I don’t know about you, but as a family with children in school, this time of the year I get caught in the current. Our family tries hard to be intentional about how we spend our time, who we spend our time with and what commitments we take on all year long, but this time…
Probably one of the finest lessons taught to me about time came from a wise and learned friend from Tanzania. As a part of our growing congregational partnership, we were able to spend time together as ordinary people learning from one another and listening deeply to what the other had to share. “You see, Pastor…
Sandy Troyan, Luther Seminary student in Children, Youth and Family, weaves a powerful and timely story about the simplicity of connection for the development of faith. “We really believe in the power of this message of welcome. We see the hope it creates. We see the transformative power it holds.” Download her article.
By Gary Simpson In his August 5, 2011, letter to the rostered lay leaders and pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson highlighted the calling “to discern together” what the ELCA’s 2011 LIFT Report (Living Into the Future Together) confesses is our “missionary God.” It’s no accident that the Holy…
“Everyone has a calling. Discovering it is what life is about and that calling does not come from God’s voice thundering from above; but it more often comes from whispers deep within you, from the very essence of your being. God expects nothing more from you than to live that life for which you were…
The Exemplary Youth Ministry Study results indicate that churches seeking to develop an effective formation focus make three distinctive shifts. SHIFT I They emphasize personal and community transformation understanding that, though programs are a necessary dimension of congregational life, they are a means toward an end and not the end itself. Christian formation is about…
I’ve been working in children, youth and family ministry for 23 years, and in that time, there is one thing I have learned: The longer I do this, the more clueless I am. Seriously. When I started out, I was quite certain I knew and understood the whole thing. I knew what to do…I had…
What is maturity anyway? Take a look again at the characteristics of a spiritually mature youth from the EYM study. Demonstrates a Personal Spirituality Believes God is present in the world Acts out of a commitment of faith Is active with God’s people Possesses a Positive, Hopeful Spirit Lives out a life of service Lives…
While it may sound like the Exemplary Youth Ministry study was just about these 121 congregations who have it all together, that’s far from a complete picture. The EYM study is really all about your church. In the years since the study was completed we’ve discovered that all-important transferability factor. Churches who take on these…
The term “sweet spot” is often used in sports. It is that place on the face of a golf club that creates the best possible shot or on the baseball bat that sends the ball over the center field fence. Have you ever thought of having a “sweet spot” in ministry? I can think of…
One of the key ingredients to effective youth ministry is that the ministry is supported by the senior pastor. I have found this to be so true. I will never forget the time I was sitting in worship listening to my pastor’s sermon. I don’t remember the text he was preaching on, but I do…
When I first started in professional youth ministry, I simply wanted to create an environment of relationship and “church fun” that mirrored my own experience as a teen. While that worked on some levels, I was pretty sure something else was happening that I could not name — I had no language for it. After…
Exemplary Youth Ministry is really about leadership on multiple levels — your leadership as the youth minister, your adult leaders. One of the key findings of the EYM study is that the pastor is the chief youth minister. A senior pastor who champions and keeps youth ministry central to the congregation’s culture is critical. Now…
In Disconnected: Parenting Teens in a MySpace World, Chap and Dee Clark take on a popular cultural myth that, sadly, most of us in youth ministry buy hook, line, and sinker: simply, that teenage youth do not want to spend time with their parents. We often run into the smokescreen when recruitment for small groups…
[first posted in March 2009] Earlier this week, I was reminded of an article I read about the Facebook generation. In this article Gary Hamel lists 12 ideas that the Facebook generation has toward the world. (For the full article: http://bit.ly/aXXHxG.) It’s an interesting list to think about when we talk about youth ministry. As…
