Andy Stanley has caused quite the buzz over the last two months. In a recent sermon series entitled, “The Aftermath,” he made a number of statements about Christians needing to “unhinge” themselves from the Old Testament Law because…
Youth ministry is uncomfortable. It was jarring to be asked about the problem of evil for the first time as a student minister. Or the time I sat stunned and silent as I tried to cobble together an…
While teaching during youth group or Sunday School, a common occurrence is for a student to raise his or her hand and ask a question that is completely off-topic. This happens in every youth ministry and can be…
I’ve been a youth pastor for almost seven years, and in that seven years I’ve noticed a contradiction in people’s expectations of me. One week someone will remind me that student ministry is significant and needed in the…
In the past several years that I’ve served as a youth pastor, I’ve noticed a concerning trend. We have three Sunday morning services, with Sunday School meeting during the second and third services. As our student ministry has…
When the church enters a season of brokenness, we encourage students to turn to the One who hears their pain, but does not cause it.
I thought I had taught a great lesson. I had brought scripture to life, provided thoughtful application points, and used some great illustrations from my own life. I, along with my youth volunteers, sat in small groups and…
In my family, we have a joke. Every time my wife makes anything with potatoes, I respond at the dinner table with my best nasally tone, “What excellent boiled potatoes – it has been many years since I…
If you work in youth ministry, you know the opposition and even outrage that foundational Biblical doctrines and truth elicit from the world. In the western world, one encounters a great chasm between secular culture and that of…
