Open question to Youth Pastors
(Continuation of Youth Pastor Challenge week)What are you doing to help your students apply your teachings?
This isn't a rhetorical question, I'd really love to know so if you get a second leave a comment. I'll explain later in the week where this question comes from and why I could use your help.
Click to share thisClick to share this
I think this is one of the hardest parts about teaching to high school and junior high students. I think what I have come up with is giving them challenges instead of application points. I think when you challenge them to do something, they are more likely to attempt that application point. It also helps having small group leaders that are able to follow up with the students as the week unfolds. I am not amazing at this, so I would love to continue figuring out a way of making this happen better also.
Great question.
Challenges are awesome and really reach people wired up like me. SO effective.
I have also found that there are a significant percentage of students who don't respond at all to challenge because all they've been told in their life is that if they have one shot…they'll fail. So I personally struggle trying to figure out how to reach those students. This is why I love having a 'teaching team'. They get so many different approaches to teaching that the students I can't reach are reached by one of the other people who teach.
We just started this little diddy. After the talk we assemble and record a 5 minute summary with an engaging lead in question for the following link. We paste it to facebook and tell the kids to check the website at 11:30pm that night after the talk. We realized two things… they're up late creeping anyway and we needed that one opportunity to say the last 10%.
http://www.uprisingnews.com/2010/05/05/film-schoo…
hahaha up late "creeping"….HILARIOUS!! yet so true! i love this idea!
How did you roll it out? Did you just vision cast for it? Do you have way to track it? (ex. page hits, small group leaders?)
again, love it!
Teaching them and encouraging them how to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in their lives who wants to teach them throughout their entire lives.
Love this thought, what does this look like when it plays out? I love where you're going!!!
For our students, we provide opportunities for them to do a couple different things with what we teach. Our 3 big pushes are Friendship Evangelism, Camp Counseling [VBS, Worship Arts Camp, and Camp Lakewood], and Missions [local and national, and a youth music ministry team]. The main ideas we focus on are identity in Christ, using your gifts to serve the body, and sharing what you know, so basically, we pour into them in these areas and then give them opportunities to put that knowledge to use.
That's awesome! I love that idea!
What do you do to follow up those experiences?
This is one thing that we have had to rethink the last month of so… students need to take ownership of the topics and biblical truths they hear, most naturally wont do that by just listening! This fall we are going to roll out a new model that sets up our LifeGroups (small groups) to have purposeful discussions regarding the message they just heard. We will be creating the tension in the message and leave it open so it naturally flows into easy discussions in their LifeGroups. Allowing the students talk through issues helps them remember and retain more than the lecture style that resolves everything at the end!
No Creeping here!
Sounds awesome! and Kent…you're BOUND to have "creeping" out there! hahahaha
We don't have "talks" where the paid youthworker (me) gets up and talks to the kids. Our whole focus is dialoguing about the week's "big idea" (the same thing the pastor's preaching on in worship and the kids are talking about and the adult small groups are discussing) in small groups with a leader who invests in and cares for students, leads them in discussion and models the Christian life for them. Along with the "big idea" we have a church wide "big do" which is a basic application/next step.
Each week in their small group they: Share, Read, Talk, Pray and Bless.
Share (about what's happening in their life), Read (Scripture passage), Talk (observation, interpretation and application), Pray (share prayer requests and pray) and Bless (share a blessing; usually Aaron's blessing: may the Lord bless you and keep you…)
Each week there are some examples of daily challenges the students can pick from or they can come up with their own. Ideas of next steps or how to live out the ideas discussed.
I do think it's, if not ALL about, at least MOSTLY about life change. That's the fruit of a Jesus transformed life!
Love the "Big Idea" model. We've processed that a few times and in our culture found it might not be the best on going approach for us…BUT we do have a few times a year where we do a "big idea" series, where we tap into what big church weekend services are doing.
Sounds like you guys are really getting after it! SO AWESOME BRO!
What follow up or metrics do you have/use to measure the effectiveness of the "big do" so that growth can be measured?
DC,
As a ex swim coach, having been involved in youth ministry, and raising 4 children, I find the best way to get young people to apply a teaching is to repeat it often, get them to repeat back to you what you said, and finally get their peers, who get it, to testify publicly about their understanding of the teaching. Plus you must live it out loud so that they see it in your life because they will look at you closely. If you mess up and fail to live up to the teaching confess publicly and ask for forgiveness. This shows your humanity and gives them hope when they fail. I John 1:8-9 " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." BTW, you rock DC and you already do the above.
James
James, you are too kind man! I watched you for years live the life that students want/wanted to live and I'm grateful for all you did/do! We're living now on some of the foundation you helped set years ago!!!!