by Jason Sansbury After having been involved in youth ministry for over 20 years, I have a theory that says if you don’t occasionally get accused of having favorites in your youth ministry, then you probably aren’t discipling and mentoring ...
by Tony Akers Every Monday morning it happens. I walk into the room with my biggest critic. He doesn’t say much, he just stares back at me. He mocks me with his unspoken criticism. My time with him is usually ...
by Andrew Mochrie I can vividly remember sitting with my fiancee on the couch in her small house. We had been engaged for five months and our wedding was only three months away. At that moment, on that couch, I ...
by Jason Sansbury Want to do an interesting experiment? Create a Google news alert that will send you a message every time the words “youth pastor arrested” show up in a news story. I did this experiment for a few ...
by Mike Adkins I hope you’re better than I when it comes to this, but I am majorly guilty of critiquing speakers when I listen as a part of their audience. Conference emcees, my senior pastor, the President . . ...
Editor's Note: This article stems from the author's final paper in Theological Foundations for Youth Ministry, a graduate course offered through the Center for Youth Ministry Training and Memphis Theological Seminary, taught by Dr. Andrew Zirschky. by Andrew Mochrie I ...
by Chris Mucha It’s the students that constantly talk while you are trying to teach, the ones who disappear during programming, the guy and girl who seem to think youth night and date night are the same thing, and the ...
by Michael Adkins If we’re being honest, the question of technology in youth spaces is really one of mobile devices (such as phones, iPods, and tablets) in youth spaces. And we have to face facts: Our students are increasingly wired ...
by Joseph Robinson Oh, cell phones… There is almost nothing I can think of that has as much potential to be either great or terrible for youth ministry. I’m a big believer that there’s not really anything that is inherently ...
by Peter Carlson Some of the best youth ministry happens when a student knows and trusts an adult who is willing to be a mentor, someone who can, on a regular basis, intensely show Jesus to the student through word, action, ...
You've booked your retreat location, your general logistics are nailed down, and your schedule has a framework. (Read "Successful Retreat Planing: Part 1" here.) Now it's time to think about the details: Lessons, Devotionals, and Worship Three months out, begin ...
Don't have it all together for your summer retreats? Don't know where to start? Read on for some time-tested tips from veteran youth ministers . . . Prayer and Purpose: Why? Begin in prayer with your ministry team about the ...
I stood on a front porch with my two friends, all three of us, 12 years old. It was a Sunday afternoon and I had been at church that morning. The lesson was from Matthew 5:38-42. You know this one ...
by Lilly Lewin Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, in a youth room in Nashville, Tenn., I was the resident “prayer hog.” I was the one at the end of youth group who, when my youth ...
Editor’s Note: Maria Ghianni is in her second year in the CYMT graduate residency program, and she serves as the youth director at Carthage FUMC in Carthage, Tenn. I was born and raised in Nashville and I grew up in ...
In Dyersburg, Tenn., high school football games are the place to be on Friday nights. But what happens after the game is over and kids still want to be together and have something to do? Answer: Fifth Quarter. The idea ...
by Stephanie Dodge and Lauren Gilliland Rule #1 Avoid lock-ins. Don't put one on the yearly schedule. Wait for someone to bring it up, then try to work it in. Depending on your ministry setting, plan around community events when ...
by Julie Richardson Brown It was one of those moments where everything suddenly becomes as if a slow-motion sequence in a particularly intense moment of a Jerry Bruckheimer film (cue dramatic power ballad music). The toe of his sneaker bent ...
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from It Happens: True Tales from the Trenches of Youth Ministry, edited by Will Penner. by Steve Argue Bill and Jane were every youth worker’s dream. They registered their daughter, Sarah, for the freshman ...
Recently, I had the distinct privilege of teaching our church's Parents of Teens Sunday school class. I taught a three week series which gave me a good amount of interaction time with the parents. During the first week, I spent the class ...
