Communication

How To Get More Buy In From Parents

Do not ignore parents.  You need them to help your ministry grow. The way that will happen is by getting them to buy in and invest in you and your…

How To Respond To A Long Day

Moving from summer to fall means a new season of ministry. Chances are your weeks will move quicker and your days will feel long. After a night of...

6 Steps To A Healthy Volunteer Core

I didn’t always get it right. For many years I just needed bodies. I wasn’t looking for the right people or a solid community. I just needed numbers....

burnout

How To Avoid and Address Burnout

Burnout seems to sneak up on you. It starts as irritation or exhaustion and then next thing you know you are hiding under the covers wondering, “Is...

4 Tips To Welcome New Teens

I moved around a lot as a kid.  The hardest part about it was being the new guy.  Especially going to school, I was never sure if I was doing…

advocacy

3 Ways To Increase Teen Participation

Every church wants it. It’s the vibrancy that comes from the next generation. That’s why churches higher youth ministers. They want to see the next...

Communication

7 Steps To Deliver Top Notch Messages

As an ENFP I have the ability to talk for hours. It doesn’t mean I’m always interesting, but I like to talk. In order to deliver quality message I...

What I’ve Learned The Last 10 Years

10 years ago today I walked into Church of the Nativity in Timonium, Maryland as the Middle School Youth Minister. Today I’m still at the same church...

4 Steps To Tackle Pressure

It’s crunch time for our student ministry. Time is shrinking and the pressure is mounting. People are getting frantic and questions are filled with...

How To Get Teens Plugged In And Serving

Growing up I saw a few teenagers serving at church, but never knew how they got plugged in. Outside of altar serving it’s like you needed a special...

Should You Have To Work Weekends?

Should you have to work weekends to run a healthy youth ministry? YES. I didn’t always think that way because I didn’t want to think that way. I...