Hey there Simply Insiders, We have a FREEBIE resource for you today that we hope helps you as you in turn help struggling parents of kids that may be in your youth ministry who are self-injuring themselves. Often this difficult topic is avoided, but author, Chris Schaffner, deals with it head-on to increase awareness and provide solutions for parents [...]![]()
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FREEBIE: A Parents’ Guide to Recognizing Self-injury
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Affected by Colorado Floods? We want to help!
Hey Simply Insiders! Group Cares is organizing three one-day serving events to meet the needs of flood victims. We hope to mobilize hundreds people for these efforts. Projects can include anything from yard work to debris removal to minor home repairs. we would love to help them! You can have them contact Geoff Frahm directly by email gfrahm@group.com or call the [...]![]()
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WHAT MESSAGE IS YOUR MINISTRY REFLECTING?
Ever been to a new church and left with the a vibe about the church that was either positive or negative? Well, I think this happens with a lot of places. I went to what I thought was a fast-food restaurant one time and it changed my life. This place was in a league of it’s own. [...]![]()
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Behind-the-Scenes of Lifetree Adventures
Adventure. International Service. Awesome photos. What an awesome combination! That’s just what you get when you serve with Lifetree Adventures, international trip department of Group Mission Trips. Jobe Lewis, Director of Lifetree Adventures, just returned a few days ago from Honduras where he and 30 other willing people started construction on a home for children [...]![]()
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5 Tech Deal Sites…
I am always looking for a great deal on technology. The first place I usually look is Amazon and eBay but there are a lot of other less known sites where I can find some great deals on tech. Woot! More specifically tech.woot. Every day Woot! and its family of sites each have a new [...]![]()
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YM Database Guru-Vol. Job Desc.
(I’m in a mood to post some of my more unusual YM volunteer job descriptions, ways people can volunteer in your uthmin that you might not have dreamed of yet. Here’s another one; more to come.) Data Base Guru Volunteer Description The Database Guru Coordinator helps the youth ministry accomplish their ministry goals by maintaining [...]![]()
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The Technology Tornado
Hey Y’all! I know technology is an important part of what we all do. But are we letting it take over our entire life? Here are some great tips from Jake and Melissa Kircher to help you set boundaries with your favorite devices: By Jake and Melissa Kircher As the school year is in full swing now, [...]![]()
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Quickoffice Mobile App Free…
I love using my iPad, iPhone and Android devices for productivity. I am constantly looking for new and updated apps. If I can find an app that is similar to one I use and the new app is 5% or 10% better I will probably switch over. That said, if you are looking to write [...]![]()
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Favorite Note Taking App…
Noteshelf has been by favorite iPad note taking app for a while. I shifted from Penultimate and Bamboo Paper for Notshelf’s versatility. Right now Noteshelf is discounted 80% as they are celebrating it’s newest release with PDF annotations! That makes the app only 99 cents! Here are a few highlights: - PDF Import & Annotations - [...]![]()
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[Healthy Living] 6 Relational Tools
By Jake and Melissa Kircher The idea of soul care often seems to have negative connotations attached to it, when really, every person and every marriage needs this kind of attention. Working on your marriage is a good thing, not a signal that something is seriously wrong. We pastors can, at times, have a hard [...]![]()
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Coming Soon?
There’s an unconscious irony for pastors and youth workers after watching a preview of the movie Noah. If you haven’t seen it yet, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRTlT3DEydU Much like God spoke to Noah and told him what was to come, we have the opportunity to prepare for what’s ahead. Whether or not this movie is [...]![]()
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[Generosity] Jesus’ Twisted View
When I think about generosity, I think about giving out of an “extra supply” of something I already have—giving of my extra food, extra money, or extra time. Perhaps this stems from a notion that I’ve carried from childhood, which says we are truly generous when we give something away that we could’ve otherwise kept [...]![]()
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Let’s Talk About Youth Ministry – Q&A With Kurt
I surprised Kurt this week with a rapid fire Q&A. I wanted him to tap into his 20 plus years of experience. Here’s the list of questions. 1.Balance ministry and life? 2.Ask for more budget or a budget? 3.New position, new church what do I do first? 4.Staff dating each other? 5.Regain trust after a [...]![]()
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“Losing Your Religion” Book Release!
Well, it’s always a little uncomfortable for me to announce things like this, but my book Losing Your Religion releases today! I’m very excited about it, because I think it really meets a need. I wrote this book because I’m becoming increasingly concerned that many people are slitting the wrists of their faith, without knowing it. [...]![]()
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A Quick Survey… That’s Likely Missing Your Voice
I so appreciate what Walt Mueller recently blogged about regarding some accusations and attacks on youth ministry. In short, a group with a particular slant against certain forms of youth ministry (likely some forms you and I are personally familiar with) created a survey and has been trying to pass it off as a study. [...]![]()
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Hairy Isn’t Scary Update + Beard Tips
Hey There Beard-Growin’ Simply Insiders! BEARD TIPS: Read these awesome beard tips from Ben Halsch aka “The Beard” (pictured in the top left corner): So, you are a couple weeks into this whole No-shave November thing called the Hairy Isn’t Scary Campaign, and you are probably either in the middle of or on the tail [...]![]()
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[GENEROSITY] 20 Things To Tell Students This Week
You know the temptation. It goes something like this: Plan for your program. High-five some kids as they come in. Say something profound in your message or class time. Talk up the next big event. Run the next event. Over-hype everything you did so your church is glad they hired you. (I hope that last one [...]![]()
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A Tension-filled Post
“Show me the theology to which you want to ascribe, and I’ll show you the scripture you’ll need to ignore.” I’m not sure who said it first, but I absolutely love the above quote; probably because I’m not a theologian. And I’m becoming almost uncomfortably comfortable living with a bunch of tension as I journey [...]![]()
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Christmas Dinner Sale!
Save 20% on almost everything! Christmas is just around the corner. Time to stock up on presents for students, friends, volunteers and youth leaders! To help you out, we have the Christmas Dinner Sale- rightfully titled because of the awesome video at the bottom of our resident elf, Stephanie, catching her own Christmas dinner. All of [...]![]()
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Back to Jesus: Part One
I totally revamped my approach to small groups in our ministry recently. We have tried a multitude of curriculums, ideas, books, formulas and approaches. It has been topical and as simple as opening the Bible and walking verse by verse. Still I was finding an interesting trend. Many of my students who had grown up with [...]![]()
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More Pages to Explore .....
