I have never been able to pull together much of a routine in any area of my life. This includes reading my Bible. That doesn’t mean I don’t get into the Word every day—it just means I don’t interact with my Bible the same way, every day.…
Jack Anderson (not his name) thought it could never happen—at least not at his church. The color drained from his face when he received the call that a police investigation was in progress due to a report of sexual misconduct from one of his volunteers.…
These youth group activities provide ideas for service during the Thanksgiving season and a fun way for your group to gather the food for a Thanksgiving meal. Youth Group Activities: Serving and Thanksgiving In Matthew 10:8 Jesus said, “Freely you have received; freely give.”…
In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday experiment, we take a surprising plunge into authenticity, and what it looks like to create a ministry environment that invites vulnerability and a sense of relaxed honesty. Teenagers growing up in a “curated” and plastic world are starved for authentic relationships—we explore the way Jesus feeds people who hunger for deeper connections in their life.…
What happens when one youth worker plunges herself into the gritty lives and disorienting culture of “fringe” kids, and what she learns from the experience that helps her create a profoundly welcoming environment in her ministry. By Theresa Mazza It was a crazy night in the mosh pit.…
(Dear Small Church Friends, I am SO pumped to bring you this 3-part series from Brent Lacy, a rural youth ministry guy. He recently published his first book, Rural Youth Ministry through Group’s new line, Everyday Youth Ministry. I asked him to write this series because I know that many of you serve in rural settings and so I thought he could serve you best in this area.…
Join Rick for the eighth and final episode in the series—“THE HARVEST.” In his commentary on the Gospel of John, the great contemporary theologian N.T. Wright says: “The urgent question, then, is this: How do we ‘remain’ in him?” The leaders of the Taize movement, commenting on the message of John 15, wrote: “The essential thing for believers, then, is not to be concerned about ‘results’ or to dream up ambitious projects but simply to remain linked to Christ, to ‘remain in his love’” And Vaughan Roberts, rector of St Ebbe’s Church in Oxford, says: “Jesus is not a decorative shrub, useful for giving an aesthetic religious touch to life.…
Join Rick for the seventh episode in the series—“THE HARVEST.” We are all intimately attached to sources of life—a flower planted in soil, for instance, has more life flowing into it than cut flowers in a vase of water. Our attachments make all the difference… So let’s explore what wholeness looks like in Jesus, and in us—through the lens of how we attach (and detach) from our sources of life.…
Join Rick for the second episode in a new series—“THE HARVEST.” Jesus has invited us to attach to Him, like a branch in a Tree. And when we do, we produce fruit “after its kind.” Service is one of His tastiest fruits.…
Join Rick for the sixth episode in a new series—“THE HARVEST.” We know that Jesus is a storyteller who’s trying to tell a story of beauty in our soul—the story He’s telling in your life is a Romance. In the last episode we explored what the “Farmer” is doing about the “weeds” growing up in our field of “wheat”—our soul.…
