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?

Youth Ministry Budgeting: To Buy or Not to Buy - Spend Wisely (4 of 5)

(This is part 4 of a 5 part series on youth ministry budgeting. See part 1 - stewardship, part 2 - categories, part 1 & part 2, and part 3 - the process for more budgeting information.)

Now that you've got your budget together and know what categories have what money, you need to start thinking about spending that money. I'm not talking about going out and spending all of your budget by February or March. I'm talking about putting thought into what you are buying and not buying. You have to use your budget wisely or you'll just be wasting money.

What does it mean for your youth ministry to spend its budget wisely? In some youth ministries, it means not buying curriculum or not attending more than one youth conference a year. Other ministers might only attend a youth ministry training conference every other year to save money. You might decide that you only need two inflatables at your carnival or that hiring an entire circus to entertain the kids is a little too much. Or you can quit buying donuts and milk each week for the Sunday School class.

Deciding how to spend wisely means you have to think about your purchases. Every time you want to purchase something think twice about buying it. Even youth ministries can make impulsive purchases. I have made those purchases before. I see something and think, "we could really use that for _____." If its not too much, I will go ahead and buy it and use it a few times. Then it will sit in the corner of my office collecting dust for months. Did I really need to buy it for the ministry? No, we probably would have been just fine without it.

I learned to stop and rethink my desire to purchase. Now if I see something that seems useful for the ministry, I will talk to another youth coach about it first. If I'm out with my wife, I'll ask her opinion. Taking a little extra time to rethink whether the item is really needed has saved me from purchasing a lot of unneeded items. On the other hand, there have been occasions when I buy an item using my personal money knowing that it will occasionally be used for the ministry. If you make these "donations" to the youth ministry make sure you are not making an impulsive decision.

When it comes to more expensive purchases, I never buy anything without doing a couple things first. First, I get approval from the rest of the youth team. Second, I spend time researching the product, and similar products, to find the best option for our ministry. Additionally, during this time, I am watching for deals or sales that can save the ministry money. Finally, once I have a better idea of what my options are, then I will make the purchase. I feel it is necessary to take the extra time in order to make the best decision (and use the ministry's money wisely).

Some categories to consider adjusting:

1. Teaching Material
There are advantages to buying curriculum written by someone else. You will save time by not researching and writing the lesson yourself. The lesson material is written by someone who is more knowledgeable about the topic than you are. It usually comes with classroom helps and handouts.

There are disadvantages to buying curriculum, too. The author of the material does not know your class structure, the students or your teaching style. After reading over it (which you need to do a few times before teaching), you might find areas of disagreement or parts you do not want to use within your class. The more curriculum bought by some youth workers equals that much less studying and learning.

One of the biggest continuous expenses that any youth ministry will incur is teaching material. Not only do companies offer the teacher material, but you can also buy student booklets. If you use books for small groups, then you have to buy each student a book so they can read it. Sara Williams told me she has gone back to writing the curriculum for their small groups, because the ministry had to cut costs. I'm sure she is not the only youth minister who has made this transition lately. When its time to reorder your lesson material for next quarter, think twice about just ordering like you always have. Maybe the youth ministry needs to spend its money in a different area for now.

2. Prizes and giveaways
Prizes can be fun. Prizes can get students to show up. Prizes can be expensive. It seems that if you try to "impress" the students by having cool prizes, you are going to have to spend more and more money each year to keep up. The question each youth ministry needs to ask itself is this, "Is it worth the cost?"

3. Electronics
Youth ministers love electronics. The televisions, projectors, digital cameras, video cameras, sound boards, mp3 players and video game systems all seem to be standard for most youth ministries. These "toys" can carry a pretty good price tag; one that does not need to be paid.

4. Events
Putting on an event can be costly. Before you put on your next event, you will want to consider the costs vs. the benefits.



In case you still are not sure how to spend the youth ministry money wisely, watch this clip from Saturday Night Live. It offers one final piece of advice.




(next week, we will look at ways to save money)

Learned from Twitter: week ending March 7, 2009

This week I seemed to be away from Twitter more than usual, but I still managed to learn a few things.

1. dbeckner (Dennis Beckner) provides picture which begs for an explanation.
"Saw this sign today. I thought this was either clever, funny or odd. http://twitpic.com/1vyd2"

2. joshcook83 (Josh Cook) celebrates his 2nd birthday of being on Twitter. (which reminds me that my 2 year anniversary on Twitter comes up at the end of the month)
"Hey! Its my two-year Twitter birthday!!! My first post: http://twitter.com/joshcook..."

3. snavenel(Len Evans) warns of the possibility of advertising on Twitter.
"Tweet Ads Are on Their Way http://tinyurl.com/dchjgl"


4. saraeden(Sara Eden) provides a link to a free online issue of Youthworker Journal. "March/April issue of Youthworker Journal available online for free! >> http://tinyurl.com/clanq6"

5. iian(Ian Robertson) poses an interesting thought.
"my dog was just watching a dog on tv that was watching a dog on tv...wrap your brain around that."

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)

Photo Friday: Not a Big Bird I want to meet on Sesame Street

My wife found this picture while going through some of our old pictures on the computer. That is Big Bird at one of the local parades. I was not a big fan of the costume back then and I'm still not. What do you think? Have you seen character costumes that have looked just vaguely like the character?

I'd love to see any pictures you have...

Reflections on: 999 posts (or Post #1000: a retrospective)

This is my 1000th post, and it took me a long time (compared to some bloggers I know) to get to this point. It has taken me a little less than 4 years to get here (May 26, 2005 was the first post). It took me more than 2 years to get to post #500 (Sept. 10, 2007). If you want to see some highlights from the first 499 posts, you will want to check out #500.

A lot has changed since that post; family changes, ministry changes, and changes to this blog. I know that 1000 is just a number, but it feels strange to have posted that many things to this blog. I know some of them were silly, some were time sensitive, some still make me laugh or cry and some should probably have never seen the light of day. But its all part of the journey and I am glad others have joined me as I reflect on what it means to be a youth minister, father, husband, and Christian.

Some of the most visited posts:
1. some quick thoughts on football's overhead camera - almost 1 1/2 years old and still gets a good flow of traffic
2. warning labels on the Sesame Street DVDs - I still want to get these DVDs
3. discovery of part of Nehemiah's wall - check the story out if you haven't already
4. skit of Lifehouse's song, Everything - is there anyone who hasn't seen this yet?
5. Christian alternatives to Facebook - A LOT of people looking for some alternative
6. lessons to learn from teenagers enjoyment of fast food - I still wonder why fast food is so popular
7. 5 qualities I want in a President - applies to other areas of leadership, too
8. youth pastors in a negative light - some thoughts on youth ministry integrity
9. my tweetdeck review - it is a great app. to use with Twitter


Posts you might find useful/informative:
1. 2 customer feedback situations and your ministry
2. a few thoughts on starting a youth worker network - I might finish this series sometime :)
3. a quote by Stalin & evangelism - used this quote the other day with middle schoolers
4. a restickable glue stick - every youth worker needs one of these
5. open source living - a collection of open source software
6. how to make an invisible bookshelf - a cool addition to your office or youth room
7. leaving a ministry - thoughts on leaving a ministry
8. 25 White Elephant Gift ideas - can you ever have enough ideas?
9. 5 ways to use the Super Bowl in your ministry - it is the biggest TV event of the year, after all


My personal favorites:
1. SNL skit on money management - its so simple, yet a majority of Americans can't do it
2. a 3 year old & money - thoughts on something that happened with my son at the store
3. 3 reasons to read a blog - not many other reasons to read a blog, in my opinion
4. signs of a good youth ministry blog - what does it take for a youth ministry blog to be useful? (a follow-up series of evaluating several blogs will be coming in the next few months)
5. 10 ways to appreciate youth workers - we can all use a little appreciation, can't we?
6. a lesson on trust - my son taught me an important lesson on trust

Going back through some of these posts reminds me what ministry is about - following God where He leads you. It can be a lot of fun and it can be a lot of heartache. In the end, I would not trade any of it. God leads where He wants you to go and He puts you in situations that you need to be in.

May the next 1000 posts encourage, entertain, teach, challenge and cause you to think (as they do the same for me).

Trivia Wednesday #111: Human bones

answer #110 - William Henry Harrison. His inaugural speech in 1841 was 8,445 words. Took him 1 hour and 45 minutes to deliver it, in the rain. (He refused to wear a coat or hat for the event, fell ill, and died 31 days later)

question #111 - Your bones are what percent water?

Discussion Starter: Do parents talk with their kids?

According to one of the "family facts" in My Family by Kurt Johnston & Mark Oestreicher, parents do not spend much time talking with their kids.

"The number of minutes weekly that most parents spend talking with their kids: 38."

As a parent of 3 kids under 5, I cannot imagine only talking with them for 40 minutes a week. I can't imagine only talking with them for 40 minutes a day. Therefore, I was a little shocked at this statistic.

What do you think? Is it accurate? Why do parents not talk that much with their kids? As your child gets older, what factors affect a parent's communication with that child?

Youth Ministry Budgeting: The Process (3 of 5)

(This is part 3 of a 5 part series on youth ministry budgeting. See part #1 - stewardship and part #2 - categories, part 1 & 2 for more information on budgeting.)

What process do you follow when putting together your youth ministry budget? If you do not take your budget seriously, then I bet you do not actually have a process you follow. What follows is a 9 step sample process for putting together a youth ministry budget.

1 - Pray for wisdom.
As you begin the budget process, you need to take time to pray for wisdom. Pray for God to guide you, and the other leaders, as you budget for the coming year. Pray that the youth ministry will be a good steward of its resources. Pray for God to provide the ministry with the right people and supplies to reach students with the Gospel.

2 - Start early!
Give yourself plenty of time to complete the budget. You do not want to rush through this process. I would suggest starting about a month before it is due. This will give you time to go through this process without being negligent. The budget is not usually the part of ministry that youth ministers enjoy, but it is a necessary part of ministry. Starting early allows you to work on the budget little by little. But if you wait until the last minute, you will rush through it and be consumed with it.

3 - Pick your team.
You should not be the only person determining the youth ministry budget for your ministry. You will want to involve other people in this process for a few reasons. First, you do not want the ministry to get in a rut of doing the same things each year just because you did them the year before. Second, the youth ministry needs to be diverse, including things you would not have picked to include. Third, you do not have time to do it all yourself, nor do you want that pressure. Have your team work on the budget on their own and set a date to get together to compare.

If you are part of a small ministry, you might want to include everyone on your youth team. It will give the youth coaches ownership in the ministry. If you are part of a larger ministry, you will want to ask a few of the youth coaches to be part of the process. In a few cases you may only need to involve the paid staff in this process, at least until you have a version for everyone to review before submitting.

4 - Review last year's budget
You will not want to skip this step. Take your budget from last year and look at what you spent and did not spend. Were there one time only purchases? Look for items that do not need to be included in this year's budget and categories that can survive (still be effective) with less money. Once you have done this, you can then start adding items that are new for this year and increasing money in categories that need more.

Do not skip this step. To save time, you might be tempted to just add a certain percentage to each category or copy and paste from last year. That will not help your ministry be good stewards of your money/resources. When you start working on your budget early (step #1) you do not feel pressured to skip this review of last year's budget. And you will notice that you like the new budget more when you review last year's first.

5 - Determine categories
Once you review the previous year' budget, your next step is to start putting together this year's. You need to determine which categories from last year will carry over to this year and which ones can be dropped. After you compare your categories to previous budgets, you will want to look at the calendar for the year to determine what events are upcoming. This will help you know if you need to add a category to cover the cost of your ministry's events. (Here are 10 possible categories to consider.)

Remember that your youth ministry budget will not look like the youth ministry budget for the congregation down the street or the high profile ministry in your town. You cannot compare the resources God has given your ministry with the resources God has given another ministry.

6 - Calculate 1st draft of budget
Once your categories are set and you know what you need to budget for this year, you are ready to calculate how much you expect to spend. There are two main ways to calculate your budget. One way is to estimate your costs based on the previous year. You would add a percentage to last year's budget without checking actual costs. Or you can research all of the items needed, looking for discounts where available and carefully calculate the total cost. I recommend the second method.

As you calculate your budget, keep in mind the cost of some items will increase throughout the year. It will cost you more to rent a van this year then it did last year. Other items are set by your ministry. You decide how much to pay a band or a speaker for an event. There will also be budget items that will fluctuate constantly throughout the year, like the price of gasoline.

7 - Evaluate your stewardship
After you calculate a first draft of the budget, I recommend you stop and reevaluate the budget based on stewardship. How can your youth ministry be a better steward of its resources? Did you include items that are not really necessary? Are you wasting money or ignoring potential resources you have access to?

8 - Get together with other youth coaches and leaders
Now that you have your version of the budget complete, it is time to met with the other leaders who were work on their version. You need to compare the budgets and look for category differences first. Allow each person to discuss why they included or left off certain categories and then, as a group, decide what is best for the ministry. After the categories are finalized, you will want to finalize the dollar amounts. This may take longer, but it needs to be agreed upon by the entire team. As you finalize numbers, remind everyone that you want the budget to be the best overall use of your money and resources - it cannot simply reflect an individual preference by any leader.

9 - Finalize proposed budget and turn in
Then, have one person type up a final budget proposal to turn in. This is your final draft; the budget you feel your youth ministry needs to be the most effective it an be in the coming year. After it is finalized and typed up, turn it into the finance committee or whoever is in charge of approving budgets. Make sure you turn it in ahead of time, do not wait until the very last minute.


What would you add to the process? How do you handle your budgeting process?

March trivia questions...

This month, March, all of the trivia questions will be about the human body.

Do you think you know enough facts about the human body to get all of the Trivia Wednesday questions about the human body correct? We'll see.

Learned from Twitter: week ending Feb. 28, 2009

This week I learned a lot from Twitter. One of the things I learned, which I'll share in this post, was that youth ministers are awesome people.

What follows are some tweets I caught this week and what I learned from them.

1.pattigibbons (Patti Gibbons) shared a link to a video about Twitter on Dateline.
"have you see this feature about @twitter on ABC? http://tinyurl.com/bqmga7"

2.rvayp (Aaron Lee) mentioned free Quiznos subs.
"hey free Quiznos sub: http://www.millionsubs.com/..."

3.pattigibbons linked to a post on her blog you should check out.
"The under 25 youth pastor http://tinyurl.com/bdbjqc"

4.fess2us (Gerrard Fess) linked to a free ebook on leadership.
"Downloading FREE E-book on leadership http://tinyurl.com/c9t6jh"

5. crazytsup (Troy Supple) asked me a question about ministry resources. And before I could even respond, he had gotten at least 3 answers from other youth workers, all within 15 minutes of his asking. This is why I love youth workers and why I think twitter can be a great resource to your ministry.

"@lilkup hey know of any teaching resources for teens sharing their faith that is really good?"
(7 min. later) YMTV (youth ministry TV) responds "RT @crazytsup @lilkup hey know of any teaching resources for teens sharing their faith that is really good?"
(10 min. later) drumdog00 (Justin Van Rheenen) replies with his thoughts. "@YMTV @crazytsup @lilkup Share Jesus Without Fear is a great resource."
(12 min. later) pattigibbons offers another suggestion. "@crazytsup the 3Story materials are excellent life evangelism training. http://is.gd/kFMe"

6. nikomas (Nikomas) reminded me that being a Christian is not always comfy.
"I love God and my pillow. My pillow is more comfy though."

7. marklee3d (Mark Lee - Third Day guitarist) let us in on the fact that even professional musicians can do things last minute when it comes to a Sunday morning song service. He tweeted this at 8:05 Sunday morning.
"Mac texted me last night about playing in church with him this morning. Should be fun, if I can remember where all my gear is!"

Photo Friday: Plastic Jesus Figure

I'm assuming this is Jesus. Though, its hard to tell without His sash. :)

Trivia Wednesday #110: Longest inaugural speech

answer #109 - James Madison (he and his wife didn't even dance, they watched from a platform)

question #110 - Which president's inaugural speech was the longest? (bonus points if you know how long it was)

Youth Ministry Budgeting: Categories (2b of 5)

(This is the second part in a 5 part series on youth ministry budgeting, which has been split it into two posts due to its length. Others posts include: stewardship, categories A)

In part #3 of this series, we will go into more details on the typical process for youth ministry budgets. Right now I want to look at five more categories you will want to include in your proposed budget (and some reasoning or thoughts behind each one).

Possible Budget Categories:
6. Events
This category has the potential to be a rather high percentage of your entire budget, if you let it. You will want to include enough money to pay for a speaker, a band, decorations, materials, promotion and food (unless you include it in the food category). Included in this category would be any event you hold during the year, from your kickoff Sunday to a weekend retreat or area-wide gatherings.

7. Marketing
This category is for any expense you incur to "market" your youth ministry. Be creative with this category and use methods that will reach the students you want to reach. Do not get stuck in a pattern of marketing the same way every year or even the same way the congregation as a whole markets. Your marketing budget might include items like: t-shirts, ads on Google, yard signs, yearbook ads, banners, coffee mugs, temporary tattoos, buttons, backpacks, notebooks, shoes.

Regardless of what you spend your marketing money on, you need to remember that your ultimate goal is to tell people about Jesus Christ, not about your youth ministry. I would encourage you to not spend a high percentage of your total budget on this category; rather, let your ministry speak for itself and have your students market via word-of-mouth.

8. Classroom Materials
These materials are essential to your ministry, though you will most likely spend very little time thinking about them. Make sure you have the finances for paper, pens, dry erase markers, pencils. You could also include furniture or donuts in this category if you need to.

9. Technology
This is one of the fun categories where you have to be careful the money you spend is wisely spent (reread post #1 on stewardship if you have questions). You will want to budget for all costs associated with your website, any software you will need, digital and/or video camera equipment, iPods or mp3 players, televisions and DVD players. Some of you might even be able to include a laptop or projector in this budget category. Just remember that you do not need the latest technology in order to have an effective youth ministry.

10. Communication
This category is for those materials you need in order to communicate in a non-internet method. Some of you might think I'm crazy for suggesting we communicate with students and parents in any form other than text message. It is in this age of texting that I think the hand written note is most powerful. Think about this; how many written notes do your students get during an average month? Unless its a note passed during Science class, I bet the answer is zero. Most people do not stop to hand write anything, even invitations to parties are done online.

When you take time to write a note to a student it shows them you care. It only costs you a few minutes of your day, but its impact is greater than 10 emails. Start the habit of writing a note to each student during a month (if you have too many students, divide the students among the youth coaches and then rotate your recipients from month to month) and watch how it affects their attitude toward you and the youth ministry.

I have found that buying a bunch of blank notes and postcards is the easiest. You do not have to write much more than a few sentences, so you do not feel like you have to say too much. Pictures work well, too. Print off some extra pictures and send them to the students with a little note on the back. You will need to make sure you have enough postage, too. I recommend buying the letter stamps by the roll and postcard stamps a couple sheets at a time.

Youth Ministry Budgeting: Categories (2a of 5)

(This is the second part in a 5 part series on youth ministry budgeting, which has been split it into two posts due to its length. Others posts include: stewardship.)

Once you understand the point that its not your money, then you are ready to start putting the budget together. Putting the budget together will take time, or it should take time if you do not rush through it. In the next part of this series, we will go into more details on a typical process for youth ministry budgets. Right now I want to look at some of the categories you will want to include in your proposed budget (and some reasoning or thoughts behind each one).

Possible Budget Categories:
1. Curriculum
This would include books and materials, for both teacher and students, for any learning environment your ministry offers. The fourth post in this series will have a more in depth discussion on whether to write your own curriculum or buy it. If you buy curriculum, do not let the curriculum determine what you teach - let your lesson scope and sequence determine your curriculum. Know what topic or Scripture you want to cover and look for curriculum that matches that topic. Once you have found a good assortment of choices, take the time to look over each one. Take the time to evaluate, compare and determine which one would work best for your situation. Be mindful of the students and the teachers, do not just pick the one you like best or which one happens to be the newest material available.

When you are thinking about what curriculum to order/create, do not limit yourself to just a 13 week set of material. I know it goes against a lot of what is commonly offered, but I think the best way to present material is to cover the topic as best as you can. That means, if you only need three weeks to do that, do not stretch it to four for the sake of filling an entire month. If you need five months, then plan for five months. Finally, do not forget to include resources like movie clips, videos, books, and cds when you are budgeting for curriculum.

2. Scholarships
Mainly, I am talking about scholarships for the students to attend camp, retreat or conference - not to go to Six Flags or the beach. I have seen scholarships handled very differently by different churches. When it comes to budgeting, it is really an all or nothing category, you can either include them or not include them. In my first ministry, we did not include scholarship money in the youth ministry budget. All scholarship money was donated by individuals for a specific student. Then I went to a church where over 1/2 of our youth ministry budget was set aside for scholarship money. The church paid 1/2 the cost of every camp or trip a student attended, plus the adults were covered through this money.

In my opinion, helping a student get to a week of camp is a better use of money than buying a new video projector.

3. Volunteer Appreciation
This is a huge category. You cannot have a healthy youth ministry without quality adults. The youth ministry leader needs to be showing appreciation to those who put so much time, energy, and money into student ministry. Ideas for spending this money might include: candy, cards, books, gift cards, movie tickets, gas cards, or baby sitting money. Know your youth coaches well enough to be able to know what they would appreciate. Here are some ideas I have shared on appreciating youth workers (which can apply just the same to your youth coaches).

4. Staff Training
Staff training should include attending a youth ministry conference. There are multiple day options: YS's NYWC, Lifeway's LNYWC, SYM/Group's NYMC. As well as one day options: YS One Day, Catalyst. It should also include material for ongoing training within your ministry setting. If you want to go through a youth ministry book with your youth coaches, it is a good idea to buy each of them a copy. Do not make your youth coaches buy their own copy, unless there is no way your ministry can afford it. Ongoing training will help everyone stay on the same page and help them feel better prepared to minister to the students.

5. Food
This category could include food for weekly events (donuts, chips, soda, pizza) as well as making possible those last minute decisions to include food for something. Providing food and drinks are great ways to help visitors feel comfortable and give them something to do when they do not know anyone else.

If you cannot afford to budget much money for this category, you might want to try having a sign-up for students/parents to bring food for events.

Learned from Twitter: week ending Feb. 21, 2009

I thought it would be fun to start sharing some of the great information I get from my twitter friends. Each week*, I'm going to put some of my favorites together and post them on this blog. Hopefully you will be able to glean something from them, too.

You can expect to see links to free downloads, interesting blog posts, funny videos/pictures and insight from others who work with youth.

Here are some things I learned from Twitter this week:

1.gavoweb (Gavin Richardson) shared a great idea for encouraging your graduating seniors from his youth ministry.
"Youth Ministry Idea: @rvayp gave me the thought of sharing this tidbit of youth ministry idea http://is.gd/khNM "

2. YS_Scoop (Youth Specialties) started their YS One Day training this week.
"Today is the first day of the first weekend of http://ysoneday.com. If you're there and tweeting, use #ysoneday. Bring it on!"

3. tspencer (Travis Spencer) linked to a free Brandon Heath MP3.
"FREE brandon heath MP3 http://tinyurl.com/c67x3g and more when you look around."

4. kentshaffer (Kent Shaffer) shared a link to a Catalyst book giveaway.
"Get a free printed copy of Seth Godin's Tribes (or other books) just by calling a phone number. http://bit.ly/PYNno"

5. bgray (Ben Gray) said, "I need something to do. First suggestion wins, I"ll go do it."
I suggested he change his profile pic to an old high school photo. He changed it within hours and thus I learned that Ben is a man of his word.



*each week is a hope and may not reflect the actual occurrences of future posts.

Photo Friday: Giant Fake Fish

I don't remember where we saw this fish, but I do remember it was on top of some gas station.

How cool would it be to have this fish up somewhere in your youth space?

Trivia Wednesday #109: First inaugural ball

answer #108 - Virginia (8)

question #109 - Who was the first president to hold an inaugural ball?

Youth Ministry Budgeting: Stewardship (1 of 5)

(This is the first post in a 5 part series on Youth Ministry Budgeting.)

The most important thing to remember when working on your youth ministry budget is that the money is not your money. It is not your own personal spending money. It is God's money and your youth ministry is a steward of it. The money has been given to the church (or directly to the youth ministry) by other people as an offering for the furthering of God's Kingdom. Before you spend any of that money, make sure you remember the reason people gave. It is also good for you to remember the fact that people have gone without and sacrificed to give that money to your ministry.

Once you understand that important aspect of the youth ministry money, you need to begin thinking about the value and necessity of the things you are adding to the budget. It is crucial in this part of the process to stop and refocus yourself on being a good steward. Ask yourself questions like: What is needed? Can we find something equivalent for less? Is that a good use of our money? Is the money better spent on something else? Taking extra time on this step can help you avoid regret down the road.

Do not allow yourself to get caught up in spending money just because you have money to spend. Just because you have money to buy something new does not mean you have to spend it on a new television, sound system, or even a new youth building. You are a steward of this money and people are trusting you to spend it wisely. You would be wise to not waste the money that people have entrusted to the youth ministry. Making quick decisions is not being a good steward. Throwing money into something you do not need is not being a good steward. Buying something just to look cool is not being a good steward.

Being a good steward of your youth ministry budget will look different for your ministry than it will for mine or the ministry down the street. Only your youth ministry team knows what is truly needed and what is just a want. You need to spend time in prayer asking God to give you wisdom with your budget. You need to talk about your budget with your team, allowing each person the chance to voice his/her opinion about how to be the best stewards of your youth budget. (I also know each person will have their own personal bias as to where the money is spent, and it is the youth minister's responsibility to discern what is best for the ministry as a whole.)

Being a good steward can also mean you "reduce/reuse/recycle" within your ministry. Is there some curriculum you can rework and use again? Can you rearrange classes to better use the space you have? Does food have to be served at such and such event? Where can you reduce your spending? What materials can you reuse? What materials/ideas can you give away to other ministries?

As you begin thinking about your budget and what it means to be a good steward, keep in mind these Scriptures:

Ps. 24.1 - "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."

Lev. 25.23 - "The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants."

Deuteronomy 6:10-12 - “When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”


Before you assign money to any aspect of your youth ministry, determine what it means for your youth ministry to be good stewards of your resources.

Valentine's Day lesson on God's love for you

February means Valentine's Day, which means everyone is thinking about love. From little kids handing out valentines to their classmates to adults going out for a romantic dinner, people are showing their love in special ways. And what do people love? What do you love? (get some responses) What do you mean when you say you "love" someone or something? I use the word love a lot during any given day. "I love porkburgers." "I love my wife." "I love my kids." "I love to read." "I love God." Do they all mean the same thing? I sure hope not.

We tend to use the word love when referring to things we like, admire, think are cool, or have strong emotions toward. Saying I love my laptop is not the same as saying I love my family. It does not mean exactly the same as when you guys say you love ___________. And its definitely not the same as saying God loves me and God loves you. When I tell you that God loves you, it is so much more than some momentary emotional connection or feeling. Let's look at three verses that show us what God's love means for you and me.

The first verse to look at is John 3.16. "God so loved the world..." What does God's love mean in this verse? Does it mean God really likes the world or thinks the world is really cool? No, it means that He sent Jesus to earth to die for your sins so that you can live with Him in heaven forever. God loves you so much that He was willing to let His only Son die in your place.

Do you have that kind of love for anyone?

The next passage is Romans 5.6-8. "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Not only does God say that He loves you, He showed His love by dying in your place. You and I do not the power to take care of our sins, but Jesus died so that we would. Christ died for you when you didn't deserve it.

Do you know anyone else who would do that?

The last verse I want to look at is 1 John 4.8-12. "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

Again, this verse emphasizes the fact that God loves us enough to allow Jesus to die in our place. True love is not that we love God (for what He did for us), but that God loved us and sent Jesus to pay our price for our sins. Verse 12 tells us that if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. You and I can complete God's love for others by loving them.

Are you loving others the way He loves us?

God wants us to love others, that means He wants us to treat other people with respect, to do nice things for them, and to be willing to sacrifice for them. And above all God wants you to know that when He says He loves you, He doesn't just mean that He thinks you are cool or neat. He means that He loves you enough to send His Son to die on a cross for your sins. That is how much He loves you!

Good Idea, Bad Idea: Driving the car around

Good idea: driving your car around to the basement of the church building to avoid walking on the snow/ice.

Bad idea: driving to the basement of the church and almost getting stuck on the way out because you tried to drive on the snow/ice on the "path" out.

Just because someone else made it through on the snow, does not mean you will make it through. And if you do not have 4x4, it is probably not a smart idea to even try.

Proverbs 30.8-9 (my daily bread)

If my last 9 months had a theme verse, it would be Pr. 30.8-9.

Proverbs 30:8-9 — “Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”

God has continually provided for my family's daily bread. We have not had an abundance, nor have we had too little. It has not been anything we have done, everything has been a gift from God. (Maybe in the next few months, I'll take the time to write a post sharing how God has taken care of my family.)

What has God done for you in the last 9 months?

Photo Friday: Golden Sunset

A sunset like this reminds me just how great and powerful God is. No matter what is going on in your life, do not loose sight of God, who is working in your life.

Stop and admire His creation today.

Trivia Wednesday #108: Presidential Birthplaces

answer #107 - one

question #108 - In which state have the most Presidents been born?

February trivia questions...

All of the remaining trivia questions this month will have to do with presidents. How good are you at your "useless" presidential knowledge? This month, you'll get a chance to share your knowledge with others by answering some random trivia questions.

Photo Friday: Open Bible

Here is a picture of the Bible opened to Psalm 74.

When was the last time you read a Psalm?

Poll Results: Next Blog Series

The votes are in. Overwhelmingly you guys want to see a series on budgeting. Both personal and church budgeting will be covered in two upcoming blog series.

Here are the poll results:

30% (3 people) wanted Youth Minister's Budget (personal)
40% (4 people) wanted Youth Ministry's Budget (church)
10% (1 person) wanted Small Town Youth Ministry
20% (2 people) wanted Youth Ministry Blog Reviews
0 % wanted Parenting Mistakes
(1 person) wanted "Your ideas" (added to list already)

Order of my next blog series will be:
Youth Ministry's budget
Youth Minister's personal budget
Youth Ministry blog reviews
Small Town youth ministry


If you have any specific questions or topics you want covered, just leave a comment or email me and I'll answer/address them in the blog series.

Trivia Wednesday #107: Vincent Van Gogh

answer #106 - Irvin Kershner

question #107 - How many paintings did Vincent Van Gogh sell in his lifetime?


(come back next Wednesday for the answer)

to quote someone else: Andy Crouch (changing culture)

"The only way to change culture is to create more of it."
"So if we seek to change culture, we will have to create something new, something that will persuade our neighbors to set aside some existing set of cultural goods for our new proposal."

taken from Culture Making by Andy Crouch

What are we, youth workers, doing to change the youth/teenage culture? Does your ministry seek to change culture? Are you actively creating new culture for your students?

Photo Friday: Turtle

turtles are interesting animals. What does it feel like to always be home?

Free (partial) book download: The Shape of Faith to Come"

the 6 chapters of "The Shape of Faith to Come" is available for free download by going to this site.

Here is the info I got in an email explaining the book and download:

Some studies suggest Christians in North America are not qualitatively different in their character and practices than nonbelievers. Could that be true?

In The Shape of Faith to Come, research expert Brad J. Waggoner and his team measure the beliefs and actions of twenty-five hundred active Protestant churchgoers from across the country against seven key standards of biblical spiritual formation. The unpredictable findings reveal the current state and potential forecast of discipleship in the United States.

LIMITED TIME OFFER: download the first 175 pages of The Shape of Faith to Come at no cost here. The first two thousand entries will also gain access to a FREE Online Spiritual Formation Assessment!

The Source4YouthMinistry's Super Bowl Quiz

Jonathan over at the Source 4 Youth Ministry has made available a free Super Bowl Quiz. (They do one every year). There are also a few party ideas/tips.

I've used this quiz the last couple years and had a great response from the teens. If you are not a football fan, like myself, it might help to have one of the youth coaches who is a football fan to help be in charge of this quiz or at least the answering of some of the questions the students will ask.

I also posted some ideas for the Big Game recently. If you haven't seen those ideas, click over and see if any of them can be helpful for your super bowl party.

Trivia Wednesday #106: The Empire Strikes Back

answer #105 - Amelia Earhart

question #106 - Who directed the film The Empire Strikes Back?

Book Review: Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Crazy Love was one of those books that came with a lot of hype. When I first picked up my copy, I had already heard some great reviews and glowing praise for this book. All the hype definitely played a part in my decision to buy the book and read it. Aside from this initial praise for the book, I knew a little about Chan himself. I had heard some great stories about his leadership and some of the things the church he preaches at was doing. So, right from the start I had high expectations for the content and what I would glean from Chan's writing.

The first few chapters deal exclusively with the greatness of God. Chan is not making any assumptions about the reader's knowledge of God. Right from the start, you go back to the start of it all - creation. Chan starts by painting several pictures for the reader of God's greatness seen in creation. From here, he spends a few chapters adding to this case that God is greater than anyone or anything ever. Though I appreciated this reminder, it seemed to drag on longer than I thought necessary (and maybe this stems from my upbringing and subsequent Bible College education).

Once this foundation is laid, Chan then starts the challenges. He spends the rest of the book challenging the reader to be more like Christ, to take God at His word and to live out what Christ calls us to live. While reading, there were moments I found myself rereading sentences just to make sure I was grasping what was being written. There were other sentences that grabbed my attention and caused me to stop and think. Sentences like, "Having faith often means doing what others see as crazy. Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers." and this quote from Tim Kizziar, "Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter."

Crazy Love is a good book and its definitely worth a read. Is it a book for you, though? I believe the best audience to read this book are those Christians who are complacent with with their faith. If you or someone you know is struggling, lukewarm or stagnant then this is a great book to read and let soak in.

God's love for you is crazy. His love for me is crazy. At the least, you will walk away from this book with that understanding. But my fear, and I think Chan's fear as well, is that you can walk away from that understanding and do absolutely nothing to change your life. Do not allow yourself that option, act on what you are challenged to change.


My advice (rating) – borrow from a friend (3 out of 5)

to quote someone else: Tim Kizziar (our greatest fear)

"Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter."

taken from Crazy Love by Francis Chan

What is it that you are trying to succeed in? Will that success ultimately matter? If not, maybe your focus needs to change.

I know some of mine does.

Photo Friday: small wooden cross

This is a picture of a small wooden cross and a rock we had set up in the youth room at my first ministry. I have always liked the simplicity of the picture, so I thought I would share with you.

New Poll: Next blog series

I have a few topics I want to blog about next, but I'm not sure which one to start on first. So I thought I would ask you (anyone who reads this) what you think. What series would you like me to write and post first?

Next Blog Series:
- Youth Minister's Budget (personal)
- Youth Ministry's Budget (church)
- Small Town Youth Ministry
- Youth Ministry Blog Reviews
- Parenting Mistakes
- Your ideas

I would love to hear your comments on any of these topics. And if you have another idea, just leave it in a comment and I'll think about blogging about it.

Trivia Wednesday #105: first solo flight over Atlantic

answer #104 - 14

question #105 - Name the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

Book Review: Youth Ministry 3.0 by Mark Oestreicher

I picked up Mark Oestreicher's new book while at the National Youth Workers Convention a few months ago. I had been looking forward to reading this expanded version of a general session talk he had given the year before at the convention. Having heard the general session talk and read the numerous blog posts on this very subject, I had certain expectations of what I would find within the pages. For the most part, I was not surprised.

Oestreicher has been involved with youth ministry for almost 25 years and is currently the president of Youth Specialties. He has been around the youth ministry world long enough to know the good and bad, and to have been a part of both sides. Now that he mainly sits on the other side of the trenches, watching the youth ministry culture as a whole, he can see a little clearer the trends that have been happening lately and how they will/should move youth ministers into what he calls youth ministry 3.0.

Before jumping into what youth ministry 3.0 is, Oestreicher sets out to explore youth ministry 1.0 and 2.0. According to Oestreicher, youth ministry 1.0 was the era when youth ministry was focused mainly on the proclamation of the Gospel. Youth ministry 2.0 was the era when the main focus was programs. Youth ministry is not completely out of version 2.0, but there are some significant changes occurring across the youth ministry world. The biggest events, tools, or methods in these eras of youth ministry were reproducible. At least that was the thought among both the "big ministries" and "little ministries." The larger ministries were busy sharing their methods with anyone who would listen (or go to the conference). And the small ministries spent a lot of time trying to copy the success of the larger ministries.

According to Oestreicher, one of the biggest changes in the youth ministry 3.0 era is that this "copy & paste" mentality has to go. In youth ministry 3.0, it is not about using the same method/curriculum/program as another church. The new era of youth ministry needs to be about being present within your own ministry context. Being present is the key word for this new ministry era. When a youth ministry is focused on what God is doing within their own ministry context, the focus is taken off of being like anyone else.

Oestreicher does not answer a lot of questions in this book, in fact he asks and leaves a lot of them unanswered. And isn't that the type of book a youth ministry 3.0 youth worker needs to read? A book that does not tell you how to change 7 aspects of your current model to become a newer/better ministry. (I still believe we need youth ministry books that focus on practical application, they are just not the only ones we need) The end of the book contains three stories of youth workers who are struggling with this transition or attempting make this transition within their ministries. These stories bring encouragement and challenge the youth workers who read this book to step out of their current "safe" model of ministry and go where God is leading.

The best way to make the most of reading this book is to read it with a group of youth workers. This is one of those books that is a good read, but a great resource when you discuss its content with others. If you are a lead youth worker, get a copy for everyone on your youth team and take time to read and discuss. If you are a volunteer youth worker, then make sure the lead youth worker knows about this book. Youth ministries have been stirring for a few years now about changes that need to take place within the realm of youth ministry. Oestreicher has articulated these feelings rather well, and you would benefit from listening to his thoughts, along with the voices of other youth workers found throughout the pages.


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

to quote someone else: Francis Chan ("crazy" faith)

"Having faith often means doing what others see as crazy. Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers."

taken from Crazy Love by Francis Chan

This is nothing new and is probably something you have heard in a sermon or two, but it bears repeating. I think a lot of Christians struggle with truly living their life by faith. Living by faith means you do not know what tomorrow brings, you will not know how a certain situation will turn out. Not being "sure" about the future (and we all know its impossible for anyone to ever really be sure of the future) is counter cultural for most people.

My one big concern, though, is that an unbeliever is not the only person who finds living by faith crazy. Christians do too. I have found in my life that there are times where other Christians struggle to understand how a person can have peace/faith during a period of complete uncertainty.

My prayer is that the way you life your life makes zero sense to unbelievers and encourages fellow Christians to step out in faith.

Photo Friday: Football Upclose

Here are a couple of football pictures.

As always, if you decide to use either of these pics please give me credit for my photography. I'd love to see or hear how you use either of these images. (Enjoy the big game)

Discussion Starter: Padded bras for preschool girls

While visiting pbsparents the other day, my wife saw an article talking about protecting your little girls from growing up too fast and avoiding a sexualized childhood. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Helen recently wrote asking me for help dealing with the aftermath of the "High School Musical" birthday party her 5-year-old daughter had recently attended. At the party, the girls dressed up in fancy clothes and were taught how to do a special [i.e., sexy] dance by the high school-aged cousin of the birthday girl. After the HS Musical cake, the girls broke the HS Musical piñata to get their party favors -- temporary tattoos of the film's characters. The children did a special performance of the HS Musical dance when parents arrived to pick them up.

Helen's daughter loved the party and quickly started pleading to see the HS Musical movies. On a recent trip to a mass market store, her daughter kept pointing to the movie's products and got especially excited about the padded bra and bikini underpants set "in her size!" And she continued to practice her HS Musical dance both at home and in public places like the mall.

Here is another discussion I found on the topic.

My little girl is not even 6 months old yet, so I haven't had to deal with any of this stuff up to this point in my parenting. But I know that day will come sooner than I expect (and even sooner if this is an actual trend taking place around the country).

What are your thoughts on this trend? Have you noticed it with any of your children? And is it anything new or has it been this way for a while?

How does this type of sexualized childhood affect a church's children's ministry? Should it?

You can use this article to start discussion with your students about sex, beauty, self-image, how culture affects how we see ourselves, pressure, marketing.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Trivia Wednesday #104: Sonnets

answer #103 - true

question #104 - How many lines are usually in a sonnet?

5 Ways to Use the Super Bowl in Youth Ministry

Then end of the football season means the Super Bowl is almost here. And for youth ministers that can mean the potential to connect with a greater number of students. There are several things you can do within your youth ministry to connect to the Super Bowl "hype." Take one or more of these ideas and use it within your ministry. And I'd love to hear what effect it has on your ministry.



5 ideas for using the Super Bowl in your youth ministry.
1. Host a Super Bowl Party
This includes finding a house with enough room to hold the students a big enough TV for everyone to watch. Or you could hold it at church if you have the room/technology.

Supplies:

• Food (I suggest pizza and chips & dip for sure)
• TV or multiple TVs
• Devotion or something for halftime
• Handout, trivia questions and ideas or quiz sheet
  
• prizes for winners of score contest. halftime and end of game
• prizes for contest sheet winners
• plastic silverware, cups, plates

2. Create your own Super Bowl Commercial Contest.
Have the students come up with a 30 second commercial that they want to air during the Super Bowl. You could either have them make up a product or use a real one. You will want to set obvious guidelines; language and such. Have them turn the commercials early enough to give you time to watch them and get them ready be viewed. My suggestion is that you watch them during halftime of the game. Plus you can put them on your group's YouTube, Vimeo, or webpage - that way the students can watch them over and over again.

3. Discuss why the Super Bowl is such a big deal.
Take some time before the big game and talk about why this is the biggest sporting event all year.

4. Participate in the Souper Bowl outreach event.
This is a great way to raise some money and help out a local soup kitchen. Go to the website to find out more and get your students involved. Get all of your downloadable resources here that you'll need to promote.

5. Use the commercials to start discussion on a number of topics.
After the Super Bowl, you could take a few weeks and steer some discussion to the topics brought up during the commercials. Or use the commercials as illustrations or intro material for the your messages.


How do you use the Super Bowl in your ministry? What have you done in the past? We'd love to hear some of your past highlights, please leave a comment to share with the youth ministry community.

Photo Friday: Chuck Norris Action Figure?

This was an action figure I found last week while I was home. A few people in my family told me it was Chuck Norris. I can kinda see it, but am skeptical of this. What do you think? Is this a Chuck Norris action figure?

Best of 2008: Middle School Ministry Books

Earlier this week, I posted my top 3 youth ministry books of 2008. I left these 3 books off that list because they are specific to middle school ministry. A good resource for middle school ministry is something I am always on the lookout for, so I wanted to highlight these three to help anyone else looking for something specific to middle school ministry.


Top 3 Middle School Ministry Books of 2008:
1. My Friends by Kurt Johnston & Mark Oestreicher
This is 1 of 6 books in the middle school survival series by Youth Specialties. This book is written for middle schoolers and I highly recommend you make it available for them to read. You can also use it to help with ideas for lessons or messages you are giving to middle school students. And there are sidebars full of random facts that will be useful for those moments you need something to say, but don't know what to say.

2. Living with Questions by Dale Fincher
I used this book for a middle school small group this past year. It took a few weeks to get them into a groove, but once those first weeks were over it really started to connect with them. It started some great conversations (both in small group and out of small groups). They started talking about some of the topics on their own and really started to wrestle with the issues. This was a great resource and I would recommend it for anyone doing a middle school small group. And it is a great refresher for youth ministers, too.

3. Manga Messiah by Next Ministries
I haven't read too many manga comics, but I have to say this one caught my attention from the start. This manga is a retelling of Jesus' life, from birth to resurrection. The events are in chronilogical order, not organized by Gospel order. I reviewed Manga Messiah for YMX. If you haven't seen this book yet, you need to check it out. Plus there is one other Manga available in the series now - Manga Metamorphosis (and Manga Mutiny available in Japan, English version is supposed to be out soon)


What middle school ministry books did I miss?

Trivia Wednesday #103: Beavers

answer #102 - 1904

question #103 - True or False? A beaver's teeth are mainly orange.

Best of '08: Youth Ministry Books

Next up in the "Best of 2008" series is my favorite youth ministry books of 2008. I thought this was going to be really tough to narrow down to a few books. It seemed like I read a lot this year, but it turns out that I did not read as many youth ministry specific books as I thought I did. What follows is the top 3 youth ministry books I read this year.

Best of 2008: Youth Ministry Books
1. Mission Trips from start to finish by Lynne Ellis & Doug Fields
In terms of practicality, this was the best book I read last year. Simple to follow. Full of reproducible information. This book not only helps a youth worker better understand and answer the big questions, but it provides some great detail information. If you are participating in a mission trip with your youth, this resource needs to be on your desk as you start the planning process.

2. Ministry Mutiny by Greg Stier
When this book first came out, it peeked my interest. But I never got around to actually reading it until this year. We used Ministry Mutiny as part of the mentorship program Tim started via his blog. A lot of the topics dealt with are topics just about every youth worker will face in his/her ministry. One of the benefits of reading it as part of the mentorship program was that I got to discuss each chapter with a fellow youth worker who was just getting started in ministry. I recommend this book to anyone in youth ministry; you may not agree with everything Greg says (I hope you don't) but you will find yourself rethinking your ministry. (Look for a more indepth review to show up on this blog in the next month or so.)

3. Getting Students to Show Up by Jonathan McKee
This is a great book to use when you are thinking about your next outreach event or even your weekly meeting. Since I have already reviewed this book (and given away a free copy), I will not repeat myself. You can see my review by going to this post or over to this review at YMX.

One youth ministry book that was close to making the list was YM 3.0 by Marko. I am not completely finished with it, so I didn't think it was fair to add it to the list - it'll probably be on the 2009 list. Later this week, I'll be posting my favorite middle school ministry books of 2008, so if you think theire is a middle school book left off the list, that could be why.


How did I do? What were your favorite youth ministry books of 2008?


Other "Best of 2008" Posts:
Non-Youth Ministry Books
Music
Websites

Photo Friday: 80's Knight Rider Lunchbox

I found this old lunchbox in a box of old stuff at my parent's house. It was my brother's and I forgot we had it. I thought you might enjoy a blast from the 1980's.

Did you have an old lunchbox like this growing up? If so, what was it?