There’s something about the week after Christmas that invites reflection.
The rush slows down, the decorations sit quietly, and you finally have a minute to breathe.
It’s a good time to look back on the year and notice the things …
This week always slows me down in the best way.
I look around the ministry I serve in and think about the students who show up with open hearts, the volunteers who keep saying yes, and the families who trust …
It always happens at a moment you don’t expect.
You’re chatting with a volunteer, walking through plans for the night, and they quietly admit that they really don’t enjoy the fun parts of youth ministry. Games stress them out. Loud …
There are moments in ministry that catch you off guard, and a student telling you that your teaching is not deep enough is definitely one of them. It hits a little harder than you expect. Part of you wants to …
If you’ve been in youth ministry long enough, you’ve felt it. That sting of disrespect. Maybe it came from a student rolling their eyes, a parent questioning your decisions, or a church member making a cutting remark. Disrespect hurts because …
I just had lunch with a parent with students in our ministry. They were at their previous church for eight years before moving to ours. They were new so I wanted to connect and make sure they were fitting in …
Every youth pastor has faced it at some point. You’re standing in the church lobby and someone says, “Wait, we have a youth ministry?”
If your church is new or your student ministry feels smaller than the rest of the …
You did it.
You survived the travel, the late-night Taco Bell run, the endless sessions, and the emotional rollercoaster of worship + free coffee refills. Now you’re home, your brain’s full, your heart’s inspired, and your inbox is angry.
Before …
After sixteen years in youth ministry, I resigned from my position during one of the messiest seasons of my life.
Usually, when I tell that part of my story, people ask where I went after I resigned from my church. …
Because “thanks for serving” only goes so far
Somewhere between the fall kickoff and the Christmas party, ministry can start to feel like a treadmill. The energy that fueled the first month is running low, students are buried in school …