Middle School Ministry Podcast

Sunday Morning Squirrels:Who needs singers to show up? Not this middle school pastor! Whew! Another crazy Sunday with students stepping up and volunteers not showing up. Wild!Countdown Video:Fortnite ReactionsIn case you didn't know, Fortnite closed down for 48 hours and middle school students (and some adults) everywhere went crazy. This is a short video of those reactions. I cleaned up some of the more... vulgar reactions to the event. Games:Sculptionary: Halloween EditionThis went over well! We played this with our rows and it was fun. The only thing that got wild was students starting guessing random Halloween words and eventually got some of them right without their sculptor even making something. Kind of weird but good strategy I guess! The winning row came up on stage to play...Clowns Have Feelings TooSuper easy game with Sidekick. Blurred images of clowns that were either SAD or GLAD. Nightmare fuel and loads of fun. I do not suggest having an actual clown up on stage.Songs:Let It Be KnownPraise Before My BreakthroughBible Study:This week we had our second in our series. It's called "The Road" and you can download it on DYM! We talked about how God makes the rules and that His rules go over our own preferences. Even if we don't know God's law, He'll judge us (and everyone!) by the same standard!Main Idea:God's law over my standards!Scripture:Romans 2Resources:One month free Sidekick and DYM Gold Member Access: Click here!Talking Squirrels on Social:FacebookInstagramTwitterEmail

Today Ronald and Michelle got to hang out with Katy Langley, a youth pastor for Penninsula Covenant Church, and talk about getting out there and finding a tribe of youth pastors to connect and hang with.It can be intimidating to form a network if there isn't one in your region, but the awkwardness and the rejection from other pastors is SO WORTH IT if you can find a tribe to do life with. Katy has faced a lot of trials in getting her network going, but has definitely seen the benefits as well.Here are some questions to consider:How are you connecting with the current youth worker network in your area?Who are the youth pastors you can meet with this week for coffee?What step can you take to get a network going if there isn't one around you?Why is it so important to find a group of other pastors to hang out with?Mentioned on the podcast: Read some stuff Katy has written here!Follow Katy on Instagram!DYM Community Facebook GroupGot a middle school ministry question?Email talkingsquirrelspodcast@gmail.comNeed student ministry resources?Check out www.downloadyouthministry.comDo you listen to the Podcast? Consider leaving a review of the podcast!Social Media:InstagramTwitterFacebook

Sunday Morning Squirrels:It's Picnic week at our church! After church today we go rent out a big amusement park and invite EVERYONE from our church. It's a blast and a great chance to hang with students and meets lots of guests.Countdown Video:Wholesome MemesJust a quick video of memes from a longer youtube video. I didn't want the whole thing, so I edited it down to this!Games:Remember MeSuper quick to set up and play! We had students mingle for a bit and get to know each other's names. Then we had everyone sit and we held up a sheet between the two sides of the room. Each team quietly chose ONE person to go face the sheet. When they were both ready, we dropped the sheet. The student who said the correct name of the other student first scored a point! Nice. Then we got the winners to come up on stage to play...Pound for PoundUp on the screen, there was a combination of things. The students had to guess which group of things weighed more. SUPER funny and easy!Songs:Let It Be KnownPraise Before My BreakthroughBible Study:This week we began a series on walking through the first three chapters of Romans. It's called "The Road" and you can download it on DYM! This week we looked at the fact that we don't have any excuses. First, we have no excuse for NOT knowing who God is because creation points us to Him, and second, we have no excuse to be ashamed of the Gospel, because God has called on us to be a part of His plan to save others!Main Idea:I'm a part of God's plan to save His creation!Scripture:Romans 1Resources:One month free Sidekick and DYM Gold Member Access: Click here!Talking Squirrels on Social:FacebookInstagramTwitterEmail

You're going to miss some program days or nights. It's just going to happen! Whether by unforeseen circumstance or vacation (the latter being the preferred!), it's going to happen. Are you preparing for that now?This episode we talk about what Michelle and Ronald do to get their leaders ready for when they'll be gone and what that looks like for their contexts.Here are some questions to consider:What elements of your service are already mostly led by volunteers?How can you prepare leaders to take over when your gone?Who do you need to let know you won't be around?What can you do NOW to prepare to leave later?Mentioned on the podcast: Ronald's "Speaking to Middle School Students" resource would be super helpful to a new teacher!DYM Community Facebook GroupGot a middle school ministry question?Email talkingsquirrelspodcast@gmail.comNeed student ministry resources?Check out www.downloadyouthministry.comDo you listen to the Podcast? Consider leaving a review of the podcast!Social Media:InstagramTwitterFacebook

Sunday Morning Squirrels:Woohoo! I love the Old Testament! This was the last week in our Ruth series and it was a blast. I love the story of the family redeemer and how Ruth is related to David! Such a great testimony to living faithfully no matter the circumstances!Also, it was a crazy morning!Countdown Video:That's AmorreThis was just a simple video of things getting cut in half by water. Who would have guessed, my students loved it! Especially the guys, they were IN for this video. Enjoy and use it if you need something that's fascinating and kind of cool!Games:Finish the LyricThis game was fun, but we had to add to what we bought from DYM. In the store, it just comes with the slides, which is great. We went in and cut the song underneath the slides so that the students could HEAR the song as well. Just a great game you might use, but the extra legwork was worth it.Monkey See, Monkey DoThis was an easy game that we used the Crowd Charades version. We turned off the screens on the front and just used the back screens for the two we brought up on stage. Super easy and fun!Songs:Let It Be KnownPraise Before My BreakthroughBible Study:Chapter Four wraps everything up in the story of Ruth. It's a great picture of Boaz being willing to redeem Ruth, even though it'll mean his first son will belong to the family of Elimelech. And we see how Ruth's faithfulness showed us how someone living faithfully, even in the era of the Judges, could be related to not only King David, but in the genealogy of Jesus Himself!It's such an amazing story! I truly love teaching the Old Testament to show how God is always working!Main Idea:No matter our story, Jesus will redeem us!Scripture:Ruth 4Resources:One month free Sidekick and DYM Gold Member Access: Click here!Talking Squirrels on Social:FacebookInstagramTwitterEmail

This last Saturday, an epic event happened called the National Day of Volunteer Youth Ministry Training! Ronald hosted it as his church and some of Michelle's volunteers went to attend at a host site.We talk about some of the takeaways and the value of training volunteers.Here are some questions to consider:How are you training your volunteers regularly?What can you do to train your volunteers in big ways?Who was the speaker who inspired you the most?How can you put the principles learned into practice?Mentioned on the podcast: Want information on next year's NDOVYMT?http://trainmyvolunteers.comDYM Community Facebook GroupGot a middle school ministry question?Email talkingsquirrelspodcast@gmail.comNeed student ministry resources?Check out www.downloadyouthministry.comDo you listen to the Podcast? Consider leaving a review of the podcast!Social Media:InstagramTwitterFacebook

Sunday Morning Squirrels:Well. What a week! We did our third lesson in Ruth and had a pretty crazy Sunday morning to show for it. Let's talk about it!Countdown Video:That's AmorreStill resorting to things I thought were funny in high school. If this goes well, I may have a whole bunch of really silly videos to show my students. Games:Ninja CatThis was a quick win from DYM. We arranged our students into teams with their rows and they had to raise their hand when one of their group saw the cat on the screen. Then they had to come up and point to it by the count of three. Super easy! Songs:Burn Like a StarHere as in HeavenBible Study:This was the passage where Ruth makes the move. It's kind of strange how the woman is the one who makes the move on the guy, but hey, this is the Bible and weirder things have happened, right?The great point of this is that we have the opportunity to share with students that Ruth put herself out there, not knowing if Boaz would respond. But when we give ourselves to Jesus, He always will accept us!Main Idea:When we open up to Jesus, He always accepts us!Scripture:Ruth 3Resources:One month free Sidekick and DYM Gold Member Access: Click here!Talking Squirrels on Social:FacebookInstagramTwitterEmail

Mental Health is something the church needs to take more seriously. As those who work with students who have brains that are going through MASSIVE shifts in their development, we need to be ready for the task at hand.But we aren't just to think about the mental health of our students. We need to consider our own health as well! Michelle and Ronald have an honest discussion about mental health and how it affects them and their middle school students.Here are some questions to consider:Who are the voices in your community that you trust with mental health issues?Who are YOUR people you can trust?How can you empower parents to know what to do when their students struggle with depression/anxiety/stress?What are you doing to make space for your own mental health?Mentioned on the podcast: Totally MentalThis is a great teaching series on Mental Health, written by Podcast guest Jeff Selph.DYM Community Facebook GroupGot a middle school ministry question?Email talkingsquirrelspodcast@gmail.comNeed student ministry resources?Check out www.downloadyouthministry.comDo you listen to the Podcast? Consider leaving a review of the podcast!Social Media:InstagramTwitterFacebook

Sunday Morning Squirrels:Week two of our new Ruth series! Lots of 6th-grade students getting into the flow of the week and today I wasn't the only adult in the room!All in all, a pretty good day of Middle School Ministry!Countdown Video:StrongBad Email - DragonStill resorting to things I thought were funny in high school. If this goes well, I may have a whole bunch of really silly videos to show my students. Games:M&M BrawlI think I came up with the idea for this game after looking at Reddit. The idea is that you have two M&M's, press them together and see which one breaks. The one that breaks loses and the other is the winner! We gave students three M&M's each and told them to battle it out with other students. Some just ate them, and that's fine. When we got down to the last few we had them come up on stage and choose their last strongest M&M and battled it out! The winner got, you guessed it, a bag of M&M's!Yeet or YoinkThis is a Taboo like game from DYM. It's a Gold Member download. Don't know about being a Gold Member? You're missing out! Click here to find out more!Songs:Let It Be KnownDeath Was ArrestedBible Study:Hey! I didn't get any upset emails about incest! That's neat. This week was much more tame. We talked about being someone worth bragging about. By the time Ruth and Boaz meet, the man has already heard good things about Ruth. She lived out her faith and others took note! That's what we want for our students as well.Main Idea:God is at work, so live a life worth bragging about!Scripture:Ruth 2Resources:One month free Sidekick and DYM Gold Member Access: Click here!Talking Squirrels on Social:FacebookInstagramTwitterEmail

If you have students, you've got parents!Plenty of parents are invested in your ministry and want to know what you're doing, and what's going on! Ronald's church has three parent meetings a year, but Michelle doesn't do any. Which is better? Which do you prefer?Do you have regular parent meetings?What do you do at the meetings?How can you resource your parents?Can you make it better than just handing out a calendar?Mentioned on the podcast: Parent Orientation GuideDYM Community Facebook GroupGot a middle school ministry question?Email talkingsquirrelspodcast@gmail.comNeed student ministry resources?Check out www.downloadyouthministry.comDo you listen to the Podcast? Consider leaving a review of the podcast!Social Media:InstagramTwitterFacebook