2 Things...

Hey everyone! I hope all of you are enjoying your holiday. I have two things that I wanted to share with you.

1) The SGL Midyear Evaluation/Survey is up and ready. You can get there by clicking here or by copying and pasting the following address into your web browser.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=423583066016

2) Earlier today I read this great entry on small group discussion on Kurt Johnston's blog. It is only a few lines, but it has some great wisdom from a long-time youth worker. Click here to check it out or copy and paste the following address into your web browser.

http://simplykurt.blogspot.com/2006/12/simple-thought-jr-high-tangents.html

Thanks for taking the time to check out our blog. Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! - Evo

Merry Christmas!

Hey! I hope you guys are having a great day and are enjoying the Christmas season. Scott and I just want you to know how much we appreciate you and all that you do for your students. Our student ministry is built on the relationships that you have with your students. Without those relationships there would be nothing. Each one of your students desires a relationship with you. They may not say and they may not even think it, but in there hearts they want to be known. They want someone to care about them and walk along side them in life. It is a huge responsibility and by saying yes to your students you are also saying no to something else. Thank you, thank you, thank you for what you do.

The second thing I wanted to tell you about is the second edition of our virtual training is ready! If you look below you will see two embedded videos below this message and those together are your new training video. It will only take you about 15 minutes to watch both of them. Having a high speed connection is very helpful when viewing these videos. If you have any questions or problems with it, just let me know and I will be happy to help you out in anyway that I can.

The third thing that I need to tell you about is our mid-year SGL evaluations. We have thrown together another evaluationt that we would like for you to fill out. This evalation help us to see how we are doing and how we need to improve over the next 5 months. This is a blind evaluation so there are no names recorded and no way for us to tell who wrote what, so please be completely honest. I you will be able to access that evalation sometime in the next 48 hours through the SGL blog site.

That is it, that is all I have for you. Enjoy the downtime of the next two weeks. Take advanage of it by taking a nap, reading a book, watching a game or whatever helps you unwind. It is important that we all take time to unwind and let God recharge us. Thanks again for you do and have a merry Christmas and a happy New Years. - Evo

One of those Crazy Nights

Hey! I hope that each one of you is having a great Monday morning. Thank you for coming last night and investing in the lives of your students. I know that some nights are crazier than others and for some of you last night was a crazy one. Just know that you are making a difference in the lives of your students. They can see that you care by the way you spend time in discussion with them. Each one of you is amazing and I am thrilled that I get the privilege to work with you.

Below are some pictures from last night. Check back soon for more updates. I hope everyone has an amazing week! - Evo

Let it snow!

Wow! I am sitting in here in the admin offices and it is snowing hard! What a wild and crazy day it has been. Here are a few things that you need to know about this weekend.

1) Schedule

6:30 - Volunteer meeting in room 221
6:50 - Doors Open
7:05 - Introduction
7:10 - Worship
7:45 - Teaching
8:05 - Transit
8:10 - Announcements
8:15 - Small Group Stuff
9:00 - Walk Out

2) The Program - As you can see we have our normal schedule and you should have a large chunk of time to connect with your students. This week we are not giving you any extras so you can spend as much time as possible in discussion.

3) Small Group Questions

ATTENTION:

DO NOT play "High/Low" tonight.

Let students know you are diving right in!

1. What is your favorite way to waste time? OR Describe the most boring day or event you can remember.

2. As you look back on your year, what would you say are some of the high points? What would you say are some of he low points?

3. Name the top three things in your life that you spend most of your time on?

4. What would the people around you say that you worship?

5. What do you think when you hear the phrase, "Worship has nothing to do with music."

6. Do you more often depend on yourself to meet your needs/wants/desires or do you more often depend on God to meet your needs/wants/desires? What does this say about who you are worshiping?

7. What lessons about worship can you learn from looking back on 2006?

8. Pray to close your time together. See you next week for our last "One" of the year.

That is it! Should an amazing night. Scott's talk sounds great! Think it will really challenge our students to look inward and evaluate themselves. If you have any questions or if there is anyway I can help you please let me know. I am here to serve you. Have a great Friday and I can't wait to see all of you on Sunday! - Evo

You made SG Wars happen!

Hey! Thanks to all of you SGLs who helped to make last night a fun of night of community building. The uniforms were amazing and the energy was crazy. I hope that each one of you had a memorable shared experience with your students. Below are some pictures from last night and there are more if you click on "SG Wars" in the "Fun Media" section on the right hand side of this blog. We would love to get feedback from all of you. You can either place a comment on this blog by clicking "comment" at the bottom of this post or you can shoot me an Email. Either would be great! Thank you so much for investing in the lives of students. You are having a major impact on them. If you need help with anything at all please let me know. I am here to serve you. Have a great day! - Evo

Are you ready?

Small Group Wars are this Sunday! Is your group ready? Here are some details that you need to know about...

(1) We will be having our regular SGL meeting at 6:30 pm in room 221
(2) We will be taking Small Group photos so make sure your students are ready for that if they are coming in uniform.
(3) Come ready to be active. There is not a large amount of motion, but you will need to be ready to participate.
(4) Registration for Big Stuff begins this weekend. We will be promoting Big Stuf during Small Group Wars. Students will be able to reserve a spot with a $50 deposit.
(5) At the end of Small Group Wars you will have a block of time to sit down with your group and check in. A game of High/Low would be very appropriate.
(6) If and only if you have the time please personally invite your students to SG Wars this weekend. Please, if you don't have time don't worry about accomplishing this task.
(7) Be excited! Your students will follow your led and if you are excited then they will be excited.

That is all I have for you. If there is anything I can help you with please let me know. Have a great day friday! - Evo

SGL Recap

Hey! I hope that everyone has had a great week off and you are ready to jump back in this week. Here is the "SGL RECAP" of this past Sunday.

- SGL RECAP -

This past Sunday was amazing. We had a wonderful time of worship and then we engaged our students in a communion experience. The point of the experience was to help them realize that Communion should be the best meal they ever have. We gave each student a card with 1 Corinthians 11:23-28 on it. We walked them through the passage and talked about how we come back again and again to this meal in order to remember the scarifice that Jesus made for us. Be sure to ask your students about their experience and what they did with their card.

After the communion Scott shared about his findings from John 12 and how they can be paralleled to teenagers.

It was a great night and below are some pictures you can check out. More details will be coming very soon. Have a great week! - Evo

Check out our "Fun Videos"

Hey if you have a few minutes check out our new "Fun Videos" section on the right-hand side of the blog. Just a few videos that we have found that are fun, safe and wouldn't be a total waste of time to watch. We will add more as we find them. Have a great day! - Evo

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for another amazing Sunday night. Great things happened and I am excited about the next time we will be together. Enjoy your week off. Below are some pictures from Sunday that you can check out. Thank you for loving on Students. Have a great thanksgivining! - Evo

Here we go...

This blog has been lonely and it is time to get this thing fired up again. I want to make this blog a hub for all our Small Group Leaders (SGL) out there. This will be a place where we can connect and encourage one another. Here are a two thought process to think through that might spark your imagination...

1) Think about to when you were in high school... What was the greatest challenge you faced? How did you deal with that challenge? How can you use that to connect with your student about the challenges they face today?

2) Now back even further... Think about walking through the halls of your Jr. High or Middle School. What does that feel like? What kind of emotions does that bring up for you? What was day to day life like for you? What was the most important thing in your life? What role did you friends, parents and teacher play in your life? How do all these things fit together and how did they effect your life as a middle schooler? What can you take from this and apply to your relationship with Students?

It's been a while.

Well, it has been a while since I have updated this page, but it's not because you all are not important. What you are doing for these students is making a difference in their lives keep up the great work!

Spring is typically the roughest season for student ministry. We have been going strong since fall. Kids are antsy now that the weather is getting nice. Kids are more comfortable with you, so you are seeing the "real" them. Hang in there. I know it is rough...but you will make it. Enjoy the breaks over the next couple of weeks. (Please consult your schedule for days/nights we will be off and/or on.)

Reminder...there is no "One" Summit or Impact this week. C56 will operate as usual...except, I (Scott) will be teaching this weekend.

C56 Small group questions for April 2nd HERE.
C56 Small group questions for April 9th HERE.

Another week...

Hey guys...hope that you are doing well. Keep up the good work. The spring is the roughest season of student ministry...let's just remember the mission. Build a bridge and turn on a light!

Scott

C56 small group questions coming soon.
Summit and Impact questions HERE.

Week of Feb 19th, 2006

Small Group questions for C56 here.
Small Group questions for Summit and Impact HERE. Sorry for the delay.

Scott

Baptism...this Sunday (Feb 12)

Hey guys...baptism this Sunday night at the Warsaw High School pool. Small Group Leaders meeting at 5:30pm...baptism starts at 6pm. Please bring some finger foods to share. Our small group time will follow baptism and go until 9pm(ish). Call us if you have questions. See you on Sunday.

Scott



C56 Questions HERE.
Summit and Impact questions HERE.

Bridge Building 101

Hey small group leaders,

Thank you for the commitment that you all are making. Last weeks training event was very encouraging for me...here is why. I saw you all sitting around laughing, smiling and connecting with one another. And why wouldn't you. That comes naturally to you. Here is the thing. When this thing you are doing (called Small Group Leadership) gets hard...remember that it really is as simple as sitting down and connecting with a friend and sharing life with them...much like you were doing last Thursday night. You may get sick of hearing this from us...but our jobs are simple...Build a bridge of friendship...and turn on lights spiritually. If we will do those things, the other issues will take care of themselves. Hard conversations will happen because the "bridge" can support them. Times of comfort will happen because the "bridge" has been built. Transparency will take place because students know the "bridge" is real. We are in the bridge building busines. Thanks for building them.

There are no small group qustions for Impact/Summit this week. Enjoy the Super Bowl at home or with friends.
C-56 Small group questions are available here.

He's got the whole world...

Here’s a cool reminder today and this week. He’s got the whole world in His hands.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." John 10:27-30

Let’s remember that this week as we charge ahead with life and our relationships with these students. They need your friendship and they need Christ’s love. Our mission is simple…but not easy. Build a bridge and turn on a light.

REMINDER: No Summit/Impact or "One" on February 5th. Enjoy the Super Bowl with friends and family. February 12th, small groups will meet at the Warsaw High School pool after the baptism which starts at 5:30.

Summit/Impact questions HERE
C56 ---No questions this week.

Back at it.

Well, the holidays have passed and the New Year is underway. I hope that you had a great Christmas. I also hope that you are looking forward to the new year. This is going to be a great year in student ministry. I am excited about the topics that we are going to be able to use to point these students to Christ. I am even more excited about the role that you are going to play in the lives of these students. Some of you are going to pray with a student and they are going to accept Christ for the first time or they will make a re-commitment to Christ. Some of you will stand with a student and celebrate a life accomplishment.
Some of you (unfortunately) will walk with a student through a difficult season or possibly the death of a loved one or even a peer. What matters is that this year, you are going to make an impact in the life of a student. We will be talking a lot, and reminding you that your responsibility as a youth leader is simple (notice I didn’t say easy.) Your responsibility is to simply “Build a bridge and turn on a light”.

1. Build a bridge of friendship strong enough to hold the weight of truth, and…


2. Turn on a light spiritually.

I hope that you see that we can’t do this without you. Your role is vital to this ministry. We have some exciting things planned this spring. Thank you for serving with us…and for serving these students and the Lord.

Here’s a verse for today.
“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." John 12:32

Let’s do our best to “lift him up” today.

Scott


Summit and Impact questions HERE.
C-56 Questions HERE.