Get free weekly resources from us!
Got it! Would you also like offers and promos from Group?
Thanks, you're all set!
Beauty Out of Ugly
Read in
5 mins

Beauty Out of Ugly

The heart is the symbol for Valentine’s Day, which makes what happened Wednesday, in a southern Florida high school, all the more shattering—our hearts are broken and broken again by what feels like an endless parade of violence. I was with youth workers and survivors of the Columbine massacre hours after this cycle of copycat destruction was kicked off in our culture, and four years ago I was trying to help my own daughter recover from the trauma she experienced in her own school shooting.…

Read in
2 mins

The Rocket Launcher In Youth Ministry

If discipleship is the endgame for youth ministry, how do we help teenagers break free from the gravitational pull of a conventional life and “achieve orbit” in a life defined by a passion for Jesus? Well, I know from three decades of youth ministry experience, and from in-depth research projects I created to explore what really matters in teenagers’ spiritual growth, that nothing in our ministry toolbox has more “rocket power” than a mission trip.…

Reverse Mentoring
Read in
2 mins

Mentoring in Reverse

Recently my teenage daughter Lucy and three of her friends completed a six-minute documentary exploring the worldwide human-trafficking problem, then submitted it for a school assignment. They designed a full-color trifold brochure as a companion piece and created a stress ball with the word “Enough” printed on it as a “sellable item.”…

Read in
3 mins

Whiteboard Wednesday: How to Teach Experientially

In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday experiment, I explore the powerful transformation that happens when we use experiences as a basis for teaching, and show you my simple process for crafting and embedding experiences in your main teaching times. When I’m training youth workers, I sometimes ask them to get with a partner and share “something you’ve learned that has deeply impacted your life—something that turned your life around.”…

Read in
3 mins

Whiteboard Wednesday: Learning Improv

In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday experiment, we remember that Jesus’ primary “teaching” method involves improvised responses amid intentional conversations. Then we’ll learn the basics of teaching in an “improv” way. I was never in a garage band, but whenever I hear a phrase that sounds like the name of a garage band (for example, the other day my daughter said the phrase “dissected squid juice”), I tell people it was actually the name of my band when I was in high school.…

Get free weekly resources from us!
Get free weekly resources from us!
Got it! Would you also like offers and promos from Group?
Thanks, you're all set!