Imagine a spectrum. On one end you have “Don’t ask anybody to do anything ever…allow the Holy Spirit to move people into doing everything.” On the other hand you have “You, the leader, have to make everything happen by asking. Ask anybody and everyone. Get into the church bulletin and e-mail everybody your requests.”
As a ministry leader, where do you find yourself on that spectrum? Where is the healthy place to be? If you have to ask somebody to do something, are they really a volunteer?
Today on the podcast, Sean talks over a few guiding principles when you are considering whether or not you should ask a volunteer to do something.
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, you’ll hear how Destiny Christian Church has successfully integrated a high school leadership program into their preteen ministry camp.
This program has made a HUGE difference in the way Destiny does camps, and is an idea that can be replicated, in some form, at your preteen camp as well.
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/.
Have you ever done an outreach event and seen your numbers double, triple, or even more. BUT THEN…the next week…the numbers in your group go back to what they were before?
Where did those preteens go? They came to the event…maybe they even accepted Christ…but now they’re not coming back to church.
Maybe you’ve experienced that and begun to wonder if you should even do large outreach events at all.
Today on the podcast, Michelle Gregory and Sean Sweet talk about this issue, and coming to some conclusions about the real “WHY” behind these large outreach events.
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, we hear from Michelle Gregory about their outreach event, Breakout. Each year at this event, they see their numbers swell from approximately 150 preteens to 400-600.
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/.
A year ago, the Facebook page for Elevate preteen ministry wasn’t doing much at all. Then, “Crazy Chris” took over, and started exploring how to make a Facebook page for preteen ministry really shine.
Today on the podcast, he shares some secrets that he’s discovered to having a vibrant, effective Facebook page for your preteen ministry.
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/.
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Today, you’ll hear some ideas for dealing with homesickness at camp, through both preventative and responsive measures.
Before Camp:
At Camp:
How do you deal with homesickness at your camps? Let us know in the comment section 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/.
Do you have Sundays when there is no preteen ministry? Do you want to intentionally connect the preteens to the main service? Here’s an idea to help you with either of these: a “big church” scavenger hunt.
Today on the podcast, Sean talks about this concept and gives suggestions for making a day in “big church” a meaningful way for preteens to connect with the adult service, and for the preteens to connect with the preteen ministry even on “big church” days.
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, we hear from Laura Karr and Rachel Warren from Normal, Illinois. They took a trip to the West Coast to check out preteen ministries.
Visiting other ministries around the country (or even just around your city) can be a great way to pick up some great ideas for your ministry. It’s the reason we have “Space Tours” at FourFiveSix.
Whether you travel across states, or take a Saturday night to just visit another ministry in the area, visiting another ministry can be a really great idea for your preteen ministry.
Laura Karr is one of the curriculum reviewers for the Blue Ocean Quarter of the 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/.
Last week in Elevate preteen ministries, the lesson was based on Romans 1:21-23, where it talks about men replacing God with things other than God. During the lesson, a marshmallow was the example of a thing that was replacing God.
So the team in Elevate put together a pre-service time with marshmallow themed activities, and which culminated in a boys vs. girls marshmallow war.
The marshmallow war was one part “Capture the Flag”, one part “Dodge Ball”, and one part crazy preteen chaos.
The field was split in half with cones. Boys on one side; girls on the other. Two hats were placed on the boys’ side in a “safety zone”, and two hats were likewise placed on the girls’ side.
The object for everybody was to get the hats from the opposite side and bring them back without being “tagged” by a marshmallow.
In the four corners of the field were leaders with a bucket of flour and a bag of marshmallows, two on the boys’ side and two on the girls’. Students could run and get a marshmallow from the leader whenever they pleased, dip it in the flour, and throw it at an “invader” from the opposite team.
If anybody was on the opponents’ side and got hit by a marshmallow, they had to return immediately to their own side and touch their “safety zone” before returning to the game.
It was a blast!
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/.