Archives For Saddleback Church High School Ministry

4 Reasons Why Hand Written Notes Work

November 28, 2012 — 5 Comments

I just wanted to try something last week to see what sort of response I would get.

Last week wrote 7 hand written letters to 7 the junior guys in my small group. I hand wrote them in a page in my personal journal, talking about how proud I am of them, loving seeing them grow in Christ, and talk about some personal stuff going on in their lives and that I was praying for them, and then sent them out. I waited to see what the response would be. I mean, these were 16/17 year old guys, tough guys. How would they respond to a little hand written note?

I waited a few days and then all of the sudden I started to get text after text from the guys in my group about how awesome it was to get a hand written note and they never get them anymore. Some said it mean so much to them that I would stop and write something to encourage them, even though I just saw them a few nights before at church. I even had a mom tell me that her son has it hanging up in his bathroom because it mean so much to him and it encouraged him. I was blown away.

There are a few things I can pull from this little experiment that I need to remember:

  • Communicating through social media (texting, Facebook, etc.) is convenient, but hand written, personal notes mean way more than a quick text or Facebook message.
  • Students take note that you cared about them enough to stop in the craziness of the week and hand write something to them. Hand writing notes takes WAY longer than shooting over an email, but it is WAY worth it.
  • Students could never have too much encouragement. To know an adult is thinking about them, praying for them, and encouraging them to keep walking in faith, they can have the confidence they need in Christ to do amazing things.
  • It is not hard to do. It’s actually really easy and is something I should be doing every single week.

This is my goal. To keep up with this experiment until it becomes a normal weekly thing to write at least one note to a student and send it to them during the week.

In Communication, creativity, high school ministry, Leadership, Ministry Idea, personal growth, student ministry, Youth Ministry , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Guest Post: Learning to Say No

November 6, 2012 — 2 Comments

Recently I had a conversation with my pastor (Moses Camacho), where he said to me “you have to learn to say no”.

Anyone who has been in ministry long enough knows that regardless of whether you are a volunteer, part time, or full time staff that you spend more hours on your work than your time card says. 

Why? Because you love what you do. When you love what you do it doesn’t feel like work. 

The problem comes when you have a full plate and yet you still find yourself saying yes to any request that comes your way. Most of us say yes because we genuinely love to serve and help others. 

One of the biggest struggles I’ve seen with people in ministry is their inability to say NO. Unfortunately in most cases this leads to burn out. 

Last year I ended up in the emergency room multiple times for ongoing pain. Every time I went to the emergency room I was hooked up to an IV with some painkillers that would put me out for the rest of the day. One of the times that I went in I said to the nurse “would you mind not giving me so much of the pain killers, I have a lot of meetings to be at and I don’t want to be knocked out”.

The nurse’s jaw dropped. As did my heart when I heard the words I was saying. She leaned over to me and said “sweetie I don’t know what it is that you do, but I do know that if you don’t take care of yourself you can’t take care of anybody else”. Those words will forever be embedded in my mind.

A lot of times we get too caught up in the work of God and we put our relationship with Him on the back burner. We trick ourselves into thinking that if we are working for Him then it’s just the same as spending time with Him. It’s not. 

He wants you. Just you. Not your power point presentation. Not the curriculum you wrote for the new series. Not even the awesome sermon you wrote for Sunday. He just wants you. 

As people in ministry and as Christians we are called to be there for others. However, we aren’t called to lose sleep, get stressed out, or get sick from not resting. 

Saying no isn’t a bad thing. Saying no to something that isn’t right for you now, opens you up to say yes to something in the future. 

Saying no opens up the opportunity for someone else to rise to the occasion an serve. We have to remind ourselves that we are part of a body that needs each part to work. We cannot fill every role 100%. We weren’t built that way. We were built to need each other. Don’t rob someone the blessing of serving. You saying no could be an answered prayer to someone waiting for an opportunity to help out. 

Be encouraged that you’re not alone. I’m the biggest offender when it comes to wanting to say yes. But contrary to popular belief, I am not Wonder woman, and I can’t do it all. 

Brenda Medina. Student Ministries Director | Saddleback HB

T: @_Bren_

F: BrendaSays

B: BrendaSays.blogspot.com

In Devotional, God, Guest Post, high school ministry, personal growth, student ministry, Uncategorized, Youth Ministry , , , , , , , ,
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HSM Gangnam Style Fall Kick-Off

September 24, 2012 — Leave a comment

If you have not seen the Korean music video “Gangnam Style“… you probably do not have a computer or a TV because it has over 200,000,000 views on Youtube, it has been on SNL, Ellen and probably has been played in every student ministry in the nation (I wouldn’t be surprised to be honest because it’s super catchy).

We just had our fall kick-off and our students wanted to do our opener with this song. They did a “translation” of the words as well. They went all out and it was so fun. So here it is:

 

In creativity, Free Stuff, funny, high school ministry, Ministry Idea, service programing, student ministry, video, Youth Ministry , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Tennis Ball Announcement Video

August 15, 2012 — 2 Comments

Here is a great funny video we made for our services last week. A few weeks ago I posted a blog on wanting to do video announcements in HSM (click HERE if you want to check that out). But we made one for this last weekend and it was received well. Instead of doing announcements from the stage, like usual, we did it on video and it is way more entertaining. I’m looking forward to making some more for our weekend services.

In creativity, Free Stuff, funny, high school ministry, Ministry Idea, student ministry, video, Youth Ministry , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Why Video Announcements Work Better

July 19, 2012 — Leave a comment

I know one thing that kills a service is too many announcements. You can have a great service planned, but have too much time standing in front of the students will destroy the momentum you just built.

That is why if you can use video announcements, it can help out in ways that you would never really think of.

  • They actually pay attention- Because our (I say our because I would say I’m included in it, I’m 25) is obsessed with media. The first announcement video I ever did was a friend and I just sitting in front of the camera, saying everything we would have said on stage, but just on video. The difference? The room was so quiet and every student’s eyes were glued to the screen.
  • It can add a great element to your service- As time went on, I got more and more creative with the videos. Some were informational, some were funny, some were stupid. But it can be a great way to get information you need to have but in a fun way that they will remember and make your service look awesome.
  • It can get more people involved in the service- Video allows more people to be involved in the service. Whether they are in the video, shooting or editing the video, they are now involved in the service. I would have leaders, students, staff all be a part certain videos. Lt’s be honest, who doesn’t like to see their face on screen?

Here are some videos I have done in the past with announcements from my previous church. Feel feel to steal any ideas. I’ll post more later as well, I have a whole arsenal of them.

In creativity, Free Stuff, funny, high school ministry, Ministry Idea, service programing, student ministry, video, Youth Ministry , , , , , , , , ,
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15 Minutes Before and After

July 5, 2012 — Leave a comment

Having a service to help students experience Jesus is only half the equation. As some would believe they would think the most important part of our weekend services would be the services because they are the main reason why students come. The most important part, the most crucial part of our weekend services are the 15 minutes before and after each of the services. This is where the real ministry happens.

Here is why I think they are so important:

  • 15 minutes before and after the service is prime hang out relational time. This is where all leaders should be out and about talking and meeting people left and right. This time is the time where students are there waiting for service to start or they are hanging out after the service just ended.
  • 15 minutes before service is a prime time to meet new students because they are just there. They are not going anywhere, only inside service. If you meet a new student, you can offer to sit with them and talk more.
  • 15 minutes after service everyone just hangs out and talks. You can mingle and talk about the service and what it meant to them.
  • 15 minutes after the service is where real conversation and prayer takes place. It is where a student it touched by something in the service and you are able to talk and pray with them.
  • 15 minutes before and after service is just a nig hang out sesh. This is the time to joke and play and really get a chance to know how students are outside of church and it allows them to see who you are as well. Conversation is the first step to connection.

15 minutes before and after service is where the real ministry happens. Services expose students to Jesus, the relationships before and after services literally show Jesus’ love to the students through conversation and relationship. To not jump on this time would be wasteful.

In Devotional, God, high school ministry, Leadership, Ministry Idea, student ministry, Uncategorized, Youth Ministry , , , , , , , , , , ,
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