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.”
A couple of mornings every week, I walk my middle-school daughter and my cabin-fever dog to the bus stop on the corner before I head off to work. We live in Denver, and during the winter months it’s as cold as you think it’s supposed to be in the “Mountain” time zone.…
Revisiting a Whiteboard Wednesday experiment, Rick explores five crucial practices that make it possible to “go into the cave” on behalf of students or their parents—five things that give us the foundation to offer real help in times of great trauma, tragedy, or challenge.…
By my calculations, I’ve stolen around 14 minutes of face time with Pastor Bill Hybels. That number adds up to the time I attended Willow Creek Community Church as a teenager, interned there as a young adult, considered a key ministry role with them a decade ago, and randomly spoke with Bill at conferences.…
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The most recent figures from the 2014 Children’s Defense Fund’s Annual State of America’s Children report that 1,825 children are abused or neglected each day in the U.S. And considering it’s believed that less than 10 percent of sexual abuse cases are ever reported to authorities, the number of actual incidents each year is far greater.…
Jack Anderson (not his name) thought it could never happen—at least not at his church. The color drained from his face when he received the call that a police investigation was in progress due to a report of sexual misconduct from one of his volunteers.…
For youth workers, it’s an itch that won’t go away… We know there’s something different about Generation Z, but a recent Barna report claims that today’s teenagers are mirror images of their Millennial older brothers and sisters… If that’s true, here’s a quick snapshot of what that means: They are success-driven and focused on achieving.…
If hindsight is 20/20, what piece of advice would you give your past self? I used to hope that my ministry experiences would help me feel more mature. In reality, every year I grow more aware of my immaturity. Perhaps both create “growth,” but I’ve definitely felt the pain of embarrassment more than the joy of getting it right.…
“Of course we’re Jesus-centered, right? We’re a church youth group. Doesn’t that automatically make it about Jesus?” That’s an actual response of a small-church youth leader when I asked about his program’s focus. Eventually, he admitted he didn’t know what it meant to “make a beeline to Jesus” in all he did.…
This is the second of a two-part exploration of the importance of giving space and encouragement for youth to properly reflect about their spiritual growth experiences. Much like a diver who must undergo decompression after descending to great depth. Read Part 1 here.…
When I visit the zoo my favorite area is the deep-sea aquarium. The vibrant colors and exotic fish fascinate me—and for thousands of years we had no idea any of this existed, because we had no way of exploring the bottom of the ocean.…
