For better or for worse, we are all currently building a legacy. When we move on to whatever comes next in our life journey, the next generation of leaders will inherit the foundations that have been laid in our youth ministries as well as everything we’ve left unfinished. …
We are about to record hours and hours in the church van. Summer is here and we are ready to take our relationship with GPS to a new level. Cheers, my fellow road warriors! You deserve all the pay-off that is sure to come with the investment of time you’ll be making in youth ministry this summer.…
Our number one mission in youth ministry is to share the love of Jesus with our students. We can talk about the love of Jesus or we can demonstrate the love of Jesus. We can tell them they are loved but unless we demonstrate love to them our words really are just words.…
#ScreenFreeWeek There was one time I was sitting at a coffee shop enjoying a café Americano with one of my favorite friends. We were catching up, being stupid, making each other laugh, and absolutely we were people watching, when all of the sudden she hit me over the head with this doozy: “My school is doing screen-free week,” she said with ease.…
Have you ever worked with a student who just couldn’t stand you? I have. You know the deal – the rolling eyes, snarky comments, being completely ignored, blatant efforts to be disruptive, and the heaps of sarcasm. Having a hater is totally awesome.…
You know that teenager who never misses youth group and shows up for every retreat, no matter what else is going on? I was that kid. I’d skip my basketball games and school dances to avoid missing a youth rally or even a Wednesday night meeting.…
Every week, Sidney and I talk about the things a mentor talks to a mentee about. Sometimes it’s via text, sometimes it’s over a salted caramel macchiato—either way, we’re committed to spending time checking in. I ask her questions about school, family, and friendships.…
“We count people because people count.” That mantra was our church’s lifeline. Nothing happened without counting, and without a count, something might as well not have happened. During my seven years as youth director there, that statement echoed at every Thursday-morning staff meeting.…
It’s time to take a smarter approach to youth ministry. Transformative ministries do not focus on the what of ministry—they persistently pursue the why of ministry. The reasons why we reach out and serve people in our community will always connect more deeply to the heart of Jesus than a focus on what will reach people in our community—a more contemporary worship band, a bigger sanctuary, more services, or a new youth ministry model, for example.…
Everyone is welcome around the campfire. It has no rules to regulate who can or can’t be warmed by its flames. It gives heat to whoever will close the gap between cold and warmth. The campfire doesn’t care who you are or where you’re from.…
