Last night at youth group one of our students rocked world with her faith story. She was honest, vulnerable, and told her story of tragedy and redemption like she's been doing it for years. I met with her during the week to hear the story, give some feedback and guide her towards to aspects that would really connect with the rest of our students. Immediately I knew that her story should change our evening, and would give a lot of students deep conversations that they crave. My favorite part of hearing her prep her story was that looking across that table she said, I really hope a few of the other girls in our group hear what I'm saying and don't follow my path. That's the right attitude to have about sharing, she wanted her story to mean something and it did.
I reshaped the evening to allow more time for the great senior story and conversation afterwards. I also planned a game called "don't break the chain" to begin the evening... which was a huge flop. The idea of the game was that these cards each had an unusual action on them like "bark like dog, dance the chicken dance..." and I had hoped that by playing with them like a name game would be really fun. Unfortunately we had far too many students to play like a name game and we abandoned the game after a valiant effort.
We rearranged our evening so that the senior faith story would be central, so after our failed ice breaker we headed back to the youth room and I introduced our senior. After she shared, I asked a few followup questions (things that I thought other students may be wondering) and at one point as she was crying I went and stood next to her to comfort her. When she was finished I asked adult leaders to come forward to the center of the room and I paired them up and assigned grade levels to each pair. Our house groups are loosely divided by grade, so I thought they'd have the best conversations in these groups. I did allow students to change groups if they felt it would be better for them, and several between junior and sophomore did switch groups.
Our small group questions were all about hope, which was a great conversation to have following the faith story. I should have made a broad announcement to have small group leaders debrief from the story first, but I forgot. I did catch 3 of the 4 groups with those instructions and it seemed debriefing from the story was really good before reading the passage (Romans 8:31-39) and talking about hope.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Picture Madlibs
Last night at youth group we dove into some creative activities by playing picture madlibs. It was a great way to build on the past few weeks of energy, incorporate new people, and spend an evening with doing more artistic activity rather than being physically active. It required a little preparation, but was well worth the laughter and fun.
A few weeks ago during our house groups I challenged each group to submitted 30 picture poses (a list I had provided). Those poses were mostly adjectives or short phrases (just winning the lottery, smart, annoyed, acting like a dinosaur, on a roller coaster...). I've been sifting through the photos in the last two weeks trying to match the pose to the words and deciding which pictures were the best to use. Then I pulled out pictures in groups of 10 to create a crazy word list, which corresponded to a powerpoint slide show of the 10 pictures. Of course, all of this was unknown for our students.
So last night, after a warm-up game of reverse charades, I divided the group into 8 teams (because I had 8 slideshows). The simple instructions were to write a story that included all 10 words/phrases in order. The story needed to have at least 10 sentences and each team was given a name (tigers, coffee cups, spacemen...) that was also to be included in the story as a theme somehow. The groups were given 15 minutes, then reported back to the youth room where I had setup the projector. As each group read their story aloud, I asked them to pause each time they used one of the provided words and I showed the next photo.
Part of the success of the game was the unknown: kids had no idea that I was going to use the photos, or what photo would come next. The stories were clever, and though some had plot, many would have been flops if it had not been for the funny pictures associated with them. The whole experience took about 30-35 minutes. I transitioned into small groups by reading the Bible story that we were about to study as a madlib with about 25 of the best photos included in the story. This part was just okay, I think it was too silly to actually jump-start conversation and I think people were too distracted by the photos to hear the story.
Small groups studied the passage of Jesus healing the demoniac in Luke 8:26-39. It's a passage that can go lots of ways. You can talk about chains, or additions, or encountering Jesus. Unfortunately I think the silliness of madlibs and some unclear setup by me, made the Bible study a little disjointed. I think small groups work better when I spend the first few minutes getting everyone really into the study by opening up the topics. Leaders seem to have a better time thinking of their own questions and the conversations are smoother. Even with 25 minutes last night there were still kids wishing they had more time in Bible study.
Other notes about the evening:
Two small groups used our booths in the youth room and decided afterwards that we'll have to install some more barriers or noise eating materials in the room because it was difficult to concentrate. I think the problem was that one group was laughing a lot as they shared and the other was quite serious. Hopefully we'll be able to fix this issue before too long and we'll have ideal small group spaces!
A few weeks ago during our house groups I challenged each group to submitted 30 picture poses (a list I had provided). Those poses were mostly adjectives or short phrases (just winning the lottery, smart, annoyed, acting like a dinosaur, on a roller coaster...). I've been sifting through the photos in the last two weeks trying to match the pose to the words and deciding which pictures were the best to use. Then I pulled out pictures in groups of 10 to create a crazy word list, which corresponded to a powerpoint slide show of the 10 pictures. Of course, all of this was unknown for our students.
So last night, after a warm-up game of reverse charades, I divided the group into 8 teams (because I had 8 slideshows). The simple instructions were to write a story that included all 10 words/phrases in order. The story needed to have at least 10 sentences and each team was given a name (tigers, coffee cups, spacemen...) that was also to be included in the story as a theme somehow. The groups were given 15 minutes, then reported back to the youth room where I had setup the projector. As each group read their story aloud, I asked them to pause each time they used one of the provided words and I showed the next photo.
Part of the success of the game was the unknown: kids had no idea that I was going to use the photos, or what photo would come next. The stories were clever, and though some had plot, many would have been flops if it had not been for the funny pictures associated with them. The whole experience took about 30-35 minutes. I transitioned into small groups by reading the Bible story that we were about to study as a madlib with about 25 of the best photos included in the story. This part was just okay, I think it was too silly to actually jump-start conversation and I think people were too distracted by the photos to hear the story.
Small groups studied the passage of Jesus healing the demoniac in Luke 8:26-39. It's a passage that can go lots of ways. You can talk about chains, or additions, or encountering Jesus. Unfortunately I think the silliness of madlibs and some unclear setup by me, made the Bible study a little disjointed. I think small groups work better when I spend the first few minutes getting everyone really into the study by opening up the topics. Leaders seem to have a better time thinking of their own questions and the conversations are smoother. Even with 25 minutes last night there were still kids wishing they had more time in Bible study.
Other notes about the evening:
Two small groups used our booths in the youth room and decided afterwards that we'll have to install some more barriers or noise eating materials in the room because it was difficult to concentrate. I think the problem was that one group was laughing a lot as they shared and the other was quite serious. Hopefully we'll be able to fix this issue before too long and we'll have ideal small group spaces!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Edible Racers
Last night at youth group we hosted our second annual burrito car races, though to be fair, they were actually edible racers because we used corn dogs and taquitos instead of actual burritos. In my estimation it was one of hte best packaged evenings I've had in a long time. it seemed that everything that was planned went over well and that the theme of the evening came out crystal clear. That theme was how we grow and change our faith to adapt to life. call it spiritual maturity, or living in righteousness, encouraging each other, it was about having a faith that lasts.
We started the evening unconventionally. The room was setup in a circle rather than auditorium style, and we didn't do an ice breaker. The circle setup made the group feel small because they were separated into two halves, even with 45 people, it still felt smaller. The lack of ice breaker didn't really hurt anything, but we did do an warm up question (sharing how our parents were crazy) telling to our neighbors and then sharing with the large group.
Instead of our normal ice breaker game, we began with a small talk from me about training wheels and growing up. That led into the schedule for the evening beautifully as I described how each part of the evening played off the theme (making care packages for college students would help others when they needed it, the modifications of the burrito cars would be turned into analogies later).
The college care packages were brilliant. We tested a few of these ideas in weeks leading up to the evening, and here's what we found. First, we wanted to do it cheaply. there were 68 college students to send to, we couldn't be spending $10 each to stuff and mail a box of candy. So we contacted to post office and found out that some candy can be shipped in envelopes and mailed quite inexpensively. Smarties, peppermints, lifesavers, pop rocks, butterscotch, jolly rancher sticks, and star bursts are all good for the mail. Second, we wanted to tell our college students something important. So we stuffed each envelope with a half sheet flyer inviting them to two gatherings around the holidays. Third, we wanted them to be personal. Each envelop was stuffed with a card as well upon which we glued (with glue dots) the candy to and then students wrote notes on the card to each person and hand addressed each envelope. It didn't take more than 30 minutes to get through all the care envelopes, licked and sealed with special notes. Many students wrote lengthy notes to big brothers and sisters or friends, and many also mentioned their excitement to receive one while they are at college.
Next we gave students 20 minutes to construct, test, decorate and engineer their race cars. We provided supplies and a sample, then let the kids go to work with one special request: while they worked they needed to think of some analogies for how this race car or this experience is like faith. Last year when we did this event we used screws, nuts and washers to construct the cars and used tea-light candles as wheels. this year we've improved the process and made it considerably cheaper and more edible. we used the cheap walmart oreo cookies for wheels by drilling a hole in the center (they have an impression in the middle, which made it easy. We also used wooden skewers for the axles, breaking each in half for before inserting in the race car (which was pre-drilled with two holes for the axles). and finally, we used spice drops as hub caps. They don't even need to be drilled, but adjusted once skewered so that they keep the car running straight.
Before the race, students gathered in the youth room to share their favorite analogies, here is some of what they came up with:
We started the evening unconventionally. The room was setup in a circle rather than auditorium style, and we didn't do an ice breaker. The circle setup made the group feel small because they were separated into two halves, even with 45 people, it still felt smaller. The lack of ice breaker didn't really hurt anything, but we did do an warm up question (sharing how our parents were crazy) telling to our neighbors and then sharing with the large group.
Instead of our normal ice breaker game, we began with a small talk from me about training wheels and growing up. That led into the schedule for the evening beautifully as I described how each part of the evening played off the theme (making care packages for college students would help others when they needed it, the modifications of the burrito cars would be turned into analogies later).
The college care packages were brilliant. We tested a few of these ideas in weeks leading up to the evening, and here's what we found. First, we wanted to do it cheaply. there were 68 college students to send to, we couldn't be spending $10 each to stuff and mail a box of candy. So we contacted to post office and found out that some candy can be shipped in envelopes and mailed quite inexpensively. Smarties, peppermints, lifesavers, pop rocks, butterscotch, jolly rancher sticks, and star bursts are all good for the mail. Second, we wanted to tell our college students something important. So we stuffed each envelope with a half sheet flyer inviting them to two gatherings around the holidays. Third, we wanted them to be personal. Each envelop was stuffed with a card as well upon which we glued (with glue dots) the candy to and then students wrote notes on the card to each person and hand addressed each envelope. It didn't take more than 30 minutes to get through all the care envelopes, licked and sealed with special notes. Many students wrote lengthy notes to big brothers and sisters or friends, and many also mentioned their excitement to receive one while they are at college.
Next we gave students 20 minutes to construct, test, decorate and engineer their race cars. We provided supplies and a sample, then let the kids go to work with one special request: while they worked they needed to think of some analogies for how this race car or this experience is like faith. Last year when we did this event we used screws, nuts and washers to construct the cars and used tea-light candles as wheels. this year we've improved the process and made it considerably cheaper and more edible. we used the cheap walmart oreo cookies for wheels by drilling a hole in the center (they have an impression in the middle, which made it easy. We also used wooden skewers for the axles, breaking each in half for before inserting in the race car (which was pre-drilled with two holes for the axles). and finally, we used spice drops as hub caps. They don't even need to be drilled, but adjusted once skewered so that they keep the car running straight.
Before the race, students gathered in the youth room to share their favorite analogies, here is some of what they came up with:
- God keeps us rolling
- you can have help from your friends, but ultimately your faith is your responsibility and you have to own it
- The freezer is like God, the more time you spend away from God the weaker you are
- ingredients are sticky like faith is stuck to us even when we try to ignore it, it stays with you
- each car was unique and specially hand crafted just like us
- if we fall of the course, someone (like God) will catch us before we are destroyed
- our faith is never complete, hard to say that it's ever really final or perfect
- It doesn't matter if you finish the race first, at least you're trying
- a leader might help you create your car, or give you inspiration for a better design or understanding
After our tournament style race, we sung and prayed. I read Hebrews 5:11-14 and recapped the theme. it was a great night!
Monday, November 7, 2011
House Groups
Last night at youth group we met in house groups. This was our second attempt to gather in each others' houses in lieu of meeting at church. We kept the same house groups and leaders, but 3 of the 4 groups changed houses. Each house group is meant to be a grade level, but there are a few students who feel more connected to other grades, so I've openly allowed them to switch groups if they want to.
The week prior to house groups I send home a postcard to each person, reminding/inviting them to the house group. It has a map and description of the evening on the postcard, and of course each card is color-coded for the grade level. The four house group hosts are usually easy to find, but this week I felt I needed to help our freshman group so I offered to host it at my house.
Of course each house group has several capable leaders, great leaders in fact! Most of the groups have a musical person in the group who volunteers to play guitar, and I've arranged the ice breaker games, Bible study, and other activities in advance, putting all supplies and resources in a bag for each house group.
Since I was the host, I tried to be a host-like as possible. I allowed the other leaders to lead and participated when I needed to, but also excused myself from the group when needed as well. Actually being a host was a lot of fun, so hard to keep my mouth shut, but really fun.
The hard part of house groups is that I essentially create 4 ice breakers each week, because the house groups are all so different in number and dynamic. But this week I chose a few board games, and I think they all worked out pretty well. My house group played the game of things, two house groups played a game called Kalimaat, and the other group played a game called the perfect present. All the games were good and we will probably just flip flop games next time.
The Bible study was good to hear and be a part of. Philippians 1:1-11 is an encouraging section that has all kinds of options to talk about joy or happiness, and amazing acts of love. In my house group the leaders each took a portion of the evening to lead, so one person led the game, anther the Bible study and a third led the picture poses. It was a great strategy (one I had hoped for when we assigned leaders) but it was a little difficult because no one was moving things along.
The last part of the evening was called picture poses. each group was given a camera and asked to take 30 pictures of their group posing in different ways. These were all mostly silly (embarassed, hungry, just spotted a celebrity) but the kids really responded well and LOVED taking photos together. The goal of the game was that a judge (like myself) would be able to look at the photo and guess correctly the pose, but it was more difficult than it seemed!
The week prior to house groups I send home a postcard to each person, reminding/inviting them to the house group. It has a map and description of the evening on the postcard, and of course each card is color-coded for the grade level. The four house group hosts are usually easy to find, but this week I felt I needed to help our freshman group so I offered to host it at my house.
Of course each house group has several capable leaders, great leaders in fact! Most of the groups have a musical person in the group who volunteers to play guitar, and I've arranged the ice breaker games, Bible study, and other activities in advance, putting all supplies and resources in a bag for each house group.
Since I was the host, I tried to be a host-like as possible. I allowed the other leaders to lead and participated when I needed to, but also excused myself from the group when needed as well. Actually being a host was a lot of fun, so hard to keep my mouth shut, but really fun.
The hard part of house groups is that I essentially create 4 ice breakers each week, because the house groups are all so different in number and dynamic. But this week I chose a few board games, and I think they all worked out pretty well. My house group played the game of things, two house groups played a game called Kalimaat, and the other group played a game called the perfect present. All the games were good and we will probably just flip flop games next time.
The Bible study was good to hear and be a part of. Philippians 1:1-11 is an encouraging section that has all kinds of options to talk about joy or happiness, and amazing acts of love. In my house group the leaders each took a portion of the evening to lead, so one person led the game, anther the Bible study and a third led the picture poses. It was a great strategy (one I had hoped for when we assigned leaders) but it was a little difficult because no one was moving things along.
The last part of the evening was called picture poses. each group was given a camera and asked to take 30 pictures of their group posing in different ways. These were all mostly silly (embarassed, hungry, just spotted a celebrity) but the kids really responded well and LOVED taking photos together. The goal of the game was that a judge (like myself) would be able to look at the photo and guess correctly the pose, but it was more difficult than it seemed!
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