Chances are, your online ministry strategy is now the lifeblood of your ministry. But a time is coming (sooner than you think) when we’ll be allowed to gather in person for face-to-face ministry. What will you do? Instead of waiting until we have permission to reopen, our youth ministry team is actively planning for it.…
Before I launch into my confession-vomit, a few qualifiers… I love my church… I’d attend even if I didn’t work there (I know not every church staff member can say that with a straight face). I love and respect my pastor and my boss—my bullet-point confessions are not a veiled critique.…
Hey parents, Thank you for the way you’ve reached out and supported what we’re trying to do to stay connected with your students and families during this season. As a parent of teenagers, I understand the responsibility you feel to take care of your family… I’m so thankful for those of you who’ve reached out to me (and I know many others) checking on us, offering to help, and supporting us.…
Ministry is amazing… We get to spend our greatest energy wading into the deepest pools of others—their triumphs and failures, joys and sorrows. And we have the honor of pointing them toward the Lifeguard/Swim Coach who’s teaching them how to be strong swimmers!…
Sometimes the movement of history feels glacial; sometimes it turns on a dime. And sometimes, today for instance, history shoves us off the subway platform onto the tracks. Now we must learn how to “live and breathe and move” in a world where “pandemic” is no longer a plot device in a film but a present reality.…
It starts innocently enough. She brings sandwiches for a Sunday-night event. She hangs out in the kitchen area, coyly watching all the fun and dreaming of what could be. Over the next few weeks, she strategically positions herself so she’s near the student room.…
Remember when you had the perfect ministry role? It was the night before you started serving in it. After that, and every day forward, you likely thought: “This isn’t exactly what I expected.” Maybe it was close enough that you stuck it out.…
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. A holly-jolly Christmas. Do you hear what I hear? Silver bells. The First Noel. We get it. The Christmas nostalgia in our soul’s cup “spilleth over.” But threaded through the music, food, and decorations of the Christmas season is a reminder of something greater and deeper—that God came near and continues to come near.…
In Part 1 of this short series, we followed Julie, a 10-year youth ministry vet, as she spent some of her “fall doldrums” time reinvesting in training and strategic reflection. With a fresh wind blowing in her ministry sails, Julie left her student-pastor luncheon with Jeff Henderson, author of FOR, already planning a celebration time with her team.…
We’ve already plowed through the meat of the new school year. And if your life is anything like mine you’ve catapulted from the bustle of summer into the craziness of fall. My schedule is fuller (how is that possible?), overshadowed only by the packed calendars of my teenagers.…
