newpeermin

You will want to use this template letter. Customize for your setting.

Greetings Sports and Activities Fans!

Your family is likely back in sports, music and other great activities.  As parents you are busy coaching and supporting. I want you to know that our church cheers you on. At the same time we know conflicting schedules become overwhelming. You may be losing opportunities to regularly participate in your own spiritual community here at First Church.

First, as you participate in these great activities, I want you to know that you are where the front lines of ministry happens! You are with people. At church you have learned to love because Christ first loved us. (I John 4:19) Ministry is about caring, welcoming and affirming people every day, everywhere and in every relationship.You represent Christ and our congregation by reflecting God’s grace, love, hope and peace. Our church needs you there.

Secondly, even with the extra crowded calendar we welcome every effort to continue a rhythm of worship and participation connecting your faith and life. Pause, come out of the traffic, be with us as we gather. If needed come late, leave early, wear your sports uniform, bring those you are giving rides to, what ever it takes to remain connected to your faith community. We understand the scheduling conflicts, don’t be embarrassed, just come as you are.

Remember all our options.

• Worship services are at…
• (List your churches services)

Youth ministry times and retreats are at…

• (List your churches youth ministry offerings)

Finally, I included a family candle time discussion. Find an evening to light a candle, dim the lights, create the cozy campfire atmosphere. Join together for some family discussion being aware of God in your midst and your important ministry caring, welcoming and affirming people in our community.

“Busy” also equals “Empty” Come out of the traffic!
Can’t wait to see you at church!

Blessings,

(Pastor, Youth Minister)

Once upon a time, back in the olden days, in a land far, far away, families did not have to choose between church and extra curricular activities. Sunday was sacred. No one dared schedule any other community activity Sunday mornings. Those days are now only a fairy tail.

As church staff, we are frustrated when our youth and families quite coming. Do we start an anti sports campaign? Fire our youth ministers since kids are too busy to show up anyway? Pretend that emailing home devotions to people are actually used and call it family ministry?  I asked for positive ideas and got some great ones.

Positive Ministry Ideas For An Extra Curricular Ministry

• Redefine extra curricular activities as places to be in ministry. People care for people everyday, every where and in every relationship. People are already doing ministry, we just forgot to tell them. Now we need to equip them.
• Use some of the Peer Ministry Leadership skills for caring, welcoming and affirming with families so they know how to they can be in ministry at events.
• An accompaniment model says we show up. Instead of assuming ministry is about coming to our building and programs, ministry can be considered going an being with. Be the church outside the walls. Encourage staff and participants to show up.
• Adapt and send your version of the “Activities Letter,” included in this E-news.
• Include an “Activites Milestone.”  Invite youth to bring a game ball, dance shoes, musical instrument etc… Bless their ministry! Even anoint their equipment. Stress ministry with the people they interact with. Be sure anointing in not interpreted as a blessing to achieve winning.
• Gather families, use the “Candle Time” included in this E-news. Help them practice while at church, then ask them to continue it at home. “Families will not do in their homes what they have not first practiced at church.”
• Show up at activities. Meet and greet parents. Send notes to participants cheering them on. Take pictures. Post them on your churches board. “People Caring for People In Midst Of Community.”
• Hold team “huddles.” Various staff members meet with youth or families for one time prayer and conversation times throughout the community. Coffee houses, living rooms, some place before the “big game” is held. 
• Interview youth and families. “How is your ministry going?” “How can we be praying for the people you as you caring, welcoming and affirming?”
• Include youth and families ministry that you hear about in worship prayer petitions. Use the stories shared in sermon illustrations. Invite youth and families to come and tell their stories.
• Include in your church staff’s job description time to participate in a community activity as a coach, director, accompanying a youth choir tour etc.
• Ask people! Listen. What is preventing you from participating? What can we do to better connect your life and faith and our church community?
• Don’t whine! – Meet with coaches and community leaders. It is amazing what listening and sharing can do. One person shared how a coach moved football camp because many of their youth wanted to go on a mission trip. Now they always check with each other.
• One group offers a hot breakfast for High school kids at their church on Tue. mornings. It is mostly athletes that attend. They talk about sports, stresses and share prayers for the week.
• Offer your facilities as a place for meetings or banquets. Role out the hospitality. Show up to greet and welcome. When appropriate offer prayer.
• Schedule “5th Quarter” events. Youth want to do something after the Friday night game. Offer an open youth room, movie, bond fire, even a lock-in.
• Consider how your church and staff can be a resource. A community with a strong scouting program that often conflicted with church events, discovered the scouts Religious Emblem Award. Now the church leaders work with the scouts to achieve this award.

For Your Youth Ministry!

A camp director once said to me, “I see retreat groups come out week after week. Most have good program plans, but do you know what their participants learn? They learn whatever the oldest kids in the group want to teach.”

Those words stuck with me. I can have great programs, wonderful theology, incredible curriculum, even an amazing confirmation plan, but all that is in vain unless I stack the deck with youth and adults who are modeling and mentoring the love, grace and hope of God.

Let me be blunt: Peer Ministry Leadership is not an add-on program that you may want to do “some day.” It is the essential core for creating a culture that is caring, welcoming and affirming of others throughout everything we do! I want them to be people who model loving others, because Christ first loved us. (I Jn. 4:19)

How do you make this happen?
Give youth and adults the face-to-face, heart-to-heart, person-to-person relational skills of Peer Ministry Leadership. We want to help you get started by coming to your church or to a group of churches in your area.

Your response?

__ I know it is a priority, so now is the time to get it into your plans. Let’s  explore options and times.

__ I need to re-energize or add next step strategies that allow our youth to lead. Let’s consider which of our 16 solid strategies works for you!

__ I am not quiet sure what Peer Ministry Leadership is or how it works. Let’s talk any time.  We love sharing our passions!

__ Our youth has amazing PML leaders and I want to uplift them by telling everyone about them! We love to hear your stories.

__ Our church has a great PML history and now we want to help  train others our area. We would love your help in spreading the opportunities!

ALL RESPONSES LEAD  TO THE…
CLICK HERE to email
Let’s get a conversation started!

Our Church Needs You!
For Peer Ministry Leadership

1. Be a real friend. – Friends are fun, but life happens. It’s a given. Difficult life situations are a part of life. Most people don’t know what to say or how to help. Often people avoid the person, pretend nothing is wrong, or worse yet, talk to everyone but the person. PML gives you the skills for being the friend who walks in, even when others are walking out.

2. We see you as a leader. – PML is about leadership. There is leadership where people stand in front at microphones and leadership where people plan and organize. These are good, but really only appeal to a few. However, the front lines of leadership, the most important kind, is what we call relational leadership. It is the Good Samaritan kind of leadership, where someone cares, welcomes, and affirms others face to face, one on one, friend to friend. We need you as a leader, helping us change the world, one person at a time.

3. We want you to consider being on the Youth Ministry Leadership Team – This team helps leads all our trips, retreats, outings, service projects, and youth ministry nights. PML training is the prerequisite for being on the Youth Ministry Leadership Team. This is were you begin.

4. You are the most important teacher we have! – Here at church, we are good at preaching sermons, teaching lessons, leading devotions… Maybe we use too many words. Here is the truth – people may hear the words, but people only respond when they know people like you. Frankly, our younger kids look up to you. They see you modeling and mentoring faith. PML will strengthen the skills you already have and give you some new ones.

5. Be a really good listener. People are drawn to those who listen. Listeners are people who have gotten rid of the need to draw attention to themselves, and who have learned to genuinely enjoy others. Really good listeners are rare. We would like you to be one of them.

6. Know how to help. – You hear it every day! It ranges from a bad relationship, to misuse of alcohol, to another family breaking up, to an eating disorder, even to thoughts of suicide. You feel badly for people; you wish you could help. PML give you the skills to help. You will have the skills not only to listen, but to help guide people in their choices, changes, and challenges. You will also know when to lead others to trusted, knowledgeable people who can help.

7. Be the one who welcomes. – All of us know what is like not to be welcomed, to be left out, or to be ignored. You do not have to be that person. You have integrity. PML will work on specific skills to welcome and include others, even those who often are excluded.

8. Our church needs you out there! We need you on the basketball team, in the choir, in scouts, working a job, hanging out with friends, spending time with your family, doing all the great things you do! In every one of those situations, you have relationships. Relationships require people who care, welcome, and affirm them, loving because Christ first loved us. We believe that is you. PML gives you the skills to be a caring, welcoming, and affirming person every day, everywhere and in every relationship.

9. You will discover a new kind of friendship. – Deep friendships come from knowing and being known, understanding, not judging, and from experiencing trust. You will experience friendships on a new level. In PML, people often discover new levels of friendship, even with people they thought they already knew.

10. Learn how to share faith without manipulating others. – Faith conversations can turn into debates, arguments, even fights. That is not sharing anything! Sharing faith starts with an eagerness to listen to others, understanding their stories of belief, doubts, and even unbelief. You will not argue people into changing. Leave change to the Holy Spirit. PML will help you learn ways to share faith that are mutually respectful and never adversarial.