Like many other congregations, ours has struggled with transitioning 8th graders into our high school ministry after confirmation. Over the past several years, we've put a lot of time and energy into strengthening this transition process. To that...
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Last week, we talked about how the fundamental role of student leaders is to create a culture of welcome. A common question I get in response to this idea is “How do you train and equip student leaders to create a culture of welcome?”
There are...
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There are typically three ways to choose your youth ministry's student leaders.
1. Vote. Similar to student council elections at school, peers elect those teens they want to be student leaders.
2. Select. The youth pastor or a team of people...
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My church does not own vans. This means that with the exception of our summer trips (when we rent them), we depend on the goodwill of parents to drive us to and from various events, including our winter retreat.
Often, this means that teens are...
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I'm a strong believer that belonging precedes belief. This means that if we want teens to take ownership of their faith, we have to first help them belong.
To be clear, belonging doesn't happen accidentally. Helping teens belong takes time,...
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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,...
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