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An Honest Look at Our Short-Term Missions
For a few decades now, there have been important discussions about the value of short-term mission trips. Many (most?) American churches are convinced short-term missions often foster dramatic growth...
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Why balancing your marriage and ministry matters
We all know that maintaining a healthy marriage is important. We’ve probably all read enough how-to books and articles that we could write our own. But in the shuffle of everyday life—between church...
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Rekindle The Fire
We all know that sometimes everyone needs a little recharge. If you are in ministry hopefully you are there because you have a passionate fire for what you do (If you don’t, check out this post. But if...
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Marching to the Beat of Hip Hop’s Drum: 3 Ways to Navigate Teens and Music
It is inevitable; hip hop music that is. It is of most certainty that your youth listen to and interact with hip hop in its vast shades- the music, the artists who create them, the culture built within...
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Managing a Micro-Managing Manager
I stepped into the head pastor’s office the day before our mission trip. I carefully stepped over my comedically long to-do list that was uncoiled in front of me like in the cartoons. The pastor had...
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The Trapeze Model Doesn’t Work (especially for college students)
I need to start off with a “Fair Warning” paragraph. If you are the type of person that likes articles to present a problem and then offer solutions, then you should probably stop reading this. I...
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A Thankless Job or an Opportunity to Create
You spend months of your life planning something. You pour yourself into it. You bleed for it. You give up your time and energy to make this thing work. Maybe it’s a trip or an event or a message....
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HOW TO GET TO WHERE YOU DON’T KNOW YOU’RE GOING
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we knew where we were headed? Sure, like many people, you’ve probably made some long term goals and have a path of sorts you hope your life journey takes you. Maybe you’ve...
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Making Church History come to Life
I LOVE church history. Really, I love the quirky and often unheard nuggets from history. Nerd alert: I wrote my church history thesis on whether or not Martin Luther was anti-semitic. However, church...
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A list of Favorite Youth Ministry Books
Hey, Friends! Whether you’re on day one or year forty, we all know that serving in youth ministry can sometimes feel like a daunting task. In those moments some of us are fortunate enough to have...
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Don’t Waste Your College: It Starts This Semester
Summer time is coming to an end. The semester is about to begin. Whether it’s your first semester or your last, the start of a semester means new beginnings and renewed focus. Your schedule is full of...
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Top 10: “Silver Bullets in 5th-9th Grade Ministry…And Beyond”
We all want to know the “silver bullet”… the “secret sauce”… to youth ministry, even more specifically middle years ministry. I have people ask me all the time about the “silver bullets” or “secret...
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Cornwall: Managing Mini Revolutions in your youth ministry
I recently spent my holiday in Vienna and Cornwall and found my inspiration for my next two posts. I would like to start with my time in Cornwall and look at the idea of revolution. CORNWALL’S DESIRE...
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How Gangs are Reaching Young People with Youth Ministry Models
What if I told you that gangs are using youth ministry approaches to recruit and retain young people? After all, gangs are all about monetary gain and violence, right? During my time in youth ministry,...
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Living Your Calling Without Dying
“I’m dying… but that’s normal.” The words hit me hard as I sat across from one of the leaders of our student ministry. She had been through it all being married to a pastor and in student and...
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Good Questions to Ask Volunteers Before the Fall
Summer time is connection time. It’s that time of the ministry year when we either take a break from our weekly programming or scale it way back. And, that should give us more time. More time for...
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Fresh Start in the Fall
Summer time has gone by very fast and the school year has started for schools across the country. Student Ministries now have a game plan for the upcoming school year and are excited to implement the...
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Influence: Student Roles
When I was 14 years old I decided I wanted to be a youth pastor and do for others what had been done for me by my youth pastor. I had no experience and very little biblical knowledge, but I had one...
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Youth Ministry on a “tiny” budget: The Pineapple Soda Principle
Having been in ministry for over 17 years, I remember having zero money for programming to now overseeing a program that spends well over $1.6 million dollars for a national gathering. For those of you...
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The ‘Main Thing’
Youth ministry is a fairly vast field that includes a wide number of skill sets, mission fields, opportunities and challenges. Serving in a field so open to God’s calling can be a blessing, but it can...
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