Before my seniors leave for college, we spend a good deal of time talking about various campus ministries. Our hope is to encourage students to get involved in them (or in a church on their college campus).
As part of this ongoing conversation, I...
On the night of the 2016 election, I sat glued to my television, watching the Presidential returns come in. As the night wore on and Donald Trump’s lead grew, my heart sank.
That’s when my phone began dinging.
I received text after text from the...
This year my youth ministry is offering two summer mission trips: A domestic trip to a nearby town (that we offer every other year) and an international trip to Haiti.
Some of our families do both trips but others choose only one. We know this. In...
“Being in jail is the best thing that's happened to me this whole game!” cried Ben in anger. For a moment, I thought he was going to flip his Monopoly board over in a fit of rage.
He didn't – even though the game never improved for him.
It...
One of the questions I hear most frequently from the older people in my congregation is, “Where are all the youth?”
I’ll admit this question frustrates me. Underneath it is typically one of two beliefs:
1. There are no youth in our congregation.
2....
At a recent training, I sat at a table full of strangers. Rather quickly, we were asked to share vulnerably. One of the women at our table began, saying, “I have some thoughts, but I don't know if you're going to like them.”
Hoping to reassure...
I recently spoke about The Jesus Gap. Afterward, a youth worker approached me and said, “If you're as into discipleship as you think we ought to be, you're probably not a very good youth worker.”
“Why?” I asked him.
In response, he said, “Because...
Recently, a student arrived at our youth ministry's gathering significantly early. So I asked him about his day. Specifically, I asked, What was the worst part of your day?
Immediately, the student responded, “Someone hit me.”
Needless to say, I...
We kicked off our fall programming this year by wrestling with the question, “Does God exist?”, a question prompted – at least in part – by the fact that some of our freshmen are adamant about their belief that God does not exist.
Part of the...
While on vacation, my extended family and I went boating, something I have fond memories of from childhood vacations.
As is often the case when extended family gathers, as we sat around the beach, people started telling stories. One story was told...