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.”
The administrative work in ministry is hard for me. Diving into the details always stresses me out. That’s why, at the beginning of every school year, I make sure I’m making six critical connections before we launch. These are conversations that help everyone, including me, know where we’re going, and why.…
Almost 50 million people attempt to diet every year—as we all know, most never reach their goal. The reason has less to do with willpower and more to do with our brain’s stubborn dictatorship. Neuroscientist and author Sandra Aamodt says: “Whenever your weight changes too much, your brain will intervene to push it back to what it thinks is the correct weight for you.…
How often is a “reinvention” really, well, something new? I mean, Apple upgrades the battery life (supposedly) and takes away the headphone jack and suddenly we have an “all-new” iPhone. Mostly, “new” really means a relatively unimportant gimmick is added as a feature, forcing us to upgrade. …
Type “teenagers” into Google, then spend 30 minutes browsing the links. I did this the other day and was confronted (over and over) by one overriding reality—Gen Z teenagers are suffering from more depression, anxiety, and stress than ever before. EVER before.…
I’m going to be honest and say I have not mastered what I’m about to share with you. I’m in the middle of this one-sided wrestling match with you. The school year will soon begin. Youth groups across the country will soon be having or are planning kickoff events.…
If you’re a volunteer youth worker who needs to take a break, this article might help you. If you’re a youth pastor with maxed-out volunteers, this article might give you perspective. I am a longtime volunteer youth worker and full-time staffer at my church in a non-youth ministry role. …
By Rick Lawrence I was driving home from a writing retreat, where I’d been off the grid for four days—no Wi-Fi, no cell service. I called my wife to let her know I was on the road, and I heard that edge in her voice that I know all too well… “Rick, there’s an active shooter situation happening right now, at the STEM school that’s 10 minutes from us.…
Each summer for the last three years, our youth ministry has served our city through a weeklong local mission trip called “I HEART LINCOLN” (or I❤LNK). Our teenagers pay a $100 fee and are placed on a team with two leaders—each team is assigned a pre-arranged service project organized by a local organization in our city.…
Relationships are messy. And relationships are the context for our calling. Put two and two together and you get a “messy calling.” Because relationships do not run on formulas, we have no universal rules or guidelines to follow. In fact, even the best relational suggestions are often helpful only once or twice.…
“Helloooooo!!!” I greet teenagers as they walk up the stairs to our middle and high school student ministry area. There’s a platform at the top of the landing where kids gather before they make their way into the youth room. I love this space.…
