The most successful, healthy, and growing ministries depend on teams of high-quality volunteers.  I know that this may not be a shocking or new truth, but what’s hard to hear is that not all of your leaders/volunteers begin with or maintain high quality.  The goal is not just a ...
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 It’s okay to not be okay.  I wanted to say that first and then speak openly. This post is highly personal, because vulnerability only happens when it is invited. So I want to openly invite you, my youth minister friends, to consider your own well-being today. How are you? Tired? ...
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In light of last year's lockdown and finally learning our neighbors' names, it is time that we rediscover the neighborhood. We need to put some time into learning about the community that encircles where each of our churches serve. It is easy to imagine ourselves with global reach in a livestreaming ...
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Ministry Mileage: How can we get more out of what we keep putting in? I don’t know if you’ve bought a new car recently, but my wife and I have been out shopping and WOW. The sales teams at a few of these dealerships have been fierce. They are probably nice people, but they’ve offered lots of ...
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Dear friends in youth ministry,  We need to get back in the mix of our own evangelism. In the last few months of uncertainty, I have felt overly instructive and less participatory. The playbook for successful student ministry has changed, and reinvigorating evangelism has to start with our ...
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Open bag 11! There we were. After 947 pieces, we were ready to open the final bag of Legos needed to complete Bowser’s castle and clean up the wreckage of cellophane and cardboard from the dining room table.  I’m Zac, and I’m a dad of two amazing boys who love really cool toys. This year, ...
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You need at least five people in your life to succeed and stay healthy in youth ministry. Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. While I don’t dispute Jim or the law of averages, I do think there are five people or role ...
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Hey, student minister! Let’s take a 1 question survey: Q: In your line of ministry work, who is on your “first team?” A:___________________ If you had asked me this question 4 years ago, I would have had a very different answer, I might have said my family or my volunteers, but when it ...
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Welcome to December 2020. The last month of this calendar year and the advent of a new year. Before you finish your Christmas shopping or savor your cider with a movie, pause and do one more scan of your ministry. For some of your students, this is not the most wonderful time of the year. I saw ...
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Practicing gratitude is not just a spiritual discipline we should teach to our students; we should also show it to our leaders.  For those who show up to help in a variety of ways, here are some awesome and fairly inexpensive ways to say and show you really care. #1 Handwritten notes: ...
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