KOZ Monthly Outdoor Training December: Giving Back the Gift 7:30 Leader Meeting and Prayer time. This time is imperative and gives the leadership time to prepare their hearts for the meeting and time with the kids. Do not take this time lightly. Be on time, meet with God first. 8:30 Kids begin to arrive. Meet parents or guardian 8:45 Begin Meeting. All together say the American Pledge of Allegiance. BEGINNING YOUR MEETING WITH KOZ STRUCTURE KOZ Prayer: Lord, thank you for making us strong and fierce warriors for you. We hunt, we fish and we share our faith with others. God Bless America. -Amen Work to get the boys to memorize the KOZ Prayer and use it as a tool for kids who have little experience in praying or are afraid to pray. (Before meals, before an adventure or other times as a reminder of who they are and what they represent). Leader s first questions/discussion. Outdoor Training LEADING INTO YOUR OUTDOORS SKILLS TRAINING One of the most rewarding things in life is to search out for opportunities to serve. Keep your eyes open and don t turn your back on those opportunities. Go and Do. Talk about: Have you ever served on a soup kitchen or food line? Do you know about Blue Santa or Brown Santa? What do they do? Why is helping people important? What opportunity has been presented to you but you didn t do it? Materials Copyright 2017 - kidsoudoorzone.org - 9508 Chisholm Trail Austin, Texas 78748-512-292-1113 1
Leader s first questions/discussion: Scripture Training LEADING INTO YOUR HEART TRAINING This Month's Scripture: Mat 25:40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' Leader s first questions/discussion, Bible training: How can we serve others? What does it mean to do something for the least of these? Who is someone who regularly serves you? Do you say thank you? How can you personally serve someone else? Based on Matthew 25, how can you serve the least of these? Do you believe that you are actually serving Jesus when you do that? NOTE: Let them talk leave time between when you say something and they can speak let it be silent for a while if you have to they grow close in times of quiet allow Him to come STOP & BEGIN OUTDOOR SKILLS TRAINING BEGIN OUTDOOR SKILLS TRAINING: IDEA TRAIL Things to do this month: Work at food bank or food service line Deliver packages to homes for Blue Santa (Brown Santa) Build a craft item, (The Manger Project) as a gift Clean your church grounds or volunteer to clean inside Handout sleeping bags and socks for something like Church Under the Bridge ministry *Note always add an EXTREME element to your KOZ day. Be creative. FIELD NOTES: Giving back is not something that is instantly rewarded but there is great value in the act of giving back. Rarely do we really understand the power of giving until we are on the receiving end. Teach the heart of giving. Hard work giving is something a young man can do well, sweat equity! Other places for good information and literature. Here are some sites where we have found great content of this lesson plan. The internet always has resources but be careful there are some bad sites with poor Materials Copyright 2017 - kidsoudoorzone.org - 9508 Chisholm Trail Austin, Texas 78748-512-292-1113 2
information. We do not endorse nor are we associated with any of the sites listed below. The information there may change as well. Find Your Local Food Bank http://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank/ Operation Blue Santa http://www.bluesanta.org/ YMCA http://www.ymca.net/ Young Life (Christian youth leadership program) https://www.younglife.org/about/ GOING OFF THE TRAIL THIS MONTH? IMPORTANT: Use the opening/use the close, prayer/ sit spots and prayer cards. All groups should use the foundational structure of KOZ each month. The starting, the prayer, sit spots etc. as a common element to every meeting. Everything from sledding to swimming, hiking to fly fishing. The key to going off the trail is to keep the structure in place. Get them outside move their bodies, adventure and exploration. Keep it exciting, keep it real, be intentional about bringing them into a relationship with Christ. CHECK THE Off The Trail Guide in HTL resources. OUTDOOR TRAINING CONCLUSIONS Ask pointed questions on the outdoor skills they learned today. Drive home a point What was your favorite part of KOZ today? Building things can be very helpful. What did you think when you heard what you were going to do in KOZ today? What tools or machines did you learn about today? Get a blister? How did it feel to give back to someone you did not know? Materials Copyright 2017 - kidsoudoorzone.org - 9508 Chisholm Trail Austin, Texas 78748-512-292-1113 3
SCRIPTURE TRAINING AND HEART TAKEAWAY This Month's Scripture: Mat 25:40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' Trail Map #1, You may have heard the scripture that says it s better to give than to receive. This is opposite of how our flesh feels. We LOVE getting gifts and having someone give to us or do for us. Sometimes we enjoy giving to or doing for others than can give back to us. We think if I give them something, they will give me something more. Is that how we think about our parents? Matthew 25 says that you are giving to and doing for Jesus himself when you give or do for the least of those in society. How can that be? It s a matter of our heart. Jesus loves the least of humankind just as much as He loves you. He loves them so much that He calls us to serve them. That s why we are going to serve others today. Whether we pick up trash or cut firewood, we are called to care for and serve others. And when we do, it is more than just serving Jesus by doing something for others, it s SERVING JESUS HIMSELF! God makes it super important for a believer to serve and love other people. Trail Map #2 Has anyone ever given you something you never expected? How would you feel if you were very hungry and someone gave you a cheeseburger and fries? What if you were really hot and thirsty and someone gave you a cold glass of ice water? Would you thank them? Would you want to pay it forward and do something nice for someone else? So why not this week you look for someone who is hungry or thirsty and give them something to eat or drink? Jesus says whenever you do something really nice for someone it is like doing something nice for Jesus himself. Jesus walked around doing really nice things for people. He would feed them if they were hungry, give them drinks of water if thirsty, heal them if they were sick and tell them how to get to have heaven and eternal life. Be like Jesus this week and give someone something totally unexpected..you will really make their day. Drive home a point The Christmas time of the year is for so many all about what will I get. KOZ Guys want to be part of What can I give? Do you feel different when you give someone help of a gift? God gave us his Son do you know what that means? There are a lot of things we can do this Christmas will yours be giving or taking? Bring a friend to Church during Christmas and watch what happens! What can you do on a regular basis to give back? (Donate at church, help a neighbor or at church) Materials Copyright 2017 - kidsoudoorzone.org - 9508 Chisholm Trail Austin, Texas 78748-512-292-1113 4
REMIND THEM: God has made you as an amazing person. Individual, special and unique. If you have not heard that for a while, I want to tell you that. I care about you, you matter to me. Talk to me if you need to talk. EACH MONTH: Teach the boys: BE STRONG - Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. He (Jesus) cares about you, you matter, your KOZ leaders care about you. THE SIT SPOT AND GOD SIT SPOT Purpose: Pass out a blank index card and pen. Tell them to write one thing they learned and one thing you can pray for them, to please write it on the card and you will pray for them this week. It is a private prayer between your leaders and them, they don't have to put their name on the card. If they don't have a prayer, tell them to just put their name on the cards. (allow 15-30 minutes) TO PONDER: The elements of the Sit Spot are crucial and should be a top level priority at your KOZ Saturday or outing. SEND LEADERS TO SIT SPOTS! If a leader is not assigned a task have them also find a sit spot. It is good for the boys to see the adult leaders doing the same as they are asked to do. QUIET TIME IS ESSENTIAL. CALL BACK FOR LUNCH - While they are eating lunch LUNCH & KOZ LEADERSHIP TAG GUIDANCE WORK ON DOG TAGS Ask boys if they are working toward KOZ TAGS. This is a good time to teach this material. Print their cards and have them ready. Ask if any of the boys are new give them their KOZ Nation dog tag (the first one) GIVE A BOY HIS NAME IN KOZ We have found that giving boys a nickname is a huge tool for them. Giving a boy a New Name has been a game changer for many. A strong, fierce name is important. Jesus and His Father both gave new names. Ask prayerfully what name a boy should have. The leaders decide NOT the boys. It is an honor bestowed, even if funny. Materials Copyright 2017 - kidsoudoorzone.org - 9508 Chisholm Trail Austin, Texas 78748-512-292-1113 5
As you wait for the parents to arrive: Tell the boys you love them. That they are important. That if they have not prayed to ask Christ into their hearts to come talk to a KOZ HTL (ROMANS 10:9). If a kid wants to be baptized, have them talk to you about it - you can do it somewhere really cool! Perform a service project on site. Teach the boys to ALWAYS leave your area BETTER than it was when you got there. Parents arrive. Greet them and tell them how good their kid did. Tell the boys to invite a friend! Hand out literature or take home materials... A gallon plastic Zip lock bag with their name on it works great each month to collect their take home materials. Materials Copyright 2017 - kidsoudoorzone.org - 9508 Chisholm Trail Austin, Texas 78748-512-292-1113 6