Nathan’s Story

On Sunday (Sept. 16, 2018) one of our high school seniors was baptized by one of our adult leaders.  Nathan has been a part of our church family and student ministry for several years.  He has been connected to our community for years, but waited until this week to take the step of baptism.  In his video he shares why.

There a couple of things I love about this video.  The first is that is so genuine.  Nathan simply shares his journey, the experiences and, most importantly, the people that have had an influence on him.

That leads to the second thing I love about this video.  The emphasis on relationships.

As you listen to Nathan’s story, he names names (in a good way). He shares how his parents, his small group leader, other adults and even his peers have had an impact on his walk with Jesus.  I know there were many conversations with Nathan in the past about what was keeping him from taking the step of baptism.  God was working on him through those relationships, through those shared experiences and leading him ultimately to a full understanding of who Jesus is.

This video is a solid reminder of why we need others in our lives and the value of being in a small group.  If you find yourself in a similar place as Nathan, maybe his story will move you to that next step.

Reason #195 Why We Love Small Groups

Like typical small group leaders our volunteers give time each week to meet with their small groups.  They take time before the small group meeting time to review the questions that will be used during the discussion time.  They show up at ball games and concerts and special occasions.  They send “we missed you” and “praying for you” texts.

They show up and are a consistent presence in the lives of students.

Then, sometimes, our small group leaders go above and beyond.

It’s just another reason why we love small groups.

One of our area high schools was having a Winter Formal Dance.  Students make plans, for the evening: buy tickets, determine what they are going to wear, find a date (if necessary) or arrange details with their group of peers, select a restaurant to eat and, of course, take a number of pictures.

This year some of our small group leaders decided to host our group of students for dinner.  Rather than the students picking a restaurant and making reservations to go out to eat, our small group leaders, in the words of one of our students, created a “homemade 5 star restaurant.”

The leaders met them at the door and took their coats.  They offered them appetizers and a menu.  The students were served beverages while being asked how they would like their steaks prepared.  A tasty meal was served and dessert was provided.  On the way out the door, students were offered a beverage for the road – “Mexican Coke” (Coca Cola served in glass bottles and made with cane sugar) – it’s a favorite of several of our students.

Our small group leaders went the extra mile to create a fun dining experience for our students prior to their arrival at the school dance.

Here’s what a couple of the parents posted on Facebook following the dinner:

“Seeing your son and his friends going to a dance and having their small group leaders offer to make them dinner makes me thankful!”

“Winter Formal. Blessed to have wonderful small group leaders who were willing to provide and serve dinner to this good-looking crew.”

I know that there are countless small group leaders serving in churches all over the globe.

But I think our small group leaders are pretty great!

This is just another reason why we love small groups (and our small group leaders)!

Just Another Reason We Love Small Groups

We think small groups are a great thing for students and adults to be a part of and a good tool to help us grow spiritually. Our senior minister says on a regular basis that the best way to grow in your relationship with Jesus is to get in a group. I love it when our small group leaders invest time and energy in our students. Sometimes it’s attending a game or concert. Sometimes it’s having a great discussion about something in God’s Word. And sometimes it’s just having fun together.

This past weekend one of our guy’s small groups had fun together – an event they called “Hamburgers, Hotdogs & Home Run Derby.” It’s just what it sounds like. They ate food and played some baseball. From the pictures it looks like they snuck some football into the afternoon as well.

All of our small group leaders are great! One of our leaders mailed out a letter this week to the parents of his small group leaders. Another small group has developed the tradition of having a sleepover around Christmas time and even making a video. (I haven’t received permission to post the videos…but they have a lot of fun!) Another of our groups went out to a local golf course’s driving range – and most of the members really don’t play golf.  Those are just a few ways that our small group leaders connect with our students, develop relationship and encourage our students in their walk with Jesus.

We like to celebrate our small groups and the pictures below are just an example of what happens within our small groups. Great job to all of our leaders!

A little home run derby

the chefs hard at work

time for some football

Enamored By Numbers

I think for most (if not all) people involved in ministry, it is easy to get caught up in numbers. If one has a program or event and attendance is good, it leaves the planners with a sense of satisfaction. The opposite can be true if numbers are low – leaders can walk away deflated. We can become enamored by the numbers.

I remember something I read years ago (in the book Purpose Driven Youth Ministry I think): It’s easy to compare what you don’t know about someone else with what you do know about yourself. If I see what I consider success in another program and compare it to mine, it could leave me feeling unsuccessful.

I’m not sure how to get away from the numbers game. It is A way to determine success and fruit, but not THE way to determine it. There definitely is value in tracking the number of people involved in programs, groups, events, etc. I guess the challenge for the leader is not to live and die by the numbers.

I’m not the first to discuss the tension that exists and I really don’t have great, clear-cut advice for people in leadership positions. There are people smarter and more experienced than me that could speak to it. Just in the past few weeks I’ve been caught up in that tension and kind of chuckle at myself when I get either too high or too low based on the turnout for a particular program or event. I’m still working through it and manage it better some days versus others. Guess we are a work in progress.

The Good News About Marriage

I first heard about The Good News About Marriage when I listened to an interview with the author on the Catalyst Podcast. I thought the information was interesting and it was mentioned several times in the interview that in order to get the whole picture, a person should read the book. So I did.

The title for the book is quite fitting. After reading the survey results that the author, Shaunti Feldhahn, and Tally Whitehead collected from years of research, I would agree that it is good news. For a number of years people in the church have quoted the statistic that 50% of marriages end in divorce and the percentages inside the church community aren’t any better. As one who has grown up in a church community and now serves at a church, I find those statistics to be bad news. But, from the research revealed in this book, it turns out those numbers are not true. Many of those percentages were based on projections, not actual statistics.

The book does a good job explaining not only the more accurate statistics, but how those facts and figures were accumulated. Here is some of the good news the book shares…

…the actual divorce rate has never gotten close to 50 percent

…the rate of divorce in the church is not the same as the rate among those who don’t attend worship services

…most marriages are happy

In the past few years I have performed a number of weddings and this is great news to share with couples who are preparing for marriage. It provides hope and motivation that a high percentage of marriages are not only intact, but are thriving. It gives good news to those who might be in a season where their marriage is struggling. It communicates that a happy, fulfilling relationship is possible and many are experiencing it.

This is a good resource for pastors, counselors or anyone who works with married couples. It is an encouragement to those who are already married or considering it. The Good News About Marriage really is good news that our churches and families need to hear.

Plus, if you get a hold of the book, there are some free resources that go along with the book’s message.

3 Questions for the School Year

We kicked off another year of small groups Sunday night. I love the excitement and anticipation a new school year brings. It’s a new start and a time for groups that met last year to get back into the routine of meeting again. It’s also a time to welcome new students into small groups and help them connect with each other.

One bonus this year is that we have some new leaders in our groups. We have two of our young adult/college age guys that are helping with two groups. We also have two high school senior girls who will be co-leading a girls group.

As we begin a new season, we are striving to keep three questions out in front of our students. We want these questions to be a continual reminder to our students (and adults) that we all need to see where we need to make progress in our spiritual journey. The three questions will hopefully be a source of challenge when we need that kick-start or need to get back on track.

1) How are your growing? We want to help our students to take steps where they are growing on their own, outside of the church or small group environment. Are they reading the Bible on their own and spending time in prayer?

2) Where are your serving? Our desire is for our students to be an active part of our church family, not just showing up and being present, but serving in some area of ministry.

3) Who are you reaching? Everyone has influence on someone else. We want to encourage our students to use their influence in the lives of others to point them to Jesus.

The school year is underway and we don’t know what the coming months may bring. We can strive to grow, serve and reach. Here’s to a great school year!

B1G Division Realigns

I am a pretty big fan of Indiana basketball, but also keep track of football. While the football program hasn’t experienced the same success as the basketball program, they continue to improve. When we visited Indiana last summer, we walked out on the football field and went through the weight room. Very nice facilities for the football team for sure.

Earlier today there was a tweet from the Crimson Quarry that provided the realignment of Big Ten football. Instead of going with the Leaders and Legends, they have gone with a geographic split. Indiana is in the Big Ten East and have a rough schedule ahead of them. It will be a challenge to win in that division, but hopefully it will bring more quality football players in IU.

Here’s the new divisions. Tough road for the Hoosiers for sure.

Big Ten East
Rutgers
Maryland
Penn State
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Indiana

Big Ten West
Purdue
Northwestern
Illinois
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa
Nebraska

Great Year of Small Groups

We just concluded another year of small groups in our Student Ministry. It has been great to see our students grab a hold of the idea of meeting together each week with their group. This year, we decided to end the school year of small groups with a celebration. So, we went skating! Not all of our members were able to be there, but we had a great time. One of the cool aspects of the afternoon was to have eight of our seniors there.  It is sometimes hard to get our busy soon-to-be graduates at events.  It was a great afternoon celebrating a great year of small groups.

Thanks to all our small group leaders and members for a great year!