Lead a Weblog for Young Adult Leaders

Paul had a somewhat tenuous relationship with the Galatians. He loved them, but when they abandoned the gospel for a hybrid of Christianity, he had to come down on them. Hard. And through the first three chapters, Paul is angry, irritated, and direct. But in chapter 4, his tone starts to ease up a bit.

One of the four markers we talk about in young adult ministry is “depth.” Depth of Bible study is more than just knowing the whos and whats, of the Bible; it’s also being able to talk about and wrestle with the whys. The goal of depth is not just intellectual stimulation; true depth is measured by the level of encounter one has with the information.

One of the markers of young adult ministry we talk about often is “connection.” When we say connection, we’re talking primarily about intergenerational ministry—the connection and relationships between young adults and those who have been before them in life and ministry, and generations younger than them who young adults have the chance to influence. Mentoring relationships are one of the best ways for intergenerational ministry to happen. But what actually makes an effective mentoring relationship?

A large Sunday School class or ministry offers some interesting rewards while simultaneously posing a few unique challenges. On the one hand, there is great energy in most large crowds, so getting people to talk, have a good time, feel they are not alone … this is easy for you. On the other hand, though, you have some real, significant relational challenges. Every leader has a relationship capacity—that number of people who they can know well and by whom they feel known well.

For as long as I can remember, I have heard this saying: “If you get the girls to come to church, the guys will follow.” For several years I believed that saying and even have a number of friends who followed girls to church and ended up becoming great men of faith. Unfortunately, most of the ministries I’ve known over the years have had tremendous women involved and serving, but still the group struggled to have consistent male connectivity. So, I wonder if the old adage is really true?

I have a big wooden word sitting on my desk as I do Threads work every day here in Nashville. It’s seven letters, all caps, and it screams at you as you walk in the door:
BELIEVE.

Just about every person who walks through my door points to it and asks me about it.

Starting a small group ministry will move your church members beyond “doing church” to “being the church.” And when followers of Jesus are being the church, those not-yet-followers of Christ can’t help but notice (Acts 2:47).

There are six important steps to starting a healthy small group ministry.

Don’t touch sin. Don’t even think about it. It will take down your life so quickly and so horribly that you won’t even know who or what hit you. If you think you’re above your own self-destruction, you’re probably already heading to the slaughter. But if you’re a leader who, like me, acknowledges you’re always just inches from lapsing headlong into destruction from sin, here’s what you can do.

In 1940, author Thomas Wolfe declared, “You can’t go home again,” and yet, every summer, thousands of college students make a valiant effort to prove him wrong. Summer provides a unique opportunity for ministry, but as students return and attempt to readjust to life at home, integrating them back into your group is often easier said than done. As the school year ends and homecomings ensue, be sure to keep these keys in mind as you seek to reconnect with your returnees.

Worn out by doing ministry alone? Want your ministry with young adults to last? How do you dive beyond the ‘fun event’ into true substance in your teaching? Threads author, Mike Harder, discusses some of the difficulties and challenges facing this tasks.