This week Jim talks with Heather Dunn about different ways to recruit and retain volunteers. From coffee to good food to reminding them that they are more than a spiritual babysitter, this podcast is full of countless free ideas that you can use in your preteen ministry.

This week Jim talks with preteen ministry pastors and leaders at the FourFiveSix preteen ministry conference about teaching props that connect with preteens.

Do you want to be on a Free Ideas podcast?

Hi, I was wondering what you do if you have 1 or 2 kids in a group of 20 who seem to enjoy causing chaos almost the entire time they’re at Bible study by kicking, pushing, talking when they’re not supposed to, interrupting, etc. They seem to enjoy coming and invite friends. They just don’t have a “stop button.”

Help!
An Overwhelmed Preteen Ministry Leader

Dear Overwhelmed,

Sounds like you have some pretty typical preteens. If they’re coming back, you’re doing many things right! I know it’s frustrating when they are so disruptive. I’ve found that there’s no one perfect tactic. Every student seems to respond differently. Here are a couple of things you might try:

• Most student attention spans are equal to 1 minute for every year of age they are. So, try inserting something every 9-10 minutes that gets them doing something different, even if it’s for a minute. (have everyone move 1 chair to the right, stand up and run around the table and sit back down, check under your chair for a random prize or something that has to do with your lesson)
• Talk with the kids separately and just ask them why they do what they do. Listen for a clue that will help you. It might be that they’re just testing you and if you call them on it they will change. Sometimes I talk with them about who’s side they’re on, God’s or satan’s. They’ve never thought that they might be helping satan out by interrupting a process that’s helping others grow closer to Jesus.
• Reward positive behavior. Catch them paying attention and reward them for it. Give them attention for the behavior you want and when they’re being disruptive, reward others who are not.
• Set up a communication system with your kids who are disruptive. Do it separately from the group. They may not realize that they’re annoying you. So, set up a hand signal or a doodle on your paper or something that lets them know when they need to stop. I’ve used this with 3 marks or signals and then there’s consequence.
• Ask the 2 to sit next to you. When you need them to stop, just place a hand gently on their shoulder. When they stop, remove your hand.
• Give everyone a timeline of what will happen during your study. If they know what’s coming they may be more attentive.
• Ask your group to set behavior expectations. Together determine the parameters that create a good Bible study environment. Ask everyone to agree on the behaviors as well as help encourage them.

-Heather

This week Jim talks with a group of preteen pastors and leaders at the FourFiveSix preteen ministry conference about using technology in preteen ministry.

Do you want to be on a Free Ideas podcast?

This week Jim talks with a group of preteen pastors and leaders at the FourFiveSix conference about worship beyond singing.

Do you want to be on a Free Ideas podcast?

This week Jim talks with Katie Gerber about including parents in the transition from preteen ministry to middle school ministry (and how to make good parts of your ministry even better).

This week Jim talks with Sean Sweet about what to do when you have two services but the same kids come to both (or new kids come to the wrong one).

This week Jim talks with Robert Quinn about Worship Stations for an upcoming gathering at Rob’s preteen ministry.

The Conference

This year’s FourFiveSix conference is quickly approaching. If you registered yet, what are you waiting for? And if you have, we’ll see you soon!

The FourFiveSix conference has been around for a while. It’s growing up, learning to walk, and discovering its own unique personality (yes, just like any other six-year-old). While it has been through various iterations (new name, new faces), this year’s iteration is a leap forward.

It’s the same conference you’ve come to know and love but at a new location making it more accessible to more people and everything is gearing up to be better than ever! Just wait until you see what we have in store.

So start scribbling down your questions and ideas for preteen ministry, pack your bags, and get ready for the next same/new/better FourFiveSix conference.

The Website

And as you already noticed, the conference is not the only thing that is receiving this same/new/better treatment. We gave our website a makeover too!

It’s the same website you’ve come to know and love but with a new look and feel, all so that it can be better than ever.

FourFiveSix is a community and resource that helps your preteen ministry take the next step. And the newest iteration of website will do that better than ever!

Written by Sean Sweet, Director of the 2013 Preteen Leaders’ Conference

If the typical conference is a meal of random food prepared by random chefs with no order to when or how the items are served, then this year’s Preteen Leaders’ Conference is an intentionally designed four course gourmet meal prepared especially for you.

To register or get full details about the 2013 Preteen Leaders’ Conference, go to the official website now. (P.S. – If you register by Feb 15, you save $30).

The 6^th year of the Preteen Leaders’ Conference is this April 17-19 in Greenwood, Indiana. I’m really excited to announce the vision that we have for this year’s conference.

It’s going to be unlike any conference experience that we know of. Here’s why:

Typically, you go to a conference, attend break-out sessions and large group sessions, and walk away with an overwhelming amount of unconnected information. As you attempt to put everything into some cohesive order in your brain, some of the great things that you heard in a break-out session on the morning of Day 2 are completely lost by the end of Day 3.

At a typical conference, Speaker A puts together a workshop on worship, Speaker B puts together a session on volunteers, Speaker C puts together a class on teaching style, but NONE OF THEM thought about your overall experience or how A relates to B and B relates to C. So, you are tasked with making some sort of connection between all the speakers and your own ministry’s needs. Meanwhile, each attendee at the typical conference is having a different experience, hearing from Speakers E, D, and F….or maybe Speakers X, Y, and Z. You are left with nobody to process your experience with because everybody’s experience has been so different.

I’ve seen it on the faces of participants at other conferences. As they enter the last session on the last day, some people are brimming with information and ideas and are excited about the new knowledge they have. Others have a dazed, overwhelmed look like they have received so much information and they are trying to synthesize all of it into their thinking. Many people feel like they’ve just been hit with ideas from 1000 different angles and don’t have a clear plan of what to do next. Nobody has had a unified experience, with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

This is what a typical conference is like….but this year’s Preteen Leaders’ Conference is NOT typical. It is inventive and creative and intentional. It has a clear beginning, middle, and end.

At this year’s Preteen Leaders’ Conference, whether you are attending by yourself or with others from your church, you will be placed on a team. Each team will have facilitators who will coach them along the way. Each day, the teams will share experiences and teachings that are focused and that move everybody together toward the same goal. When the conference is over, you will have gained practical ideas, greater vision and structure for your preteen ministry, and a stronger sense of how to communicate that vision to your church’s community. Not only that, but you will have gained connections with other preteen leaders from around the world who are praying for you, your preteens, and your ministry.

The entire experience is cohesive, intentionally designed from beginning to end to give you a greater plan for your church’s preteen ministry, a greater source of fun and useful ideas, and a greater connection to Christ and the growing preteen ministry community!

To register or get full details about the 2013 Preteen Leaders’ Conference, go to the official website now.