Tag: youth ministry

  • Getting Started in Investing, part one

    I’d like to let my youth ministry friends in on a dirty little secret. While pay has dramatically improved for youth workers in the past two decades the most consistent reason people leave youth ministry once they reach their mid 30s and above is mounting financial pressure. In other words, there are some glass ceilings…

  • Some advice for a newbie

    This morning I got a Facebook message from a brand new youth pastor. 2.5 weeks on the job, he asks “What advice can you give me?” Here’s my response: I just hope you’ve got “My First 2 years in YM.” Seriously, that’ll save your tosh. Some advice for the newbie. Just focus on what’s most…

  • Are we focusing on the right stuff in youth ministry?

  • How do we get to Youth Ministry 3.0?

    I’ve been wrestling with the concepts of Marko’s book, Youth Ministry 3.0 for a long time. Actually, before I worked a YS I had been going through a prolonged set of discussions at Romeo saying in a thousand different ways… What I’m doing isn’t working anymore. The problem was simple. I was trained and experienced…

  • My new column at YMX

    In December I was looking for some column ideas for a new weekly thing I’m doing for Youth Ministry Exchange. After a ton of discussion, brainstorming, and banging our head against the wall, Patti and I settled on the idea that I would write a weekly column called, Be Strong. So far, I’m pretty happy…

  • Hierarchy of Beards

    Click on the image for the full size version. Important stuff for male youth workers. HT to Cory

  • Giving Thanks

    My family isn’t one that will likely go around the table and share what they are thankful for. But that doesn’t mean I am lacking gratitude this Thanksgiving. Here’s a few things I’m especially thankful for. #1 I am thankful for my red hot smokin’ wife, who is a stone cold fox, and two kids,…

  • Lies of Youth Ministry, part 2

    The second lie of youth ministry is that it is all about discipleship. This is a lie which starts with bad hermeneutics, continues with training built around selective theology, and is encouraged by inward looking church leaders. Here’s how this lie plays out. Most youth ministers are wholly focused on building the size of their…

  • Lies of Youth Ministry, Part One

    Boys and girls in youth ministry we’ve got some problems. We in youth ministry, as a tribe, believe some lies about who we are, what we’re about, and how we should be reaching students. Let’s address these and move forward to fix them, OK? #1 Your ministry is “successful” if you have 10% of Sunday…

  • Why do you do it?

    This is associated with something we’re doing called “Youth Worker Appreciation Day.” If you’ve got a youth worker in your life, make sure you take a second to thank them on September 6th. This applies to both paid and volunteer youth workers!