Small Groups don’t always work. Instead of just ignoring it we need to face some questions to find out why. At times subtle changes can be made to fix an issue. While not exclusive, here are some issues I’ve run into that have caused some small group problems.…
It’s summer and time for you to take a well-deserved break from youth ministry, whether it’s for two days or two weeks. I can attest that vacations and even short getaways are huge for “staying in the game” for the long haul.…
Pornography continues to claim the minds of students, adults, and even ministers around the world. I must admit, I have had my fair share of pornography struggles over the years. For many years I attempted to overcome this addiction on my own only to find myself constantly feeling defeated and believing I was a failure.…
I have a love/hate relationship with marketing. I love the concept because marketing is usually a primary force in the process of getting a message, product or idea out to large quantities of people. I hate the concept because when successful, it has a strange way of shortening the shelf life of things because the large quantities of people it helped a message, product or idea get to often get tired of said message, product or idea due to the market being over-saturated.…
Typically, it’s from a couch, behind a music stand, in the middle of a home renovation, at a restaurant or around a campfire. The youth pastors pulpit can and has been anywhere and everywhere. If youth frequent a location or have established a comfortable spot to be open and trusting…well that’s where we’ll worship.…
Every year our church allows the middle school ministry to run “Big Church” (the main Sunday services). I try to get a group of current 8th-graders together to pray, plan, and present the message for that Sunday. This year as we were brain storming together one of my kids started to talk about impossible things that God can do and I thought about that word.…
Recently, after speaking to a group of middle school students, I asked a girl how I could make my message better. She replied, “Well…don’t be afraid to cuss every once and a while.” I didn’t realize that my speaking was so dry that our students wish that I would just cuss a little to spice things up. …
I confess…I love Animal Planet. Next to Food Network, it might be the most God-ordained network on television. Recently, I discovered a new show called “I’m Alive!” The show’s premise is stories about people who have survived, against all odds, the most harrowing of life-altering experiences.…
It’s the most…cough, cough…wonderful time…sneeze…of the year. With all the songs, turkeys and decorations, comes a flood of sickness, flu’s and other annoying things. And this year is no exception with the whole “H1N1” ordeal. As I was sitting in the walk-in clinic the other day, I was drawn to how similar a walk-in clinic can be to a youth ministry.…
I LOVE Students who lead the way. I LOVE seeing students embrace their faith holistically without compartmentalizing their relationship with Christ and their everyday life. I LOVE seeing students model to friends, peers and strangers what following Jesus is. I LOVE sitting in a room with a handful of students who are teachable & wanting to be used by God to impact their world and I LOVE teaming with these students in any way possible in life.…
