Lead a Weblog for Young Adult Leaders

Break the norm this holiday season. Instead of scratching your head about what to buy family members or friends who already have everything, consider packing a shoe box for a needy child in their honor through Operation Christmas Child. Millions of children around the world are waiting to hear the good news of God’s love, and simple gift-filled shoeboxes are breaking down barriers in places where the gospel has previously been blocked. Do something a little different this Christmas—go shopping for shoe boxes and change a child’s life for eternity.

A teacher who lectures is undoubtedly very prepared, very educated, and very willing to dispense information. But real learning and real life transformation comes when a teacher’s information ceases to be their information and starts to be someone else’s information. And that doesn’t happen through lecture. It happens through discovery.

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?

Have you ever been to a shooting range? Everyone is trying to hit the bull’s-eye. How do we, as ministers, know if we’re hitting the mark and “winning” in discipleship?

Defining a small group is a difficult task. Over the last 20 or so years, variations on the theme have become norm. The information in this article unveils the basics of a biblically-driven small group—those things that should be consistent in any group type.

Most people know what to expect when they enter their local church on any given Sunday. Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian—it doesn’t matter. Even those churches who pride themselves on being “different” most often have a certain way of doing things, from dress to worship style to music. And that’s fine—until people begin to see those things as an essential part of their experience with God. At that point the system becomes a fundamentally flawed strategy.

The first month of school shapes collegiate ministry for the entire year. Sure, God can and does move in October or April, but typically what does or doesn’t happen the first month of the university year matters in October and in April. Students set their patterns the first three weeks of Fall semester. They often decide quickly where they’ll park, when they’ll eat, who they’ll spend time with, and whether or not they’ll be involved in church or campus ministry. Bam! Decided. Tuesday/Thursday schedule set. Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule set. Collegiate ministries have a key window of opportunity to enter into a student’s life during the first month of the year.

In Dan Pink’s talk at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), he unpacks surprising research about what motivates people. What the research reveals will force you to think differently about leadership and teamwork in your career, your life, and your ministry.

My favorite air to breathe is fall air on a college campus. Believe it or not, fall and the arrival of students, new and returning, is here! Football players, resident assistants, sorority recruitment leaders, and band members are likely on your campus right now. Others will quickly follow! Wooo Hooo!

It’s summer and you may be planning what’s going to happen in the young adult ministry in your church this fall and into next year. You may be totally focused on all matters of high spiritual value. Let me give you one word of advice: Build in some fun.