IDEAS THAT WORK!

Ever wish you could connect with other preteen leaders and ask them what works? What programs or ideas have been successful for others? Well, look no further. Below are a few responses from preteen leaders from around the country:

At the start of 2008 we started a specific preteen ministry at Hillsong Church called Voltage. It has been the most amazing program I have ever been involved in and I have seen the preteens go from being sick of kids ministry and bored to being so passionate about God that they are staying strong right into youth!

For me the keys to this ministry being successful have been a few things:

1. Worship.
We have done a mix of kids songs from our worship albums as well as a few youth songs from the Hillsong United albums. We have also really entered into worship as a leadership team rather then just expecting the kids to worship.

2. Leaders.
We have really worked hard to get lots of younger leaders for this age group between 16-25 as this seems to be the age that our preteens most look up to. We do have some older leaders to add balance but the younger leaders add a real fun element.

3. Midweek small groups.
These happen once every 2 weeks at church and have added a real community in our preteen ministry as each kid has the same leader each week they are there.

4. Summer Camp.
At the beginning of each year (i am Australian so summer is January) we have a 3 day Summer Camp which really sets the tone for the whole year!

– Nathan McLean – Hillsong Church (Australia)

Our preteen ministry is under the umbrella of Children’s Ministries, but is designed to be specific to this age group. One thing that has really helped is the creation of a themed room just for them. It is designed to look like the inside of a submarine. It has sveral video game stations and computers, and a snack bar just for them.

I began several years ago putting together our own Wednesday night curriculum using things from several sources, one being preteen-ministry.net. The Wednesday night class is designed to be more fun with less emphasis on the spiritual disciplines so that kids will bring their friends. The class includes games, singing, student-led devotions, but also teacher-led small groups that focus on a biblical worldview, and also just some hanging time. Our Sunday morning program is more spiritual and the 5th & 6th grades are divided for class time. Our 6th grade material is Pulse from Gospel Light and works very well. The 5th grade also uses Gospel Light material, The Edge, but it does not meet the need as well. We have been and are still considering other options.

We have a yearly 3 day/2 night retreat for the preteens in the fall that is in it’s 13th year, I think, and is always well attended. We also have a “preparing for adolescence” retreat for 6th graders in the spring. I pretty much put the retreat together with pieces from several sources, but the main teaching material comes from Focus on the Family. Last year we included some parental involvement ahead of the retreat and some after that was very well received.

– Kevin Gordon – Central Church (Tennessee)

We launched CLUB 56 in Fall of 2007 which is a ministry for our 5th & 6th graders. This ministry was kicked off by creating their own space….we have a beach house, complete with a snack shack, a deck, giant flip flops on the wall etc. We use Grapple on Sunday morning, however without the internet element…..kids just didn’t seem to use it. On Wednesday nights, our midweek program we use a combination of sources. One that we have been using is the FX DVD series that is actually designed for family ministry by Willow Creek, but our kids love the videos and they spark great conversations. Biblical teaching & truth, prayer, discipleship and FUN! The majority of kids who attend on Wed. nights are not from our church, so this is our primary outreach opportunity. Our kids really respond to media…..they love video clips, funny commercials, etc. They love DVE clips that apply to our lesson.

– Michelle Ludge – First Evangelical Covenant Church (Michigan)

We do a servant leadership team that kids have to apply for. We have 4 teams: worship, rover, drama, and greet. We do extra teaching with the kids on the team about being a servant. Then we teach them by providing opportunities for them to serve. Our leaders walk with them and help teach them as they experience being a servant. This is one of the best things that we do with these kids.

– John Laskilka – First Baptist Church Eugene (Oregon)

We just started a ministry called L.I.T. Ministry(Leaders in Training) www.preteenmin.com. The whole idea is set a higher standard for kids believing that they can live the abundant life, know who they are in Christ, and serve God. Our 4th-6th graders help us lead our Children’s Worship which we call InnerMission. The kids do the audio/visual, offering, ushering, greeting, and do puppets for the preschool area.

On Sunday nights we prepare for the next Sunday. One of the prerequisites is that they need to spend time with God using the material we hand out and we go over that each week. Then the kids spend about an hour specializing in their ministry of choice to get ready for the next week’s InnerMission.

We have set the standard high and there is great accountability.

For our worship, we hired a college age student specifically who comes and leads in worship and she does a great job. It’s not a high paying job but the young lady who does it for us is definitely not in it for the money.

– Mike Lehew – Ridgeway Baptist Church (Oklanhoma)

We call ours SIT (Students in Training) and they do everything but sit. I have them run cameras for I-MAG, run sound, sound effects, PowerPoint, DVD player, plan & run games, check in, altar assistance, skits, and anything they can wrap their minds around (which is more than we know). We have Sunday pizza and training days and we have our shuttle take them all home afterward. We also do special lock-ins and outings (six Flags, laser tag, the mall)

– Jason Martin (Missouri)

The two most successful parts of our preteen ministry are: 1) a week of service and mission projects specifically for them (in lieu of traditional VBS) called S.O.S. (Serving Our Savior) and an annual Spring Retreat (on or around Palm Sunday weekend) at an off-site Methodist camp center. We leave Friday after school and return Sunday by the end of our last worship service. Both these events are well attended and looked forward to each year.

S.O.S. has been done during the same time as VBS for the younger kids. Both VBS and SOS grew so much that this year I have to switch SOS to an earlier week and I am using it has a kickoff into the “new” Club 56 year (we move our kids up in the summer).Some projects I have done at S.O.S:

Harvesters – Kansas City’s food bank; sorting food of all kinds.

Operation Iraqi Children – An organization which packs and sends shipments of school supplies to Iraq, Afghanistan and the east African nation of Djibouti, where American troops are distributing them to children in need.

Simply Equine Assisted Therapy – work with the horses, clean stalls, paint fences.

Housing Authority – (subsidized housing) landscaping work (i.e. raking leaves, weeding etc), painting the hand rails all over the property.

ReDiscover – (nonprofit community mental health agency) created Bulletin Boards through out their facility.

Local Elementary School – Landscaping (i.e. raking, weeding, spreading mulch).

Council of the Blind Thrift Shop – sort clothes, straighten racks.

Lee’s Summit Social Services – Pack school supplies in backpacks that they hand out.

Hope House – (Woman and kids shelter) stuff envelopes, packaged all our churches leftover craft projects from previous years and delivered for them to use with kids.

Spofford House – (Children’s home) landscaping.

Parks and Recreation – pick up liter around the area lakes fishing zones and trails (there is tons of it and the kids have a contest on who finds the weirdest thing).

Inner city church which has a daily meal service and thrift store – Everything! Cook and serve meal, sort clothes, pick up trash around the building, clean their sanctuary etc.

Our own Church – we have washed windows, made musical instruments for preschool classes to use, prepare items for special events, clean tables, whatever needs done.

The retreat is in its 15th year and since it is almost always on Palm Sunday weekend I alternate a theme of “Walking with Jesus during his last week” and “the Amazing Exodus Adventure”.

– Stacey Guerrero – Lee’s Summit United Methodist Church (Missouri)