Monthly Archives: December 2011

12.31.11
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What I have learned in my first year of blogging

I am completing my first year of blogging. I sure hope that my blog has been a help and an encouragement to you. I hope that you have been challenged and educated about student ministry, leadership, and church life.

Blogging is a great way to record your thoughts for others to see. It is an easy route to express yourself. Blogging has been around for years, but in my opinion has developed even more over the last couple of years especially in the area of ministry. I began a blog about 3 years ago for our student ministry, and no one ever checked. I thought that it was legit, and I updated it regularly, but it was not big at all. Now, blogging is huge. I regularly read other blog posts about student ministry and leadership. Blogging is an art that you have to learn. Through this process, I have learned several things about blogging. Here are a few of them:

  • Blogging is an excellent way to record your thoughts- I am a naturally passive person. I struggle sometimes articulating my thoughts in such a way for people to understand and to grasp. Then, I started blogging, and I have slowly found myself articulating my thoughts much more clearly.
  • Blogging is a great way to train volunteers- I have used my blog to put down thoughts about youth leaders. Several of the leaders in our student ministry have read my posts, and been challenged to change something in their life to better fit the role of a youth leader. I was not even going for this, and it worked. What a resource that we can use for easy and quick training for our leadership.
  • Blogging is growing- The more that I have gotten into blogging, the more that I have seen it grow. I have come across many blogs that I did not even know existed. Blogging is much bigger than I thought, and it is growing.
  • Blogging is a commitment- The number one reason that people do not read your blog is probably because you are not blogging consistently. This is something that you have to commit too. Blogging takes a great deal of dedication from the writer. You must be dedicated before entering the blogging world.
  • Blogging is work- It takes work to think of a new thought to pen down for others to read. It takes time and effort to keep the blog up to date, and to make things professional.
12.30.11
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Year in Review: Top 11 Posts of 2011

I just began blogging consistently this past year, and have really enjoyed it. I find it interesting that you have found my blog posts to be helpful and encouraging to you. I will continue blogging into the year 2012! I pray that my posts will continue to be a help to you in your area of ministry.

Today, I am going to share with you the top 11 posts of 2011 on my blog. This is based upon the number of views per post. I hope that you may have missed one of these posts, and this list could help you go back and check some of the older posts out. Here are the top 11 posts of 2011:

12.29.11
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7 Tips on creating a Popular blog

I tried blogging several years ago to help build our student ministry, and it fell through. I thought that I could use the blog sort of like a website for our student ministry. So, I did, and it ended up being like 2 people that regularly checked it. That is not what I wanted so I disabled the blog all together. Back in February of this year, I began another personal blog. This blog was going to be about student ministry, leadership, and church life. These are three things that I regularly discuss and write about. I also share resources and helpful articles that pertain to these three things as well. I began blogging unsure of where it would take me. I thought that I could throw a few thoughts out there, unsure at or if anyone would read it. No one did at the beginning, but over time, I have acquired several regular readers of joshhevans.wordpress.com. I want to give you a few helpful tips on creating a popular blog:

  1. Find your niche – This is very important. For instance, I mentioned above, I write specifically about three things: Leadership, student ministry, and church life. 99% of my blog posts pertain to these three topics. Finding your niche is tough to do. Find what you want to write about, and write about it. Do not just blog to blog, blog with a purpose in find. Find your niche, and write about it.
  2. Blog consistently – If one thing aggravates me (I have been guilty of this) is a blog that has not been updated. I hate seeing a blog that the most recent post was from 3-5 months ago or possibly longer. If this is the case, you will not have readers look at your blog regularly. You want people to check out your blog regularly, and this will be a great way to do it. Blog every couple of days at least. This is where people go wrong, they begin blogging, and forget to update the blog. Keep it updated.
  3. Use links – At first, I never used the links, and now I do. If I mention another writer, book, or blogger, I link to their site. This is a great way to build connections with others. Also, many people will comment back and thank you for sharing their blog or article.
  4. Share on twitter & facebook – I always tweet and facebook my posts. This is a great way to share to all of your friends and followers.
  5. Use relative hashtags on twitter – If I blog about student ministry, I always use the hashtags: #stumin & #studentministry. So, when people look at these trends, they will come across your blog and check out the blog post. When I started doing this, my readers immediately increased.
  6. Tag your posts – I always tag my posts so that people can search for the topics and hopefully come across my posts. I use between 2-4 tags for every post so that I can carry the main topics of my posts for bloggers to come across.
  7. Share your blog posts in facebook groups – This is extremely helpful with student ministry. I am in a couple of student pastor groups, and I always try and share my post in their. I usually blog about topics that we are discussing so it is relative to them and their ministry. This is an easy way to get your post out there for readers to see.

Beginning a blog is a dedicated process. It is a process that you have to be committed too long term if you would like for it to become popular. If you have any other thoughts, or would like some more information on blogging, send a direct email to joshhevans@gmail.com or like always feel free to comment!

12.28.11
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5 Reasons your student ministry may NEVER grow

We often discuss church growth or student ministry growth. This is a topic of conversation for good reason, because we all are interested in building our student ministry. Here are a few reasons why your student ministry may never grow:

  1. Lack of Prayer – This is the biggest part of growth. You must daily pray and ask God to build your student ministry. You must be praying for your ministry to grow. Do not expect any growth (or perhaps the wrong kind of growth) if you are not daily praying over your ministry. Bathe it in prayer, and trust God for the growth.
  2. Lack of communicating clear vision – This is often times that the biggest problem with growth. You have to regularly communicate vision to the people. It must constantly be in front of the people. Then, you must live out the vision. “If your church does not know where it is supposed to be, then, they will attempt to go everywhere and eventually wind up nowhere.”
  3. Leadership – Ultimately, it could be a reflection on YOU. Make sure you are a passionate leader. Make sure you are living the Word. Make sure that you are carrying out the vision and communicating it clearly to your people.
  4. Selfishness – This can be a reflection upon leadership and the people. Sometimes, God may want to take the church in a place where you do not want to go, but you are still responsible for going in that direction. Do not be selfish and want the church to be what you want. Also, your people must not be selfish in trying to create the church that they want to have. It is not about us, but all about Him.
  5. Energy – If you fill the leadership with energy-less people, you will create a energy-less congregation. Be energetic and passionate, and the congregation will follow suit. Create a load of energy every service for the people to desire to come back.

Let’s make sure that we are doing everything that we can to grow our ministry!

12.27.11
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Using Technology in Ministry

I have been using Facebook and some of the youth pastor sites to connect with other student pastors & to sharpen my student ministry skills as well as develop my leadership skills. A question arose recently about using technology in your ministry. Do we rely too much on technology. We do announcements, prayer requests, worship music, lessons all on powerpoint. I do most notes for meetings on powerpoint as well. What if technology does not work? What do we do? Will we survive? Here are a few thoughts about technology as you use it in your student ministry:

1. Live within your means. You don’t have to have it to share the Gospel. Some people think that they must have technology to win more people. The Gospel is powerful & life changing by itself. It does not have to have technology. Some churches do not have the capability or means to incorporate technology. Do not let that stop you from sharing the Gospel. Still share the Gospel regardless of if you have the means of using technology.

2. Do not completely rely on it. If it does not work, know how to roll with it. Be prepared for it to work perfectly and for it to not work at all, then you will be fine. If it does not work, and you cannot function, you are using it too much and relying on it too much. You should be able to effectively share the Gospel without technology.

3. Consider the culture of your church. Some churches are not into technology as much as others & be careful that you do not overstep your church & their culture. Be considerate of who your church is.

4. Do not allow it to replace the Word. The truth of the Word should be your main focus.

5. If something with technology goes wrong, turn it off quickly. The last thing that I want to see is the media team trying for 5 minutes to get something on the screen. We occasionally have issues with playing videos, and it is easy to keep trying, but it shows a lack of professionalism and is embarrassing to your ministry. This is a major pet peeve of mine.

If you have any feedback on using technology in ministry, leave a comment or send a direct message to joshhevans@gmail.com.

12.26.11
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Sports Predictions

One of the reasons why God has me in ministry (I think) is because my students love sports, and so do I! This is an easy conversation for most youth workers and student pastors. I figured that I would connect you with who I like and also give my predictions for the sports that I choose to watch:

My Favorite Sports Teams:

My favorite college basketball team: Duke

My favorite college football team: Duke, NC State

My favorite college basketball team: Duke (I seriously keep up with our women’s team)

My favorite NBA team: Charlotte Bobcats (they are struggling so I have several), L.A. Lakers (I like Kobe, and for the record he in his prime is better than Lebron in his prime), Chicago Bulls

My favorite NFL team: Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos (I am a believer, and proud of Tim Tebow and the way he has handled the scrutiny)

My favorite MLB team: Atlanta Braves

My predictions: 

BCS Title college football game: Alabama

NFL Super Bowl: Green Bay Packers

NCAA Men’s College Basketball Championship: UNC Tar Heels (I hate to admit it)

MLB World Series: Boston Red Sox

NBA finals: Miami Heat (I hate to admit)

12.25.11
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Merry Christmas from the Evans

Luke 2:11 says, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” As we celebrate Christmas with our families eating way too much, traveling from party to party, and opening gifts; we must not forget the real meaning for today. The real meaning of today is Jesus! We must teach our families and our student ministries that it is all about Jesus. This day would not be possible if it was not for Jesus. God looked down on us and understood that there was no way that we could fix ourselves. Therefore, He had to send His Son since His death was the only way that we could live. You have no without Jesus. He came to be born to die for you and I. He was born in a stable so that He could prove the Gospel is for everyone. The Gospel is the only thing that can change a life.

Merry Christmas from the Evans family! We hope that you and your family get some special time worshipping Jesus together as a family.

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12.23.11
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How to build a relationship with the students’ parents

Ephesians 6:12 Do you ever feel like the students’ parents in your student ministry are the problem? I am unsure if you guys have this problem, but sometimes they are a problem. I am here to encourage you today that they are not your enemy! Your enemy is ultimately the devil.

I Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

The devil is the enemy, and he wants to throw away the family. He wants to tear the parents and you apart. He wants to make you feel like they are your enemy. He also wants to make them think that you are their enemy. That is what he is trying to do, you have to understand what is going. My challenge real short is to fight the enemy, the devil, with your parents! We must fight the enemy with our parents! We are going to write about ways to build our relationships with our parents:

  1. Work at earning their respect - Take time when they are concerned. Remember, that child is their greatest possession. Put yourselves in their shoes. Keep your word and practice what you preach. Start and end on time
  2. Keep them informed - Meet regularly with parents (I Recommend once every 3 months). Send out newsletters, emails, texts, bulletin announcements, etc.
  3. Take Criticism from parents with a good Spirit - We are called to love, and we need to have a loving spirit. You gain respect when you take time to listen to their concern, this is shepherding the flock. This is the flock that God gave you so take time to listen to their concerns.
  4. Never Keep Secrets - Keep informed with serious incidents like drugs, sex, or alcohol abuse. Live by this philosophy: Your job is to the parents more than the teens.
  5. Godliness - I Peter 1:15-16 says, “But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”  The most effective way to gain their respect is to be like Jesus. Romans 8:29 says, “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

If you have any further thoughts, please comment or send a direct email to joshhevans@gmail.com!

12.22.11
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Why do we do Student Ministry?

II Timothy 3:1-9: In these verses we notice that the Apostle Paul is writing to young Timothy. He is writing on the subject of the apostasy. The word, apostasy simply means “standing apart of original position.” That is exactly where we are at right now! We are living in the last days! The Bible here calls these last days, perilous. The word, “perilous” means “dangerous; or hard to live with.” We notice that the Bible lists many different characteristics of the last days here in this passage. We notice that these wicked things that the Bible lists, is creeping into our homes today! Our homes are ruining. We have more single parents now than ever before. We are seeing divorced couples growing throughout Christian homes. The sad thing is that it is getting worse.

The next generation of people is becoming more worldly as the days go on. Some young people have absolute no concept of God, or even moral values for that matter! They have never been taught the name of Jesus in their homes. They have never been taken to church to hear the Word of God speak. They have never been taught Biblical principles for living and Godly values to live by. No, they have been taught how to lie, cheat and get by easier, been taught to drink, and be disrespectful to anyone that rubs them the wrong way. You know, I heard a story recently that a parent was throwing her daughter a party. Nothing special, just a regular party for all of her friends’ in high school, and the mom bought all of the teenager’s beer for the party! This is the sad state that we live in.

I have never felt so burdened by God as to work in the youth department as I am right now. These teenagers are the next generation! I am not pushing a “program” at all! I am pushing a student ministry! There is a difference between the two. A program is always seeking to make the teens feel good, and make sure that they are having a good time. In many cases, they have to bring “new” things in to satisfy the flesh. This is not what I am pushing for. I am pushing for a vibrant student ministry to where we have a group of young people excited about what the Lord is doing in their lives.

Children are extremely important to God, and they must be important to us! In the remainder of time, I am going to discuss why we do student ministry through the Word of God!

64% of born again believers trusted Christ before the age of 18. They are way more sensitive to the things of the Lord when they are young. We must reach the students of today!

The reason we do what we do is to reinforce 4 things!

A Relationship with Jesus

Spiritual Maturity

The priority of Parenting

Reaching our community with the Gospel

Is your church reinforcing these four things in your student’s lives?

12.21.11
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“Life in Student Ministry” – Book Review

I have just finished the book, “Life in Student Ministry” by Tim Schmoyer. I connected with Tim through social networking and blogging a while back. Through then, we connected on facebook, and I won this book of his as a campaign on his facebook page. So, he sent it to me, and I put it on my “to read” list. I finally got around to reading the book, and here is my book review:

  1. The book is very practical – If you know anything about the book, you will find that the book is a book based upon his blog. Let me just put a plug-in here, if you do not have life in student ministry in your RSS feed, add it right now before reading. It is a must read for student pastors or workers. Tim provides you with practical insights and articles on student ministry. He provides you with resources and reviews on the top resources out there to use to be more effective in our ministry. He also provides you with freebies which are always good. The book is based off of his blog. He puts together his blogs and thoughts and places them in book format. This makes the book so practical! I am a practical thinker. I like to have practical conversations on student ministry, and I enjoy reading practical thoughts on student ministry. This is like blog reading, but only in book format!
  2. It is an easy read – Have you ever opened a book, and wondered when you would ever get through with it (maybe you didn’t)? This is not like this. I finished this book within a week and a half. It is an easy read, and tough to put down.
  3. It is written from different perspectives – Now, let me explain this. The book speaks about starting a student ministry from the beginning all the way to continue the growth in your ministry. It carries both. Many books out there deal with a student ministry from a perspective of a ministry of 100 students, and that is the only perspective that they give. There are a great deal of student ministries out there who do not have 100 students and struggle to connect with that perspective. Tim gives a perspective a very small student ministry as well as a perspective of a large student ministry.
  4. It is interactive – The book also records some thoughts and comments from other guys in ministry who commented on Tim’s blog. This is a great idea, because you are constantly hit with ideas and thoughts from different people than the actual author. This makes the book very interactive which is a plus for me.

The book is a “must read” for student pastors. The book will not blow you away and share ministry changing thoughts necessarily, but it will provide you with the means to implement ideas for God to change your student ministry! Great job Tim!