nothing like vacation...

This is going to be my view for the next few weeks. For the first time in my life we are trying to go back to back weeks at the beach. We have my family coming the first week and my wife's family the second. The great thing is we are only missing one Sunday...yea we really like our church. Honestly I am thrilled I serve at a church where I don't want to miss! Personally there is no place like the beach for me to refocus and refuel. My iPhone is loaded with new music and my Kindle has several books I am ready to attack. I will check over my email once a day but just to clean it out and only handle mission trip stuff, yep we have a mission trip the week we get back to New Orleans but our team is rocking it and getting stuff together. Other than 2 planned hours to work on some mission trip details I am ready to shut it down. Shutting it down for me means putting the blog on vacation also. Seriously thanks to everyone who checks this blog out. I love being a voice contributing to the family and student ministry movement. If you are out there and you serve the next generation I hope you take a week off this summer also. Even if you stay at home take the time. Rested leaders are better leaders who last for the long haul. Hope everyone has a great 2 weeks ahead and trust me, I will get some vacation video and pics up on Facebook!

Looking for a coach?

Coaching is a hot topic these days. It seems like everyone is starting up a coaching network but for me personally I think it's a great trend. Coaching networks are nothing more than intentional mentoring. All of us need people in our lives who will push and influence us to be the people God has called us to be. My friend Terrace Crawford just announced he is starting a coaching network and I hope you will check it out. Terrace is a youth pastor, blogger, speaker, networker, and great friend to me. Here are some of the things his coaching network will offer...he has 12 spots so make sure and check it out if you are interested.

This coaching network will offer everything you might get from a conference, but it will be a semester long (approximately 6 months). Here are some of the advantages of being a part of this coaching network:

• You'll get a personal coach and cheerleader for 6 months.
• You'll get practical guidance and personal counsel.
• You'll get a weekly phone call with Terrace.
• You'll get encouraging but constructive feedback.
• You'll get occasional free books from publishers.
• You'll get the shared experience with other network participants.
• You'll get select chat sessions with notable thought-leaders.
• You'll get other free resources too.
• ... and other fun surprises.  

connecting with parents...at camp

I know I have been stuck on a camp theme this month but that is where my mind has been. Since we were doing our own camp for middle school students we looked for every way possible to connect and include families in the process. For the families we are reaching through Relevant Student Ministry dropping kids off at camp can be a struggle. Parents worry. Parents want to make sure their child is having a good experience. Parents want to make sure the experience is worth their money. With that in mind our team started looking for simple ways we could involve parents in the camp process. Here are some simple ways we tried to connect with families during camp this year...

• Parent / Teen Dinner >> The picture above is just one shot of our parents at teens eating dinner on the first night of camp. Our camp location is about an hour away from where we live so we simply asked parents to drop their kids off for camp and have dinner with us. Parents got to meet their teen's group leader, got to see the facility, had the chance to eat dinner as a family, and got to tell their kids goodbye. I have to say, it was hard to pull off but it was a highlight of camp!
• Email Segment every morning >> We had an email segment every morning of camp where we gave out email that parents sent to the kids. We set up next@gcomchurch.com and had them email away. I was so blown away by how much email we got and the teens loved it. Email let kids and parents stay connected.
• Update videos >> The main reason to do an update video every day of camp is for parents. Parents love seeing what is going on with their teens. The video every day allows a parents to follow along the journey during the week.

Say less for more impact...

When it comes to communicating, speaking, preaching in student environments I think we all need to take a step back to work on becoming better. We can all improve. We can all be more clear. All of us can find better ways to connect with the hearts of teens rather than trying to impress them. Last week at Bigstuf camp and our leader training with Reggie Joiner he reminded us that we need to say less so we can say what is most important more often. The words coming our out mouth week to week are shaping the view of God many teens have. The words we say when we speak matter and if you have the chance to communicate on a regular basis then you have a responsibility to get BETTER. I believe that communication is a craft that has to be worked on, honed, and practiced. You can get better. Go read Communicating for Change. Dedicate time for message prep. Talk through your message with another trusted leader. Practice your talk before you give it. Here are some ideas that those of us trying to think ORANGE are trying to implement...

• Be relevant. Our job is to take the timeless truth of God and help it connect to a 15 year old heart.
• What has moved us in the past may or may not move the generation to come.
• How you say what you say is as important as what you say! // change your words, change your world
• Say one thing at a time.
• Create memorable experiences. 
• Don’t resolve tension too fast.
• Allow space and time to process. / this is why we do small group following our talks
• Cultivate better communicators. / find other communicators and give them opportunity in your ministry. Also strive to be better yourself! Keep working at it.

making camp...efficient

What made both our camps 100% better this year? Making them more efficient on the front end. You have to understand that I am a production guy and I love the big picture. My favorite parts of camp are thinking about the stage, the band, the service flow, the small group material, and all that kind of stuff. Honestly what makes camp (not matter if you do your own camp or partner with another organization like Bigstuf, Fuge, or Student Life) work better is becoming more efficient on the front end before your students ever hit the bus to go. Here are a few simple ways we tried to make camp more efficient this year.

• We added a registration leader to the process // this year we added an amazing volunteer to our team who helped me with registration. She was a second pairs of eyes on the number count. She developed a check in procedure. She developed a Google doc system to keep us on the same page. I will never do a camp without this person on my team again!
• We spread our purchasing // we did middle school camp on our own and we partnered with Bigstuf for high school camp. With both camps we spread out purchasing to several leaders so we thought through everything we needed before we left. No one person was stuck trying gather everything...that's a huge help!
• We left nothing to be done "at camp" // we banned the saying, we will do that at camp. There is no time at camp. We did everything possible pre-camp so we could ficus at camp.
• We designated camp "jobs" before we left for camp // we did our best to make sure everyone on the team clearly new their role before camp kicked off. When a team has clear direction they are more productive.
• We streamlined transportation // this year we used more charter buses and less van rental. The fewer vehicles involved the less the headache!

why "camp" matters...

Wrapping up our final day of high school camp and reflecting back on an amazing week at middle school camp. I have been doing camp with teens for years. This year has probably been my favorite year of camp. Why? I think I am getting a balanced perspective after a few years of doing this thing. Camp matters because kids more than ever need time a change of perspective so they can hear from God. Home brings so much noise...it is hard for teens to get clarity...even when teens have a moment with the Creator they are immediately thrown back into the noise of normal. Camp gives us a week where teens can hear from God, be mentored by loving leaders, and have space to process. For one week of the summer teens get an entire week to encounter the God who made them and desires a relationship with them. One solid week where the message gets a little clearer. At both middle and high school camp we have seen teens make some big moves this summer. Those moves happened because we blocked off a week, equipped leaders to invest in teens, made sure our teens were in the right environment, and begged God to do what only He can do. Youth pastor...camp matters because it gives us a week to see life change.

Turning Dials / what are we saying?

We have these dials we are trying to turn in the lives of teens...Wonder, Discovery, and Passion. Those are big ideas and big concepts and I am a big picture guy but at some point we have to move to the detail of what we are really going to speak into the lives of teens. This week at Bigstuf camp Reggie Joiner unpacked more of the detail behind the ideas of Wonder, Discovery, and Passion. There are nine basic ideas we are trying to communicate to teens on a regular basis. Why nine? Nine because we have to say what is most important the most. If we are able to wrap our teaching, mentoring, and small groups around communicating these ideas we have a chance to shape the world view of a teen for years to come. A world view that is shaped by mission, love of God, and love of others changes the future of teens...it shapes the choices they will make down the road which impacts the world directly. What could happen if we unleashed these principles on our students? What if we...

• Incite Wonder / Design (we are intentional) Identity (you were made in the image of God) Connection (the God of the universe wants a relationship with you)

• Inspired Discovery / Faith (relationship with Jesus) Transformation (tension that we are in process, we have not arrived) Truth (God has given truth and it can be a compass)

• Fuel Passion /  Community (we are connected, we are a family and we are connected) Compassion (we are here to give and to go for others) Restoration (we can be a part of the solution)

Turning Dials

One of the best parts of taking high school students to Bigstuf is the opportunity for our leaders to be trained by Reggie Joiner. Sure the teens are having an amazing week but when you get to add the chance for our leaders to be invested in for three days it takes the camp experience to another level. Today Reggie helped our team process the idea of turning specific dials in the heart of the teens that we lead. There is so much we hope to accomplish in our short time with teens. If we are not intentional we end up trying to turn dials that are good but may not be the most important. Our goals are simple. We hope to help teens see God at work in the world around them so they desire to be a part of that bigger story. We hope to help teens follow Christ now and in the days to come as they become adults. We hope to help teens discover a faith that lasts well beyond our youth ministry. If these are our goals then here are a few dials that Reggie thinks we need to be turning...

• Wonder / we are made for a relationship with God, with something that is bigger, we are drawn to what is supernatural, miraculous, or spiritual

• Discovery / we are drawn to understand your own uniqueness and role in a bigger story, we all want to know more about ourselves and how our life connects with the story of Christ.

• Passion / we are made to give our lives away, we are drawn to connect relationally and to rescue those who are hurting and broken

RELEVANT @bigstuf / day 1

RELEVANT is headed to Bistuf 2011

In the morning Relevant Student Ministry is headed to Bigstuf Camp with 85 high school students and leaders. One week to get away, invest in high school students, and pray God will collide with our normal view of life. We love Bigstuf because it provides the perfect environment to capture the attention of students and aim their hearts toward Jesus Christ. The beach is nice...well very nice...but watching God work is so amazing. Pray for the students and leaders this week that God would capture our attention. Pray that our small groups times will be open and authentic. Pray that teens will choose to follow Christ. Pray for safety and good weather. We will post a video update everyday for families back in Clarksville so check that out each night!