Knowing the Who, What, and Why of Your Preteen Ministry
Over the next three days, I will be leading some workshops about preteen ministry at a ministry conference. One of the areas that I will touch on is having a vision for preteen ministry.
I would like to hear about the vision that you have for your preteen ministry. Let me know why your preteen ministry exist - I bet most of us will have similar visions!
Joe
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
So I took a jump - this is a really big jump. I have been dreaming of doing something like this for about 5 years now. It is a really big jump for me, because I am not that computer and website savvy. I have decided to create a website that will serve two purposes or more (?). One is to serve as a ParentConnect Page for our preteen ministry. The other is to serve as a very indepth resource site for people who ministry to preteens.There is not a whole lot on there now, but hopefully there will be soon. If you have any ideas or resources that you know of or are using, please let me know at the e-mail on the website. Thanks...
The website is www.preteenedge.com
Joe
The website is www.preteenedge.com
Joe
“Loose lips sink ships” -Vs- “The lips of the righteous nourish many”
There is an old saying from one of the past great wars that went something like this, “Loose lips sink ships.” Essentially what they were saying is that careless words can cost the lives of people, so we need to use our words with caution. This is also true with those of us who work with children and youth, both figuratively and literally. I like to say that the words we use can either bring about life, or they can bring about death. We never know what effect the words we use have on people, especially on the children that we minister too.
I was confronted with this fact one Sunday morning. A former student from my ministry wrote me a card, thanking me for all the kind and encouraging words that I passed her way whenever she was in and around our ministry. She said that whenever she came to church or our preteen ministry events, everyone always spoke kindly to her and used words of love, acceptance, and encouragement towards her – she said that she always felt closer to God when she was around us. You see, Summer does not have a good home life, in fact the few times that I had gone to her home, I could hear the harsh words and tones that she experienced. At home, she never heard words that would bring life to her soul, instead she heard words that crushed her spirit and made her feel insignificant and unwanted; in a sense they brought her death. However, when Summer came around our preteen ministry staff, she heard words that nourished her soul and uplifted her spirit. She came to know that God loves her and created her with significance and purpose - God’s word brought her life!
There was another lesson to be had that day. That Sunday evening as my family and I were winding down from another busy Sunday, I walked into my youngest daughter’s bedroom and I observed that her room was a mess and not just any ordinary mess. It was the type of mess that only an eight-year-old girl, who is full of life and wonder, can create. As she sat there in a pile of crumbled-up pieces of paper, dutifully working on another masterpiece – I told her in a stern voice that her room was a pigsty and that pigs only live in them. She looked up at me with crocodile tears forming in her eyes and on her cheeks and she said to me through sobs, “Daddy, if I’m a pig, does this mean that you do not love me anymore.” My heart stopped and I grabbed her in my arms and told her that I was wrong for saying those words to her and that I loved her. That day I learned all to well that “Loose lip can sink ships” and “The lips of the righteous nourish many.”
There is an old saying from one of the past great wars that went something like this, “Loose lips sink ships.” Essentially what they were saying is that careless words can cost the lives of people, so we need to use our words with caution. This is also true with those of us who work with children and youth, both figuratively and literally. I like to say that the words we use can either bring about life, or they can bring about death. We never know what effect the words we use have on people, especially on the children that we minister too.
I was confronted with this fact one Sunday morning. A former student from my ministry wrote me a card, thanking me for all the kind and encouraging words that I passed her way whenever she was in and around our ministry. She said that whenever she came to church or our preteen ministry events, everyone always spoke kindly to her and used words of love, acceptance, and encouragement towards her – she said that she always felt closer to God when she was around us. You see, Summer does not have a good home life, in fact the few times that I had gone to her home, I could hear the harsh words and tones that she experienced. At home, she never heard words that would bring life to her soul, instead she heard words that crushed her spirit and made her feel insignificant and unwanted; in a sense they brought her death. However, when Summer came around our preteen ministry staff, she heard words that nourished her soul and uplifted her spirit. She came to know that God loves her and created her with significance and purpose - God’s word brought her life!
There was another lesson to be had that day. That Sunday evening as my family and I were winding down from another busy Sunday, I walked into my youngest daughter’s bedroom and I observed that her room was a mess and not just any ordinary mess. It was the type of mess that only an eight-year-old girl, who is full of life and wonder, can create. As she sat there in a pile of crumbled-up pieces of paper, dutifully working on another masterpiece – I told her in a stern voice that her room was a pigsty and that pigs only live in them. She looked up at me with crocodile tears forming in her eyes and on her cheeks and she said to me through sobs, “Daddy, if I’m a pig, does this mean that you do not love me anymore.” My heart stopped and I grabbed her in my arms and told her that I was wrong for saying those words to her and that I loved her. That day I learned all to well that “Loose lip can sink ships” and “The lips of the righteous nourish many.”
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