Middle School Articles

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Jr High Ministry When You're Not Wired As A Jr High Pastor

Danny Bowers Friday, January 27, 2012
Here is a confession of this youth pastor; I am NOT wired for junior high ministry and I never have been.   I can pull off junior high camp, events, connect with leaders, but the week-in and week-out just isn’t me. I find that I have to work very hard to stay engaged with junior high ministry... read more

Successful Event Promotion for Youth Ministries

Tim Heist Monday, December 19, 2011
One of my favorite roles as a youth pastor is taking students out of their environment to experience a retreat or to serve their community. When this happens, more times than not, discipleship can more easily happen. To make these trips, events, retreats, and camps happen, we must clearly... read more

What Happens When all Your Volunteers Leave?

Danny Bowers Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Behind Youth Ministry Leadership Door # 3 is a season where ALL your volunteers are leaving at the same weekend. Seriously, in three weeks I went from eight great volunteers in our junior high ministry to ZERO, 0, nadda, not a one left! Now this isn’t a complete blindside surprise, and we’ve... read more
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Spiritual Maturity: A Note to Youth Workers

Gregg Farah Saturday, November 5, 2011
Part 1: Creating a Healthy Environment Parents Can Support If you’re like me, you’re quick to condemn parents who don’t appear to take a more active role in supporting the youth group. And by condemn, I don’t mean verbally bashing parents or other nay-sayers. Instead, it’s the internal condemnation... read more
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Youth Games that Changed My Life

Brent McIntosh Thursday, November 3, 2011
This marks my 20th year as a youth pastor in Southern California. I began youth ministry as a 20-year-old when a college girl  invited me to come help lead as some guys began showing up at a girl's Bible study she was leading. She was an amazing youth pastor with a great heart for teens who... read more
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Spiritual Maturity: A Note to Parents

Gregg Farah Friday, October 21, 2011
[Part 1 of a 4-part series] Hi, my name is Gregg, and I may no longer be popular. This is one of those notes that has needed to be written for a long time. I’m certain I will infuriate some, offend several and, hopefully, motivate a few. But I’ve got to address parenting and priorities. I’m... read more

Creative Ways To Read God's Word

Tim Heist Monday, October 17, 2011
Helping students get into God’s word should be easy, but it’s not. Many students hate reading, creating an immediate gap between them and the bible. We need to find ways to help them learn from scriptures that aren’t analytical, like studying a text book or memorizing for a quiz at the end of the... read more
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Irritated On Purpose

Bridgette Murphy Thursday, October 6, 2011
(The conversation in my head went something like this...) Going off on her in your mind didn’t help. Not getting any sleep didn’t help. Stressing out because the situation seems out of your control didn’t help. Putting in your complaint about her seeming obsession with control surely didn’t do... read more
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Things 6th Graders Say

Jason Veliquette Monday, September 26, 2011
“I thought a virgin was somebody with small ears.” A few years ago a sixth grader really said this in a small group that I was helping lead. More recently another interaction with a Middle School student went like this: I asked, “Why did you get pulled out of your small group?” “I had taco salad... read more

A Cup of Coffee… for a Jr. Higher??

Scott Rubin Wednesday, September 14, 2011
You see it in Fellowship Halls across the country…adults connecting with each other, with a little Styrofoam cup in their hand. The proverbial cup of joe, where adults begin a conversation.  Sometimes it goes somewhere deep, other times not so much. Even college & high school students love... read more