youth ministry thoughts

15 10, 2014

Safe Places

By Alvin|2016-10-31T13:57:18-04:00October 15th, 2014|Alvin Lau, youth ministry thoughts|0 Comments

Abraham Maslow deduced a hierarchy of needs people unconsciously strive for. The second level in his hierarchy is "safety needs", where a person desires physical protection, security, stability and freedom from fear. The Hemorrhaging Faith report also alluded to this in one of their four drivers (under "Teachings and Beliefs") where young adults: can freely explore the tough issues: sex, different world views, etc. They want to be prepared to

30 09, 2014

The Gratitude Challenge: an ancient practice

By Alvin|2016-10-31T13:57:18-04:00September 30th, 2014|Alvin Lau, youth ministry thoughts|0 Comments

Lately on Facebook, people have faced the Gratitude Challenge (the Huffington Post had a feature article on this). The premise of the challenge is to list 3 items of you're grateful for over a 10 day period. It's been shown that having a thankful attitude has positive effects on ourselves (there have been numerous studies looking at the correlation between gratitude and happiness). This shouldn't be any surprise for the

25 09, 2014

Theology of Youth Ministry

By Alvin|2014-09-25T04:32:14-04:00September 25th, 2014|Alvin Lau, youth ministry thoughts|0 Comments

Theology, as a basic definition, is "the study of God and God's relation to the world". As a Christian, we view everything through that lens of discovering God's relationship to everything. Youth ministry is no different. Youth ministry is no longer seen as "glorified babysitting". Youth leaders would rarely call it that. (Some parishoners may have subconsciously viewed it as such.) However, in the last few years, the connection between

19 09, 2014

Slingshot: a young adult's next step

By Alvin|2016-10-31T13:57:18-04:00September 19th, 2014|Alvin Lau, youth ministry thoughts|0 Comments

Over the years, we've coordinated what we called an event internship where youth and young adults came to serve at Avalanche and Blizzard while honing their ministry skills. Over the last 12 months, we've redesigned that program into what we call "Slingshot". We recognize that today's young adult isn't always able to commit to a program long-term (some don't even know what they're doing the next hour). We also recognize

9 09, 2014

Professional Next Steps

By Alvin|2016-10-31T13:57:18-04:00September 9th, 2014|Alvin Lau, youth ministry thoughts|0 Comments

In all areas of life, we continue to change (whether progressively or regressively). Our ministry skills are no different. It's not to say that you must make a major investment in every area of your life all the time. But, to ensure you're not neglecting one area over another in the long term, you need to balance where you're placing your energies in your next steps. Ministry development can happen

3 09, 2014

"Transitions" Blog launch next week

By Alvin|2016-10-31T13:57:18-04:00September 3rd, 2014|Alvin Lau, youth ministry thoughts|0 Comments

At Assembly 2014, Tanya Yuen and I presented a learning session on "Lost in Transitions", exploring how churches could better support children and youth in various transitions. Since then, we've begun to broaden the ideas shared at that learning session into a new blog site. Starting next Tuesday, we'll be publishing a new blog entry elaborating on the key components from that seminar. You can subscribe today at cboqtransitions.wordpress.com. In

20 08, 2014

The calm before the storm

By Alvin|2014-08-20T21:27:01-04:00August 20th, 2014|Alvin Lau, youth ministry thoughts|0 Comments

Take a deep breath. Over the next few days, you'll feel a rumbling. It's the sound of everyone gearing up for life after Labour Day, when the summer unofficially ends and we are back in our "normal" routines. It's also the start of a new youth ministry year, with new students, some familiar faces, and everyone having grown older by a year since the last September. But before that comes,

12 08, 2014

Online Management Tools

By Alvin|2014-08-12T16:50:12-04:00August 12th, 2014|Alvin Lau, youth ministry thoughts|1 Comment

Everyone has a system of how they keep track of details, from contacts to tasks and everything in between. As you're getting organized for this next ministry season, here are some online tools we've found helpful in our office. Bufferapp: Keeping up with social media can be daunting, especially when you're sending out content. This app allows for you to schedule your posts ahead of time. e.g. Want to remind

17 06, 2014

Gear Shift in Ministry Life

By Alvin|2016-10-31T13:57:18-04:00June 17th, 2014|Alvin Lau, youth ministry thoughts|0 Comments

We all go through cycles and season. Some can be tremendously busy. Others allow for a slower pace. At CBOQ Youth, our high season is January to March. That’s where we work the longest hours and put in the most intense energies. In the summer, our pacing typically slows down. It allows for us to shift gears. As I (Alvin) approach the summer season, a couple of reminders strike me.

17 06, 2014

Multi-Site Youth and Family Ministry

By Alvin|2016-10-31T13:57:18-04:00June 17th, 2014|guest post, youth ministry thoughts|0 Comments

At Mississauga City Baptist Church, we are currently developing a multi-site youth and family ministry. In addition to the students that attend one of the two identical Sunday services, we also have the privilege of partnering with two other churches that host services in other languages other than English. We are also affiliated with another church that is located in our region and in addition to their English service; this