controlling meeting madness

Meetings...we need them but so many of us seem to be drowning with them at the same time. They control our schedule to the point we have little time to get the work done we just met about with some leader, board, committee, or group. We are a church that is seven years old and over the almost six years I have been here we have gone through different levels of meeting madness. I feel like just this semester we have found a flow that is working for our family ministry team and our staff as a whole. The best way to control meeting madness is to have an effective plan. The point of meetings is to accomplish work as a team so we want to make sure they are effective not out of control. Here is our meeting strategy for our staff right now at Grace Community. Thought you might want to see our flow and I hope it helps...

1. all staff meeting [once a month] > our entire team gathers once a month for an all hands on deck staff meeting. Here we get to celebrate wins, cast vision, and focus on the big rocks that need everyone to give attention and effort.
2. family ministry team meeting [once a month] > our entire family team gathers for lunch, training, and encouragement once a month. This helps to make sure we are all fighting together to create engaging environments for the next generation and also partner with parents. We are better when we are connected together.
3. department meetings [twice a month] > on our off weeks departments (youth, kids, college, campus, worship, etc.) gather to make sure we are getting our work accomplished in our areas. This ensures we have enough time in between meetings to bring back progress after a meeting. 
4. staff development days [three times a year] > we make sure and block off three days each year where we get away and connect away from the office for a day and just get work done together. These are days to talk vision, long range planning, and team building. We just want to make our church better on these days.

How have you learned to manage meeting madness in your organization?

community of innovation

Innovation doesn't happen in a vacuum because it always impacts other people. I know we all think that innovation happens when we hole up in isolation and come up with the next great idea. Sometimes innovation happens that way. Great ideas also happen in the midst of community when we see what others are doing, learning, teaching, and thinking. Other people help us see new possibilities and many times take our original idea to entirely different level. We all need a place where we know we will be pushed to think strategically, dream bigger, and take risks.

For me one of those places has been the Orange Conference because it's there every year I get to link arms with a larger Orange family and be encouraged to embrace innovation. During those few days we all embrace the idea that innovation is possible at every level of our ministry. We are pushed to go further, faster because we are surrounded by other people headed in the same direction we are. My staff, volunteers, and my Orange friends spread out across the country have become my community of innovation. We are pushing each other to take the risk innovation brings. That is my community of innovation...do you have one?

You can join our community or innovation! Registration opens for OC13 next Thursday, September 27. For more information, please visit www.TheOrangeConference.com.

5 ministry traps that destroy pastors

It's sad but we all know pastors and ministry leaders who fell into disastrous traps that destroyed their chance to lead their ministry. The truth is we are no different than any of our friends who fell and many of us are living life way too close to many of the same traps. Being aware of common traps can help us avoid major trouble. Here are a few traps to watch out for constantly...

• out of control finances > nothing causes trouble like money. Financial trouble just leads to stress at home and that leads to stress at the office. Lack of discipline just pushes pastors to the the edge with an already stressful job.
• isolation > when you try to lead alone you tend to make poor choices and push away needed healthy relationships. Leading in a vacuum only leads to bad decisions.
• unhealthy relationships > we always have to guard against unhealthy emotional and physical relationships with the opposite sex.
• unsustainable pace > an out of control work pace leads us to trust ourselves more that we trust God. When we trust ourselves we are simply open to tragic mistakes.
• ministry amnesia > so many times we forget why we really do this and focus on numbers, buildings, and long range plans. Forgetting who called us and why we do this can lead us to nothing but selfish motivation.

Would love to know how you work to avoid these common traps? Praying that you and I will not be another leader who gets stuck. Fight to stay free and focused on Jesus!

You need your own small group!

Yea, I am serious. You need your own small group and it does not need to be filled with kids, teens or college students. If you serve in any family ministry area you can never allow your passion to connect with the next generation to keep from from needed relationships with other adults. You need community and connection just as much as the teens or kids in the ministry you lead need it. Here area a few reasons you need your own small group...

• You need real friendship not connected with the ministry you lead. // yep, you need adult relationships that have no connection on the ministry you lead. Having these relationships will help you have a bigger perspective and in end simply make you a better person!
• You need to set the example. // you are asking people in your ministry to connect in small group so you need to set the example in your life and have that same community in your life. You are setting he example for your ministry but also for your own kids if you are a parent!
• You need others who will help you grow spiritually. // living life, studying the Bible, processing big ideas, having fun, and processing pain IN COMMUNITY leads to growth. Growth in isolation leads to a false sense of progress that is only knowledge based. Community frames what we learn so we can apply it in real life.

I know for me I struggled with the idea of being in a small group since I was "doing" so much in ministry. Being in an adult small group was one of the best moves I ever made in ministry.

Have you struggled to find community outside your ministry?  If you are in a small group how has it made a difference in your life?

4 marks of a great small group leader

It's fun to watch new small group leaders start the year off leading their groups. With the new school year cranking up this is the time when the foundation for a great year is constructed. I use the word constructed because a healthy small group never happens by accident. An effective group happens when a small group leader takes some intentional steps as they lead, right from the beginning. I have never met a group leader who walked into group with out a plan and had things go well. Great small group leaders have a few things in common. Great small group leaders are...

• Consistent // great small group leaders make being present a priority. We only have a limited amount of hours to invest in our groups so not showing up leads to a lack of connection. The best group leaders try to block off time and make group a priority.
• Prepared // great small group leaders walk in with a plan. It is amazing how being prepared helps bring confidence when you sit down with your group. Being prepared allows you to be fully engaged with the group.
• Flexible // the best group leaders stay flexible. Group dynamics change over time and flexibility allows you to be effective as the group changes. Great small group leaders understand that even when all the plans change, God can still work!
• Connected // effective small group leaders work hard to stay connected to the group. Texts, connecting at church, visits to ball games, Facebook, and email updates to parents all help group leaders stay connected and available.

When group leaders are consistent, prepared, flexible and connected to the students and parents they are leading they are going to be used by God. Help your leaders focus on these four areas and your team is going to thrive!

Connecting with a generation in a state of constant change

How do you create organizations, environments, and resources for a generation that is in a state of constant change? As a pastor that is what I do. I help lead an organization, create environments, and shape resources that help people discover and grow in Christ. What is tempting for me is to lead and create in a way that impacts the largest mass of people. The goal is to reach people. Seth Godin's book We are all Weird addresses the tension between marketing and creating for the mass verses trying to stand out by being often going against the grain of mass appeal. There is a tention to manage in this idea but Seth offers some great insight into the process of being OK with being a weird. The generation we are striving to reach is changing. Seth proposes that how we connect with them might need to change also because this people now embrace "weird" and many times push it forward. Here are my favorite quotes from the book. I have linked to the Kindle version on Amazon so go check it out!

• From now on, mass market success will be the exception, the black swan. Mass is dead. Here comes weird.
• The epic battle of our generation is between the status quo of mass and the never-ceasing tide of weird.
• We shun the outliers, train students to conform and reward companies that create historically efficient mass market products.
• The key element of being weird is this: you insist on making a choice.
• Standing out takes time, money, and confidence. More of us have all three now.
• Art at the edges is no longer an oddity, it’s the norm.
• When we give people choice, we make them richer.
• When an artist (not just a painter, but anyone creating new ideas and new work) is able to have his work amplified, it changes him and also raises the bar for those that would follow.
• When you don’t feel alone, it’s easier to be weird, which sort of flies in the face of our expectation that the weird individual is also a loner. Social acceptance of weird behavior makes being weird more popular. 
• The reason that people are walking away from mass is not so that they can buy more stuff. Material goods and commerce are not the goal, they are merely a consequence. The goal is connection.
• We’ve been trained since birth to enforce the status quo. Our bias is to the many. To please the many. To sell to the many. To be organized to serve the many.
• If you persist in trying to be all things to all people, you will fail. The only alternative, then, is to be something important to a few people.
• The key lesson: humanity and connection are trumping the desire for corporate scale.

great small group leaders...

Strong student ministries are made up of many great small group leaders investing in the lives of teenagers. I know that is not what grabs our attention but it's the heart of any student ministry that is making a difference. I also know that every student pastor wants to add 10 more great volunteers to their team. Most of our volunteers in the student ministry I lead serve as small groups leaders and that has enable us to have many youth pastors on our team instead of just having 2 leaders in charge. Great small group leaders make it possible to give every teen a mentor and encourager. Tonight we celebrated with our small group leaders and I was reminded what makes a great small group leader great. Here are a few things great small group leaders do...

1. Great small group leaders listen as much as they talk.
2. Great small group leaders help reach new teens.
3. Great small group leaders don't give up.
4. Great small group leaders ask for help when they are not sure what to do.
5. Great small group leaders show up consistently.
6. Great small group leaders connect relationally.
7. Great small group leaders point teens to Jesus and God's Word...not just their opinion.
8. Great small group leaders set healthy boundaries.
9. Great small group leaders help teens take their next step in following Jesus.
10. Great small group leaders laugh often and trust God when nothing seems to be working.

I'm thankful our student ministry is built around many people who love teens and not just any one staff member. Student ministry is meant to be about a team not a personality. Thanks to every small group leader out there going for it. What you do matters!

New resource for small group leaders!

One of my favorite things about leading our family ministry team here at Grace Community Church is getting to connect with our small group leaders at every level. Every week, in every environment, with every age group we have leaders who invest in others as small group leaders. We believe that when we give kids, teens, and college students a small group leader we are helping them find a mentor that will walk with them through life. This past week some friends of mine launched a website called Lead Small and it is designed for the small group leader who wants to make a difference. Most of the posts on the site are actually written by small group leaders for small group leaders. These ideas have been tested and thought out in the middle of group life. So many times small group leaders feel like they are alone in the battle to connect with their group. This site is designed to help you know that you are not alone. Being an effective small group leader is hard work but in the end it is work that can change the course of a life. Go check out the site and see if this is something you could use to help train your small group team. Thanks to the team at Lead Small for investing in those of us who are trying to do big things by investing in one life at a time!

 

New resource for middle school leaders!

The few, the brave, the proud. These are just a few words for middle school pastors who invest in some of my favorite people in the world every week. I admit it...I have always been passionate about middle school ministry. I believe it's our last chance for preventive ministry as we serve teens. Investing in a middle school teen can change a life forever. When you search the web there are not many resources out there for middle school leaders. On September 4 a group of my friends are launching a website called www.uthmin.net and it is going to be a gathering place for middle school pastors. I hope you will check the site out, spread the word to other middle school leaders, and start using the hashtag #uthmin in some of your tweets so you can start connecting online. You can already follow along on twitter at @uth_min so go look them up. I'm excited to see how God uses this online resource in the coming years to fuel collaboration and partnership with middle school pastors across the country.

 

I'm HURT...and it's my fault

Sunday after church my youngest daughter was headed out the door to go play. That's pretty normal because both my girls love to play outside. What was different Sunday was that when she closed the door she did not use the door knob and the door closed on her hand! It closed hard, she screamed loud, and her had was pretty banged up. She was hurt and it was her fault. We hugged her, got her an ice bag, and lovingly reminded why people invented door knobs. Hurt is something next generation leaders have to face often. We walk with teens and kids who have been hurt by life. We encourage parents who are hurt by the choices their kids make. And many times we are hurt because we feel we are not supported or people we are trying to help turn their back on us. Hurt happens. Truth is many times we experience hurt and we only have ourselves to blame. We often bring hurt into our own lives when...

• Our pace is out of control. // Busy does not equal productive. Being BUSY opens you up to hurt because you lose connection with people. Busy will ask you to sacrifice everything for one thing. An out of control pace will lead to hurt and it will be your fault. You control your calendar.
• Our focus is in the wrong place. // Hurt will sneak up on us when we lose focus. Are we trying to impress people with our leadership? Are we trying to push people to do what we want rather than what is best for the organization? Are we trying to be somebody we are not?
• We try to fix people. // You can't fix people. You can't make everything right. When you try to fix people you invite hurt into your life. We walk with people in the mess and lead them out of the mess; we don't own their hurt in a repair process.
• We ignore God. // Hurt is right around the corner when we have no time to be with God. When we stop hanging out with God daily we choose to see the world through our eyes and not God's.
• We choose happiness over trust. // Happiness leads us to make choices in the moment to make us feel better. Trust says wait on God to deliver us and bring peace. We bring hurt into our lives when we make excuses for sin in the name of happiness.

Relationships or Information

All small group leaders sign up to lead with one goal and that is to help their group become more like Christ. We sign up and have dreams of our kids or teens sitting around listening to us talk about the great truths of the Bible, asking deep questions, and walking out every week telling their parents how incredible their group leader is. That lasts until that first week we meet as a group and we wonder where these creatures came from. Why don't they listen? Why don't they pay attention? Why don't they remember what we talked about last week...or five minutes ago? Take heart, we all face this struggle. Here is something to remember every week when we sit down in our circle to lead our group. Relationships that are built lead to opportunities to communicate truth. In order to be able to give our group the information (Biblical Truth) that just might change the rest of their life we have to build significant relationships. As group leaders we love our content but the groups we lead want to know we care before they embrace our message. Effective group leaders have to embrace the tension that information and relationship bring us and understand that we need to find ways to fight for both in our group times. Our mission to communicate the greatest message in the history of mankind and the relationships we have with our group open hearts and minds to the message! The next several months you will build relational credibility if you do these three things....

Show Up / Make being at group a priority. Showing up each week for your group is the foundation of building consistent relationships. Your group needs to know they are important. They can tell if you make them a priority. If you do they might just make you a priority in their life.

Connect outside of group / Write a note, send an email, go to a game, host a group event, go on a retreat, and send plenty of texts. All of these things lead to connecting outside of group.

Listen more / As group leaders we have to become the master of asking questions and allowing our group to be heard. Kids and teens want to share their story...listen as much as possible. Questions lead to discussion and discussion leads to teachable moments.

avoiding the trap

It's so easy to forget that we have an enemy in this life. The Bible teaches that Satan looks to destroy the lives of those who call on the name of Jesus. When Jesus taught about our enemy he said...

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. (John 10:10 NLT)

The other day a young leader and I were connecting for lunch and we began to process what it takes to avoid the traps of Satan as we serve others. He asked a simple question...how can I avoid the trap? Over the years I have learned that I have to fight to embrace a simple truth if I am going to avoid the trap. If I am going to maintain public moral boundaries I have to be willing to say NO to the enemy in my private life. Every trap the enemy has begins when no one else is looking. The traps we fall into originate in the private places of our life. Saying no in the private sets us up to avoid traps publicly. Want to avoid the traps of the enemy? Here are a few thoughts on how to do that...

• Be honest with a few people you trust >> We all need a few people in our lives who have our back and know our weak spots. In my life my wife and a few guys play that role for me and they have freedom to challenge me! A few people need to know you, the private you, the one Satan is coming after.
• Make private sin really difficult to pull off >> Make sure you have accountability on your mobile devices and your computers. Make sure you do not meet with the opposite sex behind closed doors or alone. Make sure you limit digital conversations on Facebook, by email, or text that might be questionable. Make sure you avoid places or situations that tempt you to give in to the enemy.
• Continually strive to have your heart aimed at Jesus >> Stay in God's word. Make time to worship every week with other believers even if you are on a church staff and you are busy. Stay connected with a small group.
• Celebrate when you say NO in the private >> When you win a private victory by saying no, celebrate. You won that battle. It is a big deal and when we choose God's way over the enemy God is pleased! Celebrate!
• Pray for protection >> You can't do this alone. Pray for God to surround you and protect you and your family.

CELEBRATE your volunteers

This month at Grace Community we are working hard to celebrate our volunteers. Every week volunteers make it possible for our church to reach people in our city with the message of Jesus. Volunteers at our church lead worship, serve in the parking lot to greet people, welcome guests at each door, lead kid's small groups, run sound boards, man the video cameras, rock babies in our nursery, sing with crazy preschoolers, and ensure that every guest who checks out our church has the best experience possible. Our volunteers are leaders who have a servant's heart. Here are a few things we try to do to celebrate what God is doing through them throughout the year...

• Host a Volunteer Banquet // This year for the first time we are hosting a banquet for our volunteers and we are going to have a blast. We hope to inspire them, laugh with them, and encourage them on the same night. We do this once a year but we are placing a ton of effort into the night to make it special. Will recap this event after March 17!
• Celebrate their birthdays // This year we are sending a small gift to every volunteer on their birthday. We found small basketballs and had them personalized for our voolunteers with our logo and a short message on them. We sign each one as a staff and mail them out each month. Everybody loves to be remembered on their birthday.
• Honor them // In our student and college ministry we try to call out a few volunteers each month and honor them in our training meetings. We also highlight volunteers through social media throughout the church just so we can honor what they are doing to make a difference.
• Encourage them // We try to make sure that everyone on our staff knows that encouraging volunteers is a big deal. We sent out emails and notes often just to let volunteers know we care and we value them. We also try to make sure that we are encouraging volunteers on a regular basis in our worship gatherings. We want them to know they are on our team.
• Support them // Volunteers need to know that they have a group of people to support them when things are not going well. We try to make our teams feel like family. When volunteers hurt we all hurt with them and try to walk with them.
• Make it fun // Every chance we get we try to have fun as we serve. Volunteers love to laugh and we try to do as much of that as possible. We are even brining in a comedian to our volunteer banquet because having fun is a big deal.

 

 

no more "youth sections" at church

When I was growing up and when I did youth ministry in my 20's every church had a youth section. Most of you leading in churches have the same thing. It's that section of the church where all the teens sit during the Sunday morning services. Youth sections exist because teens are looking for something to connect with at church that makes sense. In most churches the only thing that keeps them there and makes sense are other friendships. That is why the huddle and seem to disconnect from the rest of the church. One of my friends on twitter mentioned that he has began to sit in the teen section just to engage those teens and build relationships. That idea got me thinking. Our church at Grace Community doesn't have a youth section. It's the first place I have ever served where teens sit with small group leaders, their parents, or serve as a volunteer all over the church. When I process why this is our reality I think it comes from the fact that we have given the church to them. It's their church as much as it's their parents church. We program with them in mind. We ask them to be a part of the church. We empower them to make a difference right now by serving and giving them real responsibility. Maybe we could end "youth sections" at church if we just gave the church away to them now. They are not the future of the church, they are the church. If you want them to stay connected to your church and other churches for years to come give them the keys to the castle right now. Engage them, empower them, believe in them, and live life with them. The churches that will be around in 20 years are the ones who are giving the church away to teens right now. Don't give them a section give them the entire sanctuary.

What most leaders need more of...

Most leaders I know need more friends. I am amazed how many student and children's pastors are out there serving in isolation. Why? Maybe we feel like because we are in ministry we feel we have to be guarded. Maybe we feel like we are too busy for people who are just "friends." Maybe we are so immersed in our responsibilities that we can't see there is an entire world outside our own church bubble. This week at Grace Community we talked about our need for community and my pastor (and one of my true friends) Chad Rowland shared this verse from I Kings when the prophet Elijah isolated himself from everyone...

And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you." (1 Kings 19:7 ESV)

Just like Elijah, the journey you are on is too great for you also to do alone. Chad reminded me Sunday that when we are alone we choose to make choices that we would not make if we were connected to healthy friendships. You don't have to do ministry in isolation. You need real friends around you who are going to be there no matter what. I know many of you have served in isolation for so long you don't even know where to start. Here are a few places to begin...

1. Plug into or lead a small group. // This is a big one. You need to be in a small group with people who have nothing to do with your ministry. Some of my best friends are in community group with me and they help me stay connected with others who are outside my ministry bubble.
2. Connect with a key volunteer or staff member. // I serve with several guys on our staff that are great friends. I also have friends who are volunteers here at church. When we hang out we do lots of stuff that have nothing to do with church. That is why we are friends. We play golf, watch sports, and talk support each other through life. That's what friends do.
3. Connect with an organization outside your church. // Coach your kid's basketball or soccer team. Volunteer for another organization in town. Do something that helps you connect with normal people outside your church world. It's good to have friends who have nothing to do with your church. I promise.
4. Connect with leaders in your town in other churches. // There are leaders serving in other churches in your town who are looking for healthy relationships also. Your needed friendship might come from the church down the street.
5. Connect with leaders from across the country. // You never know the friendships you might make as you network. Leverage social media to connect with others and get to know people across the country. Conferences get way better when you are connecting with friends.

Don't serve in isolation. Make sure you are striving to stay connected to people you call friend!

College students are not leaving the church, just your way of doing church

I read all the books and look at the statistics about this generation and honestly what I read does not match up with many 18-25 year olds I meet. I'm here at Passion 2012 and I am watching and listening to them and it is clear to me that college students are not ready to leave the church, just ready to do church in a new way. Many of those kids who supposedly dropped out of church just stopped going to church out of obligation and connected with on campus ministries that are reaching college students. Every week at Grace Community we watch these college students that get trashed in the media and many christian circles serve, give, and plug into our church. We watch high school students that leave our church for college go to their city and find a place to plug in and then come back on breaks to serve. Maybe it's our churches that are broken and not this generation. I promise, if you do not design your church environment and strategy with the college and high school student in mind you will not reach them. It's not their fault so many churches are more focused on keeping the status quo rather than making disciples. Here are a few things I know for sure about this generation of 18-25 year olds.

1. They want us to teach them God's Word / in a world that is full of deception this generation is begging for someone to stop selling them half truths and empty promises. It may take them time to integrate God's truth into their daily life but they are begging for clear direction.
2. They want to be part of the solution / this generation is ready to bring healing to this broken planet, not just talk about it. This week I have watched college kids give over 1 million dollars in 2 days to fight the global epidemic of slavery. They are ready to serve, give, and go right now and they will not wait for our permission.
3. They are abandoning the American dream / their american dream has already been broken and they are ok with it. This generation is ready for a new dream.
4. They know they are broken / they know they are broken and every day more and more of them hit the bottom because of their search for instant gratification through porn, empty relationships, drugs, and alcohol. They get it...this is not working and it's not working for many of the older adults that surround them.
5. They are ready to plug into your church / yes I said it, they want to plug into your church. They will come when they know it's ok to come as the broken people they are and search for healing and community. We watch it happen every week at our church and I know it is happening all over the world in churches that are willing to be havens for the next generation.
6. They demand to participate not just sit and listen / if you want to reach the next generation then be ready to allow them to shape and mold the church that belongs to them anyway. The church has to be shaped by the young not the old. We have to be willing to allow this generation to have a seat at the table.

Passion is doing a few things right...

I have learned so many things over the past 10 years watching the Passion team lead and invest in the next generation of young adults. This year is no different. I am being challenged to process what serving and inspiring this generation will look like in the years to come. When you serve teens and college students you have to always be looking ahead, planning ahead, and yes, praying ahead. There are so many things Passion does right. Here are a few things Passion is doing right when it comes to investing in the next generation.

• Embracing the big and small / Passion understands the importance of the gathering and small group and manages the tension that comes from needing both. These guys do an amazing job with creating worship and teaching experiences. They also create space and time for small group relationships. Both are needed for life change.
• Striving for excellence / From lighting, to volunteers, to communicators, to sound, to venue, the team at Passion strives for excellence. It has nothing to do with extravagance and everything to do with excellence. This team understands how to create an environment where students want to be and pushes systems to help people have a great experience.
• Going to the campus / Passion strives to take their message to the college campus so they can reach students where they are at. Every Passion event is preceded by a campus tour. Conferences are not the goal. Seeing college students honor Jesus with their life is the goal. Students will live their faith out on a campus not a conference and Passion gets that.
• Clearly teaching truth / At every level Passion teaches God's Word with clarity. For many college students they have never heard the Bible preached in a way that connects with them and Passion shines a bright light on God's truth every year and at every event.
• Empowering female leaders / I am a dad of two daughters and I will never accept the way the traditional church has limited the ministry of women in the Kingdom of God and local church. Passion empowers young woment to dream big dreams and find a way to make a difference. From teaching to worship leading to mission work to leadership in the church, Passion helps young woment look to make an impact.
• Helping college students make a global and local impact / Every Passion event is connected with spreading the gospel and brining light to a dark world. You can't attend a Passion event and not hear about spreading the gospel and brining justice to a broken world globally and locally. 
• Willing to change when God leads / The team at Passion seriously follows the lead of the Holy Spirit and takes huge risks for the Kingdom of God. I have friends who have seen the inside of this organization and the obedience to the leadership of God is breath taking and frightening at times.

Are your teens missed at church?

Are your teens missed at church when you go away for a retreat or camp? The answer to that question reveals how integrated the teens are in your church culture. The honest truth is that for most churches the rest of the church doesn't notices when the teens are gone...some people may even be glad that group of kids that sit together on Sunday is not there because we know many times teens intimidate adults. A few weeks ago we took our small group leaders and teens to a retreat and we missed a Sunday morning. Those teens were missed. Why? Because most of those teens serve somewhere in our church culture. Because those teens actually go to the worship service and worship with their families and friends on Sunday. Because they bring energy to our church week in and week out. We missed them because they are a part of our church family...they belong in the church...they make an impact in the church. For all of us who lead student ministries we need to be honest and ask ourselves how we are helping the teens we lead connect to the church, serve in the church, find a place to belong at church. I know this is a difficult idea but maybe the reasons teens do not see the need for an inter-generational church is that as a teen they never connect with that church. How do we do this...here are just a few ideas that may help bridge the gap.

• Let teens see you connect with the church. // you need to be worshiping with your church on Sundays (if you are not leading a Sunday morning environment). We can set the tone by supporting the church not just our ministry.
• Empower teens to serve on Sundays. // when teens find a place to serve at church many times they find a place to belong. If you do Sunday morning environments for teens then challenge them to attend and then serve.
• Communicate what your student ministry is doing with your church. // keep adults in the loop of what God is doing in the student ministry you lead. Build a culture of sharing the good things God is doing. People love to hear an celebrate good news.
• Connect efforts of the church and student ministry together. // find ways to connect baptisms, mission projects, church wide strategy together with your student ministry.
• Welcome your senior pastor and other staff into your student environment. // let your senior pastor speak one week or just hang out for the night, ask staff to visit and help you evaluate your environment, keep staff in the loop of your vision. Connect the world of the church and your ministry!

Looking for small group help?

Small group ministry is not easy but it works. Small groups with teens and kids work because it places mentors in their lives. Everyone needs to be around people who will help push them toward Christ, toward wisdom, and toward life change. I believe in small groups and our journey over the past 5 years here at Relevant to figure then out has been a challenge. I know many leaders out there are looking for help when it comes to small group ministry. Jason Carr is a leader who might just be what you need. Jason spent years serving with Campus Crusade and at North Point Community Church in Georgia thinking about and leading small groups. Now Jason is consulting, communicating, and training other leaders about small groups. We had Jason in last week to speak at our fall retreat and he set up our small groups every sessions to help leaders invest in teens. If you have questions about small group ministry and want to connect with a leader who gets it then check out Jason Carr.

designing a retreat for Small Groups!

Every youth ministry in the universe has some kind of retreat during the year. One or two weekends a year geared to get teens away from the normal grind and help them focus on Christ. What if you intentionally designed your retreats to enhance your small groups? Our ministry is a small group based student ministry so our retreats need to do everything possible to enhance the small group experience. You will be amazed when you make group a priority for most of your events. We even believe that if a retreat does not help our small groups we probably don't need to keep it going. Our fall retreat is called CRAVE and here are some ways we try design the weekend so groups have the chance to grow spiritually and relationally.

• We take as many small group leaders as possible. // yes I know this is costly but we want the teens to be with their small groups leaders for the weekend, not with college students we bring in for the weekend. Our college leaders help fill holes not replace our weekly leaders at retreat! Yes we pay for our leaders cost of going. We just think it is a great investment when you consider the time leaders give all year.
• We block off time for small group to happen after every large group session. // We give our groups more time to focus than we do during our weekly gatherings. The extra time gives group leaders time to push harder and listen more.
• We create time for groups to hang out and make memories. // Small groups eat meals together, go ice skating together, do ridiculous games together, and have time to slow down together. Making memories together leads a kind of small group glue that helps small groups stay connected through the rest of the year.
• We craft our worship and teaching times to set up small group. // When we program we think group. When our speaker prepares he thinks group. The goal is to set up small group to thrive.

A great retreat for our team is a retreat where small groups thrive. When this is the win for the weekend then our retreat is shaped and designed for small group. Will you be willing to allow your next retreat to set up your small groups to thrive?