There have been two times this past month that the word “always” has brought me to tears (which isn’t all that difficult, ask my teens). But seriously, one word doesn’t usually evoke that kind of emotion. Maybe it wasn’t the word itself, but what it stood for. Talking to one of my juniors after a Life Night recently I thanked her for being there. She responded with a laugh and said, “Betsy, I’m always here.” And it hit me – she is always here. I got to thinking, if it weren’t
Summer in youth ministry – it’s flipping sweet. While much of the parish seems to be slowing down and relaxing, summer is when youth ministry hits high gear. Why? Teens are off of school and looking for things to do! During the school year, we’re competing with everything from homework overload to play and choir to sports and other extracurriculars. Add in some good family time, and Church offerings are often squeezed out. But using the opportunity of summer right can really help your
“Hi Kenn, I need to talk to you about last night’s teen life event. Can you call me?” Ever get that phone message in your voicemail? I love working with parents, but that voicemail always sends a chill down my spine and immediately gets me asking “what could they possibly want? And what if it’s bad feed back?”
iPhone games are the best.
Angry Birds, Plants Versus Zombies, Infinity Blade, Fruit Ninja, Temple Run – the list of our favorite games to play on our phones could go on and on. It’s really convenient to pull out my phone and be entertained while waiting in line somewhere, or for a few minutes at home before we’ve got to saddle up to head out somewhere.
My pastor recently got me hooked on a book called “Rebuilt” by Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran. The book chronicles their attempts to “re-build” their parish located in Timonium, Maryland. And, they’ve had a lot of quantifiable success. In their years since launching their efforts, they’ve rebuild their parish from a weekend attendance of 1,400 people to over 4,000 people. White and Corcoran are very upfront in saying their problems and solutions are not applicable in every parish. But, it certainly got my wheels turning about how I can be doing better ministry. These are the things that stood out to me as I read “Rebuilt.”
Let’s face it, there can be no less thankful role in parish ministry than the youth leader or coordinator. With comments from parents asking you to do more and preach less to parish staff members wondering what you do all day, it can be a thankless role. I really don’t know of many youth leaders who are doing this for the thanks, but with so many people at times questioning your every move it still can make a negative impact with your confidence. Here are 3 things if you do them for a week,
Making environments for retreats and life nights are some of my favorite parts of youth ministry. They really take a good life night to the next level and add some “wow!” factor when teens walk in the room.
In the past, it wasn’t uncommon for me to spend a lot of money to make a killer environment. However, times are changing and my Church is looking at greatly shrinking our budgets. How can youth ministry keep providing great environments for teens at a fraction of a cost? My solution is to build a few life night set-ups that I can reuse with elements I can swap in and out.
You can never over-communicate with your Core Team, your pastor, the parish staff, other members of the youth staff, the teens, parents, etc. We kind of laugh about youth ministers and communication, but the truth is: if we want people on our side, we have to communicate more.
Who are the men and woman who stay at home and eat dinner without his or her spouse every Sunday during Life Night? Who bathes the children and puts them to bed before the Life Night ends? Who prays as much, if not more, for the teens who are in the youth group? Who stands in the background at parish events while his or her spouse is recognized by everyone (and let’s be honest, prefers it this way)? Who listens to endless youth ministry drama when his or her spouse gets home? Who
In fact, that’s why I became a youth minister. I knew it would be tough, but I was up for the challenge. (And, well, I wanted a gangsta job where I could use a handheld microphone regularly.)
In reality, nine years of youth ministry taught me a lot about myself, but perhaps the biggest thing it showed me is that I’m not as brave as I thought.
If I’m honest, there were a lot of times when…