Adding Creativity to Your Ministry

An article I wrote for a series on "Creativity in Ministry" is up on YS's new site - which you need to check out if you haven't already. I would love to hear what you think about the article. How have you been able to add creativity to your ministry? What tips would you offer?




Is it okay to admit that I have had "creative youth ministry" envy in the past? I hope so, because I think I just admitted it. If you have been involved with a non-megachurch size youth ministry, then I bet you know what I am talking about. You can grow envious when you see all of the creative elements being produced by bigger ministries: message graphics, logos, websites, drama, music, curriculum and videos. It can be enough to cause a youth minister to grow discontent with what his ministry is doing.



Being part of a creative youth ministry is what most new youth workers desire. Creative youth ministries (and congregations in general) are glamorized by magazines, websites, conventions and the youth ministry world. Being creative is the goal, or at least that is how it is portrayed when the pedestal of "ministry success" is placed under these ministries. And since having the most creative youth ministry garners the attention, the young youth worker seeks after the magic chalice of creativity. What usually happens is that youth worker cannot match the megachurch, so he copies or borrows the megachurches material.



Borrowing from another ministry to make your ministry look better is not the answer. This habit can lead to simply being one step behind and never fully reaching your ministry's potential. To help the young youth worker reach a higher level of creativity, I would like to offer two pieces of advice.



Read Adding Creativity to Your Ministry in its entirety on YS's site.

Relational Communication

(This article was originally posted on YW Journal, you can read & comment on it here on this blog or over at YW Journal)

When was the last time you had a significant conversation with a student? I'm not talking about the "I want to give my life to Christ for the first time" kind of conversation. I'm talking about the conversation where you hear about a recent fight with a parent. Or the conversation that details a student's struggle to control anger and the desire to get a handle on it. Maybe it is centered around the difficulty of being a Christian example at school.

Having any type of conversation that goes beyond a surface-level can be difficult for many adults. Let's just be honest, teenagers can be very moody and hard to understand, which makes talking with them intimidating to many adults. To make the situation even worse, most adults are so intimidated that the paid youth worker has to carry the responsibility of talking with 100% of the teenagers who come through the church doors, plus a few extra from the community. But there is a better way.

It's not just for paid staff
Paid youth workers are not the only people qualified to have significant conversations with teenagers, in fact any adult can do it. But these significant conversations do not happen by accident, it will take effort and a better understanding of teenagers. First of all, students do not withhold talking to someone just because the person is not a youth worker. In fact, there are many students who are less willing to talk about certain issues with a youth worker than anyone else.

Being on both sides of the youth worker role, paid full-time and volunteer, has given me a new insight into one of the keys to effectively communicating with teenagers. The key is not in asking just the right questions. Nor is the key found in the location of the conversation (ie. better conversation is not had while drinking coffee at the local coffee shop). The key to effective communication with teenagers is having a relationship with them.

A listening ear
This truth became vividly clear to me one day while I was subbing in the local high school. At the time I was not in a full-time youth minister position, but I had been in the area for a few years and knew most of the students in the school. Most of the students knew who I was and they knew one of the reasons I was subbing was because I genuinely care for teenagers. During this particular day, I had three significant conversations with students - the kind of "ministry conversations" every youth worker longs to have with students.

I did not plan to have these conversations, in fact I almost missed one because I was reluctant to stop what I was doing to talk to the student. (I'm so glad I stopped and listened) Since I did not plan these conversations, what made them happen? The only connection between all three conversations was my ongoing relationship with the student. I had known them for years and they knew I truly cared for them and desired the best for their life. My relationship with the student was the key to unlocking significant conversation and that day I was reminded of how much students will share when they know you care.

Build relationships
So, how does an adult who cares about teenagers take advantage of this relational aspect to significant conversations? For starters, if you sit down with a student and its the first time you start thinking about having a significant conversation with them, then its already too late. This relational communication will take foresight and planning on your part. The first step happens when you begin to intentionally focus on building a relationship with the student. Now, this is not a form of manipulation used to get the student to talk to you - if you are not genuinely concerned with the student's life, then they will know and they will not talk to you anyway. You cannot be fake with a student!

Actually if you are involved with youth ministry in any fashion, the desire to build a relationship with a teenager will come naturally. The first step is to take an interest in the student's life; learn about hobbies, family structure, interests, and what they are gifted in. You cannot have an ongoing relationship if you do not know about their life and you will also struggle to carry a conversation if all you can ask is, "How was school this week?" Asking questions about specific aspects of a student's life is important, but do not be afraid to stop and listen to what is on their heart.

The relational key
Being given the opportunity to have significant conversations with students does not involve a mysterious formula or collection of the right "buzz words." The biggest, and strongest, key is simply caring enough about a student to have a relationship with them. Not a relationship based on what the student can do for you or the ministry you are involved with, but a relationship based on one adult showing God's love to one student. If you have that strong relationship and listen to a student, then every once in a while you will find yourself on the listening end of a significant conversation. A conversation that just might change the future of one special teenager.

It does not matter if you are a full-time youth worker, part-time youth worker, a volunteer, a bus driver, or an "extra" adult - if you have a relationship with a student, then they will willingly talk and share with you. Most students do not talk to an adult based on the title that goes along with their name. They talk to an adult based on the relationship formed over the years. Knowing this truth and not utilizing it will lead to dozens (hundreds?) of missed opportunities to speak into a teenager's life.

2 Small Group Series Released - Elijah & Trusting God

I'm pretty excited about these 2 small groups. They are the first "stand-alone" small groups/lesson/curriculum material that I've written that's been published in any form other than being printed from my computer. Plus, I love the fact that they have great looking covers (its a shame they are only downloadable).

If you have used these lessons, I would love to hear what you thought.


I wrote a 4 week series on Elijah and its now available for download from Simply Youth Ministry. Follow this link: Elijah Small Group Series to get more information and to download.

Lessons include:

• Week 1 - He Was Confident in God (1 Kings 18:16-39)
• Week 2 - He Battled Fear (1 Kings 19:1-8)
• Week 3 - He Battled Loneliness (1 Kings 19:9-14)
• Week 4 - He Was a Lifelong Servant (2 Kings 2:1-11)

I also wrote a 3 week series on Trusting God and its also now available for download from Simply Youth Ministry. Follow this link: Trusting God Small Group Series to get more information and to download.

Lessons include:

• Week 1: With Your Past (1 John 4:10)
• Week 2: In the Present (Ephesians 4:22-24)
• Week 3: With Your Future (2 Corinthians 5:6-10)

2 recent articles: Six Days of Work & Who's Keeping You Accountable

Here are two articles I've recently written and had published on youthministry.com. If you haven't read them yet, take a few moments and do so. Then I'd love to hear your feedback/thoughts, just leave a comment.

Six Days of Work

Sabbath rest is a two-part deal: taking a break from your work and working efficiently the other days.

Who’s Keeping You Accountable?

By asking for help, you're acknowledging to yourself that you want to make a change in your life.

Finding Rest in the Summer

Summer is busy, especially for youth workers. But even with all of those activities, you do not have to become overwhelmed and exhausted. You can survive summer and feel rested as the school year starts again.

I recently wrote an article entitled "Finding Rest in the Summer" for youthministry.com on 5 ways to find rest this summer (which can be applied to just about any season of the year). Here is an excerpt:

If your summer calendar is too full to include time to rest, you need to find a way to adjust it. The people around you do not need a youth worker who is tired. They need you to be well-rested and modeling healthy behavior.

Click on the link below to read the entire article. And let me know what you think. How do you find rest in the summer? How do you find rest during the busy times of your ministry?

Finding Rest in the Summer

Don't neglect your prayer time and Bible study during the summer. Plan for it and put it on your calendar.

It's Not About You

A few months ago I wrote an article which was published on YouthMinistry.com. I thought I would share it with you guys...

It's Not About You

For you, the past is a memory. The present is uncertain. The future is not even worth thinking about.

Here is the entire article:


There I was, standing in the living room looking at my wife. Why is this happening to us now? This was the question that kept swirling around in my head. I could tell it was the same question in my wife's head, too. And I bet most of you have asked it a time or two. We all experience those times when it seems like God got something wrong. You feel like you are in the wrong place at the wrong time and there is no way out.

For you, the past is a memory. The present is uncertain. The future is not even worth thinking about.

There are other times in our life where we feel pretty certain about our future. The future looks so bright and full of possibility. Every part of your life just seems to go the way it is supposed to go. Then it happens. It might be a loss of a job. It might be a death of a loved one. It might even be a long-term illness or injury. No matter what it is, it changes everything. The future which you were looking forward to has now become a memory of what could have been. What do you do now?

Reminds me of Proverbs 16.9, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." As I was going through that course altering situation, I struggled with understanding the purpose behind the change. From my point of view, I was not pursuing selfish gain or ignoble purposes. I was serving God in a place I felt He had called me to serve and it was bearing fruit. Why would God take it away when it seemed like there was so much more growth about to happen. I had my plan for what should happen - God had His plan, too.

It might be difficult for you to see at the moment, but there is a "God-reason" you are in your current situation. And it may not have anything to do with you. Remember the account of Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery. God did not allow it to happen to teach Joseph a lesson or to even allow his brothers to get what they wanted. Every part of Joseph's roller coaster situation was for one purpose and one purpose only. Joseph tells his brothers, and us, the reason in Gen. 50.20, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (emphasis added)

The current situation is not about me or you. It is about God's plan for your life. Are you living each moment like it is a part of your plan or God's?

Book Review: Culture Making by Andy Crouch

My review of Culture Making was recently posted on YMX.

Here it is in its entirety:

Andy Crouch has spent years looking at and being involved in culture, and in Culture Making he draws on that experience to help fellow Christians better understand the culture(s) around them. Throughout the book, you notice one of the ongoing themes is the fact that Crouch believes, ultimately, that culture is not about us, but, rather, is about God.

Crouch begins the book by talking about what culture is and what culture is not. Many Christians usually refer to culture when talking about all of the negative aspects of the world around us. Culture cannot be truly understood in such a broad framework. According to Crouch, culture "defines the horizons of the possible and the impossible in very concrete, tangible ways."

Culture can be as small as your immediate family or as large as the world. For most of us, we are part of multiple cultures and have an opportunity to influence and change, to some degree, only a fraction of them. "Real culture making," Crouch writes,"not to mention cultural transformation, begins with a decision about which cultural world - or, better, worlds - we will attempt to make something of."

As I read through this book, I found myself constantly being challenged and stretched. Crouch's writing forced me to dig deeper and go beyond the surface of my usual thinking. In chapter four, Crouch offers an alternative to our usual tendency of either condemning, critiquing, copying or consuming culture. He contends that we should be cultural cultivators and creators, offering "something new, something that will persuade our neighbors to set aside some existing set of cultural goods for our new proposal." What are you offering that will persuade people to switch to your proposal from what they already know?

After finishing this book, there is one thing I know - Culture Making needs to be in the hands of anyone who works with youth. Every youth worker needs to pick up a copy, read it alongside her youth team and apply the principles to the ministry and your family. As you begin to cultivate and create new culture for your ministry, you need to remember this, "Cultural goods cannot be imposed - they can only be proposed." May God use you to propose cultural goods within your ministry that will bring him glory and allow students to become more like Christ.

My advice (rating) – buy more than one and give out copies (5 out of 5)

Artcle: Youth Ministry Lessons From A Retail Store

Have you ever walked through a retail store and been frustrated at what you saw or experienced? I have more than a few times. I took one of those experiences and wrote an article about what youth workers can learn from retail stores.

I'd love if you took some time to check it out.
Let me know what you think. Add your own thoughts.

Youth Ministry Lessons From A Retail Store

I can become so engrossed in "last minute" details that I run people over. I treat people like they are in my way and I just need to get stuff ready. Because if I get stuff ready, the very people I ran over will be able to learn about God. How foolish.

YMX Review of Getting Students to Show Up

My review of Getting Students to Show up by Jonathan McKee is posted at YMX. Check it out here. Let me know what you think.

Have you read the book? What did you think?

no 2 fires (students) are alike

Recently I wrote an article entitled "no 2 fires (students) are alike." It is about the struggle we, youth workers, have working with students who do not all grow at the same pace.

You can read the article at Simply Youth Ministry in their "from the field" section of articles:

no 2 fires (students) are alike
Have you ever been frustrated with a student? We’ve all been there. For me, it’s that student who doesn’t seem to change. You pray for him, ...

Or you can read it at YouthMinistry.com in their leadership section:

No 2 Fires (Students) are Alike

After cleaning up debris in my yard for three days, I had two large piles of brush to burn. The first pile ignited after I added an outside source (dry paper), and the fire never went out.

What do you think? Can you name students who fit both categories?