We’re All Born This Way
The other day I had breakfast with an old friend—we’ve met, off and on, two Saturday mornings a month for 10 years or so. I hadn’t seen him in a few months, so we had some catching up to do. I asked about his family.…
Great Outreach Idea…That Resulted From a FAILED Good Outreach Idea
God can work in failure. You want an example, just look at yourself. Wow, that was harsh for something right after breakfast. But how true is that? God chooses to use sinners like us…for some reason we are his plan for reaching the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.…
Guarded Heart: Four Keys to Keeping Focus
By Bob Krulish That’s a wise and wonderful piece of biblical advice, but howdo you guard your heart? Being in vocational ministry and maintaining devotion to Christ is tricky. The lines often bleed over between the two. It’s easy to presume our service IS relationship with Christ.…
3 Audiences For Each Message
When you prep your talk, think about three audiences in your youth group. It doesn’t matter if they’re all actually in the room or not, thinking about them will prepare you for when they are. As you look to an application of your talk, consider these three people in the crowd: The “So What?”…
Borderlands 2
When playing video games, some people like stealth, and hiding while sniping. Others want to control the battle from the back by using “magic.” Me? I’m usually the Tank. Big. Brawny. And ready to jump into the thick of battle. In Borderlands 2 I’m known as a Gunzerker, because when I get mad, I can wield a weapon in each hand.…
Don’t Let Your Students Share the Gospel*
Yup, you read right. It’s time to admit that sharing the Good News about Jesus should be left to the professionals. Let’s be honest: Students don’t always do everything right. They mess up. They get it wrong. They don’t do things exactly how we would want them to.…
TOP 3: Ways to Make Your Spouse Hate Youth Ministry
This month we’re introducing a new series here on the Simply Youth Ministry Today newsletter. We’ve talked Top 3 screw-ups (and who couldn’t add to that list, right?!) We’ve taken a look at three stellar resources on apologetics. And after being married to the Glass House Spouse for 21 years, I have a few Top 3 lists of my own—starting with the Top 3 ways to make your spouse hate youth ministry.…
Epic! Your New Favorite Gameshow!
Here’s an opening title for a fun game night idea! If you’re hosting a game night, roll this title, add a cheesy sport jacket, a handful of “minute-to-win-it” type games, and some old school commercials from YouTube and you’ve got yourself an evening of Epic!…
The Balancing Act = 3 Practical Ways to Live Youth Ministry Right
Hopefully yesterday you took some time to think about the tightrope of ministry and how challenging each step of the journey can be. So what are some practical ways you can do youth ministry life well? Glad you asked! Here are 4 ways we try to put into practice ourselves: 1) Talk through the calendar before you go public with it.…
The 3: What I’m Learning (Josh)
Occasionally Kurt and I take the time to take on “the 3” and this week our topic is what we are each learning right now about ourselves and ministry. I’ve picked out things I’ve learned in the past…or I think I’ve learned them in the past because it seems like all three of these are old and new at the same time.…