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.”
It’s been my experience that most staff members in churches feel under-appreciated. Feel free to correct me. What you may not know is how it feels from the other side of the desk. As a Lead Pastor, I often struggle with limited resources to make our church’s paid and volunteer teams feel loved on.…
“There are no Lone Rangers in Youth Ministry”, the old saying goes. And while most of us know that successful ministry to teenagers can’t be a solo gig, many still struggle with the whole process of building a healthy youth ministry team.…
We all need vacation, regardless of profession. Having an extended mental and physical break is critical to sustaining our work ethic. But I’ve found that pastor’s don’t do this well. In fact, I am the first to admit that I have not embraced vacation the way I should have – but have made some drastic changes over the past 6 years.…
“Everyone is ministering to students of divorced families. No one is doing it well.” –Doug Fields When I first heard that statement it struck a chord in me. At first I thought, “Wow that was pretty bold.” The very next moment though I began to think, “But what if he’s right?”…
Today, we wrap up our little series on what I like to call Ministerial Intelligence. To recap: Ministerial Intelligence involves three key ministry arenas: 1) THE PLACE: The ability to understand and navigate the nuances of your particular organization. 2) THE PRACTICES: Proficiency at the various “practices” of youth ministry; the stuff we do.…
In most professions there is a level of supervision that is required to ensure fidelity to certain expectations and to make sure that the company’s employees are “hitting the mark”. At best, in many churches, there is the annual performance review but the one performing the review is either way too removed to be helpful or too involved to remain objective.…
Today as we continue our series on ministerial intelligence, I’d like to focus on the “practices” of youth ministry; the things you do. In short, the practices, or things you do, include the daily nuts and bolts of youth ministry, the stuff youth ministry is made of.…
Robin Williams is a liar. At least, his character in the great movie “Dead Poet’s Society” is… or is misinformed. Just like you. Just like me. Esquire Magazine referenced a quote by novelist Nicolson Baker of how one of William’s catchphrases in the movie was mistranslated: “Carpe diem” doesn’t mean seize the day — it means something gentler and more sensible.…
A lot of times when we think of student leaders, we think of the students who are the elite of our ministry. And that is completely false. Student leaders are just students who are committed to serving a cause greater than themselves.…
Well, let me restate that title. You probably don’t need a covenant to create conflict in your small church leadership; I bet there’s plenty of that already. What would it look like if all the leaders in your ministry signed something like the covenant below?…
