To help junior highers have a heart for your community play this familiar game with a twist. Tape a large map of the world to the wall at the student’s eye level. Highlight your community. Blindfold the students one at a time spin them around and have them tape a heart as closely as possible to your community.…
My heart raced as I entered the youth building. Several hundred people were attending a conference at our church but I was interested in finding only one person-my wife. I made my way to my office where I knew she’d be waiting.…
If you ask junior highers to sing what happens? Some kids whisper that they have laryngitis while others sneak for the door. Kids feel self-conscious about changing voices that squeak like unoiled doors one minute and crackle like thunder the next.…
“I can live for two months on one good compliment.” – Mark Twain We live in a pretty ungrateful society. From your boss, to the parents you try to please, to the students you love, rarely will you ever get all the affirmation you deserve.…
Many young adults today know what it’s like to have a sense of militancy; to believe in a cause that is bigger than oneself. We anxiously watch CNN praying for our troops’ safe return. But back here on home soil, we work day in and day out with teenagers that have been given much to aspire to or believe in.…
Think small. I don’t care how large your group is, think small . Frankly, students are not as impressed with a large youth group as adults are! Students have a need to feel a sense of belonging more than they have a need to be identified in a large youth group.…
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12) What would you do if you found out that just beneath your backyard swing set was buried a treasure beyond your wildest imagination? If you’re like me, you’d start digging.…
As our ministries grow, it becomes natural that our special events and activities grow, too. More students equals bigger events, bigger budgets, more planning, more medical forms, more vans to rent, more volunteers to recruit, more … well just about more everything!…
Celebrate unusual holidays year-round with these outlandish activities! Everybody celebrates the Fourth of July. But when was the last time you did something special for National Anti-Boredom Month? If it’s been awhile here’s your chance to get your kids excited about the “wallflower” holidays.…
Watch kids’ relationships blast off on this retreat taken from Group’s book Jr. High Retreats & Lock-Ins. A healthy garden requires daily care. Fruits and vegetables must be planted and nurtured. Weeds must be pulled. Watering must be timed and measured.…
