by Samantha Hassell 90 = percentage of pastors who report working between 55 to 75 hours per week. 90 = percentage of youth workers who are classifiably work-a-holics 14 = the number of real actual Sabbath days the average youth ...
If a teenager walked into your church on Sunday on her own, with a friend, or with his family, what impressions would he or she have of your church? The numbers of teenagers leaving the church are staggering. I have ...
by Mike Langford Hearing sermons that deal with contexts and concerns of other members of the community will help adolescents to realize that they are part of a larger Body, a realization that is key if they are to remain ...
by Tony Akers You're getting ready to go to the church to pick up your child who has been away on a mission trip. You're thinking of the incredible experience he must have had, or the debriefing session that you'll ...
One of my mentors, Mark DeVries, told me a few years ago that if students are not leading, then they are leaving. The more I thought about it and the more I viewed the ministry through that lens, the more ...
by Lesleigh Carmichael A coach is someone who cares that people create what they say they want and that they follow through. The coach is there to hold people accountable and keep them moving forward toward their dreams and goals. ...
During the 2000s, youth ministry became increasingly enamored with contemplative practices. Many ministries traded disco balls, comfy couches, and messy games for candles, centering prayer, and a little lectio divina. Now, roughly a decade into this renaissance in spiritual practices, ...
What if the real question in communicating the gospel isn’t how it’s communicated, but in fact is the very gospel that we’ve communicated? To take a liberation approach to communicating the gospel to youth is to take seriously the gospel ...
by Joanna Cummings Youth and children’s ministries both require early prep for the busy summer months ahead. In children’s ministry this means early recruitment of volunteers to help keep the ministry going during the chaos of summer along with thinking ...
When it comes to youth ministry and adolescent faith, “We’re doing a better job of getting them to show up than helping them to grow up,” says Duffy Robbins.[1] Determining how to best help youth develop in faith is the ...
“A life is no more than a biological phenomenon as long as it is not interpreted,” said French philosopher Paul Ricoeur.[1] Indeed, it’s an inescapable human habit to narrate the events and experiences of our lives by giving them meaning. ...
by Jason Sansbury Click here to read the companion to this article, How2: Hire Summer Interns for Your Ministry. Once you have hired someone for the role of intern, there is still work to do! Here are some ways to ...
By Center for Youth Ministry Training 5/28/19 We polled our CYMT alumni and coaches for some summer programming ideas—the little things that they do during the summer that don't require fundraising or packing a suitcase. Try a "Bible Do." Instead ...
by Jason Sansbury For most youth ministries, summer means a great deal more activities and programming. Additionally, most youth ministries suffer some level of loss of their regular volunteers to vacations and normal summer plans. One solution to the increased ...
Anyone who believes that politics are not present in church lives in a fantasy land. As long as people have to live in relationships with each other, there will be politics. Politics are both the complex relationships of people living ...
Where does youth ministry happen? If you jot down a list of three answers to that question, chances are some variant of “youth room” is in the mix. Your terminology might be cooler or more relevant, but the odds are ...
The first approach we’ll consider is the instructional approach, a paradigm familiar to most youth workers because it’s the dominant approach of published curriculum. The goal of the instructional approach is to help students understand scripture so that they can ...
Editor's Note: This is an overview of our "youth ministry course in a nutshell" series, Communicating the Gospel to Youth, taught by Rev. Andrew Zirschky as part of CYMT's Master of Arts in Youth Ministry degree program through Memphis Theological ...
Every year, we have an opportunity to create rites of passage that celebrate our high school seniors and propel them forward into their unknown futures. Senior celebrations happen across the country during this time of the year. At some churches, ...
"Liberté, égalité, fraternité!" was the cry of the French Revolutionists. They wanted liberty, equality, and brotherhood for all people. (Do you hear the people sing?) I've seen many youth ministers try to start their own revolutions under banners like: Out with the ...
