Shore Youth Ministry

Paper

After the post on Pens, I thought we should talk about how useful paper is in a youth ministry. While the eco-friendly movement has been promoting paperless alternatives for shopping bags, books, and notebooks, paper is still going strong in ministry.  Here are three different types of paper, and how you can use them in your youth ministry:

• Copy Paper. Copy paper is the most useful out of the three. It is what you print answer sheets to Powerpoint games, message outlines, and retreat signup sheets.  But you can have more fun with it.  Have a paper airplane contest.  Give students a ream of copy paper, tell them to crumple it up, and then have a snowball fight (relevant in Ocean City since we rarely get snow!).  Plus, copy paper is necessary for all the administrative details (budgets, letters, and resignations) that most youth workers would care to forget.
• Butcher’s Paper. Hang this up on a wall of the Youth Room, tape photos from a trip, and let your students write captions around it.  Or, lay the butcher’s paper on the floor, trace your students, and hang them up around the church. When I was a student, we used butcher’s paper to play hangman and draw pictures for VBS while on a missions trip.  Because of its large size, butcher paper is great for quick group uses.
• Shredder Paper. I know this is not a type of paper, but the remnants of shredded documents are very useful in youth ministry.  Bags full of shredded paper serve as great cushions on which your students can jump. Even better, if your church’s shredder cuts the paper into small bits, then you instantly have confetti for your group’s New Year’s all-nighter.

Whiteboards

I must make a disclosure before this latest edition of Youth Pastor Toolbox: I am a whiteboard junkie.  I just love them.  The first piece of furniture I bought for my new office is a 3×5 whiteboard.    It is a great tool for interaction, brainstorming, and drawing colorful pictures.  Here are three reasons why you need to incorporate a whiteboard in your ministry:

• Though Mapping. When working on a talk, I like to create an outline first, and then fill in the blanks.  But as I type, the outline gets more and more distorted.  That is why I prefer to figure out my outline on the whiteboard.  Then as I craft my message, I only need to glance at the whiteboard to see the whole outline.
• Lessons. I am the definition of a concrete visual learner.  So when I am speaking, I would much rather show than merely tell.  Using a whiteboard during a lesson provides more spontaneity than just a Powerpoint presentation.  You can ask students questions and record their responses on the whiteboard.  You can draw a map of Israel in order to explain a Bible story clearly.  I mostly use the whiteboard to draw rudimentary stick figures as my characters, or write a key word from my talk.  That way, the students can hear me talking about that person or word, as well as see it.  I personally view whiteboards as the flannelgraphs of the 21st Century.
• Communication. Mount a small whiteboard in a “student-friendly” location in your office.  Students love to draw on whiteboards (possibly because it reminds them of coloring when they were children?), and they will take the time to draw you as a stick figure, write you messages, and drop quotes from the latest movie.  But, with the big picture in mind, these students are taking the time to come into your office.  They are meeting you on your ground.  This inexpensive whiteboard will provide you with countless chances to talk with students on a more personal level.

Pens

A mandatory staple in any youth room, pens are essential to youth ministry.  The pens most often found in youth rooms are cheesy church pens, random construction company pens, or the generic Staples brand pen.  My favorite church pen had a clear body with blue liquid and a miniature Noah’s Ark floating inside.  I loved to shake that sucker around, pretending that Noah and his animal crew was being tossed about like the S.S. Minnow.

Regardless of what style the pen you pick up in a youth room, the chances that it works is about 60%.  Those are decent odds, but think of all the uses that pens hold in a youth ministry:

• Lesson Tool. Whether you have students fill out a survey, take notes on the lesson, or write in their Bibles, pens are very useful during lesson time.  It becomes distracting when students must share pens to take notes.

• Games. My favorite upfront games (Power Point trivia) always involve writing something down.

• Spoons. No, not as utensils, but you could use pens in the game of Spoons.

I have been looking to get some of these Staples Gel pens for students.  They write smoother than ballpoints, and have a higher operating rate.

Water Balloons

Living down at the beach, I have always had a special place in my heart for summertime, and all that goes with it.  BBQs, pool parties, surfing, fishing, and water balloon fights.  Water balloon fights are a great asset to any youth ministry; like dodgeball, it allows leaders to show their dominance and superior athleticism over the students in a harmless manner.  Unless you are a car windshield.

Two summers ago, I was the youth ministry intern at my home church.  During Vacation Bible School, the high school helpers were playing water balloons with the children in the parking lot, when one lightly lobbed a balloon in the direction of my car.  When it hit, it cracked my windshield in half.  Talk about funny!

Dodgeball

Dodgeball.  What is more stereotypical of youth groups than dodgeball?  I can’t think of anything.  But dodgeball is the quintessential youth group game for good reasons.

• Learning curve.  Basically, there is none.  In fact, the basic description of the game is found in the title: dodge ball. My only explanation of the game last night to some students: “Dodge the balls.”
• Unlimited possibilities. Even though dodgeball is an inherently simple game, there are more variations of the game than years in Methuselah’s life.  Wikipedia lists 49 different variations, including Bombardment, Medic, and Killball. My youth group plays a variation called Secret Service.  The whole group is in a circle, with two people in the middle (President and Secret Service).  The idea is to hit the President, with the Secret Service blocking the Prez.
• Age appropriate.  Dodgeball is a game for all ages.  Little kids and children’s ministries are frequently playing this game (sometimes with balls of yarn).  Jr. High and Sr. High ministries feature it regularly.  Heck, even adults enjoy the game (especially if they can peg little kids).  The highlight of any dodgeball night is the leaders vs. all round, where the volunteers can get revenge on any student they would like, and all the leaders can collectively show the students that they still rock.

If you do not have dodgeballs, or would like the best ones ever created by man, then check out the Rhino Skin dodgeballs.  Although a little pricey, these dodgeballs are extremely durable, very lightweight, and have an incredibly grippable service.  These balls allow everyone to throw their hardest (including leaders), yet do not sting or hurt when hitting people.  That may disappoint some leaders, but these Rhino Skin balls are great for fun without the injuries and property damages.

Movies

It is a fact: I have not had an original thought since 2001.  In fact, if someone would transcribe all of my conversations throughout one day, they would find that over 50% of what I say is actually a quote from a movie or tv show.  Movies and tv shows are a vital part of today’s culture, and an everyday part of a student’s life.  They are also a great way to communicate to students.  Here are 3 ways to use movies effectively:

• Sermon Illustrations. Is this even optional?  Using movies as sermon illustrations is extremely useful, and has only gained acceptance as a result of computers and projectors.  It dates all the way back to tube tvs and VHS players.  The best source for sermon illustrations is WingClips.  They provide clips of most movies, including those out in theaters, for free.
• Sermon Ideas. An easy way to develop a creative message series is to relate it to a movie.  I went to a church last year that did a whole series on eschatology entitled “Back to the Future.”  Even if the sermon does not directly correlate to the movie, you still have an abundance of audio and visual aids.
• Quotes. As I said above, I have no original lines. In the same way, most high school students watch a great deal of movies, and enjoy quoting them.  Join them in their quoting, but be careful not to get into a quote battle; they have way more time than you for watching movies.  (If you do get into a quote battle with a student, make sure it is an older one; you have likely been watching Back to the Future longer than the student has been alive).

Post It Notes

I like the idea of being organized (although I am not organized at all).  One organizing tool that I really like is Post It notes.  I always have a stack of them on my desk.  Serving so many purposes, Post It notes are the Swiss Army knife of the desk (if a Swiss Army knife were a stack of sticky notes).  Three important attributes of Post Its for a youth pastor:

• Useful. Have students write questions on a note.  Take phone messages on a note.  Use Post Its to mark pages in your Bible.
• Versatility. You can literally do ANYTHING with Post It notes.  Enough said.
• Creativity. Tape pictures to the youth room walls, then let your students make captions with Post It notes.  Make flip books with a stack of Post It notes.  Play a game involving covering one student fully in Post It notes.

There are a ton of off brands, but the best is Post It brand.  The Super Sticky versions are best for all-around use, while the regular ones are best for use in Bibles (they don’t hurt the pages as much).

Countdown Videos

Most youth ministries are using countdown videos nowadays (heck, many churches are using them as well!).  Not only do they look cool and flaunt the media capabilities of your ministry, these countdown videos serve 3 practical purposes:

• Time for socializing. Students want to talk to their friends.  When I was in youth group, this always took place during the lesson.  By providing a countdown, it gives your students a set amount of time to talk before the worship/lesson.
• Prompt start time. When I speak to students, I like to chat and joke with them beforehand.  This draws the students attention to myself, and relaxes me before I speak.  By using the countdown timer, I am able to limit the amount of banter.
• Creates Anticipation. I don’t know what it is about countdowns, but whenever I hear a countdown, I have to join it.  Whether it is New Year’s Eve, a basketball game, or even a standardized test (SATs anyone?), there is a sense of anticipation with a countdown.  It draws the participant to focus on what happens when the clock strikes zero.

There are some great resources out there for countdowns.  My favorite is the T-Minus series by Simply Youth Ministry.  They are creative, visually interesting, and easy to use (each video comes in Quicktime format).

Dennis over at YMIMexico.org created an online Egg Timer, which is a FREE way to have a simple countdown.  You can also purchase the Countdown Creator, which makes fully customizable countdowns (both in

Editor’s Note: This is the first post in a running series entitled “Youth Pastor Toolbox,” which will discuss different “tools of the trade” for youth ministry. A new “Youth Pastor Toolbox” will be posted every Tuesday.