Erin was stumped. She'd never heard this kind of question from a parent before. Shortly after youth group, Marcos approached her with some questions about the upcoming mission trip to a Native American reserva...

  In youth ministry, there’s no shortage of rough patches. You think you’ve got the lock-in planned, scheduled and effectively organized, and the location calls at the last minute and cancels your res...

Several years ago, I learned a lesson.  It's a hard lesson, and like most hard lessons, it hurt to learn, and it's a valuable lesson, and like most of the good lessons, I sometimes need to re-learn it.  So, i...

  I offered to just buy the coffee table from the host home family. Why, you ask? Because one of the small group members managed to discreetly carve his initials in it during our short stay in their hom...

I grew up in Minneapolis, MN. Minnesota winters are bad. Just imagine walking outside in the middle of January with - 15 degrees and 3 feet of snow. I had to learn how to successfully drive in snow and ice sto...

Struggling to help children embrace the Bible? The best way to teach something is through story... Christian parents and leaders know that the Bible is so important to all of us. They also want to pass on th...

Big Numbers Or Small Groups? Do You Really Have To Choose? If I can pinpoint the determining factor of why I am where I am today I can point it back to my small group experience. When I was in high school, sma...

I hear the slight crack in your voice as you stand on stage and bravely introduce yourself. I know it is scary. The eager faces of the congregation are both encouraging and terrifying, as you brace yourself for...

Whether we realize it or not, most of us have a gender bias about very practical issues which we think are limited to one gender. Let’s look at four examples from youth ministry. Accountability Many times, a...

The great theologian The Dread Pirate Roberts said, "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." We've all gone through difficult times, and unexpected difficulties still awai...