Doing Ministry
The Art of Engaging in Faith Discussions with Your Teens
Discussing faith and life with teens can be hard for parents or other supportive adults. This article is designed to help parents engage in those conversations to help keep the conversation open in order to help us guide faith in teens.
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Beyond the Flannel Graph: Exploring the Big Picture of the Bible
Kids who grow up in Sunday School are often accustomed to re-visiting the “classic” Bible heroes, which often involves a bit of scattered variety of stories that lend themselves to cute crafts and dramatic puppet shows. This trend works on a short-term basis but our task is to help students see God’s big picture in Scripture and how God continues to use it to impact and influence our lives now.
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Healthy Habits for Healthy Youth Leadership: The Dos and Don’ts of Changing Ministry
Change in ministry is healthy but it isn’t always fun. The process of change isn’t positive at every step. Change can bring out the ugliest sides of a person because it is often uncomfortable, difficult, and stressful. This article highlights some of the dos and don’ts that can help new youth leaders navigate change in a way that brings out the best in ministry.
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2022 LCMS Youth and Adult Poll Executive Summary
The Lutheran Youth and Adult Poll (formerly known as the Lutheran Youth Fellowship Poll) has been conducted every three years at LCMS Youth Gatherings since the 1980s. The executive summary seeks to highlight the most important findings from the 2022 poll.
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Starting a Conversation about…Anxiety
It is no secret that young people today are anxious. One out of three teens wrestles with anxiety to some extent, a statistic that has increased significantly in the last decade. This conversation starter is designed to help youth leaders open up a conversation about anxiety and how our faith and our faithful community can support and show God’s love to those who may be struggling.
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Getting Into It: Suggestions for Getting into Difficult Discussions in Youth Ministry
Having hard conversations is never easy, but it’s worth the effort. Especially in today’s culture it can be hard to engage well in difficult conversations in youth ministry. Here are six suggestions to help you to start talking about more difficult issues in your youth ministry.
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“Can’t Walk Away from Jesus”: Supporting Youth who are Wresting with Church Teachings
It can be difficult when youth express how questions and struggles with belief or with the church. It is worth the time and energy to walk alongside these youth as they ask questions. This article talks about how we can be those people in times when you are struggling with faith and the church.
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Restful Youth Ministry
Youth ministry is not meant to be just one more thing for teenagers to do among a huge list of to-do’s and other activities; Our youth ministries are mean to be a place of rest. This article helps us to think through how we can bring Sabbath and rest to our youth ministries.
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In and Beyond the Congregation – Involving Youth Ministry as a Part of the Church
Young people are a part of our church as much as any others and need to be seen and accepted as such. In this article, talks about how congregations can integrate youth and listen to them through their ministry.
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Connecting Youth Culture to Timeless Truth
Youth ministry means working to understand and appreciate youth culture. Heather discusses why it is important to listen and care for teens as you share with them the Gospel of Jesus.
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More than a Numbers Game: Setting and Tracking Goals in Youth Ministry
It is important to have direction and goals for your youth ministry, but those can be hard to set and track. This article is designed to give guidance on how to choose and follow up with goals for your programming so you can best share the Gospel with your teens.
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Don’t Do Ministry Alone!
We can’t do ministry alone. When it comes down to it, we need a team of people to get the job done. We need leaders who can connect with different types of students than we can. This article helps share some ways you can help adults join the team to support youth.
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