Join the conversation! Whether you're a youth pastor, church staff or volunteer here's the place to share ideas, hopes, dreams and resources for youth ministry.
Staci
Faith Formation
Larry
Melissa
Anna
It was early 2011 when I was approached with the offer to be a guide for the Youth Network. I love youth ministry and I love communication tools like social media, so I jumped at the opportunity. As I wrap up my time as guide...
Is it possible to have a growing, healthy, successful youth group in a congregation that has traditional worship? Does the worship style of the congregation matter? Does the worship style of the congregation enhance or inhibit a youth leader’s ability to do youth ministry?
I just read an interesting blog called “Why Theology and Youth Ministry Seldom Mix," regarding the challenge of incorporating theology into youth groups. I wonder if others see this as a challenge or concern.
I did a blog with an idea to team with Faith Alive to sell books as a fundraiser for youth groups. It did spark some good discussion about fundraising and maybe even about a number of strategic goals around fundraising.
Maybe the question should be “Is it important to get youth interested in our denominations?” I believe it is, indeed, important and the blessing and missional impact of denominations like the CRCNA should be shared with youth. Maybe you disagree.
Sometimes I think that while everyone in my church thinks it’s important to care for the poor, when we start to actively participate in projects around social justice, there’s an uneasiness that gets in the way of support for our efforts.
Silos go up when individual areas get caught up in their own goals and fail to work cross-functionally with others within the organization. It’s the responsibility of a youth leader to break down silos in a church.
You may not have weekly meetings during the summer, but hopefully you are finding opportunities to keep the youth group community together. Let's start planning now!
If your church is running VBS later this summer, consider getting your entire youth group actively involved in the program. My experience is that this will bring a wonderful energy to the VBS, and it will have a long-lasting impact.
Faith Alive Christian Resources has come up with a creative idea that will share reformed resources within a congregation AND raise funds for the youth group. Youth groups will earn 40% profit on all books sold through this program.
OK, so here’s my pep talk for you. You have precious few weeks left in this youth group season. Enjoy these last months and the relationships you’ve nurtured. If anything, it’s time to pick up the pace!
Did you know that children ages 4-14 are the most fragile population within and outside our churches and the ones who know the least about Christ? Yet, the opportunity to reach individuals for Christ is most fruitful in those age 4-14.
For most of my years in youth ministry, I didn’t do a very good job of bringing our youth group into Lent with an appropriate sense of this incredible season. Anyone got ideas or proven lessons to share?
I believe followership is just as important as leadership. I just wish we lived in a world where the gift of following was recognized and given value as an integral aspect of the Christian life. When was the last time you highlighted the work of young people who showed dedication, humility and a servant attitude in their followership?
I’ve thought about writing this for a while, but it’s not particularly fun to write about some of my lowest moments as a youth leader. There have been times when youth have given up on our church and our youth group, and I’ve chosen, sometimes consciously and often subconsciously, to give up on them...
Youth Leader 101 typically notes that special events, like school, community or national sporting events, are often great excuses for getting students together. The NCAA basketball, known as March Madness, is a perfect example which also makes an outstanding community outreach opportunity.
How do you help students walk through their profession of faith at your church? Can you share examples of what has worked well and what hasn’t worked well?
Let me start out by saying my wife and I were volunteer youth leaders for 15 years. But I do think that our church made a mistake in asking for volunteer youth leaders, rather than investing money and resources in staff. I think it implied to many youth that they were not as important as “adults” in the church.
I wonder how many youth leaders are in accountability groups. I would suggest that if you are a youth leader and you are not in an accountability group, you consider doing so. It’s a very personal decision. I can only tell you that I have been blessed and improved by my group.
This is a topic that’s discussed in consistories/councils, by congregations, Synods, and pretty much anywhere there are church-going folks or church leaders hanging out. I don’t expect to solve the challenge in a short blog, but I think youth leaders might have a different perspective than many in the church.
Yeah, I know that we, as youth leaders, parents, students, Christ-followers, strive to seek God’s face constantly. That’s good. Keep that up. I just figured that in this first week of a new year, it might be good to push all of the “stuff” out of your head and just simply listen to God.
For some of us who are, well, not so young, there was no texting 10 years ago. For younger leaders, texting has been a part of your lives for much of the past few years. In either case, I wonder if you are using text messages to communicate with your youth group and if not, why not?
I’ve got a friend who feels a lot of pressure to increase participants in youth group and roll out consistently high numbers of profession of faiths among their church young people. Really? So this is how we measure performance for a youth leader?
Christmas is a couple of weeks away. The focus in most of our homes is on gifts. Youth group students have created long lists of all the items they “need.” My question is this, how do we cover this topic in our youth groups in such a way that we impact thought without instilling guilt?
Most years, the most successful youth group event was the night when we visited shut-ins in our congregation. It might not have been the most popular youth event going in to the activity, but it was always the best as the night ended. If you haven’t done this, you gotta give it a try.