Volunteers Articles

Leadership, Volunteers
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Stop the Bottleneck

Kurt and Josh Wednesday, February 8, 2012
If there’s a bottleneck in your ministry, guess what? It’s probably you! Think about it for a second – you’re the point person of the ministry, so doesn’t it make sense that decisions roll up through you? In a centralized leadership structure (like most...
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Leadership, Volunteers

It Is OK Not to be Good At Things

Kurt and Josh Tuesday, February 7, 2012
No matter how good you are … you can’t be good at everything. In fact, we’ll take it one step further – you AREN’T good at everything. OK, last step we promise: You’re actually really bad at quite a few things. What if we told you that God had people in your church who love what you loathe? What... read more
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Leadership, Volunteers, Small Groups, Programming, Outreach

Debriefing For Dummies

Kurt and Josh Wednesday, February 1, 2012
You wake up exhausted. Was that overnighter a dream? Where did your black eye come from? Why is your arm in a cast? Why are there 13 missed calls from various parents? What speeding ticket? If you’re like us, after a big event or activity the last thing you want to do is re-live all the details. If... read more
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Leadership, Volunteers, Small Groups, Programming, Outreach

Planning a Big Youth Ministry Event

Kurt and Josh Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Most youth workers like events. We may have mixed emotions about their overall effectiveness, but they aren’t going away anytime soon….we simply won’t let them! And while we all like events, we aren’t all great at planning them from start to finish. As a result, many events are tossed together at... read more
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Leadership, Volunteers, Programming, Outreach

Stretching Your Youth Ministry Budget

Kurt and Josh Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The economy doesn’t seem to be revovering any time soon – and church budgets are tighter than ever. Here are 6 ideas to help get the most out of every buck your church entrusts to you (if you’re fortunate enough to even have a budget): Break-even Events – when you plan an event, make out a... read more
Worship, Volunteers

More Than a Camp-High Conference

Darren Sutton Thursday, January 12, 2012
The worst part of summer camp? The crash! You squirrel kids away for a week, take away all their technology, and pump them full of nothing but Jesus and they conclude that week connected, hopeful, and holy. A few weeks later….the camp-drug has been filtered out of their systems and the camp high... 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
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Discipleship, Worship, Speaking, Volunteers

How to Get the Most Out of a Youth Ministry Conference

Kurt and Josh Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Our favorite time of the year is quickly approaching – the Simply Youth Ministry Conference is just around the corner. This March in Louisville we’re going to be hanging with 3,000 of our closest youth ministry friends. Hope you can join us! Even if you aren’t coming to SYMC, the chances are pretty... read more
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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
Leadership, Volunteers, Programming

A Primer on the Fine Art of Monkey Management

Youth Ministry ... Tuesday, January 3, 2012
http://ymarchitects.com/wp-content/themes/yma/pdf/monkeyManagement.pdf by Mark DeVries Every effective youth pastor must, sooner or later, learn the fine art of monkey management.  Those who don’t will be persistently overwhelmed by the agendas and urgent demands of those around them.... read more
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Families, Leadership, Culture, Volunteers

Life Outside the Church

Kurt and Josh Tuesday, January 3, 2012
We eat, sleep and drink youth ministry. Every once in a while I (Kurt) will have somebody say to me something like, “Youth ministry is my life…I don’t know what I’d do without it!” To which I want to reply something like, “Gosh…I am so sorry to hear that!” It makes sense that so many of us... read more