“My name is Benjamin Button, and I was born under unusual circumstances. While, everyone else was agin’, I was gettin’ younger… all alone.” Can you even imagine? Being born as a really old dude, living life backwards, and then progressively becoming younger.…
We just finished a 3 week series in our youth ministry called “Real Christmas” and I received a lot of feedback from our adult volunteers that it helped them regain focus on what truly mattered about the holiday. When we serve in ministry we can get so caught up in the busyness of the church calendar that we forget to take time to remember what is real about Christmas.…
I’ve just had another one of those classic youth ministry conversations. The one where a church member or youth worker is complaining to you about the fact that 10 of their best kids have started going to the new super duper youth group down the road.…
Fact: This article is made up of short sentences. Fact: Volunteers are the key to this whole thing.Fact: Time management probably isn’t your strong suit, is it?Fact: Success in youth ministry is way, way more than increased attendance.Fact: It will never all be “done” when you go to sleep at night.Fact:…
When I started out in youth ministry seventeen years ago, there were few books to help guide new youth pastors. In fact, I often find myself feeling jealous that those entering youth ministry today have so many resources available to them.…
Give up. Walk away. Look for greener pastures. For many of us, it’s the typical response when the reality of ministry differs greatly from the expectations we had when we took the job. When I reconnect with former classmates from Bible college, and ask them if they are still in their place of ministry, they reluctantly tell me they have since moved on to a couple of destinations in search of the utopia of youth ministry-only to never be satisfied.…
It’s been heavy in our youth group this past month. Kurt, a 15-year old, made one last desperate call just as he was about to pop 100 Advil. Mary, 14, texted me saying, “I don’t know how to talk about how I feel so many thing all bottled up inside me and I think I am at the point of just bursting out .…
I’m troubled by a thought that crept into my head the other day: In my youth ministry is Jesus the Master or the mascot? First, let me explain the difference. When Jesus is the Master, our youth ministries look like this: – Teenagers are coming to Jesus and being baptized.…
“Let you light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” -Matthew 5:16 Jesus wanted us to be the light of the world and shine our light for the world to see, but it’s strange how we have distorted the light.…
On my way back from the city dump, I wondered what a job description for a youth pastor should really look like. It would take more volumes than Encyclopedia Britannica to list all the jobs that we do. So, for the sake of time and sanity, I’ve only listed a few of the occupations that I have experienced under the title of youth pastor.…
