Teenagers have no greater—or scarier—mission field than their own schools. Encourage your students to be a light for the gospel this school year by ramping up your efforts to train and equip them in the areas where they might be nervous to live for Jesus.…
Imagine four God-loving teenagers suddenly being abducted, dragged to a foreign country, and immersed headfirst into the dark arts. Despite the captors’ attempts to brainwash the young people, they not only retain their faith but grow in it—and even lead their captors to believe in God.…
As a teenager I saw the movie Firestarter, starring Drew Barrymore as Charlie, a girl who could start fires with her mind. The plot was simple: Secret government agents tracked her down with nefarious intent. But Charlie surprised them—and ensured her freedom with her ultra-pyro powers.…
Near the beginning of the 21st century, respected Christian pollster and cultural commentator George Barna dropped a big rock in the youth ministry pond. New research, he said, proves that just 4% of all Christians “take the plunge” when they’re teenagers.…
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about evangelism, it’s that I have a lot to learn about evangelism… but not really. That sounds arrogant. Let me clarify. I recently took part in a rather intriguing peer panel on the subject at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference.…
Three weeks ago, we began a conversation around peer-to-peer mentoring. Then, we talked about how to set it up. Now, we will look at the transformation stories surrounding it. Below are three accounts of mentoring, one from a principal, one from a peer mentor, and one from a mentee.…
Here’s a disclaimer: I’m in the process of thinking through what this looks like for my youth ministry. I don’t have all the answers, but I do believe the Holy Spirit has been pressing on my heart to start the conversation, which I’ve done with my Impact leaders.…
I’m an evangelist at heart. I like planting seeds. And while I’m not the guy who is eagerly looking for an opportunity to share the Romans Road with my barista or hang out at the skate parking looking for the chance to drop a spiritual law or two on unsuspecting hoodlums, I do have an innate desire to expose as many teenagers as possible to the good news of Jesus.…
When it comes to students living out their faith in Christ, we can be super influential in how they go about it. I would say in an attempt to help students see the seriousness of living for Christ, I believe sometimes we use our influence and scare the crap out of them.…
I can’t believe how many opportunities I’ve wasted taking students on mission trips. I know I’m not the only one. Mission trips are an amazing idea…but what we tend to do with them (or not do with them) is the real issue.…
