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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!

It’s that time of year, again. Graduation season is upon us, and for youth workers, this season will be spent at multiple graduations, graduation parties, and preparing for the “graduation” from youth group. There is no doubt that this is an exciting time of the year. As you look back at the countless hours invested in each student, you pray that he/she will continue in church, seek the Lord, and mature in the faith.

Flashback Friday is your weekly run-down of the best youth ministry blog posts from across the Internet.

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.”

We asked two youth pastors the question, “How has the Pray for Me Campaign impacted your youth ministry?” Their responses were powerful. So we thought we’d share them in their entirety with you.

Recently I wrote a post about the Pray for Me Campaign being the secret sauce of Intergenerational Ministry. In that post, I wrote about the combination of three ingredients that set the stage for life-giving intergenerational relationships. I would like to follow up with a focus on the five benefits that flow directly from the implementing of the Pray for Me Campaign.

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.

God has a plan for your life. I believe Scripture offers overwhelming support for this statement, both in individual verses and in specific narratives of individuals. Discovering when it the right time to move or to wait is no easy task. Now, we can have some fun theological conversations about how this actually fleshes out in the life of a believer. But I wanted to take a quick moment and offer some insight into one aspect of God's plan for our lives. How do we know when to take action and when to wait?

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 . . .

Who’s waiting for your kids? In a few short years, they will leave the safety of your home and church and head off to college. Who will they meet? What ideas will they encounter? What moral choices will they face? For most adults, it’s been quite a few years since they’ve set foot on a college campus. Let us bring you up-to-speed on what’s waiting for your kids:

Parent meetings are an essential part of a successful youth ministry. As a youth worker, you need to be able to effectively run a parent meeting. Here are 10 Tips For An Incredible Parent Meeting.

YM360's J. Roger Davis interviews Mitch Grainger about his youth group' experience with Cardfunder. CardFunder is an innovative approach which converts new, unused or partially used gift cards into cash to help children around the world.

It's become one of our favorite traditions: bringing in the new year on the YM360 Blog by remembering the highlights of the year that was. As we looked at our analytics from the past year and drilled down to find the most-read posts, we saw that one thing these articles have in common. They deal with the area of Discipleship. This is super encouraging for us, as it shows the amazing passion the YM360 Community has for seeing teenagers draw closer to Christ.

The YM360 Team wishes you a very "Merry Christmas," and passes along some thoughts to help you reflect on the wonder of Christ's birth.

Regardless where you spend Christmas around the world songs in some form are likely a part of the traditions. So in the middle of our own 12 Days of Christmas, how about 12 of the most popular international Christmas songs.

The YM360 team is taking a break for Thanksgiving. But not without a little message for you, first!

YM360 President, J. Roger Davis, talks about why GENERATE, and camp in general, means so much to him

Today is Veteran's Day, a time to remember all of the men and women who have served our country. And yesterday was the 241st birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Once upon a time, Andy Blanks served in the Marines. He passes along a few leadership tips from the USMC that will help you think about how you lead your youth ministry.

Communication is changing faster than we can type, “hashtag blessed,” and as the youth minister, you’re probably considered the most technically-savvy staff member at your church. There are so many different ways to communicate and so many different people to communicate with. Where do you even begin?