Middle School Ministry Podcast

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

Sunday Morning Squirrels:New week, new series!I was really excited about teaching this series again! It's one I wrote and I am a sucker for the Old Testament. Such wonderful pictures of what God had up His sleeves the whole time! I hope you find this helpful! If so, go leave a review and share and other internet things. Those are nice things to do.Countdown Video:Homestar Runner Dot ComI decided that this would be the month I introduce our middle school students to the odd 2000's website Homestar Runner. if you're unfamiliar, do a quick search on YouTube. Junior High Humor at its best.Games:Extreme Hot PotatoThis game was a lot of fun! It's also free if you click the link above! I bought the biggest potatoes the store had and arranged my students into circles. Then we played Hot Potato, but instead of getting out, every time you get caught with the potato, you incur a penalty! This is an action you have to do every time you touch the potato. And penalties stack! So every time you touch the potato, you have to do all your penalties. But keep the potato moving! Tell students they can pass the potato THEN start doing the actions. Chaotic and fun!UnspeakablesThis 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:AliveGive Me FaithBible Study:The story of Ruth is a great one that I personally love! It shows us the story of faith from someone it wasn't expected of. My students really loved hearing about it and, since I explained how the nation of Moab got their start, I imagine my inbox will have a few questions when I get in tomorrow morning!Main Idea:God can use anyone, anytime, anywhere!Scripture:Ruth 1Resources:One month free Sidekick and DYM Gold Member Access: Click here!Talking Squirrels on Social:FacebookInstagramTwitterEmail

We're the professionals, right? Who would DREAM of putting students up on the stage?Well, Michelle and Ronald kind of do.When students get up in front of their peers to lead, play games, do announcements, and teach, it validates them and challenges them. Also, it usually means their peers listen more than when the paid youth worker is up there anyway.This week we talk about why we put students up on stage and what you can do to get that going in your own ministry.What part of your program can students handle? Announcements? Games? The lesson?Who would you ask to take on those tasks?How could you train them to do well upfront?What could you do to engage the whole group?Why is getting students up on stage something important to your program?Mentioned on the podcast: Dry Erase Year Long CalendarCalendyRoles and Goals, free resource from Doug FieldsDYM 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:Now we're getting into a groove with Sunday mornings! This was the first week where sixth-grade students were REALLY getting into serving and it's awesome to see them getting into the flow of everything! This is our third week of Purpose and we're focusing on LOVE today! It's been really great and I love the season of newness!Countdown Video:Man Gobbles at TurkeysI died laughing when I watched this video. I just can't. My students loved watching this ridiculous short!Games:Oregon Trail SurvivalI died so many times playing this game in school. Now students can feel my pain! This was a blast and really creative. Our students thought it was really funny! You can download it from DYM by clicking the title above! Also, if you want to up the presentation a bit, grab the music from youtube below:Oregon Trail MusicSongs:Burn Like A StarGive Me FaithBible Study:This was our last week in our Purpose Series. We split into groups to read over the scripture passages so we could see that God wants us to be confident in our faith! Check out the study here.Main Idea:Abiding in God and being filled with His love makes us confident!Scripture:1 John 2:1-61 John 3:11-161 John 4:11-191 John 5:1-3Resources:One month free Sidekick and DYM Gold Member Access: Click here!Talking Squirrels on Social:FacebookInstagramTwitterEmail

Fall is here! Or at least in theory, it should be. It doesn't quite feel like fall in Texas. Maybe in California.Either way, school is back in session and it's time to kick off the fall season! Are you pulling out all the stops and really making it a big deal? Here are some questions to think about:For your Fall Kick off, are you going all out or just getting back to the routine?Are you going to focus on what you'll do every week (small group, worship, etc) or make it a big memorable event (foam party, neon dance party, etc)?How are you going to involve parents?What will you do to ease the anxiety of incoming 6th graders?How will you make connections within your group?Mentioned on the podcast: Break the IceQuick Ice Breakers with little prepSidekick from DYMGot 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