Ministry to parents is something that has been rising in importance and attention in student ministry over the last decade. While this is true, the pandemic revealed that there is still work to be done in closing the gap between providing information and partnering with parents in the ...
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Discouragement is a part of life and leadership for you and the people you lead. As leaders, we can become so focused on achieving the task in front of us that we fail to recognize the struggles of people on our teams. A challenge for me is to see that caring for people is as much the role of a ...
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I'm not great at celebrating the wins. It's something I've learned about my leadership over the years as I've often moved onto the next mountain to climb rather than stopping to celebrate the climb we've just finished. Celebration is a critical part of leadership, and is healthy for you and for ...
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It's so interesting how the body and mind attach to experiences that you have throughout life. As I began writing on this topic, I could see moments in my past where I allowed a defensive posture to overtake me in leadership. I can still access how those moments felt. There are conversations ...
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Are you feeling frustrated or discouraged that your students aren't seeming to live out their faith in their spheres of influence? Here are three major things that might be holding them back: 1. They don't believe they can. Because of personality, or level of introversion, nervousness, or ...
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When we recruit and train leaders, it is often for jobs we already have in mind. We've done the work of developing our plans for ministry and have identified the leadership roles needed to execute that plan, and off we go recruiting and training accordingly. While this practice is necessary to ...
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Action over intention. Over the last year or so, there has been a focus on increasing diversity and inclusion. This is not limited to culture alone, and is something we should be working toward in our ministries, as well. In fact, the body of Christ should be quick to do the work to ensure that ...
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One of the benefits of the last year is that we've all been forced to try something new, but what about now? We've been in this season long enough for things to become familiar or even stale.  It's easy to get stuck doing the same things over and over again, especially if they work. The trap ...
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Healthy student ministries are Kingdom expanding. When I refer to "Kingdom" here, I am referring to God's Kingdom of people who have placed their faith in him. Others have called it the universal church. In its most basic definition it simply means all believers everywhere. To expand God's ...
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Welcome to the beginning of another year, and the perfect time to hit the reset button on some weekly practices that will help you maximize your leadership and stay organized throughout the year. Please don’t think of these as the standard New Year’s resolution plans, but rather a set of practices ...
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