Life of a youth pastor .

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We got 180 campers to sign up in one day…here’s how.

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bait and switch

It’s all about deals…perhaps some would call a bait and switch, for which I don’t apologize. On September 1st we had 180 campers sign up for our Winter Camp in January! Yes, camp is still over 4 months away but we have almost 50% of our camp capacity filled…and here is how we did it.

It started a few years back with a desire to better partner with parents in my ministry. I wanted a place to bring together my parents, small group leaders and students to talk about our ministry philosophy of a small group culture and the events. So, first let’s answer this question: How do I get all of my parents, students and leaders/volunteers to one place? THE ANSWER for my first year of doing this was FOOD. Food brings people together, and in Texas there is no better way to do than offering a BBQ to families and leaders. Though this worked the first year, we needed a bigger reason to invite them back the following year…some parents may not seem willing to come to an event where “they already know what you are going to share” even if you have new content or vision for the year.

So, now let’s answer this question: How do I get all of my parents, students and leaders/volunteers to show up in one place year after year after year? …and not make it feel like pulling teeth?  I have used a phrase this year that seemed to go over well and somewhat contagious among my staff, “We bribe our parents/students to the BBQ, it is a bait and switch method and we don’t apologize for it, because in the end EVERYONE wins!” Let me explain in bullet points (to keep it brief) how this works.

THE BAIT AND SWITCH

  • Invite all parents/students to the annual BBQ.
  • REQUIRE that all small group leaders and volunteers attend.
  • Incentive: All who attend the BBQ will receive a promo code for $50 off camp registration. (Adjust your camp budgets accordingly so this doesn’t tank your budget, we plan to go into the hole a bit on the front end and compensate that with our “regular rate” and “late rate”)
  • Promo code can only be used by those that attended BBQ and must be used on opening day of registration.
  • On opening day we had 180 campers register for camp.

The other BAIT AND SWITCH

  • Remember the initial reason for the BBQ? We want parents to mingle with small group leaders.
  • After our large group program together, the parents must go meet and talk with the SGL for the meal ticket to get their BBQ.

Each year our NextGen team is refining this process but we have some BIG momentum from it. Don’t underestimate that there is a lot of planning for an event like this. However, it does generate lots of interest for your upcoming event or program along with creating a space for your audience to hear vision from your staff.

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!

 

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

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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imgkid.com

imgkid.com

 

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…]