“Heads bowed, eyes closed… but THEN what??” I clearly remember the adrenaline infusion the first time I got to help someone invite Jesus to start leading their life. His name was Aaron, and he was a high school freshman who I knew pretty well. He..
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The post Equipping New Believers appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
It’s the end of another school year. That means we’ve all seen about 1 million senior photos plastered on Facebook pages and at least that many prom pics. Everyone looks wonderful! I can’t believe how old my niece looks, all dolled up. Who is that..
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The post Prom Alternatives: Because prom just isn’t for everyone appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
Use This Fun Summer Camp Promo Video! My first task in full-time youth ministry was a task for summer camp. I had to take a trip to Home Depot for a bolt and some tarps for slip-n-slide kickball. Summer camp has always been my favorite..
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Transgender Bathroon Debate Intensifies In the News Raleigh, N.C.—According to new federal guidelines, public schools must let transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their chosen identity, not their birth gender. President Obama says the rules are necessary to protect young people from..
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The post Discussion Starter: Transgender Bathroom Debate Intensifies appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
NOTE: We understand that this article reflects stereotypes of males and females and not all of your students fit these assumptions. We simply made a statement acknowledging it, gave both genders permission to not like some of the planned activities, and moved on. I (Tasha) love..
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The post Why “Chick Night” is My Most Favorite Youth Event of the Year appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
If you could be a fly on the wall at my house at dinner time you would probably bust a gut. I live with three teens ages 14, 15 & 16 as you might remember, and the evenings when our schedule allows us to all..
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The post The Parent Trap appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
Today one of my favorite online tech resources, Church Media Design, was rebranded becoming, “Church Media Drop.” Everything on Church Media Drop is free to use. Church Media Drop was created to help churches share what they have created. Together we can resource churches around the world..
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The post Church Media DROP! (Free Church Resources) appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
I wrote a post a while ago (click here to read), and I mentioned that I have twenty questions ready to go when I meet a new student. I’ve gotten more responses on wanting those twenty questions than anticipated, so I thought I’d just make it a..
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In the News Kathmandu, Nepal—Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, claimed five more lives recently, but that isn’t stopping long lines of people from attempting the summit. With a short “weather window” to scale the 29,035-foot peak, eager climbers—many of them amateurs—are taking risks to..
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The post Discussion Starter: Climbers Die Chasing a Dream appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
Grouping With Digital Natives Originally posted by our friends at Refresh the Church by Zach Below A few nights ago, my wife and I were reminiscing on our first year in youth ministry. It felt like the world back in 2003 was light-years behind us...
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KICK BUTT & BE HEALTHY If you were to wander through our youth ministry offices, sitting on virtually every desk you would see a little plaque that simply reads, “Kick Butt and Be Healthy.” I gave them to the team as a gift–because who doesn’t love..
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The post Kick Butt & Be Healthy: Two Keys to Success in Youth Ministry appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
“I’m not gonna die here.” Sometimes we just have to say that out loud. Matt Damon’s character in The Martian declared it in a key moment early on in the movie. How many things in ministry require such a declaration? Fundraising? Church politics? Investing into students?..
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The post Out-of-This-World Endurance appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
Hey, Youth Ministry Nation! As you’ve probably heard by now, Simply Youth Ministry Conference is back at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago on October 7-9, 2016. We want to see you there, so Veronica from our team took some time to put together a..
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The post FREEBIES: Printable Fliers + Chicago Experience Guides appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
In the News Cincinnati—Soon after zookeepers killed an endangered gorilla to save a boy who’d fallen into its enclosure, outrage and finger-pointing began. On Saturday, a 4-year-old boy crawled through a barrier, landing in the Cincinnati Zoo’s gorilla exhibit. Harambe, a 400-pound silverback, first appeared..
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The post Discussion Starter: Gorilla’s Death Sparks Outcry appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
Sometimes what trends on social media is news. Other times, “trending” makes you think something is news. I sense this blurry line regarding headlines around Trey Pearson, lead singer for Everyday Sunday and occasional church worship leader, declaring himself to be gay. As one youth worker..
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The post A Trending Conversation about Christians “Coming Out” appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
For generations, youth workers have fulfilled the call to love students into the knowledge of Jesus and make disciples. As I think about the declining number of teens involved in youth ministry and church in my own community, I wonder if it’s time to evaluate..
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The post Your Ministry Mission Statement: Who is it really about? appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
I remember being taught 2 Corinthians 2:11 at a young age. We are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices, schemes, plots, and plans. He will take full advantage of our ignorance. As sad as it sounds, I believe we have all fallen prey to..
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The post Common Ministry Traps to Avoid appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
Youth ministry is shifting and changing. It is morphing into something it has never been before, and I am not sure any of us know what it will become. We know that there are some students who want to be at youth group anytime the..
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The post 3 Ways to Reach Busy Students This Summer appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
It’s Wednesday morning at 11:15 a.m. The freshman class pours into the gym with some juniors and seniors thrown into the mix. Coach hands me the mic, and I ask the students, all 100+ of them, to circle at half court. As they settle, I ask the..
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The post Peer-to-peer Mentoring: What is it? appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
In the News Palo Alto, Ca.—Reaction was swift after a Stanford University athlete received a six-month prison sentence for a brutal sexual assault. Meanwhile, emotional letters shared by the victim and the perpetrator’s father sparked wildly different reactions. Former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, 20, was..
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The post Discussion Starter: Rape Sentence Causes Outrage appeared first on YouthMinistry.com.
