Youth Ministry 3.0

I recently read the book Youth Ministry 3.0 by Mark Oestreicher from Youth Specialties and
I have to say that I had a hard time at first and did not get it fully----but after taking some time to process the information I have been able to take away a few things. I don't think he is saying that youth ministry is not working--what I took was that the way we have been doing youth ministry is not as effective as it once was because of how youth culture has changed. I can relate to this because that is exactly some of frustrations that I have been experiencing lately (see pg.118-119). What I have been doing is not working and I have realized that and have implemented some changes particularly with our large group (more crowd and community friendly). He talks about youth culture fixation being based on affinity---we can't program something that all students are going to like or relate to-- so we have decided to try some different monthly events in place of our normal Sunday service (this month is Kickball) to try and reach different groups of students on a more regular basis but still providing the large group service twice a month and with the other week we will be doing a service project. I am going try this format through the summer and then evaluate and see what we think. The other big piece he talks about is students just need authentic community in their lives which is where small groups and caring leaders (someone being present in their lives on a regular basis--doing life together)--again this is something that I am working on and implementing when school starts. I still believe in the purpose driven model---but I also think you need to be willing to tweak or change something based upon the culture of students that you are trying to minister to.

Learning Lots

I feel like I have learned so much in last few weeks----that I just wanted to share a couple things that have been impacting my life. I have been trying so hard to build and make "The Journey" a successful youth group that I have forgotten to rely on God's power. There were two verses that have really hit home recently--Matt. 17:20 and Luke 16:10--with faith as small as a mustard seed--nothing is impossible, and being faithful in small matters before you are given more. To me these verses are talking about our ministry---being faithful in what we have now before we are given more and relying on God's power and having faith in all that we do. I can't wait to put these learning's into practice and share with our leaders and see what God does in and through our ministry.

PDYM Trip

Chris and I arrived in OC yesterday afternoon. We got our rental car and drove to our hotel, got checked in and drove over to Saddleback---what an awesome campus, then stopped at VONS for some groceries. We were both very tired so we stayed at the hotel for a light dinner and watched some T.V. and fell asleep early. This morning we got up early and hit the work out room and then grabbed some breakfast at the hotel. We then drove down the PCH and checked out Huntington Beach and then down to Laguna Beach. I love the area here---so pretty and the weather is awesome. Day 1 of the PDYM conference starts at 4:30 and I am looking forward to hanging out with Doug Fields, Josh Griffin and the rest of the PDYM folks. More to follow!!!!

Basketball @ The Journey

A brand new basketball hoop has been added at The Journey. I hope that this addition will attract some students that would not normally come on Sunday night. I also hope this will be a big draw for our H.O.T Thursday's coming this summer.

Investing time with Students

I have come to realize lately that it really matters how much time you spend hanging out with students. You do not earn the respect and trust of a student by simply spending one hour a week with them. I really want to change the relationships that I have with our students---that is why we have implemented Sonic Wednesday's and are looking to change the way we do our Sunday nights and upcoming summer activities. I am hoping to build more solid relationships and also encourage our students to grow at the same time. I am excited about all the changes coming up.

Yesterday

Yesterday we had 11 students that showed up at the Apollo Beach Sonic for our weekly Sonic Wednesday's gathering. I'm so excited about this weekly little project that we started. It gives me a wonderful opportunity to just hang out with and talk to our students plus it gives our students a great chance to invite their friends that would not normally come to a Sunday night service. I hope this will continue to grow and hopefully over the summer we can add another opportunity like this on a weekly basis. Stay tuned!!!

What a weekend

What a great-- but very busy weekend we just had. On Friday we took a group of H.S. students to the Student Life-Live, Love retreat in Orlando. Francis Chan and Kristian Stanfill were simply outstanding. Francis reminded us all of just how awesome of a God that we serve from Revelation 4 that was very inspiring. Kristian led us into some of the most exciting times of worship that I have experienced in a long time. Just a great time!!!
We celebrated the 1st birthday of The Journey on Sunday night with a Messy night and birthday cake. It was in the 50's so it made it very cold---but we still had a great time.
I took 3 leaders to the Youth Pastor's Summit in Orlando on Monday----great time of inspiration and reflection from some great men of God---Darren Whitehead, Jay Strack, Francis Chan, David Nasser. I am pumped!!!!
Back in the office today trying to get organized for this week.