I posted a new blog post over at the PDYM Blog today…Go check it out there!
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
There are thousands of youth workers in the virtual world who have a lot to say and a lot to contribute. However the average post on this blog attracts 2 or 3 comments. I personally want to hear from you. We may start a topic, but the point of a blog is to provoke conversation and idea sharing. READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
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Here are a couple of funny videos that spoof the Office. Shane has played these for the students at Fusion. I downloaded them for free from http://www.bluefishtv.com
The Outreach: Starving Kids:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyLqi81ya_s]
The Outreach: Helping the Needy:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP33JdxKl1A]
Join the Conversation: What is a funny video that you could recommend for our viewing pleasure?
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Purpose Driven Youth Ministry: The Conference is rocking back on to the student ministry conference scene in a big…but small way in 2009. The PDYM Conference took a couple of years off due to some busyness in their ministry and after experimenting with two very successful regional conferences in Florida and Texas.
In 2009 the conference will return, but its going back to some of its roots by focusing on an intamate atmosphere. Even when the conference got big, I always felt it had a much more intimate feel than YS or anyother large youth conference. The Conference is only going to register around 650 649 people for the conference, so if you plan on attending, now’s the time to register yourself and your team. You can register now by clicking HERE. For more information on the conference such as pricing, travel information, Click HERE.
There has been a lot that has been misunderstood and incorrectly conveyed about PDYM and about Purpose Driven in general, this has led to a lot of assumptions and misconceptions. Here is a little of how PDYM helped me and why I believe in its principles.
PDYM is not program driven or program heavy. In fact when I first started looking at PDYM and started to implement it, our student ministry reduced the number of programs we were doing. We looked at the 5 basic principles that PD emphasises and determined what those looked like in our ministry and what we would do to weave them into our ministry. Where our church had people strongly focused on evangelism through a program, we emphasised evangelism being a lifestyle, something that should happen all the time not just in a program. Where our church had a Sunday School program and dabbled in Small groups that focused on discipleship, we simplified our focus and utilized discipleship tools through our small groups to focus on spiritual growth. We did not want to teach the mentality that spiritual growth happens in a program, rather it has to happen on our own, and by providing tools, we encouraged that personal growth, while our small group leaders were there to assist students through that process.
We transitioned our traditional “come and watch while we feed and entertain you” youth group into a student ministry where we encouraged students to own it and to serve the students in the community that we were reaching and those we hoped to reach. We provided opportunities for students to serve and encouraged students to create their own ministries surrounding their passions. We cut out monthly “Events” and “activities” and focused on periodic larger events (Fall Retreat, Summer Camp, Etc.) that emphasized relationships and a theme for our students to grow spiritually around. Instead of providing a baby sitting service we encouraged our small group leaders to invest in their students’ lives by going to their ball games, taking them to lunch, and being a central part of their life as a caring adult.
As a State Mentor I hear a lot of criticisms of PDYM, when I ask, “Have you read the book?” The typical response is, “I’ve read some of it, I’ve read half of it, or No, I have not read it.” Basically, they are saying, I formed my own opinion based on a couple of chapters or they are saying I have formed my opinion based on the opinion of someone else. Typically I hear this when discussing the use of other strategies within PDYM. It is highly recommended that you solely use PDYM if you want to be a student ministry that is balanced (structurally) around Evangelism, Discipleship, Ministry (or Service), Fellowship (or Relationships), and Worship. Some people say they prefer “The Seven Checkpoints” over “PDYM,” and that is great, however I have examined the Seven Checkpoints extensively and it will not do anything for your ministry outside of discipleship. It is not something you would use to build a structure by unless you are going to focus heavily on discipleship. The Seven Checkpoints is great for spiritual growth and we have used it within our small groups and we have taught from them, but it is not strong on structuring to help balance out all of the purposes for the church. A lot of churches are strong on one or some of the purposes, but come up short on balance. Are you there? Do you do a lot of activities, but maybe you are not seeing life change through salvations and spiritual growth? Or are you seeing a lot of salvations, yet you have nothing in place to see those students mature spiritually? PDYM can help!
The Conference is worth going to. You will not walk away without learning something, and if you can carry a team of volunteers I highly recommend you do it, they will come home pumped up and ready to share Jesus with students all throughout your community. The breakouts are awesome and this year if you are attend I hope you will come by the breakout for Kingdom Day.
Remember only 650 spots are available to Register Today!
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I am blogging over at the PDYM Blog today, but my post is very relevant here as well. I started promoting Kingdom Day HERE and HERE a while back. Purpose Driven has picked up on it and has allowed me to promote the day within our Network and is helping put an engine to the locomotive. I was given the opportunity to promote the day to our state mentors at the Gathering and will have the opportunity to promote it at the PDYM Conference in March with a breakout session. We are calling it PDYM Kingdom Day, but this day is definitely not limited to student ministries who use the PDYM paradigm for their ministries, this day is for every student ministry that uses the Bible for a foundation of what they do. Kingdom Day is about living out the Gospel, I hope we all believe that to be important. Here is an excerpt to what I wrote on the PDYM Blog, I encourage you to go read it in its entirity there!
200.
Currently, that’s the approximate number of churches that will be participating in the 2009 PDYM Kingdom Day on Saturday, April 25, 2009.Kingdom Day is set to be the single largest Service project in the history of the church, and you have the opportunity to be a part of that history. In a single day, student ministries will unite together despite denomination and regardless of group size to live out the Gospel of love to our communities by serving those who are in need. This is a great opportunity to emphasize the purpose of ministry within your student ministries, as well to promote our individual churches working together united as ONE body to be more effective in reaching our communities, to impact our nation, our country, and our world. READ ENTIRE POST
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One of the cool things that we got to do while in California was tour the Refinery; we also held our daily meetings there. Doug expressed his love/hate relationship with the building and I think every youth worker who has a solid focus on growing their students spiritually through relationships would agree with his premise, although we would also love to have a building like the Refinery 
. Doug shared that he has been doing student ministry for over 25 years without a “student building” and in that time he has come to the realization that student ministry can be done outside of a permenant building. I think most of us realize it can be done in a living room, in a gym, outisde under a tree, or where ever else students convene. If we ‘think’ our student ministries can only be effective in a nice building, we run the risk of narrowing our focus of ministry to be program driven. That is not my heart and I know it is not the heart of focus of PDYM. Doug said he made it clear that he did not want the Refinery to be considered the “Student” building, though it has a student ministry theme throughout, he wants it to be considered a “Community Center,” and by the looks of what happens throughout the week, its exactly that. They are using this beast of a building to reach out to their community…and that is awesome! They also host their new service FUSE in the high school auditorium, from what I’ve heard that service for 20 somethings to 30 somethings has exploded and God is blessing it in a huge way.
I’ve included some pictures of the Refinery below, I ripped them from my friend Tom’s Facebook and my friend Dan’s blog (My wife would not let me take her camera). Click HERE to go to the Extending the Vision Blog for more Refinery pics and stories.
By the way, this picture shows a little more about what the Gathering is. Its not a big conference and really not a big youth pastor’s event. (Its big to us) It is a “Gathering” of PDYM like minded youth pastors who Doug Fields and Neely have selected to represent the PDYM philosophy/paradigm for student ministry in their states. Like Proverbs 27:17, we sharpen each other, pray for each other, and have a lot of fun. When its time to say goodbye we are like a bunch of school girls crying that it would not end.
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I am blogging at the PDYM Blog today. I will be posting once a week there now, so if you have any ideas for topics please let me know! Here is an excerpt of my article, head on over to the blog and join the conversation there, I would love to know your thoughts on the subject…
Hopefully we all have a strategy to lead our students into a growing relationship with Christ. Some may use the programs (Sunday School or small groups) that are in place at their church to emphasize spiritual growth, while others may emphasize growth outside of “programs” by utilizing tools such as the H.A.B.I.T.S. material.
How much emphasis do you put on involving students in ministry within your discipleship strategy? Is it a key element or do you hold back some of your service projects and ministry opportunities for your more spiritually mature students? READ ENTIRE ARTICLE
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The 2008 Gathering is over. I hate having to type those words. I think Doug tweeted it best, I wish we were all neighbors. Every year I make new friends and deepen my relationship with those who I am already connected with. My favorite part of these few days together is pictured above, sharing life with some of the sharpest leaders in student ministry. We do not discuss numbers, we don’t flaunt successes, we sharpen each other, we stretch each other, we pray for one another and we have tons of fun! I cannot describe the power of the authenticity that takes place around our tables during our various sessions, but I can say, its good.
Check back…I’ll be posting more about the Gathering and my week in California…right now I’m getting ready to fly home to my family who I greatly miss. California is great, but it stinks without them! California with my family would = Heaven
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This is where I am this week…Yes, California!
I am at Saddleback for the Gathering with Doug Fields and his team.
There are so many Youth Ministry geniuses here, I am wondering why I am here.
I may not be blogging a lot over the next couple of days because of this.
But that’s ok, I’m not complaining.
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I ran across this video on Josh Griffin’s Blog. Our student ministry at Greenbrier is having a lead team weekend for student leaders, adult volunteers, and members of our parent team, so in keeping with our student ministries theme this weekend, I thought it would be appropriate for a blog post here on Nickcarnes.com! By the way, this is a small look at some of the great training videos that we get (along with free resources from Simply Youth Ministry) at our PDYM Community Lunches, so I encourage you to join the network on our next announced lunch. I believe some of the leadership principles can be used with adults too:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiIgO6ZApeo]
As I watch this video, I cannot help but to think about:
Kenny – Who does a great job shooting videos for the student ministry. His work gets better every week!
Ivy – Who led our students (a group of her peers) in worship for the first time Wednesday night (Join her Facebook Fan Club HERE)
And all of the students who serve in Brierpatch, 3-D Kids, as well, those who sacrificed time and energy with our “hands and feet projects” this summer, or whenever a need arises.
Join the Conversation: What student or adult is a shining example of being an effective leader to you?
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So I opened my big mouth and I am in the middle of watching something HUGE unfold right in front of my very eyes, and it has nothing to do with me, this is seriously a GOD thing, and I am blown away that in the last week I have had the opportunity to be a part of what is going to happen in 2009. “Kingdom Day” has been one of those things that I told some people about and then I blogged about it, and it started catching fire in front of my very eyes and the response has been great so far , but it will totally be bigger than I can grasp on my own. Go HERE to see how “Kingdom Day” started, and continue reading to get a better idea of what is going to happen.
I am not trying to be overly spiritual here with the name “Kingdom Day” – but I feel it is time that the Church that claims the name of Christ quits talking and starts walking. We are always talking about being unified as the Body of Christ, yet we never do anything about it. Recently we have seen some progress in this area with new methods such as the ONE Prayer Campaign, but what if we went a little further? What if we quit praying that Christ would use us to make a difference in the world around us and in the life of people who are in need, and we take action to be the answer to our own prayers? That’s what Kingdom Day is all about. Its not about gathering a group of students to see who can go out and recruit the most souls for the Kingdom of God. Trust me, I am pro-evangelism and I am pro-sharing our faith, but we (Christians) talk a lot! I believe it is time that we quit talking and start living it out and showing our cities and our communities what the Kingdom of God is all about. ‘Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done…’ We are the body of Christ and it is our responsibility to be the hands and feet for Jesus, to flesh out the faith life we say we have. I believe actions truly do speak louder than words in many cases. In James 2:18, James said that he would reveal his faith through his good deeds. In chapter 1 verse 27 James told us, “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” – It is evident that part of God’s will for his Body is to take care of the hurting, the broken, and the needy.
We are asking Student Ministry leaders to unite their students with at least one other student ministry in their community to plan a service project for their city and community. Projects may be as large as renovating a park or helping a local mission or community center do minor repairs and renovations or could be on a smaller scale of working a soup kitchen for the poor or helping an elderly adult with projects around their home. With student ministries varying in size we want each group to plan their own projects that will take place on April 25, 2009, Kingdom Day. This project is powerful in 2 ways: #1 Student’s are learning how to serve together with other members of the Body of Christ, despite their denomination, their worship styles, their personal preferences, or their group size. As leaders we are taking on the responsibility of paving a path that is pleasing to God with our students, so when they take our place as adults, they will lead the revolutionary church that Jesus intended. #2 With each student ministry partnering with other student ministries in their local area and serving with this campaign on Kingdom Day, our students will take part in the largest single service project in the history of the church! I believe that would bring a smile to Jesus’ face. One day…One Church…One Mission. Together we will unite under that which unites us, the banner of Christ, and we will live out the Gospel of Love for all the world to see, and Christ will use our students in an awesome way!
Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish “INFINITELY” more than we might ask or think.”
We are in the process of getting a quote on a website package as well we are discussing the details with youth ministry networks across the country, both small and large. We will reveal more solid details as decisions are made, until then, here are a few questions I would like you to ask yourself (Pastor, Youth Pastor, Volunteer Leader, Associate Pastor, Etc…):
Email me or leave a comment if your student ministry will be involved and if you have any ideas or thoughts as well as your willingness to help fund this campaign (& maybe effective ways we can raise funds). We look forward to serving with you!
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