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Chaos, Hope, and the Parish Staff

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It was the night of our fall semester kickoff. The core team was gathered, the name tags were out, and the Pokémon were hidden at various “Pokéstops” throughout the facility. One last prayer, one last deep breath, and the glass doors were opened to the chaos that is junior high […]

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You Need to Step Out Onto the Waves with Christ

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Too many of us are hanging out in the boat of our ministry and our discipleship. What would you do if you decided that, for the next year, you were going to ditch the boat and step out onto that water? What if you took the adventure of discipleship seriously, took off the water wings, and decided to make things happen?

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A Bird’s Eye View: Keeping Perspective within Ministry

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Ministry is a challenge. A beautiful and sanctifying challenge, but a challenge nonetheless.

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The 5 Habits of Healthy Youth Ministers

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In the world of working with teenagers, MINISTRY. NEVER. ENDS.

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Engaging Parents in Youth Ministry

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Getting parents involved in your ministry is either really difficult or really easy. For most of us, it’s probably a combination of the two. Perhaps you have parents who’ve been begging to be part of ministry since your first kick-off. Maybe you feel like pulling teeth from a horse would […]

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The Best Gift We Can Give: Praying For Your Teens

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Her eyes were puffy, and her cheeks flushed. The bottom of her lip was trembling as the fake smile plastered across her face cracked. Her answers to my questions were one worded. My student had clearly been crying. Seeing that something was wrong, I told her she was more than […]

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I’m Not Giving Up On You!

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I don’t know if someone spoke those words to you, but they are powerful. They are a statement of support. They say, “Regardless of how bad you get, how far you go, I’m standing by you.” In ministry, we have those moments. Whether it’s that one Core Member you need […]

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Your Ministry’s Presence on Social Media Matters

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Teens check their phones countless times throughout the day. They are checking snaps and stories, scrolling through tweets and Instagram, sharing how they feel and retweeting the awesome. Your ministry’s presence on social media is more important now than ever. Why? If you are not engaging teens every day, you […]

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Pick Up Your Cross…

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Well God, here we go again: the beginning of another ministry year. Freshmen are imploding at Life Night with a mixture of energy and nerves. Seniors already are suffering from senioritis. Veteran Core is setting the most excellent example by showing up late for the excited new Core Members. And […]

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Kid’s Table

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I am blessed in a lot of ways. I don’t always realize it, but in the quiet moments when I think about what God does in my life I realize how little I deserve it. One of the most amazing parts of what I do with Life Teen is that […]

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