Category: Rural Ministry
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How to Join A YouthWorker Network….
This is a question I get often when I teach at workshops – “How do I get involved in a network?”…. Here are some steps to take: Is there already a network in your area? You may know about a network or group of youth workers that are meeting in your area. If you do,…
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Digital Shadow.
Everything you do online is, for the most part, permanent. Go back and re-read the previous sentence. People and companies are tracking what you do online. Usually it is not for your benefit or gain, its for theirs. Some are legally and ethically ok, others are not. This concept of a “Digital Shadow or Footprint”…
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MinistryPlace.Net On The Road: Indiana United Methodist MERGE Conference
On May 29 and 30, I will be at the INUMC MERGE Family Ministry Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. He will be presenting workshops on Rural Youth Ministry Strategies and Building Community in Rural Youth Ministry. He will also be representing National Network of Youth Ministries as well. If you are there, I’d love to connect with…
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Reggie Wayne and Church HR…
Every so often, there is a story that comes across the news that seems “just a little too good to be true”. Friday was one of those days. Early in the morning, a story started circulating in the Indianapolis news outlets regarding Reggie Wayne leaving the Indianapolis Colts. My first reaction was, “no way, they…
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MinistryPlace.Net and Flipboard….
Many of you that use mobile devices use Flipboard. It is a well designed tool for consuming content that you choose. In the short time Flipboard has been available, there have been several improvements, including a web app, and the ability to “create your own magazine”. We have done that here at MinistryPlace.Net. You can…
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Four Things You Won’t Learn About Ministry In College or Seminary….
There is some debate today about what the current value of Bible College/Seminary is in ministry positions, given some of the alternative training models out there today (Online/Coaching/Internships/Etc). That is not an argument that I am going to dive into today. There are some great arguments on both sides there to be looked at another…
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Its all His anyway…
This morning, a friend of mine posted a news story on Facebook about some urban farming happening in North St. Louis. The story is quite fascinating how people have farmed this land for so many years, not knowing who the owner is, and happily reaping the benefits. There is a bit of unrest when the…
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4 Things I Learned Leaving Church Staff…
Its now four months since I left my last church staff position. Its been a roller coaster of opportunities and some letdowns along the way. This has been the longest gap between serving on staff at a church in 14 years. There has not been the “normal” of searching and interviewing for another church position,…
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When The Levee Breaks
One of the things I encounter working with rural communitites is bringing awareness to the queston of “what are we going to do to reach and engage the next generation?”. The more I talk with community leaders, the more I hear a response that goes something along the lines of “well, we haven’t really thought…
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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 include conferences, mentoring programs, and…
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A Unique Fundraising Idea
I have a fundraising idea that’s a bit out of the box. I’ll warn you that it is not conventional. It’s not exactly easy either. But, if done right, it could net your youth group a good amount of money and cost you almost nothing to do it. Willing to consider something different? Then read…