Young Adults Ministry

I found this great post by Ps James Macpherson that I know you will find useful:

THE BOOK Essential Church, by Thom S. Rainer, presents recent research indicating more than two-thirds of church-going young adults drop out between the ages of 18 and 22.

Here are the top 10 reasons:

1. Simply wanted a break from church.
2. Church members seemed judgmental and hypocritical.
3. Moved to college or university and stopped attending church.
4. Work responsibilities prevented me from attending.
5. Moved to far from the church to continue attending.
6. Became too busy though still wanted to attend.
7. Didn't feel connected to the people in my church.
8. Disagreed with the church's stance on political or social issues.
9. Chose to spend more time with friends outside the church.
10. Was only going to church to please others.

Here are my top 10 things churches that are essential to young adults are doing ...

1. Churches essential to young adults facilitate connection instead of running programs

Young adults don't want to be programmed but they do want to connect with others, especially those who have moved to a new city for university or work. Essential churches work hard at creating opportunities for young adults to connect but keep the structure to a minimum.

2. Churches essential to young adults empower them in leadership

I am convinced that young adults don't want a young adults program, rather, they want to run THE program.

Why is it that the Australian Prime Minister's chief of staff can be in his 20s and that Obama's chief speech writer can be in his 20s but that the church can't let a young adult even run the usher team?

Young adults are smart, savy and highly motivated. They don't want to be pandered to in a side-show program. They want to be entrusted to run key components of the MAIN show, and when they do ... they do it very well.

To read more click HERE.

Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Godspeed & Kaizan
Clive

Great Videos You Can Use

I found these fantastic videos when I was scrolling through MicroExplosion. Each week they have a 'Video of the Week', so check them out HERE.

I love the creativity and the freshness of this beatbox chef:




And another showing what a little extra time on your hands can produce...




And this video shows the power of when we all come together with our particular gifts and strengths:

When The Medium Is The Message

Some interesting thoughts here... I definitly want to get this book!
(By the way, I found this video at Terrace Crawford's blog).


Rob Bell Interviews Shane Hipps About Technology from Deadly Viper on Vimeo.

Let me know your thoughts on this subject.

Godspeed & Kaizan
Clive

When Youth Ministry Loses The Plot...

Hey gang, just a reminder that this Friday at the Hamilton South Baptist church we are holding the first Vision Youth Network for 09. It's been held from 2-4pm, so make sure that you don't miss out on this beauty!
Our guest speaker is Matt Martyn... a truly authentic voice to this generation and a great personal friend of mine. I know that you'll be encouraged by what he has to say!

Talking of how to do youth ministry... watch this video that I saw on Terrace Crawford's blog... and be the opposite!!!


Ignatius from travis hawkins on Vimeo.

I know I don't really need to comment on this one... but I would love to hear yours!!!

Engaging Your Audience

You have absolutely got to love YouTube... almost anything you want to know... its there, and its visual! Those are my kinda answers!

I must admit that I'm no handy man, but I needed to repair a hole in the wall (thanks to no door stop and a temper outburst... embarrassing). The video I found helped me to get the job done. It was no problem.
But better than that... the video I found not only showed me what to do in an incredibly simple manner, but it was humorous and memorable. My kids make me play it all the time now!

So whats this got to do with running a youth ministry?
Well, this video could have just delivered the info and it may have been helpful. But the author took it to a whole nutha level! The humor made me engage and come back to the message again and again.

How are our messages?
Do they engage people?
Do people connect (humor is one of the best connectors)?
Are people coming back wanting more?

Give the videos a watch and leave a comment with your thoughts.









A great quote by Sydney J Harris says, "Information is 'giving out' while communicating is 'getting through".

Till next time...

Godspeed & Kaizan
Clive

Just For Fun... The Eyebrow Dance Kids

Who said our kids didn't have skills?
hahaha : )

Here's a quick thought. Everybody has a niche where they fit... where they can bring something of themselves to the table. In my youth group we have had some teens who haven't been around for a while... but they're back because I found places for them to use and express their gifts.

So here is the challenge:
How are you intentionally creating spaces for people to serve in and run in their niche?


Leave a comment and let's get the conversation rolling.

Godspeed & Kaizan
Clive

How's Your Innovation?

One of things I have learnt in my last 13+ years in ministry is this: you never have it down! Ministry (and especially youth ministry) is dynamic. Its constantly changing. What worked last 5 years ago won't work today... in fact what worked last year may not work this year!

The younger you are (and the more of a rookie you are) the more innovative and risk taking you tend to be.
That is the gift we give to the church body. We help to take the church into the future.

The problem is... we all get on... even if you've only been in ministry for 4 years, you're starting to get a handle on things and can easily slip into auto-pilot.

By the way... the more 'successful' we become the more risk adverse we become too.
When you're just starting out you... well, you don't have anything to loose. But that all changes as things go well for our ministries... we want to hold on to the 'success' that we have. We begin to act out of fear.
We do the very opposite of what got us to 'success' in the first place.

So how do we stay innovative? Click HERE to read a great post on 'How To Keep Innovating.'

Now let me leave you with this last thought:
We usually wait till we need innovation... till things are plateauing or in decline.
We're too late then! Momentum is lost. We're on a slippery slope to tradgedy.
Innovation needs to happen as we start sensing 'success'.

Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Godspeed & Kaizan
Clive