Home/Posts/Jen Bradbury

About Jen Bradbury

Jen serves as the Minister of Youth and Family at Atonement Lutheran Church in Barrington, IL. Jen is the author of A Mission that Matters (Abingdon Press), Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Student Leaders (Abingdon Press), The Jesus Gap: What Teens Actually Believe about Jesus and the corresponding student devotional, The Real Jesus (The Youth Cartel). Her writing has also appeared in YouthWorker Journal, Immerse, and The Christian Century. When not doing ministry, she and her husband Doug can be found hiking, backpacking, and traveling with their toddler, Hope.
13 Sep 2018

In defense of structure

By |2018-09-13T06:04:27-07:00September 13th, 2018|Uncategorized|0 Comments

My new youth ministry met for the first time last week.

By all assessments, we had a great first night. The room was full and teens were engaged in our conversation about vocation.

Afterwards, I was chatting with one of …

6 Sep 2018

Processing what you learn

By |2018-09-06T05:06:25-07:00September 6th, 2018|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Earlier this week, I hosted a leader’s training for our junior high and high school adult leaders. Our focus was equipping leaders to facilitate small groups.

During this crash course in leading small groups, we addressed basic tips and tricks …

2 Feb 2018

Favored Leaders

By |2018-02-02T07:08:11-08:00February 2nd, 2018|Leadership, Training, Volunteers|1 Comment

I love my youth ministry’s adult leaders. They’re the backbone of my youth ministry. They’re people I’ve recruited, equipped, and mentored. Some have served with me for almost a decade. I take caring for them seriously.

In my context, adult …

25 Oct 2017

Do you need me?

By |2017-10-25T08:06:27-07:00October 25th, 2017|Uncategorized|1 Comment

“Mama, do you need me?” my 2-year old daughter, Hope, cried from the living room.

The truth is, I didn’t.

When Hope cried out to me, I was cooking dinner – making homemade mac & cheese out of squash. I …

Go to Top