So your church is thinking about hiring a youth worker, eh? Wondering about who and when? It’s been my experience that if you’re wondering, good chances are it’s time.

Here are some helpful hiring tips that just might make this job search go smooooooth!

1) “Sustainable Youth Ministry” by Mark DeVries recommends 1 FT staff person for every 50 youth who are active somewhere in the life of the church. 25 youth means a 20-hr person and so 12-13 youth would mean hiring someone for about 10 hours a week.

2) What to pay? Go to the January 2012 issue of Group Magazine and check out their latest salary survey. They provide loads of stats and variables to consider.

3) Where to post your church’s position? Simply Youth Ministry, Youth Ministry Architects and Youth Specialties have the best job boards. Of course, your denom office is good. Colleges and seminaries are a must. Plus? There’s always Craig’s List.

4) Pick 3 non-negotiables and 1-2 “these would be great IF” qualities in a staff hire. Head towards that.

5) Don’t set the hire up for failure by holding off everything till “the new person gets here.” The youth ministry belongs to the church and so does the YM’s vision and values. The person you hire should be able to match up with similar skills and purpose.

Oops, gotta power down. The flight attendant is looking at me funny.

Hey there Insiders!

We are in a Duck Dynasty frenzy around here! We love that crazy bunch. Most of you probably also caught the premiere of their new season last week and we have got exclusive content from Willie Robertson RIGHT HERE.

You got a sneak peak last time on Rick Lawrence‘s exclusive interview with Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty published in the latest issue of Group Magazine.

Now, you can listen to the audio of the FULL  INTERVIEW! This is a unique conversation with Willie  that you are not going to find anywhere else. Click the image below to hear it all!!

Listen to the interview (click image above) but don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to Group Magazine to get the full issue in PRINT and DIGITAL- chock full of incredible content!

LOVE YOU GUYS!

- Amber

Simply Insiders! We have got an incredible devotional for you guys today by our very own Jason Ostrander.

 By JASON OSTRANDER

If the true definition of criticism were, “passing judgment as to the merits of another person,” then the very act of denying said person would be the highest form of criticism there is.

“Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man!’ ” –Matthew 26:74

Peter’s ultimate form of criticism was to completely disassociate himself from the very person and work of his friend Jesus, and the beauty of this story is that we don’t get to see how Jesus responds until that fateful day on the shores of the Galilean Sea.

“Again Jesus said, ‘Peter, do you love me?’ ” –John 21:16

Think about all the things that we might have said to Peter if he denied us:

“Why did you do that?”

“You better explain yourself, Peter!”

“Promise me you‘ll never do that again…”

Now look at what Jesus does as he receives what Peter had to say. Rather than making Peter explain away his criticism—or qualifying what exactly he meant by denying him, he was only concerned about one thing: Peter’s heart.

To say that Jesus “loves” criticism is not to say that he enjoys being criticized—on the contrary: When he receives it, he confronts it with love. Criticism will always be there; how we choose to deal with it will say an awful lot about where our heart is.

Blessings on your journey of loving criticism…

JO

PS- For more on criticism and how to channel it for growth check out Criticism Bites by Brian Berry. ON SALE FOR JUST 3.99 each!!

Keep on Keepin on! LOVE YOU GUYS
- Amber

Courtney on prom night.

I loved how Kurt made the point in the video blog last week that all of his students have “special needs.”  However, the reality is that some of our students have a unique set of challenges that require forethought, perspective and creativity in running our youth programming.

How do we approach those labeled with “special needs?”

Every disability Is Different:

Working with a student who has mental, emotional or processing delays may require you think differently about teaching and interacting.  Just because a parent shows up an tells you it is “Autism”  or “Down’s Syndrome,” that could mean a variety of things.  A person in a wheel chair may need you to help with the dynamics of getting in and out of spaces.  The blind and hard of hearing need to make sure they are not left out of movie clips or object lessons. Think of each individual as an individual.

Build a relationship with the parents:

Kurt and AC touched on this, but IT IS VITAL. Meet with the parents to discuss the students’ needs. You want to know what  type of physical  care is required?  Are there elements of their personality you need to learn?   Let them tell you everything.  Is the student prone to angry out bursts? What works at school? Would it be best to find a one on one mentor that is with them?  Keep communication lines with the parents open.  What is and isn’t going well?  They will have some insight.  Let them know you are on their side and love their child.  Remember they have been in this for awhile.  Treat them with love and respect.

Be Inclusive & Creative:

Let’s be honest.  This is a difficult topic because fully including a student with physical and mental challenges into your group takes work.   You may need to think through scenarios before you act on them.  The kid in the wheel chair wants to go with you to the amusement park?  How do you make that happen?  How do you play music for someone who is hearing impaired.

Don’t treat the “differently abled” student like they are a “Special Project:”

Yes,  we need to think about how to include them.  Yes, we may need to be creative in approach.  HOWEVER, Most of the time they are fully aware that they stand out already.  Be aware of talking down to them and about them, or being patronizing, even when you don’t mean to.

Be prepared for hard conversations:

My sister was entirely aware of what she did and did not have in her body and in her mind.  She wanted to know why it had to be this way.  Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know.  Just let them remember they didn’t sin.  Their parents didn’t sin.  (Remember the story of the blind man in John 9).  We live in a fallen world that isn’t always fair.  None of us get it. Higher functioning students often suffer from depression and can even become cutters.  They desperately want to be “normal.”  Cry with them and point them to the one who has a love that is high and wide and deep and wraps them with hope.

 Siblings:

Get to know both the students.  Let the sibling be their own person here, and if at all possible create an environment where they are not a care taker.  Each of them are struggling with their own sets of “challenges.” Avoid making assumptions about their personalities, abilities and relationship.

My sister passed away at 32 years old, the oldest living survivor of her condition.  For the last four years of her life she belonged to a body of believers who just loved her.  They embraced her for who she was.  She went to Bible study and they loved her insight and laughed at her terrible quirky jokes.  It was all she had been looking for.  A group of people who called themselves Christians who just thought of her as Courtney.  A group of people who got what it meant to love their neighbor as themselves.

For more great information on specifics of including disabled students into your programming,  check out these articles at Conversations On the Fringe:   CLICK HERE!

How are you walking with the disabled students, their parents and siblings in YOUR ministry?

Well, it’s true…Simply Youth Ministry is giving away 72 weeks of the College LIVE curriculum for FREE.  Sheesh, that is amazing.  Before I say how this giveaway works, let me just briefly share a few things I love about this resource:

1. It walks through books of the bible and gives your students a great understanding of the flow of each book.  
2. Every teaching point in this curriculum points to God.  The goal here is to put the focus where it belongs.  In other words, as the content walks through the scriptures we learn about God’s reign (Kingdom), desires and intentions for our lives.
3. It’s simple and clear, but there is a massive amount of content.  So, whether you use it for mentorship or as a small group resource, this can be a fantastic resource for teaching in larger contexts as well.  So those of you who do a large group gathering as well as small groups, you will be extra thankful!
4. It’s written by people who work closely with college age people.  You will quickly notice how practical all this is for the issues college age people face on a daily basis.

If you’d like to take a closer look at this, you can get details as well as a free sample here.

Okay, so here is how the giveaway will work.  In the comment box below, tell me your craziest or favorite college ministry story this summer.  Winner will be announced on Wednesday.  It’s that simple.

Okay, go…..

Good morning friends!

Wanted to bring attention to something that I believe could be affecting many of your students. Adam McLane, co-author of The Parents Guide to Understanding Social Media, recently revealed some ugly truths of the seemingly innocent smart phone app, Snapchat, that may just convince you to delete it.  

Let’s just say its not as harmless as you or many of your students might think.

Images shared via Snapchat are not private as they are posed to be, and anyone can purchase the database, ultimately giving you no say in where your photos will be seen.

Adam does a great job of explaining the back end of how the app works, and why extra caution is needed with the technologies that are becoming increasingly integrated into today’s society. Want to learn more helpful tidbits like this? Adam blogs about youth ministry, leadership, social media and life at Adammclane.com

A great resource on understanding the realities of the social media that your youth are connecting on daily basis is The Parents Guide to Understanding Social Media by Adam McLane and Mark Oestreicher . Share with the parents of your students and read it yourself. Get educated to protect your students from online dangers!

Keep on keepin’ on Simply Insiders! Make this week a great one.

- Amber

HEY INSIDERS!

Simply Youth Ministry is blowing up Pinterest and we do NOT want you to miss out on awesome photos that you can be repining to all of your followers. You will get pins of tech stuff, ministry ideas, blogs, news stories and more to fuel your youth ministry!

Jake is so stoked about it that we are offering a 10% off discount for SimplyYouthMinistry.com as an added BONUS for you to stock up on great youth min resources when you follow Simply Insider!!

All you have to do is FOLLOW US on Pinterest.

Then enter Promo code: PinThis on your next purchase on SimplyYouthMinistry.com to receive 10% off!!

WOOT WOOT!

Feel free to spread the good word around. We love you guys!!

      – Amber

       (aka Simply Insider’s Pinterest Pinner)

This is a topic that freaked me out my first year in youth ministry. As a young parent myself, it’s not easy telling grown ups how to deal with their children. So it took me a while to really get to a place where I was comfortable with talking to parents. I’m sure I’m not alone in this area. I thought I’d list some principles that I’m learning along the way that has helped me navigate dealing with parents.

Know your role to parents. - We are support to parents first and formost. Let them take the lead. My value is in being another voice for the student to hear the same message that their parents give. It may sound different and even be presented differently, but it should be the same message. Unless, of course, the message is contrary to Gods word.

Parents are Primary. – Keep parents in their place as primary. Let them make the final decisions because they will have to be the primary enforcer, encourager and disciplinarian. We make suggestions not decisions.

Parents aren’t perfect. – Children do not come with manuals and so parents have no other choice but to parent out of their brokenness. So don’t be shocked if the parents don’t have it all together. As the old saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child”.

Parents don’t have all the answers. - A parent may ask a question and you’re thinking “shouldn’t they know this already?!” That should never be your response but you should talk it out with them. Help them think things through and sort things out. Your perspective has an immeasurable amount of value to parents, so share it.

Parents need your prayers. – We have a great advantage of being able to pray for parents specifically and strategically. We know the needs and the struggles students have. We also know the struggles parents have. So we definitely should be praying for our parents because they need it.

Parents need your encouragement. – I understand this more now then I did when I didn’t have children. Parenting is not easy and most of the time there is no instant reward. You won’t fully see the rewards of your parenting until your children are on their own. Therefore, parents need to be encouraged that all the work they are doing now is not in vain. They need to know that making their kid come to youth group is not in vain. So be your parents biggest fan.

Keep parents leading spiritually. – Now, this doesn’t mean you get to put parents in check when you think they’re not. What it does mean is you must work with the parents and keep them the primary spiritual leader in their child’s life. For example, this year with my small group guys that I lead I’m going to send the lesson home a week early before it is taught. Then they can discuss it with their parents if they choose. This does two things:

1. It keeps the parents in the loop on what’s being taught.
2. Also, it challenges the parents to engage with their children spiritually. We will discuss what was discussed with their parents before we start the lesson each week. This will give me the opportunity to agree and reinforce some of the truths that the parents share with them from the lesson.

I only listed a few and I know there are many more. This post is really about partnering with parents better. I would love to hear your thoughts on the post. What did I leave out?

hope it helps

ac

Hope you are off to a great start on your Tuesday, Simply Insiders! Great post coming at you from the amazing Tim and Tasha Levert. Read on!

 By TIM AND TASHA LEVERT

I (Tasha) received the sweetest handwritten note from a friend in the mail today. A letter. Written on real paper. With real ink. And really messy penmanship. Who would have thought that the simple combination of paper and ink could become such a treasure? Here are a few of our favorite kinds of notes.

Love Notes—I love it when Tim takes a moment out of his day to send me a quick text to tell me he’s thinking about me, but I LOVE it when we writes those same messages to me on paper. Some of his letters are long, others are short, but all are special. I keep all of them stored neatly in a box (along with the torn corner of spiral notebook paper he used to give me his phone number when we first met).

Sticky Notes—Tim and I should buy stock in sticky notes. We use them to hide sweet messages to each other, but we also use them to put a message in our kids’ lunches every day. Our oldest daughter is in 8th grade, and she still looks forward to reading her lunch note. Some of our recent offerings include: “Boys are poisonous,” “Don’t be a fart face,” and, “I love you all the 92s in the world.”

Thank You Notes—Instead of only writing thank you notes for casseroles, what would happen if you wrote a thank you note to your spouse or kids thanking them for who they are in your life? Families who trade complaints in for gratitude experience joy, closeness, fun, and love in ways that all the grumpy, fart-face families don’t.

Don’t let the only handwritten note you write for your family be a to-do list. Share your heart often with the people you love, and sometimes use paper.

- Tasha and Tim

 There you have it! Wise words and a great deal to help your students continue to grow in their relationship with Jesus!

- Amber

Buenas dias amigos!

If you work with middle school students or know others that do, you need to get this awesome event called Middle School Ministry Campference, hosted by The Youth Cartel, on your radar for October 11-13!

This is a one-of-a-kind tribal gathering for middle school and junior high ministry workers who, let’s face it, are a breed all their own! Campference is in its third year, and they are taking the best of what they have learned and adding more awesome sessions and speakers for this year.

It is three jam-packed days of encouragement, teaching and community at an all-inclusive price! Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to hang with your tribe!

REGISTER NOW and tell your fellow youth workers! #campference #theyouthcartel

You guys are so stinkin good at loving students! We appreciate you.

- Amber

If you, like me, have the privilege of actually getting paid a full-time salary to work with teenagers, you are in a rare category…and you are probably lazy, like me.

Full-timers: Because you work lots and lots of hours every week, you are probably really struggling with my accusation.
Part-timers and volunteers: Because you work lots and lots of hours every week ON TOP of your youth ministry role, you probably have a smug, “it’s about time…” look on your face right now.

Full-timers, indulge me for a minute.

- Do you regularly take 2 full days off each week? Volunteers and Part-timers usually don’t…they are doing youth ministry on their day off.

- Do you get paid for the week you are at Summer camp? Volunteers and Part-timers usually don’t…in fact they often have to use one of their hard-earned vacation weeks to attend camp.

- Did you take an extra day off the week following Camp? Volunteers and Part-timers probably didn’t. They were right back to grind.

- Do you ever roll into work a couple hours late the morning after a big event, or after mid-week because you “worked late”? Volunteers and Part-timers probably aren’t allowed to do that by their other boss.

- Do you ever hang out on facebook, update your fantasty football team or pin something on Pinterest on “church time?”. volunteers and Part-timers could get fired from their jobs for doing the same thing.

- Do you ever go to the dentist, go to your child’s football or soccer practice or take an extended lunch with your spouse on church time without reporting it to HR? Volunteers and Part-timers don’t have that luxury.

I could keep going. But I’ll spare the full-time youth worker community any more embarrassment! I’d be willing to bet that nobody in the full-time youth worker kingdom is “busier” than I am: I lead a team of 20 full-time staff and hundreds of volunteers that minister to thousands of teenagers each week. I serve on our executive team and my boss is Rick Warren. I am expected to give oversight and direction to the youth groups of six regional campuses and prepare for the launch of youth groups in TWELVE international campuses; each in a different country. I blog a little, create a few resources and speak here and there, too.

AND…I get paid for the week of summer camp, take an extra day off (or two) after each camp, roll into work a couple hours late after events that keep me out at night, I update my fantasy team from my office and go to the dentist and attend my son’s sporting events on company time. Benefits that my busy volunteer and part-time friends probably don’t enjoy.

Maybe I’m not “lazy”…and you probably aren’t, either. But I am fortunate, blessed, honored, privileged and overjoyed that God tapped me as one of the lucky ones. Typically I encourage youth workers to avoid the temptation to compare their lives to those around them. But today…and maybe every time you feel a little overwhelmed by your role…take a second to shift your focus from the junk of full-time youth work to the joys; from the pressures to the perks; from the busyness to the blessings.

When I focus on the junk, pressures and busyness of my ministry life I get overwhelmed and whiny.
When I focus on the joys, perks and blessings of my ministry life I want to work even harder at it.

Thoughts? Bring it on!

This post has nothing to do with Small Church Youth Ministry. Just God, kids and one woman’s mixed emotions.

I was sitting in a hotel room Sunday night and checked in on Twitter…which was, of course, buzzing about the VMA’s. So I first watched JT – awesome! That’s talent and I teared up a little about his inclusion of N*SYNC in his Vanguard Award. Still a fan of Bye-Bye-Bye. You should see me do the moves. Its…unbelievable.

Miley and Robin? I still don’t know exactly what to say or think. It was the buzz all through three airports Monday as I traveled home.

My thoughts are mixed, on one hand vs the other:

On one hand: What was she thinking?

The other: Who was doing her thinking for her?

On one hand: She knows better.

The other: Does she really? Who didn’t do stupid stuff in their 20′s? I mean REALLY stupid?

On one hand: She’s probably ruined her career.

The other: No she hasn’t. People will still watch. Who’s fault is that? Theirs.

On one hand: It was SO not children appropriate.

The other: Why were children allowed to watch in the first place?

On one hand: Where was her dad?

The other: She’s a grown woman.

On one hand: She wasn’t alone on stage, btw.

The other: Yeah, what about Robin Thicke?

On one hand: What about her professed Christianity?

The other: Good thing salvation isn’t based on the VMA’s.

On one hand: What about our students? She wasn’t a good role model.

The other: All the more reason for us to do what we do. BE the difference.

On one hand: What must God think?

The other: He loves her (and Robin) and wants THE very best for them. Jesus came for them, too.

Stephanie

By KURT JOHNSTON

Believe it or not, I played high school football. And even though I entered high school assuming I’d be a wide receiver, since that’s what I had played in Pop Warner, I was quickly tapped as a running back…mostly because I was the only one on the freshman team who knew how to hold my hands when receiving a hand-off! One of the first lessons my new running backs coach taught me was this: ALWAYS FALL FORWARD. It’s assumed a running back is going to get tackled, but the goal is to always fall forward…for positive yardage…on your way down.

I think this principle applies well to youth ministry, too.

Far too many youth workers are afraid of “falling.” For many, there is fear or shame associated with making a mistake, an event not being as awesome as it could have been, a lesson flopping, or a parent being frustrated with a decision made. Falling down is part of the game, friends! When you were tapped to be a youth worker, it’s assumed that you will get tackled from time to time. Just do your best to fall forward.

How to “fall forward” in youth ministry:

• Identify what caused you to fall.  Was there an avoidable mistake made? Can it be prevented next time?
• Learn from it. If there was an avoidable mistake made that can be prevented next time, what do you need to learn? What contributed to the mistake? What role did you play? How can you grow through the experience?
• Turn it into positive yardage.  Believe it or not, falling can result in positive yardage for your youth ministry! Oftentimes our failures can be springboards for greater success! Some examples?

-        Your first-ever parent meeting has one parent show up…but you’ve now taken the first step in ministering to the parents of teenagers in your church! Positive yardage.

-        Your first-ever object lesson landed with a thud…but you noticed that students were actually paying attention during the attempt! Positive yardage.

-        Your senior pastor pulls you aside to share his “concerns” about what happened at youth group last night…but for once he’s paying attention! Positive yardage.

As the new school year, along with another season of football, kicks off, quit worrying so much about falling down…instead focus on falling forward.

Here are 6 things I believe a mentor does or should do:

1. Gives timely advice.  Their advice seeks to encourage and guides toward Christ-likeness in all facets of life.
2. Risks own reputation.  At times the mentor backs the mentee, putting his/her own reputation on the line.
3. Bridges to resources.  Whether the resource is a book or a contact or an opportunity for ministry, mentors resource mentee’s for their growth.
4. Sets the example.  In all facets of life mentors provide the model to follow – being honest about imperfections, of course.
5. Shares ministry.  By co-laboring in ministry a mentor intentionally increases the credibility of the mentee.
6. Pushes up.  Mentors seek to push mentee’s beyond their level of leadership and celebrates how that occurs.

It begins with a lump in the throat, followed by a cold sweat, clammy palms and finishes with a sinking feeling. It’s the moment you realize you’ve “failed” in youth ministry.

Today I thought I would share some of my most cherished moments from the “how not to be a youth pastor” handbook.

1.  ”The Unbroken Arm”

Imagine your student who is “that kid.”  You know the one who needs to push all of your buttons, and you are too proud to admit it? At camp I say four times, “Don’t stand on the trash can that is five feet in the air, we are playing basketball, and you could fall off.”  14 yr. old Malcolm ignores me.  He falls, grabs his arm screaming, “It’s broken.”  Me in an award winning moment, “No it’s not, go play basketball like you were asked.”  Malcolm finally begs me to go to the nurse.  Begrudgingly I take him, even though I think he is “milking it.”  I go back to my group while he ices his arm.  Ambulance comes.  Four hours later he returns waving a cast in my face, evil laugh, “It’s broken.”

Learned:

It doesn’t matter if a student doesn’t listen,  when they get hurt you should not prove a point.  2nd lesson: Next time don’t let them get on the trash can in the first place.

2.  ”Biking Home”

Imagine taking your students camping. You bring bikes so they can “explore” on their own. Everyone else thinks a different adult told Freddy he could take a bike. So when everyone was supposed to meet back at 3 he was no where to be found. Dinner came and went,  still no Freddy.  Police became involved.  I got to call home to tell Mom, who barely spoke English, we had lost her son, 7 hours from home.  Finally, somewhere around midnight he was found sunburnt and dehydrated.  Apparently, he had attempted to “bike home” after deciding “no one liked him.’

There are a couple of other “choice” stories from trips, and parks to which I arrived at this conclusion.  (We already had them sign character contracts and liability forms prior to any of this.)

Learned:

Taking students on trips for the sake of the event doesn’t really fit in to my philosophy of “relationally driven” youth ministry. Also losing kids is bad. Even in the age of cell phones, batteries die or they get turned off.  Instead, I realized that going forward in all things we would have one small group leader with 3-5 students every time we set out on any trip where they”had freedom.”  The purpose?  To build relationships. To be a family on a “family outing.”  Since that time you would be shocked at the depth of “life” we have learned from students in lines for roller coasters at parks and places where you can “go exploring.”

3.  ”The Stump.” (This one comes to us via my hubby, but too good not to share.)

Camping trip.  Youth Leader sees a tree stump sticking out of the ground that can fit maybe 4 kids holding onto each other. Decides to have a “team building exercise,” where 12-15 kids have to all stand on the “Stump” together.  By the end of “said” activity all the students were complaining and revolting so violently, lunch was withheld until they made it happen.  (Although it was literally impossible.)

Learned:

You need to have team building- actually conducive to building cohesiveness.  Well actually the youth did unite: against all of the adults.  They actually had teens so angry from the “event” that parent meetings were held when the trip was over.  Those “youth,” who are now in their mid 30′s, make sure to bring up this “activity” laughing whenever they see us.  The point? No activity can be about the leader needing to be in “control” of the teens. In addition, deciding they “will learn this lesson or else” rarely works as a model of youth min.  Instead it’s about setting it up, allowing them to learn “something” (even if it isn’t what you intended) and knowing when to pull the plug.

I have many more “failures” over the years I could share. Through these I have learned invaluable lessons about honoring parents, teaching methods, and having more compassions for my students, just to name a few. While there was a higher percentage of all out “blow ups” in the early years, I still fall down.   It reminds me I am still learning, and it’s the Lord’s ministry not mine.

What about you?  What’s your “Biggest Mess Up” as a youth worker and What did you learn?

Good morning Insiders!

We’ve got a wonderful guest post this morning from one of our female voices in youth ministry, Brooklyn Lindsey. This is great encouragement, so dive in…

BY BROOKLYN LINDSEY

My husband was preaching last week. I was listening. At the end of his sermon he prayed: “God, if I were you, I wouldn’t choose me. But you do. You already have. And it changes everything.”

When he prayed, the words shot through me, not to my heart, but into my gut. That place where I know there is going to be a change taking place.

Bracing.

Oh God…you’re speaking to me.

If I’m being honest with you God, I’d say that too. If I were you, I wouldn’t choose me to do any of this. I don’t feel worthy, or capable, or worth it at all. But you did choose me and sometimes (maybe a lot of times) I forget that.

But why are you speaking to me?

I’ve been going through a process of focus, simplifying and re-directing back to the paths that lead me to good things. I’ve been sorting through the crazy-makers in my life and minimizing them. I feel pretty good about all of this.

Heck, I’ve cleaned up my desk, returned phone calls, written things on time, prepared ministry programs, spent time with teenagers, connected with hurting people, loved my family, spent time with my kids, made my most important relationships priority, dug into some great books, implemented and adjusted strategies, and celebrated more than I wallowed.

But it was clear to me after I heard those simple words that maybe I needed a reminder and a gut check to get me going again. Because I have felt abandoned even after hundreds of messages and conversations reminding others that we are not alone.

I needed to say this out loud.

God has already made the choice to love me.

God has already chosen me to be salt and light.

So it’s time to embrace it (again), this gift of grace.

Maybe you’ve felt this way.

Condemned when you’re not.

If you do, maybe these things will help you:

1. Say this out loud: “I AM LOVED.” You have been washed. You are no longer slaves to sin, but you’re a beautiful part of the Jesus family.

2. Write it down: “I HAVE A PURPOSE.” Start digging. Unearth the creativity that gets squelched in fear and monotony. Break out of it. Do something random. Go for a walk, get in a boat, wander around in a place you’ve never been, listen and breathe and let go in order to really grasp the way we’re held by the Creator.

3. De-glorify BUSY. It’s not your god. Kill “I’m so busy” from your vocabulary. Your God is grander than the time that you wrestle with each day. Take one step at a time. Don’t go too fast.

4. Look around. Take inventory of your life. How has this love, this knowledge, this calling, this important work, changed everything? Take a look at it and ask yourself, How has this changed me? Let it be fuel for your next steps, your next words, your next thoughts.

5. Go. You know that one thing that you keep dreaming about. Your intentions are to do it, to take care of it, to talk to someone about it. You believe in it. It lights your face up when you talk about it. While all of that is great, it will only begin to happen as you take steps toward it. Your direction will begin to move toward the place where you want to be, so take the first step. Whatever that looks like.

I’m thankful for gut-check prayers.

God, If I were you, I’d tell me it’s time.

A new person is alive, and we can move in that direction.

~ Brooklyn Lindsey

Good stuff or what?! Thanks for reading, and even more, thank you for your awesome commitment to help students grow closer to Jesus.

- Amber

Upon further review, something just occurred to me…

just in time, I believe.

“I can’t believe what those two people did on stage! Kids were watching!”

(2004, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson)
(2013, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke)

“What an amazing performance! What a talent!”

(2013, Justin Timberlake)
(2022, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke?)

Say it ain’t so.

I’m all for forgiveness, but wouldn’t you agree it’s odd how quickly we become selective in our outrage (and forgetful, too)?

What do you think… is that a commentary more on pop culture or the culture that consumes it?

Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” (2 Peter 2:22)

(From my small church youth pastor friend, Brent Parker, Small Church Ministry Architects Consultant and fellow Texan.)

I love the summers of youth ministry! I sprint into June, jumping right into summer camps, mission trips, and family vacations. The syncopated rhythm of summer keeps me bouncing from one thing to the next until the first week of August hits, my wife heads back to her coaching job, and I realize that I have a new school year staring me right in the face. Where did the summer break go? And why am I so tired? Better yet, how will I get up enough momentum to push into the hectic pace of the fall school calendar? After more than 15 years in ministry, I am all too familiar with this annual struggle to break out of the sporadic rhythm of summer while trying to ease into the more predictable flow of Sunday school and worship, Friday night football games, and weekly Bible study small groups that come each fall.

When trying to establish a rhythm in their craft, musicians often make use of an instrument called a metronome. Maybe you’ve used one before, or heard the tick-tock cadence which is put out by a bar as it moves back and forth at a perfect pace. A small piece of metal can be slid up or down the rocking bar to either increase or decrease the speed of the “beat”. This consistent sound provides the boundaries within which the creative musician can operate. While the rhythm of a musician, or a piece of music, may vary from one to the next, maintaining the chosen rhythm is essential to successfully completing the piece.

At Ministry Architects, we have created what we call the Rhythmic Week. This is a simple process of breaking each day into 3 parts: morning, afternoon, and evening. We encourage youth and children’s workers to assign each “block” of the week to a general purpose. For example, I mark Fridays and Saturdays as my days off. I mark Monday mornings as a time to write thank you notes, to fill out attendance records, and to send out my weekly Youth News. Fill in each block with those general tasks which need to be accomplished each week, leaving several blocks for flex time and family time, and there is your rhythmic week. Setting your ministry metronome now will help you to find your rhythm as you head into this school year.

Hit this link for a free copy of the Rhythmic Week Template: http://ymarchitects.com/137/samples 

Another great guest post from my good friend, Scott Rubin:

I understand that the US Postal Service has it’s challenges these days. But for middle school ministry, taking a few minutes to actually handwrite a postcard to a student or 2 can be a relational win beyond what you might first guess! Here are just a few reasons:

1- Jr. highers don’t get a lot of snail mail… so your note will be special.
2- Who retrieves the mail in most houses? Parents! They’ll definitely read what you wrote, so you kind of get 2 audiences at once.
3- There’s not much room on a postcard – so you don’t have to write a lot!
4- There’s not much room on a postcard – so they don’t have to read a lot!
5- You can point out something specific that you appreciate about them.
6- Odds are high that they tack it up on their wall somewhere, reminding them of your ministry.

A mom came up to me last weekend, with tears in her eyes; one of those moments you’re not sure whether you’re about to hear something awful or awesome. “Nathaniel got the postcard you sent…and it meant the world to him.” Do you think Nathaniel mentioned anything to me about the postcard? Of course not! But I’ve heard from enough parents to know that these short, easy-to-write notes can become super-valuable bits of encouragement in a jr. higher’s life … and one more reason for them to connect with your ministry, where you can keep pointing them to Jesus.

Feel free to comment with other ways that you remind middle schoolers of their value!

Hi awesome youth leaders, workers, friends, etc!!

Are you concerned for the future of the church? Do you want to understand where it’s headed?

Future of the Church: Leading the Way is a perfect opportunity to meet with other leaders in the church like yourselves and not only dialogue, but help develop and leave with solutions to help shape the future of the church.

 Thom and Joani Schultz, founders of Group Publishing, have been traveling around the country for 16 months to gather stories about the current state of the church. They found that people are leaving the church, but they believe you can be a part of the difference.

Join them on October 28-30, 2013 for guided group discussions. Through these you can hear from multi-denominational leaders, parachurch organizations, and pastors from around the country on how they’re making shifts to turn this trend around.

Click here to read the bios of the dynamic speakers who will be there.

Check out the schedule for the conference.

And even better, register your spot now so that you don’t miss a beat of this unique forum about the state of the church.

You can also visit the website to learn more great details about this once-in-a-lifetime conference experience.

Hope you will consider going! We know it will be awesome.

- Amber