But 10 years removed from that position, I’m no longer teaching Sunday School. Now, I’m charged with the task of teaching a group of guys (many of whom have not grown up in the church) about the Bible, and I’ve found the perfect curriculum for that job.

It’s the Bible!

For the past 3 years I’ve had a group of guys who get together every Wednesday morning at 6:00 at a local coffee shop and we just read the Bible together. And the best part is the questions that come with the curriculum. This is my favorite and the one I ask most often after we read a paragraph or two (and pause for an uncomfortable amount of silent time): “Anyone see anything that stands out to them or do you have any questions about anything we just read?”

Sometimes that leads to a great discussion, sometimes we just sit there and laugh because everyone is too tired to think of anything, and sometimes I’ll throw in a nugget or two from notes or underlined sentences in my own Bible.

I understand that just reading the Bible is scary, because we think they’ll be bored, but IT’S GOD’S WORD. Frankly, some of it is boring to me, but that doesn’t make it any less valuable. And to my astonishment even after weeks I think nobody really got anything, they keep coming back for more.

“so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” – Isaiah 55:11

Three years ago, I met with 2 guys. Actually, it was usually 1 guy (whichever one didn’t sleep in). We read through Romans together. Both of those guys are now volunteer Young Life Leaders – awesome guys who are loving kids for Jesus. Hopefully that’s an encouragement to you that numbers don’t matter. God knows what he’s doing. Sure it would have been nice to tell people I meet with 20 guys every week for Campaigners (Young Life’s Bible Study) instead of saying I had 2 Campaigner guys, but look what God did.

Two years ago, the group started to grow in numbers and I decided that I would just stick to the Gospels, because lots of the kids were new believers. We picked Mark and read through that for 16 weeks – one chapter per week. When we got done with that, we moved to John and did the same thing.

When we finished John near the end of last school year, we decided to start reading some of the “stories” of the Bible starting in Genesis. I literally sat down with my daughters’ “Little Princess Devotional Bible” and wrote down the list of stories it includes, and that’s what we’re gonna be reading this year – in Big Boy Bibles, of course.

Yesterday, I had a bunch of kids in my room at school (I’m a high school tech guy, too) and several of my Campaigner guys were begging me to start Campaigners next Wednesday, the first Wednesday of school. Can you believe that? It amazes me every time. These guys (there are about 12 now) crave that time together, sipping coffee, laughing together, and reading God’s word and they have to get up at 5:00am. (Their parents are more amazed than I am.)

When I told them I didn’t know if I could meet that first week, because things get pretty hectic at school, I overheard them talking about starting themselves – two of the guys were plotting a coup. Awesome!

Cross posted from www.chrisstorms.com.

1. Pray about it a lot!
2. Announce at Club – We started doing that last night. Our camp dates are Dec. 3-5 & the 4th is an SAT test date. So it’s really important to communicate that to kids. We’ve all had kids who turn in their deposit and then realize the week before camp that they can’t go because of the test. If your camp weekend has a test, talk to kids & parents & let them know the other test dates – Oct. 9, Nov. 6, & Jan. 22.
3. Get fliers in kids hands ASAP & give them your cell phone number so their parents can call you with questions. This is important for all our new kids who are excited about Young Life. It’d be great if they were some of the first to sign up. It’s not bad to talk 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th timers to weekend camp, but let’s give the newbies a chance.
4. Create a Facebook event for from your Club’s Facebook group. If you don’t have a Facebook group for your Club, create one before you do the event. You can upload a pdf file of the flier into Google Docs, make it public, and then put the link in the information of your event. That way kids can download the flier straight from the event page.
5. Email kids & parents and attach a camp flier in pdf form. (about 2 months out.) This requires you to have email addresses. We’ve done a good job of getting club card info put in and we have last year’s camp spreadsheet with student & parent email addresses. I’ll send out an email letting them know to save those dates for Polar Bear Weekend, I’ll tell them about the SAT test, and I’ll let them know that spots are going to go fast, which they will. Most parents want their kids to go to camp, so communicating directly with them is important. I’ll probably do different emails for new parents than I do for parents who have had kids involved already.
6. Text kids an hour or 2 before each Club/Campaigners & remind them to bring their fliers & money. If they forget, offer to go to their house to pick them up.

Finally, let me say a word about Google Docs. We’re using it for everything – camp sign-ups, club cards, club plans, music, etc. It’s great because the whole team can see it and even edit it if they have the rights, but it’s not public. We’ve kept our camp sign ups & club cards on their for the past few years, which makes it really easy when it comes to going from year to year. We can copy & paste a lot of that information.

Only about one in four teens now participate in church youth groups, considered the hallmark of involvement; numbers have been flat since 1999. Other measures of religiosity — prayer, Bible reading and going to church — lag as well, according to Barna Group, a Ventura, Calif., evangelical research company. This all has churches canceling their summer teen camps and youth pastors looking worriedly toward the fall, when school-year youth groups kick in.

I mean, who doesn't love to drive to church to get to play an awesome game of "Piece The Bible."

I cringe when I read this article in the USA Today not because the slumping numbers bother me, but for 2 other reasons.

1. There is an assumption that our priority is to “get kids in church” which undoubtedly means that stupid building and…
2. The word “relationships” doesn’t appear anywhere in the article.

I’m biased, but Young Life’s emphasis on going where kids are & earning the right to be heard (through relationships) just seems so much more logical, biblical, and effective. But, it’s a lot harder than simply throwing a pizza party. You actually have to recruit and train leaders to go outside the walls of the church and convince them that it’s important to enter the scary lives of teenagers – even if that seems to be the most uncomfortable thing in the world to them. I promise you, teenagers are craving it.

It’s not only culture who perpetuates the madness. I’m well aware that youth pastors feel pressure from the church leadership because the answer to this question is what the youth pastor’s job performance is based upon: “How many kids are involved in our youth group?”

Instead if you want to focus on numbers (which I’m not entirely sure we should), we need to be asking these questions…

1. How many kids in our community do you know by name?
2. How many leaders within our church have you trained to do youth ministry with you?
3. How many athletic events & other activities did you and your leaders attend at the schools?
4. How many times did you or a leader go play playstation with kids at one of their houses?
5. How many kids do you & your leaders talk to on Facebook on a weekly basis?
6. How many kids have your cell phone number programed in their phone?

Effective & genuine, "going where they are" youth ministry.

And there are a lot more of these questions that are relational ministry questions instead of marketing questions. If all your church leadership is concerned with is numbers, print this out and show it to them (you might want to change the title). And, if you are at a church where you struggle to get adults to go out and be with kids, then quit. Why? Because you will never be able to fill their unrealistic demands on your own. Church is not a business. It is a relationship.

You have to have a group of caring adults who are willing to genuinely dive into the lives of kids. It’s easy to sit in a fellowship hall at a table with a bunch of Bibles and wait for kids to be sent to you for “small group time” so you can “teach” them for 30 minutes, tell them good bye, and wait until you get to do it all over again next week, but honestly, how worthwhile does that sound if you put yourself in the mindset of a teen – even if they do get free pizza? And, what is honestly gained from it? Do you really know those kids better? Do they know you better?

No, Jesus was among the people where they were. Sure there are times when he taught in the synagogue, but primarily his ministry happened on the street, on mountain-sides or by lakes and in the houses of (get this) sinners. He was out there.

Our culture has such a messed up view of youth ministry and church in general – and the worst part is that the church has fallen pray to that view & embraced it. I honestly hope youth groups that demand that kids “come to them” fail (call me the Rush Limbaugh of Youth Ministry), because that’s not ministry the way Jesus did it and its fake.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a place for group meetings at church, just like there’s a place for worship services at church, but that ain’t church. Church is “out there” among the people and if youth leaders take their calling seriously, that’s where they’ll go. They will go among the kids, build relationships with them, share the gospel with them, and invite them to join them in that building most people call a church, where they might actually have a pizza party with their youth leaders who know them & love them, and they’ll be there because they want to – not because mom “made me” go. Can we please get the order straight?

Mark Oestreicher has some thoughts on this article, as well. Check it out.

Cross-posted from www.chrisstorms.com.

The gist of it is that when the words “Youth Ministry” are uttered, it could actually mean 2 different things.

1. “Professional Vocational Youth Ministry” which he say is 20% of the workers.

This youth ministry is pretty sophisticated. Like any profession people fall into schools of thought. They have models for doing youth ministry. They have written personal and can defend philosophies of youth ministry. They run programs which implement their well thought out and defended philosophy of ministry. They train volunteers to be proteges for their school of thought. They have opinions about whether a certain models is getting stronger or dying.

2. “My Church Youth Ministry” which he says is 80% of the workers.

They just want to know how to minister to the kids in their church. When they e-mail me or call our customer service line they don’t want to talk philosophy or are even aware that there are different ways of doing youth ministry. They are calling because they have 15 seventh graders in their Sunday School class and they need a curriculum that will work for them.

For the 80% or so of youth workers in America who fit this category, youth ministry is pretty matter-of-fact. There are kids who show up on Sunday morning or Wednesday night and I do what I can to minister to them.

That characterization might be true, but I disagree with the percentages because there’s a missing group in there.  It’s the group of youth leaders who have little interest in youth ministry philosophy, programs, or models because they aren’t really focused on creating a “thing”.  But, they also aren’t overly concerned with what to do with kids who “show up”.

This third group of youth leaders are not holed up in a church building waiting for the kids to come to them.  They are spending their time going to the kids, living out life among them, bringing Jesus to them.  There is a percentage of Youth Ministry professionals & volunteers who don’t strive to draw kids to themselves, but are drawn to kids.  It might be a small percentage, but it is a group of people who are doing it the way Jesus did it.  There is a third kind of youth ministry.

I recently spoke at a YL weekend camp. One of the best pieces of YL camp speaking advice I ever received was to plan your cabin time questions before you plan your talk.

That is outstanding advice, but reading the post gave me an idea.

At the end of nearly every regular Club talk our leaders will say something like “Hey, if you want to talk more about this stuff come and see one of the leaders.”  That’s always great, but hardly any kids actually do that.

Here’s the idea…what if leaders who were speaking came up with 2 or 3 questions (before they write their talks) that they’ll give to the other leaders at pre-Club for us to use in conversations with kids during the following week?  Not only would it help the speaker stay focused but it would help the rest of us have some creative ways to bring up the talks in our conversations with kids outside of Club.

Just an idea!

Mr. Tolson is knocking at the door on the door of Dr. Roberts, the in-house psychologist.

Dr. Roberts: Mr. Tolson

Mr. Tolson: Are you Dr. Roberts?

Dr. Roberts: Yes, come in. Please have a seat. Sorry to have to call you down here on such short notice, but your company asked me to give you a creativity test.

Mr. Tolson: I’ve never taken one of those before.

Dr. Roberts: Well, they’re pretty easy. Actually, they can be fun. Would you like a beverage?

Mr. Tolson: I work in the computer center on the 17th floor. We just got a new computer in, and they put it in the back of the center. And all I did, I told them that they should put it up in the front of the center, so more of the people could get to it, but they didn’t.

Dr. Roberts: Fascinating. OK, the first test that we’re going to do is called a word association test.

Mr. Tolson: I don’t know what that is.

Dr. Roberts: Well, it’s pretty simple. I’ll give you a word, and you say whatever you can think of.

Mr. Tolson: Well, that sounds easy.

Dr. Roberts: Great! OK, well let’s start. First word, “shoe.”

Mr. Tolson: Shoe

Dr. Roberts: “Rabbit”

Mr. Tolson: (long pause) Rabbit

Dr. Roberts: “Truck”

Mr. Tolson: Truck

Dr. Roberts: OK, you’re just saying the words that I’m saying.

Mr. Tolson: I know, but when you say the word, that’s the word that I think of.

Dr. Roberts: OK, it’s my fault then. Let’s try again, only this time I want you to change the word.

Mr. Tolson: OK, so not just the same word.

Dr. Roberts: Great. You’re catching on. OK? Next word “hat.”

Mr. Tolson: Hats.

Dr. Roberts: “Moose”

Mr. Tolson: Meese

Dr. Roberts: OK, now all you are doing is just pluralizing the words that I’m saying.

Mr. Tolson: Yeah, but they’re different.

Dr. Roberts: Yeah, they are different, but that’s not what I want. OK, let me give you an example. Why don’t you give me a word?

Mr. Tolson: I give you a word?

Dr. Roberts: Yeah, any word.

Mr. Tolson: Word

Dr. Roberts: Fine, uh, that makes me think of “constriction” (folds arms across chest in a constrictive manner). Don’t worry you’ll catch on. Let’s try it again. Okay, “trumpet.”

Mr. Tolson: Constriction (folding arms in same manner)

Dr. Roberts: “Scarf”

Mr. Tolson: Moose

Dr. Roberts: “Cat”

Mr. Tolson: Scarf

Dr. Roberts: All right, now you’re just using the words that I’ve already used.

Mr. Tolson: Well, you didn’t say that I could use them up.

Dr. Roberts: Well, you can’t. OK? Why don’t we just move on to another test?

Mr. Tolson: They got this new computer up in the computer center, and I just told them they should put it up front, but they put it in the back.

Dr. Roberts: That’s fascinating. OK? Look, uh, for this next test I’m going to start a sentence, and I want you to complete it, OK?

Mr. Tolson: So all I have to do is finish it. OK, all right. Well this one sounds easy.

Dr. Roberts: OK, great. Now here is the first sentence. “When we went to the park we were going to …”

Mr. Tolson: Period

Dr. Roberts: OK, look, you have to add some words to it. OK? Squeeze some words between the period and the other words all right. Let’s try it again. Let’s do another one. “Jerry had a wonderful red balloon, and he took it to …”

Mr. Tolson: His friend Jerry … who also had a red balloon … and liked to add words.

Dr. Roberts: Look, Mr. Tolson, I need you to come up with some answers on your own. OK?

Mr. Tolson: We got a computer, and they wouldn’t put it in the front and …

Dr. Roberts: Look, I heard you the first time.

Mr. Tolson: Are you angry with me?

Dr. Roberts: No, Mr. Tolson, I’m not angry with you. Let’s move to the next test all right. This is called a Rohrshach Test. What it is, is some people who took a piece of paper and put some ink on it and folded it. What I need you to do is look into these inkblots and tell me what you see. (Holding up ink blot) Now, what do you see here, Mr. Tolson?

Mr. Tolson: A black smear.

Dr. Roberts: Yeah, that’s exactly what it is. I need you to look into it and tell me what you see.

Mr. Tolson: (Looking at the doctor’s shoes) I see black shoes.

Dr. Roberts: That’s good. I could see that.

Mr. Tolson: (looking at the doctor’s tie) I see a brown tie.

Dr. Roberts: Um hum, good, good.

Mr. Tolson: (looking at the wall) I see a diploma from Grand Valley State University.

Dr. Roberts: That is enough, Mr. Tolson. You will not leave this office until you tell me what you see in this.

Mr. Tolson: I don’t want to, I don’t want to.

Dr. Roberts: Look, I’m going to make you use one creative bone in your body if it’s the last thing I do. Now look at this and tell me what you see. Tell me.

Mr. Tolson: I see a dog. (struggling)

Dr. Roberts: Good.

Mr. Tolson: And it’s on a log. (continuing to struggle)

Dr. Roberts: Good, go with that.

Mr. Tolson: And the dog is a terrier … and it’s rabid … and it shakes its head back and forth in meaningless anger.

Dr. Roberts: Good, good, good.

Mr. Tolson: And foam sprays from its mouth, and we follow this droplet of spit down to see where it lands on a symmetrical lawn, and the drop of spit slowly transforms, becoming a flaming brass eagle holding the Magna Carta in its claws. This eagle takes flight and soars over the (spit) gray convulsive Atlantic Ocean. (lowering voice) It flies low by the choppy waves, a massive shimmering sea bass leaps up, and it snatches the Magna Carta. But the sea bass is served to the family of Long John Silver’s restaurant. And as the family devours the fish, the father is transformed. His eyes glow wolf-yellow, he stares at his claws, and a massive crowd gathers around. He screams wildly into the night sky: “Where is the passion?” “Where … is … the … passion?”

Dr. Roberts: (stunned) I’ll see what I can do about getting those computers moved.

Mr. Tolson: Yeah, on the 17th floor, and they put it in the back.

Dr. Roberts: Sure, OK.

Resurgence posted some thoughts under the title “Gospel-Centered Discipleship: How It Looks” and I love this statement.

A gospel-centered church does not just preach the gospel. The gospel is not an addition to our ministry or even a beginning point; rather, the gospel must saturate every part of our church’s life.

I understand the value of topic-based discussions, especially in Campaigners.  Kids seem to always want to talk about topics that “apply to their lives”, and it’s a temptation as leaders to give in, plan for, & do an entire discussion on some topic but leave out the gospel, as if the gospel doesn’t “apply to their lives.” The gospel needs to be in and through everything we do.

So, how do we do that?

1. Rely on scripture. The gospel runs through scripture, so if we are using it Jesus will be central.
2. Most “topical” discussions that kids want to talk about are usually about their misguided responses to a longing for deep relationship with God.  Keep that in mind & steer discussions toward Jesus.

I would take the whole Gospel thing one step further & say we should not only apply it to church, but to our own lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ must saturate every part of our lives.

Today, I didn’t have time to talk, but I glanced over at their table from time to time.  I gotta tell you, I felt sooooo sorry for them.  What a picture of why “go to them” ministry works and “come to me” ministry isn’t quite so effective.  I think I saw a grand total of 2 kids talk to them in a 30 minute period.

I’m not coming down on them, because they’re just getting started and I know all too well how difficult & intimidating it is to go into a room full of kids you don’t know hoping someone talks to you.  I remember feeling like that guy.  Actually, I pray that I always feel a little bit like that guy just to keep me on my toes and make me remember who’s really in control.  But, part of me wanted to go over there and kick them in the butt until they engaged with some kids.  I wanted to fold up their table, push them to the middle of the room, and tell them to just talk to someone. 

Seriously, what’s the worst that could happen?  The kids might laugh at you.  Maybe, but in most cases that won’t happen until you walk away.  Just don’t look back.

I have to applaud their consistency.  They came today, and they were here last week.  Maybe they’ll be here tomorrow.  There’s something to be said for presence.  Sooner or later, maybe a kid will get dared to go to their table and talk to them, while his friends watch & giggle.  But, I’d rather force the issue.  You’re there to meet kids, to have an impact on their lives, to show them who Jesus is.  Jesus ain’t sitting at a table with a big bag of Starbursts.

Jump in, fellas!  It’s a whole lot more exciting.

RELATIONSHIPS.
it makes things messy
it makes things complex
it makes things beautiful
it makes us like Jesus.