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…
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…
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…
The Evanescent Generation Any young adult living in the Millennial generation has experienced this situation in some form or another, imagine you’re part of it right now. It’s finally the weekend, and your friends are busy preparing an evening out. The five of you haven’t been together in, what feels like, months and you’re eager…
Take heart, don’t lose heart. Have you ever found yourself discouraged in ministry? If you’ve been serving in ministry for more than eleven days, I’m going to guess that your answer is “yes”! I hit an all-time low several years ago. The church was growing, and we had just opened a new facility, but volunteers…
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…
What do growing youth ministries have in common? What makes them so healthy? What causes them to grow while others don’t? I’ve never met a youth worker who didn’t want their youth ministry to grow. That would be like finding a 5 year old that doesn’t like cookies! It would be weird. However, even though…
Several years ago I made the shift. I had always kind of enjoyed experimenting in the yard with different plant combinations, colors, and layouts. I would be lured in by the big bloomers at the big box stores and I would often come home from a trip to get some nails with a plethora of…