by David Hanson | Apr 18, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Want to keep better track of your students? Want to keep a better record of your students?
Ever ask yourself the question where has that student been in a while
Why has that student stop coming?
Then do this…
Have a Round Up time!! (Round your students up!)
-Have a time twice a year (April, Sept.) where you or your volunteers/small group leaders sit down and facebook/email/text/call the students you haven’t seen in a while to find out where they been. (Make a chart w/ students name, how were they reached, reason haven’t seen them in a while)
-If they don’t answer or respond after you have tried at least twice don’t get discouraged. Sometimes they will respond. Sometimes they wont. But you can sleep at night knowing you did your job by reaching out to them.
-Let the student know you have missed them and wanted to know if everything was okay. To lighten the mood if they feel uncomfortable, ask them if anyone has said anything to offend them and if you need to beat someone up. You can even ask if they have started attending another church…if you feel comfortable.
Find out why they have stopped coming. That student could help you resolve issues that might be going on in your Student Ministry.
-After you have finished, you have lightened the load of a leader or helped a student come back!
This idea came from my pastor Kenny Hibbard and I think could help out your Student Ministry tremendously!
You are able to find out where that student has been! Maybe they started going to another church, moved, or maybe had a conflict you were able to resolve, just following up with them! Go for it!
Hope this helps!!
Student Pastors, keep allowing the front door to be WIDE OPEN, but also keep doing a great job of keeping the back door SHUT. Make sure your students are sticking.
Michael Hux is the Student Pastor of Team Church in Matthews, NC.
Connect with Michael on Twitter or Instagram: @_Hux
by David Hanson | Apr 17, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
What do you do when someone else gets recognition, more responsibility or a promotion? There are days in ministry when what we have been given is enough, but all too often there are days where it isn’t.
The longer I’m in middle school ministry, the more often I see people around me getting promoted and advancing up the chain of command. If I’m honest, I get jealous of them because I want to be recognized for my good work. We in America place a lot of importance on titles and position. We preach the false gospel of meritocracy, “those who are more talented and work harder deserve to move up.” So when you are a 35 year old youth worker, you start to believe that you deserve more. More authority, more recognition, a bigger sandbox.
In Numbers 16, three Levites named Korah, Dathan, and Abiram led a rebellion against Moses. Their complaint was that Moses had acted as if he were greater than everyone else by being their leader. We all know how ridiculous this claim was. Moses RESISTED being a leader. He told God “no”, but God insisted. Korah had it all wrong. It wasn’t Moses who exalted himself, God did. Their beef is with God, not Moses.
Moses’ response is convicting to me. He says, “Is it not enough that you are Levites? Is it not enough that you get to take care of the Tabernacle?” Korah, Dathan and Abiram had their ministry. God had given them a place to serve and yet it wasn’t enough.
In student ministry we can spend a lot of time worrying about the “low” place we hold in the church. We feel as if God has forgotten us or that those around have left us out intentionally.
My response to you is this: Is it not enough that you get to disciple teens and leaders? Is it not enough that you are able to teach the Bible, minister to families, and watch kids grow up? Stop longing for more power and prestige when God has given you a place in His kingdom. Be thankful for the ministry and season God has put you in. Stop striving and start enjoying.
Kevin Libick is a Middle School Pastor living in Fort Worth, TX with his wife Kara and her two cats. He is a novice banjo picker and expert Hawaiian food eater. Kevin loves to connect with other youth workers and equip them to live out their calling in God’s Kingdom. Connect with Kevin on Twitter: @kevinlibick
by David Hanson | Apr 16, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Have you ever noticed how dumb the disciples are portrayed in the gospels?
It’s almost as if they are on a downward trajectory until the resurrection. Think about it. It must have taken GREAT faith to drop their nets (the family business) and follow after Jesus. This new, unknown, Rabbi preaches a sermon near the lake they fished and when He invites them to be His disciples, to follow Him, they immediately leave their trade. This is nuts! It would have taken great faith and a little nerve. What do you think was going through Zebedee’s head when his two boys (James & John) jump out of the boat and take off (Matt. 4:21-22)?
He was probably hacked off! Who is going to help him man the nets/boats?! Leaving to follow Jesus would have taken great faith. But let’s look a little further into their followship…
In Mark 8:31-38 Jesus lays out plainly what will happen to the Son of Man. He told them that He must “suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priets and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). Peter’s reaction?
He rebukes Jesus! He rebukes the man who has walked on water, fed 4,000, healed the deaf, cast out demons, and calmed a storm. What?! WHY would he doubt the intentions and words of Jesus? Has He not seen the power behind Jesus’ words? This is a royal example of Peter missing the point. A chapter later in Mark 9:30-34 Jesus again foretells his death and resurrection. The disciples response? Fear. Which this somehow parlays into a conversation about which disciple is the greatest. Again, the disciples miss the point. Now let’s look at the disciples followship shortly before the crucifixion.
In Mark 14:43-50 Jesus is in the garden praying before His arrest. The disciples who know Jesus is stressed, somehow fall asleep. When they wake, Judas is on the scene having Jesus arrested. One disciple begins to defend Jesus, but Jesus prevents the fight. We would think that the disciples would be faithful. That they would offer themselves over as well. “If you are going to take Jesus, you have to take us also!” But verse 50 states, “And they ALL left him and fled.” They ran. A few verses later, we find the story of Peter denying Jesus.
The closer to the cross we get, the dumber the disciples become. However, after the resurrection, the disciples begin to proclaim Jesus with boldness, courage, and faith that would inevitably lead to their deaths.
I encounter many students who are in different stages of followship. I see newbies demonstrate great faith and lifelong followers miss the mark completely.
May we as youth workers use the disciples to encourage our students. May we praise those who drop their nets to follow Jesus, but may we also prepare them for the difficult road ahead. When they fail, and they will fail, may we point them to a Savior that lives. A Savior who doesn’t want selfish conformity, but rather humble warriors on mission to make disciples by offering life through Jesus Christ.
Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava & Ben, Student Pastor at
LifePoint Church in Plano, Tx, table tennis (ping-pong) extraordinaire, addicted to coffee. For anything else…you’ll just have to ask,
Email David.
by David Hanson | Apr 15, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Read it. Embrace it. Live it.
by David Hanson | Apr 14, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Whew! If I didn’t LOVE what I do, this would be a rant post where I rail about all the things I have going on in ministry that have prevented me from blogging consistently.
BUT, I love what I do! Getting to serve my church body is life-giving. In addition to my normal, weekly, youth ministry activities (including planning for summer! already?! what?!) there have been two major things taking up my time.
1. Multi-site – Our church, is in the process of replicating ourselves in a multi-site. I am super stoked to be a part of this process as we seek to further God’s Kingdom through the vehicle of the local church. To accomplish this, our weekly MLT (Ministry Leadership Team) meetings have doubled over the past month. That’s 2 half-day meetings per week! Yet, when I realize what God can/could/will do through this process, I’m elated to have a seat at the table!
2. Easter Picnic – Each year the student ministry & children’s ministry work together to pull off our annual picnic. This is no small task when you are expecting 3,000+ in attendance. Food, games, seating, music, egg hunts, gospel presentation, volunteer coordination, guest booths, parking, staging, it’s amazing how many small things come together to pull these things off. And it honestly couldn’t happen without the whole staff pitching in!
THE POINT
While these two things have taken up A LOT of my time, it has been an absolute blessing to serve our congregation. I could whine, I could complain, I could make excuses, but this is the task the Lord has entrusted to me, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). And this is something I want to do not with bitter heart, but rather “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:2-3).
Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava & Ben, Student Pastor at
LifePoint Church in Plano, Tx, table tennis (ping-pong) extraordinaire, addicted to coffee. For anything else…you’ll just have to ask,
Email David.
