by Chris Cummings In August 2012 the organization Youth Pastors Anonymous (YPA), a support group for paid and volunteer youth workers in the Nashville area, hosted the inagural youth ministry volunteer team training event, MORE THAN A VOLUNTEER. The idea ...
Editor's Note: This letter is excerpted from CYMT's book Letters to a Youth Worker, edited by Mark DeVries. Dear Youthworker, Sometimes I’ve wondered, “Which am I? Youth Leader? Mother? Hmmm…Youth Leader? Mother? I’m both. And when I really dig deep, ...
Great youth ministry volunteers who passionately care for students, help plan events, teach, and disciple are the common thread among every good youth ministry. If you struggle to find these amazing people, then take some comfort knowing that many other youth ministers ...
by Jason Sansbury Events are an integral part of any youth ministry. At their best, they can help create momentum and accomplish great things in the lives of our youth groups and the students involved. At their worst, they can ...
Editor's Note: The following article is a summary of material presented at the Center for Youth Ministry Training's conference From Txt2Speech: Proclaiming scripture to youth in a digital age, held Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, 2012 in Nashville, Tenn. Are ...
Advent is the season of preparation and anticipation of the Christ Child. Christmas is the day we celebrate that God became Emmanuel and lived among us. At most churches, youth ministers have less responsibilities during the Advent season, so stop ...
Dear Youthworker, For those of you just starting out in youth ministry, I am so excited for you and for the journey you are beginning. Your call to work with young people means there’s a good chance you have a ...
Dear Youthworker, First, I think congratulations are in order. You’ve either just gotten this job or somehow survived in it for these last several months and years. Both deserve a hearty “congrats,” and, if we were face to face, a ...
To my Dearest Sojourner in Ministry to Youth, You are wise, my friend, to seek out and learn from the experience of others, others who have been educated with an often painful curriculum. And so, as one who has had ...
by Courtney Blacksten Editor's Note: When Courtney Blacksten and her husband Brandon were in their first year of marriage, they were excited to begin to create their own holiday traditions as a new family. They chose to focus on celebrating ...
by Denise McKinney I've been thinking a lot about leadership lately. Most of it is from a ministry context, but those thoughts and reflections are spilling over into a variety of leadership situations I've been observing. I recently watched an ...
By the time I was a junior in high school, I had pretty much mastered leaning my arm on the pew rail to prop my head up so that I could take a nap during the sermon. Only occasionally did ...
by Kelly Soifer Editor’s Note: This is the last in a 12-part series on spiritual disciplines for youth workers, based on Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline. As I write this I am preparing to head out to the birthday celebration ...
by Deech Kirk 10/31/2012 You are the youth director, youth pastor, or youth minister. Do you need to have a relationship with parents? Weren't you hired to work with youth? How do you develop health relationships with parents? Parents are the ...
Editor's Note: This is the second in a two-part series. Click here to read Part 1. These approaches to parental involvement were discussed and developed at CYMT's Preparing Parents for Spiritual Leadership Summit in May 2012. by Andrew Zirschky Involving ...
Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Click here to read Part 2. These approaches to parental involvement were discussed and developed at CYMT's Preparing Parents for Spiritual Leadership Summit in May 2012. by Andrew Zirschky Involving ...
by Ryan Timpte Attention youth ministers: children’s ministry needs to matter to you. Do you know what’s going on in the children’s ministry in your church? How well do you know the point person for your children’s ministry? In the ...
Editor's Note: This article was adapted from Jim Hancock's presentation at the CYMT Summit—Equipping Parents for Spiritual Leadership in May 2012. Jim is the author of numerous youth ministry books and resources including Raising Adults. For most youth ministers, the idea of ...
by Tony Akers I've been a youth minister for a long time. I'm also a father of three. My oldest daughter just began college and my son is a freshman in high school. Little sister is in second grade. For ...
A bit of advice as you begin to read this article. I want to share five things that youth workers should teach parents, but I want to begin with one thing they should not try to teach parents: Do not ...
