Today on the podcast, Sean discusses linking special events to your Sunday morning service rather than holding it on a Friday or Saturday.
When Sean first began in ministry they recognized that a Friend’s Day was a great opportunity to get preteens to bring their friends to church. They initially would hold something on Saturday night, like a bowling night or an event at a trampoline park. They thought that by holding the event on Saturday night the kid would spend the night and they would come back with their friend to church on Sunday. Unfortunately, there was limited impact and students would end up not returning on Sunday. Eventually they decided that it would be more beneficial to hold the event on the Sunday which would bring those preteens to the Sunday service. Initially the Friend’s Day would be held immediately after service and they would feed them pizza and then load a bus and go do something fun. More recently the events have been held in the morning before most facilities are open to the public so that it becomes an exclusive event for the preteens and then load the bus and return to the church for a regular service.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, Sean discusses a game show called The Cube that included games very similar to minute to win it games.
Get ready to discover a treasure-trove of games you can play in your preteen ministry!
Sean gives some ideas for short minimal supplies needed games that can be played in front of the group or in some cases allowing everyone to play. These include Minute to Win It blueprints that you can get from YouTube. Go to YouTube and do a search for m2wi blueprints, or search for thecubeuk.
The great thing about these games is that they use limited supplies and small amount of space to play fun interactive games with the students.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, Sean and Dayna talk about money saving techniques when buying things for your ministry.
They discuss how saving money can allow you to extend the money that you have allowing you to do more with what you have as well as being good stewards with the churches money. Dayna explains that familiarizing yourself with the needs of your ministry so that when you find things on sale you can buy it even if it is a couple months out until you need it. If you wait until it is to late you will pay whatever to get the items, you need. Joining email lists can be another great benefit for saving money. Familiarizing yourself with the local dollar store can be such a great benefit because sometimes they have stuff you might not think they would have. Finally making sure that your ministry space is also organized will allow you to know what you have so you aren’t purchasing items that you already have but didn’t know where they were.
The main point here to take away is think before you buy and purchase the items at the lowest costs possible.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, Sean and Makenna discuss the carnival themed VBS that Elevate ran this last summer.
During the week long VBS preteens created their own carnival booths, took a trip to a real-life carnival – the California state fair, and held their own carnival at the end of the week. Sean and Makenna discuss the details of the week including a clown university that didn’t go as well as they would have hoped.
The week ended with a fundraiser on Sunday after church where the kids were able to show off their carnival booths. It was a great opportunity for the church to see what was happening during the week at camp.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, Sean gives details on classroom management versus discipline. Two very different and highly important elements for a successful preteen ministry.
Discipline is a way of helping the preteens grow. Discipline comes from the root word “Disciple”, which means: “to teach.”
On the other hand, Classroom Management, like sending a kid out of the room for being disruptive, is not teaching them much of anything or showing concern for their development.
With Classroom Management, you are simply communicating to preteens that their current behavior is not acceptable. Classroom management is ok but it needs to be combined with discipline.
Both means are good, and both are important. A ministry to preteens will not be as effective if it has one without the other one. Classroom management by itself does not lead to growth for the preteens. It is not leading to a heart change; it is only bringing about a shallow surface change. Using both combined will lead to a better ministry environment with heart changes for your preteens.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, Sean and Makenna give details about this past summers' day camp that had a successful "Superhero" theme.
The week started off with the preteens going through Superhero University to receive their super powers. The camp directors acted as professors for the preteens and handed out grades as the groups moved between the different activity stations. Each group of campers became their own superhero team with their own world. This was carried throughout the week as the preteens created comic books about their specific hero they thought up.
Makenna discusses how it was great to see the kids using their made up powers while they were on field trips at the pool and watching them be able to use their imagination all week. In addition to being professors, later in the week, the leaders also became villains. The week culminated with a giant evil fortress including minions and the main villain "Unusual Professor Dr. Inkblot Ed".
The creation of the villain on the last day included a 2 hour activity with water balloons and squirt guns and a hidden villain that the groups worked together to destroy by gaining pieces to a bomb while completing tasks. Using smoke bombs the leaders set off inside the fortress right as the bomb went off, the villain was finally vanquished.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, Sean gives more details about the policy that Elevate has in place called "The Rule of Three.” A great policy to protect not only your preteens, but your leaders, too.
The Rule of Three is a simple concept that requires that there always be three people together. What this means is that a leader is never alone by themselves with a preteen. There is either one preteen and two leaders or two preteens and one leader at all times as a minimum requirement.
Maybe you don't have any policy regarding this and this is an easy policy to add. If you ever see a leader by themselves with a preteen it is easy to remind them just by saying, "Rule of Three.”
This does not apply to only adult leaders and preteens but should also be used with your high school volunteers as well. Recent studies* have shown that roughly half of all sex offenses against minors under 12 are initiated by other minors. A rule of three is a GREAT policy for ALL of your leaders, including your high school and middle school leaders.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
* Center for Sex Offender Management. (1999). Understanding juvenile sexual offending behavior. Silver Spring, MD: Author.
Today on the podcast, Trenton gives more details about how he created this exciting design element for Elevate's ministry space. If you would like to actually see a tour of the Light-Up Thingy, you can watch the tour Trenton gave.
Built with some simple supplies that can be purchased at your local hardware store. Pick up some corrugated plastic, some form of really bright colored light like LED can lights, some felt and Velcro and you can create any design that you can think up. This is an inexpensive project, most corrugated plastic can be found for a large 2'x3' sheet for under $10. The Light-Up Thingy is a simple design element that can bring some excitement to your ministry space.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Last summer, Destiny Christian Church introduced 6 weeks of day camps for the preteens (entering 4th-6th grade). Today on the podcast, you’ll hear about these 9am-5pm M-F camps, and how they were an incredibly positive experience for the campers, the leaders, and the parents in the community.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, you’ll hear an idea shared with us by Rachel Johnson: the drawing table. You’ll hear a couple of ways of creating a drawing table, and few ideas of uses for a drawing table.
This could be a simple element to add to your ministry space that your artistic preteens will appreciate.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, Sean shares about something he heard about at Kidmin Megacon. Many children’s ministry leaders want to “tame” the preteens in their ministries and make them be well-behaved. Instead, give preteens a chance to mess up, be who God created them to be, and take steps to own their faith. Give them a chance to be a little bit wild instead of just sitting quietly during the service. Sean gives ideas of how to let preteens be wild in a productive way.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
In today’s podcast, Sean talks about a creative way to tell stories that engages students, especially the musical ones. He shares two songs as examples of songs that can be used for Lip Sync storytelling, which you can link to below:
“Fishers of Men” by Seeds Music
“You are Here” by Deeply Rooted Curriculum
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
This past summer, Elevate ministries had six day camps and one away camp. Each of the day camps had different themes, and one of the most successful themes was the “ESCAPE ROOM”.
Throughout the week, preteens completed escape challenges, heard messages about freedom and escaping, and then, before the week was over, the groups created their own escape rooms for other groups to attempt to solve.
Today on the podcast, listen as Makenna gives more details about this highly successful VBS-type experience for preteens.
Mentioned in the podcast is this link, which will give you more ideas about creating an escape room for your preteens.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
If you like what you’re hearing, subscribe to the FourFiveSix podcast by clicking here and you’ll get great ideas for your preteen ministry four, five, or six times a week.
This is a leadership concept which, if implemented, can help to take your ministry to a new level of effectiveness.
You don't have to do everything just because it works. Sometimes a thing that works can actually be a negative for your ministry.
Today on the podcast, Sean talks about evaluating the things that are taking place in your ministry and then taking action to accentuate the positive!
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Preteens are a little silly sometimes. For whatever reason, they really liked the idea of a MUSTACHE night. It was a HIT, and brought a new level of energy to a regular midweek service.
In today’s podcast, Sean discusses what Mustache Night was, how the preteens participated, and how it was LOOSELY tied into the message.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
The FourFiveSix Great Idea podcasts are back from our summer break. Woohoo!
Today on the podcast, Makenna discusses the luau night that she and some of the other leaders of Elevate put on just a few weeks ago for the girls.
Ohana means family, and creating a family atmosphere with the girls in Elevate was the goal for the evening. Listen to this simple idea that you can pull off with the girls from your ministry this year.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, Yancy Richmond discusses the unique opportunites we have in leading preteens in worshipping God. It's all about relatability, as Yancy helps us to understand.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at fourfivesix.org.
Today on the podcast you’ll hear about “The Box”, a simple idea that invites preteens to connect with the leaders in their ministry.
Preteens are typically interested in doing a lot of things. Sometimes, they are just waiting for an invitation. The Box is an invitation to preteens to become more connected with the leaders of your ministry. This idea can be easily adapted to be used with whatever you want to invite your preteens to do.
It’s very simple actually. It’s just…A BOX.
How might you use a box to invite the preteens in your ministry to connect? Share your ideas below.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast Sean talks with Terry Bohlman, the Facilities Director at Destiny Church. Sometimes, you can hear great ideas for your ministry to preteens in unexpected places. You never know what somebody will say when you ask “What do you think is a good idea for preteen ministry?”
That’s what happened on today’s podcast. As Terry and his crew were working in and around the FourFiveSix office, Sean asked Terry this question. His answer was great, and he asked Terry to come and record his thoughts. Enjoy today’s light-hearted recording with the “preteen ministry expert” and “chief cheese incarnate” Terry Bohlman.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today’s podcast is a discussion starter about appreciating volunteers. Is your volunteer appreciation creating a healthy ministry-minded culture or not?
Listen as Sean and Chris discuss volunteerism and some subtleties that can make a huge difference in your ministry. Add your voice to the discussion.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Sometimes, you’re trying to simply solve a problem, and you discover something awesome along the way.
What do you do at overnighters about when to make the kids be quiet and go to sleep? While brainstorming solutions to this problem, the team in Elevate came up with an idea that has become a beloved tradition and a spiritual milestone for many students who’ve gone through the Fifth Grade Helper leadership program.
Every year, around February, the Fifth Grade Helpers plan and implement their own overnighter. Today on the podcast, Sean discusses some of the details of this overnighter, including the solution that they came up with to the “making kids be quiet at overnighters” problem.
Learn more about the Fifth Grade Helper Leadership program.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast…Robert Quinn talks about transitioning preteens up to the next ministry. His ministry has two separate meetings: one with just preteens to welcome them into the ministry, and one with both parents and preteens to help set the parents’ minds at ease about the transition. He also talks about the importance of communicating with parents.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Self-evaluation can help preteens feel more comfortable when they are having self-doubts. It also helps leaders to learn how to best minister to the preteens. On today’s podcast, Sean will give some practical ideas of how you can help the preteens in your ministry to self-evaluate.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast…Lisa Ware, Director of Children’s Ministry at Mechanicsburg Christian Fellowship in Ohio, talks about the importance of encouraging kids to use prayer to grow deeper in the Lord. To help the kids in her ministry to understand what prayer is in a creative way, she used a large world map and turned it into a giant string art design that kids can use clothespins and sticky notes to attach their prayer requests to.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Likening is something that Jesus taught us to do. He was a master at taking abstract, lofty ideas and teaching us about it by saying what it’s like. His parables, his teaching, and his figures of speech demonstrated how likening can be a powerful tool to connect people with deep subjects.
The great likener, C.S. Lewis, used stories. Tim Cleary, from The Aetherlight, uses a video game.
On today’s podcast, Sean talks with Matthijs Vlaardingerboek, a natural likener who uses object lessons to connect kids to Biblical truths.
They discuss the idea of likening in greater depth, and Matt shares 2 of his favorite “moments of likening” from his time as a kid’s ministry leader.
Matt has developed a website, creativekidswork.com, which has over 400+ free object lessons and creative teaching elements. Check his resource out! You can be a likener, too.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.