If discipleship is the endgame for youth ministry, how do we help teenagers break free from the gravitational pull of a conventional life and “achieve orbit” in a life defined by a passion for Jesus? Well, I know from three decades of youth ministry experience, and from in-depth research projects I created to explore what really matters in teenagers’ spiritual growth, that nothing in our ministry toolbox has more “rocket power” than a mission trip.…
Recently my teenage daughter Lucy and three of her friends completed a six-minute documentary exploring the worldwide human-trafficking problem, then submitted it for a school assignment. They designed a full-color trifold brochure as a companion piece and created a stress ball with the word “Enough” printed on it as a “sellable item.”…
Our team here at Group/Simply Youth Ministry spent two years developing an approach to a youth ministry staple—the sermon series—that creates a growth-rich environment for students. We discovered a lot along the way. For example, almost everyone in youth ministry uses sermon/talk series at their main weekly gathering, but very few are truly happy with the end results.…
Season 2, Episode 27: Fighting the Cancer of Self-Doubt Our doubts about ourselves, sometimes buried beneath a façade of overconfidence, eat away at our identity. We hear that sneering voice telling us we’re not good enough, we’re a failure waiting to happen, and we should hide the truth about ourselves from others.…
In this week’s 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.…
In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday experiment, I explore the powerful transformation that happens when we use experiences as a basis for teaching, and show you my simple process for crafting and embedding experiences in your main teaching times. When I’m training youth workers, I sometimes ask them to get with a partner and share “something you’ve learned that has deeply impacted your life—something that turned your life around.”…
In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday experiment, we take a hard look at our “cultural diet” and consider what wise, Jesus-centered standards we can use for both our own life and for our ministry. The Old Testament urges God’s people to be holy—to set themselves apart from an “unclean” culture.…
In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday experiment, we explore three ideas to help you maximize travel moments with teenagers this summer—turning “gap time” into “transformation time.” Can two minutes change a person’s life? We know from our own experience that the answer is…of course!…
In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday experiment, we explore a surprising way to “measure” and promote discipleship—or spiritual maturity—in teenagers. Do you know how to measure spiritual maturity in your teenagers? It’s usually one of those “know it when you see it” things.…
In this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday experiment, we remember that Jesus’ primary “teaching” method involves improvised responses amid intentional conversations. Then we’ll learn the basics of teaching in an “improv” way. I was never in a garage band, but whenever I hear a phrase that sounds like the name of a garage band (for example, the other day my daughter said the phrase “dissected squid juice”), I tell people it was actually the name of my band when I was in high school.…
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