“You will know as much of God, and only as much of God, as you are willing to put into practice.” ― Eric Liddell, The Disciplines Of The Christian Life I’m fond of saying, “It’s not what you believe, it’s what you practice.” That is not to say that beliefs are not important, but without…
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…
I was recently commissioned to write a five day devotion book for a Christian basketball camp. This is the first time I have attempted a sports driven devotion which is odd since I really enjoy sports. Here are my sports allegiances in case you were wondering Football: New York Giants Basketball: The Knicks Baseball: Yankees…
I was reading the newest study on teens and media from Common Sense Media Report on Tweens and Teens and one stat, among many, stood out to me Everyone can be a maker, but not many are. The vast majority of kids’ engagement with media consists of consuming media, with only a small portion devoted to…
I hate it when a kid leaves our group. When a kid leaves, depending on the kid, several bad things can happen: We lose momentum We lose other kids We lose leadership We lose workers We lose a friend We lose our job, if it’s a bunch of kids Kids can leave for any…
In his book, The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande shares several disciplines that use checklists to accomplish major and minor task such as construction companies, restaurants and hospitals. This got me thinking, “Shouldn’t there be a check list for youth pastors when it comes to discipleship?” You may think that more important jobs like airline pilots…
I’m not a a soccer guy, but this story I heard from the World Cup caught my attention. The Japanese national soccer team won their game against Germany but that’s not the only reason they made headlines. Pictures of their locker room started floating around because of how immaculate it was, but that’s not all.…
I have played hundreds of games with youth groups, camp groups, retreat groups and more (I have a playlist here if you actually want to see some of them) and I thought about what a burden games are to those who don’t enjoy them or who feel chained to them. First, you don’t have to…
IG Youth Ministry Pic of the Week Inspiration for your next event. Articles Student Leadership: Three Approaches You Produce What You Program Ministry and Family: Five Things To Remember Turning Youth Ministry Outsiders Into Insiders Barna Announces First-of-Its-Kind Global Study on Teens’ Views of Jesus, the Bible, and Justice Videos I have a feeling this…
I had the pleasure of interviewing Sean Buono, author of Youth Empowered. We walk through the process, and it is a process, of empowering students in your youth ministry to serve. Purchase Youth Empowered (I am an Amazon Affiliate, any purchase helps support the ministry) Here’s the abbreviated transcript of our conversation. Tell me a…
