WNI 8-27-08

I thought last night's WNI was outstanding. It seemed like a smaller group, but at least 30 students attended which is great for the start of the year. During the music, everyone seemed to start out slow, but something clicked during the second song, "It is Well." By the end of the worship set, it was clear most of the group genuinely engaged in worship. Sometimes when I get up to teach it feels like I need to rescue the night. Last night it felt we had already had a great worship service. I felt less pressure and I had a blast.

The lesson last night was about GOAL #1 for 2008-09: We will increase our influence on area students, their families, and their campuses. I've already blogged about it in a previous post. Check it out.

The funny moment of the night happened as I was trying to get the group focused for worship. Kelsey blurts out, "Why are your fingers blue?" What? Good question. Instantly I knew one of my pens I had been chewing on exploded in my pocket. Travis broke out the Smurf theme song, "la la, la la la la, la la la la la." (I hope that tune is stuck in your head for the rest of the day) We all had a great laugh.

At least three students told me how encouraged attending last night. I would love to hear your comments!

GOAL #1 for 2008-09: We will increase our influence on area students, their families, and their campuses.

We have a good youth ministry. It is one of the best in the Lake area. We must not be satisfied with good. We can, and must be so much better. Many, if not most of the students on our local campuses are NOT being reached for God. Our youth group cannot reach every student by ourselves, but we must be part of the solution.

THE PLAN:
I want to launch a separate worship services for the Junior High and High School students. These two different groups of students have unique needs. We can better meet those needs with separate ministries for each group. Although this will make each group seem smaller, I believe it will ultimately help us reach more students. As a result of School of the Osage moving sixth grade to the Junior High, we will include the sixth graders in our Junior High ministry.

We need to serve our campuses including students, teachers, coaches, administrators, etc. We can serve them through outreach events like the Senior Banquet and service projects or random acts of kindness. We will also continue to reach out to students through our monthly road trips.

We need to serve our families by supporting our parents. We should honor our parents in a specific and generous way on Mother’s and Father’s Day. We need to offer our parents opportunities to become the best parents they can be through reading materials, seminars, classes, etc.

We need to communicate better. I want to be a better communicator this year using text, postcards, phone calls, etc. We must improve the way we promote our ministry to the church, schools, and families.

GOAL #2 for 2008-09: We will emphasize the importance of relationships.

Our programs are good, but they are not the most important or effective way to make an impact. God has intended for us to impact each other through relationships. As we share our lives with each other and encourage each other to follow Christ, then lives will be changed and an impact will be made.

THE PLAN:
It starts with me. I have a tendency to spend most of my time working on our programs (WNI, The Big Picture, Connections). I spend a lot of time planning worship services, writing lessons, planning and promoting events, etc. These things are important and need attention, but completing tasks is never more important than loving people. I must spend more time with the students and adults of our youth ministry. Hopefully as I model this, the other leaders in our ministry will follow by example. I would like to contact every student and adult involved in our ministry by the end of September. I want to spend more time on the school campuses this year. I want to designate time each week writing letters, making phone calls, etc. I want to see our Sunday School teachers and small group leaders doing the same. I want to see our students leaders reaching out to other students and encouraging them in their faith. I want to spend time every Sunday night during Connections making contacts with students.

GOAL #3 for 2008-09: We will grow deeper.

GOAL #3: We need to grow deeper.
Last year was great for WNI. We had nearly 50 students coming at our peak in the spring. The energy on Wednesdays was great. However, few students are attending on Sundays. Most of those who came during the school year stopped coming over the summer. Only six students participated in our summer mission trip. As a group, we are struggling in depth and commitment. This must change if we are going to make an impact on our campuses.

THE PLAN:
Once again depth comes through relationships. Mentoring and discipling begins with relationships. Through these relationships we can challenge our student and adult leaders to make commitments to God and each other. We must hold each accountable through clear expectations. As we teach we must dig into God’s Word be specific in its application in our lives. We will also place a greater emphasis on year-round serving through our monthly Impact Crew projects.

GOAL #4 for 2008-09: We will share leadership.

We must bear the weight of God's calling equally. One person cannot carry the weight of what God has called our youth ministry to be. We must all come together using our God given gifts and abilities to serve Him.
THE PLAN:
I want to begin a youth leadership team which will seek out God's direction and vision for our student ministry. Each person on the team will have one major area of responsibility and commit to meet once a month. Some areas of responsibility are. . .Sunday School Leader. Road Trip Leader. Impact Crew Leader. JH WNI Leader. HS WNI Leader. Communications Leader. Family Ministry Leader. We don't necessarily need all the positions to begin the team. We all need accountability and partnership in leading the student ministry.

I also want to form a planning team for next year's mission trip and the Senior Banquet, both of which will begin work in September.

I would also like to share leadership of teaching on Wednesday nights. I would like to start a teaching team for both JH and HS WNI. It should be made up of students and adults and will help share the teaching load on Wednesday nights.

We will spend Sunday nights focusing on our student leaders and letting them have a hand in shaping our youth ministry as God shapes them.

What's the Point?

Purpose Statement? Mission Statement? Vision Statement? Motto? What is the difference? I have no idea. But lately I've been thinking our youth group needs a simple and clear statement that summarizes our purpose. In the past our purpose statement has been:

Impact Student Ministries exists to Influence students to Meet others needs, Praise God with their lives, Actively grow in their faith, Connect with other believers, and Tell others about Jesus Christ.

It's not bad. It certainly covers all the bases, but it is long and hard to remember. We won't throw it out, but we do need something more concise and clear. Here's what I have so far:

We reflect God’s glory to our friends, our families, & our campuses.

What do you think? At least it's a start. Feel free to submit your own or rewrite my suggestion. I would love to hear your thoughts.

AN ENCOUNTER

Last night we had our first WNI of the school year. Around 30 students showed up. I was so encouraged. We didn't promote it at all. Everyone showed up on their own initiative. Some faces I have seen much of the summer. Many of the students haven't been around since last spring. It was awesome to see everyone together again.

To start the year we had an ENCOUNTER. An ENCOUNTER is a prayer service mixed with singing and journaling and of course praying. I thought it was a great night and a great opportunity to connect with our God. It is so encouraging for me to see and hear students and adults seeking God. We have had several ENCOUNTERS before, but we've never had as many students as last night. It is a very personal experience. I would love to hear comments from everyone about the night.