Learned from Twitter: week ending May 16, 2009

Here are some of the things I learned from my friends on Twitter this week...


1. AdamLehman (Adam Lehman) shared a link to a post from his fiance, about marrying a youth pastor.
"quest blog post by my fiance, @alliepal : "i'm about to marry a youth pastor" http://tinyurl.com/or7ddc #stumin"

2. SITM (Stuck In the Middle) is gearing up for the next year of tour. If you work with middle school students and have not checked out this ministry, you need to right now.
"Stuck's jr. high event tour 2009-2010 dates are up http://twurl.nl/u62pi2 - coming to KS, MO, CA, FL, OH and the Pac NW. Check it out!"

3. ymgeek (Youth Ministry Geek) let us know about some free fonts. And who can't always use a new font for the newsletter?
"Free Fonts anyone? 15 Fresh High-Quality Free Fonts - http://is.gd/yRDB (via @smashingmag)"

4. WorshipRising (Kevin Richardson) shared some great news and an answer to prayer.
"As of June 1st I will be the full-time worship/arts pastor at The Journey Church in San Francisco... more details to follow soon."

5. YouthMinBlog (YouthMinBlog) wants to know if you would like to help get the word out by adding a badge to your blog.
"Would you be able to put a YMB badge on your blog? http://youthminblog.com/bad..."

6. foecuspastor (Clay Conry) clued us in on the twittering habits of one particular astronaut. (I'd hate to see the roaming charges on that call)
"Twitter continues to amaze! @astro_mike is in space right now and has promised to tweet from orbit! Social Media FTW!"

7. mattcleaver (Matt cleaver) was the first to inform me that tatango doesn't offer free text messaging anymore.
"bummed that tatango isn't doing free group text messages anymore. Any other free options out there anymore? #ym"

8. sandyhughes (Sandy Hughes) mentioned that the astronauts got to listen to a little Third Day as their alarm clock music - not a bad idea.
"they just played "God of Wonders" by third day for the astronauts wake up song this morning."


What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Photo Friday: Ice melts

Youth Ministry Budgeting: Open Source Alternatives (addendum #1)

As an addendum to the youth ministry budgeting series, I want to look at some open source alternatives to many of the products a youth ministry needs on a regular basis. Before we get to the list, I think we need to start with a brief summary of the benefits of using open source software.

Benefits of using Open Source software:
The biggest benefit of using open source software is the money you save by not buying licensed software. In some cases you will be saving hundreds of dollars per computer that will run the software. Even getting a license to load the software on multiple computers will not be as cheap as getting the software for free. (but that's obvious, right?)

I have found that some open source software is easier to use than its licensed counterpart. In part, this has to do with not having as robust a selection of options. In other cases, its just a simple fact that the layout and tools are easier to find and manipulate.

Another benefit for some of the software is the ability to modify content on the internet without being tied to a specific computer. This means you do not have to be on your youth ministry computer to update your message for Sunday. If the software is internet-based, you can work on either a Mac or a PC, or both. Along with this feature, comes the ability to have multiple collaborators working on a project at the same time. You can add information to a document and any other collaborator will save the changes next time she opens the document. This cuts down on emailing updates and forgetting which file is the most recent edition.



Open Source (FREE!) Alternatives:
Here are a few places to start your search.

Word Processing:
Open Office
Google Docs - while not open source, it is a great free alternative

Presentation Software:
Impress (in Open Office)
Presentation (in Google Docs) - some limitations when using offline

Photo Editing:
Gimp - The best alternative to photoshop I have found.
(you will want to check out some of the available plug-ins , too)

Video Editing:
Kaltura - online video editing

Financial Software:
Buddi


You will also want to check out Open Source Living - a great site for finding more open source software.


Saving money by using open source software frees your ministry to use the money in other ways. There are some great ways to use this "extra" money that will make a bigger impact that just buying software. This topic will be my next addendum post for the youth ministry budgeting series.




What open source software would you add to this list? What open source software does every youth worker need to know about?

Trivia Wednesday #121: oyster offspring

answer #120 - True (True of False Many of the sweaters worn by Mr. Rogers on the popular television show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, were actually knitted by his real mother.)

question #121 - In her lifetime, a female oyster may produce how many young?

Book Review: Storylines by Andy Croft and Mike Pilavachi

Have you ever read a verse in the New Testament and noticed a reference to a verse in the Old Testament? Did this cause you to wonder how the two passages are connected to each other? If you answered yes to these questions, you need to read Storylines. With this book, Croft and Pilavachi have set to help Christian better understand the themes that run throughout the Bible.

Storylines helps connect six themes by taking an in depth look at how they are connected in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Another aspect of the book that I really like is the first chapter, "The Bible in 20 Pages," where Croft and Pilavachi guide the reader through a brief look at the entire Bible. As you read about the six threads: Jesus, covenant, presence, Kingdom, salvation and worship, be reminded that the Bible was not put together by accident. God has been very intentional throughout history in his dealings with man and understanding how events are connected will help you see how your own life is connected to these very themes.

Reading Storylines is like taking a Bible college class on the Bible without having to actually go to class. This is a great resource for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of how the books in the Bible are connected to each other.


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

A few posts worth reading: May 11, 2009

Here are a few posts I think you should read. Go ahead and click the links...


1. Jeremy (over on Youth Ministry Geek) shares this link to finding the best fast food places during your road trips this summer.

2. Dennis shares 4 great tips on how to adapt lessons for your youth group as part of an ongoing discussion about using "freebie" lessons in youth ministry.

3. There is a great series of posts on evaluating success in youth ministry over at the YouthMinBlog. Posts like this one. Go check them out and join the conversation.

4. Here are some tips on Spring Cleaning - by Relevant Magazine


What have you been reading that you think needs to be shared?

Learned from Twitter: week ending May 9, 2009

Didn't get to see as much of the Twitter stream this week, but I still managed to catch some good nuggets of wisdom and truth.

Here are some of the things I learned this week from Twitter:

1. riddlegroup (Mark Riddle) reminded us of one very simple part of leadership that we must be mindful about.
"dreaming with people brings life, dreaming for people is deadly."

2. saraeden (Sara Eden Williams) shared a prayer request that reminds us of the importance of what we do with students.
"Just hearing of an incident at a high school in the area: Senior committed suicide in the school bathroom this morning. Please pray for all."

3. dbeckner (Dennis Beckner) shared about his night teaching and reminded us that it doesn't have to go "perfectly" in order to be effective. God shows up despite our fumbles.
"Crazy night of teaching. Everything went wrong, but message still got through. I'll put that in the win column."

4. YS_Scoop (Youth Specialties) provided a link to the video from this week's conference call with Marko about the National Youth Workers Convention.
"Did you miss today's conference call? Watch the recorded video right now! http://nywc.com/live"

5. youthministry (Youth Ministry) offered a link to a free Mother's Day lesson (if you still need one - which none of you reading this would, right?)
"Still wondering what to teach about Mother's day? Here's a great freebie lesson for you: http://budurl.com/ymmd"

6. briandurr (Brian Durr) had a run-in with the campus security this week thanks to some school policy changes. All he wanted to do was eat lunch with his students.
"Wow- One of the local high schools changed their security procedures. I was escorted off campus for trying to eat lunch w/ my students."


What did you learn from Twitter this week?

New Contributor for the YouthMinBlog

Today is my official start to contributing to the YouthMinBlog "project/endeavor"

I'm excited to be a part of a great group of youth workers who are contributing to this ongoing conversation.

My first article is called "Microwave Ministry?" and its on the topic of how to evaluate the success of your youth ministry. Take a look at the article, as well as the rest of the site (there are a bunch of great articles waiting to be read). I would love to hear your thoughts...

Photo Friday: Baked Potato

Decided to go a little different route this week. Enjoy the picture of a really good Mexican Baked Potato (it was very tasty).

Finding the right youth ministry job

This past Friday, May 1, 2009, I was the "guest" on the weekly YM Talk hosted by Tim Schmoyer and Life in Student Ministry. The topic of discussion was "tips on finding the right youth ministry job."

If you are looking for a new youth ministry job, take a listen. If you know someone who is looking, point them this direction. Or maybe you just need to listen because at some point in the future you might have to look for a new youth ministry position. Whatever the reason, I'd love to hear your comments about the discussion.

Also, if you have any questions about finding a new youth ministry job that you would like to ask me - send me an email (address is on the right side of the blog) or leave a comment on this post.

Head over here to listen to the discussion or get it on itunes and listen to it later.


Plus, I'd like to add one thing to the discussion that we did not get to talk about during our time. I have found that during the question and answer time, there is a good chance that the questions have to do with "fixing" a problem from the previous ministry.

For the congregation, they will ask the candidate questions about issues they felt were lacking in the last youth minister. Questions about "spending time with students" - if that is something they last youth minister didn't do enough according to them.

For the candidate, they will ask questions about issues the last congregation or leadership didn't do well. It could be questions about accountability or evaluations, if that is something that seemed to be lacking.

Keep this in mind as you are asking and answering questions. It will help you get a better feel for where the congregation/youth ministry is at and it will help you see what "baggage" you might be bringing with you into your new ministry.

Trivia Wednesday #120: Mr. Rogers' sweaters

answer #119 - July 1, 1941. It was for Bulova clocks and preceded a Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies baseball game. The ad was a simple picture of a clock and a map of the United States, and proclaimed, "America runs on Bulova time." (When did the first TV commercial air?)

question #120 - True of False Many of the sweaters worn by Mr. Rogers on the popular television show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, were actually knitted by his real mother.

May Trivia

During the month of May (and part of June) the trivia for Trivia Wednesday will be in line with the 2 major holidays during these two months. All of the questions will be about mothers and fathers.


As always, I hope these questions will be beneficial to your ministry. Use them during lessons, when you are eating lunch with a student, in your newsletters or on your website.

6 Saddest Verses in the Bible

There are verses of Scripture that bring hope to you every time you read them. But, at the same time, there are other verses that bring sadness for one reason or another. Below are six verses that I think are among the saddest verses in all of Scripture.


6 Saddest Verses in the Bible:

1. John 6.66
"From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him."

2. Judges 16.20
"But he (Samson) did not know that the LORD had left him."

3. John 12.43
"for they loved praise from men more than praise from God."

4. 1 Samuel 15.10-11 & 1 Samuel 16.14
"Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night."

5. 1 Samuel 16.14
"Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him."

6. Mark 14.21
"The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."


Which verses did I miss? What verses would you add to the list? Why?

Book Review: The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley

Principles of the Path is the newest book by Andy Stanley. Stanley writes this book from the perspective of a minister who has seen many people go down very different paths in their life. Some people end up at the destination they desire, while others end up in a place they never wanted to be. The purpose of this book is to help the reader avoid the unwanted destination by paying attention to the path they are taking in all areas of their life. We all reach destinations, and with a little bit of intentional behavior, you can reach the destination you want.

Every chapter includes an example from Scripture to reinforce the point and help the reader understand the principle of the path a little clearer. Besides the practical advice and examples, both good and bad, there is a study at the back of the book. This guide will help you process through the information individually or help you take a group of people through the book. In order for the book to be helpful, you have to allow yourself to be open and honest about where your current paths are leading you.

If you have liked Andy Stanley's other books or enjoy listening to him speak, you will like this book.

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

Learned from Twitter: week ending May 2, 2009

This week in Twitter was full of insight, laughs, free stuff and lots of discussion. Here are a few things I learned from Twitter this past week.


1. BtotheEtotheN (Ben Boles) added something to my "wow, really?" file.
"The Catholic priest officiating the wedding opened the service with, pray for this couple to your god whom ever that may be."

2. kentshaffer (Kent Shaffer) shared this story, which is sure to make you feel a little less smart than you did this morning.
"One student gets perfect scores on the ACT, SAT, & PSAT - http://bit.ly/40vQq"

3. justayouthguy (Jon McIver) shared a great interaction he had with a student.
"Just asked Middle School girl 'why do you have a water balloon in your purse?'"

4. YouthMinBlog (Youth Ministry Blog) provided a code to get a free video download from Bluefish TV.
"Use the code BFP3 to get a free video download from http://BlueFishTV.com"

5. theofficenbc (The Office) provided a link to a new ringtone that Office fans will want to get. Might I suggest not putting this as your sr. minister's ringtone - that might get you into some trouble. :)
"You asked for it, you got it! Get the Dwight "Idiot" ringtone that Jim made in "Broke" @ http://www.nbc.com/The_Offi..."

6. 6drews (Mike Andrews) brought up a great thought for all youth ministers to consider.
"weighing the risk/reward of changing culturally based thinking in the church vs. behavior modification in order to avoid controversy"

7. AdamLehman (Adam Lehman) mentioned a church that saved money by trying to be good stewards of their resources. [Personally, I think its sad that this type of church is different enough to be considered newsworthy. We are all called to be good stewards.]
"a church saves $268,000 by going green. http://tr.im/jVdN"

8. williamhartz (William Hartz) shared some wisdom/insight he learned at his small group.
"Anyone who holds to the theory that girls don't poop... Tonight's conversation at small group has amply disproven it. #awkward"

9. kentshaffer (Kent Shaffer) provided another article link, this one tells us that most people who use Twitter quit way too early.
"60% of Twitter Users Quit Within the First Month - http://bit.ly/oIwCO"

10. drumdog00 (Justin Van Rheenen) shared a link to a free download from Thousand Foot Krutch.
"RT @chuffybass5: You can download new TFK free at www.welcometothemasquerade.com and if you're a TFK fan like me, you'll love it!!!"

11. YS_Scoop (Youth Specialties) has a really cool offer going right now.
"Help us purge our offices! You get great YS stuff and help mentor kids. http://tinyurl.com/realityc... Spread the word!"


What did you learn from Twitter this week?

Photo Friday: diapers

Guess which diaper came from the hospital and which one came from the store? They are both pretty much the exact same diaper, its just that one has the "character" on it and the other does not.

I always thought it was strange that diapers can licensed characters on them. Do babies even care what picture, if any, is on the front of their diaper? Why does marketing have to start so early?

Did Facebook kill the blog meme?

While talking with my wife recently about all those Facebook quizzes, I thought, "Did Facebook kill the blog meme?"

Not sure what a meme is...Go here to learn what a meme is. You can even go here and get a daily meme.


Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not sad to see them go.

There was a time where blog memes were being posted about every other week. It was becoming really annoying to have to filter through the multiple blog memes to get to actual blog content. But then I stopped seeing them. Maybe it was because the authors of blogs I read stopped participating or got bored with answering so many pointless questions. But I think the blog memes are still around, but now they are undercover as a "Facebook quiz."

With Facebook, you can share

• "25 random things about me"
  
• "Which ________ are you"
  
• "Your top 5 ________"

and the list could go on and on...

And let's be honest (well, I'll be honest with you), I am really sick of having to filter through all of this useless Facebook stuff to get to actual pictures, notes, or updates.

But, I'd rather see it on Facebook than on a person's blog. Let's leave room in the blogs for what they are intended to be and leave the spilling of useless personal information for your Facebook page.

ps. I'm just glad there have been no "twitter memes" going around. :)

Trivia Wednesday #119: first TV commercial

answer #118 - Wrigley's gum. (What was the first product to have a barcode on its packaging?)

question #119 - When did the first TV commercial air?



Use these trivia questions to start a conversation with a student, begin a lesson, use in a newsletter or email. I hope they can be beneficial within your youth ministry.

Youth Ministry Budgeting: Tips for Saving Money (5b of 5)

(This is part 2 of the final post in a 5 part series on youth ministry budgeting. You can see the earlier posts here: 1 - stewardship. 2 - categories part a and part b. 3 - process. 4 - to buy or not to buy. 5 - tips on saving money part 1)

No youth ministry is immune to the economic hardship facing our country. And in order to be better stewards of our resources (and possibly stay afloat), we all need to learn to save a few bucks. Here is part 2 of my thoughts on how to save money. To see the first 5 tips, go here.


6. Involve more adults
Instead of doing things like ordering pizza or catering all of your meals, think about asking people to help cook and serve the food. It doesn't have to be food, it can be decorating for a special event, setting up, manning the tables.

This tip was shared by Sara Eden , so I'll just let her share some thoughts about it.

"The other thing we've done is moved away from the church providing dinner at youth group each week. Now what we do is ask people to sign up to provide dinner. The really cool thing is that it's giving people who don't feel led toward the traditional 'youth ministry volunteer' role an opportunity to serve the ministry and get to know the students (and allow the students to get to know them). The people who cook for us are invited/encouraged to stay and eat dinner with us and then students help with clean up. It's another step toward healthy inter-generational relations. God took something that was done as an economic measure and turned it into another awesome opportunity for ministry. He's so good like that!"

7. Donations
We all need items for the youth ministry: chairs, couches, lighting, sound equipment, electronics, transportation. Instead of going out and buying them, ask people to donate them. (Now, when you do this be prepared to get people's junk. So either you need to be very specific, simply say "no thanks," or just throw it away later.)

This is something a friend of mine, Bill Nance, said he has been able to do in his ministry, which has helped since he doesn't have a big budget and really needs to stretch it.

8. Think "in house."
When you are planning an event, the two biggest costs are always the speaker and the band. Next time you are planning an event, think about using someone from within your ministry to do the speaking or worship (concert). If that will not work, try to find someone local to cut down on travel costs.

9. Use Open Source software
Instead of paying full price for your software - you might want to look into some of the open source alternatives. Most of them are just as good as the expensive versions, and they are free.

More information about open source software will be in another post.

10. Stop spending money
This sounds simple enough, doesn't it? But there are more than a few youth ministries that simply refuse to stop buying stuff. You do not need that new Wii or flat screen TV. You may not really need new carpet right now, it could wait a year or two longer.

The best way to save money in your youth ministry is to simply spend your money wisely. Think twice before making purchases. Hold off on major purchases as long as you can.


Six more ideas on stretching your budget.

Youth Ministry Budgeting: Tips for Saving Money (5a of 5)

(This is part 1 of the final post in a 5 part series on youth ministry budgeting. You can see the earlier posts here: 1 - stewardship. 2 - categories part a and part b. 3 - process. 4 - to buy or not to buy.)


Everybody needs to save some money, including youth ministries. So what does it take? How can you save a few dollars here and a few dollars there? In this post, I want to share a few tips on how your youth ministry can save money. As you will see, a few dollars saved on a regular basis will add up to big savings over time.

I do not think I need to spend a lot of time convincing anyone that they need to save money. Well, I hope I do not need to. Youth ministries across the country are struggling just like any other organization, company or individual. People are making less; therefore, they are giving less to the church. When the overall church offering is down, each ministry has to reduce its expenses in order to help stay in the "black."

Here are a few areas to look at next time you are thinking about saving some cash.

Ways to save money:

1. Salaries
Allow me to start with the least popular thing I am going to write. The first place to look for ways to save money is in the salaries. Are you really being a good steward of your congregation's resources with your salary? Can you afford to live on less?

Let me share an example of what I mean. I know a congregation that was running a couple hundred people a few years ago. Now they are averaging maybe 80 each week. Yet, there are 3 staff members: sr. minister, associate minister, and secretary. I think the secretary is full-time, but I am not sure. I do not know what the associate minister is paid, but I know the sr. minister is being paid more than someone in this size of a congregation should be paid. The congregation is struggling to meet salary each week, and they are sending emails each week asking for more money to meet those salaries. Are those ministers being good stewards? In my opinion, no. Think about the impact the minister would have if he offered to take a paycut to help the congregation from having to close its doors.

2. text messaging
It seems as though every teen has a cell phone with text messaging. So, it makes sense that the youth staff would need the ability to text teens. But what option do you use? Here are a few choices:

MinistryTxt
This option starts at $5/mo.
(thanks Len Evans for the info)

Tatango
starts at free
has option to send text from computer or cell phone

SimplyTxt
starts at $10/mo.

I have not used any of these services, but many of my youth ministry friends have and talk very highly of each service.

3. Curriculum/Lesson Material
Many of the major publishing companies offer some great resources in this category. And if you want to just get everything in one bundle, this might be the way to go. You can check out Group, Standard, teamce to name a few (well, three to be exact).

But if you really want to save money (and not spend any, either), here are a few other suggestions.

*Online "Freebies"
There are a bunch of great freebies available on the internet. Check out this top 5 list, for examples. In fact, there are so many great freebies that a youth minister could simply use freebies and not do any work. I THINK THIS IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO - so be careful not to become dependent on using freebie lessons!

*curriculum swap with local churches
Take your old curriculum and find another congregation in the area that will be willing to swap their old stuff for your old stuff. You will each get new curriculum, plus you won't have to find a place to leave and forget about store your old stuff.

*reuse older stuff
Or you can just reuse the older stuff with a new group within your congregation.

*Rotate material
Take your material and rotate through the years. For example, use a 4 year scope/sequence for the high school and rotate through material every 4 years. If you have a 7/8 grade class; rotate every 2 years. Using this rotation model will help you save money and will help you be intentional about what you are teaching the students.

4. Prizes/Giveaways
Students like getting stuff and we like giving it away. But it can get expensive to have prizes on a regular basis. How do you save money on prizes? By taking one of these steps...

*Buy from thrift stores, garage sales or on clearance.
You cannot afford to have really cool (read, expensive) prizes every week. So do not try. Just get some fun, old or silly stuff to use and have a big box to keep it in. Then let the students grab one prize from the box.

*Ask for donations
For those bigger events, you might want a better prize to offer. In those cases, ask companies and individuals to donate prizes (or money to go toward buying prizes) for you to give away. This gets the community involved with the group, saves you money and promotes your group at the same time.

5. Buy online
All youth ministers have things to buy: books, supplies, classroom material, water guns, whoopee cushions. Why not look into buying those items online. A few onlines places to try - ebay, half.com, amazon, craigslist.

In part 2 of "Tips for saving money" we will look at 5 more ways that your youth ministry can save a few dollars.