Articles
Adolescent Development
How Can I Find a New Church: Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum Free Sample
by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin Posted in Adolescent Development
The Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum is a 10-session journey exploring everything from the gospel and faith identity development to how to plan for the party scene at campus. In the sample session you can download free below, you can tackle with students the important question, How can I find a new church? As we learned in our research, finding a church or fellowship group after graduation is important to Sticky Faith. Those who get and stay connected during the freshman year show greater faith growth than those who don’t. …Read More
What Went Wrong With MTV?
by Adam McLane Posted in Adolescent Development
All through my adolescence no organization was cooler than MTV. They literally defined what was cool for my generation, as Frontline documented in The Merchants of Cool, MTV wasn't just lucky to hit a specific trend at a specific time for 20 plus years. My jaw dropped as I learned that MTV's programming hits were the results of intense and prolonged ethnographic study of their target audience.
Advice
Setting Up for the Long Haul: Establishing Boundaries and Self-Care
by Rhett Smith Posted in Advice
In January of 2008, after almost 7 years on staff in the college ministry at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, I grudgingly tendered my resignation. I would finish out my duties as the college director in June of that year, but the culprit of that resignation began its insidious work early on in my ministry.
Bad Judgment, Detached Retinas, and a Lot of Stupid
by Brock Morgan Posted in Advice
I remember when I was 18-years-old and it first dawned upon me, “If I become a youth pastor, I’ll get to play dodge-ball for the rest of my life!” That was twenty years ago and I’m still in youth ministry and loving it. The past few summers we’ve had students visit us who were a part of our ministry over those twenty-some years, and each time, inevitably, the stories start coming. The stories of God working are my favorite, but the students seem to like telling and retelling…Read More
Free Resources
How Can I Find a New Church: Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum Free Sample
by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin Posted in Free Resources
The Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum is a 10-session journey exploring everything from the gospel and faith identity development to how to plan for the party scene at campus. In the sample session you can download free below, you can tackle with students the important question, How can I find a new church? As we learned in our research, finding a church or fellowship group after graduation is important to Sticky Faith. Those who get and stay connected during the freshman year show greater faith growth than those who don’t. …Read More
Free: Faceplant Videos from CrowdControlGames
Posted in Free Resources
As seen at the 2011 National Youth Workers Convention. Take a picture of someone with your phone and put them in the action of a movie with a set of free videos from CrowdControlGames.com.
High School
Boys Will Be Boys
by Andrew Burden Posted in High School
From the sandbox to the construction site, being male is often associated with a natural spirit of trouble-making. You don’t have to be on John Eldridge’s mailing list to recognize that there is an untamed energy that is uniquely masculine. Middle school boys at church camp are no exception. After 19 years of volunteering, I’ve got plenty of stories to tell. But I’ve come to the point where I’ve said “enough is enough” when it comes to pranks and roughhousing. Early on, I tended to participate in or even…Read More
Growing by God’s Nudge
by Kim Messinger Posted in High School
When my youth group comes up in a conversation, I know the question will follow, “How do you get your kids?” It’s a longer story than they may want to hear. But I never tire of telling it. The story begins with a nudge from God to give one message to a group of skateboarders that had recently lost their youth pastor. I was in my forties and had hung up 20 years worth of all-nighters and retreats. One cold December night, an “up for a challenge” church elder…Read More
Middle School
Middle School Leadership: An Untapped Resource
by Cliff Olson Posted in Middle School
This year marks our seventh year of middle school leadership. Many students from that first class are now seniors in high school. It's awesome to have incoming freshmen each year with two years of leadership and missions under their belt, as well as a heart to continue to learn and develop. It has allowed us to take students even further in their walk with God and allow them to serve the Lord in some very dynamic ways.
What Lurks Behind Those Fish, Toilet Paper, and Pantyhose Games?
by Kara Eckmann Powell Posted in Middle School
Wild and crazy junior high ministry activities... and the developmental and theological reasons why they make sense.
Movie Study Guides
Review: Source Code
by Joel Mayward Posted in Movie Study Guides
I love movies about dimensions. Whether it's traveling through time or jumping through some portal into another world, the idea that there is more than one possible reality fascinates me. These are the kinds of movies that stretch the imagination to its limit, forcing us to wonder if what we're seeing is even possible in the real world outside of the movie screen. They cause us to question whether that "real" world is as real as we once believed. Source Code is one of these movies, with a refreshing new take…Read More
Review: The King’s Speech
by Joel Mayward Posted in Movie Study Guides
I'm a professional communicator of sorts. A central part of my job as a pastor is standing up in front of people and sharing the truths of Scripture. Some call it "preaching" or "teaching." In any case, it's like giving a spiritual speech. I genuinely enjoy this aspect of my vocation. To my surprise, I kind of like speaking in front of people, sharing stories and asking questions and catching people's eyes as I drive a point home. This wasn't always the case. One of my most embarrassing moments involves…Read More
Music Reviews and Interviews
Thoughts on The Other Guys and a Theology of Humor
by Joel Mayward Posted in Music Reviews and Interviews
The Other Guys (2010): If I've learned anything from having an infant son, it is that laughter doesn't need to be taught. Laughing comes naturally, spontaneously, in fits and spurts, but always with an innate sense of joy. That we can somehow find a moment of respite in our chaotic world through chortles and chuckles is, I believe, clear evidence of God's presence in our lives. Humor is grace. That being said, not all humor is created equal. The grace of laughter, if distorted by sin, can result in finding…Read More
Review: The Flame In All Of Us By Thousand Foot Krutch
Posted in Music Reviews and Interviews
The much-anticipated fourth release from the Toronto-based Thousand Foot Krutch, The Flame In All of Usdelivers powerful spiritual messages with a driving, hardcore sound. Flame continues to build off of Thousand Foot Krutch’s previous release (The Art of Breaking), drifting into a much more rock driven style instead of the rapcore sound of the earlier albums.
Parents
La Familia 101: Partnering with Parents to Minister to Hispanic Youth
by Jose Nieves Posted in Parents
Believe me; you owe it to the Juans and Marias to take a crash course in La Familia 101.
How I Cured My Parent-Noia
by Paul Borthwick Posted in Parents
To find out what most youth workers feel about the parents of the teenagers in their ministries takes some observation and probing. If we could enter the minds of many youth workers, we would often find negative feelings toward parents. I know. I have some of these feelings myself, and I see them in other youth leaders I know. The negative attitudes, however, are not always obvious. Sometimes they surface through our jokes or our sarcastic remarks about parent. Other times our negative feelings arise out of a genuine…Read More
Programming
How Can I Find a New Church: Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum Free Sample
by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin Posted in Programming
The Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum is a 10-session journey exploring everything from the gospel and faith identity development to how to plan for the party scene at campus. In the sample session you can download free below, you can tackle with students the important question, How can I find a new church? As we learned in our research, finding a church or fellowship group after graduation is important to Sticky Faith. Those who get and stay connected during the freshman year show greater faith growth than those who don’t. …Read More
Free: Faceplant Videos from CrowdControlGames
Posted in Programming
As seen at the 2011 National Youth Workers Convention. Take a picture of someone with your phone and put them in the action of a movie with a set of free videos from CrowdControlGames.com.
Resource and Book Reviews
An Interview with Jared Herd of XP3 Students
by Adam McLane Posted in Resource and Book Reviews
At Youth Specialties we are always on the lookout for ministry resources that are excellent. While we love our own products we fully recognize that there are fantastic resources available to youth workers that aren't published by YS. Recently, I had the opportunity to catch-up with Jared Herd, the Creative Director of XP3 Students. XP3 has taken the idea of curriculum development for youth ministry to a whole different level of engagement with in-the-trenches youth workers. Here's my interview with Jared.
Interview: Global Youth Ministry
by Adam McLane Posted in Resource and Book Reviews
Here at Youth Specialties, we are very excited about the release of Global Youth Ministry from Dr. Terry Linhart and Dr. Dave Livermore. With the United States becoming increasingly culturally diverse, we think there is a lot to be learned about our own local ministries when we take the time to discover what is working outside of the United States. Recently I had the opportunity to share some time with the book's co-author, Terry Linhart. If you aren't familiar with Terry, he is a long-time youth worker and professor of Youth…Read More
Training
How Can I Find a New Church: Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum Free Sample
by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin Posted in Training
The Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum is a 10-session journey exploring everything from the gospel and faith identity development to how to plan for the party scene at campus. In the sample session you can download free below, you can tackle with students the important question, How can I find a new church? As we learned in our research, finding a church or fellowship group after graduation is important to Sticky Faith. Those who get and stay connected during the freshman year show greater faith growth than those who don’t. …Read More
The Seven Deadly Sins Of Student Ministry: Pride
by Charlie Harper Posted in Training
The Sin “My students” and “my ministry” are expressions of sincere ownership youth workers use. But to whom do your students really belong? Who called you to ministry in the first place? Who truly makes life change possible? It really is tough to be called by God to minister to students and not feel a sense of pride and ownership. However, pride is one of the “seven deadly sins” that can destroy your ministry.
Youth Worker Development
Free Bible Study: Adventurously Expectant
Posted in Youth Worker Development
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We are so excited that our friends at InWord Resources have put together this Bible study based on the 2011 National Youth Workers Convention theme. We hope that it helps connect you with what God is doing this year in lives at the convention. It includes 2 personal lessons for you, plus 2 lessons you can use as lessons in your youth group.
YS Looks to the Future
Posted in Youth Worker Development
The journey Youth Specialties has taken over the years is a lot like a roller coaster ride. The co-founder of YS, Mike Yaconelli, once said, “We sure didn’t know where youth ministry or our little company was headed. All we knew was that God was somehow inviting us into this thing. It’s been a wild ride—and one that I hope continues for a long, long time.” If Mike only knew how much wilder the ride would get… In the last decade we’ve experienced fast growth, the death of Mike…Read More
Recent Articles
How Can I Find a New Church: Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum Free Sample
by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin Posted in Adolescent DevelopmentFeatured ArticleFree ResourcesProgrammingTrainingThe Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum is a 10-session journey exploring everything from the gospel and faith identity development to how to plan for the party scene at campus. In the sample session you can download free below, you can tackle with students the important question, How can I find a…Read More
Free: Faceplant Videos from CrowdControlGames
Posted in Free ResourcesProgrammingAs seen at the 2011 National Youth Workers Convention. Take a picture of someone with your phone and put them in the action of a movie with a set of free videos from CrowdControlGames.com.
Free Graphics from NYWC 2011
Posted in Featured ArticleFree ResourcesDownload free graphics from NYWC 2011! Get graphics, videos, get everything!
Introducing YS Thought Partners
by Mark Matlock Posted in ArticlesOne of the challenges leading a youth ministry community is staying on top of all that is happening in the field. We know that in order to keep up YS must partner with strategic thought leaders in youth ministry. I'm well aware that we are "better together." Inviting Doug Fields…Read More
Free Bible Study: Adventurously Expectant
Posted in Featured ArticleFree ResourcesYouth Worker DevelopmentWe are so excited that our friends at InWord Resources have put together this Bible study based on the 2011 National Youth Workers Convention theme. We hope that it helps connect you with what God is doing this year in lives at the convention. It includes 2 personal lessons for you, plus 2 lessons you can use as lessons in your youth group.
Dr. Kara Powell Joins the YS Team
Posted in ArticlesFeatured ArticleWe're very excited to announce a new member to our growing YS Team. Starting this week at NYWC in San Diego, Dr. Kara Powell, Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) joins the YS Leadership team as an Advisor. Kara joins Doug Fields on the growing team Mark Matlock has assembled to lead the next generation of YS. "I am so excited about Kara joining the YS team," Matock said, "We are so privileged to have her insight and input."
YS Looks to the Future
Posted in ArticlesFeatured ArticleYouth Worker DevelopmentThe journey Youth Specialties has taken over the years is a lot like a roller coaster ride. The co-founder of YS, Mike Yaconelli, once said, “We sure didn’t know where youth ministry or our little company was headed. All we knew was that God was somehow inviting us into this…Read More
Stories of Redemption
by Jon Huckins Posted in Featured ArticleYouth Worker DevelopmentAs I write this, I am traveling internationally seeking to build common ground between two people groups who have demonized one another through polarizing rhetoric and histories of resentment. Behind the caricatures I am amazed at the dynamic human stories of hope and perseverance that share so much in…Read More
An Interview with Jared Herd of XP3 Students
by Adam McLane Posted in Featured ReviewResource and Book ReviewsAt Youth Specialties we are always on the lookout for ministry resources that are excellent. While we love our own products we fully recognize that there are fantastic resources available to youth workers that aren't published by YS. Recently, I had the opportunity to catch-up with Jared Herd, the Creative Director of XP3 Students. XP3 has taken the idea of curriculum development for youth ministry to a whole different level of engagement with in-the-trenches youth workers. Here's my interview with Jared.
What the Tornado Taught Me
by Cameron Cole Posted in Featured ArticleYouth Worker DevelopmentAfter serving as youth director at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, AL for six years, Thursday, April 28, 2011 will go down as my scariest day of youth ministry. My morning involved contacting thirty-five youth group alumni currently enrolled at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the…Read More
Recent Articles & Blogs
Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum with DVD
10 Lessons to Nurture Faith Beyond High School
