Life of a youth pastor .

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The power of the prop.

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“That was a great message.”

“I get it now, that was super helpful.”

“I will never forget when you brought that up on stage”

I get these kinds of responses from students and leaders after a message when I use a prop.

The power of a prop can completely change the message for someone.

A prop is necessary. There are a variety of learning styles out there. The most popular styles include auditory, tactile and visual. When you speak to a group on a weekly basis and all you do is speak you are catering to a portion of the audience that connects well to the auditory learning style. What about those that are tactile and visual learners? Props are necessary for these types of learners. Recently I’ve told my middle school speakers that they need to use at least one prop in their message. I believe we are connecting more with students in this way.

A prop is memorable. I remember when I was 12 years old my pastor speaking on Matthew 7:3 – “”Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” I’ll never forget when he pulled a 2×4 out from behind the pulpit and started walking around on stage speaking with it at eye-level as if it were coming out of his eye. This prop has stuck with me for 17 years. When I think about judging people, I think about the 2×4 I’m carrying around myself before I say anything. You never know how far a prop may carry into someone’s future.

A prop creates anticipation. When a student walks into a room and sees a cardboard box on stage they react, “Hmm. I wonder what that’s for?” The speaker begins his/her message and the audience knows at some point they will reference the box. The prop keeps the audience engaged and suspended in wonder of when and how the prop might be used.

Jesus used props. Who better to learn from that Jesus himself?! He knew that his audience had things around them all the time that would illustrate and reinforce the main ideas He would teach. A cup of water, a loaf of bread, a stone, a mustard seed. He took things that people completely understood to help them understand a greater truth. When we use props to reinforce what Scripture says we are teaching the way Jesus taught.

How often do you use props to illustrate your messages?

What’s one of the most memorable props you’ve seen used to illustrate a message?

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?

Be a master storyteller.

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When looking for a guest speaker or even brewing up a message of my own to deliver, I always ask myself… is this a good story? I’m not talking about the scripture or the personal application part. I’m merely talking about capturing your audience with a story.

As I observe students and their attentiveness to the person speaking they are either dialed in listening or dialing someone on their phone, or texting or just zoned out. As one of my professors said in college, “It is a sin to bore someone with the Word of God.”

So, why is it the speakers fault if the audience isn’t engaging? You haven’t captured their attention. You aren’t talking “studentnese”, you aren’t sharing a story that is relevant to their current world, you simply aren’t making them smile or laugh.

Jesus was the master storyteller. Many times before referring to any scripture at all, Jesus would share a story with his audience. His stories varied from family affairs, to robberies, painting pictures of grand parties, etc. He knew what his audience was used to seeing and hearing. He leveraged that to capture an audience so that they may hear truth.

Here’s my biggest piece of advice though, never make your story more important than the biblical truth. Never minimize what you are really trying to get across because your story is so cool. You should be just as excited if not more excited to share what is in the Bible and what it means to the listener than your hook.

The best book I’ve read on this subject and I would highly recommend is “Communicating for a Change” by Andy Stanley.