Our annual Senior Banquet is coming up soon. It’s a milestone…a rite of passage. We invite graduating seniors and their immediate families to a niceRead More
Year: 2013
Pushing back from the table is the best part of a meal with friends. That’s when the really good conversation comes out. That’s when youRead More
We haven’t taken students on a mission trip since 2007. Prior to then, my personal practice was to take students on mission trips every year.Read More
So, right now I and our youth ministry are on the edge of several growing points. These are things that are currently in development. TheRead More
I love using stories in my messages. I usually “hook” them (I use the Hook-Book-Look-Took method) with a personal story from my own life…preferably oneRead More
The black eye gave it away. There’s no hiding it from mom when you’re 10. Wearing sunglasses is a habit I won’t have developed forRead More
Our growth started reaching into a certain direction the last couple of months. But, it’s too much for us to handle well. So, we hadRead More
Yes… …we all know that kids learn & grow effectively in a variety of ways. They learn by doing & practicing. They grow through extendedRead More
I’ve heard it said that a ministry without infrastructure is like a body without a skeleton…it’s just a 6 inch puddle of skin, fat andRead More
My personality is the type that’s always looking ahead. I have vision documents with goals and objectives from four years ago with projections that areRead More
Plan for my youth sermon. Then trouble shoot the sound system. Then meet with a volunteer to recruit them to be a team leader. ThenRead More
As our youth ministry has grown there have been a few things that we’ve had to let go. Some of them were difficult to letRead More
I think I’d like to share in the next few posts some of the biggest changes that we’ve experienced and that I’ve personally experienced asRead More
To help our small group leaders stay in control, we use simple a four step process for behavior management (4 R’s inspired by Josh Griffin’sRead More
Risk. It’s always there. It’s something that every ministry leader has to calculate almost every day. Calculating the risk of releasing responsibilities is for sureRead More
…but I don’t. I’d really like to spend more time meeting with them, talking about the kids, their struggles, their successes, strategic steps for disciplingRead More
There are probably a million little factors that contribute to the growth of any youth ministry ranging from the unilateral work of God to theRead More
I’m frustrated with our follow up strategies. It worked just fine a few years ago but not so well anymore. I’ll tell you what weRead More
I try to share the gospel as often as I can. Sometimes it’s with individual students. Sometimes it’s on a special bring-a-friend-to-hear-the-gospel night. Sometimes it’sRead More
I’ve always seen my role as a youth pastor as having four major objectives. Pastor the People. Mobilize the Ministry. Cultivate the Climate. Voice theRead More