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Leading a volunteer team is much more than managing; it's a stewardship of people who are themselves shepherding young lives. In an environment full of challenges and the constant shifting of the culture, your leadership approach shapes not only your...

A myth is often thought of as something that is commonly believed but is untrue. We’ve all heard some wild myths before. Here are a few… Gum stays in your stomach for 7 years. False. Perhaps this myth came from...

Dude Perfect has made millions laugh with trick shots, creativity, and competition. But behind the scenes, Cory Cotton (one of the twins) has faithfully served as a volunteer youth leader, discipling students through the ups and downs of teenage life.In...

Ministry comes with numerous challenges, but being honest with yourself may be the most difficult. It means being able to see ourselves clearly. But too often, shame actually keeps us from doing this. Let me give you an example that...

I was able to be “in the moment” instead of trying to preserve the moment. Life is filled with tens of thousands of moments. Most of those moments are the mundane and ordinary ones that give us a connection to...

As kids, we loved shooting bottle rockets. I have fond memories of being outside, watching the bottle rocket soar high into the air before quickly coming back to the ground. In youth ministry, I believe we are seeing "bottle rocket...

It’s easy to look at your ministry and see “lids.” Budgets, minimal resources, limited space, less and less man-power, ever-growing scope of responsibilities, crunched time, and even creative block all seem to be limiting factors that stifle the ministry we...

Those who lead in youth ministry have a vital role in the life of the church. The people you lead look to you, depend on you, and are learning from you. As youth leaders, we need to be healthy. We...

The nature of my job, like many other people, requires me to be online for networking, promoting events, and creating content for my business. Earlier in life, I wrote a book on technology entitled Tech Savvy Parenting, yet I found...

Narcissism, abuse, toxic leadership, vision starvation, burnout, unfair expectations, and overwhelming frustration. Like many of you, I have experienced these themes throughout my student ministry career, sometimes all at once. There were several times that I almost quit along the...

It’s easy to celebrate the big wins: salvations, baptisms, record attendance, new leaders stepping up, the stuff that makes it to our churches' social media feed. Those are incredible moments that deserve to be celebrated, but we often forget to...

Calendars, budgets, and administration, oh my. To-dos, organization, spreadsheets, and administration rarely make the highlight reel. When is the last time your administration efforts ever made the highlight reel? As I’ve scrolled Instagram and followed youth pastors online for years,...