Category Archives: Youth Ministry

Post up at Wineskins

Matt Dabbs recently posted on 10 Predictions about the Future of Churches of Christ. In response, I’ve posted Reflecting on “10 Predictions about the Future of Churches of Christ.” In particular, I address the relationship of parachurch organizations to the … Continue reading

Posted in Kingdom Conspiracy by Scot McKnight, Youth Ministry | 3 Comments

Youth Ministry: Question Regarding the Training of Young Men

When I was young (and woolly mammoths ruled the earth), it was customary for churches to have “young men’s leadership classes,” in which the “young men” — being the teenage boys — were trained in how to be leaders in … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized, Youth Ministry | 58 Comments

Youth Ministry: Transitioning to the New Guy

I’ve noticed something, and I’m wondering if this is generally true or if maybe I’m just imagining it. Let me try to explain. When a church hires a new youth minister, there’s inevitably a difficult period of transition. The former … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized, Youth Ministry | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Youth Ministry: Are We Seeing an Exodus Out of Youth Ministry?

This is another article from a while back originally posted at “Jesus Creed” by Chris Folmsbee. To me, it sure feels like there are more youth ministers leaving than what is usual.  Perhaps this phenomenon is only occurring in the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized, Youth Ministry | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Youth Ministry: What I Would Have Done Differently

This is from an article by Chris Folmsbee, former youth minister, titled “If I Were to Do It Again.” •    Act theologically before methodologically •    Be more of a spiritual director than a program director •    Hire a parent to … Continue reading

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XP3: Wanted (2): I Want It

Silly Activity My wife bought a Pin the Tail on the Lion game from DollarTree — for a dollar. It’s a Daniel in the lion’s den kind of thing. Another dollar bought a box of sidewalk chalk. I taped the … Continue reading

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XP3: Wanted (1): I Need It

XP3 is a series of small group lessons published for teenagers by The reThink Group, Inc. My wife and I have a senior in high school, and we are helping lead a small group of juniors and seniors that meets … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized, Youth Ministry | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Youth Ministry: A Needed Course Correction (at last!)

Well, I’m excited about youth ministry for the first time in a long time. You see, I’ve been despondent over youth ministry, as I wrote sometime ago. But our two youth ministers (a married couple) met with the elders recently … Continue reading

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My Concern with Youth Ministry

I’m deeply concerned about the state of youth ministry nowadays. As adult ministry is maturing from providing “goods and services” to the membership and instead being “missional,” I’m not seeing a comparable maturation of our youth ministries. Continue reading

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Should We Hire a Single Youth Minister?

More and more young adults are waiting longer to marry, and so more and more youth minister candidates are single. Should a church consider a single youth minister? See Should We Hire a Single Youth Minister?

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