Life of a youth pastor .

Get off the stage, you talk too much!

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shh2If the statement upsets you it could be a deeper conviction or perhaps I’m right. However, I’m not here to guilt trip you, but rather offer up one of the best kept secrets I have run into this past year. The method has benefited my student ministry tremendously.

You and I both know that even the most gifted and rehearsed speaker won’t connect with every student. I receive compliments and encouragement from some students while getting blank stares from others. Your audience needs different voices offering up the same truth in different tones. Just as there are a kazillion love songs on the radio, some prefer country music while others like the fat beat of a heavy rap song with a similar story…in both songs someone is stealing the girl or running off with their high school sweetheart  (I understand country music lyrics a little bit more clearly than rap…but maybe that’s just me?).

I found that asking guest speakers to take on a speaking series is beneficial to everyone involved in the equation. A couple of quick thoughts:

  • Give your audience another voice to connect with.
  • Rather than spend time on message prep that week, solve other problems in your ministry.
  • Allow a speaker/teacher to grow in their gifting.
  • Taking off a Sunday in the future will be much more possible when you share the stage with others.
  • Pastoral staff and those with the gift of teaching are selected guest speakers. BE SELECTIVE.
  • One day when you leave your position students will be more receptive to hearing from other voices…even the next youth pastor.

How often should you share the stage? The old-school youth pastor and even some modern day yp’s will speak every single Sunday. If you want to burn out and hate your job…then continue this method. Even if you LOVE speaking…your ministry needs your attention in other places other than the stage. I have done some math and it appears over the past year that I speak 40-50% of the time. That means that I am one of if not the most consistent faces on stage but not appearing every Sunday.

Getting off the stage has allowed me to recruit, train and cast vision for my leaders like never before. This year we have a full volunteer staff of almost 60 showing up every Sunday to lead small groups, greet students and serve up a meal for our high school program. This would not have been possible if it weren’t for the team of speakers I have around me that pour in their time to teach our students while I work on other “behind the scenes stuff” during the week.

In case the question came to mind. We use Orange’s Xp3 curriculum as our foundation for a teaching manuscript and small group questions. I allow the guest speaker to add their own stories and even some main points, but they have to stick to the bottom line and use the scripture given.

So, I leave you with this question: Who are you sharing the stage with?

I’m pretty excited about our Sundays in July!

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SSFproThis is a postcard I made to promote our activities this summer. They were handed out this morning and to say the least they are pretty stoked. We don’t always do CRAZY games, so they are looking forward to these Sundays in July. I also made matching slides for our instagram account and have buffered reminders throughout the summer so they can be reminded about what’s next. I found an amazing program to help me with buffering posts (more about that in my next blog) …I’m about to go on vacation but have 20 instagram posts scheduled for the month! Wahoo!

 

Ministry endeavors and summer adventures!

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This summer is flying by faster than my chickens… yes I do have chickens, and yes they run & fly when I call them, and yes they are trained… okay enough of that, back to summer.

UPGRADE 

The season started quite rapidly with the promoting of all grades at our church. This was a first for us, we previously promoted in the fall at the beginning of a new school year but missed the boat with many students feeling too old for their former program during the summer. Our previous 8th graders are fully engaged and now participating in our HS program, solidifying these friendships and program as part of their schedule before their freshman year begins.

VOLUNTEER RECRUITING 

During the same 2-3 weeks we were in the trenches of a church-wide volunteer series. “You are here: Do something.” It went well…too well. There are 500 people that expressed interest in getting plugged in and trying a serving/volunteer role at our church. 180-ish of those people expressed interest in serving within NextGen. This is great and all but with our small staff processing this many people you can only imagine the amount of work on top of what we are already doing – but we are doing it and really excited to see how many become weekly volunteers in our ministry.

GO! TEAMS

Enter GO! Teams. Go! Teams are the serving experiences we offer during the summer for kids/students 3-12 grade…yes 3rd graders participate! This year we had 6 different sites across the country, and 1 international site being in Haiti. Almost 200 kids, students and adult leaders served God this summer through kid’s clubs, feeding the homeless, prayer walks, relational ministry, refugee ministry, and a few small construction projects. This wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t had the help from our global serve leader Calla (my wife, she’s awesome) and her partnering with NextGen and our like-minded ministry partners to offer something truly special for our students.

This was the first year since being in youth ministry for 7 years that I did not lead a trip. I went as an adult leader on our Portland trip to shadow a team leader and give feedback, he did awesome! Portland is FULL of ministry opportunities, it is a city that is in desperate need of Jesus.

Getting back a few days ago, I realized there is much more work to be done this summer, but also much playing to be had!

Here’s what I have coming up – stay tuned for updates!

Work Hard

  1. Interview and accept 4 interns by September 1st for a 1-year internship in student ministry at Gateway. Interested? Apply now to our Leadership Development Program!
  2. Onboarding and training volunteers and small group leaders for the fall.
  3. Helping find a new staff member for our NextGen team. (Early Childhood)
  4. NextGen Family BBQ. Last year we had 800 show up to feast and meet our staff and small group leaders.
  5. Scheduling out the remainder of the summer and executing a 6-week trial run on new high school program hours. (we are trying a 4-6PM program time on Sundays, what works best for your highschoolers?)
  6. Wrapping up 2015 stumin poll and getting results out. (Sorry this has taken forever, but it’s still 2015 right?) Haven’t taken it yet? You can right here!
  7. Book reviews for Orange… I’m thrilled to read some of the latest from the Orange store, I just have to find the time!

Play Hard

  1. Next week I’m spending a few days in Geneva with my wife at our favorite hideaway. (Geneva, IL not Switzerland!) The Herrington Inn is a MUST for any couple wanting some R&R. It’s a real gem.
  2. We are buying a jeep from one of my former roommates in Chicago and driving it back to TX next week! 1,145 miles with Calla! 98′ XJ Cherokee Sport 4×4 4.0L 5spd for those Jeep freaks that want the details.
  3. Getting a few 14ers under my belt with Kenny Conley and flyfishing in Colorado. We are for sure going to climb Gray’s/Torrey’s peak.
  4. One week with no agenda, just resting and spending time in Ft. Collins, CO with my wife and her family.

Our team is hiring! Be NextGen with me.

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Our NextGen team at Gateway Church in Austin, TX is searching for a Preschool Ninja! There are no silos here within our NextGen team, you alongside myself (student pastor) and the rest of the team work closely together strategizing to offer the best for our church families and those seeking a church home. I firmly believe that when preschool wins so does student ministry.

We hired an amazing Preschool Ninja about 18 months ago, but she had to go fall in love with someone who swept her off her feet and is taking her away from Austin (insert violin music here). We are officially looking for her replacement and I’m really excited to see who this new preschool ninja might be. Is it you or someone you think would be a great fit? (Send them this link)

We believe in this position so much that we created a website around it. Check out preschoolninja.com to help us find the right person. Go ahead, check it out! [Read more…]

Organize for camp with custom lanyard schedules.

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IMG_9396      Bottom line: Get organized for camp by making your own lanyard schedules. 

Each year we run a full on NextGen camp. For MLK weekend we take 3rd-12th grade to the same camp setting, but run three independent camps according to age group. Sounds crazy and perhaps impossible right?! The three age groups never bump into each other except for MS/HS sharing a large group program.

Think about it: 300-400 kids & adults running around for three days trying to figure out what’s next, when to eat and where to be is asking for complete chaos. As you know, doing this for one age group brings enough headache of it’s own. Instead of trying to keep up with camp books, or kids asking the cabin leader every moment, “What’s next?”…we did lanyards this year and I’ll never look back.

What you will need: [Read more…]

2015 Student Ministry Survey

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This is not that conversation you have with another youth pastor to see who is “winning”, all of us are on the same team trying to reach the same generation, so let’s help each other out! The information I’m hoping to obtain with this survey can be life changing for your ministry and perspective on how your student ministry fits within your church.

After taking the survey you will know where you stand in these three areas compared to a variety of other churches.

  1. Student population in correlation to adult attendance
  2. Percentage of overall budget contributed to student ministry
  3. The student ministry staff sizes in relation to student numbers

After collecting information over the next few weeks I will email those that contributed to the survey, you will then be able to compare your own ministry to the averages obtained. This information will allow you to have real-time conversations with your church about where you are in these areas. (For me, I believe that I’m understaffed currently and I’m trying to discover if that is really the case.)

Your personal information and church name will be kept confidential, it will not be shared with anyone. The survey requires very short answers and should only take you a few minutes… when you are finished would you send the survey link to someone else? The more student pastors we can get to take the survey, the better averages and collective information we will have.

#OC15 hacks for you and your team

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Who do you want to meet and why? Two years ago I read the book: Leading Change without losing it by Carey Nieuwhof. It guided me greatly as I lead tons of change in our student ministry including building small group culture from the ground up. Carey was a hero of knowledge in his book, I simply wanted to thank him for writing the book and share some victories I had because of his leadership imparted to me. Not only did I get to meet him but we had breakfast! Last year it was talking with Doug Fields for about 10 minutes about our current student ministry goals and getting his feedback. Don’t be shy, get out there and meet someone new, introduce yourself. Oh… and may I add, some of my most beneficial conversations didn’t come from the well known ministry leaders – it was buying a coffee for some Orange specialists. I really enjoy my time with Jeremy Zach & Matt Ivy when I get the opportunity.

Your team should rarely be together. You spend almost every waking moment with your team trying to solve the world’s problems within your own church. The next few days, here’s your strategy – divide and conquer. Don’t attend the same breakouts, if you all have the same schedule do yourself a favor and mix it up now – switch your breakouts and exchange notes when you get home.

Down time is prime time. If there isn’t a main session or breakout happening you need to understand this very plainly – 6,500 other like minded people are sitting, eating or browsing the bookstore! Now is the time to meet new people, develop ministry relationships outside of your own bubble and talk shop. Use social media (Twitter) to connect with others quickly. Example:  Hey #stumin people at #OC15 I’d like to meet some other youth pastors and learn from you, you have 5 min? I’m in main lobby by water fountain. For real, if you’d like to hangout for a bit during the conference hit me up on Twitter @ChrisParker0

What are your top 3 questions in ministry right now? Have those questions ready for any peer or leader in ministry you might encounter.

Here are mine:

  • How do you create a program that is equally inviting to unchurched students while also discipling the current students you have?
  • Ministry is really heavy, how do you avoid taking it all home with you?
  • Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently over the past few years in ministry? I always ask this question, I want to learn from other’s mistakes… hoping I won’t make them myself!

Back to the drawing board. Here’s what I’m stoked about. The next few days will fly by but it doesn’t end there. Schedule a time NOW with your team, supervisor, volunteers to discuss what you learned and talk strategically about how you want to implement these ideas into what you are doing already. Get the flip chart out or sticky notes and go to town. There should be too much to talk about and that’s ok. I’d recommend at least two full days with your team to digest and develop a game plan moving forward. The biggest mistake is to go home and just continue in the same routine without unpacking anything.

Are you reading from afar? No worries you can watch LIVE sessions from the couch or office, by yourself or with your team. Set aside some time in the next few days to look at the schedule and make a point to join us!

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The Sunday backup plan.

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pixshark.com

 

As I browse youth pastor forums it is pretty common to come across the guy or gal asking for last minute help on a Saturday night. We have all been in this situation where we just know that we simply can’t make tomorrow happen. Whether it be the flu, a death in the family, or you procrastinated all week, the truth remains the same: you have no idea how Sunday is going to work in your absence (or mental absence if you decided to wait until the last minute to plan).  [Read more…]

Parents: What is your disaster plan? FREE WORKSHEET FOR PARENTS.

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When the power goes out at home what do you do? What about a tornado headed your way? How do you clean up a flooded basement? For many of us that have faced such disasters, we understand how important it is to have a disaster plan. How you deal with disaster in the moment and the days to follow will determine survival and surely how you will address disaster in the future.

Serious question, “What do you do when disaster strikes at home?”

Your child lets out a horrific scream, so you hurry into the kitchen to see what has happened. You find they have cut their hand very badly while trying to open one of those impossible plastic boxes that contains their favorite toy inside. The cut is deep and there is blood everywhere. How do you react? What do you do? In shock, you turn and run full speed out the front door, slamming the door in your kids face, get in the car and drive away from home… without your child. Wait. No! That’s ridiculous and bad parenting. Parents would never respond to a situation like this, unfortunately many do when other types of disaster hit the home…and I have heard too many stories to count.

You and your spouse discover one of the following things about your teenager:

  • You find a picture of them on social media drinking at a party.
  • You see a text message on your son’s phone from their girlfriend, “I’m pregnant“
  • You found evidence of illegal drugs in the house.
  • You discovered they are looking at pornography.
  • Your child recently ____________________.

Teenagers do stupid things but the same can be true about parents… be honest parents you aren’t perfect either. Perhaps reacting to a flesh wound comes second nature to you or your spouse, but how about when you react to your child’s rebellious choices? How you respond and react to these disasters will highly impact your relationship with them, both now and in the future.

Do you and your spouse have a disaster plan for the family?

Here is a free downloadable/printable worksheet that include some questions and conversation starters parents should consider as they build and evaluate the family disaster plan.

 

I wrote the email, but they will never know.

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This week my inbox continues to receive a handful of the same looking emails… and they are all from my small group leaders. It could be surprising, but it’s not, I planned for this to happen.

Partnering with parents can sometimes feel unreachable, but it’s just like anything else we do, if it seems unreachable perhaps we haven’t reached for it yet. I focus my small group strategy by always training with a weekly WIN for my small group leaders. When they walk in the door for the leaders meeting they see the WIN on the board and the WIN was emailed to them earlier in the week. I make sure my WIN(s) revolve around the subjects found in the book Lead Small. This ensures I don’t forget anything that could reinforce our strategy when training and equipping leaders.

This year the bulk of my WINs will revolve around partnering with parents. If you don’t know why that’s important or how critical it can be, perhaps I can convince you. A mom of high school student recently said to me, [Read more…]