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Stephen Posey, the pre-youth pastor at Church on the Move (Tulsa, OK), has blogged his notes from Willie George’s Elevate 07 keynote address about six ministry traps to avoid. A paraphrase is:

1. I’m being passed by!
   Focus on being faithful instead of comparing yourself to others. “People who do extraordinary things for God are hidden until their character is solidified.”
2. I don’t have the money.
   God will supply all of your needs.
3. I’ve got more than one baby in the crib.
   Do not pursue more than one big idea at a time. “Finish what you start and you’ll gain credibility.”
4. I’ve got to leap (not step).
   God leads us in steps not leaps.
5. Degrees of impurity won’t hurt me.
   “Before iniquity comes repeated sin. Before the repeated sin comes the first sin. Before the first sin comes the thought. Before the thought comes the unguarded heart. Guard your hearts!”
6. It’s okay for me to minister out of an empty vessel.
   “Ministry should happen out of overflow. Like a bank account, you have to deposit before you withdraw.”

Avoiding these traps will help you to be an effective steward of God’s calling on your life. As Peter Drucker says, “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.”

According to CNN, many young Christians are giving up Facebook, MySpace, and other social networks for Lent.

Some of my friends think it’s silly, since people usually give up food. I wanted to give up something that’s really hard for me.
- Emily :: 16-year-old

If you have not realized it yet, social networks have become a staple of life for younger generations. If you want to reach young people but have never experienced online social networking, you do not fully understand a major part of their culture.

[via Ypulse]

A March Zogby International poll commissioned by the Parents Television Council discovered that:

• 79% of adults agree that there is too much sex, violence, and course language on television.

[via The Christian Post]

According to Comcast,  “Time Inc. is repositioning many of its brands to follow its readers and advertisers onto the Internet.” Their plans include no longer printing Life Magazine.

The market has moved dramatically since October 2004, and it is no longer appropriate to continue publication.
- Ann Moore :: CEO :: Time Inc.

Last month, we discussed The New York Times’s goal to transition from print to the Internet, and the question remains:

What printed materials can your church transfer to the Internet?

[via Trend Hunter]

According to research from the Center for Missional Research:

• 99% of church plants survive the 1st year
• 92% survive the 2nd year
• 81% survive the 3rd year
• 68% survive the 4th year

Four reasons why are:

1. Expectations
   >> 87% with realistic expectations survived
   >> 61% with unmet expectations survived
2. Leadership Development
   >> 79% with leadership training for church members survived
   >> 59% with no leadership training for church members survived
3. Peer Groups
   >> 83% with planters who were part of a church planting peer group survived
   >> 67% with planters who were not part of a church planting peer group survived
4. Stewardship Plans
   >> 81% with a stewardship development plan survived
   >> 67% with no stewardship development plan survived

Related Reading:
- 10 Factors for Higher Attendance in Church Plants
- 10 Reasons Why Church Plants Fail
- Free Church Planting Resources

[via North American Mission Board]

Here is a roundup of what we were talking about one year ago:

• LifeChurch.tv Offers Free Resources
  [March 29, 2006]
• Unknowingly Training Up Ministers
  [March 29, 2006]
• Mobile Holographic Projection Coming Soon
  [March 30, 2006]

This past week, Oneighty, the youth group of Church on the Move (Tulsa, OK), had their annual youth ministry conference, Elevate. I had an opportunity to stop by and hear a session by Blaine Bartel on promoting big events. Blaine was the founding youth pastor of Oneighty and under his leadership the youth ministry reached about 3,000 students weekly.

In his session, he explained how big events were one Oneighty’s primary evangelism tools over the past ten years. While the promotional ideas he discussed were good, the highlight of his talk was two simple truths that he learned from creating big events for Oneighty.

1. Keep it good week to week.
   If you have a great place, people will keep coming back. If you do your ministry well week to week, you will maintain a higher average attendance after big events.
2. Know your seasons.
   Understand which seasons of the year are most effective for outreach (and big events). A seasonal slump for one church may be a season of thriving for another church. It depends on the culture of the region. Don’t be discouraged by seasonal slumps. Use slumps to focus on building your core students.

Big events are useless if you do not do church well week to week and you do not understand what seasons will generate the greatest response.

Blaine Bartel is currently the senior pastor of Northstar Church (Frisco, TX).

According to the Boys & Girls Club of America:

• 48% of teens say that parents significantly influence their decisions 
• 36% of teens believe that to improve their relationships, adults should listen more
• 27% of teens say adults should be more open-minded

What teens want are relationships with adults who will listen and understand who they are as individuals and not just assume that they fit the mold of statistics and media portrayals. The key to gaining respect and influence among teenagers is the ability to create and maintain meaningful relationships with them.

[via Ypulse]