How do we help people understand what serving in youth ministry is really all about? I think a major hurdle in getting people to step up and invest in youth is their perception of what being a youth leader enta...

There is a quiet epidemic in our country—specifically in our youth ministries—and it's a killer. The problem is there's not an easy fix. It strikes unexpectedly, with little or no warning. Virtually no rese...

During my first 10 years of youth ministry, I treated leader training as I treat getting my haircut. I don't schedule my haircuts. I just get to the point of looking a little shaggy and then go see my barber. S...

@import url(http://admin2.salemwebnetwork.com/CuteSoft_Client/CuteEditor/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/ywjadmin_wysiwyg.css); "I feel like I'm being watched." You've heard that ...

Retreats are magical, and the same is true of summer camps and mission trips. If you've spent any time in youth ministry, you likely have discovered students' lives can be impacted more in a weekend or one week...

Nobody wants to be that guy. That guy is the one who blurts out a spoiler to a movie you haven't seen. She (Yes, that guy can be a male or female.) is the Debbie Downer who tells you, "Sure you won a vacation f...

Luke 15 is one of the most familiar and compelling passages in all of Scripture. Jesus tells the story of the rebellious son who asks for his inheritance, wastes it on wild living, finally decides to come h...

The final worship song was reaching its climax. Our worship leader had experimented with displaying Bible verses in the middle of the instrumental bridge of the song, and you could feel God's presence moving in...

For the first couple of retreats you attend as a youth pastor, bedtimes are irrelevant to you. "This is where the real ministry happens," you say to yourself. "Besides, I can sleep when I get home."Then you sta...

It's springtime in America! The birds are chirping, the flowers are budding, and the Chicago Cubs are just about mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. All this also means it's prom season, that most drea...