Earlier this year, I had the privilege of speaking at The Progressive Youth Ministry conference.
I went, genuinely excited not only to be sharing my research about what high school teens believe about Jesus, but also eager to try a new youth...
What the book's about: Walking on Water is about the intersection of faith and art. It's not a "how-to" manual, but instead, a series of beautiful reflections about encountering God through art and about the divine inspiring art.
Why...
On my youth ministry's recent mission trip to Milwaukee through Youth Works Missions, we spent an evening with Life Changers International – a ministry to former gang members in inner city Milwaukee.
During our time with Life Changers, a panel of...
Every ministry has a sacred cow.
Sometimes sacred cows need to die.
But how do you kill a program in a healthy way?
Here are the steps I follow in order to slaughter sacred cows:
1. Enter a time of prayer and discernment. Since people are, by...
Having attended a Lutheran grade school, a Catholic high school, and a Methodist church, I grew up with very ecumenical influences. Even so, as an 18-year-old heading off to college, I considered myself to be Methodist. So upon going to college, I...
During my youth ministry's mission trip to Milwaukee through Youth Works Missions, we spent time serving at Adullam. While there, we got to be part of Katie's Closet.
Katie's Closet is a thrift store that's open once a week. Community members...
A well-meaning woman at church recently asked me, “You're not still taking kids to Rwanda, are you?”
Unsure what she was referring to, I said. “Yep! We leave July 19.”
She then proceeded to tell be about the “border war” between Rwanda and the...
My husband and I recently visited the Field Museum in Chicago. Knowing we'd soon be leaving for Rwanda, we made a point of visiting the museum's Africa exhibit. Near the start of the exhibit, there was a room intended to equip people with basic...
During a recent mission trip, I asked various leaders to share their faith stories with everyone.
The first night, our youngest adult leader, who graduated from college just a few short weeks ago, shared hers. Without a doubt, it was powerful –...
I'm thrilled to be guest posting at Rachel Pieh Jones' today as part of her fantastic series, "What I Learned."
Ask me to describe a refugee camp and I’ll start with the smell.
It’s the smell of far too many people living in far too...