New Graphics - NameTag teaching series

Five slides contributed by Jeff Howard of New Life EFC in Aurora CO for a teaching series. Great stuff feel free to use.

What I Learned in Student Ministry

(Contributed by Randy Johnson)


7 things I learned to do in a local Church Student Ministry

• Keep the preeminence of Christ as the focus of your ministry 
• Help youth discover their gifts - equip them to do the ministry 
• Train youth to be leaders – give them ownership of the ministry 
• Train & equip adults to become ministers of youth – give them ownership of the ministry 
• Affirm youth and adult leaders for who they are and what they accomplish 

Enlisting and Training Workers-Part 1 (Chuck Gartman)

(This is the first part of an article submitted by Chuck Gartman, Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church in Lubbock, TX and owner of Go To Youth Ministry, a consulting firm specializing in leadership development. Additional excerpts will be uploaded regularly.)

Where Are the Workers? 
If you have served on a church’s nominating committee, you have probably asked yourself this question on many occasions. Keep this principle in mind as you think about locating people to work with your youth in Sunday School: Really good Youth Sunday School takes an investment of time! It is a long process. There are no instant answers or pills that you can swallow to make it easy to find and train the workers. You have to work at it. Following are some ways for you to locate potential workers with youth in Sunday School.

FREE Online Book, Introducing the 21st Century Teenager

Dr. Allen Jackson from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has offered to share his free online book dealing with teenagers in the 21st century. Click HERE to for the link to the pdf.

Enlisting & Keeping Volunteers

(Submitted by Randy Johnson)

THREE BASIC CRITERIA... We can train folks to teach or to do other things, but they must have some basic characteristics in order to make training worthwhile. Dr. Charles A. Tidwell has stated that there are three major criteria for Youth Leaders:

1. Are they faithful - to the Lord, to their church, to themselves. True to God’s Word and true to their word. 
2. Are they willing - to love, to serve, to be trained, to prepare, to grow, to cooperate, to pay the price.
3. Are they capable - capable of relating, capable of loving, capable of serving, capable of learning, capable of making commitments? 

SUCCESSFUL VOLUNTEERS HAVE… 

1. Genuine love for people - acceptance, genuine friendships and relationships, take the role of a mature adult. 
2. Sense of God's leadership and calling 
3. A growing relationship with God - asked about in recruiting and periodically in the ongoing training 
4. A special patience and flexibility 
5. Time to be available for ministry & preparation 
6. A team player approach 
7. An aptitude for commitment and endurance 
8. Ability to teach and equip youth 

ENLISTING QUALITY YOUTH LEADERS BY...

1. Praying for God’s Guidance and Opportunity. 
2. Keeping, Cultivating, and Updating a List of Potential Workers 
3. Working through the Proper Channels 
4. Public Promotion and/or Survey 
5. Providing Potential Leader Training 
6. Personal Interview with Shared Expectations 

KEEPING QUALITY YOUTH LEADERS BY...
“Treating Them Right”

1. Making Expectations Clear 
2. Asking for a Commitment 
3. Providing Regular Training Opportunities 
4. Encouraging Regular Planning and Evaluation 
5. Providing On-Going Encouragement and Affirmation 
6. Treating Them as a Partner in Ministry 
7. Seeking to Meet Their Needs 

Randy Johnson has 36 years of youth ministry experience in the local church. For the past 26 years he has served as the Student Minister at the First Baptist Church of Richardson, Texas. He and his wife, Carol, have two adult daughters.

Graphic Upload: Easter Egg Hunt

Here is a postcard submitted by Lynn Puryear, Children's Minister at Central Baptist Church in Carthage, TX. Send in some other examples of Easter marketing and let's see what else we can share to help others.

New GRAPHICS upload - "Apostle of Hope" series

Here is a set of graphics shared by Jeff Howard from New Life EFC in Aurora, CO. These were made in-house there at New Life and offered here for free for anyone to use. ENJOY!