Janitors For Jesus?

This was AMAZING! Our Preteen Ministry is focusing on being "Every-Day-Missionaries" so I decided that an amazing every-day-mission opportunity would be to stay after church and gather a team of preteens to clean all the pews and pick up trash left behind. 

You might be thinking..."no way, kids hate cleaning!" 

And I would normally agree with you, but when they are cleaning as an act of service instead of a demand, they feel empowered, dignified and needed. This motivation is absolutely inspiring. One of our preteens exclaimed, 

"We Are Janitors for Jesus!" 

I don't know about you, but I love that statement!! It symbolizes the humility and zeal God desires from each one of us. 

The picture above is a graphic I designed for a post card mail out I sent about 5 days before the event. I also passed them out again that Sunday morning so they could show their parents. Let me know if you would like to use the image, and I would love to send you the file with a higher resolution. 

So You Want to Start a Preteen Clean Team? 

Here is how I did it: 

Our Preteens Finishing up the first: Preteen Clean Team

• Pizza lunch right after church. I had 2 other adult volunteers with me as well
• Put preteens in teams. We had 10 kids on 2 teams. This helped us be more organized with who cleaned what. 
• Keep it simple. I say 'clean' but really we emptied trash cans and picked up left-behind trash. 
• Have fun! Be "Janitors for Jesus" and go impact your church today!

Is Your Ministry On a Mission?

This semester in our Preteen Ministry we have been on a mission. Not just any mission of course, but the greatest mission of all! Spreading the Word of God.

But are not all Christians on that same mission too? 

I would say yes! But...how many of us are actually doing something about it? At FBC Lubbock our Preteens are on a mission every day, and so we call ourselves: 

Every-Day-Missionaries!

I absolutely believe that our preteens encounter opportunities every day to be the presence of God in their community. From this idea we have "Every-Day-Mission Opportunities." 

These "opportunities" can range from encouraging a friend running the mile at school, bringing in the groceries to help mom and dad, anything that examples the missional attitude of serving the people in our lives. 

I wanted to preteens to believe that God can, and will use them even though they are only 10, or 11 years old, so I showed them a video about a young girl named Rachel...

I have noticed an amazing response by our preteens! We have seen a huge increase in visitor attendance as a result of our preteens inviting their friends to various events. There continues to be fruit each week as I listen to all of the testimonies our preteens share on Sunday mornings. I love it! 

"How can I implement Every-Day-Mission Opportunities in our Ministry?"

• BE SUPPORTIVE! You have got to be the catalyst for the change, so be excited and encouraging!
• Create various points-of-entry. This means have a variety of ways for new visitors to get plugged in. Sunday School is great, what about something on a Friday night? Or a Wednesday evening? 
• Be consistent. Each Sunday remind everyone in your ministry of the goal to be Every-Day-Missionaries. 
• Find ways to spotlight your preteens. Each Sunday morning in our large group time, instead of asking about their week, I ask our preteens 'How have you taken advantage of an Every-Day-Mission Opportunity this week?' They loveee sharing in front of everyone!
• Teach what it means to you to be an Every-Day-Missionary. Each week during our large group time, I teach a short lesson on a the traits of an Every-Day-Missionary. 

Be Blessed!

Return of the Blogger!

It has been almost half a year since I last posted on this blog and I certainly have missed it! Well, I have been incredibly busy, with finishing college, getting married, riding a 100 mile bike ride with my dad and beginning seminary at Golden Gate.

I took a break from all things blogging as I realized I had been seeking fulfillment and affirmation from the success of my posts. This was troubling to me because I had allowed my blog to become an Idol!

I am so excited to be back to writing and I look forward to sharing with you all of the exciting things I have learned about Preteen Ministry.

So if you're looking for great Preteen Game Ideas, I will be posting some awesome games. If you are looking for fun mission ideas for preteens I have lots of tips and ideas to share with you!

I will be praying before I begin my next post and I look forward to seeing how God may bless your preteen ministry.

Be Blessed!