Serving in youth ministry is both rewarding and challenging. As a leader, you’re a catalyst for helping teenagers grow as disciples of Jesus, a counselor who must deal with upset parents and discouraged adolescents, and an EMT who has to treat the occasional dodgeball injury. Often, all in the same day. As you walk through the ups and downs of your calling, we’re here to support, encourage, and equip you with ideas that will fuel your journey as a Jesus-centered leader.
What You’ll Find
Our leadership topics are designed to give you the knowledge and skills to confidently guide your ministry. We’ll cover the must-know areas—including working with parents and volunteers, planning and productivity, and the broad range of skills you need as an adolescent specialist in ministry. And, most important, we’ll help you grow your own relationship with Jesus so your leadership flows out of a “deeper well.”
Clarity is the secret weapon of ministry leaders who are skilled at helping everyone on the team pull on the oars together. When you have organizational clarity and a clear ministry direction, everyone on your team knows what to do and what to stop doing.…
Imagine your ministry isn’t going very well. (For some of you, this may not take much effort.) Maybe students are abandoning ship, heading to a flashier program down the street. Maybe youth night has been a train-wreck lately. Maybe kids aren’t inviting friends, no matter what you try.…
Distractions define youth ministry because it’s a relational calling, and relationships are an engine for distraction. And if you’re like me, distractions are like catnip—three years ago a test for ADHD came back positive, though my friends could’ve told you that without a test.…
We have a global warming problem, but some struggle to acknowledge its source and implications. Meanwhile, we have a “global freezing” problem in the youth ministry world, and some in the church are struggling to acknowledge its source and implications. The “freeze” is driven by a church in decline (a 20 percentage-point decline since 1999)—stagnant youth ministry salaries and shrinking career possibilities are the results… So, it’s been four years since we asked youth pastors all over the U.S.…
In Part 1 of this short series, we followed Julie, a 10-year youth ministry vet, as she spent some of her “fall doldrums” time reinvesting in training and strategic reflection. With a fresh wind blowing in her ministry sails, Julie left her student-pastor luncheon with Jeff Henderson, author of FOR, already planning a celebration time with her team.…
It’s time to lean into the grind. What does that mean? Read on to find out! Youth ministry is hard. Of course, it’s also fun—I love what I do, even when it’s hard. But some seasons are harder than others. In our context, Winter feels like downtime, with the pace of life a little slower (except for Christmas).…
Julie’s a 10-year youth ministry vet. That means she’s sailed her ministry ship into the doldrums over and over. The doldrums, as it turns out, is a real thing—it’s the name sailors have given to the Intertropical Convergence Zone, where the northeast and southeast trade winds converge into a stifling calm.…
“I…Am…Not…a…Loooooserrr!” It’s one of my favorite lines from Disney’s underrated 2000 movie The Kid, starring a Bruce Willis so young he still has hair. In the film, Willis’ arrogant and successful Russ Duritz has a mystical encounter with his pudgy, awkward 8-year old self. …
Kendra’s parents are waiting for longtime youth pastor Ralph Paige in his office—when he walks in the door, his church admin gives Ralph that “buckle up” look… It’s not going to be an easy conversation. Ralph welcomes “drop-in” conversations, but when most parents have a concern to bring up, they catch him in the hallway or call for an appointment.…
We all want to make the most of new beginnings, and longtime youth pastor Ralph Paige has helped point the way for me. Though he’s been a ministry leader for more than 20 years, he treats every start of a new school year as a blank page.…
