As faith communities prepare for the Advent season, nostalgia for the past becomes commonplace. Many faith communities hang the greens, practice the traditional hymns, host traditional events, and read the season’s scripture stories. But the potentially negative impacts of nostalgia ...
The Center for Youth Ministry Training has received a $1,249,965 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the Benediction Project. The program is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative, a national initiative designed to ...
Here at the Innovation Lab, our Innovation Culture Index (ICI) assesses a faith community’s culture by revealing its strengths and areas that need to improve so innovation can take root effectively. The ICI measures what we call the Nine Indicators ...
Does God fit into a water balloon war? What about a trust fall? Although some leaders choose to focus on Bible study with their students, games have an important place in next gen ministry and the church. Ann Saylor and Susan ...
Whenever people of varying backgrounds come together, politics naturally emerge – and the church is no exception. Each member of the church sees faith and the mission of the church through their own unique lens, which all too often leads ...
Volunteers who care passionately about students, disciple them, and help plan events are the common thread among effective ministries for young people. If you struggle to find these amazing people, take comfort knowing that many other ministry leaders struggle in ...
You've planned an amazing white water rafting trip for your students. You've written every devotional, laid out every game, ice breaker, and small group activity. You found a rafting company that will take care of all the logistics. You put ...
The season of Advent needs a refresh. That’s because, somehow, one of the greatest stories ever told has grown stale in many churches around the country. Many faith communities mark the season with the same traditions they’ve observed for decades, ...
The importance of time management in ministry can't be overstated. The most effective leaders will tell you that being intentional with your time will allow you to maintain a healthy balance between work and home life, not to mention – ...
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is all over the news lately. From healthcare to finance to education, industries around the globe are investing billions of dollars to develop apps and programs run by AI that will solve problems, answer questions, and ...
The first step in product thinking, as Nikkel Blaase writes in an article for the Interaction Design Foundation, is to “determine the problem that your users are looking to solve.” When done well, determining a user’s problem begins with researching ...
In the last 15 years, First Church experienced a steady decline in worship attendance, ministry participation, and volunteer recruitment. The congregation is aging and many of the church’s programs aren’t as effective as they once were. Average Sunday attendance hovers ...
Saying, “no,” can be a really hard thing to do. I experienced this firsthand while serving on my church’s missions team for many years. The requests that came to our committee seemed never-ending. Members of the church brought us information ...
I stumbled upon a prayer this week called, “For when you’re tired of broken systems,” and this excerpt remains lodged in my mind: Oh God, how blessed are we who cry out to you: Empower us to see and name ...
I was recently coaching a group of ministry leaders to help them unpack their faith community’s experience with the Innovation Lab’s Community Discovery Package. Guided by the resource, they’d completed community research, conducted in-depth interviews with people in their context, ...
Take 60 seconds to try this thought experiment: Close your eyes and imagine a successful and effective ministry program in your context. What do you imagine? How many people are present? What are they doing? What’s your role as a ...
At the Innovation Lab, when we give a presentation, lead a workshop, or engage in conversation with a ministry leader, we always start by defining what we mean by “innovation.” We start here because the word “innovation” comes with a ...
Kris Konsowitz Kris has over 35+ years of experience in youth ministry. Her ministry experience includes serving as the Youth Minister at Collierville UMC in Tennessee. Kris has experience serving in youth ministry at the local, conference, jurisdictional and national ...
For Jeremiah Law, youth ministry was always in the plan. After receiving his undergraduate degree in youth ministry, he joined CYMT to pursue a master’s and get the support he needed to start his first job as a youth pastor. ...
Ryan (he/they) never planned on being a youth pastor. They had volunteered at summer camps and youth-serving organizations, but also had a full-time job that provided a life they were comfortable with. He and his wife weren’t even really active ...
