This summer, my student leaders & I read and discussed the book, Help! I'm a Student Leader by Doug Fields. Using the questions below, we had some incredibly powerful discussions about leadership and faith.
Questions about the Ch. 2 of...
According to David Kinnaman in You Lost Me , 52 percent of youth group teens aspire to science-related careers but only one percent of youth workers have addressed issues of science in the past year.
Knowing this, I was excited when my student...
This summer, my student leaders & I read and discussed the book, Help! I'm a Student Leader by Doug Fields. Using the questions below, we had some incredibly powerful discussions about leadership and faith.
Questions about the Intro of...
This year, I'm challenging my student leaders to dream big, God-sized dreams for our ministry; Dreams that are, without God, impossible to achieve.
Over the summer, I asked my student leaders to write their God-sized dreams down, share them with...
Throughout my youth ministry career, I’ve intentionally taken students to worship in other Christian congregations.
The first time I did this I was working at a multi-ethnic congregation. One spring I canceled our own youth worship service for...
What the book's about: The subtitle of Help! I'm a Student Leader accurately describes what this book is about - Practical ideas and guidance on leadership. It is written specifically for youth serving as leaders in a church context.
Why I...
One of the best things my congregation does to help transition junior high students into our high school ministry is a tradition I inherited: The confirmation home visit.
Each fall, our associate pastor (who runs confirmation) visits all the 7th...
On the way to our summer mission trip in Red Lake Indian Reservation, an ELCA church graciously allowed us to spend the night in their facility. The next morning, we worshiped with them.
Later, many of my students commented on how the church we...
Recently, I met with a potential adult leader. I shared my heart with him, interviewed him, and then asked if he had any questions for me
He proceeded to tell me about how his son, who’s now in his 20s, was never involved in our church’s youth...
This week marks the slow trickle of kids returning to school in my community.
The return to school also means that the start of my fall youth ministry program is imminent. Needless to say, it's a stressful time of year, especially for a Type-A...