Program Templates and Youth Meetings

Sara Cover:

Youth groups are something that most of us are familiar with, we can think back to the silly games, interesting lessons and yummy food. But I am sure none of us really stopped and thought about the work that went into pulling it all together. Reading this chapter really helped me to see that it is not just all thrown together but thought through. So what exactly are the parts that make up a successful youth meeting?

Well like Jesus says the first shall be last and the last shall be first, that is how you have to begin your planning with the end in mind. Figure out what you want the students to get out of the meeting, what one point do you want them taking with them and processing through out the week. That is the thing that you build games, songs, and discussions around. After that is done brainstorm ideas of things that will go with your main point and help to emphasize it. The last thing you need to focus on is making sure your point sticks with them and that they want to come back the next time. You can do this in three easy ways : make stepping stones that connect the point from tonight's meet to the point for next weeks meeting. Also decided what the function of your hook is; is it to review, preview, or connect and in what form a challenge, question or promise.

My questions are from your youth group experiences what was one thing you really took away from the meeting each night and what is one thing you wish you could have changed to make it better. Also do you believe that there are any topics that should not be discussed in a youth group setting why or why not?

Experientail YM Handbook: Full-day Events

Emalee Dunkle: I really enjoyed this particular statement: "remember that there are no throwaway moments in ministry." This just blew my mind, many events or plans get pushed away because we think that they can not be as meaningful as they should be but in reality, there is always a learning experience to be had, you just have to be open for it. Since sometimes full-day events seem that they are too much work for such a little time I think we tend to put less emphasis on them. Another thing that caught my interest was the T.S. Eliot quote used at the end of the chapter: "We had the expierience, but we missed the meaning." This seems to be evident in many things when we discuss about imporvements that we feel need to be done in church programs it seems that sometimes we are missing the meaning of the events and not getting out of it what is being offered to us. My question relating to this deals with reflection: In what ways do you think participants can get meaning out of an experience to emphasis the purpose of the event? (that might be a little confusing of a question but hopefully my answer will clear that up) For me I think there needs to be a good amount of time for reflection so that those invovled can think about how they may have been impacted. Personally just leaving time for prayer is not always the most beneficial way to do this, asking questions and then letting the participants ponder and pray about thier answers is usually a more beneficial way for me to get the most out of an expierence.

Best-Ever Games: Introduction

Mike Smith

Are games still an effective resource that we must utilize in order to engage our students in ministry, and how can we fight through the entertainment barriers to get the kids involved?

Games have been around for many years, but it seems that this generation has strayed away from the desire to be involved in games that involve a group of kids. Many of them would rather be at home on the internet, watching TV, or playing video games. The book, Best-Ever Games states 7 reasons that games are still valuable today including: games are universal, stress-relieving, improves person's feel of belonging, and a few other good reasons. Acknowledging these benefits of games shows me that these games are still an important tool to use in effective ministry. In order to engage the kids, we need to be of encouragement and try to help show the students the benefits of playing games by pushing them to be involved, but never in a demanding, forceful manner.

Games

Often times in the church, from what I have seen, games are mainly used just as a distraction or a way of burning off kids'/teens' energy. Games are also sometimes used as a form of competition to suck in a certain crowd into the church with the purpose of building up numbers (this is particularly prevelant in youth groups.) What I think we need to ask ourselves in the church is if these are good enough reasons for having games. There are certainly times where a game can be useful in opening up a kids service to get children active and connected, and games may very well be a good way to minister. But I think these should only be done if there is a plan behind it. We need to ask ourselves before we plan a game: What are we trying to accomplish by doing this? What kind of impact could this game make? Will everyone be able to be involved?

So my questions are (1) How do we make sure our games have a purpose or value? (2) What might be some kinds of games to shy away from? What are kinds of games we should try to utilize?

Camps and Retreats-Colby Layton

Camps and Retreats:

Many of us have been to a camp or retreat in the past while we were still in high school and if we have then most likely we have piles of memories made and friendships as well that we will not soon forget. What are the most memorable camps to us? If we think hard and look deep I think we will find that the most memorable to us are the ones that were well planned out. They were organized, the leadership were all working together and the message, leaders, counselors, everyone was focused on God and that is when we grow. Those are the camps we remember. People's lives are changed at retreats and camps. So why don't we do them more?

Why do we wait until summer for the one week of camp? Why do we only have one retreat a year if any at all? And when we enter ministry will we attend any retreats that we aren't stressing about making sure it all goes well? I think retreats are the biggest key in stopping burnout in clergy today. Not a standard retreat with people, but what would happen if once a month the pastor took 24 hours to lock themself away from all contact with people and retreated to the quiet and listen to what God has to say to them. How much more refreshed would we be? How much can we learn from those? What if we did that right before camp meeting and went into camp totally rested and calmed? How much greater will that retreat/camp be then?

I believe the changes would be so drastic people wouldn't know what is going on, but everyone would be growing exponentially, the pastors, leaders, and students. What do you all think?

Details Camps & Retreats

As a leader, how will being organized help make your camp or retreat successful? If you can tell a parent to include one thing with their child, what will it be and why?
As a Leader, you must have a TO-DO list in advance before you even plan for the camp or you can pretty much forget about the most important things. As a group leader you have so much to be responsible for, but you could make it easier if you are prepared. Example, you need to arrive early to check-in or prepare for events. This will relieve any pressures and ensure your group has an incredible camp experience.

I will ask a parent to include mosquito repellant (spray/lotion) with their child to protect to them. This will ensure that each child has one to prevent bug bits. This won't take care of the entire problem, but will help and relieve one of the work loads for the group leaders.

Godly Play

Rachel Elder

What is Godly Play? How do you teach it to children? And how can it also benefit adults?


Godly play is where a teacher uses different techniques and ideas to help illustrate to children, the understanding of the Word of God. After reading this article and seeing this idea actually in practice made me see the importance of Godly play. A child can learn on so many different levels and at differnt stages, and a teacher needs to know how to make the Word not easier for the child, but more meaningful in a way that they would understand and relate to it. This idea of Godly play is not to "play down" the Word of God, because you don't go into as much detail, but take it more as an approach for a younger child to understand the whole book of Solomon. A childs brain can not comprehend that, but if you make it into a story that they can better relate to then it will be easier for them to understand.

Godly play is also a time where children can interact with crafts, toys and games to help them relate to the story. We all know children are more likly to have a short attention span, so you need to make sure the lesson can be focused around them in such a way that they can hear the story, then act out the story, and then retell it in their own way to show the understand what is really going on.