5 Myths About Fundraising
The Fear of Fundraising Whenever we ask our missionaries, “What was your biggest hesitation to joining our team?” the answer is always fundraising. Even though they knew they were called by God to this ministry and saw others living joyfully as fully-funded missionaries, for some reason, there was still so much fear around the reality […]
Preach the Gospel
This past semester at St. Joseph’s, the middle school group focused on the sacred scripture. We started with basics, how the Church formed the Bible and what books make it up. Then we zeroed in on the gospels, learned what parables were, and looked at a number of Jesus’ teachings and miracles. We also talked […]
Continuing the Conversation
This post is based off of thoughts and reflections resulting from How Not to Hijack Your Youth. I encourage you to read that post, which shares how to facilitate discussions on controversial topics found in music, movies, or other media. The youth are able to think critically in a setting that allows for open and honest discussion. […]
Those Turds
Maybe it’s just our ministries and you don’t have this problem, but we have some unique children in our programs that we lovingly refer to as “turds”. I sincerely mean that. We love them, but their behavior stinks. It’s ok though, they’re keeping us all on our toes, as well as sometimes on our last […]
Hope for the Holidays
I love everything about Christmas: the giving of gifts, the traditions, the holiday movies, the music, the lights on the houses, the smell of the tree, the wonder and innocence, the Christmas story… the list goes on and on. But what I think I love most about Christmas is the way that God moves so […]
One Body and One Spirit
Last week we had our monthly Middle School Family Dinner at St. Joseph’s parish. We talked about the negative and positive pressure of our peers and the value of true friends. If you take those things a little bit deeper, we were really getting at the need for good community, for a group of people […]
The Missionary Life
I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. I guess I thought it would be just like any other job transition, or change, or promotion, where you’re given a new title and things shift a little bit. Just a little bit. What I didn’t realize, was that a slight change is never what […]
Tell Them A Jesus Kind of Truth
Sometimes, I think we make ministry way more complicated than it needs to be. We agonize over curriculum, content, and delivery, and while these things are important, they should not be our focus. When they are, I think we miss out on the simplicity of what God is actually asking us to do as ministers. […]
7 Steps to Empower Your Team to Give Great Talks
Part of our job in ministry is to equip others to evangelize. One of the ways we can help our volunteers do that is to have them give talks at our youth nights or on our retreats. You have the potential to empower and equip your volunteers to give great talks. This will help them become […]
For When You Don’t Feel Like It
The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness. — Pope Benedict XVI I have a confession to make. Rarely, do I feel like doing ministry. I don’t feel bad in telling you this. I told some of my youth this the other day during small group. […]