One question I'm commonly asked in regard to student leadership teams is, “Are people grandfathered in?” In other words, once someone is on your student leadership team, should they remain on it indefinitely?
My answer is an emphatic “No!”
No one...
Over the years, I've sat in a number of counseling workshops and classes. Inevitably at such places, we talk about the importance of establishing boundaries with the teens we serve as youth pastors. As part of this, trainers often suggest that you...
One of the leadership axioms I adhere to is that leaders cannot take people further than they are themselves. In order for teens to consistently grow in their faith, student leaders must do so too.
To challenge student leaders to grow, ask them to...
As I've been breastfeeding, I've been binge watching Grey's Anatomy. I recently watched an episode in Season 5 in which Addison's brother, Archer, has worms in his brain – something that's clearly a very serious condition. In an attempt to save...
What the book's about: Jesus Centered Youth Ministry is about creating youth ministries that are, in every way, rooted in Jesus. This book is a revised edition of the book first published by the same name 8 years ago.
Why I read this book:...
Ever since the Vanity Fair article, Call Me Caitlyn, broke earlier this week, my Facebook feed has been filled with people's reactions to it. My progressive friends are overjoyed; My conservative friends are horrified. Opinions seem to abound...
Earlier in this Student Leadership Team Basics series, we talked about how the role of your student leadership team is to create a culture of welcome in your youth ministry. One specific way you can do this is by having your team recognize and...
On Sunday, my 7th and 8th grade teachers trickled into the Youth Room after Sunday School. On this particular week – the last of our program year – they'd also been joined by one my high school youth ministry's alumni who remarked there was a...
Letting teens influence my youth ministry's teaching calendar means that sometimes, we talk about topics I have no interest in or even real knowledge of; Topics that if, it were solely up to me, would never in a million years make our teaching...
I'm someone who needs a lot of encouragement and affirmation.
What I've learned after 13 years in youth ministry is that most teens do, too.
As a result, I try to be intentional not only about giving teens encouragement and affirmation, but also...