Summer 101: The Whole Enchilada!

Over the past few months as I have shared my thoughts on summer youth ministry in this Summer 101 series, I have had more than a few people ask me how many of these events I might do in any given summer.  The answer, of course, is ALL OF THEM!  For me, summer was always a time to go absolutely crazy and give yourself as many opportunities as possible to build relationships and expose the students of your church and your community to the love of God whose name is Jesus.  So to wrap up the series and answer the question "What exactly did a Carl planned summer ministry look like?," I will share with you The Whole Enchilada!  Hang on...and remember, summer ministry is not about who can't and won't be there.  It's about all of those who can!

Beginning in 1987, every summer began with the publication of a summer booklet (you can see 3 covers on this post; note the fancy rub-on lettering on the 1989 verison) with a theme and a calendar. The calendar was mostly for parents; the booklet described events in detail and had contests and a lot of silliness. I would usually get it in the mail a month before school let out.  I would begin to advertise on the Youth Group Hotline, or in the later years have the website ready for summer at that time as well.  Of course publicity and sign-ups for the big trips would have already happened, but the bulk of the summer ministry would be announced in the booklet.  Here is a brief synopsis of everything we did in an average summer. This listing is out of the 1999 booklet from FUMC-Kissimmee, my last summer there.  Links are provided to help you understand my personal glossary of terms. The specifics changed from year to year, of course, but this will give you the general idea of how my summers went for nearly 20 years...

* A kick-off Progressive Dinner to welcome our new middle school students.
* The annual Chain of Prayer.
* Our Schoolzout Blowout trip to Atlanta for Six Flags and a Braves game.
* Wonderama, featuring a live band, Gladiator Jousting and a Velcro Wall.
* The Great Race, with the winning team earning a Kitchen Sink on the Disney Dash Ice Cream Bash coming later that summer.  (For perspective you should note that all of the other events listed above took place the first week of summer vacation!)
* Middle School Madness, 3 separate events for middle school students only.  In 1999 this included a Video Scavenger Hunt and a Mall Invasion!
* SHO-Time at the All-Star Cafe, Macaroni Grill and Roadhouse.

* Wednesday Night Live!  This was our weekly mid-week meeting. The first hour was bible study, which in 1999 featured the theme Sold Out For Jesus.  The second hour was for playing games, hanging out and occasionally hula dancing. But mostly 4- Square- the old school version.
* Our summer Mission Trip was a 6 day adventure to Nashville to work with the Center for Student Ministry.  An awesome trip, by the way.
* We also had local mission projects.  We spent a morning picking up trash in our church's neighborhood.  We worked to raise money for Graciela, the little girl from Bolivia we sponsored through Compassion International.  We volunteered a day at the Orlando Second Harvest Food Bank.  And every Sunday morning for the 8:30 worship service a team of our students taught Children's Church for 5-8 year olds.
* Almost all of our youth served as teachers and helpers at Vacation Bible School.
* The annual Youth Week was one of our biggest ever. To read specifics of that week, click here!
* We had both Babes Night Out (females only...although the guys would try to crossdress and tag a long!) and Dudes Night Out.
* Three days were set aside to do One on One, where students could sign-up for an hour of my time and we would grab a coke or a milk shake and just hang out. These were very popular days, especially for the kids who signed up first and got the breakfast and lunch appointments!
* There was a "Carl's going to a movie" Night.  I announced I was going, told anyone interested to meet at the church at a certain time, and then we went.  I did not tell them in advance what we were seeing.  A Mystery Event!
* We had a small group, overnight spiritual growth event called The Radical Sabbatical.
*  Our Sunday night UMYF continued to meet each week for worship, study and fellowship.
* On 2 Sundays we would stretch our UMYF time out and do what we called SNAC- Sunday Night After Church!  One night we did a movie (Short Circuit) and world's largest bowl of popcorn; the other night was the famous Disney Dash Ice Cream Bash! 
* There was, of course, a Movie Marathon!  In 1999 it featured movies from Outer Space!
* Each summer we would set aside a night for a large group to go eat at our favorite Japanese restaurant, Kyoto's.  1999 was no exception. 

Myrtle Beach, 1999

* 45 of us participated in Myrtle Beach Days, a week-long excursion to the Betsy B.
* We did one day at Walt Disney World and another day at Cocoa Beach. (If you are keeping score, there were 75 days of summer vacation that year, and we had some sort of youth event on 70 of those days...)
* And even though technically it was after school started back , our summer ended as it always did in those years- with the Last Gasp Summer Blowout at Melbourne Beach.

Ahh... SUMMER!  The absolute best time of the year for youth ministry.  Most churches, youth pastors and student ministries are probably neither prepared for nor interested in doing The Whole Enchilada.  But I do hope maybe this bit of madness will inspire you to kick your summer up a notch.  Blessing to all, and have a wonderful weekend!

Because of Jesus,

Summer 101: Movie Marathons

Only 2 more weeks left in my Summer 101 series, as I continue to hope to inspire youth pastors and others who work with student ministries to make the most of the absolute best time of the year in youth ministry- SUMMER!

A fun and simple fellowship event that can be done most anytime during the summer is a Movie Marathon.  There are a million different ways to do an event like this, but here's how I usually did it.  I would pick a date and a location (generally the youth room or fellowship hall at the church) and announce we would be watching 3 movies back-to-back-to-back.  I liked to do it during the day because that is when the most students are bored out of their minds.  We would start around lunch time and  provide pizza,  then make popcorn later on for a snack- and provide plenty of beverages.  All the youth had to do was show up, no reservations required.  It was free (although you could charge if you need to cover the cost of snacks).  And we saw some AWESOME movies!


Movie selection is key.  You know your kids and your church, and I would never tell you how to go about choosing which DVDs to view.  But I would suggest that they be somehow related so that you have a theme.  We did a Star Wars trilogy day (back when there were only 3); we did a Pixar movie day; we did a Sports Movie day (featuring Cool Runnings, Angels in the Outfield and Remembering the Titans); and we did a Goofball Comedy day with Wayne's World, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Monty Python's Holy Grail.  We even did a Tom Hanks day, but I don't remember what movies we used. If I was doing one right now I might do Harry Potter, Marvel Superheroes, Toy Story, or a Bill Murray collection.  That's just me.  You have to choose based on the taste of your group and what you feel is appropriate.


Whenever possible we also did things to make the event special.  For instance, the day we did Star Wars one of our parents (who was a sound engineer for the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular @ Disney's Hollywood Studios) brought in some huge speakers and hooked them up so that the bass from the films would shake the youth room.  It did- just ask the rest of the church staff who had offices one floor below us! :)  Another year we used a video projector and a giant screen to make it feel more like a movie theater experience.  Or invite the students to dress as a favorite character or bring related toys.  Be creative, and the youth will love it!


One other thought- a movie does not have to be The Passion of the Christ to contain significant moments that can open a discussion about faith.  There is theology in most everything. Perhaps the most theological movie I have ever seen is Pleasantville. You could do 3 baseball movies and include Bang the Drum Slowly, Moneyball and Field of Dreams and have some wonderfully deep follow-up discussions.  So if you want the films to lead to deeper discussions, just choose wisely.


So there you go- another low preparation, low cost, high fellowship value event that will have your students buzzing and get them off their couches and into your youth room- which means more "face time" for you!  As for me, I think I'm going to have my own Movie Marathon this summer.  Lord of the Rings trilogy, here I come- AGAIN!  It's almost time for The Hobbit!!!  Be blessed my friends!


Because of Jesus,

Summer 101: The Great Race

Summer is almost here- the best and most important time of the year for youth ministry!  Here's another idea for anyone still looking to fill holes in your summer student ministry calendar! For even more suggestions, click the Summer Ministries tab at the top of this blog. 

If you are looking for a summer event that will draw a crowd and put a quick end to those old "church is boring" rumors, then The Great Race is for you!  It's simple to put together and loads of fun.  It works for any size group.  And it's time tested.  We did them when I was in high school- you know, before electricity!  :)  It's a great entry point event for new students and friends of your current youth.  It just screams COME AND SEE US!!!

Here's how it works.  You put together a relay race featuring 10 to 12 events, and divide your youth into at least 2 teams.  The larger your ministry, the more teams.  Each team then decides on a team member to complete each leg of the race.  Pretty standard stuff, right?

Here's what make it interesting- diversity.  You can have a couple of events that require athletic ability, such as a distance run or a free-throw shoot.  But then, you just need to go crazy.  Use the old "eat crackers and whistle" routine.  Maybe break out the classic Chubby Bunny.  Have someone sing one of your favorite youth group songs from memory while being blasted with a water hose.  Use brain-teasers and math problems.  Have someone chug a Coke and belch.  Have someone improv a dance to a song you know your youth really can't stand.  Ask youth group trivia questions.  Get one of your adult volunteers who can do a "stone face" and have one of the tasks be to make them laugh.  Be as creative as possible- and as inclusive.  Try to have events everyone can be comfortable doing.

And then have a big finish.  Make each team gather at the finish line and accomplish some things together as a team.  I usually gave each team a bucket of water, a tiny paper cup and a 2-liter bottle and made them fill the bottle by passing the cup back (always touching EVERY team member) to the bottle.  I always had them make up a team cheer (with movements); and the finale was for each team to build a pyramid using all team members.  Great moments, great memories and great photo opps!

So there you have it.  Many of you are far more creative than I, so add your own twists and have a Great Race this summer.  Here's my guarantee- have this event once and your students will make certain it becomes an annual event! 

Because of Jesus,

Summer 101: Mystery Events!

Summer is coming fast!  I continue my Summer 101 series today in the hopes of inspiring youth pastors everywhere to make the most of the very best ministry season of the year- SUMMER!


You have seen me write on numerous occasions that I always felt that "sameness, tameness and lameness" were the enemies of effective student ministry.  This is especially true in the summer, when you are competing not against a busyness, but against Facebook, video games and reruns of Boy Meets World.  So each summer I attempted to have at one event on the calendar that was a mystery to my youth, an event that would get a big build up and keep them talking to each other about what it might be.  Sometimes the events were small and simple.  Other times, they were HUGE and elaborate.  Today I want to remember 2 of my favorite big mystery events.

The first is the classic Gorilla Kidnapping!  It is an event you can only use once in any given location, but it is so worth it.  The idea is simple, but to pull it off requires a great deal of coordination.  Here's how it works: You target a group of students you have not seen in a while (or you could do it with students just aging in to your ministry) and plan to "kidnap" them on a Saturday morning.  You contact their parents and make arrangements.  The hope is that the student will still be asleep when you arrive, so coordinating things like time and making sure the youth don't sleep nude (important safety note!) are very important.  You repeat this process until you have a group of 10 or so unwilling victims with willing parents.  The next step is advertising to the rest of your student ministry.  I would simply use the tag line, "Be afraid...be VERY afraid!"  Students would then be told to meet at the church at 7 AM and bring money for breakfast.  They were also told that if they didn't show up, bad things could happen to them.  And that was ALL they were told.

The final step is finding yourself a good Gorilla.  Actually, it's a final two steps.  First you have to find a big guy who is willing to wear a costume and be beaten on as he pulls screaming, sleepy teenagers out of bed.  Secondly, you have to rent them a costume.  The first time I did it at Springfield Friends Meeting back in 1987 we went with the classic gorilla costume (see picture at top, although Jamie is missing his head).  The second time was at FUMC- Kissimmee is 1994, and we put my intern, Jerry Hanbery, in a Chewbacca costume.  Also very effective, but for some reason I have no pictures of that.  And when we broke out the event at Wesley Memorial UMC in Tampa in 2004, we went with the awesome Pink Gorilla suit you see pictured.  The costume is up to you.  Then you just carry-out the kidnappings and have a great breakfast together.  If one of your regulars decides to sleep in, go get them too! It adds to the mystique of the event.  If one of your goals is to get your community talking about your youth group, this will meet that purpose nicely.

The second idea I will mention today is an old fashioned Mystery Trip. These can be simple day trips or elaborate weekends. I preferred the longer trips, because it made the mystery greater.  In general, they worked like this:  All the youth knew was that we were leaving on Friday night, coming back on Sunday night, how much it cost, and anything special they might need to pack.  We gave these events cryptic names like Live To Tell or Magical Mystery Tour to help build suspense.  We didn't tell the parents the destination until they dropped the kids at the church.  We did this to maintain the secrecy, and even at that the parents still managed to let the cat out of the bag on a couple of occasions.  The key to the Mystery Trip is to make your destination fun and a little outrageous, or to plan some unexpected twists along the way.  For instance, we once staged a van breakdown on the highway.  This led to us pretending to desperately search for a motel and acting like the trip was ruined, only to drag the youth out of bed early the next morning and carry on.  Another time we drove 9 hours to Myrtle Beach, arriving at 3 AM. We slept late that morning, spent the afternoon on the beach, the night on the town, had worship Sunday morning, and drove 9 hours home.  It was insane.  But the youth who took that trip (see picture) are STILL talking about it- and it happened 15 years ago!  Length and destination are up to you- but make sure you make it at least a little weird. And think of me when you do!  :)


So there ya go- a couple of more ways you can make this summer one your youth will never forget.  Until next week...


Because of Jesus,

Summer 101: SHO-Time!

It's almost May.  Still need help with your church's summer student ministry calendar?  Summer 101 is here every Friday to help!  Help your church make the most of the very best season of the year for youth ministry- SUMMER!

One of the most popular ideas I ever came up with for my student ministries was called SHO-Time (Senior High Only).  The origin was simple enough.  For most of my 28 years as a youth pastor our high school students and middle school students met together on Sunday evenings and Wednesday nights.  I wanted to begin doing some special programming that would allow each of those groups to do things on their own.  SHO-Time was a no-brainer.  I just picked a night and a restaurant and invited our high school students to meet me there, or to meet at the church if they need a ride.  I began the program in 1988; it was still going strong at a 5th different church when I left the ministry in 2007.  


Although SHO-Time began as a once-a-month school year event, it was also a staple of our summer programming.  The laid back, no "school night" limits atmosphere of summer allowed us to visit restaurants that were farther away or required more time to eat.  We always tried to alternate the more expensive places with cheaper ones to keep things affordable.  And during the summer we would often find ways to hang out after the meal, whether by going back to the church or out to a movie or miniature golf.  It just made for another awesome night of fellowship. Plus, it is a wonderful event in which to include your family.  My son Will grew up thinking every kid got to eat out with awesome high school students like he did!

SHO-Time can be easily adjusted to fit your group's needs.  If you already split high school and middle school students, then you could use it to do something special for your 11th and 12th graders.  I found that it was a good way to connect with students who may have "dropped out" of youth group- everyone loves to eat!  It's always cool to do something special for your older youth- and their friends! This is another simple program that attracts new students like flies to a smelly church van.  

One final note about SHO-Time (and this is HUGE):  No matter if there is only 1 student who shows up, NEVER cancel it.  When I started the program at FUMC-Kissimmee, the first couple of times only 1 youth (Connor Lewis, pictured above) showed up. We had a blast, and word quickly spread that this was a great evening of fun and fellowship.  Within a few months, SHO-Time became a big deal.  Never quit on your kids.  You can't make anyone feel important if the message you send is, "Just you is not enough."  It's all about relationships, not numbers.  (A side note: As I edit this post I just saw a tweet from a youth pastor praying that "our SMALL group will be BIGGER than ever tonight."  Dysfunction Junction, thy name is so often ministry...)  But if you are looking for an event that will get everyone talking,  join me next Friday.  It's time to put some mystery in your ministry...


Because of Jesus,

Summer 101: Digital Scavenger Hunt

Summer is coming fast!  I continue my Summer 101 series today in the hopes of inspiring youth pastors everywhere to make the most of the very best ministry season of the year- SUMMER!

The Scavenger Hunt has been a part of youth group activities since Grog the Caveman first had the group from T-Rex Baptist Church go out to look for fire and wheels- but it is still a winner.  It has taken many forms over the years, but my favorite has always involved some sort of pictures.  In my earliest years we did Polaroid Scavenger Hunts; we then moved on to Video Hunts and finally to the more modern Digital age.  These are not only a riot for youth and adults to be a part of, they also provide you with great promo pics for the present and excellent blackmail pics to use years later!  There are 1000 ways to do this event, but here's what worked for me.. 


*  You'll need to make an educated guess at how many students will show up, and have more than enough vehicles with adult drivers to safely transport them all.  The more teams the merrier!  You can either let students divide themselves up and pick a driver, or (and I love this one) let the drivers "draft" their teams.  That adds a "mixer" element to the event.  Students can make great connections that will last while riding around in a car working as a team.  And, needless to say (and yet I am saying it!) every car needs a camera that will allow you to download the photos easily at the completion of the event.

*  Make a list of pictures they need to take in the allotted time (usually 2 hours).  Make sure you have more things on the list than they can possibly do in the time period.  Some items should require specific locations; others should ask for pictures of specific actions.

*  Give each picture opportunity a point value.  The more "unusual" the photo, the higher the point value.  For instance, a picture of the group in front of another church's sign might be worth 50 points.  A picture of the group carrying a total stranger across a street might be worth 500. This system helps insure you will get more of the best pictures, and also reminds the teams that this is NOT a race.  It's about points.  

*  To provide a little intrigue I always made one of the highest value items getting a pic of ANOTHER one of the groups taking one of their pictures.  This provides some of the most dramatic moments of the event!

*  Involve the community.  Send teams to church member's homes, local restaurants and anyplace else where the activity will generate some buzz for your youth ministry. 

*  To keep things lively, offer real prizes to each member of the winning team.  This is NOT the time to give away your cans of SPAM or last year's leftover t-shirts.  And to keep things on schedule, give serious point penalties for every minute after the event's end time that a team returns to the church. 

*  Have an adult on stand by with a vehicle at the church in case anyone has car trouble or an emergency.  Make sure their cell number is printed on the official event list.

That should be enough to get you started on one of the most fun events you will ever do!  Just remember that the key to the entire thing is being wildly creative with your list of photo opps.  Do this once and do it right, and I give you my personal guarantee that the 2nd time you do it you'll need twice as many cars and drivers.  "If you take pictures of them, they will come..."  Now get crackin' on that Summer calendar!  Blessings to you all.

Because of Jesus,

Summer 101: Happy Hour!

Baskin Robbins works too!  :)

My Summer 101 series returns today with a look at one of the easiest, low prep events you could ever add to your summer student ministry calender.  If you want an opportunity to hang out with your youth and their friends, this is as easy as it gets.  Read on!

Happy Hour has long been a favorite gimmick of bars and restaurants for drawing in customers with the promise of discounted drinks and a crowd of people.  For the summer of 2003 I was looking for a new way to create fellowship opportunities with my youth group when a different kind of Happy Hour caught my eye.  It seemed our local Sonic Drive-In would be offering half priced drinks from 2-4 PM each day, including milk shakes, lime-aids and sodas.  A plan began to develop...

I went to the manager at Sonic and told him my idea.  One afternoon each week during the summer I would come and "hang out" at one of the covered picnic tables outside the drive-in from 2-4 PM.  During this time, my thought was that any number of my youth might stop by for a few minutes to have a cold drink and chat a while.  He thought it was a great idea and agreed to provide me with half off food coupons as well.  I decided to do it on Wednesdays as a lead in to our big Wednesday Night Live! program.  I included it in our Summer Brochure and awaited the results.

Happy Hour was a big hit, but in a very different way from what I had imagined.  Students tended to show up at 2 PM and stay the entire 2 hours!  There were always folks who dropped by to visit and then left, but every week we were there a core group hung out the entire time.  We played cards, listened to music and talked about their lives.  It tended to be an odd mix of youth each week, so they were building relationships with each other as well as with me.  We ate lots of food, drank lots of drinks and slammed down the occasional banana split. For a couple of summers in Tampa and one in Waycross, these gatherings were a highlight of our summer schedule.  

You may not have a Sonic Drive-In in your community, but I bet you have someplace where you could do a Happy Hour a few times this summer.  It's cheap, it requires very little planning, and it gives you a great opportunity to encounter students on neutral turf.  And they will bring friends- trust me.  A little cherry lime-aid outreach never hurt anyone!  If you have any questions about this or planning other summer events, feel free to e-mail me at  youthguy07@aol.com .  I'd love to help!


Because of Jesus,

Summer 101: The Chain of Prayer

My Summer 101 series continues today with a very special event that every student ministry can do.  I have written here before that summers were the busiest time of year for the student ministries I served, beginning in 1986.  I always felt that the best way to start a summer was the same as the best way to start a day- with prayer.  After a few hit & miss ideas, I decided to try a Chain of Prayer as our summer kick-off- and I never looked back.

The Chain of Prayer is not an original idea, and there are lots of ways to do it.  Today I will share with you the things that worked best with my groups over the years.  We would pick a set number of hours on a day at the beginning of summer vacation and set them aside for our COP.  We did as many as 24 hours and as few as 6; it really depends on the size of your ministry and how many students you can get involved.  The hours would then be divided into half hour sections.  Students would be asked to commit to 30 minutes of prayer in a specific location at the church.  The idea was that for whatever number of hours we chose, there would be someone praying for our church, our youth ministry, our summer programs and our people.  It's a very powerful idea.

I know of groups who have done this and allowed students to pray at home and just call in at the beginning and end of their session, but I don't feel like that has quite the same impact.  If everyone comes to the church (sanctuary, chapel, youth room, your office- you make the call!) then there is a greater connection.  Plus it allows you to provide the pray-er with devotional materials and a conducive atmosphere, such as a darkened space with candles.  Thirty minutes can be a long time for a teenager, and it helps for them to be in a place that feels like a sacred space for that time. Also, everyone coming to the same spot allows you to keep an ever-growing list of prayer requests as each person adds their own joys and concerns.  And finally, everyone coming to the church allows for you to greet and thank each participant and pray for them, as well as walk each person in and out of the space to keep the chain connected. That was always my favorite part...

I have a couple of final tips for leaders.  It's fine to have more than one person praying at a time, but try not to have best friends sharing a time slot.  They may have difficulty with focus.  Secondly, do NOT play music in the prayer space.  We need to to teach our youth the wonders of "being still" and enjoying silence. If they want to sing a praise song or break out a hymnal, that's wonderful!  But don't just provide background noise. And finally, be willing to fill the gaps.  If a student (or adult volunteer; they can sign up too!) doesn't show or no one signs up for any specific time slot, you need to fill that 30 minutes.  The whole idea is that for those hours, your group is in a unbroken chain of prayer to the Father.  As Fleetwood Mac would say, "Never break the chain."

So give it a try!  Start small and see the amazing things that can happen to your group when you teach your students to pray.  I'll be back next Friday with more tips on ways summer can change your ministry!  Join me!


Because of Jesus,

Summer 101: The Schoolzout Blowout!

Many of my youth pastor friends look forward to the end of the school year so that life can slow down and they can have a little less demand on their time.  From 1987 on, I was always just the opposite.  I could not wait for summer to begin because that was the time when my student ministries simply exploded!  Beginning in February and March I would put together a booklet of events, gatherings and programs that would often cover all but 4 or 5 days of the summer.  We did not worry about who wouldn't be there; our focus was on who could be there- including the friends of our own students who are often bored and looking for something to do in the summer.  For the next several Fridays I will be sharing some of the purpose and and some of the events that helped turn summer into the backbone on our youth programs at several different churches.  Today we begin with a bang- The Schoolzout Blowout!

We always tried to begin each summer by planning something major the first weekend after school let out.  The actual event varied quite a bit.  Some years we took weekend trips.  Some years we did a "lock-in" type event at the church.  But the most excitng, fun and effective events were the ones we eventually called the Wonderama.  The idea was very basic and pretty simple- plan a street festival at your church specifically aimed at teenagers.  We would try to find new and creative ways to publicize the event and include the community.  In various years we had students carry invitation cards with them to school the last week.  We ran special contests on our website.  One year I developed a whole new website for summer, with a name like www.keepingthesummeralive.com, and we publicized it without letting on it had any connection to a church. One year we had what we called a Hot Spots Night the Friday before the event on Saturday.  Small groups of our students and leaders were at local youth hang outs like the mall and movie theaters, handing out flyers inviting everyone to join us the following day.  We tried very hard to begin our summer with this fun outreach event in the hopes that once they had a taste of our ministry, they would be back for more.  And quite often it worked.

Sometimes the youth pastor has to
 take one for the team!

The event itself was pretty standard youth ministry stuff.  It varied from year to year, but there would often be a live band (with some connection to the community or youth group), games, contests, giveaways and usually something special, like Velcro Wall (see pic) or a Bungee Run.  There was usually some sort of short devotional message, often from a youth or through a skit.  And there was always- ALWAYS! - food.  Some years we worked out a deal with a local pizza place to "cater" the event.  Other years we grilled our own hot dogs.  But there was always plenty of food and excitement, and always plenty of publicity for upcoming events that would give us a bigger chance to talk about Jesus.  And perhaps just as importantly, it was always free.  Churches are so guilty of turning outreach events into fundraisers. Fight the urge. Make your Schoolzout Blowout a gift to the youth of your community.  


Youth pastors (and many of you are my dear friends) tend to moan and complain about how busy our students are during the school year.  At the risk of being rude, I invite you to shut up and start planning ways to use their spare time this summer.  It can change your ministry forever.  Join us next Friday as we follow up with an important beginning to our huge summer- The Chain of Prayer.  Have a blessed weekend!


Because of Jesus,