Emergent Junior High

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Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

The Students Found In Every Small Group
2007-08-06 16:00:00
The Late One- No matter what we’re doing; no matter what time it starts, this kid will be at least half an hour late. And, somehow, it’s never their fault. I could announce that I’d be giving away free monter trucks filled with money and they would be tardy. The Human Tapeworm- Snack cannot come quickly enough for this kid. Nor can it come in a proper amount. Maybe it’s the Middle School growth spurt or that they go all day at school on nothing but a pack of Sour Skittles and a Dr. Pepper. Either way, when they raise their hand during group, they’re not wanting to ask about why Nehemiah wanted to rebuild the walls, they want to know when they can gnaw on some Oreos. The Spleen- Whatever this kid ate before they came should be illegal. Make sure to have proper ventilation… The Gun Jumper- Things you can’t use as a part of your teaching style around the Gun Jumper: rhetorical questions, stories that build to a point, or any idea that has more ...
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Community: The Way Forward (Week Four)
2007-07-30 16:00:00
John Hasler is currently an intern for the small groups ministry at National Community Church in Washington, DC. He is a frequent contributor to ZoneGathering.com, the community blog for NCC. John Hasler is gifted in the area of teaching and discipleship and has been involved at NCC in many of its social justice initiatives. As this series on community comes to a close it is important that we find practical ways in which we can move forward effectively at NCC. Over the past three weeks we have seen some of the elements that were included in Jesus? community, investigated the cultural landscape of the world today, and took a look at the church. Now it is imperative that we seek out innovative new ways to progress in serving one another through community. Looking back at some of the things presented in this series, what have we learned about community? What are the things Jesus modeled for us? What are the needs of our world today? What can we as a body of believers do to crea...
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Community: The Church (Week Three)
2007-07-23 16:00:00
John Hasler is currently an intern for the small groups ministry at National Community Church in Washington, DC. He is a frequent contributor to ZoneGathering.com, the community blog for NCC. John Hasler is gifted in the area of teaching and discipleship and has been involved at NCC in many of its social justice initiatives. As we move forward together as a congregation at NCC, it is important that we understand our collective vision and continue to use the resources that are available to us as we think about community. Keeping in mind some of the challenges we face in the world today, as outlined in last week?s post, let us examine the foundational elements that we have put into place when it comes to our community building. This includes an investigation of how we are doing things church-wide via small groups and ministry. It is equally important however, that we spend time thinking about how we, as individuals, are leading our everyday lives. The two cannot be mutually ex...
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Community: The World Today (Week Two)
2007-07-16 16:00:00
John Hasler is currently an intern for the small groups ministry at National Community Church in Washington, DC. He is a frequent contributor to ZoneGathering.com, the community blog for NCC. John Hasler is gifted in the area of teaching and discipleship and has been involved at NCC in many of its social justice initiatives. If the church is going to be working to create a community that is worth inviting others into, it has to understand the current cultural climate of the world in which it is working. If the church does not understand the needs of its neighbors, how can it best love and care for them? In order to even begin to think about this question as the greater church community, it is necessary for us to first examine ourselves. Perhaps there are some of us who need to take a step back and think about how we are living and operating. What thoughts and actions speak to how we are approaching the idea of community? Are we seeking God and discovering what He envisions fo...
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Community: An Introduction (Week One)
2007-07-09 16:00:00
John Hasler is currently an intern for the small groups ministry at National Community Church in Washington, DC.  He is a frequent contributor to ZoneGathering.com, the community blog for NCC.   John Hasler is gifted in the area of teaching and discipleship and has been involved at NCC in many of its social justice initiatives. Community is one of those words that often flies around among those of us comprising the church. Everyone can come up with a kind of definition for it- everyone tries to cultivate it- to some extent everyone longs for it; yet it is one of the most complex issues that we face, not only as the body of Christ, but as mere human beings. It?s a topic that spans from theology to psychology to sociology and beyond. Over the next four weeks I will attempt to tackle some of the issues that we face when contemplating community. We will take a look at Jesus, our world, the church, our small groups, and more. Some of it may be things that you have heard a million...
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Strategically Un-Strategic
2007-07-02 16:00:00
I was taking a look through some of Kurt Johnston’s old blog posts from about a year ago and I came across this post about strategy.  Now it’s no secret that this site has a particular interest in strategy driven junior high ministry but it’s posts like this one by KuJo (as I call him) that will hopefully balance the paradigm. I like strategies. I like having a plan of attack and sticking to it. I like knowing what the goals, purposes, vision and direction of my ministry look like. In fact, for years I’ve rang the bell of ‘junior high ministry needs to, and can be, more strategic!’ Believe me; I have no plans to abandon my plans. However I’m beginning to wonder if, because of the brief season of ministry time we have with our students (2-3 years max) and their unique developmental stage, too much strategy actually hurts our ministry to young teens rather than helps it. Maybe part of our strategy needs to include room to be un-strategic. Mayb...
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Junior High Ministry 101: Parents
2007-06-25 16:00:00
Kurt Johnston of Saddleback Community Church and Controlling Chaos fame has started a new series of posts called Junior High Ministry 101 on his blog. Don’t forget to check out his website for some great curriculum resources www.simplyjuniorhigh.com. The longer I’m involved in junior high ministry, and now that I’m a parent of a junior higher myself, the more I’m convinced of the importance of parents in my ministry. Here are a few bullet point thoughts about parents: - Parents are your ally not your enemy. - The key to getting parents on board: Earn their trust! - If parents are for you, who can be against you? - Parents have stuff you need! - Two things you can give to parents that most of them desperately need: Hope and Help. - You don’t have to be a parent to lead parents. - You probably haven’t raised a young teen yourself, and you don’t have all the answers. var sb_rated_title = 'Junior High Ministry 101: Parents'; va...
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10 Tips To Great Communication With Teenagers
2007-06-21 16:00:00
Communication and understanding are crucial to every relationship, and especially in a relationship with a teenager. If you are a parent, youth worker, counsellor or teacher, this article contains practical tips to keeping the lines of communication open with the teenagers in your world. If you’re a junior high worker, chances are you have a couple of teenagers kicking around. 1. Keep Communicating. Even if they do not seem to be listening, keep communicating. Ask them about what they are interested in. If you work as an accountant and they are passionate about music, do not hold a conversation based on numbers. Ask them about their music and why they like it. Listen to it with them. 2. Be Genuine. Teenagers can spot a fake a mile away. If you have an alternative agenda for communicating with them you may as well forget it! 3. Invest Time. There is a quote that says ‘People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.’ You could know all a...
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How To Handle Criticism
2007-06-18 16:00:00
How well do you handle criticism? I?ve been dealt a lot of criticism ranging from harsh feedback to feeling completely insulted. Although the saying goes, ?Stick and stones can break by bones, but words can never hurt me,? a harsh piece of feedback can definitely leave you with a bruised ego. Despite the sting, I?ve found criticism can often be useful. Feedback can help you fix mistakes and improve. I believe criticism can often show you what your own blind spots are, pointing you out to problems before they arise. I?ve found my ability to use sometimes harsh feedback, has given me an advantage in my own self-improvement. Brace for Impact - Managing Crit icism is More Than a Platitude If negative feedback can be useful, why does it make you feel lousy in the first place? I don?t have a scientific answer for this, but I believe a lot of it has to do with our ancestors. Living in small groups of about a hundred people, becoming a social outcast could be a death sentence. So ...
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Updating Your Vision Statement
2007-06-14 16:00:00
Updating or creating a new vision statement can be one of the most exciting parts of strategic planning. Creating your vision statement can be achieved in a fashion similar to that of creating your mission and values statements. Follow these steps to create your vision: Gather your senior staff and key employees together for a ...
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Summer Interns
2007-06-11 16:00:00
Tim Schmoyer recently posted a great article about effectively using interns in ministry.  Although summer internships are short and for many it’s just a taste of ministry, anything you can do to equip them and shape them in the time that you have them is beneficial.  Keep in mind that shorter internships will limit the ...
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Sixth Graders in Middle Schools Fare Worse Than Peers in Elementary Schools
2007-06-07 16:00:00
This article is from Duke University. Study also finds that the negative effects of grouping sixth graders with older students are lasting and persist at least through ninth grade Monday, February 26, 2007 Durham, NC — Sixth graders placed in middle schools have more discipline problems and lower test scores than their peers who attend elementary schools, according ...
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Junior High Ministry 101: Showing Up
2007-06-04 16:00:00
Kurt Johnston of Saddleback Community Church and Controlling Chaos fame has started a new series of posts called Junior High Ministry 101 on his blog.  Don’t forget to check out his website for some great curriculum resources www.simplyjuniorhigh.com.  I’m typing this from the backseat as we head to Mexico…the wording of this post may be ...
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Dealing with ?Drama?
2007-06-04 16:00:00
Drama is something that affects every ministry but it starts around the grade 7/grade 8 zone with girls.  What do we mean by drama?  Take a look at this article from Tim Schmoyer and see if you recognize this reality… What suggestions do you have for this fellow youth worker? Guy Hamilton contacted me with this ...
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Capturing Creativity In Junior High Ministry
2007-05-28 16:00:00
Kim Roach recently wrote a blog about becoming a creative genius.  These are great principles that when applied to ministry can effectively help junior high leaders and workers capture their ideas and creativity. When we measure the creativity of young children, virtually all of them will record as being ?highly creative?. However, only a small percentage ...
More About: Productivity , Creativity , Ministry , High , Junior

Laying The Foundation: The Growth Of A Leader (Part Twelve)
2007-05-24 16:00:00
This is Part 12 of the Laying the Foundation series on Thursday Leadership Lesson from National Community Church. As we build our groups and ministries, we must ensure that we are building on a solid foundation. This series will explore characteristics of leaders who lay and build on firm foundations. Today, I share some of ...
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Creating A Strategy Focused Organization
2007-05-21 17:00:00
Erica Olsen from Strategically Speaking recently wrote an article on how to create a strategy focused organization.  Although her focus is on business, there’s lots of good stuff here that ministry leaders can take and apply to their own ministry areas. Organization s that are strategy-focused are more effective with their resources, have higher employee retention, and ...
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Laying The Foundation: The Growth Of A Leader (Part Eleven)
2007-05-17 16:00:00
This is Part 11 of the Laying the Foundation series on Thursday Leadership Lesson from National Community Church. As we build our groups and ministries, we must ensure that we are building on a solid foundation. This series will explore characteristics of leaders who lay and build on firm foundations. Today, we will talk about ...
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How To Spot Potential Leaders In Your Church
2007-05-14 17:00:00
As society cries for more and better leaders, organizational spotlights scan the audience for could-bes who might be lost in the crowd. Identifying, recruiting, and elevating individuals with leadership skills and gifts must become a priority if we’re to cope with constant changes and maximize our churches effectiveness. Jesus did a good job of searching ...
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Laying The Foundation: The Growth Of A Leader (Part Ten)
2007-05-10 16:57:00
This is Part 10 of the Laying the Foundation series on Thursday Leadership Lesson from National Community Church. As we build our groups and ministries, we must ensure that we are building on a solid foundation. This series will explore characteristics of leaders who lay and build on firm foundations. Today, we will talk about ...
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Laying The Foundation: The Growth Of A Leader (Part Nine)
2007-04-26 16:00:00
This is Part 8 of the Laying the Foundation series on Thursday Leadership Lesson. As we build our groups and ministries, we must ensure that we are building on a solid foundation. This series will explore characteristics of leaders who lay and build on firm foundations. Today, we will talk about the Friends of a ...
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The Plight Of The Summer Missions Trip
2007-04-20 16:00:00
Recently on his blog, Kurt Johnston, junior high pastor at Saddleback Church, started up a dialogue on missions and some of his thoughts on how junior high ministries typically do them.  For many churches it’s a summer trip to another city to put on a VBS for students or some other low-intensity, small time commitment ...
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One Day Of Blog Silence
2007-04-20 06:48:00
On April 30th, this site will participate in honouring the victims at Virginia Tech.
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Laying The Foundation: The Growth Of A Leader (Part Eight)
2007-04-19 16:00:00
This is Part  8 of the Laying the Foundation series on Thursday Leadership Lesson from National Capital Church. As we build our groups and ministries, we must ensure that we are building on a solid foundation. This series will explore characteristics of leaders who lay and build on firm foundations. Today, we will talk about the ...
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Building Self Discipline (Part Six)
2007-04-16 16:00:00
Self-Discipline : Persistence Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ?Press ...
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Laying The Foundation: The Growth Of A Leader (Part Seven)
2007-04-12 16:00:00
This is Part  7 of the Laying the Foundation series on Thursday Leadership Lesson from National Community Church. As we build our groups and ministries, we must ensure that we are building on a solid foundation. This series will explore characteristics of leaders who lay and build on firm foundations. Today, we will talk about the ...
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Angel Wars Guardian Force
2007-04-11 16:00:00
Well, I’m not one to actively promote a whole lot of products but from time to time some pretty sweet stuff comes around that I think people should definitely check out.  Angel War s is an animated series that started releasing episodes a couple of years ago targeting the ‘tween’ demographic and I think ...
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Execution Is Not A Strategy
2007-04-10 16:00:00
Have a clear vision about where you want to go as an organization but finding it impossible to execute on the dream? It could be that your strategy is not a good one. Knowing where you want to go (remember that vision answers the where question) cannot overcome an insufficient or ineffective how. What can be ...
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Building Self Discipline (Part Five)
2007-04-09 16:00:00
Self-Discipline : Industry Industry is working hard. In contrast to hard work, being industrious doesn?t necessarily mean doing work that?s challenging or difficult. It simply means putting in the time. You can be industrious doing easy work or hard work. Imagine you have a baby. You?ll spend a lot of time changing diapers. But that ...
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Most For Your Minute (Part Four)
2007-04-08 16:00:00
(In this series of posts, we are looking at some components of good time management.) Organization If you are disorganized, it will be very difficult to make good use of your time. When you can’t find important items, it is easy to spend 15, 30 or 60 minutes each day just looking for stuff. When you ...
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