In the often-chaotic cloud that is everyday youth ministry, one goal always rises to the surface—growing disciples who follow Jesus with an all-in commitment. You’re after life-changing, inside-out transformation—driven by a passion for Jesus that spills out onto the lives of others.
What You’ll Find
The Discipleship section offers practical ideas and insights about effective discipleship in youth ministry. We explore the method and models and strategies your ministry can use to help “seed” a generation of teenagers who are all-in for Jesus.
A couple of times a year I survey my teen students about our programming. What do we do well? What needs to change? What topics are we missing? There was a time when I recieved an overwhelming response that there was a desire to do more and be more.…
Three things you’ll never hear me say in the spring: 1) Everyone’s camp balances are paid in full! 2) I spent way too much time with my small group leaders this semester. 3) I wish these 8th graders would hurry up and transition to high school.…
Once, I had the awesome opportunity to offer some training and speaking in a dear friend’s small town in Kansas. After five days away, I sat on the plane ready for home. Plugging into music, a favorite worship song came on just as the plane engines started to roar.…
Easter will be here before you know it! One of the most difficult things about ministry is the very few number of days between Sundays. Wouldn’t life be easier if we had a 10-day workweek? I think I would teach better lessons, lead better worship, and play more fun games.…
For as long as I can remember I have been the poster child for relationally driven ministry. Perhaps it’s because I came out of the roller skating party era of youth group where it was more about programs than going deep.…
Kevin: “So, do you remember who I am?” My brain: Crap Theresa, come on. Think, you know this kid. What’s his name? Me: “Dude, I totally remember you. (Awkward side hug) You look so different. How are you?” Kevin: “Remember, I was at the skate park all the time.…
This time of year we hear a lot about all the ways the Lord has “blessed” so many around us with answered prayers. Sometimes they are silly: “Wow, I was asking God to find me a good parking place, and here I am up front at the mall.”…
It’s the buzz word around ministry these days. We move our students from large group time to small group time to discipleship. We want to see student’s grow in their relationship with the Lord and this is how Jesus modeled it for us.…
“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!” I’m not sure who first coined that infamous saying, but it is somehow simultaneously genius and defeatist. Pragmatically speaking, it makes sense. Why fight against the inevitable? But few things seem as depressing as giving up and giving in when we know there’s a better way!…
Salvations, re-commitments, powerful worship, blood on the wall leading into the sanctuary, a busted eye leading to a parent picking up a student to go get stitches, and a trail of blood on the sanctuary carpet… Yes, each of those happened at my recent Back2School Lock-In.…
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