Club DJ Connextion was designed to continue where Club DJ leaves off. Through years of ministry with children we noticed that up to 90% of the children we reach through mid-week club ministry did not continue on with the next level of ministry in the church that they attended clubs in. As we talked with others in children's ministry it seemed to be true of all mid-week club ministries.

At one point I had an opportunity to talk to about ten grade 6 boys that had been a part of Club DJ and would be going into grade 7 in the fall. I asked them if they would be coming back in the fall to the youth programs in the church. A few of the boys said they wanted to help with Club DJ in the fall with the younger grades, but the majority said they would not be back. I asked them, If we developed something that had a bit of Club DJ in it but also added another element because you are getting older now, would you come back?" The response was almost unanimous, "We would come back!"

From our observations and as a result of this conversation, it became apparent we needed to develop the next level after Club DJ and began developing Club DJ Connextion for grades 7&8. What has been the result? Instead of up to 90% of the grade 6 children not returning, up to 90% of them come back in grade 7 into Club DJ Connextion and continue on right through grade 12. After grades 7&8, they are weaned off of all aspects of Club DJ and continue on in Bible Quizzing. The results are amazing as these young people immerse themselves in God's Word and God's Word continues to transform them into the young people He wants them to be, having hearts that desire to please Him!

In my workshops to churches I explain it this way: "When your children complete grade 6 in school, you do not sit them down and ask them if they are interested in going into grade 7, or if they would rather just move on to something else; it is just the next step." In ministry, we often separate each area of ministry with no connection between them. For children to go to youth ministry, it becomes another decision instead of continuing on to the next step in what was already started several years ago.

Why is this so important? Just as our motto in Club DJ is developing "Hearts That Desire to Please God", we want to continue developing them as young people to have Hearts That Desire to Please God.

So how does it work? In Club DJ Connextion we have blended Club DJ with Bible Quizzing where they will continue to have an activity time, either games or crafts and then move on for the rest of the evening into Bible Quizzing. Their memory program, instead of being key verses throughout the Bible, begin to focus on one or two books of the Bible. Just like in Club DJ, the teens will receive points for memorizing their verses which can be used to choose awards from the Club DJ Connextion Catalogue.

Bible Quizzing operates on an 8 year cycle, covering much of the New Testament. In 2010, the book of the Bible they memorize from is the Gospel of John. As they memorize new verses each week, they have questions or quizzes on what they have been memorizing to reinforce what they have been learning. Along with the memorization, each Club DJ Connextion book also contains inductive studies which coincide with the verses they are memorizing each week. These may be used independently, as a Bible study, or in the youth Sunday School class.

As we developed Club DJ Connextion, we believed it would work but it has worked even better than we thought as we seek to continue to develop the children that have been reached up into their teen years to have Hearts That Desire to Please God. God bless you as He guides you in the ministries He has called you to.