morethandodgeball.com

GUEST POST: 8 Reasons Why You Need a Monthly Student Pastor Get-Together

Recently, Brian Baker began a student pastor “get together”. We had no name and really hardly any idea of where it could be headed, but the Lord has chosen to bless his vision. He had a vision of student pastors getting together to share ministry ideas, vision, burdens, and connect with one another. The Lord chose to bless this what we now call ?Triad Youth Pastor Fellowship.? We began meeting several months ago, and the Lord has blessed our time. It has been an awesome opportunity for me to connect with other student pastors in our area. I have been a student pastor for years, and we have never had a consistent ?get together? such as this. So, I am stoked about what God is doing. I love people and I love getting to know new student pastors. I want to give you a few reasons why you as a student pastor need a student pastor community regularly!

1. Burden Sharing ? Recently, my wife said to me after a youth group meeting, ?what is wrong?? I responded to her, ?I cannot explain it to you or anyone else. I can only explain it to my student pastor friends once a month when we get together!? Now, that was quite funny, but sometimes there is a great deal of truth in this as well. The only people who I feel genuinely understand what I go through are other student pastors. If you are not a student pastor, you do not get what student pastors have to go through. This has been a great time for me to interact and share my burdens with others. Each month, we go around the room and share what God has been doing in our lives and share any burdens with one another. The Bible commands us to carry each other?s burdens.
2. Prayer ? You have to pray with one another. You need other local men in ministry who can pray with you about what God is doing and wants to do in your ministry. I need and covet the prayers of our local student ministries around us. Our student ministry relies on this! Also, I rely on the prayers of others. There is nothing like going to a student pastor fellowship and hearing how some of these guys have been praying for me this past month.
3. Connecting ? I love connecting with new student pastors. When I moved into the Winston Salem area to be the student pastor at Union Grove, I started googling any churches in our area, and finding who the student pastors were and adding them on facebook. They were probably wondering who this weirdo was that was adding them, but I wanted to connect with them. This is my passion. I love connecting and interacting with other people in ministry through social media. When I go to this student pastor fellowship, we get to make new connections that you might not ever make otherwise. I went this past week, and met 3 new youth pastors in our area that I did not even know existed. When I got home, I had 3 new friend requests. Now, we are connected, and look forward to growing an even deeper connection with one another.
4. Sharpen yourself ? The Bible says that friends sharpen one another. This is what being friends with one another should do to you. I have some close friends in student ministry in my area that make me a better follower of Jesus.
5. Ideas ? We discuss ideas regularly. How can we do ministry better? We discuss better communication with our students. We discuss what is working and what is not working. It is basically a time to get together and learn how to do student ministry more effectively. It is similar to you getting in front of your computer and reading the top student ministry blogs for several hours at a time.
6. Bible study- We do a quick mini devotion each month. A different student pastor comes and opens the Word to share a quick thought with the group each month. It is like 3-5 minutes long if that, and it is important for me to be challenged in this meeting each month. I love studying and discussing the Bible with these guys.
7. Growth ? The last couple of thoughts are very similar, but there is a bit of difference. I love growing with these guys. I love improving our ministry and learning how to minister more effectively.
8. Fellowship ? Bottom line, it is relationship building. You need this! You need healthy relationships outside of your church! You need someone to talk too that is not a member of your church.

Here are just a few of the many reasons why I think that this is important to have in your area. If you do not have it, I encourage you to start one for student pastors in your area. You will be glad you did, and probably the guys in your area will be glad that you did as well. If you are in the triad area of NC, and would like to connect in our group, send me an email at joshhevans@gmail.com and we would love to connect with you!

Josh Evans is the student pastor at Union Grove Baptist Church in the Winston Salem, NC area. He has been a mentor and pastor to students for 4 years. You can connect further with Josh on his blog or send him a direct email atjoshhevans@gmail.com.

marriedtoayouthpastor.com

In regards to a comment?

You are right, there are far more dangerous jobs than youth ministry. I am extremely thankful that my husband does not stare down the barrel of a gun. I cannot imagine the kind of strength a wife would need for that. No matter what the job each one of us, including myself, has and will face great tragedies. Just in each day there are so many ups and downs. Our lives are sprinkled with many different feelings and emotions from happiness to thankfulness, to frustration to sorrow. My hope is that not one of us would deny ourselves the right to feel validated in each and every feeling that we have that gets mixed up inside of us. I hope that in some small way this blog may be a place for someone in ministry to feel heard, connected, and uplifted through a comment, a funny story, or a serious post. And what I love so much about this community of women is the honesty shared about their lives, and the tone that we all take loving God and our husbands seriously but don’t take ourselves too seriously.

I write this in no way with a defensive voice, but with so much concern that many pastor’s wives are told that their feelings are silly or not important. Whether from someone at church or their own inner dialogue. Our “perspective” should be to accept and embrace our feelings whatever they may be and then with God [...]

simplyinsider.com

The Husband & Wife YM Life

Before we ever even started dating we were both in youth ministry. John was a teacher and volunteer. Leneita was considered the ?full time, paid? youth pastor. We will never forget the day that the Lord ?knit? our visions together and walked us into ministry with ?unchurched? kids. From that day forward we never did ministry ?separately.?That journey ?together?began about 15 years ago.

DISCOUNTED REGISTRATIONS are still AVAILABLE

These years have brought a variety of challenges in ministry, life and marriage. Along the way we have added children to the mix. Yet,with each passing moment we have both been “in the trenches? youth workers, who happen to be joined at the soul and the hip. Hurdles have included everything from planning programming for youth to personal financial burdens. Expectations of how a Christian couple in ministry should ?look?were thrust upon us by many others. And each expectation looked slightly different. At first, it was exhausting to try and be who everyone else thought we should be. Somewhere along the way we realized the only way we could find peace as a couple was to be who God wanted us to be as a couple. That has made all the difference.

DISCOUNTED REGISTRATIONS are still AVAILABLE

It has been said often that the best way to learn and grow in our Christian walk is to mentor and teach. There are two sides to this, what we ?do? and who we ?are? as a [...]

morethangossip.com

Girls that don?t give up!

I love this video!! The story behind it is that the New York Giants coach watched it and later showed it to his team to teach them determination and commitment!

That spirit of commitment is in every girl…our job is to help them discover what in life is worth fighting for and to never give up!!

smallchurchyouthministry.com

#4 Top Twelve Ideas for a GREAT YM Year

#4 – Let Ephesians 4:29 be the measuring stick for our posts, tweets, emails, etc.

I’m up early. The reason? I was really disturbed by the number of negative comments made by people in ministry about yesterday’s half-time show. I am hurt and discouraged.

Don’t get me wrong; I’ve never been a purchaser of Madonna’s CDs. But the comments about her age, relevancy, past-her-prime…were hurtful. To whom, you may wonder?

To the Youth Watching With Us: If the same negative comments on Facebook and Twitter were made out loud to the students gathered around us watching the half-time show, then our students will think its OK to be mean because “well, she’s not one of us.”

To Madonna: She and so many others are watching us for the love we show. They know our motto is “Love Jesus – Love each other.” I don’t think yesterday was collectively our best example of that.

To Me: I am the same age as Madonna. The many comments about her age from ministry people made me wonder: Are you also saying I’m too old, too? Am I irrelevant? Have I crossed an unseen finished youth ministry line where my gifts are no longer valid, needed, necessary? Let me know because I’ll learn to knit or start playing Bingo if that’s the case.

Don’t worry; I know I’m among the chief of sinners in having a quick tongue. I’m examining myself, too. One thing I do know: no one is built up when we criticize and post with negativity.

Is this [...]

simplyurbanministry.com

You need VISION

q Jeremiah 1:4 ?The Word of God came to me saying, before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.?

q God had a vision a plan for you. Do you have one for the assignment He has given you?

q Vision: The picture of God?s potential, purpose, and possibilities for your life.

q Show me a person without vision, and I will show you a person who is at a standstill in life.

q Proverbs 29:18 ?Where there is no vision the people perish.?

q Life Point: The key element to getting out of my present state is the vision that I have for myself.

q Jeremiah 29:11 ?For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope,

q True vision goes beyond what I can accomplish on my own.

q True vision adds value to others.

q True vision attracts vision.

q True vision must have God in it.

q Acts 2:17 ?And it shall come to pass in the last days says God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.?

1. Not knowing who you are. If you don?t know who you [...]

youthmissionsinsider.com

What to do when parents aren?t supportive

Last week I posted about reasons youth workers are struggling to get kids to commit. One of the most frequent “complaints” was that parents weren’t supportive of the mission trip. Or said another way – Going on a mission trip isn’t as important to parents as band camp, sports camp, summer job, family vacation, etc.

What can you do when you face this? Here’s a couple helpful hints and action steps you can take.

- Make sure a mission trip isn’t just “something the youth group does.” If your group’s mission trip isn’t integral to your overall ministry, parents will sense that. Going on a mission trip shouldn’t receive the same attention and energy as every other retreat, amusement park trip, summer camp, lock-in. You need to make the mission important – integral to your ministry – if you want parents to even begin to see it as important to their child. A mission trip is a big deal. Make sure yours is!

- Help parents understand how a mission trip develops their child. Parents want to know that going on a mission trip, instead of summer camp or a summer job, will help develop their kid into the adult they hope they will be. That’s why parents feel soccer camp, dance camp, band camp, or a summer job are so important. Those things teach their child life lessons. Lessons like – working hard, responsibility, getting along with others, learning new skills. Well… So [...]

holysoup.com

Selling the Church to a Skeptical Public