Mission Trips Done Right
When we produced the documentary curriculum Round Trip, we looked for examples of churches that had figured out how to use short trips as the catalyst for lasting relationships. The most impressive example we f...
Round Trip Resource Helps Make Trips Succeed
Almost two million Americans from 40,000 churches and other groups go on short-term mission trips each year, but how many of these trips are successful? It depends on who you ask.Americans give the trips high m...
Making the Most of Ministry Trips
If you've been in any major airport in the last few years, you've seen them. If you're a youth worker, there's a good chance you've been one of them.Clad in matching T-shirts, clutching passports and backpacks,...
Interview with a Teenager (Me!)
My 17-year-old self didn't do a good job of listening to anyone but himself. Most of the time, I said what I wanted and did what I wanted. I was, as most every teenager I knew, deaf to the voice of anyone older...
Trusting God with Your Plans and Future
0 0 0 Our Almighty God, carries the highest honor in this world. Because He is the Master of this universe He has created us with a purpose. We need to spend time with God to understa...
Take a Hike
SUPPLIES: Masking TapeSET UP: Place tape marks on teh floor in a circle (one less than the number of people in the group).SAFETY NOTE: Remind participants not to push others when rushing to find a new spot.THE ...
Where Is My Sunshine and Roses? A Reflection on My First Year in Youth Ministry
In January 2009, I jumped headfirst into a position with which I had no experience and no understanding of the time and emotional demands. I became a youth director.I knew it was what I was supposed to do....
Family Legacy
Has our current generation lost its ties to the family legacy? In recent years it seems, the sense of comfort, security and support that parents should be passing on to their children instead has given pl...
The (Un)Official Church Staff Manual: Youth Pastor Edition
The (Un)Official Church Staff Manual: Youth Pastor EditionMark RiddleZondervan, 2009, 144 pp., $5.99zondervan.comA quick glance at the table of contents and you'll soon realize this book is a sarcastic, tongue-...
Free Group Activity: Stripped Clean
Down to nothing but the cross. Give your teenagers a guilt-free, up-close look at materialism -- one that strips away the overwhelming messages of a consumer society. You'll see authentic changes in readers as ...