Preteens love Zombies!! What’s better than a game based on Zombies?? A dodgeball game based on zombies, that’s what!!
I can’t wait to play this game. The past few posts have been about being overwhelmed with budgeting and planning and finding a way to get in a good ministry workout. Today’s post and maybe a few more will be about some of the things that we have coming up at Switch.
So here’s the game:
image via loop_oh
Nothing like a trophy to celebrate a win!! Budget, planning, events, Easter, have all been running in the past few weeks at our church. Sometimes it’s just a good idea to get a good brainstorming workout.
So here’s what we are going to do. I’m going to share some fun ideas that we’ve used in the past but would like to turn it into a brainstorming exercise for the rest of us!!
So here is what we are going to do. I’ve learned that creating a great sometimes involved taking something that’s known and adding a twist, or by taking something that students are looking forward to and bringing it to them.
This past Sunday we played a game that I will call Blind Memory! I purchased a Preschool Memory game that was on sale for $1.50, gathered 2 teams of 2 students and blindfolded one of them. Non blindfolded preteen will lead the blindfolded preteen to select cards and try to get a match quickly. The blindfolded preteens must take turns and direction from their non blindfolded partners.
It was really fun because most of the preteens knew the game Memory, but they thought it would be really easy for them to win. So we added a fun lil twist. Not only that, but I bought some sardines in hot sauce and made it so that the losers would have to eat them. (Luckily, it was April Fools Day)
So what’s a game that preteens know that they might feel they could dominate and what twist can you add?
Preteen wanna grow up. We know that for sure, but it’s fun to take the shroud off of some of the things that they might be looking forward to. We played a trivia game one time about what things cost (electricity, water, trash pickup, mortgage, cell phone bills, etc.) Mainly to let them know there are a lot of things to prepare for and to shock them a bit about money management.
What are some things that your students might be looking forward to, but they really have no clue about?
So here’s the workout. Let’s come up with some fun ideas based on the two choices: Twist on a Favorite or Sneak Peek into the Unknown. Have fun!!
We hosted a Parent Panel for our tweens on Sunday. It was a great close to our series called “How to Annoy your Family”, which we adapted from Simply Youth Ministry’s series.
It was such a cool thing for the parents to see Switch and participate in the discussions.
I decided to do a parent panel for a few reasons:
Started a New Series this week in Switch.
Series from Simply Youth Ministry. Graphic done in house
We Explained the Purpose of Families and specifically the role of kids in the family
Two main illustrations.
Talked about Developmental Delays and the roles parents play in the development of children at even a young age.
Also played a bit of charades with 3 different contestants having the same instructions. A fun way to get some “less than ok with sitting still” kids to get up make us laugh. Then we talked about how just like you don’t get to choose instructions with Charades you don’t get to choose your parents, but it’s all about what you make of it.
You can’t control your parents, but you can control your attitude.
Played BandAid face. Fun game to play students versus adults. Also had a fun intro video.
Last night at our Switch C-Groups I let my 6th grade boys know that we would be talking about some questions that they had over the next few weeks. These questions are about faith, the Bible, God, and Jesus. So it will be a good opportunity to ask and see if we can figure some things out together.
Tweens are beginning to be at the point where they want to see if there faith is real and also they want to begin to make their own decisions. With all that is going on in the adolescent brain, it’s a wonder they don’t just burst into these questions all the time. Providing an environment where our preteen students can feel safe asking questions about faith is essential.
But I was still surprised by the interest of the boys when I let them know we would be questioning some things. They were so pumped and interested. In fact one of our students was ready to go from the onset of me saying that questions were welcome. His question:
How can we trust the Bible is real and not some children’s book from long ago?
I love the authenticity that this question brings to light. This particular student has been asking questions for the last 2 years. He wants to know, but also has asked some people that have a different worldview than ours. It’s important to embrace the fact that this student wants to know that his faith can be trusted and that he can test it. So we talked about that for a little while last night and then we talked about Baptism.
But why open it up? Aren’t you going to receive a ton of stuff that these preteens have probably never heard before?
When it comes to tweens and questions, try to remember a few things:
image from stufficanuse.com
This week in Switch was our 3rd week in our 4 week series called “Open Skies”. This week we focused on teaching our tweens that Prayer leads to action.
Constant and Consistent prayer life leads to God changing our hearts and minds (Rom. 12:2). This will build pressure to act on those things that we pray about.
We talked about how popcorn works using this video:
We used this video to illustrate how our prayer life builds pressure much like the moisture in popcorn and the “pop” results in action. We must continue to press into God with time in prayer. Our job is to make ourselves available for God to change our hearts and move us to action.
Played the Impossible Shot again. A student almost made it this week. It’s always a blast.
We also had a student that prayed it would quit raining. After his small group prayed the rain stopped. It was funny to hear him say “It actually stopped raining, how amazing is that!!” Other students were upset that it stopped raining and I had a good time letting them know that they should have prayed about that.
Trying to decide between unanswered prayer and Pray like Jesus. Should be fun.
I love Pocket Watches!!
Awesome pocket watch gears FTW!!!
I love the idea of systems for preteen ministry. If you haven’t figured it out already, preteen ministry is sort of a mutant. Some would describe the tweens that inhabit your ministry as such. However, I think in order to structure for growth you must get your systems in order. I will be talking about what are some systems that we’ve tweaked this year and want to know what your systems are for your ministry at your church.
This includes the assimilation of volunteers and first time guests into your ministry. A few questions to answer:
This is one of my favorites. Our admin is out on maternity leave right now and so I’ve gotten to see a whole new arena of communications for our Student Ministry. 3 questions I always want to know:
Graphic from seeds.churchonthemove.com
Series: This is my Story 3 of 3
Summary: Your story is significant because it’s a part of God’s continuing story to redeem this world.
Meat: Romans 5:6-10 the only thing that makes us right in God’s sight is the blood of Christ. Our story finds significance in the story of Jesus Christ. The only thing that connects us to God’s story is Jesus and His life and death.
Veggies (the extras): We had a couple of awesome videos, including a very funny Skate Night promo video. And I pulled a string from my favorite tee and explained how insignificant that string is until it’s connected with the bigger picture.
Dessert (best part of the week): Seeing our students connect with the balloon illustration of the gospel. You can read more about this old-school illustration over on the fourfivesix.org
On Deck: New Series – Open Skies from stufficanuse.com
After a weekend at camp, which I can’t wait to talk to you about, we continued with week 2 of our series called “Get Your But out of the Way”. A series that is a part of the Junior High Teaching Outlines Vol. 2 from Simply Youth Ministry…
You are not TOO young to be USED by God.
Challenged your tween to understand God used young people and they can make a difference right now!
Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. -1 Timothy 4:12
Do not only apply the first part of this verse!!! The second part of this verse is important to teach your youth. It’s more difficult for people to look down of you if you live like an example. Be beyond reproach.
Your tween’s ability to make a difference for God is going to be related to the amount that you believe in them to make a difference. Not only that, but without models of people making a difference your tween won’t know how to do it. Make it a point to be one of those models and to find other models that would make an impact on your tween.
When it comes to your tween and the youth, you want them to study the bible. One thing that I always struggle with when it comes to students is the balance between knowledge and connection with Jesus. I often wonder what is it like for a teenager when it comes to bible study. When do they feel like they should read their bible? What do they read? Why do they read it? I believe if we can answer some of these questions then we can begin to present some compelling illustration to youth about reading God’s word.
A small group leader asked their teenagers when do they read the bible. Most of them said when they felt bad. They look to God’s word for encouragement and strength in times that they are feeling guilty, hurt, or alone. All of these are compelling reasons and I was excited to hear about youth that were going to God’s word when they felt a need. But it made me wonder, how do you compel students to go to God’s word before hurt, pain, or sin? How do you encourage them to draw close to Jesus, before they go through struggles.
Is it true that we all go to the bible when we hurt? I know in my life, my most intense worship and connection with Jesus, has happened in the midst of struggle. These students know that Christ is with them in their time of pain and struggle.
Are we teaching God’s word in a way that students understand it’s impact on a daily, weekly, monthly basis? Are we modeling for our students a consistent connection with Christ? Are we consistently in God’s word?
About a week ago, J-Pat, my boss and our Student Pastor, showed me a DVD of David Platt, author of Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
Incline my heart to your testimonies,
and not to selfish gain!
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways.
Confirm to your servant your promise,
that you may be feared.
Turn away the reproach that I dread,
for your rules are good.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life!
(Psalm 119:33-40 ESV)
I was instantly convicted by the words, not from the mouth of an incredible bible teacher, but instead the words of the author expressing the need of the precepts of God the Father in his life.
Teach God’s word with conviction. Preach a Savior who willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice for an unworthy world, because of His great love for His Father and His brothers and sisters. I pray that in my life I would teach and know God’s word in a way that challenges others to know Christ more through His teaching.
In what ways can we teach our students about God’s word in a way that they fall in love with it and thirst for it?