Serving in youth ministry is both rewarding and challenging. As a leader, you’re a catalyst for helping teenagers grow as disciples of Jesus, a counselor who must deal with upset parents and discouraged adolescents, and an EMT who has to treat the occasional dodgeball injury. Often, all in the same day. As you walk through the ups and downs of your calling, we’re here to support, encourage, and equip you with ideas that will fuel your journey as a Jesus-centered leader.
What You’ll Find
Our leadership topics are designed to give you the knowledge and skills to confidently guide your ministry. We’ll cover the must-know areas—including working with parents and volunteers, planning and productivity, and the broad range of skills you need as an adolescent specialist in ministry. And, most important, we’ll help you grow your own relationship with Jesus so your leadership flows out of a “deeper well.”
In these past few months, I have had many conversations regarding Korean church youth ministry. Through these discussions, I realized that there were some things to reconsider in terms of the hiring process of youth pastors. Do youth pastors really need a Master’s of Divinity?…
Several years ago a friend of mine was fighting cancer, and getting her butt kicked. One day as we were talking and she was sharing the details of a particularly tough round of treatments, setbacks and the reality that things were getting worse instead of better, she made a little, obvious to her but profound to me, comment.…
Let’s be honest…..leadership, especially in youth ministry, is hard. It’s messy. And, there is no magic formula. As youth workers we desire to see students surrender their lives to Jesus and become leaders who will not only influence friends and family right now, but will continue to make an impact for the kingdom throughout their lives. …
Everybody likes guarantees, and in youth ministry there are few. But if you are hoping to stay involved in youth ministry in a local church setting for the long haul, I know the secret, the silver bullet…guaranteed: REFUSE TO EXIT! I’ve been traveling the local church youth ministry road for over 26 years, and there have been all sorts of times that I could have exited; “off-ramps” that nobody would have argued if I would have taken.…
While in college, on of my professors said to a room full of future youth pastors something that still echoes in my mind. “Make every decision as if you need to defend it in a court of law, because you just might.”…
“Homosexuals” are not an “issue.” I’m guilty of this. When talking about homosexuality, we tend to tag on the word “issue.” And I’m sure most of us don’t mean it in a demeaning way. We are simply trying to speak about an issue that is deeply concerning to the Church – or at least it should be.…
A friend of mine says that opinions are like bellybuttons: everyone has one. We have them about EVERYTHING from frivolous things like the best flavor of Jolly Ranchers (cherry of course) to very serious “issues” like politics. As Believers in Christ we have particular thoughts on which translation of the Bible is “best,” when the rapture will happen, as well as every other “grey” area of Christianity where the interpretation is subject to human observation.…
The above picture was taken last night, the first gathering of a brand new small group of awesomely awkward 7th grade guys. See me leaning in on the right? The smile on my face masks a ton of anxiety about the year ahead.…
How did the world come to be? You either have a quick response to this question, or find yourself a bit more pensive and contemplative about that questions these days. Students also seem to be stuck between what they’re hearing at church and what they’re finding at school or online.…
We see it emerge all the time in our students. They “forgot” to turn in their camp permission slip on time, and we “just have to” let them come anyway. There is a conflict between the Saturday mission trip fundraiser and a game for the sport they play.…
