Mistakes Communicating with Leaders– As ministry leaders, most of us are paid communicators. Our churches and organizations give us the mic and turn up the volume when we have something to say. It is our job to be the upfront and loud person. For some reason, though, many leaders are just not very clear when […]
Ten MORE Youth Ministry Programming Misses, Another Quick Top Ten List Of What We Aim for and Often What We Miss in the End. 10. Aiming to Attract SHOPPERS, Missing Building Faithful MEMBERS. 9. Aiming for SUCCES, Missing BLESSING. 8. Aiming for more BODIES in SEATS, Missing HEARTS for ETERNITY. 7. Aiming for TEACHING, Missing […]
Raising the Bar in Ministry, four key areas in youth ministry that are essentials that deserve a higher standard. Youth ministry as a career and a profession is now being recognized. Great schools offer higher levels of education and degrees in the study of youth ministry. There are now professional-level, executive-style search companies helping churches […]
Youth Ministry Programming Misses, A Quick Top Ten List Of What We Aim for and Often What We Miss in the End. 10. Aiming for QUANITY, Missing the QUALITY. 9. Aming to SPEND, Missing STEWARDSHIP. 8. Aiming for Old TRADITION, Missing New TRAJECTORY. 7. Aiming at PLANNING, Missing at PRAYER. 6. Aiming for a SOCIAL […]
There is still value in dinner as a family! I’ve been a father for 18+ years and a husband for 21+ years. Throughout this time, I have always prioritized being home for dinner with my wife and children. Of course, there are times and seasons when this cannot be a nightly thing. However, it has been […]
Teaching Church, Reaching Church? “We are a teaching church, not a reaching church….” were the actual words from my previous Senior Pastor, as he explained to me a few critical points of my new position and his vision for the church. He was just heading toward finishing another degree in an Ancient Language before his […]
Over the Hill Youth Ministry: Three Lessons…I am now in my 29th year of youth ministry, 25 years of full-time, on-staff church youth ministry. Here are three things I have learned from being “over the hill.” There is a growing trend among youth workers. They are staying in youth ministry longer. They are choosing to […]
Remember that thing called a Bible? Need a living example of why time in the Bible matters? His name is Anthony Kelly, and he’s something of a modern-day ninja, able to literally catch high-speed tennis balls, paintballs, and arrows with his hands. Having broken over 50 World Records, he’s been a featured guest on Mythbusters,Stan […]
A Personal Note: Mel Walker wrote this post a while ago. Mel passed away over a year ago, but he leaves behind a legacy of wisdom and insight personally for me and in the youth ministry world. With continued permission from his family, I share the insights he wrote for this site and others. If you would […]
I was re-reading the book Inter-Generational Youth Ministry by my late friend and mentor Mel Walker while also preparing to re-post something this Thursday that Mel wrote a few years ago for a former site of mine. In both the book and the post, he pointed out that youth ministry can be a model for the […]
