Martyrdom and Narcissism
Last Tuesday, Fr. Jacques Hamel gave his life for Jesus Christ. Fr. Jacques was martyred by two jihadists in a Catholic church in Normandy during the sacred liturgy. Shockwaves flew through first world countries by this tragedy so uncommon in these areas. Our surprise should not be so great. According to Christianity.com, more Christians have […]
4 things I learned about Evangelization from Vacation Bible School
This past week our church hosted Cave Quest VBS. It was an outstanding adventure… and a significant amount of work. Here are a few lessons I learned about Evangelization from Vacation Bible School. Evangelization is Joy-filled At the morning VBS meeting, the leaders reminded the volunteers that the energy they bring is the energy that […]
Jesus gives us hope… Follow Him
Sound familiar? If you’ve had any connection to summer Vacation Bible School at your parish, you or the people around you might have heard this message from the very first day. Psalm 71:5 says “For you, O Lord, are my hope.” We teach this to the children at an early age and need to be reminded […]
YM Exposed: Things I Never Thought I’d Do
Whenever you began your youth ministry career you had hopes and aspirations. You may have been excited to lead teens to Christ, catechize them on the truths of the faith, and build relationships with them. You probably expected some joys and challenges to take place like teens encountering Christ, occasional difficulties with co-workers or parents, […]
The Problem with Youth Ministry is that it is an Adolescent Itself
Youth ministry is not perfect. Many blogs have recently pointed out the problems Youth Ministry has. It tries to be the primary catechist and takes Sunday nights away from families. It’s not mentioned in the bible and does not have a great retention rate. It cannot hold the same authority that the parents or pastors […]
Why Youth Ministers Need to Miss Youth Group
Every year I have a youth group session where I’m intentionally not there. That’s right, I miss it on purpose. I set it up to occur in the fall semester, usually October or November. Some might think that by missing youth group I’m not doing my job, but by missing that session I’m able to do my […]
What do Gorilla Crawls have to do with Struggles?
The “Gorilla Crawl” and the “Frog Burpee” are two of the newest exercises that I tried this past week. The trainer, on my DVD, described the exercise and how to do it. Then the lady on the video demonstrated it. I told the TV straight up “nah, I can’t do that!!” I, then, thought to […]
4 Strategies to Confidence in Ministry
Busted! My wife and I have caught our children doing something wrong on multiple occasions. Getting them to fess up to it follows a similar pattern. “Did you break the dish?” “No.” “Sweetheart, I want you to tell the truth, did you break the dish?” You can see the inner struggle growing on their face […]
5 Simple Steps to Create Engaging Talks
You’ve worked on your talk for weeks in prayer and preparation. You’re excited to deliver the Truth of Christ to the youth. Then, as you’re passionately speaking, you look out to see a room filled with glazed over eyes. They have completely checked out. We’ve all been there. Here’s 5 ways to keep your audience […]
Hold Out the Mic, It’s Not Your Ministry
I’m starting with a rant. I love going to concerts but I am bothered when the lead singer holds out the microphone and makes the audience sing. Yes, I know the song, but I also know how horrible I sound. I paid to see them perform the song, not for the artist to watch me […]