About a year ago my daughter Natalia, who was in 8th grade, introduced me to 4 Corner Dodgeball, which she had learned at school. Since then, we simply cannot play regular dodgeball if we have more than 20 students. The idea is simple. You have 4 teams, each in a quadrant, and they are all against each other. Having to defend balls being thrown, not just from in front of you, but also from your sides, adds incredible excitement to the game. Then, recently, I decided to try a twist. In the middle of the game, I yelled, “Rotate!” and teams had to move over to the quadrant to their left. Everyone started running to their new area, all while trying to avoid being hit while switching. The insanity of people moving while still playing was awesome! The students loved it and it kept them on their toes and the game exciting.
HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY NATALIA!
Today the baby of our family is 14!!! Happy Birthday to my Squig!!!
Cleaning Up, Saying Thank You, and Missions Trips
Have you ever helped out with an exciting event? There are three elements that happen. First is the lead up and preparation. Second is the execution of the event. And third is the clean up. Of those, which do people want to be a part of?
In my experience, people love to be involved on the front end. People love to be involved in the running of the actual event. But when the excitement is over, very few are interested in sticking around for the clean up. After the lights are off and the smoke settles, it’s just not as glorious. But without the cleanup crew the job is not complete, and without them you will never be invited back. Why do I tell you this?
Here’s a personal story.
When I was 15 years old I chose to go on my first international missions trip. 7 weeks in Tanzania, Africa. During the months prior to the trip, my excitement was building, I applied for my first passport, started getting supplies, and I sent out support letters and raised the thousands of dollars needed for the trip. Many wonderful people – family and friends – prayed and sacrificed financially to show me they believed in me and wanted to be a part of seeing the gospel spread around the world. They couldn’t go themselves, but they could pray, and they could give in order to send me.
I went on the trip and had a great time. God moved. He spoke to us and through us. I felt the call of God upon my life … on and on it goes. When I got home I loved telling people about what we did and showing them the cool souvenirs I got from Masai warriors.
Then I went back to school and life moved on. After a few weeks my Dad asked me if I had sent out Thank You letters to all of those who had supported me. I hadn’t. He told me I needed to. A couple of months later he asked me again. I hadn’t. Soon he was getting questions and hearing frustration from our family and friends. “Whatever happened on Kevin’s trip? We were praying and want to know what happened. We gave money to support him and he hasn’t even said Thanks.”
You can imagine how they felt. You can also imagine that if I were to send them another letter asking for support, they would not be inclined to give again. Why? They didn’t feel acknowledged or appreciated. The truth was, they weren’t asking to be thanked for the amount they had given. They were simply pointing out that they had invested themselves into this trip through their prayers and finances, and they wanted to know what happened. They wanted to celebrate with me. I eventually did send out a report of my trip with pics and words of thanks, and it meant the world to people.
If you went on a mission trip this summer, I would encourage you, if you haven’t already done so, to send out Thank You letters to those who prayed for you and supported you financially on your trip. You can send a simple card, or better yet, send them pictures and a report of what you did and how God used you and grew you through this trip. If you plan to go on a trip in the future, remember that the clean up – the follow up – is as important as the preparation and the actual going on the trip. Think of it this way: Your trip is not officially over until you have said Thank You.
My grandfather (who, by the way, was the host missionary we worked with on our trip to Tanzania) has some wise sayings. One of them is: “Experience is the best teacher. You can learn from your own experiences, or you can learn from others’. Learning from others’ is better.” Learn from my mistake so you don’t make the same ones.
Claudia for President!
On Wednesday we were very excited to see Claudia in her first meeting as the Roslyn Christian Club president! We are very proud of her and praying for a great year of students coming to know Christ and being encouraged in their faith.
Small Groups Kickoff Night!
Last night we had our Delta Small Groups Kickoff Party. We all met at the church, had food, played some dodgeball, then I cast vision for small groups and our dream to see every student connected in a group. We introduced all of our incredible small group leaders then showed a preview video for Youth Alpha, the curriculum we are using in our groups this fall. (Yes, I know … there are a lot of Greek letters flying around here. I should tell you that before deciding to do Alpha in Delta, we ran a Beta test.) Finally, the students got into their groups to get to know one another and their leaders. I am very, very excited that we are adding two more groups this year, for a total of 7! I dream of the day we have 50 all over Long Island! Next week the groups begin meeting in homes, and I am praying and believing for an amazing year of connection, decisions for Jesus, and spiritual growth. If you are a student or a parent and you want information about groups, click here for times and locations.
5 Things to Do When You Meet a New Student or Parent
It’s that time of year when everything is ramping back up again in youth ministry. Here are a 5 things that I communicate and resources that I want to get into people’s hands when I meet them on a Sunday morning; and I want all of our adult volunteers, student leaders, other church staff members, and greeters/ushers to do the same.
- Give them our Student Ministry Calendar. The calendars have our regular gatherings listed on them, but are general in nature (Dates and Events intended as “Save The Date”). Tell them to use the e-mail address listed on the bottom to Signup for the Student Ministry Weekly Update E-mail which has the specifics (Times, Locations, Costs, etc.).
- Give them a Delta Small Groups Locations Card. Our goal is to get every student connected in a small group, and this card contains all of the addresses for the homes in which they meet. (Note: Small Groups do not meet during the summer.)
- Give them a Student Ministry Newsletter. We publish a quarterly newsletter that is full of stories and pictures that gives people a sense of who we are and what we’ve been doing.
- Invite them, or even better, Escort them to our Sunday Morning Program. Our Sunday program meets each Sunday throughout the school year except on Family Sundays.
- Introduce them to a Student Ministry Adult Leader and Another Student. This is the most important thing we can do for new people. Connect them with one of our youth leaders who can welcome them and introduce them to other students their age. This is reassuring to both parent and teen that there are other students in our church and that there is a place for them.
REVKEVJR.COM 
