We both share the fear that it would be very easy to develop blind spots to our failures. Today we are continuing our series on failing forward: MAKE IT RIGHT In the aftermath of a mistake, it’s time to make things right, if possible.…
For those of us in America, this is the week where we will devour massive amounts of food in the name of thankfulness. It’s easy to get caught up and distracted by planning, house cleaning, stressful travel, football games, overeating, avoiding certain family members, and shopping–all while pretending to enjoy Aunt Gurdy’s plumb-custard-quiche-ala-nasty.…
T.J. was one of those kids every parent prayed for. At 16 years old, he was strong in his faith, passionate about the mission field, full of joy, and a real practical joker. T.J. was a student who had been at our church for years and was loved by many!…
During my younger days, when I was fit and a little bit crazy, I used to mountain bike, and I don’t mean just on nice little rails to trails, I am talking serious, through the woods, over trees, covered with mud type of serious.…
So as I dragged my laptop out to get some writing done in my home office today, I had to sweep aside four past issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, a geometry book that might as well be written in Japanese to me, and a calculator I’d need a master’s degree to run.…
When you sit and talk with a student, what do you hope happens? Early in ministry many of my one-on-one student conversations were about me trying to show them I was interested in their lives. The questions like name, school, and hobbies seemed safe enough to show them I cared, and I did.…
Sometimes I feel like I’m not cut out for this youth ministry stuff. Here’s why: 1. I’m a woman. My church is very accepting of my leadership role, but not all churches are. This is something that I struggle with from time to time, feeling accepted in a position that is male dominated.…
I have been in youth ministry probably for about 10 years now, and never have I been more unconfident. Our church was able to acquire a storefront that is about 100 yards away from our town’s junior high school. It’s located in an area where teens walk to and from school, so basically I hit the youth ministry grand prize.…
November/December COVER SHOOT The Complete Survey from the Nov_Dec Feature: Going Super Deep With Teenagers. Download the pdf …
You don’t have to be in youth ministry very long before you realize that the church isn’t immune from painful political maneuvering. As much as we’d love to do ministry in an environment where church politics are non existent, as long as people are involved, some form of politics will appear.…
