Category Archives: Student Ministry

Are You Having Conversations That Really Matter?

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What kind of conversations are the most common between adults and children? Here is a graphic that shows the types of questions asked at what ages. Interesting. As a father of young children and a full time youth worker, I simultaneously see both ends of the spectrum. I’d say in an over-generalized kind of way, it is pretty much right on.

Do you notice any blaring deficiencies? Where are the questions about God? Where are the conversations about faith? Where are the opportunities to really know why you believe what you you believe?

I am reminded of Deuteronomy 6:4-9. This is the Sh’ma (or Shema). It is the most important prayer in the Jewish faith, past and present. The word “Sh’ma” is the hebrew word for “hear” which is the opening call to action in the text.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[b]5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.9  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Notice the intentionality to be used when talking to our children about God, faith, and matters of first importance. This text is a vivid reminder that we should be taking advantage of every opportunity that presents itself to initiate conversations about God.

We should do this at home. This is where our kids see the “real” us. It is where our guard is down. When we are simply ourselves. Does it show in those moments, though our speech, that God is the most important thing in our lives?

We should do this when we “walk by the way”. Ok, we don’t walk much anymore. But one great time for quality conversations is what I call, “windshield time”. You can really get a teenager to open up when you are driving and both staring out the windshield. Don’t be afraid to ask some probing questions now and then. In the car you have a captive audience…but remember, its equally about listening as it is talking.

We should do this when we “lie down and when we rise”. Let it be the last thing on your lips at night and the first thing on your lips in the morning. What is “it” you say: the Glory of God and the awesomeness of Jesus Christ! Say bedtime prayers together. Small habits like that have big influences on kids. On the morning side, a memory that will forever be burned in my mind is dragging myself out of bed everyday as a rebellious teenager only to see my mom reading her bible at the breakfast table. She never force that on me, but her example spoke volumes. Now as an adult, looking back on those years I thank God for her faithfulness and see its influence in my own life.

So what kind of conversations are we initiating with the children in our lives? Both our biological children and any of those whom we have influence over. Maybe you are a small group leader, a soccer coach, the minivan mom who gives rides to every kid in the neighborhood. How are you using your words to push the next generation closer to an authentic relationship with the God of the universe? I pray you will “hear” the call to do just that!

Your fellow worker in the field, Adam

What Do Christian Teenagers Believe about Jesus?

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Biola Magazine has done some research and produced this thought provoking article on the nuts and bolts behind the faith of the current generation of teenagers. We need to get specific about Jesus Christ and faithfully teach what the bible reveals. This generation is floundering in a vague divinity and spineless teaching when all along a strong clear picture of Jesus is on display in the pages of scripture. WIll we believe it? WIll we pass this on. Check out the below article and gain insight into the faith of this generation of teenagers.

Your fellow worker in the field, Adam

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What does the faith of the next generation of Christians look like? When we examine the actual beliefs of Christian teenagers regarding Jesus and his meaning for our lives, is what we find encouraging or alarming?

In The Jesus Survey (Baker Books, 2012), bestselling author Mike Nappa (’89) explores these questions by presenting the results of a nationwide survey of Christian teens. Here, Nappa discusses some of his findings with Biola Magazine and talks about the takeaways for parents, teachers, youth pastors and anyone invested in the faith of future generations.

Mike, could you briefly describe the types of Christian teens that you surveyed and the survey methodology?

The Jesus Survey was administered during summer 2010 at Reach Workcamp mission sites in Colorado, Indiana, Maine, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. (You can download a reproducible copy of the actual survey used at nappaland.com/tjs.) More than 800 teens, ages 12 to 18, participated in the survey. All teens self-identified as “Christian” and were active in a church youth group at the time of the survey. In all, the survey sample represented 16 Christian denominations from 24 United States, and delivered a 99 percent confidence level with a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent.

What was the overall goal with “The Jesus Survey”? What did you want to find out?

The original goal was just to satisfy my own curiosity! I wanted to discover what Christian teens believed about Jesus — and how that was (or wasn’t) affecting their everyday lives. So I asked them.

In terms of the specific survey, the first part was designed to measure what teens thought about four core doctrines of Christ: 1) The Bible is completely trustworthy in what it says about Jesus. 2) Jesus is God. 3) Jesus physically lived, died and came back to life. 4) Jesus is the only way to heaven.

Having established those baselines, the second part of the survey was designed to measure how a Christian teen’s belief or unbelief in those core doctrines affected his or her daily experience with God.

While 86 percent of those surveyed reported that they viewed the Bible as at least somewhat trustworthy, 70 percent expressed persistent, measurable doubts that what the Bible says about Jesus is true. And these are “cream of the crop” youth group kids. How do we make sense of this, and should we be alarmed?

As a former youth pastor, those numbers do concern me. Realistically, just about everything our youth group teens know about Jesus came from what’s found in the Bible, so if they don’t trust the Bible, they can’t fully trust their own knowledge of Jesus. It seems to me that we parents and church leaders can do a better job of helping our Christian teenagers grow confident in the trustworthiness of Scripture.

What’s more (and this surprised me), the data show that Christian kids who do have strong confidence in Scripture actually experience God more noticeably in their daily lives. For instance, four out of five (82 percent) teens who have “unshakable” faith in the Bible also report possessing “strong” proof that the Holy Spirit is active in their lives. Among kids who are uncertain about Scripture, that number is less than half (49 percent). For Christian teens who disbelieve the Bible’s reliability, only 22 percent (about 1 in 5) strongly claim real-life experience with Christ’s Holy Spirit.

Christ’s exclusivity seems to be a big stumbling block for many teens. Fully 1 out of 3 (33 percent) of the Christian teenagers you surveyed believes that Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha and other great religious leaders all lead to heaven. Why do you think this is, and what are the implications?

What’s hard about this finding is that these are Christian kids — teens who claim to have already trusted in Jesus for heaven (and more). In spite of that, they seem unaware that their answers to this question actually contradict their own Christianity — and the beliefs of other religions, too. Youth culture researcher Christian Smith calls this a “tolerance over truth” attitude that’s a result of mainstream, social indoctrination. There’s probably some validity to Smith’s opinion, but it’s always easy to blame the world outside for problems inside the church.

Realistically, an enormous error in basic Christian truth like this one wouldn’t be widespread in our youth groups if adult Christians in our churches weren’t also embracing — and promoting — the fallacy. Tolerance and truth are not mutually exclusive — we need to be better at communicating both for our teens.

What’s worth noting here is that belief in the trustworthiness of the Bible is directly related to belief that Jesus, alone, saves. Among “Jesus only” kids, 99 percent also agreed with the statement that “The Bible is 100 percent accurate.” The implication there is both encouraging — and obvious.

Barely 5 percent of those surveyed reported that they study the Bible on a daily basis, with 67 percent reporting that they seldom or never study Scripture outside church, numbers that reflect a downward trend in Bible study from similar studies conducted 10 years ago. How do you think we can reverse this trend and get young people excited about the Bible?

Our first priority must be to help our Christian teenagers grow confident in the trustworthiness of Scripture. After all, why bother studying the Bible if its message can’t be trusted? If you can’t believe the Bible, then whatever it says is irrelevant. On the other hand, if the Bible can be trusted, then the Bible will be read — that’s my opinion.

I don’t see Scripture needing any special ad campaign or “teen friendly” package. It already has within its pages everything a Christian teenager wants and needs in life. What our kids must come to know is that their Bible is real and true and trustworthy. When they come to grips with that, it’ll change everything — and create a hunger for God’s Word that won’t be denied.

In the evangelism area, 84 percent said they believe Christians are “expected to tell others about Jesus,” while 56 percent said they actually did in the last month. Still, 56 percent seems pretty high. Are teenage Christians less afraid of evangelism than we think?

This was another of the surprises of The Jesus Survey: Christian teenagers are actually quite open and unashamed about their religion. What’s more, talking about Jesus to their friends seems to come naturally for this generation. Even among Christian teenagers who say that Jesus is not the only way to heaven, more than half (55 percent) believe that every follower of Christ has a responsibility to tell others about Jesus “with the intent of leading them to be Christian too.” This unexpected openness about faith may be a benefit of that “tolerance indoctrination” our kids are experiencing in their society. After all, if all religions are tolerated, then it’s OK to talk about any religion — even when the topic is Jesus.

At the same time, there is cause for concern about the evangelistic passion of our Christian teenagers. If the things they’re saying about Christ reflect what they actually believe about Christ, then (according to The Jesus Survey at least), three-fourths of them (74 percent) are actually spreading untruth about Jesus to their friends, neighbors, coworkers and more.

What encouraged you most from the results of the survey?

I was humbled and grateful to see, right there in the data, that God rewards teenagers who place full faith in him. Or, as I put it in the book, “Right belief translates into real experience.”

As part of the study, I was able to identify what I called “Confident Christian Teens.” This group of kids consistently and strongly affirmed each of the four core beliefs around which the survey centered. These kids were the minority in their youth groups (outnumbered 10 to 1 actually), but they reported a real-life experience with God that was identifiable and ongoing.

For example, 94 percent of Confident Christian Teens strongly agreed with this statement: “I’m 100% certain Jesus has answered one or more of my prayers—and I can prove it.” Among the rest, only about half (55 percent) could say the same thing. Additionally, nearly nine out of 10 (86 percent) Confident Christian Teens strongly agreed with this: “I’m 100% certain that the Holy Spirit of Jesus is present and active in my life today — and I have proof that this is true.” Among all other Christian teens, barely half (52 percent) could make the same claim.

For parents, youth group leaders, pastors, professors and others who care about the beliefs of the next generation, what are the big takeaways from this data?

The absolute best thing you can do for any Christian teenager is to help that teen grow confident in the trustworthiness of Scripture. Teens who believe the Bible is reliable are more likely to embrace authentic Christian beliefs and — according to the data — are significantly more likely to experience an authentic, noticeable relationship with God. That’s the big takeaway I learned from The Jesus Survey.

If you could summarize your overall assessment of the current generation of Christian teenagers in just three words, what would they be?

Honest. Tolerant. Passionate.

Mike Nappa (’89) is a bestselling and award-winning author with more than 1 million copies of his books in print worldwide. He’s also the founding publisher of FamilyFans.com, “The Free E-Magazine for Parents” and a noted commentator on pop culture, theology, family and film.

6 Myths of Success

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In ministry it is easy to get hung up on the wrong things. As humans we are bent in our nature to
misunderstand the things of God and chase after lesser things. Pastors are tempted to rate success by the criteria of this world rather than from our God. When applied to student ministry this reminds me of my article, True Success in Student Ministry. Here are 6 myths that can creep into a pastor’s mind according to Scott Thomas of the Acts 29 Network.

  1. “Success is a result of my great faith.” God makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45). He is sovereign.
  2. “Success comes after hard work.” Paul warned to put no confidence in the flesh, and whatever redeeming merit Paul experienced, he counted it as trash (Phil. 3:2–11).
  3. “Success brings me love.” Success, or the lack of success, is a false indicator of God’s love for me (Job 10:12–13).
  4. “Success proves my level of spirituality.” Your spirituality is not validated by your success or evident because of it. Our spiritual life is only because of Jesus Christ’s completed work (Rom. 3:21–28).
  5. “Success makes me happy.” Success can never be satisfied; it always craves more (Eccles. 5:10).
  6. “Success is achieved through strength.” God intentionally chooses the unlikely so that all success can be ascribed to God. (1 Cor. 1:26–31). God’s grace is illuminated in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

Your fellow worker in the field,  Adam

5 Ways to Make Your Kids Hate Church

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I’ve been working with teenagers for a long time. It is easy to spot the ones who want to attend church or small group, and the ones who couldn’t care less about being there. More times than not kids adopt the attitudes and practices of their parents. Children are very observant and can discern even the slightest hint of superficiality. Here are 5 ways to make your kids hate church.

1. MAKE SURE YOUR FAITH IS ONLY SOMETHING YOU LIVE OUT IN PUBLIC

Go to church… at least most of the time. Make sure you agree with what you hear the preacher say, and affirm on the way home what was said especially when it has to do with your kids obeying, but let it stop there. Don’t read your Bible at home. The pastor will say everything you need to hear on Sundays. Don’t engage your children in questions they have concerning Jesus and God. Live like you want to live during the week so that your kids can see that duplicity is ok.

2. PRAY ONLY IN FRONT OF PEOPLE

 The only times you need to pray are when your family is over, holiday meals, when someone is sick, and when you want something. Besides that, don’t bother. Your kids will see you pray when other people are watching, no need to do it with them in private.

3. FOCUS ON YOUR MORALS

Make sure you insist your kids be honest with you. Let them know it is the right thing for them to do, but then feel free to lie in your own life and disregard the need to tell them and others the truth. Get very angry with your children when they say words that are “naughty” and “bad,” but post, read, watch, and say whatever you want on TV, Facebook, and Twitter. Make sure you focus on being a good person. Be ambiguous about what this means.

4. GIVE FINANCIALLY AS LONG AS IT DOESN’T IMPEDE YOUR NEEDS

Make a big deal out of giving at church. Stress to your children the value of tithing, while not giving sacrificially yourself. Allow them to see you spend a ton of money on what you want, while negating your command from Scripture to give sacrificially.

5. MAKE CHURCH COMMUNITY A PRIORITY… AS LONG AS THERE IS NOTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO DO

Hey, you are a church-going family, right? I mean, that’s what you tell your friends and family anyways. Make sure you attend on Sundays. As long as you didn’t stay up too late Saturday night. Or your family isn’t having a big barbeque. Or the big game isn’t on. Or this week you just don’t feel like it. Or… I mean, you’re a church-going family, so what’s the big deal?

This article was originally posted at the theResurgence.com by Thomas Weaver. Check it out for a lot of good writing on many different topics.

Your fellow worker in the field,  Adam

The Bible’s Grand Narrative in 3 Minutes – MUST WATCH!

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Thank you Trevin Wax for your leadership in developing this curriculum. My prayer is that lives will be changed by the power of the Gospel and Jesus will be lifted high!

I am looking forward to teaching through this in the fall!

Check out Trevin’s other writings posted through The Gospel Coalition, linked in the tab Be Informed! and the Gospel Project website linked in the tab Ministry Resources.

Your fellow worker in the field,  Adam

Investing in the Lives of Students

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Investing in the Lives of Students

Below is a blog posted by one of my Middle School Girls LIFE Group teachers. As I read this I swelled with joy because this is an example of small groups functioning at its best. Read the full article HERE. Megan Hamby is deeply invested in the lives of her eighth grade girls class. Even though she recently got married, started a new job, and is beginning a whole new stage of life, she is concerned with more than just herself. She wants to pass wisdom on to young believers following in her footsteps. Why am I so proud of Megan and this particular small group? 

  • This is the pattern of Jesus – to invest personally in a small group.
  • Even when we are busy with our own lives we never are supposed to neglect the call to make disciples.
  • The focus is on what the bible says to us, not just want we want to hear.
  • Relationships really matter for our spiritual health, therefore make good ones.
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Surviving High School: What I Wish Someone had Told Me In the summer of 2011, I began teaching a small group of upcoming eighth grade girls. Over the past year, I have grown close to each of these girls, and in the process, inherited the girls in the sixth and seventh grade, as well. As the life group teacher to the middle school girls, I’ve learned a lot about the struggles they go through each day. This fall, I’ll (unwillingly) send my eighth graders to the high school ministry as they begin their freshman year. As I think about this last summer I have with them, I find myself thinking about what I wish someone had told me before I went off to high school. Even more so, what I wish someone had told me when I was in middle school. This summer, in the last weeks with the eighth graders, we will be discussing some different topics as they prepare to go to high school and diving into Scripture with each topic.

  • Stand firm in your faith.  People will challenge your faith for the rest of your life. Be rooted in what you believe. Maintain a hunger and thirst for God’s Word. Study scripture. Stay involved in church. Participate in Bible studies. Know what you believe- because you will be tested for the rest of your life.
  • Don’t let popularity stop you from sharing Jesus. Often times in high school, I let my desire to be “popular” or “cool” hinder me from sharing Jesus. What I didn’t realize then is that popularity doesn’t matter after high school (it doesn’t matter inhigh school). What matters now is the people I went to school with still don’t know Jesus- and I had every opportunity to tell them about Him.
  • Surround yourself with friends who point you to Christ. I was blessed to meet my best friends when I was in the eighth grade. A group of five girls who loved Jesus more than they loved anyone or anything else, and they held me accountable. Our relationship’s foundation was built around Christ, and we pointed each other to Him when we had a problem. We went through a lot in high school- illnesses, parents dying, fears of families moving- but we shared a friendship that was deeper than most. At 21 years old, they are still my closest friends.Girls, I want you to have these kinds of friendships. I want you to have friends that point you to Jesus in hard times, rejoice with you in good times, and love you despite your faults.
  • Guard your heart. It’s so easy to desire affection and love from boys when you’re in high school. We crave the desire and and longing. Girls, be protective of your heart. Every crush, hug, and kiss gives a piece of your heart away. Even more so, guard your most precious inner beauty. Understand how sacred your purity is- and that it’s only meant for your husband.
  • Cherish your family. Girls, one day- sooner than you imagine- you will be moving away from home. You will be leaving for college, taking a job in a different city, or marrying your best friend and starting a family of your own. At this point in your life, I know it seems like light years away, but it will be here faster than you know. Cherishthis time with your family. Go on family vacations, go shopping with your mom, and have family game nights.
  • Look in the mirror…and smile. God created you. Your curvy figures, crooked teeth, the color of your eyes and hair, the length of your legs…God made you. Even as a twin…you are one of a kind. Psalm 139:14 say, “I will praise You because I have been remarkable and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.” God did not make a mistake when He created you- don’t tell Him that He did.

Girls, I love you, and I have been so blessed to be your life group leader this past year. I look forward to seeing you each Wednesday and Sunday, and every other opportunity I have to spend with you.

To my sweet eighth graders, I have loved watching you grow spiritually. Although I’ve been your teacher, you all have taught and encouraged me through your lives. I can’t wait to see you grow even more, and I am not ready to give you up.

Summer Camp Series: When the Music Fades

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It is Monday. The bags are unloaded and the vehicles have been vacuumed. Camp is over.

What do you do when you have had an amazing experience with God, but then come back to the regular routine? Can the passion be kept or will our commitments fizzle out in a few weeks?

Here are my thoughts on holding on to what is important.

  1. When you take something out, fill the hole. – During camp or other church events we can make commitments to cut out unhealthy behaviors or habit. This is good! Romans 6 asks if we can keep on willfully sinning as believers. When we intentionally remove certain things from our life we should also intentionally fill the newly vacated time with Godly behavior. The more we can remove the unholy things/attitudes/behaviors in our life and replace them with holy things/attitudes/behaviors the better off we will be. When we make the commitments but do not make a replacement, the probability is that we will fall back into our old patterns.
  2. Emotions are not rock solid identifiers of God’s will.  – Emotions are good. God created us to feel deeply. When we encounter God we are deeply effected. Think of Isaiah in chapter 6 of his book. He said he was “undone”. I gotta believe that is on some level an emotional reaction as well as a spiritual reaction. Even though we need to allow ourselves to feel the move of God, we cannot trust emotions as a solid understanding of God’s will. At a camp or other situations where the music and lights are right and you are just a little sleep deprived, the tendency is toward an emotional response. When the music fades and the lights and smoke are off, what is God still saying? God will confirm His movement. Do you see consistency between what you have heard and what He has already said in His Word? Will older, wiser believers affirm what what they see God doing in your life? Do not trust your emotions, but trust the Bible. God has spoken and will continue to speak through it to you!
  3. Accountably is the key to retention.  – When we really want to make a life change, you have to tell someone what has happened. I know, it sounds simple, but many decisions and commitments are made that are never shared! If you really want to see genuine life change, take the first step by telling others what God is doing in your life. Surround yourself with people who will hold you accountable to your commitments. We were not created to live life alone. God made Adam, and before sin ever entered the world, He said it was not good for him to be alone. God created the Church and told us in Hebrews not to forsake meeting together. We need relationships to live the life God intended us to live. Allow others to really know you and speak truth into your life.
  4. How do you eat and elephant? One bite at a time. – Many times when we experience God in a deep and personal way we (unwittingly) think we cannot have this in “real” life. It can only happen at camps or retreats, but it is not practical for everyday. To live life in the presence of God is a tall order. This style of living is not one you can turn on and off like a light switch. Jesus disciples asked him how to pray. We have to learn how to read the bible. In our spiritual life we draw close to Him through a lifelong process called sanctification. It is a big task, like eating an elephant, but it is worth doing. We start one bite at a time. Set aside time to read your bible and pray. Commit to a local church. Slowly when we persistently practice the things of God we get close to Him. God wants that real close relationship with us everyday! Even without the hype of camp we can live in the presence of God in real life.
  5. Eliminate Distractions – When we leave our normal routine and get focused on God, what do you know, He shows up. What is the difference between that location 8+ hours away and our own hometown? It is NOT that God only chooses to work there. God is the same in both places. The difference is in us, not with God. When we focus on Him and eliminate the distractions we hear His voice more clearly. If you want to continually hear from God, LISTEN! Make intentional time to worship Him each day. Make intentional time to dive into His word and pray. These are the things we do at camp, why can’t we do them at home too!?!

Your fellow worker in the field, Adam

Summer Camp Series: Expository Preaching Works!

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This week we have been studying everyday in the book of Hebrews. I know what you are thinking…that is a heavy book for a bunch of teenagers. Well, yes it is, but when we push them I have always found that teenagers rise to occasion. They have been doing great! Soaking up the Truth and letting God speak and move in real ways!

Here are some reasons I like focusing on one book of the Bible at a time:

  • It affirms that all of the Bible is important.
  • It keeps us tied to the Word of God for our content.
  • We never get bored by just focusing on the familiar passages.
  • We are forced to deal with issues I wouldn’t normally choose because the text deals with it.
  • It keeps us connected with the authorial intent; as we track through book we see the overarching themes the author wanted to communicate.

Praise God for faithful teachers of the Word!

Your fellow worker in the field,  Adam

Summer Camp Series: Priority of the Word

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Just yesterday I was sitting with my students at our camp worship rally listening to Bobby McGraw preaching From Hebrews. He was laying a solid foundation for all the teenagers to understand the necessity of the Bible to real life.

The antidote to spiritual drift = NOT trying  harder BUT submission to the Word.

1)   The Word of God pierces our hearts. (Heb. 4:12)

…..a)    When you read this book, it reads you.
…..b)   It exposes the sin in your life.
…..c)    It discerns your motives.
…..d)   Through it God changes our outlook.
2)   The Word of God propels us.
…..a)    When you still need milk, you have become dull. (Heb. 5:11)
…..b)   It is written for every stage of life (1 john 2 is written to little children, men, and Fathers.)
3)   The Word of God produces maturity in us.
…..a)    One of the strongest warnings in the bible.
………..i)     Called to keep pressing on
………..ii)    Press on in what? The Word.
……b)   Get practical (Heb. 6:1)
…………i)     Read it! – this is not profound…but profoundly missing in many lives.
…………ii)    Receive it! –  Do you put yourself in positions to be exposed to the Word? Or do other priorities take precedence over preaching of the Word?
…………iii)  Respond to it! – You always will make a response, either negative or positive, there is no neutrality.

Summer Camp Series: What Camp Does for a Student Ministry

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First priority: remember why we are taking students to camp in the first place!

Youth Camp in my church has always been a very important event! Frankly, in my own experience as a youth pastor seeing what God has done in students’ lives at camp that led me to include youth camps as one of the key events of my annual calendar. In case you have not thought about this deeply for awhile, let me share my top four reasons for “pushing” camp with my students! As a youth minister camp is:

• THE BEST WAY TO INTRODUCE LOST STUDENTS TO CHRIST: Camps provide a unique 5-day “window” in which unsaved young people can be exposed to the claims of Christ! Think of it! Where else can I get that amount of time in that kind of spiritual environment to “show” an unsaved student what it is like to be part of the eternal family of Christ? They are surrounded by His love, His people, His Word! Hey, they come for the friends, the girls and the sports and recreation, but they could leave with the best friend of all, Jesus Christ!

• MY BEST SHOT AT STRENGTHENING CORE STUDENTS: Camps provide the best opportunity to deepen the spiritual walk of my “core students.” Teens are so distracted today with so many things tugging at their busy schedule! Camp is my best shot at getting their undistracted attention for at least a week! During camp, I spend time with my campers re-enforcing their love for Christ.

• MY BEST (if not only) HOPE OF BUILDING UNITY: Camps do wonders for the unity of my student group!  Only mission trips exceed the bonding effect of camp, and it is usually more costly to get ALL my students to participate in a mission trip (plus the focus is on others’ needs, not our needs) so that leaves camp as my best opportunity to spend a week building the loyalty, togetherness, and focus of my ENTIRE youth group!

• MY BEST TIME OF THE YEAR TO PREPARE MY STUDENTS FOR THE UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR:

Camps help me focus my students both on their commitment to Christ AND on our purpose as a youth group…to glorify Christ by reaching our unsaved friends at school. It is my best time for my group to regain focus before school begins again and we are back into the heavy school-year schedule with plays, sports, clubs, etc. It is my favorite time to ask, “Okay gang, where are we going this year? What do we want Christ to do among us?”

Adapted from Roger Glidewell at Global Youth Ministry.