Several years ago, I interviewed Gordon MacDonald for an article for Youth Worker Journal. During our interview, Gordon talked about how one of the greatest things he's learned to do in discipling people is to welcome them into his home; That...
During last summer's international mission trip, I didn't allow participants to have cell phones. Throughout our time away, we did, however, blog.
Teens often joked at the irony of being totally disengaged from their cell phones and technology...
My husband and I have a New Years Eve tradition wherein we ask each other a series of questions in order to reflect upon our year together. Rather than use a prescribed list of reflection questions, ours differ by the year in order to uniquely...
It's January. That means that once again, it's time for K-Love's 30-Day Challenge – something I have some concerns about. In response to my concerns, today I'm continuing to critically evaluate some of the songs that K-Love...
My church does not own vans. This means that with the exception of our summer trips (when we rent them), we depend on the goodwill of parents to drive us to and from various events, including our winter retreat.
Often, this means that teens are...
I’ve often heard people moan about the ineffectiveness of big youth ministry events like the 30 Hour Famine or summer mission trips. Such rants usually go something like this:
You spend a lot of time, energy, and money on X. And sure, teens are...
If you walk into my house, you'll notice stacks of books everywhere - evidence that I'm an avid reader.
Much to my dismay, I read fewer books this year than last. As my husband pointed out, though, I also wrote one so I guess I can't be too...
Earlier this year, this youth minister meme began showing up everywhere in social media:
While it made me chuckle, I couldn't help but think, “This confusion is real.” People really don't understand what it is we do.
And this is true not just of...
Over the Christmas holiday, I've got an entire day blocked out in my schedule in order to figure out our ministry's spring calendar. The dates of our major events (like retreats) were announced months ago, but things like trip meetings and events...
Until last year, I'd never heard of WestJet. Then, on a vacation to Canada, we had an enjoyable experience flying WestJet. Six months later, I, along with millions of others, was captivated by WestJet's Christmas miracle video. This video featured...