Have you ever tried to do long-range planning, only to discover you get too busy to put that plan into place? Or you worked on a plan, but no one seems to get excited about that plan? Long-range planning is important – you know this. Many of us can come up with a long-range plan […]
Category Archives: Leadership
Ministry Planning For Success & Not Burnout
Did you know that poor planning can actually lead to ministry burnout, conflict, and a failing ministry? Planning is more than just a calendar. My first two years in youth ministry and my experience in planning for the ministry left a lot to be desired. As I moved from being an intern to leading the […]
Must-Have Youth Ministry Hats
When my son Paul was in first grade, we moved from the Washington, DC. area, to Pittsburgh, PA. I had just taken a new youth ministry job, and the move was pretty big for the whole family. As well as all three of my children, I was born just outside of D.C., so naturally, I […]
5 Ways To Break Through Imposter Syndrome
Imposter Syndrome. This is the name that is given to that overwhelming feeling that you are a fake, a fraud and that you will never be able to be close to people, lest they discover the “real” (and clearly less acceptable) you. Imposter Syndrome is not just bad self-esteem. It runs deeper and can be […]
5 Ways To Personally Navigate This Season
How will you continue to navigate this season? March 8 was the first Sunday that many churches throughout the world went online for worship in an effort to avoid in-person worship during the outbreak of COVID-19. As of the date of this article, that was less than 150 days ago. In less than 150 days, […]
When Spirituality Is A Struggle
Right now, spirituality is a struggle for many of us. I’ve recently been following Jon Steingard, former lead singer of Christian band Hawk Nelson, on social media. If you know me, it’s not surprising – I follow most of my favorite musicians on several platforms. But it’s Jon Steingard that I’ve followed most closely lately. […]
5 Reasons To Change Churches
We have all been there as youth ministers… attempting to discern when and why to change churches. Hopefully, these ideas will help you to make your decision. 5 Reasons To Change Churches #5 No Parent Volunteers Now, many of us might not even know what a parent volunteer looks like anymore. Many ministries look like a “drop-off” […]
WHAT DO YOUTH WANT?
It’s time to set the annual calendar for the youth ministry. Who do you invite to the meeting- church pastor, volunteers of the ministry, parents? What about the teens within the ministry; did you consider inviting them? Many have been guilty of believing that the youth of the ministry will not know what they want […]
Give Yourself A Break
I do not know who needs to hear this but give yourself a break. You are doing the best you can, and that is more than enough. Are you finding it hard to be motivated to do things right now? Do you feel like the things you are doing are not good enough? Do you […]
Summer Of Opportunity
“Losing what we thought our summer would be, just sucks!” I said that to a student a few days ago and almost immediately regretted it. It’s true, the next few months are not going to look anything like we anticipated. No camps, no mission trips, and no fun with our students. With our world in […]