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by Roger Glidewell

As a young youth pastor I was not too eager to take my youth group to camp. Why? Because as a youth I had been to youth camp. Sadly, my first camp experience was more about short-sheeting the counselor’s bed, sneaking out at night, and dozing through dry sermons than it was about spiritual growth. I came home from that camp little better off spiritually than when I left home. Why would I want my youth group to be involved in that? Then a fellow youth minister invited our church to join them one summer for a multi-church youth camp.

Wow, was I ever in for a surprise; my youth encountered Christ that week in a way that I had never experienced before. Now, decades and thousands of campers later, I am a firm believer in the value of those moments with God that happen in special ways at camp. In fact, Global Youth Ministry utilizes youth camps in the U.S. and around the world as a vital link in reaching youth and raising young leaders for local churches. We have learned that when camps are “pre-prayered” well, the result will be a more focused, God-honoring youth group.

If you are seeking a meaningful camp program for your youth, here are some questions to ask about the camp that will help you determine if the investment in time, money, and energy will be productive for your youth over the long term.

WHAT PRINCIPLES GUIDE THE CAMP?

Be sure the camp is biblically centered. Your youth can get activities and entertainment anywhere, but they are unlikely to get God’s Word anywhere else but at church activities. People joke about how bad “camp food” is, but sometimes a camp’s spiritual fare is even worse. Don’t settle for a camp where the messages consist of a video clip and a verse! Many Christian youth already suffer from “spiritual malnutrition.” Be sure your camp is “beefed up” with an appetizing diet of spiritual food where the messages, drama, music, recreation, and everything else point to the truth of God’s Word. Don’t settle for topical Bible studies if you can find a camp where an expository teaching approach is offered.

WHO ARE THE PEOPLE WHO LEAD THE CAMP?

Be sure the camp leaders are not only godly guides but that they are accessible to your youth, as well. Don’t settle for camp speakers or musicians that breeze in, blow up and then buzz out, never spending time with your youth except from a stage. Look for a camp where godly leaders will pour into your kids up close and personal. The influence these leaders have on your kids will be in proportion to the time they are willing to spend with them.

Don’t be afraid to let other believers be role models for your youth. I know how it is; you spoke on a biblical truth the week before camp but when the camp speaker or the camp staff says the exact same thing, your kids act like they never heard it before. It isn’t a bad thing that God lets one plant and another water or cultivate.

WILL THE PROGRAM LAST BEYOND CAMP?

You need to use that extremely strategic week of the calendar year to motivate every camper to keep growing the rest of the year. So, be careful to find out whether the camp program has something for every camper:

For Unsaved and spiritually unmotivated Youth: Will there be opportunities for them to encounter Christ? An interesting question to ask in behalf of spiritually marginal youth whom you want to get to camp is this: “Will this camp appeal to 10th and 11th grade guys?” Why should you ask this question? Well, Connie Francis didn’t sing the song “Where the Boys Are” for nothing! If the older guys are involved during camp, chances increase that other campers will be involved as well.

For Younger Believers: Will these youth be challenged to grow spiritually in meaningful ways? Salvation should not be the “end all” of youth camps. More than half the youth who attend camps are already believers. These young believers needs must be addressed, too. They need to have opportunities to learn how to grow spiritually through small groups.

For Older Teen Believers: Will these “veteran campers” have the opportunity to practice and learn leadership? They need to be given opportunities to be “co-leaders” with older camp leaders, to assume greater responsibility. To treat them the same as you treat first-time campers is to risk having to deal with bad attitudes from many of the older campers.

For Adult sponsors: Will any ministry speak directly to needs of adult believers? The adult leaders are the ones who will continue to challenge the youth back at home. By all means, you want them to be exposed to spiritual growth in their personal walk with Christ while at camp. No adult sponsor is just “the bus driver.” That adult has devoted a week of his/her life to a spiritual endeavor. The adults may come home physically tired, but you better hope they also come back spiritually rejuvenated.

IS THERE A PURPOSE THAT IS ABOUT WAY MORE THAN JUST CAMP?

The point of camp—and of life—is to bring honor and glory to Jesus. When you start promoting camp, your youth will want to know whether the camp facility has an Olympic size pool, horseback riding, alpine tower with zip line, you know—fun stuff. And it may be that those things will persuade your youth (and their friends) to attend camp. But when they return home, do you really want them to only remember the “blob” or would you rather they come home talking about Jesus? If the T-shirt is their most lasting “take-away” from camp, it wasn’t worth it. Don’t waste your valuable time providing “fun” for fun’s sake; make fun events work for you to help you lead your youth to Jesus. If the spiritual impression made at camp doesn’t even last the bus ride home, you have just wasted one of the most important weeks of your calendar year. That one week at camp should translate into impetus for spiritual growth into the next several months, even years.

So how do you find a camp where the elements mentioned above for a meaningful camp are in place? First, seek the Lord in prayer. I’m not kidding; who cares more about the youth in your group than He does? Second, talk to the camp leadership; ask the hard questions that will help you determine what they think is important at camp. Third, ask fellow youth leaders who have attended the camp previously for their impressions. Finally, be willing to experiment with camps . . . until you find one that meets the criterion above. Then, settle in and be prepared to stay with that camp program for the long haul. You will be able to develop camp “traditions” and camp memories that will define your youth group for years to come!

Happy Camp Hunting.

Roger Glidewell is the Founder and Executive Director of Global Youth Ministry, an organization dedicated to developing leaders to reach and disciple teenagers around the world. For more information about Roger or Global Youth Ministry visit www.globalyouthministry.org.

Is money tight for you this Christmas? It is for me. I have several friends who are feeling the crunch of the loss of a job. They are either unemployed or under-employed. It is frustrating for those of us who like to buy and give gifts to be unable to do that. We know that gits are not what Christmas is about . . . but being able to give gifts is . . . well, fun. Maybe you would like to do something special for your youth group, but you just don’t have the ability. Maybe it is harder this year for your teenagers to buy gifts for an Angel Tree child or contribute to a food box for a needy family. Maybe the tightening of the belt that many of us are having to do at Christmas this year is a blessing. In a culture where kids are looking for a new iPod Touch under the tree instead of a dolly, maybe we need to revisit ways to celebrate Christmas that are a little less commercial.

As you teach your youth group this Christmas, emphasize gratitude and contentment. I know, some of your kids will get the new iPod Touch for Christmas. Extravagance may not be a great way to celebrate Christmas, but our Bible study on simplicity may not penetrate heir adolescent brains. However, ask them what a person really needs to be healthy and happy. Help them to think through whether new gadgets and toys really make a person happy. Encourage them to be grateful to God for the things he has given them and content with what they have. Of course, it is a great time to mention people that lack those things a person really needs.

Encourage youth to give . . . to parents, family, and friends. But encourage them to find ways to give that don’t cost money. Often gifts that are given from the work of your hands or the sweat of your brow mean more than gifts that are given from your wallet (or your parent’s wallet). Encourage students to think of things they are good at and give those things away. One student might bake sugar cookies, while another prints and frames a picture of the family he has taken. A third student might offer his brother help with his homework for Christmas. Maybe it would be a good thing for us to practice this as well by thinking of some gift we can give our students that would be a gift of love from our hands, not our money.

Ultimately, Christmas is not about gifts. it’s not really about family meals or love between each other. Ultimately, Christmas is about the love of a Savior, lavished on us when we were lost in our sins. Ask your students how they can share THAT gift . . . a gift that is not their own, but comes from Jesus.

Building relationships is essential to effective youth ministry . . . especially in a small church. However, simply having positive relationships with teenagers isn’t enough. Teenagers need adults to invest in their lives. For effective youth ministry, we need to be investing in the spiritual growth of teenagers.

Developing a discipling relationship with a teenager means that you allow them to see Christ at work in your life. (Of course, this means that you have to be engaged in a growing relationship with God yourself.) Teenagers need to listen to how you talk about your relationship with God. They need to know how you go about solving problems as a Christ follower. They need to know how you deal with temptations, and what you do when you fail. In short, teenagers need an example of what a real relationship with Christ looks like.

Developing a discipling relationship with teenagers won’t happen if you give up your position as an adult leader in order to be a friend to your students. Yes, develop friendships with youth, but you can’t become their peer. They need for you to set limits, help them to know what is expected of them . . and why. As teenagers age and develop maturity, your relationship with them will change. You will have to set and enforce rules with younger youth. Most of the time, older teenagers will respond better to a call to be an example of Christ. It is also true that you can’t joke, play games, and tease youth and still be an adult. But, don’t give up your role as an adult if you want to have a relationship that leads youth to spiritual growth.

Developing a discipling relationship with teenagers involves speaking truth into their lives. Teenagers need to hear you tell them what it will take for them to live godly lives. Teaching them in structured times is important, but it may be even more important to talk to youth about spiritual issues when you can talk to one or two students. Don’t fall into the trap of only addressing things they need to avoid. Talk to them about how to use their gifts to make a difference.

Developing a disciping relationship with teenagers means being willing to walk into their lives. Invite youth to talk to you about their spiritual lives. Let them know that you want to help them to walk closer with Christ. Allow them to talk with you about problems if they choose to, but always point them to Christ for the answers.

Discipling relationships are core to effective youth ministry. In a small church, you may not be able to produce programs that are as slick as the big church across town. You may not have the money to do all the things a larger church can do. But you can develop a ministry where adults intentionally seek to disciple teenagers by developing relationships with them.

I have a friend who describes a lot of youth ministry as a “one-eared Mickey Mouse.” He draws a big circle–Mickey’s head–to symbolize the church, and a small circle–Mickey’s one ear–barely touching the larger circle to symbolize the youth group. Some youth ministry isolates the teenagers in order to provide programing that meets their distinct needs. While a lot of churches have managed to reach youth that way, I think it is the wrong way to build a youth ministry . . . especially in a small church. Why? Glad you asked.

1. Teenagers may not always want to be around adults, but they need adults. Older faith family members need to provide love, encouragement, and instruction to those younger than them.

2. Teenagers will benefit most from a church ministry that involves the entire family. While having Bible studies and events that are for the teenagers (with appropriate sponsors) is a good thing, the church should be rich in activities that helps families to live out their faith together. Ultimately, the family of a teenager will most likely have a greater impact on the faith development of a teenager than the youth group will.

3. Teenagers need to begin to see the church as their extended family. As they grow older, the youth group will be less important to them. If their only connection to God’s family is a youth group, they are likely to “graduate” from church at the same time they graduate from high school.

How do we avoid the one-eared Mickey Mouse?

1. Involve youth in church-wide activities. Encourage them to be a part of church fellowship times, ministry projects, and worship experiences.

2. Be strategic in providing opportunities to connect teenagers with groups of adults in the church. When you lead youth to do yard work for some of the older people, plan time for them to share a glass of lemonade and a few stories.

3. Plan some youth events that involve parents and youth doing ministry and fellowship together.

This week marks the birth of the U.S.A. Other than Eagle Scouts, most of us have not had good citizenship training. Being a model citizen has gotten a bad name recently. Most of your teenagers want to avoid the “good kid” label. Role models for students are more likely to be rock stars, actors, or athletes–those whose careers are in perfect order . . . at the expense of their private lives, their relationships, and their reputations. Maybe those of us in youth ministry need to reinvent citizenship.

This week, you might point your students to Titus 3. Paul has some guideposts for good citizens: Obey authority. Do good works. Speak the truth. Keep the peace. Put others first.

Students will learn more about what we believe about being our citizenship in this country by observing what we do than they will learn from the Bible studies we teach. They observe every choice we make. (No pressure, right?) Ultimately, good citizenship is pretty simple: Do good deeds. Work to meet your daily needs. Live productive lives. Honor God and pray for those in authority over us.

You may have serious questions about the direction of our country. You may be troubled by our leadership. But how do you help your students to see that patriotism (like everything else in their life) should be under the lordship of Christ? We will never find perfect leaders and we will never become the nation God has called us to be by waiting for the perfect politician.

The remedy is life in Christ; pass it on.

Carol Bailey is a freelance writer who has ministered alongside her husband, John, through the trenches of student ministry for over 20 years. Her claims to fame are her two daughters who have survived “the fishbowl” to the ripe old ages of 18 and 20. You can read more of their family’s tales at baileysonmission@blogspot.com.

I recently got to climb the Great Wall of China. In the contest of me against the wall, the wall definitely won. The whole experience reminds me of working with youth. How is small church youth ministry like climbing the Great Wall of China? Read on.

I’ve always wanted to climb on the Great Wall of China. I know that the original wall is nothing but crumbled ruins and the current wall is a more recent version, fully equipped with hand rails and even a ride to get you up to the wall, but it doesn’t matter. I wanted to see the wall as it snakes along the mountains in China. You can imagine how excited I was when I discovered I could make a stop in Beijing on my way to the Philippines to teach at a seminary in Manila.

At the beginning, the Great Wall was great fun. I looked down at the craggy mountains below and pictured the enemies of China flinging themselves against the wall again and again trying to invade. (Actually, all it took Ghengis Khan was a small bribe to the soldiers on the wall and they let him through.) The beauty was breath-taking. The wall was crowded with tourists snapping pictures at every possible vantage point. I padded along one section of the wall. It was a bit of a hike, but reaching the first watch tower took minimal effort. A host of tourist were gathered there and, for a moment, the Great Wall of China just became the Great Wall of People.

However, a friend and I pushed through the crowd and started down the next section of the wall. The going became suddenly tougher. It was hard to find a footing. The sun was very hot. We clung to the railing to keep from falling. The hike was no longer a tourist sport. We were actually climbing on the Great Wall. I hadn’t brought much water with me and before I reached the next guard tower I was feeling seriously dehydrated. Every step was accompanied by the knowledge that I would have to make the same steps in reverse direction.

Few tourist venture beyond the first tower and now I understand why. You have to be prepared to go further than that. As we rested at one landing, I decided I had gone as far as I could. I turned back leaving miles of the Great Wall unexplored.

Youth ministry can be a great tourist attraction. The truth is, taking a group of kids to camp or leading a few Bible studies can be fun. Teenagers love to laugh and they can be very quick to warm up to people who love them. Snapping pictures of the youth group, all smiling and having fun is great.

But, be aware that to go beyond the tourist level with teenagers is hard work. Some of the youth you work with have serious hurts in their lives. Some of them simply don’t get the whole God thing. Some of them will make decisions that will break your heart. You need to be ready if you are going to go further than the first watch tower.

Sure, you need to find training in youth ministry. You need people who are lifting you up in prayer. You need to set aside time for preparation and planning. But the most important way you can prepare is by desperately clinging to the Spirit of God and let him work through you. Like life-giving water, the presence of God can see us through the most challenging of times.

Paul Kelly is President and Founder of SmallYouthGroup.com. Beginning August 1, 2009, he will also serve as Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

by Kristen McKee

Editor’s Note: This blog entry appeared on Kristen McKee’s site with The World Race. Kristen seemed to have so much to say to this generation of teenagers we asked her if we could share this post with youth leaders at SYG.

For the third time this afternoon, I close the windows to my room hoping I’ll be able to drown out the sound of Muslim prayers echoing throughout the city. A deafening loudspeaker blasts them throughout all of Batam, and it makes them nearly impossible to ignore.

To be quite frank, it makes me nauseous.

I find myself in a community where Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians roam the streets believing that their religion is something they’re born into instead of something they choose. Many of them seem religious out of obligation. It’s all about the rules.

When I review the religions I’ve encountered overseas, a drastic contrast exists between those that believe out of love and those that are religious out of obligation. The Christians I’ve met here in Indonesia are passionately in love with Christ and they don’t check their Christianity at the doorstep when they finish their Sunday service. Their faith isn’t an obligation or a game. It’s not a drain on their weekend that prohibits them from sleeping in or something that steals away their fun. It’s dangerous to believe what they do and even more so to walk it out. My friend Revelation was held at sword point (Yes, I said sword point) just for mentioning Christ’s name in a Muslim territory.
The Christians here face heartaches I could never fathom, but they laugh through the circumstances because they know the God they serve is real. They read the Bible and do what it says simply because it brings them closer to the One they love, not because the rules say they need to. They are joyful and push through hardships because they know they’ll eventually come out on top. Pastor Johannes told us that when the Bible school started, they had five packs of roman noodles for 30 male Bible students. Regardless, they laughed their way through prayers, knowing God would provide. And provide He did.
That’s faith you can’t fake.

So, what does this mean for us? It means discipline, devotion, endless joy, and sacrifice. It means that we stop caring what the world wants because we don’t serve the world. It means that when our culture tells us how normalcy and success are defined, that we throw out every definition because our Father has definitions all His own. It means that we might look crazy, and it means that we might be separated from those we love most because we want His will for our lives so badly. It means that we love our Father so much that it makes us want to obey His call.

It means we don’t just believe, but we acknowledge our need for a Savior.

Do all of these things strike us as appealing? No, not particularly . . . but we remember that He loves us unconditionally, and that is all the motivation we need to continue.

The strength that I’ve found within me since I became a Christian has been nothing short of miraculous. I could have never generated such strength had I been relying on myself. It has been the Spirit of the Living God within me. This strength makes me confident in the reality and truth that is my faith in Jesus Christ. I love Him . . . and in each country I visit, despite the doubt that surrounds the people of these nations, I am sure now more than ever that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only way for any of us to be sanctified before the Lord God Almighty.

Religion isn’t a game that we play with in our spare time. We are here for a purpose, and it amazes me how blind we can be to it in the middle of our American affluence. Life isn’t about self-gratification. It’s about falling madly in love with the Savior of the world. That reason is why I’m on this trip.

Kristen McKee is currently a part of a ministry called The World Race. Her team will serve in 11 countries over 11 months. To find out more about Kristen and her ministry visit www.kristinmckee.theworldrace.org.

A few years ago, I was encouraging youth to bring their Bibles to Bible study. (Novel idea, I know.) I made a big deal about it, even gave kids candy when they had a Bible with them. It worked . . . sort of. Within a few weeks, most of the kids had a Bible with them for Bible study. Some of them would go find a pew Bible and bring it into class. A couple of guys came up with a more creative solution. They just left their Bibles in a cabinet in the classroom. When I asked how they were studying the Bible at home if their Bibles were always at church, they just gave me a blank stare.

In the research for my dissertation, youth leaders all over the world agreed on 7 essential objectives for youth ministry. It should probably not be any surprise that this was an essentials:

Essential 3: Guide youth to spend time with Jesus in prayer and Bible study as a way of developing their relationship with him.

Teenagers today are about as religious as American teenagers have been for as long as we have been measuring such things. The disappointing thing is few of them know the truths of the Bible, can identify the stories of Scripture, or spend any time perusing (let alone studying) the Word of God. That’s a pretty big disconnect. So, how do we instill the essential disciplines of prayer and Scripture in their lives?

1. Help them understand the purpose. Few of us really get excited about new routines to add to our lives. Teenagers feel full-up with studying. While prayer and Bible study are disciplines, they are not the cold, dead routines teenagers may imagine. How many of them would let a love letter (er . . . romantic Facebook message) from a boyfriend/girlfriend sit around for weeks before they read it? When they see the goal of prayer and Bible study as being the deepening of their love relationship with Christ, they are on the right track.

2. Acknowledge that prayer and Bible study take effort and time. It’s okay for teenagers to begin doing Bible study by looking at a few verses a day or spending about 10 or 15 minutes. However, don’t short-sell the importance of time alone with the Lord. Help them to understand that spending time with God needs to be a priority in their lives.

3. Give them a plan. Often teenagers look at the Bible and get overwhelmed. Where do you start if you really want to hear from God? Give them tools to use in both praying and studying. Help them to find a time and place to spend with Jesus. Answer their questions, but also help them to learn to find the answers for themselves.

For many of us, the time comes when God calls us to leave a ministry . . . to move to a different town, a different state, or a different church. At those times, I believe how we leave is incredibly important to the spiritual growth of the students we lead.

This is a very personal issue to me right now. As I write, I am preparing for my final Sunday as the volunteer youth minister at my church. Following God’s leadership in my life, I am moving to Texas next week. My heart aches at leaving these people . . . and especially these teenagers . . . that I love so much. But I can only do what I believe God has called me to do.

Some people say that, when you leave a church, it is best to do it fast . . . like ripping a bandaid from a wound. I could not disagree more. In some ways, the last weeks of your ministry in a youth group may be the most important. After four years, I believe I owe my students more than that . . . and I want them to continue to grow in their faith. I have made many mistakes at our church, and my last weeks are no exception, but let me share with you what I have tried to do.

• I have tried to assure our students of how much I love them. I want them to know that departing is not an easy thing for me, that I will miss them.
• I have tried to help the teenagers understand that I am responding to my best understanding of God’s call on my life. When God calls me to follow him in some new way, I have no choice but to follow. I hope they will follow God with abandon when he calls them.
• I have tried to prepare them for new leadership. In our case, the new volunteer youth minister will be one of our current youth leaders. I have assured them he will be there to love them, to take the youth group in new directions. And I have asked them to follow his leadership. Sometimes students feel like they are not being loyal to the old leader if they follow the new one. I want them to feel like the best thing they can do to honor their relationship with me is to continue to invest in the youth ministry when I am gone.
• I have tried to say things I want them to remember. A couple of weeks ago, I took a Bible study hour to meet with the guys in the group. I told them I wanted them to invest themselves in being men of God. I spent an hour telling them what that means–in their devotional lives, their families, the church, their investment in personal ministry, their friendships, and the expression of their sexuality. I doubt if they heard me say anything they had not heard me say before. Still, I think making this my last challenge to them may add meaning to it. That is my hope.

Acts 20 tells of Paul’s final meeting with the leaders of the Ephesian church. The leaders tried to convince Paul not to go to Jerusalem. They were afraid for him. However, Paul told them that he believed God was leading him. Even though he knew his path would be full of hardship, he had no choice but to go. He told them honestly that he did not think he would ever see them again. The parting was drowned in tears, but I think the elders were strengthened in their faith and their resolve because of their final time with Paul. That is my hope for the students I love–that they will find greater resolve in their own walk with Christ because of their time with me . . . that they will not lose heart because I am leaving, but that they will have one more reason to obediently cling to the Lord.

In youth ministry, building relationships with students is really important. I don’t know anyone who would disagree with that. And building relationships with students is especially important for youth leaders in small churches. So, if you love kids and enjoy spending time with them, you are in good shape, right? I’m not sure.

I think the relationship Jesus had with his disciples is a good model for us. When Jesus initiated a relationship with Simon and his brother Andrew, he didn’t say, “Hey, guys, let’s go hang out at Starbucks and maybe later we can play some flag football.” He said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” I don’t mean to imply that Jesus never had fun with the disciples. I suspect that he did. But when it came time to write about Jesus in the gospels, the disciples wrote about the intentional ways Jesus showed them the power of God. They wrote about his challenges to them and his rebukes.

The relationships we are trying to build with our students need to be discipling relationships.

• We need to call students to love God deeply.
• We need to equip students to advance God’s kingdom in their world.
• We need to help teenagers to discover who they are in Christ, people created in his image and gifted for service.
• We need to develop a relationship strong enough to rebuke students when fail to follow Christ and restore them to him when they wander away.

Of course, to have a discipling relationship assumes that we are following Christ ourselves. If my relationship with God is stale, I can’t hope to lead my students to a passionate pursuit of Christ.

I think the question we need to ask ourselves is not, do the students in my youth group like me? Rather, do my students feel challenged and inspired to a deeper walk with Christ when they spend time with me?