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We're All Born This Way

Rick Lawrence Tuesday, April 16, 2013
The other day I had breakfast with an old friend—we’ve met, off and on, two Saturday mornings a month for 10 years or so. I hadn’t seen him in a few months, so we had some catching up to do. I asked about his family. He paused, glanced down for a moment, then...
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Leadership

Money & Ministry: A Response

Patti Gibbons Thursday, January 26, 2012
Does anyone actually like talking about money in the church? My experience has been that the answer to that question is a lot like Indiana Jones’ reaction to a room full of snakes, “Money. It had to be money.” For most of us, the mere mention of budget can make our pulse quicken with dread and... read more
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Families, Leadership

How to Ask for a Raise

Kurt and Josh Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Last week Group published their annual salary survey results for youth workers across the country. Don’t worry, they made sure that Kurt “money-bags” Johnston wasn’t included because it would have skewed things a lot higher (Josh, “I’m a little bitter” Griffin wrote that intro). The truth of the... read more
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Culture

Connecting with a Connected Generation

Jonathan McKee Monday, January 23, 2012
Does It Happen Online or Offline? An article from Jonathan McKee and David R. Smith at TheSource4YM.com Just how important is social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) to young people? Well, new research has answered that question, revealing that over 50% of young people would give up one... read more
2
Leadership

The Key to Longevity: A Response

Brit Windel Thursday, January 19, 2012
To follow some veterans, (Kurt at 24 years, Just 3 years shy of doing ministry longer than I have been alive, & Josh at 15 years and 1 week) it is a honor and challenge to speak to longevity. I have been doing youth ministry for 9 years, & have been blessed to call 3 churches my church home... read more
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Families, Leadership

The Key to Longevity (Josh)

Kurt and Josh Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Yesteday Kurt offered up some solid insight into longevity in youth ministry. Here’s a little of what I’ve learned now 15 years (and 1 week) into this journey: Hold some stuff sacred If you want to be in youth ministry 5 years from now, you have to set some boundaries on your time and life. Do... read more
Culture

Ms. 'Splosion Man

Scott Firestone Monday, January 16, 2012
Platformers are the comfort food of video games. After spending time shooting monsters, exploring a vast open world, and flying around Arkham City as Batman, it’s nice to come back to the comfort of a simple game done really well. The basic formula for platformers is simple: Jump onto or over... read more
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Discipleship, Worship, Speaking, Volunteers, Small Groups, Programming

The Best Part of a Youth Ministry Conference

Kurt and Josh Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Yesterday we got a surprisingly high response to “How to Get the Most Out of a Youth Ministry Conference” and are beyond excited that many of you are joining us for SYMC 2012. Today we wanted to highlight the very best part of a youth ministry conference, but we couldn’t limit it to just one! Here’... read more
1
Leadership

Navigating Relationships in the Church: A Response

Scott Cohoon Thursday, January 5, 2012
Kurt and Josh, as usual, brought us great insight this week reminding us to build into several key relationships. No doubt we could all do better at building up at least one of the areas they suggested. Those being the Senior Pastor, those that served before you, volunteers and parents. Often when... read more
Leadership

The Beauty of Being a Bore

Jeanne Mayo Wednesday, January 4, 2012
My phone just rang again with another agonizing report of a leader who’s out of the game due to some agonizing personal choices. My mind races with other names who’ve joined that sad list—people who could’ve given so much to kids. Allow me to briefly “preach to the choir” with the reminder that it’... read more
2
Families, Leadership, Volunteers

Navigating Relationships in the Church

Kurt and Josh Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Relationships are at the center of most any ministry position – but they are especially crucial to a youth worker. Here are a few relationships to key in on as you serve students in your church: Befriend the pastor We’ve been to conferences with workshop titles like “Senior Pastors: Friend or... read more