There are many skills that ministry leaders need to develop. Among them are skills like teaching & preaching, leading meetings, planning events, caring for people, responding toRead More
Category: The Youth Pastor
© pekkic at Fotofolia.com We have teens and young adults in our church who are gay, bisexual, and transgender. At one point not tooRead More
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
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
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
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
1. Leading Worship – I used to do that, but now someone else is doing that. 2. Giving the Welcome and Announcements – I usedRead 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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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