My First "Google Alert"

I'm slowly but surely becoming acquainted with "web 2.0". I've got a couple of blogs, , a Flickr account, a Twitter, and a Facebook. Now I've discovered the "Google Alert". It's probably old news but it's pretty cool. Google News will send you an email whenever there is a news story posted about a certain item. What's my alert set for?

"Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience"

Here's the first update it sent me. Can't wait for the trailer.

Snapshot!

Ministry is not about numbers, but healthy things do typically grow. Each year we try to take a numerical snapshot of our ministry to compare where we are to where we've been and then consider where we might be going. Tonight we're sharing the following snapshot with our leaders to encourage, inspire, and challenge them:

Watermark Student Ministries 5 Years of Snapshots
2004-2005
235 Kids in 29 Small Groups with 45 Leaders

2005-2006
286 Kids in 34 Small Groups with 52 Leaders

2006-2007
368 Kids in 41 Small Groups with 66 Leaders

2007-2008
452 Kids in 49 Small Groups with 83 Leaders

2008-2009
514 Kids in 53 Small Groups with 92 Leaders

2008-2009 Junior High Snapshot
292 Kids in 28 Small Groups with 52 Leaders

6th Grade
96 Kids in 8 Small Groups with 12 Leaders

7th Grade
97 Kids in 10 Small Groups with 20 Leaders

8th Grade
99 Kids in 10 Small Groups with 17 Leaders

2008-2009 High School Snapshot
222 Kids in 25 Small Groups with 40 Leaders

9th Grade
68 Kids in 8 Small Groups with 11 Leaders

10th Grade
60 Kids in 7 Small Groups with 14 Leaders

11th Grade
58 Kids in 6 Small Groups with 8 Leaders

12th Grade
36 Kids in 4 Small Groups with 7 Leaders

2008-2009 Former Students Snapshot
College Freshmen
34 Kids from 4 Small Groups with 5 Leaders

College Sophomores
13 Kids from 2 Small Groups with 3 Leaders

College Juniors
17 Kids from 3 Small Groups with 3 Leaders

College Seniors
17 Kids from 3 Groups with 4 Leaders

5 Key Takeaways:

1. Kids are sticking around because of relationships
2. Our influence is multiplying each year
3. If they are following us, we better be following Christ
4. We need more leaders right now and in the future
5. Our impact is spreading to college campuses and beyond

Good Football Teams Watch Film on Saturday Mornings

We meet with our volunteer leaders team about 12 times a year. Typically, this is the season of the semester when volunteers get busy and tired and begin wondering about the importance of our gatherings. We think all of our meetings are a valuable piece of our ministry and consider it important for everyone on our team to be at each one. Here are three reasons we try to communicate with our team about why each meeting is important:

COMMUNITY
We strongly believe that it is important that our team members are continually aware of the fact that we are a part of something that is bigger than ourselves and our individual groups and ministries. Every leader plays a role in supporting the bigger community of our team. It means a lot to us as a staff to have each leaders support in our efforts to continually develop and maintain a strong sense of team.

VALUE & EQUIPPING
We work diligently to plan and be sure that all the things we're talking about at meetings connect and apply to what leaders are doing as they serve students. Our leaders all need to be reminded of the eternal value of our service and the importance of being equipped to grow and improve in our efforts to reach young people for Christ.

COMMITMENT & INTEGRITY
As part of the application, all of our leaders sign a covenant and part of it is committing to be at meetings. We encourage each of our leaders to make meetings a priority as a simple matter of sticking with the commitments they have made. We try to help our leaders succeed at this by scheduling our meetings before each semester begins and making sure everyone has the dates on their calendar and can work out their personal schedules accordingly.

Proud of #63

(Bert, Martha Kate, Blake, & Jena McJunkin)

The following is a quote taken from a US Naval Academy message board concerning their October 25 football match-up against SMU. The young man mentioned in this piece is a former student in our ministry...one I actually had the privilege of meeting one-on-one with weekly for a few years when he was in junior high. I couldn't be more proud of him.

I am a 1983 graduate, father of a current US Naval Academy senior, retired Navy Commander, and Navy football season football ticket holder. I’ve seen a lot of Navy Football. Some of you have certainly seen more.

Today’s game was a good Navy victory. The elements took SMU out of their game. That said, today I observed the most impressive moment by a visiting player of any I have observed in my 29 years of Navy football.

At the end of the game, all the SMU players got of the field very quickly except one. I really can’t blame the SMU players. I sit on the visiting team sideline behind their bench. Those guys were very cold, wet and miserable. All game long, most were hopping up and down trying to stay warm. I am sure that when the game ended and they shook hands, their thoughts were all about getting to the locker room, into the showers under hot water. All except one, player … Blake McJunkin, #63, a freshman offensive lineman. I don’t know if he played a down.

As I stood, at attention singing “Navy Blue and Gold”, I could not help but to notice a lone SMU player standing at attention in the endzone. There was Blake, standing at attention, through the entire singing of the song. At the end of the song, he relaxed, took a look at the entire stadium, a final look at the Navy Team; then ran into his locker room.

What an amazing moment. As a parent of a Navy Midshipman, I pray that my son’s service means something to someone. Today, I saw that it did, in the simple, honorable actions of a young man from Texas.

I plan to write Blake, his coach, and the SMU President. It was an impressive moment.

The Boys Are Back

Every fall we take our Junior High kids and leaders away for a weekend at Pine Cove hoping it will serve as a relational catalyst for our Small Groups. In the past, we've always attended conferences hosted and programmed by Pine Cove. While they've traditionally done a phenomenal job, this year we decided to book out the entire camp and run our own program. While this required a lot more planning and work, it also allowed for more flexibility and a more intense focus on the spiritual needs of our specific kids.

I was reminded again how much relationships matter when it comes to effective ministry. Even if you're not the best speaker in the world, I truly believe that you can teach your kids better than anyone else because you know them. Even if you're not the funniest person in the world, I truly believe that you can entertain your kids better than anyone else because they know you. Overall, the weekend resulted in one of the most powerful Junior High ministry events I've ever been a part of. A huge "Thanks" goes out to all of our leaders for making this possible.

Here's a stupid video we used to communicate camp rules. We tried to bring fun to even the most boring moments of the weekend:


Click the image below for more pictures from our retreat: