Stuff You Can Use

Ministry Articles — Page 4

Practical ideas, leadership guidance, games, and ministry resources you can use.

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The Social Church by Justin Wise

Did you know you can read online reviews of your church? How often have you talked about “reaching people where they are”—and realized that much of the time, they are on the Intern

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Pumpkin Slingshot: Youth Group Games

Connect With Us: Do you have a question about this game? Did you play this game with your group? Did you modify it for your context? Did you add something to it to make it more exc

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Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry by Doug Fields

Since forever altering the course of the youth ministry world with his best-selling, groundbreaking book, Purpose-Driven® Youth Ministry, Doug Fields’ mind—but especially his heart

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Sustainable Youth Ministry by Mark DeVries

You’re looking for a youth pastor. Again. What goes wrong? Why do youth ministries crumble? And what is the cost to students, parents, volunteers and church staff? Is a sustainable

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Middle School Ministry by Mark Oestreicher

Many people run scared from the middle school youth room. But (thankfully!) there are people out there who are actually drawn to those young teens. Although often times they’re not

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A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Social Media by Mark Oestreicher

With each passing day, teenagers’ lives become increasingly intertwined with social media. How can you as a parent stay informed and involved in healthy ways? How can you help your

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Right Click by Art Bamford

The cry of every parent and church leader in this generation is “How do I help create media-safe homes?” Right Click is a wonderful resource that gives practical answers to the mos

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Parent Chat by Matt McKee

The number 1 thing that parents say they need help with is how to parent kids who are always using technology. Parents feel overwhelmed, under equipped, and mostly lost. Parent Cha

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Can I Ask That Volume 2 by Jim Candy

Teenagers are tired of vague or nonexistent answers to their tough questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity. Just when they’re capable of diving into the deep end of their

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Can I Ask That? by Jim Candy

Teenagers are tired of vague or nonexistent answers to their tough questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity. Just when they’re capable of diving into the deep end of their

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Growing Young by Kara Powell

All churches grow old. Strategic churches grow young. Across the United States, churches are losing both members and vitality as increasing numbers of young people disengage. Based

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Teams That Thrive by Ryan T. Hartwig Ph.D

2015 Readers’ Choice Award Winner It’s increasingly clear that leadership should be shared―for the good of any organization and for the good of the leader. Many churches have begun

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Turkey Bowling: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Turkey bowling is awesome and a great event right before Thanksgiving! Who wouldn’t want to throw a frozen turkey? Easily can be set up in your youth room; and your

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Toe Jam: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Who doesn’t like getting their feet wet with a fun game. Let’s see how strong your students feet are as they try and collect some slippery marbles from a kiddie poo

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Stack or Bowl: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: This is such a fun game that combines strategy and skill. Don’t choose wrong on if you want to stack or bowl because it might just cost you the game.Supplies You’ll

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Human Space Invaders: Youth Group Games

Quick Overview: Most of your students won’t even know what Space Invaders is but this is a great way to give them a taste of what arcade games were like, only now we are going to d

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Our Best Games and How We Play Them

This year at The Middle School Ministry Campference, Kenny and I led a breakout called Our Best Games and How We Play Them. But this, friends, wasn’t your typical breakout. In this

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10 Best Podcasts For Youth Ministry 2018

THE 10 BEST PODCASTS FOR YOUTH MINISTRY Over the last couple of years we’ve seen the number (and quality) of youth ministry related podcasts sky rocket, and so we decided to create

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10 Best Leadership Podcasts 2018

We asked hundreds of youth workers to tell us their favorite leadership podcasts. From that list, we ranked the top 10 based on the number of positive reviews on iTunes. Leave your

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10 Best Youth Ministry Books 2018

We asked hundreds of youth workers to tell us their favorite youth ministry books. This list is the result. But you can influence the list by leaving a comment below and letting us

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A Day In The Life Of The Mobile Teen

Are you using a texting service to connect with teenagers? The one thing that I have done right in the past few years is setting up a texting service. The best part about having a

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5 Apps That Every Youth Pastor Needs

What are your go to iPhone or android apps? There are some essential apps that all youth pastors should have. Every time I go to a conference I like to see what other apps youth pa

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Communicating Like A Social Media Pro

How many hours do you put into managing your social media accounts? If you don’t know how many hours you put in each week, you should track it this week. Social media is crucial in

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Lasting Impact by Carey Nieuwhof

You’ve probably noticed … Churches aren’t growing. Young adults are walking away. Volunteers are hard to recruit. Leaders are burning out. And the culture is changing faster than e

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Leading Change Without Losing It by Carey Nieuwhof

Leaders try to bring about change. And change almost always elicits opposition. So how do leaders navigate change, and the opposition to it, without giving up their dream for what

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H3 Leadership by Brad Lomenick and Mark Burnett

H3 Leadership provides a practical road map for implementing and living out twenty transformational habits of a leader—now in paperback. In H3 Leadership, Brad Lomenick shares his

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99 Thoughts For Small Group Leaders by Josh Griffin and Doug Fields

Lives are changed. Decisions are made. Jokes are shared. Lifelong friendships are formed. If you’re a small group leader, you probably ask yourself lots of questions. Am I making a

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Lead Small by Reggie Joiner and Tom Shefchunas

If you’re a small group leader, you believe in the power of community. You know that every stage and phase of life needs a unique kind of influence. But what exactly do you do? Wha

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Creating A Lead Small Culture by Reggie Joiner, Elle Campbell, Kristen Ivy

Every kid needs to be known by someone and to belong somewhere. Most leaders agree. That’s one reason for a shift in the way many churches are discipling their kids and teenagers.

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Parenting Beyond Your Capacity by Carey Nieuwhof and Reggie Joiner

“Parenting Beyond Your Capacity provides us with a practical and revolutionary approach to the responsibility most of us find daunting parenting. This book will equip you to be suc

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Playing For Keeps by Reggie Joiner and Kristen Ivy

There are some things adults just can’t do for kids. You can’t force a toddler to love broccoli. You can’t make a teenager not date someone. And you can’t make a kid love God. At s

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A Parent’s Guide To Understanding Teenage Brains by Mark Oestreicher

It’s often tough to understand why teenagers do what they do. One moment they’re calm and rational, but the next they’re agitated and emotional. One day they’re making incredibly w

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Sticky Faith by Kara Powell and Chap Clark

Nearly every Christian parent in America would give anything to find a viable resource for developing within their kids a deep, dynamic faith that “sticks” long term. Sticky Faith

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5 Ways To Partner With Parents As A Small Group Leader

A couple weeks ago I was honored to speak to the amazing preschool ministry volunteers at Park Valley Church. The topic I was asked to speak on was How to Partner With Preschool Pa

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Truly Partnering With Parents

I’m sometimes amazed how many youth ministries don’t involve parents. “The kids don’t like having them around.” “Parents just get in the way.” Think about this for a moment. The st

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6 Tips For Talking To Teenage Girls

Adolescent girls—like boys—get wrapped up in the work of parting from childhood and moving toward adulthood. This is good, important, even necessary work. But for parents and other

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Leadership University Podcast

Leadership University Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Dr. Henry Cloud’s Leadership University Podcast is a podcast designed to help you learn how to leverage influence

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Leadership Momentum Podcast

Leadership Momentum Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes The Leadership Momentum Podcast, hosted by Chris Brown, brings the world’s top church leaders into the room to cand

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Brian Houston Leadership Podcast

Brian Houston Leadership Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes Brian Houston is the Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church, a global family of congregations comprising more than 1

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Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast

Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast Visit Their Website | View on iTunes The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast is a podcast all about leadership, change and personal growth. The goal