Bel Air Youth Discipleship

Video Discussion

shannondunn — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:50:59 +0000

Here are two different videos that have been getting a lot of attention on YouTube. They both have some interesting points and might be a great discussion starter for you family. Check them out and see what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ru_tC4fv6FE#!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY

Help you Kids feel Normal!

shannondunn — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:48:17 +0000

Teens are going through so many changes and awkward stages that they often feel alienated and abnormal. This article from Fuller Youth Institute was a good reminder to me and hopefully to you that our kids need to be told that they are going through normal experiences and that they are not alone. It’s hard enough to get through the teen years, hopefully they wont also feel abnormal while going through it!

ARTICLE: Normalize your Young Teen’s Experiences

Arguing with your parents is good!?!

shannondunn — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:05:48 +0000

This is a great article about how parents can use arguments with their teens to benefit them in the future. It’s true that communication is key to healthy relationships, and so communication is obviously important for healthy parent/child relationship. And arguing is part of communication. This article may help you think about how you argue with your teens and how it may be helping their future conflict resolution skills.

Don’t Talk Back

Tim Tebow

shannondunn — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 01:15:31 +0000

I wont pretend to know much about football and I can’t claim that this article has much to do with youth ministry, but I do know that it is relevent and has some great points. I know for a fact that many of our students and their fathers have Tim Tebow on the mind and that he is a hot topic in many households. I ran into this article by Walt Muller, who has done youth ministry for a long time and now blogs about culture and faith. If you have never checked out his blog… you should: http://learningmylines.blogspot.com/

Below is a link to the article I read, it makes some good points about the danger of making Tim Tebow a “christian celebrity”, but it doesn’t fail to mention his awesomeness, so hopefully it wont make anyone too mad.

Tim Tebow Lost… Phew

The “kids table” Problem

shannondunn — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:09:18 +0000

Since being involved in the Sticky Faith cohort a year ago, our youth discipleship team is often discussing ways that we can help integrate the results of the research into our church. Sticky Faith studied why so many students walk away from their faith when they graduate from our high school programs and enter into college. The statistics that they came up with are that 40-50% of our students who were once involved will walk away from their faith… that’s way too many! This article talk about on of the major ways that we as a church can start to help our students. It’s a problem refered to as “the kids table”. Basically, the research has shown that the fact that youth are segregated in worship and everything they do at the church. This is actually effecting their spiritual lives.

What I found really interesting in this article is that our entire culture is beginning to realize that we need teenagers imput and involvement in lots of things, not just church. Check out what it has to say, and think about what ways we could use our teenagers opinions and involvement to better our church and our community.

Even Harvard Business Review Doesn’t Like “The Kids’ Table”

Help for STRESSED out families

shannondunn — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:36:48 +0000

Here is a helpful article I ran into today talking about how parents stress effects their children. It also talks about how kids deal with their stress and some helpful tips for managing all of it. Check it out!

ARTICLE: Help for Stressed Out Families

Does Homework Work?

shannondunn — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:40:28 +0000

I just ran into this article on the Fuller Youth Institute that I think is a huge issue in many of our youth households. I recently asked a group of Middle School girls to rate how life was going and all of them said life was basically great, except for the amount of homework they had. They said that school really stressed them out. Now I understand that teenagers will most likely always complain about homework, but when parents start complaining about the amount of homework their students have, you know it’s bad.

This article was inspired by a movie that came out a year or two ago calle Race to Nowhere. The movie is all about the problem of incresased homework and how it is affecting our students. I saw this movie and it made me sad, but also made me realize how much teenagers need support and love from parents and youth workers. So check out this article below and follow the link within it to the article written by Steven Johnson, his article will highlight how parents and youth workers can help during this time or increased homework and school stress.

ARTICLE: Does Homework Help?

Central California

Mindy Coates Smith — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:00:18 +0000

On Wednesday afternoon we left downtown Sacramento for a drastic change of scenery to central CA. We traveled to a remote area surrounded by rolling hills to stay on a working ranch that has been part of the Work family for five generations (www.workranch.com). George and Elaine Work welcomed us with open arms and shared their amazing ranch with us. When we arrived they had horses saddled and ready to ride, so we got to ride horses in the hills as the sun was setting. Then we learned about roping from George and eventually had a late dinner prepared by Elaine.

The next morning, after another home cooked meal, we spent a few hours with George as he gave us an educational tour of the ranch. He was extremely knowledgeable and took us around to various places on their expansive land. One of the highlights was digging for fossils like petrified sand dollars which George allowed us to keep. Our time with George and Elaine and at the rnach was one of the highlights of the trip.

Here are some thoughts from students on our time in Central CA:

“The Ranch was an incredible place to find God and see his creation. The Ranch brought godly people who showed God in everything they do. We rode horses, ate two awesome meals and spent a lot of time learning about how to take care of a range in a healthy way.”

“When I was riding horses in the abundant wilderness I felt at one with the land.”

“I saw God at work on the farm through George. He was the best possible person to run a farm and take care of God’s creation. He was a man of great spiritual, natural and farming knowledge. I really appreciated how he was so dedicated to his ranch while trying to change the world for better at the same time. Also his wife Elaine was probably the nicest person and best cook that I could ever imagine.”

“I was pleasantly surprised by the immense hospitality from George and Elaine during our stay. The two have such knowledge, such hospitality and such an incredible devotion to God that words cannot contain any of it. They have taught many interesting things about so many elements of God and his creation, and I am bound to apply those lessons into my life once I return home.”

“Being at the ranch has been a really informative and amazing experience. George was just such an amazing person to talk to. It seemed that to him ranching was so much more than just herding cattle and planting grass. To him it was a science, a lifestyle, and even an art. It was so easy to see God’s love and care for the earth reflected through George’s actions and words. I always feel comforted when I am surrounded by God’s natural creation, especially when I am surrounded by people who care about it and love it just as equally.”

“The fabulous ranch was by far my favorite part. They are so laid back and at one with the land and animals they live with. It makes me jealous. If I could I would live like that in a heartbeat. In the plants, the animals and the scenery God shows his immense beauty. I cannot even begin to explain it all. It’s an experience everyone should have.”

Sacramento

Mindy Coates Smith — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:00:57 +0000

On Tuesday afternoon we headed up to our state’s capitol to explore the political landscape of California. We wanted to see CA from the perspective of a state senator, so we stayed at a hotel in downtown that was walking distance from the capitol building. The hotel was called The Citizen and was politically themed. Since we had not showered for two days, checking into the hotel was a welcome respite. After we cleaned up we walked to a local lesser known Japanese restaurant for sushi. Then we took a stroll to the capitol building and had our team meeting on the grass in front of the building. We discussed the things we considered the top issues facing our state: budget, education, immigration and obesity, among other concerns that were mentioned.

After a restful night of sleep we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel and walked back to the capitol building to take a tour. Our tour guide Robin was excellent and very welcoming to our group. We learned a lot and got to see both the assembly room and the senate room where meetings are held and our state representatives vote on bills. After the tour, we visited Senator Pavley’s office, a state senator who represents the part of Los Angeles that BAPC is located in. Senator Pavley was not in Sacramento but we were able to meet with one of her staff in her office. Dan explained to us the geographical location that Senator Pavley represents, the bills that she is currently working on and how the budget process works. It was very informative.

Here are some of the student’s impressions from our time in Sacramento:

“Sacramento was a much better experience than I thought it would be. I’m not that politically savvy and could care less about politics! But visiting the capitol and talking with people like our tour guide and the assistant to our representative really opened my eyes to just how vast and important the political landscape is and just how big a role we as citizens can play. It was incredible and I can’t wait to go back!”

“Sacramento was a lot greener and cleaner than I thought it would be. I really enjoyed the tour of the State Capitol Building and the visit to our state senator’s office. I was surprised by how open and honest our guides were.”

“Sacramento was full of useful information and facts about democracy. God is with us!”

“I learned just how serious our debt is in California and what we can do about it.”

“Sacramento was a great place and a lot of fun. We saw God through our tour guide at the Capitol Building. She showed us God’s love and care. She was passionate about her job and the history of our state.”

“I saw God at work in the city of Sacramento because of our tour guide Robin. She shared her beliefs about God and she was sharing honestly from her past experiences. I’m so glad God is working in our state.”

Nature & Environmental Concerns

Mindy Coates Smith — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:00:43 +0000

On Monday afternoon we headed to the Pinnacles National Monument and set up camp for the night. We had our team meeting around the “campfire” (since the fire danger was so high, fires were prohibited – so we used battery operated candles). The sky was so clear it seemed like the stars had multiplied. Then we squeezed into two tents – one for the guys and one for the girls – and drifted off to sleep to the unfamiliar sounds of animals calling to each other across the canyon.

The next morning we got up, had breakfast and had a morning discussion about the environmental issues facing California and why / how we can respond. We also discussed what it means to trust God. Each of us brought three items to our meeting that we felt were the most important or valuable items we brought with us on the trip. We talked about how these items might represent the bigger things in our lives that we think we could never let go of. Then we had the chance to pray by ourselves for a few minutes and during this time we could choose to let go of one or more of our items for the rest of the trip, as a metaphor for the larger things in our lives that we are willing to trust God with. Some let go of all three items, some let go of other items and some were not yet ready to let go. All of these responses were appropriate and helped us understand more of where we are at in our relationships with God.

The Pinnacles is one of the only natural habitats for the endangered California Condor. So after packing up camp, we went for a hike to scout for Condors. Unfortunately we did not see any of the 30 birds that fly freely around Pinnacles, but we enjoyed hiking to a lookout point.

After the hike, we packed lunches and hit the road for our next destination. Here are some of the student’s reactions from our time in nature:

“Everything was really beautiful. The night sky was breathtaking.”

“Pinnacles was a great reminder of how much of California we will likely never see and that there are incredible places that we need to find. The view on the hike was simply spectacular.”

“WHAT? No Condors? Oh, well – camping in a remote location was awesome in itself. During quiet time, I saw several cotton tail rabbits that reminded me of how much these woods really are filled with God’s creatures.”

“A few things stuck out to me at my time in the Pinnacles. The first was during the night when a chorus of coyotes began to start howling outside our tent. It was such an awesome godly moment that I had the privilege of experiencing from the safety of our tent. I didn’t necessarily learn anything from that moment, but just being so close to nature made me feel just how big and amazing God is. I felt this on our hike as well, when we got to the top of the mountain and looked out over the whole reserve. It was breath-taking to say the least. The second thing was more of a learning experience, and it was when we were given the option of sacrificing one of our belongings as a sort of fasting. I’m still trying to decide what to give up, but I think what God may be trying to tell me personally is that this is less a time of discipline and more of learning to trust that God will provide. A time of learning that God will always be able to give us what we need, regardless of the circumstances. I want that trust, and I’m praying that I can learn that some time soon.”

“Environmentalist discussions have been very eye-opening. It made me realize I should do my best to be environmentally aware but not worried. When God created the Garden of Eden it was ‘good.’ I will do my best to lessen the affect of my environmental footprint but I shouldn’t be stressed. God created nature to enjoy, not to worry over.”