I remember one night I had six kids show up for junior high youth group. That’s right, SIX KIDS. Normally, we’d have around 25-30, so six was pretty shocking. A few of my leaders were making negative comments about where all the kids were. Instead of dwelling on who wasn’t there, I decided this was…
In life and ministry, measurements matter. We measure things that are important to us, and when we don’t things can get out of hand quickly. Think about it, most of us measure our bank accounts and weight pretty regularly. Stop doing that for a little while and see how things turn out! Odds are you…
Two years ago my family and I picked up and moved to a new city and a new church. It’s been a crazy good couple of years for us, and we’ve loved every second of it! However, the transition didn’t come without it’s challenges. Over the past couple of years, I have discovered three must haves…
The Uncovered Dish Christian Leadership Podcast is a bi-monthly podcast on Christian leadership by the United Methodist Church of Greater New Jersey that uncovers stories, equips leaders, and changes the world. In this gospel-centered podcast hosts James Lee and Kaitlynn Deal invite guest on the show to share, discuss, and journey with listeners on what churches and congregations…
It’s that time of year. Throughout Fall, we see signs that proclaim gratefulness and the tone of social media becomes more positive. People speak about what makes them thankful. They post pictures, and use words, to show their gratefulness. As we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, let’s not forget those who share our tasks, teach our…
Every ministry faces growth barriers. No church grows all the time without facing a plateau or season of struggles. The question isn’t if we will face growth barriers, it’s what will we do when they come? We will all face growth barriers, but we don’t have bow down to them! You can overcome them and…
Much of what we do in children’s ministry involves equipping parents with tools for their most important job: parenting. Communication is a key aspect of parenting, so it’s important that we provide opportunities for parents to learn to communicate more effectively with their children. What a better time to do this than the beginning of…
When it comes to church and youth ministry, numbers matter. They aren’t all that matters though. The question isn’t should we count; it’s what should we count? I don’t see this as a tension to resolve as much as it is a tension to manage. Churches that are anti numbers tend to be uninformed and…