Category: Youth Ministry
-
Silence, Memorial, & Baseball
I have not posted anything in a few weeks, but intend to finish the rest of the workshop notes from San Diego and I’ve other things cooking. However, with my wife’s recent ( one week ago today) bi-lateral reconstructive surgery followed immediately by Mondo and being her primary care giver at the moment, my working…
-
Growing As A Speaker (part 1)
I thought I would share here the general content of my workshop on “Growing as a speaker” at the recent Rooted Conference. This is part one. Competence My very first youth group meeting I led as a rookie youth minister, I scribbled a few notes down and got up and spoke for 15 or 20…
-
Lessons learned along the way
Since hitting the 30 year mark at the start of the month, I thought I would share something I shared with a group of youth leaders in recent years when teaching at a training conference. Some of it needs further explaining but some of it is just obvious. I learned these from observation, experience, and…
-
We Missed Them, Why?
I have been trying to figure out the best terminology for a situation that exists all over North America. It is seen in the small churches where one or two or three teens exist in the congregation and no real ministry is being done for or with them. Why? Because the leadership of the church…
-
A Milestone
30 years ago today I started this journey in youth ministry on a full time basis. Prior to that I had some years in college as a volunteer but this day was the big scary first. Would it work out? Had God called me to be a full time youth minister? I was nervous to…
-
Life Explored!
-
What Is Happening To Our Mother Church?
In the mid 1980’s about 45% of the population of England and Wales identified themselves as Anglicans. Today that number is less than 20%. A new study conducted by St Mary’s University, Twickenham, which was focused mostly on the Catholic Church, revealed some rather disturbing numbers for the Anglican church. The Roman Catholic Church in…
-
Three Reasons To Take Attendance…
A conversation over lunch this week with a youth minister prompted me to reflect on the following… Years ago a wise sage (he was actually younger but infinately wiser than me) taught me the value of tracking attendance at youth group, Sunday School, and pretty much anything in our ministry. He showed me a database of…
-
Are Youth Pastors An Endangered Species?
I stopped by Rob’s office on my way back from teaching a seminar at our camp. Rob has been doing full time youth ministry in our diocese longer than the 15 years I have been in SC. In those years he has served just two churches. Rob is a prime example of the longevity I…
-
Staff Unity
I shared this last month at St. Christopher Camp & Conference Center with the staff. I spent a summer during college working at a Christian camp. One day the entire staff had a meeting with a local pastor who was brought in to speak to us. We did not know him, and…
