While my title sounds like a promotion for student ministry in the local church, it isn’t. Do we need student ministry excellence in our local churches? Absolutely, and I have given my entire career to that endeavor. In reality, student ministry and parenting are the sole and the laces of the same shoe. I am […]
I ran across a Gallup Poll recently that has nagged me into blogging my thoughts. According to News.Gallop.com, nurses, medical doctors and pharmacists earn the highest ratings from Americans for their honesty and ethical standards. What is wrong with this? After all, we want to trust those who advise, treat, prescribe, and care for our […]
Nearly every week there are churches asking for leads, recommendations, or assistance in securing a student pastor for their church. The most common lament I hear is: “We have been diligently searching, but it seems the good ones (code for young, well trained, and experienced) are few and far between. Can you help us?” Sure, […]
When my sons were young and playing peewee city league football, I noticed how much time coaches spent trying to teach these little dreamers their individual assignments. Getting an eight-year-old to move on the snap to the right place on the field was quite an accomplishment. My youngest son was on a football team with […]
You might not think that you could learn much about Youth Ministry from going to the circus. I was a young boy when the circus visited our small town. Our family loaded up the Fleetwood station wagon and went to the big show. From food carts and clowns to endless contest booths, I have two […]
For the past ten years, I have heard whispers questioning the validity of summer youth camp. As the whispers turned more frequently into questioning voices from passionate youth ministers, I felt a need to weigh in on the subject. Camp or no camp? Unquestionably, youth ministers should hold all student ministry programming to honest evaluation […]
If you have been around youth ministry very long then you have observed how some student ministries seem to grow wide but have little to show for it when it comes to growing deeply devoted followers of Christ. On the other hand, you may have noticed that some youth ministries grow spiritual roots deeper than […]
What is it that makes some youth ministries more successful than others? Why do some stagnate, decline or fail while others grow healthy and numerically? Is there a collection of habits that successful or exceptional student ministers practice? In our survey and interviews, we have found ten practices that stand out as doable and adaptable […]
How much of it do you have? According to The World Health Organization, the United States ranks 36th in Life Expectancy out of 193 countries. This means the average male in the US can expect to live 78.3 years while females can expect to outlast their male counterparts to age 81.3. By contrast, the average […]
