How To Reach Fringe Students In Your Youth Ministry from Dennis Beckner on Vimeo.

I’m very thankful to Matt, Mel, James and Nathan for sharing these great insights about reaching at-risk, fringe students of our ministry. I am confident it will help volunteers everywhere become more confident in this area, lives will be transformed because of their efforts and ministries will expand as these principles are put into place.

This was originally posted April 30, 2009. A student watched these videos last week and said they really made her think. I thought I’d bring them to the front of the blog so new readers would get some use out of them, too.

Last night I invited my friend Alex who is an Atheist to the high school Bible study I teach. We videotaped the event to show other youth workers what we’re up to. I believe this illustrates a missing link to our outreach programs. If we can talk to non-Christians, we’ll have a better idea how to reach them.

The purpose of this interview was to help students understand how Christians are perceived by non-Christians and what we can do about it. The purpose was not to have an in-depth discussion about Atheism, although the topic was addressed by some of the questions from students. For some great videos about Christianity vs Atheism, click here. This link will take you to some lectures taped at Saddleback Church on September 5 & 6, 2009 by leading teachers on the subject.

Click here for a list of questions I asked Alex. The sections are numbered. Each video has a corresponding number next to the video number to indicate which section’s questions that video answers.

I highly recommend doing something like this in other ministries. The goal of the night was to help students understand how non-Christians view the Christian world. My hope was to help them become aware of how we can be more sensitive and effective. We do this by being intentional about the Christ-like image we project to our non-Christian friends.

Two things I will do differently for my next interview: 1. Write the questions on cue cards. It was too difficult to read them on my iPhone without glasses, 2. Use a video camera that can plug into a wall. We lost a few great minutes at the end of video 9. The good news is that we got 99% of the interview and wrap-up/challenge.

My friend Josh Pease wrote a blog tonight about this same topic of being sensitive about the approach we take when reaching out to non-Christians. Click here to read it. He has some great food for thought.

This is part 4 of a 4-part interview with Tom and Marla. In this segment, Tom and Marla talk about some pain in their family and how they used it to help other families seeking help to recover from issues of addiction.

At the end of this video I mention Celebrate Recovery and Life Hurts/God Heals. Click here to link to information on those ministries.

Here are links to the videos in this series:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Be sure to also check out the brief comments below the video.

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There are a few things I love about this video series:
- It was videotaped by a student volunteer. This was a great way for him to see some of the heart behind what we do as leaders.
- The video is not professional… much like our service as volunteers. The interview isn’t polished, the camera is shaky, and there are no makeup artists. It’s just regular folks talking about a mutual passion: reaching out to students through ministry
- It’s a good start for other topical interviews to be done in the future

This is part 3 of a 4-part interview with Tom and Marla. In this segment, Tom, a 16-year veteran volunteer, answers questions and gives great advice about teaching a small group of high school boys.

Here are links to the other videos in this series:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Be sure to also check out the brief comments below the video.

___

There are a few things I love about this video series:
- It was videotaped by a student volunteer. This was a great way for him to see some of the heart behind what we do as leaders.
- The video is not professional… much like our service as volunteers. The interview isn’t polished, the camera is shaky, and there are no makeup artists. It’s just regular folks talking about a mutual passion: reaching out to students through ministry
- It’s a good start for other topical interviews to be done in the future

This is part 2 of a 4-part interview with Tom and Marla. In this segment, Marla, a 14-year veteran volunteer, answers questions and gives great advice about dealing with big issues in the lives of students.

Here are links to the videos in this series:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Be sure to also check out the brief comments below the video.

___

There are a few things I love about this video series:
- It was videotaped by a student volunteer. This was a great way for him to see some of the heart behind what we do as leaders.
- The video is not professional… much like our service as volunteers. The interview isn’t polished, the camera is shaky, and there are no makeup artists. It’s just regular folks talking about a mutual passion: reaching out to students through ministry
- It’s a good start for other topical interviews to be done in the future

This is part 1 of a 4-part interview with Tom and Marla. Before leaving after several years of service in our student ministry, we sat together to discuss what they’ve learned about youth ministry and what they would tell new volunteers. Look for the second segment to be posted next week.

Here are links to the videos in this series:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Be sure to also check out the brief comments below the video.

___

There are a few things I love about this video series:
- It was videotaped by a student volunteer. This was a great way for him to see some of the heart behind what we do as leaders.
- The video is not professional… much like our service as volunteers. The interview isn’t polished, the camera is shaky, and there are no makeup artists. It’s just regular folks talking about a mutual passion: reaching out to students through ministry
- It’s a good start for other topical interviews to be done in the future.

Update: Click here to see the video interview

As I mentioned in a couple of previous posts, tonight’s the night to interview Alex the Atheist in front of 3 of our high school small groups tonight. While I’ve been thinking about this interview for a couple of weeks, today I’m putting the questions on paper. Here’s what I have so far. I’d love your thoughts, especially on the closing challenge.

Section 1: Who is Alex

- What is your family like? (siblings, pets, quirks, Jewish Dad, Christian Mom – neither active in their faith)
- Where did you go to high school? (I know it’s the same school as most of my students – just trying to help them connect with him)
- When did you graduate?
- What did you love/hate about school?
- What makes you happy?
- What do you do for fun?

Section 2: What Does Alex believe about God, life, beginning & end of existence?

- You’ve described yourself as an Atheist, but have also said you’re not sure exactly what to believe. Can you explain for us where you stand on the existence of God?
- What has been your biggest influence that lead to this belief?
- Do you believe Jesus existed? If yes, what do you believe about him?
- What do you believe about the beginning of time & space? (Where did everything come from?)
- What do you believe about death? (What happens when we die?)

– Student questions

Section 3: What’s your take on religions?

- What impression do you have about religions? (all religions)
– You’re friends with Christians and Atheists and maybe people of other religions. How has being in the middle of so many varied beliefs affected your outlook on God and life in general?

Section 4: Christians – The good, the bad & the ugly

- What positive experiences have you had with Christians?
- Were you invited to church when you were in high school?
– How did you/would you have responded?
- What do you believe makes a person a Christian or not a Christian?
- If you were to become a Christian, what are some of the aspects of the Christian life that would draw you in?
- What are some aspects of the Christian life that push you away from wanting to be one?
- Have you ever been hurt, offended or felt excluded by Christians?
- What opinion do you have of Christians overall?
- In G-rated terms, how do your friends look at Christians? (dismissive, with pity, indignation, curiosity…)
- As a non-believer, what advice would you give to a Christian about the image they project to the non-believing world?

– Student questions

Section 5: Wrap up/Challenge

Questions for students:
- What are your thoughts about how we’re perceived among those who don’t believe?
- How can this discussion affect the way you image you project through your day-to-day life/choices?
- Do you understand how Alex could form his impression of Christians?
- What can you do starting right away to change this?
Challenge:
- Make a list of non-believing friends at your school who you can make a positive impact on for Christ this week
- Pastor Rick said in the adult service this week that we bring glory to God by the way we represent him to non-believers. He used two verses to make his point:
– “Always be ready to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have within you, but do it with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV)
– “As God’s grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:15 (NLT)
- We need to be respectful and gentle with non-believers. (In reality, we need to treat everybody this way.) Why is it important that we care about how non-believers perceive Christians?

- I want to help you realize the importance of three things:

1. The way we’re perceived as Christians
2. What affect your life has on the non-Christian world (like wearing a WWJD wristband while cheating off your friend’s homework assignment)
3. The impact we can have by living intentionally in a way that brings others to Christ rather than repelling them.