Over the weekend, I saw the movie McFarland, USA.
In so many ways, this is a youth ministry movie – a powerful example of the impact adults can have in the lives of teens.
In the movie, Mr. White – a teacher who's been laid off by several...
I am a big believer in the power of experiential learning. To this end, instead of giving a talk about prayer, I'd much rather create a series of prayer stations designed to give students the opportunity to pray in a variety of ways.
Over the next...
What the book's about: Creating a Lead Small Culture is about creating and maintaining healthy small groups that will help kids and teens find a place within the church to belong.
Why I read this book: As a youth pastor, I want teens to...
When I first interviewed for my current position, I remember asking the pastors, “How are youth involved in worship?”
Their answer to this question was important to me because I was coming from a non-denominational setting wherein we had a...
Clear communication greatly contributes to effective ministry, especially when you're dealing with your ministry's leaders. When it comes to student leadership teams, one thing that can aid in this process is establishing a covenant.
A covenant is...
In response to last week's post about how a fear of offending people keeps teens from talking about their faith with others, a reader reminded me how at that age, even if he'd wanted to talk about his faith with others, he wouldn't have known how....
I am a big believer in the power of experiential learning. To this end, instead of giving a talk about prayer, I'd much rather create a series of prayer stations designed to give students the opportunity to pray in a variety of ways.
Over the next...
My high school youth ministry is currently in the midst of a series about “war and peace”. Thus far, we've discussed why religion seems to cause so many wars, genocide, and refugees.
As a whole, teens in my youth ministry have a pretty high...
In 2008, my husband and I began mentoring an Iraqi woman and her two sons.
They were refugees who'd been forced to flee for fear of their lives, casualties of a war the United States began.
As the year progressed and we got to know this family...
During my first year in youth ministry, the thing I looked for most in student leaders was spiritual maturity.
Unfortunately, I had a hard time finding teens who you could call spiritually mature.
This makes sense when you realize high school...