Blog posts about youth ministry
With less than one month left in the school year, it's a natural time to celebrate. Even if you have a lot of activities planned, having a time to bring closure to another mnistry cycle allows for reflection and thanksgiving for what God has empowered the last 10 months. At CBOQ Youth, we have much to celebrate: over 2000 students and leaders influenced through our events dozens of churhes and
Nowadays, many youth ministries are focusing some time and attention towards parents. After all, almost all of them believe the parent is the primary caregiver (spiritual or otherwise) to their child (based from Deuteronomy 6). How that is carried out in practical terms is still in early development. Too many times, some youth ministries interpret "support parents" as keeping them involved and possibly having them volunteer. However, that seems to
At our office, we’re in the middle of switching our email system from Lotus Domino to Microsoft Exchange (that's been a long time coming). As part of an implementation team, we designed a plan that seemed to be solid and well thought out. We thought had answered all the pertinent questions. But as we started moving forward with it, a lot of unforeseen details came out that we never did
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. (Lao-tzu) What grand plans do you have? For some, youth ministry is seen as a catalyst for change, whether in students or for the church as a whole. For others, they have no idea where the youth ministry is going next week let alone three years down the road. (Change can be petrifying.) So how do you move forward
Change can be hard. Some people thrive on it. Others are paralyzed by it. As they say, change is inevitable. How we prepare for it is vital. Hemorrhaging Faith demonstrated that transitions are key opportunities for churches to support children and youth. So what are key steps in ensuring an effective transition? Here are some suggestions from a youth worker's perspective. FROM CHILDREN'S MINISTRY TO YOUTH MINISTRY With your children's
I once heard someone remark, "If you really want to get a lot of students to come to your youth group, just bring in a keg of beer." While his comments may be satirical about how some churches overvalue numbers as a marker for success, it does ask a vital question: What is it that separates a youth group from any other youth gathering? All around us, there are seemingly
“Practice is the hardest part of learning, and training is the essence of transformation.” ― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are The fact is, if you don't train, you don't transform. If you're not continuing to learn and stretch, then don't expect positive change. Ensuring that you and your team have on-going learning opportunities is key to sharpening their ministry skills and moving the
Evaluation and feedback are key in helping to see if a ministry is continuing the direction God has given. Regular feedback (whether informal or in a more structured approach) helps to give a "pulse" of where things are at. Every couple of years, it's worthwhile doing an audit of your ministry. The purpose of an audit is to give an accurate snapshot of where things are at. It takes your
Internships. There are many connotations of what an internship is. Lately, the discussion includes the use (or abuse) of unpaid internships (see the Toronto Star article from March 2, 2014). Some people see internships as cheap (or free) labour. Others see internships no different than another paid position. What exactly makes an effective internship? Internships in a ministry context (like youth ministry) are meant to provide a space for the
After March break, the final stretch to this ministry year is just on the horizon. It is crucial to finish well. If you haven't already, here are some areas to ensure you're covering in this final stretch: Plan a celebration when the ministry year concludes with students and the church (this could include a special Sunday service in June) Help your graduating high school students transition into their new life
