Ministry is rooted in relationships. Your best days serving God are directly impacted by the people you work with and for – not to mention the people under your own roof. That’s why in this first installment of “Ask a Senior Pastor” we’re addressing two common tensions within our closest connections.…
Youth ministries are supposed to be communities where teens discover and embrace the love of Jesus, discover his purpose for their lives, and experience being part of the family of God. When toxic volunteers, parents, or congregation members enter this equation, we move away from the positive outcomes we strive to provide for teens.…
The camp had bugs in the beds. Was it the worst camp ever? I’m not sure. Perhaps your story has mine beat. Still, there were insects of all shapes and sizes crawling on the mattresses our students and leaders were to sleep on.…
In this episode, we discuss things you should be doing with your volunteers seasonally and ongoing volunteer recruitment. We also share tips on how to grow your volunteer team!!! Send your youth ministry questions to us at talkyouthministry@gmail.com Hope it helps, AC & Kurt…
I love when driving from here to there means I get to geek out on snippets of NPR! There’s always something super interesting. Like the story of a girl who took it upon herself to fix an aged piece of art hanging in her local cathedral.…
Tight budgets are commonplace in ministry. That means that decisions about spending money are equally as common. Someone in our church recently asked me, “Why can’t the church do ‘x’ when it’s only thirty bucks a month?” “It’s a great idea,” I affirmed, “but there are so many other great ‘thirty dollar’ ideas people have proposed.…
One thing Kurt and I love to do is share what God has been teaching us with all of you out there in the Youth Ministry Nation. We are so thankful to be serving alongside you all. I believe there’s a special place in heaven for those who labor on behalf of children.…
Ned Nederlander. Franck. Jiminy Glick. These popular fictional characters were given life through the creative mind and talent of Martin Short. And then there’s Ed Grimley… Martin Short’s first breakthrough character. You may not know the backstory of how this greasy-hair-cowlicked-vertically-in-the-air, teeth-baring hyperactive manchild came to be… let alone how it all relates to the nerves and presumptions we all wrestle with in struggling to say something profound. …
In this episode of “Let’s Talk Youth Ministry,” Kurt Johnston and I talk about what to do when your attendance takes a dive, and ways to become a better leader. We also have a special guest on the show!! But you have to watch to find out who it is… 🙂 Remember to email us your questions at talkyouthministry@gmail.com…
The church I serve is a wonderful mix of conservative, evangelical theology and progressive, creative methodology. Because of this, the question of, “What do we believe and how do we minister in light of these beliefs?” can at times create a lively discussion and an interesting journey.…
