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Keeping Summer Fun and Meaningful for Your Youth Ministry

Summer is a time when students get to relax, unwind, and have fun. But for youth pastors, the summer season can be challenging as it means changing schedules and programming for their student ministry. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming for youth pastors to decide what to do with their youth group over the summer months. As a youth leader, it’s important to balance fun with p...

3 Low-Cost and Cost-Free Ways to Make Your Church Coffee Better

Let's face it. The term "church coffee" is basically synonymous with terrible coffee. When you think about church coffee, you probably picture coffee that's too weak, too burnt, and just plain tastes bad. There are exceptions to this. I've been to several churches that have a bit more of a coffee-centric atmosphere in the lobby with a coffee shop, some going as far as making pour overs and espress...

7 ways to Follow up with First-Time Easter Visitors

On Easter Sunday, it’s likely you saw many new faces join you for worship. Did you know that more people in the United States conduct an online search for “church” around Easter than at any other time, even Christmas? Easter is a fantastic opportunity to connect with members of your community that aren’t yet plugged into a church home. You shouldn't have to wait until next year to see thes...

How To Handle Criticism as a Lead Pastor

As a senior pastor or someone in any leadership position, criticism is inevitable. That, of course, doesn’t mean it stings any less. For most of us, our first reaction to complaints and critiques is defensiveness. Especially when the criticism feels harsh, personal, or unfair, it can be tempting to take a “haters gonna hate” mentality and harden ourselves to it. And while it’s true that so...

5 Meaningful Ways to Appreciate Your Church Volunteers

Volunteers are essential to every church. They invest in our youth, they care for our buildings, and give their time, talents, and dedication to help pull off Sunday after Sunday. These are the people who believe in your church’s mission and create the experiences that help people encounter God’s grace every weekend. For all their hard work, we are always looking for creative and meaningful...

Why Young Adults Are Leaving Your Church

Many churches are struggling to attract and retain young adults in their congregations. Many of these young adults— college-aged through mid-twenties— grew up in youth groups and fell away from the church and potentially their faith during college or shortly after. This mass exodus has been felt in churches across the country, leading pastors to strategize how they can better reach this slippi...

How Do You Talk About Pastor Appreciation Month?

I’m uncomfortable, you’re uncomfortable, everyone’s uncomfortable. October is almost here, and if you’re a pastor, you know what that means – it’s pastor appreciation month. Which, if we’re being honest, feels delicate. When I served as a pastor, I was always the first to say that I didn’t need any special recognition. And while I didn’t NEED the extra recognition, I think ...

Hire or Contract? Sound Professional Edition

Most churches find it important to have someone available to run sound for rehearsals and services. While some are lucky enough to have a sound-board-savvy volunteer on the roster, most of us find that hiring a professional either to be on staff or contracting week to week can be a simple way to elevate production quality. When it comes to contracting or hiring, how do you know which route is b...

Key Qualities of Great Ministry Leaders

As someone who works alongside church staff and leaders all the time, I understand how challenging and intimidating it can be to simply get started. That first church plant. That first job in leadership. Whatever it is, that first step can feel like your scaling mountains just to begin. And then it finally happens. You’re running a ministry, or in leadership in some capacity. You make a paych...

Recruiting Parents to Volunteer in Youth Ministry

In youth ministry, you usually want to take all the help you can get. A lot of times, those extra hands can be additional staff members or recent high school graduates, but it’s important to have parents involved in your youth ministry for several reasons. Parents have a unique perspective and place to be involved when it comes to youth ministry. They have a personal vested interest in seeing...

How to Measure Success in Kid’s Ministry

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was an easy button we could press or formula we could use to determine whether or not our Kid’s ministry is thriving and seeing success? Unfortunately, measuring success in ministry simply doesn’t work that way. I actually think many pastors and children’s directors feel a little out of touch with whether their children’s ministry is thriving or not. ...

Ring In a Meaningful New Year’s with Your Kid’s Ministry

It’s the new year and there is much to celebrate, reflect upon, and look forward to in your kid’s ministry. While New Year’s can sometimes feel like a more adult holiday, it can be a fun and poignant opportunity for you and your kids to remember and celebrate God’s faithfulness over the year. Plus, with perhaps a few new faces in your attendance since Christmas, New Year’s is a great tim...

6 Ways to Keep Christmas Visitors Coming Back

Around holidays like Christmas and Easter, churches can expect packed attendance, full of faces both familiar and new. While it’s exciting to see new people in our rows, how can churches create a Christmas Eve experience that goes beyond a “one-hit wonder” and entices newcomers to come back for more? Ideally, the message of the gospel does the compelling work of winning hearts, but organi...

How to Get Young Adults to Your Church

Every church has a specific age range that occupies most of their attendance. Several churches are great at working with young adults, while others may cater more to retired couples and elderly people. Before we talk about what you can do to expand your church’s reach to other generations, know this - God has placed you in your role to minister to and grow people of all ages, backgrounds, and...

When and Why (or Why Not) to Split Up Your Middle and High School Ministries

Middle school and high school might be generally categorized as “youth” but anyone who works with students knows that there’s a big difference between an 11-year-old sixth grader and an 18-year-old high school senior. For youth pastors, one of the most pressing questions you face is whether or not to split up your youth ministry between middle and high school students or whether to keep them...

3 Steps to Build a Small Group Ministry with Roots

Small groups are the lifeblood of church communities. While big Sunday services might draw people in and introduce them to Jesus, small groups take discipleship to the next level. It’s within groups that people find meaningful friendships, experience spiritual development, and learn to put their faith into action seven days a week. If your church doesn’t have small groups yet or is looking ...

Tips for Encouraging Students to Take Ownership of Their Time With God

As a youth pastor, one of your greatest desires is to see your students taking ownership of their relationship with God. At youth group or bible study or on retreats, it’s easy for students to feel close to God. But what about when they go home, or they’re at school, or hanging out with their friends? Pursuing Jesus on your own time, in your own life, can sometimes feel paralyzing. Much of ...

3 Tips for Prioritizing Rest as a Youth Pastor

When you work in ministry, you’re never really “off”. For every crisis, every life change, every tragedy, you’re the person people know, even if they don’t really know you. While it comes with the calling, it doesn’t get less exhausting. With youth, emotions are even higher, angst is off the charts, and prefrontal cortexes aren’t yet fully formed. For a lot of your students, you migh...

Reasons Churches Become Insider-Focused

New churches don’t grow as a result of being insider-focused. The reason church plants often gain so much momentum in the early stages is due to an ambition to reach others for Christ. When a church first starts, everyone understands it’s time to kick everything into full throttle and focus on the community around you. But somewhere along the way, many churches start focusing inwardly on ta...

Building a Volunteer Church Film Team

Every church knows that volunteers are the backbone of their activities. Volunteers are the reason the church is able to do so much, and no matter the size of your building and staff, every department will fall short without people volunteering their time to help the ministry. The same is absolutely the truth for film teams at churches. It’s common that video directors/tech directors at churc...