How do you pastor youth if you don’t have any teenagers to work with? This was the million dollar question people asked me when I resigned from one church in order to start where I presently serve. And the question was a fair one. In fact, I was asking myself the same thing. The congregation [...]![]()
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Serving the Other Team
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Teen Culture: 2013 in Review
What was life like for teenagers in 2013? The best way to figure that out is to ask them, of course. In the meantime, here is an infographic from HelpYourTeenNow.com. Thoughts? Observations?![]()
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[Stories of Transformation] Crazy Saturday Life Lesson
The day starts out well—it’s a slow Saturday, and I’ve already spent some quiet time reading, then working out, then prepping for lunch with a bunch of my 10-year-old’s friends. My parents call while I’m in the middle of lunch prep—they want to stop by. I say, “Sure, come on over—after lunch.” Meanwhile I hear [...]![]()
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[Discussion Starter] Family Maintains Hope for Brain Dead Daughter
In the News Oakland, Calif.—A 13-year-old girl declared brain dead after a tonsillectomy is now at the center of an emotional court battle. Jahi McMath’s family is fighting Children’s Hospital Oakland, which wants to disconnect the girl from a ventilator. Her family is trying to transfer her to another facility, saying they’re hoping for a [...]![]()
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What Walter Mitty Taught Me
There are movies that are a great adventure. Others make you wish you could get those minutes of your life back. Then there are movies that teach you about yourself. The lead character resonates with you. They remind you what you believe, who you are and why you have become the person you have. They [...]![]()
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[Stories of Transformation] Dangerous Nuclear Critics
Some days, ministry has a weight to it that can overwhelm you. Perhaps this is an odd metaphor, but when God gives me a heavy message to share or significant task to do I feel like I’m like a delivery man who is cautiously transporting nuclear energy. What’s in my hands will either fuel lives [...]![]()
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Junior High Ministry…Sometimes You Just Need To Jump!
Skydiving was one thing I told myself I’d never do; I simply have had no desire. The old saying about jumping out of a perfectly good airplane made sense to me…why would I ever do something like that? When my friends at Christ In Youth called and asked me if I’d be willing to jump [...]![]()
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5 Things I Need To Do Better Concerning Volunteers
I had the privilege of hanging out with some our volunteers and doing some training recently. As we were talking and just hanging and swapping stories about students, it really got me thinking about how important our volunteers are to our ministry. We are definitely a million times better with them! Hanging with them got my mind going [...]![]()
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Change Starts With Confession
I don’t want to sound ungrateful but Christmas left me wanting more this year (as it does most years). I got some nice swag and spent quality time with my family and friends but as usual, after the holidays are over I feel a kind of spiritual discontent, kind of like I did after the [...]![]()
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Quick Tip: Open Chrome Tabs Across Devices
I had 10 webpages open in Google Chrome on my iPhone and another 7 on my iPad that I wanted to have open on my Mac. I was studying in too many locations and I needed to bring it all together. If it is one or two pages, I would typically email a link to [...]![]()
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[Stories of Transformation] You Gotta Want It!
Transformation, at least the good kind, rarely “just happens.” Marriages don’t just get healthier. Friendships don’t just get stronger. Your eating habits don’t just get better. Your attitude about your boss doesn’t just become more favorable. No, none of this stuff “just happens.” It all takes work. In fact, it all takes a fairly significant [...]![]()
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Sophomore Rap Music Video
For the past two years we’ve done a can food drive. We’ve done a battle of the grades and the sophomores won. So their prize was a music video. This is something that I love to do. And It was so much fun and it’s always great getting to create something with students!!!! I also [...]![]()
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SYMC 2014 Full Line-up RELEASED!
As y’all can see, there is an incredible line-up of speakers, artists, and talent for Simply Youth Ministry Conference 2014! Don’t forget that the deadline for Advanced Registration to save you some $$$ is January 15th, so get on that and tell all your friends! See you at SYMC! Amber @symconference @youthministry![]()
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Embracing Your “Calling”
If you ask people in ministry about their “calling” they give you the answer about what they now “do” for Jesus. You know what I mean. We are “called” to be youth pastors. However, I believe that “calling” is a far more transformational experience than any “one thing.” I remember once having a conversation [...]![]()
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Quick Tip: Never Lose a Document
If you have not heard about Dropbox it is an incredibly versatile online storage tool. It is like having a 2 GB thumb drive with you all the time and it is free. If you do not have a DropBox account get one here. I’ve recently started saving all of my working documents (sermon prep, [...]![]()
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[Guest Post] The Power of Porn
The Power of Porn How It’s Damaging a Young Generation An article from Jonathan McKee and David R. Smith at TheSource4YM.com “There’s only a few things I really care about in life. My body. My pad. My ride. My family. My church. My boys. My girls. And my porn.” With that confession in a recent [...]![]()
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Super Powers to Transform Students
In the past couple of years, we have become a culture obsessed with super powers. Thor (technically, I guess he’s from another dimension or something), Captain America, Iron Man, Superman, Spiderman, and The Avengers have all become movie franchises. We are revisiting fairy tales in the television shows of Once Upon A Time and Alice [...]![]()
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[Stories of Transformation] 3 Reasons to be Real
Stories of transformation are powerful. There is something that happens when you hear an amazing account of someone turning his or her life around. These tales snare your emotions, renew your sense of hope, and deepen your faith in a God who is all about redeeming and transforming. This is why it is so important regularly [...]![]()
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Eh Super-Epic SYMC Story!
. SIMPLY YOUTH MINISTRY CONFERENCE MARCH 7-10, 2014 COLUMBUS, OH REGISTER NOW SYMC ANNOUNCES GENERAL SESSION LINE-UP Friday night: Jo Saxton, King’s Kaleidoscope, The Skit Guys, Eric Samuel Timm Saturday: Gary Haugen, Gungor, Justin Mayo, Jordan Howerton Band, The Skit Guys, Eric Samuel Timm Sunday: Gungor, Derwin Gray, Jordan Howerton Band, The Skit Guys, Eric Samuel Timm Monday [...]![]()
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So Old, It’s Cool In Pop Culture
There always seems to be a cycle to “coolness.” Something becomes a big hit, everyone gets into it…and then it is “over-played” or eventually loses it’s novelty and then becomes cheesy if you continue doing it. Think about how some of these things used to be the center of coolness: Planking Chubby Bunny Photo Bombs Furby [...]![]()
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