by Andrew Zirschky Editor’s Note: Read Teens and Social Technology: Searching for Intimacy – Part 1 and Part 3 here. Teenagers don’t want technology, they want what technology promises: Meaningful access to real people and relationships. This was our conclusion in Part 1 of this series as we surveyed the findings of recent ethnographic research […]
by Stephen Ingram Most youth ministers struggle for a number of reasons. We struggle because we are over committed, we work unorthodox hours, and we have difficulty finding consistent rhythm. We struggle because of lack of training, lack of time, and lack of support. We struggle because we care too much and often feel that […]
Editor’s Note: This is the eleventh in a 12-part series on spiritual disciplines for youth workers, based on Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline. by Kelly Soifer I came to Christ at the beginning of my sophomore year in high school. That first year of faith was a whirlwind…I was blown away by the New Testament […]
by Andrew Zirschky Editor’s Note: Read Teens and Social Technology: Searching for Intimacy – Part 1 and Part 2 here. In a faceless face-to-face world, young people are turning to technology to search for relationships that are meaningful and intimate. This was among our conclusions from part 1 of our look at teens and social […]
“We have come with some confidence to believe that a significant part of Christianity in the United States is actually only tenuously Christian in any sense that it is seriously connected to the actual historical Christian tradition… It is not so much that U.S. Christianity is being secularized. Rather, more subtly, Christianity is either degenerating […]
Most religious teens in the United States appear to engage in few religious practices. But even basic practices like regular Bible reading and personal prayer seem clearly associated with stronger and deeper faith commitment among youth.[1] —Christian Smith with Melinda Denton Setting the Stage In this lesson we will explore how we pass on the […]
Great youth ministry volunteers who passionately care for students, help plan events, teach, and disciple are the common thread among every good youth ministry. If you struggle to find these amazing people, then take some comfort knowing that many other youth ministers also struggle to recruit volunteers. It’s time to learn how to recruit them to your […]
Andrew Root’s A Theological Journey through Youth Ministry book series is one of the most exciting things to come off a youth ministry press in years. Thank you to Youth Specialties for turning an off-handed conversation into vibrant, essential theological conversation for youth ministry. I believe this book series is a theological journey worth taking. A […]
by Chris Cummings In August 2012 the organization Youth Pastors Anonymous (YPA), a support group for paid and volunteer youth workers in the Nashville area, hosted the inagural youth ministry volunteer team training event, MORE THAN A VOLUNTEER. The idea for this event came out of the fact that, for youth ministers, training volunteer teams […]
I live in Lake Wobegon, where all the men are good-looking, the women are strong, and the children above average. Or at least, that’s what you’d think if you just glanced in on a given Sunday morning. To the common eye First Presbyterian Church Nashville may look like the perfect church. I grew up at […]
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