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Schools: One of Your Key Partners In Ministry
I have been blessed to serve in youth ministry now for more than a decade. One of the keys I have learned to be important to effective youth ministry is building great partnerships. Often times in...
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Dear Other Millennial Youth Pastors
Dear Other Millennial Youth Pastors, I do not know about you, but lately, it seems as if many people these days have a lot to say about millennials and this specific generation. It does not take long...
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Ministering to the Fringe: The Creative Kids
I’m pleased to be writing once more about my favorite kind of teenager in the world: the FRINGE kid. These are the students who typically remain on the outskirts of our ministries, maybe attending...
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Why Your Students Should Preach and How You Can Make Sure They’re Successful
Something interesting happens when you believe in your students… They believe you. I have ten interns. They’re all juniors and seniors in high school and most receive school credit for their...
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Underground: The importance of Goal Setting in Youth Ministry
Where are you going? I still remember the first time I was standing on the platform of the Victoria line and a woman came up to me. She spoke broken English to me while trying to relay what I said to...
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Small Church Idea Swap
Jeff Suos led a great conversation with a handful of small church youth workers and pastors to celebrate what is working, talk through what isn’t, and connect on common passions and visions for anyone...
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CHRISTIAN SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AND KINGDOM WORK
This past Sunday I was asked to share with my congregation for the first time about my social enterprise. There are many people at church that know that we run a landscaping company and also a number...
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Ministry During Hurricanes
So about 10 days ago a hurricane hit my city (Jacksonville, Florida). In fact, it hit my entire state, knocking out power, flooding homes, displacing families even taking lives. In the days leading up...
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Prepare for Launch
Students move through your ministry constantly and at light speed. If you’re one of those brave souls that works with students all the way from middle school until graduation, that means that you have...
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Creating a Youth Network In Your Community That is Constructive, Not Competitive
Over my ten years of ministry in Tampa, I have been a part of several “youth networks” or regular gatherings of youth leaders from churches in my community. Some were healthy and lasted years. Others...
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3 Vital Tips for Leading Discussion in Small Groups
Youth ministry is coming to an era where small groups are vital to the success and longevity of students in ministry. They provide relationships for students, and if done well can create a bond of...
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Joy Comes in the Morning: Surviving the Ups and Downs of Youth Ministry
Today I cried in my office three times. Three times. Sunday night I walked out of my church at 8:50 PM and reminded myself that you don’t quit on Mondays, which is a phrase my wise coach, Tony Akers,...
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Preparing for the Unthinkable
As a high school student, I heard a lot about suicide and how to spot it. I never thought it would affect me. Everyone at my private school was happy, they all had loving parents and would never think...
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Toxic Church Environments
One of the common messages we see over and over again in the Bible is that we are broken people in need of a great Savior. God uses messy and flawed human beings throughout history to inspire, love and...
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Handing Over the Keys: Building up student leaders in your ministry
Recently a student showed up at my office door wanting to talk to me about how, in her opinion, youth group could be better. It was Monday morning. I was tired, and in the middle of cleaning up from...
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Choosing To Love Where You Are
Last Monday I was sitting at a Starbucks waiting for a friend to arrive to talk about church planting initiatives. To pass the time, I started to scroll through Instagram to see all the adventures my...
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What Do You Do When Your Self-worth is Challenged?
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to an entire junior class on what to do when your self-worth is challenged. Our young people are facing enormous pressures nowadays. Along with overt peer...
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The Difference Between Program and Ministry
Years ago, I sat in at Youth Specialties’ National Youth Workers Convention, listening to Kara Powell, talk about her research connected to the new Sticky Faith book. I remember her on the main stage...
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When My Students Come Out to Me
Lately, I have had more and more students want to meet and talk about same-sex attraction. We have moved from “my friend” is struggling with this, to “I” struggle with this. I am broken for my students...
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An Interview with Rev. Samuel Rodriguez
Maina Mwaura sat down for an interview with Rev. Samuel Rodriguez about his new book, DACA, and the future of the Latino church and Hispanic culture in America. Rodriguez is the president of the...
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