In Jesus’ parable of the “Costly Pearl” (Matthew 13:45-46), the “formula” is simple… If you understand the value and beauty of the pearl, you’ll give up everything to get it: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”…
It appears that the multi-campus strategy for church growth is here to stay…for a while, anyway. And regardless of how you might feel about it, if your church decides to launch a new campus or two or three, you will quickly find yourself trying to figure out what that looks like in your youth ministry setting.…
Posted by Kurt Johnston 1. Say Yes When They Ask For Your Help. We have all been taught that a key to time management is learning how to say NO. However, I think that when it comes to serving our volunteers we need to say YES whenever we can.…
Adolescence is a time of significant physical and psychosocial development. As youth develop, they are typically informed by and supported by their peers. Experimentation, exploration, and risk characterize adolescence, and many engage in high-risk behaviors during this time. Beyond the impulsive, risk-taking nature of adolescents their budding identity is being shaped as well. …
Last night we introduced our 15-year-old daughter Lucy to Best In Show, the third of four films created by an improvisational acting company led by Christopher Guest. The first of the four, This Is Spinal Tap, is a wildly popular mock-documentary about an “iconic” hard-rock band that reunites for a one-time blowout performance.…
Maintaining healthy relationships is a priority in all areas of life, but our ministry world requires special attention. Ultimately, we spend about a third of our lives working, which means we spend a third of our days with co-workers. That’s a significant amount of time, so we want the atmosphere to be positive and productive for everyone.…
Recruiting Adult Volunteers for Your Mission Trip Adults are crucial to the success of the mission trip, in fact, it’s required. So, how do you get adults as excited about your mission experience? Here are some of our favorite tips for recruiting awesome adult volunteers: Ask them individually – Pick out adults in your church or adults who are connected to your youth group who qualify to be leaders, and take them out for coffee or ice cream.…
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.…
I’ve been in youth ministry a pretty long time… Since back when handing out tickets to pizza parties was a thing. I remember a long-ago encounter that changed my outlook on ministry forever. I had spent the day creating our youth group’s four-page newsletter using three font wheels, two ink colors, and one very fancy typewriter.…
Eugene Peterson is a lyrical writer, scholar, and skilled linguist whose day job for most of his life was pastoring a small church. In 1990, Peterson agreed to begin work on a Bible version that translated the ancient languages into something more vibrant for contemporary readers.…
