[Bible] Swimming in the Deep End
Recently a friend emailed me and asked what I do to prepare for speaking. There are a million ways to deliver a message (and not all are effective), but not much has been written about how to prep for a talk/series.…
Search Results for: You Need These Three Game Plans
Take Advantage of the Holiday Slump!!!!
I got an email from a youth worker asking for some guidance. He’s feeling the holiday pinch concerning the engagement and attendance of his students. So I sent him my response and thought I’d share it with all of you since we are all in the same boat one way or another this time of the year.…
Crafting a Better Mission Statement
It’s just two words long. “Spreading ideas.” That’s the new mission statement for TED, a unique organization known for its thought-instilling conferences and powerful, mini-presentations on Technology, Entertainment and Design. The company’s former mission statement was “Ideas worth spreading.” Still, TED does have a more comprehensive understanding of what that means.…
Faith Wrestling
I get to hang around a lot of different students from a variety of places because of the nature of what I “do.” They come from varying ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, and from parents who go to church and others who don’t.…
When Things Aren’t Clicking
You’ve been there. I’ve been there more times than I care to admit. “There” is that moment when you admit, and determine to do something about, what you’ve already been sensing for a little while: Things in your ministry just aren’t clicking.…
Help, I’m A Terrible Small Group Leader!
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.…
3 Incorrect Assumptions About Church Kids
For years now I have worked with primarily “unchurched” students. Honestly, I’ve gotten used to a group of students with no Biblical foundation or pre-conceived ideas about Christianity. Yet, I guess I always thought if more of my students had grown up in the church then it would be different.…
The Plight of the Parent Volunteer
I once had an interesting opportunity to be one of the parent volunteers for a trip for “another” youth group my kids were involved in. It was not one in which I was a leader in any capacity. In this setting, I was a mom and a volunteer.…
Anonymous Depression
Ladies… gentlemen… this Twitter account exists. Because that student exists. Not just online… but likely right under our noses. It’s not always anonymous depression. There is probably someone in your contact list who when they call you know it’s going to be a long conversation.…
Me and Parents in Youth Ministry
The “untraditional family” has become the “traditional” family. The US Census indicates over 7 million grandparents in the US raising their grandchildren. I have found on some sites discussing the issue of “fatherlessness” that one in three children are born to a never married parent.…