I love days like today!

Today was an exciting day!

THIS MORNING - Youth Pastors in Murrysville got together to finalize plans for our School Year Kick Off event, IGNITION, which they sponsor at the beginning of each school year. Those guys are a lot of fun and they have a heart for the Kingdom of God. We're expecting a thousand students at that event.

LUNCH - Next I had lunch with the Greensburg Youth Pastors Network. Those guys love to share ideas, resources, as well as funny stories. They are praying about and considering doing a large scale outreach with The Freedom Experience - Brock Gill (Christian Illusionist), BMX stunt bikes, and more.

THIS AFTERNOON - The Christian Club at Franklin Regional Senior High in Murrysville met today. They have a lot of new students there and needed a little inspiration. So I arranged to have Frank Audia, a youth pastor and Christian Club coach of nearby Penn Trafford High School, to come and talk about the outreach events they do for different groups of students in their school (mostly sports teams). First of all, Frank is a tough, built, tattooed guy who is just really cool. And he is passionate about students reaching their friends for Christ. The students asked Frank questions and agreed at the end that they wanted to be serious about reaching outreach this school year.

I love days like today!

30 Ways that Adults Can Spiritually Impact Schools

We've heard the mantra of 'separation of church and state' for so long that we often think there's nothing we can do to make a difference. In fact, there's a lot we can and should do!

Prayer Ideas
1. Organize prayer walks at local schools (www.reviveprayerwalk.org)
2. Pray as you drive near/through school zones (www.prayerzonepartners.com)
3. Start a Moms in Touch prayer group (www.momsintouch.org)
4. Make sure Christian students know about See You At The Pole (www.syatp.com)
5. Adopt a School (www.everyschool.com)
6. Claim Your Campus (www.claimyourcampus.com)
7. Copy pages out of a school's yearbook and ask adults in your church to pray for a page.
8. Dedicate a bulletin board in your church to encouraging prayer for schools.
9. Create prayer magnets to remind people to remember schools in their prayers.
10. Plan a commissioning service at your church to pray over, encourage, and support Christian teenagers in your church as “missionaries” to their schools.

Outreach Ideas
11. Encourage Christian students you know to start a Christian Club, prayer group, FCA, Youth Alive, Club 121, or First Priority Club at their school (www.gocampus.org, www.catchthis.net, www.campusmissions.org,
www.fca.org, www.fpoa.org).
12. Buy resources to help students have a successful See You At The Pole event (www.syatp.com)
13. Buy Bibles, Gospels of John, tracts, etc. for Christian students to distribute at school (www.ibsdirect.com, www.pocketpower.com, www.bookofhope.com, www.atstracts.org).
14. Buy tickets to Christian concerts that students can give out to friends at school. (www.genexconcerts.com – western PA only)
15. Buy pizzas for the Christian club at a local school to do an outreach to their friends.
16. Help bring school assembly programs to local schools (there are many out there sponsored by Christian ministries – www.feelthepower.org, www.reachyourcity.com, www.thesevenproject.com, www.sevenfaith.com).
17. Encourage Christian students you know to participate in Fields of Faith outreach event (www.fieldsoffaith.com)
18. Encourage Christian students you know participate in MBA day on January 22 (www.teensforchrist.org/mba.aspx).
19. Equip Christian teenagers with knowledge of their legal rights on the public school campus (www.aclj.org).
20. Become a mentor to a teenager (www.mentoryouth.com) in your church or in your community.

Serving Ideas
21. Join your school district's PTA group.
22. Organize parent meetings on a regular basis to pray for schools, communicate prayer needs, resource needs, and volunteer needs.
23. Meet with school administrators and ask about ways to volunteer.
24. Run for election on the School Board.

Ideas for Youth Pastors
25. Make an appointment to meet with principals, guidance counselors. Ask them what help they need.
26. Work with other youth pastors to bring school assembly programs to schools.
27. Become an assistant coach for a sports team.
28. Do the Campus Checkup your students and other youth groups.
(www.everyschool.com)
29. Sponsor an evangelism and/or campus ministry training event with other youth pastors in your community.
30. Connect with other youth pastors in your community to share ideas, create a common strategy, etc.

If you have other ideas about what adults can do, please comment below. To download a PDF version of these ideas, please go to www.teensforchrist.org.

The 9 Month Mission Trip begins this week!

This is it! Students go back to school this week all over the country - the unofficial signaling of the end of summer, but the beginning of a great adventure. Teenagers see the new school year differently - for some it's a new football season, for other it's time for a new girlfriend or boyfriend, and for still others it's the beginning of a new prison sentence. We are challenging Christian students to see the new school year as a 9 Month Mission Trip. Think about it - transportation is already provided, students still get to eat strange and exotic food, and the people there already speak their own language. Our schools are a great mission fields and Christian teenagers are the best missionaries to that field. A girl from a local youth group (Lia Fischer) posted on her facebook status this week - "I'm dedicating this school year to proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ! Who's with me!?!?" Please pray with me that God will raise up many more students like this in the days and weeks to come.

Find others going on the 9 Month Mission Trip - www.facebook.conm/9monthmissiontrip

Find upcoming Back-to-School events - www.teensforchrist.org
(Unleashed: Student Evangelism Conference, Ignition: School Year Kick Off event, and Connect: School Year Kick Off event)

Read our new resource - 30 Ways Adults Can Have a Spiritual Impact on Schools - www.teensforchrist.org

What to do when your students go to another youth group

Just read a great blog post this morning from Neil Young, a youth worker in Ireland, on Morethandodgeball.com. He's talking about what our attitue should be toward other churches in our communities. Great stuff! We all need to see the BIGGER picture!

http://www.morethandodgeball.com/guest-post-the-youth-work-franchise

The brand new www.YouthWorkers.net - very cool!

For all of you Youth Pastors, Youth Leaders, or Youth Workers of another kind, I want to invite you to check out the National Network of Youth Ministries' updated www.youthworkers.net. The new format makes it easier than ever to connect with fellow youth pastors in your community and around the country.

Our local youth ministry networks here in Pennsylvania are affiliated with the National Network of Youth Ministries, an organization filled with people passionate about building the Kingdom of God by connecting the Body of Christ.

How to Avoid Train Wrecks in Networking

Nine years ago, I attended a conference for Youth Ministry Network Coordinators (people who help churches connect and work together) sponsored by the National Network of Youth Ministries (www.youthworkers.net). One of the key things we learned was this: an effective network of youth pastors carefully balances strategy and relationships - like the two rails of a train track, they keep a network moving smoothly. You can't run a train without two rails and you can't lead a network of youth pastors without strong relationships and purposeful strategy.

I've seen this principle play out many times over the years since then. Sometimes you have a group of youth pastors who are all business - they want to get something done. I'm all for that, but without the trust and camaraderie that relationships provide, heavy-strategy networks seems to only last as long as whatever event or project they are doing and they leave people feeling drained, not refreshed.

I've also seen networks of youth pastors who were all about connecting and not much else. Those groups are a lot of fun, but I believe that they are missing out on so much that God could do through them. A relationship-only network becomes a little too me-focused (Am I getting something out of this? If not, I'm outta here). The strategy element keeps the relationships purposeful and missional.

One group of youth pastors we work with plans two events a year - the events are strategic and exciting (a school year kick off event attended by 700+ kids, and a baccalaureate service for graduating seniors). But the events really just provide an excuse for the guys to get together and hang out - and they have a GREAT time together. No notes are taken, no minutes, no agendas handed out. We just work on our projects as we can fit between joking around.

Another group of youth pastors we work with has several big events which they do together throughout the year, but all of that was born out of friendships and sharing the same passion for teenagers. That group of youth leaders also throws baby showers for each other, has dinners together, and constantly keep in touch via facebook and twitter. They make their work a lot of fun.

The two rails of relationship and strategy (or maybe they're more like the two ends of a balance pole carried by a tightrope walker) exist in a sort of tension, but carefully balancing these things makes working together work well.

From a Senior Pastor's Viewpoint

Found this quote from Geoff Surratt, Pastor of Ministries at Seacoast Church, SC. This was from an interview with Ed Stetzer where Ed asks the question...

What are some other ideas you have for increasing the fruit of the local church and not just the growth?
"...Finally, fruit will be increased when churches lower their force shields and begin to work together. At one of our Seacoast locations we go out into the very tough neighborhood once a month to be a blessing to people who have very little in life. We take them clothes, food, work in their yards, pick up their trash, anything that will show the love of Jesus in a tangible way. The cool part of the deal is that we have several churches who join together every month to minister to this neighborhood. We aren't worried about where the people go to church or if we can win them for our scorecard; we're all just trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus. There is powerful fruit in dropping our defenses and joining hands to make Jesus famous."

Amen!

Another story of youth ministries working together!

Check out this newspaper article (thanks again to Nick Arnold) about churches in Kansas City that are doing mission projects together. Imagine not only reaching our communities together, but reaching the world together!

Kansas City Youth Groups Partner to Serve Others

8 Benefits of Youth Ministry Networking

Wow! My blog was found today by someone with a similar passion - churches working together to reach teenagers for Christ. I want to recommend Nick Arnold's blog as a very nice youth ministry networking resource! (www.ministryallies.com)

Check out their recent article - 8 Benefits of Youth Ministry Networking.

Thanks Nick for connecting and thanks for your heart for the Kingdom of God and for reaching teenagers for Christ.

Dunk a Youth Pastor!

A couple Saturdays ago, our group of youth pastors in Fayette County did an event together which they called "FULLY ALIVE". The idea was to have something fun to do in the summer, yet something to keep spiritual fires burning. So we had inflatable games, food (of course), worship, a speaker (we recommend Nikita Koloff, former WWF wrestler!), and the highlight of the day - the Youth Pastor Dunk Tank. What was great about this was that all of us have developed relationships to the point where we all felt comfortable getting in that crazy thing and even made a point to dunk each other. It was great! I guess it's just one more way to see that youth ministry is FUN! But, even truer, doing youth ministry TOGETHER is WAY FUN! Until you fall into that cold, nasty water for the 10th time. :)

Pictured here is Ron Hudson, youth pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Uniontown. We want to say a special thanks to Matt Swenglish and Abundant Life Church, where Matt is the youth pastor, for hosting this great event for us!

Great blog posts about Youth Ministry Networking!

I came across three blog posts from www.youthminblog.com - one from David Hertweck, a Korean youth pastor in Syracuse, NY about the benefits of youth minsitry networking and another by Mike Kupferer about what makes a great network, and another by Shawn Michael about not doing life alone! This is great stuff!

Networks Make You Bigger

4 Qualities of a Good Youth Worker Network

Get Your Act Together!

I couldn't have stated these things any better myself.

"Intro to Youth Ministry" class starting this fall

I have the privilege of teaching a class this fall for the Westmoreland School of Ministry - "Intro to Youth Ministry". I'm really excited that this class will be available in our area (every Monday, starting Sept. 7 at New Stanton Assembly of God). The class will go for 13 thirteen weeks. Students can take it for three college credits or audit the class. I'm planning to feature a different youth pastor each week who is "in the field" - that will be fun. Just yesterday, I got hold of a couple of the textbooks of the class, one of which is pictured here - Starting Right: Thinking Theologically About Youth Ministry. Whether you're a college-age student who wants to works with students or if you're an adult volunteer who already is discipling teenagers, this class will help! Hope to see you there. You can download the schedule and registration information at www.teensforchrist.org.

What I'm Reading This Summer

I'm working on two different books right now. The first is brand new - Evangelism Remixed by Dave Rahn (YFC VP) and Terry Linhart. What I love about this book is that it reports from actual research what youth ministries look like in which students are actively sharing their faith. The authors share what specific approaches are providing the best foundation for students to tell their friends about Christ. Very worthwhile read if you want to help your students reach their friends for Christ.

The other book I just started might not sound real interesting, but I find it fascinating - the 12th Edition Handbook of Denominations in the United States. We have so many different kinds of churches and since TFC works with many different kinds of churches, I wanted to increase my understanding of what different churches believe and where they came from. I think that's the most interesting part - how did we get to have so many different varieties of Christianity? It's pretty wild stuff. Sometimes good. Sometimes bad. I learned a lot of this stuff in Church History class at MBI, but I needed a refresher course, having been out in the field for over a decade now.

So what are you reading these days? I'd love to hear about it.

We Need Each Other!

These two videos share the vision and mission of Teens For Christ. Enjoy!

Youth Pastors Preparing for Next School Year!

Well one school year is ending but the next one will be here before we know it! So at our recent network meetings youth pastors have been making plans for working together next school year...

Murrysville - youth pastors are planning the next IGNITION school year kick off event.

Latrobe/Derry - youth pastors are working on a monthly youth worship night for youth groups to come together in their community

Fayette County - youth pastors have a series of events that they are taking turns on leading for the network including Connect, Fall Fusion, iPromise, 3V, and more!

Penn Trafford - youth pastors are working on a pre-school outreach with BMX stunt bikes, a fall tailgate party, and next year's post-prom event.

Mon Valley - youth pastors are talking about a school year kick off event at Belle Vernon High School

I am always amazed at the great things God's people can do when we work together! The 2008-2009 school year was one of the best I've ever seen. I can't wait to see what happens next year.

A short story of God's provision for us

It's one of those things that happens from time to time - our gas got shut off yesterday. I was waiting until I got my May paycheck to make a payment, but the bill was past due. So I called today to make a payment, but I didn't have near enough to pay the whole thing (not to mention to the reconnect fee). The woman on the other end of the phone said that, based on our income, we could have our gas turned back on for only $240.00. Amazing, I had just deposited $240.00 in the bank the day before (some gift money we had received). God provided exactly what we needed. Thank You Father God!

Remembering Columbine - 10 Years Later

Yesterday was the 10 Year Anniversary of the Columbine shootings. I'd like to quote from the blog of my friend Nick Poole - Nick was a high school student (Derry Sr. High)I was working with at the time of the shootings:

"This event was formational in my life and it greatly impacted my future involvement in high school Bible Clubs both as a student and later a youth pastor. As a teenager and young adult, it was a reminder that life is short, we need to live it to the full! Ten years later, the world has continued to change. We are now living in a post-911 world. One of suspicion, uncertainty and violence. We don’t know what terror lies around the next turn. In the midst of all of this, I know I can have the same peace I had 10 years ago sitting in class. Regardless of what’s down the hall or down the street, I know that my God is on the throne. I can experience the peace that passes all understanding, not because of my power, ability, 0r insight, but because I serve a God who is greater and in the end has already conquered sin, death and the grave! Regardless of what terror or uncertainty you are facing today, remember God will see you through."

Here's a video that Nick shared on his blog as well. This is great.

Remembering how it all got started...10 years ago

The Westmoreland County Youth Network is turning 10 Years Old this summer!

10 years ago I got a phone call from a guy in Latrobe, Pennyslvania telling me that there was going to be a Billy Graham Crusade in Latrobe (Celebration '99) and he asked if I could serve as the student ministry chairman. I had been with Teens For Christ full time for 3 years by that time and Pete Malik and I were busy helping churches in Fayette County work together to reach teenagers for Christ. Working with the great Celebration '99 people in Westmoreland County turned out to be very similar to what I was already doing - working with youth pastors and Christian Clubs in local high schools - but on a much larger scale! The first Celebration '99 meeting I attended was at Cornerstone Ministries. The first three youth pastors I met were Dan Knight (Latrobe First Church of God), Todd Nevue (Calvary Assembly Ministries), and Paul Peternel (Jeannette Assembly). Months of planning went by and in May we had David Nasser and Al Densen (yeah, remember him?) come to do school assemblies to help build up excitement. On April 20th, all of us were shocked at the news of the Columbine shootings and given a powerful reminder of why we were doing all of this. The actual outreach event, with Billy Graham associate Ralph Bell, took place in June of '99. The student day outreach featured a concert by Third Day, inflatable games, and thousands of pizzas! 300+ students came forward at the invitation and were followed up on by local youth pastors. Later that summer all the youth pastors who were involved in Celebration '99 got together and decided that they wanted to keep on working together. And so, the Westmoreland County Youth Network was born. For the past 10 years, we have continued helping youth pastors get to know each other, build friendships, and work together on all kinds of youth ministry events and outreaches. We've worked with hundreds of students in local schools helping them reach their friends for Christ (some of those students, like Dave Grimm and Tom Shrum, are youth pastors now!). So many students, and even many youth pastors have come and gone since that time, but working in Westmoreland County has been a great privilege and a lot of fun. I've met so many of my best friends over this past ten years and I met my wife there too (which made Sharon Poole very happy!). She was working at Majesty Christian store in the fall of 2001 and I walked in one day looking for a book and I found her. Over and over again, I have become more and more convinced that God does great and mighty things when His people work together. My thanks to all of those I've had the privilege of serving and serving with these past ten years.

"10 Days to inTENtionally help your friends experience Jesus" begins today!

One of our goals as a youth network is to invite Christian students to connect with the bigger picture, with larger things, so that they have a sense of belonging to something much bigger than themselves. Hopefully, they get that at church, but it's one thing to say, I'm part of my church - it's a whole other thing to say, I'm part of something that MANY churches are doing. Our local network has been working with Youth Alive to challenge thousands of Christian students around Pennsylvania to participate in "10 Days" an intentional, near-the-end-of-the-school-year, Easter-based outreach which takes place at their schools. Students are challenged to do something different each of the 10 days to help their friends at school experience who Jesus is and what He is like. This year's "10 Days" ideas are based on Matthew 25:31-46 where Jesus talks about the sheep and the goats and reaching out to the least of these.

10 Days began 15 or so years ago as a youth pastor's idea - since students have Spirit Weeks at school (usually in the fall), the idea was to do a "Jesus Week" as an outreach. Local youth pastors and high school Bible clubs in our networks have kept the idea going ever since.

Please pray with us that God will use many students in our region, our state, and beyond to share Jesus' truth and love with their friends. Students can see ideas and share their testimonies at www.teensforchrist.org/10Days.aspx.