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when you sense the passion is fading

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by Doug and Matt on July 2, 2010

Most youth workers are easily excited! And, excitement can be a great asset, but excitement will eventually fade. When this happens, many youth workers find themselves in a scary ministry season accompanied by doubt. We believe that God does great things in these moments and is more than able to change one’s heart to break for something new.

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why passionate leaders have powerful impact

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by Doug and Matt on July 2, 2010

The majority of youth workers we talk to would admit that they made their way into youth ministry because they’ve been transformed by Jesus and are passionate to see teenagers experience a similar transformation.

How about you?

back to school basics, part 3

by Doug and Matt on 09/02/2010

For most of us, the school year has started and we're beginning to settle into the next rhythm for ministry. Closing out the summer and launching into a new school year is often a time where youth workers get lost in the details. Because of that, we want to encourage you to not take your eye off the ball and allow important priorities to slip through the cracks.

Here are a few youth ministry basics we feel are worth keeping an eye on:

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back to school basics, part 2

by Doug and Matt on 09/01/2010

Goal setting is essential for great leadership and a thriving ministry. Powerful and consistent influence doesn’t happen on accident.

We're going to take a different approach with today's article (so when you're done, please let us know what you think on www.YouthMinistry.com). Since "goal setting" is a leadership topic that gets a lot of "air time," we figured we’d link to a couple articles we’ve found helpful. We'll give you our brief take, and if you want more, you can check it out.

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The Lies We Buy About Youth Ministry

by Bradley R. E. Wright on 08/31/2010

Editor's Note: This article first appeared in the September/October 2010 issue of Group Magazine. Go to http://youthministry.com/group to subscribe.

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Pastor's Kids Gone Wild

by Jonathan Acuff on 08/31/2010

 Editor’s Note: A few years ago Jonathan Acuff launched a little Web site called StuffChristiansLike.net as a way to riff on the peculiar ways Christians think, talk, and act. Now, fueled by 730,000 online readers in 209 countries, Acuff has published a book titled Stuff Christians Like (Zondervan) as a “field guide to all things Christian.” Here’s an excerpt from his site…

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back to school basics, part 1

by Doug and Matt on 08/31/2010

Unfortunately, there never seems to be a down time in youth ministry.

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The Two Prodigals

by Rick Lawrence on 08/27/2010

 

A month or so ago a friend of mine casually mentioned that he’d been at a national conference where a well-known and respected pastor/author/speaker announced that he was leaving his large suburban church so that he could start a new ministry to unchurched people living in an urban setting.

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counseling 101: teenagers and discouragement

by Doug and Matt on 08/26/2010

For some teenagers, the weight of the world keeps them focused on their overwhelming problems, resulting in varying degrees of sadness and discouragement. The destructive power of depression results in loneliness and isolation.

Much of what we wrote about this week will also apply when ministering to a student struggling with depression: engage and be present, listen well, and connect/refer them to professional help if the problem is serious.

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counseling 101: teenagers and addiction

by Doug and Matt on 08/25/2010

Pick a poison: there are so many crazy things in our world which can ensnare human desire. The destructive power of addiction is a dominating force of control. For most people, addiction a hopeless place filled with patterns that feel unbreakable.

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counseling 101: teenagers and pain

by Doug and Matt on 08/24/2010

Most youth workers learn quickly that they don’t have to look very far beneath the surface of a teenager’s life before they discover pain. Lurking below the surface is often an emotional pain that is debilitating and numbing.

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Stop Stressing About Bringing Camp Home

by Jasper Rains on 08/23/2010

If your group is like mine you attended a summer camp this year. You might have, like us, gone on a missions trip as well. At both of these events you might have heard a constant call for students to "bring it back home."

You've probably heard this cry at every camp and mission site you have ever attended. I agree with it in theory, but as the years have gone by I wonder if the concept itself is one that can lead us to an unnecessary sense of failure. Here is what I mean.

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Finding Rest in the Summer

by Mike Kupferer on 07/13/2009

Don't neglect your prayer time and Bible study during the summer. Plan for it and put it on your calendar.


Summer is a busy time for youth workers. But even during this season of the year, you don't have to become overwhelmed and exhausted. You can survive summer and feel rested as the school year starts again. I want to suggest five things you can do this summer to help find that rest you deserve and need.

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Above Reproach

by Nathan and Katie Kilgore on 07/08/2009

A primer on pitfalls to avoid, and opportunities to maximize, when you’re ministering to girls if you’re a man—or guys if you’re a woman.

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The Only Audience that Matters

by Jane Dratz on 07/07/2009

You never know when you or your friends may have a sudden audience with the King of the Universe.

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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen--A Review

by Scott Firestone on 06/29/2009

Hollywood would love nothing more than for us to turn off our brains when we go to movies—it ensures we’ll be back for more.

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Youth Ministry Minute: Twitter & the End of the World As We Know It

by Rick Lawrence on 06/26/2009

Andy Brazelton, my partner in crime at group, has been shaming me into getting on Twitter-the "micro-blogging" Web site. One day I barked at him, "I'm philosophically opposed to Twitter!" Blank stare, so I barked again: "Twitter commodifies communication-it treats trivial details about our lives as if they were just as important as, well, important details about our lives." I really do talk like this...
Well, Andy walked away unimpressed.

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The Proposal

by Josh Treece on 06/23/2009

If you’re looking for a good date movie, The Proposal fits the bill rather nicely.

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Year One

by Josh Treece on 06/23/2009

As something that presents biblical history… let’s just say that a lot of artistic liberties are taken.

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Feel-Good Experience

by Mark Eades on 06/15/2009

“Honey, can I call you back? I’m doing a feel-good thing right now.”

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Drag Me To Hell--A Review

by Scott Firestone on 06/03/2009

"At the moment she has to make her choice, I want the audience to make that choice with her. They sin with her."

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4 Comments

Up

by Josh Treece on 06/02/2009

And if you can make it through this short scene without at least tearing up, you’re either emotionally strong, or emotionally absent.

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Heartbreak and Controversy at Young Life

by Rick Lawrence on 12/17/2007
Eight members of Young Life’s teaching staff in Durham, North Carolina, were terminated or resigned at the end of November after they declined to abide by a new set of “non-negotiable” guidelines for proclaiming the gospel message to teenagers. In the wake of what detractors are calling the Durham Massacre, broader questions about what it means to evangelize a generation of postmodern teenagers have been dragged out of the closet.
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Why Mormons Do Better Youth Ministry Than We Do

by Greg Stier on 10/08/2007
Let's face it. Most of us look at the clean cut Mormon missionaries that peddle the streets of our city and knock on the doors of our houses as somewhat out of date.
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Girls kissing girls...

by Walt Mueller on 06/16/2008
Katy Perry is one to watch. I think she offers us an interesting and sad case study in youth ministry, faith development, and contemporary adolescent values, attitudes, and behaviors.
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34 Comments

Thoughts on Interns

by Doug Fields on 09/10/2007
What we have given them is a team to join (either junior high, high school or college), a house to live in (they live with families from our church) a community to belong to and training. It has been a great benefit to our church, our student ministry and to the interns as well.
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30 Comments

Are High School Sports Interfering with Teens Growing Deep?

by Brian Ford on 08/28/2008
In my years of youth ministry I have battled the personal frustration of my students missing out on weekly youth services, small group time, and youth events all because the sport or sports they play have a practice schedule of professional caliber.
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HELP, I'M A FALLEN STUDENT MINISTRY GUY

by Corey Mann on 01/21/2008
Some advice from a former student ministry worker who acted like he had it all together and finally got caught.
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22 Comments

Pushing Through

by Len Evans on 01/29/2008

The other day I was talking to one of my youth ministry friends about the rarity of long-term youth pastors in a local church setting. In the course of that conversation, I realized that there are a decent amount of guys who have been in youth ministry for a long time (20-30 years). These guys often speak at various youth ministry conventions and other training opportunities. However, very rarely are those guys in a local church setting. They tend to be youth ministry professors, camp directors, denominational leaders, parachurch ministry professionals, or professional speakers.

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20 Comments

Everybody you know should know these stats

by Nathaniel Dame on 03/09/2009

88% of children raised in Christian families leave church at the age of 18, never to return. 64% of decisions for Christ are made before the age of 18, and 77% are made before the age of 21. We can’t sit back and watch this generation be stolen out of our own churches and homes. By God's grace, we must take action, and we must do it now.

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CPYU Trend Alert: A Syrupy New Drug Problem

by Walt Mueller on 08/23/2007
Many of our kids will try DXM because they are curious or looking to engage in harmless fun. Others will abuse the drug in an effort to temporarily escape from the pressures of life. All of them need to know that this is anything but harmless fun.
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I'm in Love with a Vampire - The Subtle Messages of Twilight

by David R. Smith on 11/10/2008

What happens when a 17-year-old girl falls helplessly in love with the sexiest boy in the world... who's also a vampire?...Such is the pop culture phenomenon known as Twilight. Seventeen million copies of the books have been sold worldwide, and midnight showings for the upcoming movie are selling out.

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15 Comments