Although I failed to see the movie, God's Not Dead, when it was in theaters last spring, knowing the basic plot - A Christian kid decides to defend the idea that “God's Not Dead” to an atheist philosophy professor – I made a note to myself to...

I still remember the day youth ministry got fun.

It was during a meeting with my adult leaders in my rookie year in youth ministry. As we went through our upcoming youth ministry gathering, I remember sitting there thinking, “You guys are fun....

Earlier this year, this youth minister meme began showing up everywhere in social media:

While it made me chuckle, I couldn't help but think, “This confusion is real.” People really don't understand what it is we do.

And this is true not just of...

Over the Christmas holiday, I've got an entire day blocked out in my schedule in order to figure out our ministry's spring calendar. The dates of our major events (like retreats) were announced months ago, but things like trip meetings and events...

This fall, my high school youth ministry watched and discussed clips from the movie, "Noah". Despite the fact that this movie angered plenty of Christians, I found it invaluable for sparking conversation about a story that we oftentimes ...

About four years ago, my student leaders suggested our youth ministry begin hosting book clubs. They wanted a time outside of our regular youth ministry gatherings to come together and discuss interesting books.

As someone who loves to read, I...

As someone who both loves to travel and to write, I was excited to read Allison Vesterfelt's Packing Light: Thoughts on living life with less baggage.

Despite taking me a while to get into, I ended up thoroughly enjoying this book. In it,...

On Sunday mornings, we utilize small group discussions as part of our large group teaching in our high school ministry.

Currently, we're in the midst of a series called “Jesus' Family Tree”. It's our way of talking about the characters in the...

Small groups are only as good as the questions asked in them. If that's the case, then what exactly constitutes a good question?

Good questions...

1. Are open-ended. They cannot be answered with yes or no. This is important because when given the...

As a youth worker, I've attended and led my fair share of small group Bible studies. Some have been really good and others have simply tanked.  More often than not, the ones that have tanked are the ones in which the leader fails to ask...

Until last year, I'd never heard of WestJet. Then, on a vacation to Canada, we had an enjoyable experience flying WestJet. Six months later, I, along with millions of others, was captivated by WestJet's Christmas miracle video. This video featured...

While in Rwanda for our international missions trip, we went shopping at an artisans' market.

While there, I couldn't take my eyes off the crib mobiles.

Eventually I confessed as much to my husband. He assured me that even though we did not yet...

In a recent meeting, my senior pastor reminded our staff that the church is supposed to be countercultural. One way we can be countercultural is by helping people slow down and linger.

One way to do that, in turn, especially in a youth ministry...

This fall, my high school youth ministry watched and discussed clips from the movie, "Noah". Despite the fact that this movie angered plenty of Christians, I found it invaluable for sparking conversation about a story that we oftentimes ...

Following my miscarriage last year, I searched high and low for books and in particular, for memoirs that would help me find my way through my grief. Though I stumbled upon a few gems like A Force of Will and An Exact Replica of a Figment of My...

I've been in ministry at my church for seven years.

One thing I love about having been in the same context for a while is that alumni from my ministry are starting to serve with me as adult leaders.

One of those leaders was a senior my first year...

Dear Parent Whose Child Does Not Want to Go on the Mission Trip -

I know your family has hundreds of worthwhile options for how to spend it's time each summer and that you can't do it all. I can also only assume it's far easier to send your child...

As is the case every year in my congregation, Confirmation Sunday was also Reformation Sunday (the day we remember and honor Martin Luther and the beginning of the Protestant reformation). To commemorate this special occasion, Reformation Sunday...

In a recent episode of The Biggest Loser , the time came to reshuffle the teams in order to force contestants to not only work with new teammates, but also with new trainers.

Every year, contestants face this Biggest Loser milestone with fear,...

This fall in my youth ministry, we did a series on the attributes of God based on words that teens use to describe God that may or may not actually be accurate.

The last week of this series we discussed how, if at all, God resembles a genie....