I asked the following question in a room of 60 people recently. “How many of you are consistently praying for one of the other youth leaders or pastors in your community?” ONE hand. One hand went up. We have to pray for one another. It is beyond important. I have […]
Bible Study , Christian Leadership , Resources , Rural Ministry , Student Ministry , Youth Leader Health
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Healthy Youth Leaders : Learn
In the last post in this series, we looked at what it means to be a healthy youth leader. The first element of youth leader health is a willingness to learn. I am not necessarily talking about college or seminary. There are some great programs and resources out there that […]
Missions , Newsletters , Student Ministry , Youth Leader Health
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December 2014 Monthly Ministry Update…
The December Monthly Ministry Update is out. Have a Merry Christmas! You can download a copy here… The web version is here…
Christian Leadership , Ministry , Student Ministry , Youth Leader Health
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Healthy Youth Leaders Do This: ______….
Since accepting my new position, I have accepted several speaking and training opportunities that give me a chance to pour into Youth Leaders. Honestly, this is one of my favorite things to do in ministry. I am doing a training in Illinois for Southern Baptist Youth Leaders at the end […]
Christian Leadership , Redneck Tech , Rural Ministry , Stories , Student Ministry
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The Kaskaskia Dragon and Youth Ministry…
One of the interesting things about my new position with NNYM is that I get to see some really wild things that are off the beaten path. One of these gems is the Kaskaskia Dragon. It is located off US 40 in Vandalia, Illinois. According to Roadside America, this creation […]
Ministry , Rural Ministry , Stories , Student Ministry
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Staging…
A couple weeks ago, I announced that I was embarking on a new ministry adventure. There has been much preparation in the transition (and not all is complete, but we’re getting close). In all the preparation and training, I feel like the driver sitting behind the wheel of a top-fuel […]
Evangelism , Ministry , Missions , Student Ministry
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What’s the Point of Arguing?
Recently, I read this article about Bart Campolo. He’s the son of author and preacher Tony Campolo. Bart, who originally followed in his father’s footsteps, now serves as the Secular Humanist chaplain at the University of Southern California. He does a lot of the pastoral care pastors do for churches, […]
Christian Leadership , Evangelism , Ministry , Rural Ministry , Student Ministry
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A New Adventure…
I have exciting news. I have taken a position with National Network of Youth Ministries in the Great Lakes region. I will be serving as a Rural Ministry Specialist working with youth worker networks in Illinois and Western Indiana. This position involves resourcing and encouraging youth workers in both paid and volunteer […]
Christian Leadership , Ministry , Money , Resources , Rural Ministry , Student Ministry , YM For Cheap!
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A Simple Approach to Youth Ministry Budgets…
Its that time of the year again!! Time to start looking at next year’s budget. I know some of you are asking “what’s a budget?”, I will get into that in a future post. Preparing a budget seems to be a necessary evil of Youth Ministry, but here are a […]
Ministry , Student Ministry
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Campus Ministry
As schools across the country have started back and fall is in the air, youth ministers around the country are shifting their thinking to campus ministry. If you are a youth minister and you do not have a presence on your local school campus you are missing out on a […]
Ministry , Social Media , Student Ministry , Technology
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Lets Start a Facebook Prayer Meeting…
I received an interesting Facbook notification first thing this morning. Late last night Kevin Patterson tagged me and 9 other people, stating that he was challenged by a friend to choose 10 people publicly on social media to pray for in the coming week. Kevin added the ministries those people […]
Bible Study , Ministry , Resources , Rural Ministry , Student Ministry
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Teen Devotion Ideas
One of the largest challenges in youth ministry is keeping students growing in their faith. One of the tools we have available to help in this area are daily devotions to help students think through having a daily time focused on prayer and God’s word. Here are some great resources […]