Youth Ministry Job Search: Part 1by Mike Kupferer Almost two years into my second youth ministry position, I found myself without a job. For the third time since college I was looking for a congregation where I could minister to youth.…
When Starbucks executives overextended their brand, planting what seems like a store on every block, it quickly became okay to start savaging Seattle’s caffeine gods. Likewise, after centuries of “extending our brand” into a “Christian nation,” it’s now totally acceptable to proclaim yourself a “hater of religion” in the U.S.…
There are three main areas to keep in mind as you develop a POM: 1) Vision/Mission Statement – should work in conjunction with the church’s overall statement. To often youth ministries try to become a church within the church (not intentional), but by coming up with some grandiose POM that does not work along side with the overall vision and discipleship process of the church body.…
This weekend I got to watch Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. A crazy Russian lady wants to control the minds of 1950s Western society and turn them into communists without anyone even knowing its happening. Classic Indiana Jones, am I right?…
Porn is a struggle for every guy. I don’t care who you are-if you’re a walking, breathing male, you’ve dealt with it sometime in your life, probably recently. If it’s so common, why are so many Christians afraid to talk about it, especially in ministry?…
I’m a youth pastor at a local church. I’m favored and blessed to the degree that I’m able to increase my staff. As a result, I have the privilege of hunting for someone to hire, rather than looking for a job myself.…
One of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies involves two cars. One, shiny and red, says to the other, “ka-chow,” or something flashy. While the other, more subdued yet just as sharp shows him the breathtaking (and “ka-chow” inducing) view sitting below the well traversed highway.…
We’re having an amazing time here in Ohio. God has been moving, and I’ve been having some great conversations-and met some new friends. I got to sit in on Kara Powell’s track for a while-about preparing teenagers for life after youth group.…
So I’m here in Columbus, at NYMC 2009, and I had the privilege to hang out with Braddigan last night. They’re an incredibly humble bunch of guys. Brad has gone form selling out Madison Square Garden three nights in a row, to playing at a trash dump in Guatemala.…
For a while, my sister-in-law believed that I was cursed. And I began to fear that she was right. Not once. Not twice. But six times, I went home from the barbershop with a complete hack job for a haircut. It got so bad that my family would try and talk me out of getting a haircut before any major youth event, for fear I’d have to wear a hat while preaching in the sanctuary.…
