I remember after the closing rally of a youth retreat, the line of teens was stacked deep. It was filled with teens waiting to see me. Patiently they stood there for a long time just to tell me something. They just wanted to express their heartfelt “Thanks” for putting together such a great life changing event… *end dream sequence* Who am I kidding?…
I talked with a student and her parent the other day. The student had one complaint: She felt left out of the group and that no one missed them. Sometimes the reason is that they just FEEL left out. The students in the group and you as the leader have made every effort to reach out to them and include them but they just don’t accept your attempts.…
You’ve finally made it to small group! You’ve had a busy week but managed to study your lesson sufficiently and feel really prepared. You get in your group and begin asking about how everyone’s week was. Someone has a story that’s pretty interesting, so you listen up.…
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.…
Hopefully yesterday you took some time to think about the tightrope of ministry and how challenging each step of the journey can be. So what are some practical ways you can do youth ministry life well? Glad you asked! Here are 4 ways we try to put into practice ourselves: 1) Talk through the calendar before you go public with it.…
In Part 1 I briefly discussed the idea that missions trips to produce lasting transformation. Another reason I love missions trips is that they put you in a place where you can develop deep and lasting friendships with students. Casey is that student who’s smarter than you.…
Yesterday’s article on starting a parent ministry resonated with many readers so we’re back today with a few more tips for partnering with parents. A healthy youth ministry has great parent interaction, involvement and information—here are a few ideas to help you connect with the parents of the students in your ministry.…
The past few years in ministry have changed the way I disciple students. If you would have asked me just a few weeks ago how discipleship works I would have told you that once a student comes to Christ, spend time with them, eat meals together, ask the hard questions, support their sports teams, and get connected with their family, then you will see fruit.…
Connect Groups At City on a Hill we believe in doing church in three main ways: In Sunday fellowship: Every Sunday we meet as a community united. We gather together to read God’s Word, worship in song and connect with each other in community and fellowship.…
Every great organization has great leadership… period. It’s going to be nearly impossible to become great if your leadership is sub-par. Believe it or not, this relates to churches as well. Many times, in church work, we find ourselves in a tough spot; desperate for help, so we compromise in the area of leadership and we get ‘Volunteers’ to serve in our ministries instead of ‘Leaders.’…
