Latest / Ministry Coach: Youth Ministry Tips & Resources / How to Gain Control of a Wild Youth Group - Leading Up Front in Youth Ministry

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How to Gain Control of a Wild Youth Group - Leading Up Front in Youth Ministry · Ministry Coach: Youth Ministry Tips & Resources

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: This is the delivery method to get this truth across.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: I want you to hear truth, I want you to experience truth, I want you to interact with truth, I want you to build meaningful relationships, I want you to engage in worship, and so I have to present all those things in a vehicle that will keep your mind and attention engaged as a 12, 13, 14 year old.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: When your leaders are confused or when you're trying to pivot or problem solve, in the moment, control quickly gets out of your hands.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Mutiny can ensue because you have to be on top of everything the entire time.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Fun is super spiritual and important, and we're designed with that need.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Don't squash the fun, keep the fun, but maintain control.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Do you ever struggle to gain control of a wild youth group?
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Today, we're going to give you four tips for how to lead upfront well.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: 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.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: My name is Jeff Laskola and this is Kristen Laskola.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: And today we are talking all about how to lead from up in front and gain control, especially when you have a wild youth group, or junior hires as the layperson might say.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Yes, I have wild junior hires.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: They're junior hires and wild youth group yeah, it's synonymous.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: It's one and the same.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: You're right, I would agree with that, and sometimes it's hard to get control of the room.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: So today we're going to talk about ways to not work against the energy but harness it, flow with the energy, be in a little raft floating on the energy toward the destination, because you know as well as I do, when you fight the energy, you lose yeah, because you're outnumbered.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: So, by the way, before we start, the name of my youth ministry is chaos, which is very, very fitting for a junior high youth ministry.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: But, like Kurt Johnson wrote a book that I read called Controlled Chaos, that's the goal.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: We want to leave the fun, leave the energy, not do away with that.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: And say all right, everyone turn your phones into this basket.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: Everyone sign this contract of how you shall behave from the hours of 630 to 830.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Because clearly, if you do that you're not going to act up.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: That's it.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: If you sign that sheet of paper, you're good to go and not very magnetic type of ministry going on there.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: I remember I knew what am I signing.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: I remember going to a church when I was in junior high and there were no games, no fun, no laughing, no smiling, nothing.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: And if you talked even a little bit like it was like get out, like it was so strict and I I remember thinking this is no fun.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: No, coming back either.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Well because I'm at school all week and then you want to come to church and learn, but you also want to fellowship, you want to have fun, you want to have a relationship.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: The joy of relationship is part of church.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: I was talking to the students this weekend like is part of church.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: I was talking to the students this weekend like, hey, I used to always think church was like just school, but for God stuff.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: But part of the purpose of the body of Christ, yes, is to learn, but in Hebrews 10, it talks about spurring one another toward love and good deeds and encouraging one another.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: And love and relationship is such a big part of the calling of the body of Christ.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: So we have to give room for people to really enjoy each other.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: And joy is what solidifies attachments with people, a shared experience of we had fun and I think you know you've heard me say it all the time you know fun is super spiritual and important and we're designed with that need.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: So don't squash the fun, keep the fun, but maintain control, and that's the strategy that we're going to talk about today.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: So, number one, you and your team need to know the plan ahead of time.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: Some mistakes that I think I made early on in youth ministry was a little bit like wing it fly by the seat of my pants and I kind of just thought, like maybe many of you, it'll all work out, it'll all be fine, I'm a pro.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: I got this and they're just kids.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: They're just kids.
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: But you quickly learn that when your leaders are confused or when you're trying to pivot or problem solve in the moment, the control quickly gets out of your hands and it becomes the bad kind of chaos that we don't want.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: And the more students you have, the tighter that ship needs to be run.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: It's just because there's just more factors with more people, and so you know, when you're small, I think you can have a schedule and a plan and all of that, and it's good.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: It's not like you don't need one at all.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: But that plan needs to be more and more detailed the the bigger that you get, because there, because there's not as much room for error, because if you're confused or your team is confused, then mutiny can ensue, because you have to be on top of everything the entire time, and so not only do they need to know the plan, but they need to be prepared to execute that plan.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: So here's what that kind of looks like in real life.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: You know, I can't tell you how many times I went to play a game and then I'm like shoot, where are the cones?
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Hurry someone, go and grab them, and we're all just like on dead time, like haha.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: So please stay engaged with what we're doing.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: So have everything staged and ready to go in its place so that when it's time to play the game or use an illustration, or hand out a prize, or hand leaders their talk sheets and small group folders and attendance sheets, and or a parent needs a flyer for a camp or a calendar, or you need a new student form, things should be available, ready and in their place, because you lose organization when you have to like hold on.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: Let me go find that Everything needs to be ready.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: Tell a few jokes while I look for these things.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: I think you're joking, but we have resorted to stand-up comedy to try to fill the time there's nothing better than on-the-spot stand-up comedy.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: And then you start passing the mic around and seeing who else has some jokes and that turns into.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: You know they've been appropriate, but it just it gets awkward quickly.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Your tech team do they know what to do?
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: Should you have a tech team?
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Or maybe it's a student who runs tech for you?
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: But I have a quick little meeting with my tech team prior to every program and just tell them this is the game we're playing.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Here's basically how it runs.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: Here's the worship transition we're using.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: I'm going to introduce the speaker, so leave a gap for me.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: Make sure the handhelds are on.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: Like, we just do a quick little meeting and always, always, always give all the people involved a timeline.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: So I usually write my timeline on Monday afternoons If I'm really ahead of it Thursday prior to the youth group and just say this is what's happening at 615, all the way till 830 when parents are picking up.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: They know what announcements, what game, what video we're showing, who's speaking, who's emceeing, and everyone's on the same page of knowing exactly what we are going to do.
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: And, like with that, your small group leaders need to be in the loop.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: I send an email, but we also meet right before our program to six 15 for a six 30 program.
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: Just to say in case they missed the email or we have other things to go over, like all right, tonight we're playing operation night scramble.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: So when I started announcing the games, you guys need to go in the hallway, break and shake the glow sticks, go hide them and then you guys are gonna be stationed throughout the hallway.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: When you hear this sound, that means the round is over.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: So usher all the kids in back into the auditorium.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: We'll probably play two rounds.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: Here's where we're going in.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Small group bottom line kids need to walk away with knowing that they always think they're this prodigal son, but maybe they're the older brother.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: And then pickup is been backed up.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: So make sure you release that 825 instead of 830.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: You know all those things are going to help make sure the night runs smoothly Because, like I said, when you start growing and you have a lot of students, these little details are a make or break.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: If we release two minutes late, it is a break for us, because break meaning bad like it's not a good thing, because then our traffic gets backed all the way up to the main road.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: So making sure leaders know this is the time you need to let out.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: This is where students need to go.
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: This is your role during this part.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: Hey, we've been having a lot of talking during this part.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Why don't you guys sit with students during worship?
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: So all that kind of stuff.
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: Everyone needs to be crystal clear on the plan and what their role is in executing that plan and everything should be staged and ready to go.
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: That is your first how to gain control.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: Number two you need highly capable and involved adults.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: So kind of jumping off of where we left off is your leaders are going to be a really big deal in terms of the control and organization.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: I have about 25 leaders and when they're all in the room spread out during the game, the message and worship things go infinitely better.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: So if you're from the stage, this is the worst case scenario trying to do crowd control for a large group, setting from the stage, interrupting yourself to move kids, to tell kids to be quiet which I've been there, you know stopping my message, like okay, you two like enough, so you need to go sit over there.
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: You need to go sit over there.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: Okay, where was I?
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: Everyone back to the Bible.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: Hey, last warning, all right, now you're out there.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: That is so terrible.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: I hate having to stop what I'm doing.
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: So if you can create a culture where leaders are sitting with their small groups, are spread out throughout the room helping kids put their phone away, pay attention, stop talking, it helps that organization even more because you'll notice at some point when you start to grow, your ratios get like a student to adult ratio is like Whoa, we have way more kids than students.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: So it's even more important that those leaders really stay on top of behavior and I always say, guys, this isn't school, you're not a principal, you're not a security guard.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: Make it friendly, make it kind.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: If I see a kid with their phone out, I'm not like give it to me right now.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: I just say.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: I put my hand on their shoulder and say, hey, would you mind putting that away until we're done with this?
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, sure you know, and usually they comply and are a little embarrassed.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: Once in a while you will get that kid who's like you can't tell me what to do or like something rude like that.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: But most of the time I've noticed kids are pretty compliant to a gentle correction like hey guys, you know I can hear you talking all the way over there.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: You don't have to sing, but I shouldn't be able to hear you talking.
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: Could you just?
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: stop talking until later on tonight.
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: You know they're like oh yeah, sorry.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: So leaders need to be doing that.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: Train your leaders on how to have these gentle little conversations that keep the peace and keep the focus where it needs to be, because students need to feel that sense that they're being watched and supervised not need to have that feeling.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: They do because if they feel like no one's paying attention, that's when I've noticed they try, try interesting things, because they think, well, all the adults are kind of sitting in the back or checked out or there's not that many adults here and they sense the power dynamic getting turned on its head a little bit of like what are they going to do?
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: They're not going to see, and that's when they sneak outside or have left campus or bully a kid in the back hallway and do something mean or steal something.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: But if they get the sense that they're constantly being watched and supervised, it really does help the behavior of that big group that hey, everywhere I turn there's an adult there.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: So really harp on your leaders for that culture of spread out, be where they are, supervise them, watch what they're doing, don't just be like, ah, kids are over there, leaders are over here.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: But I think when you're trying to get gain control of a large group, it's helpful that you make your presence known.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a safety thing too.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: Know, like you're saying, the bullying or things like that A parent would want to know adults are permeating the entire campus, church or whatever, so there's nothing shady that could happen.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: You know, hopefully, and because you wouldn't want it to be like, yeah, the adults were all over here and there was kids running around outside.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: There was kids across the street Like they were all over the place?
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: No one.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: Kids running around outside, those kids across the street like they were all over the place.
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: No one watching them.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I've heard of youth groups like that like my kids have like visited other youth groups and be like they don't even care, they just let the kids go outside and they don't even have to come in.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: You don't you have to come into the program or whatever you know, or I make sure to.
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: Another little tip is that every door is locked of a place where kids should not be.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: So we use all these small group rooms during small group time but I keep them locked until eight o'clock because small groups are eight until eight 30.
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: So during worship I have a few security slash leaders go around and unlock all the doors and kind of hang in the hallway and making sure no one's getting into anything or just privacy is just not a good thing in youth group, you know, unless it's the bathroom, but even then we keep the door open, the stalls closed, but the main door is open, which is another thing we've had to do.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: I mean, I make it sound like they're all hoodlums they're not, but we need to just make sure there's nothing going on under our nose, and the more more kids you have, the more likelihood that there's going to be I don't want to say a bad apple, but just a kid who is more apt to get into trouble.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know.
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: And so we just don't want to facilitate anything that we could have prevented.
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: make it easy for them exactly be bad.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: Exactly yes.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: Okay, number three is kind of funny.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: I had one of our senior pastors a while ago was doing this meeting and he was talking about like hey guys, like why do you guys use microphones?
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: You know it just creates this distance and this, this gap between you and your audience and you and your kids.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: A lot of you are at the size where you don't need a microphone and I was like if I don't have a microphone, I am I, they'll walk all over me.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: I have to be the loudest voice in the room and I couldn't be louder than them and they just went.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: Like I had to do a message for our fourth and fifth graders this weekend and they don't use mics in that room and it was hard because if they start sharing or talking, or laughing, or regaining that control?
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like well, there it went.
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: You know, I say one funny thing and they're all like oh, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: Well, when I went to blah, blah, blah or my cousin and it's like, ah, I lost you because I couldn't be louder than them and so I always use a microphone.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: So that's what number three is you need to be the loudest voice in the room.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: So even when I'm speaking to I know it sounds crazy do what you want to do, but what I love to do, even if I only have 12 kids, like at a weekend service, like it's prom or homecoming or summer vacation, I will still use a microphone, because it is so hard for me to gain control of a room.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: If I can't be now, maybe you're just a really loud talker.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: That's how I lost my voice.
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: So I am like give me a mic and turn it up, because I don't want to strain again.
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: But figure out the way to be the loudest voice in the room.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: Is that a mic?
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: Is that?
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: I can't think of any other ways to make a phone.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: I was thinking that, but I'm like that'd be so bullhorn, that'd be so weird john 316 says like can you imagine listening to a whole message?
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: Through and anytime you turn, turn your head, the volume slider and they can't hear it over here well, you know of another method besides a microphone, new technology, let me know.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: but so far that's worked best for me.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: So don't be afraid to use a mic.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: I guess is what I'm saying, because you might think, oh, my youth group's so Like.
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: It seems so weird to use a mic.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: I would disagree.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: I say if you need control of the room you've got to be loud, and for me that has worked.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: It was a game changer.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: We used to never use mics on Sunday mornings and I was always exhausted.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: My vocal cords were exhausted, I would always have a headache from straining and yelling and finally I'm like I need just it was like a little amp and a mic and I'm like oh.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: I can just talk normal, Like this is amazing.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: And then number four.
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: This is more of a strategy tip, but don't beg for their attention.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: Make it impossible for them not to give it to you intention.
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: Make it impossible for them not to give it to you.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: So you know, we've all seen the teacher who's like I'll wait, I can wait, I can wait, I can wait, I can wait.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: That's fine, you guys are just going to lose game time.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: You guys are just going to.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: You guys are just going to lose recess.
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: This is your own punishment.
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: This is your own punishment, and I don't want to be that person.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: Have I been that person?
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes, oh, I've been that person.
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: I've been that person and I don't want to be anymore, okay.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: So I try to keep their attention the whole time without begging for it.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: So I had a youth pastor two youth pastors come visit my youth group about a month or so ago and one of the things they noticed is you never ask for their attention and they're like I see what you did there and I had kind of forgotten because it's been so long.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: I'm like, oh yeah, so when we start the night I have a countdown going and then we just go right into a funny video.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: So you're just watching some funny Bible, dog or whatever TikTok that's been strung together and edited.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: And then we get up and do announcements and a lot of the announcements have a video component to them.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: So I use recaps of our last summer camp to announce summer camp again this year.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Or we're doing a fun competition series.
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: Watch this video, because everyone's looking for themselves, everyone wants to see the action.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: It's put to a fun song and I don't have to say, guys, listen.
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: So this is coming up.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: Hey, you guys, hello, it's because they can't keep their eyes off the screen of this awesome video with music and lights and all that stuff.
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: So just find ways to engage them without having to beg.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: So another way that I've done that is transitions.
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: So like when we one of the hardest transitions for us used to be in between the game and worship, because they were so hyped from the game, full of energy, wild and blah, and then it would be like all right, everyone quiet down, we're gonna sing now.
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: Well, instead of begging for them to be quiet, I just put on a 45 second high energy, engaging worship transition video that has words and a call to action and something exciting that, like, gets their attention back up on the stage, back to the screen, and I don't have to say a word, I don't have to beg for them to listen.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: And then that leads right into an upbeat worship song Right into worship and then after worship.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: I really love doing sermon bumpers too.
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: You know there's a lot of companies now where you can buy them and type in like Daniel, and there's some kind of bumper that comes up.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: You have to pay for them, but if you have somebody who is graphically inclined, you know they might be able to make one for you.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: But worship bumpers really help right out, right out of worship.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: They're still looking at the screen.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: Now you just transition their attention to the sermon and then be a very engaging speaker who gets to the point and has a good energy.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: Also, confident MCs are like if you're a dynamic speaker or a confident emcee that tends to keep their attention to somebody funny and energetic and engaging, you know like.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: So it's not like, oh, they just watch one video from the beginning of youth group to the end.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: That's not what I'm saying.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: We do a ton of live announcement, live interaction, live speaking, but it's not just one person the whole time.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: Okay, guys, so on June 11th we have our eighth grade goodbye party and it's like, no, like you've got to make it more exciting if you're going to keep their attention.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: So, be a dynamic speaker If you're doing it live, being funny and engaging and change it up, like have new people, mc, have new people, your interns or volunteers, you know change that face and that voice.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: I think that really helps, because it used to be me doing everything like hello, I'm welcoming you, and I'm doing announcements and I'm doing the icebreaker and the game and now I'm doing the message, and now I'm telling you to be quiet for worship, like you saw me do everything, and splitting that up, I think, helps refresh them.
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: It's hard because the more people you have, the more attention there is to have to keep.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: So use all your resources Like, like I said, video, sound lights.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: Make it a a visually stimulating production so that you keep their attention yeah, and it sounds like there's a lot not a lot of breaks either, like kind of just seamlessly going from one thing to the next.
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: So it's like there's no time for them to build up this anarchy of sure, losing your controls, because we've moved on, we're on to the next thing and now we're on to the next thing, and it's keeping them engaged the entire time yeah, and that's what I mean about that schedule like everything is timed and everything keeps moving downtime.
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: Okay, that was the end of the game.
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: All right, everybody sit down right quiet, you know, and I swear like it's like the second.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: The game ends and the winner is team croc charms, right.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: And then they're like yay, all right, go ahead and get a piece of candy.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: If you won, everyone else, come to the front.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: We're gonna start worship and then worship.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: Transition video comes, like you said.
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: It's just boom we keep moving.
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: We're sitting here watching the worship team slowly get up on stage, tune their guitars.
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: Hey guys, how are you guys doing today?
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: You're giving me anxiety, oh, man, and the reason is because, like I said, if you have a small youth group, you might be able to keep that attention, but the more kids you have, the more these.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: Oh, like, this dead time is very it could go one way or another, you know, and you've just like you, you can't afford to just be like, oh you know, hang everyone, hang on a second, everyone, everyone, hang on a second.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: No way Like, keep this ship moving to the end and jam pack it with purpose and relationships and all of that.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: You know the way we've been describing it.
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: It makes it sound like it's just one big show.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: It's not a show, but this is the delivery method to get this truth across, you know, so that we keep them engaged, so that they can pick up what we're putting down.
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: It's not transitions and attention for the sake of transitions and attention.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: It's because I want to keep your attention where it needs to be, and that's the mission we're trying to accomplish tonight.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: I want you to hear truth, I want you to experience truth, I want you to interact with truth, I want you to build meaningful relationships, I want you to engage in worship, and so I have to present all those things in a vehicle that will keep your mind and attention engaged.
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: As a 12, 13, 14 year old, you know, and so it's just a strategy for the delivery method of what's truly important.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: Keeping their attention isn't truly important.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: It's what we're trying to keep their attention on that is truly important, and making sure that we have a fruitful night where everyone leaves and says I want to go back to that because they pointed me to something, and not like kids would verbalize that, but they know like this mattered you know and we want them to leave knowing it wasn't just like, yay, we had so much fun and ate candy, but I had fun and it hit like not just my human need but my soul need, like my spiritual need, all of it.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, it's an art to keeping attention and I think, depending on your size and your resources and your facility, your strategy will probably look a little different.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: It won't be a carbon copy of what we just talked about, but definitely things to help.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: At least get you thinking in that direction, definitely.
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: What do you think of when you do kind of lose kids are getting a little bit louder, maybe announcements or things like that, about doing the three, two, one and everyone has to be quiet, or something having that kind of be a staple like a part of your.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: so I do that during the battle, which is our big competition series, because you know it gets so wild and we encourage them to cheer the whole time, like they get points for spirit.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: So we kind of train them on this.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: Like all right, you can get spirit points by silent cheer, but you've got to listen.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: I'm going to say three, two, one, silent, and then they have to go be quiet and do their silent cheer or whatever it is.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: So you know, I do that.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: I wouldn't say I do that all the time, but mostly during the battle and then right after the battle, be like, oh, how many of you guys remember this Three, two, one, quiet.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: My guy's director, he always does, if you hear me clap once, if you hear me clap twice, if you hear me clap three times, until the whole room is like clapping along with him, and I've seen that work.
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: I think it would work if a youth pastor had their own little like.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: I'm thinking of my second grade teacher.
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: She used to go stop looking, listen, and then we were supposed to answer.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: I will, so I'm not saying.
• 27:45
  Speaker 2: That one's free.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: That one is free for you guys to use.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: You're welcome, I'm not saying do that, but if there is a little like jingle or clapping thing, like some kind of call response whatever, like that helps you, go for it.
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: You know, I mean really when I do the three, two, one, I don't know if I do one, two, three or three, two one, three, two, one silence, they really will do it, and then the clapping thing works for Caleb.
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: So I don't know if you have something cute along those lines that your kids respond to.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: You know, work, work that in somewhere.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah there you go, all right.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: The question of the day this week is what is the weirdest museum you've ever been to?
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: um, so one time we were at summer camp and there's this little tiny town called happy camp up in the mountains, and we were just looking for an air-conditioned spot and so we just went in and it was sort of the museum of nothing like there was.
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: It was just like what was the title of or the name of it I think it was just happy camp museum yeah, I couldn't tell you what was there.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: I just remember thinking like did you just have an empty building?
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: You needed to like meet your town quota of a museum and where you're like, here we go.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: There was nothing in it like as far as like maybe a couple pictures, but it was like literally just so empty.
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: I'm like all right, it's a museum because you called it one, a museum of air, and it was really nothing was in there Interesting yeah.
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: I was in one.
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: I'm sure you've seen it and I'm sure many of you have seen it, listening or watching.
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: It is on the 10 freeway, i-10.
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: For those of you back East who don't say the 10 in front of your freeways like we do out here, it's on I-10 in between El Paso and Tucson, so it's just east of Tucson in a town I think called Dragoon, if I'm pronouncing that right.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: It sounds like tomato sauce.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: The thing I know.
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: You've seen that.
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't know if I stopped, though, okay, I did.
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: I made the stop and for for one dollar I got to tour the museum and it was so odd.
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: And the thing is don't spoil it.
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: Oh, maybe I shouldn't spoil it now.
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: Spoil it.
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: I want to know it's really not worth it.
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: I'll save you a dollar, unless the prices have gone up.
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: It's a mummy, but some people say that it's not even really a mummy like it's been made, you know, because it's behind glass.
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: So it's not even really a mummy Like it's been made, you know, because it's behind glass.
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: So it's not like you're going to touch it and figure it out and do some tests on it.
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: So, anyways, there's a lot of random artifacts in there.
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: One of them was like this old fashioned car that I think they say is like Winston Churchill's Rolls Royce or some weird thing.
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: But is it?
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: I don't know?
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: That's just what they say.
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: But the the thing is this like woman mummy, and there's like a child mummy and they're small, but it's, yeah, just a mummified person.
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: That's creepy it is, the whole place was kind of creepy out in the middle of nowhere I feel like all those places where you're, you go out in the middle of nowhere like they're always just very haunted, you know, like all the shops, they need a reason to stop for gas.
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: So that is why they created a museum.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: Remember Waldrug?
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: Yes, with like all those signs.
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: That's how like the thing is, too you see those signs for like 50 miles at least.
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: So I was a sucker.
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: I paid for it Whatever.
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: I got the t-shirt and it was not worth it.
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: All right, you guys just wanted to give a shout out real quick to our newest Patreon supporter, jesse Howell.
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, jesse.
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: We appreciate it.
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: If you guys are interested in supporting this podcast through a monetary donation, go visit wwwpatreoncom.
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: Slash ministry coach and you can help us that way.
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: So we thank you guys so much.
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: We thank you, jesse, and we thank you guys for watching and listening and we'll see you next time.
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: Have you ever struggled with gaining control of a wild youth group?
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: We're going to give you four tips.
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: Today, we have four tips to help you get control of it.
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: Today, we have four tips for how to lead well up front.