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Networking when you not wired as a Networker

Justin Herman has shared here before and always brings great content. Justin has recently accepted a position as Jr. High Director at Mariners Church in Southern California. 

This is me being honest, i feel i was born to network.  I remember on summer i was all about collecting bottles and going to the convenient store to turn them in and get candy.  Those were some of my best memories.  I started to see something, i was only getting a small amount of bottles and small of candy.  So i started pulling in boys down the street to pool bottles for money to get better candy to share.   I was always using networking as a tool to do more together.  On thing i have found after talking to countless rookie pastor and even some veteran ones that in their community networking is not a “big thing”.

I get that is not always easy though, we all get busy right?  With our programs, our small groups, our outreach stuff, our camps and while we do it all to the glory of God we also for the most part are all doing the same stuff.  the method might be different but the parts are all the same.
When i started looking at my local churches i saw one thing, that just like when i was a kid if you pull people together there is more we can do together.  And again networking is the tool to get this done.

April 25, 2012 in Practical with 0 Comments

Student Ministry: Connecting with Parents 2

Justin Herman is a past contributor here at Rookie Pastor and always brings it. You can read part one of this post here. If you have something to contribute to this community we are always open to new voices and posts, just drop us a line with your idea.

We all want to connect with parents right?

Yesterday we talked about making sure parents know who the adults are that are spending time with their kids.

For many parents this works really well, but for others they are going to look for and appreciate something that goes beyond a card with a name and a face.

Small Group Leader/ Parent breakfast.

In addition, we find times for our leaders and parents to get together.
Our goal is to foster discussion in a way that allows them to get to know each other better and see that we are really all on the same team after all.
Everything at the breakfast, from placemats to discussion cards are all made to gear and guide discussion. From prior experience and great feedback, it is clear that both parents and leaders enjoy this time together.
Although this relationship that is being fostered by the church is absolutely a new world for some of our parents, everyone loves and sees the value in it. Our Pastors love the fact that the breakfast is a multi-generational activity, our leaders love it because it gives them a way to connect with parents, and our parents loved being able to put a face to a name, and to hear from their leader’s mouth how much their students are valued.

December 21, 2011 in Practical with 0 Comments

Student Ministry: Connecting with Parents 1

Justin Herman is a past contributor here at Rookie Pastor and always brings it. If you have something to contribute to this community we are always open to new voices and posts, just drop us a line with your idea.

We all want to connect with parents right?

It’s crazy for anyone to think that one youth pastor and a team of leaders could be held responsible for the spiritual development of a youth group of any size.

The spiritual development of youth is about partnerships- leveraging the influences to have a greater impact on every student. Therefore, it is critical that we help to foster the connection between parents and our leaders so that no group- youth workers, small group leader, or parents- feel like they are going it alone.

There are two things that we have done to help foster this partnership in our goal to reach youth, here is the first:

Small Group Leader Cards

It is imperative that every parent not just know we have Small Group and Life Group leaders, but that they really know those leaders and who they are, as people.

Parents should be able to email leaders and have open conversation outside of church, invite leaders over for dinner, to a sports game, or to a play featuring their student. Leaders could even be on game show as part of the family (Hey, it could happen!).

Continue Reading…

December 20, 2011 in Practical with 5 Comments