Here’s the promo for the National Youth Ministry Conference I am heading to next week. I love this conference! Last year was my first time. It is highly connectional, deeply inspirational, and highly humorous!
Archive - Uncategorized RSS Feed
Bachelors in the United Kingdom
If you want proof that youthworkers are just as crazy and creative in the UK as they are here in the States, check out this video my buddy Alan Witchalls made a few years ago for my wedding! There’s a few inside jokes, but you will get the basic premise of what is going on. Click on the link below and check out the video on his website:
Why every youthworker needs to network…
One of the goals I have this new year is to be networkworking with other youthworkers in my area.
A lot of the time we don’t make time, (or feel like we have time). Sometimes, if we are honest, we don’t want to network with the bigger churches or the ‘competing churches’. Sometimes if we are honest, we don’t want to have to meet with other denominations or get into ‘those discussions’. Here’s why I believe every youthworker needs to network:
1) It’s about the Kingdom: If we think that it’s all about our church, we are mistaken. God’s plan and purposes are much grander than ours. I beleve God wants us to embrace and enjoy the differences between churches. The fact is, there are so many different kinds of students out there who are not all going to like my youth program. There’s often going to be a church down the road that they will like better… It’s not personal… that’s life! I have to honestly ask myself if my insecurity allows me to stop networking? If I am confident in what I am doing, and I know that I care well for kids, I shoud be secure that kids will keep coming…
2) It’s about Support: I speak to so many youthworkers who feel lost and alone in ministry. Just this morning I met with a local youthworker friend to encourage each other. It’s these meetings that will often keep us encouraged and seeing the big picture of ministry…
3) It’s about stealing, (I mean, using) good ideas. I wish I could say that I have lots of creative ideas, but the truth is I don’t. Some of my best ideas come from others. When we meet with other youthworkers, we often get ideas and inspiration.
4) It’s about Collaboration: If you live in a small town or have a smaller program, sometimes working with others allows you to provide larger events with greater resources. Even if you are in a larger church or city, we should still consider ways to collaborate. In fact, I would challenge us larger ministries to consider our responsibilities to help and support smaller not so well resourced ministries… that’s another way we can be Kingdom minded…
Who needs to be on your email/phone call list this week?
New Year, New Habits?
Do you ever feel like this bear when it comes to healthy habits in your ministry and personal life? Sometimes it feels like all the pressures and deadlines keep tripping us up. We might feel like we are ‘running’ well for a few days, but then something comes up: A ministry deadline, a busy week, a dispute with someone at church, our own motivation… and we are flat on our face again. This has been true for me many times.
The truth is, our ability to manage a sustainable ministry is tied to how well we are living out our lives in health, emotions, mental challenge and of course, our spiritual depth. We cannot get away from the fact that our effectiveness is tied to discipline and good habits.
As we start the new year, I’m going to share my plan and progress with establishing healthy habits in my life. Here’s how it looks:
A few months ago I read a book called ‘The Power of Full Engagement’ by Loehr and Schwartz. There a four key areas they maintain must be worked on together to help us to be ‘fully engaged’. They assert that if one area is not being invested in, it is likely that other areas in our life will be impacted. The areas are:
1) Spiritual Growth (although these guys don’t claim to be Christians, they do understand the importance of spiritual growth in our lives.
2) Physical
3) Mental
4) Emotional
During the next week I am going to take some time laying out what I do and am going to do this year to keep healthy habits and healthy balance.
Today on December 31st, it’s a good opportunity to look back as see how well I did in those areas and make a plan for the next year. Remember, nothing happens unless it is intentional. Discipleship for tomorrow always starts today… Are you ready?