North Point’s Strategy for Communicating to Students (Part 2)

by on in Experience.

There are great talkers… and then there are great talks.

As a director of a student environment, I want our ministry to have both. I want great talks, delivered by great talkers.

You might be a great talker, but that doesn’t mean you always give a great talk.

You might be entertaining.
You might be funny.
Your middle schoolers might have listened.
They might have even applauded as you walked off the stage.

Those things might be good qualifications for a good Vegas show. But they do not mean you did a great ministry “talk.”

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Crafting Creative Presentations

by on in Experience.

You can feel the tension in the air as technophiles hang on every word of an Apple keynote presentation…hoping it will end with those wonder-filled words: “one more thing.”

Children of all ages purchase tickets and flood theaters to experience the annual animated magic known as a Pixar film.

Whether you pay big bucks to experience them live or simply log on and view from your desktop or mobile device, TED talks present, in their words, “ideas worth sharing.”

Each of these are examples of engaging presentations.

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North Point’s Strategy for Communicating to Students (Part 1)

by on in Experience.

North Point is an interesting place to work. There are so many great things about it.

But there are also some things I would put in the category of “freakin’ hard.”

For instance, in a church that is led by Andy Stanley, the “bar” for speakers is unbelievably high. It’s almost impossible to feel like you did a great job. And that’s hard.

If you are speaking in a children’s environment, a student environment, or even just leading a volunteer meeting… you need to be on your game! (Not to mention what it’s like to talk in “Big Church.” But that’s a topic for another time.)

The bar is high.

I felt that pressure this weekend.

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Teaching That’s Built to Last (Part 2)

by on in Experience.

Yesterday, I introduced the educational concept of “constructivism.”

In case you missed it, “constructivism” is an understanding of how a learner builds knowledge for themselves through the building blocks of discovery, hands-on, experiential, collaborative, project-based, and task-based learning in order to engage knowledge.

But beyond these educational building blocks, what are the spiritual building blocks that will help us (as communicators) construct teaching that is B-U-I-L-T to last?

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Teaching That’s Built to Last (Part 1)

by on in Experience.

We all want the things we are teaching to last longer than the back door of our youth room. We teach lessons that need to last and become foundations for life.

In order for us to do that, we must create youth ministry environments and lessons that give students the building blocks to construct for themselves the truth that will last for a lifetime.

I am not talking about a “pick and choose what I like and don’t like” model of teaching truth. I am rather talking about an intentional approach that is less “preacher” and more “teacher.” It is an educational model and approach that allows us to come beside, lead, and teach while handing off the unchanging truths.

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