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Discover the Power of Art Journals with Teens in Your Youth Ministry

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Creating art journals with teens helps them make sense of their lives and relationships and encourages growth.

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As youth walk through the world, they face several difficult things to navigate, including heartbreak, sexual development, friendship, drug and alcohol use, family dynamics and decisions about the future.

Being a mentor for youth, you are in a unique position to help them make sense of it. And art, with all its applications, is a great way to do so.

Do you incorporate art journaling with teens in your ministry? We’d love to know how in the comments below!

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Just a Starting Point

There are countless ways to help teens process what’s going on in their lives. Art with teens is a helpful avenue of endless possibilities. We’ve put together a list of just five ideas in this blog series: art journaling, sculpture, painting, poetry, and photography.

We hope this series of blogs will inspire you. But, don’t be limited to these articles. No matter our age, we connect to our Creator as we live into our creativity. So, think up other ideas that will be helpful for your youth group.

Laying the Foundation for the Process

All of us, especially teens, develop through a process of trial and error. Art is the same way. We create through play, trying a thing and seeing what happens.

When journaling, there is no specific goal, except to listen internally. Each of your youth has a unique story and perspective. As you teach them to listen to the voice within, you facilitate their process of connection with God. So, assure them that there is no wrong or right way to journal.

When doing art with teens tell them to trust their intuition, because it is the wisdom guiding them in their process of discovery and growth. As youth learn to trust this, they uncover who God has created and is creating them to be.

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How to Create Art Journals

First, gather some basic supplies for your students to use:

  1. Blank, unlined journals
  2. Watercolors
  3. Tissue paper
  4. Pens
  5. Colored pencils
  6. Glue sticks

Second, invite them to create a background out of tissue paper, watercolor or colored pencil. They may use one page or the spread of two pages. Encourage them to cover the entire page with the medium they’ve chosen or a mix of media.

Third, encourage them to think of a topic they’d like to write on like their family, a current struggle/joy, or question for God.

Fourth, give them time to create their entry that revolves around that topic. Encourage the youth to use very few or no words at all.

Fifth, discuss together as a group what was challenging about the process, what they experienced and discovered, and how they feel having done it.

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Invitation to Continue

Once your time creating together is over, invite your youth to continue this process of creation. If it was particularly meaningful to them, give them opportunities to make it a regular practice.

You can send the art journals home with your students to use and invite them to bring them back periodically. Or keep them at the church to use when you do contemplative practices as a group.

Have you used art journals in your youth ministry? Don’t forget to tell us about it in the comments below!

5 Fun Ways to Celebrate the Summer Solstice with Your Kids

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Reflecting on the upcoming summer solstice got me thinking about how much of our connection to the rhythms of life and creation we’ve lost. As technology and industrialization has increased, even much of our interaction with the circle of the seasons has been minimized or lost.

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For example, many of us are unaware of what produce is grown when. Also, we pay little attention to the moon’s waxing and waning. And the sun doesn’t dictate our waking and sleeping anymore.

Consequently, life has shifted in big ways for most of us since our agrarian ancestors lived. As a result, we search for other forms of rhythm. We still need a sense of place in time and space. And that is certainly true for children just as it is for adults.

So, what counters all this and encourages a sense of grounding in our lives today? The coming and going of the school year. The liturgical calendar with its colors and seasons. Women’s monthly cycles. Holidays and family traditions.

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Even still, our culture does little to connect us to the Earth. Yet, the earth is the place from which we originate. We call it home for our entire existence. Its gifts fuel us and its ground supports us. Our bodies will return to its soil. And in spite of all this, we rarely celebrate its wonder.

The solstice is a wonderful opportunity to slow down, take notice of Earth’s splendor, and thank God.

What is the Summer Solstice?

Summer Solstice, also called midsummer in some places, is the longest day of the year. Also, in many areas, it’s considered the first day of summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, it happens between June 20-22. And in the Southern Hemisphere, it falls between December 20-23.

Around the world, it’s commemorated in lots of different ways. From music festivals to surf contests, people come together to celebrate the sunshine.

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5 Ways to Celebrate Summer Solstice

Thank God for the sun. Explore all the ways the sun provides for life. Talk about it with your children and take time to show your gratitude. Saint Francis of Assisi, a lover of creation, wrote a hymn called Canticle of the Sun you may want to use as a prayer. Here is an excerpt:

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Enjoy the sunlight. Go swimming. Hit the beach or lake. Go for a hike or ten-minute walk around the block. Picnic at a park or in your own backyard. Do some gardening. Just take time to feel the sunshine on your skin. Notice its warmth and how it energizes you.

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Have a BBQ. Nothing says summer like cooking out on the grill. Invite friends over. Your street could even throw a block party. Enjoy the long afternoon and evening, whatever you do. Push bedtime back a bit for longer playtime and memory-making.

Make sun catchers. Give your children a chance to express their love of light and creation through the making of art. There are several ways to make sun catchers. The simple objective is to create something that allows for light to pass through it when it’s hung in a window. Get creative with materials and assembly. Need some inspiration? Check out a few great ideas over at Rhythms of Play.

Brew sun tea. I remember playing in the backyard as a kid as my mom’s glass pitcher sat on the brick half-wall brewing tea. And I’ve never once made it myself. This is the summer, ’cause guess what? It’s not all that hard. And it’s super versatile. Make it to your liking. You can even add mint or basil. Pour it over ice with a squeeze of lemon, and enjoy. And yes, we do expect to see many of you Instagramming your tea-brewing glass pitchers and tagging us in your photos!

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Happy Summer, Friends!

Happy Summer, friends! This solstice, enjoy the sun and notice all it makes possible on this glorious planet. Find space to sink into the rhythms of the Earth and celebrate.

And, we love hearing from you. So, don’t forget to share what you’re doing to celebrate the onset of summer in the comments!

6 Secrets for Recruiting Volunteers and Keeping Them Happy

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Recruiting volunteers is a significant part of any ministry leader’s job. They make ministry possible. So, what can you do to effectively gather a team of people who are passionate about God’s work in the world?

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The Importance of Recruiting Volunteers

How many of us have found ourselves working long hours, feeling overwhelmed, burned out and alone in our role? How many of you have stepped on stage Sunday morning, asked for volunteers, and had no response? Are you wondering what happened to all those volunteers you used to have? Are you taking on too much but don’t know how to do the job any differently?

Recruiting volunteers is one of the most important aspects of your job and your call to ministry. It can make work easier. Work-life balance can improve. You can have more time for yourself. And space can be created for your imagination to go to work envisioning the ministry’s future.

Furthermore, we are called the body of Christ. Consequently, there are no one-woman or one-man shows in the Church. Well, at least there aren’t any that thrive. We serve God and the world best when we’re leaning on one another’s strengths.

So, you know you need volunteers. And you know life with a team in place will be better. But, how do you invite them effectively? And how do you keep them engaged and joyful in serving?

Read on to find out! And don’t forget to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below. Especially if you’re flooded with volunteers, share with the ICM community what’s worked best for you.

DON’T HAVE TIME TO READ THIS POST RIGHT NOW? Download a PDF copy of this blog post to read later, or to share with friends or colleagues. This is a great tool to share with staff as you think about recruiting volunteers. Click here to access the downloadable PDF.

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Recruiting Volunteers in Today’s World

Our volunteers are busy people. Heck, we’re all busy people!

Most of them are professionals who endure long commutes and work hours. They’re striving to be present for a whole host of kids’ activities when not away on travel or caring for their aging parents’ needs. Finding time for their own spiritual formation, rest, and exercise feels almost impossible. And they long for more family time and less fast food.

Consequently, today’s volunteers can be understandably hard to wrangle. And they may seem demanding. Research shows they desire flexibility, expect to be empowered, won’t tolerate working alongside incompetent volunteers, are tech savvy, and don’t want to be micromanaged.

They truly want to make a difference. But they have little time and can take on few extra commitments. Almost all of them are working and several are single parents. Furthermore, many of those who would serve already volunteer for multiple organizations.

This is a lot for them to manage. And it’s a lot for you to navigate.

Some of you may be feeling hopeless because you’ve been trying to gather leaders all year, and it’s just not working.  Getting a little discouraged? That’s why we’re here!

It’s still possible to gather a team together in today’s crazy world. There are ways of meeting people where they are. And you can learn to understand their needs and the best ways to include them.

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Recruiting Volunteers and Keeping The Happy

  1. Set realistic expectations. Get creative. Offer short-term projects as volunteer opportunities. Or ask for involvement that requires no commitment. For example, use online tools where people can click to donate or vote or give input. Or hand out wristbands for people to wear to market your ministry. Alternatively, tap into retiring boomers for longer-term involvement. Keep in-person meetings short and to a minimum. Instead, try video chats. Start a Facebook group or use a messaging app that’s tailored to group communication (like, Slack).
  2. Nurture and equip volunteers. When recruiting volunteers, pay attention to their strengths and interests. They want to feel significant and utilized. Then, equip them to use their specific gifts, talents, passions, and ideas to accomplish the mission of the ministry. This will make the most of your team and create investment on the part of your volunteers.
  3. Be strategic. Instead of making an announcement from the pulpit, approach individuals in whom you see possibility. This tactic is far more effective. First, simply ask a person to consider serving. Then, check in with them the following week to find out how they’re feeling about it. Tell them about a specific way they would be useful given who they are. Then, invite them to come observe or take a tour of the facility. Give them some time to ask questions and pray about it before following up over coffee or lunch.
  4. Stimulate inner motivation. All of us are driven by different internal and external factors. This is true for each person you have on a team of leaders. Volunteers may be self-serving, seeking relationships with others, driven by their beliefs. Learn what motivates each of those serving. Then, make a special effort to focus on those motivations.
  5. Offer special privileges and perks. Send volunteers to conferences, provide training, give free food, logo apparel, awards during meetings, a write-up in newsletters, send thank you cards (coming SOON from Illustrated Ministry), get their favorite coffee on the way to church, and have fun together. Very rarely do your volunteers get recognized and encouraged in their lives and careers. Gifting that to them makes a big impact.
  6. Move from delegation to empowerment. Start volunteers at the delegation level, which means you do the planning and they execute the tasks you assign to them. Later, empower volunteers to do it their way in design and execution. This offers volunteers ownership in the ministry, help them feel valued and trusted, and allow you to invest more in the process of visioning.

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We hope this post has provided some helpful tips for you in recruiting volunteers for the work God is up to through your ministry. If you’re looking for even more tools, pick up a copy of The New Breed: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer.

And we’d love to hear what’s working for you. Don’t forget to share in the comments section below!