy in ministry to feel like you’re the only one keeping the ship afloat. We see our own hard work and feel that if it weren’t for you the whole church would fall a part. The truth is that God is working through more people than you. Elijah, after the victory on Mount Carmel, received a death threat from Jezebel. Elijah complained to God saying that if he died, no one would be left to stand up against Ahab and Jezebel. God responded by telling Elijah that he had reserved 7,000 other prophets who had not bowed to Baal. In other words, “Elijah, this isn’t all about you. I’m working all over the place through many other people.”
The question for us is, “How do you release your ministry to other people so that your burden is shared with other people?” If you are keeping it all to yourself. You are not doing ministry the right way.
It’s not selfish to care for yourself.
There is a horrible belief in the church that caring for yourself is selfish and therefore wrong. If we even think about doing something for the betterment of our souls then that means we are putting ourselves above other people. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Even Jesus took time to tend to his own soul. When pressed by the burdens of ministry, Jesus went away to spend time in communion with His Father. One could argue that Jesus would have spent His time better if He would have healed more people or taught more truth. That’s how we operate a lot of the time. But Jesus knew that His joy and strength came from time with the Father. Without that His ministry would have no power.
I’ve certainly struggled with this over the years and need constant reminder that caring for my own soul is not an act of selfishness, it’s an act of love. If I tend to my own soul I will have a longer ministry and be able to bless more people in the long run.
Kevin Libick is a Middle School Pastor living in Fort Worth, TX with his wife Kara and her two cats. He is a novice banjo picker and expert Hawaiian food eater. Kevin loves to connect with other youth workers and equip them to live out their calling in God’s Kingdom. Connect with Kevin on Twitter: @kevinlibick
