Ever since Greta Thunberg made U.S. headlines in September speaking to the U.N. Climate Action Summit, I have wondered, What would Jesus say to Greta? Greta is a 16-year-old Swedish girl who started acting on her climate change convictions…
Rick started coming to youth group with a girl he was dating at the time. I liked him immediately because he was a thoughtful kid who asked great questions. Also, he laughed at my jokes. We were on…
On December 21, 2012 my wife was home from school, which was cancelled due to a big winter storm. She was a couple weeks away from her due date for our third child. That morning she looked at…
Recently, I spoke with someone who gave quite the defense for Open Theism and why he believed it fell within the bounds of evangelicalism. The concept of Open Theism is illustrated well by Greg Boyd in his book,…
This article is part of a series that looks at how we address difficult or confusing pieces of scripture with young people. Read the last articles in the series here. We live in a culture that has…
When I first began working with youth, the first Percy Jackson series was all the rage. Greek gods, adventure, and awkward teen drama had captured the imaginations of youth all over the country – and some at my…
Recently, I made a presentation to parents in our youth ministry, entitled, “Why Kids Abandon the Church.” Two years earlier, when I made a similar presentation, called “Grace-Driven to Postmodern Teens,” the class drew five people. Not surprisingly,…
Some youth ministers labor for years on end without ever seeing a conversion or they see very little spiritual growth. Others, however, seem to have it all together—big crowds, mass baptisms, teens singing Ke$ha to the tune of…
Let all of us- student, ministers, and parents alike- be encouraged that the most powerful change agent in the world remains Jesus Christ working through His bride, the Church.
