Summer Is a Liar
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.…
Planning and Productivity
About Planning and Productivity
Youth Ministry ‘Go-Bag’
As a former military member, I learned the value of a ‘go-bag’ long ago. Here’s the idea: You keep a bag ready to go at a moment’s notice. In this bag you put everything you will need for a specific operation, or in the case of youth ministry, an event.…
Summer Ministry’s C+ Temptation
Youth ministry in the summer has always been a struggle for me. Ministry momentum slows way down because my teenagers re-focus their time on… Summer jobs Family vacations Camps Trips to grandma’s house Attendance is frustratingly inconsistent—without warning, we can go from 24 kids to 87 kids any given week.…
Our 10 Failures of Leading Volunteers
Regardless of the size of your group, every healthy youth ministry has a healthy volunteer staff. Many new youth leaders start out with lots of energy and lots of ideas, but not a lot of confidence when it comes to inviting others to help out.…
Big Dreams Require Little Details
What’s your big dream for your youth ministry this year? And can you sum it up on a T-shirt? Leadership guru Peter Drucker made the “T-shirt” challenge famous—his argument was that big goals should be so easy to understand that they fit on a T-shirt.…
Valentine’s Day Do’s and Don’ts
We will soon be celebrating the most beloved and hated holiday in all of tween and teen-dom: Valentine’s Day. During adolescence, it seems to become THE DAY when your friends, crushes, and relationships prove their love for you. Middle schools don’t mandate cards and candy for everyone.…
The Four-Letter Word That Isn’t
“I don’t really look at numbers; I’m more interested in spiritual growth.” “You’re so numbers-focused—do you even know anyone’s names?” “Numbers aren’t the only way to gauge ministry success.” I work in a pretty large church. I’ve heard all of these “numbers” criticisms, and then some.…
Make “Less” Your “More” in Your Holiday Planning
From the last porch light of Halloween through the last light of the Christmas tree, our holiday schedules are packed! Cramming their way into our margins are school Christmas parties, staff get-togethers, and family dinners—and we haven’t even touched decorating, cooking, shopping, and wrapping.…
A Digital Small-Group Strategy In the Age of Social Distancing
In the shadow of a virus pandemic, digital strategies for doing youth ministry are more important than ever. Necessity breeds invention—so now is the time to try some new ideas. Treat this season as an opportunity for experimenting with new approaches to connecting with your teenagers.…
The 5 Gifts to Give During the Holidays
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. A holly-jolly Christmas. Do you hear what I hear? Silver bells. The First Noel. We get it. The Christmas nostalgia in our soul’s cup “spilleth over.” But threaded through the music, food, and decorations of the Christmas season is a reminder of something greater and deeper—that God came near and continues to come near.…
