Its January 2nd. What a weird day! The Rose Bowl Parade was today so I didn’t’ know if I should be working or still on vacation. I elected for the latter earlier and went to lunch/shop. Now I’m watching the Fiesta Bowl since my Okla BFF is at Casa Caro, a BIG college football fan and OSU is playing tonight.

Which leads me to #12 in Tips for a GREAT Small Church YM Year:

#12 – PLAY MORE IN MINISTRY. Have fun with your students. They need a model of Sabbath rest and laughter, too, in addition to all the serious, spiritual stuff. Joy and enthusiasm in your ministry will go a lot farther in developing a healthy lifestyle than cynicism, grumpiness and taking everything just a little too seriously.

I think I just decided on #11′s Tip. You’ll see.

S

This is the height of double-tasking on my part…but for today’s holiday blog, I’m sending you to a blog I wrote for Youth Ministry Architects.

Thoughts on that golden 5 day workless week between the right and left bower of the holiday break. ? http://ymarchitects.com/4135/what-you-shouldshouldn’t-do-the-week-between-christmas-and-new-year’s

One last idea (I think… unless I change my mind) for using Christmas as a tool for reaching a larger number of youth – especially those illusive inactives.

A simple, but savory idea: plan a youth trip to a soup kitchen. What, you say? This is your big idea? Hear me out:

Its been my experience that moms and dads of inactive youth are looking for ways to nudge their teen back to your youth ministry. During the week before Christmas, everyone is feeling the need to give back and we parents want our kids to know how good they have it. A soup kitchen trip just might be the recipient of an award-winning push from a parent for that fringe teen to attend. Its worked for me before and what do you care? Whatever it takes to gather a few more-than-normal of your kids is usually not a bad thing.

That’s my deep thought for today.

S

2nd Post in series-

Be ready at your Christmas Eve services to connect with inactive youth. That’s about the best shot you’ll get at having them come to you, so work the room.

Here’s what I’m thinking: Since we’re smaller churches, there’s only one or two services on the schedule. Have your team ready to be on the lookout for infrequent youth so no one gets missed. Get some really cool invitation ready to hand out for an “after Christmas” event.” Put candy on the invite and make it something REALLY inventive and intriguing. There’s a good chance they’ll be so bored after Christmas, they just might show up.

Oh, and make sure your regulars are there, too, thus the critical mass thing.

S

Reaching critical mass for effective ministry is a common struggle in small church youth ministries. What to do, what to do?

The Christmas season is a wonderful opportunity for moving closer to that illusive “success” number of youth in attendance. Its the kind of number you can celebrate a little. (Yes I know “numbers aren’t important” but sometimes they are.)

Today’s Tip for Christmas Critical Mass: the dreaded lockin. Just do it, but make it mysterious. Plan cheesy and fun events. Don’t tell your students the schedule but ask them to bring whatever odd items you can work into the evening like a rubber chicken, four plastic spoons and a can of vegetables. Create a “lock-in survival” bag for each student w/ supplies they’ll need for the evening. Their curiosity will be so peaked!

The reason why this works? Lock-ins still attract kids and are doable for smaller churches. You’ll tend to reach three types of students: regulars, not-so-regulars and friends of both.

More ideas to come. Btw: I still love lockins and so invite me!

S

Don’t make me repeat it all…just go to yesterday’s post and read.

Here are today’s nuggets of wisdom from our leadership team staff retreat:

“Climate over content”-(The non-anxious presence we bring to our ministry is way more important than the system we use.)

“Be engaged but not enmeshed.” (You can listen and care without joining in the drama.)

“Stop thinking models and start thinking laboratories.” (There is no quick fix in our YM’s.)

“I bet there’s a pony at the bottom of that pile.” (I have no idea. Sometimes Mark just says stuff.)

Tomorrow, a few more and then we head home. Lots of great planning and training so we can be better at being “hope-bearers” to churches.

S

“Stuff Mark DeVries Says” is the point of this blog from today through Wednesday. Mark is the President of Youth Ministry Architects and author of Sustainable YM, Indispensable Youth Pastor, Before You Hire, and Family-Based Ministry. He is a brilliant man who knows mucho beaucoup about church systems and youth ministry.

Today’s Mark-isms:
“I’m bringing stodgy back.” (It ain’t all about flashy ym; structures and systems work.)

“Suck it up. Do your job. Work with ‘em till you love ‘em.” (What do you do when you come across people in your job you don’t like?)

“If you’re having the same conversation twice, its usually the wrong conversation.”

More tomorrow.

S

I’m spending Monday through Wednesday with Mark DeVries at YMA’s yearly Lead Consultants retreat. 14 of us will hang out, working on the upcoming year. A good time!

Mark D has a lot of interesting things to say and stories to tell. So…get set for next week’s stream of Mark-isms right here on my blog.

And a big announcement.

S

Casa Caro survived Thanksgiving. With my hubby’s deteriorating health, our family comes to us so Steve can participate. I was happy to have another Thanksgiving with him.

My family is quirky. First of all, it WOULD be with me as the eldest setting the standard. I’d love to list all the other relative quirks but I have to see these people again in a month.

As the women were sitting around the table yesterday morning drinking coffee and waiting on the bird, I snapped a mental memory maker. I loved it…I’ll miss it someday when things change as they eventually do.

Just like my youth groups. Students came and went; so did leaders. So did I. I’m thankful for the memory makers moments. Even the “irritating at the time” events have softened in my mind’s review of the years.

Really? Good times had by all.

Stephanie

My husband says I operate at two speeds: full blast when working and then full stop on a Sabbath. He claims I have no in-between speed. I do occasionally push myself pretty hard which is good…and bad. But my schedule isn’t this post’s “point du jour.”

I’m thinking of my ministry buddy, Jeff Dunn-Rankin. (That’s what he calls me – his “ministry buddy” and I like it.) Jeff is the VP of Consulting ? for Mark DeVries’ Youth Ministry Architects and in that role, Jeff’s the boss of me in my piece of the YMA puzzle as Lead Consultant. (I know, poor guy. Pray for him.)

Jeff pushes me. Jeff pushes me hard, at times. He doesn’t take any crap from me and is not afraid to give me push back. He knows how to manage me, yet never “secretly manages” me, which I would hate. A “Jeff-ism” that echos in my mind on a frequent basis, “Just because its hard doesn’t mean we don’t do it.”

I just finished up drafting a game plan for a possible new division of YMA geared specifically towards small church ministries. (To be unveiled January 1, 2012) My deadline to Jeff is today and I know I can’t send him “B” level work. He’s too smart for that. Furthermore, he thinks I’m too smart for that, too. Just because the required game plan involved an excel sheet, a matrix, a rhythmic weekly schedule, a draft assessment report, a business timeline, etc., doesn’t mean I’m allowed to slouch…because Jeff has pushed me to be better in my part of all things ministry to youth workers.

I really like that about him. And I’m thankful.

S