Had we just pulled off a successful outreach event? Yes. Did I care? Nope. I was tired of ministry, wondering how it had gone from something I loved so dearly to something I resented so fiercely.

For youth workers who love teaching and want to be more effective, a quality multi-year curriculum is the most powerful and best-kept secret in youth work. Discover it, create it, live it and enjoy it for years to come.

This game is kind of like regular tag, except that tagged players must put their hands on the spot where they were tagged. If you're tagged 3 times, you're "it". A clever player will tag in awkward places, such...

I learned about adventure early in life. It pretty much happened because I had a boat. That might sound weird unless you grew up on an island as I did, but that boat gave me a kind of freedom as a fourt...

Recently, a pastor friend of mine read for me Judy Brown’s poem “Fire.” Brown does a masterful job of capturing what our job as youth ministers should be: making space for God to do His work. She uses th...

Having a kid is just as terrifying and exciting as everyone makes it out to be.   When Owen came into the world, we didn’t understand the number of seismic shifts he would create in our lives. The ...

Leaders hold a blanket between the two teams. When the blanket is dropped, the two people facing each other at the front of the line must shout out the name of the person they're facing. Whoever shouts out the ...

    Teens are from another planet. That would certainly explain why perfectly normal kids suddenly turn into sullen, moody teens when they hit a certain age. Or why parents wonder in amazement w...

  Parents as youth workers. Does the sound of that idea make you quake in your Vans? It doesn’t have to. Parent volunteers can be our allies, our trusted group of faithful, hard working ministers whom...

Have two volunteers come to the front of the room. One will stand facing the class/audience. The second volunteer will stand behind the other, with his or her back away from the audience. Ask the class will ...