There is a myth floating around that Middle School ministry is all about games.  While this may be true in some ministry’s, it is not the case for Southbrook Students.  I’ve heard both sides of the argument from students and parents.  They usually go as follows…

Those for games:  You have to engage the students with activities…that’s the only way that they can really learn.  You have to use games to break the ice and to have fun.  It’s like big kid craft time. For a great video on a craft idea…check this out.

Those against games: Games are a waste of time.  A good portion of the students don’t even want to play them.

While there is merit in both of these arguments both miss the most important thing (at least in my opinion).  Student ministry is not a child care service nor is it school.  We typically get 40 hours or less with each student a year.  What we do and say is important, however not as important as what parents do and say (since they get on average 3,000 hours a year with their kids). We can only reinforce what is being taught at home.  If you teach veggies are good and we do not, then there is mis-information in the students life.  We try to minimize this by keeping our topics focused on Christ, the cross and the application of God’s word. We take what we do very seriously and realize that we have limited time to connect, engage and teach these students.  Sometimes we utilize games as ice breakers…there is merit to that.  While we do have some 8th graders who are very mature, the bottom line is that people like to connect and have fun.

The better questions to ponder  to debunk while trying to determine if the students are in a good environment to learn are…

1. Does the student ministry have a plan and direction?
2. Are there adult leaders who ‘want’ to be involved in the life of the students?
3. What does the student ministry expect from parents?
4. How does the student ministry get  kids to stay connected?

All of these questions will be answered in the next several blog posts dedicated to debunking Student Ministry Myths.