Comments on: Do you remember your most classic youth ministry moments?

By: Guy Wasko

Guy Wasko — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:33:11 +0000

The night was planned – perfectly I might add. This was my first youth group and although small, momentum was building and I wanted to steward well what it seemed God was doing. I spent more than the usual time preparing for the evenings’ youth group experience. Supplies were purchased for the games. The worship was setup. Interactive message – check! Chairs were organized – room for 20-25, I lived a bit by faith but it was a reasonable expectation. The clock said it was time for students to start flowing in…but…nothing. Fifteen minutes after our official start time we had FOUR students and one of the six volunteers.

At first I will admit that I was devastated! But the evening was saved. We all loaded up into one car and created what to this day is one of the most memorable nights of youth ministry history in the lives of those 4 students. We set out for ice cream from McDonalds. Arriving at the first and closest chain we discovered that they were out of ice cream! Repeat that same scene 2 more times and we finally found our beloved treat! What I thought was a complete bust turned into an all evening scavenger hunt across the city trying to find one McDonalds with ice cream! What a great scene! Often I reflect on the flexibility and opportunity that exists in smaller church ministry that can’t be duplicated or experienced elsewhere!

By: Darren Sutton

Darren Sutton — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:15:45 +0000

I remember 4 kids from the beach going rogue in the mountains and spending the night huddled together as we searched via rescue dog & helicopter – all found alive the next day (and not understanding why we were so frantic!) Yeah – that one almost made me get out!

By: Dan Campbell

Dan Campbell — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:07:16 +0000

One week, during small group prayer time, we all learned why you should pay attention to the ENTIRE prayer request. R.W., a high school student, shared that his favorite aunt had passed away from heart problems earlier in the week. He was a bit sad, but ok, and asked for prayer for the family.
During the prayer time, another student (one of R.W.’s close friends), prayed that the R.W.’s aunt would be healed and that God work continue to keep her strong. Everyone, including me, looked up blankly at the student praying, until to R.W. sheepishly said, “dude, she’s dead.” We all lost it, and a few of the students were laughing so hard they cried. It took me 5 minutes to get everyone comoposed agian. Thank God R.W. found the humor in the situation.

By: Chris Rookus

Chris Rookus — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:14:29 +0000

We have an annual “Spring Fling” trip that we take for a retreat type of thing on the first weekend in may from west Michigan to Chicago which is a three hour trip. Well, typically this last year on every trip there were the same few girls that ALWAYS needed to stop to use the rest room & would beg to stop about every hour. Well on our LONG 12 hour trips I understand & stop every 2-3 hours. This time however as I announced the trip details a week ahead for the 100th time I said “We are NOT stopping for any reason! It is only a three hour trip & we can make it!” (very happily & cheerfully I might add) only to get a reply from the same few girls saying “Seriously? How do you expect us to make it that long?” (Add your own teen valley girl flare & you’ll know just how it sounded). To that I replied boldly… “We aren’t stopping unless someone is bleeding!” At this point every guy just said amen having NO IDEA what I just said. HOwever, every female student as well as the women sponsors (some of them mothers) looked at me in either utter disgust or sheer joy that they just NAILED me to the wall! Never again ill I joke about “bleeding” before we stop on a trip. Guys, if you still don’t get what was so bad about saying this…. never mind & don’t ask any questions.

Humbly – Chris Rookus (Grace Community Church/Hudsonville, MI)

By: Michelle Smithheart

Michelle Smithheart — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:29:21 +0000

We decided to take our youth to a local military base to go ice skating. They apparently had found a roll of duct tape in the church van….when we pulled up to the security checkpoint the security guard looked into the back of the van and gave me a very concerned look. When I turned around, there were my precious teenagers with their hands and mouths duct taped mumbling “help me…help me!” Thank goodness our security guard had a sense of humor!! I will NEVER forget that!

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:04:13 +0000

A few years back at a D-Now weekend we had a soda drinking contest: 60 seconds to drink as much Code Red Mtn Dew as possible. In the finals, as you would guess, a student “returned” the Dew as fast as he had consumed the Dew. Classic blowing chunks story.

What was amazing? One of my freshman immediately grabbed towels and a bucket and mopped it up – everyone was stunned. An amazing display of the spiritual gift of Service at work (and a pretty cool projectile vomitting story).

By: Brett Ayers

Brett Ayers — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:44:59 +0000

In one of our high school small groups we were memorizing I Timothy 4:12. One of the guys was so proud that he could memorize God’s Word that he wanted to quote the scripture back to me. He said, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in… puberty”, instead of purity. He said it so confidently and that made it even funnier. He laughed once he realized what he said. Later I was hit with how right on target his little mistake really was.

By: Jonathan Hale

Jonathan Hale — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:50:21 +0000

oh, by the way, we were pushing the bus out of the way into a yard that the officer decided to commandeer.

By: Jonathan Hale

Jonathan Hale — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:47:57 +0000

there are so many memories i’ve made over the years in youth ministry, and there are a lot of fun, cooky things (like freezing mayonnaise, putting chocolate syrup & sprinkles on top, then telling the youth it’s ice cream… it had a good point, but the process of making the point was PRICELESS), but probably one of the top crazy things was the time our bus broke down on my first trip with my new youth group in a not-so-good neighborhood in the middle of the small street. i didn’t know what to to do, so i called 911 (definitely didn’t know who else to call)! my youth leaders made fun of me for months. they told me i should have just called the chairman of the bus committee, but i didn’t know there was one! the police came with flashing blue lights behind our church bus and i was spread out on the front of the bus (which was in neutral by this time) about to push with the officer. it was so crazy! but hey– at least i wasn’t being frisked!

By: Shan Smith

Shan Smith — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:08:43 +0000

Baptizing an Ogre
One of the more memorable experience as a Youth Pastor occurred by baptizing, not an Ogre, but the Ogre. As the name might imply, Ogre was a 6’5” muscular wrestler that accepted Christ as Savior following an International Wrestling Tour that ended in Turkey. Ogre’s shoulders were as wide as the baptismal, and his height stretched longer than the space provided. I was fine until, “I baptize you brother in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” where Ogre hit his head on the end wall after I dropped him. The matter got worse when I vocalized a deep “Ugh” sound, and portrayed a red-faced strain during “buried in likeness and raised in newness of life.” The experience ended with congregational gasps and laughs, as Ogre splashed water over the front wall while standing to his feet and holding his head. I praise the Lord I am living today to tell of this joyous celebration!