“So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.” John 1:39 John said it, “There goes the Lamb of God.” John was Jesus’ cousin and he knew Jesus was the Messiah. John wasn’t trying to amass a follower-ship, he was trying…
Yesterday I shared the joy of missing part of a youth event and allowing my leaders, students and adults, to lead. In effect I am decentralizing leadership and working myself out of jobs I no longer want to do to focus on my new job description of creating and dreaming for the future. Does the…
I’m passionate about following up after kids make spiritual commitments. If a kid is inwardly compelled to go to an altar and commit his or her life to Christ, then I must be inwardly compelled to follow up after them to help them in their journey. I understand that parents play the key role with…
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 you get them to understand the impotence of being receivers,…
One of my friends posted: Plugging youth into jobs in your youth program is not student-led ministry. Far from it. We’re hearing from God but falling short of understanding. Time to equip youth to lead ministries of their own, not ours. Let me first say that I think the quote is true. Plugging kids into…
It’s currently 2022, and even though I wrote this in 2011, things have not only changed but gotten worse. It is now a foregone conclusion that graduates will not be back to church any time soon, but, our calling as youth pastors and college and career directors hasn’t quit just because they have. Where we…
I used to be a political junkie, so when I hear pundits talking about the upcoming elections I listen through my special youth ministry headset. That is what sparked this latest post. The question posed was “Should the politician go after the base or the swing voters to get elected?”. In my first two youth ministries,…
I’ve seen a series of stories lately about teenagers making a difference and there was a story about a girl with a painful knee condition. The only time she had relief was when she was laying down and reading. She said, “When I read, it’s a real escape,” Bearup says. “I try to take myself…
