I saw this blog post over on MoreThanDodgeball.com. I know many of us volunteers struggle with difficult students from time to time. Ideally as we get more seasoned, we get better at handling difficulties without removing students from our small groups. However, if it comes to that point, Josh has shared some great tips. Here’s [...]

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I read a great article today over at YouthMinistry.com about suicide causes, signs and preventative measures. I like that the article is written mostly in bullet points. It makes for easy-to-read-and-absorb information. I highly recommend reading through the article so you’ll be more likely to see the signs of suicide. Being aware of this information [...]

Filed under: Counseling, Dealing with Conflict, For your newsletter, Resources | 2 Comments »

Today I was reminded of the importance of getting facts together before saying something I’ll regret. Somehow better judgment caught me before responding to a person who deserved to be put in his place. Instead of sending my comments to him (this was an online discussion), I sent the thoughts to the other person in [...]

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This is part 2 of a 4-part interview with Tom and Marla. In this segment, Marla, a 14-year veteran volunteer, answers questions and gives great advice about dealing with big issues in the lives of students. Here are links to the videos in this series: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Be sure [...]

Filed under: Dealing with Conflict, mentoring, Resources, Video Interviews | 5 Comments »

Most people know that the first night of camp is not the ideal time to pull pranks. It’s predictable so there’s little element of surprise or effect. Sean either didn’t know this or was just anxious to get the ball rolling. Whatever the case, that week of camp got off to what could have been [...]

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Yelling at students is a rare event for me now that I’ve been in youth ministry for several years. I find that the more seasoned I get, the less I find a need to yell. I honestly don’t remember the last time I did that. Since last night I’ve been replaying the event in my [...]

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