Alvin Lau

29 01, 2018

Young Adult Transition Research

By Alvin|2018-01-29T00:07:55-05:00January 29th, 2018|Alvin Lau|0 Comments

Back in 2011, the Hemorrhaging Faith study found that, for Christian youth adults, major life transitions were often transitions out of the church and faith. A major new study is being conducted looking at the transition of Christian young adults from high school to the next phase in life and how churches and ministries can help young adults maintain their connections to church and faith. The last data collection phase

27 11, 2017

Leader Development Track

By Alvin|2017-11-21T23:08:03-05:00November 27th, 2017|Alvin Lau|0 Comments

Where are you headed? What do you need to get there? As youth leaders, we pour into others, but what are ways you allow God to pour into you? A few weeks ago, we suggested creating a learning track for your student leaders to help identify specific elements in building that person and who could provide those learning opportunities. It's no different for you as a leader. Below is a

20 11, 2017

Emergency Plan

By Alvin|2017-11-16T16:17:08-05:00November 20th, 2017|Alvin Lau, best practices|0 Comments

In youth ministry, you never know where circumstances may lead. Having an emergency plan and a list of emergency contacts is vital to quickly and effectively handling unforeseen situations. EMERGENCY PLAN Unexpected interruptions happen. The key is knowing how to respond. Where are the emergency exits? (Would students know where to exit the building?) If you're not sure, check with your church property rep (or equivalent). Where's the evacuation meeting place? In what situations would you

9 11, 2017

Youth Talks with creativity and the senses

By Alvin|2017-11-09T10:10:08-05:00November 9th, 2017|Alvin Lau|0 Comments

It's been said that Generation Z's attention focus is 8 seconds (YouTube: "How to Communicate with Gen Z"). What does communication look like in a youth ministry setting, assuming you can't produce a high quality video every week? Here are some suggestions on how to enhance your youth ministry talks. Consider ways your message can be communicated through different multiple intelligences. While you may not be able to utilize all

30 10, 2017

Student Development Track

By Alvin|2017-10-27T19:58:21-04:00October 30th, 2017|Alvin Lau|0 Comments

We want our students in our youth ministries to thrive both in their faith and in their lives for the glory of God. Do you know what areas to focus on? Do you know how they can best be trained? Below is a suggested template for tracking those developmental elements in a student's life. You may have other elements to add as well (if so, leave those in the comment section). The key to this tool is for youth and youth leaders/mentors/parents to discuss what areas to develop

2 10, 2017

Thanksgiving Exercise

By Alvin|2017-09-29T17:27:08-04:00October 2nd, 2017|Alvin Lau|0 Comments

Can you believe September is already over and this weekend is Thanksgiving?! As we head into the first long weekend of this ministry season, we're reminded to give thanks. So what are you thankful for? John F Kennedy has been attributed with this quote: As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.1 During this time,

18 09, 2017

Working with Corporations

By Alvin|2017-09-14T23:21:54-04:00September 18th, 2017|Alvin Lau, best practices|0 Comments

CBOQ has an almost 20-year relationship with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in hosting our Centre Court outreach event with the Toronto Raptors. We are in high standing with MLSE, but it didn't happen over night. Here are some lessons we've learned. Be professional. This may seem redundant, but I've seen some youth leaders who approach corporations as one of their buddies. Whether or not you know your contact, if you're working in a business environment, then

11 09, 2017

Imaginative Hope relaunched

By Alvin|2017-09-11T08:09:08-04:00September 11th, 2017|Alvin Lau, best practices|0 Comments

At Assembly, we launched "Imaginative Hope", a concise collaborative message from 50 Canadian Baptist youth pastors to the 1000+ Canadian Baptist churches. The initial report has created a buzz amongst many churches and we are excited about what the next steps might be. To support those next steps, Imaginative Hope is relaunching its website ON WEDNESDAY. Not only will you access the video and the report, you can also glean

19 06, 2017

Youth and Digital Communication

By Alvin|2017-06-15T12:58:12-04:00June 19th, 2017|Alvin Lau|0 Comments

Your typical student is likely digitally connected, whether it’s through texting, social media, gaming or other channels. Some youth ministries embrace all these channels. Others would rather restrict them and get back to “real relationships” So how do you engage these digitally connected youth? First of all, let’s remember that for Generation Z, digital connections are just as real as in-person ones. For many students, their identity encompasses both the

10 06, 2017

Assembly 2017 – review

By Alvin|2017-06-10T15:34:20-04:00June 10th, 2017|Alvin Lau, event recap|0 Comments

Another Assembly finishes with many of our CBOQ friends. There were moments of joy, celebration, challenges and, most importantly, worship to our Lord. Here are some (from what Alvin saw) highlights especially in relation to CBOQ Youth: Assembly will consider next year a bylaw change that will allow churches to add an additional delegate between the ages of 18-25 years old. Imaginative Hope was presented as focal point for our