Most teens have secrets, but the ones who don't keep those secrets entirely to themselves tend to be happier and healthier than their more mystery-laden peers. According to a Dutch study of youth between the ag...

Youth workers are known for shaking things up and taking creative approaches to old challenges. So why do so many youth workers follow the same-old-same-old approach when it comes to mission activities and trip...

"But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven" (Matthew 6:20).Perhaps you've seen the commercials—the ones asking: "What's in your wallet?" Yeah, that one! It may be a humorous commercial, but dig ...

I was getting overwhelmed.Teaching three times weekly at youth group was wearing me out, so I asked some of my core students if they would lead a Sunday night meeting. They reluctantly agreed. In the process, t...

In more than a decade of ministry, I've planned a lot of events and trips. Some were worthwhile, and others left me scratching my head wondering why I didn't stay home and play golf. One thing I've discovered i...

I remember the first time I heard someone describe himself as a lifer—not a right-to-lifer or a Miller High Lifer (come on…)—but a youth ministry lifer. I was finishing seminary, had just take...

She smiles at me as I pass the magazine rack at Barnes Noble. Everything about her looks absolutely perfect as she stares off the cover of the December/January 2012 edition of Seventeen magazine. Her name's Ni...

In the past, singles met available dating partners mainly at social events and through introductions by mutual acquaintances, but the Internet has opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Today, with seemi...

It had never occurred to me to invite grandparents along on a student mission trip.Then Julie asked me if her grandparents could join us for two weeks in Costa Rica.I was a little hesitant. After all, her gran...

Identity isn't an issue during the college-age years; it is the issue. In fact, understanding the ins and outs of this process is a non-negotiable for leaders of college ministries around the world; and I don't...