Youth Ministry

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How did Jesus do it? For the first year and a half of Jesus’ ministry, it seems that his primary focus was on building relationships—helping the disciples know and love him more and helping them know and love one another more. Jesus advanced this strategy by providing environments in which such loving relationships would grow and thrive. This is an effective strategy for youth ministry. See Building young believers, by Ted Johnston

We need help! It’s a tough world. The devil, our fallen nature, a self-centered and materialistic culture, all are having a powerful effect on a vast segment of the population, and nowhere is this more evident than among young people. As adults, our best intentions in working with youths are not good enough. Ultimately, the battle for the hearts, minds and souls of (young) people is spiritual. See Youth ministry - the importance of prayer, by Jeb Egbert

The lone ranger. I scan the current youth ministry horizon, I don’t think I’m alone in pretending to be a one-person team. Far too many youth workers I know do it every week. They are working diligently to make sure their youth group is welcoming, encouraging, and inspiring. Some are very good at it, but they are often tired individual players, on the verge of injury and near defeat. See Playing as a team, by Kara Eckmann Powell

We also have a series of youth ministry articles written by Ted Johnston and Jeb Egbert: