I got this note on my Facebook page today from a student who is joining my small group this year. I met him a few months ago and we’ve hit it off. It’s fun to see him open up to allow God to revolutionize his life. Super stoked he’s getting baptized and that he ordered [...]

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Taylor Bird (blog, Twitter) graduated from our ministry a couple of years ago. Since then, he’s moved on to Pepperdine University, but has returned to do summer internships with our high school ministry at Saddleback Church. We carpooled to see another former student graduate from Azusa University last Saturday. During the drive, he shared his [...]

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This has nothing to do with me, but it made me feel good to see it. A guy I follow on Twitter sent a message to encourage his youth pastor from his teenage years. I love stuff like this! I thought I’d pass it along because I know other youth workers will be encouraged by [...]

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One of our hight school students drew this picture and posted it to Facebook. He’s got an awesome set of volunteers, Matt and Mel, who co-lead his small group. When I saw this today, it warmed my heart to think about how much love there is within the members and for the leaders. Don’t be [...]

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One of the joys in youth ministry for those who commit to last is being on the “list of people students call” when major life events happen. Our diligence and longevity means a lot to students… even if they don’t understand it until after they graduate. When crisis or great news hits, their thoughtfulness to [...]

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I’m looking for some input from youth ministry students about what you love about your leaders. I’d love your input. We’re going to use this to brag on your leaders. It’s going to be great. Please keep your answers short. We’re just looking for a line or two about what makes you love your adult [...]

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This is the latest video Jake Rutenbar debuted at the 2010 Simply Youth Ministry Conference. This trophy moment goes out to Jamie Stolp Youth Pastor Jamie is honest and tells it like it is. He is straight forward with the youth. He is funny but knows when its time to be serious. Jamie makes Celebrate [...]

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I caught the tail-end of a game called Cookie Face at Kurt Johnston’s breakout at SYMC. The Oreo starts on the players’ foreheads and, without touching the cookie, they must eat it. – Great game – Captivates the crowd – Builds a shared experience/memory This trophy moment goes out to Ben McClary, Telah McClary Chriss [...]

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I’m reading How To Reach Your Full Potential for God by Charles F Stanley. I’m not very far into it yet, but I’m expecting it to be a great read. Here’s a quote that I thought to be especially useful for me and fellow volunteer youth workers who teach Bible study: A wise university professor [...]

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In the youth-ministry sense, I define a trophy as a memorable event that encourages me in my ministry efforts or shows how my work is making a difference. Tonight I had two events back to back that fit that description: 1. Tonight after small group, one of my newer students who was not sure he [...]

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