“I thought a virgin was somebody with small ears.” A few years ago a sixth grader really said this in a small group that I was helping lead. More recently another interaction with a Middle School student went like this: I asked, “Why did you get pulled out of your small group?”…
An angry parent can be intimidating and overbearing. Whether the encounter is planned or by surprise it is so important to check your heart. An angry parent is most likely coming to you because they want the best for their child, not to take you down.…
From time to time we’re going to take a pause from the normal format and answer a few questions from you: the youth ministry nation. Here are two we received recently: What are the differences between a typical Jr. High program and a High School program?…
School has started, homework loads have begun, Facebook venting is at a premium over the insanity of teachers & your students are nowhere in site thanks to this lovely word…BUSINESS. It’s sad when the fall hits and you actually anticipate a certain % decrease in attendance because of business—so why not fight it!…
The beginning of a new school year is a great time to do a quick youth ministry “check up” . A perfect question to ask is, “Why does our youth ministry exist?” If you can’t clearly define why your ministry exists, then you will likely be tossed about by the most recent trends, the coolest fads, and the loudest voices. …
When crisis hits your youth group … think of it as an incredible opportunity to serve your students and their families. Time to jump into action! In future articles we’ll cover some specific things to say or to avoid – this is more of a take from 50,000 ft.…
Last week we talked about debriefing your summer calendar, and we got a great response from it (largely asking the question, “how?”) and thought it might be good to devote a whole article on the topic. So today we’re going to list 20 questions to help you begin to evaluate your summer youth ministry calendar: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Equip your adult volunteers & students to grow as leaders in your ministry.…
Summer. A time full of camps, retreats, pool parties, bbq’s. In most places, we scale back. Me? I scale back a lot. I take the summer to scale back, plan for the coming school year, and focus. This week’s SYM Today helped me reflect over the last 5 summers… My first one, I filled up my calendar “to keep the kids busy.”…
The fall is one of our favorite times in our youth ministry. Summer is over and everyone gets ready to go back to school. And in our ministry – it also means “back to church” (we have church during the summer but attendance is much, much lower)!…
Recently I met with some college grads to talk “best practices” in youth ministry. At the end of our time we closed in prayer. The room quieted as each bore their souls to their beloved Savior. They repented for the time they do not seek His face first. …
