Editor’s Note: Any youth pastor who’s been through the trauma of getting fired (or a “forced resignation”) will tell you that it’s only a matter of time before it happens to you. So, what should you do if the axe falls?…
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.…
This week we’re going to focus on some youth ministry best practices and hope that it generates some helpful conversation as you agree, disagree or have no opinion either way! We want you to know upfront, that we don’t believe that there is a PERFECT way to do youth ministry.…
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.…
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.…
Occasionally Kurt and I take the time to take on “the 3” and this week our topic is what we are each learning right now about ourselves and ministry. I’ve picked out things I’ve learned in the past…or I think I’ve learned them in the past because it seems like all three of these are old and new at the same time.…
