Recent Articles
Nov 13, 2008 Answering Their Questions, Ben, Staff Writer, Tools
I have recently begun helping teach Sunday school for 5th and 6th grade boys. My first week, we were sitting in a little closet that we had shuffled the ruffians into in order to get them to pay attention to the fifteen minute lesson. We were talking about the Gospel and salvation when one of the boys blurts out, “Mr. Earl, where do babies go when they die? They can’t go to heaven because they’re not saved.” If you’re shocked, imagine the look on Mr. Earl’s face! I won’t tell you how he responded because that’s not the purpose of this article. My point is that you will be asked these questions and as a Christian you need to have thought through these issues from the Bible.
      Having said that, the Bible does not address the issue of where babies go when they die. The honest answer to the question is the answer that we are often afraid to give: we don’t know. There is an obscure verse in 2 Samuel 12:23 which some have cited as proof that babies who die go to heaven. David says of his dead child that “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” David may be referring to heaven or he may be talking simply of the impossibility of bringing his child back to life. This verse could contain either meaning but you cannot draw any solid, exegetical conclusions from this passage because it is obscure. If you give a positive affirmation based on this sole verse you’ll be going beyond what the text is saying.
       In the end, the Christian is left to rely on the character of our loving, sovereign God Who does no injustice. The scriptures contain everything that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) and therefore, for dealing with this issue. We often torture and bend the text in order to prove that this verse is true while we willfully ignore the fact that God has not seen fit to answer every question. He is not obligated to. But we can trust in His character and Who He has revealed Himself to be. And that, friends, must be enough.
Nov 12, 2008 Ray, Staff Writer, Technology in Ministry
Lately I’ve been finding lots of really interesting stuff on the internet. When I say, “interesting stuff” I don’t mean meaningless-viral-video-type-stuff, I mean truly-worthwhile-internet-technology-that-will-impact-you-ministry-now-type-stuff. I want to share all this stuff with you, but there’s a lot of it and it’s all kinda random. I spent quite a while trying to organize it in some logical format to deliver it to you… but it’s just not happening. So in lue of any organizational system whatsoever, we’re just going to have a Link Party! I’m going to throw as many of these links at you as I possibly can.
All of these things (websites, downloads, internet technologies) are (in my opinion) very valuable finds. They all have tremendous ministry potential, and I bring them to you in the hopes that you can utilize some or all of them right away. You can look for these and many others on the Ministry Tech Page. There’s a lot of good finds on that page from all of our writers.
Okay, on to the links.
Scribd is an online document sharing website. We are all familiar with video sharing sites like YouTube and photo sharing sites like Flickr, but document sharing is mostly unknown. Scribd is the first such site (that I’ve found) with any realistic practical value. Anyone can sign up for a free account and upload their documents. It is a ministry tool, because those documents are available to anyone for preview or download. There are literally thousands of documents on hundreds of different topics. If there is something specific that you’d like to learn about, (like… video editing) Scribd probably has a document that can get you started for 100% less money than buying a book on Amazon.
Planning Center Online is an absolute gem that I discovered yesterday. We all deal with the headaches of building an order of service, recruiting volunteers, selecting worship songs, communicating with everyone involved. What if there was one source for all of that communication. My problem with service planning is usually the disconnect between scheduling and communication. I can schedule, and I can communicate. But I struggle to communicate what I’ve scheduled to everyone who needs to know. Planning Center Online watches my back. It’s like having a personal assistant for service planning. There is a great video tutorial/introduction that explains it all. Watch, and be amazed. I certainly was.
Everyone needs to know about Alltop. If you’ve never heard of Alltop, it’s basically an online magazine rack. Alltop categorizes and tracks ALL the TOP stories online in hundreds of different categories. You might have noticed the Alltop badge in our sidebar. MinistryLIVE was recently picked up by Alltop, and we are now listed in the “Modern Church” section of Alltop. (which is sweet!) I visit Alltop just about every day in search of something or another. Often, I visit just to see what’s being talked about. It’s a great way to get an “at-a-glance” preview of what’s hot right now.
CreativeMYK is a photo sharing site like Flickr with an emphasis on Christian photos, church graphics and worship backgrounds. Anyone involved in ministry needs this kind of stuff on a regular basis, and CreativeMYK is a very large source that is totally for free.
The Church Media Community is a forum all about… well… church media. Surprise, I know. There is a lot of great collaboration and discussion happening all the time on Church Media. If you get involved, you’re sure to learn something, make a new friend and probably both.
If you have any links to share, I’d love to hear about it. Why don’t you leave it in the comments, and we can really turn this into a party.
Nov 11, 2008 Book Review, Discipleship, Staff Writer, Tyler
Organic Disciplemaking is a book dedicated to looking at what the bible actually says about discipleship and fleshing that out in a practical way. It truly is a powerful ministry tool. Dennis McCallum is pastor of Xenos Christian Fellowship a 4500 member church in Columbus Ohio. This church is based around house churches, they say “Long before home groups became popular in American Christianity, Xenos was based entirely on home churches. In fact, we began with home churches years before we had large meetings. Still today, we view home groups as essential to developing close friendships and personal discipleship as prescribed in the New Testament, and more people attend our home gropu meetings than our large central teachings.
Their approach is a unique one based on people reaching out to those within their sphere of influence and discipling them. Their entire church and all of their ministries are founded on radical organic discipleship. Dennis and his daughter Jessica the other author, have been discipling people for years and their combined experience is weighty.
If you want to learn the basics of discipleship you should read this book! Even if you have been discipling for years and “know your way around the discipleship block” you should still read this book. There is a wealth of information on every aspect of discipleship. And while many of the topics discussed in this book are basic they are things we don’t often think about. Things we do like making connections with people, but when we think about them and seek to evaluate these areas we can really increase our discipleship effectiveness.
This book will also help give you a great biblical foundation for why you do what you do in discipleship. Many times God has led me to certain convictions on how to go about discipleship that I didn’t have scripture to prove. This book is replete with scriptural examples to back up their “tactical” suggestions on how to be more effective in dealing with people in a discipleship relationship.
Finally if you want straight up practical strategies on how to be more effective in connecting with people, relating to them, and changing them for God’s glory then this book is a must read! It’s greatest strength is the combined experience of the authors, and they do an amazing job at relating their experience to you so that you can learn from their mistakes and success and make your discipleship more effective.
Everyone needs to read this book! Discipleship is the essence of ministry, and whether you have never discipled someone before or you have extensive experience there is much to learn from this book and the approach to discipleship that the authors take. Don’t hesitate buy this book immediately! The only problem with this book, is its ugly cover! But don’t judge this book by its cover, it is a must read.
Nov 6, 2008 Ben, Discipleship, Staff Writer
I’ve been thinking about an old proverb for the past few days: “give a man a fish and you’ve fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you’ve fed him for a lifetime.” Whenever I hear someone say this or if I say it out loud to myself, I chuckle a little because this simple concept has profound implications for how we do ministry.
The effective ministry ends when the ministers give up on teaching their congregation how to think and start giving them rules. This is most clearly seen in the Church when a newly saved person begins coming to church. They may have a filthy-mouths, hands, and hair. They may be hot tempered or porn addicts. Then some saint comes in to save the day by filling in the new convert on the rules that he or she should follow. These rules may even be drawn from biblical principles but, instead of truth and instruction from the scriptures, we give them rules. Here’s what I’m getting at: sometimes, in the midst of our good intentions and actions, we still enslave and perpetuate our people in a welfare ministry, where the flock is dependant on the pastor to give them a fish.
Effective ministry is reignited when we preach and teach the ones whom we are ministering to how to think and examine the scriptures for themselves. Remember the old proverb: “give a man a fish and you’ve fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you’ve fed him for a lifetime.” One of the distinguishing beliefs of the Christian faith is that every man is a priest and has open access to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:9-10; 1 Tim. 2:5). Preaching and teaching once or twice per week is not enough - you must teach your people how to approach, read, interpret, and preach the Word of God. Teach them to teach others how to teach others how to teach other, etc. (2 Tim. 2:2). What does this look like, my fellow ministers? Let me suggest three things:
1) We must change how we preach. As you read and exposit the scriptures before your congregation, stress the importance of daily reading and study. Give homework assignments to them.
2) Start training a few men who will train a few more. Teach them to read well and to think well (reading, studying, and service.)
3) Offer classes that teach Christians how to read and interpret their Bible critically in light of its context and genre.Teach them to read and think through the Bible with the goal of understanding.
Brothers, teach them to think.              Â
Nov 5, 2008 Book Review, Brandon, Discipleship, Personal Growth, Staff Writer, Youth Ministry
Coming through bible school, there are many names that you will hear again and again when it comes to bible scholars. Something I’ve learned, however, is that no matter how much a certain person is praised or put down, one should never judge the author or theologian based on what one hears.
C.S. Lewis is one of those common names. While I’ve heard a great deal about him, both good and bad, I’m sad to say that I had never read a non-fiction book by him. Coming to a book like Mere Christianity gave me a really great idea of what kind of writer, and more importantly, what kind of man, he was.
Lewis starts off with a section describing what his aim for the book. He is not trying to focus on one particular viewe of christianity (whether Anglican, Catholic, or baptist), rather he is trying to cover that which all of the view have in common. Something that would apply no matter which christian church you walked in to. I think Lewis does an admirable job of this save the one section where he seems to mention that taking communion is part of salvation.
The book is derrived from a series of talks he gave first live, then on a radio broadcast. Mere Christianity is meant as an apologetic, however I believe it serves many different purposes depending upon who is reading. For example, much of the beginning of the book is very logical and argues for a moral law that supercedes time and society. He then moves to cover a creator and then what that creator must be like. Lewis’ genius shine brightly here as he weaves intracate thoughts and ideas together with seemless logic. While I can’t say that I agreed with everything in this section, I did find myself consistently nodding my head as I followed what he was saying or adding an affirming, “Ahhhhh… I see…” as a certain point clicked in my understanding.
The real value of the book to me though, was the later sections that spoke about becoming like Christ. Lewis presents spiritual truth in ways that I had never heard before. They are spelled out and organized so clearly and powerfully that they resonated deep in me and showed me areas where I needed to make changes.
While I didn’t agree with everything in the book, I came away enlightened and blessed. I would heartily recommend Mere Christianity to anyone in ministry as a tool for others’ lives, or their own.
Nov 4, 2008 Discipleship, Staff Writer, Tyler
Most of us look at confrontation as a necessary evil. Sort of like spinach, or broccoli; sometimes you just have to swallow hard and hope it gets past your taste buds without contact. Many times we think of confrontation that way, we have to do it, so let’s just get it over with as soon as possible and maybe we can get through unscathed. But the problem is this view of confrontation doesn’t fit with the heart of God, nor does it work in real life. This attitude (that I often have had) only causes us to shirk our responsibility and leave the words unsaid and the truth untold. It causes us to turn our backs to sin because confrontation is too “hard” or the relationship is too valuable to us.
The more I am involved in ministry the more God teaches me that it is all about confrontation. Let me explain. If ministry is all about helping people grow towards Christ-like character and every person is supremely sinful then what will ministry be about most of the time? Confrontation! Most of the time I am operating in a sinful mode and have some area of sin in my life that needs to be confronted either by myself through the conviction of the Holy Spirit or through my Discipler through direct confrontation. When we are ministering to others these same operating principles are in affect. Every person we minister to has some area of sin in their life that needs to be addressed, when that area is identified it can then be “targeted for removal” through repentance and God’s grace. But if we don’t confront that area of sin that person cannot move forward in their Christian life.
So if we look at confrontation as this great evil, or at least as a bad tasting vegetable (if spinach is even classified as a vegetable and not pond scum) then very clearly we will be disliking the very essence of ministry. Please don’t misunderstand; I am not saying that we should be confronting people 24/7 (because we definitely could) but I am saying that confrontation is like the muscle behind the ministry machine; it keeps it going in the right direction and moving quickly and accurately.
There are two passages that we often use to talk about confrontation and they are very clear on how we need to go about it but the problem is we don’t apply them liberally. Because our view of confrontation is so tainted we tend to apply these passages stringently and put copious amounts of rules on top of them so that we can wriggle our way out of their principles and rarely have to confront anyone! The first passage is Matthew 18:15-17. This passage sets up two principles; the first is when someone sins against us personally we are to go to that person and settle it one on one, and then one on two and so forth until it must be brought before the whole church. This passage sets for us the example that we must first seek to handle our issues one on one and second it shows us the process that confrontation is to take. When confronting any issue we slowly work the issue up the ladder of people who are responsible for that one’s spiritual life (pastor, leader, deacon, friend etc).
The other passage is Ephesians 4:15 which, in context, is directly speaking about how to accomplish ministry (this passage is the ultimate ministry tool) it shows us that confrontation (”speaking the truth”) must be done in love. Here, I believe, is the key. Let’s look at these two things separately.
First truth: The truth of the matter is not always what it seems. In some cases the truth of a matter can be as obvious as, “I saw you sin. You need to confess that sin and repent of it.” But in many other cases the truth may be less obvious such as, “you seem to spend a lot of time doing this, when you could be using that time to study your bible.”
Excuse number 1: This is a truth that is not obviously sin. We often use this excuse because the Matthew 18 passage says “if your brother sins,” so we think as long as whatever they are doing is not “blatant” sin than we do not have to confront them. But Ephesians 4 does not let us off the hook. Our confrontation is to be any truth that this person needs to hear to bring them to growth in Christ-like character. That is a vast amount of truth and most of the time it is the truth that is not obvious that becomes the most vital, if it was obvious most likely they wouldn’t need someone to confront them! Also the most import things to confront are often the subtle sins of pride or selfishness that are more aptly detected through patterns than actual specific behaviors.
The second truth is that speaking of the truth must be done in love. Here I believe is where we have gotten it wrong. What I must remind myself, and what I must ingrain in my being is that speaking the truth is the most loving thing I can do for someone. If someone is in sin, or is not experiencing God’s best in their life what they need more than anything else is confrontation! The thing God desires for the sinning brother over any other is confrontation! It is a privilege to have the opportunity to loving take someone aside and confront them about an issue in their life for if they reject you they are only rejecting God and if they repent than you have just been used as an instrument of repentance in God’s kingdom!
Confrontation is a sign of love. When we loving speak truth into someone’s life it shows that we care enough about them to do everything in our power to bring them back to God. This is the best life for them and in that way shows our care and concern for their well being. They may not enjoy it at the time but many times after I have confronted someone and they have repented our relationship has grown closer than could have ever been before.
Excuse number 2: I might lose my relationship with this person and God doesn’t want that. This is a hurtle we must all over come and that is the fear of man. The truth of confrontation is that God desires we confront no matter the cost, He would rather our relationship be broken for the sake of truth in love than to let sin be ignored! Would we agree to drink alcohol if it meant losing our relationship with someone, probably not. In that situation our obedience overrides the importance of that relationship. Or in other words our relationship to God which is affected directly by disobedience is more important than our relationship with that person. So why would confrontation be any different? God desires obedience and when we choose not to confront we are choosing to disobey and God cares little about our “reasons for disobedience.”
If we look at confrontation as a privilege and not a plight it will change our whole outlook on ministry. When God taught me this perspective I believe my entire ministry was turned upside down. For if I am avoiding and putting off confrontation then I am not seeking the heart of ministry nor the heart of God which is Christ-likeness achieved through speaking truth into the life of someone I am spiritually responsible for. From God’s perspective sin hurts Him, and even more, it hurts Him to see His son or daughter far from Him and His blessing. If I can catch the heart of God and see sin through His eyes I will run to that person and beg that they repent of their sin so that they can be restored to fellowship with Him. Ironically the number one thing I find myself confronting my disciplees about is that they do not want to confront people!
Nov 3, 2008 Lindsey, Staff Writer
If you’re like the majority of America, you’re thinking about it. It’s on the tip of everyone’s tongue, and of course, beating at the edge of our brains. So, let’s talk about the election.
Few things fire up our emotions like religion or politics. You bring up one of these topics and you’ve just turned your afternoon tea into a long winded debate. Despite the risk, today I’m going to talk about them both…and the way they relate to one another. Because, when we look into the Word of God, we find such a strong correlation.
I am not going to discuss obedience to government. I am simply focusing on the sovereignty of God regarding established government.
Let’s begin by taking a look at Romans 13:1-2.
“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
We are commanded to submit to the authority that God has placed over us. This includes the government.
What this DOES NOT mean:
It does not mean that the government is living by Biblical principles.
It does not mean we have to approve or agree with the decision.
What this DOES mean:
God has placed them in their position to accomplish His purpose.
We do not have to agree with what the government does. Let’s remember that the majority of these men do not know the Lord, so we cannot expect them to make decisions that would honor and glorify Him.
Isaiah 46:10 says: Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’.
What does this verse mean? God wins. What He wills to happen is what will take place. You can rest assured that nothing surprises Him.
What’s this mean for the election?
Ultimately, no matter your vote, the will of God will prevail. And we can kick and scream all we want, but what good will it do? Let me tell you: none. No matter how godly or ungodly the man in the white house is, or corrupt the senate may be, or crooked the politician in your town, we can stand together on one truth: God is in control. Everything that happens is working together for His ultimate plan. Nothing is a surprise or a mistake to God.
Now, I am patriotic. and I know that the man in the white house can either make or break a nation. Can either lead America on a path of destruction and decline or promise and potential. But I don’t foresee any man singlehandedly, or with the help of other politicians, members of the senate and congress, changing the world that we live in.
And It’s time we stop expecting them to.
It’s our tendency to get fired up about politics. and with good reason. This is our country and our future. But let me ask you this; how concerned are you with making the necessary changes in your life? Are you seeking to actively make the changes in your spiritual life that will make all the difference in who the Lord is making, breaking and changing you into?
I recently heard a song by Derek Webb, called Savior on Capitol Hill. in His words, ‘we’ll never have a savior on capitol hill.’
This made me think really hard. Sometimes I believe we sit back and complain about the government, and the politicians. And we worry and concern ourselves, and all to no avail. We cannot change the outcome of this election. Grant it, many elections have been won by one vote, or several. But understand this: you will not change the election. It is your responsibility to vote. But it is also your responsibility to be effecting positive change where you can.
No matter your vote, don’t expect your candidate to change the world, to reverse our direction or fix all our problems. No person will be the Savior of America. There is only one Savior, His name is Jesus Christ, and He is the Savior of the world. And He reigns.
So, maybe it’s time we stop complaining, and start praying. With all that’s happening in the world, it’s time for us to get serious. Perhaps this is what the Christians of America need to learn: to rely on God. To step up to the plate. Perhaps it’s time for America to get off the couch, and get on our knees. This election day, not only should you vote, but you should pray.
Nov 1, 2008 Perspective, Staff Writer
It seems to me that the reason I do daily bible study or daily devotions is to further my relationship with God. Now, a relationship is not something that takes place once a day for an hour or for 20 minutes before bed. Thus, my personal bible study should be something that not only helps me learn about and know God, it should be something that brings me to a place where I can continue my day walking consistently with God in each situation and moment from then on. This is a large part of why I aim to do my personal bible study in the morning. It prepares me to walk with God throughout the rest of the day.
I notice in my own life that there are certain truths from God’s Word that have a huge impact on how I live. Distressingly, I also find that I slowly forget to think about these truths and so they have little or no effect on my life. To counteract this, I have a part of my devotions devoted to reminding myself of some truths that will help me walk with God for the rest of the day. I originally learned this from the book Changed Into His Image by Jim Berg (a great book by the way). It has really helped me to stay humble, think biblically, and fight temptation. The key is, think about things that you personally need to be reminded of each day. You may need a reminder to be positive and encouraging, to be kind, to be honest even in the small things, to work hard, to show love to your wife, to serve with humility…
Once you know what reminders you need, find a few verses about it and/or read a book or listen to a sermon about it. Write a short paragraph that helps you think about it from a biblical perspective. To give you an example, I’m including a few of my own reminders in PDF format. These are just to illustrate so you can write your own.
When I’m studying I usually like to have a nice block of time. I prefer not to have anyone around and I sit in a comfortable place with my Bible and a cup of coffee.
I find that if I am in the right place, I will study longer and better. I like to begin my study by some time in prayer. I take the time to calm my heart and think through my day. Confess sins I have and let the Lord work in me. I reflect on my day and talk to God about it. Then I open up the Word. I have a portion of the Bible I’m in each day and I read it, then journal about it. I like to turn to Proverbs and read over one a day. Then I close with praying for the needs of people I know, events in my life, and praising God for what He’s teaching me and asking His help for me to apply it. The key is to be in word consistently, but not to grow apathetic. Ask the Lord to make His Word real to you every day.
Oct 31, 2008 Communication, Ray, Staff Writer, Technology in Ministry, Video Post
Twitter is the latest phenomenon in social media technology. There are certainly things that are “newer” and there are certainly things that are “bigger” but there is no internet technology that is growing faster or causing more buzz right now than Twitter. Personally, I believe Twitter is more than a status symbol or just a cool new thing-a-ma-jig. It truly has the potential to improve your life and ministry if you use it and use it properly.
If don’t have any idea what “Twitter” means… oh dear… I really hope you do, but I’m not going to assume anything. Twitter is a micro-blogging service. Micro-blogging is just like how it sounds — Blogging on a very small scale. Twitter limits it’s posts (known as tweets) to only 140 characters. Truthfully the micro-blogging concept is blog meets text message. The strength of a text message is that it can be sent from anywhere at almost anytime. Coupling that anywhere-anytime strength with the readership of a blog makes for a very potent communication tool. For a more detailed explanation of Twitter, what it is and how it works. Check out this video from The Commoncraft Show.
It is much easier to understand how Twitter works, than it is to understand why Twitter is important. It is, of course, very VERY important in ministry. Essentially, Twitter is the fastest mass communication device available anywhere in the world today. If harnessed properly, it could make your ministry faster, leaner, more efficient and more connected than it has ever been before. You think I’m exaggerating… I’m not.
Think about this example:
A Youth Ministry in an average size church has a Youth Choir that sings periodically in the Sunday morning service. This latest special music has been scheduled for three weeks, but the Youth Pastor keeps forgetting to announce it. Shame on him. What’s to be done? It’s Thursday (the day after Youth Group… his last chance to make that crucial announcement) How is he going to get the word out? Will he call all twenty of the students individually? Facebook message or email (which they may or may check)? Anyway you slice it, he’s in bad shape. Enter: Twitter. One text message size message taking him a grand total of 23.5 seconds (he’s a slow text messager), and he’s informed every member of his youth group, and potentially all of their parents as well. Crisis averted.
Twitter, like any communication device, helps us to do ministry more effectively than we have before. It may not necessarily increase the size of our ministry, but it could certainly help efficiency of our ministry. Communication is crucial. Not just when you forget something, or something unexpected happens. Communication is crucial in the day to day.
Take this example:
George is an insurance agent, father of two and member of a Men’s Bible Study Group at his church. George doesn’t teach the group, but he is a respected senior member. Both of his kids are on twitter, and he regularly gets clued-in to their activities at school by watching their tweets. This week, though, he came to truly appreciate twitter when one of his buddies from Men’s Group tweeted about being bored in between meetings in a neighboring city. George was also in that city for the day, and never would have known his buddy was there at the same time with nothing else to do. The two of them were able to get together for a enjoyable lunch that they would have missed out on… if it hadn’t been for twitter.
The Christian Life is about community. It’s about “Iron sharpens Iron” and learning from one another. It’s about making connections. Twitter allows us to be more deeply connected to more people faster than ever before. Twitter is important, not because the technology is changing the world. Twitter is important because people are important, and Twitter helps us to be connected to people.
But I Just Don’t Have Time For Another Thing!
I’m glad you said that. It’s healthy to know your limits… I’d like to ask you one simple question. Do you have time for Facebook? If you have time for facebook, then you have time for Twitter.
How do you figure?
Simple. There is a Facebook plugin that attaches your facebook status messages to your Twitter Feed. This allows you to update your Facebook status from a text message, and effectively condenses the two social networks down into one “thing” that you have to do. If you are updating your facebook status message, then you can have/use Twitter with no added effort.
I belive, however, that if a large percentage of the people you know pick up a Twitter habit, you’ll become as avid a user as I am. Twitter is all about communication. Ministry is about communication. So naturally, Twitter is a very potentent ministry tool.
For some examples of how real people are using Twitter, check out these examples:
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Now, I want to point out something before I move on: when you ask this question is essential. If you’re literally asking yourself what you should teach at youth group an hour or two before the meeting starts, you’re issue isn’t topics or books of the bible. You need to work on planning ahead (check out this article about planning your ministry). A great lesson cannot be built in a few minutes the day of your youth meeting. The only thing that kind of work produces is mediocrity. If this is how you’ve always done it, please don’t be offended. Think about it this way: if you can put good lessons together at the last minute, imagine how much better you could do if you had 4 weeks to prepare! Think about how much depth and creativity you would end up with.
Think about where you want your teens to be when they leave your church’s youth ministry. What kinds of things do you want them to know about? What sort of experiences do you want them to have had? Are there certain habits you hope they will have built into their lives?
