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11 Mar 2025

Sneak Peek of Training Topics for the National Day of Volunteer Training!

By |2025-03-11T11:23:50-07:00March 11th, 2025|Youth Ministry Ideas|0 Comments

3 Reasons Kids Deconstruct Their Faith (And What We Can Do About It)

Why are so many young people walking away from their faith? We’ll discuss the key reasons behind deconstruction and share practical strategies to help students develop a faith that lasts.

From Chaos to Connection: Keeping Students Engaged When Things Go Sideways

No matter how much you prepare, youth ministry rarely goes exactly as planned… disruptions and last minute changes are inevitable. In this session, you’ll learn practical strategies to pivot in the moment, re-engage students, and turn disruptions into meaningful connections.

Appropriate Authenticity

I Peter 3:15 reminds us to be ready at any given moment to give an answer for the hope we have—but how do you share your own faith journey in a way that helps, not harms, students? In this session, we’ll talk about how to share authentically while keeping it appropriate, healthy, and impactful for the teenagers you lead.

Learn more about NDO Training!

The Discipleship R.I.D.E

You’ve been entrusted with a group of kids to disciple… now what? How do you KNOW that you’re bringing them what God says they need? We’ll walk through 4 Biblical, clear, and PROVEN essential steps of the disciple-making process: Let’s take the Discipleship RIDE!

The Two Most Important Things in Kids Ministry

Want to know the two key factors that determine whether kids stay, engage, and truly hear about Jesus in your ministry? In this session, we’ll unpack these foundational principles and explore practical ways to create an environment where kids thrive—making church the best part of their week!

Partnering with Gen Alpha and Beta Parents

Parenting Gen Alpha and Beta kids comes with unique challenges—from screen time to mental health, all while fostering resilience, parents are navigating an

ever-changing landscape. In this session, we’ll explore how we can equip families with biblical wisdom, community, and support to navigate these challenges with faith, confidence and practical solutions.

Learn more about NDO Kids Training!

Did you know your can host the National Day of Volunteer Training on ANY day?! We’ll deliver the complete training to you on August 1st, 2025, you train your team whenever works best for you!

Why buy the training before August 1st? Great question. Because the price will steadily go up in the coming months, buy it now for the lowest price available. Price goes up on April 1 (not an April Fools joke!)

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9 Dec 2024

Are You Frustrated with Volunteers?

By |2024-12-09T06:36:56-08:00December 9th, 2024|Volunteers|1 Comment

If you’ve been in youth ministry for a while, you’ve likely faced some common frustrations. I recently polled youth pastors in the DYM Facebook group to find out what challenges they face most often, and four key themes kept popping up:

  • Parental involvement
  • Lack of attendance
  • Fundraising issues
  • Volunteers

Let’s focus on the big one: volunteers.

Here are three of the most common frustrations youth pastors experience when it comes to volunteers—and one tip to address each:

  1. Lack of Volunteers
    It’s hard to find people willing to step into ministry, but sometimes, we make it harder than it needs to be. One tip: stop asking for “volunteers” and start asking for specific help. Instead of saying, “We need more volunteers,” try something like, “We’re looking for two adults who can connect with students in small groups twice a month.” People are more likely to step up when they know exactly what’s expected of them.
  2. Commitment Issues
    Many volunteers burn out or drop out because they feel overcommitted or underprepared. One tip: create a clear timeline for service. Instead of asking for an open-ended commitment, ask people to serve for a semester or six months. This allows them to evaluate their availability without feeling trapped, and you can use these intervals to check in, train, and encourage them to continue.
  3. Maturity Concerns
    Sometimes, well-meaning adults jump in but aren’t ready to handle the challenges of youth ministry. One tip: provide consistent training and mentorship. Don’t just throw volunteers into the deep end. Offer regular opportunities for them to learn skills like leading discussions, dealing with conflict, and understanding student culture. Investing in their growth will help them feel confident and capable in their roles.

These strategies can help you build a strong, committed team to support your ministry.

What would you add to this list? I’d love to hear your thoughts and learn what’s worked for you when it comes to recruiting, training, and retaining volunteers. Let’s help each other create ministry environments where volunteers thrive!

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20 Feb 2023

Preparing for Easter Sunday!

By |2023-02-20T08:59:36-08:00February 20th, 2023|Youth Ministry Resources|12 Comments

It’s almost time for Easter! I get really excited for the season. Not because I enjoy Easter egg hunting and pastels and nice weather, but because this is what our faith is all about! Jesus resurrected from the dead is why we celebrate today!

Since Easter is coming, it’s a good time to start. Thinking about what your plan is going to be. Just like Christmas and New Year’s, Easter is a holiday that lets you try some new things and experiment a little bit. If you start getting ready now, you’ll be more than prepared on April 9!

Know your church

I’ve served in two different churches during my youth, ministry tenure, and while both make a big deal out of Easter, what that looks like for those churches is really different.

At my first church it was the highest attended Sunday of the year. And not just in the worship service but for every Sunday school class and Youth Ministry event as well. We had to make sure we were planning for a lot more students than normal!

At the church, I go to now, it’s a little different.

While the big church service is still really packed, all of our Sunday morning classes drop in attendance. Like, half or more of even our most consistent regulars don’t show up.

Your church might lean one way or the other or be somewhere in the middle. My encouragement to you is to think about your church and plan accordingly. Is it going to be a blowout Sunday or are people going to just come to big church and then spend the rest of the day with family?

Know your students 

It’s important not only to think about the culture of your church, you need to consider the culture of your student ministry as well.

Are they going to bring friends on Easter Sunday? Are they going to bring family from out of town? Do they like experimenting and trying something new? Do you think they would be challenged with a more pared down ministry day?

This would be a good time to consult your students and ask them what they think the Sunday morning experience could look like and get their feedback. It will really help your planning!

Make a plan

Speaking of planning, once you have considered your church and your students, make a solid plan! Get everything together and think about what you’re going to need for that day.

Are you going to have food when you normally wouldn’t? Or are you going to make, your usual food prep a little better?

What is your follow up to guests and visitors coming for the first time on Easter going to look like? Could you have students involved in big church if you don’t feel like they’re going to attend regular student ministry?

Put a plan down on paper now and start, getting ready!

Communicate it!

We can often complain about how people don’t read our emails or look at our social media. That doesn’t really help the fact that we still have to communicate a plan if we’re going to change things up.

But before you communicate your plan to parents and students, run it by your senior pastor or supervisor first. Are you really rocking the boat on Easter? Make sure everyone is on board. Are you going to need some extra volunteers to make Sunday morning happen? Make sure you have those adults ready so that they’re not surprised the week of.

Once you have communicated your plan to leadership and people serving behind the scenes, make sure everybody knows what Easter is going to look like for student ministry! Maybe you’ve got a really cool Good Friday service planned out for your students. Maybe you’re not going to meet when you regularly would to allow students to spend time with their families. Whatever it is, make sure you over communicate so that everyone knows what’s going to happen on Easter Sunday!

Lent

Does your church make a big deal out of Lent? Could it with the help of the student ministry? It’s a great opportunity to get yourself and your students ready for the Easter season! Think about how you could use the season of Lent to prepare your hearts and minds for the ressurection of Jesus! There are some cool resources down below to use in you ministry!

I love Easter. It’s such a wonderful season and a great time to celebrate Jesus! What’s your plan for Easter? It’s coming up sooner than you think! Let’s make sure we have an awesome Sunday! 

Ronald

Need something to get ready for Easter? Check out these great Instagram posts for the season of Lent!

Need to communicate what Lent is to your students? Here’s a great one-off talk to make your own!

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25 Jul 2022

Let’s Make Promotion a Big Deal

By |2022-07-25T11:06:58-07:00July 25th, 2022|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Summer is an excellent time for students and student ministers! One of the most exciting times in a student ministry is when everyone promotes up to the next grade. This usually means the Seniors in high school get a big celebration, but what happens to the other students who go from one to the next?

Let’s talk promotion in student ministry!

Who had them before? Who gets them now?

Whether your youth group starts with 6th or 7th grade, moving from the children’s ministry into the youth ministry is a big deal!

How can you communicate with your children’s ministry to ensure the promotion is a big deal?

The upcoming 6th grader students at our church do a five-week series where they combine like they will be in youth ministry instead of being separated between boys and girls. During this series, they discuss what they had learned in children’s ministry, possible fears of joining the student ministry, and the youth ministry’s purpose statement.

Our Seniors have a unique series of their own as well, where they talk about life skills, what they’ve learned from their time in youth ministry, and how they can choose a new church home if they’re moving or stay connected at our church if they are staying close by.

Throw a party!

Moving up grades requires a big celebration!

Promotion is a significant change for students, so make it a big deal for them! Have all the seniors come with you on a road trip to get milkshakes and talk about their life plans. Invite all the incoming middle school students for a swim party and pizza.

Have something where they can look back and remember that the student ministry made a big deal out of their promotion into or out of the youth ministry! Make plans ahead of time. If the season has passed by this year, put it on the calendar for next year!

Over Communicate to Parents

The older my kids get, the more I appreciate when their various schools and activities communicate often and over-explain what will happen.

Even if you’re unsure if parents read your emails, check social media, or frequently log onto the website, make sure the communication is written everywhere about what the promotion season will look like!

Let them know when the first day of everyone in their new grade will be. Blast when the incoming middle school party will be and what the last day seniors can attend youth ministry will be.

If you have a regularly scheduled parent meeting, have all the info ready and know what normal questions will get asked. The more you communicate to parents, the more they’ll trust the student ministry and the process!

Remember the 8th to 9th Grade Students

We usually think of promotion as when the middle school students move in and the seniors in high school move out, but what about that middle school to high school transition?

That’s a life-changing promotion as well!

Remember when you went from 8th grade to freshman year? Didn’t you have questions, concerns, fears, and struggles?

Find a way to acknowledge this upcoming shift for them as well! Have their small group leader take them out for ice cream and give them a chance to ask as many questions as possible. Have a prayer night for their parents to think about how they can minister to their changing and maturing student. Present them a devotional, so they can begin making their faith their own in this new season.

Promotion is a WIN for Student Ministry!

Whatever you do, make the time of promotion in your student ministry a celebration of maturing and growing students. Offer seasons of preparation for the next phase of life and milestones students can look back on with a smile on their faces.

We get an excellent opportunity to help guide students on their spiritual journey. Let’s take advantage of these times of promotion to help them take the next step, whatever that may be!

Ronald

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