Redeemer Youth Ministry

Archive for the ‘Youth Group Talks’ Category:

Tools for the Tall Task of Training Teens

Published by Mike Fennema in Event Reflection, Jesus, Youth Group Talks on August 17th, 2009 | No Comments »

This past Saturday, we had a great Parent’s Meeting with Brad Hambrick, the Executive Director of Crossroads Counseling in Augusta, GA.. For those of you who couldn’t make it, the audio of can be heard or downloaded by clicking on this link (you will be directed to another website). If that link doesn’t work or if you simply would like a CD with the recording on it, please let me know.
As always, Brad did a great job of encouraging and equipping parents on how to engage and disciple their teenagers. Contrary to popular opinion, a good relationship with your teen is not beyond our grasp. It does take a lot of work and prioritizing of our time and energy, but that is what God has called us to as parents. This talk is not just for parents of teenagers. Discipling our children starts long before they are teens. If you are about to be a parent or if you have little ones at home, please take the time to listen. It will be extremely beneficial!
I want to emphasize how I view my role as a youth pastor. I see myself as a tool to assist parents in their raising of their children. I am honored to be able to come alongside parents and assist them in the sacred calling of raising children to know and fear the Lord. Please don’t hesitate to use me in any way!

Popularity: 71% [?]

A Girl’s Guide to Understanding Guys

Published by Mike Fennema in Bible, Updates, Youth Group Talks on March 12th, 2009 | No Comments »

Last night, we ventured into the very scary territory of a guy’s mind. We had a very enlightening converstation about what God has made guys to be and how guys are wired. Hopefully it will help not only the girls, but also the guys. If you are interested in what we talked about, click here.
Also, I created a quick guide for females as well to refer to when you are in a bind. If you are interested in looking at that, you can click here.

This coming week, we will be diving into the uncharted waters of a girls mind. Hopefully, it will be just as enlightening as this past week.

Here are some of the questions that guys are asking about girls:

• Why do girls always like bad guys?
• Why do girls always wait on the guy to make the move?
• Why do girls share everything with each other?
• Why are girls so flirty one moment and opposite the next?
• Why do girls want to be friends most of the time?
• Why do girls play hard to get?
• Why is spending time together so important to girls?
• Why do girls act stupid in front of guys just for attention?

Those are some great questions! Come on Wednesday and get some answers!

Popularity: 26% [?]

Being Challenged

Published by Mike Fennema in Bible, Youth Group Talks on March 9th, 2009 | No Comments »

At the conclusion of his sermon on Sunday, Pastor Charlie placed a challenge in front of everyone, including us as youth. He challenged us to be bold by being different from the world. He challenged us not to be hypocrites–saying we believe one thing and doing another or pretending to be one thing with certain people and being another thing among others. God doesn’t like people who are two-faced. He wants people who call themselves ‘Christians’ to be the same all the time: boldly loving God and other people. That may mean that you are different from other people, maybe even a lot different. I know that this can be hard, but in the end, being different is much better than being like everyone else. It honors God, and he will reward us by saying “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

It’s tough being different in middle school and high school. Your reputation rests on whether or not people think that you’re cool. If you don’t do the things that the ‘cool kids’ are doing, you’ll never make it with that crowd. Being ‘uncool’ might seem like the worst thing that could possibly happen to you, but it is not social suicide to be different. You will still have friends, and the good thing is that these friends will want to do the same things that you do. They will respect you for who you are rather than ditch you when you are no longer ‘cool enough’ for them. Those are the kind of friendships that you want. Those are the kind of people that you want to hang out with.

So take up the challenge that Pastor Charlie placed in front of us. Dare to be different. Dare to say no in situations where it is usually so easy to say yes. Say no to sex before you get married. Say no to drinking before you’re 21. Say no to smoking and drugs. Say no to picking on people. Say no to movies that you know you shouldn’t be watching. Say no to music that might sound cool but fills your mind with things that aren’t good. Say no to talking about people behind their backs. Say no. Its not easy to do.

If you want to say no, tell me about it. I’d love to pray for you and help you! God gave us a community so that we can help each other out!

Popularity: 16% [?]