Student Ministry – Page 7

December 29, 2015December 29, 2015 revkevjr Book Review, College, Student Ministry, Youth Ministry

Beating the College Debt Trap

It’s interesting how different things catch your eye based on the season of life you are in. A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have even noticed it, but with a daughter just about 8 months away from heading off to college, when I saw the title, not only did I pull it off the shelf and read the back cover, I bought it and read it in its entirety. And boy, am I glad I did! More on this in a moment. First, some personal background.

I have been learning a lot about going off to college over the past year as we have taken Claudia on some college visits, met with admissions counselors, etc. Over 20 years ago, my college decision was simple. My dad worked at a college that trained people for ministry. That was exactly what I wanted to do with my life, so I only applied to one school; the one Dad worked at. Because it was a small, private college, they did not offer financial aid or scholarships – everything had to be paid as you were going along. Therefore, I never had to deal with applying for loans. The best thing was, because Dad worked for the college, I was able to attend at a significant discount, and I was able to do a work-study program to pay off my balance semester by semester.

When I went on to graduate school I had to venture into the waters of student loans, but through a series of fortunate circumstances I was able to sell my home precisely when I was to start repaying my loans, and I made enough from the sale to pay off my loan in full. So, I never dealt with the reality of making monthly payments over several years. This was a great blessing, but they offered me no real experience from which to be able to counsel my daughter. Thank goodness I stumbled upon that book in Barnes and Noble the other day.

The book is Beating the College Debt Trap: Getting a Degree Without Going Broke by Alex Chediak. Although I am very proud of Claudia, and excited about her heading off to college, to be honest, there are many things that I have been thinking, wondering, and worrying about as the reality approaches. Not least of which, how we are going to pay for her education. In the book, Chediack addresses several myths about college and addresses each one with a picture of reality and alternate ways of achieving the desired outcome of a degree without getting into the precarious, but all-too-common, position of having tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars in debt (and perhaps no real job prospects) to show for it.

Chediak’s insights were extremely helpful in understanding the world of degrees and college finances. His practical wisdom about choosing schools, degree programs, school loans, grants, scholarships, internships, work-study programs and more, pointed out many creative solutions that we intend to explore with Claudia and our conversations with her college. We want to ensure that when she finishes college she will have a degree that reflects her passions and giftings while opening doors to a sustainable and fulfilling career. We also want her to be able to head off into her post-college life without the nasty millstone of unrealistic debt around her neck. This book really increased our chances of making those desires a reality. I highly recommend it to anyone planning to take on the task of getting a college degree. Chediak also has two other books available: Thriving at College: Make Great Friends, Keep Your Faith, and Get Ready for the Real World and Preparing Your Teens for College: Faith, Friends, Finances, and Much More which I am sure are equally as good, and which I am planning to pick up myself.

November 5, 2015 revkevjr Bible, Christianity, Discipleship, Evangelism, Friendship, Jesus, Legacy, Mentoring, Ministry, Prayer, Student Ministry, Youth Ministry

Andy

I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was a scrawny little middle schooler; new to the school. Our middle school was attached to the high school. Back then students were allowed to smoke in the courtyard of the high school, and the kids who were smoking were usually a rough and tough crowd. Seeing all those long-haired metal heads of the1980s leaning against the wall smoking cigarettes was an intimidating sight for kids like me when we got off the bus. I would put my head down and quickly walk to the middle school, hoping I wouldn’t hear those dreaded words, “Hey kid! Yeah, you! Come over here.”

Fortunately, I never did hear those words. Each day as the bus pulled up to school I would see the tough crowd and shiver a bit. But there was one guy who seemed to stick out. He looked like the others – he had long, blonde hair, and he wore a denim jacket covered with buttons – but there was something different about him. He wasn’t smoking like most of the kids. As I would walk by, he wasn’t swearing like the majority of them. While most kids were acting tough, he was pretty chill. Others had an edge to them; he always seemed to be kind. Then one day I saw something else. He had a book in his hand. And it wasn’t just any book; it was a Bible. It was well-worn. I could tell he had either dropped it repeatedly off of a high building and run it over with a car, or he really read it a lot.

Soon thereafter I was at church, and I saw this same guy! I found out that the boy’s name was Andy. I discovered he was a drummer and loved the Christian metal band Stryper. I also found out that Andy was serious about his faith, and that he had a deep desire to reach people with God’s love. I learned that on Mondays, he would get up really early and go to his youth pastor’s office for devotions and prayer before school. There was something special about this guy, and I knew I wanted to be like Andy.

Before long, I was palling around with Andy. I would get up extra early in the morning to do my paper route, then I would ride my bike over to the church and join him and Pastor Bob for morning devotions and prayer. Bob would read from a little devotional called Our Daily Bread, then we would pray for kids at school, and for kids in our youth group. It was nothing big. Many times it was just the three of us; sometimes a couple of other kids would come. Although I was in middle school, Andy invited me to stay after school and attend the Christian Club he led in the high school.

Andy was a role model for me. I saw him witnessing to kids in his school, praying for people, reading his Bible in the cafeteria during lunch. He was unashamed of Jesus. He would sometimes take me out for lunch to talk to me about Jesus and encourage me. Later he became a youth pastor then went on to be a missionary. To this day Andy still inspires me. He left a legacy in his school and influenced me to be who I am today.

Andy was passionate about Jesus, and his love for God was contagious. I wonder if God wants you to be an Andy. You never know if a kid like me is watching you. What kind of message are you sending with your life?

October 27, 2015October 27, 2015 revkevjr Discipleship, Legacy, Mentoring, Pastoring, Student Ministry, Youth Ministry

Simple New Discipleship Initiative for Students

Last week I had the idea to produce simple 1-minute videos to encourage our students. In our youth ministry we have a ministry to girls called hrt ❤ and a ministry to boys called manUP. Here is the first one for each.

October 25, 2015October 21, 2015 revkevjr Camps and Retreats, Discipleship, Evangelism, Fellowship, Friendship, Small Groups, Student Ministry, Youth Ministry

Youth Winter Fest 2016 Geico Commercial

October 20, 2015 revkevjr Communication, Leadership, Ministry, Student Ministry, Youth Ministry

Remember That and Remember To …

sticky-post-remember-595x240 The other day I woke up in the middle of a dream in which I was facilitating a discussion with my leadership team. (I’m weird, I know.) I was asking everyone to finish two simple phrases:

Today, as we go about our tasks, let’s remember that … (fill in the blank with a truth).
Today, as we go about our tasks, let’s remember to … (fill in the blank with a value).

Thinking these would be some great statements to consider each day, I quickly jotted them down. So, maybe today, fill in the blanks and allow statements of truth, your values guide you.

October 7, 2015 revkevjr Fellowship, Fun, Games, Sports, Student Ministry, Youth Ministry

4 Corner Dodgeball with a Twist

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.

October 1, 2015 revkevjr Communication, Missions, Outreach, Student Ministry, Wisdom, Youth Ministry

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.