Counseling

A Christian Failure: Thoughts from a Former Kid on the Fringe By Renee Altson

When we don't honestly have the desire to reach out to certain types of kids, what do we do, then? How can we bring our hearts closer in line with God's heart for the unlovable, forgotten, broken outcasts in our midst?
A Parents' Perspective: Ministry to Teenagers with Disabilities By John Nixdorf

Thirteen-year-old Shawn was about to make the jump from middle school to high school in her church youth ministry. Shawn was also nearly legally blind and developmentally disabled. Concerned for her physical, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing, her dad met with the youth pastor to brief him on Shawn's situation and discuss what kind of accommodations could be made for her. The youth pastor responded, "Most youth groups aren't equipped to deal with teens with disabilities." Subsequent events, inaction, and inattention proved that this youth group would be no exception.
Beyond Pat Answers By Renee Altson

"Pat answers are dangerous. They minimize our God and they minimize us. They turn our religion into something that God never intended for it. And they diminish our light in the world."
Carrying Our Baggage: Healing Ourselves before Healing Our Kids By Steve Case

Sometimes we have to put down our own baggage in order to carry our kids into Jesus' healing embrace.
Cutting: Understanding the Self-Mutilation of Teenagers By Kelli Woodard

I'm not an expert on cutting. However, as a youth worker, I have bandaged the wounds, taken a razor blade out of the hand of a teenage girl, driven a teen to the emergency room for stitches, and talked with various teens about their self-mutilation. I'm not alone in my experiences. Anyone working with today's youth encounters the self-mutilation issue.
Fragile Strangers: Our Part in the Restoration Story By Denise McKinney

"For the next 18 years, over 80 children lived with my family. Some stayed for just a few days; others stayed for years. It was during these years of growing up with children and teenagers whose lives were damaged by abuse and neglect, fragmented by instability, and vulnerable to self-destruction that God branded my heart for them."
Helping Teens through Grief By Jo-Ann Buckler-Dollins

Teens deal with grief differently than adults—and aren't as equipped to deal with it. Which is why youth workers need to understand this tough subject and learn how to help their students through it.
In the Aftermath: Processing Trauma through the Lens of Lament By Kara Powell and Brad Griffin

"The kids we care about don't know how to process the trauma they encounter."
Lessons from the Ranch: Wisdom from 30 years of Work with Seriously Emotionally Disturbed Youth By John and Carolyn Jamison

The Jamisons share about seriously emotionally disturbed (SED) youth from their 30 years of experience at Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, a pioneering residential treatment facility located near Billings, Montana, that currently cares for more than 600 young people.
Lost Boy: The Journey to Healing from Childhood Sexual Abuse By Gareth Brandt

Gareth Brandt reveals how he journeyed to a place of healing from his experiences of childhood sexual abuse and how that path has affected his current ministry.
Mentoring: The Key to Engaging and Impacting Kids on the Fringe By Steve Gonzales

"You don't deserve to dream." I remember reading that message on the T-shirt of one of my boys as we prepared to leave for summer camp. He was just stepping on the bus as we headed to an urban outreach camp that I've been involved with for 10 years. The bearer of this remarkable statement was a young man I'd met and befriended at school. This camp was his introduction to "Christian" camping-or any camping, for that matter.
Ministry in the Midst of Pain By Ben Polhemus

As youth pastors hide their own pain, they miss significant, authentic ministry opportunities with kids.
Parenting the Parentless: Ministry to Emotionally Abandoned Students By Steve Gerali

Some practical steps youth workers can take when standing in the gap and mentoring teens who've been burned by absentee dads and moms.
Reflections on Capernaum: My "Special" Week at Crooked Creek By Will Penner

Out of the blue I was invited to Crooked Creek Young Life camp near Winter Park, Colorado, to be a part of their Capernaum week.
Renovatus: What Do We Do with Our Own Grief? By Steve Gerali

Renovatus: a Latin word meaning restore, rebuild, or renew.
Stories of Kids on the Fringe By Tiffany Marshall

One of the most difficult things in discussing students in our youth groups whom we might call "fringe kids" is distinguishing between those students who are on the fringe and those who are not.
The Birth of Capernaum: Where 'the Least of These' Is Not Just a Spiritual Metaphor By Nick Pallermo

The national director for Young Life's Capernaum ministries shares insight into how anyone can be an effective youth worker for kids with special needs.
The Evil Among Us: Helping Youth Leaders Identify and Address Domestic Abuse By Karla Yaconelli

"Who abuses children? Parents teachers, family, friends, babysitters, Sunday school teachers, policemen, ministers, youth workers—domestic abuse crosses all socioeconomic, ethnic, racial, educational, age, gender, and religious lines." What we must and mustn't do about it.
The Inescapable Privilege By Tony Campolo

It's not if you'll counsel, but when.
The Right Kind of Kids By Steve Case

"Mildred Fleener, who has been at this church since 1809, graciously volunteered to create a sub-committee on youth activities and came up with the following list of suggestions on which kinds of kids may not be entirely appropriate for our church."
Turning the Tide of Risky Teen Behavior By Saleem Ghubril

Today's kids are becoming "adults" more quickly than ever—and have fewer adults to guide them. But the resources to help at-risk teens are out there—and it's up to youth workers to find and implement them.
You Are It By Chuck Lauver

"All of us in student ministry understand that the calling upon our lives is filled with both joy and pain--both of which affect the way we minister to students."