en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/420374 Comments by benbronson http://youthminblog.com/2009/08/campus-access-learn-from-my-mistakes-pt-2/#IDComment31138234 Great post Kelly. Campuses in our town are pretty well choked down, but not entirely closed. I got on campus as a "volunteer" only after being interrogated by the principal and vice principal for about 45 minutes after walking on and having lunch with a student of mine. At the end of our conversation they shared that they really wanted me to be on campus but that I could only do so as a volunteer. Three years later I've been blown away by the freedom they've given me and the trust they've shown, not to mention all of the relationships that have been built with students. The vice principal (now the principal) has even come out to speak at one of our youth outreaches. Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:43:58 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/2009/08/campus-access-learn-from-my-mistakes-pt-2/#IDComment31138234 http://youthminblog.com/2009/08/strategic-scheduling/#IDComment30400529 I like the idea of breaking my day up into segments. I may have to give it a try. I typically schedule things hour-by-hour. I find at times that I get so busy and try to cram so many things in that I end up accomplishing nothing. It would be great if there were a plugin for iCal that allowed you to organize your schedule this way. Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:01:54 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/2009/08/strategic-scheduling/#IDComment30400529 http://youthminblog.com/2009/06/being-the-kingdom/#IDComment24710020 Great post. We spent some time talking about reconciliation last night from Colossians 1. God reconciled us to Himself through Jesus so that we can be part of reconciling others to God through Jesus. I think some of the kids were actually getting a bit excited about the idea last night. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:34:15 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/2009/06/being-the-kingdom/#IDComment24710020 http://youthminblog.com/2009/04/confronting-for-good/#IDComment19564694 From our men's group this morning, 2 Tim. 2:24-26, "And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." Gentle in instruction, patient, humble in correction. I don't think this means walking on egg-shells, but prayerfully and gently doing the hard thing of confronting the issue. Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:18:53 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/2009/04/confronting-for-good/#IDComment19564694 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/help-me-choose-my-shoes/#IDComment19259882 This is like Christmas week. Do you need my email address again for shipping? ;-) Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:54:05 +0000 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/help-me-choose-my-shoes/#IDComment19259882 http://youthminblog.com/a-readers-question/#IDComment19127818 I wholeheartedly agree with everything that has been said. Talk to the pastor about it, not everyone else. But do talk to him. Don't skate out of town without saying a word. Years down the road you'll probably regret it if you do. Continue in a heart of compassion for those that are still part of the body there, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you each step of the way. Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:55:49 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/a-readers-question/#IDComment19127818 http://youthminblog.com/contest-results/#IDComment19127035 w00t! Thought maybe the first shall be last, etc. Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:50:42 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/contest-results/#IDComment19127035 http://youthminblog.com/filling-the-vision-tanks/#IDComment19021581 What's "Simple Student Ministry"? Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:44:35 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/filling-the-vision-tanks/#IDComment19021581 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/help-me-choose-my-shoes/#IDComment18876667 Olive Canvas, definitely. The University's have horizontal stripes, which is a fashion faux-pas. They'll make your feet look fat. Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:48:32 +0000 http://myradeus.com/pastorchris/pastorchris/help-me-choose-my-shoes/#IDComment18876667 http://youthminblog.com/filling-the-vision-tanks/#IDComment18867244 I think there are two parts to this. First is communication. If we want to communicate a vision, we need to communicate. Simple enough, yeah? Unfortunately it is most times easier said than done. I meet with my youth leaders weekly before our HS Bible study time, but this time is more of a "how has your week been" and "let's pray for tonight" more than it is a venue for communicating ministry vision. I'm working on this myself and am hoping that meeting for a couple hours on a monthly basis will be a good opportunity to communicate vision and keep the team headed the same direction. The second part, of course, is the vision itself. If you don't have anything to say, but spend a lot of time talking, people will stop listening. We need to keep it simple (as sethnoble said) and learn to share and communicate the vision effectively. How many of us have really sat down and fine tuned a ministry vision? One thing I do when studying a passage of Scripture that works well for writing down a ministry vision is try to say it in 10 words or less. Though your ministry vision may be much longer, can you summarize it in 10 words? If not, it may be time to go back to the drawing board. Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:57:29 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/filling-the-vision-tanks/#IDComment18867244 http://youthminblog.com/2009/04/3-tips-for-for-a-long-term-team/#IDComment18677617 Great post Doug. Question for you - I have a pretty small team that works with me, and they are all on a volunteer basis. I know they all have limited Availability, they are all Faithful, Teachable, and somewhat Responsive. I try to encourage them to make contact with students throughout the week and not just during our Bible study night, but I rarely see this happen. Any suggestions for helping them become more involved in the lives of the students? I have even handed them idea sheets listing ways to reach out to students during the week, but haven't seen anyone actually do it yet. Thanks. Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:24:10 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/2009/04/3-tips-for-for-a-long-term-team/#IDComment18677617 http://youthminblog.com/doing-our-part-part-1/#IDComment17885903 No way! It wasn't even close to being something I thought about. I came from being a self-employed contractor who worked alone. I was thinking, "Great, more time to spend with students and studying my Bible!" I found out there's a little more to it than that. Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:51:14 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/doing-our-part-part-1/#IDComment17885903 http://youthminblog.com/doing-our-part-part-1/#IDComment17865364 Thanks Doug. I agree with you completely. My first year on staff was rough, namely because we had no regular meetings (actually, no meetings at all, except by chance). We still don't have a "regular" meeting time, but we do have some face time at least once/week to discuss what has happened since our last meeting and talk about what is coming up. One area this has proved to be of great worth is in the area of expectations. Like many youth workers, I also pick up a lot of associate pastoral duties, church maintenance tasks, as well as a gamut of other things. Sometimes I'm not sure what is expected of me, so meeting together with the senior pastor helps shed light on what he is wanting to see happen in the next week. I can't express enough how much of a difference this has made. Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:21:39 +0000 http://youthminblog.com/doing-our-part-part-1/#IDComment17865364