Amid all the busyness, the Christmas season inspires people to intentionally draw near to God and to one another. Youth ministries can learn a lot from that about relationship-building throughout the year. Our youth program runs a solid midweek combo of large and small groups, with some big outreach events tossed in.…
It’s almost that time of year again—yep, Christmas. And oh, there are so many distractions to look forward to. The new iPhone is out, and my contract is up. I don’t really need a remote-controlled drone, but man that looks fun.…
Supplies for this Youth Bible Study. You’ll need Bibles for each student, a place to sit outside (if possible, and if not, meet near an outside window). [Optional: Print copies of the following online articles: Mt. Everest (climbing.about.com/od/mountainclimbing/a/EverestFacts.htm); Platypus (animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/platypus/); and Oceans (abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/06/04/4018335.htm).…
Supplies for this Youth Bible Study You’ll need a countdown timer (an app on your phone, a stopwatch, an egg timer, or something), a large flipchart or whiteboard for taking notes, colored markers or pens, and enough printed copies of Isaiah 53 for each student.…
Supplies for this Youth Bible Study You’ll need Bibles, sheets of paper, pens, fun snacks, and your favorite music for after the study. For this youth Bible study, have students each find a partner, then stand facing their partner far away from each other.…
Tasha and I weren’t raised in the church. The tradition in which we found faith had a very guarded view of the Holy Spirit in general and supernatural stuff in particular. In fact, we heard more than one church leader semi-jokingly talk about the Trinity as the Father, Son, and Holy Bible.…
Season 2, Episode 37: Finding Your Unique Balance Between Busy and Rest It’s the last week of September, and we’re heading into the fastest time of the year—like boarding a water slide that’s about to speed us through the weeks ahead and then drop us feet-first into the new year.…
Once again, I’m hanging out—rather begrudgingly—in God’s waiting room. Ever been there? It’s the place where answers to prayer seem suspended in the heavens. Where something you thought would take 10 days is still incomplete after 10 years. Where you wonder if hopes you’d labeled as God-given dreams are actually spiritual fantasies caused by too much late-night pizza.…
Teenagers have no greater—or scarier—mission field than their own schools. Encourage your students to be a light for the gospel this school year by ramping up your efforts to train and equip them in the areas where they might be nervous to live for Jesus.…
In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday experiment, we explore three ideas to help you maximize travel moments with teenagers this summer—turning “gap time” into “transformation time.” Can two minutes change a person’s life? We know from our own experience that the answer is…of course!…
