The greatest mistake youth workers make when ministering to students, specifically middle schoolers, is to simply talk at them, telling them what they need to know and what they need to do. This mistake makes sense. We love Jesus deeply and we got into this business...
What is that one item you would be at a loss without? First thing that might come to your mind: your computer, your car, your phone. I know the one item I could not live without … our microwave! Heating or reheating food would take forever. Ain’t no one willing to...
Whether you are a full-time, part-time, or volunteer leader in student ministry, you probably hope that when a student comes to your group they do four things: enjoy themselves, come back next week, tell their friends, and grow in their faith. While each of our...
6th grade is a big year in the life of the average teenager. In addition to being introduced to middle school youth ministry, which can be world-shaking within itself, there are several large shifts that change everything in their young lives. In order to continue to...
This month my Grandpa, Harvard J. Coon, passed away at the age of 90. As all death of a close family member is, it was hard. It wasn’t hard on my family and I because he was lost in sin, but rather because we would honestly just miss him. Miss his goofy stories, his...
What comes to your mind when you hear the word retreat? This is the question I asked a room of 20 students on our last weekend getaway. The answers were as funny as they were varied. ‘Run away’, ‘Fall back troops’, I am pretty sure someone yelled out something about...
