by Julie Richardson Brown It was one of those moments where everything suddenly becomes as if a slow-motion sequence in a particularly intense moment of a Jerry Bruckheimer film (cue dramatic power ballad music). The toe of his sneaker bent double on the edge of the shallow concrete water drain and as it did, all […]
Whomp, whomp, whomp… That’s the sound of the rotors turning on “helicopter parents.” You have them in your ministry and frankly they can drive you crazy. The “whomp whomp” of their questions can begin to sound like the drone of the teacher from Charlie Brown’s classroom. You avoid them in the halls of your church […]
Don’t have it all together for your summer retreats? Don’t know where to start? Read on for some time-tested tips from veteran youth ministers . . . Prayer and Purpose: Why? Begin in prayer with your ministry team about the purpose of your retreat or camp. Why do you need to have a retreat or […]
You’ve booked your retreat location, your general logistics are nailed down, and your schedule has a framework. (Read “Successful Retreat Planing: Part 1” here.) Now it’s time to think about the details: Lessons, Devotionals, and Worship Three months out, begin to plan out your lessons, devotionals, and worship times by developing sub-points or themes to […]
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Your ministry needs a maintenance calendar just like your car does. When you buy a new car, it comes with a reminder list with things like: Oil change every 3,000 miles Tune up at 60,000 and 120,000 miles Change wiper blades every two years A maintenance calendar is a great tool for you to have […]
The Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded the Center for Youth Ministry Training $240,000 to fund its Theology Together program over the next three years. Over the past 20 years, the Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded nearly $90 million in grants to fund their Youth and Theology Initiative. Theology Together will seek to learn from and build […]
Editor’s Note: Maria Ghianni is in her second year in the CYMT graduate residency program, and she serves as the youth director at Carthage FUMC in Carthage, Tenn. I was born and raised in Nashville and I grew up in the youth group at Calvary UMC. Kris Lott was my youth director and he was […]
The church is notorious for having ineffective meetings. Several times during my career, I felt physical pain prior to heading to the weekly staff meeting knowing that I was going to waste my time and be bored and frustrated. As youth ministers, we are responsible for leading meetings and for participating in others’ meetings. The […]
by Lilly Lewin Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, in a youth room in Nashville, Tenn., I was the resident “prayer hog.” I was the one at the end of youth group who, when my youth leader would ask who’d like to close us in prayer, would enthusiastically raise my hand […]
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