Youth Specialties Blog

Most recent reason I was fired (or almost fired)

By YS on July 19 2008 | 2 Comments

We left this open question on a table at NYWC 2007. Here are some answers.
  • For letting a student pee in a water bottle so the van didn't have to stop on the way to camp.
  • Reaching the "wrong kids."
  • Forgetting to pay for the gas at the pump. Got pulled over by the state police.
  • I told my pastor that he was the worst thing that ever happened to the church. While it was the truth I found out that the truth does indeed set you free.
  • A student shot a red cinnamon bear out of the van at a neighboring car.
  • Because I didn't clean the kitchen
  • Students were breaking into cars in the church parking lot
  • The music was too loud in the sanctuary
  • Couldn't justify my salary because I was only ministering to 7 youth and 30 children
  • Poker tournament
  • Was it when I flooded the church after falling asleep while the baptistery was filling? No. Was it after leaving a student at a rest stop on purpose? No. Was it when I went behind the trustees back to make a major purchase? No. Was it that I sensed my students were apathetic and raised the bar? Yes!
  • Because I moved some crafts to another room because of dodge ball night.
  • The pastor's wife had a crush on me
  • For teaching theology and not dumbing it down
What about you? Got a reason you were fired? (Or almost fired)

By YS on July 19 2008 | 2 Comments

Don’t click the red button

By YS on July 19 2008 | 0 Comments

Need to waste some time? Try to find the end of this bottomless pit. Just don't press the red button. stop clicking

By YS on July 19 2008 | 0 Comments

5 Tips for Finding Cheap Gas

By YS on July 18 2008 | 0 Comments

While there isn't much you can do about the gas prices, there are some ways you can quickly find the cheapest way to fill up the church vehicle this summer. Thanks to our friends at LifeClever, we're passing on 5 tips for finding cheap gas wherever you travel with your youth group this summer.
  1. Gas widgets. For Mac users there is Gas. For PC users give GasWatch a try. I've used Gas on some recent travels and found it pretty useful.
  2. On the Web. My favorite site for keeping track of cheap gas in my area is GasBuddy. Toss in your zip code and get a Google map of area prices.
  3. Text Message. Text the word “gas” followed by a 5-digit zip code to 415-676-8397. Within a few seconds you'll get a text message back with area gas prices.
  4. Mobile web browsers. Got a smartphone, blackberry, or iphone? Head over to GasBuddytoGo and put in your location.
  5. GPS Device. The latest versions of GPS systems from Garmin download local gas prices for your next trip.
For discussion: What are some ways your ministry is beating the gas crunch this summer? Have you had to pass along the higher costs to students? What's the most you've paid to fill up a vehicle for a youth group trip?

By YS on July 18 2008 | 0 Comments

Korean Baseball Fight

By YS on July 17 2008 | 4 Comments

Help us figure this out. Tell us what you think is going on here. Leave us a comment with your guess. Also, give us your suggestion for turning this into a youth group game.

By YS on July 17 2008 | 4 Comments

Focusing Parents on the Goal

By YS on July 16 2008 | 1 Comments

"Our task has often been defined as raising children, and ultimately that's what we've ended up with -- adult-aged children who don't feel very well prepared for life in the real world. I think if we were to shift our emphasis to raising adults, everybody is happier."
So says Jim Hancock in a recent interview at the Indianapolis Star. The interview is about Jim's book, Raising Adults in which he helps teach parents how to raise 21st Jim Hancock kicks buttcentury kids. Apparently, this story kicked off some great discussion about parenting adolescents as it was syndicated around the state of Indiana. And we know Jim wouldn't have it any other way. "I'm not sure there was ever a time when parents were more ready for the practical help youth workers are prepared — or at least preparing — to offer," he says. "Where else are parents gonna find people who love their kids like they do?"

By YS on July 16 2008 | 1 Comments

Will it Blend? iPhone 3G

By YS on July 15 2008 | 0 Comments

By YS on July 15 2008 | 0 Comments

Fun vs. Liability: Greenwhich’s Whiffle Ball Field

By YS on July 13 2008 | 2 Comments

The dog days of summer can lead to some of the coolest inventions with our students. But, as this news story points out, times have changed from the carefree America many of us grew up in to a place that worries mostly about liability and land values. The latest victim is a whiffle ball field built by some high school students in Greenwhich, CT.
After three weeks of clearing brush and poison ivy, scrounging up plywood and green paint, digging holes and pouring concrete, Vincent, Justin and about a dozen friends did manage to build it — a tree-shaded Whiffle ball version of Fenway Park complete with a 12-foot-tall green monster in center field, American flag by the left-field foul pole and colorful signs for Taco Bell Frutista Freezes. But, alas, they had no idea just who would come — youthful whiffle ball players, yes, but also angry neighbors and their lawyer, the police, the town nuisance officer and tree warden and other officials in all shapes and sizes. It turns out that one kid’s field of dreams is an adult’s dangerous nuisance, liability nightmare, inappropriate usurpation of green space, unpermitted special use or drag on property values, and their Whiffle-ball Fenway has become the talk of Greenwich and a suburban Rorschach test about youthful summers past and present. link
For discussion: How do you help your students "be kids" while interacting with the adult world? Should the city of Greenwhich, CT support these students? HT to John

By YS on July 13 2008 | 2 Comments

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