Uncategorized Archives - YouthMinistry.com https://youthministry.com/uncategorized/ Daily Wisdom for Youth Workers. Tue, 02 Jul 2024 20:52:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 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 Summer Business vs Pastoral Heart https://youthministry.com/summer-business-vs-pastoral-heart/ https://youthministry.com/summer-business-vs-pastoral-heart/#respond Mon, 10 Jun 2024 10:00:44 +0000 Summer is here! Students are out of school, camp schedules are looming, personal vacations are coveted for a much-needed get away and before you know it the fall kick off will be here very soon.
I tend to always feel an awkward ache when I can’t meet with every student or be able to see all our students and their friends during the summer.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/summer-business-vs-pastoral-heart/feed/ 0 https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/600-x-300-px-48-270x196.png270196 4 Tips for Ministry Dads https://youthministry.com/4-tips-for-ministry-dads/ https://youthministry.com/4-tips-for-ministry-dads/#respond Mon, 10 Jun 2024 10:00:21 +0000 I love my job. I’m the “Family Guy” at New Life Christian Church in Northern Virginia. I oversee the children and youth ministries with direct involvement with the youth program. I’m also a father of four beautiful young girls. Growing up as a member of a four-boy family, I never had the experience of growing up with girls.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/4-tips-for-ministry-dads/feed/ 0 https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/600-x-300-px-49-270x196.png270196 Thankful Teens? https://youthministry.com/thankful-teens/ https://youthministry.com/thankful-teens/#respond Mon, 13 Nov 2023 11:00:30 +0000 https://youthministry.com/thankful-teens/ I remember after the closing rally of a youth retreat, the line of teens was stacked deep. It was filled with teens waiting to see me. Patiently they stood there for a long time just to tell me something. They just wanted to express their heartfelt “Thanks” for putting together such a great life changing event…
*end dream sequence*
Who am I kidding?…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/thankful-teens/feed/ 0 https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/600x300-px-53-270x196.png270196 Daring to Dream https://youthministry.com/daring-to-dream/ https://youthministry.com/daring-to-dream/#respond Mon, 24 Jul 2023 10:00:11 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=76962 While I was on a coaching call with a volunteer youth director from a small rural church, she said: “I don’t think we’re meant to have a youth ministry at our church.
We only have 10 teenagers on our church rolls and I’ve never been able to get more than seven of them to come to anything!”…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/daring-to-dream/feed/ 0 While I was on a coaching call with a volunteer youth director from a small rural church, she said: “I don’t think we’re meant to have a youth ministry at our church.https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/19-1-270x196.jpg270196 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 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. 6 No-Fail Ways to Grow Closer Community https://youthministry.com/grow-closer-community/ https://youthministry.com/grow-closer-community/#respond Mon, 22 Mar 2021 18:01:40 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=61741 Play a game with me… Imagine you weren’t allowed to have small groups of any kind in your youth ministry. How would you build community?
We all know that creating relationship-rich spaces to grow community is important, but what if our go-to greenhouse for friendship-building wasn’t an option?…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/grow-closer-community/feed/ 0 Imagine no small groups were allowed in youth ministry.We know that creating a community is important, but what if this wasn't an option?https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/Fixed_12A0160-1-270x196.jpg270196 Swing for the Fences! https://youthministry.com/swing-for-the-fences/ https://youthministry.com/swing-for-the-fences/#respond Mon, 08 Mar 2021 09:30:13 +0000 https://youthministry.com/?p=76965 It’s time to start swinging for the fences! 
Settling… Attainable… Reasonable…
These are all innocent word, but they are also all wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Twenty pounds when I have 50 to lose? Well, the 20 is attainable. And I end up losing six and applaud the effort.…

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]]> https://youthministry.com/swing-for-the-fences/feed/ 0 Average has become exceptional and exceptional is extinct.We’ve lost the art of swinging for the fences. Baby steps have taken the place of faith leaps.https://youthministry.com/wp-content/upload/ymprod/andras-vas-hcN1y3QFcOg-unsplash-270x196.jpg270196