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How to Have a Sharp(ie) Ministry
We’re excited to have Crystal Kirgiss as one of our NYWC speakers. Check out more information HERE. Behold the mighty Sharpie marker. Great for signage (NO RUNNING IN THE SANCTUARY), great for...
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4 Ways to Care for LGBTQIA Students in Youth Ministry
Hair, face, eyes, ears, nose, chin, lips, teeth, back, breasts, stomach, waist, hips, butt, arms, hands, fingernails, thighs, knees, calves, ankles, feet, toes, body hair, pimples, scars, freckles,...
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5 Ways to Incorporate Parents into Youth Ministry
I’ve spent a lot of time, recently, thinking about serving parents. In my experience serving youth workers in my current denominational role, it is one of the things that youth workers seem to struggle...
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10-Second Tip: Smash Face Youth Ministry Game
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: “Do not play smash face in front...
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Kids. . . Biggest Problem, Issue, and Opportunity
We’re excited to have Walt Mueller as one of our NYWC speakers. This blog post is a great start to the conversations he’ll be navigating in his seminar: 5 YOUTH CULTURE MEGATRENDS EVERY YOUTH WORKER...
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An Open Letter to the Church Van
We’re excited to have Kerry Loescher as one of our NYWC speakers. Check out more information HERE. Dear Church Van, I wanted to write and say thank you for all of your service. You have taken some...
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What Makes a Youth Pastor?
Back in the 90s there was a stereotypical youth pastor. He was a young, hip, 20-something who had just graduated from Bible college or grew up in the church he was now serving. He was loud, played...
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Signs of Sexual Abuse
Have you ever been talking with a student and been bombarded with a Holy Spirit nudge that you couldn’t ignore? I am sure all of us at some point have experienced that discordant feeling that something...
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How I Communicate with Youth Ministry Volunteers
Have you ever wished that your volunteers could read your mind? Well, not every thought, but at least the ones regarding the permission slips you forgot to print, the PowerPoint you needed for service,...
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3 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I Became a Youth Worker
We’re excited to have Cesar Castillejos as one of our NYWC speakers. Check out more information HERE. My theological training in seminary has been an adequate foundation for my ministry. But my...
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Everything Changes
When I first started out as a youth pastor I tried every different format and methodology in an attempt to figure out what our group of students needed most. It took some time, but my staff and I...
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3 Ways to Better Handle Criticism in Youth Ministry
We pour so much of ourselves into our ministries for the spiritual well-being of others. We sacrifice our personal time (often to a fault), we take midnight calls, serve on our scheduled days off, come...
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Why Student Leadership?
We’re excited to have Jen Bradbury as one of our NYWC speakers. This blog post is a great start to the conversations she’ll be navigating in her seminar: Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Student...
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Our Kids as Target: The Easy Cheap Shot
We’re excited to have Chap Clark 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. Somehow the...
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7 Field-Tested Hacks For Reaching Your High School Campus
“The best way to find a good idea is to gather a lot of ideas.” – Linus Pauling, Nobel Prize Winning Chemist Over the last ten years, I’ve had the privilege of seeing our students reach hundreds of...
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Are Your Students on the Jesus Diet?
Who likes diets? I mean seriously, I cannot think of anyone who likes them. The best thing about diets is that the very nature of a diet is that it is temporary. Usually whenever I go on a diet, I do a...
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Suicide and Teens Facebook Live Q+A
Certified addictions counselor and youth worker Chris Schaffner joined me for a recent Facebook Live Q+A to help youth workers answer the question: What do you do when a student contemplates or commits...
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ARISE: 6 Ways to Get on School Campuses
Getting on campus is the ministry we all know we should be doing but don’t quite know how. We are in student ministry, which means going to a place that is full of students five days a week should be...
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How to Help Teens Who’ve Seen and Done It All
Hopeless teens do stupid things. The more hopeless they become, the more reckless and self-damaging. I’ve added to their hopelessness…I’m guessing you have too. It isn’t that I planned to do, it’s just...
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Our Holiest Kids May Be Our Hardest Challenge!
We’re excited to have Marv Penner 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. They’ve heard...
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