I’ve treated every youth ministry I’ve led with the mentality of, “What we do every week is equally as important, or more, as what you do in band, football practice or key club” If I did not put the value on what we did every week, no one else would. Many youth ministries operate sloppy…
In my last weeks of being a full time youth pastor, I sat with my students in a small group and asked them a serious question, “What did I do well, so I can pass it on to other youth workers?”. I didn’t ask them to flower me with compliments or niceties, I ask them…
Texas Coach Tom Herman said something interesting after the Texas Longhorns beat the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2019 Sugar Bowl, “This locker room finally became player led instead of coach fed” This is a powerful statement about how discipleship in our youth ministries should look. Coach fed must happen at the beginning, but it should…
The real threat to your youth ministry isn’t outside the church, it’s inside. The world doesn’t care if churches have youth who have meetings The world doesn’t care if kids go to camps or retreats for spiritual renewal. The world has an entirely different expectation for our youth ministry and it does not include number…
I attended the TRIBE conference this past weekend, hosted by Jeff Goins, and a speaker used an illustration I had heard before. He began with, “What is the the most valuable land in the world?” Several possible answers included the oil rich lands of Saudi Arabia, the gold mines of South Africa, the real estate…
Have you heard the saying, “You can put lipstick on a pigs snout, but it’s still a pig?” This phrase is in reference to dressing up an ugly situation hoping you can disguise it, hiding all it’s flaws. Let’s be honest, when it comes to some youth ministries, sometimes there just isn’t enough lipstick. Our…
This is part four in my series 9 Dynamic Ways To Revive A Dying Youth Ministry. If you’re behind, you can start HERE Sometimes, as a youth pastor, you will inherit a hot mess or a dumpster fire. The previous youth pastor did their best or maybe not. Or maybe the youth ministry you have just went…
I took a recent poll of youth workers, asking them which they hated more: Micro-Managing Pastors or Hands Off Pastosr. The overwhelming answer was the micro-managing pastor was worse. I have worked for both types of pastors and, if had to choose, I would choose the micro manager, not because I like being micro managed…
There is a fascinating interview with music legend Quincy Jones on the website Vulture. Quincy is turning 85 soon and, as I’ve witnessed older people do, he just lets loose on a variety of subjects. Apart from him fluently using the phrase MF, Quincy shares some interesting insights on today’s music that, I think, are…
I recently watched a video (below) by fellow youtubing youth pastor Delmar Peet, and he brought out some excellent points as to when a youth pastor should be fired. I’d like to add my two cents with a list of my own. Sexual Immorality/Abuse/ etc. is a no brainer and is the clearest of the…
