Youth Ministry Planning Archives - Page 5 of 17 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

Advice to Small Group Leaders

Posted on: 03/6/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last weekend I had a great time with Doug Fields, Mark Matlock and Megan Hutchinson training 700 youth workers at YSPalooza in Chicago!

One of the sessions I taught was “How to Lead a Small Group without Losing Your Mind.” This was a fun session where I offered 5 tools that help small group leaders (one of them was duct tape).

Before the session, I went around with my phone and filmed people in the lobby, asking them, “What advice would you give a newbie small group leader.” I synced my phone with my laptop really quick, threw the responses together using iMovie (gotta love Mac) and showed the crowd what advice they had to give to newbie small group leaders.

Here’s that video Continue reading “Advice to Small Group Leaders”

Posted in Books, Speaking/Training, Travel, Youth Ministry Planning | | Leave A Comment

Sticks and Stones Contest

Posted on: 03/4/13 11:14 AM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s amazing how many voices are rising out of the playgrounds, past and present, to express the perspective of one who’s been bullied.

My dad, myself, and my son were all bullied as kids. My dad was called tubby; I, with my huge overbite was called “bucky”; and my son, with his vivid imagination was called names I refuse to type. So I resonate with these voices.

You’ve heard my perspective on this before in my article, The Voice of the Bullied, and many of you have heard my son share his story. Here’s another story, using poetry and animation, that is going viral on YouTube. I found it Continue reading “Sticks and Stones Contest”

Posted in Bullying/Cyberbullying, Personal, Youth Culture, Youth Ministry Planning | | Leave A Comment

Media Fast

Posted on: 03/1/13 3:02 AM | by Jonathan McKee

No TV, no music, no texting, no movies, no Facebook, no Instagram, no Tumbler…

Sounds like teenage Hell!

Some teenagers might describe it as that, but about 100 kids at our church have opted to do this for 25 days. It’s a media fast that is preparing them for a missions trip they’ll take during Easter break.

The kids aren’t embarking on this fast alone; most the parents are doing the fast with their kids. Our house has committed to it, and it’s been Continue reading “Media Fast”

Posted in Faith, Personal, Prayer, Youth Ministry Planning | | Leave A Comment

Hot Topics

Posted on: 02/27/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m really excited about the training labs I’m teaching this weekend at YSPalooza Chicago, because the two topics I’m teaching are addressing two of the biggest training needs I notice in youth ministries across the U.S.

I know that might sound a little dogmatic. Don’t get me wrong—I really don’t think I have some unique sense of what American youth ministries need. I just make a habit of listening to people on the front lines all over North America, and I have noticed some common denominators that surface when it comes to training needs. The YS leadership team looks at these as well so they know what training and resources to provide. This year, these two topics were among that rose to the top Continue reading “Hot Topics”

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Super Bowl Quiz

Posted on: 01/28/13 3:00 AM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s almost Super Bowl time… and those of you have been receiving our youth ministry e-Zine via TheSource4YM.com for the past few years know what that means. It means a fun little free resource we provide every year called the Super Bowl Quiz! (I just posted it HERE)

Tomorrow I send out our Super Bowl Quiz via our e-Zine newsletter. So if you don’t receive that free little youth ministry resource letter, sign up for that, or any of our other free resources HERE on the Connect with Us page.

The Super Bowl Quiz is a fun little party game you can use at your Super Bowl party at your church or your home. People fill out the quiz as they enter your party, predicting scores, catches, runs, etc., then you fill out the results during the game and tally up the winner.

Great fun!

Look for it in tomorrow’s e-Zine.

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The Power of Stories

Posted on: 01/16/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This weekend I speak to hundreds of junior highers at one of my favorite camps, Timberlee in Wisconsin. Someone just asked me, “How do you keep the attention of today’s junior highers?”

“Easy. Just tell em’ a story.”

It’s amazing the impact a story can make. And story-based talks are some of the best:

They’re easy to memorize. Once you hear a story, it’s pretty easy to repeat.
They hold the attention of most young people, because everyone wants to hear the end of a story.
It’s tapping into a technique that Jesus used all the time!

If you want a sample of what I’m talking about, I just posted a brand new story on our web site from my book MORE 10-MINUTE TALKS. The talk is simple. It’s a story, a quick explanation connecting it to the scripture, and a wrap up. I even included small group questions so that your kids can discuss it (Click here to see this ready-made talk).

IF YOU LIKE THIS TALK, GRAB A COPY OF JONATHAN’S BRAND NEW BOOK RIGHT NOW, AUTOGRAPHED BY JONATHAN AND 25% OFF!

Posted in Books, Speaking/Training, Youth Ministry Planning | | Leave A Comment

The After-Christmas Mixer

Posted on: 01/8/13 12:30 PM | by Jonathan McKee

My good friend Danette Matty from Nebraska just emailed me to let me know that she missed doing our “Christmas Mixer” this year (from our Games & Icebreakers page) with her small group, so she decided to tweak it and make it an “After-Christmas” mixer, basically a good list of small group ice-breaker questions.

I love the idea. Here’s some of her questions:

Post-Christmas Regroup Q’s

The first thing you did on Christmas Day is….
Where was the last place you went shopping for Christmas?
Name a Christmas tradition your family participates in.
Name the place you stayed the most during Christmas break.
What was your favorite Christmas gift this year?
What was the coolest gift you gave someone this year?
What was your favorite Christmas present of all time?
What class are you most looking forward to getting back to this week, or, who are you most looking forward to seeing that you didn’t see over break?

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Getting People to Open Up

Posted on: 12/17/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Sometimes it’s hard to get people to open up in a group setting. In these situations, nothing proves more effective than a creative question.

“If you had to have the exact same meal for the next twelve months… what would you choose?”

It’s amazing how fun questions provoke people to open up.

These questions might simply begin with: “Lets go around the circle and each of us share…”

I’ve done it with teenagers in small group settings:

“Let’s go around the circle and each share our high and low of the week.”

“If you could repeat any day of your life, what would that be?”

“If you could go back in time to before you went to high school/junior high and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?”

I’ve done it with my own kids: (15, 17 and 19)

“If you could go on vacation anywhere and bring just one person, where would you choose and who would you bring?”

“If you could have one superpower, what would you choose and what would you use it for?”

“What was the last thing you cried about?”

I’ve done it with adults at a board meeting or Bible study:

“Let’s go around the circle and each share your name and something about the shoes you’re wearing.”

“If you were stuck in an elevator for 24 hours with one person, who would you like that person to be?”

“Describe your most embarrassing moment.”

These little discussion questions seem to always bring a laugh and give everyone a little peak into each other’s lives.

What about you? What are some of your favorite questions to ask in these scenarios?

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More Than Just Method

Posted on: 09/26/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Yesterday Todd sent me this and I couldn’t help but share it with you. (I love his honest “skepticism.”)

Many of you might recognize his name… Todd Pearage is a full time youth pastor and father of three, who also moonlights writing movie reviews for us, and music reviews for Interlinc. Todd always is on the lookout for practical Christian resources for youth workers.

Hey Jonathan, I can’t help but give you some feedback about your latest DVD project, Real Conversations: How to Share Youth Faith Without Being Pushy.

Remember, this is from the guy who wasn’t that excited about it when you first told me that you were working on a video-based curriculum on evangelism. Honestly, the first thought I had was, “Another evangelism curriculum?” But, over the next few weeks as you shared more and more about your vision and direction of this DVD, I started to get really excited.

Too often curriculum like this appears to be written in think tanks by people who aren’t in the trenches. Those folks might deliver solid, well-written Bible lessons. Unfortunately, it often lacks realism. The stories are far-fetched and the “problems” are out-dated or not really problems at all.

And let’s be honest Continue reading “More Than Just Method”

Posted in Books, Evangelism, Youth Ministry Planning | | Leave A Comment

The Final 2 Principles for Newbie Youth Pastors

Posted on: 08/15/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

How should a brand new youth pastor begin his or her job in ministry? That’s the subject we’ve been talking about in my last few blog posts, starting with your advice to “Neal Newbie.” Then I suggested there were 5 principles for “Neal Newbie” to consider. I shared the first principle here, and then two more.

Today, I provide the final two:

4. Demo Some Ministry Models

I recently bought a kayak from a small canoe and kayak shop near my church. When I asked them which kayak was for me, they basically answered, “I don’t know, why don’t you demo a bunch and tell us what works for you?” This little shop has a ‘demo’ program where you put a down payment down, then you get to try out any kayak you like and see what works for you. The reasoning behind this is because each person is so different it would be hard for a kayak salesperson to sell the same kayak to every person, male, female, tall, short, muscular… and not! There is no ‘one kayak’ that works for everyone.

If only people realized that in youth ministry. Just because a basketball program worked at your last church doesn’t mean the same program will work with these kids in this neighborhood, in this building, with these volunteers.

After a youth pastor asks questions of the pastor, the leaders, and the kids (Principle #1 and #2), he or she should Continue reading “The Final 2 Principles for Newbie Youth Pastors”

Posted in Church, Leadership, Youth Ministry Philosophy, Youth Ministry Planning | | Leave A Comment