Tag: fall

Quick Tip: Work Within Your Ministry’s Seasons

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How does your youth group function year round? Does your calendar primarily look the same month in and month out? Are there rest periods or seasons where ministry slows? Is your attendance the same throughout the year?

As we approach the end of the school year, our student ministry at our church shifts its programming model to a more laidback style because we live in and serve a tourist town. What that means for us is lower attendance during the summer due to locals retreating on trips and vacations as tourists come in.

And you may ask yourself, “What about the tourists, don’t you want to have something for them as well?” The truth of the matter is that for all the tourists who visit Hershey, Pennsylvania, very few are looking for a church to attend on a Sunday or youth programming on a Wednesday evening.

It isn’t that we don’t care, it’s that we shift our model to address the realities of our community and best minister to our people when they are present. We host monthly large group gatherings that are highly relational and community focused. We intentionally encourage small groups to gather and share life together. Our staff team is highly visible and building relationships on Sundays.

The truth of the matter is this: each of the communities we serve in have ministry seasons and they all will look different. If your students are around the entire year, you may continue with programming straight through. If summer is a down time, you may switch up how programming looks. If you take trips during spring break, then your programming will look different.

For each of us, we need to look at the communities we serve and ask how our ministry is and should be functioning. We also need to consider other aspects like our volunteers and protecting seasons of rest and refreshment. There are additional pieces like thinking through the taxing role that running full programming yearlong will take on your facilities team. And there are many other questions we can ask depending on what out context looks like.

What we need to consider is how our ministry looks throughout the year, and what programming looks like in each season. When we step back and take an honest assessment, it allows us the opportunity to consider new and exciting ways of facilitating our ministries to best care for and reach all the students we are serving.

Quick Tip: Prepping for Fall Kickoff

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Depending where you’re at in the country, it probably doesn’t feel like fall right now. Here in the northeast it’s been fairly warm and we haven’t seen a lot of rain. We have been utilizing our summer programmatic schedule and just finished our trips at the end of July.

Coming up, we still have a lot of activities and gatherings planned for August, but fall programming is just around the corner. Fall sports have started practicing, kids are preparing for classes, families’ rhythms are being reestablished, teachers are preparing classrooms, and it feels like summer is quickly fading away.

As fall approaches that means we are engaged in planning and preparation for the school year, and for us we start our Wednesday night programming with a celebratory fall kickoff. We host an invitational and relational gathering that is filled with high energy, connecting opportunities, and lots of food. It’s a total blast and helps us set the year off with a bang!

Your fall programming and your kickoff may look vastly different from ours, however there are some key elements every fall kickoff should have. So what are some ways to ensure that your kickoff is a success?

1. Ensure it aligns with your vision and mission.

Whatever your event looks like, you need to make sure it highlights and champions your ministry’s values. This comes through in what the event is, how it is structured, the scope and sequence of the event, how it’s communicated, and what the message is for it. This ensures that everything aligns and is communicated in all that you do.

2. Create the environment that fits your programmatic structure.

There were many times earlier in my ministry career where I attempted to pack as much as I could into whatever event we were hosting. When you try to squeeze three hours of fun into a two hour event, something falls flat and people will miss out on things. Instead, I’ve learned that for our structure, less is more.

This means more time spent hanging out and building community instead of super structured games or activities, followed by an equal distribution of time for a message and small groups. Whatever environment you are going for, make sure that you align it with your program overall to ensure that your mission and vision are communicated through everything you do.

3. Connect students with their leaders and peers.

Fall kickoff is a wonderful opportunity to connect and reconnect students with their small group leaders and other students. Students crave community and authentic relationships. If you intentionally create an environment that embraces those aspects you will see your ministry start off on very strong footing heading into the school year.

4. Cast direction for the school year.

An integral part of your fall kickoff should include casting direction and vision for the school year. You should seek to incorporate your vision for the ministry and allow for that to drive the direction for the school year. In our ministry we will always talk about our vision for the ministry but we will use that as the catalyst for our direction for the school year.

Part of our vision statement has to do with “being sent to build the kingdom of God,” so the past couple of years we have challenged students to invite and reach their peers. When you can incorporate your ministry’s vision with the direction for the school year, you will be creating consistency throughout the ministry.

5. Have fun.

While this may seem like a no-brainer in student ministry, we need to be intentional in this. We aren’t supplementing the Gospel or discipleship in doing this, but instead creating an environment that is intentional in how we welcome, engage with, and care for students.

Typically fall kickoffs happen during our midweek programming which tend to be more invitational and evangelistic and so having an environment that is fun will encourage more students to participate and invite their peers. This is also an encouragement and reminder to us as ministry leaders and for our volunteers. Students see how we engage and respond and they will reflect that. So having fun, engaging, and displaying Jesus as we have fun is key.

    Theme Night Ideas: October Celebration

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    Notice what we didn’t title this post: Halloween party, harvest festival, fall celebration, costume party, or reformation gathering. I’m going to let that sit for a moment because some of you are laughing, others are cringing, and still others of you may be frustrated.

    The reality of the matter is any type of celebration in October can be inflammatory and challenging for youth ministries as we seek to work within the guidelines and parameters of our church while also navigating the cultural tensions that exist among church goers and communities. I mean how many of you have heard something like, “Halloween is the devil’s holiday” or, “Why would you wear costumes? God tells us to come as we are!” Or maybe you have even been told that bats and the like represent hell and we should never have them in the church.

    Been there, am I right? Even as I am writing this, different conversations and interactions are coming to mind and I have a flurry of emotions and reactions. There will always be strong reactions to a theme night in October, but if we are looking to utilize theme nights as a means to invite new students and engage with our community, we need to understand that this is an opportune time to do so.

    I am not saying we compete with Halloween or different cultural elements because you probably won’t see success in doing so. Instead, I’m suggesting that we find a way to engage our community in fun, relational, and missional ways that reach our students and their peers. But what does that look like? What can we do as we navigate this tricky time of year?

    Pick a theme that works for your environment.

    It’s easy to look at what others have done and want to create that for our groups, especially when we see what people post on social media. We see what larger churches and programs do and we want to replicate that. But before craving to imitate, let me encourage you to think about your environment and what will work for it.

    Think about your people and what they need. Think about your space and what it will allow you to do. Think about your church and its culture and what will be acceptable. Think through what will reach your students and their peers. After you’ve done the ground work of examining what will work, then pick a theme. It could be as simple as calling it a Halloween Party or maybe you could theme it as a Fall Tailgate. Whatever you pick for your theme, make sure that it will be the best for your students and their peers.

    Utilize games and activities to embrace the theme.

    Whatever theme you choose, make sure to incorporate games and activities that embrace your theme. If you choose a theme but then just utilize your normal games or keep the format and feel of a typical program, the themed event will fall flat. Not only will it make your students feel devalued, it will also make it appear as if you don’t care. If students believe you don’t care about the event that you put together for them, they will believe that you don’t care about them.

    You can incorporate different elements from your theme into your activities. If you are simply going for a fall theme think about doing apple bobbing and maybe taking it up a notch by bobbing for various fruits and veggies or even different foods like sandwiches. Choosing a Halloween theme doesn’t mean you need to do a haunted house, but instead you could have activities like pumpkin carving or pumpkin bowling. You could also utilize games with strobe or black lights like 9 Square or dodgeball. But make sure to tell your students if there will be strobes because they can affect people differently. There are also costume competitions to which you can assign different categories of judging. You can also incorporate eating activities like a pumpkin pie eating contest or have a make-your-own-s’more activity with a prize for most creative.

    Make sure to utilize different decor.

    When it comes to a fall-themed event think about decor like pumpkins, hay bales, apples, and fall leaves. If you want to do a more Halloween-themed event think through what won’t necessarily be inflammatory for your church community. You could use different colored lights, cobwebs, and hanging signs.

    But what if you can’t bring in all the things? What if your space and/or budget is limited? Think about getting different colored tablecloths for the food area from a dollar store, get creative with the plates, cups, and napkins and see if you can acquire ones that fit your theme. Think about hanging lights around doorways or the podium you may use. Or consider hosting the event outdoors and asking local farmers to donate straw bales (not hay, I learned that one very quickly living in Iowa) that you can incorporate into your outdoor design.

    Don’t be limited by your space but allow your space to generate creativity and utilize it in unique ways. This is also a great opportunity to ask your students and leaders to design it and see what they come up with. If you’re passionate about it and give them responsibility, they will be passionate as well and run with the theme.

    Theme your food options.

    When you can theme your food for events it just makes the event that much more fun. I’ll be honest, I’m not super creative when it comes to decorating food items for different events. But I can make things that fit the feel of the event. My point is that you don’t have to be able to design popcorn balls that look like spiders, but instead can utilize caramel popcorn for popcorn balls because it is a snack that has the feel of fall.

    So for a fall event, consider having snacks and food that fit the theme. Think about pumpkin snacks, popcorn, candy corn, caramel apples, puppy chow, apple cider, hot chocolate, and whatever else feels fall-ish to your group. Or consider asking parents or different groups within the church to prepare and run a fall-themed dinner for your group.

    Don’t fudge on your vision and mission.

    This is more of a reminder to us as leaders. It is always fun to put on an event our students will love and bring their peers to, but we need to remember that regardless of what we do, our vision and mission should always be a part of and shape our activities. Simply put, we shouldn’t do things just because they are fun or different, they should embody our vision and help to emphasize it.

    Theme Night Ideas: Fall Kickoff

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    It’s the middle of August and that means the school year is rapidly approaching. Many of our students are getting in their final vacations and summer memories because they start school in just a couple of weeks. Families are beginning to shop for back to school items and students are beginning to finalize their class schedules.

    This also means that ministries–ours included–are preparing for the fall launch. Our summer programming is scaled back due to living in a tourist town where most local families go away for the summer. Because of that, we look to kickoff our fall programming in a fun and celebratory way. We love to start the school year in a way that fosters community and is invitational, while at the same time highlights what our ministry is about and shares our vision.

    A successful fall kickoff isn’t a capstone to the year or indication that everything will go smoothly throughout the school year. Instead, a successful fall kickoff helps to set your ministry up for a good year and it allows the tone to be set for your students. Today I want to share some ways you can make your fall kickoff special, meaningful, and intentional for your students.

    Cast the vision well.

    One of things that is always important to the start of the school year is making sure you cast your vision. It sets the tone for the year, highlights your priorities, and helps students and leaders know what your ministry is about. It allows you and your team to set the tone and direction for your group right from the onset of the ministry year. By doing this, students and families know your heart and passion for the ministry. It will also highlight the direction you are going and the reasons for doing so.

    Utilize local resources.

    I’ve talked about utilizing local resources in other posts, but in moments like these I love to do that. We typically see larger numbers at the start of the year because students are excited to be back. And with typically nicer weather this time of year, it affords us more options to utilize. We’ve partnered with local eateries and ice creameries for our kickoffs in the past, but you can honestly utilize any local business.

    If you live in a farming community you may be able to host a whole hog cookout. If you live in a community known for a certain type of food or dessert, try to highlight that. If you have community groups that offer unique experiences like onsite laser tag or dunk tanks and weather allows, incorporate it into your kickoff. We live in Hershey and have highlighted chocolate at different points, but we also don’t want to overuse that one thing and so we look for other elements to highlight. Whatever your local resources, make sure to give them a shout-out and point your students and families to that aspect of the community.

    Know your culture.

    I could tell you all the things that we have tried to incorporate and have seen fail. I could also list out all the things I have done that have worked. But the truth of the matter is, some or none of those may work for you depending on the culture of your ministry. If you have students who just want to chill, setting up a large scale scavenger hunt won’t work. If you have students who love sports and active games, setting up 9 Square and playing capture the flag will probably be a win. At the end of the day, you need to know what your students are going to readily engage with and utilize those things to your advantage.

    Create a celebratory moment.

    Let’s be honest: going back to school isn’t a celebration for most of our students. But kicking off youth group, regathering with friends, and looking ahead are celebratory moments. So look to celebrate in ways your students will connect and relate to. This comes across in how you theme the gathering, the environment you create, how it’s communicated, and the way you and your leaders respond to it. When you and your leaders are having fun, your students will respond to that energy. It is also important to look at the environment. Do you have music, are leaders smiling and engaging, are the activities working, is there food, have you created opportunities for community? These questions will help us identify if this is truly a celebratory moment and also help us shift things if needed.

    I would also encourage you to create a singular moment that everyone can celebrate. This can be pre-planned or something organic that happens in the moment. Let me explain. Every other year our church does outside services in the summer under a tent and it was still up when we did our fall kickoff. We had our music pumping and kids started to come up on the stage and dance. And let me tell you, some of our kids can truly bust a move! I was about to settle everything down and call students in for our brief message, but instead I called our students in and threw on a few songs they knew and our entire student body engaged in a dance party for about ten minutes. It was awesome and exciting and everyone was involved.

    That’s an “in the moment” celebration. But perhaps pre-planning is better for some ministries. Maybe you celebrate and honor students who were baptized this summer. Perhaps you celebrate what God did on your mission trips or at camp. Maybe it’s welcoming in new students. Perhaps your students met a challenge and get to hit you with pies. Whatever it is for you, make sure to celebrate with your community.

    Theme the evening.

    This doesn’t need to be crazy or a brand new idea. Sometimes the proven themes can be the best for your group. We have tried to make our fall kickoff tailgate themed, but that never landed with our students. We did “Minute to Win It” for multiple years but it never really caught on. What has actually worked for our group is a theme around community and connection. We shape our kickoff around intentional moments and activities that foster connection and conversations. We also highlight our small groups and create two moments for connection during our kickoff. At the end of the day, however you theme your night has to be something that resonates with your community and draws them together.

    Involve students and leaders.

    Whenever I host kickoffs I like to highlight my leaders and introduce them, but I also love to make sure they get intentional time with their students. I also really enjoy getting my students involved in leading or facilitating part of the kickoff. This can include letting an intern take lead in the structure of the night. Or have students share their testimonies or stories of what they saw God do in and through them during your summer trips.

    Set the challenge.

    One of my favorite things to do is to honor and celebrate the successes we see our students already doing and challenge them to continue to do just that. Last year we saw our students invite a ton of friends to our kickoff and so I challenged them to let our ministry be a place where anyone and everyone could come and to continue inviting inviting their friends. This resulted in record numbers of new students attending our program and many of them becoming part of our community.

    By setting a challenge or goal for your students, you are highlighting how they are the focus of the ministry. You are giving them identity, ownership, and purpose, and students will rise to that challenge. So think about what you’d like to challenge your students to this year and lay that out for them at your kickoff. I would also encourage you to remind them throughout the year and to celebrate the successes as they happen.

    How to Pick a Retreat Destination

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    With the fall semester just beginning for many of us, you may not be thinking about trips just yet. Or perhaps you have a fall retreat coming up and you’re starting to prepare all the information and building out schedules and details. Regardless of where you are in the planning stages, it is important to think critically about where you are going and why you are going there.

    Those of us who serve in student ministry know how important trips and retreats are in the lives of students. These moments help our students grow and mature in their faith as they are able to hyper-focus on spiritual disciplines, rhythms, formation, and transformation in a condensed but intentional time. Because of that reality, we must be intentional in choosing the locations for these trips so as to best care for and minister to our students. Today I’m sharing some practical things to look for in the places you plan to take your students so they can have the best possible experience.

    Find a place that matches and supports your vision.

    Whenever our ministry is assessing where we will be taking our students we look to see if it supports our vision of disciple-making. That means we want a place that has longer small group times, opportunities for service, challenging and deep messages, as well as fun and engaging activities. What you want for your group may not be what we look for, but what matters is that your values and vision are complimented and supported through the elements offered by the camp or retreat center.

    Choose a location that is cost-effective.

    We all serve in areas that can vary widely from a socioeconomic perspective. This means what some students can afford in one area is not necessarily the same in another. That doesn’t mean we need to sacrifice on the quality or benefits of the retreat site, but instead look for one that is affordable and cost-effective.

    The truth is students don’t need all the bells and whistles to make camp enjoyable and memorable. They instead need one they can attend, where they can build meaningful relationships, have fun doing a variety of things, and make lasting memories. So think about where you are going, if it is financially accessible for your students, and how you may be able to assist those who cannot afford to go.

    Pick a place that has good activities.

    Activities perhaps aren’t always the focus when we choose a retreat destination, but should receive more attention. I am not saying they should be the determining factor in where you take your group, but they should play a role in your decision.

    I have been to many beautiful and cost-effective camps that had very few on-site activities. This was always a little disappointing to our groups; they hoped camps would offer different aspects than normal youth group gatherings. It is also important to make sure that the activities are age appropriate. It is possible to have an amazing camp and facilities but the activities may be designed more for elementary day camps and not youth groups. So consider where you are going, and what activities they offer in which your group will enjoy participating.

    Find an experience your students will remember.

    What makes camps and retreats memorable? The camp we take our students to in the winter isn’t the most beautiful or top of the line. But for our group, it doesn’t need to be. They offer all the things we are looking for: quality speakers, intentional small group times, fantastic activities, and really good meals. What makes this retreat so memorable for our students are the sessions, small group time, the activities like tubing runs (including one onto a lake and nighttime), the camp director who engages with each student, and the team-building competitions.

    Whatever makes a trip memorable for your students, find a place that will compliment those things. But always use discernment with this as well. Just because a student remembers a joke the speaker told, or the pranks they pulled, or a random camp romance, doesn’t mean you should choose that location again. Find memories that are valuable, meaningful, formational, and contribute ultimately toward your vision for your students.

    Choose a place that will best help your students grow.

    What is the purpose of going to a retreat or camp for your group? Whenever I take students on a trip, I don’t want them to just go on a vacation. I truly want it to be spiritually formational for them and to see them wrestle and grow in their relationships with Jesus. I know there are many camps that host amazing experiences students love but ultimately are summer hangouts with Jesus sprinkled in. I have nothing against those camps, but when I think about what my position entails and what I am called to do, I need to make sure these trips are helping me meet my goal and objectives.

    My position states I am to help students grow and mature in their relationship with Jesus and anything we do in our ministry should be focused on that purpose. So when I am considering where to take students, I must be thinking in that way in order to achieve what I was hired to do. Whenever I look at camps or retreat centers, I look for places that will help students grow in their relationship with Jesus, and still have fun and creative aspects they will enjoy.

    Find a site that enables you and your leaders to engage with students.

    Sometimes you may find a retreat center that requires you and your team to handle all the details. You need to be the speaker or you need to book one. Your team has to handle the worship leading, meal prep, activity coordination, and all the other details. While that isn’t inherently a bad thing–especially if you are equipped to do it–it may not be the most ideal situation for you and your team to engage with the students.

    So consider the requirements that extend to you and your team, and ask if they are the best way for you to minister to and care for your students. If not, you may want to look for a camp that takes care of the details and enables you to spend the trip simply being present with your students.

    3 Quick Tips for Volunteer Recruitment

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    As we enter into summer programming you may not be actively thinking about recruiting new leaders for the fall. Perhaps this seems early for some of you. I know that isn’t how I have typically operated, which usually leads to a mad dash and panicked few weeks in August as we try to find quality volunteers right before we start programming. This isn’t a healthy way to start programming for us or our volunteers as we both end up feeling rushed and not fully prepared for the school year.

    As I have begun to take some hard looks at volunteer recruitment, I have realized that things need to change in order to better equip our leaders and ministries to serve our students. If recruiting sounds difficult or exasperating, I get it. I have often felt the same way. But if we approach recruitment differently, we can help alleviate the tension. So here are three easy ways to save yourself a lot of stress and hardship, and help yourself find quality leaders.

    1. Start early.

    For the first time ever, our team started recruiting this past week. We began to reach out to potential leaders, we added volunteer opportunities to our monthly newsletter, and we asked our leaders to identify potential additional leaders. Perhaps this is something you always do, but for our team it isn’t. The earliest that we have started would be the end of July, and it often led to a rushed and angst-filled month before programming kicked off.

    Planning ahead and building up your volunteer group early allows you to make sure your leaders are equipped and prepared for the school year. And as you begin to plan ahead, you can scale it each year and begin to recruit even earlier. Next year we are already planning to begin recruiting as the current school year ends. So think about when you will start recruiting and how you can begin to do so earlier to help best prepare your ministry for the fall.

    2. Think outside the box.

    When it comes to who you recruit, how you recruit, and where you recruit from, try to think creatively and in ways you haven’t before. I have found that when I recruit I can fall into doing the same thing over and over again. Bulletin announcements, cold calls, asking leaders to talk to their friends, and asking people who used to volunteer. But this year I decided to try something different: I reached out directly to parents.

    This may be something you already do, but for me it was my first time doing it in a new way. We send a newsletter out once a month and this month’s almost solely focused on volunteer needs with the hope that parents will see it and consider jumping in. My point with this is to encourage you to try something new and different. Shake up how you have done recruiting in the past. Ask other youth workers what they do. Try something new and see if it provides you with a new recruit or multiple volunteers.

    3. Consider changing things up.

    I think for many people it is easy to get stuck in habits and rhythms. These aren’t necessarily bad things but they can hamper us, especially if they aren’t providing the necessary volunteers that we need. What we need to do is the be creative as we think about recruitment. If we think of this as an opportunity to creatively try something new, it all of a sudden opens up brand new perspectives on how to recruit.

    One of the things we have done out of necessity is think through whether our staff team needs to do all the things we have traditionally done, or if we can empower volunteers to take over those roles. That means creating new positions and leadership opportunities, offering additional training, and identifying new leaders. But the benefit of having leaders take ownership and allowing our staff team to flourish far outweighs those additional needs.

    What are your best tips for recruiting new volunteers?