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Tag Archives: Relational Ministry

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Do You Add or Take Away From the Room?

By | February 25, 2010

Have you ever been standing in a room and noticed when someone new entered that the dynamic of the room changed? I have see this a lot. Sometimes the atmosphere in the room gets more energized while at other times the air in room seems to have just been let out. Do you know what happens to a room when you enter? Do you add or take away from the energy that is present?

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How Much Time Does It Take to be an Effective Youth Minister?

By | February 19, 2010

The most valuable thing you can give to teens is your time. I see a lot of youth leaders excited to serve teens, but get overwhelmed by the amount of time it actually takes to be effective as a youth minister. “The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.” – Norman Vincent Peale

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Relational Ministry: Outreach Events

By | February 15, 2010

As Core Teams and youth ministers we know that going to our teens’ events can make a big impact.  After a number of years in youth ministry, I think I have now been to nearly every sporting event the public school system has to offer. I have also seen some amazing plays, moving orchestra concerts [...]

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Recovering the Lost Art of Focusing on the Teens!

By | February 11, 2010

It’s like the real estate agents’ mantra: location, location, location. It’s repeated 3 times emphasizing how important location is for a real estate property. In Catholic youth ministry our mantra is: the teens, the teens, the teens! How often does the stress of parish politics, the mountains of safe environment paperwork or the unending stream [...]

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How to Have Spirit-Led Small Group Discussions

By | March 19, 2009

I must admit that I like eating ice cream. I like ice cream so much that I once changed sleeping assignments on a trip because teens brought me a big tub of ice cream and begged A LOT. If you’re considering taking a bribe to change room assignments, be sure to get more than just [...]

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Lunch Time Lessons: How to Talk to Teens

By | August 13, 2008

Over the years I developed a routine of visiting the local schools during lunch times. The purpose behind this was simple: I wanted to see and love teens outside of the typical Life Teen setting. At first I only sought out the teens I knew from my program, trying to avoid the awkward looks and [...]

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Starting Difficult Conversations about Suicide, Abuse, and Suffering

By | May 7, 2008

If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it will soon enough. The world is full of “ick,” and eventually one of your teens—or perhaps one of your adult leaders—will get some on his or her shoes. You have an idea about what is going on in their life, but you need to ask. You are [...]

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Loving Ugly Teenagers

By | April 21, 2008

Be honest: do you have any ugly teens? I don’t mean like physically unattractive teens. I mean teens that have ugly personalities. You know, the ones that are most difficult to love and serve. I think that the “ugly teen syndrome” comes in many different forms. But here are a few that I have encountered: [...]

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Practical Advice for Helping Teens in Crisis

By | December 11, 2007

One of the foundational building blocks of any successful youth ministry program is solid relational ministry. Building personal relationships with the teens, meeting them on their turf, attending their games, showing up on campus to have lunch with them is absolutely imperative in relational ministry. But let’s take it a step further. You’ve built relationships [...]

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The YOKE is on you! Helping Teens in Desperate Situations

By | August 24, 2007

Picture this: A teen approaches you about something going on in their life that is so vast, so incomprehensible to digest, that you just go numb. You go into emotional cruise control, offering canned, clichéd responses to all you come across. For the past few years, my ministry took this form. As ministers we have [...]