While I was on a coaching call with a volunteer youth director from a small rural church, she said: “I don’t think we’re meant to have a youth ministry at our church. We only have 10 teenagers on our church rolls and I’ve never been able to get more than seven of them to come to anything!”…
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The most recent figures from the 2014 Children’s Defense Fund’s Annual State of America’s Children report that 1,825 children are abused or neglected each day in the U.S. And considering it’s believed that less than 10 percent of sexual abuse cases are ever reported to authorities, the number of actual incidents each year is far greater.…
Jack Anderson (not his name) thought it could never happen—at least not at his church. The color drained from his face when he received the call that a police investigation was in progress due to a report of sexual misconduct from one of his volunteers.…
Ten years ago my wife and I made the biggest transition in the history of our lives together. We moved from Michigan to California. My first thought when we started discussing it was, “You don’t move away from family.” And my reasoning was, “It’s just something you don’t do.”…
I should probably clarify that I don’t normally go dumpster diving. It was simply a matter of timing – I drove by a local Steak-n-Shake that was closing and saw employees tossing out cases of unused sundae glasses. I scored three dozen, just like that.…
Hey #ymnation Happy New Year!!! This new year we are committed to keeping the show 20min. We are mindful of your time, and love sharing what we’re learning with you. If our show has been helpful to you I would love for you to share and Subscribe!!!!!!…
“I can run a ministry alone,” said no youth worker ever. We simply can not do everything ourselves. Yet, so many times we recruit volunteers in a way that acts like it. Having been on both sides as a volunteer and recruiter I am more convinced than ever that there are some key ways we can shake a really great unpaid team member.…
So, you’re a youth ministry volunteer. You just get off work and sit in your nice comfy recliner (or collapse on the floor), and you start thinking how nice it is to finally have a break from work and the crazy youth programs the Student Minister puts you through (guided by the Holy Spirit of course).…
