We asked youth workers how they named their youth group -- join the discussion!

"It seems like our ministry team meetings are just when you have fun with all of your favorites. I don't want to be a part of it anymore."

That same tension seems to exist between youth workers and parents. After all, if you put God first in your ministry and try to bring a child closer to God, parents will complain. I feel blessed that it's only happened once to me, though, because of the way my congregation views the church. Rather than...

If someone knows a simple definition of family-based youth ministry, please send it right away. I've read (and enjoyed) most of the books written on the subject. In fact, I can still remember reading Mark DeVries' book Family-Based Youth Ministry the very week it was published. I said then and maintain...

During a rather lively discussion on the merits of family-friendly methods of youth ministry, one influential speaker and author emphatically proclaimed, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it...and youth ministry ain't broke!"

We're pretty sure Billy Joel didn't have youth ministry in mind when he wrote the song (and we've never quite understood the WOs and LAs), but this much is true: You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. What happens during the first 60 minutes a student spends at the first youth meeting...

As youth workers, we have to see that encouraging the deepening of familial relationships as a central part of the ministry we do. The difficulty of this work has to be embraced, because research repeatedly has affirmed that parents are the most influential people in the lives of our youth. This means...

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This line from Juliet’s famous speech on the balcony to her tragic lover Romeo is one of the most famous from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” also has to do with his name; Juliet...

We’re at a crossroad in youth work; and in order to be effective, we need to change—to turn at this crossroad instead of passing on through, assuming the way we’ve always done things will continue to work. It’s time for Youth Ministry 3.0.

The youth ministry model that rocked my world during high school—not so many years ago, or at least it doesn’t feel like it—doesn’t work with Catholic youth these days. Teens in the Roman Catholic Church seem different, because they are, says Kris Walters, coordinator of youth ministry at Holy Trinity...