Last night at youth group we had a special visitor from the Davenport Police Department. The Parenting Fellowship group hosted an evening of Safety School here which included dinner together and then 4 age-specific breakouts for Pre-K, 1-4th grade, 5-8th grade and parents. Following their programs, I invited one of the police officers to stay for our youth group evening.
I intended this police portion of the evening to only last 15-20 minutes, and then to carve out some time to pray with and for the local law enforcement. However, once the officer began sharing his perspective on some of the more dangerous things in the world of youth, I could tell that we would be sitting a bit longer than anticipated. Officer Hank's talk took roughly 45 minutes and covered very relevant topics for our teenagers about the hidden dangers of our media culture. He explained in detail how police pursue violations like bullying and sexting (which is prosecuted as child pornography). In this discussion, his main point was that most teenagers don't realize that what their doing is wrong, can be traced back to them, their parents, and eventually prosecuted. He gave several examples that really showed the variety an dangerous nature of even receiving texts that could be construde as child porn or bullying.
Hank closed his time by talking a little about his faith and peer pressure. Though this part of the conversation could have been a little more powerful, I summarized his thoughts by also sharing Romans 12:2 and some words about resisting peer pressure. It was unnecessary for him to say that high school friends don't matter later in life, though that may be true for many people, it's not helpful for teenagers because no one wants to feel like their relationship doesn't matter. It was much more powerful when he talked about carrying the same attitudes, values and beliefs that you have now into adulthood, encouraging kids to make those choices the right choices right now.
We finished our evening with an extremely goofy game called instant replays. I broke the students into small groups and invited one group forward to create a crazy group pose while the rest of the students closed their eyes. When ready, we invited students to open their eyes for 10 seconds and we snapped a digital photo of the group. The other teams, one at a time, came forward and tried to replicate the exact pose, and two adult leaders judged the competition using the digital photo for comparison. After several rounds of hilarity I tabulated points and handed out a prize. The game was a great match for our group because we have a natural stage area and we had perfectly equal teams (with one adult leader mixed into a group to make them even). It was also easy for some students who are more physically and mentally challenged to participate. some of them watched, and some were invited into groups and given helpful instructions by their peers. It was definitely a winning game for our group.
We closed the evening with worship and some contemplative quiet time. I had planned a more intense contemplative experience but we were too short on time to make it work, maybe next week.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
The Holy Spirit
Last Night at youth group we honored yet another beautiful spring evening with some fun outside. Leading up to the evening I had created two separate but equal plans for the evenings. One plan incorporated some silly ice breaker, good teaching and extensive small group time all centered around the Holy Spirit. The second plan incorporated beautiful weather and about 45 minutes of play time outside followed by a very concise plan involving the Holy Spirit and some loosely formed small groups. And option number 2 worked out!
During our outside time we broke into two groups; there were 38 of us, so it was a few too many for one game anyway. On one field we played soccer, the other played ultimate Frisbee. Both are great games because you can add any number of people to play and there is little skill involved in order to have a good time. I felt especially good about empowering leaders to lead the game of ultimate and so I spent my evening with the soccer kids. The only basic rule for the evening was that everyone had to participate. So students who didn't feel especially athletic were required to find some way to be involved - picture taking, referee or cheering on the teams. Though it's a simple rule, it's necessary with students. 45 minutes flew by and everyone was sufficiently tired when we headed inside. Many times during the soccer game I had students tell me they wish we would do this every week. "it's good bonding" and "isn't this what God wants us to be doing" added fuel to their recommendations. They are right of course. even the two girls who were taking pictures jumped into the soccer game after a while. It was out of their comfort zone, and into deeper relationships.
The Holy Spirit talk used three basic examples to think about the Holy Spirit: Wind, Fire, and Animation. We began by thinking generally about the Holy Spirit and when it first appears in the Bible. Then I shared a few verses from Genesis 1 that helped students see the trinity as a concept that began with God in the beginning. Wind was the first illustration that we talked about wind and how we can see the affects of the Holy Spirit (when have you seen the Holy Spirit moving or felt God's presence in your life?). I used the Airzooka (a definite must-have in the youth ministry world) to share about the Holy Spirit and also talked about the hebrew word for Spirit (ruwach).
Fire was the second illustration. I used a string of Christmas lights to talk about plugging your life into God. (how do you fuel up on God? where do you plug in? how can you do it more?).
Animation was the third illustration, and I used a sweatshirt to talk about how God's spirit can fill us with action and life. Then we read from Galatians and talked about times in our own life when we felt like we were living fruitfully and being filled with the spirit.
We closed the evening with worship, and some great songs that fit the topic: every move I make and Light the Fire.
The only regrets that I have about the evening were about inclusion. I definitely noticed one of our more severely handicapped students not participating in the games time. but she as a willing watcher during the game, so I guess I can't really complain. Also in my haste to talk about the Holy Spirit I failed to distribute small group questions to leaders, so I was forced to keep repeating the questions even as small groups were going on. This was less than desirable...
During our outside time we broke into two groups; there were 38 of us, so it was a few too many for one game anyway. On one field we played soccer, the other played ultimate Frisbee. Both are great games because you can add any number of people to play and there is little skill involved in order to have a good time. I felt especially good about empowering leaders to lead the game of ultimate and so I spent my evening with the soccer kids. The only basic rule for the evening was that everyone had to participate. So students who didn't feel especially athletic were required to find some way to be involved - picture taking, referee or cheering on the teams. Though it's a simple rule, it's necessary with students. 45 minutes flew by and everyone was sufficiently tired when we headed inside. Many times during the soccer game I had students tell me they wish we would do this every week. "it's good bonding" and "isn't this what God wants us to be doing" added fuel to their recommendations. They are right of course. even the two girls who were taking pictures jumped into the soccer game after a while. It was out of their comfort zone, and into deeper relationships.
The Holy Spirit talk used three basic examples to think about the Holy Spirit: Wind, Fire, and Animation. We began by thinking generally about the Holy Spirit and when it first appears in the Bible. Then I shared a few verses from Genesis 1 that helped students see the trinity as a concept that began with God in the beginning. Wind was the first illustration that we talked about wind and how we can see the affects of the Holy Spirit (when have you seen the Holy Spirit moving or felt God's presence in your life?). I used the Airzooka (a definite must-have in the youth ministry world) to share about the Holy Spirit and also talked about the hebrew word for Spirit (ruwach).
Fire was the second illustration. I used a string of Christmas lights to talk about plugging your life into God. (how do you fuel up on God? where do you plug in? how can you do it more?).
Animation was the third illustration, and I used a sweatshirt to talk about how God's spirit can fill us with action and life. Then we read from Galatians and talked about times in our own life when we felt like we were living fruitfully and being filled with the spirit.
We closed the evening with worship, and some great songs that fit the topic: every move I make and Light the Fire.
The only regrets that I have about the evening were about inclusion. I definitely noticed one of our more severely handicapped students not participating in the games time. but she as a willing watcher during the game, so I guess I can't really complain. Also in my haste to talk about the Holy Spirit I failed to distribute small group questions to leaders, so I was forced to keep repeating the questions even as small groups were going on. This was less than desirable...
Monday, April 4, 2011
Silent Football
Last night at youth group we played one of my favorite youth group games: silent football. paired with this amazing game was a good discussion about judging others, guilt, and conscious.
To begin the evening, following dinner, we played a great ice breaker called Traffic. In this game all the students partnered up and blindfolded one partner. The blindfolded person then became a car, extending their two hands to act as headlights (and safety bumpers). The second person stood behind their partner and placed two hands on their shoulders. With simple commands, and gentle nudging of the shoulders, the person who could see became the driver of the car, navigating around the room and keeping their car from hitting others. Of course the game is tag. I selected two cars to be it and the chaos ensued. Instructed to only tag other cars, drivers couldn't be tagged, there was plenty of craziness and laughter as people drove their friends around the room trying to avoid being tagged. After a few tags, I would stop the group and instruct drivers to find new cars or car and driver to trade places. We played this ice breaker for 15 minutes, but easily could have spent 30 minutes playing and having fun with different styles of cars. Students loved it, and no one was injured.
Next we broke the kids into two groups and due to the exceedingly good weather, we headed outside to the grass to play games. For the evening I had planned to play Silent Football, but with 30 students, we need to break down into groups and switch games after 20 minutes or so. 15 was the right number to play silent football, but 20 minutes was far too short. Though there was lots of laughter and silliness, the game is quite stressful and quickly becomes overwhelming for some students who are racking up points. Silent football rules are well documented at the wikipedia page on silent football, but the basic premise of the game is to pass an imaginary football around a circle by performing a series of silly moves. The game gets sillier because there are some difficult rules to follow (not doing the same move three times in a row, no pointing, and no using personal pronouns during the game). Points are bad, and they are assigned when players see others doing something wrong and then tattling to the game moderator. At the same time as Silent Football, we invited the other group to play wiffle ball, led by another leader. (and it was probably almost as fun as silent football).
Following our game time we headed inside the church again for a large group and small group discussion. I began the conversation by inviting students to wonder if they could go a day without sinning, or multiple days without sinning. Then I used Romans 2:1-8 (message translation) to dive into conversation about judging others, and the reality that we sometimes judge others as a way to make our own actions feel less bad.
In that same room, we broke into small groups. This has rapidly become my favorite way to do small groups. instead of sending students all over the church to find small group gathering space, we simply circle up, right where we are, and discuss. The accommodations aren't as good, students are seated on the floor, and there is little privacy, but saving time, and staying on the same theme has been helpful for group leaders. It's also easier to transition into the next activity because groups finish closer to the same time.
The small group time was excellent this week. I also sat in on one of the small groups, and had a great conversation about whether or not your conscious was the voice of God. It was fascinating to hear students talk about how they do or don't perceive God as part of their daily lives.
To begin the evening, following dinner, we played a great ice breaker called Traffic. In this game all the students partnered up and blindfolded one partner. The blindfolded person then became a car, extending their two hands to act as headlights (and safety bumpers). The second person stood behind their partner and placed two hands on their shoulders. With simple commands, and gentle nudging of the shoulders, the person who could see became the driver of the car, navigating around the room and keeping their car from hitting others. Of course the game is tag. I selected two cars to be it and the chaos ensued. Instructed to only tag other cars, drivers couldn't be tagged, there was plenty of craziness and laughter as people drove their friends around the room trying to avoid being tagged. After a few tags, I would stop the group and instruct drivers to find new cars or car and driver to trade places. We played this ice breaker for 15 minutes, but easily could have spent 30 minutes playing and having fun with different styles of cars. Students loved it, and no one was injured.
Next we broke the kids into two groups and due to the exceedingly good weather, we headed outside to the grass to play games. For the evening I had planned to play Silent Football, but with 30 students, we need to break down into groups and switch games after 20 minutes or so. 15 was the right number to play silent football, but 20 minutes was far too short. Though there was lots of laughter and silliness, the game is quite stressful and quickly becomes overwhelming for some students who are racking up points. Silent football rules are well documented at the wikipedia page on silent football, but the basic premise of the game is to pass an imaginary football around a circle by performing a series of silly moves. The game gets sillier because there are some difficult rules to follow (not doing the same move three times in a row, no pointing, and no using personal pronouns during the game). Points are bad, and they are assigned when players see others doing something wrong and then tattling to the game moderator. At the same time as Silent Football, we invited the other group to play wiffle ball, led by another leader. (and it was probably almost as fun as silent football).
Following our game time we headed inside the church again for a large group and small group discussion. I began the conversation by inviting students to wonder if they could go a day without sinning, or multiple days without sinning. Then I used Romans 2:1-8 (message translation) to dive into conversation about judging others, and the reality that we sometimes judge others as a way to make our own actions feel less bad.
In that same room, we broke into small groups. This has rapidly become my favorite way to do small groups. instead of sending students all over the church to find small group gathering space, we simply circle up, right where we are, and discuss. The accommodations aren't as good, students are seated on the floor, and there is little privacy, but saving time, and staying on the same theme has been helpful for group leaders. It's also easier to transition into the next activity because groups finish closer to the same time.
The small group time was excellent this week. I also sat in on one of the small groups, and had a great conversation about whether or not your conscious was the voice of God. It was fascinating to hear students talk about how they do or don't perceive God as part of their daily lives.
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