It starts innocently enough. She brings sandwiches for a Sunday-night event. She hangs out in the kitchen area, coyly watching all the fun and dreaming of what could be. Over the next few weeks, she strategically positions herself so she’s near the student room.…
Kendra’s parents are waiting for longtime youth pastor Ralph Paige in his office—when he walks in the door, his church admin gives Ralph that “buckle up” look… It’s not going to be an easy conversation. Ralph welcomes “drop-in” conversations, but when most parents have a concern to bring up, they catch him in the hallway or call for an appointment.…
As a youth worker, it’s essential to build a foundation of people who are eager to invest in the lives of our teenagers. Typically, that means other ministry staffers, adult volunteers, parents, and even college students. One group we often overlook is senior adults.…
Parenting my own children has helped me become a much better youth leader. Young, single, fun and crazy youth workers have the TIME to invest in teenagers, the ENERGY to go the distance with them, and the FRESH EYES to change things up.…
“Helloooooo!!!” I greet teenagers as they walk up the stairs to our middle and high school student ministry area. There’s a platform at the top of the landing where kids gather before they make their way into the youth room. I love this space.…
My head is spinning. Recently, a man I know—a professing Christian, and a man very involved in ministry—was sent away to prison for a long, long time. He was arrested for, charged with, and pleaded guilty to more than two dozen counts related to the sexual molestation and abuse of multiple girls, most of them tween-agers or younger, all of them were family friends.…
As a youth worker, you know it’s important to communicate well with parents. You may have learned that lesson via the School of Hard Knocks, maybe from a frustrated parent, or from 14 billion phone calls regarding something you should’ve conveyed with a quick text or email.…
Although we’ve made leaps and bounds in the past few decades, the sex talk is still horrifically awkward for many parents. Some even plop their kids down at church and say, “Here, you tell them what they need to know!” And for years, we did.…
As youth workers, we generally recognize that parents have the greatest influence on teenagers. Sometimes that’s simply a factor of time. We spend an hour or two with kids every other week (depending on homework and sports practice), while most moms and dads are with them nearly every day.…
The last time I saw Aaron, he was learning about life skills at a training session for at-risk teenagers. At the time, he was close to the cliff’s edge—where kids who are drug-addicted and homeless slip into oblivion. His parents didn’t know or care where he was.…
