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Jen Bradbury
Aug 31 · 5 min read

8 ways to help mission teams conclude more than “poor people are happy”

“But they're just so happy.”

I’ve lost track of how often I’ve heard someone—either a teenager or an adult—use this phrase to describe someone they served during a summer mission trip.

It doesn’t matter whether you go to a Native American...

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#justice #Leaders #Missions #culture of welcome #processing #worship

Jen Bradbury
Feb 03 · 5 min read

7 reasons to do Virtual Sunday School as a Live Event

I’ve gotten a few questions about my post, 7 Things That Are Working Well in Virtual Sunday School, that make it clear I need to clarify how we do Virtual Sunday School.

In our context, virtual Sunday School is a LIVE event, held (almost) weekly...

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#Sunday School #children's ministry #Community #church #small group #Leaders #Pandemic #confirmation #Teaching

Jen Bradbury
Jan 29 · 5 min read

4 ways to utilize leaders in virtual ministry

Recently, I’ve seen an increasing number of posts in various children and youth pastor’s forums about how to rebuild an adult leadership team that’s been decimated by the pandemic. It seems that as many people switched to virtual ministry, their...

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#small group #Leaders #Pandemic #youth ministry #children's ministry

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
Jul 13 · 5 min read

17 Keys to Making Virtual VBS a Success

In late April and early May, my VBS leaders and I began wrestling with what to do with VBS this year. We felt skeptical that things would be open enough for us to offer in-person VBS. We felt even more skeptical that people would come if we did...

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#children's ministry #Leaders #Teaching #Jesus #scripture #Intergenerational #communication #Pandemic

Jen Bradbury
Jun 05 · 5 min read

Is the church going extinct?

Perhaps in the last few weeks, you’ve seen a meme like this one:

Murder Hornets

I certainly have.

Between the pandemic, the murder hornets, the killing of another black man, the protests, and the riots, I've heard more people than ever before say something...

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#youth ministry #scripture #church #Leaders #research #racism #worship #justice #youth pastor #Pandemic

Jen Bradbury
Oct 03 · 5 min read

5 ways to get teens talking

After attending her first night of our high school ministry, a new adult leader recently told me, “I can’t believe how much the kids talked!”

It’s true. My high school kids talk a lot.

Now, maybe they’ve always been like that… But I think their...

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#discussion #games #Leaders #youth ministry

Jen Bradbury
Aug 06 · 5 min read

When Should You Take an International Mission Trip?

A pastor friend who read my book, A Mission That Matters, recently wondered, “When is the right time for me to go to ‘the ends of the earth’ and lead an international trip for my congregation?”

It’s a good question and one that’s not easy to...

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#Leaders #church #A Mission That Matters #Jesus #Missions #youth ministry

Jen Bradbury
Aug 01 · 5 min read

Review: The Power of Vision by George Barna

Filed in Book Review

After beginning my new role as the Minister of Youth and Family at my congregation last summer, I immediately examined the vision for the ministry I’d inherited. While I didn’t find it particularly compelling, I knew the best thing I could do was...

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#retreats #Leaders #church #youth ministry management #youth pastor #books

Jen Bradbury
May 15 · 5 min read

6 ways to make a service-oriented mission trip more justice focused

I blogged recently about 5 marks of a justice-focused trip and was immediately bombarded by questions about where you find such a trip. Youth workers immediately jump to this question: "Which mission trip organizations are focused on justice ...

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#justice #Leaders #A Mission That Matters #Missions

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Latest Posts

  • 8 ways to help mission teams conclude more than “poor people are happy”
  • 7 reasons to do Virtual Sunday School as a Live Event
  • 4 ways to utilize leaders in virtual ministry
  • 6 things I learned from virtual VBS
  • 17 Keys to Making Virtual VBS a Success
  • Is the church going extinct?
  • 5 ways to get teens talking
  • When Should You Take an International Mission Trip?
  • Review: The Power of Vision by George Barna
  • 6 ways to make a service-oriented mission trip more justice focused

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