Switching blog hosts...

For those of you that read this blog - I want you to be aware that I am in the process of switching blog hosts. You can find this blog now at www.preteenedge.wordpress.com

The reason for the switch has nothing to do with Blogger. I have been very happy with this host, but for other reasons I must switch blog hosts. I will maintain this blog only for a little while longer.

Joe

Transitions...

When I think about transitions, I think about the picture on this post... This is a picture of my cousin and myself (I'm the one in the orange shirt getting hosed by the squirt-gun) having a water gun fight. What started as a simple and fun squirt-gun fight ended up being a serious game of strategy and purpose. In preteen ministry we must find the balance of making ministry to preteens simple and fun to something that is strategic and with purpose. The tricky part is transitioning from one mindset to the other, because it is easy to loose one mindset for the other. In the squirt-gun fight, my cousin and I shifted gears so fast that we totally lost focus of what we originally set out to do (That was shoot at our kids). When we got serious I lost interest, because I wasn't ready for serious strategy and such. He lost interest, because I didn't want to have a serious outlook to what we were doing. Our transition from one extreme to next was all messed-up, so we lost interest and quit. This happens too many preteens when it comes to their walk with God and their interest and involvement in church. This is why one of the keywords that is the backdrop, motivation and driving force for preteen ministry is "TRANSITION."

While a big part of preteen ministry is focused on reaching preteens where they are currently at, a lot of what happens in preteen ministry is geared towards preparing kids for the next level, whether that is preparing them for the 6th grade ministry, Jr. high/Middle school ministry, the student ministry, or preparing them to leave elementary ministry and enter into preteen ministry (This all depends on how your church is structured by grading and grouping). The reason for this is that the preteen years are by nature a transitional time in a person's life: puberty starts to take transformation in many preteens lives (Yes, this includes the smelly odors and such). The way preteens start to think is also beginning to transform, such as from concrete thinking to abstract thinking. Emotionally and spiritually, preteens begin to transform their thinking about the opposite genders, friends, and God in more serious ways than before. What's funny is that I have had some people tell me that not all preteens begin to show or demonstrate these changes. However, that is the funny nature of preteens - they are all over the place, they are all at many different transitional starting points in life!

Research has shown that poor transition leads to many kids not connecting with key relationships or the identity of the ministry at the next level they are entering into. What this means is that they will eventually fade from that ministry and most likely loose their connection with God. What we must do as leaders is make transition for preteens, who are both entering in our ministries and exiting our ministries, purposeful, intentional, and exciting (ie... full of anticipation). Over the next couple of blogs, I will shown you what we do at my church, I will show you what others are doing, and I will give you ideas on what you can do in your situation. Please feel free to chime in on this discussion - which is so important to preteen ministry.

Joe

The Best Preteen Event Around!

This is the best preteen event around (I think it is the only one). I have been to this event three times and had a blast each time (They change the theme of the event each year). Both preteens and adults will love this event.

SuperStart is a two day themed event designed with the needs and interests of preteens. Preteens will experience three main sessions that are full of high-energy worship, interactive teaching, and small group time. On Saturday there is an off-site recreation time, called plug -N- play which was created to give preteens and their adult sponsors a time to build relationships.

What: SuperStart Preteen Event

Who: 4th, 5th, and 6th graders and their parents, youth pastors, children's pastors, and volunteers.

When & Cost: See their website for this kind of information.

www.superstart456.com

Funny Things Preteens say...

The other day my wife over heard my 11 year old son say something hilarious. He said, "A pack of paper - $1.99, pack of straws - $.99, spit-wade - priceless!" Apparently he said this after he spit a spit-wade at his sisters - what to do, what to do...

Then to top it all off, my 9 year old asked her older sister (Who is 13) if she wanted her fries. She said, "Angelica, do you want my fries - they come with free ketchup!" She will be a very successful salesperson some day.

Preteens - they sure keep a house full of laughter and life.

Joe

Purity Resource for Moms and Daughters

Secret Keeper Girl promises to be one of the greatest tools contemporary moms have to connect with their 8-12 year old daughters, while at the same time teaching them vital truth about beauty in a world that bombards them with lies. But don't count on this Bible study to feel like homework! Secret Keeper Girl is the most fun you and your daughter will ever have digging into God's Word together. (Think: facials, tea parties, shopping challenges.)

I have not, nor has my wife personally used these Ideas with any of our daughters, but one of the ladies that is in charge of our 5th and 6th grade girls purity retreat has , and she says that she really enjoyed doing this with her daughter.

Joe

Purity Resource for Parents & their Preteens / Preteen Workers

Passport2Purity is a resource to help parents prepare their preteens for sexual purity. It will help them connect with their preteen during a fun, interactive weekend retreat! This exciting, guided weekend for father and son or mother and daughter will prepare their preteen for physical changes to come, preempt peer pressure, and establish biblical principles on sex and dating. They will have the opportunity to connect with their son or daughter in a deeper way, create a heart-to-heart time for some of life's most intimate issues, and help their child decide in advance what his or her convictions will be, based on God's word.

This is a resource that I have available for our preteen families to check out and use. My wife and I have used it with our oldest daughter (She is in jr. high now) and several other people I know have used it and highly recommend it!

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR AMAZON.COM LINK.

Joe

A COOL BIBLE FOR PRETEENS

Is this what you've been lookin for?

If you have been looking for a Bible to recommend to your preteens and parents, or if you have been looking for a Bible to have for extras in your classroom - then this is the one for you!

It has a devotional plan, which takes preteens through the Bible. It also has really cool graphics throughout the Bible, which are not boring or cheesy. Whats more, it is designed with the preteen in mind. My 10 year old son loves to use it and he likes to read all the extra content on the sidebars (He also reads the main content :) )


Book Description
Discover life “on the edge”—that exciting time between childhood and adolescence (a.k.a. the tween years). The Edge Devotional Bible is packed with great stuff just for tweens. This Bible brings the wisdom of the Bible right into the real world of today.
Check out what’s inside:
· 260 Daily Devotions by Mark Littleton and Marnie Wooding
· 52 Weekend Devotions by Sandy Silverthorne
· Power Thoughts highlight important themes and help readers see how the Bible fits together
· Line Art Sketches throughout for a "newspaper comics" appeal
· Five characters—Jenna, Josh, Miguel, Sam, and Kaitlyn participate in the devotions (and also appear as line art sketches) to help kids relate to the Bible passages
· Full Text of God’s Word in the best-selling New International Version®
· 22 Full-color Tip-in pages
Get the inside edge on God’s Word for tweens with The Edge Devotional Bible.

I searched far and wide for the right Bible for my preteen ministry and this one has really fulfilled what I needed. I recommend it for anyone looking for a Bible that they can recommend to preteens or have as extras in their classrooms.

(Click on the picture and it will take you to the amazon.com page for this Bible)

Joe

Snacks Anyone?

Do you find it difficult to always provide snacks for you preteens on Sunday or during midweek programming? Well here is a possible solution for you: We got to a point that we could no longer continue providing snacks for about 100 5th and 6th graders on Sunday morning or half of that number during our midweek programming. So we came up with the idea called "The Stand!" This is our snack bar where preteens can buys snacks at a really low cost - nothing is over .50 and most things are .25! We sell healthy snacks, junk food snacks, bottled water, Coolaid Jammers, and soda pop (Nothing with caffeine!). Kids are not aloud to spend more than a dollar and if they did not finish their snack before large group starts, they have to put it away and save it for later.

All profits (Believe me, even with our prices so low, we still make money) go back into replenishing the stock of snack foods and our preteen ministry t-shirts. We also give some of the profit to missionaries that our preteen ministry supports. I have not lost money, because this ministry pays for itself (It is a ministry, because when we feed our kids, it is meeting a felt need of theirs)! Plus, giving away free trips to "The Stand" also serves as a great give-away or raffle item!

A MUST READ!

This book a must read for single-parent mom of boys and for anyone who works with preteen boys that live in single-parent-mom house. In this book, author Donald Miller, reflects on his own life of growing-up with out a dad. He talks candidly about the effects it had on him and the struggles and trials that he has gone through.

Many people do not understand the power and effect of having an involved dad can have on a young man. When I was in undergraduate school, I remember hearing in one of my counseling classes, my professor make a statement that the father is the filter of the home. The father is the one who controls what words are used, what entertainment is aloud in the home, and etc... What he was essentially saying is that the father is the one who will ultimately dictate what the morals and values will be in the home - and when the father's morals and values are out of whack or absent, the kids (Especially boys)will also take the shape or lack-of-shape as that of the father's.

This book will help you be prepared to better help your son, or the young man that you minister to. It will help you understand his thought process and decision making and it will help you understand his heart! I stumbled upon this book last year and read it in a couple of days. It made me laugh and it made me bawl my eyes out (People who know me, know that I don't cry easily). My wife also read it with me and said that through this book, she can understand me better. This book has helped me on my own personal journey and has also helped me in my ministry. I am deeply grateful for Donald Miller writing this book...

I must add hear that my senior minister at the church I minister at told me that we must remember that just because there is a dad in the house doesn't necessarily mean that he is there.

Joe

Stats to think about...

Preteen Culture Stats:

- 73% of kids between the ages of 8 to 12 years old have internet as favorite media medium. (Barna, 23)
- Kids between the ages of 8 to 12 years old intake about 48 hours a week of mass media. (Barna, 23)


Preteen Spiritual Stats:

- Barna and sociologists have discovered that the moral and spiritual foundations are generally determined by age 9. (Barna, 47)
- Barna discovered that the probability of someone embracing Jesus as his/her Savior was:
32% between the ages of 5 and 12
4% between the ages of 13 to 18
6% between the ages of 19 or older

In other words, if people do not embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior before their teen years, the chances of doing so at all is slim. (Barna, 34)
(All material taken from George Barna's book "Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions")

Can anyone say "Preteen Ministry!"

Joe

Preteen Ministry Resource Website

WWW.PRETEENEDGE.COM is finally up and running. It has taken me a while to work on it, but I have had my hands full! I have posted four years worth of preteen ministry information on this site - from curriculum, books, parent helps, and other stuff.

Please take some time and check it out. Let me know if it was helpful to you. Also tell me about your resources and ideas that you use. I will be glad to share with others!

Joe

THE BOOKS ARE FINALLY HERE!

Last August, about six of us, people who work with preteens, gathered together at Group publishing (At the invitation of Group) and for four days we participated in a Preteen Think Tank. As a result of that meeting, we contributed to the publishing of three books about preteen ministry. These books are packaged together to form what Group calls "Preteen Launchable kit".

I must say, that this is a tremendous resource for helping people not only think about preteens and preteen ministry, but it an awesome guide in helping you begin and establish your preteen ministry. Plus, I personally know all the authors and I know one of them really well...LOL... Seriously though - if you are looking for a great resource to help you begin a preteen ministry, or if you need some fresh ideas, you should check out this kit. I must add here that I DO NOT get royalties from the sale of these books, so this is not my motivation for you to buy this resource. Everyone who contributed to these books really know a lot about preteens and preteen ministry.

Here is a brief description of what you will find in "Preteen Launchables."

Propel Your Preteens on an Unending Journey of Faith!

Whether you’re launching a new preteen ministry or refueling a current program, here’s everything you need to…

Understand how God wired your preteens – socially, spiritually, intellectually, physically, and emotionally

Connect with preteens – through great games, slammin’ service ideas, wow worship, powerful parent involvement, rockin’ retreats, and exciting events!

Plan to succeed with preteens – sure-fire, practical ministry solutions – including igniting to right vision, recruiting the right team, sharing the right message, and so much more!

Kit includes:

3 mini-books packed with tons of expert advice
3 discussion-starter game pieces--complete with 20 ideas for engaging discussion starters
70 proven ideas
100's of insights
2 BONUS volunteer training sessions
And much more

Joe