Recently, while I was talking with a new youth worker, he asked me what advice I had on how to evaluate a ministry. Beyond being thankful that this youth worker, in his first year of full-time ministry, saw the importance of evaluation, this question forced me to think through what I believe are some essentials to effective ministry evaluation.…
Cliques are a reality for our students in their schools and community. Unfortunately, it is often a reality they face at church too. Cliques are the enemy of healthy community and ultimately the enemy of students hearing God’s best for them.…
I am horrible at directions. You know the old joke, “She couldn’t find her way out of a paper bag?” Yep, that’s me. My husband, on the other hand, can go somewhere ONCE in HIS WHOLE life and find his way back to the exact location without ever looking at a map.…
There are three main areas to keep in mind as you develop a POM: 1) Vision/Mission Statement – should work in conjunction with the church’s overall statement. To often youth ministries try to become a church within the church (not intentional), but by coming up with some grandiose POM that does not work along side with the overall vision and discipleship process of the church body.…
Chasing Small Fish! I recently heard someone say that we spend too much time chasing small fish. Small fish are those ever-elusive people who we try to get into our corner but never seem to be content. It’s funny how we spend so much time in our ministry trying to chase these small fish, but no matter how much we try we’ll never get them to change their minds, agree with our perspectives, or ever buy into our vision.…
To put it plainly, this is the most ADD generation we’ve probably ever seen. Attention spans range from 3-5 seconds, and if they’re not entertained, they’ll leave you in an instant. How should that affect our youth group meetings? Apparently there’s a “greater” debate out there between whether today’s teens are the smartest or the dummest generation America has ever seen.…
Take a moment to imagine that you are the Director of Youth Ministries for a church that has a $500 budget for youth ministry. The average household income for your community is $50,000-$60,000 and your ministry has 20-30 active participants. How difficult is it for you to plan activities knowing you have little to no funds?…
About a month ago I was talking with a friend about something that had absolutely nothing to do with youth ministry. He had been in charge of taking an old room in our church and transforming it into our new coffee bar.…
This four-part series will provide ideas to impact your summer planning and provide unforgettable events your teens will remember forever! These ideas are centered around summer special events and holidays. Here’s special event #2 in our series: GRADUATION! No more boring Graduation Sunday services!…
Sure, it’s no Play Station 3. And no, you can’t get your cardio in like you would with a Nintendo Wii game system. But by far, few games are more entertaining than Jenga. Yes, I said Jenga. May seem a little old school, but after reading this, I guarantee you’ll be cleaning out that youth ministry storage closet looking for it.…
