by ChaseSnyder | Oct 14, 2016 | Leadership, Ministry, Top Posts
Veteran ministry leaders understand this truth: There is nothing more terrifying than handing someone else a microphone.
[bctt tweet=”There is nothing more terrifying than handing someone else a microphone ” username=”chasesnyder12″]
This isn’t an arrogant statement! Most of us love bringing in guest speakers!
A statement like this is made because speakers have used inappropriate language, spoken 30 minutes longer than their allotted time, or made the service a commercial for their newest T-shirt line.
Even with the risks, I firmly believe that guest speakers can deeply impact your student ministry events.
I love bringing in guest speakers for our events, retreats, and midweek worship services so that students can see other adults who are passionate about Jesus, hear another voice on a particular subject, and connect with another person’s story.
Read: 5 Reasons You Should Use Guest Speakers In Youth Ministry
Before I bring a guest speaker to our student ministry I make sure that they line up to a specific list of characteristics that will maximize their impact and the Gospel.
I do this for two reasons:
- To protect our students from a negative situation.
- To protect my job at the church.
Below is the checklist I use to gauge a guest speaker’s effectiveness for our ministry.
7 Characteristics Of An Incredible Guest Speaker
Someone Who Will Bring Us To The Throne Of God Without Sitting On One
The event is not about the speaker. The event is not about the band. The retreat isn’t even about your students. Everything you lead should glorify King Jesus. I desire to bring in a speaker who is going to magnify Jesus, not their ministry or personality. There isn’t a fool-proof method of screening, but I diligently spend hours networking, screening, and researching a potential guest’s materials, social medias, spiritual growth, and reputation.
Someone With A Positive Social Media Following
After the event our students are going to follow the speaker on social medias. This means that the speaker will be influencing my students for months, maybe years, after the event. Obviously this can be a positive or negative situation. We want to bring in someone who uses social medias to minister. In contrast, we will not pick a speaker who inappropriately uses medias.
Someone Who Is Passionate About Students and Ministry
Joy and passion for Jesus are contagious! We want to surround our students with adults who are joyfully living out the Gospel of Jesus. Joy cannot be faked. This is a mark of a disciple of Jesus who is journeying with their Savior.
Someone Who Will Honor Our Retreat/Event Theme
When a speaker goes rogue on the teaching points our students are often unable to make the connection with the theme. We have been preparing every detail of this event for months. The speaker must realize his/her place in achieving the greater vision of developing disciples.
Read: 7 Things You Should Know Before Your Next Retreat
Someone Who Aligns With Our Theology
One of the primary roles of a pastor is to ensure that your congregation is protected from false doctrines and incorrect teachings. I have conversations with our guest speakers and find out what their views on baptism, Jesus, salvation, and sin are before we bring them in. Since we leverage our speakers to share the Gospel of Jesus, we want to ensure that the Gospel presentation lines up with our beliefs.
Someone Who Will Interact With Our People
Relating with students from the stage is one thing, but interacting with them between sessions is a necessity for us. I don’t expect a speaker to participate in every aspect of our programming, but I do expect them to build relationships with our people.
Someone Who Is Professional
Working with unprofessional people drives me crazy! There is nothing worse than a speaker who is slow to respond to emails, ignores phone calls, disregards our time limits, and isn’t prepared for the event. There is not a dichotomy between being relational and being organized.
Now What?
What characteristics do you look for when you bring in a guest speaker?
by ChaseSnyder | Jul 26, 2016 | Discipleship, Top Posts
Do you ever feel like you are failing as a parent?
Maybe if I had asked, “Have you breathed in air today?” you would have had the same answer as above!
As parents, we all feel ill equipped, under-encouraged, and dog-tired most of the time! There is nothing harder and nothing more rewarding than raising kids.
Raising kids is hard, but raising them to follow Jesus is harder.
[bctt tweet=”Raising kids is hard, but raising them to follow Jesus is harder.” username=”chasesnyder12″]
That is one of the reasons why I wrote the book, Doer.
James reminds the early Christians in James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (ESV)
Parents must ensure that their kids are engaging God’s Word and doing what it says. You know that this isn’t an easy task. It takes years of prayer, intentionality, and opportunities for kids to figure out how God has wired them to engage culture and their communities.
Here are 5 simple steps you can take to start becoming a family that is a does what God’s Word says.
Becoming A Family That Acts In A Passive Culture
- Embrace Your Role As A Spiritual Leader
It is your God-given responsibility to lead your family. No one else can raise your children for you. The church can assist you and encourage you to spiritually lead your kids, but it cannot be the sole provider of spiritual teaching. This is why biblical community is so valuable. When you are losing hope or feel stuck, other Jesus followers can speak into your life to encourage you as your raise your kids.
- Live As A Positive Example As A Jesus Follower
As parents, we should prayerfully raise our children in such a way that they love Jesus. If parents coast through their own personal relationship with Jesus, the kids are the first to notice and the ones most affected. This is why many students leave the church once they get into college – they have never seen how following Jesus affects their day-to-day lives because it wasn’t modeled in their homes.
- Study God’s Word Together
You must make time to study the Bible together with your family. You don’t have to walk through a commentary to discuss deep theological truths. You need to come up with simple ways to help your kids read Scripture, pray, and apply their faith in a day-to-day context.
- Serve Together
One of the best ways to solidify lessons is to let your children live them out! Some of the biggest blessings you can experience happen when your kids serve others with you. Don’t think about this in terms of large service projects – the simpler the service opportunity the better. Allow your son to help you bake a dish for a friend who is about to have a baby. Encourage your kids to write thank you cards to their teachers. Try to serve in smaller ways more frequently so your kids understand how to serve God in their day-to-day activities instead of through once-a-year events.
[bctt tweet=”One of the best ways to solidify lessons is to let your children live them out!” username=”chasesnyder12″]
- Allow Your Kids To Fail
Do you remember teaching your kids how to eat with a spoon? For months you had to clean up small messes after each meal because your child was still shaky with the new utensil. It would be absurd to pull the spoon away from them and decide that you would spoon-feed them for the rest of their lives! The same is true with developing character, confidence, and faith. You cannot live their lives for them. You must allow your kids to take risks, seize opportunities, and walk by faith. It is the only way you will raise doers.
Becoming a doer of God’s Word is no easy task.
In no way do I pretend that I have perfected the art of obedience to God – I just realize the importance of us starting the conversation, living life on mission, and extending the grace of Jesus to our communities and culture.
by ChaseSnyder | Nov 23, 2015 | Leadership, Ministry, Top Posts
The hardest part of starting a good coffee shop (and also a good band) is thinking of a great name.
As a self-proclaimed coffee critic, I have visited some of the best and worst named coffee houses you can imagine. Everything from “Deja-Brew” to “Brewed Awakenings.”
For the better part of a decade I have been brainstorming some creative names for Christian coffee houses, because nothing says, “We love Jesus” more than naming your coffee house “Bean Redeemed.”
[bctt tweet=”Nothing says, “We love Jesus” more than naming your coffee house “Bean Redeemed.” ” username=”chasesnyder12″]
If your church or college is adding a coffee shop on campus, here is the perfect list of Christian coffee house names!
14 Creative Christian Coffee House Names
- Jehovah Java
- The Cup that Overfloweth
- Hebrews
- Holy Grounds
- Bean Redeemed
- Pressed but not Crushed
- Coffee of Coffees
- The Promised Coffee “Flowing with Soy Milk and Local Honey”
- Eternal Brew
- OmniBrew
- Brewed by Immersion
- The Reformed Barista
- The Everlasting Coffee Pot
- Bean of Life
You have been equipped with the most biblical list of coffee house names. Now is the time to call a special leadership team meeting to see if you can rally people around a fresh name change!
By the way, this is satire and I hope that Christian coffee shops find better names than the ones listed above!
Do you have any other names you would add to this list?
