This marks my 20th year as a youth pastor in Southern California. I began youth ministry as a 20-year-old when a college girl invited me to come help lead as some guys began showing up at a girl’s Bible study she was leading.…
“I thought a virgin was somebody with small ears.” A few years ago a sixth grader really said this in a small group that I was helping lead. More recently another interaction with a Middle School student went like this: I asked, “Why did you get pulled out of your small group?”…
We’ve all heard the jokes and stereotypes about the problem kids in church—their parents are pastors and elders—so whenever I meet a pastor’s kid I actually want to be around, I ask their perspective on growing up in the church. Last year was the first time I became my daughter’s youth pastor.…
Serendipity is defined as the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. Reading this article and finding out all who complete it receive $1,000 would be serendipitous. That won’t happen, but it sure would be great.…
Student ministry is a special place. Not like Church Lady special, but really special—an opportunity for God to use you to change lives for eternity. But we all need some help, so be sure you’re well versed in how to respond to ministry situations by packing these phrases away in your toolbox.…
I am horrible at directions. You know the old joke, “She couldn’t find her way out of a paper bag?” Yep, that’s me. My husband, on the other hand, can go somewhere ONCE in HIS WHOLE life and find his way back to the exact location without ever looking at a map.…
From swapping gummy-bears at lunch to swapping gossip. From boy cooties to boy cuties. From Disney Channel to MTV. Elementary to Middle School. One of the most dramatic transitions in a girl’s life. And youth ministers have a beautiful privilege, yet terrifying responsibility to work with this scary specimen.…
Moments I will always remember from youth group: •All-girl slumber parties. •Conversations with the cool college girls that were youth interns during the summer. •My first all-girl conference with a speaker that talked about real issues and some singer I had never heard of, named Natalie Grant.…
Uh-oh. You’re supposed to give a Christmas message at a community party or youth event or at your Toastmasters meeting…and you forgot? No problem–here’s a quick message you can share in any setting. Merry Christmas! A Christmas Gift Christmas traditions abound.…
For a junioor high kid, dynamic growth happens from the first semester in sixth grade to the second semester in eighth grade. It’s rarely slow, incremental growth that can be neatly charted. “Messy” is a much more descriptive word to explain how a junior high kid matures.…
