Tag: youth ministry
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5 Common Misreads on Teenagers in Youth Group
One of the things you learn as you go in youth ministry is that teenagers are experts at sending off false signals that can be difficult to pick-up on. Here are five common ones I see newbies miss all the time. “I’m just hanging out” or “I just thought I’d drop by because I was…
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Is anybody out there?
Yesterday Walt Mueller posted this video on his blog, it’s a lot to chew on. I hadn’t seen it but I’m glad I have. As youth workers, it’s both heart-breaking and knowledge we share that too many teenagers feel this way. My reflections It looked like a mature town… so lots and lots of churches.…
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The Problem with the Cause of the Week
“Oh, I’m so going to use that with my students.” This week it was the Kony 2012 video. (And the backlash) Next week it’ll be something else because our cycle of interest is now about 96 hours. As the video went viral all of my youth ministry groups on Facebook were littered with questions from…
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How has suffering shaped your ministry?
How has suffering shaped your ministry? That’s the topic for this week’s Slant 33 article. Here’s my answer to this question. My question for you is, “How has suffering shaped YOUR ministry?” Like a lot of fellow youth workers, I traded a business cubicle for a youth ministry office. Wide-eyed and overly optimistic Kristen and…
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Why youth ministry can’t just become family ministry
There’s a growing movement within the American church that puts youth ministry under the umbrella of family ministry. There are youth ministry organizations, publishers, conferences, and lots and lots of people highly interested in this model. To over-simplify: The idea is that youth ministry should be an extension of the over all family ministry of…
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You need to get out more
“Leaders are learners.” We’ve all heard this. And most people I know in youth ministry are very well read. They read a lot of books and attend a lot of training stuff. But I also think one reason people can’t think outside of the box to solve problems is that their context is so tiny.…
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Teenagers are Desperate for Good News
One reason youth ministry is flatlining is crappy theology. Kara Powell, executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute, was recently interviewed by Relevant Magazine about the present reality that youth ministry presents a faith students easily walk away from in college. She was asked, “Do you think there are any misunderstandings or misconceptions that contribute to young adults leaving the…
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Stay Crazy
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this video over the years. Maybe hundreds. It inspires me every time. In youth ministry, Mike Yaconelli is our Steve Jobs. As I wrote earlier this week, we live at a time when youth ministry has flat-lined. The way we do youth ministry has failed to…
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Youth Ministry is Flatlining
If I were to plot out the average youth ministry attendance in a local church this is probably what it would look like. So when I say, “The way you are doing ministry is failing to reach students. It’s not you, it’s your strategy.” Youth workers look at me and say, “No, that’s not true.…
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Love is an Orientation DVD
I’m proud to be a part of the youth ministry session of this project with Ginny Olson. Together we talk about ministering to LGBT students in your youth group, creating a safe environment, and bullying. You can pre-order the DVD curriculum from Amazon here.