One of the keys to keeping new leaders and continually improving the skill set of your volunteer team is to keep them trained. Here are a few ideas to help you get your team ahead: Take everyone to a conference Few youth budgets in the world can handle the strain of flying a team of volunteers across the country to one of the large youth ministry conferences.…
How often do we give advice that it equivalent to adding EQUAL to cow manure to try to make it easier to swallow for the recipient of our advice? I don’t know about you all out there in ministry world, but for me I struggle with giving the 100% accurate, God-fearing guidance when people come to me with their problem.…
What and Why….I can still hear the owner of the old camp that I once worked at. During staff training he always taught a class called “Interpersonal Management Skills.” He knew that my staff would be working in very close quarters for 8 weeks.…
For fans of The Office, you already know. But for those who don’t watch this show, for whatever reason, Robert California is the new CEO of Sabre’, and works half the time out of the Scranton Branch. With the recent premiere, and our first episode with the new boss, he had a great leadership principle that played itself out in the episode.…
Who are you accountable to? If you’re a pastor, you could be held accountable by the governing body of the church, the elders, maybe a bishop, not to mention the canons of the church. If you’re a youth minister, you probably answer to a pastor, if not a personnel committee.…
Volunteers suck…literally. They’re draining. Sometimes they suck the life right out of me. Wouldn’t it just be easier to do this all myself? NO WAY!! Are you kidding me? Volunteers are what make ministries run…and I don’t just mean the ‘nuts and bolts’ stuff paid people hate doing (like buying 78 cans of Silly String at four different Wal-Marts, or making 112 sandwiches for the next youth event – 64 of which won’t be eaten because they are pimento cheese!)…
We’ve all heard the jokes and stereotypes about the problem kids in church—their parents are pastors and elders—so whenever I meet a pastor’s kid I actually want to be around, I ask their perspective on growing up in the church. Last year was the first time I became my daughter’s youth pastor.…
Serendipity is defined as the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. Reading this article and finding out all who complete it receive $1,000 would be serendipitous. That won’t happen, but it sure would be great.…
I attended a workshop led by Craig McNair Wilson several years ago. Conference attendees and I were greeted by a sign at the door that instructed us to put away our pens or pencils and pick up a crayon for taking notes.…
Student ministry is a special place. Not like Church Lady special, but really special—an opportunity for God to use you to change lives for eternity. But we all need some help, so be sure you’re well versed in how to respond to ministry situations by packing these phrases away in your toolbox.…
