Lasting Student Ministry

More Excerpts from my upcoming "TalkBoosters" course...

2011-10-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

5 people have already expressed interest in being a part of the course or
purchasing the recordings or ebook of the e-course after.

I'll be sharing on this blog what I'll be teaching in my upcoming "Talk Boosters" course.
(Tomorrow will be the final excerpts.)

*This way, even if you don't decide you want to be a part, then you'll still learn some new resources and tips to help you improve your talks.

It'll also help you to be able to decide if this course will be helpful for you.

2nd Group Of Excerpts From My "TalkBoosters" E-course:

1. The Need For Good Stories To Convey The Truth To The World
Phil Cooke said something really interesting on his blog about the need for good stories in order to convey our messages to the world.
(See http://www.philcooke.com/power_of_stories for full post.)

Listen to what Phil says, "The reality is, television programs, rock & roll radio, and movie theaters are "church" for this generation - sadly, that's where young people today learn their morals, and codes of behavior.

"But in spite of that great need, most films, television programs, radio specials, and websites produced by Christians are still poor quality, and have a limited audience."

But now listen to WHY he says things are this way. It's not because the message we have isn't needed. No! That's not why!

Phil says this...

"That's because for most Christians, the message is everything, and we've forgotten the power of a great story. It's interesting that when you study the life of Christ, you discover he didn't give theological lectures or teach doctrine.

He simply told stories - powerful stories that changed people's lives. Stranger still, he usually only explained the meaning in private with his disciples - not with the larger audience..."

2. In the 2nd eclass, I also share what Rick Warren learned as a consultant on the DreamWorks movie, The Prince of Egypt.

He says, "So there is an emotional punch as well as an intellectual punch. We layer it: tension/release, tension/release."

I teach how we can use something like this to keep the interest of our students when we speak.

3. Using The Ingredients Of Emotion and Pathos In Your Talk
I also teach how Jesus told stories with highs and lows, with shocking endings, and unsuspecting heroes.

I explain that He told stories that were filled with emotion and pathos!

We might not always think of them that way, but read some of his parables again and you'll see what I'm talking about.

When you're preparing the "menu" of what truth you will "serve" your students, then make sure you include emotion and pathos as your ingredients!

This is another way to make sure that your talks are engaging.

My Upcoming "Talk Boosters" Course:
I'm going to be offering live, online training of my "Talk Boosters" course again.
It starts THIS THURSDAY.

What is "Talk Boosters" about?
I'll offer a paid, 4 class e-course that focused on 3 important areas:

Content
Structure
Presentation

When?
I'm thinking of doing it Thurs. & Fri. Oct. 20 & 21st from 9am-11am PST
and Mon. & Tues. Oct, 24th & 25th 9am-11am PST.

*If you can't make it one of the days, there will be recordings you
can listen to (and my word-for-word notes in ebook form).

How Much?
The cost for the 4 eclasses will be:

$40 - if you've purchased my "lasting ministry" ebook ($10 a class)
$60 - if you haven't purchase my ebook ($15 a class)

Are You Interested?
You can learn more details about what each class will include and purchase
your spot here. You have until 9pm PST/12am EST to lock in your spot
for this session of classes.

Thanks,
Scott
http://www.lasting-student-ministry.com

Excerpts From My "Talk Boosters" E-Course: How To Test The Effectiveness Of Your Talks

2011-10-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

I already heard from 5 people so far who are interested in my upcoming

paid, e-course called, "Talk Boosters: Lessons From 21 Years Of Preaching
That Can Take Your Talks To A New Level."

I'm really looking forward to sharing these things with you.

What I will do for the next 2 days is post you some excerpts

of some of the actual things I'll be sharing and teaching you.

*This way, even if you don't decide you want to be a part, then

you'll still learn some new resources and tips to help you improve

your talks. It'll also help you to be able to decide if this course

will be helpful for you.

(NOTE: If you want to when it will be and how much it will cost,
then skip the bottom of this post.)

1st Excerpts From My "TalkBoosters" E-course:

1. A Helpful Resource:

One of the resources I share in my course is a little book that's really helped me to improve my introductions. It's a book called, "Introducing the Sermon: The Art of Compelling Beginnings" (The Craft of preaching series) (Paperback) by Michael J. Hostetler

In this book, Michael says there are four contact points that you should have in your intros:

1. The Secular: He says every sermon should start with the life experience of the listener. This means the experience of life in the world, day-by-day, week-by-week.

2. The Biblical: The second point of contact of the introduction is moving the listener naturally to the Word Of God.

3. The Personal: Every person who listens to the sermon is asking, "What does this have to do with me?" He says if you fail to personalize your message, then your preaching will have little effect.

4. The Bridge: This is the final connection point. This is the part of your intro that bridges your beginning into the rest of your talk.

--------------------------

2. How To Judge The Effectiveness Of Your Talks = > "The Change The World" Acid Test

In the course I share a way I learned to "test" the effectiveness of our talks. Here it is...

We all need to judge our sermons based on this criteria: did it change behavior/action?

*Without a change in the student's life, the sermon is just a speech given to entertain.

Tim Sanders (best-selling business author) gave 3 simple questions in a blog post, which he calls the "change the world" acid test.

Here are 2 of the questions that could really help our sermons to have more results.

1. Did I give them motivation to do something?

2. Did I give them clear action items?

Ask yourself these questions after you give your next talk.

I'll send you some more excerpts tomorrow. If you're interested in being a part, please contact me through this blog ("contact me" link at top of this page) and let me know. Here are more details...

My Upcoming "Talk Boosters" Course:

I'm going to be offering live, online training of my "Talk Boosters" course again.

What is "Talk Boosters" about?

I'll offer a paid, 4 class e-course that focused on 3 important areas:

Content
Structure
Presentation

When?

I'm thinking of doing it Thurs. & Fri. Oct. 20 & 21st from 9am-11am PST

and Mon. & Tues. Oct, 24th & 25th 9am-11am PST.

*If you can't make it one of the days, there will be recordings you

can listen to (and my word-for-word notes in ebook form).

How Much?

The cost for the 4 eclasses will be:

$40 - if you've purchased my "lasting ministry" ebook ($10 a class)

$60 - if you haven't purchase my ebook ($15 a class)

Are You Interested?

I'll send you more details next week, but if you're interested, then

shoot me an email. *If different days would be better than let me know.

(Contact me through this blog's contact page.)

Thanks,

Scott

http://www.lasting-student-ministry.com

The 3 Things Flying A Plane & Preaching Have In Common

2011-10-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

I just sent this to my list of subscribers, but I thought I should share it here too...

"How Preaching Is Like Flying A Plane"

If you are a pilot there are only 3 things you have to do to succeed:

1. Take off correctly.

2. Get the people to the planned destination.

3. Land the plane.

And if you don't do one of these things?

If you can't take off, you're not going to reach your destination.
If you don't get them to the destination (or the correct one), then you failed.
If you don't land the plane the people never get where you (or they) wanted them to be.

A pastor also has 3 things you have to do to succeed with your sermon:

1. You have to start your talk and "take off" correctly.

2. You have to carry the students to the place you want them to be at the end.

3. You have to "land" and finish out the talk correctly.

And if you don't do one of these things?

If you don't begin correctly, then no one will go where you're trying to take them.
If you don't know how to get them to follow you, then you won't get them to the "destination."
If you don't know how to "land it," then you won't see the same kind of response and action that you hoped for.

The Importance Of How You Put Together Your Talk

"Structure" is one of the overlooked, but important things, I've learned in my 2 decades of speaking. (Man, that makes me sound old. I was only 19 when I started, but I guess that still makes me old!)

"Taking Your Talks To The Next Level In 2012"

Like I said, in my last email...

1. If God doesn't give you the words to speak and anoint what you say, then what you say won't be effective and life changing.

2. BUT if God gives you a truth to share there are DEFINITELY ways you share it that are more

or less effective. (We've all heard boring sermons that prove this.)

You can learn ways to:

Help you to grab your students attention
Pull them through your talk
And finally call them to ACT on what you've shared.

I've learned some unconventional and little talked about ways after speaking for over 20 years.

WANT AN EXAMPLE OF HOW I DO THIS?

VIDEO of my talk on Faith: "There's More Than Meets The Eye"

http://tinyurl.com/meetseye

Watch just the introduction to see how I take a common topic "faith" and present it in a way that captures peoples' attention and gets them to see it in a new way.

If you watch beyond that you'll see other things I did that helped that talk to really get people to see that living by faith is the only option in life.

My Upcoming "Talk Boosters" Course:

In 2 weeks, I'm going to be offering live, online training of my "Talk Boosters" course again.

What is "Talk Boosters" about?

I'll offer a paid, 4 class e-course that focused on 3 important areas:

Content
Structure
Presentation

When?

I'm thinking of doing it Thurs. & Fri. Oct. 20 & 21st from 9am-11am PST

and Mon. & Tues. Oct, 24th & 25th 9am-11am PST.

*If you can't make it one of the days, there will be recordings you can listen to (and my word-for-word notes in ebook form).

Are You Interested?

I'll send you more details next week, but if you're interested, then shoot me an email. *If different days would be better than let me know.

Take care,

Scott Aughtmon

P.S. Did you see this?

**"Do You Have The Guts And Faith To Pray This Prayer For Your Life

& Youth Group?" http://tinyurl.com/3g9cota

Do You Have The Guts And Faith To Pray This Prayer For Your Life & Youth Group?

2011-09-28T21:52:00.000-07:00

After discovering one of my key life-passages in a list of names in Genesis, I try and always force myself to read through the lists in the Bible and not just skim them.

I am reading through 1 Chronicles right now and forcing myself to read the lists that go on for 9 chapters. And I'm glad I have!

Why? I found this little nugget the other day...

1 Chronicles 4:9-10
"9There was a man named Jabez who was more distinguished than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. 10He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and extend my lands! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!" And God granted him his request."

Isn't that an amazingly bold prayer?

A guy named "Jabez" (his name sounds like a Hebrew term meaning "distress" or "pain.") has the nerve to as God to bless him, extend his lands, be with him in all he does, and keep him from all trouble and pain and - this is the crazy part - GOD DOES!!

Did you hear that? God blessed him!

Why are we so apprehensive to ask God with the same boldness?

My kids are NEVER apprehensive when they ask for things! And no matter how many times I say "No" to past requests they still ask for more and still ask for big things!!

**I'm NOT saying God will give you everything that you ask for. He won't. (And that's a good thing.) What I AM saying is that God will probably give you a lot more than you are willing (or have the nerve) to ask for. But you have to ask!

James 4:2 says it like this, "And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it."

What if you COULD have more in your life and youth ministry, but you don't have it because you aren't asking for it? Would you be brave and bold enough to pray like Jabez did? Maybe a prayer something like this...

Jabez's Prayer For Youth Pastors: "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge our youth group! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!"

And as you pray this prayer make sure to seek God and his will, so that having him bless you by answering this prayer would be something that would be pleasing to HIM!

Photo by Lel4nd

Sermon You Can Use Based On The Movie: "127 Hours"

2011-09-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Before showing movie clips you should consider getting a license from a company like http://www.cvli.com, so you can show the clips legally. That's what we have done at our church.

WARNING: this movie is rated "R" and is very graphic when he cuts off his arm. I did this talk for an adult audience. You might just want to tell his story instead of showing clips.

Intro:

***Start by watching trailer here***James Franco stars in a survival drama based on the incredible true story of Aron Ralston. Aron Ralston is a man who became trapped alone in a Utah canyon for days after slipping on a loose rock, and resorted to extraordinary measures in order to make it out alive. An experienced hiker and climber, Ralston is very much in his element when he parks his truck by a mountain near Moab, UT, hops on his bike, and peddles to the middle of nowhere. Later, when Ralston encounters a pair of young female hikers who have gotten lost while searching for a local landmark, he jovially shows them a sight that most casual hikers miss before telling them goodbye and continuing on his journey. Drifting through the canyons alone, deep in thought, however, the explorer who presumed he was ready for anything quickly discovers just how fast things can spin out of control when a rock gives way as he shimmies down a crevice, and pins his hand to the wall of stone. Over the course of the next 127 hours, Ralston tries everything he can think of to free himself, flashing back to small but memorable events in his life -- as well as forward to the future that he might enjoy should he manage to wiggle free -- as his body begins the slow process of shutting down. (Edited from description at http://www.allrovi.com/movies/movie/v504504*)

Let me show you a clip of him loosening the bolder and getting trapped... ***Show 1st clip: of climbing & dislodges a huge bolder and gets trapped. approx. 16:19 - 18:45 **

I'll talk about what he finally did to escape, but let me ask you something to set the stage for what I'm going to talk about today...

We need to ask ourselves this question: Why was Aron Ralston able to escape?

The thing that helped him escape is the same thing that will help us to escape from some of the habits and the problems that we’ve been struggling with for years.

Today I want to talk to you about this main ingredient that’s required for us to see successful change in our lives.

By the time we’re done today, we’ll look at 3 steps you can take to help you see change in your life. Turn in your Bibles with me to John 5:2-9. What you're about to hear is an amazing little story that reveals how we can begin to see change happen in our lives. Let's look at the story now...

"2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" 7"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." 8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked."

(NOTE: What you need to understand about this story is that the people there believed an angel would stir up the water and if they got in in time, they would be healed. That's why he answered Jesus the way he did.)

You know what’s sad in life?

People who live their whole lives dealing with the same problems; people who live their lives and never seem to be able to improve who they are.

These people come to the end of their life and they still haven’t changed! They come to the end of their life and they’ve never become all they could’ve been or done all they could’ve done!

Why was Aron Ralston able to free himself?

Because he really wanted to be free!

1. The first step towards real and lasting change is for you to really WANT to change!

Look at John 5:5-6. This guy has been sick for 38 years! That’s longer than most people lived back then! And Jesus asks him this, “Do you WANT to get well?”

Why would Jesus as him that question? It’s because Jesus knew that this man would never change and be healed if he didn’t first want it!

A lot of us say we want to change.We say we want to stop doing something or start doing something. We say we want to do more of something or less of something – but we don’t! Could it be that it’s because we don’t really want to?

It’s easy to get used to our problems and kind of have a love-hate relationship with them. We complain about them, but they sure give us good excuses when we need them!

In 1993, it was reported that a small order of Franciscan nuns in Prague decided to subsidize their convent by opening the downstairs of their facility - formerly an underground detention center used by the Communists to imprison and torture their enemies - as a hotel. For $33 a night, you could stay in a former prison cell. The proprietors say they try to achieve a middle ground between comfort and authenticity in the "hotel." Many people are really looking for just that - a comfortable prison cell.

Jesus is asking each one of us here about some of the problems and habits we’ve had all our lives… “Do you want to get well?”

How we answer that question will determine whether we ever see lasting change or not!
What’s this handicapped guy’s answer to Jesus’ question? It’s just like ours!

Look at John 5:7 “Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

I heard of story of two college students who decided one night to pull a prank on a sleeping fraternity brother. They took limburger cheese and rubbed it gently on his upper lip. When he woke up, he sniffed, looked around and said, “This room stinks!” Then he walked out into the hall and said, “This hall stinks!” As he was leaving the dorm, they could hear him say, “The whole world stinks!” The two college students laughed as they saw him walk away, because they knew their buddy was going to walk around blaming the smell on everything else around him, when the problem was with him!

--------------------------A personal story-------------------------------------
When Sue and I used to live in a one bedroom apartment in Redwood City, there was an older man who used to live on the 2nd story of an apartment building next to ours. One day I got talking to the man and he began complaining about some of our neighbors and saying how mean they were to him. I listened and didn’t know what to think about those neighbors anymore. He told me he needed some help and I told him I’d talk to some people at the church at worked at back then and see if they could help him. The problem was I wasn’t able to get a hold of these people at our church for awhile. He ended up coming to our apartment one day yelling and telling Sue off. I finally had to talk to him and tell him and explain to him that I couldn’t get a hold of the people I thought might be able to help him. I told him I should’ve let him know what had happened, but I didn’t appreciate him yelling at my wife and that I didn’t want him coming over to our place doing that ever again. After talking to the neighbors he warned me about they said they had the same problem! This guy reminds me of the guy with Limburger cheese on his lip! This guy was blaming everybody else for his problems, never realizing that maybe the reason he had the same problem with everybody was because he was the problem!

A lot of people are like this. They blame everyone else for their problems.

Some people blame their parents, some people blame their friends, or their teachers, or their boss – some people even blame God! But the real problem is that they never take responsibility for their own problems!

That’s why people stay stuck where they’re at and never see change... they’ve been blaming everyone and everything all their lives.

Did you know that blame is the second sin in the Bible?
When Adam and Eve sinned what happened? Adam blamed Eve (really blamed God) he said, “It was the woman you gave.” Eve blamed the snake. They blamed everyone else but themselves! It started way back then and we’re still doing it today!

Blame seems to be one of the devil’s top tricks for keeping us from growing and becoming all we can be.

Business philosopher Jim Rohn says this, “I used to say ‘I sure hope things will change.’ Then I learned that the only way things are going to change for me is when I change.”
You can look through the Bible and you’ll find this common theme: God will not force us to change! My promise to you is this: If you don’t really want to change, then you never will!
The other interesting thing to me about Jesus question and the man's answer is that the man doesn't realize JESUS is the one where he can get healing from, not the water! He says, “I want to but I don't have someone to take me to the water”

2. The second step towards real and lasting change is for you to respond in faith to Jesus!
Look at John 5:8, after Jesus asked the man the question and the man responded with his excuse. Jesus told the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!”

The handicapped man had two choices:
1. He could have faith in Jesus, trust what he said and respond.
2. He could decide not to trust Jesus and just sit there!

Faith is a verb. We have to trust God to help us to change and that trust has to manifest itself in action!

It the late 19th century there was a young chemist named Robert Chesebrough who sold kerosene. He got his kerosene from the oil of sperm whales, but by 1859 he was put out of business. In 1859, Robert Chesebrough took off for a Pennyslvania oil field to "strike it rich." What he came back with made him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he DIDN'T become rich from OIL!Oil field workers had told him about this "sticky stuff" that stuck to the drilling rigs. The riggers hated this stuff - it caused the drilling rigs to seize up. For all the problems this substance caused, the riggers found one small use - when rubbed on a cut or bruise it helped it to heal faster. He bottled the stuff up and dragged it back to his Brooklyn laboratory. He began a search to duplicate the petroleum-based lubricant, and by trial and error, he was able to extract the key ingredient - the translucent material we now know as petroleum jelly. But it had to be tested, and tested it was. He needed a guinea pig to test it out on. But who could he use? Chesebrough cut his OWN hands and arms, burned himself with flames and acids and each time he would then cover them with his new gel. ALL the self-inflicted wounds responded to his petroleum jelly and were healed! Satisfied that his new grease had healing properties, he took to the road with his own medicine show, but first he named his gel. Using the German word for water (wasser) and the Greek word for oil (elaion) he came up with "Vaseline." He took it out on the road and would demostrate it by cutting or burning himself and then applying his vasleine. He also showed his audience the healed scars from past experiments. Amazingly this worked! Soon he was selling a jar a minute, and when these ran out people begged their druggists to order more from Chesebrough. It was used for everything: chest colds, chapped hands, nasal congestion, and even to remove stains from furniture. By the turn of the twenty century it had penetrated the American market and was entering Europe, and Chesebrough had become a very rich man! Although its miracle properties were eventually debunked (it really healed because it sealed wounds from bacteria like a band aid), Chesebrough himself was always a true believer. He lived to age 96, revealing shortly before he died the secret to his longevity: *Every day of his life he ate a spoonful of vaseline! (* Not recommended! DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! :) Cheesbrough succeed because he believed in his product and he proved it by his actions!

Faith isn’t faith without action! Faith goes beyond communication (words) to demonstration! One of the church fathers Clement of Alexandria said, “Faith is a voluntary anticipation.”

If we don’t combine action with the desire to change, then change will never happen!

When the man heard Jesus' words he must have instantly had faith in him and what he could do, because something amazing happened next.And it reveals the 3rd step...

3. The third step toward real and lasting change is that AFTER you do your part and respond in faith, then you have to SUBMIT yourself and let God do the rest!

Look at John 5:9 “9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.”
Did you notice what just happened?It's subtle, so you might have missed it.

He was healed even before he took action in faith! We have to let God do his part and then keep doing our part! But this only happened because he had to decide to quit doing things his way (going into the pool for healing) and start doing things Jesus’ way (submit to Jesus as the source of healing).

Think about this… There are too many times in life when we choose to do it our way instead of God’s way! There are too many times in life when we try to do what only God can do for us and don’t do what only we can do to see change!I want to share one last story with you that I love...

The captain of the ship looked into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message "Alter your course 10 degrees south." Promptly a return message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north." The captain was angered; his command had been ignored. So he sent a second message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am the captain!" Soon another message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am seaman third class Jones." Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: "Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am a battleship." Then the reply came "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am a lighthouse."
This story remind me so much of us. So many times we're trying to get God to do it our way instead of doing it his way.

Submission isn't popular, but it's requirement if we want to experience help and freedom from God.
This is what submitting means…

When you submit to Jesus it means to stop doing what only God can do. It means to stop doing what you think is right and start doing what God has told you is right!We have to learn to submit to God and his ways while still doing our part, otherwise we will never see change in our life.

Conclusion:
How badly do you want to change? Do you really want to get well?

Aron Ralston finally realizes that the only way out is to leave part of himself behind, the exhausted, delirious adventurer draws his cheap made-in-China multi-tool, and does what it takes to survive: he cuts off his own arm!

SHOW 2nd Clip: When he finally walks out of crevice into the light. approx. 1:20:40-1:20:55.

The interesting thing about the example of this guy willing to cut off his arm to be free is that it sounds really similar to something Jesus said in Matt. 5:29 – 30...

"29So if your eye—even if it is your good eye —causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your hand—even if it is your stronger hand —causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell."

Now Jesus was exaggerating to make a point.He's not really suggesting that you cut off a part of your body. He's saying you should be willing to cut anything out of your life that will ultimately destroy you.

There are things, habits and/or relationships in our lives that will one destroy us - literally. And there are things, habits and/or relationships that won't destroy us physically, but will destroy our potential, destroy our usefulness, destroy our families, or destroy who we are. What will you do about these things? Are you willing to cut out anything that’s holding you back?

(See pic of him with the bolder at the top of this blog post. That bolder is your "problem.")
Will you really cut out anything?

Negative relationships?
Bad habits?
Even things that you like and things that make you happy?

If you are not will to cut out anything, then listen to these sobering words from Abraham Maslow,“If you plan on being anything less that you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.”
This might sound weird, but life is about more than your happiness, accumulation of things, and making you feel good. It's beyond that. You can be happy, accumulate many things, and feel good – all while destroying yourself.

Jim Rohn said it like this… “The major value of life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become. You see, what you become is far more important than what you get. The important question to ask on the job is not, ‘What am I getting?’ Instead, you should ask, ‘What am I becoming?’”

Aron Ralston was willing to do whatever it took to be free. That’s why he’s free today!

Are you and I willing to do whatever it takes to be free? Change begins ultimately ends with this question!
Here’s what I think we need to do today to end this time together… (Altar time)

1. You need to ask God to show you an area he wants to change.
2. You need to think about whether you really want to change or not. You need to ask God to show you if there’s some way you’ve been holding back
3. You need to ask God what action he wants you to take. What you need to let him do and what he wants you to do.

Will The World End On May 21st At 6pm?

2011-05-21T10:58:00.001-07:00

If you haven't heard a man named Harold Camping has said that based on his biblical calculations the world is going to end on May 21st at 6pm.

He has purchased billboards around the country and has gotten a lot of media attention.

Because of this fact, I thought I should write a note to share with our church (http://www.ExperiencePathway.com/) and my Facebook friends about this prediction, so here we go:

1. Do I believe the world is going to end at 6pm?

No. I won't go into details, but I've read his reasoning and I think he is misinterpreting and misapplying scripture. But...

2. Do I believe that ONE DAY the world will end?

Yes. If kingdoms can end (think Rome), then a whole world can come to an end. It’s only logical. This planet once didn’t exist. It had a beginning and that means that one day it will have an ending. That’s not a crazy idea.

In fact, I don’t think there are even any scientists who would argue that this world will one day end. Did you know?...

Scientists Created A "Doomsday Clock"

In 2007, scientists were worried about the threat of Global Warming and Nuclear War in what they called “second nuclear age." Because of this, in 2007, they moved the "Doomsday clock" forward two minutes, so it was set to 5 minutes to midnight.

(This clock was introduced in 1947 by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists to determine the threat of a nuclear holocaust during the Cold War.)

One quote from Stephen Hawking hit me...“As citizens of the world, we have a duty to alert the public to the unnecessary risks that we live with every day, and to the perils we foresee if governments and societies do not take action now to render nuclear weapons obsolete and to prevent further climate change.”

(What you also might not know is that the hands of the "Doomsday Clock" was moved again in 2010. Why? Factors influencing the last Doomsday Clock change include international negotiations on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, expansion of civilian nuclear power, the possibilities of nuclear terrorism, and climate change.)

Think about this… Scientists, are wise enough to pay attention to the signs and we need to be wise too.

But does that mean it will happen on May 21st? No. It doesn't. I'll explain why with this story...

What Jesus Told The Disciples About Knowing When The End Would Come

It's an incident in Matthew 24:1-42 that happened towards the end of Jesus’ life and ministry. It’s an event that began with a simple walk, that Jesus and his disciples took, and it ended with them sitting on the mountainside riveted to Jesus’ every word, as he revealed to them about the end of Jerusalem.

It would be a day they would never forget.

They left the temple and were walking away from it when his disciples came up to Jesus to call his attention to its buildings. (They were caught up and impressed by it all.) They kept walking with Jesus, bragging about the temple, and Jesus shocked them with this statement in verse 2...

"Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." This had to be totally unimaginable to them.

The temple was the center of their society. But he not only told them that, he went on to tell them that Jerusalem would be destroyed and that the world would one day end.

(NOTE: Their temple and Jerusalem were both later destroyed, just as he said.)

They couldn't believe what they were hearing, so they asked him, "When will the temple be destroyed? What will the signs of the end of this world be?"

He told them about some of the signs and many other things, but the one main thing that applies to knowing whether the world will end on May 21st is found in verse 36.

Jesus told them, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. "

Did you catch that?

Who did Jesus say knows when the end would be?

Did he say the Mayans would? No.
Did he say Nostradamus would know? No!
Did he say Harold Camping would know?

Nope. What did he say? NO ONE will know the exact day or the hour, except God!

There WILL be signs for us to notice and pick up, so we can know that the end is near, but we’ll NEVER know an exact date/time.

We need to stop listening to the people who say they know when the world will end. As soon as they've say it, they prove they're wrong because NO ONE will know! (I think Harold Camping is sincere, but wrong.)

BUT we need to realize this… Jesus said the end will come subtly.

If people aren't looking or don’t know some of the signs, then Jesus says they will miss out on the signs and they’ll still be doing their thing: feasting, partying, and marrying. And once it’s finally time for the end, then it will come suddenly. It will come quickly.

So what can we do?

Jesus gives us the key piece of advice in verse 42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. The only thing we can do is keep watch, so we won’t be caught totally off guard and surprise when the end comes.

The Bible does NOT say the world is going to end on May 21st at 6pm! That’s not true. But don’t get me wrong. It could end this year, or this month, or even today.

We don’t know EXACTLY when the end will come. We just know that it will come. Our job is just to pay attention and keep watch, so we can be ready.

We Could See Our OWN End Before THE End

If you don't believe the world is going to end for biblical reason (or even scientific reasons), then that's fine. But we all need to admit the one fact that we all try and pretend is not true: one day our lives will end.

And for most of us the end of our lives will come suddenly and not when we expect it. It will not be something we have time to do something about just before it happens.

We need to live our lives always remembering that they will one day end. It's one of the few guarantees in life.

I don't tell you this to be morbid. Knowing that the world will end, or that our lives will one day end, is a good thing for us – even if we don’t know the exact times. Why?

It can help us to be patient and it helps us to prioritize.

Not only that it helps us to appreciate what we have, appreciate the here and now, and helps us to plan ahead for when this is all over.

Lessons From Those Near The End

When you speak to someone who has lived a long life what do they tell you? They tell you how fast life goes. They tell you that good times and bad BOTH will come. They tell you to appreciate what you have because it will all be gone before you know it.

They don't tell you this to scare you. Right? It’s to help you! That’s what this knowledge is supposed to do for us. Knowing there will be an end and that we don’t know when exactly its coming should affect how we live for today and for the rest of 2011.

We need to watch and be alert.

We need to remember that all that seems so important and consuming in this life will one day be gone. As we set your goals for 2011, dream big dreams, accomplish big things, because one day this will be over.

Let’s love our family and friends more. Let’s stop worrying and stressing out over things that don’t really matter, because one day we won’t have this life or this world anymore.

Let’s invest in the things that last and will matter when this is all over: God’s kingdom and our relationship with God. These things will help us to do well in 2011 and helps us to be prepared for the end – whenever it comes!

One last idea...

Live Like The World Is Going To End At 6pm

Maybe being prepared for the world to end today at 6pm might not be such a bad idea. It might cause us to live today better, live it more fully, and live it focused on things that last and mean something in the end.

And when we're given another day to live on May 22nd, we can wake up thankful and ready to live another day like it was our last. And so on. And so on. Until the one day it really is our last.

You Have 100 days To Make An Impact In 2011. How Are You Doing So Far? :)

2011-01-19T11:29:00.000-08:00

How's 2011 going for you and your youth group so far?

I read something recently where a "goals expert" said that we really only have until the end of April to if we want to make a big impact this year.

The person said this because May kicks in and we’re starting to get towards the end of school and summer. Then we’re just left with September & October to get stuff done, because in November and December get busy.

That means that if we’re going to see ourselves and our groups make BIG strides in reaching our goals for the year we need to take immediate action on them quickly.

We need to think about trying to get as much momentum going as we can to accomplish as much as we can in the next 100 days.

Because this is so important, you should take some time, right now, and write out goals & plans you have for the next 100 days.

I have 6 areas I'm focusing on for my personal life. If you'd like a copy of my list, then use my "Contact Page".

Dear E.M. Bounds, For A Guy Who Prayed A Lot, Why Are You So Mean?

2010-11-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

I have a confession.

I am a reading addict.

I read all the time. I read all kinds of books I all sorts of different topics.

And the only thing I love reading as much as NEW books on cutting edge topics are OLD books with thoughts people have forgotten, but that still resonate in world today.

A book I am reading currently online (for free) is called, "Weapon Of Prayer" by the well-known E.M. Bounds who wrote a famous 8 book series on prayer back in the 1800's and early 1900's.

This book is last in the series.

I just read something today that totally convicted me more than ever about my need to pray more.

I found it in chapter 4 which is called, "God's Need Of Men Who Pray".

Here are some excerpts...

"The Church is not spiritual simply because it is concerned and deals in spiritual values. It may hold its confirmations by the thousand, it may multiply its baptisms, and administer its sacraments innumerable times, and yet be as far from fulfilling its true mission as human conditions can make it.

"This present world’s general attitude retires prayer to insignificance and obscurity. By it, salvation and eternal life are put in the background. It cannot be too often affirmed, therefore, that the prime need of the Church is not men of money nor men of brains, but men of prayer."

When do you hear the need for prayer stated like that nowadays?

But check this next quote and let his words beat you up a little more like they did me.

"Men who represent God and who stand here in His stead, men who are to build up His kingdom in this world, must be in an eminent sense men of prayer. whatever else they may have, whatever else they may lack, they must be men of prayer. Having everything else and lacking prayer, they must fall. Having prayer and lacking all else, they can succeed."

If we want to succeed at the work God's given us, and not fall, then there is one thing we need more than conferences, books, and blogs (except this one - just kidding!)... we need to pray, intercede, and stand in the gap for those we're ministering to and for our own weak and frail selves!

There's More Than Meets The Eye...

2010-09-27T10:22:00.001-07:00

I spoke this talk first to our church and then shared it the following week at another church. I got a lot of really positive response both times I shared it.

The talk is called, "There's More Than Meets The Eye". Here are some of the things I shared:

How our eyes actually LIMIT us in life.
How living by faith is the only way for us to see God to amazing things in our lives.
How successful people throughout history have lived their lives beyond what they could see and that enabled them to succeed.
How if we really look at things the way they are, then living by faith is the only way we can really live for God.

You can watch the talk below...

The Secret To Becoming A Person Of Impact And Influence

2010-07-26T00:53:00.000-07:00

Things haven't gone quite the way I planned in the last few days.
One of the unexpected things happened on Friday.

I was heading out with a group of guys to go a local "Nickel Arcade" (where the have a whole bunch of old school arcade games mixed with newer ones all for extremely low cost), when my car suddenly overheated and stalled out.

It was gushing white smoke out from under the hood as my two friends pushed it through the intersection into the parking lot of our destination.

It took most of Saturday for me to round up and wait for two of my friends who are great mechanics (unlike me) to drive the 30 minute drive to where my car was and help me get the car fixed and back to my house! :)

But today I thought I'd share with you a story that reveals an important lesson on becoming a person of impact & influence.

It's a story I read about British statesman and financier Cecil Rhodes.

He is the one whose fortune was used to endow the world-famous Rhodes Scholarships.

People said that he was a real stickler for correct dress--but not at the expense of someone else's feelings.

A young man was invited to dine with Rhodes and he arrived late by train, so he had to go directly to Rhodes's home in his travel-stained clothes.

Once he got there was appalled to find the other guests were already there and they were wearing their full evening dress.

After what seemed a long time, Rhodes finally appeared.

But what was shocking to this young man and to the other guests is that Rhodes was dressed in a shabby old blue suit.

Later on, the young man found out that Rhodes had been dressed in his formal evening clothes, but he changed out of them and put on the old suit when he heard of his young guest's awkward dilemma.

How much influence and impact do you think that had on that young man?

I'd bet the young man never forgot what happened that night!
I bet he told everyone he knew about it. (In fact, I wonder if that's how we know the story today.)
I bet he would do anything he could to help Rhodes from that day forward.
I bet he would take any advice Rhodes ever gave him and bend over backwards to return the favor!

Do you want to know the "secret" to impact and influence?

It's empathy! Putting yourself in the other person's shoes and letting them see you know what it's like to be in their position. It's then interacting with them and treating them based on that understanding.

But it HAS to be real. It can't be fake. If it is, you'll lose any chance of impact and influence with that person and others.

When it's real. You'll have become a person of influence and impact, because you'll be a person that people can genuinely trust.

Isn't empathy the underlying principle of "the golden rule"?
Isn't a lack of empathy one of the biggest reasons for strife and trouble between people?

We all want to have an impact and influence in this world.

And the "secret" to actually experiencing this starts with thinking of others first and responding to them out of that understanding.

If you liked this post, please share it with others you think would like it!

Click one of the buttons below "posted by Scott Aughtmon" to easily share it right now.

Thanks,
Scott @lastingministry

The Only 3 Ways Your Youth Group Can Grow?...

2010-07-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

As far as I can tell, there are only 3 ways your youth group can grow. They are:

1. Friends Inviting Friends - This is the most effective way. Are your students inviting their friends? Why or why not? How can you make your group an easier group to invite people to? How can you create events that are good "introductory" experiences with your group? Make it as easy as possible for students to invite friends to your youth group. Teach your students to do this and HOW to do this.

2. People Looking For A Group Find Or Hear About Your Group - This is usually a student who is a believer or a student who is "seeking" something more in life. It could also be a new family moving into an area that is looking for a good group for their kid(s). How easy is it to find your group? Can people find your youth group if they search online? Do you have a website? A Facebook page? Does your group show up in the search engines? What about offline? Do you ever promote your group with flyers, posters, or invite cards? Have you ever advertised in the school newspaper? Make your youth group as easy as possible to discover online and off, so that people who are looking for a group can actually find you!

3. You Go To Them, Meet Their Needs, And Make Your Group (And Most Importantly JESUS) Known To Them - You do this with actions and words. BOTH are needed if you want to be the most effective. Sometimes you might just do random acts of kindness and just say (verbally or with a card), "We just wanted to remind you that God loves you and you matter to him." Other times you might want to go and meet needs and really build relationships through conversations with students. Make sure your group is periodically involved in servant evangelism and goes out to serve those who they aren't friends with (yet) and who aren't looking for a youth group (yet). This way you will be reaching this last group of students.

What do you think? Is there another way a youth group can grow that I missed? Post your comments below!

Also, if you think this post would help others, then please share this post...

Post this link on your blog: http://ht.ly/2arQt

Tweet about this on Twitter!

Post a link to this on Facebook!

Story of my recent summer retreat training with Kenny Carlisle...

2010-07-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

I wanted you to get a chance to read this explanation about the online training session I did recently with a guy named Kenny Carlisle.

It was a training where I taught him everything about how to confidently pull off an effective summer retreat using the format and tools I used to use on our retreats.

The training went really well and I was glad to get an email from Kenny sharing what he thought of the training.

It totally made my day!

I wanted you to get a chance to read what happened on the training that day and see how you can get a chance to get access to the session I did with Kenny. (I recorded it.)

Read about the training session with Kenny, what he said about it and how responding by July 5th will benefit you...

Click here:

http://www.lasting-student-ministry.com/InstantSummerRetreat/

P.S. I hope this recording can help you like it did Kenny.
Remember: Check the link before July 5th!

3 Final Summer Retreat Testimonials...

2010-06-11T13:56:00.000-07:00

Here are 3 final testimonials from some of my former youth group members on what they thought of the summer retreats we used to put on...

"As far as the details of activities or specific things we did, im a little hazy, memory not being one of my strong suits, but the thing i do remember at summer and winter camps was that it was a safe haven...I dont want to say it was an escape from whatever we did in our other time, but it was definitely a vacation that gave us kids good clean fun away from home. More importantly though, it was an opportunity for us as brothers and sisters to feel a sense of closeness to each other. That we were not only going through similar troubles in our lives but that we were united in combating them and that something bigger than us was the power that led us and fueled us. This truth was something that gave us strength for years to come."

-Anthony Neely

"Youth retreats were always the highlight of my summers. Going outside the 'church' environment relaxed most of the youth and the youth pastors were really able to spend more than just an hour or two with us. Learning how to pray and do devotionals alone prepared us for daily devotions when we went home. Small groups prepared us how to express our feelings and thoughts about certain views with our friends. But the funnest part was just hanging out, dancing to Christian music and crackin jokes. Those memories are forever in my heart. I would definitely recommend for youth pastors to take their youth on summer retreats to get to know the real them!"

-Ashley Withers

"Having gone to mega summer retreats with multiple youth groups by different organizations (both as a student and leader), I appreciate the summer camps Scott used to put on solely for our youth group during our 'early years'. During these times, we had more of an opportunity to really grow deeper together as a community, and really laid the foundation for several years of a vibrant ministry....It was also kinda fun being a part of the food-making process. It felt like we were in a little commune...And the 'Big Night Games' were always the draw, highlight, and best memories of the week."

-Josh Herndon

Want To Learn How To Do A Retreat Like This?

If you want to be one of the 15 to get live online training on how to put on a similar retreat, then email me ASAP at lastingministry (at) gmail.com.

You can see more details on this training I'm calling "Instant Summer Retreat" at the end of my last post. The training is designed to give you everything you need to pull off the retreat - the daily schedule, games, suggested menus and even sermons, etc.

You can see some other testimonials from other of my former youth group members here and here.

7 Important Elements For Summer Retreat Pt. 3

2010-06-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

I decided to post a series of blog posts based on the teleconference we did called "7 Important Elements For A Solo-Retreat". This is for all of you who don't have time to listen to the recording.

I started by telling you how having the right "formula" for something can make all the difference.

In this blog series, I’m showing you the 7 Important Elements that my friend, and former co-youth pastor, discovered worked best for us to create a fun retreat the students loved and that still was spiritually powerful.

You will be able to take these and add them to your retreat to design it in a way to take it to the next level.

In the first post, I told you the first 2 elements for a successful summer retreat. You can read them here. In the second post I shared the second 2 elements for a successful summer retreat. You can read them here.

Today, I'll tell you the final 3 elements I want to share with you...

5. Worship - A retreat is a time to encourage your group to worship the Lord in an even more intimate way than they usually do. Tell them that this setting is a chance to let go and not worry about anyone else except what God thinks.

Pray for God to help them to be able to do this. And expect it to happen by planning in extra time for worship. I'm not telling you to drag out your worship times, but don't rush them either!

Also make sure to allow for "altar times" and some worship times at the end of your gatherings. And most importantly, lead by example. You, your leaders, and your worship team need to really allow yourselves to enter in during these times, so the students can follow your lead.

6. Interactive large-scale games - We did these on some level during the day schedule. But we really went all out with them every night AFTER our worship gatherings. The cool thing about them being at night is it seemed to up the fun factor.

The purpose of these game is not just for fun - even though they are fun. We found that these large-scale games really help to build relationships! The key is that you want to get everyone playing - including you and adult leaders.

There's nothing that can compare to getting everyone out there laughing, running, playing and working together. It builds some new relationships and incredible memories.

You might not normally think of this, but we learned to plan a hang out/late night snack time after these games, so people could brag, laugh and talk about all of the things that happened during these late night games.

One of the things that our previous youth group students STILL talk about after all of these years is the large-scale late night games we played. They even still remember and talk about certain exact moments! :)

We found all sort of really cool games that we used for our retreats - some with some really cool "storylines" behind the game play, but a classic one you could do is "Capture The Flag". (We played a version called, "Capture The Nuke").

7. Themed sermons - Many youth groups try and bring in paid speakers to speak at these retreats for them - and that's totally cool. I don't have anything at all against it.

But one of the freeing things about retreats is that they give YOU time to talk in an extended, focused setting on topics you want the group to hear.

You don't have to worry about having just a short time to hit the topic or have to worry about losing momentum speaking about it over a couple of weeks.

In a retreat setting, you have 2-3 days in a row to hit the topic from all different angles. And unlike your regular mid-week gatherings, where you have some students there one week and then others the next, you know you'll have the SAME group of students to hear those 3 "talks" that you give.

You also have the chance to speak a little bit longer than you might on a normal mid-week gathering time. Don't drag out your "talks" and make them go on for hours (no one likes or appreciates that!) but adding an extra 5-10 minutes would be fine and even expected in a retreat setting.

Just make sure any time you add is filled with needed, important information! Don't go longer just to talk longer about something. Stop when you should stop!

Also, make sure to be even more relaxed and relational in the way you speak on your retreats. Let them feel, as you should feel, that this is a special intimate "family talk" from someone who is speaking to them as straight-forward, real and loving as they can.

I hope these ideas help you to pull off a more impactful and memorable retreat this summer and ever summer after. I'd love to hear any feedback you have on the elements I've shared.

Why I Changed My Mind About Canceling The "Instant Summer Retreat" Training
I was planning on doing some online training to show you the exact format we used, etc., but then things got busy for me and Ben and I wasn't sure how much interest there would be, so I thought I'd just forget about it this year.

But then I got an email from one of you saying that you were doing a retreat and asking if I was still doing the training! :)

Me and Ben are still really busy, but I've decided that we'll do the "Instant Summer Retreat" online training with 15 interested youth pastors and record it for anyone else to purchase and listen to later.

Our goal is give you everything you need to pull off the retreat - you just need to add students, leaders, and a location. :)

Here's what we'll cover:

THINGS YOU NEED TO DO BEFORE THE RETREAT

How to find adult leaders
How to figure out costs per person (important
concept about what/if to charge adult leaders)
Rental vehicles
Permission slips
How to promote it effectively to students and parents
How we learned to stay longer on a retreat for less money.
Best daily schedule/format we used.

WHAT TO DO DURING THE RETREAT

We'll give you the exact schedule that we found worked the best. We used this same schedule as the core format and just tweaked it slightly over the years. You can use this same list and tweak it as you need to.
It will give you a schedule that will help you implement all of the "7 Elements" I've talked about in these blog posts.
We'll walk you through, step-by-step, how to use carry out the schedule, why things happen in the order they do, etc.
We'll talk about how to run/play all of the games, and tell you what we learned from trial and error of doing them.
We'll talk about meal preparation and how we pulled it off inexpensively and without one (or a few) doing all of the work.
We'll have a question and answer time, so you can ask any questions you want.
The goal is to help you feel totally prepared to pull this off yourself!

POST RETREAT - WHAT TO DO AFTER THE RETREAT

Practical advice on what to do to tie up the "loose ends" so you can be done with all of the post-retreat stuff as quickly as possible.
Things to do with your students to help the results last in your students lives.
Things to do in your group in the following weeks to help more students to be excited to be a part of the next years retreat.
Things to do with your church to increase support and participation in the retreats you do after this.

INCLUDED WITH THE TRAINING:

Sample Menus
Sample Parent Letters
Sample Med Release Forms
Sample Menus
Sample Sermons You Can Use
Adult Leader Packs
Student Packs
Games We Used
Small Group Questions
"To Bring Lists" we used that you can use as is or tweak.

* These will all be downloadable, so you can tweak them and print them to work for your group.

COST
We were going to offer the 2 days training (4 and 1/2 hours) and all of the "tools" (menus, etc.) you can use to do a retreat this year and every year after, for $99.

But if you're one of the youth pastors that want to be a part of the 15 to be on the live training, then it'll just cost $69.

I'd love to share with you all that we learned to do these retreats and help you to be able to pull off effective summer retreats too.

If you want to be one of the 15 people on the live training, then please email me at: lastingministry (at) gmail.com. I'll give you more details by email on possible days and times we'll do the training.

Two more testimonials from former students about our Summer Retreats...

2010-04-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

I asked some of our former students what their memories were of our summer retreats and it's been really cool to see what they remembered.

By the way, I've bolded a couple of the lines I thought were important...

--------------

"Man... I used love those retreats. It was a great way to not only bond with everyone but really see and feel God's work through each of our lives. As a teenager, going to those retreats really felt like the ultimate escape from the pressures of home/school life. "

"Wow, having to think about those times makes me appreciate you and Ben so MUCH!!! Thank you for doing that for me back then. Ok, the best part for me were the circle talks. Just talking about how I could better myself and strengthen my walk with with God. Although, those times got emotional it really felt like a break through for many of us.

"The games and activities were lots of fun too but the talks really helped mold me to who I am today. If only there was something for us at this age....I would be so down for that."

-Nona Ybarra

--------------

"Retreat was a chance to experience life with other believers my age. A youth group is a unique social group because you don’t necessarily see the people there in any other group. The people in youth group aren’t all the same people I go to school with, work with, live near. So in order to build lasting relationships it was important to have experiences together.

"Summer retreats were packed with experiences that were fun, meaningful, and challenging. The relationships strengthened during retreat were so important. When I went to school and was with my friends who weren’t a part of the ‘church bubble’ it was easier to walk out my faith because even though I was alone in the moment, I wasn’t alone in life. There is a loving God and fellow youth who would understand and support me.

"Retreats were special times to get away and focus on God and build relationships with others. I am grateful to have been a part of many youth retreats."

-Amie Santiago

"7 Important Elements For Summer Retreat" Pt. 2

2010-04-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

I decided to post a series of blog posts based on the teleconference we did called "7 Important Elements For A Solo-Retreat". This is for all of you who don't have time to listen to the recording.

I started by telling you how having the right "formula" for something can make all the difference.

In this blog series, I’m showing you the 7 Important Elements that my friend, and former co-youth pastor, discovered worked best for us to create a fun retreat the students loved and that still was spiritually powerful.

You will be able to take these and add them to your retreat to design it in a way to take it to the next level.

In the first post, I told you the first 2 elements for a successful summer retreat. You can read them here.

Today, I'll tell you the next 2 elements...

3. Individual Devotional Time - Most retreats I know of don't have this element. When we designed our summer retreats we wanted to encourage our students to have their own devotion times and so we planned them right into our daily schedule.

What you're doing is giving your students a chance to begin practicing something you want them to do daily after the retreat. You're doing everything you can to make the experience positive and meaningful, so that they will think about doing it on their own when they're back at home.

(And guess what? Some of our students told us they DID start having their own devotional time because of this!)

I'd encourage you to give them a pep-talk before they begin. Then allow everyone to go off in different areas and have their quiet time with God.

You should also have a "what'd you learn time" afterwards.

We gave them a total of 30 minutes to hang out with God and we encouraged them to read the Bible, pray & write/journal during this time.

It always was cool to hear what they learned on their own each day!

4. Unplanned "Fellowship" Time - This is also something that I think is left out in a lot of retreats! They're usually so packed with things going on from morning until night that students don't have time to just relax and hang out.

Every day of our summer retreats we had a chunk of time on the schedule that was designated as "free time". There was no agenda during this time. Students could hang out, talk, play board games, go swim or even go take a nap!

These unplanned times really gave us and the students time to connect in informal ways that a fully planned day wouldn't allow us to. We sometimes had really fun or important talks during this time. We sometimes had some really good laughs. And other times we just got a chance to relax and recharge before the rest of the events of the day.

The students and the adults really came to look forward to these spontaneous times.

Don't miss the importance of these two little-used elements! Add them to your summer retreat this year and see what happens.

That's it for today. I'll post the next elements tomorrow.

Don't forget: we’ll be putting on a 4-hour, 2-day teleconference event called, “Instant Summer Retreat”.

It's a paid teleconference where we’ll show exactly how we planned for and ran our summer retreats.

We'll give you copies of the full daily schedules that we used, so you'll have the whole retreat planned already.

You'll have your own copy, copies you can give to your students (it's important that they know the schedule too) and even ones you can give to your adult leaders.

We’ll also give you all the sample menus, games, discussions, etc. that you need to run it. You can use as they are or tweak to fit you and your group.

Our goal is to give you something where you can almost instantly take it - add a location, students, some adult leaders and pull it off with everything you need.

For those of you who would be interested in something like this, you can sign-up on this page to be on our email list to get more info.

If you liked this post and think others would like it, then please feel free share the link on your blog, on Facebook, or Twitter!

153 Fish

2010-04-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

I have a confession.

I'm a "secrets" and "methods" addict. I'm an info junkie.

I love reading non-fiction "How To" books of all kinds.

But you know what?

Sometime you can copy the method and miss the power!

Look at what I mean in John 21:1-14 (NLT)...

1Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. F92 This is how it happened. 2Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin F93 ), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

3Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

4At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn't see who he was. 5He called out, "Friends, have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied.

6Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get plenty of fish!" So they did, and they couldn't draw in the net because there were so many fish in it.

7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and swam ashore. 8The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only out about three hundred feet. F94 9When they got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it, and there was bread.

10"Bring some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said. 11So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn't torn.

12"Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said. And no one dared ask him if he really was the Lord because they were sure of it. 13Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

Do you see what I see?

The disciples had been fishing all night and had caught ZERO fish.

Jesus walks up and says, "Throw the net on the right-hand side of the boat."

And what happens?

They catch 153 LARGE fish!!!

I can't imagine after fishing all night long that they never had thrown the nets on the right-hand side. I think that they must have and not only that, they must have thrown them on that side many times that night!

But Jesus tells them to do it and BOOM, BOOYA = 153 LARGE fish! :)

What was the difference?

Was their technique better?
Were they copying some of the successful fisherman's style?

No. The only difference was Jesus!

That's the most important difference!!

He annointed that moment. He caused the fish to be there and for them to get into the net!

Don't get me wrong. I think we need to learn the right methods and we need to do the right things.

All I'm saying is that without the power and annointing - without Jesus guiding us WHERE and HOW to do the methods - they're powerless.

I'm trying to make sure I pray more than ever and listen to him for the directions about where and what to do. It's the only way our ministries will succeed!

You know what else I like about this story?

When they got to shore, Jesus already had fish and bread!!!

He didn't need their fish. But they needed his power and annointing and direction. :)

"7 Important Elements For Summer Retreat" Pt. 1

2010-04-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

I decided to post a series of blog posts based on the teleconference we did called "7 Important Elements For A Solo-Retreat". This is for all of you who don't have time to listen to the recording.

I really like entrepreneurial stories of how people started out with nothing but an idea and created something amazing. Something about those stories really excites and challenges me.

I’m going to start with a story about a famous company whose success depends on an exact formula.

It's a story about Coca-Cola .

You might not know this, but Coca-Cola was invented by Dr. John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist.

He concocted the formula in a three legged brass kettle in his backyard on May 8, 1886 by mixing lime, cinnamon, coca leaves, and the seeds of a Brazilian shrub.

Coca-Cola, as he called the beverage, made its debut in Atlanta's largest pharmacy, Jacob's Pharmacy, as a five cent non- carbonated drink. Later on, the carbonated water was added to the syrup to make the beverage that we know today.

Coca-Cola was named by Frank Robinson, one of Pemberton's close friends, he also penned the famous Coca-Cola logo in unique script.

Dr. John Pemberton sold a portion of the Coca-Cola company to Asa Candler when he was forced to sell because he was in a state of poor health and was in debt.

Candler didn't succeed, at first. He had paid $76.96 for advertising, but he only made $50.00 in profits.

In time, Candler acquired the whole company for $2,300. Candler achieved a lot during his time as owner of the company.

On January 31, 1893, the famous Coca-Cola formula was patented. He also opened the first syrup manufacturing plant in 1884. His great achievement was large scale bottling of Coca-Cola in 1899. In 1915, The Root Glass Company made the contour bottle for the Coca-Cola company.

Candler aggressively advertised Coca-Cola in newspapers and on billboards. In the newspapers, he would give away coupons for a free Coke at any fountain. Coca-Cola was sold after the Prohibition Era to Ernest Woodruff for 25 million dollars. That was a HUGE amount of money in those days!

And the rest is history. But think about this…

If Dr. John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist never came up with those right ingredients that, he sold to Asa Candler, then we wouldn’t have the drink we have today. The success of Coke totally depends on the exact ingredients in the exact amounts or the taste will not.

In this blog series, I’m going to tell you the 7 Important Elements that we discovered that worked best for us to create a fun retreat the students loves and that still was spiritually powerful.

You will be able to take these and add them to your retreat to design it in a way to take it to the next level.

But I want you to know, before I get into the 7 elements, that we’ll be putting on a 4-hour, 2-day teleconference event called, “Instant Summer Retreat”.

It's a paid teleconference where we’ll show exactly how we planned for and ran our summer retreats. We’ll even give you all the sample menus, games, discussions, etc. that you need to run it. You can use as they are or tweak to fit you and your group.

Our goal is to give you something where you can almost instantly take it - add a location, students, some adult leaders and pull it off with everything you need.

For those of you who would be interested in something like this, you can sign-up on this page to be on our email list to get more info.

But you don’t need to be a part of that teleconference to have a great retreat. You can just take these elements I'll be showing you to create your own retreat from scratch.

Alright, here are the first two elements...

"7 Important Elements For Summer Retreat"

Before I tell you the first two elements you need to understand the need for fun as an overarching element of any retreat.

This is important. And not just for the reasons you think!

Fun is what attracts the students to the event, but it also relaxes them, bonds them together, opens their mind and hearts to the whole experience.

Ok? So within all of these 7 elements the need for fun is key. Here's the first element...

1. Teams/Team activities - This builds relationships, gets students to work together, adds a new/different challenge element. These are the teams your students will be in throughout the WHOLE retreat.

You should pick teams before you go. I'd encourage you to choose people who get along well, people who you want to get to know each other, etc.

Pray and be very strategic about picking teams. Don't just do it carelessly! These are a key element to the success of your summer retreat or any solo retreat (self-run retreat).

The next element is slightly different.

2. Small Groups - You will use these groups to get the students discussing topics you'll be preaching/teaching about. It's important to strategically plan who are in these groups too.

These groups can even be formed with students that you put on different teams. (In fact, that's a good idea to help connect students not on the same team.)

You should have a leader of each group - whether that's an adult leader or a student leader. But you need someone who's job it is to keep the discussion flowing.

You will use these groups to get your students to know each other on new levels with fun connecting questions. You'll use them to get them to open up to each other. You'll use these groups to get their minds focused on the ideas you're about to share in your talks.

These two elements really add important dynamics to any summer retreat. I'd encourage you to include these on your next retreat.

Next Tuesday, I'll share with you the next two elements.

You CAN Pull Off Your Own Summer Retreat For Your Group...

2010-03-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

I've been getting some really interesting results from my poll I set up on PollDaddy.com (cool service BTW).

The poll is on this question... "What is your answer regarding summer retreats."

One of the answers that people have chosen is this one: "I have never put one on because I wasn't sure I could pull it off."

I thought I'd take a second and address it here....

First of all, I know that you can pull it off because Ben and I were able to. We weren't super-human youth pastors with "super retreat powers". We hadn't ever done one before.

In fact, I'll be honest with you. I hadn't even gone on any youth retreats myself at that point! :)

If we could do it, then I know you can.

Some things you need to consider in order to pull it off are:

A location
Other adult leaders who will go on the retreat with you to help connect with the students and help you lead/run things
A worship leader and or team
You'll need transportation - there and back. We car pooled in the early days and later rented 15 passenger vans.
A plan. You need to know what you want to accomplish and how you want to do that. We wanted to help our students grow closer to each other (which is why we were doing our own retreat). We also wanted our students to grow closer to God. We designed large worship events and personal devotional times to accomplish this.
You need a speaker. We always just did this ourselves. It gave us a chance to talk about things in an extended setting that we couldn't talk about during our regular youth nights. You can be the speaker or you can bring someone with you to speak (Paid or volunteer).

Those are the things to start thinking about now if you want to be able to pull off your own summer retreat this year.

But one thing you need BEFORE all of that is buy-in from 3 groups of people. I'll be blogging about that at the special "Instant Summer Retreat" blog that I set up.

You can get access to the blog by signing up for it here.
You'll be able to read that post there when I post it later - hopefully today.

By the way...
The reason we're putting on this paid "Instant Summer Retreat" teleconference in late April is to teach you everything we learned doing them for over 10 years.

We're also going to give you the exact schedule we used every year, menus, games, sermons you can use, etc. Everything thing we can think of to make it as "instant" as possible. You just need to add the students, leaders, supplies, and location! :)

P.S. If you haven't taken the poll yet, then you can do it here. (The poll will be active until 4/7.)

Too Many For God To Get Credit

2010-03-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

This is another post I posted on my other blog that I thought you'd want to see...

Many times youth pastors and youth groups think it's their great numbers or ingenious methods that help them succeed.

So many of us believe this that we buy the books and go to the conferences to learn how to grow and implement these same ingenious methods.

Don't get me wrong. I love reading and going to conferences, but maybe the success that other youth pastors/groups have experienced ISN'T from the numbers or their amazing methods.

I read Judges 7 recently and it seemed to reveal the same thing.

It's the story of Gideon defeating the Midianites. I love this story because Gideon has 32,000 men he convinced to come and fight with him. That must've taken a lot of work.

And what does God do?

God tell him in verse 2 that he has "too many men for me to deliver Midian into your hands." God tells him that if he uses all 32,000, then Israel will think they did it in their own strength.

He tells Gideon to let anyone who's scared go home, so Gideon does. And 22,000 leave. Gideon is left with 10,000.

But God tells Gideon he STILL has too many men!

God tells Gideon to take them down to the water and he will tell Gideon which ones he can use.

300 of the men lapped the water with their hands to their mouths and all the rest got down on their knees to drink.

God tells Gideon to only use the 300 to fight.

The funny thing is that some people try and figure out, based on the drinking styles, what made the 300 better to choose over the other ones. But isn't that exactly NOT the point?

I don't think the 300 really had a better drinking style that made them superior fighters.

In fact, maybe they were the worst fighters to choose. That way God would get ALL of the credit!

The 300 take all of the gear from the others and make camp with Gideon.

God wakes up Gideon in the middle of the night and tells him to go take the Midianites. But he tells Gideon that if he's scared, that he can go sneak down near the camp with his servant - because what he hears there will encourage him.

What I love here is that God knows Gideon's character.
He's naturally afraid/fearful. Remember God found him hiding in a wine press! Because God knows all of this, he helps give him courage!

They go to the camp and hear a dream that one of the Midianites had and they hear the interpretation - that it means God had given the the Midianites to Gideon to defeat.

This gives Gideon courage.

He goes back to camp and breaks his men into 3 groups of 100. He gives them pots and trumpets. He tells them to blow their trumpets and break their pots (that had torches inside) all at the same time - at his command.

When they did this THE LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords and flee!

Now can you imagine Gideon writing a book or teaching at a conference "The Best Technique And Amount Of Warriors To Defeat Your Enemy" and giving them the advice to have only 300 men with trumpets and pots (with torches in them)?

It wasn't the number of people that defeated the Midianites.
It wasn't the technique that they used.

In fact, the amount of people Gideon had and his technique - without God in it and with him - were the dumbest things to do!

It wouldn't work again for him or for anyone else!

It only worked because God was in the plan and God set up the circumstances for success.

If you want to have success as youth pastors/groups we need to learn from others but we need to seek God for the strategy and plans that he wants us to implement.

The strategies and plans that are from God uniquely for us. The ones that he wants to use to maximize the circumstances he's set up.

That way God gets the credit. Not the numbers. Not the techniques... God.

He is the "x factor" to all pastors/churches who see success.

A book I'm interested in reading that talks about the "under the surface" reasons why church plants succeed is called "Church In The Making". It's by Ben Arment.

In the book he looks at the unique situations and "behind the scenes" reasons why some church plants have succeeded or failed. This really appeals to me because I've been planting a church in Silicon Valley for the last 5 years.

You can check out a whole series of blog posts he's done on some of these churches over on his blog. Go here.

Why I LOVED Putting On Our Summer Retreats

2010-03-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

My friend Ben and I co-youth pastored for about 8 years together.

During that time we put on our first solo-retreat (aka self-run retreat): a summer retreat for our group.

We came up with different elements that we thought were important and needed:

-Fun! (Huge outdoor games, team games, pool competitions, etc.)
-Times of spiritual impact (both as a group and individually)
-Times to connect our students (small group times, build team unity and identity, team skits)
-Good food (inexpensive food that students would actually like)
-Lots of laughs (Skit night, late night games, etc.)

(*Listen to the "7 Important Elements Of a Solo-Retreat" (aka self-run retreat) here.)

Over those years, we tweaked and perfected our retreat to get it the best that we could. I end up using the exact same format, with just a few small tweaks, at the next group I led for almost 5 years.

And the cool thing was that that new group loved it as much as the first group we tried it with!

What I loved about those retreats was how fun they were for us, our adult leaders and the students. I also loved seeing God move in our students lives and seeing them leave much closer to each other and to God.

And every year it became an anticipated event that the adults and students would look forward to.

It became an event that grew in numbers and importance as we did it year after year.

In mid or late April, we're doing paid teleconference that we're calling "Instant Summer Retreat". We'll give you every thing you need to pull off a retreat like we did.

In preparing for the teleconference, I asked some of our former students what they thought of those summer retreats and it's been really cool to see their response.

Here's what two of them said...

"Summer retreats are some of my most cherished memories from youth group, it was THE most highly anticipated event of the year! I looked forward to the highly competitive games of capture the flag and the hours spent swimming (WHY could you guys not find us a place with a heated swimming pool or a lake filled with something other than melted snow??) and playing volleyball... but mostly summer retreat was a time to sort of recharge and and realign my walk with Jesus before the stress and temptations of another school year began.

"Summer retreat was about fun for sure, but it was also about worship, about bible study, about taking the time to connect with the kids in youth whom were outside of my regular immediate social circle (even if we went back to ignoring each other the following week).

"I can't even count the number of friendships that blossomed at summer retreat and there was always an increased sense of camaraderie amongst the youth kids after returning home. And who doesn't enjoy a good rock-athon fundraiser?"

- Tiffany Mooney

"It's been so long, but I think the summer retreats were so impactful, because they took us out of our normal environment, and made it easier to connect with God due to minimal distractions. The worship was always a favorite of mine. I felt like I could really let go to experience God. That's what still sticks with me today."

-Nikki Molinari

If the teleconference sounds like something that'd help you and you'd be interested in, then we'd love to have you a part.

Sign-up at the link here: "7 Important Elements Of a Solo-Retreat" to get free tips and learn more about the paid event.

I'd also love to hear any experiences you want to share or questions you have about pulling off your own summer retreat. POST THEM IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. I'll use them as a way to help us make the free tips and/or paid teleconference the most helpful they can be.

8 Reasons To Put On Your Own Summer Retreat

2010-03-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

When I was a youth pastor we put on a yearly summer retreat that was extremely popular with the students and was a very key event in the development of our youth group.

Here are 8 reasons why you should put on your own summer retreat:

1. You can control the schedule. How early the days start, how late they go. How much time is set aside for fun, for worship, etc. You can decide what you and your group does and what they don't do.

2. You can control the theme and the sermon topics. You can use this time for an extended focus on a topic you feel your group needs to have addressed. This allows your students to hear sermons that are designed (by you), for them individually and as a group.

3. You can control when it is. You can make the retreat be when it is the best time of the year based on your schedule, what you have planned for your group and what the student's families have scheduled.

4. You can control where it is. You can have it as close or far away from where you are as possible. You can even choose an area you've always wanted to go!

5. You can decide how long it is. You can decide if you want it to be 2 1/2 days like a typical retreat or a longer 3 1/2 day retreat. This way you can decide what you and your group can handle.

6. You can control what food is served. You don't have to put up with bad camp/retreat food. You can choose food that is good, designed around your andyour groups tastes and that is economical.

7. You can use it to help your group grow closer to each other without the distraction of other students/groups. You can use this time to help your group bond together. You can use it to help you and your leaders grow closer to your students.

8. It's fun and satisfying to see the end results of putting on something like this yourself. It's hard to explain the feeling of satisfaction you'll feel after a retreat that you put on. You'll be tired. But not an exhausted tired. It's a sit down and smile and sigh - when you think of all the cool stuff that happened- kind of satisfied. It's the "you worked hard, but it was so worth it" kind of tired. :)

By the way...

Next week, I'll post up a free audio recording of a teleconference my friend Ben and I, who I co-youth pastored with for years and who put together our summer retreats with me, did last year called...

"7 Important Elements For A Solo-Retreat"
(That's a retreat you put on for your own group.)

You'll be able to sign-up by email to get access to stream it online or download the recording.

Also, in Mid-April, Ben and I are thinking of doing a 2-day, 2 hour a day, paid teleconference called, "Instant Summer Retreat" teleconference.

This teleconference will give you everything you need to put on an effective summer retreat that your students will love and you’ll love because of the impact it has on them and your group.

What we’re going to give you on this teleconference and WITH this teleconference is everything you need to make putting on your own effective summer retreat as “instant” as possible.

The best part is that your input and feedback here will help us to make sure that this teleconference has everything you need and want it to.

Stay tuned for more info...

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"The Real Secret To Great Success" OR "The Only Way The Weakest Person From The Weakest Tribe Becomes A Hero..."

2010-03-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

I posted this on my other blog, but thought I should post it here too...

I'm reading through the book of Judges and came across the story of Gideon.

In Judges 6, I love that God picks this guy who's a chicken hiding in a winepress and threshing wheat because he's scared.

I love that the angel addresses him not by who he is, but who he can be. (v. 12 "Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!")

In verse 15, after the angel tells him God wants to use him to save the Israelites, Gideon says, "How can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!"

The Lord's answer? v.16 "I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting one man." And that's exactly what happened!

When God is with us, then all of my abilities don't matter - only his do! It changes the whole formula.

Us alone = We can only do what we are able to do and achieve what our abilities can achieve.
Us with God = We can do what God wants us to do, all he enables us to. We can be used beyond our abilities and greatest goals/dreams.

If God is with us, then the weakest of us, from the weakest clan, can be used to do things we could never imagine!

That's the real secret to great success.

2 Types Of Retreats Every Group Needs To Do...

2010-03-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

I believe that every group needs to do 2 types of retreats. Many focus mainly on one of these types, but miss the importance and the benefit of the other type of retreats.

Let's look at the 2 types of groups:

1. Solo-Group Retreats
The purpose of these types of retreats is to grow your group closerto each other. These retreats allow you and your students to get to know each other without the distractions of other students, since your group is the only one participating.

This is very important. Jesus took the disciples alone - without others - so that he could teach them specifically what they needed to know and be with them relationally. When you're a part of only "Multi-Group Retreats", then you don't have this opportunity. You're stuck on someone else's agenda and you have a whole bunch of other students for your to interact with (and distract them from building relationship with each other).

To build the relationships of your students with each other is so key to having a lasting student ministry. If they aren't "tight" with each other, then they won't last as a group if/when you ever leave.

Also, this opportunity to get your group away and teach them specifically about things - in an extended format/setting - is so important to help them grow spiritually.

This again is key for having a lasting student ministry, cause this allows you to build things in them that can help them to "last" in the faith after the graduate or move on!

*These type of retreats take more effort, because you as a leader are putting it on, but they are MORE than worth it!

2. Multi-Group Retreats
The purpose of these retreats is to grow your group spiritually by being around other students who believe the same as they do.

The benefits of these types of retreats is all about the strength and power of peer pressure -- positive peer pressure!

When they see other students worshipping, it encourages them to worship. When they meet other students who are "cool" (in their eyes), or like them, - who love Jesus - then it boosts their faith.

This also gives your students the opportunity to hear other leaders teach and speak into their lives in a way that you don't (or can't because of your closeness to them).

The great thing about these retreats is that usually they are put on by others organizations and you don't have as much work you have to put into them to pull them off. They also can usually do things (or have guests) you couldn't afford to do, because they have many groups all paying into it.

How I Used To Do These Two Types Of Retreats
When I was youth pastoring at my last group we would do a summer retreat that was a "solo group retreat" and then we would do a winter retreat that was a "multi-group retreat."

The summer retreat was completely in-house and put on by me. The students loved it and it grew in popularity year after year.

The winter retreat was put on by a friend who oversaw the whole thing and invited the groups to come. This was also popular with our group.

By having BOTH of these two types of retreats I was able to see the benefits that both provide. If we would've only had one of these types we would've still had fun, but missed out on benefits of the other type.

I would encourage you, if you don't already, to make sure your group does both of these types of groups. Both will help you to build a lasting student ministry!

The Power Of "Retreating"

2010-03-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

I'll be re-posting some blog posts and adding some new ones on retreats. Here's the first one...

Some of the funnest memories of youth pastoring was when we went our our yearly summer & winter retreats.

What made the memories cool was the combination of fun, growing closer together as a group, getting to know the students in new ways, and seeing them grow spiritually.

Two examples of this I just experienced...

1. My nephew just got back from a Winter Retreat and he said something like, "That was the best experience I've ever had with God."

2. His youth pastor, who I'm friends with on Facebook, posted picks on the retreat and titled them, "The Best Winter Retreat EVER!"

There's something special about getting away from all the distractions of life and focusing on fun and God.

It causes students to grow in ways they couldn't from a regular Sunday or Mid-week meeting.

It allows you to interact with them in ways you couldn't in your normal settings.

I know there is the whole "after retreat let down" where students kind of feel like they "lose" what happened. Youth pastor's sometimes even feel like they're going through a little depression afterwards.

But I think a well planned out "retreat" can really have a lasting, positive effect in these ways:

On your students
On your group as a whole
On your grow numerically and spiritually
On you as a youth pastor/leader.

Because of this, me and my friend Ben (who used to co-youth pastor together) are going to share our past experience putting on retreats that can help you as youth pastors/leaders. (We have a combined experience of over 30 years youth pastoring. Man that sounds old! Remember we started when we were in our late teens/early 20's!)

Here's what we'll be doing...

I'll be putting together some more "retreat" ideas to post here.
We'll host a FREE teleconference call that will help you get the most out of your retreats.

Also....

In the past I've received an email from someone thanking me for this ebook and telling me to keep "the great products coming".

It was nice to hear that they liked the ebook enough that they wanted me to come up with MORE!

*Well, in the coming weeks, I'm going to reveal to you guys the next "product" I have for you. It'll be something that help you to almost "instantly" put together a powerful summer retreat.

(NOTE: We were going to do this last year, but we decide to put it off to this year.)

In the meantime...

***What are your comments, opinions or questions about this topic of "The Power Of Retreating"?*** POST them in the comments.

Free Vision-Cast Training Session Recording For Youth Pastors, Student Ministry Leaders, etc.

2010-02-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

I REALLY messed up good today. I didn't realize when I set up the training session in the virtual classroom on WizIQ.com that I put 10:30PM instead of AM! D'oh!!

I had to edit it on the fly once the class had started and I know it caused some of the people who wanted to be a part of the call to miss it.

Anyway, I'm really sorry about that. The training session went well once we fixed the time issue and got going, but we had to wait stall/wait at the beginning to others could figure out when it was starting, and we had other issue.

Because of that I RE-RECORDED the whole training session by myself, so the recording would be more "clean" without all the chaos I caused by typing a "P" instead of an "A"! :)

The recording is below and free to watch for anyone interested.

In the training session I talk about:

2 reasons why we, our students, and leaders need to know why we're doing what we're doing
Why we don't just need a reason, we need direction.
How potential is so hard to see - especially in ourselves and our groups.
The best place to look to see your and your group's potential.
What we can learn from the journey of Abram to Abraham about finding potential.
How to discover, or more clearly see, the vision God has for us or our group.
A good way to describe/think of "vision".
How to paint a compelling vision for your students and leaders.
Something that many people don't talk about when the teach on vision: that a vision is not guaranteed to happen.
Why we need to continually cast the vision before our students and leaders.
Ways to continually and naturally cast it.
How my paid coaching program will work.
How much it will be.
How you can be a part.

To Get Access To Watch/Listen To The Training Session:

Click the "click here" link below. That will take you to the WizIQ.com site.
On that page click "View Recording" button. (You'll have to create a free WizIQ account if you haven't yet.)
Log-in and you're good to go!

Vision-Cast Final by scott aughtmon

Get your own Virtual Classroom

SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS/FOLLOWERS:
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Youth Ministry And The Hope For The Future Church

2010-02-19T10:19:00.000-08:00

In a recent article on CNN.com called, "STUDY: Young Americans Less Religious Than There Parents", it says younger American's are significantly less religious than their parents and grandparents were at the same age.

It also says that many characterize their beliefs as "atheist", "agnostic", or "nothing in particular".

Later it flip-flops and says that many of their beliefs are the same as previous generations!?! (Read whole article to see.)

Anyway, I just want to remind you that as youth pastors, youth leaders, student ministry leaders - or whatever you call yourself - that your job has a HUGE impact on the hope for the future church.

I started youth ministry when I was around 19 years old and was involved in it for about 14 years. I stopped youth pastoring at the end of 2002.

And you know what?

The students that were in my group are now the adults. They make up the 20-30's demographic in the churches they are a part of today! (Those who are still following God.)

Don't get me wrong. You're students are a part of the church NOW. But they will be the adults and the leaders of the future church.

You won't have an influence on their lives forever, but you do now during this key time of their lives. AND if you do the right things, then your ministry can have a "lasting" affect like I talk about in the ebook.

What the future church (the people) believes and thinks about: the inerrancy of the Bible, the gospel, tithing/giving, the church, morality, what is truth or lies, what is right or wrong, etc. WILL be influenced by how you lead them now.

That's why I shared the topics I think every youth pastor should speak on in my Talkboosters e-course. I wish I would've taught more on some of those topics. I wish I would've talked about some of those topics even once!

I'm am REALLY proud of the people who used to be in my group. I'm really proud of how they've turned out.

BUT I can see with some of the previous youth group members that they believe some of the same (incorrect) things that our society believes/promotes. One of the reasons they believe these things is because I didn't focus more on some of these important topics.

Your job matters in their lives now. But it will matter in their future lives and the future church too! When you look at your students don't just see who they are now.

In Joshua 14:4 it says, "for the sons of Joseph had become two tribes Manasseh and Ephraim."

His sons had become tribes! Each of your students will one day be a "tribe". They will have a family and descendants. They will teach someone. Lead someone. Run a business. Run the government.

When you look at your students see who/what they will/could become!

You, as a youth pastor, have a chance to influence the future church and our future society. Don't ever forget that or ever minimize your calling and job.

Your job is so important. Don't take it lightly. Don't take it for granted.

Pray for wisdom. Pray for your students.
Preach the truth from God's word.
Build deep relationships with them.
Improve yourself. Improve your ministry.

If you want to tweet this on Twitter, click here.
If you want to post this on your Facebook status, click here.

P.S. If you need or want help, then I'm starting some coaching with a group of youth pastors. Together we want to help you take yourself and your group to the next level.

If you're interested at all, you can watch a free recording of my Vision-Cast virtual training session that I did on Tuesday, 2/23 @ 10:30am PST. It's approx. 40 min. long and then, at the end of the session, I explain about the paid coaching program I'm starting.

Is the vision for your youth ministry compelling?

2010-02-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

T.E. Lawrence once said, "All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake to the day to find it was all vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for the many act out their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible..."

Our goal as student ministry leaders to is to "act out" the dream God has given us. We need to do our part to inspire our students and leaders to join God (and us) in bringing it to pass.

But how can we do this if we don't know what the vision is?
How can others join us wholeheartedly if they don't know what the vision is?
How will they be inspired to join in if the vision isn't compelling?

Is this compelling to you?...

Vision #1:
We want to start a youth group so that you'll have something to do to keep you out of trouble.

No! How about...

Vision #2:
We want our youth group to grow to help others in our community know Jesus. That's better.

But can it be made even more compelling?

Bob Logan says this about vision...

"Vision: the capacity to create a compelling picture of the desired state of affairs that inspires people to respond; that which is desirable, which could be, should be; that which is attainable."

Then he says this about vision...

"A godly vision is right for the times, right for the church, and right for the people. A godly vision promotes faith rather than fear. A godly vision motivates people to action. A godly vision requires risk-taking. A godly vision glorifies God, not people."

One of our jobs as youth pastors/youth leaders is to learn how to cast a compelling vision for our students and our leaders. It must promote faith, motivate them and inspire them to take risks for God!

Why? The book of proverbs tells us a pretty important reason why?

Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

How important does this verse make having a vision and casting it so the students God's given us will follow it?

I didn't realize this when I first started and I'm not even saying I became the top vision-caster! :) But I learned some key things in that second youth group I lead that helped us to come to a place of seeing it come to be before I left.

One of the things I'll do in my "Vision-Cast" training session next Tuesday is to teach you how I learned to cast a compelling vision to our youth group.

*If you're interested in being a part of this virtual session @ 10:30am PST, then click here and scroll to the bottom of the post linked to so you can sign-up!

NOTE: This is a FREE introductory session of a paid Youth Pastor/Youth Leader coaching program I'll be starting to help youth leaders apply the "12 Keys" in their youth ministry.

Anyone is welcome to be a part of this session and there won't be any obligation or pressure for you to be a part of the coaching program.

How It'll Work:
I'll just do the Vision-Cast training session and end by telling you about the upcoming program. If you think it would help, you then you'll have details on how to join. If it doesn't sound like something you'd be into, that's fine too. :)

If you want to share this on TWITTER then click here.
If you want to share this on Facebook, then click here.

What's Your Vision For Your Student Ministry? What's Your Dream For What Your Youth Group Can Be?

2010-02-09T17:31:00.000-08:00

One of the things that really helped me in my second youth pastor position was something I read in a book by Bo Boshers called, "Student Ministry for the 21st Century: Transforming Your Youth Group Into A Vital Student Ministry" (amazon affiliate link).

He said this, "The distinguishing characteristic between merely maintaining a youth group and building a dynamic student ministry is the existence of a clear, compelling vision. Vision is the God-given ability to imagine an attractive and exciting future for a group of people and uniting them for a common purpose. With a clear vision, students know where you are taking them and are able to follow you."

When I read this it really challenged me, because when I started in youth ministry I didn't know what I was doing. I just knew I wanted my students to know Jesus. :) We did some really cool things with that group in the 10 years I was with it, but having a clear vision would've really helped.

Because of this, I did something different with my second youth group...

I came up with a clear vision and description of what I believed God wanted our group to become. I wrote it down. I shared it with our group, not once, but over and over during the almost 5 years I was with that group.

I shared it with my leaders.
I used it to know when we were on track.

And during the final months that I was with that group I was able to point out to them and show them how God accomplished it in and through us!

I think it really made a big difference in me and in our group.

I want to share with you what I learned from Bo's book and from applying it in our group.
I want to show you about how to come up with a vision.
Ways to effectively cast the vision.
How often to recast the vision and how to do it to keep it fresh.
And any other questions you have about vision.

I'm going to a FREE training session on Tues, February 23rd @ 10:30am PST. If you are interested, then you need to sign-up below.

What Getting To The Superbowl Can Teach Youth Pastors" Pt. 3

2010-02-07T23:51:00.000-08:00

In this 3 part blog series we're looking at WHY the Colts and the Saints made it to the Superbowl this year and why the other teams didn't.

The reason they did is important to us, because, I think that it takes the same things that got guys on the Colts and the Saints teams to the Superbowl for us to see our groups achieve a bigger "win" this year.

I've come up with 12 keys that I believe were the deciding factors in giving both of these teams an opportunity to play in yesterdays game. I shared the first 8 keys in the last two posts (bel0w).

Today I'll show the final 4 keys and end with what I think is THE key why the Saints won yesterday...

9. Strategy - Each of these teams made it this far, because of the effective strategies that their coaches imployed. This is the 9th key.

What's the difference in a plan and a strategy?

A strategy is the big picture. It's the overview of how something will be achieved.
A plan is the close up view. It's the details of how it will be achieved.

A strategy might link together multiple plans.
A plan is only contained within one strategy.

Ex. A strategy could be to keep a team from completing passes.
The plan could be to do this by blitzing repetitively for a series of plays.

You probably have goals for yourself and your group.
You hopefully have plans to achieve them.

But what is your overall strategy for you to become all you need to be?
But what is your overall strategy for your group to become all it is supposed to be?

10. Application - Without these teams applying all of their knowledge and practice to the real games, then there would be no wins. That's why application is the 10th key.

Application was needed on both an individual level (each player applying what they have learned) and on a corporate level (whole team).

Only application of truth/knowledge = results. Application of the training, practicing and planning helps teams improve and win.

What truth/knowledge have you applied in your life and your ministry?
What truth/knowledge have you not applied?

11. Determination - To make it to the Superbowl takes all of the previous keys, but without this one you'll fall short when the journey is tough or long. Determination is the 11th key. It keeps you going, trying, pushing on when other people just want to give up.

Successful people in sports - or any arena - have reached their success because they didn't give up. They were determined to succeed.

How about you? How determined are you to win in your walk with the Lord? Will a period of doubt cause you to give up? Will a trial or stress cause you to quite youth pastoring?

If you are going to succeed at being a youth pastor/leader, then you're going to have keep going, trying and pushing through the hard times. That's the only way to win.

*12. Spontaneous Implementation And Improvisation - The key that I've saved to mention last is what I think is THE key that caused the Saints to win the Superbowl.

It's what I call "Spontaneous implementation and improvisationan".
It's implementing all of the other keys correctly IN THE MOMENT.

It's knowing when to drop one plan and go with another based on what the other team does first. It's using a certain skill you gained over the years of practice and training at the exact moment it's needed.

This spontaneous implementation improvisation comes in two ways:

I. From the coach - This happens when the coach sees, that based on what the other team has done or is doing, the plan needs to be altered. And because of this, they throw in a new play based on a new plan.

II. From the players themselves - the player is running a play but sees an opening or weakness and alters the plan on the spot. (ex. the great interception by the Saints that turned around everything for them.)

Many of the teams that played this season had many of these keys, but it was the Saints who had and used this 12th key correctly.

How are you at calling an "audible" and varying from your plans when the results don't go the way you planned?
Can you see areas of opportunity in what you're doing now that you need to take action on?
Can you see areas of weakness where you need to tweak your plan?
Do you have someone (or others) who can advise you on what ways to tweak your current plans based on how things have been going, so you can achieve your goals and ultimately achieve your dream/vision?

That's what we all need!

I would like to offer a way for you to have more of these 12 key things applied in your ministry, so that you can have bigger wins and go farther in 2010 than you have in years past.

HERE'S MY IDEA OF HOW I CAN HELP YOU APPLY THESE 12 KEYS IN YOUR STUDENT MINISTRY:

I want to help you to come up with your own vision and dream for your group.
I want to help encourage you to believe God for big things in and through your life and your group.
I want to help you achieve the goals you have by helping you come up with the best plans you can use in your unique situation.
I want to do this by gathering together a whole team of other youth pastors to be on the same team with you. They'll be trying to attain the same goal as you - to take their groups to a new level in 2010. You'll all work together and share your "best plays" with each other. You'll share insights with each other and brainstorm solutions together.
I'll help by overseeing the team. I'll work with you to train you in different areas: outreach, inreach, leadership training, discipleship, and more.
I want to help you develop or hone your overall strategy through my input and the input of your teammates.
I want to help you determine what areas you need to apply what you know and are learning so that you see real results and change.
We, as a team, will encourage each other so that will all keep pressing on together to see the results that only come from determined effort.
I will give an outside perspective from the sidelines of what I see could be the greatest opportunities you're not seeing.
I'll coach you on some ways you might be able to spontaneously implement a new play or improvise in the situation that's come at you.

How would this work? Here's what I'm thinking:

We'll meet together once a month for 90-minutes for 6 months.
No one will have to to travel anywhere to meet. We'll meet in online a virtual classroom. (Think of it as a virtual locker room. :) )
The 90 minutes will consist of training/teaching, Q&A, brainstorming sessions, check in/check ups on how everyone is doing applying what we've talked about, etc.
This won't take up a lot of your time but it will take some time (some months we'll all be reading the same book and discussing it as part of our monthly time together).
It will take your commitment to "meet" with team for these 6 times. (One absence will be understood, but more than one will harm your progress and what you bring to the team.)
We'll also have a way for teammates, who want to, to connect and interact with each other online - in-between our monthly times. This is voluntary and will allow our team to build relationships, with each other, ask each other questions. give encouragement, just say "wasssup!", etc.
The team will be limited to 12 people - besides me.
It will cost money. Why? Because of the time it will take me to prepare and participate for these sessions. Also, it will cost money because of the fact that I want each team member to value and be committed to these times. And I know that we don't value or feel any real commitment to things that don't cost us anything.

But I want YOUR INPUT...

How much do you think is fair to charge a month?
How much do you think is too much?
What do you think about what I have planned?
What would you add?
Is there anything you'd take out?
Do you have any other ideas to make it even better?

Please comment below to give your input.

One Wednesday, February 10th, I'll tell you about a FREE introductory session I'll be offering for any of you who are interested. It will be limited to 60 people - max.
First priority will go to anyone who comments.

"What Getting To The Superbowl Can Teach Youth Pastors" Pt. 2

2010-02-05T09:09:00.000-08:00

Today I'm going to continue this article I started in the ezine yesterday, but for those of you who missed it or found this post online, I'm posting the original article and then the new addition below it...

"What Getting To The Superbowl Can Teach Youth Pastors"

In case you don't know, the Colts & The Saints are playing in the superbowl this Sunday. But have you thought about WHY these two teams made it this far and NOT all the other teams? I think the answer to this question is way more important to us than we might think. Why?

Because, I think that it takes the same things that got guys on the Colts and the Saints teams to the Superbowl for us to see our groups achieve a bigger "win" this year. I've come up with 12 keys that I believe were the deciding factors in getting both of these teams where the rest failed.

And I think that especially the 12TH KEY I'm going to reveal to you last is the most important reason they both finally got the chance to play this Sunday.

But let me warn you... I'm NOT going to reveal all 12 key things that helped the guys on the Colts and Saints teams make it to the Superbowl in this ezine.

Instead, I'm going to do something different with this article this time.

I'm going to give you the first 4 keys (part 1) here today.

Then tomorrow (2/5) I'll continute by posting the next 4 keys.

Finally, on Monday 2/8 I'll post the last 4 keys. (This will all be here on this blog.)

And you know what? I'd REALLY love to hear your feedback and interaction on these 11 keys, so I want you to post your comments on the blog.

My Idea & Your Incentive
As an incentive, I will even reward you for commenting. How?

Next week, I'm about to reveal to you an idea I have that I really think can help you to apply these 12 keys to your ministry, so you can achieve a bigger win in 2010 than you did in 2009.

So, what's the incentive?

I will offer any person who comments a chance to receive a special offer to be a part of this "idea" I'll mention next week. Alright, now that that is out of the way, let me reveal to you the first 4 keys...

1. Dream/Vision - Every guy on that team started with this. They had a dream that they could/would one day be a pro football player. They saw it. They imagined how cool and amazing that would be. And that inspired them to want it.

What's your dream/vision for what God wants to do in and through you?
What's your dream/vision for what God wants to do in and through your group?
Can you see it?

When God told Abraham that he would become the father of many nations he had no kids!
He HAD to see and envision what God was showing him, so God helped him by telling him to look at the stars and the sand as an example of how numerous his descendants would be.

You have to have the dream of what you and your group could be.
You have to see clearly the vision of what God wants to do if you want to experience a "bigger" win in your student ministry in 2010.

2. Belief - The other key thing everyone of these guys on the Colts and Saints had was belief. They believed they really could one day become a pro player and that is what caused them to actually go for it.

Think back to Abraham. He believed God. And because of that, he was considered righteous. He believed that God could/would do this in his life. He believed - even though he knew it was impossible based on him and Sarah alone - that he would have descendants.

Do you believe that God can really use you? Do you really?
Do you believe he can really do amazing things in and through your group? Even if you don't have what it takes on your own?

Good cause it's going to take this to ever see the dream/vision come to a reality.

3. Goals - The next key these guys all had to have to make this vision/dream that they believed was possible come to true was to make it a goal.

What's the difference between a ream/vision and a goal?

A dream/vision is what you see can happen/be. A goal is a target you set and determine to reach in order to see the dream/vision come to be.

Most of us confuse wishes and goals. Wishes are things you want to happen, but you don't ever do anything about. They just think it be cool if it did happen and just wish that it will one day.

A goal is something you want to happen, but instead of a wish, you are determined to DO whatever it takes to see it come to be.

-Is your Vision/dream for what God can/will do in your or your group still just a wish that hope happens some day?
-Or is it something you're going to do something about?

4. Plans - The key thing these guys all did that made their dreams/visions a goal and not just a wish was that they came up with a plan to reach their goal. They had to figure out HOW they could accomplish their goals, so they could reach their dream/vision.

Without plans your goal is doomed to remain a wish.

Vision/Dream answers the "why" questions... Why are you doing this? ( "To reach this dream/vision___".) They give us purpose.

Goals answer the "When" and "Where" questions.
They answer where we're headed and when we plan to get there.

Plans answer the "how" questions.

They flesh out the steps you are going to take to reach that goal.

Abraham had a plan. And the plan came from God. When/as he followed the plan the closer he got to seeing the dream/vision come true. It was only when he did his own plans that he failed.

-What is your plan to see the goals that you have set for yourself and your group come to be?
-You see the vision, but how are you going to reach it?
-What do you plan on doing?

Alright, that's it from the zine yesterday. Now for the next 4 keys...

TODAY: The Next 4 Key Things That Put The Colts & Saints In The Superbowl

5. Team - None of these guys could've made it to the Superbowl without the 5th key of having a team (unless they bought a ticket and just watched).

None of them could have learned to play and perfected their skills and their position without others doing theirs. Their past teams got them to these teams and their current teams got them
to the Superbowl.

Abraham had a team. Him and Sarah and Lot. He also had a ton of other unnamed people: family, servants, and others who traveled with him to find the promised land. This 5th key is important to you.

-Have you been attempting to do everything on your own or have you gathered a team around you? (I STILL need to get better at this with our church plant.)
-What gifts does your team have? Have you utilized them?
-What gifts/strengths are you missing?
-Do you effectively and regularly delegate?

By passing off the things that you hate and aren't best at you'll be surprised to see your group go/grow to new levels this year. You need a team and you need the right people on your team.

6. Coach - A team without a coach is in trouble because they lack leadership. They lack a person who sees the big picture and has a winning playbook. Each of the guys on the Colts and
the Saints needed the 6th key of having a coach. Their previous coaches taught them, helped them develop their skills and gave them the opportunity to succeed.

Moses was an amazing leader who followed God. But he didn't see his weakness and blindspot. Not until his father-in-law came and pointed out how he was going to wear him and his people out. His father-in-law coached him and it helped Moses and all the Israelites!

We all can use the outside eye and advice from someone else.
We all can use someone who can give us plays to play and help us practice to improve.
Do you have a coach?

7. Training - Even the best athlete needs training. The reason these guys are playing in the Superbowl this Sunday is because of the hours and hours of training they received over the years. Training is the 7th key.

Training strengths us. It helps us see, think, and act in new ways that help us succeed. God trained Abraham and Moses throughout their lives. That training prepared them for what they ultimately would achieve.

What areas have you trained yourself in?
What areas do you need more training in?

The right training in new areas could help you to accomplish new things in your ministry and your group this year.

8. Practice - These teams are going to the Superbowl, because they have practiced and practiced for years.

They practiced and prepared before they stepped onto the field this season. Practice is the 8th key that is putting them on the field this Sunday.

"Practice makes perfect" is an old saying, but it's so true! Anything you're really good at came from practice. Michael Jordan became the greatest from practicing. Michael Jackson was such a good performer, because he practiced like a maniac!

What areas do you need practice in?
Do you know how to practice in the different areas you want to improve?

That's it for today.

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My "Incentive" For Feedback

Please give me your feedback on any of the 8keys. That will qualify you for my "incentive" that I'll talk about next week when I share my idea about how I want to help you apply these things in the coming months.

*REMEMBER: The FINAL 4 keys will be Monday 2/8 here on this blog. You won't want to miss it because the 12th key I reveal will be the thing that causes one of them to win this Sunday. http://lastingstudentministry.blogspot.com

What Getting To The Superbowl Can Teach Youth Pastors...

2010-02-04T14:52:00.000-08:00

Please give your feedback on the article I sent out in my "Growing A Lasting Student Ministry" ezine by posting comments below.

Stay tuned to part 2 & 3 tomorrow and Monday!

"All I Need Is Jesus And A Good Pair Of Jeans"

2010-01-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

I realized I never posted anything about this here and you might have a wife, mother, sister, or older female student who might be interested in this...

My wife just celebrated the 1-year anniversary of the release of her first book, "All I Need Is Jesus And Good Pair Of Jeans".

We just found out today that it's now in it's 3rd printing, which is really good news!

The book has really seemed to hit a nerve with women of all ages. We've heard from college girls to young Moms - even women in later years of life - doing study groups using the book.

What I think is cool about the book (besides the fact my wife wrote it) is that she uses funny stories that get people to laugh and then uses those to point to the truth of God's word.

If you think your wife, Mom, sister would like it - or want to do a study with some older girls in your group, then you can see more about it on Amazon. You can see the reviews there and even read a sample chapter. You can see about it on Amazon here.

There is a free group study on my wife's site that can be used with her book to easily lead a study. You can get the group study on her site here.

P.S. She has a second book coming out in March called, "My Bangs Look Good And Other Lies I Tell Myself".
P.P.S. My wife has a pretty funny blog that you can pass on to any females you know too. It's here.

5 Simple Steps To Achieving Your Student Ministry Goals For 2010...

2010-01-07T16:11:00.000-08:00

I've read a ton of books by successful people in all walks of life.
I've heard personal development people give their advice on achieving goals.

After hearing and reading all of this, I've decided that achieving goals for 2010 will come down to just 5 simple steps:

1. Pick a challenging but realistic goal.
Know where you want to go, what you want to achieve, what you want to do.
If you don't have a clear goal, how will you ever achieve anything meaningful?

2. Come up with a good plan and a timeline to reach that goal.
How are you going to achieve this goal? When do you want to accomplish this by?

Without the "how" and the "when" parts your goal is just a wish.
Look and discover what others who have achieved similar goals did to achieve them. What parts can you duplicate?

3. Work your plan.
Only your plan + action = results.

4. Invite/Recruit others to help you achieve your goal(s).
Many other people are looking for direction and ways to use their talents and passions to achieve something meaningful. Why not invite some others to help you reach your goal?

5. Have a person to be accountable to.
Many of us WANT to achieve many different things, but without someone checking in on us most of us keep putting off what we SAY want to achieve!

You need to find someone who can kindly - in a non-pressured, but consistent way - check in with you and ask you if you're achieving what you say you want to.

Just having someone who knows what our goals and plans are, and having them check in with us, can be the encouragement/incentive we need to actually get things done!

When we set and achieve goals we're emulating God.
God has never done anything without already having a goal and a plan in mind!

If you really want to achieve your goals for your student ministry in 2010, then try these 5 simple steps. You'll be surprised what you can achieve when you do!

The Systems You Need To Build A Lasting Student Ministry In 2010...

2009-12-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

If you're youth group is going to grow spiritually and numerically in 2010 and become more of a "lasting student ministry", then you're going to need to have systems set in place.

I've been thinking a lot recently about systems. I haven't always been good with them in my life or when I was in youth ministry. But they're really important.

What do I mean by a "system"?

A system is a way you have come up with doing something over and over to get the best result you can.

A system can be made up of these things:

How you do something (method)
When you do something (sequence/order)
Where you do it (location)

We all have systems that we use in our own, everyday lives.
You don't believe me? Ok. I'll prove it to you... :)

What's your system for putting on your pants in the morning?
How do you usually do it? While sitting down or standing up?
When do you put your right leg in? First or second?
Where do you usually do it? In the bathroom after your shower? In the bedroom?

You HAVE a sytem - a way you usually put your pants on - whether you realized it or not!

It might not be the best way, but it's the way that you have come up with consistently doing it.

Systems help us to do the regular, consistent activities that we need to do in life, so that we can see a consistent result in a consistent amount of time.

That's why I'm telling you...

IF your group is going to grow spiritually and numerically in 2010 and become more of a "lasting student ministry", then you're going to HAVE to have systems (or NEW, BETTER ones) set in place!

What type of systems do you need for your youth group in 2010?
Here are SOME of the systems you need...

A system to bring new students to your group
A system to help these students connect with the other students and begin connecting with God
A system to help them come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior
A system to make sure that YOU grow spiritually in 2010
A system to help your leaders (adults & students) to grow spiritually and in the skills they need to lead.
A system to help the students who already know Jesus to grow in their relationship with him and live out more of their faith (discipleship).
A system to help your group minister to your community (outreach).

Don't be overwhelmed by this list!
You probably already have a system for some of these things!

Here's what to do:

1. Print up that list of suggested systems that you need for 2010 and put a "check mark" by the ones where you have a system already.
2. Put a "+" sign next to the ones you already have a system for and that you think are pretty good systems.
3. Put a "-" sign next to the ones you already have a system for and that you think are NOT good systems.
4. Circle the ones that you don't have a system for at all.

Now here's your ACTION plan:

Take that list and focus on the systems you have a "-" sign for or the ones that are circled.

Pray, think, and dream - alone and with your leaders - of ways that you can improve the bad systems you have and come up with systems for the areas that are system-less.

(When you're done with those things, you can go back to the systems you put a "+" sign by and pray, think, and dream of ways to do these even more effectively!)

There you go. The systems you need to grow your youth group in 2010 and how to begin putting these sytems in place!

If you can begin working on these things now and in early January, then you'll be able to see new growth in your group in these areas in 2010.

That's it. Go and improve and build your systems!

Just a heads up...

If you have already purchased my ebook "How To Build A Lasting Student Ministry", then I'm going to send you a link that you can use to give 2 copies of my ebook to 2 youth ministry friends as a CHRISTMAS GIFT to them. (Then you can check them off your list.)
I have one last e-class for my "Talk Boosters" e-course that I'm doing next week. On Friday the recordings and/or ebook versions will be ready and available for any of you to purchase.

I think you're really going to like what I've been teaching in this e-course. Why?

Because I've heard positive response from the people who have been a part of it.

Not only that, but I think you'll like it because a big chunk of it is stuff that I've never heard talked about the "art" and "science" of preaching. I'm teaching you things that I think many youth pastors don't know about speaking. I'll be sending you all info on this on FRIDAY - if you're on my email lists. Stay tuned.

(*And you WILL be allowed as I did with the ebook to share this with any of your leadership team (volunteer or paid) at your church for no extra cost.)

How Preparing Your Talk (Sermon) Is Like Preparing A Meal

2009-12-01T16:01:00.000-08:00

I'm finishing up prepping for my 2nd e-class tomorrow and I had an idea I wanted to share with you...

There is a lot in common with preparing a meal and preparing a talk. Let me show you.

1. Preparing Your Meal

When you're preparing a meal, the first thing you need to do is come up with a menu - what you will serve.

Preparing Your Talk

When you're preparing a talk, the first thing you need to do is come up with a topic or theme (i.e. the truth you will focus on serving).

2. Preparing Your Meal

When you're preparing a meal, the next thing you need to do is decide what ingredients you will use - what you will put in your dish.

Preparing Your Talk

When you're preparing a talk, the next thing you need to do is decide what ingredients you will use - what you will put in your talk to express and explain the idea/truth you want to get across.

3. Preparing Your Meal

When you're preparing a meal, the next thing you need to do is to put the ingredients together and cook (or prepare) them.

Preparing Your Talk

When you're preparing a talk, the next thing you need to do is to put the ingredients together and prepare your talk. This is where you decide on the overall flavor and come up with the final way it will "taste" to your students.

4. SERVING Your Meal

When you're done preparing a meal, the final thing you need to do is to decide what courses will come first, and in what order, and then serve your dish.

This is the final test of all your plans before. You will now know whether people enjoy and are able to digest what you served them.

SERVING Your Talk

When you're done preparing your talk, the final thing you need to do is to decide what "courses" (or parts) you will present first and in what order you will present the ideas/verses/illustrations to serve the truth you have to share.

This is the final test of all your plans before. You will now know whether people enjoy and are able to "digest" what you served them.

Think about this analogy as you prepare your talk (sermon) for this week.

Have you ever tasted some type of food cooked one way, by one person and thought you HATED it?
But then later tasted the same type of food prepared a different way, by a different person, found out you actually LIKED it?

When that happens you find out your problem wasn't with the ingredient. It was the CHEF!

You don't ever want someone to reject God's truth, because of HOW you serve it!

You don't want to be the barrier to God's truth! You want to be the one who prepares and presents God's truth in the best possible way.

We need to become the best we can at presenting God's truth to our students. We need to do it in a way that they can enjoy or at least digest it!

If they reject it, we want it to be because of the truth itself, not because of how we served it!

I'm going to talk more about what to "sprinkle" throughout your talks (sermons) in my 2nd e-class Wed. 12/2 @ 10am PST and AGAIN Thurs. 12/3 @ 11:30am PST. If it sounds like something that would help you, then I hope you can make it!

The True Test Of A Preacher, What Makes Your Preaching Effective, And A Powerful Mindset To Have When You Preach

2009-11-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody,

I found these quotes about preaching that I thought were really cool. They reveal some pretty deep truths about preaching. I thought you might like them.

But first, let me tell you this...

I'm really excited about my upcoming e-course and I have everything set up and ready to go for the e-course to go on sale tomorrow Tues. 11/17 and the first e-classes to start this Wed. 11/18 and Thurs. 11/19.

*Please do not pay or purchase the first e-class until tomorrow (anytime after Midnight 11/16).

The payment processor prefers to have products delivered within 24 hours or so of the initial payment, so that will allow me to use this service to accept payments.

I wanted to answer some questions I've gotten and give some more info on how the NEW payment system I'm using will work, so I recorded a quick audio explanation on my Google Voice...

You'll here the answers to these questions:

Will there be recordings for sale AFTER the e-course for people that can't be a part on these days/times?
Will you ever offer these e-classes again at a different day/time?
Do I get recordings or transcripts of the e-course at the price listed?
What are the new dates for the e-classes, since you had to start a week later?
How will the automatic charges work with this new payments system?

Here are the quotes below. Hope you like them. If you have any comments on them, post them below or you can also post any questions/comments you have about the e-course.

The True Test Of A Preacher
“The test of a preacher is that his congregation goes away saying, not, 'What a lovely sermon!' but 'I will do something.”
- Billy Graham or Francis De Sales

What Makes Your Preaching Effective
“Preaching is effective as long as the preacher expects something to happen-not because of the sermon, not even because of the preacher, but because of God.”
-John E. Hines

A Powerful Mindset To Have When You Preach
"I preached as never sure to preach again and as a dying man to dying men."
-Richard Baxter

Master Copywriter Reveals The 4 Step "Borden Formula" That Can Help You Capture People's Attention When Speaking...

2009-11-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Gary Bencivenga is a marketing master who is respected by the top marketers around the world.

One of his "Bencivenga Bullets" has a great article titled...

The "Borden Formula" for Giving a Great Speech ...or Writing a Potent Headline

It's written for public speakers and salesletter writers, but it's got some cool information for anyone who speaks in front of people and wants to learn a way to speak and grab people's their attention.

In the article he gives 4 things that Richard C. Borden taught people to imagine when they were speaking.

(Borden was Administrative Chairman of the Department of Public Speaking at New York University. He was also one of the nation's most popular speakers and sales trainers, as well as an author of books on selling and public speaking.)

Borden taught people 4 emotional outbursts that he to imagine the audience saying whenever you speak.

Here are the 4 emotional outburts:

"Ho hum!"
"Why bring that up!"
"For instance?"
"So what?"

Read the article about what these mean and see an example of how they work.

Don't miss the part at the end of the article about the "shake-me-awake-at-three-a.m." test for powerful headlines.

See the article here:

The "Borden Formula" for Giving a Great Speech ...or Writing a Potent Headline
(I updated this link. It was broken. Now it works!)

P.S. Like I mentioned already... I believe powerful preaching has to come from the anointing of the Holy Spirit to have lasting, life-changing affect, but I believe that we need to learn all we can about speaking in exciting and powerful ways.

P.P.S. If you haven't signed up for my new FREE E-Class...
"A Simple Formula To Easily Improve Your Talks"
(THE FORMULA: 4P + V = Improved Talks)

You still have time. We have 16 people so far who are going to be a part. Here are the details again...

When: Thursday, November 5th @ 10am PST/1pm EST Duration: Approx. 45 minutes
Cost: Nada - just your time
Where: Online! In my virtual classroom. Sign-up at the link below and you'll be emailed the link for the class.
Who Can Attend?: Any youth pastor. You ARE allowed to invite fellow youth pastor friends.

**How Do You Sign-Up?**
If you would like to join the others who have already signed up to attend this virtual class, then here's all you have to do...

Go to this link and enter your name and email.
http://www.lasting-student-ministry.com/eclass

P.S. If you have any comments about his 4 Step method (or the eclass), then let me know. Post them below.

"4 Components That Make Up A Powerful Talk"

2009-10-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

After my last e-newsletter, about my upcoming free e-class, I've been thinking about what makes a talk powerful.

As I've been thinking about it, I've realized a powerful talk is way more than just WHAT we say. But the funny thing is that is the one part most people focus on!

What I've decided is that a powerful talk contain 4 components. I want to share them with you today...

"4 Components That Make Up A Powerful Talk"

1. Annointing - You need the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth he wants you to speak on. He has to give you the ideas on how to express this truth. He has to annoint the words when you speak.

Without this your talk is just a speech. It's not a sermon. It's not life-changing.

If you don't seek the Holy Spirit and let him guide you through the rest of the preparation, then the next 3 things I'm about to mention won't matter. Remember that!

2. Content - This is what you're going to talk about. In order for your talk to capture your student's attention and lead them in the right direction, you need to have the right content. You
need to focus on the right topics. You need the right Bible passage(s).

Not only that, you need to add the right stories, quotes, stats, etc. to connect with your students and encourage them to respond and live out what you're talking about.

Don't get me wrong. Content matters!

But Content is the part that most people focus on and forget the next two things.
And these next two things will impact your content and your "audience" in a huge way.

The correct use of these next two things can make your content really hit home or the incorrect usage can dull your content and sometimes cause you to strike out.

3. Structure - This is how you're going to put together the content. This has to do with how you start, how you transition from one idea to the next, and how you close the whole talk.

Certain ways you structure certain talks will make them more powerful. Other ways you could structure the same talk might have way less impact.

You can think of this as the skeleton of your talk. This is the part that isn't obvious to your students, but it's the part that holds the whole thing together.

If you aren't aware of the structure that you usually use and how it's helping or hurting your talks, then begin paying attention to it.

Learn new ways to structure your talks or learn subtle things you can add to improve your talks.

4. Presentation - This is how present the content to your students. This component emcompasses the visuals (object lessons or media), the verbal portion (the tone of your voice is one example), and your body language (body posture or motions).

Once you get the content and the structure down, lack of focus on this component can still cause your talk to stall out.

Want some examples of how this can happen? A person who had some really good things to say, but keeps saying "Um", "Ahhh", etc. every third word has a presentation that distracts you from their content!

Another classic example is a person who has something important to say, but they present it in such a monotone way it puts you to sleep!

And those two things just focus on the verbal portion of presentation!

Imagine how improving not just the verbal, but also the visual and body language portions of presentation can take your talk to a whole other level.

How can you improve your presentation?
One way is that you might want to video record one of your talks just so you can listen and watch how your presentation adds or subtracts to what you have to say.

You can also pay attention to how speakers that you like present their content.

YOUR OPINION:
What do you think about these 4 components? Do you agree? Can you think of any I left out? **Post your comments below and let me know!

If you like this post, then please tell your youth pastor friends about it!
You can link to it on your blog, tweet about it, or email it to them.

By the way, people have already begun signing up for my free e-class that will reveal to them a formula that can improve the presentation of their talks. This will focus on verbal portion of your presentation.

If you haven't signed up yet, I'd love to have you a part. It's next Thursday, Nov. 5th. Here are the details again, in case you need them...

New FREE E-Class: "A Simple Formula To Easily Improve Your Talks"
(THE FORMULA: 4P + V = Improved Talks)

When: Thursday, November 5th @ 10am PST/1pm EST Duration: Approx. 45 minutes

Cost: Nada - just your time

Where: Online! In my virtual classroom. Sign-up at the link below and you'll be emailed the link for the class.

Who Can Attend?: Any youth pastor. You ARE allowed to invite fellow youth pastor friends.

How Many Can Attend?: A lot! The class can hold 500 people, so we should have plenty of people, but I do have over 500 with the combined email lists of people who have taken a sneak peek at the ebook or purchased the ebook.

*I'll allow people who have bought the ebook to have priority and sign-up FIRST, but after that I will open it up to everyone on all of the lists - including friends.

**How Do You Sign-Up?**
If you would like to join the others who have already signed up to attend this virtual class, then here's all you have to do...

Go to this link and enter your name and email.
http://www.lasting-student-ministry.com/eclass

Once you do that, then click the link in the confirmation
email that you'll automatically receive and you're set!

*Don't forget to leave your comments about the 4 components below and/or pass the link to this post on to your friends! Thanks.

8 Reasons To Put On Your Own Summer Retreat

2009-04-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

I have two things today that I think you'll like:

1. Info on how you can sign-up below to access to the recording of the teleconference I did a couple weeks ago called, "7 Important Elements For A Solo-Retreat". This is a edited version, so you'll hear just the important information and not our conversation before.

2. A blog post called "8 Reasons To Put On Your Own Summer Retreat". I have a blog post with 8 quick reasons why I think you should try putting on your own summer retreat - especially if you never have!

Here it is...

"8 Reasons To Put On Your Own Summer Retreat"
When I was a youth pastor we put on a yearly summer retreat that was extremely popular with the students and was a very key event in the development of our youth group.

Here are 8 reasons why you should put on your own summer retreat:

If you would like to hear the recording of the teleconference I did a couple weeks ago called, "7 Important Elements For A Solo-Retreat", then sign-up below.

IMPORTANT:

1. Being on this list means you'll receive regular emails with more free tips so that you can pull off a summer retreat on your own. I think you're going to really like the info we send you. Some will be in audio format and other parts in text format, so you'll be able to listen to some info and read to learn other tips. If you don't want to receive emails with regular tips, then don't sign-up or unsubscribe after you hear the recording! :)

2. You'll also receive updates on the upcoming "Instant Summer Retreat" teleconference. This teleconference will help you learn how we specifically used the 7 elements to create really fun summer retreats that the students loved and that had great impact in their lives and on our group.
In the updates, you'll learn how we're going to make putting on your own summer retreat as "instant" as possible.

3. Plus this list will be different in the fact that you'll get to interact and give your feedback on a special "Instant Summer Retreat" blog we've set up. This will allow you to have influence and shape some of what the teleconference covers and is all about!

2 Types Of Retreats Every Group Needs To Do...

2009-04-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

I believe that every group needs to do 2 types of retreats. Many focus mainly on one of these types, but miss the importance and the benefit of the other type of retreats.

Let's look at the 2 types of groups:

1. Solo-Group Retreats
The purpose of these types of retreats is to grow your group closer to each other. These retreats allow you and your students to get to know each other without the distractions of other students, since your group is the only one participating.

This is very important. Jesus took the disciples alone - without others - so that he could teach them specifically what they needed to know and be with them relationally. When you're a part of only "Multi-Group Retreats", then you don't have this opportunity. You're stuck on someone else's agenda and you have a whole bunch of other students for your to interact with (and distract them from building relationship with each other).

To build the relationships of your students with each other is so key to having a lasting student ministry. If they aren't "tight" with each other, then they won't last as a group if/when you ever leave.

Also, this opportunity to get your group away and teach them specifically about things - in an extended format/setting - is so important to help them grow spiritually.

This again is key for having a lasting student ministry, cause this allows you to build things in them that can help them to "last" in the faith after the graduate or move on!

*These type of retreats take more effort, because you as a leader are putting it on, but they are MORE than worth it!

2. Multi-Group Retreats
The purpose of these retreats is to grow your group spiritually by being around other students who believe the same as they do.

The benefits of these types of retreats is all about the strength and power of peer pressure -- positive peer pressure!

When they see other students worshipping, it encourages them to worship. When they meet other students who are "cool" (in their eyes), or like them, - who love Jesus - then it boosts their faith.

This also gives your students the opportunity to hear other leaders teach and speak into their lives in a way that you don't (or can't because of your closeness to them).

The great thing about these retreats is that usually they are put on by others organizations and you don't have as much work you have to put into them to pull them off. They also can usually do things (or have guests) you couldn't afford to do, because they have many groups all paying into it.

How I Used To Do These Two Types Of Retreats
When I was youth pastoring at my last group we would do a summer retreat that was a "solo group retreat" and then we would do a winter retreat that was a "multi-group retreat."

The summer retreat was completely in-house and put on by me. The students loved it and it grew in popularity year after year.

The winter retreat was put on by a friend who oversaw the whole thing and invited the groups to come. This was also popular with our group.

By having BOTH of these two types of retreats I was able to see the benefits that both provide. If we would've only had one of these types we would've still had fun, but missed out on benefits of the other type.

I would encourage you, if you don't already, to make sure your group does both of these types of groups. Both will help you to build a lasting student ministry!

The Power Of "Retreating"...

2009-03-26T16:21:00.001-07:00

Some of the funnest memories of youth pastoring was when we went our our yearly summer & winter retreats.

What made the memories cool was the combination of fun, growing closer together as a group, getting to know the students in new ways, and seeing them grow spiritually.

Two examples of this I just experienced...

1. My nephew just got back from a Winter Retreat and he said something like, "That was the best experience I've ever had with God."

2. His youth pastor, who I'm friends with on Facebook, posted picks on the retreat and titled them, "The Best Winter Retreat EVER!"

There's something special about getting away from all the distractions of life and focusing on fun and God.

It causes students to grow in ways they couldn't from a regular Sunday or Mid-week meeting.

It allows you to interact with them in ways you couldn't in your normal settings.

I know there is the whole "after retreat let down" where students kind of feel like they "lose" what happened. Youth pastor's sometimes even feel like they're going through a little depression afterwards.

But I think a well planned out "retreat" can really have a lasting, positive effect in these ways:

On your students
On your group as a whole
On your grow numerically and spiritually
On you as a youth pastor/leader.

I'll be putting together some more "retreat" ideas to post here.
We'll host a FREE teleconference call that will help you get the most out of your retreats.

Also....

In the past I've received an email from someone thanking me for this ebook and telling me to keep "the great products coming".

It was nice to hear that they liked the ebook enough that they wanted me to come up with MORE!

*Well, in the coming weeks, I'm going to reveal to you guys the next "product" I have for you. It'll be something that help you to almost "instantly" put together a powerful summer retreat.

In the meantime...

***What are your comments, opinions or questions about this topic of "The Power Of Retreating"?*** POST them in the comments.

Cup 'O Affirmation

2009-01-13T17:02:00.000-08:00

One of the things we used to do on our Winter Retreats that really had a cool impact on the adults and the students was something we called...

Cup 'O Affirmation

What It Is:
Everyone is given a cup (big red plastic ones) to write their name on with pen. (Or a newer, modern - more expensive option would be an Etch-it cup.) This cup will be used to collect affirmations that others write about each person.

How It Works:
On the last night of Winter Retreat and into the next morning people are told to write something that they like/appreciate about each person, fold it up and go put it in their cup. They do this for all of the students and adults who are there. We usually do this with everyone sitting around the room and some music playing in the background. When you're all done each person ends up with a cup full of positive things about themselves to read.

Extra Advice:

Make sure to give a lot of time for this. It takes a good amount of time even with a smaller sized group!
Make sure to have enough cups, pens (to write and ones to write on cups), and paper (people can tear strips off binder or printer paper) so that you don't run out.
The cool thing about doing it on a retreat is there's a different intimacy level that people have and feel for each other at the end of a good retreat that you just don't get from every day interactions.

The Impact:
It's hard to really get across how powerful this exercise is at the end of a retreat. The only thing I can compare it too is sitting around getting your yearbook signed by all your friends at school. But it's more than that. It really allows people to grow closer and edify each other like nothing else we ever did. The things that people write are so cool that many students (and ADULTS) keep the cups for a long time after wards!

I'd encourage you to try it on your Winter Retreat or any retreat! It's simple but powerful!

Ol' School Fundraiser To Help Your Students Raise Funds For Winter Retreat Or Any Event...

2009-01-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

When I was youth pastoring we needed a way to help students come up with a significant amount of money in order for them to be able to afford going on Winter Retreat with us.

We thought of different fund raisers we could do and they all seemed good but none of them seemed to be able to raise the larger individual amounts we needed.

Until finally we came across ol' school fund raiser idea called...

"The Rock-A-Thon"

No, it's not the ancient practice of stoning people with a money raising twist.

No, it's not an i-Pod music marathon. :)

It's students rocking in rocking chairs to raise funds!

Before you click away, you might want to see how it worked and why the students loved doing it...(We even had students come to it who didn't even need to raise money. They came just to hang out!)

How It Works:

Each student rocks in a rocking chair for 12 hours.
They raise funds by getting people sponsoring them __ an hour.

Our Twist To Make It More Fun:

We did it from 8pm-8am (or 9pm-9am) in the youth room.
We had video game systems set up, watched movies, and had board games (Monopoly, Risk, etc.) set up.
We had a ton of junk food, soda, pizza, etc. to keep them fueled and going.
We had a 5-minute "bathroom break" once every hour to use the restroom and stand up and stretch.

How To Run It Effectively

Before the event:

Plan in on a Friday night, so you can sleep and "recover" before Sunday!
Get some adult leaders to help you that night. You need them to help hang with the students, help prep food & beverages, keep students awake, safe, etc.
Design and print up little sponsor booklets.
Have a place for the student's name, the supporters info (name, addres &/or phone #) and amount they are sponsoring them per hour. Have these choices: "$.50 an hour ($6)", "$1 an hour ($12)", "$2 an hour ($24)", "$3 an hour ($36)", "__ an hour" (allows people to fill in their own amount) and "____ for whole time" (allows people to commit just a flat amount). We made about 3-4 "strips" of these supporter pages per 8.5 X 11 paper. We also made a part at the end of the strip that they could tear off and give to the sponsor with their name and the amount they sponsored the student on it.
Promote it in your church's bulletin. Get it announced from the pulpit too - if you can. Promote it at least a month or so in advance.
What to promote - Tell people that you're looking for rocking chairs to borrow. (*Students are required to bring their own rocking chairs, but we always tried to help them find some.) Tell them students will be coming around on Sundays to look/ask for people to sponsor them.

During the event:

You need to constantly yell, "Keep rocking" - especially at the beginning. As the night goes on the students will get used to it and do it more automatically.
As it gets later you'll probably have to go around and tap students to help them stay awake. Remind them that it's to help them go to "retreat" to motivate them to stay awake. (*We used to bust out with Nachos around 4am to give them an extra energy boost!)
Have at least 4-5 movies you can play to give the students something to keep them entertained.
Give them a count-down at the end of the "bathroom break." Something like, "Alright get ready you need to be back in your seat in... 10... 9...8..."

After the event:

Have enough adults and/or students to help you clean up, so you can go home not too long after it ends, so you can sleep!
Give the church an update on the event on the following Sunday. Mention to the church that the students will be coming to collect their support funds.
The students need to go and collect the money from their sponsors. (*It's best to give them that job as their responsibility to do this. You don't want to have to collect the money for a whole bunch of your students!)

ALTERNATE TIME:
After doing it for all night for years, I got tired of staying up all night and tired at yelling and trying to keep a few tired students awake so they could have money to go. (Some didn't seem to care around 5:30am! :)) Instead of doing it all night I started doing it on a Saturday from 9am-9pm. That way I just had to keep students rocking - not awake!

*After saying that I'd encourage you to at least try it as an all-nighter the 1st time. It makes it more exciting and challenging to the students.

The students ALWAYS loved this fund raiser. They loved it cause it was fun, easy to do, and raised them a good amount of money. Like I said, we even had students come to it who didn't even need to raise money. They came just to hang out!

My Ebook Is Now Being Sold By Youth Specialties....

2007-10-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

It was little over 7 months ago when I first released my ebook for student leaders called, "How To Build A Lasting Student Ministry".

It has been a cool ride...

I have now sold hundreds of copies so far. I am proud to say that I have not had one person ask for a refund yet!
I had a chance to write an article for Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox.

The cool thing is that today I get to announce that my ebook is now being sold by Youth Specialties (as an ebook, not a physical book)!

It just went live on their YSUnderground.com site. You can check it here.

The redesigned the cover and the layout of the ebook, but it's still the same great content!

If you're a youth pastor who is a part of a church plant that's 3 years old or younger and you want a copy of my ebook, then let me know. I'll give you it for only $6.

Why Do So Many Students Lose Their Faith In College?

2007-10-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

This article will help give you some insight into how you can make the affect of your ministry lasting in your students lives.

"Keeping The Faith"

Looking For Topics To Teach On? Talk About These Challenges...

2007-09-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

The Barna Group recently came out with a survey that reveals the challenges that students face nowadays.

It reveals that students are dealing with a lot of the same things they always have, but also some things with a new twist (like pressure of not owning the latest technology).

What you might not realize is that this survey actually can give you a lot of good ideas of things to teach on for the next few months!

Barna said it like this...

"Understanding the tensions that kids are wrestling with enables an adult to connect with a child at a deeper level. Acknowledging the challenges, relating teaching to the issues they face, and even praying more specifically for these young people are ways of retaining and even deepening the relationship while providing tangible assistance to each child."

To read the study and uncover some powerful topics you could teach on, go here....
Read the results here!

Friends Contest Question...

2007-09-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

I got an email from someone I'll call "Josh M" who asked a question about the Friends Contest.

I thought his question and my answers would help some of you...

Scott,

I got a question for you, with your friend contest. Did you just announce that it was invite your friends contest or did you give your students ideas on how to invite people? How did you deal with the bait and switch idea?

Thanks,
Josh
____________________

Hey Josh,

We just announced that it was a "invite your friends contest".

I told them that we wanted to encourage them to invite their friends and so this was a way to give them the incentive to actually do it! :)

I didn't need to tell them how to invite people.

Just by telling them about the contest and telling them about the special things we'd be doing was enough to help them invite people.

We were totally upfront about the whole thing to them and the friends they brought would hear it was a contest when they came. So I never felt like it was a "bait and switch".

Nobody - including the visitors - ever was bothered by it. In fact some of the visitors would come the next week and bring friends cause they wanted to win.

Hope that helps. If you have anymore questions, then let me know.

P.S. Do you mind if I post your question and my answer on my blog? I can just put "Josh M." if you want me to.
_____________________
(He replied back and said I could post his email then I replied...)

Another thing about the "bait and switch" concern...

You can tell your students to tell the people they invite why they're inviting them. They could say something like..

"We're having a contest called "The Friends Contest" at my youth group. Whoever brings the most friends wins 1 of 3 prizes. The prizes are ______________.

"They're going to be doing ________ this week. Do you want to come and be one of my visitors? If you have fun and like it, then you can even come back and bring a friend if see if you can win one of the prizes too."

Or something like that! :)

I know that some of my students straight out told their friends, "Come tonight and help me win this contest at my youth group!"

In some ways I think it made it easier for them to invite people, cause they could just use the contest excuse.

Let me know how it goes when it's all over. I'd love to hear how it goes.

(One other thing... It's always good to run ideas by your lead pastor to make sure he's cool with it. You might want to do that with this - if you haven't already.)

Types Of Gatherings Used For "Friends Contest"...

2007-08-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

I said I'd post again today and tell you some of the types of things we'd do during the "Friends Contest" to make the gatherings really cool and visitor friendly.

It's late, but I'm still posting since I said I would! :)

4 Example Of Gatherings We'd Do:

Fun Night - Games, Competition, Lots Of Snack-type food, Pizza, Soda and Candy! We'd spend most of the night just goofying around and then we'd do a "half time" where I'd give a 5- 10 minute talk.
Talk Show Night - We did a take off of Oprah one year with a guy named Tony in a dress. We called it "Toprah". One year I did a "David Letterman" type night with stupid human tricks and all. The cool thing about this format is that it's really a "testimony night" in disguise. You can interview people with cool stories about how they came to know Jesus.

Game Show Night - We did a "Family Feud" type night one year, a "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" night, and even a "Let's Make A Deal" night. I would always end the night with a short 5-10 minute talk that went with the night. (ex. Talk about the things we trade our lives for for the "Deal" night.)

Improv "Who's Line Is It Anyway" night. Break extroverted people who want to play into teams and the rest can be the audience. End the night with a short 5-10 minute talk that goes with the night.

The point is make the nights during the "Friends Contest" fun, relevant, and spiritually meaningful. I didn't do a theme night for every mid-week gathering during the contest. Some gatherings I'd just do one fun element that we don't normally do.

Promote the upcoming gathering at the end of each night to hype it up and build momentum.

If you try this contest out, then let me know how it goes at the end!

*DONT FORGET:
The special Labor Day offer ends in 3 days. Grab the ebook at half price now or tell your youth pastor friends!

On Monday, I'll post another idea we did. Check back then!

Friends Contest

2007-08-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

One of the best momentum builders I stumbled onto when I was in youth ministry was something we called "The Friends Contest".

The basic idea was that whoever brought the most friends to our mid-week gathering during the months of September and October would win a prize.

Here are the basics of how it worked:

We started it at the beginning of Sept. (1st or 2nd week).
We ended it on the last mid-week gathering in Oct.
Anyone could win (including a guest who comes for the first time).
We announced the winner gave out prizes at the mid-week gathering the week AFTER the end of the contest. (This encouraged guest to come back one more time

We gave out 3 levels of prizes:

1st place $45 gift certificate to Old Navy (or any clothing store they like)
2nd place $20 gift certificate to Local Mini-golf/arcade place (or other favorite place)
3rd place $10 gift certificate to McDonald's (or any fast food place they like)

(**I personally liked giving out certificates instead of money, so I could control what it was spent on.)

Each week we would say who was in the lead, mention the prizes, and remind people that anyone could win.

Most years the students would really get into it and bring a lot of friends (everyone once in awhile it wasn't as successful, but usually was). It would also cause people to keep inviting friends throughout the year.

During this contest, I planned special things for our gatherings that would appeal to visitors and be events that people would want to invite friends to.

This was a BIG key to making it work. If you don't have something worth inviting friends to, then you won't be able to pull this off.

**I'll post some ideas about the kind of special things we did for these gatherings tomorrow.

Check back tomorrow!

Click here to see my special "Labor Day Offer" on my ebook.

Revealed: What Really Makes Students Happy...

2007-08-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

MTV and The Associated Press did an extensive survery of 13 to 24 year olds and discovered some pretty surprising and encouraging things. Check out the beginning of this CNN.com article...

"NEW YORK (AP) -- So you're between the ages of 13 and 24. What makes you happy? A worried, weary parent might imagine the answer to sound something like this: Sex, drugs, a little rock 'n' roll. Maybe some cash, or at least the car keys.

Turns out the real answer is quite different. Spending time with family was the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey -- more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 -- conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on the nature of happiness among America's young people."

Wait till you read what students said about sex. You won't believe it! You gotta check what they say about spirituality and belonging to a religious group.

DISCUSSION STARTER
This article/survey would be a good discussion starter. You could start by asking your students similar questions. (You could even video your own on the street interviews)

Then use the results of your survey with the results from this survey and have a discussion about happiness. End with some ideas about what the Bible says about happiness.

Read the whole article here!

Need To Improve Your Preaching Skills?

2007-08-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

There's a cool new blog with a ton of info on how to improve your skills and how to do biblical preaching.

Check it out here:

"Biblical Preaching Blog"

Click and scroll around their blog. They have a lot of good stuff that can apply to preaching to students!

Parents Key Role In Helping Students Keep The Faith...

2007-08-14T00:54:00.000-07:00

The recent survey from Lifeway Research showing that 70 percent of young adults ages 23 to 30 stopped attending church regularly for at least a year between 18 and 22 also revealed an interesting fact you might have missed...

--From article "Parents Can Help Teens Stay In Church"

Teens who, at age 17, have parents who are authentic examples of Christian faith -- proactive and consistent in living out their faith -– also are more likely to keep attending as young adults. Across the board, 20 percent more of those who stayed in church indicated they had parents or family members who discussed spiritual things, gave them spiritual guidance and prayed together.

"Despite the conflicts that often occur during these years, it is difficult to understate the impact of a solid family involved in the faith community on the future involvement of teens," Stetzer said. "And that isn’t something that can be faked."

-----------------

This confirms one of the points made in "How To Build A Lasting Student Ministry" (made by Brenda Seefeldt and others) that a lasting student ministry has to have an element that focuses on your students' families.

One way to minister to your students is by ministering to their parents and helping them to know Jesus or grow spiritually!

Questions To Inspire Action:

How will you implement this for the upcoming fall?
How can you improve what you're doing in this area?
Who can you bring onto your team to help with this?

Read more about what parents can do in this article:
"Parents Can Help Teens Stay In Church"

How To Help Your Teens Stay Christ-Followers AFTER They Graduate...

2007-08-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

One of the keys to seeing your student ministry to have a "lasting" effect AFTER your students graduate is to help them get involved in spiritual activities WITH their parents and other adults.

Here's a cool resource to help you do this easily at your church:

Pray21

What is it?

From Their Site:
"The mission of Pray21 starts with teens and adults united in 21 days of prayer. Together we will seek and know the heart of Christ for the world around us, and be commissioned for His Mission. 21 days to Impact!"

New Report Reveals Why We Need LASTING Student Ministries

2007-08-07T17:19:00.001-07:00

A new report from LifeWay Research reveals some scary facts...

Seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30 — both evangelical and mainline — who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23.

That's why we have to build student ministries that are lasting!

Not just that live on when we're gone, but ones whose effect on students lives continues on beyond their time in our group!

Click here to read the USA Today article to see all the gory details!

Rewind

2007-07-02T23:10:00.001-07:00

"At the end of each day, you should play back the tapes of your performance. The results should either applaud you or prod you." - Jim Rohn

Great Advice For Your Daily "To Do" List

2007-06-21T12:26:00.001-07:00

“Do the hard things first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves”
- Dale Carnegie

I Just Created A Squidoo Lense...

2007-06-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

What's squidoo? Is it sinful or contagious? No.

You can check my new lense here to get an idea:
"How To Build A Lasting Student Ministry" Lense

If you like it, then pass the link on to your friends!

The link is:

http://www.squidoo.com/lastingstudentministry/

Month Of Sex - You Won't Believe This

2007-06-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in awhile. I got caught up with too many things: ministry, writing, etc. Anyway, sorry!

In my last post I told you I would tell you the boldest thing we did when I was a youth pastor and taught students abstinence every July.

For the first gathering of the month we taught them WHY they should wait until they're married to have sex.

We wanted to encourage them to wait, but be realistic that not all people do, so here's what we did...

We interviewed people in our church on video and asked them this question:

***Did you wait until you were married to have sex?

If they answered, "Yes," we asked them why they were glad they did.
If they answered, "No," we asked them why they wished they would've waited.

Their answers were so real and sooo powerful! I would encourage you to take a month a teach on abstinence. Let parents know you'll be teaching on this subject, so they can choose whether they want their kid their.

Then go for it!

Teach them why to wait and how to wait. Have an open discussion night (See previous post for details.)

I'll post the steps we taught them on HOW to wait next time. Stay tuned!

My Article In Rick Warren's Ezine...

2007-05-18T17:14:00.000-07:00

This was written to apply to a broader audience, then just youth pastors, but you might like to read it anyway...

"Building A Ministry That Lasts"

The Month On Sex....

2007-05-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

To continue my last post from below...

We would take every July and focus on the topic of Sex on each of our Wednesday night gatherings.

We would focus on things like:

"Lies Of The Media"
"Why To Wait"
"How To Wait"

We'd end the month with an open discussion night.

We'd break the students into two groups - one with guys and the other with girls. These groups were led by adults of the same gender. The students were allowed to write down any question they had and we'd answer any ones that we thought were appropriate. (Some of the questions were crazy!!)

NOTE: We always sent a letter the month before to all the parents letting them know the topic we'd be talking on and that we'd be encouraging abstinance. That way the parents could decide whether they wanted their kids their or not!

I'll tell you one of the boldest things we did during the month of July for my next post. Stay tuned.

Sex & Drugs Every Summer...

2007-05-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

Don't worry this post isn't encouraging either of these things!

I wanted to share with you something that I did with my youth group almost every summer.

I took a whole month on each of these topics: Sex and Drugs & Alcohol.

We took the month of July and talked about sex.
We took the month of August and talked about sex.

Why a month?

These are some of the major temptations that students face and think about DAILY - if not more! :)

We wanted to show them why to wait, how to wait and more.

We did some things that I think were pretty bold and unique.

I'll share them with you in the next couple of posts.

Expert Builders

2007-05-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a theme verse for lasting ministries...

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NIV)

"¹⁰By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. ¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. ¹⁴If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

We need to let these words remind us that it's not us, our students, our Lead Pastor or any other person who is the judge of our ministry.

It's God and God alone. Only HIS opinion matters.

Let's build a lasting ministry for him.

K.I.S.S.

2007-04-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

"I believe one of the secrets of effective ministry is to keep it simple - be simple... Simple does not mean shallow and simple doesn't mean simplistic, and simple doesn't mean superficial. It just means understandable."

-Rick Warren

153 Fish...

2007-04-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

I thought you might like to see my post on my other "Church Gatherer" blog.

It applies to student ministry too!

153 Fish

The Power Of Hanging Out

2007-04-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Some of the most powerful life changing moments for students don't usually happen during the planned, exciting midweek gatherings.

They happen during the unplanned times when you're just hanging out and spending time with them.

The things that students who used to be a part of my groups talk to me about the most are these times in our history together.

They loved the midweek gatherings, but they treasure these personal times together of talking and laughing one-on-one or in small groups.

Jesus knew the power of those times just "being" with the disciples.

This week schedule some time to go and just hang out with a small group of your students. It might be a moment they remember forever!

Take Two Gatherings Off In June?

2007-04-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

The last week or two at the end of the school year was always a time of bad attendance for my group. Our students just seem to have too much going on with finals, end of school activities, etc.

I used to try and fight against it, but one year I thought...

"Why make them feel guilty and get myself frustrated? Why not just not have our gatherings on the first two Wednesdays of June and then do a huge Summer kickoff night on the third Wednesday?"

I tried it and it worked! I felt less stressed and so did they. I send flyers pumping up the upcoming Summer kickoff night and it was really cool.

The youth group didn't die from not meeting for two Wednesdays in fact it made them miss it! :)

If you have the same problem with low attendance during this time of year, then pray about trying this.

Throw the idea out to your Lead Pastor and explain the current problem and the new idea.

If he goes with it, then start promoting the idea to your students.

Let me know how it goes!

Amazing Friday

2007-04-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

Is it just me? Or...

Does calling today just "Good" seem wrong?

I mean today is the day we remember when Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves. It's the day to remember when He did what only He could do: He saved us!

We went from being lost to found, from being sick to being healed, from being blind to finally seeing for the first time. We left the kingdom of darkness and moved into the kingdom of light.

Can I get a witness!?! An "Amen"!?! (Sorry! I got carried away!)

It seems like something worth so much more than just to be called "good"!

It's not until we really let it sink in how helpless we were, before Jesus died on the cross for us, that we can actually grow!

Watchman Nee in his book, "The Normal Christian Life" tells a story about a time when he was once staying in a place in China with twenty other guys...

There wasn't room for them to all bathe in the home where they stayed, so they went for a daily plunge in the river.

One time when they were out at the river, one of the guys got a cramp in one leg, and suddenly started sinking fast and couldn't stay above water.

None of the guys there were that good of swimmers, except for one, so they all stood there frozen!

Watchman Nee saw what was happening, so he motioned to the one guy who was an expert swimmer, to hurry up and go rescue their drowning friend.

But to his surprise the expert swimmer didn't move!

So he got desperate and called out, "Don't you see the man is drowning?"

The other guys there, started to get upset too and shouted at the expert swimmer too!

But he still didn't move!

Calm and collected, he stayed just where he was, looking like he was trying to postpone doing something he didn't want to do.

The voice of the poor drowning man grew fainter and his efforts got weaker.

Watchman Nee said that he began to think to himself, "I hate this man! I can't believe he's going to let this guy drown before his very eyes and not rescue him!"

But as soon as the drowning man actually started sinking, with a just few quick strokes the swimmer was at his side, and both were safely ashore.

Watchman Nee was relieved, but he couldn't let the expert swimmer go without telling him how he felt!

When he got an chance to say what he was thinking he said, "I've never seen any Christian who loved his life as much as you do. Think of the stress you would have saved that brother if you had thought about yourself a little less and him a little more."

But the swimmer's shocking answer revealed why he waited so long...

"Had I gone earlier", he said, "he would have grabbed onto me so fast that both of us would have gone under."

And then he said something that I want you to hear clearly as you read this...

*He said, "A drowning man cannot be saved until he is utterly exhausted and ceases to make the slightest effort to save himself."

Do you see it?

When we give up the case, then God will take it up.

He is waiting until we are at an end of our resources and can do nothing more for ourselves!

Max Lucado in "He Chose The Nails" said...

"The blood of Christ does not cover your sins, conceal your sins, postpone your sins, or diminish your sins. It takes away your sins, once and for all time."

An older Barna survey from 2004 revealed...
55% of people surveyed believed that "if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others during their life, they will earn a place in Heaven."

They still think they can save themselves! They're still treading water!

It's only when we stop TRYING and start RELYING that we can finally be saved!

Here's my idea...

We don't just call grace "Good Grace" do we? No! We call it "Amazing Grace!"

Well, then from now on we need to call today "Amazing Friday"!

All For One

2007-04-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the news story a few years about the nine coal miners who were trapped in a Pennsylvania mine and miraculously survived after 3 days?

I saw an interview with the 9 miners. I heard many amazing things that struck me, but the one in particular stood out...

It was HOW they survived.

They said they determined when they were down there that ALL of them would survive or NO ONE would survive. They had decided this so firmly in their minds that all 9 of these men TIED themselves to each other. It was all or nothing!

It was because they worked together and stayed together that all nine of these men made it through alive. (And by God's mercy and help!)

I don't in any way want to cheapen their story, because nothing about the trials of student ministry compares even slightly to surviving in a flooded mine shaft, but I do want you
to realize this...

If you want to succeed in student ministry you can’t do it alone. Jesus didn’t even try to do ministry alone! You have to build a team around yourself made up of students and adults. You have to find other friends who are leading other youth groups.

If you want really want to succeed in student ministry, then you need to find other friends that will "tie together" with you and decide to succeed together!

Do You Realize How Many Summers You Have?

2007-03-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

When many people think of years they think of them as 365 days.

It's true, because that's how many days there are in a year, but there's a different way to think of years that might be more helpful.

I'm about to show you a way to think about time that can help you to seize the moment and be more conscious of the time you have with the students God gives you.

Here's the new way to think of time...

Jim Rohn, business/success speaker (and pastor's kid), says that we should think of years as "times".

Example:
5 Years from now is only 5 summers from now.

Have you ever realized how many summers you're going to have with each of your students?

If you lead and group of combined Jr. High and Senior Higher, then you'll only have them 6-7 summers, before they graduate.

If you lead just Jr. Highers, you'll have them for 3 or so summers. If you lead High School, you'll have just 4 or so summers with them.

But even these numbers are actually a HIGH estimate! Think about this...

These number are only true when you have the student in your group the whole time.

Think how many students start attending your group part way through (how many start when they're sophomores, etc.) their time in school?

That means you really have even less time than you think!

I want you to be more effective with the time you have with your students and seize every opportunity, then you should begin to think of years in "times".

Think of your students right now.
Picture their faces.
How many times do you have with each of them?

How many summers do you have with them?
How many summer/winter retreats do you have with them?
How many Falls or Springs do you have?

Really let the reality of this sink in and then ask God to help you to make the most of this Spring and Summer coming up!

Focus On Stories, Not Just Topics!

2007-03-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

You've got to see this quote fromTerry Ann Knopf in Reader's Digest. It will help improve the way you teach and speak to your students.

Here it is...

Don Hewitt, creator of "60 Minutes," on his special talent as a journalist: My philosophy is simple. It's what little kids say to their parents: "Tell me a story." Even the people who wrote the Bible knew that when you deal with issues, you tell stories. The issue was evil; the story was Noah. I've had producers say, "We've got to do something on acid rain." I say, "Hold it. Acid rain is not a story. Acid rain is a topic. We don't do topics. Find me someone who has to deal with the problem of acid rain. Now you have a story."

The most powerful way to speak to your students is with stories.

The next time you come up with a topic you want to focus on, do what Don Hewitt does.

Ask yourself, "Where or what's the story I can use to connect with my students and communicate to them in the most powerful way?"

Anarchy Night

2007-03-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

One thing I did as a youth pastor to really help prepare my students to lead the group, and not just rely on me or the other adult leaders, was to have what I called an "Anarchy Night".

What is it?

It's a special night where my student leaders run everything from the opening prayer to the closing prayer. They come up with and run the game for the night. They do announcements. They do the "talk" for the night.

How it worked:
I picked a night on the calendar and told my student leaders it was going to be "Anarchy Night". I told them they'd do EVERYTHING. If they dropped the ball and didn't prepare or do something, then it wouldn't happen!

I asked them to decide what they'd do for the "talk" section of the night. They could have one student give a sermon, or lead a discussion, etc.

I asked them to tell me the topic for that night and to give me a basic outline of what was going to be talked about. (I also worked with and gave "preaching advice" if one of the students was going to speak for the "talk".)

We then advertised and promoted it in the group!

It was always cool to see the students run the whole thing that night. Some of the nights were times where God totally moved.

The students who weren't on the leadership team loved it. It also inspired some of them to want to become a leader too!

But either way, it gave them more ownership of the group. It also gave them a chance to see all the work that was put into our Wednesday night gatherings. It helped them appreciate my job more!

I'd really encourage you to try one of these nights. I never regretted doing one of these nights!

Use Servant Evangelism To Grow Your Youth Group!

2007-03-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

If you're trying to extend the reach of your group and bring in some new students, then try some servant evangelism.

IDEA:
----------
Go out and give away 100 free sodas with a card that says...

"Random Act Of Kindness - We just wanted to show God's love in a practical way. If we can ever help you in anyway, then let us know (your group website) (an email addres)! Come check us out on (time of your meeting) at (location)."

I wish I did this when I was a youth pastor! I mainly relied on students bringing their friends, which was good, but it was the slower way to grow.

I should've done more things like this to get our name out there.

The key to this is to NOT just do it to get students or advertise. Do it to show Jesus' love and let him do the rest.

If you want a ton of more ideas, go here!

Subscribe to this free ezine for regular inspiration: "Serve" Ezine

SHHH!

2007-03-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

If you're going to have a Lasting Student Ministry you need to teach your students how to spend time with God on their own. They need to have a personal, growing relationship with him.

If they don't have this, and all they have is the "worship-God-in-youth-group" relationship, then they will probably lose their relationship when they graduate from youth group.

Their relationship with God has to be established as something they have on their own - separate from youth group.

That means we need to teach them how to spend time with God daily. They need to know how to quiet themselves and hear God's voice.

The hard thing about this is that many students nowadays don't know what it's like to sit quietly and focus on one thing.

They're used to multi-tasking. They watch TV, while being on the internet checking out a site, while IMing their friends, doing their homework and talking on their cell!! :)

We need to provide opportunities for them to "practice" being quiet.

In your discipleship times, you can have 10 minutes where the students go off to different corners of the room and just spend time with God (praying, reading the Bible and journaling).

On your retreats you can schedule in devotional times where the kids take 30 minutes and do the same thing.

We need to help them build spiritual habits that they will continue for their rest of their lives. This is a huge challenge for todays students, but with your help they can do it.

Update On Ebook

2007-03-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

We've sold 82 "How To Build A LASTING Student Ministry" ebooks so far in a little more than a week! That's pretty good since I don't have some big advertising campaign for it.

The BEST part is how exciting it is to hear from people who've grabbed a copy and are already being helped.

I've been getting a lot of cool testimonials from customers. You can see them here.

I really owe it all to the 14 contributors who shared their "in the trenches" knowledge and experience. They're what make the book so unique and helpful.

Jesus & The Holy Spirit

2007-03-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

I've been reading the book of John and the book of Acts recently.

The book of John is constantly pointing the supremacy of Jesus.
The book of Acts is constantly emphasizing the power of the Holy Spirit.

Your ministry should do the same.

You should contantly be pointing your students and leaders to Jesus. He is the cormerstone of our faith.

You should be constantly relying on the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and use you as you lead the group of students that He's given you.

Beyond any method or technique that you try, it will be Jesus and the Holy Spirit who will cause lasting change in your students and help you build a lasting student ministry.

I'd encourage you to start reading John and Acts - a chapter from each, each a day. This will cause you to focus more on Jesus and remind you to let the Holy Spirit work in your group.

Have You Tried A Little Decentralization?

2007-03-02T06:39:00.000-08:00

Which is easier to kill? A starfish or a spider?

Anyone of you who have tried to catch a spider scooting across the wall in your house might say a starfish, but you're wrong!

If you cut off a spider's legs you slow it down.
If you cut off a spider's head you kill it.

But guess what?

If you cut off a starfish's leg it grows a new one and here's the crazy part... that leg can grow a new starfish.
If you cut a starfish in four pieces it can become 4 starfishes!

You're probably thinking...

"That's a kinda cool fact, but so what?"

There's a new book out called "The Starfish and The Spider" by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom. This book talks about the unstoppable power of leaderless organizations.

The authors say that traditional centralized, top-down organizations are like a spider. You take out the head and it dies! The leader leaves and the whole thing collapses.

A decentralized organization which spreads out the power and relies on peer relationships is like a starfish.

You want an example of a more decentralized organization?

Look at a lot of the new "Web 2.0" companies and you'll see examples. Companies like Craigslist, Skype, and Wikipedia all have a lot of decentralized features.

Did you know that the early church was pretty decentralized?

Paul would go and start a church somewhere and pick people to lead. And then what would he do? He'd leave!

Paul shared his authority with others. He taught them, prepared them and then gave them the authority to lead and run the thing! He trusted the Holy Spirit and the person's relationship with Jesus to keep them on track.

What's that mean for you?

If you want to have a lasting student ministry you need to give away and/or share some (I didn't say all) of the power!

When I was a youth pastor I, at first, tried to do everything myself. I did Wednesday nights and Sunday School, events, etc...

Guess what happened?
Wednesdays were good. Events were good, but Sunday School was just ok.

Why? I couldn't do it all WELL!

What I finally did was hand over Sunday School to one of my leaders back then named Ioannis (pronounce "Yanni" - this is him now).

You know what happened?

Ioannis was able to focus all his energy on it and run with it! He didn't have to always ask me if he could do something (centralization). I trusted him and let him go (decentralization).

And the result?

Sunday School was sooo much better!!! Not only that, I could relax and focus on all the other stuff!!!

When I left that group Ioannis and some of my other leaders where there to help run it and work with the new youth pastor.

Try a little decentralization and see what happens!

Email me and tell me what happens! :)

What's A Lasting Student Ministry?

2007-02-28T11:23:00.000-08:00

I thought I should clarify what I mean by "Lasting" Student Ministry.

I mean two things:

1. That the group of students you're gathering lives on beyond your time with them. That means that if/when you leave - whether 3 years from now or 15 years from now - that the group will keep existing!

2. That the student who come in your group will stay believers after they graduate and are on their own. This shows your ministry had a LASTING affect on their lives.

That's the whole purpose of my ebook I created to help youth pastors.

Preparing Your Leaders: Throw 'Em In The Deep End!

2007-02-26T11:23:00.000-08:00

I probably didn't learn how to swim like a lot of people did.

I didn't have any little blow up rings to put around my arms. I didn't have a lifeguard to teach me or a swim coach to teach me the correct way to swim.

What DID I have?

At the MOST, all I had was my Dad holding me up in his arms for a few minutes and telling me how to dog paddle!

The first time I ever swam was when I was 9 years old.

I was standing out on this floating boat dock on a lake. I had already gotten in the water in the shallow end. I even got brave and went a little into the deep end while holding onto the dock the whole time.

At this point, I was standing on the dock and my Dad was trying to convince me to jump out into the deep end where my two 16 year old cousins were.

He told me that they wouldn't let me sink and that he'd be right there if I needed him.

I didn't believe him.
I didn't want to jump in.

So, my Dad decided to give me some incentive...

He said, "If you don't jump in, then I'm going to throw you in!"

In case I didn't believe him, he started to get out of the water and prove to me he was serious. That's all it took. I jumped in!

And I began swimming for the very FIRST TIME!

You've got to realize something important here:

Until I jumped in everything I knew about swimming was all just theory. Once I jumped in it became reality.

WRITE THIS DOWN SOMEWHERE...

*Truth doesn't have any effect in our lives until we take action. Truth doesn't become a reality in our lives until we act on it. Only action or application will bring results.

If you want your leaders to really know how to do something, you need to let them DO it! :)

Remember, in my last post that I told how Jesus had the disciples doing stuff from the very beginning? That needs to be our technique!

Think about it this way...

Imagine a man who decides to be farmer. He buys the best piece of land he can afford. He buys all the tractors and machines that he needs to plant and harvest. He reads everything he can on effective farming techniques. He goes to some seminars on farming. He even talks to other farmers about how to plant and harvest a good crop.

But there's one thing he doesn't do: he never plants any seed.

So, when spring comes he has NOTHING to show for all that he knows!

We'd think a farmer like that who expected a crop from what he KNEW instead of what he DID would be a little wacky. :)

But that's what we do a lot of the time!

We hear a truth.
We study it.
We even accept that it's a good idea.

But, we LEAVE OUT the missing ingredient... we never act on it. We never apply it!

Don't let your leaders do this. Make sure they do/live it.

If you want to have a lasting student ministry you need to have leaders who know how to lead whether you're there... or one day when you're not!

Student Ministry - Everyday

2007-02-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

Did you ever see Jesus freak out when one of his disciple missed out on an important lesson or miracle? (He was calm about Doubting Thomas missing his first post-resurrection appearance to the disciples.)

Why didn't he worry about it like we do?

Because he did ministry diffferently. Think about it...

His primary way to reach and teach others wasn't just through a large gathering where he gave a teaching.

He definitely had those times, but that wasn't his ONLY/MAJOR way to reach and teach others.

He knew that if someone wasn't there to hear or see the lesson that he'd have other chances and ways to communicate the same lesson!

What methods did he use? Here are 3 methods:

He spent time with them regularly. They saw and heard lessons from him every day!
He taught them one-on-one and in small groups. The disciples seemed to hardly get the "big gathering" lessons. Jesus almost always had to take them aside later and explain the lessons to them.
He taught them by giving them ministry to do. Do you realize Jesus had the disciples baptizing people when they didn't even know he was going to die and resurrect yet! He could've said, "Hey, let me do it and you guys watch, so you know how to do it when I'm gone," but he didn't! He had them in the water dunking people! He almost always let his followers be a part (DO a part) in his ministry. How about you?

I want to encourage you to have cool large gatherings, but also make sure you have a lot of other ways to reach and teach students.

That way you don't have to trip about who's there on your "big night" or not!

Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Mo!

2007-02-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

Who have you picked to pour your time/life into?

What students have you chosen to help lead this group with you?

Some of the ones you pick might be the natural leaders who the students already follow, but some might be the ones that are still "diamonds in the rough".

What adults have you chosen to help lead this group with you?

You need other adults to help expand your realm of influence. There are a lot of students who will relate to you and really connect with you, but there are some who won't.

When you choose other adults to help you lead, you've just extended your ability to reach another type of student.

How do you pick the right leaders?

You pray! Jesus said in Matthew 9:37-38...

"He said to his disciples, 'The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields.'" (NLT)

This is advice isn't just talk from Jesus. It's what Jesus DID before he picked the 12 disciples in Luke 6:12-13...

"One day soon afterward Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles."

To have a lasting student ministry you have to have other leaders to share the ministry with you. You have to have leaders to pass the ministry on to.

Start today.
Pray and seek God's advice.
Choose some others (or choose some more) to help you lead.

What You Need To Succeed In Student Ministry Pt. 2

2007-02-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

The only way to gain experiential knowledge is through action.

You can read all the books on youth ministry you want, but if you don't apply what you know, you'll never see any results!

You can memorize the Bible and preach amazing sermons, but without action your sermons will never change your own life!

Will God judge us on how good we spoke or what we knew?
Or, will he judge us on how well we lived out what we knew?

Edwin Markham said this, "We have committed the Golden Rule to memory; let us now commit it to life."

What You Need To Succeed in Student Ministry Pt. 1

2007-02-21T10:36:00.000-08:00

The first thing you need to succeed in student ministry is knowledge.

You need 3 kinds of knowledge:

1. Head knowledge
You need to know what to do. What not to do.

2. Experiential Knowledge
You need to know from experience. It doesn't help if you just know" something in your head. You've got to know it in your life and your experience. This is where you learn HOW to do what you know. Without this kind of knowledge you won't see many results! (More on this in part 2.)

3. Relational Knowledge
You need to know God. You need to know the students God gives you. This is the most important of the 3 kinds of knowledge. Without this kind of knowledge, you're ministry will be lifeless and powerless

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