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PRACTICALITY IN PEER MINISTRY LEADERSHIP by Nikki Rud
Nikki Rud, Zion Lutheran, Grand Rapids, MN From the very beginning, we saw the benefits of training senior high youth in the skills of PML. Invaluable assets such as how to listen with their hearts, noticing non-verbal language, deepening their relationship with Christ by loving their fellow peers – all of these things and […]
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Why Youth Ministry? Letters to Parents
SIX FREE letters to adapt for your parents. Go ahead! Steal, use, rewrite, make them yours! Greetings, Parents of High School Youth! Lyle, here. I am an adult volunteer with high school youth ministry. Last night we had a fascinating conversation in our youth-led “candle time” groups where we sit close, around a candle, […]
Read More PEER MINISTRY LEADERSHIP SKILLS
What Kind? And Why? Face-to-face, heart-to-heart, person-to-person, practicing real life people skills is the most effective way we know to move a living, caring faith from theory to reality. “Skills result in change.” I remember Dr. Varenhorst, the pioneer of peer programs in schools and then churches, also one of my mentors, driving that statement into […]
Read More PEER MINISTRY LEADERSHIP PLAN
We want every church to equip their youth with the caring, welcoming and affirming skills of Peer Ministry Leadership. What follows is an explanation of the PML plan to get your church started! Most often, two or more congregations work together, sharing costs and allowing participants to learn from people they may not know as […]
Read More MEASURING MINISTRY
What if… ministry is not only measured by how many show up for events, (we always will!) but is also measured by the number of caring and welcoming acts? One group tallied over 2,000 conversations. Who new that every day conversations are really the very front lines of ministry! PML — CARING CONVERSATIONS BEHAVIORS […]
Read More Adults Saying, “YAH!” Strategy!
Changes need plans! Plans have to be written! It is the best way to remove them from just being ideas, swimming around in your head. Written plans bring about clarity, gives others something they too can own, and, most importantly, can be passed on. Adapt the following sample plan for your congregation. RATIONAL Recognizing that […]
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ASK YOUR STUDENTS
Ask your students the following. Listen closely. The responses will give you crucial implications for your ministry. Think about all the people you know, school, neighborhoods, work, family, teams, choirs, bands, church, where ever you get to be with others. I won’t ask for names or details, just a show of hands. How many of […]
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YOUTH SHAPING FAMILIES FAITH
15. What if-youth leadership ministry helps grow family ministry, and family ministry helps grow youth leadership ministry? Youth learn the most about faith from the people closest to them. Whatever is modeled and mentored by the family is what will stick. Family faith development takes intentional work, including side-by-side learning and leadership opportunities. Help families declare, […]
Read More OUT-HOUSE MINISTRY?
YOUTH MINISTRY is LEADERSHIP Ministry # 6. What if—participation in soccer, choir, robotics, band, work, and football are valued as places of ministry? “Sometimes I am too busy to show up at church. I used to feel guilty. Now my church tells me they need me on the team.” When churches teach skills for caring, welcoming […]
Read More Peer-In-Midst
PEER-IN-THE-MIDST Chapter 4 in PLAN-IT book by Lyle Griner Youth Ministry Lens #3 I sat in a restaurant watching my mentor and teacher draw a version of this pyramid on the back of a napkin. He was well known for a Sunday-night youth ministry program he had grown from a handful of youth into a regular […]
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More Than Microphones and Committees
I met Rachel age 4 and Beth age 5 pushing small chairs in the halls of the education wing of our church. “Hey girls, what are you doing?” I asked. Beth smiled big and said, “We are playing meeting!” Their response reflected an honest view of what the church has been reduced to. Late night […]
Read More #1 Flipping Youth Ministry Assumptions
Flipping Youth Ministry Assumptions YOUTH-LEAD strategy #1 is really about changing our own view of youth. Let’s begin by viewing youth differently! Instead of assuming youth are a focus for education and motivation, or in need of some kind of club, let’s view them, from the beginning, as ministry leaders. […]
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