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5 Essential Youth Ministry Planning Strategies to Start the New Year STRONG! · Ministry Coach: Youth Ministry Tips & Resources

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: The hidden superpower of a youth pastor is margin.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you do not have margin, it's impossible to execute anything with a true level of excellence because all of my energy went toward figuring out what the heck are we doing.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: And once you take what the heck are we doing off the table, then all of your energy goes toward how do we do this thing really well.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're talking about five essential planning strategies to help your youth ministry start off strong in the new year.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Ministry Coach Podcast, where we bring you weekly tips and tactics to help you fast-track the growth and health of your youth ministry.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: My name is Jeff Lascola, and this as always is.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Kirsten Lascola, he sounded out of breath.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: I kind of was out of mind.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: All right, Jeff, anything you'd like to share with our audience?
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Doing all right?
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Looking forward to the new year.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna crush it in the new year.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's crush it right now for this episode.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: So the new year is fast approaching.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: We're about halfway through December.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: And last episode, we talked about maybe some personal goals for the new year and asked the larger question, not just what do I want to do, but who do I want to be?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a more fundamental question of am I the kind of person that I want to be?
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like when you start to look more at your character and your relationship with God and the habits that are in your life, the fruit of that is kind of naturally can be what you want to do, you know.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're not the kind of person that can do the things you want to do, you first have to start with, I need to be that kind of person.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: So we looked really into our character, our relationship with God.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, if we're gonna continue for this next year as a strong leader, it starts with us.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And are we putting in the work to our own health, mind, body, spirit, soul, emotion, all of it to make sure that we are, I mean, because as youth workers, as pastors, as ministry leads, we really are on the front lines of this incredible spiritual warfare that's going on in the lives of our students.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to be ready and fit in all those aspects so that we can do the most for the kingdom of God.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now, with the understanding God is big, we are not like the savior of the story, so it's not like I have to be the superhero.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, I feel like stewarding yourself well is a discipline for ministry so that we can lead effectively.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what last time was about.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Go back and listen if you haven't already.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: And now we're gonna get more into the practical nuts, bolts.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, what do I need to actually do in my youth ministry to start the year out strong?
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I have five.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: However, on my notes, they're all numbered one.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: No matter what I do, you don't know.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: I there is a grumbling in the computer and it changes the numbers.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: You're the gremlin.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: You're how dare you.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: So number one.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well, congratulations.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: You're the first person that's ever called me a gremlin.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna write that in my journal tonight, and I will never forget this.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so number one, I'm gonna kind of go through here is the framework to build the skeletal structure of your ministry for any year, uh, for that matter, not just 2026, but for any year.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: This is what I would like to be done prior to January 1st, prior to me coming back.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: We take two weeks off at the end of December to give my leaders a break.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's the only two weeks we take off the entire year.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: We go 50 weeks.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: One week we are at our summer camp.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: I do not consider that a week off.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but like the opposite exactly.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: There's no technical youth group at the building, but we are full, full uh steam ahead doing our thing.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: So, two weeks out of the entire year, we take a break.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: We even meet the week of Thanksgiving.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: One year, Halloween fell on a Tuesday and we still met.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: We like our hardcore, but with this two-week break coming up, this is the skeletal structure that I'm going to build for myself so that I start off ahead, not behind, and feeling like I have a grasp and a vision of what my ministry, at least, like I said, on a skeletal structure looks like for the new year.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna explain why that's so important at the end.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, first of all, make a plan, number one, to prioritize the relationships with your leaders.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I talk to youth pastors and they feel very busy or they don't think they have time to meet with their leaders or prioritize that time.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: And if it gets scheduled, if it gets on your calendar, if it's a part of the structure of your ministry, not just like week to week, ah, maybe I should grab coffee with Joe.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's not maybe a Joe with Joe.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Hey! You're gonna say it.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: I wasn't gonna say that figure out of my chest.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: You almost spit me.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: You're the gremlin now.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Jeez.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, by the way, I just realized the other day, Gremlins, the movie Gremlins, is a Christmas movie.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: Is it?
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: I've never seen it.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: Takes place during Christmas.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: They're a little bit cute.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Is that true?
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you're talking about the Mogwai, then they become the Gremlins.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, oh, oh, oh, never seen it.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Spoiler alert.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Jeez.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um really, I mean, I know what it is.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen like the previews or posters or trailers, like when I was a kid, but you have to actually have to watch it though.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: I do, I have to, I think so.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: She also hasn't seen the never-ending story.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: We found that out yesterday.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: Look boring.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's not boring, anyways.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: Moving on, what's your point?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have time to be bored, Jeff.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so cup of Joe with Joe.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Cup of Joe with Joe, you know, and you'll think about it like randomly throughout the week.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Ah, I should really do that.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: But we talked last week about systems.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Systems help us accomplish our goals.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: We rise to the level of our systems.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: So you can't just be like, you know, I really should hang out with my leaders more.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: Unless there's a system in place, you are always going to be in the same mindset of, oh, I got too busy.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I didn't have time.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, because it's not urgent.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like your ministry can still happen if you don't go have coffee with Joe and hear about what's going on in his life.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: It won't like be optimal, but your program will still run.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: So those are the things that we see as non-urgent and we put to the side.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: But a good leader always makes time for what's important, not necessarily urgent, and creates a system to take care of what's truly important.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: And that is your leaders.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Your leaders are extremely important.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: You cannot do ministry without them.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: You will tap out very quickly.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: The quality of the ministry will suffer, and everyone can feel it when leaders aren't being taken care of, and everyone can feel it when leaders are being taken care of.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: So here's the system for that.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: You can look at this as daily, weekly, quarterly, yearly, all that.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: So, first of all, try to pick one leader a day to encourage.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: So that might be a text message, that might be a phone call, that might be a handwritten note that you stick in their small group folder this week at youth group.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: That might be showing up at their work and bringing them lunch.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: That might be just something.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Pick a leader and it's like, what?
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: I can't go bring people lunch every single day.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: No, but you could write a card, you could send a text message, you could send someone and their wife on a date night, you could do that.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: So daily, and what you also can do daily is pray for your leaders.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, leaders, I mean, we often pray in generalities for our ministry, I hope, but praying specifically, just pick one leader a day and just pray for them.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: That is a huge gift.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: And on the other side, you know, thanking God for them as well.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of a daily habit.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then a weekly habit could be, you know, I mentioned you could bring them lunch.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: That might be more of a weekly habit to connect in person with them.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, like pick two a week and have lunch with one, coffee with another.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but not together.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, yeah, if the if it's a vibe, like all of you together, but if it's not, and they could benefit from some one-on-one, do one-on-one.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, use your judgment.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes there's a leader who I'm like, this would be fun, like, especially if it's a male leader.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's sometimes it's like, oh, it'd be fun to bring my guy's director and this guy along, especially if I don't know him very well.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then if it's like a girl leader, it's like, oh, I haven't caught up with her in a while.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe she does want to talk one-on-one.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go grab a coffee for an hour or something like that.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: So picking a couple leaders a week just to sit, have coffee with, go on a walk with, go on a run with, I don't know, whatever you're into, and connect with them.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: So that's now a weekly basis.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And this is what you're writing into your calendar.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I like having a paper planner calendar because I can really write stuff in and kind of look at it large scope.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but if you're digital, that's fine.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then you want to plan the rhythm of like four times a year getting everybody together.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: So we call those leader night outs.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: We play volleyball, you could go bowling, you could do an escape room, you could have a game night at your house for free, you could do a bonfire, you could roller skate, you know, we talked about that for the Christmas party thing.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of things you could do.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Last night we did a scavenger hunt, a Christmas scavenger hunt, and I made tacos and it was super fun.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um outside of like obviously this is Christmas slash leader night out.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: Are there any other times of the year like that you kind of pair a holiday or something like that with like Easter night out?
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hmm, no.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: Fourth of July party.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: No, but you have so many good ideas.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: I do.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: But are there any or is it more just like roughly every three months?
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it ends up being roughly every three months.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: So based on the time of year, you know, that affects what I plan.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: But and then there's like one retreat mixed in there.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: We do that in the fall.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: So that's like those are the big nights where we're all together doing something fun.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then along with the big picture, make sure you get their birthdays on your calendar.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: For their birthday, I obviously will send them a text, or sometimes I record myself singing happy birthday live and I send it to them.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Alyssa, you're welcome.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe that was for Jenna.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: I can't remember, but um, I sing, I sing you a song.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Tried my best.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then I love bringing a party into their small group.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: So if their birthday is that week, I bring in ice cream sandwiches or cookies or some kind of ice cream bar for them to share with their whole small group.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: And the small group gets so excited, like, happy birthday! And then they take all the treats.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, how about the birthday girl?
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: How about the birthday boy?
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: If you have a small enough youth group, would you do it for the entire youth group?
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: Or would that be like, I guess it'll depend on how many leaders you have.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just more special to do it in your small group because that's like their people, you know, and they're celebrating together.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then lastly, kind of asking yourself the question Am I being a spiritual leader to my leaders?
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that's not necessarily something you're gonna write on your calendar today.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be a spiritual leader, but like, are we regularly encouraging them like spiritually?
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like last night for their Christmas gift, I got them a book about like it was that uh Stop Asking Jesus into your heart book, you know.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, this is just such a cool book for every Christian, especially people in ministry, giving them spiritual direction, spiritual encouragement.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe you have a weekly meeting.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: You could I I used to really add a devo into that.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then somewhere along the line, I stopped because everyone was really late and then we had to like get down to business.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so one of my goals for this next year is have like an element of spiritual encouragement as a part of our meetings to just remind everyone every week why we're doing what we're doing.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I do that like through our prayer at the end and stuff like that.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: But make sure that you are not just the cruise director, you know, like, all right, guys, we're gonna play nail polish dodgeball.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Here's how you play, and make sure your kids don't talk during worship, but that it's you are constantly directing them to the why, like why this matters, why this is important on the hard nights, why do we keep going?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: We've been called, you know, to the front lines, like we were saying, and we're honored to do this.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of just get everyone a little like locker room huddle kind of thing.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: So that's number one.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Make a plan to prioritize the relationship with your leaders.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Any questions?
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: No, I'm good so far.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, good.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: I've got a nose hair that's bugging me.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: For those of you out there who have mustaches, you know the feeling where your nose hair and your mustache like are sword fighting.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: You're like, just stop already.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: Who's winning?
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: Who's winning?
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: I I think the mustache is because the nose is bothering me.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: So TMI, whatever.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry to hear that.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: And ladies, well, you're missing out.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: So oh, we thought you meant on you.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, yeah.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: And ladies, you're missing out.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: Trust me, you're not.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: He's taking okay.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, plan your teaching calendar.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: So now you have your leaders all on the calendar.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's look at we have 52 weekends in the year, and how are we gonna divide that up?
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: And what are we going to teach?
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I say plan and pencil here.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: I don't hold myself to nope, nope.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: I said I was gonna talk about, you know, spiritual warfare and I must, even though I feel like God is calling us to do this.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like I plan and pencil, and then when I get to that point, if I feel like, yes, I'm glad I chose that, I'll go for it.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if I'm like, you know, not really in the mood to teach that, and that's not really where I think we need to go, I'm willing to pivot.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very flexible with that.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: But I like having a plan so that I don't waste my time brainstorming all the time.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: So a good question to ask is what do I want my students to know by the end of this year?
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then another great, great question to ask is as you look at your teaching calendar, are you the only one on there?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, are you the like I like to schedule the series?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then when we get close to the series, I schedule the speakers.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I have like, I'll take week one, Caleb takes week two, Arden takes week three, Noah or Trevor takes week four.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so we I am trying to raise up other people who can teach.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're like, wow, I teach 50 out of 52 weeks a year, maybe that's a great spotlight on an area of ministry that could be a goal for you for this next year of who am I raising up?
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Who is coming behind me?
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think every good leader raises up other leaders.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's the whole point, like the multiplication thing.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I look at it as the parable of the talents as well of like, I have a gift and I'm stewarding that and like imparting that to other people to further the kingdom.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: So some things I ask myself when I plan my teaching calendar is I want students to know what it means to truly follow Jesus.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: I have a fear of raising up a generation of people who think they're Christians because they like said a prayer once at a camp and then closed their Bible for the rest of their life and had no impact on them.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think there is a generation that we kind of did believe that.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's like, well, you can do whatever you want because God has to forgive you because you said the magic prayer.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and that's what JD Greer's books are a lot about, like stop asking Jesus into your heart.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so I want students to truly understand what it means to be a disciple, what saving grace is, what it looks like to have true salvation and a true relationship with Jesus beyond just be good, be nice, and read your Bible.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, it's this like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard it all before.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: I want them to understand what an active living relationship with Jesus is and why it matters.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I another thing that's very important to me as a teacher is I am very concerned about my students' worldview and their ability to think biblically about everything.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like our daughter came home, she's in second grade, and she's like, so-and-so said we used to be monkeys, and I was like, Well, that's a narrative.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: I probably didn't use the word narrative because she's seven.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: I said, That's sometimes what people do when they try to explain life without God, they have to try to figure it out, and it sounds pretty silly, doesn't it?
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, We didn't come from monkeys, it's so funny.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, well, you know what?
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's what she's been taught.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: So don't make fun of her.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's all she knows.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's what she's grown up believing.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: So we had a really good conversation about that, and that's what I want for my students, is not necessarily that I'm gonna be there all the time to tell them what to think, but how to think, so that when people do push back on their faith and they do try to poke holes in their belief system that they aren't shook, that they can reason past that and have enough logical ability to say that no, that's not how that works, instead of like, oh my gosh, all you ever taught me was like, you know, don't say bad words, you know.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know how to think critically about my faith and the world around me, why I'm here and how this intersects with science and history and all of it.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: And because the more you know about that, I feel like that was my own journey.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: It made my faith like, even if I don't want this to be true, it's true.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like it was so unshakable, impenetrable.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I want that for my students.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: And when you start to plan your lessons, I would say log them like this is the best time of year to like come up with a new blank Excel sheet that has weekend messages.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Messages, midweek messages, weekend games, midweek games, and then log it every single week and write notes to yourself about it.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: So that when you're at this time next year, you go back and look at those logs and you could say, Oh, I loved this game, or I loved this message, or oh, we already talked about that.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I gotta talk about something else now.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, another thread for teaching too is making sure you're teaching them that the Bible is one big narrative.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's important as well, not a book of fables, but how the whole thing is interconnected into one big story and the story's not over.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: You're a part of it.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, what do you want to teach on?
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: I've said it a million times.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: A great place to go, a couple great places to go.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you're stuck, how do I know what to teach?
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: Just browse on lifechurch.com, go down to the bottom of the website, click resources or church resources or something.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: They've changed the name a couple times.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: It used to be called Open Network.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think that's what it's called anymore.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just church resources, tons of series.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Take your pick.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: Dym has tons of series, G Shades has tons of series, Leader Trek has tons of series.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, if you need a little inspiration, you know, or like if if God is like really brewing something in your heart and mind for your students, turn that into a series, you know.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: So plan your teaching calendar in pencil.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, you're gonna plan your game calendar.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: So you're gonna do the way I love to do it.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: We have an episode on this, yep.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: Is how to plan was it six months worth of games in five minutes or something?
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: Some random amount.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was a full year in 30 minutes.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's sounds more reasonable.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever it says in the link below, you'll know.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: You'll know.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I like to do six months worth of games and then I repeat them.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: So every game gets played two times a year, and I try to vary it with like an up and front game.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like this weekend we played Christmas slash winter Pictionary.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's not like you have to run around and be competitive, but the week before that we played Gaga Ball.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, so it's like I like to change it up.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: I like to do like once a month a DYM game, like a digital game.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: A, because it's no setup for us.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have to buy any supplies, we don't have to set anything up or get anything ready.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I just think it's fun changing it up a little bit.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I find my favorite six months worth of games, and then I just repeat them.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: And my games are different.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's some games that work really well for me on a weekend because of our room and because of our numbers and stuff like that.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: But then there's certain games that's like, no, this is way better for a Tuesday night, like midweek program, because we have the whole church and we can run around and I can turn off lights and I can use music in a different way.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: Cause on the weekends, I only have my classroom.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's just the junior high room.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like the whole split up into three services, yeah, smaller groups, which is great because we can play different games.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, Tuesday I can do more big production kind of stuff because I have the main auditorium.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, and then whenever I'm feeling like I always plan a game, but then if I have a week with a lot of margin, I'm like, let's try something new, you know?
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: And but I always have that safety net.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, well, we could play snatch and run.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: I have pool noodles, I have the slide for it, we know how to play it.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: But if I have some margin and I want to try something new, I've got that too.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it didn't work out.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, well, I have a game.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I wasted so many years of youth ministry sitting in my office on a Tuesday before program thinking, what game should I play?
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: And like, how did it never occur to me to plan that well in advance so that you could have people help you?
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: You could buy supplies, you can make it really cool.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of like, we don't have a rope, tie two bed sheets together because we're gonna play tuga war, you know, and everything was so janky.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so now it's like we have, I know what game we're playing three weeks from now.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like, great, we can, you know, make it the best it can possibly be.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then number four, the next thing I'd fill into your calendar is your events and your camps.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: We do one event per month.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's a good rhythm of keeping things interesting and exciting, and there's always something to announce or to look forward to or to build momentum or to be hype, you know, instead of just like youth group, youth group, youth group, because youth group becomes, you know, a little cookie cutter after a while.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: It follows pretty much the same formula.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: We do special nights within that, but it's kind of cool for there always to be like another way to get excited and connected.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I put all 12 of my events on the calendar and then my two camps, which is our which is considered an event.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't plan an event the week we go whitewater rafting.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's enough.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: And winter camp, obviously.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then next I plan, I fill in my student leadership rhythm.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: So what I write on there is when I'm going to present the information to the students, like tell them about it.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like I do a presentation as our weekend message of how they can sign up, why they might want to sign up, what is our student leadership team?
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: It takes the place of a weekend message and a midweek message.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then I write on my calendar when the applications are going to be due.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: So that would be a month from when I did the presentation.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then I start writing all of our meeting dates on my calendar because I already know it's gonna be the first Friday of every month from 6 to 8 p.m.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: at the church.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's just how it's gonna be.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then I start to get an idea when we're gonna do our service projects.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have the ability to fill them in too much because I have to wait to hear from the people we're partnering with, but I will know, like, hey, I want to do this in February or March, and I want to do this in April or May or something like that.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so you just, I usually write it in the margin of my calendar, like, you know, confirm date for this service project or whatever.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason this type of planning for me has become so important and works so well is because it gives like the hidden superpower of a youth pastor is margin.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you do not have margin and you're flying by the seat of your pants or getting by on the skin of your teeth, you know, it is impossible to be creative.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's impossible for me, maybe you're fantastic at it.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: It was impossible for me to execute anything with a true level of excellence because all of my energy went toward figuring out what the heck are we doing.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: And once you take what the heck are we doing off the table, then all of your energy goes toward how do we do this thing really well.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's just such more of a relaxed attitude.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: You're not scrambling, you're not stressed, you're not, you know, it's just like you have time to execute the plan well, not plan and execute simultaneously.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's a recipe for stressing everyone out, not just yourself, because you also have to think of your team.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you're enlisting help, you can only do it if you have a plan.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because if I don't even know what we're doing, I can't delegate anything to anybody else.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: Also, if I'm frantic and I'm frazzled, the team feels that.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever tried to like help a leader who is super stressed?
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I have.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: You weren't answering, so I'm a little bit.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: I thought it was rhetorical.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: No, Jeff, participate.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, good.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's not fun.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like sometimes you'll show up to like help with something, and you're like, hey, how can I help?
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: And they're just running around, like, and they're so stressed, and you like, okay, well, I don't because they they're so stressed they don't even know how to use you because they just don't have a grasp on what's happening enough to delegate things.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's just not organized.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: You have to be organized to enlist help and not burn that help out.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone should leave like that.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: Was hard work, but it was well done.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: And the satisfaction of work comes when we all got to do a part and it wasn't frantic.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I hope to execute with my team.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, friend, I just wanted to interrupt this episode for a second to let you know about an awesome opportunity for you and your youth ministry.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: So last year we launched our course and coaching program called Youth Ministry Growth Accelerator, and the response has been amazing.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: So we've helped tons of youth pastors grow the size and health of their youth ministry, and we want to invite you to be a part of that as well because maybe you're just sort of feeling stuck in a rut, maybe you don't know what to do next, maybe you just have a vague plan in your mind of what you're doing and you want some real help to get you from where you are to where you want to go.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: So if that sounds like something you've been looking for, go to growyouryoutministry.com and check it out for more details.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's get back to the episode.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: Another closing thought as you get your calendar skeleton going is are there any meetings that either need to be added or deleted?
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I think looking critically at meetings for this next year is going to be very helpful.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: For example, if you're if you have a standing weekly meeting, can we put our heads together and see if that's necessary to meet every single week?
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: Or can this be in every other week?
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, maybe it does need to be every week.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: But I have had two significant meetings go to bi-weekly and they're just as effective, if not more, because then you just don't really waste time doing the nothingness.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: Or is there a meeting that needs to be added?
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: Do you notice like there's an area that constantly just the ball is getting dropped?
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe it's just not a big enough touch point between the people involved in a project, and maybe it's like, hey, we really got to come together and get all on the same page because things are, if you notice things are consistently slipping through the cracks, that might be an alarm bell saying you need more communication here.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's not working to just simply have an email or a text message for this.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: You really need to hold some hands here and get everybody moving the same direction.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: So that is my plan for the next couple of weeks, getting this all together.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: And once I do, I'm going to share it with my girls director slash admin.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: And because I ask for her help with a lot of the execution, and she was actually intuitive enough to say, when you're done with our calendar with teaching and games and events, can I have a copy of that so that I can be also looking ahead with you?
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, that is brilliant.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: I should have thought of that.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: Of like, yeah, if I'm gonna have you on board, and maybe I didn't because sometimes I change like last minute and I didn't want it to be like, oh, whoops, I forgot to tell you, we're not doing that.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_01: As long as you communicate that right.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's and I'm like, oh, this is wonderful.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: So now there's not just me thinking ahead.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's like you all can see what we're doing for the next 50 weeks, and then their creative juices could get flowing, and they're like, oh, you know what?
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: When we play that game, we should do this, or oh, I was looking ahead and I thought of that, or oh, this would be a cool illustration, or yeah, you know, something like that.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like that's where the secret sauce is is in margin.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: You have to have space to dream, to be creative, to be excellent.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: It'll never ever happen in a hustle bustle mentality.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_00: Hustle and bustle happens and it's okay.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: But if that's the mode you're always in, like I was, that's where I always lived.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: You will hit a ceiling of quality pretty quickly and satisfaction pretty quickly.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_00: You'll you'll dread your job after a while, yeah for sure.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's that constant uh treading water and keep from drowning.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's just not very life-giving, you know.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's not the space I want to live in.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's not like sometimes it can be an adrenaline rush once or twice.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: We're like, ooh, we did it, you know.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't want to live there all the time.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I feel like if you're yeah, if you're constantly living in that state, it's you're gonna burn out.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: So um, there's some episodes that I would uh direct you guys to if you want to dig deeper.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_01: One of them where you'd mention getting other speakers.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: We did a whole episode about raising up other speakers so that you're not the only voice that your youth ministry is hearing.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, another one is how to teach worldview to your students.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure you check out that episode.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: That was all we did a long time ago, but that was a really good one.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then obviously the one you mentioned, the games.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was a year of games in under 30 minutes.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_01: But I could be wrong, but it's in the it's in the description.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: Who never know?
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: Who could know?
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: And then you kind of did a quick like overview of it, but if you want to go deeper, we did a whole episode on calendar planning that kind of breaks down everything you talked about, just goes a little bit deeper.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: So make sure you guys check those out.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: Let's do a community comment of the day.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: What this comes from a vintage librarian who says it's hard to pick one favorite episode because they always glean a nugget from each one.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: But I think the tours of your spaces was super helpful.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_01: I made some new adjustments for the new year and how we use our youth space and even created a leader bio board.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's literally a small change, but everyone loves to see who we most identify with as a Disney character.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: And a vintage librarian, I want to know what yours is.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: I said Woody from Toy Story.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: I can't and I when I'm yours, I don't know if I've already seen yours up there.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it's up on Tuesdays.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: I I teeter between Woody and Buzz, depending on how healthy I am emotionally.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: When I'm stressed, I'm Buzz.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: And when I'm healthy, I'm Woody.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm one or the other.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_00: I always thought Woody was more frantic than Buzz.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: He is, but he also is very relationship-oriented and people-driven.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_00: And he's kind of wants to help everyone and come alongside everyone.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: He has time for people, whereas Buzz is very independent, like out of my way, I'm going to the moon, you know.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think my I can isolate in stress and I'm like, get out of my way, I'm getting it done.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: But Buddy, Buddy, Woody, I think he's very relational, but he does have a little bit of a dark side because he's insecure.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: So um is that yikes.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh actually, any of you, if you want to put in the comment section below and you're watching on YouTube, what is the Disney character you identify the most with?
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: Fun.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: According to Disneyland's little whatchamacallit, like you can look up your Disney Enneagram, but I self-diagnosed Woody.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_01: No, I did it on the Disneyland itself.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: You could do, I think it was just for beauty and the beast characters, though.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: Weren't you Cogsworth?
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: Cogsworth.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: Salty.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I was Mrs.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: Potts.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: Not much better.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh anyway.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_00: Excuse me.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: She is lovely and very hospitable, and she is the glue.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever you say, Chip.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, yeah, put it on the comment.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_00: That was her son's name.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_01: Put it down in the comment section below if you it doesn't have to be Beauty and the Beast, any Disney character you most identify with.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_01: But thank you, Avenged Librarian.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_01: We appreciate your comment and we appreciate you guys watching and listening.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll see you next time.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: Christmas is coming, and Chris.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I said party room.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_00: I was like partying.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna give you four ideas to throw your very own.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: Such a idiot.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: And today I'm gonna give you four great ideas.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: Christmas is no.