We’ve all been there. Whether it’s the kid who needs a ride home after youth group or the kid who can’t get a ride toRead More
Year: 2014
If you’re in youth ministry, you will inevitably encounter a teen who is at least somewhat suicidal. It’s a scary thing that must be taken seriously.Read More
I’ve been in youth ministry for more than 20 years and have come to realize that there is no end to the steady stream ofRead More
A major part of me hates recruiting volunteers. It takes a lot of energy just to work up the motivation to ask people to volunteer.Read More
The #1 skill that a pastor should master is RECRUITING.* You might say that the #1 skill that a pastor (or any other ministry leader) should master is preaching. A pastorRead More
There’s a big difference between organizing ministry and mobilizing ministry. The more we grow, the more gears there are to grease, the more issues weRead More
The Problem: How I Did Missions Then For years, I took students on annual mission trips. Some were domestic (in the U.S.) and some were internationalRead More
Four Things that DON’T Grow Your Youth Group 4. Fun Games It’s fun to play games at church or youth group. In fact, fun and laughterRead More
With Ableton Live and your Mac’s built in Audio Midi Setup you can automate your projection with Renewed Vision’s ProPresenter the lyrics you project on the screen, the videos you trigger, and lighting …
Ask them to read scripture during worship services, youth group, and small groups Ask them to pray during worship services, youth group, and small groupsRead More
If you have a pretty good worship band or youth band and you want to help them move from good to great, Ableton Live willRead More
The Problem Those drums can be way too loud…even for youth. It’s hard to have a great musical experience when the drums are overpowering everythingRead More
It seems to me that there are four pressure points I experience on a weekly basis that seems to be common to all pastors andRead More
If you’re tired of your band speeding up and slow songs and slowing down on fast songs or speeding up and slowing down on any song,Read More
You should consider getting your band to get rid of those monstrous stage monitors and get some IEMs (In Ear Monitors). Once you do, you’llRead More
It’s your responsibility to gain and retain the attention of the students in your group. I don’t think you can expect students to automatically grant attention toRead More
Here’s what I try to do when it comes to doing staff reviews. Pave the Way First, write the into the “Terms of Hire.” This isRead More
I’m convinced that there is a sequence to building a great small group experience. One step leads to the other. Unfortunately, many small group leaders,Read More
1. Leading Worship – I used to do that, but now someone else is doing that. 2. Giving the Welcome and Announcements – I usedRead More
This is being posted on a Wednesday. Hopefully most of you have already planned your message/lesson for tonight. But, if you’re looking for some last minuteRead More
Over the years I’ve experimented with a variety of formats for running youth group. And, I see a lot of other people experimenting, as well. OfRead More
7. Some people are better at teaching than me. 6. I need a break from the rigor of teaching so often. 5. Kids need aRead More
Well, this isn’t really about a battle between Gungor and the upcoming movie, “A Matter of Faith.” Rather, its about the tension that we experienceRead More
I’ve decided to develop some new routines in my schedule. Along with these routines, I’ve decided to take a new approach to keeping on track with theseRead More
With all the changes to our staff and ministry teams, we had a lot of work to do clarify our roles, responsibilities, goals and objectives, andRead More
Making Decisions & Getting Things Done How do decisions get made in our church? How do things get done? These are two very important questionsRead More
Okay, so a lot of things have changed at our church and in my job. Over the summer (2014) we 1) made some major changes to our churchRead More
So for the last few months, I’ve been pushing a little harder to see our team put more energy into making sure that every student in ourRead More
Every year, this is how we plan our curriculum for the next year. It’s all laid out in advance but, of course, we make changes asRead More
Like I said in my last post, I’m convinced that God designed the Church with the Spirit-driven desire and the innate ability to grow inRead More
I can’t help it…I’m humming the now famous song “Let it Go” performed by Idina Mensel, the voice of Elsa in Disney’s Frozen. We’ve seenRead More
A girl I know took her own life last week. She grew up in our church and was part of our youth group during theRead More
Another thing we’re trying to develop is a better approach to helping our seniors transition to college. We now ask all our 12th grade smallRead More
Why do I think and talk so much about systems, infrastructure, communications, process, curriculum development and all those other words that give every youth leaderRead More
The more recent conversation in our Student Life Leadership Team has been about defining our roles (last post) and focusing our meetings (this post). NowRead More
The more recent conversation in our Student Life Leadership Team has been about defining our roles (this post) and focusing our meetings (next post). NowRead More
If you were to visit our church, you’d see students involved in just about every area of ministry at just about every level. On WednesdayRead More
What are we doing to help our students form a Sticky Faith? We Partner with Parents. Building a partnership with parents is vital to anyRead More
As I look back and try to understand why we’ve grown, I’ve noticed that simplifying the calendar may have helped. I think maybe this isRead More
I love to use mnemonics! 4 words that start with C. The first letter of each word in a sentence or series of points thatRead More
As I look back on my life and ministry, I’ve realized that there have been three basic principles that have helped facilitate both growth andRead More
I am hoping to be ordained this Summer (June 2014). My final interview is tomorrow morning. I’m pretty stoked about it. I love our denomination,Read More