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,
10 years ago today, we signed the papers to purchase Life Teen Camp Covecrest in Tiger, GA. I can still remember the excited feeling of our owning a camp, and the sinking feeling of hoping that our obedience to God to purchase the camp wouldn’t lead to a huge dose of humility if it didn’t work out. In no way has the past 10 years been easy in regard to the camp. Our first summer we were only able to get 31 teens to attend our first ever Life Teen Camp at Covecrest. Not until 2 years ago did we
Are you heading to World Youth Day in Madrid this year? Do you wish you were heading to World Youth Day? Either way, you are going to get a chance to experience Life Teen at World Youth Day this year. Life Teen has a big event planned as a part of World Youth Day. Over the past few months we’ve been working with the WYD organizing committee in Madrid to coordinate what will arguably be the biggest XLT of the year at World Youth Day! Our event is the evening of August 18th, immediately following
I fly on jets, but still don’t know how they are able to fly with being so large and carrying so many people. I drove by an aircraft carrier the other day while on vacation and can’t believe that something that big could float. I walk down the streets of some of the world’s biggest cities amazed at how a skyscraper could reach so high. Standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon and I am in awe that water could have carved that wide and deep of a crevasse in the earth. Our world is filled with signs
This Monday over 450 teens will attend our annual Life Teen Leadership Conference. This year our conference is at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. If you are heading to Kansas for the conference – here are 5 ways you can make sure you have one of the best weeks of your life. 1.) Meet New People – You are attending a conference with hundreds of other top Catholic teens who are mostly all striving to grow in their holiness. Don’t just hang out with the people you are going to the conference
Some people, when they go to light a big bonfire, pile the logs perfectly in a square. However, some are a fan of the triangular log configuration. Then there’s always the person who just throws all the logs in the pit and has to rearrange them every 10 minutes. Any way you do it, there’s a general practice of stuffing some kindling or paper in the logs in order to get them to start burning. Everyone knows paper, though it lights quickly, also burns and is gone very quickly. The logs however,
Ever wonder what happened to some of your peers in youth ministry? Over the past few years, I have talked with long term veterans who have maintained strong ministry for years, veterans who are no longer involved in ministry and a bunch of youth leaders in between. I have come to the conclusion that there is one main reason why a youth leader ends up off course.
At times over the past few years, I have found myself serenaded by a chorus of “Why?” Why would we suggest this or that? Why did we start summer camps in the midst of a Church safe environment crisis? Why does Life Teen continue to grow even in the midst of youth ministry cutbacks in the Church? To all the members of the “Why Chorus” – I simply say you may want to change the tune to “Why Not?”