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.

Expereimental methods and the bible

Keith sharier

What does the concept of parables mean to you?  Why are parables an important method of teaching concepts of the Bible? What is your favorite parable and why does it stand out to you?

To me, parables bring LIFE to the words that are there on the page. It’s almost too easy to read straight through a book or to hear a story and not grasp the true concept that it was attempting to put forth. But when you give the reader/listener that visual image it not only gives them a new way to look at it, it also gives them a chance to literally relate to what is written/said and instead of just words, it gives them a chance to feel as if they are interacting with the story as well. Parables give you that “ohhhhhh I get it feeling” instead of reading/ hearing something and wondering….”umm, what on earth is going on?”. Parables make it easier to remember the important concepts that God wants us to follow and through the practical element that it puts forth. My favorite parable comes from– Matthew 13:31–32 He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches." This has always stuck out to me because when I read it I feel powerful! In the sense that, with God…ALL things are truly possible, with faith as SMALL as a tiny little mustard seed the possibilities are absolutely endless. It shows me that when you Trust in the Lord, that the seemingly meaningless seed that you sowed… will end up growing into a HUGE tree beyond all belief and your world will totally get rocked…in a good way!

Experiential Youth Ministry - Introduction

Ben Evans

How do we make the lessons being taught at church desirable to the students? How do we make the passion for learning stick for them? What different forms can that take?

One of the things that stuck out the most to me throughout the entire introduction was how much Losey was trying to send home the idea of making the lessons and questions relevant and exciting to the students. Instead of teaching a lesson and making it a routine and getting into a rut with it, we need to make a lesson exciting and we need to be interested in it. After all, if we aren't interested in something, why would they want to be? If we aren't excited by what we're teaching when we're studying it, then they will see that and won't really care about what is being taught. We need to be careful what we teach and how we teach it so that it stays fresh and interesting to us and the students. If we can do that, we can lead the students into asking questions of their own that will help their relationship with God deepen. I have seen this done by using a night where the discussion is driven by questions the students have or discussing the current events. The more exciting and real the topic is to them, the more likely they are to dig deeper for more answers on their own.

Format for Posting for 2011

In order to keep the site somewhat clean and organized I want to outline a few guidelines.
1) If it is your week to post the question start a new post in this format:
"Your Name - The Question you are posing"
2) In the body of the post start by stating the reading you are responding to:i.e. "Experiential Youth Ministry - Introduction"
3) After that you can state your response/stance/thoughts.
4) Everyone else should respond to that post with their contribution as A COMMENT... not a new post.
5) At the beginning of your comment the first line should be in this format:"Your Name"

Next Line: Your Response

I didn't outline that ahead of time, but many of your blogger names are not clearly identifiable as you, so we won't know who you are.If you can edit your previous posts please go in and do that.
Thanks!
James

Class of 2011

Here we go! This is our first post. I just sent you all an invite and we are ready for a GREAT spring! Happy Valentine's Day! Go recreate!