by David Hanson | Jun 10, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
One of the hardest parts about student ministry is saying goodbye to old students one week and saying hello to a bunch of new ones the next. Last Sunday was promotion week so all of our new 7th graders joined us for the first time.
As kids were streaming into our room I kept thinking “How am I going to learn all these new names?” It seems like every new name I learn pushes out an old name
to make room. The older I get the harder it is for me to learn the new names of students, but it’s totally worth the effort. We can’t rely on excuses like, “I don’t have a good memory.” or “I’m not good with names.” We also can’t rely on nicknames like dude, buddy, and partner. Student’s will pick up on this shortcut really quick.
When we do the hard work of learning names, our ministry will feel more personal and personal ministries are ALWAYS more effective. Here are few tricks I’ve learned along the way to learn names and make them stick.
Rely on other leaders. Some ministries are larger than others and at some point it becomes impossible to know everyone’s name. While it’s good for the lead youth worker to know as many names as possible, it’s not necessary as long as SOMEONE knows their name. Instead of trying to learn everyone’s name, make it your responsibility to make sure every student is known by at least one leader. This relieves pressure on you and gives your leaders ministry ownership. One way we’ve done this is to take a picture of every student individually (or as a group) and do flash cards with leaders. Keep track of how many you get right and do it multiple times throughout the year to see if you are getting better.
Learn their last names and stories. It’s really tempting to learn just first names of students. We think of names as bits of information. If we shorten it to just a first name then we have to remember less. Actually, the opposite is true. You remember information that is relevant to you. Last names help provide context. They help you differentiate one Bobby from the next. Last names also help you connect new students with families. It’s a lot easier to remember Karson’s name if you remember that he is Blake’s younger brother (as I did last Sunday). If you know they come from a particular family you’ve now connected them to several other names that you already know and reinforced their importance, making their name easier to remember.
Make it a priority. Whenever I get on a bus for an event full of students I make my rounds to all the seats and introduce myself. It sometimes takes me a few laps to get most of the names, but it works. This shows my students that I’m serious about learning who they are. Another way to make it a priority is to make a public announcement that you’re trying to learn everyone’s name and you’ll buy lunch for anyone who’s name you don’t remember. This is called incentive. I don’t want to buy everyone lunch, so I learn names.
Names. Every student has one and they matter. Do the hard work and make sure that every student is known. It’s a simple thing that will keep your ministry feeling personal.
[guestpost]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. Kevin loves to connect with and empower youth workers. Connect with Kevin on Twitter: @kevinlibick[/guestpost]
by David Hanson | May 7, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
We’re taught to say “no” a lot in ministry. I’ve been told countless times that you need to say no more often so you don’t spread yourself too thin and become ineffective. As youth workers this a good principle because we are constantly confronted with good opportunities that would drain us from the things we need to be doing.
Taken to the extreme, this can lead to a mentality where we only focus on the things directly within our ministry and job description. We see church ministry like an assembly line where we focus only on our widgets. The problem with this is that the church is a family, not a factory. A family where the parts are connected. That means we need to say “yes” from time to time to ministry opportunities in other areas of the church.
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve said yes to serving other areas of our church that don’t directly effect my ministry to teens. One with a singles’ mission trip and another with a young families father/son retreat. Both are completely outside my job description. So when I was asked by leadership to take part, I could have declined. I said yes because I believe it makes ministry better.
Saying yes makes the Body healthy. The members of God’s body are interdependent. We should care about the health of the single’s ministry of your church, because it is just as important as yours. Both contribute to a healthy church body. I accepted the role of leading a single’s ministry mission trip because they needed someone and I was available. Saying yes means I am contributing to the health of the church at large, not just my own ministry.
Saying yes gives you opportunities for growth. When you step outside your normal ministry realm you get stretched in new ways. As part of the father/son retreat I had to speak to both dads and young sons. I have little experience teaching to either audience. It was challenging to come up with talks that could work for both an 8 year old and a 40 year old. Saying yes meant I learned to be a better communicator.
Saying yes shows your leadership you are ready. Many youth pastors, including myself, don’t want to get pigeon holed into one role. While ministry to teens is our main passion, we have other abilities to offer. Sometimes this helps leadership see you in a new light that might open doors in the future.
I’m not saying that you should say yes to everything. But maybe God is calling you to say yes to something that is outside your normal ministry. It may lead to an unexpected ministry experience, but you’ll never know unless you say yes.
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 | Apr 17, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
What do you do when someone else gets recognition, more responsibility or a promotion? There are days in ministry when what we have been given is enough, but all too often there are days where it isn’t.
The longer I’m in middle school ministry, the more often I see people around me getting promoted and advancing up the chain of command. If I’m honest, I get jealous of them because I want to be recognized for my good work. We in America place a lot of importance on titles and position. We preach the false gospel of meritocracy, “those who are more talented and work harder deserve to move up.” So when you are a 35 year old youth worker, you start to believe that you deserve more. More authority, more recognition, a bigger sandbox.
In Numbers 16, three Levites named Korah, Dathan, and Abiram led a rebellion against Moses. Their complaint was that Moses had acted as if he were greater than everyone else by being their leader. We all know how ridiculous this claim was. Moses RESISTED being a leader. He told God “no”, but God insisted. Korah had it all wrong. It wasn’t Moses who exalted himself, God did. Their beef is with God, not Moses.
Moses’ response is convicting to me. He says, “Is it not enough that you are Levites? Is it not enough that you get to take care of the Tabernacle?” Korah, Dathan and Abiram had their ministry. God had given them a place to serve and yet it wasn’t enough.
In student ministry we can spend a lot of time worrying about the “low” place we hold in the church. We feel as if God has forgotten us or that those around have left us out intentionally.
My response to you is this: Is it not enough that you get to disciple teens and leaders? Is it not enough that you are able to teach the Bible, minister to families, and watch kids grow up? Stop longing for more power and prestige when God has given you a place in His kingdom. Be thankful for the ministry and season God has put you in. Stop striving and start enjoying.
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 | Mar 18, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
“To the church in Fort Worth.” That phrase popped into my head this afternoon. Far too often I forget that the Bible was written to specific people living in a specific time. It certainly does apply to my life, but I wasn’t written specifically to me.
The New Testament books are written to the churches in cities like Galatia, Rome, Ephesus, and Philippi. These are geographic locations that had streets, local hangouts, city governments and places to eat. When Paul or John writes to these people he is addressing specific problems that Christians are having in these cities.
This got me thinking. What would a letter written in my day to my city look like? This is the city that I love with the people that I love. What would be included in a letter to the church in Fort Worth?
If I sat down and wrote my letter, it would include hopes and dreams that I believe God has for my city. I would want certain things to change and other things to stay the same. I have certain people in mind when I think about my city, just like Paul and John did. My letter would be different from your letter because your city and people are different from mine.
Each day we have carry the weight of translating the Gospel of peace into a language our students and our city can understand. Because we live in different communities our translations look different. This is the process of contextualization, where we translate the timeless truths of Scripture for a specific people, time and place.
What would you include in your letter? Where is justice needed? What needs aren’t being met? What powers in your community need opposing? Who needs someone to stand in the gap for them?
You are called by God to translate the Gospel for your community. If you don’t, who will? Go ahead, get writing!
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 | Feb 19, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
An accurate view of reality.
Nehemiah had a vision: to see is people safe back at home. Nehemiah had a task: to build the wall in Jerusalem. His vision and his task motivated him to act on behalf of his people.
Nehemiah displayed incredible leadership when it came to actually carrying out his God-given task. When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem went to the source of the problem: the wall. In chapter 2 we read that late at night he got up and walked the walls to assess the damage. Instead of relying on other people, he saw the problem for himself. Through his first hand knowledge he was able to come up with a plan to rebuild the wall.
What would have happened if Nehemiah started work on the wall without seeing the damage? He may have sent workers to the wrong spot, not provided the right resources or underestimated the need.
In order to be a Spiritual leader, we must have an accurate view of reality. In other words, we have to solve the problems that actually exist. To have an accurate view of reality, we need to see the problem for ourselves.
One time I had a small group leader that I thought was doing a great job. He was a nice guy and was faithful, so I assumed that everything was great in his group, but I never observed his group. I started to hear rumblings of discontent and dismissed them as students being complainy. I decided to visit his group anyways to see him at work. Through watching him firsthand I realized that he was dropping the ball on some key areas. Since I saw him lead a group first hand, I was able to help him grow in these areas and he became a must better small group leader.
When we fail to have an accurate view of reality we start solving the wrong problems and we solve them in the wrong way. We answer questions our students aren’t asking. We fix programs that don’t need fixing. We don’t see the problems until they have become out of control.
Leadership requires that we face our challenges head on and we can’t do that if we don’t know what the real issues are.
Step back and observe – If you are in the middle of the storm you can’t see things objectively. Sometimes you need to let go of some tasks so that you can observe your ministry.
Ask questions from the right people – If you want to know how you are doing ministering to families, then you should probably talk to some parents.
When you know what’s really going on in your ministry, you’ll be able to make the necessary course changes to solve the problems that actually exist.
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
