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YouthWorker eJournal -- June 24, 2008
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Summer Movie Roundup
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Summer is the time when studios woo vacationing teens to the multiplex. Last weekend, Get Smart and The Love Guru opened, but these two new comedies got mixed reviews.
An important film for youth workers to know about is Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. The film, which is set during America's Great Depression of the 1930s, features plenty of positive life lessons and role models for girls.
Here's what Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said:
"Considering that it is inspired by one of the dolls in the American Girl product line, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is some kind of a miracle: an actually good movie. I expected so much less. I was waiting for some kind of banal product placement, I suppose, and here is a movie that is just about perfect for its target audience, and more than that. It has a great look, engaging performances, real substance and even a few whispers of political ideas, all surrounding the freshness and charm of Abigail Breslin, who was 11 when it was filmed."
Meanwhile, The Incredible Hulk is taking heat for promoting cigar smoking. The American Medical Association criticized the PG-13 film for its frequent shots of General Thunderbolt Ross puffing on a fat stogie. The General smokes like a chimney in the comic book series, but cigars were left out of the 2003 film, Hulk.
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Teen Pregnancies: In Massachusetts and on TV |
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At least 17 girls in a Gloucester, Mass., high school are pregnant. Time magazine says some of the girls agreed to become pregnant after saying they would raise their children together.
The situation raises important questions about the motivations for teen sex. For some of these girls, it seems they wanted a sense of belonging and community.
Meanwhile, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, a new program from the creator of 7th Heaven, that debuts on the ABC Family network July 1, features a pregnant teen.
The movie Juno focused on the trials and tribulations of a pregnant teen. Now that this subject is coming to TV, this is a chance for you to watch and discuss the program with adults in your church, and perhaps with your kids.
Also, don't forget sexuality is one of the issues we discuss in our September/October GIRLS issue of YouthWorker Journal. To subscribe, click here.
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Volunteers Make the Difference in Youth Ministry |
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Are you making plans for your fall youth ministry staffing and programming? If so, don't forget volunteers. While most youth workers say volunteers are an important part of their youth ministry, many struggle with how to recruit and develop them.
The July/August issue of YouthWorker Journal is devoted to the subject of VOLUNTEERS. For our Roundtable interview we talked to three experts:
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Mark Oestreicher, the President of Youth Specialties. As an author, trainer, and frequent speaker, each year Marko equips thousands of youth workers to build healthy volunteer teams and effective youth ministries.
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Heather Flies, who knows from personal experience just how important volunteers are. As the junior high pastor at Wooddale Church in Minnesota, Heather now loves and values her 65-member volunteer staff. As a trainer and speaker, she frequently challenges others to be more serious and intentional about volunteers.
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David Chow's passion for developing volunteers was evident in his book No More Lone Rangers, which has led him into his new role as the founder of Leading Together, a ministry that consults with and coaches churches and Christian leaders in leadership development.
Here's what Marko told us:
"When I was a full-time youth pastor, I found that when I invested a lot of my small budget into the care of my volunteers rather than into flashy programs, it actually had a much deeper impact on my ministry.
"It's a huge issue. It's impossible to ignore because effective youth ministries are not built on paid youth workers. Effective youth ministries are ones in which a wide variety of youth workers are investing in specific groups of kids they get to know and for whom they care. I don't know of a way good youth ministry can be done without a team of volunteers."
To read more about VOLUNTEERS, subscribe here.
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Congratulations ... You're Gifted: Discovering Your God-Given Shape to Make a Difference in the World
Doug Fields and Erik Rees
; Zondervan;
2008; 192 pp. $12.99
www.zondervan.com
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The July/August issue of YouthWorker Journal features reviews of more than 70 new books, resources, DVDs and CDs. Here's our lead review from the issue.
How many of our offices have been invaded by teenagers who are wondering who they are, who they are supposed to be, and what they are supposed to be doing with their life? What youth worker hasn't been frustrated because we desire to see our students engaged and passionate about God’s deeply personal and immediate mission for them? Congratulations… You're Gifted endeavors to answer our students' questions and alleviate our frustrations by equipping youth with the self-discovery tools they need to realize the unique purpose God has orchestrated specifically for them.
Doug Fields has taken his fellow Saddleback staffer Erik Rees' highly successful book S.H.A.P.E. and reformatted the material, making this assessment more accessible to a teenage audience by adding his own adolescent humor, stories and content. Youth workers are more than familiar with Fields' tremendous ability to teach (that is part of his S.H.A.P.E.) and joined with Rees' well thought out discovery process is a potent combination. By discovering how God has designed them with Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences, Fields and Rees hope teenagers will uncover the great aspirations God has for each and every one of them.
If the idea that your students are the "future of the church" frustrates you and you are seeking to direct a movement of teenagers to impact the Kingdom of God right now, then here is a resource that will come alongside your vision. Fields and Rees carry that hope throughout and want your students to know that "as one of God's custom-designed, original masterpieces, your potential to make a difference in this world is endless."
This probably is not, however, a book you can just hand out on Sunday morning and trust the content to do all the work. Even though each chapter is exceptionally clear, interactive, and packs a personal punch, even the most mature students would benefit exponentially from someone going through this resource with them. Taking stock of one's life can be tough for anyone, especially an adolescent. This book is ideal for a discussion group or one-on-one mentoring.
--Reviewer Adam Griffin is a Young Life partner and director of youth ministry, Lamb of God Lutheran Church, Flower Mound, Texas.
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The YouthWorker eJournal Survey: How Do You Handle Volunteers?
Leaders like Marko and Heather say volunteers are essential to success in youth ministry. What about you? How do you handle volunteers? Choose an answer below, and we'll report back to you next time.
Volunteers are a core of our youth ministry program, and we devote significant time to recruiting and training volunteers.
We know volunteers are important, but we don't do as much to recruit and train them as we could.
I am afraid we don't really do much with volunteers.
Hey, I'm a volunteer, not a paid youth worker!
Go to youthworker.com to participate in this issue's survey.
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The YouthWorker eJournal Survey Results: How Big is Your Group?
From time to time we like to check in to see who's getting the YouthWorker eJournal.
Here's what you told us:
Our group has under 10 kids a week. 28%
We typically work with 11-100 kids. 57%
Our group is typically more than 100 kids. 11%
Our group has more than 500 kids. 2%
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[To subscribe to Youth WorkerJournal, click here]
Thanks for joining us for this issue of the YouthWorker eJournal.
See you next time.
Sincerely, Steve Rabey, YouthWorker Journal
editor, and our entire crew
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