Don’t tell my church treasurer I said this, because I’ll be asking for an increase in my budget this year. But, it’s true. Your youth ministry (or any ministry for that matter) doesn’t need a big budget to be great.
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I spent the past two weekends at our annual Sno Camp retreats with over 1100 high school students and leaders. I count it a huge privilege to be a part of the team that provides this experience to students. Year after year we see the spirit move powerfully in the lives of students. I used to be surprised by it, but then I came across a theory that captures exactly why retreats are so powerful.
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A healthy culture is critical to a healthy youth ministry. Yet, it can often be overlooked as a building block to a ministry.
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Discipleship is at the very heart of what we do in youth ministry, but too often we try to make our discipleship efforts fit the programming that’s already in place. That’s backwards. Start with how your ministry will reach students for Christ and grow them as His followers and then build a program that meets those needs.
To build a discipleship plan think through how you will meet these 5 needs of your students:
Without good leadership your ministry is doomed to fail. Leadership can seem complicated and daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. There are 3 keys to leadership in youth ministry: Lead Yourself, Build other leaders, and Follow Well.
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You’re looking for the wrong qualities in your youth pastor.
I’ve been through the hiring and interview process a few times, have helped churches design job descriptions, and I’ve walked with other youth pastors as they’ve gone through the job hunt. Through all of this a few trends have emerged, but one stands out clearly - churches don’t have a grasp on the type of person their youth pastor needs to be.