iheartyouthministry.com- Youth Ministry Blog

Watch the newest episode if the IHeartYouthMinistry Podcast now with Dennis Beckner, Nikkie Schuster, Heather Ann Ham and Robert Ham. This weeks show is all about student small groups! :D next week we celebrate hitting our 10th episode! Be sure to join us live next week at 12PM (PST).

Check out the newest episode of the I heart youth ministryPodcast with Nathan Wells, Nikkie Schuster, Robert Ham and special guest Greg Bragg. In this week’s episode we chat about speaking to teenagers and how we can best communicate to the students in our ministry. Watch it now and then subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes! 


Yesterday on the IHeartYouthMinistry Podcast, Nikkie, Peter, Andy and I discussed the topic of building a “God-Centered” Youth Ministry by focusing on theology (the study of who God is) and then secondarily focusing on Anthropology (the study of people). If you would like to read further about this topic, you can read this blog post, or you can check out the book “Getting Rid Of Gimmicks: Reclaiming  Youth Ministry From An Entertainment Culture” which we highlighted on yesterday’s show. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below! :D

Yesterday on the IHeartYouthMinistry Podcast, Nikkie, Peter, Andy and I discussed the topic of building a “God-Centered” Youth Ministry by focusing on theology (the study of who God is) and then secondarily focusing on Anthropology (the study of people). If you would like to read further about this topic, you can read this blog post, or you can check out the book “Getting Rid Of Gimmicks: Reclaiming  Youth Ministry From An Entertainment Culture” which we highlighted on yesterday’s show. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below! :D

High-res WHAT’S LURKING IN YOUR YOUTH MINISTRY? This morning we finished up our summer jr. High guy’s lock-in. We had a great (and exhausting) time, but the most exciting part of the night was making a new friend…with a possum! Actually, we found out that a possum had been living in our student ministry room for the past week. Last Tuesday I noticed some things moved around messed with in our youth building and don’t think anything of it. Finally, one morning my staff and I found some…um…”droppings”…and we just assumed that an animal had snuck in, did its business and left. Little did we know that our friend the possum had took up shop right in our building! So last night one of our volunteers was rummaging through our youth ministry closet and saw what they thought was a stuffed animal. But they were wrong! In fact it was a gross,creepy possum wreaking havoc in our youth ministry room. This funny/gross encounter sparked a thought: WHAT IS LURKING IN YOUR YOUTH MINISTRY? What program needs to be cut that isn’t contributing to the ultimate purpose of your youth Minsitry? Perhaps you have a volunteer that is causing dissension with your leaders and needs to be asked to leave. Maybe you are doing something in your youth ministry just because “we’ve always done it that way” and it is time for a change. This is a really good question to ponder during the summer. Remember that while the God’s purposes never change in student ministry, our programs and strategies can change! Maybe it’s time to kill a program, start a program or start from scratch. This summer ask yourself the question: what is lurking in my youth ministry that needs to be gotten rid of or changed. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

WHAT’S LURKING IN YOUR YOUTH MINISTRY?

This morning we finished up our summer jr. High guy’s lock-in. We had a great (and exhausting) time, but the most exciting part of the night was making a new friend…with a possum! Actually, we found out that a possum had been living in our student ministry room for the past week.

Last Tuesday I noticed some things moved around messed with in our youth building and don’t think anything of it. Finally, one morning my staff and I found some…um…”droppings”…and we just assumed that an animal had snuck in, did its business and left. Little did we know that our friend the possum had took up shop right in our building! So last night one of our volunteers was rummaging through our youth ministry closet and saw what they thought was a stuffed animal. But they were wrong! In fact it was a gross,creepy possum wreaking havoc in our youth ministry room.

This funny/gross encounter sparked a thought: WHAT IS LURKING IN YOUR YOUTH MINISTRY? What program needs to be cut that isn’t contributing to the ultimate purpose of your youth Minsitry? Perhaps you have a volunteer that is causing dissension with your leaders and needs to be asked to leave. Maybe you are doing something in your youth ministry just because “we’ve always done it that way” and it is time for a change. This is a really good question to ponder during the summer. Remember that while the God’s purposes never change in student ministry, our programs and strategies can change!

Maybe it’s time to kill a program, start a program or start from scratch. This summer ask yourself the question: what is lurking in my youth ministry that needs to be gotten rid of or changed. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!