The bridge that is: Vacation Bible School

The bridge that is: Vacation Bible School

Here’s how important Vacation Bible School is: Plus, almost everyone who’s ever lived near a church building knows: this is THE thing churches do in the summer for kids.  Which means, if you’ve been around the church world long enough, you’ve probably heard some good, Christian people actually complain about how “that family” always finds…

Youth Ministry, the Gender Pay Gap, & the Problem of Underpaid Staff

Youth Ministry, the Gender Pay Gap, & the Problem of Underpaid Staff

Earlier this year the 2023 Youth Pastor Compensation Report was released. This is sponsored annually by The Youth Cartel, Chemistry Staffing, and Christianity Today’s site, Church Salary.  As Director of Searches for Ministry Architects, I found this report helpful in providing a glimpse into the larger picture of church staffing today. As a former youth…

Beyond Onboarding: Why are we so bad at church staff development? 

Beyond Onboarding: Why are we so bad at church staff development? 

Most senior pastors are terrible at church staff development. I know. I’m one of those senior pastors. Too often new staff arrive and it feels like a relief. That pain point of a previously open position or that need for hiring additional staff has been handled. We sigh and celebrate. The new staff person hopefully…

Building Ministries vs. Making Disciples

Building Ministries vs. Making Disciples

Full disclosure: I think leaders and pastors fall into the trap of focusing more of their time on building ministries than making disciples. It is not that leaders and pastors don’t think discipleship is essential, but the reality is that discipleship does not pay the bills. The commitment to discipleship is time and energy-intensive, ultimately taking time and energy away from the ministries we are paid to oversee. As a result, discipleship takes a back seat to most everything else. 

Nobody Wants to Work Anymore: Why blaming young adults won’t get us anywhere in the church.

Nobody Wants to Work Anymore: Why blaming young adults won’t get us anywhere in the church.

The church in North America is shrinking and we blame the next generation, “nobody wants to go to church anymore.” We did it with Gen X. We did it with the Millennials. We’re doing it with Gen Z. However, I don’t think blaming the next generation of young adults for not connecting with what connects to us is going to right the ship.

How to Do 18-24 Months of Sunday Morning Sermon Prep

How to Do 18-24 Months of Sunday Morning Sermon Prep

It’s Friday, and it happened again. You’re sitting in front of your laptop trying to come up with something to preach on Sunday. Your mind is blank. Your soul is dry. You’re frustrated and angry for getting to this point again. You were so excited earlier in the week about what you wanted to share. Now, you don’t want to be here, stuck doing sermon prep. It’s the weekend and there are other things you’d rather be doing. All the while your cursor is blinking, “You’ve got nothing. You’ve got nothing.”