Youth Ministry - Central Plains Mennonite Conference

Youth Ministry Basics
a handbook for congregational youth ministry

Are you looking for

...the regular Mennonite Church youth curriculum

Here is a sample session for Fall 2010

...elective curriculum UPDATED

...video curriculum

...summer service projects

...books for youth leaders

Are you a

...Sunday School teacher

...Mentor Coordinator

...Youth Sponsor

Here are some resources I've given each congregation. Please look for them at church if you haven't seen them yet.

Help for Youth Leaders DVD
This is a video of me talking to youth sponsors, Sunday School teachers, mentor coordinators and youth delegates, sharing about basic youth ministry resources and giving some general advice.

Youth Ministry Basics
This handbook for congregational youth ministry starts with the basic "why" and "how" we do youth ministry and what our objectives are. It also includes ideas for curriculum and some basic advice. You'll find it in a PDF on the right side of this page.

Can't find what you need? Contact me at

Hi! I'm Shana Peachey Boshart, youth minister for Central Plains. On these pages, youth leaders of Central Plains churches will find lots of resources and information to help you teach Sunday School, lead youth group or mentor youth.

We had a great time at Youth Escape!
Participation
There were 151 people at Youth Escape, 91 youth, 32 sponsors and the other 28 were staff and volunteers. Nine of those volunteer staff were college students who were developing their own leadership skills by leading the mixers, coffeehouse, break-outs and worship.

Highlights
Shane Claiborne’s preaching was definitely a highlight. He has a way of making you laugh and touching your heart, not to mention modeling a gentle but passionate obedience to Jesus. He has great stories and a compelling charge to join in God’s work of reconciliation and healing for a broken world. The game of Persecution was also a highlight for many kids. It’s a fun and active way to learn the stories of the early Anabaptists and imagine how we might act in similar circumstances. Finally, the kids liked free time on Saturday afternoon with a variety of fun activities.

Offerings
Youth Escape participants gave $373.44 in worship offerings for the peace education ministry of the Quito (Ecuador) Mennonite Church. At the coffeehouse on Saturday, people contributed $42.66 to Plant with Purpose. This will plant 42 trees and offset 16,800 lbs of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere! Shane’s travel to Youth Escape created 660 lbs of carbon, so we offset 25 times more carbon than was created! Way to go! We’ll be sure to tell Shane that.

Sunday School and Bible Study Curriculum
Are you thinking about what to study in Sunday School or youth group? Hopefully you have a plan in place, but for the last-minute deciders or for the winter quarter, check out an updated list of elective curricula for Mennonite youth at left.

Quick Object Lesson
There’s a great activity to get kids to think about their tendency to compete rather than cooperate in the latest edition of Relate, the newsletter for youth leaders from Mennonite Mission Network. Check it out here. This would be a great activity to pair with the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) or Ephesians 2:11-22.

I’ll be visiting your church soon
As you may know, we have had some staff transitions in Central Plains. Sharon Kennel and Ed Kauffman are leaving. Tim Detweiler is now full-time conference minister for ministerial leadership working for the whole conference. My husband, Dave, is the new executive conference minister. His responsibilities include administration, vision, and mission. Dave and Tim and I are planning to visit every congregation in Central Plains conference between September 11 and November 17. Watch your church bulletin for the date and time of our visit, and please come out to see us! If we haven’t yet met in person, please introduce yourself to me and tell me what your role is working with youth in your congregation! I am eager to meet you!

It’s a do-over! Improved high school SS curriculum
Take a second look at Mennonite Publishing Network’s high school Sunday School curriculum! Because it is written fresh for every quarter, improvements have been built in over time, and now it has a whole new format! For starters, it is shorter and made to be folded and slipped into your Bible. Gone are the childish activities at the end of the lesson, now the entire lesson is more age-appropriate. Take a gander at this sample session.

Going on a service trip? Order Merge now!
Merge gives you lesson plans, Bible studies and activity ideas before, during and after your service trip. Remember, Central Plains youth leaders can buy Merge for just $11.19—30% off the regular price. The discount code was sent to youth leaders in the newsletter.

Need more ideas? Here is a great list of resources for service trips available to you from the Western District Resource Library.

Need a Bible Study or SS material? I’ve got options for you!

YMroadtrip.org
Want a Bible study you can choose and download from the ‘Net in seconds? Want a Bible study that actually digs into the Bible? How about a Bible study by Mennonite youth for Mennonite youth? And shouldn’t it be FREE? You can have it all! Surf on over to www.ymroadtrip.org/ and choose from 116 different lessons! Wow!!

Dig a little deeper with MEA lesson plans
Here’s something really cool. Most of our youth don’t even have the option of going to a Mennonite high school and taking classes like Practical Christian Living, Images of God, Sermon on the Mount, or Anabaptist Heritage. BUT, you can teach these classes to them yourself! The lesson plans and course outlines are all on the Mennonite Education Agency web site: http://www.mennoniteeducation.org/MEAPortal/DesktopDefault.aspx?tab.

One more idea: Read and discuss a book by Shane Claiborne.
Whether you are going to Youth Escape or not, consider reading and discussing one of Shane’s books, The Irresistible Revolution or Jesus for President , with the youth this summer. I haven’t found discussion guides for these, so if you write your own, consider sharing them with the rest of us!

And finally, Mennonite Publishing Network has redesigned its catalog and sent one to your congregation specifically addressed to YOU the youth leader! Hopefully you have received this catalog already. If not, ask for it. Here’s what the catalog looks like. It’s smaller and more attractive now!

Resources on conscientious objection
Both Mennonite Central Committee and the Center on Conscience and War have updated their web resources on conscientious objection. Check out their sites at http://co.mcc.org/us/co and www.centeronconscience.org. When youth have questions about this topic, refer them to these excellent sites.

Podcasts for youth leaders
There is a wonderful series of reflections on youth and young adults called “Cloud of Witnesses” on the web. These were originally produced as CDs, and I listened to and appreciated several of them. Download a few to your mp3 player or listen to them from your computer while doing household chores. They will inspire you and equip you in your ministry to youth. Find them at http://www3.ptsem.edu/offices/coned/iym/default.aspx, click on “Resources” then “Cloud of Witnesses.”

Shaping Families
Check out a new radio program called Shaping Families. It’s a 15-minute, weekly program offering practical help, encouragement and inspiration for families from a Christian perspective. What will be most helpful to you as a youth sponsor or teacher is their web site www.shapingfamilies.com, where you can listen to the programs and also find practical resources on topics relevant to youth. Recent programs have addressed depression, cutting, mental illness, drug addiction and forgiveness. Listen for your own enrichment or play a portion of a program to spark a discussion with your youth.

More help for discussing tough topics
Is there a tough issue you need to address with your youth? Close to Home pamphlets tackle topics like depression, eating disorders, bullying, drug addiction, pornography, acquaintance rape, gambling and more. A pamphlet costs just 75 cents each and the study guides are free! Download the free study guides at http://www.faithandliferesources.org/supplies/closetohome/.

Here’s an idea: work with your pastor—he or she may be happy to order a set of pamphlets to display at church. Then, they’ll be at your fingertips, and other people at church will have access to them too!