Youth Ministry Booster
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Youth Ministry Booster
Shark Week: Making Waves In Youth Ministry
It's Shark Week fam!
We are celebrating what about you? It's a big deal in the Higgins and Workun households.
But wait.. could Shark Week transform your youth ministry?
Join us as we tap into the fervor of this annual oceanic extravaganza, and let's draw some parallels to youth ministry strategies. We discuss how identifying and leveraging kids' passions—be it video games, sports, or anime—can create captivating standalone events that enhance engagement and strengthen connections within the broader ministry.
Chad Higgins joins us to talk about his fascination with the Mako shark, dubbing them the "cheetahs of the sea." His dream of cage diving with sharks encapsulates the essence of breaking free from routine and embracing bold new directions in ministry. We even throw in a playful shark trivia challenge, where Chad's enthusiasm and knowledge are put to the test, adding an element of fun and friendly competition to our conversation.
From sports to music, we explore how youth ministry leaders can form deeper relationships and foster discipleship by aligning with students' passions.
Tune in to discover how blending the excitement of Shark Week with impactful youth ministry strategies can bring about meaningful connections and lasting impact.
A snap da da, oh da da blood water da da, da, da, da, da, da da. No, seriously, it's uh. It's shark week everybody. For those that celebrate chad, are you? Uh, you should celebrate. How are you celebrating shark week this year?
Speaker 1:um, I will be watching said shark week yeah um a little popcorn, what, what?
Speaker 2:what's the right, what's the right shark week snack it feel, it feels, it feels like it. You know there's a right, there's a right snack strawberries strawberries, strawberries, uh, a fruit punch, cranberry juice beats, beats, just smoke beats running down your face. Get them, get them, good Yikes. But yeah, you're a big fan of the Shark Week and it's been a couple of years, but we thought we'd come back and celebrate this year.
Speaker 1:This is special to me. This is if you're a longtime listener, you know that many years ago, Zach and I every year used to do a Shark Week episode.
Speaker 2:Of course, we got to meet the most relevant youth ministry topic we could think of.
Speaker 1:Well, and we'll explain through this episode like why we would even do something like this.
Speaker 2:That's right. And even why maybe this could be helpful for you. Maybe you could use it too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I love sharks, and I have loved sharks ever since I was a little kid, and so not as much anymore I would love to say I'm so glued to it. I'm not you know what. Maybe I need to return to my childhood because it was so great. But yeah, growing up I used to watch literally every episode that would come out in a Shark Week season. Lots of those are reruns. You don't have to be glued to the TV if you're not familiar with Shark Week. Each evening will be new shows.
Speaker 2:Are some of them in syndication?
Speaker 1:I have no idea, but you get to learn a lot and I'm a big fan of the old Shark.
Speaker 2:So one of the things when you pitched it just for a refresh for a lot of our listeners. The thing that I love about Shark Week is it started as let's make a big, concerted effort. It sounds like youth ministry planning of like guys, we're doing a great thing. Week in and week out, people are discovering animals. Like we are doing the thing People are learning about animals. But it's like a slumpy season. We need to drive people to see something that's important and guys, sharks, they're in danger. Like it matters. It matters. We need to get people to care about sharks. You know what? Let's make a whole week about it. Like that's that's legitimately how everything from VBS to D now to whatever got formed is like guys, we need some more eyes on this really important thing and they've been doing it for like 35 years Right, like the, the, the wild thing is like if 35 years, right.
Speaker 1:The wild thing is like if you're Discovery, like executives that first came up with this, like I mean, they put it right in the middle of summer, yeah, so it was like when are the most people at the beach?
Speaker 2:Right, all of those kind of things Y'all got to start on beach TV just scrolling through and just being like, nah, maybe not today, not today, but some of it too.
Speaker 1:for the, the discovery channel, it was like shark awareness, like and a lot of those early episodes was, I mean, even though you see the like big attacks. It was the reminder like sharks aren't biting humans and all this kind of stuff. They're endangered.
Speaker 2:It's important yeah yeah um, so it's so good and so one of the one of the things that we want to talk about and we'll we'll do some fun sharky trivia stuff uh is just, I think, that big genesis for like creating the big push like there's just something about that. That again, especially for like discovery channel like this is not like a, a mass media. This is not a prime time network. This is a specialty channel that for some folks they love and for other folks they're trying to draw either in for the first time, or redraw them in for something that they love.
Speaker 1:And I think that that's the important thing to learn for student ministry in this is when you host something like Sharks, it's almost like dinosaurs and I'm really surprised. And they may have it, I just don't know about it. The discovery channel wouldn't do like a whole like dinosaur week. Maybe they've got enough of it sprinkled in there and already, but um episodes like that you're drawing exposure for your overall channel right to be able to gather specifically new kids that are obsessed with the shark, a specific event, drawing attention to a thing that they're interested in, to the larger bandwidth of programming.
Speaker 1:So tell me before we get into the fun shark stuff as you see it in student ministry. What would be some of the equivalents and what would be advice that you would give as far as like how to utilize the fun element and the more than just the fun, because I think a lot of youth pastors when they think fun it's just limited to like. Well, I need one good game right before. No, no we're talking about going all in on a thing that almost stands alone on itself, right as just the like.
Speaker 2:We want you to bring friends to this so a couple of thoughts and then one really great example. Um, so I think fun is a good word. I think the line that you shared earlier, things they're already interested in. Yeah, like little kids love sharks, little kids love dinosaurs. What do your teenagers already really love? And instead of so, what do they already love? Identify it. That could be a super smash brothers, that could be basketball, it could be soccer, that could be playing instruments in band, like anime. There's, there's something they already love meeting them where they already are. You have conversations with your students, not teenagers. Yes, your students, that's good. What? What is, what's, what's in the thing if it's minecraft? God bless them, right, like whatever it is. What's the thing that bubbles up when you're just having those casual conversations?
Speaker 1:that's where their their influence is also at, too. They can get friends, because they already have friends that aren't attending your church, that are into Minecraft, that they would be willing or want to bring.
Speaker 2:This isn't what you love, it's what they love, and it's your best interest to figure out why they're interested. And you're right in saying interest begets influence. When you're in the mix, you can't help but have some either insight about it, which is what's good for you, or influence to others, which is what is the benefit to the community of students you're trying to reach. So identify the interest. The second thing is push. This is the part that I think a lot of folks don't do is they'll sprinkle right like we'll have like a one-off, we'll play, we'll play some switch some nights before our midweek gathering. Nah, man, host the thing like if, if it's, if it's a super smash brothers tournament, then you host the snot out of a super smash brothers tournament, whether that's on an existing midweek or a special thing or whatever. You go all in again. Shark week for the entire week is sharks, sorry pandas, sorry komodo dragons, it's sharks 24 7.
Speaker 2:We will return to your regularly scheduled program later yeah this could even be a spiritual thing too, and we see it happen a lot. We'll have like a dabbling of missiony things here, like we'll have like a service saturday or whatever, nah man and thanksgiving we serve, we are grateful and we serve all november long sunday, wednesday, saturday november is servathon, you go all in.
Speaker 2:Because here's the thing, so many of our students are busy and scattered. You know it from their infrequent attendance. You've got to do something long enough that they can hook into it Because, again, if it lands on the wrong Wednesday and they miss, you're done. But if it's a multi-week, I would say in youth ministry I would probably have not a week emphasis, like Shark Week, but a month or maybe even a couple month quarter long emphasis Like this is the— On like a good spiritual stuff.
Speaker 2:You mean on the spiritual stuff, or if it's, if you're, if you're gonna have a month long. And so here's the great example um, a dear friend, oklahoma, growing up a few years ago, pre-covid uh, would do a massive beach volleyball tournament. It was not just like a wednesday, it was a multi-week season. So instead of a big dodgeball night or a big glow party I think it was three or four weeks there's like seating rounds, there's like group games into the big bracketed tournament. Because he knew it took a little bit to pick up steam because they would go out and they would pour sand for multiple courts and do, and so it was always the august into the fall and it gave, it gave itself enough weeks that it wasn't like oh man, we're out of town on the 12th. Right, that's okay, sign your team up. You be the alternate on the 12th, come play on the 19th, because it takes a little bit of momentum to get going like you can't just.
Speaker 2:You can't just be like man. We had the big thing. Nobody came that. That's not the environment we live in. Like Shark Week, they run programming every day, all day, and they're committing a week. Translating that to, I think that's at least a month or two for us.
Speaker 1:Well, our friends at the Church of Battle Creek, they do what theirs isn't the spread out but it's the very condensed their big dodgeball tournament that they run Sure sure, and it is more than what we often think of like dodgeball after diva yeah, our student ministry is doing right, uh, dodgeball.
Speaker 1:I mean four months leading up to it there's a big push of signups and, like every kid is like, basically encouraged, like build your team, build the team, that's, and and so then, like I mean, they go all out like teams, like dress up and the code names, team names, they get.
Speaker 2:I think they get points, uh, for like uniforms and whatever, like it's not like we had dodgeball after a thing. It is the feature of the thing, right, and that's. That's again, I think, the Shark Week learnings for, and again they every for 35 years they've been doing the thing where they commit to the thing. It's not that the other animals don't matter, it's that this is one that a lot of people are interested in and this is the right season for a right week for us to double down on it.
Speaker 1:Well, and they're thoughtful enough to realize that it's part of the bigger scheme. So you're going to host the big thing to connect with new students, Students at your campus.
Speaker 2:They get it. They see the sign when they roll up, they see the sign.
Speaker 1:Well, and oftentimes I hear from a lot of youth pastors that are wanting to grow and they're trying to just do their normal program and grow that way. And yes, that is a slow growth process and you should 100% do that. But hosting these big emphasis, but the thing that I don't see enough people doing really well, they'll put all their effort into doing the thing and won't think through how do we actually move the new students into connection? What is our next step? Is it easy? Is it easy to explain everything in the night and to be able to follow up with it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, what's the what's the week after shark week? Right, right, right. And I think, for so many of us too, like this is something that's going to take time to cook up, like I don't think like this is something that you're going to listen to this episode and have figured out for next week. I think there's some homework and some research. Our encouragement is, if you're feeling like you're stuck in the regular programming, that maybe, instead of trying to like, continually add and flavor in and spice and do that, maybe it's we're going to flip the script, we're going to turn the thing, we're going to double down on this thing and see what might happen, and I think that's that's one of the things that we want to encourage you with. But let's talk sharks, just talk sharks. Encourage you with, but let's talk sharks, just talk sharks. Uh, chad, um. First of all, I want you to tell everybody what is the best kind of shark, what is the best kind of shark.
Speaker 1:What's the best shark? I'm a big mako fan. Okay, um, I really really like.
Speaker 2:What are the features of the Mako that make it best?
Speaker 1:So often I think people, when they think of Mako, think of a smaller shark. Mako's not what I would consider a small shark. By any means, the Mako is one of the fastest sharks.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So the Mako really is kind of the cheetah of the sea. Okay, fastest sharks, the Mako really is kind of the cheetah of the sea. He also has one of the most gnarly smiles. He's got the teeth going in all different directions.
Speaker 2:He's fast, a wild Mako approaches.
Speaker 1:The Mako's bad to the bone. I really like the Mako. It's just to me the speed, the aggression. The mako is the shark that I think I would be the most terrified of. More than like a great white. I think so If I were in the water and there was a mako and I, I don't know, I mean attack rates probably similar that would.
Speaker 1:You would probably not say that just because makos, it seems like, are a little bit more deep water. You don't have as much swimming out there, gotcha. But I think if I found myself in the water with some makos with a mako compared to a Great White Be more nervous. Yeah, because if that Mako's coming at you like yeah, all right.
Speaker 2:Second preference question for our resident shark expert Would you ever Cage? I guess I don't know. This is, I don't know your level of comfort, discomfort, you can speak into it. Would you swim with sharks?
Speaker 1:100%, 100%, 100%. It is a dream of mine. I Would you swim with sharks. A hundred percent, a hundred percent, a hundred percent. It is a dream of mine. I will swim with sharks one day. Okay, okay, if I got the opportunity to do cage, yeah, a hundred percent, you do. Easy, easy, easy, easy, easy. Ask I'm there tomorrow. Okay, yes, I would. That is a dream of mine. Okay, I, yeah, dude, and the bigger the better.
Speaker 2:Okay, like get me in the water with some Like shark You're talking. Put me in a cage in shark infested water. Chum it dude, dump the chum, dump the chum.
Speaker 1:The only thing I'd worry about is sitting there and the chum touching you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, that's something nobody's talking about God? Just fish, guts and blood wafting by. I mean, I guess you've got your regulator and whatever, but that's just not a thing you want.
Speaker 1:You've got a little tail on your glasses.
Speaker 2:I'll get it off you Just up the nose.
Speaker 1:Yeah, now Open water.
Speaker 2:Okay. I like that.
Speaker 1:You've got the terms I, I think I would I mean I definitely would with like white tips, black tip, that kind of deal. Okay, those smaller guys, that's probably a little more dangerous, though they'll get your calves uh but nobody talks about the minimal shark scarring.
Speaker 2:Right, everybody has like the big bites, but just you know, just a real torn, that's much more likely.
Speaker 1:The achilles gone. Um, yeah, I would. I think I would do open water if I'm with. I would not do it by myself, with a team, with a team. But yeah, if I'm with, like professionals, I would 100. Okay, yeah, well, you would you, you wouldn't uh you wouldn't even get in cage.
Speaker 2:You would have to talk me into the cage.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:I've seen Jaws and other movies enough to know that, like again, I already fear. I love being on the water. It's like a claustrophobia thing for me of just like know it's the open water but whatever the right fear is for being that dark, that deep nah, I mean so if it's swimming by you, that that would terrify you.
Speaker 1:No, no, we're in the boat. We're in the boat I don't know.
Speaker 2:I just yeah, but what are you gonna do? Like the cage is supposed to keep them out but it also keeps you in. I mean, where are you wanting to go? I just I. I mean there are phrases like shooting a fish in a barrel and I gotta believe in shark world. There's like eating the sharks don't have guns, they don't have guns, but uh, we basically are sardines in a can. You know, like I don't want to, I don't want to be no shark sardine like they don't have thumbs.
Speaker 2:They're not opening they got. You just told me they got big teeth, they they got wild teeth. Yeah, but that's a steel bar yeah, steel these days. We'll see. Okay, I've got some shark trivia questions for you.
Speaker 1:Oh, we'll see if our friends at home want to play as well, or yell at your cameras, or yell at your TV, shout at the TV if Chad gets it right or not, all right.
Speaker 2:If you get all five of these right, all right, if you get all five of these right. Oh, do I get a prize? If you get all five of these right, I will buy you lunch. But salad to go? I will buy you salad to go. Sponsor this episode. Salad to go uh, we're big fans of, you know, having a seven dollar salad to go. So thanks. Salad and go. Uh, feel free to play along. If you get all five at home right, then you can buy yourself a salad to go. So got with uh with with fish.
Speaker 1:This puts me on the spot. I feel really nervous because you have not been asked these questions before.
Speaker 2:No, I have no idea what you're okay, so we'll start. We'll start with the first one. It's it's pretty easy. Chad higgins. Question one what is the largest species of shark?
Speaker 1:like numerical or its overall size. Overall size Is a whale shark. A shark, yes, it is so whale shark.
Speaker 2:Chad Higgins, you are correct. I had to think about that. I was like is it a whale or is it a shark?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's not a mammal, it is a shark. Okay.
Speaker 2:Second question it's multiple choice. Yeah, how many known species of shark are there? Oh, is the answer 375, 435, 500, or 535? 375, 400. There's no outlier in that 500, 535.
Speaker 1:375. There's no outlier in that 500, 535. I'm going to go. This is a total guess. I'm going to go C, C 500?.
Speaker 2:Yes, okay, so that we're going to accept it because there's 500 plus. But one person online said that 535 might be the most specific answer that he could ascertain or give.
Speaker 1:So he just got Gerald out there online.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's just. One researcher was like because everybody agrees there's more than 500. Yeah, but Gerald was like no, no, no, it's like 535. And so, but he even put the little squiggle before the 535.
Speaker 1:So okay, and we don't know. I mean down low.
Speaker 2:Maybe there's more, maybe there's more.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of uncertainty 500 or more is correct.
Speaker 2:Okay, all right. Question three Should be good to go.
Speaker 1:You love sharks. So I'm still 100%, you're still back, I'll give you that one.
Speaker 2:I'll give you that one If you would have answered 435, 375. Buy a zoo book. Buy a zoo book, all right, question three yeah, what is a group of sharks called Swimming on by A group of sharks? There's two possible answers. We'll accept either. What is a group of sharks swimming together, called?
Speaker 1:I've heard this A group of sharks. It's not a school. Is it a bully? I don't know.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we would have accepted either school or shiver. A shiver of sharks, a shiver of sharks. So you're still doing good.
Speaker 1:School is the answer, because that's the answer with fish.
Speaker 2:I thought there was something else Shiver is the other one that's acceptable. Apparently, the shiver of sharks is a thing. A bully of sharks feels good A bully of sharks. I mean, they're already a little bit bullies anyway.
Speaker 1:If you've got friends with you. Those are some bullies, right, right, right right okay, uh, question number four.
Speaker 2:Question number four which shark species is known for leaping out of the water, also called breaching? Yeah, that's great white, easy answer, easy lay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, great white shark only done off of the Cape of Africa. Okay.
Speaker 2:Oh okay, geolocation All right. That's. The only place they breach Is off the Cape of Africa, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:So a lot of it's believed it's because of the geographic right there. Yeah, so they hunt low and so there's real steep sides. Okay, you've got a big seal population and they breach, they breach up, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:All right, I've got one more for you. This one, I feel like you're either going to know or you don't know. If you get most of it right, I'll give it to you. What is the electroreceptive organ that helps sharks detect, prey and navigate in murky waters?
Speaker 1:Where is it? It's up near their nostrils.
Speaker 2:Where is it or what is it called?
Speaker 1:I don't know the scientific name for it. It is found up near their nostrils, on the side of their head. Okay, it's like basically between nostril and eye. Okay, what is it called? I don't remember what it's called. What is it?
Speaker 2:Okay, so we would have taken the ampule. Okay, but it's apparently the ampule of Lorenzini.
Speaker 1:Which feels like a Marvel character.
Speaker 2:That's right. The ampule of Lorenzini feels like something.
Speaker 1:That's in Thor.
Speaker 2:That's Thor. It's a time wizard thing, I don't know. It's a whole whatever. But yeah, apparently that's the thing. So there you go. So, uh, how at home, how'd you do? That's the vibration in the water. No, that's the organ. The organ is called the ampule of lorenz right, but that's what it's detecting. It's detecting yeah, so when it can't see, and when it can't see, that's how it sees is it senses elect electrically, like in the currents?
Speaker 1:right, which is why you do not want to be splashing.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, that's why you keep it calm. You need a real smooth swim.
Speaker 1:A real smooth.
Speaker 2:And then you need to turn your Apple watch off. Yeah, take that. Dive computer out of here. All right, bud. No, it's a shark week.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm not an expert.
Speaker 2:No, you, you didn't know it was coming. You didn't know it was coming. It was bonus questions. But one of the things, man, that I love is watching you get excited about sharks. I love it.
Speaker 2:Again, this is the thing that we're talking about, for so many of your students is, I think, if I can pastor in a moment, you are excited about all things theology, scripture. That's your interest. For students, it may become theirs, and often does, because of your passion. But one of the best ways that we can relate, connect and deepen relationship, discipleship with students is to identify and come alongside their. Passion Like this never gets lost on me and maybe it's fresh for you in this Shark Week season.
Speaker 2:But Jesus calls those first disciples by a trade and a craft they understood. He doesn't call them to be religious teachers or to be even necessarily like adherence to him. He says come be fishers of men. I will make you fishers of men because they knew how to fish and I think for so many of our students, especially in a momentous season out of summer into fall, they wanna hear that the God-given passions and joys of their life could have real meaning, could have real purpose and real benefit to the kingdom.
Speaker 2:Yes, some strange young fishermen left their boats and went on to preach, teach heal, be arrested, ultimately martyred for their faith. But the invitation started at a place they were already at, at the boat, to come fish in a new way. And so, as you continue to minister and teach and love and equip your students, would you continue to find ways to meet them where they are A snap? Hey, thanks for checking this episode out. We love some good Shark Week silly fun. If you want to find out some more things about what we love and how you might be able to minister and connect with your students, check out youthministryboostercom. There's some resources training for your leaders, information for your students and ways to build up how you, being a part of a network, can connect and grow your leadership base in your ministry.
