All About the Heart and Soul of YouthWorkers
Is it burnout or just a funk? In direct sales, you know right away if you’re succeeding or not – you either have the sale or don’t. In sports, you know if you scored or not, you can measure your stats to gauge success or failure. You can measure or see the results of your…
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“So, youth, what do you want to learn about?” “Revelation, angels, and Satan? Where do we go when we die? Okay, sure, we could do that. Oh wait, look at that shiny thing over there!’ I must confess something I am not very proud of — For years, I have been a professional controversy avoider.…
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Looking for a proven successful youth ministry event idea to kick off your summer? Try this: Ultimate Nerf Wars. What you need: Tables, anything camouflage, tarps, bandannas in two colors (1 per person), score sheets, pens, Sharpies, glow-in-the-dark bracelets/necklaces, medals or prizes (optional) Bullet buckets to gather up bullets for reloading. Lots of volunteers. What people…
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A tornado destroyed our Arlington, Texas, church building today. It’s crazy to try to get my mind around that. I’m sharing a few pictures with you, but what I’ve really got to share is this awesome story about our Church. After I picked my three kids up from school, we stopped by the…
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It’s the worst. The student walking up to you has been coming to youth group on and off for about a year…and you just completely blanked out on her name. “Hi, you! How’s it going?” you say awkwardly. “You forgot my name, didn’t you?” Gah! Busted. (her name was Monica, by the way, and I…
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Over the last few weeks, we have been examining the 7 promises of the We Love Our Youth Worker Covenant, an agreement between covenant churches and their employee-youth workers. This week we are going to delve into Promise 7 – a promise about celebrating the youth ministry of your church. From the church’s point of…
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Excellence. This might be the most important and most difficult to define promise of the We Love Our Youth Worker (WLOYW) covenant. Here’s what the employer promises to the youth worker: We will strive to be an excellent employer. We believe that it’s important to have clear structures and procedures for recruiting and employing a…
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The to-do list for the Youth Valentine’s Dinner and Auction event I inherited was extremely detailed and even divided into subcategories – things to do for the meal itself, for promoting the event, for decorating, for soliciting donations, for organizing the youth, for ticket sales, for setting up and for cleaning up…you get the idea.…
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Want to know something crazy? Normal people get two days off of work every week. Youthworkers usually get none. Don’t think I’m right? Check your calendar. You might be saying, “I get Mondays off” (except for those two hours of staff meeting…) Or you get Fridays off (except any weekends with a retreat or a…
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This is part 3 of 7 exploring the We Love Our Youth Worker national covenant between churches and youth workers. We Love Our Youth Worker (WLOYW), one of our partner organizations, and YouthWorker Movement both agree that healthier youth workers mean healthier youth ministries. Healthier youth ministries mean more youth can know Christ. The proposed WLOYW covenant…
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TV screens are ready to go…check. The pizza has been ordered…check. The boys know to bring soda, chips and dips, the girls know to bring desserts, cups and paper plates…check. Now let’s plan the entertainment for the big youth group party this weekend. Here are five tried-and-true games to have on hand this Sunday…
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This article was originally published October 26, 2011. Ever been blindsided? Maybe you’ve seen the show “Survivor.” It’s a competition of physical survival, sure, but it’s primarily social survival. A fascinating part of the plot is when a contestant falsely believes he’s secure in his tribe, safe at tribal council and then is completely blown…
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Last weekend, IT developers and consultants from North Texas gave back to the community by volunteering their entire weekend locked in an office building coding for charity. The YouthWorker Movement was honored to be selected as one of 13 charities for this weekend. In just 46 hours, teams created and revamped websites, and in our…
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Want to spot a healthy youth ministry in 10 seconds or less? Show up at a meeting and count the number of parent or adult volunteers. If there is less than one adult for every 4-6 youth, youth could be falling through the cracks. Volunteers are crucial to a healthy youth ministry. If you are…
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It is with great excitement that I announce the addition of Erin Sloan Jackson to the Center for Youth Ministry Excellence (home of The Youthworker Movement) as our new National Director for Community and Care. Erin and I have crossed paths a number of times sharing in Youthwork together over the last decade. What I…
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A tornado destroyed our Arlington, Texas, church building today. … [Read More...]
So it’s almost November and you are beginning to settle in to the … [Read More...]
Photo Journey of the new partnership. We are excited to be … [Read More...]
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