Trivia Wednesday #158: new method of swinging patent?

answer #157 - The first patent board included Thomas Jefferson, Henry Knox, and Edmond Randolph. (Who was the first patent board?)

question #158 - True or False - Someone was granted a patent for a new method of swinging a swing?



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This weekly trivia is provided for use within your youth ministry. You can use this random trivia in many ways: use it to start a conversation with a student, add it to your introduction for your lesson or message, include it in your next newsletter or email, or just randomly insert it into your daily conversations. No matter how you decide to use it, I hope this trivia knowledge can be beneficial within your youth ministry.

If you have any suggestions on topics you would like to see used for the trivia questions, just leave a comment and let me know.

Trivia Wednesday #157: first patent board

answer #156 - The youngest person to be granted a patent is a four-year-old girl from Houston, Texas, for an aid for grasping round knobs. (Who is the youngest person to have a patent?)

question #157 - Who was the first patent board?



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This weekly trivia is provided for use within your youth ministry. You can use this random trivia in many ways: use it to start a conversation with a student, add it to your introduction for your lesson or message, include it in your next newsletter or email, or just randomly insert it into your daily conversations. No matter how you decide to use it, I hope this trivia knowledge can be beneficial within your youth ministry.

If you have any suggestions on topics you would like to see used for the trivia questions, just leave a comment and let me know.

Trivia Wednesday #156: yongest person granted a patent

answer #155 - The first U.S. patent was granted in 1790 to Samuel Hopkins of Philadelphia for "making pot and pearl ashes"-a cleaning formula used in soapmaking. (What was the first patent?)

question #156 - Who is the youngest person to have a patent?


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This weekly trivia is provided for use within your youth ministry. You can use this random trivia in many ways: use it to start a conversation with a student, add it to your introduction for your lesson or message, include it in your next newsletter or email, or just randomly insert it into your daily conversations. No matter how you decide to use it, I hope this trivia knowledge can be beneficial within your youth ministry.

If you have any suggestions on topics you would like to see used for the trivia questions, just leave a comment and let me know.

Using the Super Bowl within your Youth Ministry

(I posted these ideas last year and over the last few weeks this post has been getting a lot of traffic from searches. So I thought I would repost my 5 tips on using the Super Bowl in your youth ministry.)


The Super Bowl is less than a month away (2.7.10) and we do not know who will be playing. But for most youth ministries, one thing is true - a lot of your students will be talking about it. This can mean the potential to connect with a greater number of students. There are several things you can do within your youth ministry to connect to the Super Bowl "hype." Take one or more of these ideas and use it within your ministry. And I'd love to hear what effect it has on your ministry.


5 ideas for using the Super Bowl in your youth ministry.
1. Host a Super Bowl Party
This includes finding a house with enough room to hold the students a big enough TV for everyone to watch. Or you could hold it at church if you have the room/technology.

Supplies:

• Food (I suggest pizza and chips & dip for sure)
• TV or multiple TVs
• Devotion or something for halftime
• Handout, trivia questions and ideas or quiz sheet
  
• prizes for winners of score contest. halftime and end of game
• prizes for contest sheet winners
• plastic silverware, cups, plates

2. Create your own Super Bowl Commercial Contest.
Have the students come up with a 30 second commercial that they want to air during the Super Bowl. You could either have them make up a product or use a real one. You will want to set obvious guidelines; language and such. Have them turn the commercials early enough to give you time to watch them and get them ready be viewed. My suggestion is that you watch them during halftime of the game. Plus you can put them on your group's YouTube, Vimeo, or webpage - that way the students can watch them over and over again.

3. Discuss why the Super Bowl is such a big deal.
Take some time before the big game and talk about why this is the biggest sporting event all year.

4. Participate in the Souper Bowl outreach event.
This is a great way to raise some money and help out a local soup kitchen. Go to the website to find out more and get your students involved. Get all of your downloadable resources here that you'll need to promote.

5. Use the commercials to start discussion on a number of topics.
After the Super Bowl, you could take a few weeks and steer some discussion to the topics brought up during the commercials. Or use the commercials as illustrations or intro material for the your messages.


How do you use the Super Bowl in your ministry? What have you done in the past? We'd love to hear some of your past highlights, please leave a comment to share with the youth ministry community.

Every Youth Worker Needs: a receipt scanner

(Youth ministry is not an easy ministry. And in this series, Every Youth Worker Needs:..., I want to highlight a variety of things that might make your ministry a little easier. This ongoing series will include ministry tips, book suggestions, technology helps, and many other nuggets of advice.)

Every Youth Worker Needs: a receipt scanner
Unless you work in a very unique congregation, you have to turn in receipts in order to get reimbursed. This administrative task is always time consuming and boring. Not the reason you became a youth minister at all. But we all know that if we do not do this on a regular basis, monthly at least, then it becomes too overwhelming and then it does not get done. At the end of this train of thought is no reimbursements for items purchased (or what we ministers like to call "donations to the ministry").

I have recently come across a great little gadget that makes the process of organizing and totaling receipts much simpler. At least that is what the internet and "gift buying" news segment says. As I have watched this product in action and have seen the software to organize the items on the receipts, I have to say I am impressed.

All you have to do is slide the receipt through the scanner, if you have the travel version - which is cheaper and probably all a youth worker needs. Then after all of the receipts are scanned, you go into the program and determine which items go under which categories and which items do not need to be added to the report. Once this is done, you just print off the report and turn it in to the finance committee. (Who will probably be in amazement that a youth worker is so organized and uses spreadsheets.)

Go to this website to see the receipt scanner by neat

(I do not own one of these time saving devices, so consider it on the list of things you can get me if ever you want to get me something.)

Best of '09: Random Favorites

The year 2009 A.D. is over. The past 12 months have brought with them many new things; some good, some bad, and some not worth mentioning. I would like to take some time and highlight some of my favorite parts of 2009. I will call this list the "best of '09" - which simply means that, in my opinion, these are the best items in a certain category. I fully expect you to disagree with some of my choices or to be upset I did not add other items to the list. If you feel this way, please add your "best of '09" ideas in the comments.

The eighth, and final, list will be a collection of random favorites. This is a list of anything that does not fit in one of the other categories, but I really like. Maybe this jumbled assortment of stuff will spark some thought, maybe a laugh, or maybe you'll just get a better glance at who I am. Without any further wait, here is a list of my favorites from TV to parenting (in no particular order).


Community on NBC
I find myself laughing more often than not when I watch Community. Though I do not think every episode is a home run, I do not expect it to be either. My favorite part of the show is the interaction between Troy and Abed - simply hilarious. If you need a good laugh, this show might just help.

The Office on NBC
Simply one of the best shows on network television, in my opinion. I've been a fan since episode 2 (I didn't like the pilot on the British version, and since the American version was identical, I didn't like it either). Consistently funny. I do have some fears about where the writers are heading with Dwight's diabolical plan - I hope he doesn't become super vengeful (it would ruin the "feel" of the show for me).

Watching baseball (on TV) with my boys
As my boys are getting older, they are starting to want to watch baseball more. This means I get one more thing I can share with my sons. One funny thing about watching baseball this past summer was that they would ask to watch it, then after 2 or 3 innings, they would begin to complain about watching it. They aren't quite ready for a full game, but just watching baseball with them is good for me. And if I have an option - it would be a Cubs gave every time.

Star Wars
Star Wars has taken on a whole new level for me this year, because my two boys are starting to really get into it. We've watched all the movies, save Episode 3. We have read Revenge of the Sith (with some editing) to them, though. They love playing Lego Star Wars on Gamecube, playing with their action figures, coloring, pretending to be in Star Wars, and talking about the Star Wars universe. This has brought up many opportunities to talk about right/wrong, choices, good/evil, anger/love and a plethora of other topics.

Plus, I have to admit I really like the Clone Wars cartoon. Working my way, with the boys, through season one.

Being a father of 3
There is nothing like being a father and this year I have enjoyed being a father to three small children. As my youngest grows from baby to toddler, the level of play increases - which can cause friction when all three want to play with the same thing. But overall, it just means we get to do more things together as a family.

Writing more
I enjoy writing and this past year I got the chance to do more of it. I was honored to get the chance to contribute to some cool products (like SYM's Live Curriculum) as well as a couple youth ministry projects (YM Blog). I hope to be able to continue writing, plus to improve my writing in the coming year.

Spending more time with my wife
I purposefully tried to spend more time doing things with my wife this year. We tried to read through a book together, but that didn't last too long. We watched some shows together, spent time talking, played games, and went on walks. I want to spend even more time with her this year.

Substitute teaching
I like teaching and I like students - so substitute teaching is a great way to combine the two. Every day I sub brings a new adventure. I never know what the lesson plan will be until I get there and I don't always know who I will interact with during the day. As a youth minister, it is also a great way to get to know more students. I hope to be able to continue subbing for years to come.

Sam's Cola: Cherry
My new favorite flavor of pop. You need to try it - that is all.

Games
My favorite board or card games include: Dutch Blitz, Boggle, Battleship, and chess.


What are your favorite things?



Other posts in this series:
Best of '09 - Music
Best of '09 - Youth Ministry Books
Best of '09 - Non-Ministry Books
Best of '09 - Websites
Best of '09 - Blog posts
Best of '09 - Web Apps
Best of '09 - Ministry Moments
Best of '09 - Random Favorites

Book Review: Getting Fired for the Glory of God by Mike Yaconelli

Getting Fired for the Glory of God is a collection of writings from Mike Yaconelli. Beyond his writing, it contains audio and video of Yaconelli speaking. This is some of his best material collected together in one little book. What makes this collection so good, beyond it being from Yaconelli, is that his children compiled it all. This book is a tribute to the legacy he left on the youth ministry world.

If you have never read Yaconelli's work before, you need to pick up a copy and dive right in. You will be challenged, encouraged, and pushed. You might find yourself wanting to read "just one more chapter." For those who know Yaconelli's work, this book will be a reminder of his passion and love for youth workers. Plus, as a bonus, you will get to hear and see some of his most passionate messages.

The truth and honesty within the pages of Getting Fired need to be read by anyone in youth ministry. Take every opportunity to get a copy of this book into the hands of youth workers. If you can't get a copy for every youth worker, you need to at least show them the videos and let them listen to the audio.

My advice (rating) – buy more than one and give out copies (5 out of 5)

Trivia Wednesday #155: first patent

answer #154 - 364 presents (How many presents would you get if you got all of the presents in the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas?")

question #155 - What was the first patent?



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This weekly trivia is provided for use within your youth ministry. You can use this random trivia in many ways: use it to start a conversation with a student, add it to your introduction for your lesson or message, include it in your next newsletter or email, or just randomly insert it into your daily conversations. No matter how you decide to use it, I hope this trivia knowledge can be beneficial within your youth ministry.

If you have any suggestions on topics you would like to see used for the trivia questions, just leave a comment and let me know.

January Trivia: Patents

During this first month of 2010, the trivia questions will all be about patents. Patents are an interesting thing to me. And on top of this, I recently found out that one of my relatives was granted a patent (that's pretty cool).

Here is a look at what the four patent topics will be:

Jan 6 - first patent granted
Jan 13 - youngest person granted a patent
Jan 20 - first patent board
Jan 27 - true or false about a questionable patent

Let's see what you know about patents

Best of '09: Ministry Moments

The year 2009 A.D. is over. The past 12 months have brought with them many new things; some good, some bad, and some not worth mentioning. I would like to take some time and highlight some of my favorite parts of 2009. I will call this list the "best of '09" - which simply means that, in my opinion, these are the best items in a certain category. I fully expect you to disagree with some of my choices or to be upset I did not add other items to the list. If you feel this way, please add your "best of '09" ideas in the comments.

The seventh list will be ministry moments. This is a list of my favorite ministry moments from this past year. Some of these moments you might have experienced yourself, some of them might be just mine. This is not a comprehensive list, but is the list of those moments that stand out the most, and it is in no particular order.



Devotional at school
One Sunday evening during a jr. high lesson on getting the most out of your Bible, I provided a variety of devotionals for the taking. To my surprise, each devotional was taken by the jr. highers. I hoped they would use them as they read/studied their Bibles. The next day, while I was at the school, one of the students stopped me in the hall to tell me something. He told me that he had brought his devotional book with him to school that day and was planning on reading it when he had free time.

Youth Rally
It is an honor to be asked to speak to students. It is an honor and a great responsibility when another youth worker asks you to speak to students you do not know. I had the privilege of speaking at a few youth rallies this year and loved the opportunities to share from the Bible with teenagers.

My situation
I had the chance to watch God use our situation to encourage/challenge other people. Regardless of what situation you find yourself in, make sure you honor God and allow Him to work through you.

No title required
I was reminded that God wants to use me in my current situation, regardless of what my official title is. Just because you are not in "full time" paid vocational ministry, does not mean you are not being used by God to minister to students and their families.

Not complete yet
Knowing that God is not done with me and ministry, He still has a plan for using my gifts and passions to impact the Kingdom. This understanding alone might possibly be the best ministry moment of the year. God's plan is bigger than me and bigger than I can imagine. I can't wait to see what is around the next corner.



What were your favorite ministry moments from this last year?


Other posts in this series:
Best of '09 - Music
Best of '09 - Youth Ministry Books
Best of '09 - Non-Ministry Books
Best of '09 - Websites
Best of '09 - Blog posts
Best of '09 - Web Apps
Best of '09 - Ministry Moments
Best of '09 - Random Favorites

Best of '09: Web Apps

The year 2009 A.D. is almost over. The past 12 months have brought with them many new things; some good, some bad, and some not worth mentioning. I would like to take some time and highlight some of my favorite parts of 2009. I will call this list the "best of '09" - which simply means that, in my opinion, these are the best items in a certain category. I fully expect you to disagree with some of my choices or to be upset I did not add other items to the list. If you feel this way, please add your "best of '09" ideas in the comments.

The sixth list will be web apps. This will be a list of my favorite web apps to use. These are the apps I use the most or find the most helpful. This list is in no particular order.


Remember the Milk - a great place to keep track of things you need to accomplish.

TeuxDeux - TeuxDeux is new to me (I've only been using it for a few weeks), but I think its going to replace RTM as my favorite "to do" list organizer.

Google Docs - the most used app of 2009 for me.

Evernote - like a giant internet file cabinet, with folders and paper clips.

Dropbox - a great way to share and store a large amount of files (music, movies, and just about any other file you have on your computer). A great backup system, too.


What were your favorite apps of 2009?


Other posts in this series:
Best of '09 - Music
Best of '09 - Youth Ministry Books
Best of '09 - Non-Ministry Books
Best of '09 - Websites
Best of '09 - Blog posts
Best of '09 - Web Apps
Best of '09 - Ministry Moments
Best of '09 - Random Favorites