h2o Youth News Source - Volume 14 | Issue 1 | January 2012

HANG ON!!!Your Answer Is Just Around the CornerBeing led by the Holy Spirit is one of the most amazing and frightening things I do on a regular basis.  The amazing part is when you know you have heard the voice of God on a situation and it brings such a confidence and a peace.  The scary part is when you have nothing in the natural to confirm or give evidence that it is really going to happen.  So here is my word of encouragement to you . . .

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 12 | December 2011

Building Structure On Your Worship Team It is no quiet secret that musicians avoid structure and order. They react to it like a cat in bathwater. But it’s all show. They crave order. They need structure. As pastors and leaders, it’s our job to put guardrails along the road we are leading our musicians on.  Sion Alfred, the Worship Administrative Pastor of Gateway Church, said once, “If you don’t build order and structure in your department, God will not send you the people that you have been praying for. Leadership is the lid on your department and you are the leadership.” Ouch. So, let’s talk structure.

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 11 | November 2011

EXCELLENCE IN MINISTRY When choosing a surgeon to remove your appendix do you want an average surgeon or an excellent one?  When your transmission on your car needs to be rebuilt do you want a buddy who has done it once before or the guy who has done it a thousand times?The challenge is, we all want and expect excellence for ourselves but we aren’t always as willing to give it to others.  I believe our church and ministry world needs to be the model of excellence.  Whatever we do is a representation of the Most High.  We must function with excellence just as heaven does.  Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 14:12 “So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.”  Here are TEN qualities of excellence for you and your team to raise the bar of excellence in your church.

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 10 | October 2011

Pass The Test
How to Verify the Leading of the Holy Spirit

 A key part of our role as leaders of the church is to hear and know the voice of the Holy Spirit.  I cannot imagine doing life and ministry without the Lord’s guidance.  If you’re like me though, there are times you always wonder if the direction I am sensing is the Lord or reaction to the three day old pizza I ate.   1 John 4:1 says, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”   Over the years I have developed some specific test or filters that have helped me zero in and bring clarity to the leading I am sensing within me.  Hopefully these will help you and your team as much as they have me.

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 9 | September 2011

Are You Willing to Fail In Order to Succeed?Why do some people, companies, churches, leaders, or organizations seem to excel above all the rest?  What is it?  Is God playing favorites?  Does He desire you to bear fruit than me?  There is one key ingredient that launches people and organizations out of mediocrity and makes them someone everybody is talking about.  That one ingredient is the willingness to fail and take risks.  A leader will “jump” when no one else will.  A leader will risk potential embarrassment and ridicule to be the first one to “do it.”  A leader is willing to be called a loser in hopes of winning.  Risk to some is a bad thing, because risk brings with it the possibility of failure.  Risk therefore is avoided because we have been trained to avoid failure. 

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 8 | August 2011

How to Measure Success How do you measure success in your life and ministry?  Too many times it is easy to get caught up in using the offering or attendance numbers as the yardstick.  Or when we go to a minister’s conference we judge ourselves by what others are doing to determine if we are successful or not.  Today I want to help you redefine success in your life and ministry.  There is a tendency to confuse success with…

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 7 | July 2011

The Power of Vision Years ago I met with a pastor and asked him this question, “What is the vision for this church?”  He looked at me, rubbed his chin, and stammered trying to find words and come up with a vision in ten seconds or less.  Bottom line, there was no vision.  The Bible tells us where there is no vision or revelation the people cast off restraint, they perish, and run wild.  Vision is crucial to the life and quality of your church or organization. 

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 6 | June 2011

A Slumbering Church Needs a New Battle to Fight!Warriors are born to fight and to defend.  They get restless and complacent to just sit around and occupy time and space.  They reach their peak performance when they are engaged in action and battle. In 2 Samuel 11 it says,   “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.  One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful.”

The man who defeated giants and was known as a warrior for God stayed at home when kings were supposed to be going out to battle.  David’s complacency led him to one of the greatest blunders of his life.  Had he been in fight mode he would have never seen Bathsheba or chosen a path of defeat.

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 5 | May 2011

Team Approach to Children’s Ministry

At Rock Family Church we have found a model for children’s ministry that has really taken off for us.  I had been the original Children’s Pastor when the church started but with my responsibilities as the pastor’s wife, and handling all of the accounting it became a challenge to also oversee the children’s ministry as the church grew.  We took the leap to hire a full time children’s pastor but faced some challenges and after 18 months it ended up back in my lap.  Then out of desperation and some insight from the Holy Spirit our team approach was birthed.  So many children’s pastors I know are rarely seen or have the opportunity to attend an adult service.  While yes it is their responsibility to keep themselves fed as a believer in their absence and listen or watch the weekly sermon on line, it often makes it hard for them to connect with the church body in addition to casting vision for the children’s ministry.  What we opted to do was…

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 4 | April 2011

Grow For It!! 

The Word of God is very clear that there is a battle going on the inside of us.  Good versus evil.  The born again spirit versus our flesh carnal nature.  Even as ministers and leaders we all deal with this on-going struggle.  If we are not careful we can easily fall into a performance trap.  This is when our values, morals, and beliefs are determined because of our position of leadership.  Add in Bible time that is 90% sermon prep for the benefit of the people and you end up living a shell of Christianity with no substance.  Your boundaries are set by public perception and your connection to God is to be a pipeline to people.  The result is a works based shallow relationship with God.

At the beginning of each year I always…..

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 3 | March 2011

Are You Touchable?

Where did the tradition begin of ministers and pastors being untouchable?  Who came up with the ridiculous idea of whisking away the pastor from the people at the end of service?  If we are called to the ministry then we are called into the people business.   As pastors and church leaders we are to minister to people with God’s love, life, and words.  How do you do that if you avoid people before or after a service like they have the plague?  

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 2 | February 2011

PAID TO BE THERE? IF YOU WERE NOT ON PAID STAFF WOULD YOU CHOOSE YOUR CHURCH AS THE ONE FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY TO ATTEND?  For some of you this is a “no brainer.”  You love your church, the vision, and your pastor.  Rejoice and be thankful.  But for some of you reading this article it just caused a deep sigh or moan.  The purpose of my question is not to cause you pain.  However, you are most likely heading down a dead end road that is only going to get worse.  You have said for years,

h2o Youth News Source - Volume 13 | Issue 1 | January 2011

How’s Your Customer Service?Let’s face it we are in the people business.  The success of our churches and youth ministries is based largely upon the success of our ability to provide quality “service” to those who attend.  If people have a good experience they will return.  If someone likes something they will tell six friends.  Be careful though, because if they don’t like it they will share it with 12 friends.

Dean Hawk Ministries | PO Box 63355 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 80962
info@h2osermonsource.com | 719-481-3089