My wife and I are going through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University with our church right now, and I’ve been diving into it head first. Never in my life did I think that it was possible for a Youth Pastor, on a Youth Pastor’s Salary, to actually be able to get off of living from paycheck to paycheck. So I’ve been researching bank accounts, reading articles, selling what we can, and really… read more
youth pastors
The past 5 months for me have been a journey to eating healthy and being healthier as a whole! I was at an all-time high in weight, weighing in at 260 lbs. I have made some little changes in my diet and exercise routine and wanted to share with you some practical ways of eating and staying healthy at Youth Camp. Our youth ministry just returned from Global Youth Ministry camp and… read more
Your youth ministry needs women leaders. Before we start arguing the theology of women in ministry, I want you to hear me out: The purpose of this post is not to advocate for ordained women, or women pastors, or to argue the Pauline view of women. The purpose of this post is to convince you why you need more women in roles of discipleship, worship, and (yes) teaching. We need to have… read more
The Simply Youth Ministry Conference was fantastic. I know I said that I would blog every second of it, but I was completely naive of the mixture of exhaustion and rejuvenation I would be experiencing. There were so many things that rocked my world this weekend, and I’m excited to share them with you. “Pros” There was so much community with SYMC. I got to meet some really fantastic people whose blogs… read more
I can remember driving 2 and a half hours to get to a meeting of Southern Baptist Youth Pastors in my state because I was told it would be a better idea than meeting with the Youth Pastors of various denominations that were more local. I went for it, because my experience with the local network hadn’t been all that great, though I couldnt really blame the guys in the group. Three… read more
In April, several of the YouthMin.org contributors shared their favorite blogs. These posts came out of the numerous conversations that we had and the discouragement that many of us could not connect with other youth ministry bloggers. It always seems like there is a hit or miss fashion. None of us have youth ministry down perfectly, people are always coming up with new games, better ways to do small group ministry, and… read more
I don’t know how it is in your house, but ours is completely captivated by the XXX Summer Olympics. Every night our entire family gathers around our tv and watches the dramatic story through the lens of NBC. And without exception every night has been some of the best tv as we watch olympic athletes compete for Gold, for world records, and for personal triumph. It is humbling and awe-inspiring to watch… read more
Why do youth pastors cheat on their groups? Why do we sacrifice our youth ministry? I’ve been there, I’m sure you have too. Every once in a while, youth pastors (I would argue pastors in general) feel the need to check out the playing field. We do this all sorts of ways from checking out online ministry hiring sites to emailing a friend asking for any leads. But, what I want to… read more