Articles Archives - YouthMinistry.com https://youthministry.com/article-library/ Daily Wisdom for Youth Workers. Fri, 21 Jul 2023 18:56:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 Killing the Cockroach https://youthministry.com/killing-the-cockroach/ https://youthministry.com/killing-the-cockroach/#comments Mon, 24 Jul 2023 10:00:08 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=76003 We all know that a cockroach is hard to kill… After the atomic-bomb blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, the military reported that the only living things to survive the blast zone were these disgusting little pests.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/killing-the-cockroach/feed/ 2 What are the cockroaches of youth ministry, beliefs and practices that need to go, but keep surviving year after year? How can we finally put them to rest?https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/21-1-270x196.jpg270196 Sharpen Your Axe https://youthministry.com/sharpen-your-axe/ https://youthministry.com/sharpen-your-axe/#comments Thu, 06 May 2021 22:35:56 +0000 http://youthmindev.wpengine.com/?p=61541 Truth be told, many of us are discipling our teenagers with unsharpened axes. We’re dull inside, because we’ve refused to take a break and invest in our long-term relationship with Jesus. We just keep swinging, through season after season in ministry, surprised that our work seems harder and harder.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/sharpen-your-axe/feed/ 1 Who is pouring Jesus into you as you pour him into others? What can sharpening an axe teach us about discipleship and our relationship with Jesus? 5 Tools for Jesus-Style Digital Discipling https://youthministry.com/jesus-style-digital-discipling/ https://youthministry.com/jesus-style-digital-discipling/#respond Tue, 15 Sep 2020 18:00:36 +0000 http://youthmindev.wpengine.com/?p=61563 Use these 5 digital tools to help disciple youth in your ministry.
In his day, Jesus used one of the most powerful communication tools known to man—it’s called “the parable.”
He was a master storyteller. And so, we read in Matthew 13, when he has gathered a large crowd, he leverages the moment by telling five parables in a row.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/jesus-style-digital-discipling/feed/ 0 Today’s digital resources are the equivalent communication tools to parables—used effectively, they capture and conquer kids’ hearts. Bi-Believer Ministry https://youthministry.com/bi-believer-ministry/ https://youthministry.com/bi-believer-ministry/#respond Wed, 18 Sep 2019 15:00:16 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=76195 Not long ago I got off the phone with a “profoundly unhappy” mom whose daughter is a regular in our youth ministry. 
She launched into a long, emotional tirade about our ministry’s openness to “those kids”—teenagers who don’t yet love or follow Jesus. …

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]]> https://youthministry.com/bi-believer-ministry/feed/ 0 It’s a youth ministry dilemma—how do we build a ministry that reaches both disciples and “pre-disciples”? Here's three priorities to a bi-believer ministry.https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/franck-v-miWGZ02CLKI-unsplash-270x196.jpg270196 Digital Small Groups https://youthministry.com/digital-small-groups/ https://youthministry.com/digital-small-groups/#respond Mon, 16 Sep 2019 14:30:03 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=76196 In my 20+ years of youth ministry, I’ve seen shifts in programming that are often tied to shifts in the wider culture. 
To stay ahead of the wave, we try to be proactive about rethinking the way we do ministry. When we’re ready to roll out new ideas, we veer away from “launching programs” and, instead, tell our ministry leaders and teenagers that we’re “experimenting” with a new approach. …

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]]> https://youthministry.com/digital-small-groups/feed/ 0 As our culture shifts, we need to start rethinking how we do ministry. To get more time with teens, what would it look like to start digital small groups?https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/marten-bjork-ANGrwTKxjlk-unsplash-270x196.jpg270196 Church Kids: helping teens fall in love with a familiar God. https://youthministry.com/church-kids/ https://youthministry.com/church-kids/#comments Tue, 02 Jul 2019 16:54:27 +0000 http://youthmindev.wpengine.com/?p=51775 How can you help teens fall in love when they’ve known about God their whole life? Here’s one leader’s experience!
I was born on the front pew of a church during a Sunday night worship service. Before I could say momma, I said Jesus.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/church-kids/feed/ 22 How do you help teens fall in love with a God they've been arranged to believe in from birth? Here’s one leader’s story of experiencing God.https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/church-kids-in-love-with-God-270x196.jpg270196 Responding to Tragedy with Redemptive Presence https://youthministry.com/responding-to-tragedy-with-redemptive-presence/ https://youthministry.com/responding-to-tragedy-with-redemptive-presence/#respond Thu, 09 May 2019 23:13:30 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=61997 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.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/responding-to-tragedy-with-redemptive-presence/feed/ 0 When tragedy hits, how can youth workers process their own emotions while offering an environment of healing and processing to students. Here are 7 ideas...https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/Police-YM.com_-270x196.jpg270196 Dangerously Personal https://youthministry.com/dangerously-personal/ https://youthministry.com/dangerously-personal/#respond Wed, 14 Nov 2018 15:28:33 +0000 http://youthmindev.wpengine.com/?p=61550 Discipleship that doesn’t trigger a visceral physical reaction or evoke emotion in young people won’t get past their starting gate. Current research is proving that unless we somehow get access to the brain’s emotional center, triggering the area responsible for the decisions young people make, all we’re really doing is dispensing data that’s quickly filed away in the brain’s warehouse, where it gathers dust.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/dangerously-personal/feed/ 0 Unleashing Student Leaders https://youthministry.com/unleashing-student-leaders/ https://youthministry.com/unleashing-student-leaders/#respond Thu, 08 Nov 2018 17:43:39 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=61487 Let the students lead…
Claire is a sophomore in my ministry. Last year, she and her mom bought tickets to the Jason Aldean concert in Las Vegas—yes, it was that concert. A gunman in a hotel room above the concert venue opened fire, killing 59 people.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/unleashing-student-leaders/feed/ 0 Claire is a sophomore in my ministry. Last year, she and her mom bought tickets to the Jason Aldean concert in Las Vegas—yes, it was that concert...https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/unleashing-student-leaders-270x196.jpg270196 From ‘Shoulding’ to ‘Coulding’ the Bible https://youthministry.com/from-shoulding-to-coulding-the-bible/ https://youthministry.com/from-shoulding-to-coulding-the-bible/#respond Thu, 01 Nov 2018 15:26:21 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=61436 As a teenager active in my church, I knew I “should” read the Bible. My youth workers often referenced their “morning quiet time”—I imagined them sitting in an overstuffed chair bathed in soft lighting, sipping fancy coffee, dissecting the original Greek meaning of “the” and “is.”…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/from-shoulding-to-coulding-the-bible/feed/ 0 As a teenager active in my church, I knew I “should” read the Bible. My youth workers often referenced their morning quiet time—meanwhile, I didn't know Matthew from Habbakuk.https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/should-to-could-270x196.jpg270196