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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
We were on the way back from a junior high retreat when it happened.
We began complaining about everything we disliked about our church.
Of course, our view was unique.
We were, after all, only in 6th - 8th grade; I was an...
Tomorrow night, my adult leaders for the coming programming year will meet together for the first time.
My leaders won't be the only one's attending this gathering.
Instead, our confirmation (junior high) leaders will join us as well.
For years,...
All around me, students are headed back to school. As school looms before us, so, too, does the start of fall programming. In my context, fall programming for students begins the day after Labor Day. Fall programming for adult leaders begins two...
What the book's about: Godbearing Life is a classic book in youth ministry. In it, Kenda Creasy Dean & Ron Foster discuss, as it's subtitle suggests, "the art of soul tending for youth ministry." Published in 1998, it's withstood the...