This young youth worker had been at her church for a couple of years, but this was the first time we were able to carve out time to chat. Up to that point, we spoke of the usual things: involvement, small gr...

My wife and I were portaging. For the uninitiated, that's a fancy French word for "carrying a canoe over your head, until you wish God would carry you to heaven."

Asking good questions can be far more beneficial than arriving at quick solutions. Sometimes it is important to take the time to reflect on our questions before acting.

People in your church are going to talk about the ministry. Give them something great to talk about.

For a different spin on Valentine's Day for the group, I invited in a divorced single mom to lead them in an art project. Too often Valentine's Day has a focus on young love. I wanted to redirect that focus tow...

The Word Proverbs 2:1-11 (TNIV) "My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insi...

Bring two students to the front. Tell them they must take turns speaking. The object of the game is to say the title of any song from any decade that contains the word love. Each player has 10 seconds to respon...

Quick Backdrop Have you adopted a life verse, a verse that you've found speaks truth to you in many life situations? If you don't yet have a life verse, I'd like to introduce you to a possibility. If you do ha...

Quick Background Arrested. Released. Arrested. Released. That's pretty much the pattern Jesus' followers experienced as they shared the message of Christ with the world around them during the first few months ...

"If those two are allowed to keep coming, then my boys will not be coming to youth group anymore." This father's words were as hard as rock, and I knew it wasn't an idle threat. The anger that seeped through h...