How do you care for your volunteers? They give their time, energy and other resources to minister to this next generation alongside you. How do you show your appreciation? Many times, volunteers do not feel valued because they aren’t receiving appreciation in ways that makes sense to them. One way is to understand their love language. While love languages are usually discussed in the context of marriage, its principles can
Last week, a group of CBOQ pastors (including some children, family and youth pastors) gathered at the Nottawasaga Inn and Resort for the Reignite Conference. This year featured Dwight Friesen, author of The New Parish, sharing his insights on the local church. We engaged in three days of discussions around the purpose of the local parish and how well we interact with our neighbourhood. There were three questions/ideas that stood
In youth ministry, many of us tend to focus on the content of teaching. Looking at a year-long calendar, many youth leaders try to pack in as much content and topics they can think of. Is that the best approach? For me (Alvin), I wonder if there is a significant shift in our youth ministry programming. Since the birth of the church, one of the primary drives was to share
How do you reach your community with the person and message of Jesus? After all, that’s the primary reason why the church exists: to go and make disciples of all nations. What are ways to do that? There are many ways a church can reach into a community. Here are a few considerations: Where does the neighbourhood gather? Some communities already have established times when people gather. It could
We continue looking at some observations Renegotiating Faith highlighted its report. (Click here for Part One.) Young adults who went straight into postsecondary studies fared worse on all our measures of religious persistence than those who had taken a gap year. (p.11) I (Alvin) remember that in high school the big push was to graduate and go straight on to university. A gap year was seen as a form of
The registration process is a bit different this year. Download the promotional flyer and the registration package at cboqyouth.ca/avalanche or cboqyouth.ca/blizzard (select the appropriate weekend). Once you have an idea of the number of students and leaders planning to attend, register online. Avalanche: cboqyouth.ca/avalanche2019 Blizzard 1: cboqyouth.ca/blizzard12019 Blizzard 2: cboqyouth.ca/blizzard22019 You’ll receive an automated reply with a copy of your registration. You’ll also receive an email from Alvin within
One month has already passed in this school year. Your high school grads are only nine months away from graduation. How are you supporting them in their transition to emerging adulthood? Renegotiating Faith highlighted that home church youth groups and mentors are key in the successful shift into emerging adulthood. Here is one way for you to help your grads. On June 1, 2019, we along with Power 2 Change,
Each year, there are probably one (or a few) big events everyone looks forward to, whether it’s a retreat, a compassion experience, or that annual big-bash Christmas dinner. Those big events can be monumental and life-changing…if they’re used well. One person suggested to me that big events in youth ministry are giant “sledgehammer” moments where there is potential for huge impact in students’ lives. There are a variety of reasons
Last July, a new report called Renegotiating Faith (RF) was launched from a research partnership between Power 2 Change, InterVarsity, Youth for Christ, Truth Matters Ministries, and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Renegotiating Faith looks at the transition from high school to the next stage in life for Canadians age 18 to 28 who had a Christian religious affiliation as a teen and who attended religious services at least monthly
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) have graciously offered us a limited block of free tickets to distribute to our churches. The game is on Saturday, October 20, 4:00 pm @ BMO Field. OBJECTIVE We are looking for youth ministries to submit a proposal to CBOQ Youth on how they will utilize some of these tickets to engage with the unchurched friends of their students. HOW DOES THIS
