A tired, defeated youth pastor emailed me recently asking for advice about behavior issues during youth group. She had already stepped down from her volunteer youth pastor role after a particularly rough night where the students wouldn’t listen. The room felt out of control. Nothing seemed to land. And by the end of the night, […]
It’s a fact: we could not do youth ministry or have a thriving group without our volunteers. Volunteer leaders allow us to disciple students well, run activities smoothly, and round out what our ministries can provide the students we shepherd. But how do we love our volunteers well so that they want to come back […]
If you’ve been in youth ministry longer than a few years, you’ve had a student bring up divorce at youth group. It’s tricky to know what to say or do–especially when you’re relatively new to the world of youth ministry! You can read all of the books, scroll through the TikToks, or listen to every […]
Every single youth leader has felt this tension before: students on their phones during youth group. You work hard to put together an amazing lesson plan including an absolutely fire interactive game element and maybe even an object lesson, and still you’ve got at least a few students with a physical Bible held up and […]
It’s that time again. It’s December, which means we have to plan for the year. I don’t know about you, but that is always an overwhelming task for me as a youth pastor. What events should we keep? Which events should we re-invent? What series were their favorite? Which game should we play more often […]
A new year always brings new faces, fresh energy, and—let’s be honest—a little bit of chaos in youth ministry. New students show up. New series need writing. Not only that, but new questions start stirring in your heart about how to lead this thing well. And if you’re not careful, January can feel less like […]
Oh man, this is so real and so painful. The students in our youth group really become our kids. I tell people I have one child, but really, I have 60–and they’re all between the ages of 11-14. As youth leaders, we invest time, build relationships, offer support, and speak life into the teenagers at our youth […]
Most of us don’t get into youth ministry for the overwhelmingly generous paycheck. We love Jesus, we love the next generation, and for one reason or another, we feel that this is what God has called us to. Depending on your church culture, you might work long and uneven hours. It’s hard, sometimes. And that’s […]
If you’ve been in youth ministry for more than five minutes, you’ve likely bumped into a version of this debate: “Shouldn’t youth group be fun? Students won’t come back if they’re bored,” versus, “We’re here to make disciples, not just play games.” And the truth is, both sides have a point. Some ministries lean so […]
The new year is approaching fast. And if you’re like most youth pastors, you’re already thinking ahead about what you’ll teach. You want to walk into January with more than a guess. What you really want is a plan. But how do you map out an entire year of teaching that’s more than just busywork? […]
