Welcome to the Warragul Area youth ministers space!

At our last meeting, I promised to invite everyone to join this blog site, which means that you are able to publish posts on it.  This site is really two site, this part which is public, and means that other people can benefit from our collected wisdom... and another site which is just for us to share information with each other - you can get to it by clicking on the 'Members Only' button in the right column, but only if I've invited you to become a member - you'll need a password to access it.

So welcome, contribute, and enjoy!

Activity Idea: Mattress Race

A memorable youth activity:  carrying a mattress around town to various venues, with a time limit.  Probably works a bit like a scavenger hunt, or urban orienteering where teams have to visit certain locations with their mattress in order to complete the race.  Could insist that photos are taken to provide evidence;  could compete for the most inventive shots, etc.  Great for team building and including visitors and newcomers, because everyone has to pitch in to manoeuvre the awkward mattress.

Activity Idea: Hunt-the-Leader

[I found this pic. of a shopping mall at Dreamstime.com]

Leaders dress up and hide, around the town, or around a large shopping complex.  Teens are given clues to solve, to find the leaders.

Leaders can dress as different things, or according to a theme - one group made it 'Where's Wally'.
An advantage of playing in a shopping center is that you can be very clear about where is in and where is out of bounds.

Recommended Book: Sustainable Youth Ministry, by Mark DeVries

Why Most Youth Ministry Doesn't Last and What Your Church Can Do about It

Mark DeVries has lots of hands on youth ministry experience, but now spends much of his time consulting with churches about goals for youth ministry.  Google books has reviews and a blurb - sounds v interesting!

One of the topics is budgeting for sustainable youth ministry - recommends that for each kid you expect to be served by your ministry, your church should budget $1000 - which isn't so huge, because it includes the salary of the youth minister.

Acknowledge Mile-Stones in Teens' Lives

[I found this picture of smooth stones free at  Dreamstime.com ]

Get a collections of stones - paint 'Mile' on the bottom - when one of your teens achieves something - passes an exam, reaches a birthday, graduates from middle school - write the date on it, and what the 'milestone' is, and give it to them.  It's the sort of thing they'll keep for many years, and it will remind them that you are genuinely interested in their life.

Recommended Book: Your First Two Years in Youth Ministy, by Doug Fields

From the book cover:
..."it's about making good choices as you'll survive and become a healthy youth worker for the haul, no matter what your role - volunteer or lead youth worker."
"Doug Fields is a youth worker for Saddleback Church in Southern California, a frequent speaker at Youth Specialties' training events, and heads up an Internet youth ministry resource company (www.dougfields.com)."

This book is great for someone just starting out, it covers every area you need to think about;  but it also is refreshing and refocusing for someone with more experience.

Useful Website

Recommended site for youth ministry resources - I've just had a look and found ideas for making sermons so accessible kids can text the main points to friends - that could certainly help me be more focussed and a better communicator!  There's a review of a movie, and also a new video game;  an article talking about the importance of getting a balance of fun and depth in youth ministry - and their articles are given ratings by readers, so that might help find the really juicy ones.  I've subscribed to their tweets, but don't find them v inspiring - their facebook page is more interesting, and so are their weekly tips via email.  I also get their (traditional printed-hold-it-in-your-hands) magazine, which often provides v helpful insights and ideas.