When I was a younger youth pastor, I believed sports was the enemy of youth ministry. Sports took athletic students away from my youth meetings, outreaches, retreats, etc. Didn’t those coaches know I needed the numbers!? It’s easy to blame our youth ministry’s sagging momentum and low numbers on sports. Judgement usually followed, “If these…
If you’re following this series welcome to the fourth installment. If you’re new here, welcome to the party! You can start the series here. To summarize. Your first step to rebuilding your declining youth ministry, is not re-branding. Re-branding only covers up the internal problems that caused the decline in the first place. Instead, the…
If you’re new here, and are not caught up, you can start this series here. If you are a Youth Pastor working hard to keep their youth ministry afloat, I feel for you, but you are working too hard, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Physically you’re work too hard (the set up, the planning) Mentally…
There are weeks where I struggled with pre-youth group anxiety. I was anxious with questions like would the service go well? was I prepared? was the sermon good enough? would the students like the game? These questions were all part of my need to make sure things were perfect. Why? Why did I need to…
Sunday School was a part of my teen life for forever. I wasn’t committed because of the ugly room we met in, the bad snacks or the hard chairs; I was committed because I thought that is what I was supposed to do, so I did it. Classrooms have, generally, gotten better but the structure…
I know getting students signed up for anything is a chore, but is there anything you can do about it? Start with why Why does this event exist? Why did it make it on to your calendar? It’s much easier to get students signed up if you know, and they know, why an event exists.…
I grew up Catholic, and I didn’t know it at the time, but I was becoming a disciple of the Catholic church. Being a disciple of the Catholic church, or any church, is not the same as being a disciple of Jesus. Churches have philosophies, ideologies and strategies for growth but I would contend that…
Everyone has a plan until they’re punched in the mouth – Mike Tyson You had a plan for youth ministry in 2020. How’d that go? Right. 2020 was the biggest punch in the mouth to the plans of everyone on the planet including your youth ministry. You had to answer questions like What is Zoom? How…
Planning local service projects for your ministry? These tips will help you get started. Local service projects for your teenagers can be a chance to embrace the “mission” without the “trip”. It’s using your own backyard as the setting for an intersection of discipleship and service, in a way that can build long-term relationships between…
There is nothing comfortable about real discipleship. It is the role of the the youth pastor, you, to create discomfort in your youth ministry all the while being hospitable. The evangelist Billy Graham used to say of his preaching, “I have come to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.” I believe the youth pastor…
