“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?”…
It’s time to lean into the grind. What does that mean? Read on to find out! Youth ministry is hard. Of course, it’s also fun—I love what I do, even when it’s hard. But some seasons are harder than others. In our context, Winter feels like downtime, with the pace of life a little slower (except for Christmas).…
Recently, a friend said something intriguing: “As believers, we aren’t promised a better life but a better hope.” Personally, I wouldn’t mind having both an awesome life and a bright future. My guess is that if I live with rock-solid hope, then the odds go up that I’ll live a more purposeful life.…
It was two years ago—a typical student service on a typical Sunday night. We served the typical food and played the typical music and games right before I made our typical announcements and launched into one of my typical teaching times.…
INSTRUCTIONS: Spark conversations about biblical truth by discussing the “News Nugget” below. Bring it up in conversation, as a discussion-starter at the beginning of your gathering, as a small-group discussion-starter, or as part of a Bible study. Add any additional information and new developments.…
When it comes to the topic of youth pastor/senior pastor relations, there simply is no “norm”. And, I’m not even sure there is an “ideal” we should all strive to attain. Is it ideal to have a cordial, yet mostly non-existent relationship?…
The current generation of students is being considered a group that is marked by a fear of failure and public scrutiny. Of course everyone blames the rise of technology and social media for the pressure this current generation of adolescents is under.…
Regardless of the size of your group, every healthy youth ministry has a healthy volunteer staff. Many new youth leaders start out with lots of energy and lots of ideas, but not a lot of confidence when it comes to inviting others to help out.…
In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday experiment, we show how to unlock the truth about Jesus, and the truth about the Bible, using “The Oprah Question” and “Reading Filters” as tools. Our pursuit of the Bible’s truths can be transformational for teenagers when we help them slow way down, or really speed up, when they read.…
Pizza is as much a part of youth ministry as the Bible and a smelly van. We love pizza as much as the next guy/girl, but we all reach a certain limit. As New Orleanians, food is a big deal to us.…
