I am all for the youth worker conference. Any time you can get youth workers together for networking, training, mutual encouragement, and refueling, I'm for it. It's why I have been such a fan and promoter of conferences and conventions like the National Youth Workers Convention and the Simply Youth Ministry Conference. But now, there is a conference happening that's a little closer to home!

This coming Friday, October 30th, 2015, youth workers from across western PA and the surrounding area, will gather for a day of awesomeness at the Pittsburgh Youth Workers Conference. While I will not be able to make it to this years conference, it's still an event that I want to applaud and promote here in the local youth ministry area.

Youth Workers, we need events like this! You need events like this!! Opportunities to be educated, challenged, and sharpened. Time for us to meet other youth workers, develop relationships, build networks, and share in the call to minister to students! Places to be filled, refueled, and renewed.

I have attended the afore mentioned conference/convention for years. They have been some of the most profound times of training, growth, and introspection. They have helped to shape how I do student ministry, how I think about and understand the student heart and mind, and how I respond to my call of being a youth pastor. If you have never attended a student ministry conference, you must! And if you can't afford to make to one of the bigger ones, might I suggest you check out one in our very own backyard, the Pittsburgh Youth Workers Conference.

This years conference will take place at Christ's Church at Grove Farm, located in Sewickly, PA. I am sure that if you live in western PA, you've heard about Christ's Church at Grove Farm. A good friend of mine, Walt Mueller, and youth ministry guru, Doug Fields, will both be in attendance and speaking as general session speakers. Walt Mueller is a master of cultural thought and the author of numerous books that help youth workers, parents, and students learn how to engage the culture, think through what it offers, and make right decisions in how we deal with its influences. Doug Fields is the youth pastor of youth pastor, writing a ton of books that share his wisdom, creativity, and experience as a youth worker!

The conference begins this Friday, at 8:30 a.m. with registration and then 9:00 a.m. with the first general session. You can visit the Pittsburgh Youth Workers Conference website at, www.PYWC.org. I believe they are still taking registrations ($45 per person, which includes lunch).

And while I will not be attending the PYWC, I will be attending the NYWC, coming up later in November in Louisville, KY. But for you who do attend the PYWC, I know you will be blessed, encouraged, and renewed! So have a great time!

- jay

​Jay Higham is a 24 year veteran of student ministry; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently the Youth Director at Hickory Church, located in Western PA. Jay has been married to Amy for 19 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, 4 boys and 1 little girl. You can learn more about their ministry to the family by visiting their family blog at, www.TheHighamFamily.com!

This week I am privileged to begin meeting as a mentor with an incredible young man who is looking to begin a career in student ministry. It's a humbling honor to be able to speak into the life a a new youth worker. It's something I think veteran youth workers should do.

We all know that youth ministry (and any ministry for that matter) can be challenging, and sometimes down right painful. Too many potentially awesome youth pastors call it quits too soon, simply because they walk through the early years by themselves, taking the hits and dings that come with being in ministry with no one to talk to or find hope and counsel. So to be able to walk alongside a younger youth worker, for me, is an exciting opportunity to share my experiences and the wisdom learned from over 20 years in student ministry is truly an honor.

But as I begin this new relationship, I want to do so in a way that offers the most amount of help, so to encourage, equip, and prepare this youth worker for their future callings in student ministry. Want I don't want this relationship to become, is one that simply provides a time and place for me to talk about me and my many years of ministry, puffing up my own ego. So as I begin this mentoring process, I am committing myself to following a few rules that I hope will help me keep all of this in perspective, while attempting to actually teach, lead, and prepare this awesome guy to minister to students and their families.

1. Don't Be The Expert...
- What makes one an expert, especially in youth ministry? Is it having a book published? Is it being asked to lead a seminar at a youth worker conference? Is it a certain number of years serving as a youth worker? What makes an expert, an expert? I'm not really sure, I just know that I'm not one of them. What I do know is that I desire to share what I have learned and experienced while serving as a youth worker with young and upcoming youth workers. As I begin this new mentoring relationship, I want to first recognize that I am NOT an expert. Sure, I may know some things, but a lot a people know some things. The question is, can what I know be helpful to someone else? I hope so. Yes, I have experience, and yes I know a lot, but I don't know everything. So rule number one is, Don't Be the Expert, just be Myself.

2. Tell Stories That Teach...
- Telling stories for stories sake can become an opportunity to brag about the things I've done. Instead, I want to tell stories that someone can learn from. I thin one the best ways to pass along the wisdom gained from real in the trenches experience, come from the story that have taught you the most about you and your time in ministry. Stories of failures as well as stories of successes. Stories where you made mistakes and stories of when you so God move in powerful in spite of your mistakes. These are the stories that offer help. Stories about the time you took 60 students and leaders to a Christian music festival and how awesome it was, and how everyone loved it, and now everyone loves you aren't stories that teach. These story are the memories we hold onto when ministry isn't fun. So run number two is Tell Stories that Teach.

​3. Be Willing to Learn...
- Good mentors are learners. It's simple. If you want to be one who teaches someone else, you must be actively learning. What are you learning? You're learning more about what you do, who you are, how you can improve and grow. Learning comes by constantly evaluating your ministry, programs, and person; assessing the health, effectiveness, and value of what you're doing. Learning is staying current with the latest in methodology, not that you're always chasing after the next best thing. But instead, you're working to be aware of trends ideas that are always breaking into the youth ministry world. Learning is expanding your view, from the near-sighted comfortability of what you know to tacking ideas and practices that you don't know.

4. Give Opportunity For Him to Do Ministry...
​- Mentoring isn't just about imparting wisdom, it's about letting the person do, experience, and learn as you walk along side them. As I begin this relationship, I want to be sure that I am giving ample time for this young youth worker to stretch his wing and do ministry. In the weeks and months to come, I want to see him teach and lead, work with a small group of guys, plan, organize and lead activities, help in developing budgets, and join in as we work within the community. 

5. Be Mentored Yourself...
​- I've often quote Doug Fields who says, "leaders are learners." I absolutely believe that. And so I also believe that as I mentor this youth worker, I too need to be in a mentoring relationship. Throughout my years of ministry, I have been blessed to have had some amazing men speak into my life, shaping me as a husband, father, pastor, and man of integrity. This season of my ministry will be no different. I will continue to seek out godly, wise and experienced leaders to learn from, to hold me accountable, and to challenge me to grow as a husband, father, pastor, and man of integrity.

If you are a veteran youth worker, you really must consider mentoring the next generation of youth workers. Your experience and "expertise" are what they need as they begin their ministry. And no, you don't need to be an expert. No need to publish a best selling book. All you need is a heart for youth workers and willingness to live transparently, sharing what you have learned and what God is continuing to teach you.

​- jay

Happy Wednesday to you! And thanks for checking in for today's Student Ministry Recap HSM Edition! My hope is to come to you every Wednesday with a report of what we did the night before with our High School Ministry (HSM). Let's get started.

Last night went really well. It was our 7th week of the season, and week 6 of our kick off series. Remember, I start here at Hickory on Tuesday, September 1st, 2015. So, we're still in the 'honeymoon period'. Nonetheless, we're already seeing awesome things happening.

For the first month, I left things the way they were. No major changes to any programming or format. I wanted to watch and learn, get to know the students, and evaluate the health and status of what was already happening. Thus far, I have been impressed by the programming, the student engagement, and the overall desire to see the student ministry grow; from both students and church leadership. The ministry is fairly healthy. While there is a lack of adult leadership for both our programs, I believe it is something that we can overcome.

But along with the good stuff there are a few things that needed to be addressed pretty quickly. So last week (the first week in October) I started addressing them in simple, yet helpful, ways.

1. Student Tracking
Keeping track of student is a super important thing. Knowing who is attending, who isn't attending, and keeping track of contact info is crucial. In his book, Sustainable Youth Ministry: Why Most Youth Ministry Doesn't Last and What Your Church Can Do About It, Mark DeVries lists creating a student directory as one of the most important building blocks for a student ministry. So last week we had each student complete a contact card and sign in on a weekly sign in sheet. I have always used both methods when developing a database and tracking weekly attendance. I was thrilled last night when most of the student signed in without having to be asked or reminded!

2. Creating a Welcome Area
Although we do not have student led ministry teams yet, I wanted to start introducing a few elements to the students as a way of planting seeds for the future. Last week, I threw together a simple welcome table with the contact cards, sign in, fliers and promotion material, and of course a basket of candy. We will be adding more in the way of bulletin boards, lighting, and fresh promotional materials and free take home gifts.

Those two things aside, the rest of the night was really great. Here's a quick run down.

7:00 to 7:45 - Open gym.
​We played a simple game of kickball. Yes, high schoolers still play kickball!
7:45 to 8:00 - Snack and Transition. We used this time to move from the open gym game to our regular programming in the youth room.

8:00 - Welcome and Announcements.
- The BiG NIGHT OUT, upcoming trip to a local restaurant for their 'wing night'.
- Parent Meeting Reminder
- The HSM Scavenger Hunt for Food, where the HSM partners with the Deacons to collect food for the holiday seasons, and pass it along to those who need a little help.

8:15 - Game Time.
- We broke out the "Minute to Win It" box and played 'Tilt-A-Cup'

8:20 - Message Time.
- This being week six (the final night) of our series, What Matters Most to God?, we talked about the importance of loving our neighbor. Altogether the six weeks covered what will eventually become our three ministry purposes; that we love God (Worship), that we love Jesus (Discipleship), and that we love others (Service). (I hope to share the outlines and discussion group materials as a downloadable resource later this week, if I can get it all together by Friday.)

8:40 - Discussion Groups.
- We split the group up into 4 groups so the students could go through Romans 12:9-21, Paul's Love in Action, and discussion what it looks like to LOVE our Neighbors.

9:00 - Final thoughts.
- Once the discussion time was done, we regathered to for some final words, and emphasized that God calls us to be a people who Love God (Worship), who become and make disciples (Discipleship), and who love other (Service).

9:15 - Worship.
- One of the things I really want to see happen with our student ministry is for students to develop a heart for worship. So last night, I ask two of our student to lead us in a couple songs of worship as a way to wrap up our series while planting the seed of worship within the group. And the students did awesome!

It really was a great night.

Now the stats...
- Time length: 2 hour and 25 minutes. (The group current gathers from 7:00 to 9:30 including the open gym.)
- Student Attendance: 17 (This is up two from last week. We are seeing some steady growth considering our start.)
- First-Time Visitors: 4.
- Overall Grade: 'A' Everything really went well. The teens had appeared to have a good time. And hey, they actually sang when we had our worship. That's always a win!!

The next two weeks will look a little different for HSM as we host a parents meeting on the 20th and go out for dinner on the 27th.

Be sure to share your questions or comments below. For as much as I hope to share my ideas with you, I would love to hear your ideas!

Thanks!

- jay 

I love the start of the work week.

Weird, I know. And I can honestly say, that until recently I haven't been able to say that. But now, I love the start of my work week. Of course, where I work and what I do have something with that.

I'm a youth pastor. It's what I was created to be. And nothing makes me happier than doing what I am doing. That makes coming into the office a joy for me.

But there's another reason why I love the start of the work week; a clean start.

I learned a long time ago that how I begin the week often translates to how I end the week. What does that mean? Well, quite frankly, what I do on a Monday helps to shape and guide the rest of my week. And if I do Monday well, then chances are the rest of the week will fall into place.

Let me explain.

There are a couple of things I like to do every Monday, to help organize my week and set a plan that helps me to focus on what needs to get done. Let me share these things with you, in hope that one or two of my habits might be helpful to you.

1. CLEAN OFF THE DESK
I work best when my desk is clean. No clutter. No piles. No extra junk taking up the space around me. When I walk in to my office on Monday, one of the first things I do is clear my desk. Usually after a Sunday morning of Sunday school, worship, and being with people, I leave my office with the materials, papers, and various items from the morning on my desk. It's typically not a big mess, mostly just the clutter from Sunday. So it get's cleaned up.

2. ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE
For me organization leads to productivity. And often the more organized I am, the more freedom I have to be productive. So Monday morning is a time of organizing. Papers, books, files, game props, promotional items, book shelves; with in a few minutes I can go through the loose items in the office and organize them in ways that work for me. Sometimes it's in pile that I will sort later in the day, and sometimes it's items that can just be put away.

3. SET MY SCHEDULE
Fortunately, I do not have a super overwhelming schedule. I have only been in my current position for about 5 weeks, and my ministry is still fairly small. But I was once advised to be the one to be in control of my calendar, before my calendar took control of me. So each Monday morning, I take the time to look at the week ahead and block out specific time to accomplish certain tasks. Some tasks take place the same time everything. Other tasks are flexible and I can move them around to times that better fit the week I am in. The point is, to make a plan for that work that will allow me to get the most done in a timely, efficient, and productive way. This also works when meeting with people. Students, parents, friends from the church; I set my schedule, including when I can meet with people.

4. STACKING MY DAYS
In my current position, I lead our high school ministry on Tuesday evenings and the jr. high ministry on Wednesday evenings. That makes the beginning of my week pretty intense. In my previous youth ministry, we gathered our students on Sunday nights, leaving the end of the week more intense. So I have decided that I will stack my days. In other words, I have decided to take Monday, Tuesdays and Wednesday and block them out for weekly prep and planning. These days are the days I focus on the student ministry. These are also the days I log the most hours. Monday and Tuesday morning are spent preparing for Tuesday evening. Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday day are spent preparing for Wednesday evening. Nothing else happens on these days, unless everything needing to be done for Tuesday or Wednesday evenings is complete. Again, setting my schedule and blocking out times to accomplish certain task is a huge part of overcoming the work load within these three days.

5. THE FLEX DAY
Each week, typically Thursday, I set a flex day. The flex day is the day that serves as a clean up, or extra day. After getting through the three intense days of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Thursday becomes my day to rest. Since I am only 5 weeks in, right now Thursday is a mix of working, usually in the morning, and then taking the rest of the afternoon off. My hope is that in the very near future, Thursday might be my weekly sabbath. Friday can also serve as the flex day, depending on what the week looks like. But we usually run ministry events or visit the Friday night games at the high school, so Friday ends up being a full work day.

So far, I have been able to keep Saturdays and Sundays as family days. Sure there will be the occasional student event or retreat that will require my having to be at the office or with students, but those days will be less than more.

So there you have it, why I like the start of the new work week. And the best part of it all is, when the week falls in line, the time and effort I give to the beginning of the week, helps to make the free time at the end of my week just a little sweeter.

- jay

Jay Higham is a 24 year veteran of student ministry; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently the Youth Director at Hickory Church, located in Western PA. Jay has been married to Amy for 19 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, 4 boys and 1 little girl. You can learn more about their ministry to the family by visiting their family blog at, www.TheHighamFamily.com!

Greetings student ministry friends! As we come to the end of the week, I wanted to do something that I've wanted to do for a long time. Others have done and do it, and I think it's a really great idea.

Here in the youth ministry world, there is the constant sharing of ideas. Everything from games, to skits, to topics, to materials; and I love that. I love that we can share and borrow. It's a great way to keep our ministries fresh and fun. I especially love it when we share because we know that what we've done has worked, thus it might be helpful to others.

So starting today, I want to begin sharing some of the materials and ideas that I am using in our student ministry here at Hickory. My hope is to share with you the various elements that we use weekly with our high school and middle school students; and eventually things we do with our adult leaders and volunteers. Our groups meet on Tuesdays (our High School Ministry) and Wednesdays (our Jr High School Ministry). One either Thursday or Friday, I'll share what we did on those two nights!

Let talk about this past week!

Wednesday Night - Jr. High School Ministry
Games:
 - The New CUP Game
 - See Video

Announcements:
 - We ran threw our weekly announcements.

​Ice Breaker:
 - Apple Pie Eating Contest (A little pre-festival celebration.) 

Series Topic:
"The Story"

Lesson Topic:
"The Story of Man?"

The more I post the more I will share details and addition content and not just the outlines. As for the series that we are teaching through, I will post the entire series when we are done teaching.

Be sure to come back each week as I try to share more!

​- jay