If you are bringing your leaders to camp at the same time as the campers, they are not in the best position to lead (especially if the leader has never been to that particular camp before).
At Destiny Church’s Preteen Camp, the leaders go up the day before the campers do. This gives them a chance to receive some training, become settled in, pray for the camp, and build team cohesion before the campers even arrive.
Today on the podcast, Sean talks with Chris (Director of Camper Experience) about the many benefits of this strategy.
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 have so many questions about life, God, Heaven, Hell, and everything in-between. Well-meaning leaders and teaching will try to help the preteens answer these questions themselves, or even direct them to some other source to find the answers.
However, when preteens ask questions, this is a GREAT opportunity to point them to The Truth of God’s Word.
Today on the podcast, Sean talks about the many benefits of pointing preteens to scripture when they ask questions, and talks about how he goes about doing this.
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 we talk with Louie Schmitz from Oregon about the recent retreat he planned and led for the preteens of his church.
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/.
Some preteens LOVE mud and can’t wait for an opportunity to just dive right in. Others don’t want to have anything to do with getting dirty (or at least they pretend that they don’t).
Elevate has had a “Mudlympics” twice, and both times it’s been a big hit with the preteens – even the ones who just want to watch their peers getting muddy.
“Mudlympics” can be used as a special event, or as part of a special service. It’s an outdoor event, but a little rain and a little cold might actually add to the event.
Check out all the details for putting on your own “Mudlympics” and download a PDF version of the event at www.fourfivesix.org/mud.
When campers first arrive at camp, many of their most basic questions need to be answered before they can fully engage in all the fun and deeply spiritual stuff that you have planned:
Because of this, at Destiny Christian Church’s summer camp, we take time to help the preteens settle in before doing anything else. Today on the podcast, Sean explains all about the opening routine when students arrive, which includes eating and settling in FIRST.
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 the preteens in your ministry like to move? Unless their sedated, most preteens LOVE to move. It’s something biological.
Today on the podcast, Sean discusses The Dance Off, a planned and/or spontaneous activity that takes place in Elevate Preteen Ministries from time to time.
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/.
By Sean Sweet
Most preteens love to play games. It’s how they can easily make friends. It’s how they learn. It’s how they deal with all the raging energy that’s coursing through their brains and bodies.
And today’s preteens (especially the boys) love to play games on the computer. Enter The Aetherlight.
Rather than explain what The Aetherlight is, let me place a little copy from their website (www.theaetherlight.com) and you tell me if you think this would be captivating to any of the preteens that you know:
“PLAY ONLINE WITH FRIENDS. Work together to uncover what happened to the Great Engineer. Fight in each other’s battles, share clues and tips to push back the fog in this role-playing adventure that puts you right in the middle of the Resistance’s fight for freedom.”
Wow! The preteen boy inside of me wants to jump out and join the Resistance right now.
Seriously, these guys get preteens. And I love what they’re doing, for 4 reasons:
#1. It’s completely focused on conveying Biblical truths.
The Aetherlight is not the product of somebody with a passion as a video game maker trying to answer the question: “How can we make the Bible into a game?”
The Aetherlight is the product of a group of people saying “How can we best reach preteens with the Bible?” As this group of people were trying to answer this question, Tim Cleary, a World Builder from The Aetherlight, says that somebody suggested: “Why don’t we make a game?”
#2. It involves the help of people who understand ministry and working with students in real life situations.
Before he was a World Builder for The Aetherlight, Tim Cleary was a youth pastor. This ministry-minded heart is obvious in the way The Aetherlight is presented. It’s clear from the way they produced a companion Bible that goes along with the game. It’s clear from the “Resistance Academy” that’s built into the game, which helps player to connect the dots between the game and the spiritual truths the game is presenting.
#3. It’s allegorical.
One of the most powerful ways of helping a preteen to understand abstract spiritual truths is by likening it to something more concrete.
Jesus was a great Likener (think of the parables). C.S. Lewis was a great Likener. And the team behind The Aetherlight are Likeners, too.
#4. It’s in a language that preteens connect with.
Like it says on “The Aetherlight.com”, kids don’t want to read the Bible. They want to experience it.
Just last week, I shared The Aetherlight with a 5th grade boy in our preteen ministry. That night, his mom posted a picture on Facebook of him checking it out, saying, “We are ordering this right now.”
Sometimes when I speaking to the preteens, I feel like I hit on something that catches their attention. You’ve probably had a few moments like this. For many of the kids in my ministry, an illustration using a Wii remote, or when we did Minecraft night last year, does it.
The Aetherlight is in the same language. It’s communicating the truths of scripture in a language preteens understand – a game.
I had a chance this past week to talk with Tim Cleary, World Builder from The Aetherlight. Check out the interview:
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 Sean explains two simple games you can play that will involve everybody in your preteen ministry group. They are super simple to set up, super simple to explain, and super fun to play! Thank you to SuperStart! for inspiring these great ideas!
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.
At Destiny Christian Church’s E-Camp, the cabin leaders get a 2 hour break from their cabins each morning. WHAT??? Yup – you heard that correctly. Here’s the schedule for the cabin leaders:
8:00-8:30 = Breakfast with Cabin Groups
8:30-9:00 = Cabin Clean Up/Campers’ Prepare for the Day
9:00-10:00 = Cabin Leaders Take a BREAK
10:00-11:00 = Cabin Leaders Meeting
So…what’s happening during that time with the campers? Listen to today’s podcast as Sean sits down with Seth (Activities Director) to talk about this 2 hour block of time which makes the rest of the day at camp go soooo much better!
Do you give your camp leaders a break? How do you do it? Tell us 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/.
All things were created for God’s glory:
“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” –Colossians 1:16 (ESV)
We can see God’s glory through each and every color that God created (visible and invisible). Today on the podcast, Sean talks about taking this concept and making it into a really fun and interactive 12-week series 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/.
Sure – we can get preteens excited about filling a jar with money to give to missions’ work around the world…just tell them whoever fills their jar the quickest will get a prize. BUT this is lacking something, isn’t it?
It’s the heart of compassion that we want to develop, not just the act of giving money to those in need.
If you’ve ever felt frustrated trying to get preteens to care about people in far away places, Morgan McKeown totally understands.
Morgan is working on a solution – and it’s a GREAT one. Listen to today’s inspirational podcast, and you’ll hear about Morgan’s “Orphan for a Day” project, which is still in the development phase.
On the podcast, you’ll hear Morgan’s heart behind the project. Then you can head over to www.orphanforaday.com, and see how you can get involved.
This is a great idea! Thank you, Morgan.
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/.
Some games can help to build the community of preteens in your ministry. This game is aimed at doing just that! Every preteen in your group, whether well-known or new, has things about him or her that nobody in your group knows, and which are unique to them. This is their “secret identity”.
On today’s podcast, you’ll hear how to play this game, and how this game can help you to connect “fringe preteens” to your ministry group.
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/.
At camp, there are plenty of opportunities for preteens to miss their homes. When mail from home is being handed out to campers, this can be a moment when many preteens can feel very homesick.
On Thursdays from now until summer, we’ll be sharing ideas with you about how to have an AMAZING camp for preteens. Today, Sean talks about a strategy for handling mail from home to lessen the potential for homesickness.
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 Sean shares his top 6 ways of helping preteens memorize scripture:
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/.
Katie Gerber from Maryland shares a great event idea that she has done every February for over a decade: Extraordinary Love.
This is not only an event, but a service project for her preteens that serves senior citizens at her church.
If you have any questions about the event, Katie would love to hear from you: katiegerber@mountaincc.org
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/.
What happens to a lesson, a series, a camp theme, or an event when it’s over? Do you get rid of it? Or do you repeat it every two years for the rest of your life?
There is a part of us that wants new and shiny things in our ministry constantly. There is another part of us that wants to avoid work, and to avoid recreating the wheel each week.
Today on the podcast, Sean talks about an important strategy to doing ministry long-term: Don’t Scrap It…Improve It!
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/.
At camp, one of the most dreaded times is when everybody is gathering and waiting for the rest of the campers to show up. This is when rocks get thrown or rumors get started. This is when kids realize that they are homesick, and when leaders do, too.
These gathering times are an opportunity that are often overlooked at many camps. But no longer!!!!
On Thursdays from now until summer, we’ll be sharing ideas with you about how to have an AMAZING camp for preteens. Today, Sean and Seth (Elevate Camp’s Activities Director) talk about what to do so that gathering times at camp go from times of ho-hum horseplay to times that the campers actually look forward 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/.
How do we best minister to students with special needs? Today and yesterday on the podcast, Sean sits down with two parents of preteens who have autism, and they share their thoughts on this question.
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/.
How do we best minister to students with special needs? Today and tomorrow on the podcast, Sean sits down with two parents of preteens who have autism, and they share their thoughts on this question.
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/.
Fasting is a discipline that is prominent in Scripture. Is it appropriate to teach preteens about fasting? Is it appropriate to encourage preteens to go for extended periods of time without food?
At Destiny Christian Church, where Sean is the preteen pastor, the entire church fasts for 21 days each January, and Sean has had to investigate and discover how to engage preteens in this annual tradition of Destiny.
Today on the podcast, he shares what he’s learned. We’d love to find out what you’ve discovered as well. Please share your thoughts and ideas about preteens and fasting at fourfivesix.org. Simply search for "teaching preteens about fasting" to find the page about this topic and to join the conversation.
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 idea of simulating events as object lessons was inspired by the creative people at Christ in Youth – specifically their preteen weekend event, SuperStart!
Sometimes the best OBJECT for an object lesson is an event that takes place within your ministry. Today, Sean gives four examples of how he’s used this concept in Elevate to introduce and reinforce the lessons he was teaching. From having his daughter almost smash a brand new guitar that was her unexpected gift (to set up the lesson about God’s test of Moses to sacrifice Isaac), to having leaders wandering the pre-service area with heavy loads that they could use help carrying (to set up the lesson about opening your eyes to the need around you), simulated events can really bring a punch to teaching a lesson to your preteens.
Today you’ll hear Sean share how they turned their preteen ministry space into an “airport” one summer, and how this creative environment was used as a teaching platform.
TELL US: What’s the most creative transformation of your ministry space that you’ve ever done? Help inspire others by sharing your stories 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/.
Today, Sean speaks with Pastor Eric Saathoff about turning weaknesses into testimonies. Just like Moses, who was being called by God to lead God’s people despite a speaking challenge, Pastor Eric has struggled with stuttering since he was a child. Pastor Eric talks today about reconciling his weakness with God’s call on his life, and gives us a GREAT IDEA of what to do with our weaknesses as ministry 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/.
Many ministries use name tag stickers during service, but what happens after the service is over? Where do all those stickers end up? Destroying clothes in the washing machine? Giving away a child’s identity to strangers at the store?
Today Sean sits down with one of the Children’s Pastors at Destiny, Eric Saathoff, to talk about some great ideas for the destiny of those name tag stickers.
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/.
When Sean first came on staff at Destiny Church, the 1st-5th grade students were all together. His first step in creating a preteen ministry was creating a program within the existing Children’s Ministry called Fifth Grade Helpers.
For over a decade, this program has been evolving as a discipleship program, specifically focused on helping students learn to serve the Church, and to build relationships with others who are dedicated to serving the church.
It has created long-lasting servants, many who are now adults and who continue to serve the Church and maintain friendships with the others who served with them back when they were preteens.
Today is part 4 of a 4 part series about the Fifth Grade Helper program. On today’s podcast, you’ll hear Sean give four ideas to get your student leadership program started in the right direction:
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/.