It’s easy to look back at the story after it’s already hit the news, already hurt the people, already left its mark. Another influential Christian leader. One more misuse of power. Yet again, we discover abuse in Christian organizations. And, inevitably, we see again an organization scrambling to protect the institution instead of the individuals […]
The beautiful thing about youth ministry is that there are hundreds of topics you can choose to walk through with your students. You want to spend three years in Romans? Done. Feel like talking about friendship for 5 weeks? Great. Fancy a skip through the classic Old Testament stories? Love it. The world is your […]
Ask ten youth pastors how much time they spend on lesson prep, and you’ll get ten completely different answers. Youth pastor lesson prep take wildly differing amounts of time depending on gifting, capacity, and (if we’re honest) time management skills. Some agonize over every word and spend hours crafting the perfect message. Others scramble last-minute, […]
Small groups should be one of the most powerful environments in youth ministry. They’re where students go beyond listening to sermons and start wrestling with faith, building relationships, and applying truth to their daily lives. But here’s the challenge: Some students dominate the conversation.Others barely say a word.Discussions can feel forced, awkward, or disconnected from […]
I absolutely adore my youth ministry volunteers and I am sure you adore yours as well! These amazingly incredible human beings show up week after week to invest in the next generation. These are the people going to students’ games and plays, spending countless hours at coffee shops and ice cream parlors to show up […]
Every youth pastor has been there. It’s Wednesday night, your sermon isn’t finished, and the clock is ticking. Maybe you’ve got a solid outline, but something’s missing. Maybe you’re struggling to connect your message to real life. Maybe you’re just hoping students don’t tune out five minutes in. Here’s the hard truth: The way we […]
As I sat there with my family late into the second quarter, disappointed by an underwhelming Super Bowl game, I thought hard about whether or not we would tune into Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show. Even as a youth pastor (and a black one at that), I don’t know Kendrick Lamar’s music very well and felt […]
Biblical Support For Empowering Teenagers To Lead I am sure you’ve read this verse from 1 Timothy before. Maybe you’ve even taught a sermon on it or used it to encourage a student. The beauty of this verse is that it echoes the heart of the gospel of God’s Kingdom. God is the ultimate adult […]
Before we talk about conflict in youth ministry, let’s establish a universal truth. There are two types of people in this world: those who run away from conflict and those who run into it head-on. Personally, I’ve always been the former. The people pleaser in me would simply like to agree, avoid, or avert in […]
Reimagine Youth Ministry is an organization devoted to educating and training youth pastors to do youth ministry in the era of mental health awareness. Below, the owner of Reimagine, Kristy, has shared her story of how her mental health organization came to be. I Saw The Problem Of Mental Health Eight years ago, I felt […]
