Darren Sutton, Author at YouthMinistry.com https://youthministry.com/author/darren-sutton/ Daily Wisdom for Youth Workers. Tue, 02 Jul 2024 20:53:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 Summer Is a Liar https://youthministry.com/summer-is-a-liar/ https://youthministry.com/summer-is-a-liar/#respond Mon, 08 Jul 2024 10:00:56 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=62013 In a ministry context, summer is a serial liar. I mean, summer is NOT a slower time for youth ministry, and it’s NOT chock-full of margin.
We won’t have a more relaxed schedule, and we won’t have time to catch our breath.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/summer-is-a-liar/feed/ 0 Summer break? Not in youth ministry... Here are a few ideas to maximize your time during the summer months, without going insane.https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/600-x-300-px-63-270x196.png270196 Unpack the Suitcase! https://youthministry.com/unpack-the-suitcase/ https://youthministry.com/unpack-the-suitcase/#respond Mon, 08 Jul 2024 10:00:26 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=61174 It’s quarter to midnight. I have to be at church at 5:30 a.m. to make sure last-minute logistics are covered and someone is available to meet the bus drivers when they arrive. Fortunately, this ain’t my first rodeo…
A carefully (and perpetually) packed toiletries bag stands watch in my bathroom, with duplicates of everything I use in my daily routine.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/unpack-the-suitcase/feed/ 0 https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/600-x-300-px-62-270x196.png270196 New Year’s Resolutions: Failing On Purpose https://youthministry.com/failing-on-purpose/ https://youthministry.com/failing-on-purpose/#respond Tue, 26 Dec 2023 11:00:03 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=61653 I hate New Year’s resolutions. And I’m betting than I’m not alone in my hatred…
I’m a very driven person. I succeed in many areas of life. But I typically do what many of us typically do when the calendar flips—I catalog my shortcomings and vow to do better.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/failing-on-purpose/feed/ 0 I hate New Year’s resolutions. So, last year, I decided the best way to succeed at my resolutions was to fail on purpose.https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/600x300-px-66-270x196.png270196 Gratitude: Preach It Like You Mean It https://youthministry.com/gratitude-preach-like-mean/ https://youthministry.com/gratitude-preach-like-mean/#respond Mon, 14 Nov 2022 11:00:59 +0000 http://youthmindev.wpengine.com/?p=57955 Gratitude gets wonky when we sit down at our Thanksgiving banquet table and look side to side, doesn’t it?
Look to your right, and there’s your neighbor who went to school for fewer years than you, works fewer hours than you, and makes twice as much money.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/gratitude-preach-like-mean/feed/ 0 Gratitude gets wonky when we sit down at our Thanksgiving banquet table and look side to side, doesn’t it?https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/GettyImages-185078044-e1479751906264-270x196.jpg270196 8 Reasons Teenagers Don’t Read the Bible (& What to Say to Them) https://youthministry.com/8-reasons-teenagers-dont-read-the-bible-what-to-say-to-them/ https://youthministry.com/8-reasons-teenagers-dont-read-the-bible-what-to-say-to-them/#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2022 10:00:04 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=61450 Teenagers have mastered the art of the excuse—they can give you creative reasons why their homework isn’t done and their chores didn’t get done and why it’s okay to hate their Algebra teacher. And, it turns out, they have lots of plausible-sounding reasons why they don’t read the Bible.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/8-reasons-teenagers-dont-read-the-bible-what-to-say-to-them/feed/ 7 When it comes to reading the Bible, teens have unlimited excuses of why they don’t, or can’t, or won’t. Here are 8 of our favorite, and a response back.https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/8-reasons-teenagers-dont-read-the-bible-270x196.jpg270196 8 Ways to Extend Your Influence Post-Graduation https://youthministry.com/8-ways-extend-influence-post-graduation/ https://youthministry.com/8-ways-extend-influence-post-graduation/#comments Mon, 16 May 2022 10:00:29 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=60902 When our teenagers graduate from high school, our “shepherd” calling means they don’t graduate from our lives. Most churches offer very little for college-age students—that means your voice and presence in their lives is still primary. We care and connect with our kids, no matter how old they get!…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/8-ways-extend-influence-post-graduation/feed/ 2 When our teenagers graduate from high school, our “shepherd” calling means they don’t graduate from our lives.https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/Klaviyo-Warming-Email-Headers-19-270x196.png270196 Delivering Proof in Times of Doubt https://youthministry.com/doubt-requires-proof/ https://youthministry.com/doubt-requires-proof/#respond Mon, 18 Oct 2021 10:00:05 +0000 http://youthmindev.wpengine.com/?p=59295 Jesus’ disciple Thomas gets a bad rap with the shame-name we’ve given him. We teach using “Doubting Thomas” as the bad example, attaching his moniker to people we accuse of lacking—or having lackluster—faith.
But note that when Thomas needs proof, Jesus doesn’t render judgment.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/doubt-requires-proof/feed/ 0 When teenagers contend with confusion, doubt, or disbelief, fling open the door to help them wait on Jesus.https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/kate-williams-92906-270x196.jpg270196 How Many Do-Overs Do We Get? https://youthministry.com/how-many-do-overs-do-we-get/ https://youthministry.com/how-many-do-overs-do-we-get/#respond Mon, 20 Sep 2021 10:30:31 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=76164 I could hear my heart beating in my ears. The oxygen in my lungs felt like concrete, dragging me down. I could barely breathe. Everything was riding on this, and I had only one shot. But I missed. Again. In the sun and sweat of the playground, it felt like the 40th time I’d whiffed at kickball (reality check—maybe it was really only the second or third time).…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/how-many-do-overs-do-we-get/feed/ 0 Sometimes, especially in youth ministry, it’s nice to have a do-over. When the occasion arises, how does Jesus offer us a 2nd or 52nd chance?https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/Do-Over-270x196.jpg270196 Unplug? Recharge? It’s Summertime! https://youthministry.com/unplug-recharge-summertime/ https://youthministry.com/unplug-recharge-summertime/#respond Sun, 06 Jun 2021 12:39:05 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=61080 Summer was in full swing. Katie was seven months pregnant—due the second week in August. And me? I was “pregnant” with three camps, a mission trip, a fall planning retreat, and our annual VBS week. All packed back-to-back through June and July, leading right up to Katie’s due date. …

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]]> https://youthministry.com/unplug-recharge-summertime/feed/ 0 Three practices that changed everything—not just for summer, but my entire trajectory in youth ministry. 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?