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Jen Bradbury
Jun 28 · 5 min read

7 Reasons Why Group May Not Be the Easy VBS

Scuba

One of the reasons we chose Group’s SCUBA VBS was because it’s marketed as the “easy VBS.” Maybe that’s because small group leaders do not have to do any prep (which, I’ll admit, is very appealing.) That said, having just finished our week of...

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#faith formation #discipleship #curriculum discipleship #VBS

Jen Bradbury
Nov 07 · 5 min read

A blessing for youth leaders nurturing faith beyond youth group

This is for the teenagers in your community.
The ones whose families have been hurt by churches so much that they won’t (or can’t) go back.
The ones whose very identities make them afraid they'll be reduced to an “issue” that needs to be solved.
...

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#church #youth ministry #discipleship

Jen Bradbury
Jul 06 · 5 min read

What students need most when they’re stuck spiritually

On the first day of swim lessons, the lifeguard asked my nearly four-year-old daughter, Kendall, to put her head underwater and much to my shock, she did. This immediately advanced her from Level 1 (for anyone who can’t put their head underwater)...

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#apologetics #toddlers #parenting #faith formation #discipleship

Jen Bradbury
Apr 11 · 5 min read

The tearing of the curtain

Several years ago during an overnight event at the church I served, my high school youth ministry filed into our sanctuary and participated in a prayer ritual around the altar that involved lit candles. Unbeknownst to me, the wax from the candles...

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#Prayer #church #communion #worship #culture of welcome #discipleship #faith formation #scripture #Holy Week #youth ministry

Jen Bradbury
Jun 22 · 5 min read

On finding a new church home

“You guys are making me not even want to go to church anymore!” shouted Hope, my six-year old daughter, from the backseat of our van as we headed home from our first day of church shopping.

We began church shopping at a local church that’s part...

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#church #worship #children #children's ministry #youth ministry #Pandemic #discipleship #faith formation #Community

Jen Bradbury
Jul 14 · 5 min read

6 things I learned from virtual VBS

My congregation held virtual VBS a couple of weeks ago. As I’ve continued to reflect on the experience, I keep returning to these six things I learned from virtual VBS:

1. The problem isn’t Zoom. Four months into this pandemic, you’ve no doubt...

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#children's ministry #Pandemic #discussion #Teaching #student leadership #discipleship #faith formation #children #Leaders #scripture #parents

Jen Bradbury
May 07 · 5 min read

Church homes

In every church I’ve ever been on staff at, we've inevitably wrestled with the question, “Who belongs?”

Oh, we never say it like that.

Instead, we raise questions like, “Who is active here? Who worships here? Or who gives an offering here?”

We...

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#church #discipleship #worship #Jesus #hospitality #Youth Sunday #graduating seniors #confirmation #parents

Jen Bradbury
Mar 14 · 5 min read

11 Tips for Live-Streaming Worship with Kids

In these unprecedented times, with a massive number of churches opting to live stream their worship services in order to protect the public’s health and love our neighbors, families with young children might find themselves wondering, “That sounds...

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#church #worship #faith formation #scripture #Prayer #communion #discipleship #Community

Jen Bradbury
Jan 27 · 5 min read

Dear Future Self: Thoughts on priorities, refugees, and welcome pack deliveries

Dear Future Self –

I want you to remember this week ten years from now.

This is the week you made a controversial parenting decision. Oh, don’t get me wrong. It isn’t the first you’ve made. It won’t be the last. But this is the one I want you to...

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#parenting #refugee #toddlers #babies #youth ministry #theater #Jesus #discipleship

Jen Bradbury
Nov 21 · 5 min read

Review: Faith For Exiles by David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock

Filed in Book Review

I love geeking out on research. And when that research is related to youth ministry, it’s even better. For that reason, I was excited to read David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock’s Faith For Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in...

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#identity #research #church #Jesus #youth ministry #faith formation #discipleship

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Latest Posts

  • 7 Reasons Why Group May Not Be the Easy VBS
  • A blessing for youth leaders nurturing faith beyond youth group
  • What students need most when they’re stuck spiritually
  • The tearing of the curtain
  • On finding a new church home
  • 6 things I learned from virtual VBS
  • Church homes
  • 11 Tips for Live-Streaming Worship with Kids
  • Dear Future Self: Thoughts on priorities, refugees, and welcome pack deliveries
  • Review: Faith For Exiles by David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock

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