Should We Hold Teens Accountable To Their Faith

Not Just Okay – It’s Necessary Whether we realize it or not, it’s not just okay, but necessary to hold teens accountable to their faith. I remember when I was in high school, my youth minister laid out a daily reading plan for me. There was a certain number of chapters from the Old Testament, […]

Did You Forget About Parents of Teens?

I’ve made a lot of mistakes in youth ministry—a lot! Many of my mistakes came when I first started as a youth minister because I had no idea what I was doing. I devoured lots (and lots) of books to teach me what I needed to know, but I found that when actually doing youth […]

Teens, Parents, and Youth Ministry Communication

Teenagers tend to naturally leave their parents in the dark. Should we do the same as Youth Ministers? And how important is parent communication? When I was growing up in youth ministry (in the ’90s), my parents were both very involved in my youth programing. My mom was the snack lady and my dad was […]

Making Change In Ministry

You know the urge. You look around the youth room, your program, or even the team and think – I really need to make changes. But should you? How do you properly time change in ministry? A Change of Photos When I started in my position, nearly four years ago, I remember walking into the […]

Engaging The Talents Of Teens

Have you ever thought that ownership and talents go together? Perhaps the teens in your youth group are just looking for a place to use their talents. And I wonder, could talents be a key to their faith? If your youth group is anything like mine, you’ve got a hodge-podge of teens with various gifts, […]