1. Today at Epic Jr. High we taught our students about the Biblical Truth About Sex, which is simply that sex was created by God for marriage between a husband and a wife. I could tell some of the students were a little uncomfortable like "can we talk about this in church?", LOL. I think church is the perfect place to talk about it, sex should not be a bad word or topic we avoid because I promise they are hearing about it from media and in school! Our students need to know and understand God's word concerning sex so they can protect themselves and enjoy sex for what God created it for, marriage! Next week we address the topic: "How Far Is Too Far?"
2. One of my illustrations was: "Having sex before marriage is like using a blender for a manicure, it's only going to lead to hurt, pain and a mess! A blender was not created to give manicure's and we were not created to have sex before marriage!"
3. At People's Church we also started a new series called Be My Valentine, if you missed it check it out online at www.peopleschurch.tv! Pastor Herbert was hilarious and had good, practical content. I also agree with him 100% of what kind of dating plan parents should have for their teens! If you are wondering what he said again check out the message online.
4. Sunday night was all about relationships! We had our community group over our house for the Super Bowl. I enjoyed the game but it wouldn't have been as enjoyable without friends. The game was good, food was good but fellowship was better!
5. The highlight of my day was talking to a Jr. High student who was hungry for answers about God, these moments never get old and I'm excited to see what God is going to do in this student's life!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Volunteer Driven Ministry Pt. 3
One of the questions I have struggled with and have heard other youth pastors struggle with is "How do you set high standards for people who are "volunteering" their time?"
For us it's simple, our students deserve the best, period. Our students deserve excellence, period. One of the ways we give students our best is through consistency. Here are the areas we will be consistent in:
1. Consistently we want them to have an unforgettable experience at Epic. Our first impressions, media, set up/tear down, worship, safety, community group, Sunday morning leaders help us do this every week.
2. We will be consistent with holding students accountable to our rules. We believe in boundaries and discipline and must be consistent with that every week. We don't do this because stuff is out of control, to the contrary Epic is under control every week because we have volunteers who help us be consistent in this area. Plus it helps us teach students life skills about authority and respect.
3. We look for and implement volunteers who will consistently be at Epic every Wednesday or Sunday. This is a decent amount of this generation that has people that are in and out of their lives and we don't want that to happen at Epic. Words can't express my thanks for our volunteers and the commitment they have made to our students.
4. We will consistently change stuff up if it helps us reach and disciple more students. Our team is super flexible, open to change, loyal and very supportive of the vision of our church, these qualities help us change when we need to.
5. We will consistently reach students who are far from God. In order to do this we must have volunteers whose hearts are filled with grace, patience, love, acceptance and commitment for these students. Again I'm so thankful for my volunteers and their willingness to get down and dirty and reach students who are far from God.
For us it's simple, our students deserve the best, period. Our students deserve excellence, period. One of the ways we give students our best is through consistency. Here are the areas we will be consistent in:
1. Consistently we want them to have an unforgettable experience at Epic. Our first impressions, media, set up/tear down, worship, safety, community group, Sunday morning leaders help us do this every week.
2. We will be consistent with holding students accountable to our rules. We believe in boundaries and discipline and must be consistent with that every week. We don't do this because stuff is out of control, to the contrary Epic is under control every week because we have volunteers who help us be consistent in this area. Plus it helps us teach students life skills about authority and respect.
3. We look for and implement volunteers who will consistently be at Epic every Wednesday or Sunday. This is a decent amount of this generation that has people that are in and out of their lives and we don't want that to happen at Epic. Words can't express my thanks for our volunteers and the commitment they have made to our students.
4. We will consistently change stuff up if it helps us reach and disciple more students. Our team is super flexible, open to change, loyal and very supportive of the vision of our church, these qualities help us change when we need to.
5. We will consistently reach students who are far from God. In order to do this we must have volunteers whose hearts are filled with grace, patience, love, acceptance and commitment for these students. Again I'm so thankful for my volunteers and their willingness to get down and dirty and reach students who are far from God.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Volunteer Driven Ministry Pt. 2
One of the questions I hear a lot about volunteers is how do you recruit them? Here is what I have learned:
1. Make it personal. From my experience the most committed volunteers are ones who have personal connection to the ministry. Encourage current volunteers to recruit people they have relationships with and recruit parents of students in your youth ministry.
2. Be persistent and never stop. Every week look for new volunteers to recruit. Constantly remind current volunteers to recruit. Recruiting takes hard work!
3. Try a Sunday morning blitz. We have done this two ways: 1. Text current leaders on Sunday morning to talk to one person that day at church about serving in our student ministry. 2. Get some of your top volunteers who are super out going, give them a clipboard and have them meet and sign up people before and after your experiences to check out your youth ministry.
4. This is the most important and should be applied to the top 3 techniques, whenever recruiting someone always cast vision. Share with them the need and impact they can help make in the lives of students.
1. Make it personal. From my experience the most committed volunteers are ones who have personal connection to the ministry. Encourage current volunteers to recruit people they have relationships with and recruit parents of students in your youth ministry.
2. Be persistent and never stop. Every week look for new volunteers to recruit. Constantly remind current volunteers to recruit. Recruiting takes hard work!
3. Try a Sunday morning blitz. We have done this two ways: 1. Text current leaders on Sunday morning to talk to one person that day at church about serving in our student ministry. 2. Get some of your top volunteers who are super out going, give them a clipboard and have them meet and sign up people before and after your experiences to check out your youth ministry.
4. This is the most important and should be applied to the top 3 techniques, whenever recruiting someone always cast vision. Share with them the need and impact they can help make in the lives of students.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Volunteer Driven Ministry
At Epic we have over 80 volunteers that serve our students weekly. We have 3 teams of adults who serve in our Jr. High Experience on Sunday mornings, a team of Jr. High community group leaders on Wednesday night and a team of High School leaders on Wednesday night. Our ministry doesn't grow or function without our volunteers, period and in order for us to continue to grow and serve our students with excellence we must always be recruiting and training new volunteers. We are looking for volunteers who:
1. Love God.
2. Love Students.
3. Have Integrity.
4. Are Committed.
5. Are Loyal to People's Church.
We pray and look for these people every week! God + volunteers has gotten us where we are and God + more volunteers will help us reach every student in OKC.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)