One Step At A Time Have you ever had the privilege of being present when a little one takes his first steps? There’s anticipation and excitement and collectively-held breath… and then joy as he toddles forward, however short-lived. Those few seemingly insignificant movements literally change his life. They may not seem like much at first…
A VBS Gift When planning your Vacation Bible School, be sure to map out what the weeks following the big event can look like, too. This part of the VBS puzzle is easy to leave off the priorities list, but it holds so much potential, when planned intentionally. Like a speeding train you couldn’t stop…
Introduction Have you ever been part of a BIG building project – one that required real blueprints? Or have you ever been involved in site development for a multi-building plan for a park or camp? I’ve always loved building things, and along the way I’ve learned that every really good result starts with a really…
Most of us have seen hot youth ministries or churches suddenly crash. Why does that happen? Business guru Verne Harnish has researched the same phenomenon in the business world. He noticed that rapidly rising companies often kill themselves at the same time they are growing like crazy. In fact, it’s because they are growing like…
What do you think of when you hear about setting goals? Many think of resolutions, especially this time of year, but goals are much more than that! Resolutions don’t stick, but goals do. We also think of goals as a personal thing. We think about setting goals as an individual, but not for our ministries. Setting ministry…
We don’t hate church meetings as much as we say we do. We just hate lousy church meetings. At least that’s the contention of Patrick Lencioni, author of “Death By Meeting.” When a fellow youth pastor recommended Lencioni’s book, I assumed the author was handing out tips on how to have shorter meetings and to…
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…
I was recently meeting with a ministry director who had been through a bit of a tough year. From an outsider’s perspective, his ministry was going well. Kids were involved and growing in their faith. Volunteers were showing up, engaged and leading with excitement. Yet something was a bit off. This director was leading several…