Before my seniors leave for college, we spend a good deal of time talking about various campus ministries. Our hope is to encourage students to get involved in them (or in a church on their college campus).
As part of this ongoing conversation, I...
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On the night of the 2016 election, I sat glued to my television, watching the Presidential returns come in. As the night wore on and Donald Trump’s lead grew, my heart sank.
That’s when my phone began dinging.
I received text after text from the...
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This year my youth ministry is offering two summer mission trips: A domestic trip to a nearby town (that we offer every other year) and an international trip to Haiti.
Some of our families do both trips but others choose only one. We know this. In...
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“Being in jail is the best thing that's happened to me this whole game!” cried Ben in anger. For a moment, I thought he was going to flip his Monopoly board over in a fit of rage.
He didn't – even though the game never improved for him.
It...
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One of the questions I hear most frequently from the older people in my congregation is, “Where are all the youth?”
I’ll admit this question frustrates me. Underneath it is typically one of two beliefs:
1. There are no youth in our congregation.
2....
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At a recent training, I sat at a table full of strangers. Rather quickly, we were asked to share vulnerably. One of the women at our table began, saying, “I have some thoughts, but I don't know if you're going to like them.”
Hoping to reassure...
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I recently spoke about The Jesus Gap. Afterward, a youth worker approached me and said, “If you're as into discipleship as you think we ought to be, you're probably not a very good youth worker.”
“Why?” I asked him.
In response, he said, “Because...
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Recently, a student arrived at our youth ministry's gathering significantly early. So I asked him about his day. Specifically, I asked, What was the worst part of your day?
Immediately, the student responded, “Someone hit me.”
Needless to say, I...
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We kicked off our fall programming this year by wrestling with the question, “Does God exist?”, a question prompted – at least in part – by the fact that some of our freshmen are adamant about their belief that God does not exist.
Part of the...
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While on vacation, my extended family and I went boating, something I have fond memories of from childhood vacations.
As is often the case when extended family gathers, as we sat around the beach, people started telling stories. One story was told...
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