| TheSource4YM.com | |
 | Jonathan’s Resource Ezine |
Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
| In This Issue |
- NEW IDEAS AND RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK’S EZINE: REACHING STUDENTS ON CAMPUS
- HIDEOUS HEAP CONTEST PRIZE WINNERS
- GEORGE W. AND GOD. An Article You Don’t Want to Miss!
| If you aren’t a subscriber of this EZINE and would like to subscribe – it’s free – just pop on www.TheSource4YM.com and sign up in the upper right hand corner. |
| NEW IDEAS AND RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK’S EZINE: REACHING STUDENTS ON CAMPUS |
REACHING STUDENTS ON CAMPUS
If you missed last week’s EZINE, be sure to jump on our web site and click on ARTICLE ARCHIVES for the scoop. "Reaching Students" is a hot topic- and we received great feedback and some fun ideas from a lot of you. Here’s just a few:
Jonathan- I just read your answer to a question written about getting on-campus to preach. Our Church has begun a club, "Grub Club," that meets in front of school, 15 min. before the first bell, to pray. The school allows us there because it is student lead, although, I am there to over see. Our church donates donuts and we have about 80 Middle School kids every Wed. We also have "The Grub Club" in five other middle schools and high schools in our area. It’s a great way to have contact with the kids.
Thanks for all you do.
Leslie
Jonathan- Just an idea that has worked well for our church to get into the schools.
If your leadership (your senior pastor/boss) will let you do it-and I have great, great leadership to work with- a great way to get in the schools, (and make some extra money) is to substitute teach. Most states just require a bachelors degree for subbing. You’re doing your local schools a huge favor, you get to know the teachers, principals, and make more contact in one day than a lot of youth ministers ever make.
Granted you can’t lead a bible study but you can tell them what you do for a living and they will ask. They will ask you life questions and God will put you in situations where you can make an impact for Him. The other thing is, almost every student who walks into your church will know you. It has been a tremendous thing for the youth ministry here and I highly recommend it if you can do it. Some of you may get to see a whole new world that can change your ministry just to see them at their home turf.
Andy and Angie
Jonathan- I just got done reading the “Understanding and Reaching the Unchurched Teen” article referred to in last week’s EZINE, and felt inspired to write and express my appreciation for your ministry. I have come to rely on your web site for keeping current on trends and as a resource for ministry. I thank God for you and again really appreciate your dedication to reaching our youth for Christ.
Dan
Jonathan- Thank You so much! I found your book ( https://thesource4ym.comhttp://www.jonathansresources.com/Books/default.aspx ) in the bookstore because I was desperate for information to rev. up our youth group. As a volunteer youth worker for years, I have seen the bad, good and the ugly! Well, after a year and a half, we lost our youth pastor . . . so my pastor decided to give me a shot. So here I am. May God bless you beyond measure! Thank you again. Praise God I found your book.
Leah
| HIDEOUS HEAP CONTEST PRIZE WINNERS |
March 4, 2003
March is here and so are the HIDEOUS HEAP winners!
1st place is a great vehicle from a great guy. But I didn’t want you to just see his 60-word description that’s posted on the web site . . . I wanted you to see his email to me with even more perks that his vehicle offers!
Jonathan- I am so excited that my car may benefit me in some way for a change! Here is my 60-word description of it.
"Sky blue, gray and rust (two of these colors are paint) 77 Dodge Aspen. While on retreat, someone (I still don’t know who) lettered “TUESDAY O” on it. Lacking any weather stripping, it allows blizzards inside the car while driving. Radio-less, trunk bungeed shut. I sometimes catch others in traffic laughing at it."
Well, there it is. Following the 60-word limitation I was unable to mention that this car is a treasure to our teens, some of whom were in it when it slid across an icy road colliding with another car on the way to a bowling outing. It has no brake lights or dash lights. Someone put devices that blink when you drive on the valve stems (perhaps the same person who named my car!). The thingy that allows the gear shift arm to “snap” into each gear no longer works, so you have to shift by feel. Then there’s the after-market blue snakeskin-pattern fabric glued to the inside of the walls and the four-letter word scratched into the paint on the trunk.
Thank you, and may the best car win!
–D. Scott Amberg, youth minister, St. James Church, Oneonta, NY
Scott’s car is a true heap. Scott won the first place prize "wheels down!" (as one of the Youth Specialties staff put it.) Scott wins one of the greatest resources for youth workers today, the YOUTH SPECIALTIES IDEAS LIBRARY CD-Rom: http://shop.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/YouthSpecialties.storefront/en/HotDeals?link=product&id=239516
We also awarded three SECOND PLACE PRIZES:
Free Admission for you and one staff member to THE CORE– Youth Specialties one day training event in over 100 different cities around the U.S. Use this link to check it out: http://www.youthspecialties.com/thecore/2003/
And then we awarded five THIRD PLACE PRIZES:
My book, THE TOP 12 RESOURCES YOUTH WORKERS WANT. Use this link to check it out:
https://thesource4ym.comhttp://www.jonathansresources.com/Books/default.aspx
Check out all these winners and a bunch of other heaps that youth workers drive: https://thesource4ym.com/heap2003/heapentries2003.asp
Jonathan R. McKee
THE SOURCE
for Youth Ministry
https://thesource4ym.com/
| GEORGE W. AND GOD. An Article You Don’t Want to Miss! |
You don’t want to miss the NEWSWEEK magazine that hit the stands yesterday (March 10th issue). The cover bears the title "BUSH AND GOD."
The article goes into great detail about our president’s faith and how that affects his job. But the big bonus is the story of how George W. came to find Jesus. Here’s just a piece of that article:
"Come-to-Jesus stories are more dramatic if the sinner is a pro. Bush was a semipro, a hardy partyer?his Triumph convertible was famous in Houston?until he married Laura in 1977. They joined her Methodist church. In most respects, he became what his father was, a respected member of the congregation. But he was a drinker, and a serious one. Only after work and at night, he told himself. But sometimes the nights were long. He could be famously obnoxious at parties, and, worse, a bore to his patient wife. The birth of his twin daughters in 1982 brought him joy. But, friends say, Laura grew increasingly fed up with his drinking. By 1985, as he approached 40, he needed to fix his relationship with the women in his life. "Nothing was broken," Evans said. "But he wanted it to be better." Mostly, he had to leave alcohol behind . . .
" . . . As a west Texan, Evans (George’s friend- introduced earlier in the article) did what came naturally in a storm: he joined a nondenominational Bible-study group. He coaxed his friend George to come along. The program was called Community Bible Study?started, ironically, in the Washington, D.C., area in 1975 by a group of suburban women. By the time it got to Midland, it was a scriptural boot camp: an intensive, yearlong study of a single book of the New Testament, each week a new chapter, with detailed read-ing and discussion in a group of 10 men. For two years Bush and Evans and their partners read the clear writings of the Gentile physician Luke?Acts and then his Gospel. Two themes stood out, one spiritual, one more political: Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, and the founding of the church. Bush, who cares little for the abstract and a great deal for people, responded to the conversion story. He liked the idea of knowing Jesus as a friend." Newsweek, March 10, 2003, page 26
I encourage you to buy the magazine- great article with great pictures. But catch the whole article online as well: http://www.msnbc.com/news/878520.asp?0cv=KA01
And don’t miss the sidebar titled "GOSPEL ON THE POTOMAC," a small article that compares the "religion" of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter: http://www.msnbc.com/news/879601.asp?0bl=-0
God changes lives. What a privilege to see His work in the life of our Commander and Chief.
Thanks for being an EZINE subscriber. Enjoy the free resources . . . and you know where to find even more free resources at www.TheSourceForYouthMinistry.com
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
God Bless,
Jonathan
If you have any other youth ministry ideas you want to share, please email me at jon@thesource4ym.com
ENJOY JONATHAN AS A SPEAKER FOR YOUR NEXT CAMP, EVENT, OR CONFERENCE?
Jonathan speaks at schools, camps, and youth events all over the U.S. He also trains youth workers and student leaders at national conferences, and seminars. Check out Jonathan’s speaker page and who’s recommending him!
/speakers/jonathan.aspx
Jonathan R. McKee
THE SOURCE
for Youth Ministry
https://thesource4ym.com/
Jonathan McKee
Jonathan McKee is the author of over twenty books including the brand new The Guy's Guide to FOUR BATTLES Every Young Man Must Face; The Teen’s Guide to Social Media & Mobile Devices; If I Had a Parenting Do Over; and the Amazon Best Seller - The Guy's Guide to God, Girls and the Phone in Your Pocket. He speaks to parents and leaders worldwide, all while providing free resources for youth workers on TheSource4YM.com. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and their three kids live in California.