1) LIVE COLLEGE demo is available NOW!
       + RELEASES on June 1!
+ link: http://www.simplyyouthministry.com/resources-college-live-curriculum—college-and-young-adult.html
2) SYMC 2013 website is now live!
       + link: conference.youthministry.com
+ Matty McCage is the guy to interview, ask question of, etc
3) Text-2-Join from SYM TOOLS: COMMUNICATE
       + Here is a great explanation of text to join - http://eepurl.com/lHbqn
+ link: http://www.simplyyouthministrytools.com/Communicate.aspx

New Articles that just hit YouthMinistry.com
The Flicks Teens Will Pick (Part 2) <http://bit.ly/KD8V3e>
FREEBIE: Men In Black 3 Trailer Lesson <http://bit.ly/JxQPzT>

Yeah, I thought you’d like this.

Stephanie

If you’ve been in youth ministry for longer than a second, you know what I mean. We graduate favorite (and not so much) seniors out of our ministry. If we’re lucky, we see them over a few college holidays. And if we’re really lucky, we get to do their weddings and a few baby baptisms over the next decade.

I want to say a “from my heart” goodbye to someone who has impacted small church youth ministry more than you may know. My friend, Andy Brazelton, is leaving Simply Youth Ministry to move back to So. Cal. His kids need to know their extended family. I get that and I support it.

But I don’t have to like it. Andy gave me several shots at creating a specialized ministry area designed for reaching the needs of small churches’ youth workers. Not one but two books came under his regime. He said “yes” to an 8-hour deeper learning track at the Simply Conference. He signed off on this blog. There are too many other things to name.

I will miss Andy at the Simply helm. I will miss Andy’s constant mocking me into 21st century technology. I will miss Andy shouting, “Hey, C!” I will miss him allowing us to make fun of him and trash his office. (Though I was NOT present for that event and Michael Novelli is my alibi.)

Andy came to the job young and leaves still young…but wiser.  We’d notice the gray hairs if there was any hair to notice.

Andy, you will always be in my heart like a mom (from a distance) proud of what another son has accomplished. I love you and won’t get to see you nearly often enough now. I don’t like it;  I don’t  like it at all.

Ah crap, now I’ve started to cry again…which is embarrassing sitting on this airplane surrounded by people going somewhere…just like Andy.

Stephanie

GRAD CARE CARDS: Put each grad’s name on their own 6×9 or 10×13 envelope. Display all the grad envelopes for 2-3 weeks on a wall with note writing supplies nearby. Have church members write notes of affirmation to put in each envelope. No peeking for the Grads till the advertised “take down” day.

GRAD SERVICE PROJECT: Serve your grads by offering them a “post graduation robe cleaning” service. Take plain white dress boxes and let your members decorate one for each grad. Wash each grad robe after use to pack away in the memory box and deliver back to the grad!

PROJECT GRAD RUNWAY: Make a fashion runway from a newsprint roll or carpets samples. Have your adult volunteers, church leaders and parents present a fashion show dressed in outfits or  grad robes from their senior year. Play prom music from their past and make them work the runway for the entire youth group!

COLLEGE SURVIVAL KIT: Have your students create a “College Survival Kit” by decorating a shoebox for each grad. Fill them with items like Twizzlers, extra batteries, good ol’ #2 pencils, stamped pre-addressed notes, blank flash drives, itunes gift cards, etc.

GRAD CARS: While your grads are occupied at church, decorate their cars. Provide balloons, tin cans, streamers, and bar soap for writing messages & scriptures.

7-DAYS OF SCRIPTURE: Email each grad a daily Scripture to encourage them during the last week of high school and the first week of college. Fancy it up with pictures and wallpaper.

NEXT YEAR’S GRAD’S: Tap the parents of your juniors to help with this year’s graduation plans. They’ll want to “pay it forward” so cool stuff happens next year for their grad.

GRAD BRUNCH ON GRAD SUNDAY: Church leaders host a Sunday breakfast for grads and their families. It’s a great way to get un-churched parents through your door.

AREA GRAD NIGHT: Work with other church youth pastors to host a grad party. A church with a gym would be great, serve food, show movies, have a band, the works!

Happy Graduation!

Stephanie

As a youth worker, here’s something I do know that you may not know yet: it’s getting harder to keep your high school grad in church, especially come college. And Sunday morning worship? Often a very hard sell.

I think what you do now will make all the difference later. Just change how you talk about church because your kids are listening  Here’s what I mean:

Dad, instead of saying “Its my only day to sleep. You get the kids up for church,” what if you were the first face they saw waking them up with, “Hey kids! We get to go to God’s house today!”

Mom, what if getting ready began on Saturday in a fun way, not just a check list? Maybe Saturday night becomes a family fashion show for the next day. Combine the importance of Sunday with practical steps and bake something really special as a family for Sunday breakfast? Or have a breakfast table decorating game Saturday where prizes are awarded Sunday morning?

What if we all changed the passive aggressive language we use with our kids, beginning when they’re young, from “We gotta go” to “We get to go”? What if we never again called it “going to church” and started saying “worship our God”?

Stephanie

A fellow consultant with Youth Ministry Architects, Syler Thomas, wrote a great book to give your high school grads. You can get it on Amazon for like $11! Its a thoughtful gift to send students off packed with ways to sustain their faith.  
Go to gameplan4college.com and check it out.

Stephanie

Speaking of dropping out…we’ve all got grads in our lives that didn’t so. So before my quarantine, I said I’d be posting my grad ideas. Here’s the next round:

1) GRAD PILLOW: Youth members write notes of encouragement on a pillowcase for each grad. Present the pillowcase (with pillow!) to each grad for sweet college dreams.

2) GRAD MORNING COFFEE CAKE: Using ready-made mixes, have your youth bake a coffee cake  for each grad. Deliver it to their door early on Grad day with a note: “To start your big day off right.”

3) GRADUATION CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT: Jump start each grad’s personal Christmas ornament collection by having your group make “2006 Grad” ornaments. Provide plain ornaments, paint pens, sequins, ribbons, etc., or customize each ornament with computer-generated clear labels.

4) GRAD THEATER: Put your media techies to work! Shoot secret footage of each grad or get family videos and make a short movie. Beg a local theater owner into showing the film during an off time and invite your church. Offer the theater owner free advertising in church publications or guarantee lots of snack sales.

5) GRAD PARENTS: Ask parents of past graduates to share grad ideas with this year’s parents. Topics could include party ideas, available decorations, ways to support their grad, tips for getting past “empty nest” syndrome, etc.

More to come, my friends.  A fellow Youth Ministry Architects consultant just published a new book for grads and so I’m going to send you the link and review as soon as I get it.

Stephanie

http://bit.ly/Itu3rQ

Small churches, we are the fortunate ones. We can make celebrating the accomplishments of our students a church-wide event. We’re not bound by size and people limitations. Making a big deal of a student’s life milestones accomplishes two key purposes: 1) It garners precious critical mass, making an event feel “successful” and 2) Provides precious inter-generational moments, bringing the youth ministry into a church’s spotlight (in a good way!).

So where to start? Grab the key leaders from all parts of the church and ask them how they want their ministry area to participate. In the meantime, I’m going to post some grad ideas over the next few days.

Stephanie

I mean, I had  these precious 13 days at home to catch up on so much YM stuff…which has been reduced to only 10 days  since I just threw in a last minute trip next week. Even as I type this, I keep thinking of all the things I won’t finish in time before tonight: my next Group magazine column, a blog for @ymarchitects  (and I’m already a week late), preparing for two workshops in LA next week to small church youth workers, documents I’m writing for next week’s visit to Highland Park Pres, blah-blah-blah. The way my workaholic mind works, apparently the youth ministry world may just fall apart without my input over these next three days.

How ridiculous am I? Geez! That’s the ugliness of the gift. Maybe it comes from a trashy place of enjoying my need-to-be- needed by small church peeps. I’m not the only youth worker with a blog who occasionally operates from this dirty thinking.

Honest? At first, I will think about getting online to check this or that about 60 times an hour. I will want to talk myself into going online just to see what the weather’s doing or send out a batch of electronic Easter cards. And about the time I’ve finally relaxed and feel comfortable with a change of life-rhythm, the fast will be over. My ministry work world will return.

And it just may kill me. Not physically, but maybe a portion of that alter ego will die off. Perhaps I’ll see that while I was taking a break, so were the rest of my ministry peeps who were also focusing on what really matters:

The Life that lived, died and lives again so that I can live, die and live again. His beauty from my ugly.

YM friends, this IS my Easter greeting.

Stephanie

Below are links to make or buy butterflies you can use as part of the drama:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Rubber-band-Powered-Butterfly/

…and a link to see how they work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rua7QVjUjOE

…or do what I did: just google it or email me.

Stephanie

Quick explanation:

8 “freeze frame” scenes (think the kids’ game “Statues”). Takes you through Holy Week. Shine a spot light on each group of people when it time to look at their still, live scene. Go to the drop box folder I’ve set up for the readings or signs. This can be done as a drama with one scene at a time or as a walk through event and the Scriptures read or on signs.

Here’s the link to go to the Holy Week Ideas drop box to get the reading. More stuff to come.

http://bit.ly/HdPbjK

Stephanie