FourFiveSix.org: Great Ideas for your Preteen Ministry

On today’s podcast, Sean shares a great object lesson to help preteens understand how anger is a gift from God if we respond to it appropriately. This lesson is from the MAD series of the Deeply Rooted Curriculum.

Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to [email protected]. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.

With the recent excitement about Lip Syncing (Music.ly, The Sing-Off, etc.), Elevate Preteen Ministry decided to have an entire service called “Lip Sync Battle”. The preteens even took on the Junior High Ministry (and won, by the way).

The preteens responded really well to this idea, and the number of students who came actually increased significantly this evening.

Not only did the preteens respond well to the concept of the Lip Sync Battle, but they responded well to the idea taught in the Lip Sync Battle lesson, which was Romans 8:29 and the idea of becoming synced to God.

Today on the podcast, Sean shares details about how this event/service was organized including the lesson and response time that happened after the battle.

It was a great evening for the preteens!

Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to [email protected]. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.

With the recent excitement about Lip Syncing (Music.ly, The Sing-Off, etc.), Elevate Preteen Ministry decided to have an entire service called “Lip Sync Battle”. The preteens even took on the Junior High Ministry (and won, by the way).

The preteens responded really well to this idea, and the number of students who came actually increased significantly this evening.

Not only did the preteens respond well to the concept of the Lip Sync Battle, but they responded well to the idea taught in the Lip Sync Battle lesson, which was Romans 8:29 and the idea of becoming synced to God.

Today on the podcast, Sean shares details about how this event/service was organized including the lesson and response time that happened after the battle.

It was a great evening for the preteens!

Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to [email protected]. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.

Duct tape is helpful in so many situations. Imagine building an entire event focused on God, our Helper in every situation (“The Lord is my helper” -Hebrews 13:6) and using duct tape to make the night interactive and fun for preteens.

What activities can you do at a duct tape night? There are 1,000’s of duct tape ideas on Google and Pinterest.

Today on the podcast, Sean shares some, and invites you to share your ideas, too. What would a Duct Tape Night look like for your preteens? Share your best ideas below in the comment section.

Special thanks to Jeremy O’Neil, who shared this idea with us.

Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to [email protected]. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.

Want to shut down thinking and dialogue in your small group? If so, use a lot of close-ended questions.

Want to get preteens thinking and talking? Want to move preteens towards OWNERSHIP of their faith, instead of just regurgitation of your faith? If so, use a lot of open-ended questions.

If you are unclear on the difference, or just want to learn more about this concept, then today’s podcast is for you! Check out this short explanation of the difference, and how open-ended questions can become a better tool for your ministry to preteens than close-ended ones.

Have a question (open- or close-ended) about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to [email protected]. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.

Are you looking for some fun, new game ideas for your preteen ministry?

Today on the podcast, Sean gives some ideas for how to spice up your normal, everyday games by using a blindfold. It’s amazing the difference a blindfold can make!

Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to [email protected]. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.

In a perfect world, all Small Group leaders would come completely prepared to lead discussions and activities for their groups. But we don’t live in a world that has reached perfection yet.

Today on the podcast, Sean and Makenna discuss a giant “Small Group pet peeve”: Small Group leaders looking at an instructional piece of paper during service, instead of looking at the preteens in their group!

On the podcast, they’ll discuss some ways of overcoming this issue, even for the Small Group leaders that don’t have (or take) the time to become prepared during the week.

Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to [email protected]. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.

Who doesn’t like success? I’d like to have success with every aspect of my life, including every aspect of my ministry to preteens.

Maybe we want to have success in everything we do, but is that possible? According to a simple Biblical principle, it is!

Today on the podcast, Sean discusses What the Bible teaches us about having success in everything we do. Can you say #BibleLifeHack?

Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to [email protected]. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.

Think crafts as part of preservice are too babyish for preteens? Think they’re too messy? That crafts only appeal to the girls? That they take to long? We invite you to think again.

Preservice crafts are "killin' it" in preteen ministries across the nation. Today on the podcast Sean and Jaime share tips and tricks of having crafts that raise the value of your preservice time, too.

Having diverse, engaging preservice activities can make the time leading up to service enjoyable for all students. A craft station can be fun for both girls and boys. Because many preteens like to express themselves creatively, a craft station can be just the thing to engage them from the moment they arrive at your ministry. A craft that is centered around the theme of the lesson can impact how a student connects to the lesson. They have a reminder, that they made themselves, of the day’s theme. A craft can be one of the best take-home pieces that you give a student.

We’d love to hear what you are doing for preservice crafts. What have been your most engaging crafts for preteens? Share your ideas in the comment section below or by e-mailing [email protected].

Do you get together with your volunteer team just to connect and hang-out? If every meeting with your volunteers is training and vision casting, what are you communicating to your volunteers about their value as an individual, and the value of relationships within your ministry?

Today on the podcast Sean shares two ideas for relationship-building volunteer meetings that you could plan for your leaders this year.

We’d love to hear what you are doing for your volunteer team. What ideas do you have for a relationship-building volunteer meeting? Share your ideas by e-mailing [email protected].

Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to [email protected]. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.