From wardrobe coordination to time management few junior highers know the day-to-day skills that’ll help them succeed. Two-income families single-parent families and blended families are all busy and few junior highers today learn basic life skills at home anymore. Eric comes to our junior high meetings in the strangest combination of clothes.…
Traditional teenage dating is dead. So say the editors of the “big three” magazines that cater to teenagers–Seventeen, Sassy and ‘Teen. “A date used to be when a boy would specifically ask a girl out make plans pick her up and meet her parents,” says Sarah Patton senior editor of Seventeen magazine.…
My heart raced as I entered the youth building. Several hundred people were attending a conference at our church but I was interested in finding only one person-my wife. I made my way to my office where I knew she’d be waiting.…
To help junior highers have a heart for your community play this familiar game with a twist. Tape a large map of the world to the wall at the student’s eye level. Highlight your community. Blindfold the students one at a time spin them around and have them tape a heart as closely as possible to your community.…
The hardest part about church drama’s or skits is the execution. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of grace when peers perform in front of their peers. So often the skit goes flat, too long or the acting wasn’t all it could be to make the lines really come to life.…
Terminal velocity is achieved when an object (usually falling from the sky) reaches its maximum speed. When it can go no faster, it has reached terminal velocity; in other words it has reached its full potential. I’m sure there’s much more to it than that, but since I’m not a scientist that simple explanation will have to do.…
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12) What would you do if you found out that just beneath your backyard swing set was buried a treasure beyond your wildest imagination? If you’re like me, you’d start digging.…
In my last column, I introduced our readers to “the fine art of monkey management.” Borrowing from the term “the monkey on your back,” I defined a “monkey” simply as “the responsibility to take the next step.” Every youth pastor faces hundreds of monkeys every day.…
I could feel the emotional overload as he described the expanding pile of tasks before him. Everything on this youth workers to-do list screamed URGENT. He shook his head in frustration, Ill never get it all done! He was just beginning to understand.…
Sports fans are everywhere. Pro sports have become a staple of the American pop culture. Now that TV broadcasts games across the globe nearly 24 hours a day, fans are able to follow their favorite teams and players more closely than ever before.…
