7 Quick and Easy Icebreakers for your Back Pocket

3 Comments

We’ve all been there.  You look around the youth room and realize not everybody knows everybody, or you’re trying to start a discussion and the awkwardness is in the air.  Here are 7 quick and easy icebreakers to get your crowd at ease.  You might just want to print these out and put them in your back pocket, just in case.

 

Body Parts – Every student gets a partner.  One of the pair goes to the middle to form an inner circle, the other of the pair makes a larger circle around the inner circle.  Outer circle begins to walk clockwise, inner circle walks counter-clockwise.  Then the leader calls out two body parts like nose to elbow.  The inner circle partner finds the outer circle partner & they have to match up the body parts.  Last duo to match up their parts is eliminated.  Circle back up and keep going.

 

I Never – everyone sits in a circle of chairs except one person in the middle.  Person in the middle states their name and something they have never done.  Anyone who has done whatever was said, gets up in switches chairs.  Example “I’m Erin and I’ve never been to a Disney theme park.”  Everyone who has been to a Disney park gets up and switches spots, person in the middle tries to get a seat.  Last person in the middle is “it” for the next round.

 

Name Backwards Introduction – Do a simple introduction and then ask the youth to say their name backwards, which always makes for a good nickname through a retreat.  Funny part is that there is usually someone who’s name is the same backwards. ie. Anna

 

Three Questions – Each person in the group answers three questions.  The questions are 1. What is your name? 2. What grade are you in & where do you go to school? And question #3 is wide open for creativity – if you could be any zoo animal (or car or color or food, etc.), what would you be and why? 

 

Two Truths and a Lie – each participant writes down three statements in any order about themselves on a card, two are true and one is a lie.  The trick is to make the lie believable.  Gather all the cards, someone shuffles them.   Read the cards aloud one at a time – group tries to guess who wrote the card & then which statement was false.  Optional: you can keep score on who has the most correct guesses.

 

What if….? – Everyone gets two pieces of paper.  On the first piece everyone writes a random question starting wi th “What if…”  For example: “What if dogs could talk?” or “What if you could turn anything into chocolate?”  On the second piece of paper, st udents write an answer to the questions, such as “We would have to hear about squirrels a lot more.” Or “Brussel sprouts would taste better than ever.”  After ever yone is done writing, put questions in one pile and answers in another.  Shuffle th e papers and then randomly pick one question and one answer.  Read aloud and laugh. 

 

Would You Rather – Gather your group together and the leader calls out a “Would your rather…” statement.  Participants can answer by moving from one side of the room or the other, sitting or standing,  writing their answers, sharing their answers – whatever works best for your group.  Examples of “Would your rather questions” are:  Would your rather…go to the beach or the mountains?  Be able to stop time or to fly?  Be the most popular person or the smartest person?  Go without your phone for a month or not see your best friend for a month?

 

Erin Jackson is a veteran & certified youthworker as well as part of the Youthworker Movement team. If you are in youth ministry, you should really learn more about the Youthworker Movement at http://www.ywmovement.org.  Erin lives in Arlington, Texas, with her husband Dennis and three kids. She can be found blogging at http://umyouthworker.com/ 

(Special thanks to youthworkers Sue Douglas Daniels, Erin Sloan Jackson, Kyle Hunter Madison, Gavin Richardson and Daniel J. Segale for their contributions to this article on www.facebook.com/youthworkermovement…if you have other icebreaker gems to share, please let us know.)

 

7 Choices You Can Make To Keep From Losing Yourself in Youth Ministry

Leave a comment

I had a reality check six months ago while sitting in a volunteer training seminar.  Our instructor suggested that youth ministry volunteers focus on their hobbies and figure out creative ways to get the youth to participate too (a youth flyfishing expedition? Why not?)  He had us start with a list of our hobbies… and I realized that I didn’t have any hobbies outside of my job in youth ministry.  This cannot be healthy. 

In a profession like youth ministry, it’s easy to get caught up in the role of youth pastor/youth director and lose touch with who you are as a person.  Youth workers almost by definition are givers, people who sacrifice their goals to help others. It is almost universal that youth workers will ignore their own needs every chance they get. But you have to spend some time taking care of yourself or you will find yourself where you have nothing left to give, and probably at the worst possible time.  Here are 7 choices you can make to keep from losing your sense of self in your job:

The first 4 choices are internal things you can control – basically ways to take care of yourself.  The last three involve external factors that you can work on but you might have limited control.

 

Four Internal Choices to Make to Keep from Losing Yourself in Youth Ministry

  1. Choose to care for your own soul.  You pour your heart into helping others.  But who is your pastor?  Consider finding a pastor who is not your boss.  Who holds you accountable for your own spiritual growth?  The best way you can minister to other people is to make sure you are spiritually fed yourself.  Choose to make time for personal Bible study, retreat, worship – whatever you need for your own spiritual growth – and make sure to do these things before you get caught up in work.  Do not get in the habit of putting youth ministry before your own relationship with God.
  2.  Choose to care for your mind.  What do you think about? The questions you ask will become habitual.  What kind of thoughts are you letting into your head?  Are you reading positive things and surrounding yourself with a positive helpful message?  Just the simple act of reading positive material can keep your mind from spiraling down into negative thoughts.  (check out some inspirational books, read Scripture)  You need to keep yourself in a positive and healthy frame of mind.
  3. Choose to care for your body.  We all know youth work can mean lock-ins and a seemingly limitless number of occasions to eat pizza.  That might have seemed like the ideal job in college, but we’re not getting any younger.  Be honest, are you eating well?  Getting enough rest?  Exercising?  You know what you need to do – do it!  We all need to take care of ourselves physically – get adequate rest, exercise regularly, wear sunscreen.  If you are taking care of your body, you will find that you have more energy and you will last longer. One of the healthiest things you can do is to say “no” when people are asking you to add another commitment to your schedule.  Consider this: When asked the secret to making amazing products, Steve Jobs said “It comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much”. Your ministry works the same way, do too much “not amazing stuff” and you can’t focus on the truly important stuff.
  4.  Choose to develop yourself outside of your profession.  Get a hobby.  Learn new things.  Keep your mind sharp.  [Have a bucket list? No? Make one. Have one, cross one off this month. Who do you have fun with? In the military they say at social events, “never open the hangar doors”, which means when you are at a social event with people in your unit, focus on the fun, and don’t talk about work. Having trouble turning off the worker mode and relaxing? Maybe you need friends that are not involved in youth ministry in any way shape or form.

 

Three External Choices to Make to Keep from Losing Yourself in Youth Ministry – these are about your relationships

  1. Choose to make your home relationships a priority.   It’s too easy to take your family for granted.  If you are married, you need to make sure your marriage is a priority over youth ministry.  This might mean turning the text messages off when you get home, scheduling date nights and not letting youth events conflict with them, eat regular meals together.  If you have children, you need to be demonstrating the priority your own kids have over the youth events.  Bonus: when you choose to make it clear that family is your priority, you are being a great role model for youth.  Set boundaries.
  2. Choose to build positive work relationships.  Church politics is [not any different than office politics, when people who have different opinions and values work together, sometimes their personalities don’t fit. It’s] unavoidable.  But you can be part of the solution instead of feeding the problem. Make sure you are keeping things positive with your coworkers.  Try to understand the pressures the senior pastor might be under.  Take the janitor out to lunch.  Lift people up.  Work relationships are one of those things that make the job joyful when they’re great, miserable when they’re bad. 
     Work relationships also include your relationships with volunteers – be positive, affirming.  And if there is a problem with fit or calling be loving but direct, not everyone is going to be a successful long term volunteer.
    Along those same lines, choose to have healthy youth relationships –  set your boundaries and make sure your relationships are appropriate. If you are not doing safe sanctuary where you are consider adopting it as a standard, it helps keep everyone safe, and it doesn’t leave room for any inappropriate rumors to take root. Remember that your role is not to be the “cool buddy” of teenagers, you are an adult. Being a youth worker is not the same thing as being a youth.  You can coach your students, you can listen, you can cheer them on, but you are not there to live life for them or through them.   Choose not to be alone with youth or to be in situations that can be misunderstood.
  3. Choose your job wisely.  Churches and youth ministries have different personalities; just like youth workers have different personalities. If you are working in a church that has unrealistic expectations for you or just isn’t a fit for your personality and gifts, you might be miserable and on the way to losing yourself before you even begin.
    Choosing the job that is right for you starts with an honest self-assessment.. What are your strengths? Gifts? Passions?  Are you an extrovert that gets your energy from having a large number of people around? Then don’t go to work for a small church with a high average age and few youth. If you are passionate about student leadership, will you be content working for a church that expects you to produce programs?  If you are passionate about discipleship, will you be content working for a church that expects big outreach events and large crowds?  How much time does your job really require?  Will this work with your other priorities for spiritual growth and healthy relationships?
     If you find yourself in a church that doesn’t fit your personality and gifts, it may be time to make the difficult choice to make a switch.  The more you can align who you are as a person and how you are comfortable in ministry, the healthier you’ll be.

 

 

Erin Jackson is a veteran & certified youthworker as well as part of the Youthworker Movement team. If you are in youth ministry, you should learn more about Youthworker Movement at http://www.ywmovement.org.  She lives in Arlington, Texas with her husband Dennis and three kids. She can be found blogging at http://umyouthworker.com/ If you like this post, please let me know.

 

 

 

 

 

Comfortable with Wet Logs? (a blog post about calling & courage)

1 Comment

Images

Ever try to light a wet piece of firewood? 

In the Old Testament, there’s a story about the prophet Elijah and his challenge against 450 of the prophets of Baal, a pagan idol.  Elijah worshipped the one true God, the prophets of Baal had a pagan god, and the current leader of the land, Ahab, was trying to worship all the gods.  In this challenge, Elijah and the other prophets each put sacrifices on some wood and they are supposed to call upon their gods to make the wood catch fire for a burnt offering.  Whichever side was successful would prove that they had the real god to follow.  The prophets of Baal go first, but are unsuccessful after calling on Baal all day long. (Elijah even taunts them a bit – it’s worth reading for yourself.)

When it’s Elijah’s turn, he doesn’t go about it the same way.  Instead, God has Elijah put water over the sacrifice and the wood.  Not just a little bit of water, but big jars full of water four different times – enough to soak the sacrifice and wood, and fill a trench around the altar as well.  

Elijah then begins to pray to God – and, wouldn’t you know it,  God lights the fire, burns the sacrifice & the wood and evaporates all the water and dust around until nothing is left.

When I shared this story from 1 Kings with my ten year old son today, he said, “Well, that’s because nothing’s impossible for God, right?”

And, yes, that’s exactly right.

Nothing is impossible for God.

In reading this story paraphrased from 1 Kings 18,  I realize that God has the ability to lead us each to something absolutely incredible.  If nothing is impossible for God, why do we settle for less than incredible?  In fact, God loves to do the impossible!  Yet, so many of us (myself included) are comfortable just sitting around with wet firewood, not even daring to ask God for what seems like the impossible.

If I’m honest about my own faith journey, I’ve got my own wet wood that I’m hanging on to.  As I find myself in between ministry callings, I know I’m holding back on praying for big things.  I’m stalling.  To dare believe that there is an absolutely amazing calling for me out there – something God alone has prepared for me – is a bit overwhelming.  I have no doubt that God has brought me to this point in my journey – He has been faithful to call and prepare me for exactly what I need to be doing all along.  In my heart, I believe that there is something incredible right around the corner…as a couple, my husband and I both have seen God’s hand in all that’s happened in the last month & we just know God’s got us in His hands.

Yet I’m a little afraid to ask God to lead me to the next thing.  It’s safe to be where I am now, staying with what’s comfortable, easy, familiar.

God can do what seems impossible.  Elijah knew that, so he prayed for God to do what seemed impossible anyway and God was faithful.  I wonder if I’m alone in holding back from asking God to do what seems impossible?  How many of us are holding back from what can be incredible to settle for what seems safe?  Are you holding on to wet wood of your own?

I don’t think it will be long until I dare ask God for the next steps in my journey – but I do admit that I’m holding back.  What if God has prepared me for something that seems too impossible, too incredible?  Join me in praying for the courage and faith of Elijah!  
Yours in Christ,
Erin

 

Frayer for Youth Ministry

Leave a comment
My oldest son just completed the 4th grade.  In his science class, they were required to complete “frayers” in their science journal.  It had been a while since I was in 4th grade, so I admit I didn’t know exactly what a frayer was when it was first assigned.  Basically, you divide your paper into four quadrants and label them – Definition, Properties, Examples, Non-examples.  So, in the case of “rocks,” for example, you have the definition in one quadrant, you can list its properties like “non-living” and “natural” in the second quadrant.  Examples could be sandstone or marble, non-examples could be minerals like quartz or diamond.  You get the idea.

As I’ve entered this phase of discernment – recently laid off from a youth ministry position, now trying to discern where God is leading me next – the idea of a frayer for my own personal role in youth ministry makes sense. 

So, if I labeled my own frayer “My Personal Ministry Passions,” here’s what you might see in the quadrants:

Definition – the areas of ministry where my personal passion and heart’s desire/sense of God’s call on my life most closely align with the work at hand

Properties –
  • these areas of ministry bring me joy
  • I’m excited about them
  • I get pumped when I see it happening
  • brings sense of fulfillment
  • I sense God getting glory through faithfully doing work I was called to do
  • Best uses my strengths/gifts/skills

Examples (things that bring me the most joy) 
  • loving on students and getting them to understand God’s grace and plan for them
  • teaching students to be leaders in ministry
  • mentoring students to find their own spiritual gifts and to discern God’s call on their lives
  • teaching students to be compassionate
  • inspiring others to do something about injustice
  • having a heart for youthworkers who are in desperate need for self-care, mentors and pastoral care to keep from burning out in an often misunderstood profession
  • helping others through mission work (Mission trip, 30 Hour Famine)
  • teaching junior high Bible study
  • inspiring youth to read their own Bible
  • creating spiritual retreats and other moments to bring students closer to Christ
  • trying new adventures
Non-examples (things that do NOT bring me the most joy)
  • Sitting in staff meetings
  • Church politics
  • Paperwork
  • Missing out on personal Sabbath, Bible study, worship, pastoral care
  • Sitting at my computer/desk
  • Counting heads instead of monitoring spiritual growth
  • Leading a group in song (those who’ve heard me sing will attest)
  • Too much time away from family
  • Most technical support things like running the sound board

 

This frayer concept might be helpful in bringing clarity to other decision making processes – I could see this helping youth to figure out what God might be calling them to do with their lives.  After all, adolescence is a time of figuring out who we are and how we fit in God’s Kingdom – what about a frayer to define who you are/who you desire to be?  

 

Each of us have been given unique gifts from God to be used in this lifetime – why settle for something that’s just okay when something truly awesome could be an option?

 

Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts to share/other ideas where this could be used.

 

Love in Christ,

Erin

Two weeks’ notice

2 Comments

In a quick, unscheduled meeting after weekly staff meeting today, I was given my two weeks’ notice.  It’s called two weeks of notice, but in actuality, I have about 5 days to process that I’ve been fired, to compose myself, and then to say goodbye to young people and colleagues I have grown to love as my own family.  (The church is reducing staff and the new clergyperson who is replacing both me and two associate pastors has to start after Annual Conference…so it’s time for me to clear out.)  What’s worse to bear,  is that my husband and three kids are expected to leave the church with me, so I’ve also got to tell my 4, 7 and almost 10 year old that this isn’t our church family after all.  In five days.  

 

In my heart, I have known there was a problem.  I have tolerated feeling isolated and frustrated for months…tolerated it because I love the youth in our ministry and I have seen God at work in such amazing ways during my tenure here:  A first international mission trip igniting a passion for missions.  Thousands of dollars raised by youth to help the world’s hungry.  Former youth called into youth ministry as young adults…current youth hearing God’s call into ministry.  Student leaders blossoming into leadership and taking ownership of their areas of ministry.  Youth that were on the fringe becoming excited participants and sharing their life with me. The creation of the most enthusiastic losing basketball team ever witnessed.  (Only God gets the glory for these things happening, but it’s been exciting to see it all unfold on my watch.)

 

So, how did this job loss come to happen?  I have done all that I was asked to do, I have poured my heart into my ministry, I know students are closer to Christ for my having been here…but it basically boils down to program performance and attendance.  In short, I may have mistaken the lofty words as my primary directive (equip students to be Christ’s disciples) for the business reality (the number of students you should be equipping is at least 25% more than your current attendance rate…or at least as high as some unspecified number that we believe we used to have in the youth group 10 years ago…)

 

Ugh.  This has been a very tough day.  I know my emotions are raw so I don’t want to write too much.  Just the same, I still believe God has a hand in all of this.  He clearly, faithfully called me to my current church, He’s clearly calling me to something else….something I haven’t quite grasped yet.  Maybe in His creative wisdom, God has found a way to prune the things I’ve held on to that are not of His Kingdom – things like my pride of working for a big church, my ego associated with feeling immune to being fired (this happens all the time in youth ministry – just look at the job postings – but it is a first for me), my reluctance to quit because of actually having a decent salary in youth ministry.  

 

Perhaps divinely inspired, I’ve focused a lot of my studies this year on the importance of youthworker self-care.  At youth ministry conventions I kept hearing this recurring theme of a deep need for healing in the souls of youthworkers.  We need to take care of our own spiritual health in order to take care of feeding the souls of others.  We need rest.  We need mentors.  We need pastors that are not our bosses so someone can give us pastoral care when we, say, lose our job or some other crisis.  Perhaps God has just provided me with the perfect opportunity to rest, to regroup and refocus my calling into ministry.

 

I do not know the plans God has for me, but fortunately He does.  I know from experience that His plans are good.  

 

I hope you’ll join me on the journey to see what He has in store.  I wonder if anyone reading this has a story of their own to share?

 

Yours in Christ,

Erin

 

 

 

 

From Prison to Youth Ministry

Leave a comment
Gabe_dominguez

From Prison to Youth Ministry – An interview with Gabe Dominguez

 

Few people have life stories like this one.  My conversation with Gabe reminded me that God has plans for even those kids that seem completely lost.  How can we in “traditional” youth ministry better reach the hard-to-reach youth? – Erin

 

Gabe Dominguez is not your ordinary youth pastor.  Sure, he owns the same youth ministry books you’d expect to see on the shelves in any youth minister’s office.  He joins the thousands of youthworkers that are big fans of Doug Fields’ Purpose Driven Youth Ministry.  (In fact, if you ask Gabe, Doug is “his homeboy,” and the feeling seems to be mutual on Doug’s blog http://www.simplyyouthministry.com/dougs-thoughts-75.html )

 

Gabe’s background and Gabe’s youth ministry field set him apart. 

 

Youth ministry at Mission Waco goes way beyond the traditional “Sunday Night Youth Group” model.  There are afterschool programs, music therapy ministries, art therapy ministries, small groups, job training for teen dropouts and teen parents, mentoring programs and an extensive food program in partnership with local restaurants.  Gabe understands from first hand experience the struggles his youth are facing – and he is passionate about keeping youth on a path to God.

 

The background. Gabe can tell you that he had a rough background…and that almost scratches the surface.  At the age of 11, his uncle asked him to begin selling drugs…turns out he was really good at it.  He spent his teenage years getting into trouble with gangs, selling drugs and firearms in his hometown of Waco, Texas.  He witnessed more than his fair share of murders and gang violence as a teenager.  At 18, he was already a father.  At the age of 22, he arrested for machine gun possession.  Before being sentenced to prison, a toughened, suicidal, gun-carrying Gabe reluctantly attended church with a cousin.  Through the testimony of a guest preacher who had turned his life around (“He actually made it!”), God began the change in Gabe’s heart.

 

In the years since prison, Gabe’s heart and life have completely turned over to God.  After his release, his daughter reminded him of a prison letter promising to take her to church.  Around this same time, his brother-in-law introduced him to Christian Rock/Hip Hop.  Much to his surprise, Gabe liked it.  The positive messages in the music really helped him to move forward and continue to be a driving force in the Music Therapy part of his ministry today.  He is passionate about reaching young people who are living rough lives on the edge and getting them to turn their lives over to God. 

 

The ministry field.  Gabe is the director of youth ministry for Mission Waco. (www.missionwaco.org).  You may already be familiar with Mission Waco, it is well-known for the Church Under the Bridge worship service held literally under Interstate 35 near Baylor University in Waco, serving the poor and marginalized of Central Texas.  (www.churchunderthebridge.org)  Likewise, the youth ministry of Mission Waco, is reaching young people who might otherwise be turning to drugs, gangs or violence.  Young people who are not only hungry for God’s love but also physically hungry or homeless.

 

Gabe is most passionate about the MDub Music Program in his ministry.  Through MDub, young men and women get the opportunity to turn their real-life stories into professionally recorded hip-hop/rap music.  The lyrics about real struggles and finding hope bring healing to both the songwriter and listener.

 

Questions and Answers with Gabe Dominguez

 

Q. What do you see as the biggest challenges facing his youth today?

A. Developing coping skills.  Without enough mentors helping young people to realize their options, the youth he serves look around and see only a life of drugs, crime and gangs as an escape.  These young people may be coping with witnessing a murder or having a mom in prostitution, they may be coping with not having a home or not being able to sleep. 

 

We need transitional homes for youth – and there are not enough people to help when a young person is trying to turn their life around.  Teenage brains are not fully developed and they need help.  There is a desperate need for adult mentors who will love youth exactly where and how they are now, with all of the bad habits and problems, people who will be there to help youth have real life change.

 

Q. How can youth workers best help the poor?

A. Churches are not the hospitals for the hurting that they used to be.  Realize it doesn’t matter if you have 50 or 100 youth coming to your youth programs.  What matters is that you know what is really going on at the homes of your youth.  Are basic needs being met?  Is their home safe, loving, with food?  Are parents involved?  You need to be intentional about really knowing what’s going on and doing the best to meet real needs.

 

Q.  If you could teach one message to the youth of the church, what would it be?

A.  To the youth: Jesus loves them right where they’re at, with their messed up thoughts and everything.  It’s okay to wrestle with God (Jacob did).  It’s okay to have doubts.  God is the hope of the world and the healing of their hearts.

 

Q. If you could teach one message to the youth workers of the church, what would it be?

A.  Be balanced and healthy.  Don’t be overcommitted.    If we are not doing okay personally, we will not be a good role model for the youth.  If you are overcommitted in your ministry, you’re not gonna make it long term. 

 

Your priorities need to be in this order: God, Family and then your Job/Ministry. 

 

If you are a youth worker called into youth ministry, remember that God provided your passion and call to ministry, everything is going to work out.  The passion for young people is there, God will take care of the ministry.

 

Q.  How can we help Gabe Dominguez’s ministry at Mission Waco?

 

Pray for the MDub Music Therapy ministry. 

Reality Bites And Some Churches Have Fangs

Leave a comment

Reality Bites And Some Churches Have Fangs

By Len on Sep 17, 2010 in Articles

When I began my first full-time youth ministry position, I had a utopian view of what it’d be like working in a church. I believed that since everyone loved Jesus it’d be an ideal work environment; I expected to hear “Kum-Bah-Yah” in the background as we closed our staff meetings. Reality hit me soon after the last book went from box to bookshelf.

A few years ago, Your Church magazine ran a series about “Forced Exits” (Mar/Apr 1996). They reported that almost one fourth of senior pastors had been fired, forced to resign, or pressured to resign. They also discovered that 91 percent of senior pastors knew three to four pastors who’d been forced to exit. I personally know four youth pastors who’ve lost their jobs this past year.

Bob Long, the national youth ministry director of the Baptist General Conference, shared this: “A high dose of cynicism is sadly normal in veteran youth pastors as a result of seeing the church in action over the years.” I wanted to hold on to my naivety and deny what he observed, but I knew it was true.

Originally appeared in Youthworker Journal June/July 2003

via lenevans.net

An unspoken theme I’ve sensed at national youthworkers conventions is this deep need for healing and rest for those in youth ministry. There seems to be a desperate cry for hearing that things will be okay, this deep need for encouragement to keep pursuing the call. It’s heartbreaking to know that so many people called into youth ministry feel beat up and hurt by their church. I appreciated Len’s honesty in this article.

Spending time sharing the Christian journey and loving on youth should be a joy. Here are a few joy killers I’ve observed for youthworkers:

Fatigue – too many of us neglect to rest (see earlier post on sabbath). A wise youth worker friend pointed out that the church will gladly let you work 50-60 hours a week and miss taking any of your vacation days if you let it.

Isolation – youth ministry is a quirky area….who really understands the unique challenges you face of serving youth, parents, future youth, expectations? When the pastor is also your boss, who do you talk to when you need pastoral care? A supportive network of Youthworker friends and/or mentors can be a joy saver.

Expectations – so often expectations are unclear, implied, unrealistic or uncommunicated. When the focus shifts from making disciples to counting heads, joy can be lost. Sometimes the performance expectations are from the church, just as often they are self-imposed.

Prayerfully, we can remember this is God’s work. If we are called to ministry by God, He will be faithful to use us as we are to do the work He has set for us.

Maybe we all just need a hug and to be told it’s all going to be okay. Be encouraged! It’s worth it.

YouthWorker Movement » Is it still a Sabbath Sunday?

2 Comments

Is it still a Sabbath Sunday?

March 30, 2011 |

Administration, Featured, Parents and Families, Program, Spiritual Life

Sundays in a large church with an average worship attendance of about 1100-1400 people begins at approximately 7:30 AM.  The preaching pastor prepares for the first service and spends some quiet time in reflection with God.  A group comes in and prays for him/her and then begins the marathon of three worship services; 8:30 – 9:45 – 11:00.  Following the services, prayerfully, the afternoon is open.  But for a youth minister, the day has just gotten warmed up.  Sometimes there might be an afternoon meeting, but mostly the time is spent in preparation for the evening activities.  In this church, the students arrive at 4:15, a few minutes before youth choir and then off to Youth Group Fellowship (AKA: U.M. Youth Fellowship, Youth Group Time, etc.)  By the time that ends, staff members are exhausted and we wonder why on earth we call it “Sabbath.”

Unfortunately, that is not a unique schedule for churches or families today.  Genesis 2:1-3 tells us the story of God resting after six days of laboring over the creation of the world.  God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a holy day of rest.  It has even been commanded upon us to rest on the seventh day and keep it holy, as God is Holy. (Exodus 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12)  Yet, it has become just another working day for families, churches and communities throughout the Christian faith.

There once was a time when nothing but church was scheduled on Sundays.  Sunday was a sacred day and communities, schools, businesses and people made a covenant to honor this day and allow people time to worship God.  In those days, the church was the biggest gig in town on Sundays, and so, youth groups sprouted up and became the place for teenagers to come and hang out in a safe place, while worshipping and learning about God.  Every youth in town, usually, made it a priority to be at youth group on Sunday nights.  It was fun and fellowship with Jesus!

But, once again, time shifted, the world shifted and priorities shifted and people began opening businesses on Sundays, in order to make a few extra bucks.  Then, in an effort to improve the skills of students playing sports, coaches started scheduling practices on Sunday afternoons to enhance their teams.  Next, community groups got on the band-wagon, and scheduled more and more activities on Sundays, moving the culture away from the sacred Sabbath of Sunday.

Today, youth leaders bemoan a decline in their Sunday evening youth programming.  Students, who work all week in school, spend all day Saturday in sports or other community activities.  They squeeze in a little bit of worship Sunday morning, find themselves by Sunday evening exhausted and overwhelmed by the fact that now homework needs to get done, too.

This isn’t a new question, but I wonder where the church fits into this picture of life.  Do we continue to add to the stress put on families by mandating, encouraging, pressuring, youth to be at youth group on Sunday nights?  After all, we are fighting for their souls to be dedicated to Jesus, right?  Or do we succumb to the pressures of the culture and the world and set aside Sunday nights for families, for rest (or for homework) as a community of faith?  Are Sunday mornings the only sacred space for the church?

As a mother, a youth minister and a community member, I grapple with balance.  If God is supposed to be our #1 priority, I wonder why families don’t emphasize time with God the same way they emphasize time with sports, or friends, or work?  If God is lucky, in most of our busy lives, God will get an hour a week.  Is God satisfied?  Or have we said to God, “I’m going to do the bare minimum to continue this relationship with you, Lord.”  Goodness knows, that’s what our world is telling us to do, and so far, we’re responding really well.  What will it take to change the culture today?  I’m certain, God isn’t satisfied and it’s time for us to shift again.  Prayerfully, we’ll be shifting towards more time with God.

(What are your ministries doing to help youth prioritize God during the week?  What are your communities doing to support the faith community?  If Sundays are no longer sacred in your church community, how are you responding?)

Rev. Amy Valdez Barker
Minister of Families with Youth
Athens First UMC
amy@athensfirstumc.org

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

via ywmovement.org

Are you taking time to rest? No one needs a burnt out youth pastor.

Self-care is too often neglected in professional youth ministry. I know in my case, I love what I do and I hate to miss what’s going on. That works until something adds stress to the schedule and adequate rest time hasn’t been put in.

The baby step I’ve taken is to figure out the number of days I should get off each month to make up for working on the weekends…I block off a minimum of that many days for the month on my calendar with stickers & I spend those days not working. Rest and family time is so important!

So this is me.

Leave a comment

P17

My name is Erin. About me… I do my best to follow to follow Christ. I am a wife, mom, daughter and many other things including a certified United Methodist youth minister. I am happily married and a mom to three amazing kids. I have been serving in youth ministry in various capacities for about 15 years. I love to learn.

So, this blog is designed mainly for fellow youth workers. I will share my heart and welcome conversation. Would love to create a forum for sharing youth ministry ideas, successes, struggles and failures. Youth ministry can be tough and it can be glorious. It’s worth it.

If you are also on the wild ride of youth ministry, welcome and bless you. Feel free to jump right in and tell about yourself.

More soon.