Events are a pretty big deal for most youth ministries. They’re a way to have fun, connect with students and their families, get new people in the door, and create some excitement. Events matter, but we’ve got to keep things in perspective. That’s why we’re fans of...
Teaching
If you've spent any time in youth ministry, you've probably asked yourself this question—Are they learning anything? It's a question that drives youth pastors everywhere to adjust and refine their programs. It's pretty easy to tell when teenagers are having fun. We...
If you've spent any time in children's ministry, you've probably asked yourself this question — Are they learning anything? It's a question that drives kids pastors everywhere to keep adjusting and refining their programs. It's pretty easy to tell when kids are having...
Let's say you've got a video you want to show during your teaching time. How do you go about doing it? If you didn't know, there are many rules and laws around what's legal and not concerning playing music, videos, and other media in your church environment. And if...
The first time you're in charge of a small group of kids, you might feel pretty intimidated. It's a big responsibility, and there's so much to remember—names, talking points, and rules to your icebreaker. Beyond that, there's the stuff you can't always prepare for,...
The first time you're in charge of a small group of teenagers, you might feel pretty intimidated. It's a big responsibility, and there's so much to remember—names, talking points, and rules for your icebreaker. Beyond that, there's the stuff you can't always prepare...
Have you ever struggled to find volunteers for your ministry? Without volunteers, there's so much our ministries wouldn't be able to do well, like... Games. Small groups. Building relationships. Setting up and tearing down (over and over and over again). This could be...
Discipleship
When planning your year, we always recommend you start with your discipleship strategy. That’s because spiritual growth should be the lens through which we see everything else we do in our ministries. We believe there are four spiritual habits that help teenagers (and...
When it comes to helping teenagers grow in their faith, we believe there are four spiritual habits to target. These habits are the decisions, behaviors, and rhythms that help us grow spiritually over time. If you're like most people, when you hear "spiritual habit"...
When it comes to helping kids grow in their faith, we believe there are four spiritual habits to target. These habits are the decisions, behaviors, and rhythms that help us grow spiritually over time. If you're like most people, when you hear "spiritual habit" you...
Leadership
If we asked you to share your favorite memories from ministry, it might take you a minute. Ministry is full of things to remember, from the funny, random things teenagers can say to the life-changing decisions they make for Jesus. You'll have dozens of favorite...
If we asked you to share your favorite memories from ministry, it might take you a minute. Ministry is full of things to remember, from the funny stories kids share to the life-changing decisions they make for Jesus. You'll have dozens of favorite moments throughout...
Okay, youth pastors. Picture this. It’s 15 minutes before your weekly program begins, and you’ve got everything planned. Your message is going to be awesome. You’ve got your best worship playlist cued up. You just stocked up on a fresh batch of Doritos. Plus, you’re...
In youth ministry, we all know what it’s like to leave our planning to the last possible second. Maybe you started planning that big event of yours a few weeks too late and now you’re scrambling to get it all done. Or maybe you’re halfway through the school year when...
Families
Imagine this ... A new family comes to your ministry. They're full of questions about how you teach and disciple students, what your program looks like, and the ways they can expect you to communicate with them. Congratulations! You have a family that's curious and...
When it comes to parents, let’s be honest — we could all do a better job of engaging them, caring for them, and including them in our ministries. For some of us, sometimes even just acknowledging their existence would be a good step forward. As youth pastors, family...
Every few years, we ask kids ministry leaders like you about their biggest struggles in ministry. Somewhere between telling us about their kids who can't sit still and the neverending search to find dependable volunteers, kids ministry leaders across the board tell us...
Events
We all know a well-organized event can be a huge win for any ministry! And as a kids or youth pastor, you've got a lot of events to plan, right? Like ... Family fun nights! All-nighters! Fundraisers! Trunk-or-treat weekends! Game nights! And so much more! But let's...
Planning events can be overwhelming — especially when you already do so much to keep your children's ministry running! But whether you've planned hundreds of events, or this is your very first one, this how-to guide is designed to help your next event go a lot more...
Planning events can be overwhelming — especially when you already do so much to keep your ministry running! But whether you've planned hundreds of events, or this is your very first one, we want to help your next event go a lot more smoothly. We'll give you some...
Environments
If you're looking for a way to help your teenagers and volunteers grow together, a great board game might be what you need. Keeping a few board games around your meeting space is always a good idea. While a board game might not be our first thought when it comes to...
If you're looking for a way to help your kids and volunteers grow together, a great board game might be what you need. Keeping a few board games around your meeting space is always a good idea. While a board game might not be our first thought when it comes to...
If you've spent any amount of time in kids ministry, you've probably played a few incredible games. Games are a central part of kids ministry. They give us a chance to make new connections with kids and help them relate to their peers. Games are more than just a way...
Popular Posts
Imagine this ... A new family comes to your ministry. They're full of questions about how you teach and disciple students, what your program looks like, and the ways they can expect you to communicate with them. Congratulations! You have a family that's curious and interested in your ministry and how it functions. So now what? What do you tell them? How do you start explaining your vision of ministry? What's the most important piece of information you could give them to start building their...
Have you ever struggled to find volunteers for your ministry? Without volunteers, there's so much our ministries wouldn't be able to do well, like... Games. Small groups. Building relationships. Setting up and tearing down (over and over and over again). This could be an endless list! But when we asked pastors what their number one struggle was in ministry, they overwhelmingly told us they struggled with finding volunteers. And it wasn't just finding volunteers they were struggling with. It...
Leading a small group of kids can feel a lot like herding kittens. They might not all be paying attention. They might be making noise. And at least one of them is ready for a snack. So, you gather them up and ... want them to talk about their faith? What could possibly go wrong 😅 ? How can you get them to focus while harnessing all of their energy for just a few moments? If that's a question you've wondered, you're not alone. Leading a small group of kids is tough, and we can't promise an...
If you've ever run a small group, you know how intimidating it can feel. You've got a group of teenagers who may or may not know each other. They have similar yet completely different experiences, and now you've lumped them together to talk about their faith and other intimate parts of their lives. What could go wrong 😅 ? In the best-case scenario, they get along without a hitch, and the conversation flows smoothly. But in the worst cases, getting them to introduce themselves can feel like...
Let's say you've got a video you want to show during your teaching time. How do you go about doing it? If you didn't know, there are many rules and laws around what's legal and not concerning playing music, videos, and other media in your church environment. And if you've ever had questions about following those rules, we're here to help! Before we go any further, this is probably the right time to say we are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice. But in our research for this post, we...
When planning your year, we always recommend you start with your discipleship strategy. That’s because spiritual growth should be the lens through which we see everything else we do in our ministries. We believe there are four spiritual habits that help teenagers (and adults, too) grow closer to God. These four habits aren’t anything new. They’ve been talked about countless ways, by countless numbers of people. Your church is probably already talking about them in your own unique way, so feel...
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