I spend my days writing for and training youth workers JUST LIKE YOU.
But, Do I Have To Preach About Christmas?
Do we have to preach about Christmas at Christmas time? I know that sounds like a dumb question but hear me out. I am very much opposed to the commerial-ization of Christmas. I don't like to feel like I am a slave to the season and that I have to...
This Weeks Youth Room Jams
Another week another list of music worth playing in your youth room. Here ya go. Heartbeat - Jericho Sin is Swagless - Jericho https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWsLz3sG8MY For Those Who Can't Speak - Tenth Ave North You Are - Virtue Long...
Interstellar is… Inter-esting
Have you ever sat at the end of a movie a didn't know what to feel about? Did I like it? Did I hate it? I wound up in the messy middle about Interstellar. The story is solid but has some problems with the narrative as some dots in the plot...
This Weeks Youth Room Jams
Every week I check out songs on Itunes. I go through almost every genre (sorry classical) looking for songs that will make the teens in my group tap their toes and bob their head. I mostly use Christian music so the list will be Christian...
25 Words To Spark Vision In 2015
I can't help it. My brain is in 2015. This has been a great year for our youth ministry so I am not trying to get through with it but I am anticipating what God is going to do. I asked the good people on Facebook's Youth Leaders Only to give me...
Election Day Inspiraiton
Do you remember the movie Dave from 1993. It stars Kevin Kline as a presidential look alike drafted into impersonating the real President who has had a stroke. It's a wonderful movie. Dave is just an ordinary guy put in an extra-ordinary situation...
5 Boring Ways To Grow Your Youth Ministry
I know boring and youth ministry should not be in the same sentence but it was necessary. I think the perception for many years has been that the leader of a vibrant, growing, youth ministry has to be young, attractive, and talented. I am none of...
6 Pieces of Mentoring Advice To Young Youth Workers
I just read an interesting article on mentoring from Mike Butcher (@mikebutcher) over on TechCrunch about finding mentors and thought the same advice can apply to young youth workers. Mike did a fast poll of some of his social media folks...
35 Ways To Market Your Next Youth Event
I've had this list for some time. How long? Before I updated it, it had MySpace as an option. If you are needing some new ways to promote your event or maybe you've forgotten a few you should be doing, this check list is here to help 35 Ways To...
I’m Not A Fan Of This Religious Phrase, So I Use This One Instead
The phrase, I'm broke but I'm not poor, has been ringing in my head for a few weeks. I like it because it's not "I'm blessed and highly favored" which, to me, comes across a "I'm better than you" as in "You're not blessed and not highly...
5 Crowdsourcing Ideas To Get Students Involved In Your Meeting
I tried an experiment a few days ago. I texted a bunch of my kids, maybe 12-15, and asked them to take a picture of something that they are struggling with. They could have taken a picture of their homework, a bully, a teacher, their parents, etc....
10 Statements Youth Workers Will Not Hear On Judgement Day
I wonder if the Lord get's more excited about some who'll stand in the judgement line before Him than others. I mean, God's excited to see everyone who's coming his way and maybe a little disappointed with the ones who'll be taking a...
What Bob Dylan And The Apostle Paul Have In Common
Bob Dylan is an icon in music. The Apostle Paul is an icon of the Christian faith. Their iconoclasm is not where their similarities end. This post is the result of two random thoughts creating one big thought. I was listening to my Bible app in...
5 Words That Define A Successful Youth Staff Meeting
We had our monthly Team Fusion meeting last night and as I was reflecting on what makes these meetings successful and I came up with five words. Laughter We usually meet for about 90 minutes and a third of that is spent in jokes and laughter. These...
The Content Driven Youth Ministry Part I
We live in a content driven culture. We want new posts, new videos, and a site with a long tail of searchable content. Click bait on sites like BuzzFeed and Digg create titles that titillate and get us to click so we will stay on their sites...
The Disciple Project OUTREACH MANUAL
HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR DECAYING YOUTH MEETING INTO A FLOURISHING CITY-WIDE MOVEMENT