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What could be better than Tommy and Eddie of The Skit Guys" with Greg Stier of Dare 2 Share in a room together? How about we add a live stream and a microphone?

Having run groups for years in a clinical setting as a licensed counselor, Brendt Blanks knows that many of the characteristics of running a successful discipleship group are quite similar. Yet, there are some that are unique to leading students in meaningful spiritual growth. Here are seven characteristics of running an effective small group.

Somewhere along the way, we began to communicate to students that the best way (or maybe even the only way) to help introduce their peers to Christ was to simply invite them to Church. But what does this look like if it is the primary objective of our evangelism? 

Want to know the most dynamic, most useful, most flexible youth ministry resource there is? The one thing that, if implemented, will super-charge your youth ministry and dramatically transform the lives of your students?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am super pumped about this study for a number of reasons. Primarily, I think it paints an awesome picture of what it means to be a follower of Christ. But there are more than a few other reasons I believe The Life is a curriculum you should seriously consider.

I am extremely excited about our newest 52-week Bible study, The Life. What gets me so excited is how this study gives students a comprehensive look at what it means to follow Jesus. I love helping students define what it looks like to live as a Christ-follower. Read More.

We have all had those backyard moments when we are imagining the closing seconds of the game in the sport of our choosing. The moment when we score the decisive points to win the game and we make our victory run with our arms lifted high into the air while the crowd goes wild. How sweet it is!

Most of us are regulars and our order is known before we have time to speak it. As we sat there enjoying both the ministry of small talk and pondering some of God’s goodness, Bailey began to notice something about the people I was exchanging hellos with— they were all older than me. She asked, “Who was that? How do you know him?” I responded, “That is my friend Dave. We go to church together. And that’s Hamilton, we see each other here at least once a week if not more. Oh, and that’s my friend Anna, she stops in on her way to work down the street.”

The Pray for Me Campaign is the Secret Sauce of Intergenerational Ministry! When I first heard about the Pray for Me Campaign, I was intrigued by both the simplicity and the power of the idea of connecting generations through prayer.

If things are going as they should, we should have new Christ-followers in our midst. Some ministries will have more than others but by the very nature of our role, we should be seeing teenagers come to faith in Christ, or getting serious about their faith for the first time. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few years thinking about these new Christ-followers (I wrote a book specifically for new believers you can sample at the end of this post) and the spiritual needs they have. New Christ-followers have at least four basic needs.

Your graduating seniors may represent a chance to evaluate your youth ministry strategy. While it's by no means cut and dry, by looking at your graduating seniors, you might just get a glimpse into what students look like having come through your youth ministry. It could be an invaluable way of thinking about your strategy and approach. Here's what I mean . . .

Andy Blanks shares some thoughts about the importance of discipline in all areas of our lives