I spend my days writing for and training youth workers JUST LIKE YOU.
Bringing Back Fire To Your Youth Ministry
If you'd like more articles like this, along with videos, free lessons and more, sign up for my Youth Ministry Round Up Newsletter and get a free Camp Reunion Bible Lesson How do you get your students to understand the importance of camp? How do...
7 Post Camp Questions Parents Should Ask Their Kids
We just got back from camp last week but before we took off I hand these questions out to the parents as a guide to help them disciple their kids at home. Some parents ask a ton of questions and some ask only one question, "Did you have fun?" This...
Hoping Against All Hope Is Not As Easy As It Sounds
Ready for a little weekend inspiration? I know I am. All people,especially ministry folk, are over-taken by desperate feelings and hopelessness from time time. We hope life will get better. We hope things will change. We hope our families...
Our Call and Response To Youth Ministry
With Mission Week over and our big fundraiser done for our youth ministry, and our week long focus on Fall Planning with guest posts by Ryan Latham, this week is sure to be slower than last week. Time for reading an reflection. Onward. I...
Youth Ministry Planning: What Is Your Past Telling You About Your Future?
I do not normally post on Saturday but Ryan Latham made me. I'm just kidding. Ryan is closing out our week on Planning posts with a challenge to look back on last year to see if we can learn from the past to forge the future. Enjoy. I just...
From Planning To Executing: 3 Challenges To Getting It Done
You’ve just spent a few hours or a few days planning your fall program. To make this planning time valuable you have to execute these plans otherwise it was wasted time. Today’s blog post deals with getting things done so that the plans you have...
Youth Ministry Planning: What It Takes
Ryan Latham brings some thoughts today about what it takes to plan. He includes a free form below as an example of what it takes for him to plan his Fall schedule. One of the major reasons that we don’t delegate is because it is so hard to explain...
Help! No One Is Showing Up To My Events
Guest post today from my friend and blogger Ryan Latham. I hate when kids don't show up for stuff. it makes me feel bad but it also makes me think "What could I have donee better?" That is where Ryan comes from today. We can all make our events a...
5 Intangibles Every Youth Pastor Should Bring To The Planning Table
If you’re a rookie youth pastor and you’re looking up the word “intangibles”, that’s o.k.., I‘ll wait. I don’t think I knew what intangibles were either during my first few years of being the lead planner. I knew what curriculum were. I knew what...
Poll: What Season Do Enjoy/Hate Planning The Most
Everyone has a special time of year no mater what type of business or industry they're in. Suntan lotion makers like summer. Ski pole makers like winter. Umbrella makers like spring because of all the rain. But what season do youth pastors...
3 Tips For Visiting Youth Group Guests
I told my son the other day I was making a house visit to one of our guests. He gave me the impression that personal visits were passe' in our digital age. His only response was "Why?". Thus this post. If you are making in person visits, keep these...
7 Rap/Hip Hop Artists That Rep God Better Than Kanye West
This just in- Kanya not a god. That being said, and probably understood before I said it, I am not judging Kanya. I just don't want my teenagers getting their morality or theology from him. So, who are some artists parents and youth workers...
Communicating With Parents: Moving Beyond “What Time?” and “Where?
Yesterdays class was all about tips for growing and energizing your youth ministry and summer is a great to do that so go by and check it out. Today's class is brought to you by Alon Banks. His summer class suggestion was...
Summer School For Youth Workers: How To Get Your Youth Group Energized And Growing
Today's lesson idea is brought to you by my fellow Alabamian Samuel Colesgrove, and the class he would take right now is How Do I Grow And Energize My Group. Great question, Onward. Class Notes Whenever I have gotten in trouble with by base of...
Summer School For Youth Workers: Equipping Parents To Lead
Class Notes Good morning class. Yesterday we covered the topic Teens in Crisis and I hope you did your homework, well, at least George Lynch did. Thanks George, you get a gold star. The rest of you: I'll see you after class. Today's topic comes...
The Disciple Project OUTREACH MANUAL
HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR DECAYING YOUTH MEETING INTO A FLOURISHING CITY-WIDE MOVEMENT