In Part 1 of a Vision for Volunteers, I talked about my paradigm shift to allowing my understanding of Scripture to shape my methods. In Part 2 we will look at some of those methods. No single area was impacted as much as my prayer life. So prayer is the acrostic I chose here to explain my new methods.
There are any number of actions I take as a youth leader assuming that my students will respond or at least understand why we are doing it. I have been very intentional in my ministry designs and decisions for many years, but realized that I had not communicated to my students my intentionality.
It’s no secret that one of the hardest groups to reach and stay connected with is high school seniors. This isn’t just an article about keeping seniors, nor should we as youth workers ever at the start of a student’s senior year think about “keeping him or her around.” Instead, this is about creating community.
Fundraisers are often seen as one of a few necessary evils in youth ministry, a conflict of interests, if you will. The conflict is simply this: funds are necessary to do the ministry we are called to do, but the raising of these funds feels uncomfortable at best, oppressive at worst. However you may quickly discover that people want to give.
In youth ministry there is more turnover in youth leaders and youth volunteers than most ministry areas of the church. These are seven ways that we, as youth ministers, can help equip our volunteers so that they are in the trenches of youth ministry for the long haul.
Modesty is a topic that every youth leader dreads talking about…it can be awkward and uncomfortable. Especially if you are a dude. Since part of our roles as youth leaders is to help students and parents create healthy boundaries so that we bring glory to God this is not a subject we can (or should) avoid. So let’s talk about it.
When I began in youth ministry, I had trouble getting a volunteer stay with me for the whole year. Now, most of them stay for a decade. The learning curve was steep for me, but here is what I learned.
I awoke today to a firestorm around an important leader in the church holding a sign in front of a political march filled with young adults and teens that said “I March for Sandwiches.” This is upsetting because making light of the passionate, faith-rooted actions of the next generation makes them leave the church.
Social media is everywhere and as youth workers, there’s no doubt that we have to make a decision: To tweet or not to tweet. While there are those who feel that it’s best to stay out of the “Instagram arena,” we dive head first into all that this world of emojis can possibly offer us.
As leaders, a lot of times, we feel like casting vision and laying out a new direction for our ministries is all on our shoulders, but it’s important to let your leadership team share in that responsibility. These six steps can provide direction to your leadership team, regardless of if those leaders are students or adults.
From icebreakers and games, to lessons, coaching and insights on current events, we have been able to release some of the best content I have had the pleasure of reading. In case you missed it, or want to read it again, here are the top 14 articles of 2014.
Instructions can introduce a new concept, can help our actions align with a goal, or even give us the confidence to put into practice the knowledge that is already in us. With one eye toward generating conversation in small groups, these are the ABCs we use for getting teens to talk.
