When I was a kid growing up in church, my dad was the worship leader, and one of my best friends, Josh, was the senior pastor’s kid. When we were in about 2nd or 3rd grade, a guest …
As youth pastors, we often find ourselves in a whirlwind of activities and events. We’re planning the next sermon, scheduling meetings with volunteers, and running from one event to the next. It can be hard to pause and really take …
As we hit the typical time to talk sex, dating, and relationships for youth ministry, there are a couple of good things to keep in mind when it comes to addressing these topics, both with students and with parents.
As …
We all know how hard it can be to get our students excited for upcoming events like retreats and dance parties and whatever else you might have on your calendar for the year. Whether it’s because there are a hundred …
It’s that time of year when everyone floods their feeds with recycled black and white photos of Martin Luther King Jr and includes one of the many one-liner quotes in their caption. Things like, “I have a dream,” or “That
I remember sitting in a classroom in Bible College and watching a professor, write the letters, J – O – Y on the board. He said something like, “this acrostic is how you do ministry.” The letters stood for Jesus …
As we come to the end of the year, it’s time to start thinking about our resolutions for the coming year. As a youth pastor, I thought I’d share some resolutions that I think all of us in youth ministry …
Weekly programs bring a constant pressure to find an amazing game, the perfect video, create professional looking graphics, craft a captivating message, while articulating thought-provoking small group questions… and then you’ve got to get students to actually show up. Argh… …
I started this by asking myself what I do to encourage parents.
It was more difficult for me to come up with answers than I cared to admit.
Because the solution sounds simple: Text them some encouraging messages at a …
Excerpt from Your First 2 Years In Youth Ministry by Doug Fields
Some people may criticize me for including this discussion, but the topic is one that may be most frequently referred to. During every …