BrianHimes.com » youth ministry

Weekend Update

Brian — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:16:25 +0000

Friday Night Erin and I went out with a group of friends to see The Widows play at El Cid. It was a lot of fun, and they put on a great show. I’ve been hooked since they came and played at my church’s Grace Café event. Unfortunately, on our way to meet our friends that night the check engine light came on in my car, so it’s out of commission for a little while.

Saturday I helped some friends move furniture, diagnosed the issue with my car, and headed over to the church to prepare for our Fall Family Festival. This year, for the first time, we added a haunted house to the festivities. I wouldn’t really have called it that scary, but we did make a little girl cry, and a bunch of people scream. I spent my Halloween evening scaring kids, what did you do?

Sunday morning Erin and I rose early to take her parents to the airport for their cruise. They’ll be gone for most of the month. After that, I prepared to teach the Jr. High class at church. It’s the first time I’ve taught since I stepped down from the Youth Minister position almost a year ago. Don’t tell anyone, but I had a good time with the kids and look forward to the rest of the month.

Sunday afternoon I spent some time with my small group, and then the rest of the evening at home with the wife. It was a pretty quiet evening.

And that was pretty much my weekend, except for one small thing. Erin and I got two new (one new, and one new to us) computers. We are now the proud owners of a MacBook and an eMac. It’s exciting to have new technology in the house to play around with.

One Chapter Comes to a Close

Brian — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:41:00 +0000

The Elders sent this letter out to the church last week. As the letter states there have been many hours of prayer and discussion regarding this decision. If you read this blog regularly, you know that I’ve struggled with this for quite a while. It saddens me greatly to close this chapter of my life, but I think this is the best decision for all the parties involved. I plan to remain active in the church, and will never be able to fully step away from serving in a ministerial role of some sort.

Dear Church Family,

After much prayer and consultation with the relevant parties we, the shepherds of the Glendale Church of Christ, have decided that Brian Himes’ decision to step down as Youth Minister effective immediately is the wisest one.

Brian has served the Lord and His children in a remarkable way for the past 3 years. Despite difficult circumstances he has been faithful in caring for the Junior High and High School teens in the teaching of the weekly Bible Class and organizing the Youth and Family Small Group as well as numerous personal individual ministry initiatives. We thank Brian for his dedicated and committed service and want him and our church family to know that we are proud of the way he has conducted himself.

We also want to say that we appreciate all the hard work Erin has done in this ministry as she has served by his side. We appreciate her caring spirit, compassionate heart and her enthusiasm for the Lord and His children very much.

We all wish there was a different outcome but Youth Ministry in small churches is cyclical. At this time we have very few High School aged teens. In years to come that will probably change, but as for now we all agree that there is not a lot we can do about the present situation and want to be good stewards of the current financial resources of our church.

We, as the shepherds of the Glendale Church, hope that as one door closes in Brian’s life that the Lord will open another door for him. We are convinced that the Lord has plans for people with deep compassion and talents, like Brian. We love Brian and Erin very much and pray for God’s richest blessings to be poured out on both of them as we all together work in His kingdom.

Yours in service of Jesus,

The Elders of the Glendale Church of Christ

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to come talk to me.

I have truly enjoyed serving as the youth minister to the Glendale Church of Christ. Grace and peace be with you all.

Rainy Day Weekend Update

Brian — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:17:00 +0000

We’re only a few days into Fall and we’re already having our first rainy day. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come this year. We could sure use the rain. In honor of this first rainy day of the season I thought I’d include a nice rainy day photo (click on the image to enlarge it). Hope you enjoy it!

Friday Night

Friday night we had a going away grilling party for some friends. We had some amazing food. The highlights for me were the carne asada Erin and I bought from a local market, and the mexican corn a friend made.

Saturday

Saturday morning Erin and I relaxed around the house. I know I say this a lot, but it’s nice when we have the time to relax.

Saturday evening we had Grace Cafe at church. It was amazing. For the first time we had two full, real, rock bands perform. They brought in a ton of equipment and a lot of people. I would say it was probably the best attended Grace Cafe yet. I really enjoyed myself. I wish we had the energy and resources to have these events more often.

Sunday

Sunday morning we had a small Teen Bible Class, so we talked and shared with each other things that were on our minds. I always have a good time when we just sit and visit. I hope it was good for everyone else too.

Church was really full on Sunday. We seem to be getting a lot of visitors these days, which is great. I think things are finally starting to gel with the new leadership and members. It’s exciting to see the change.

Immediately following church we had our last Youth and Family Small Group meeting. After many hours of prayer and consideration we’ve decided to call it quits for that small group. I think it’ll be best for everyone. Hopefully this time apart will encourage the members of the group to become involved in other groups and other ways.

After group let out, Erin and I spent the rest of the afternoon, in one way or another, working on a fundraiser for AWP (Associated Women for Pepperdine). Every year, the Glendale Chapter of AWP sells goodie bags for the freshman class. It’s a good way to raise money for scholarships, which is the main focus of AWP.

Photo: Chris Metcalf

UnChristian After A Long Hiatus

Brian — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:14:00 +0000

After a several month hiatus, I picked up UnChristian from my nightstand and started reading it again.

A couple things jumped out at me today during my lunch-time reading. The first quote that caught my attention was the following:

In studying thousands of outsiders' impressions, it is clear that Christians are primarily perceived for what they stand against. We have become famous for what we oppose, rather than who we are for. (Kinnaman and Lyons 26)

The second quote that jumped off the page at me was:

They (young Christians) are also sensitive to the way in which Christians engage a broken world and are often frustrated by the poor image that Christianity has. We heard many young believers say that in some circumstances they are reluctant to admit they are Christians. They don't fear being unpopular, but they feel that raising the Christian flag would actually undermine their ability to connect with people and to maintain credibility with them. This is a major indictment of unChristian faith, that to bring those around them closer to Christ, they must distance themselves from the current "branding" of Christianity. They have to put aside unChristian ways of doing things to connect people with the depth and power of the Christian message. (Kinnaman and Lyons 35)

I'll refrain from providing much commentary on these two passages for now, but I felt compelled to share them with you for your consideration. My question for you, the reader, is do these passages strike as big a chord with you as they do with me?

A Parent’s Faith

Brian — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:26:00 +0000

Here's a question I've been pondering. When does ones faith cease to be their parents' and become their own? And to follow that question with another question, if one fails to seperate themselves from their parents' faith will it hold as sacred a part in their being as it would if it were their own?

Youth Ministry Question

Brian — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:43:00 +0000

Youth Ministry Question: How do you deal with those kids who have graduated from the Youth Group yet aren't ready to make the transition into the College, or Young Adults, Group at your church?

I feel like this is a problem that every youth ministry faces. Unfortunately, I've never seen it dealt with effectively. In some ways I feel like I've probably failed a couple kids over the years by not being more helpful during this time. I just don't know what to do. I skipped over that awkward phase in my life by going away to college, but what do you do with the kids who stick around?

My church has a pretty vibrant young adults group, but I can see how someone who has just graduated from high school might be overwhelmed and apprehensive about joining a group of people in their mid twenties with full-time jobs and spouses. There's quite an age gap there, not to mention an even larger maturity gap.

So, what do you do? Anyone out there have any suggestions? Do you get them involved elsewhere in your church? Do you push them into the young adults group despite any uncomfortableness that might cause?

This year, I've decided to survey my graduate(s) to see what they think. My hope is that I can begin a discussion with them that will foster better results than in the past. I'll let you know how that works out.

Weekend Update

Brian — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:54:00 +0000

This was a crazy whirl-wind weekend. I even elongated it by taking Friday off. Here’s a quick recap.

Friday

Knotts Berry Farm for my wife’s office picnic. We had a great time and got a lot of rides in before we had to leave at 5pm to make it back for VBS at church. Perhaps one of the coolest rides was the Accelerator, which launches you at 80 mph down the track in less than 2 seconds. Crazy!

Vacation Bible School was next. We had a decent turn out and a lot of fun. I had the kids do a couple relays involving toilet paper.

After VBS a group of us went and stood in line at the Burbank AMC to see the 11:20 PM showing of the new Batman movie. It was awesome! Well-worth the wait in line. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should. If you go be prepared for some clown related violence.

Saturday

After a late Friday night the wife and I slept in, had a late lunch at Porto’s, did some laundry and took a little afternoon nap before heading over to Glendale Cruise Night.

Glendale Cruise Night was packed. There were hundreds of classic cars, and a few new ones, lining Brand Blvd. We arrived around 6 PM and stayed until 11 PM.

Sunday

Did the normal church stuff, had a quick lunch with the wife and in-laws, took the wife to the airport for a business trip, and went to small group. After group a few of us went to Baskin Robins for some ice cream. My wife claims I don’t like ice cream, so I had to prove her wrong and eat some while she’s out of town.

A Lot of Baptism for One Day

Brian — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:25:00 +0000

There was a lot of talk about Baptism this Sunday at church. We talked about it in the combined Youth and Young Adults class, and then again during the sermon. When I planned for baptism to be the discussion topic for class I had no idea that the sermon would focus on it too. I'll give the credit to God, and just trust he has a plan. I feel bad when we put pressure on people to take on baptism, so I hope this Sunday wasn't too much.

For a little more, check out my posts on the Youth Ministry and Young Adults Ministry blogs.

This Weekend Was…

Brian — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:15:00 +0000

This weekend was freakin' hot, but that didn't stop any of my weekend plans.

We planted sod on half the yard, with the help of my parents, sister, in-laws, cousin in-law, and the Jeffs (my brother Jeff and his friend Jeff). This marked our 5th week into this project, which isn't bad considering we dug out two sprinkler systems, put in an all new system, and removed several tons of dirt only working on Saturdays without any hired help. I think we can probably wrap it up this coming weekend. Time will tell.

Sunday we were crazy enough to host a BBQ for the Youth Group in 100 degree weather (that's what the thermometer on our patio read). We had a great time grillin' burgers and dogs, and drinking ice cold lemonade. Good times.

I Hate the Phone

Brian — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:18:00 +0000

I hate the phone. Given the opportunity I will make every effort to get around using it. I would much rather live life communicating through email, twitter, text messages, blogs and social networks. If I need to actually speak with someone I would prefer to do so in person. I don't know what it is that causes me to dislike the phone so much, call it irrational or whatever, I just don't like talking on the phone. Because of this, the Web 2.0, social network revolution that we're experiencing right now, has been amazing for me. It has allowed for me to communicate with my friends, peers and co-workers in ways that I couldn't have before, even with the phone. However, with that said, I still struggle with communication in several areas of my life.

One area that has been a constant struggle for me is communicating with the teens in my youth group. I started out trying to communicate with them via phone each week and quickly discovered that it was painful for both me and them. My next attempt at communication was through email. Ideal for me, email communication has been a little more successful, and hopefully less painful for them; but, I'm not sure that the emails I send are actually being read. This frustration has led me to wonder if there's a better way to communicate with my teens. It's something I've been stewing over for quite a while, and then yesterday, out of the blue, something hit me when one of my teens sent a text message about a job interview she was going to have later in the day. Light bulb moment. I need to be texting them!

It makes perfect sense. Almost all of them have phones, and they can hardly put them down while they're in class so why not meet them where they are. Sometimes I think I'm hip (yes, I used the word "hip") and with it, and then other times I think I must be dense or something. I should have thought of this long ago. Now, I realize it may not be a perfect solution, and nothing can take the place of face time, but I think I'll try this for a little while and see how it progresses.

If you're in ministry, what are some ways you communicate with your teens?