Welcome

We at national youth ministries thank God for you and your commitment to youth! Thank you for loving, lifting, leading and living students. This monthly e-publication is about you, the youth leader. Every issue aims to encourage excellence and spark ideas in you as you endeavor to “make disciplined-learners (disciples)” of youth for Jesus Christ. We want to help you win, build and send them to fulfill the Great Commission. You are our heroes in this charge. We believe in you! Pray daily. Live like Jesus. Tell the Truth. Serve others. Give generously. You’ve got Momentum! —Jay Mooney, national youth director

_back to the top

From Leader to Leader

Brian Pingel has been involved in full time youth ministry for the past fourteen years in Nebraska and in Wisconsin.  He has recently accepted a position at North Central University where he will be a professor at the Center for Youth and Leadership.  Brian’s passion has always been in helping people discover ways that they can best reflect God’s glory to the world around them. Brian and his wife Kristi have three sons and a small zoo in their house. I know I’m probably the only one that has ever done this, but sometimes I close my eyes and I see myself as Braveheart.  Seriously, I even have the kilt and the blue face.  I’m standing in front of a group of students and rallying them to the cause of Christ as we proclaim freedom to our community.  There is something within me and almost every young leader that causes us to dream of standing up and boldly going places no one else would go.  But my reality, and the reality most of us live in, is that we’re much more courageous in our minds than we are in the real world.  It’s not that we cower in a corner some where, or don’t step out and take risks, but there are areas in our lives that we are not as confident in as we’d like to think we are.  Courage is an amazing element in leadership.  Think about the people we label as “successful” in ministry.  It isn’t that they are more spiritual, more gifted or better leaders than others.  What sets them apart is quite often the simple fact that they had the courage to step out and act on their dream or an idea.  They did it, when others simply thought about doing it.  We need more young men and women who understand how to claim their territory and to act with confidence in ministry.  When we approach school administrators, talk to parents, confront a student or encourage a fellow leader we need to know that we are doing what God has called us to do.  You can paint your face and wear the kilt if that helps, but taking a step of courage this next week is the best thing we can do as a leader.

_back to the top

Ice Breaker (5-10 minutes)

One of our students’ all time favorite games we call “Red Hot Middle.”  To do this game you need a large open space and in the middle place a trash can upside down with a large ball resting on top (like a beach ball or a basketball).  All the students then form a circle around the can and grab hands.  The goal is to get the people next to you to hit the can and knock the ball off.  If you are responsible for knocking the ball off of the can you are out and the circle gets smaller.  Also, if two people break and they let go of their hands then both of them are out.  This keeps going until you’re down to the final two.  It is full of a lot of twists, dives, and sweaty hands which qualifies it as a great game.

_back to the top

Sermon Outline

Bravehearts vs. Pretenders The Story of Caleb - Numbers 13-14 - Joshua 14:6-14 Caleb – You can’t pretend to have a Brave Heart a foreigner whose name meant dog he was forty years older than anyone else he wanted the toughest land he had a vision of all that God had for him he wholly followed God Pretenders have mastered the art of dodging responsibility – they use excuses Brave hearts focus on the center - Pretenders focus on the fence - Numbers 13:30 Brave hearts move by faith - Pretenders move by feelings - Numbers 14:6-9 Brave hearts stand firm - Pretenders freeze like statues - Joshua 14:8 Brave hearts will train - Pretenders just try - Joshua 14:11 Brave hearts will leap - Pretenders are lunatics - Joshua 14:12 Brave hearts speak through their behavior - Pretenders speak about their beliefs - Joshua 15:14 The contrast between Caleb and the rest of the Israelites at that time is remarkable. The others were pretenders, talking about faith yet seeing the obstacles. Caleb on the other hand had the same information available to him as the others did, but he was willing to do whatever it took to see God’s kingdom advance. The others had excuses, but Caleb had courage.

_back to the top

ILLustration

“Ollie Ollie Oxen Free” When we were kids we would go to my cousins’ house quite a bit.  In their neighborhood the favorite game to play was “Kick the Can.”  We would all hide and one person would start looking for us.  If they saw someone they run to the can and shout out, “1, 2, 3 -  I see the kid by the tree with ice cream stains on his shirt.”  That person would then be caught and would have to go to the prison area.  This would go on until one of the big kids would make a break for it and try to out run the person that was it back to the can.  This race always happened in slow motion and the rest of us would stand up and cheer for them to run.  The beautiful moment came when the big kid would beet the “IT” person to the can and kick it.  The can would glisten as it reflected the street light and the ring of the can would cause us all to rise up and shout with victory.  Then the big kid would utter those magical words – Ollie Ollie Oxen Free.  We had no idea what that meant we just knew that it was safe to come home, and we could come home with confidence, knowing we wouldn’t be sent to prison. I did a little research and found that the phrase “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free” actually means, “All ye, All ye, Come Home Free.”  That there was no longer a penalty for going home, you could go where you wanted to be with freedom and with peace.  The reality of life is that Hebrews 10:19-25 tells us this same story.  We couldn’t safely come to the place where we were created to be because the enemy would spot us, but Jesus, the big kid, kicked the devil’s can and shouted to us on the cross “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free.” We no longer have to hide on the edges of darkness, wishing we could step out into the light. Now we can come with freedom and with peace.

_back to the top

For Your Library

Shaping the Spiritual Life of Students: A Guide for Youth Workers, Pastors, Teachers & Campus Ministers by Richard Dunn Book Summary (from the book) This generation of students is the first to travel a truly postmodern pilgrimage where religious pluralism and faddish spiritual experiences are in vogue while Christianity is considered out of style. We want to reach them. But how? Richard Dunn suggests that the key is to set the pace in their lives – physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially and spiritually. Pacing, however, takes time. It requires listening to youth and digging beneath the surface. It allows us to enter the world of an adolescent and communicate caring. This book will show you how to set the pace with sensitivity to the unique spiritual issues that occur during each stage of adolescent development. (from Brian) The concept of pacing that Dunn puts forth is worth every penny you put into this book.  Taking the model of Jesus as being incarnational, we need to learn that it takes time to learn how to walk along side of others if we ever hope to change their direction or influence their development.  We live in a culture that is so loud and chaotic that if we just stand off in the distance and shout at teens and tell them to come and join us we will never make a lasting difference.  However, if we can learn how to walk along side of them, and communicate care to them in a way they can comprehend, we will then be able to lead them to true life.  Dunn’s concept of pacing has changed they way I communicate, the way I counsel and the way I teach about the truth in Christ.  Quote from Book “I defined pacing as listening to the thoughts, feelings and experiences of an adolescent. In the language of relationships, especially between adults and adolescents, the thought ‘No one understands the real me’ translates into ‘No one loves the real me.’ Adolescents who live as internal islands thus fail to experience the reality of a spiritual caregiver’s love for them. Conversely, those who feel heard do feel loved…Listening well, however, must have as its goal to fathom the deeper, hidden layers of (a teens) unseen self.” (Page 73) Purchase this book online: www.christianbook.com

_back to the top

Quotes for Leadership

(taken from The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotes  copyright  (c)1979,1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.) …be men of courage… ~ The Bible, 1 Corinthians 16:13 Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all the others. ~ Winston Churchill A hero is no braver than any other man, but he is braver for five minutes longer. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson. Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure. ~ Don Wilder Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit. ~ Baltasar Gracian

_back to the top

Statistics that Speak

Slightly over one-half of all Protestant teens (53 percent) report expressing their religious beliefs at school some or a lot, which suggests that almost one-half of Protestant teens do not talk about their religious viewpoint at school.  About 60 percent of Assemblies of God teens say they express religious beliefs at school.  Less than half of all Protestant teens (41 percent) say they publicly spoke about their faith in a religious service or meeting in the last year.  A slight majority of Assemblies of God teens (55 percent) report having shared their religious faith with someone not of their faith in the last year.  The above statistics were taken from Portraits of Protestant Teens: A Report on Teenagers in Major U.S. Denominations by Phil Schwadel and Christian Smith, copyright 2005 by the National Study of Youth and Religion.

_back to the top

From the Field

nym There is no greater time to be involved in youth ministry, so we invite you to join us for an opportunity to learn, strategize, pray, and think out loud with other passionate, like-minded leaders at this year’s National Youth Workers Conference, DREAM ’06: Impacting the Next Generation.  Set to take place on September 28-30 in Kansas City, MO, DREAM ’06 is packed with over 70 workshops, 12 Super Sessions, and 3 General Sessions, all designed to inspire and equip you for the tomorrow’s challenges in youth ministry.  For more information, and to register, please visit us on the web

_back to the top

Resources

Bridge Card Encourage students to witness with the Bridge Card.  This tear-apart card shares the plan of salvation with the bridge illustration on one half and unique witnessing tool on the remaining portion. Buy it online at the GPH store or give them a call at 1.800.641.4310 and ask for item number 731-008. They are only $1 per card, $7.50 for 10 cards, or $60 for 100 cards.

_back to the top