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A Youth Pastor is Gone; What Are You Going to Do About It?
My guess is that your head is where mine is today. I feel a deep sadness from stories of youth ministry losses over the summer. Students on planes and buses are gone in crashes while traveling to/from...
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FREE Favorite Mobile Accessories…
I have been using Zagg products for a long time, I have purchased several Invisibleshields over the years (Droid, iPhone, and iPad) and I love my Zaggsmartbuds. I want an Invisibleshields on anything I...
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LGBTQ (yes, the Q is supposed to be there)
Conversation has to happen at every level of our churches about the relationship between the Church and the LGBTQ. The BARNA group will be releasing a study on how the views of Christians are changing...
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Top 5 Reasons to Get Your Students Serving This Fall
Do you live near Lima, OH or Columbia, SC?! If your answer is yes and you still have not signed up for the Big Day of Serving happening in your area on September 21, 2013, then you’re are LAME! But if...
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Social Media Explained
If you ever had trouble explaining why we use so many different forms of social media this infographic might come in handy. It’s funny, so true, and might make a great opener at your next parent...
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HUGE Savings Today Only
It is time to STOCK UP on incredible titles from Simply Youth Ministry. For today only, select titles are only $3.00 a piece!! You spend more than that on your latte every morning. With such awesome...
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The Bionic Teenager?
I sat in a planning meeting today with several caring local professionals. They hope to host a youth summit in our area, and our conversation eventually centered on the desired outcomes of the...
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Speak Teen SPEAK!
In our ministry we have a rule. No cell phones in use while the students are present and our programming is in action. This rule goes for volunteers, staff and participants. Unless you are using a...
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Junior Highers Make Me Cringe!
Okay, I’ll admit it; there are things about junior high ministry, and junior highers in general, that I just don’t like. It’s the stuff that I’ve tolerated for 25 years because of my love for, and...
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How Do We See “That Kid?
Take a moment and think of “that kid” in your ministry. Every youth worker has at least “one” in their midst. They are: Too Needy Too Clingy Too Much Too Loud Too Immature Too Angry Too Out of...
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Theology Is Important In LGBTQ Convo
How we navigate this conversation will determine a lot in the future for the Church. I would say this is a critical time and one that we must take very seriously. Here are a few things I believe we...
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Christian Pick-Up Lines
Back in my single days, I certainly had my share of cheesy pick-up lines. They ranged from flattering things I heard in songs (“Heaven must be missing an angel ’cause you’re here with me right now.”)...
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Texting your Youth Ministry. All the cool kids are doing it.
Heyooo Simply Insiders You heard Billy! All the cool kids are doing it!!** Be like the millions texting these days and use it to get your youth group all on the same page! Just wanted to take a moment...
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Senior Pastor Perspective: Pastor’s Kids and Youth Group
Laura Ortberg Turner, daughter of John and Nancy Ortberg, has some great thoughts on what it means to be (but not really be) known as a “Pastor’s Kid.” One takeaway is the framework she felt her...
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Rhetoric in LGBTQ Convo – final post
Rhetoric is a part of this conversation whether we like it or not. I don’t want to get overly intellectual here, but I do need to explain one thing. In today’s world, if someone is against same-sex...
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Does Your Spouse Need To Serve?
Hey Simply Insiders, we have a sweet guest post today from our friends Jake and Melissa Kircher. Read up! By Jake and Melissa Kircher Whatever you call it: volunteering, serving, a two-for-one,...
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How to Have a Forgetful Fall
Fall is almost here, and with it comes all sorts of opportunities to kick your school year off well. Unfortunately, many youth groups, coming off a busy summer season, squander the chance to leverage...
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Can We Teach Our Teens To Fail?
This past week I led an activity with my teen small group. I asked them to write down at least 5 things they don’t like about yourself. Next to that I asked them to write down 5 ways they keep...
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Make Wednesdays Your New Favorite
No more depressed sighs of “ugh, it’s only Wednesday.” One very special camel has changed this for everyone, embraced Wednesday as his favorite day of the week and made us all laugh. Click the video...
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Be Sure to Drive Your First Timers Away!
You don’t want your ministry to grow anyway! There isn’t the budget for it, there aren’t enough volunteers, and frankly – yours is a traditional church that likes things the way they are. So be sure...
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