Summer Is a Liar
In a ministry context, summer is a serial liar. Summer is NOT a slower time for youth ministry, and it’s NOT chock-full of margin as it might claim. We won’t have a more relaxed schedule, and we won’t have time to catch our breath.…
Planning and Productivity
About Planning and Productivity
Summer Ministry’s C+ Temptation
Youth ministry in the summer has always been a struggle for me. Ministry momentum slows way down because my teenagers refocus their time on summer jobs, family vacations, camps, and trips to grandma’s house. Attendance is frustratingly inconsistent: Without warning, we can go from 24 kids to 87 kids any given week.…
Make “Less” Your “More” in Your Holiday Planning
From the last porch light of Halloween through the last light of the Christmas tree, our holiday schedules are packed! Cramming their way into our margins are school Christmas parties, staff get-togethers, and family dinners—and we haven’t even touched decorating, cooking, shopping, and wrapping.…
Downshifting Your Summer Strategy
If you’re a volunteer youth worker who needs to take a break, this article might help you. If you’re a youth pastor with maxed-out volunteers, this article might give you perspective. I am a longtime volunteer youth worker and full-time staffer at my church in a non-youth ministry role. …
10 Holiday Community-Building Ideas
The holidays can be a magnet for community in your ministry—I’m always looking for creative ways to connect with kids that capitalize on the natural energy the Christmas season generates. Here are 10 of my favorites… Fun Stuff 1. Cookie Decorating We ask volunteers to bake and donate plain sugar cookies for our group.…
5 Ways to Strengthen A Growing Ministry
Well, you’re not going to brag about it, but things are going great in your ministry. Your fall kick-off went better than expected, and you’re finally seeing breakthroughs in teenagers who’ve left the sidelines to get in the game with Jesus.…
Youth Ministry ‘Go-Bag’
As a former military member, I learned the value of a ‘go-bag’ long ago. Here’s the idea: You keep a bag ready to go at a moment’s notice. In this bag you put everything you will need for a specific operation, or in the case of youth ministry, an event.…
Our 10 Failures of Leading Volunteers
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.…
Big Dreams Require Little Details
What’s your big dream for your youth ministry this year? And can you sum it up on a T-shirt? Leadership guru Peter Drucker made the “T-shirt” challenge famous—his argument was that big goals should be so easy to understand that they fit on a T-shirt.…
Valentine’s Day Do’s and Don’ts
We will soon be celebrating the most beloved and hated holiday in all of tween and teen-dom: Valentine’s Day. During adolescence, it seems to become THE DAY when your friends, crushes, and relationships prove their love for you. Middle schools don’t mandate cards and candy for everyone.…
