Tag Archive for 'young people'

Palm Sunday

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Jon
on 16 March 2008
in Christianity, Youth Ministry and Youth Work
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Just a quick post to say that we had an EXCELLENT church service this morning totally prepared and led by the young people!

As part of the World Vision 24 Hour Famine, the group fasted from 6pm Saturday night and then delivered a creatively challenging service on the theme of global poverty. As well as leading the worship, they hosted the event, gave the notices, created some short videos, did a dance and a drama, an activity for the kids, built a ’slum’ in the church, involved everyone in creative prayer, presented a short talk and hosted a cake sale! The only adults involved in the whole thing were Gareth playing guitar in the band and me doing a quick interview. David, our church elder never even picked up a mic.

Honestly, I was so impressed with them all. Each person in the group really pulled their weight and I’ve been getting amazing feedback from the congregation all day.

Also, in terms of money raised, a whopping £300 was made from the cake sale alone without any of the sponsorship money in yet! The total’s gonna be pretty high! As I’m off on holiday tomorrow, it was a great way to finish up before taking a break (although I’m pretty exhausted now).

Oh and thanks to Adam at YMX for the twitter updates that led to a whole load of Flickr image links! You gotta love the World Wide Web.

Who has impacted you?

Published
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Jon
on 12 March 2008
in Personal, Youth Ministry and Youth Work
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Up and Down
So I’ve taken up the challenge from Andy at Issues For The Christian Youthworker to think about the young people that have impacted me and my work.
There are quite a few who I could name for a number of reasons, so I’ll try and be concise.

Rosie, Anna and Emily have all taught me a lot over the years. I’ve been really blessed by the way in which they have chosen to serve others by becoming leaders and how they now give of themselves week after week. I count them a privilege to know as they’ve suffered through all the mistakes I made as I figured out how to do this youth work thing! Dan and Josh also fit into this category. I’m proud of the men they’ve become!

In a different context, there have been some young people that have taught me invaluable lessons through the horrendous circumstances they lived in. I worked with ‘PJ’ over a number of years through his drinking, smoking and thieving which started aged 10. Seeing the life he led and his home situation opened my eyes to the reality that many young people have to put up with. Nathan and Paul were other examples where I worked through issues of neglect, physical and emotional abuse with the various authorities. I rarely see any of these individuals now as they’ve moved elsewhere. I only hope that I was able to sow some positive seeds into their very difficult situations.

There are so many more that I could mention, but don’t have the space! A big thank you to all those amazing individuals who I have had the pleasure to get to know over the years and have shaped my work. You’re amazing!

Regenerate

Published
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Jon
on 6 March 2008
in Youth Work
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Here’s a promo video for the excellent work being done by Regenerate in Roehampton, London.

It really reminds me of the sort of creative youth work we did at The WIRE here in Littlehampton. Different area, similar approach.

Ht: Paul S. via email

Worshipful Dance

Published
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Jon
on 3 March 2008
in Christianity, Personal and Youth Ministry
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I have to be honest; I just don’t get dancing in church!

That may be a strong statement to start off a blog post, so let me elaborate a little here. I do understand the medium of dance as a creative expression, and I appreciate it in things such as ballets or stage performances. I understand it as a response to the rhythm in music and I can comprehend how people enjoy and participate in dance. I even understand it as an expression of joy and worship to God in the same way that I love to sing. But what I don’t get is why in some churches, people insist on spontaneously running up on stage and twirling around before gracefully bending over double and lying on the floor in front of the congregation! There are times when this is totally right and it is clear that God is working through the dancer, but there are times that it isn’t and that can be very distracting.

I remember a few years back standing at the side of the main stage in the big top at Spring Harvest ready to go on and talk about what the young people were up to. While I was waiting, the band were leading worship and three dancers were taking it in turns to do their thing on stage while the others waited at the side. As one dancer finished her move (with a flag), she came to the side of the stage. Realising her two partners were also off the stage, she urgently whispered: “Quick, there’s no-one dancing! Someone get up there now!”

Up until that point, I hadn’t taken much notice of the dancing. But I then watched as one of them sprang into life and launched herself onto the stage in a complicated spin, twist, dive, stretch-arm-out, bow-head manoeuvre simply to fill out the space on the platform. If the dancer’s role was to worship God in their expressive way, why was it so important that one of them was always seen on the stage?

I don’t tell that story to dismiss the medium of dance as worship, nor to criticise those who do it, but I do sometimes question the motive. If you’re worshipping God, do it wherever you are in the congregation. I don’t have to go onto stage to be able to sing!

Last week at church we started with a choreographed dance involving some of the young people. I didn’t really appreciate the complexities of what they were doing, how they moved, or even if it was any good. Rather, I loved seeing their faces filled with excitement and joy as they used their skills. That’s the best kind of dancing for me!

Mecha Manga Bible Heroes

Published
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Jon
on 22 February 2008
in Christianity, Media, Youth Group Resources, Youth Ministry and Youth Work
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Being a fan of super hero comics and Japanese anime, I was delighted to hear of Mecha Manga Bible Heroes, a futuristic retelling of David and Goliath complete with huge armoured robots (mecha) drawn in a manga style!

Alongside the various other comic and manga Bibles starting to spring up, this version will be most welcome. For more, check out the Manga Bible series starting with ‘Names, Games and the Long Road Trip‘ and working it’s way through the Old Testament, or try the Manga Bible by Siku. I’m not sure when and how the Mecha Manga Bible Heroes will be available in the UK, but it will certainly pique the interest of a number of boys in our Ignite group.

Church Forgives Youth Pastor For Slaying

Published
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Jon
on 21 February 2008
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No, he wasn’t heavily into some computer game, instead former youth pastor Calvin Wayne Inman, 29, has been charged for the death of a convenience store clerk during a robbery. He was 16 at the time.

Apparently after being recently ordained and with support from his church, Inman went to the Police and confessed to the murder he committed 14 years ago. What I love about this story is the way the church praise him for his recent actions:

“He’s a hero, really,” said Kelley Graham, 24. “I don’t know how many people would do what he did. The Bible says you just need to confess to God. Calvin took an extra step.”

Robin Thac said her 17-year-old son was active in the youth group that Inman led.
“I am thrilled my son has a role model to accept responsibility the way Calvin has,” Thac said. “There are way too many men who don’t accept responsibility.”

If a similar situation were to happen here, I would expect the response from parents to be far more negative: “The youth leader’s a murderer! What was he teaching my kids?!”

Maybe, I’m being too judgemental on the parents ;). However, That church really do forgiveness well and show Christ in their actions. It could be a great discussion with the older members of a group.

Ht to Gman.

Values Session 6: Serve (Part 1)

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Jon
on 19 February 2008
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This is part of an 11-session series for 11-14 year olds, teaching our mission statement and the importance of its values:

We exist to learn to follow Jesus, to show honour to God, to use our gifts to serve, to support each other, and to share our faith.

Session Aim: To understand what serving is and why it is important.

Activity: The Great Giveaway
Shuffle a pack of cards and place them face down in the middle of the group, then hand out 15 sweets to each person (use a tin of Roses, Celebrations or something similar). Explain that each person must take it in turns to pick up a card. Whatever the number on the card, they must give away that amount of sweets to one person of their choice (e.g. picking up a seven of clubs means 7 sweets must be handed to someone else). Aces are low and Jack, Queen and King count as 11, 12 and 13 respectively. It is totally up to the individual who they give the sweets to and why. The game ends when someone loses all their sweets or when everyone has had a few turns each. Do not tell them until the end, but the aim of the game is to be left with as few sweets as possible.
Talk about who got the most and least sweets. Why was that? Who was most generous? Who was least?

Read: James 2:14-18

My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save them? A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,” but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing. In the same way, faith that is alone—that does nothing—is dead.

Illustration: Practical Example
This will require much thought and preparation in advance, but will have a significant impact. Over the previous weeks you will have got to know your group quite well, this is your chance to show them what serving is by doing something specifically for them. Much as Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, you should do something practical for them. It could be making drinks or praying for them, it could be offering to go shopping with someone and buying a Bible study guide for another. You know your group best so find something personal for them that requires some effort on your part. Explain why putting others first is important (“love your neighbour as you love yourself” Matthew 22:39)

Discuss:

  • James says that if we don’t do anything to help others, our faith is dead. Do you agree?
  • Do you think serving others is important for a Christian?
  • Do you think that you do any serving? If yes, then what?

Pray:

  • Ask God to help you see some of the problems around you so that you can help others.
  • Pray for any issues affecting the group this week.

Challenge:
Try to think of something useful or helpful you could do to serve someone else, and make it happen this week. Come back next week and tell us what you did.

Further Reading: Philippians 2:3-4

When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honour to others than to yourselves. Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others.

Values Session 5: Honour (Part 2)

Published
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Jon
on 15 February 2008
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This is part of an 11-session series for 11-14 year olds, teaching our mission statement and the importance of its values:

We exist to learn to follow Jesus, to show honour to God, to use our gifts to serve, to support each other, and to share our faith.

Session Aim: To find out how we can live our lives to honour God better

Activity: Left Behind
Ask everyone to imagine that were stranded alone on a desert island. Instead of asking what items they would want to bring with them, ask them what things they would miss most from their life. Allow lots of discussion. Some people may go for family and friends while others may say particular objects. Explain that these are the things we find hardest to give up. Ask them if they would be willing to give them up if God asked them to? This is called sacrifice.

Read: Romans 12:1

So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship.

Illustration: Mother Teresa
Use the story of Mother Teresa to show how it is possible to live your life for God as Paul suggests in Romans.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta was a Roman Catholic nun and founder of the Missionaries of Charity. She was born in 1910 to Albanian parents in Skopje, Macedonia. In September 1946, while riding in an Indian train from Calcutta to Darjeeling, she received a divine calling from God “to serve Him amongst the poorest of the poor”.
She served as principal of a Roman Catholic high school in Calcutta, and was moved by the presence of the sick and dying on the city’s streets. In 1948 she was granted permission to leave her post at the convent and begin a ministry among the sick. In serving the people abandoned by society, Mother Teresa put love into action. Her spirit of giving inspired many to follow her, and her work eventually expanded to many other parts of the world. Today over 5000 sisters, brothers, and volunteers run approximately 500 centers worldwide, feeding 500,000 families and helping 90,000 lepers every year.
On September 5, 1997, at the age of 87, the best loved woman of the century passed away.
There are literally thousands of stories of her work, here is one in her own words:

Some of my sisters (Nuns) work in Australia. On a reservation, among the Aborigines, there was an elderly man. I can assure you that you have never seen a situation as difficult as that poor old man’s. He was completely ignored by everyone. His home was disordered and dirty.
I told him, “Please, let me clean your house, wash your clothes, and make your bed.” He answered, “I’m okay like this. Let it be.”
I said again, “You will be still better if you allow me to do it.”
He finally agreed. So I was able to clean his house and wash his clothes. I discovered a beautiful lamp, covered with dust. Only God knows how many years had passed since he last lit it.
I said to him, “Don’t you light your lamp? Don’t you ever use it?”
He answered, “No. No one comes to see me. I have no need to light it. Who would I light it for?”
I asked, “Would you light it every night if the sisters came?”
He replied, “Of course.”
From that day on the sisters committed themselves to visiting him every evening. We cleaned the lamp, and the sisters would light it every evening.
Two years passed. I had completely forgotten that man. He sent this message: “Tell my friend that the light she lit in my life continues to shine still.”
I thought it was a very small thing. We often neglect small things.

For more information on Mother Teresa, visit Wikipedia. Explain that there are millions of Christians who do the same thing at school, home and work – you don’t have to become famous because God sees what you do.

Discuss:

  • What does it mean to be a ‘living sacrifice’? How did Mother Teresa show this?
  • Do you think that your life (your offering) is pleasing to God? Why or why not?
  • What could you do to make it more pleasing to God?

Pray:

  • Pray that God will let you know that He is pleased with you. Ask Him to challenge you to make changes that show him more honour.
  • Pray for any issues affecting the group this week.

Challenge:
This week, try going without something you enjoy and spend time with God instead. This is sometimes called ‘fasting’ but is a way of showing honour to God.

Further Reading: 2 Corinthians 7:1

Dear friends, we have these promises from God, so we should make ourselves pure—free from anything that makes body or soul unclean. We should try to become holy in the way we live, because we respect God.

Worship with Young People

Published
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Jon
on 11 February 2008
in Youth Ministry and Youth Work
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I was listening to the Simply Junior High Podcast earlier today and they were talking about worship with youth groups. They were saying it was great to get young people involved as it helps to engage the group in the family service. Now I’m sure it wasn’t meant in this manner, but during the discussion they kept referring to the inferior quality of using young people in the worship band. There was a general assumption that using young people is good, but won’t be up to the usual standard.

Yesterday I lead worship at Arun Community Church and used some of the young people from our Ignite group. We had a drummer aged 11 on the first song who was just phenomenal, two singers aged 12 who carried every song beautifully, and a bunch of children signing actions to a Doug Horley song. At no point was it ‘cheesy’, ‘ropey’ or ‘poor quality’ but rather uplifting and inspiring for the congregation to see these young individuals using their talents to worship. It was an amazing and humbling time. They really are fantastic!

In addition, we also handed out glass nuggets (like the ones above) at the beginning of the service to symbolise ourselves as beautiful in God’s eyes and then encouraged people to bring them forward during the worship as a gesture of bringing ourselves before God. This seemed to really inspire quite a few and served to engage the parts of the congregation that switch off during ’singing’.

So please do use young people in your worship services, but give them the credit they deserve and expect them to shine!

Values Session 4: Honour (Part 1)

Published
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Jon
on 11 February 2008
in Youth Group Resources, Youth Ministry and Youth Work
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This is part of an 11-session series for 11-14 year olds, teaching our mission statement and the importance of its values:

We exist to learn to follow Jesus, to show honour to God, to use our gifts to serve, to support each other, and to share our faith.

Session Aim: To look at what it means to honour God

Activity: Barmy Bowing Bonanza
Split the group so that they stand on opposite sides of the room. Explain that all they have to do is walk around the room, BUT they must be polite and courteous to everyone else and not allow their backs to be shown to anyone! At all times they must face towards the others and bow to them while saying “How do you do”. In practice this means that they must think and move very carefully to avoid ‘offending’ anyone by showing them their back. If a leaders spots that a back has been shown to someone, that person is out. Keep going until only one or two are left in. Try this game a few times.
Explain that showing honour is about giving proper respect to something, like bowing to the Queen. God deserves all of our honour and respect.

Read: Matthew 22:35-38

One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to test him: “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”
Jesus answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and most important command.

Illustration: The Incredibles
Show the clip from near the end of the movie (Chapter 29, 1:36:00 - 1:37:48) when the Incredibles beat the giant robot and the crowd come out to applaud them. Explain that everyone wanted to show their thanks and appreciation for what they had done. We are constantly told by the Bible to do the same thing for God!

Discuss:

  • Who do you have respect for? Why?
  • In what ways do you show respect to God at the moment? Are there ways that you could show more honour?
  • Honour and Respect is sometimes explained as Worship. Have you ever had a time when you really worshipped God and thanked Him for what he’s done?

Pray:

  • Pray that God will help you to realise ways in which you can give Him more honour.
  • Pray for any issues affecting the group this week.

Challenge:
Try to spend a few minutes each day saying thanks to God for something, even if it’s something really small. This is part of honouring Him.

Further Reading: Proverbs 15:33

Respect for the Lord will teach you wisdom.
If you want to be honoured, you must be humble.