Pastor Kevin

10 Thoughts that will kill your Junior High Ministry (part 2)

Here are the final 10 thoughts that will kill your Junior High Ministry.  Enjoy.

I have to be good friends with all my teenagers.

No, you don't have to be friends with all your teenagers.  However, each teenager does need an adult that knows them personally.  Unless you want to only reach 12 - 15 students, that person can't always be you. 

I’ll handle this problem later.

If you always try and avoid confrontation, eventually you will get steam-rolled.  Here is the deal with problem solving.  1) Identify the problem 2) Figure out the best way to handle the problem  3) Handle it.   This is not always easy, glamourous or fun, however as the leader it is up to you to solve problems.

Parents are part of the problem

They are not part of the problem, they are part of the solution.  The only reason you are able to speak into the lives of their child, is because they let you.  Don't make parents your enemy, make them your friend.

 

I don’t need to network with other ministries.

Their is someone in your city or state that is doing, discipleship, messages, events, volunteers or facilities better than you are.  Check your pride at the door, drop them an email, set up a meeting and pick their brain. You will be glad you did.

 

If I had what they have – I could do what they are doing.

Instead of whining about what other people have (band, facility, volunteers, money) find out what those people did to get the band, facility, volunteers and money, then you do the same thing.  God wants to bless you just like he does the church down the street. So stop making excuses and get to work.

Bonus Thought:

I’ll figure it out once I get up on stage.

"Once I hit the stage, the anointing of God is going to flow thru me". Those are words that are spoken by someone who doesn't care enough about his students to pray, fast, prepare and study.  As a youth pastor your main job is to present the word of God each week....that doesn't just happen.  Don't figure it out onstage, figure it out in your study time and God will bless your efforts once you get onstage.

10 Thoughts that will kill your Junior High Ministry (part 1)

If you want to flat out kill your Junior High Ministry, here are 5 things you need to keep thinking.

1) My Pastor should leave me alone and let me do what I need to do.

If you have this thought for more than one year, he will do what he needs to do and that is fire you! Then he can go out and get himself a Junior High Youth Pastor that actually has the heart of the church.

2) I’ll stay here till something bigger or better comes along.

 If you can't make where you are bigger and better, what makes you think you will be able to handle something bigger at another church?

 

3) They’re just Junior Highers….lets keep it really simple.

You have 6th graders in your community that are getting pregnant, doing drugs, and living in broken homes. They need more than a cute little memory verse and a good game of dodgeball.  They need to hear the principles of Gods word and see how those principles can impact their lives.  Don't keep it simple, keep it real.

4) Nobody can do this better than me.

Wrong!  If you don't learn to delegate to people that are better than you, you will never be a strong leader.

 

5) I have to grow BIG

No, you do not have to grow big....you have to grow them.  If you will make the focus of your junior high ministry to grow people in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, those individual people will bring other people with them and your ministry will grow bigger.  But if you make the goal of your ministry to grow big, you will do one pizza party a month, have a larger group for a week or so and then go back down to where you were before.  So, don't grow big....grow people.

Tour of Oneighty Junior High

Oneighty Junior High from kevin moore on Vimeo.