Category: Youth Ministry

Several years ago, Modern Reformation Magazine asked me to write an article on Youth Conferences. I am reposting that here since the season is upon us and it may help some to evaluate what they are experiencing this summer. The stage is set. The sound check is done. Leaders huddle for one last prayer. Cue…

The shift in culture that America has experienced has been so sudden and strange that it has left many youth and children’s ministry leaders scratching their heads. School teachers are experiencing much of the same. Nowhere is this shift more evident than in the area of sexual orientation and gender identity. To grasp the dramatic…

I had two articles published on the Rooted Blog recently on Climate Anxiety. A bit of research turned up some fascinating but often sad realities among teens today. Here is a snippet… Today’s students often feel terrified when it comes to climate change. We find ourselves with a new diagnosis in our society, one that…

From my friend blog called Youth Pastor Theologian… In my experience, all of the spaces that student ministries occupy are distant from the other significant ministries in the church. From basements to separate buildings, it can seem like we are separating the students on purpose. With the separation, it can be challenging to push students…

I am really excited about a new publisher and the work they are just beginning to release! They are Wolfbane Books and they “create resources for family discipleship that increase biblical literacy and form imagination.” Their website says… Cultivating biblical imagination for all ages. The first Psalm paints a picture of a flourishing human by describing…

I found a fascinating article on The Gospel Coalition blog in which a millennial campus pastor reflects on the differences between his generation (millennials) and those he is ministering to (Gen Z). Here is a snippet. I’m not particularly interested in judging the relative merits of these two generations of college students—neither reflects the fullness…

There is a great article over on TGC blog written by a college student about her experience joining a local church and why she made a priority of it. Here’s a bit of it.. For a college student, becoming involved with a local church can be uncomfortable. Often, Christian students’ community centers on a campus…

A great article on The Gospel Coalition blog recently talked about how the world is instructing our kids through television and other media. It’s worth reading. I watched parts of the Euro, and you would have thought the whole event was a commercial for rainbow flags. And yet, the packaging of the Olympics was even…

The continuation of the previous post… and it’s just my notes, so it’s in kind of rough form. I believe there is great hope for GenZ found in Psalm 78. (verses 1-8) This Psalm is a historical Psalm recalling events from Israel’s past. Specifically it covers selected events from Moses to David. The whole of…

My friend Mike McGarry wrote an interesting article on his new site Youth Pastor Theologian. (he also posts regularly on instagram) About ten years ago, everyone was talking about the “dropout rate” and the “rise of the nones.” The increased number of youth who were walking away from the faith after high school rang the…