Transformers: War for Cybertron (Rated T) Editor’s Note: We’re trying something new here on youthmindev.wpengine.com: video game reviews! We’ll talk about the good and bad of the game, but also give you an idea of whether this would be something you could play with some teenagers from your group.…
One of the critical tasks facing youth workers today is the challenge to help students discover their identity in Christ. Teenagers are getting older and… …| gaining new freedoms …| thinking more critically about their self image, and …| making important decisions about their identity.…
You know what it means to struggle against the subtle, yet very real lure and undertow of temptation. But, you have also experienced the power of God’s sustaining grace and the support that comes from God’s people. You’ve also tasted the bitterness of failure and shame and have most likely spent significant time praising God that he does not leave you there!As…
Messages are prepped, Small Group leaders have been communicated with, staff meetings are over, the critical emails have been answered, and now it’s time for you day off. You do take days off, right? Well here are a couple ideas for how to take full advantage of that time.…
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the September/October 2010 issue of Group Magazine. Go to http://youthmindev.wpengine.com/group to subscribe. Ever had a neighbor who played his music so loud you could feel the vibrations in your fingernails? That guy probably played music you hate, and you had to listen to it all the time.…
Editor’s Note: A few years ago Jonathan Acuff launched a little Web site called StuffChristiansLike.net as a way to riff on the peculiar ways Christians think, talk, and act. Now, fueled by 730,000 online readers in 209 countries, Acuff has published a book titled Stuff Christians Like (Zondervan) as a “field guide to all things Christian.”…
For some teenagers, the weight of the world keeps them focused on their overwhelming problems, resulting in varying degrees of sadness and discouragement. The destructive power of depression results in loneliness and isolation. Much of what we wrote about this week will also apply when ministering to a student struggling with depression: engage and be present, listen well, and connect/refer them to professional help if the problem is serious.…
Pick a poison: there are so many crazy things in our world which can ensnare human desire. The destructive power of addiction is a dominating force of control. For most people, addiction a hopeless place filled with patterns that feel unbreakable.…
Most youth workers learn quickly that they don’t have to look very far beneath the surface of a teenager’s life before they discover pain. Lurking below the surface is often an emotional pain that is debilitating and numbing. This week we are going to cover some basic counseling tips that we believe are fundamental for ministering to teenagers.…
