If you’ve been in youth ministry for longer than a year or two, you’ve probably experienced summer attendance drops in youth ministry. Families take vacations. Students go to camps. Schedules get packed with sports and jobs. It’s easy to feel discouraged when your normally packed room turns into a small circle of faithful regulars. But […]
I know you’re juggling a lot as a youth pastor, because I’ve been there too. You’re not alone, and I hope what you find here encourages you. Every generation engages with teaching differently, and I know you’ve probably felt that tension as a youth pastor. Baby Boomers grew up on traditional sermons and Sunday School; […]
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 […]
A lead pastor I once worked under had this beautifully awful way of watching the Holy Spirit work. Not infrequently, during teaching on a Sunday morning, he would reach a point where a tie-in from a staff member or close friend would make sense to his point – and next thing you knew, your name […]
I’m a preacher at heart. I like monologuing. If I said anything different, I’d be lying to you and myself. And sometimes I feel a little bit embarrassed about that. Because while preaching is important, small groups should be one of the most powerful environments in any youth ministry environment. They’re where students go beyond […]
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 […]
