SHIFT for Leaders

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you find the information found here helpful in reminding you about what we do and why we do it. And because what we call things is very important in communicating meaning, it all starts with our name: Shift.

In order to emphasize the ongoing, inside-out change that takes place in the life of someone who truly enters into a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, we call the Student Ministry “Shift.” It’s a reminder that as a student who begins following Jesus opens up more and more of their life over time to Him, He’ll begin changing things in them: Shift_destiny, Shift_attitude, Shift_purpose, Shift_accountability, Shift_convictions, Shift_choices, Shift_priorities, Shift_community, Shift_responsibility, etc. And we want to partner with Him in that process!

Purpose of SHIFT

The purpose of Shift is to glorify God as we REACH students not yet trusting Jesus and CONNECT them with others following Him, helping each to GROW in their faith, SERVE in their ministry and HONOR God with their lives. These five action words help keep us “on track” in all we do.

Our Planned Values

We also use the word “TRANSFORM” to illustrate our planned values, the things we feel so strongly about that they influence the way we think and act as we do ministry:

Teenage leaders (Indicating student involvement, support and ownership)
Relationships (Healthy and positive Adult/Student and Student/Student relationships)
Acceptance (A place where everyone is warmly welcomed and embraced)
New people (Wanting to impact the lives of more and more students)
Spiritual growth (Becoming fully-devoted followers of Jesus)
Fun (Laughter, celebration, excitement, a positive and enthusiastic environment)
Outstanding effort (Not perfection, but important enough to be done very well)
Real care (Genuine and sincere respect, love and intimacy)
Making improvements (Devoted to continual review, evaluation and positive change).

Our Programs

When most people think of youth ministry, they think of programs. Ours exist only to fulfill our purpose, reach our various audiences and express our values. Programs for the 2005/2006 school year include the following:

AMDiscovery (9:30–11 a.m. Sunday, Youth Ministry Center)
“AMDiscovery” is Sunday School with a new twist and the best place to start your son or daughter's involvement with Shift! Middle and High School students come together to worship and study the Bible in a fun, challenging and welcoming environment. AMDiscovery starts with a large-group gathering of worship singing, video, drama, storytelling, games, performing arts and more. Following a compelling and student-relevant presentation from God's Word, students then move into small groups of others their same age and gender for an application-oriented discussion.

CREW (7–8:30 p.m. every other Wednesday)
High School
(Craig & Janet Croson’s home or Larry & Marcy Carbaugh’s home)
Middle School
(Terry & Sandy McKee’s home or Dave & Chris Bauer’s home)
In order to give students a place to deeply connect with a few Christ-following friends and adult caregivers, a “CREW” is a group of about 15 students which meets to find support from teens and adult hosts and leaders and to grow closer to God through Bible study, prayer and life-on-life sharing in same-gender small groups of 4 or 5 students.

Youth Choir
(6:30–8 p.m. Sunday, Church Sanctuary)
This group is for students in grades 7 through 12 and exists to develop and appreciate the instrumental and vocal talents God has given them. They sing occasionally during morning worship and occasionally present musical productions through the year.

Youth Praise Team
(7–8:30 p.m. every other Wednesday, Youth Ministry Center)
The Praise Team is for auditioned teens who desire to lead their peers in worship through music. We sing the latest in modern worship during AMDiscovery each Sunday morning.

High School H.A.B.I.T.S. & Middle School Growing University
(Self-directed resources done at home) “H.A.B.I.T.S.” are resources to help move spiritually maturing High School students towards Christlikeness. They are to be used by the student on their own and at their own pace. They are intended to help establish the habits of a daily “quiet time” with God, accountability to and with another follower of Jesus, Bible memorization, involvement with the whole church family and not just the Student Ministry, financial giving and the personal study of Scripture. “Growing University” is a collection of self-paced, easy-to-use studies to help Middle School students better understand and apply the spiritual disciplines of studying Scripture, having a daily “quiet time” with God, financial giving and telling their friends about Jesus. Both of these resource sets are intended to help students develop personal spiritual discipline of their own.

High School Base Classes (Held periodically at the Youth Ministry Center)
Base classes are foundational classes offered at the church to help introduce students to the ministry of both Shift and Otterbein Church, and to help them move forward in their spiritual journey. We currently offer three different age-appropriate Base Classes for High School students. Class 101 introduces students to the salvation offered through faith in Jesus Christ, the ministry of Otterbein Church through an overview of the beliefs of the church, finances, organizational structure, and the church’s philosophical approach to ministry, and Shift’s strategy for fulfilling our purpose. Class 201 is an introduction to the spiritual disciplines necessary for growth in the life of a follower of Jesus. Those habits include prayer, Bible study, giving and connection with other believers. Students must attend Class 101 before attending Class 201. Class 301 is designed to help students determine their God-given SHAPE (spiritual gifts, heart or passion, abilities, personality and experiences) and how that unique SHAPE prepares them to serve in ministry. Following the class, our Director of Student Ministries, Pastor Craig Schuler meets with each participant individually to discuss with the student where they might best serve in ministry at Otterbein Church. Students must attend Class 101 and 201 before attending Class 301.

Student Ministry Leadership Training (Summer)
Applications are received for this program from students moving into grades 8–12 who would like to understand and discover their unique place of service within our Student Ministry. The program includes Scripture memorization, Bible study, weekly gatherings, reading assignments, an opening team-building event, a closing celebration event and more. In addition to these ongoing, regularly scheduled offerings, we also occasionally hold events for a specific and intentional purpose, such as concerts, movies, get-togethers, trips, amusements, spiritual growth emphasis, service activities and more. We typically announce these special activities on Sunday mornings at AMDiscovery.

And, finally, "Thank You!"

I’m sure you don’t hear the words “Thank you” quite enough. In fact, I’ve never heard a student ministry volunteer beg, “Stop encouraging me. Seriously, please stop! I’ve had it up to here with your encouragement and I can’t take it anymore!” Ministry to teenagers is often a discouraging and difficult calling. I can imagine that right now you might be feeling a little tired and wondering if your time in student ministry is making any difference at all.

I know you’re not in this for the thanks, because if you were, you’d probably be gone by now. But there’s something that lives within every one of us that wants to be recognized and appreciated. You may experience times when you’re not thankful to be working with teenagers, but the people in your life sure are thankful that you do. Please know that your students are, their families are, your church is, and your community is, even when they don’t say it. And I am too. So please let me say to you now, “Thank you so much for who you are and for what you do. It is a privilege and a pleasure to be serving with you."

Links

The Internet has become a great resource for investigating anything and everything related to youth culture. Since the Internet is an important part of the lives of teens, parents need to be aware of what's out there on the Web. In addition, the Internet provides many great informational resources on a variety of topics for those who are raising teenagers.

Please note: Inclusion of a website in our links section does not necessarily imply Shift's endorsement of the site's content.

Some have been chosen because we've found them to contain useful insight and/or analysis into today's youth culture. Several of these sites are not Christian websites and therefore the material contained on them may be offensive to some. Shift is not responsible for any of the content found on these links.

1. Center for Parent/Youth Understanding
http://www.cpyu.org
A Christ-centered organization committed to building strong families by serving to bridge the cultural-generational gap between parents and teenagers. CPYU helps parents, youth workers, educators and others understand teenagers and their culture so that they will be better equipped to help children and teens navigate the challenging world of adolescence. The site for incredibly helpful “Links!”

2. Relevant Magazine
http://www.relevantmagazine.com
Relevantmagazine.com is a publication covering God, life and progressive culture. This hourly-updated website is the forerunner to the print version of Relevant magazine. Both versions discuss faith, career, relationships, music and film. Relevant is a good source for new and bold discussion of culture and faith.

3. Dick Staub
http://www.dickstaub.com
Billed as the place “where belief meets life,” the online home of author and radio show host Dick Staub offers loads of commentary and observation on matters of faith and culture from a Christ-centered perspective.

4. Neos Cosmos
http://www.neoscosmos.com
The name stand for "the world of the young," and the site is a great window onto youth culture. Members gain access to frequently updated movie and music reviews that include in-depth analysis of the content from a Christian perspective.

5. Mind Over Media
http://www.ministryandmedia.com
Group Publishing’s Bryan Belknap presides over this site that offers musings on faith and all things cultural. Reviews, perspective and insight are offered on secular media offerings, as well as those in the Christian realm.

6. The National Network of Youth Ministries
http://www.youthworkers.net
The National Network of Youth Ministries links youth workers for encouragement, spiritual growth and sharing resources in order to expose every teenager to the gospel of Jesus Christ, establish them in a local church, and disciple them to help reach the world.

7. Free Youth Ministry
http://www.freeyouthministry.com
Free Youth Ministry exists to network youth pastors in the sharing of ideas, lessons and real life youth ministry resources. The site also offers a monthly newsletter.

8. Youth Leadership Center for Youth and Family Ministrieshttp://www.youthleadership.org
Another valuable site for youth ministry training resources from Tiger McCluen and the staff of Youth Leadership. A gateway to an organization that's been offering quality insight, resources, and training for many years.

9. Encylopedia of Youth Studies
http://www.centerforyouth.org
From Dean Borgman and the youth ministry crew at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, this is the online home of the Center for Youth Studies and their database of articles on contemporary youth culture. Valuable for parents, pastors, and youth workers.

10. Junior High Pastor.com
http://www.juniorhighpastor.com
This site exists to equip junior high youth workers for the 21st century. Includes reviews, resources and discussion of matters related to junior high ministry.

11. Youth Specialties
http://www.youthspecialties.com
A must-visit site for anyone working with teenagers. Constantly updated, the site offers lots of information about Youth Specialties, their conferences, and youth ministry resources. In addition, you'll find a list of youth ministry job openings, discussion areas, and a helpful and growing list of links to other youth-related sites on the Web.

12. Group Publishing
http://www.grouppublishing.com
A leader in providing resources for ministry to children, youth and adults, this helpful site is loaded with information on books, magazines, curriculum, training events, and more. While you're here, check out "Ministry.Net" and its searchable library of articles from Group's arsenal of periodicals.

13. Reach Out Ministries
http://www.reach-out.org
Founded in 1977 by Barry St. Clair, Reach Out Ministries strives to equip leaders of youth around the world for strategic youth ministry through the church in order to see as many teenagers as possible become devoted followers of Christ. A growing site with lots of good information and material.

14. The Source for Youth Ministry
http://www.thesourcefym.com
The Source for Youth Ministry site offers a number of free resources for the youth worker including how to use the media in your ministry, ideas for games and bible studies, as well as interviews and answers on common teen subjects and with artists and authors. You'll also find a helpful dictionary of teen slang, and forms for the everyday maintenance and for communication with your youth group.

15. YouthPastor.Com
http://www.youthpastor.com
An online ministry for youth pastors by youth pastors, this site is loaded with ministry resources, links, games, ministry listings, etc. Lots of good stuff on a site that's growing.

16. Youthwork Magazine
http://www.youthwork.co.uk
The website of Youthwork Magazine, Britain's most widely read resource for Christian youth ministry. Filled with fresh ideas and resources for youth ministry. Youth workers can access the site to read articles, discuss youth ministry issues, discover ideas, and find helpful youth ministry links.

17. Youthworkers.net
http://www.youthworkers.net
The online home of the National Network of Youth Ministries. Visitors can find out about training events and programs, read articles by youth ministry experts, purchase resources, locate a youth worker network in their local area, etc.

18. Youth Ministry Resources Galore
http://www.pastor2youth.com
The home page of youth pastor Ryan Nielsen, this site offers tons of youth ministry resources. It is a free resource to youth pastors and youth workers containing numerous youth ministry papers, hundreds of youth ministry games, numerous links (geared toward youth ministry), a 90-page leadership manual, a One-Year Youth Devotional, and A Youth Ministry Resource Exchange to trade/download resources from other youth pastors & much, much more.

19. Barna Research Online
http://www.barna.org
The Barna Organization has been providing cutting edge research on cultural trends, generations, and issues affecting the church for years. Now you can tap into a wealth of helpful Barna information and analysis through this website. You'll find ministry resources, information on seminars, in-depth analysis, and a section on data and trends.

20. Xanga, the Weblog Community
http://www.xanga.com
Here’s a place to get into what kids are thinking by accessing thousands of running online diaries, called Weblogs or Blogs, posted by teens. You can access blogs where kids are sharing their thoughts in any number of categories from the arts and humanities, to sports, to religion, to society and culture. Be prepared to be amazed!