I have hidden Your Word in my heart… Psalm 119:11 (NIV) The children were huddled together in little clumps around each table, talking excitedly among themselves as they began the activity. On the otherwise empty table were several chocolate pudding cups and a package of wet wipes. This lesson was about to get very messy…
Every youth leader I know wants to get better and grow their ministry. What’s crazy is many youth workers talk about growing their ministries, but do the things that break them. Odds are you want your ministry to grow. You want to reach as many students as possible. Here’s the deal though, if you’re not intentional you might to do the opposite….
There are a lot of different youth ministry models to choose from. Different youth ministries do different things well, and we can all learn from each other. Regardless of the size of your ministry, we all have something to learn from one another! I learned a powerful youth ministry lesson from watching other youth ministries. As I’ve traveled and…
I remember that I was shocked, absolutely SHOCKED, when I first heard statistics about the long-term impact of local church youth ministries… or actually the lack of it. According to the leader of a seminar I took at the National Youth Workers’ Convention, in his denomination only 6% of youth ministry participants were later engaged…
And then… These two simple words can be found together hundreds of times throughout the Bible. “…and then you will be able to serve Me.” Jeremiah 15:19 “And then the Lord your God will…” Deuteronomy 7:20 “Andrew…heard…and then followed Jesus.” John 1:40 Every time the phrase is used, you know something happened first in order…
Check out this special episode of the This Week in Youth Ministry podcast! Terrace Crawford hosts a roundtable discussion with Mark DeVries, Scott Pontier, and Stephanie Caro on Reimagining Young Adult Ministry! How do we reach millennials? Should Youth Ministries operate differently than they (currently) do? PLUS+ we’ve got great resources to help you grow your…
Many churches with which I’ve worked, especially those doing ministry in small churches that don’t have a very strong presence of young people, find themselves wondering what more they could do to attract youth. They recognize the benefits of having youthful energy and long for a thriving youth ministry. Why? Perhaps they feel like a…
It was Easter Sunday, and there were hundreds of little feet and big feet strolling through the halls of our kids’ area. Some of the faces were familiar ones while many were appearing in our doorways for the first time. Energy was high, and our Children’s Director zipped from room to room, checking on volunteers,…