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Hide In God
After 30 years in youth ministry, I’ve come to recognize an unfortunate trait shared by many youth pastors: they’ve perfected the art of hiding who they really are. I’ve seen pastors who hide their low...
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The Forgotten Half: Reaching Those Who Don’t Attend College
We’re excited to have David Boyd as one of our NYWC speakers. This blog post is a great start to the conversations he’ll be navigating in his seminars. Check out more information HERE. In the United...
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There’s No I in Team, But…
You ever hear that before? I remember when I was growing up that was a popular poster in locker rooms, classrooms and pretty much any other place you may need to work together with people. I always...
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Why Invest in Your Youth Ministry Volunteers?
One of the best pieces of advice I have ever gotten during my years in youth ministry is to always be working myself to a place where I’m not needed anymore. Yes . . . That advice does sound...
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The Cycle of Welcome: 5 Reasons Students Attend Youth Group
Ask any youth leader anywhere why students attend youth group and you’ll generally get the same answer: Friends. I’d like to think it’s my perfectly delivered messages or the strong programs we have...
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10-second Tip: Take Time for the Questions at Midnight
At the NATIONAL YOUTH WORKERS CONVENTION, we stopped youth workers from all across the U.S. and asked them to share a 10-second youth ministry tip. THE 10-SECOND TIP: “As a Father, whenever my kids ask...
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The 4 Traps of Youth Ministry
We’re excited to have Greg Stier as one of our NYWC speakers. This blog post is a great start to the conversations he’ll be navigating in his seminars. Check out more information HERE. I’ll never...
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When to Engage in Youth Culture and How to Do It
I was hired into my first full-time youth ministry position at the end of June, primed to start in August with the next school year. My interview process was rigorous. It involved an initial interview...
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When Life Sucks
We’re excited to have Kerry Loescher as one of our NYWC speakers. This blog post is a great start to the conversations she’ll be navigating in her seminar: When Life Sucks: Ministering to Kids in...
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Do Not Fear: Our Reminder for Students
Young people today are being raised in a society that uniquely understands fear. Of course, students have many of the same fears we did—breakups, being outcasts, the future—but they’re exposed to more...
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3 Lessons from Dinner with Friends
“Thank you for being a friend/ Travel down the road and back again/ Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant…” I’m almost certain everyone has sat on a couch unenthusiastically searching for...
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In Defense of “Fun and Games”: The Importance of the Unspiritual
We’re excited to have Duffy Robbins as one of our NYWC speakers. This blog post is a great start to the conversations he’ll be navigating in his seminars. Check out more information HERE. One of my...
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The State of Male Adolescence
Statistics and stories about our homicidal adolescent males are dramatic enough to garner most of the headlines: The fourteen-year old in Mississippi who killed two children and wounded seven. The...
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More Rejoicing Over One Than Over Ninety-Nine
We’re excited to have Nate Landis as one of our NYWC speakers for the YS Explores session on partnering with schools. This blog post is a great start to the conversations he’ll be navigating in his YS...
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Small Youth Groups, Boundless Opportunities
It’s 7:02 on a Wednesday night and Jane walks in. You know she’s been struggling with math so you ask how her test went. Soon Jane is joined by a few others and by 7:09 your eight youth are assembled...
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Stranger Things: 8 Teaching Topics for October
I have to admit that Next to Easter ad Christmas, Halloween is the easiest month of the year for preaching. There is so much baked into the holiday that pulling out themes are a piece of pumpkin pie....
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The State of Youth Ministry: The Myth of the Lazy Teen
The article below is just one part of the State of Youth Ministry research we’ll be sharing at this year’s National Youth Workers Convention. We enlisted the help of Barna Group to understand how the...
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Why the School Campus?
We’re excited to have Chuck Klein as one of our NYWC speakers for the YS Explores session on partnering with schools. This blog post is a great start to the conversations he’ll be navigating at NYWC....
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Awkward Conversations and Stale Coffee: Networking with Youth Ministers
I sat down at on an old couch in the youth room at a neighboring church. I was only 21 years old and my pastor “encouraged me” to attend our area gathering of other youth ministers. He said it would be...
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10-second Tip: Leave Room For Doubt
At the NATIONAL YOUTH WORKERS CONVENTION, we stopped youth workers from all across the U.S. and asked them to share a 10-second youth ministry tip. THE 10-SECOND TIP: “Leave room for doubt. It’s the...
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