The power of facebook in youth ministry

As many youth pastors have been forced to learn, facebook can be a very helpful tool to them in the youth ministry field. There are several different ways in which facebook can help your youth ministry.

1. Private messaging- Many students have gone away from using email because of all the spam and the convenience of using facebook messaging. This allows youth pastors to send mass facebook messages, but in a private way just to the members of their youth group facebook group.

2. Youth Group facebook group- Students can join this group on facebook and recieve the messages for the group. Along with messages and announcements, these students can share photos, videos, and have a blog type thing within the group to share thoughts. They can find others from the youth group in the facebook group and add them to their friends list.

3. Event RSVP- With having facebook, it is free and easy to make facebook event postings for any youth group events. This is something that can be openly viewed by anyone, or only people within the group. With these events students can mark if they are attending, not attending, or maybe attending, aloowing the youth staff to get a better view of the numbers.

4. News Application- This is a program that provides a news feed on all the latest news within friends on facebook. A youth pastor could put updates about events, or any other announcements on this for the students to see when they log on to facebook. Again it is a free and easy way to get the word out.

5. Track the youth's activity- although this is a reason that some students do not wish to be facebook friends with their youth pastors in fear that they will constantly be checking up on them, it can serve as a good conversation and accountability piece. The youth pastor, if friends with the student on facebook, can look at pictures, wall posts, and news feed that will somewhat update the person on what they have done.


In majority it is a very helpful tool when used in the right way, it can do great things for a youth group to connect to youth pastor!

Partnership with parents

As youth workers, we are not called to step in and take the role of a parent in the students' lives, but rather be a support for both the parents and students. any youth pastors have struggled with this in the past and have stepped on the parents' toes with some things. The best ministry that can affect the youth the most powerfully is one that is done from a youth worker and from the parents, both of them supporting each other. It is important for youth pastors to understand the impact that they can have not only on the students, but more so on the parents, and then the impact that parents have on the students. Here is an article that talks more about it with helpful hints and verses about it.

Generation Next

As Christians it is easy to look around at the world and be discouraged about all the sin and darkness that the world has. More specifically I find it very frustrating as a Christian in America to see what America has become. We are a nation that was classified as a Christian nation, and now has become seemingly the opposite. Even among the people who still claim to be Christians in the United States today, there are again even fewer who actually live out their faith. It breaks my heart to hear what the world says about Christians. They do not think happy things about Christians, but instead first think of the negatives. Often when I am interacting with people who know I am a Christian and we begin to talk about our faith, I find that many people are shocked at the fact that I really try to have my faith affect my life. When I lived abroad with a house full of girls last fall, many of them were shocked to find out that I had never drank or done drugs and could not understand why. When I told them that it was because I was a Christian, they told me that they were too, or that they knew lots of Christians who did those things. This is another reason why I think youth ministry is so important. Youth leaders need to talk about living out faith. If the youth, this next generation, will rise up and accept the challenge to as Christian young people be different, they could make a huge difference for the name of Christianity, and for the world as a whole. If the Christians in the world started to act as Christ calls us to, then imagine how positively the world would be changed. The youth has the potential to do this more than anyone, because their minds are still so young and fresh and positive. Youth leaders need to believe in the power that this generation has and then go on to encourage them in it.

Kissing retreats goodbye...

This is in response to an article that I read about a youth pastor who stopped doing retreats in his youth group because they kept arranging them with very little response and very few people singing up for them. Now he has tried to incorporate pieces that he has had in the retreats into his regular ministry. You can read it here for more info on it.

I did not agree with this method. I think that retreats can not only serve as a time for students to connect with God in a deeper way, but they also provide a time for youth to get to know the staff and each other better than they ever could in a Sunday or Wednesday service. I switched youth groups in 7th grade, and it was a very difficult transition for me. I didn't miss my old youth group, but in this new bigger one I just felt like another person and felt completely lost in the crowd. This continued for weeks and I only continued going because my best friend went there and it was time to spend with her. About a month and a half in there was a Fall Retreat planned. I did not want to go, because I thought it would just be more of feeling left out and I did not want that for a whole weekend. But my friend convinced me, and I am so glad she did. At that retreat I met people who are still my friends today, and I also connected with some of the leaders in a way I never had before. The next youth group meeting that following Wednesday was wonderful! I felt completely different! I had people to talk to and no longer felt lost in a crowd. From that point on I never missed a retreat, and on the last one had a very hard time accepting that I would not get to go on the next one. Not only did I connect with people who many of them now are my best friends even here at Bethel, but I was also continuously challenged. I was told that I was, with the power of Christ within me, able to stand up against the things that the world would try to force on me. It was through these leaders at these retreats teaching me about the Bible and faith, and how it should look in life, that I made it through my jr. high and high school years overcoming many of the common obstacles that pull people away. I do not think that these things could be replicated in the context of a few hour youth meeting.

Looking for a job in youh ministry?

The job market is down. Many companies are on freeze mode as far as hiring goes. But for those of us interested in youth ministry there is hope. There are many churches that are committed to the ministry of bringing God's word to youth all over the country, and there fore there are still many jobs for those going into youth ministry. These may not be the highest paid jobs, but that is not going to change if the economy gets better, ministry is always going to remain in the area of low paying jobs. The point is that there are many churches out there looking for youth pastors, associates, interns, and volunteers. I still need to go on into seminary to be able to be qualified for any of them, but that does not excuse me from trying for the internships or becoming a regular volunteer. There is no better way to learn and grow in skills that to be fully involved in it. There are many jobs listed at this site. If you are looking for a job in youth ministries, check some out here.

Is bigger better?

The trend in youth groups these days is to make everything as big as possible. Many new or remodeling churches are being constructed with huge youth buildings or at least rooms that seat over 1000 people. This is a great idea, that this big of rooms are needed to hold everyone in the youth group. But often these facilities are made hoping that they will bring in the numbers. Millions of dollars are spent on getting the latest technology, and state of the art facilities in hopes of drawing people in. This may work to draw people in, but are these youth facilities ready with the staff and volunteer to put time into all these visitors that come to see the place? I think it is great that people are being drawn into churches, especially young people. But it all means nothing if when there someone is not there to connect with them and have something more than a building or free food to have them continue coming. I encourage everyone who is thinking about youth ministry to never forget that it is not about how big your youth group is in numbers or how beautiful or large your facility is. It is about truly connecting as many as people as possible with Jesus and then walking with them to help them strengthen this new faith. That is something that too many youth pastors, and pastors in general have forgotten.

Start with a bang!

Even in my earliest years going to youth group meetings I remember a common theme that existed then and continued on as I grew older, and even as I switched churches. In the begging of youth meetings what do most youth groups do to get the time started? Games! Sometimes it is an ice breaker game that everyone does in the group, sometimes it is an embarrassing game that a few brave souls come to the front of the group and do, sometimes it is active, sometimes just questions and a lot of talking. Whatever it may be, these are some of the best times for everyone to let down their guards and just have fun together, and hopefully get to know a few new friends! Here is a link to a website that lists many different games for all situations and locations. Start your youth group meeting with a bang!

The importance of humility

One of the many reasons that I want to go into youth ministry is because I have been blessed with so many wonderful youth workers in my life that have selflessly poured into my life and encouraged me in my life walk with Christ and through everything else I was going through at the time. When I think about the youth workers that stand out in my mind of having the most profound impact on my life, they have at least one thing in common, humility. These people never boasted about how loving they were to youth, they never got rewarded for what they were doing, and they very seldom were appreciated even just through words from us kids or our parents. They did it because they loved us and just had to trust that God was using them to make a difference. Through these examples, I want to be humble as well. I know I am far away from that point right now because I still think about myself much too often and seek recognition for many things I do. But I know that if I am going to reach youth the way that I hope to, then I need to be humble and submit to God and trust that he will use me. I recently met a youth pastor who seemed to me to be very prideful and it immediately saddened me for the youth group because I know the powerful influence that humility can have on people. I think that is something that every person thinking about going into, or in youth ministry needs to step back and pray for, a prayer for humility.

Prayer for Humility

Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that you may fortify me with the grace of your Holy Spirit, and give your peace to my soul, that I may be free from all nedless anxiety and worry. Help me to desire always that which is pleasing and acceptable to you, so that your will may be my will.

Grant that I may be free from unholy desires, and that , for your love, I may remain obscure and unknown in this world, to be known only to you.

Do not permit me to attribute to myself the good that you perform in me and through me, but rather, referring all honor to you, may I admit only to my infirmities, so that renouncing sincerely all vainglory which comes from the world, I may aspire to that true and lasting glory that comes from you. Amen

St. Frances Cabrini

How can I get prepared to lead youth?!?!

I recently spoke with a woman who is now a college professor, but was previously a youth pastor.  I asked her "what can I do to best prepare to go into youth ministry?" to which she responded that I was doing many of the things that she would recommend.  She said that first it was important to have mentors, and for me specifically female mentors who work in ministry.  It would be very important for me to talk with women in ministry to talk about the things that they have learned through their experience, the challenges, and anything else they wanted to share.  This would help me avoid hopefully some of the problems that they experienced.  She said that it is important for me, before committing to going to seminary for two years for youth ministry, to get a summer internship in a church working with youth.  Through doing this I could have a real life experience that would show me the joys and challenges of this area of work for myself.  When getting into it I could see that this fit me even better than what I had imagined, or on the other hand that maybe this was not where I felt God calling me.  Either way it would be a good learning experience.  Third she told me that it was great that I am a communication major.  She said that youth ministry can not be taught in a classroom, but if it could, the communication classes come the closest to teaching things that would really help during being in youth ministry.  She spoke of how you need to know things like interpersonal communication skills, mediation, and other areas of communication.  If you are a good communicator, you will be much better in youth ministry.  These are things that were very helpful to me, and I hope they will be to you as well if you are considering going into youth ministry.

Another call to service

Not all of us are called to go and serve in other countries.  I have been in many other countries on mission trips, and I have loved my time and learned so much through these trips.  But something that I think is often under estimated is serving in our own community.  It seems much easier to give two weeks to going to another country than to make a regular commitment to an organization in your area.  There are many places in each city that needs help in some way.  How many of us can say that we volunteer as much as we should.  Challenging youth at a young age to do this is the beginning of a good habit in their lives.  There are many positive opportunities for youth groups or small groups within the youth group to go somewhere and serve together.  Not only are you helping those in need, but it is often very rewarding and very fun.  Here is a website for different volunteer opportunities in the Minneapolis area. Check it out.