Hey hey!
This week, I wrote a guest post for my buddy Carl Jones! It was the first in a series called "If I Was Starting Over in Youth Ministry"
You should go check it out, and read the rest of his guest posts from this week!
You can find that post right here!
Tom
Showing posts with label ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ministry. Show all posts
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
5 Things I Love About My Youth Leadership Team
Behind every youth pastor, there's a team of awesome volunteers (and sometimes co-coordinators!) who help make things even more amazing! Tonight's new post is a little reflection about the qualities I am thankful for in my youth ministry team! Consider it a bit of a shout-out, but also think of this post as a list of things I think are super important to have as a part of any successful youth ministry team!
My amazing 2011-2012 Emmaus Youth Group leadership team! (From left to right) Laura Glendenning, myself, Angela Henderson, Alicia Fortier, Simon Pelletier, Laura Griffin. Gaby Szabo in absentia. Photo courtesy of Jillian Agustin
I have been so blessed this year with an amazingly wonderful team! I get the infinite pleasure of working alongside some of the lovely people ever, who are all my best friends! We have really connected and work really well together, and everyone is super dedicated to our ministry. Couldn't do it without you guys!
That brings me to #1! A youth ministry team should be tight! If there's no chemistry between the leaders, not only will things flow less smoothly, but the teens will really be able to tell and there will be a disconnect. If the leaders don't love eachother, how can they really encourage the teens to love one another and effectively build community with them?
When our leaders get together, we have tons of amazing conversations, lots of ridiculous rabbit trails and things always diverge into an onslaught of raucous laughter. At the same time, when things get serious, we are able to have a really great discussion and, although we can get a little ridiculous and goofy at times, we always manage to say everything that needs to be said. And that's #2 for me! A leadership team needs to be able to communicate with eachother about serious things and come to helpful conclusions but also be able to enjoy eachother's company and laugh together.
#3- the better the individual leaders' relationships with God are, the greater overall quality during those discussions and in the teachings each week. If you have a team of leaders who at least pursue deeper relationships with God, regardless of where everyone is at, there is an attitude of commitment to that and that really shows.
On the topic of attitude, #4! Youth leaders should be committed and have a good attitude about that! They should *want* to come in on Friday nights. If your volunteers feel like they're being forced to show up to meetings, they clearly aren't volunteering and shouldn't bother coming. We don't want lukewarm people in ministry, we want people who are passionate and excited about doing God's work and being a part of the team!
And that's #5- a team should be just that- a team! I can't have volunteers on my team who are insubordinate and argue with myself and Angela. If we're completely off base with something, it's definitely respectable to call us out on that. It's a different story, however, when a volunteer feels the need to take charge of the lesson and lead it in a completely inappropriate direction, and won't listen when we ask them to back down. We have had issues with this kind of thing in the past, but I am thankful that our current team are all really lovely and able to feel like part of the team without overstepping boundaries.
My team has been so incredibly faithful, and it's really cool watching them all grow together! It's been such a blessing working with a group so dedicated and amazing, and I look forward to many Friday nights to come with my fantastic youth ministry team.
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
The Bible in a Year: Week 13
Whoo! Sorry this is a day late, I was fairly busy yesterday (and by that I mean I watched hours and hours of TV and completely forgot about my blog, gasp!)
So, my Bible readings have finally brought me into Deuteronomy, and I must say I am pretty stoked to get out of the Pentateuch sometime soon. Jokes aside, it has been a really interesting read, if a bit heavy.
One thing that kind of struck me this week while reading Deuteronomy was the whole idea of Moses not being allowed to enter the promised land. As a person involved in leading ministry, that hit me really hard. I thought about how much Moses must have connected with the people he was leading, the deep bonds and relationships he built along the way, and the love he must have felt for them. I thought about how intensely sorrowful it must have been for him and for all of them when he told them that he would not be with them forever. Then I thought about how painful it would be for me, if I was in a similar situation. I wept a little, reflecting on Moses' leadership and on the humility it must have taken to stop before reaching the place he had worked so hard to get people to, and to just let all the glory go to God as His people were brought into the land He had promised them.
I pray that I would keep that in perspective while doing His work, that I would be able to understand that sometimes we can't be there for the beautifully fulfilling moments, but that we have to trust His glory and mercy to see things through to the end when we can't.
Cheers,
So, my Bible readings have finally brought me into Deuteronomy, and I must say I am pretty stoked to get out of the Pentateuch sometime soon. Jokes aside, it has been a really interesting read, if a bit heavy.
One thing that kind of struck me this week while reading Deuteronomy was the whole idea of Moses not being allowed to enter the promised land. As a person involved in leading ministry, that hit me really hard. I thought about how much Moses must have connected with the people he was leading, the deep bonds and relationships he built along the way, and the love he must have felt for them. I thought about how intensely sorrowful it must have been for him and for all of them when he told them that he would not be with them forever. Then I thought about how painful it would be for me, if I was in a similar situation. I wept a little, reflecting on Moses' leadership and on the humility it must have taken to stop before reaching the place he had worked so hard to get people to, and to just let all the glory go to God as His people were brought into the land He had promised them.
I pray that I would keep that in perspective while doing His work, that I would be able to understand that sometimes we can't be there for the beautifully fulfilling moments, but that we have to trust His glory and mercy to see things through to the end when we can't.
Cheers,
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Annual Ministry Report
Hey everyone!
So, this week I sat down with Angela Henderson, my co-coordinator for youth ministry at Emmaus Anglican Church, to write our annual report. I figured, since I haven't had a lot of time to actually write any new posts in awhile, and so many of you out there are praying for us and our ministry, it would be a cool idea if I shared that report here!
At our June 2011 Retreat, we encouraged the teens to spend more time in community, living as the Body of Christ, pointing them toward the Christian life examined in the early church in the book of Acts. This summer was a time spent building community with one another in intentional ways. Coming off of this, our year started with a close group of teens who were very excited to get back into things and to welcome the new members of our group!
Our objective going into this year was to help the teens realize how God sees them, how to be a Christian in everyday life, and why that’s good and exciting! To do this, we started with an overview of what it means to be a Christian. We then discussed our identity in Christ, why we pray, why we memorize Scripture, how to glean from a sermon, what a testimony is, how to write a testimony, and why we serve one another.
After this, we asked the teens what topics they were interested in covering for the rest of the year. The topic we started with was being content with where we’re at in life, specifically with regards to singleness (a huge concern among high school students). After this, we had our Winter Retreat. God blessed us immensely by leading us to use The Friendly Home after our location cancelled, and we had a really good turnout. We discussed spiritual gifts, with the main focus of the weekend being “Value and Self-Confidence.” The teens went away encouraged and closer to one another and God than ever before.
Some other special evenings we had this year were a costume party at Hallowe’en, a Christmas party and a Q&A night with Keith which was enjoyed a great deal by both Keith and the teens!
Plans for March-June
Please be praying for the upcoming months as we have some serious as well as fun things planned. One topic that many teens have asked about is homosexuality. We will be taking 2 weeks to discuss it in April. We also have guest speakers, the 30 Hr Famine, a possible retreat at Rivercross Farm, a leaders’ retreat and our annual summer retreat in June. When we discussed the 30 Hr Famine with the teens, they decided that they wanted to support World Vision’s efforts to provide safety to children and teens being used as prostitutes and soldiers. They’re very excited for this event and we would encourage you to support them financially, if you can, and prayerfully the weekend of April 27-28!
Some Important Numbers!
7- Leaders currently serving on Friday nights!
5- Hours spent praying for and encouraging one another on our Winter Retreat!
11- Teens whose faiths were refreshed after our Winter Retreat!
1- Fence-sitting leader deciding to pursue a relationship with Christ!
On behalf of all the leaders,
Angela Henderson & Tom Zalatnai
Youth Ministry Co-Coordinators
So, this week I sat down with Angela Henderson, my co-coordinator for youth ministry at Emmaus Anglican Church, to write our annual report. I figured, since I haven't had a lot of time to actually write any new posts in awhile, and so many of you out there are praying for us and our ministry, it would be a cool idea if I shared that report here!
At our June 2011 Retreat, we encouraged the teens to spend more time in community, living as the Body of Christ, pointing them toward the Christian life examined in the early church in the book of Acts. This summer was a time spent building community with one another in intentional ways. Coming off of this, our year started with a close group of teens who were very excited to get back into things and to welcome the new members of our group!
Our objective going into this year was to help the teens realize how God sees them, how to be a Christian in everyday life, and why that’s good and exciting! To do this, we started with an overview of what it means to be a Christian. We then discussed our identity in Christ, why we pray, why we memorize Scripture, how to glean from a sermon, what a testimony is, how to write a testimony, and why we serve one another.
After this, we asked the teens what topics they were interested in covering for the rest of the year. The topic we started with was being content with where we’re at in life, specifically with regards to singleness (a huge concern among high school students). After this, we had our Winter Retreat. God blessed us immensely by leading us to use The Friendly Home after our location cancelled, and we had a really good turnout. We discussed spiritual gifts, with the main focus of the weekend being “Value and Self-Confidence.” The teens went away encouraged and closer to one another and God than ever before.
Some other special evenings we had this year were a costume party at Hallowe’en, a Christmas party and a Q&A night with Keith which was enjoyed a great deal by both Keith and the teens!
Plans for March-June
Please be praying for the upcoming months as we have some serious as well as fun things planned. One topic that many teens have asked about is homosexuality. We will be taking 2 weeks to discuss it in April. We also have guest speakers, the 30 Hr Famine, a possible retreat at Rivercross Farm, a leaders’ retreat and our annual summer retreat in June. When we discussed the 30 Hr Famine with the teens, they decided that they wanted to support World Vision’s efforts to provide safety to children and teens being used as prostitutes and soldiers. They’re very excited for this event and we would encourage you to support them financially, if you can, and prayerfully the weekend of April 27-28!
Some Important Numbers!
7- Leaders currently serving on Friday nights!
5- Hours spent praying for and encouraging one another on our Winter Retreat!
11- Teens whose faiths were refreshed after our Winter Retreat!
1- Fence-sitting leader deciding to pursue a relationship with Christ!
On behalf of all the leaders,
Angela Henderson & Tom Zalatnai
Youth Ministry Co-Coordinators
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)