Yesterday we “welcomed” our newest High School Ministry team member at Saddleback Church. Makes me glad I’m a volunteer, not a staff member....

This idea came out of a conversation at our Life Group Christmas party a couple of weeks ago. When a parent dropped her son off, she commented that the parents don’t know who each other are. As I was reflecting...

I gave a Swiss Army Knife to a former student who has become a co-leader of mine this year. I decided to make it more than just a gift. This is something I kind of stumbled on that I will...

This one was very difficult for me to do. This year I started over with a new group of Freshmen. Their parents were very cordial and involved, in a healthy way. Several of them offered to send desserts or help...

Doug Fields tells youth workers that as youth workers we have earned a place in students’ lives to hold them accountable and live up to expectations. That’s not a direct quote, but expresses the idea of what he shares. I...

I need to give a shout out to Stoked On Youth Ministry. I’ve been following them on Twitter for a while and like their resources. When you need a lesson or a game, go check them out. They “get it”....

Saw this blog post over at DownLoadYouthMinistry.com by Justin Knowles. He wrote a brilliant post about why you may see youth staff not hanging out with students. Strategic youth workers will do what he does. I’m posting an excerpt from...

This is a follow up to my last post about meeting with the new small group leader my recent high school graduates have. Their new leader has the same passion I do for seeing the boys grow spiritually. We even...

Got a text message this morning that really made my day. My small group boys from last year are now in a college-age small group. Their leader contacted me today to meet up to talk about them. I love this...

This is Matt. Actually, both people in this picture are named Matt. I came across this picture I took of them after the younger Matt got baptized at summer camp a couple of years ago. I can’t look at this...