Sharing God’s Gifts With One Another
As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. (1 Peter 4:10)
Each person has wonderful talents and gifts given to them by God. These gifts are meant for the service of others. As youth ministers who lead a team of adults to serve the teens and families of our parishes, our team members come to us with a wide variety of gifts. How can youth ministers insure that their team is utilizing their gifts in the best way to build up youth ministry in our parishes? Here are some tips to insure that your team’s gifts are being utilized to make it the best year ever! KEEP READING
Effective Communication is Key
No matter how long you have been in Youth Ministry you will discover quickly that effective communication is absolutely key. Communication with God, your pastor, volunteers or teens—anyone connected to the mission—is a must. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are communicating:
Clarity
Most miscommunication is based on a lack of clarity. When instructions are not clear there is a good chance that tasks will not be accomplished properly. I realize that some of us are better than others at being clear. If you are not one of those naturally gifted clarity-blessed-individuals, I suggest the following:
Sit with it:
When I want to share information, goals, expectations I need to make sure I understand them first. KEEP READING
How to Minister to Parents Too
As a baby youth minister, my biggest apprehension was how to best work with parents. My year of service had been filled with intergenerational Ministry. I had learned about how important it was to have a relationship with parents as a youth minister. The difference? Now I was coming into a different community that hadn’t done much intergenerational Ministry. My biggest fear was that parents wouldn’t take me seriously because I was only 23, or that they wouldn’t trust me with their teens.
Cue prayers and a few very friendly parents. Here a few things that I learned about working with parents as a young youth minister:
Be proactive and patient:
The 7pm mass is central to our youth ministry program. KEEP READING
How I Talked My Way Into A Terrible Job
Back in January of 2006, I was coasting through my last semester of college. Everything was all set: I’d graduate in May and get married in August, but there was one big issue…
I didn’t have a job lined up.
I was home for winter break when I got an idea.
I setup an appointment with the pastor of a local parish – arguably the most wealthy parish in the diocese. I knew the budget was there, but they hadn’t had a youth minister on staff in almost 10 years.
During that meeting, I convinced the pastor that they NEEDED to hire a full-time youth minister – and since I needed a job, that youth minister should be me. KEEP READING
Leave the 99: Welcoming New Sheep Into the Fold
As we prepare for our elaborate Fall Kick-Offs designed to reel in the teens and get them hooked on our absolutely amazing youth ministry programs, I am reminded of my past failures in achieving what is most important in a new beginning. Welcoming new teens is not a strong suit of mine. After all, I am a youth minister. It’s not as though my job is welcoming teens, right?
Now throwing a rager of a kick-off? That I can do. In fact, by most perspectives, I have never had an unsuccessful kick-off party. We have done the bouncy house and sumo wrestler thing, the photo booth superhero party, the messy games. KEEP READING
Happy Advent!
We want to help
your ministry thrive.
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Sharing God’s Gifts With One Another
As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. (1 Peter 4:10)
Each person has wonderful talents and gifts given to them by God. These gifts are meant for the service of others. As youth ministers who lead a team of adults to serve the teens and families of our parishes, our team members come to us with a wide variety of gifts. How can youth ministers insure that their team is utilizing their gifts in the best way to build up youth ministry in our parishes? Here are some tips to insure that your team’s gifts are being utilized to make it the best year ever! KEEP READING
Effective Communication is Key
No matter how long you have been in Youth Ministry you will discover quickly that effective communication is absolutely key. Communication with God, your pastor, volunteers or teens—anyone connected to the mission—is a must. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are communicating:
Clarity
Most miscommunication is based on a lack of clarity. When instructions are not clear there is a good chance that tasks will not be accomplished properly. I realize that some of us are better than others at being clear. If you are not one of those naturally gifted clarity-blessed-individuals, I suggest the following:
Sit with it:
When I want to share information, goals, expectations I need to make sure I understand them first. KEEP READING
How to Minister to Parents Too
As a baby youth minister, my biggest apprehension was how to best work with parents. My year of service had been filled with intergenerational Ministry. I had learned about how important it was to have a relationship with parents as a youth minister. The difference? Now I was coming into a different community that hadn’t done much intergenerational Ministry. My biggest fear was that parents wouldn’t take me seriously because I was only 23, or that they wouldn’t trust me with their teens.
Cue prayers and a few very friendly parents. Here a few things that I learned about working with parents as a young youth minister:
Be proactive and patient:
The 7pm mass is central to our youth ministry program. KEEP READING
How I Talked My Way Into A Terrible Job
Back in January of 2006, I was coasting through my last semester of college. Everything was all set: I'd graduate in May and get married in August, but there was one big issue... I didn't have a job lined up. I was home for winter break when I got an idea. I setup an...
Leave the 99: Welcoming New Sheep Into the Fold
As we prepare for our elaborate Fall Kick-Offs designed to reel in the teens and get them hooked on our absolutely amazing youth ministry programs, I am reminded of my past failures in achieving what is most important in a new beginning. Welcoming new teens is not a...
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We ministers always tend to think outwardly. We want to serve our youth, our parish, our community. There needs to be times that we look inwardly. Do we know our gifts and use them? Do we look at our staff and recognize the gifts other bring to the team and maximize...
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For many of us in youth ministry, the summer has flown by and now a new year is starting right around the corner. New teens will be coming and current teens will be returning, excited to see their friends. What can we do to start the year off right in order to get the...
The Word: Living and Effective
Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 I have some concerns about the word of God....
Feed Your Need for Feedback
Just about every week there comes a point where I find myself thinking, "why won't they just TELL me what they think?!" I'm talking about my coworkers, my family, my toddler--they all have their moments where it seems like I can't get any recognition of what I'm doing...
Be Aware of Self Care
These are a few ways that I try to make sure I do not get burnt out in the ministry. A burnt out minister doesn’t do anyone any good.
Ministry Can Be Lonely
Ministry can be lonely. Especially youth ministry. My first two years of ministry did not prepare me well for the next ten years. I started youth ministry as an intern at a parish with 3 full time staff members, a college intern (me), and two high school interns. It...
Five Tips for Thriving in Your First Year of Ministry
As a fellow rookie in ministry, I’ve come up with five tips to help you thrive in your first year of ministry and maintain an overall healthy lifestyle.
Best. Communication. Tips. Ever.
I love Stranger Things. I binge-watched it when it came out. I made jokes with my fiancée about how cute the kids in the show were and we laughed about the CGI monsters. Then, I promptly forgot about it (as one does until Season 2 comes back with a vengeance). That...
