Confession time… I once auditioned for a national commercial. The tagline of the product? “Never let them see you sweat.” These commercials were famous. The spokesperson would offer an additional summary at the end of the ad, such as “Everyone feels pressure.…
Salvations, re-commitments, powerful worship, blood on the wall leading into the sanctuary, a busted eye leading to a parent picking up a student to go get stitches, and a trail of blood on the sanctuary carpet… Yes, each of those happened at my recent Back2School Lock-In.…
The reality of bomb testing. The mystery of Donald Trump. The threat of ISIS. The ambiguity of sexuality. Students, families and even random adults in your church have no shortage of hot topics to throw your way. Whether you’re taken aback from a recent zinger or are trying to think ahead of any curve ball zooming your way, you can take the controversy they’ve thrown at you and have a Jesus-centered conversation.…
I’m taking a week off from youth ministry. It’s not because I’m going on vacation. It’s not because I have too many things in my schedule. It’s not because I no longer love students. I’m just about ready to rip some of their heads off… that’s all.…
Relational ministry can seem like a no-brainer. It’s simply being “in relationship” with students, right? Well yes…and no. It IS being in relationship with students, but how we evaluate that is everything. Simple things, like sending a student a well-worded text message or showing up at a football game or choir concert, are great places to start relationship.…
Yesterday we ran down 10 quick hits on increasing relational ministry in your youth group; today we’re back with 10 more and hoping you contribute another couple in the comments, too! Here we go: 11. Set up shop at a fast-food place right next to the school that has open lunch.…
This week we’re going to simply knock out 20 ways you can increase the level of relational ministry in your youth group. Quick, random, hits that we hope inspire you to try something new, too! 1. Add a greeting time in youth group.…
When you prep your talk, think about three audiences in your youth group. It doesn’t matter if they’re all actually in the room or not, thinking about them will prepare you for when they are. As you look to an application of your talk, consider these three people in the crowd: The “So What?”…
Yup, you read right. It’s time to admit that sharing the Good News about Jesus should be left to the professionals. Let’s be honest: Students don’t always do everything right. They mess up. They get it wrong. They don’t do things exactly how we would want them to.…
This month we’re introducing a new series here on the Simply Youth Ministry Today newsletter. We’ve talked Top 3 screw-ups (and who couldn’t add to that list, right?!) We’ve taken a look at three stellar resources on apologetics. And after being married to the Glass House Spouse for 21 years, I have a few Top 3 lists of my own—starting with the Top 3 ways to make your spouse hate youth ministry.…
