Fingernail clippers & file
Joys & Sorrows
Joys are the good things that are happening in a student’s life; the blessings God is giving them and the things they want to praise Him for. Sorrows are the sad things that are happening in a student’s life; the struggles they are facing and the things they need to pray about.
Joys & Sorrows can be shared in a variety of ways: in a large group, in small groups, or in pairs. Joys & Sorrows can be used during any youth gathering: during Sunday school, or on Wednesday nights, as part of a weekend get-a-way, in a hotel room, at summer camp, or on a winter retreat . . .
There are huge benefits to maintaining the same Joys & Sorrows groups with the same adult leaders for the course of a school year. There are also benefits to forming groups as seventh graders and keeping these groups together through high school graduation; however, this model also means that groups are of the same age, which can be a negative when building a youth family.
I have used Joys & Sorrows on a regular basis during my Wednesday night youth programs. I have also incorporated them on trips, usually in the evenings during devotions.
Fundraising
Fundraising is necessary for most youth leaders and ministries. My suggestion is to find a handful of successful, enjoyable, high profit fundraisers and learn to do them well, then make them annual events.
I also suggest that you set up accounts for each of your students. You can either set up an account for each family, or for each student. In my current ministry our accounts are set up as family accounts.
You can divide the profits from your fundraisers by one of two ways: by the hour or by the piece. Here is how these two ways work: if you host a sweetheart dinner in February, then the students and parents who work are paid an hourly wage; if you sell nuts and candy in the fall, then the students are paid by the number of bags they sell.
When you do a fundraiser that is divided by an hourly wage, always include an extra worker: the general fund. By giving your general fund an equal share you insure future funds for your ministry.
Make your fundraising a teachable moment to both your students and your church by tithing on your earnings. Every fall, after we run a concession stand at an annual auction I like to tithe the next day by sticking a roll of one dollar bills in the plate. Since I sit on the front pew of the church, most of the congregation gets to see our big fat tithe (plus it is fun just knowing that the ushers have to unroll the bills and count each one).
Early in my ministry career I had a good friend who worked in the food service industry tell me that food will be my best fundraiser, simply because everyone needs to eat. He also told me to sell a quality product, with a generous portion, for a fair price, and I would make money.
Our annual fundraisers are:
February—sweetheart dinner with grilled steak or chicken, salad, green beans, baked potatoes, and dessert
Easter—handmade quarter pound chocolate covered candy eggs in the following flavors: Peanut Butter, Cherry, Coconut, and Butter Cream
April—luncheon for the Red Hat Chapters in our county. The menu is determined according to their theme
July—direct traffic and parking at our county fair. We work four hours a night for eight nights
September—run the only concession stand at a local tree nursery’s annual auction. This is an all-day affair, where we serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our workers are scheduled in four hour shifts
October—nut and candy sale through a local dealer
November—being in Ohio, home of the Buckeyes, we use our Peanut Butter egg recipe to make candy buckeyes and sell them prior to the Ohio State vs Michigan football game
Throughout the year as other fundraising opportunities arise we do our best to capitalize on them as well.
Curriculum
To be honest, I am not a fan of off the shelf, out of the box curriculum. The simple fact is that the authors who write such curriculums are not specifically writing for you, for your students, for your ministry, or for your specific setting.
If you do use out of the box curriculum I suggest that you research the curriculum, the author, and the content before purchasing. I once ordered a four part lesson from a nationally known youth pastor based on his name and the subject matter. It was the worst piece of curriculum I have ever purchased.
I strongly suggest that you cut and paste (and maybe even re-write or re-work) the curriculum to better fit and serve your students and ministry. This is exactly what I had to do with the above mentioned lessons in order to make it work.
I also caution you to choose carefully how you spend your curriculum budget. Too many times I have witnessed eager youth leaders attending a youth ministry conference walk into the makeshift book store with their church credit card and walk out with their hands and arms literally overflowing with books, dvds and curriculum. My fears are that they have just blown their entire budget; that they will never have time to teach all of the curriculum that they just bought; and, sadly, that they will repeat the same behavior at the next convention they attend.
Instead of buying curriculum, try writing your own. If you are a good writer and teacher, that is great; if not, start by writing one lesson, then work your way up to three and four lessons in a series. The benefit to writing your own is that you know your students, your ministry context, and your teaching style. What you write never has to be published; it just has to meet the needs of your students and of your ministry.
Sunday School Teachers
If you do buy curriculum, it usually comes in quarterlies, if you are writing or creating your own be sure and break your lessons into quarters (four thirteen week sessions), or into even smaller sessions (four to six weeks sessions). This helps keep the students attention; keeps the class moving forward; and creates natural breaks for new teachers to take over.
Help both your teachers and your students by rotating your teachers. The old thought of recruiting Sunday school teachers was to secure a teacher and have them teach for life, with no breaks or chances to opt out. Offering your teachers short teaching stints is much more attractive to them; it gives them a starting date and an ending date, and the opportunity to opt out. It also gives you the opportunity not to invite them back if need be.
I have my teachers teach for a maximum of thirteen weeks, and then rotate out. I also only allow them to teach for twenty-six weeks per year. When they are not teaching I make sure that they are attending an adult class.
I never allow my teachers to teach alone, but insist that there are two adult teachers in every class (preferably one male and one female).
There are huge benefits to working with your teachers to pair them with certain topics, and with certain age groups. Some adults will teach on any topic, and lead either junior high or senior high; while others are more specific about what topics and which age groups they will teach.
Regardless of who your teachers are, and how you rotate them, be sure and educate them, train them, resource them and encourage them. These four steps help them to become better teachers, improves the
