Ever watched the show Man vs. Wild? It's an ingenious reality show that attempts to show you how to survive in any number of hostile environments—from the Costa Rican rainforest to the Alaskan frontier to a wide array of desert locations. The host is an aptly-named British gentleman, Bear Grylls, who parachutes into these remote locations, and spends a great deal of time running from, yes, bears, lions, and elephants. In fact, there is only one thing he spends more time doing—and that is looking for water. In one episode (at … [Read more...]
3 Reasons Sharing Is Good for Leaders
Mom and your kindergarten teacher said it best – It really is a good thing to share! Recently, I've had the opportunity to travel around the country and meet with some of my heroes – collegiate and young adult leaders in churches and on college campuses. The creativity and energy these leaders possess provides countless opportunities to connect with college students and young adults in our communities and on our campuses. But I have a confession to make: Some of my best ideas as a college minister were not my own. Many of those … [Read more...]
Why Should Leaders Proceed With Caution?
There's major road construction happening near my home. While driving along this obstacle course of a road recently, a sign caught my attention. It was flashing the warning, “Proceed with caution!” every few seconds. I thought to myself, Has that sign been there for the past few days or is it new? Had I completely looked past the sign and proceeded with no caution on this path that seems to change every day? For those of us leading college students and young adults, these "proceed with caution" warnings have several important … [Read more...]
3 Ways To Connect With College Students This Summer
If it hasn’t happened already, college students from your church and community are starting to roll back into town for a few months of summer jobs, reconnecting with high school buddies, and watching complete seasons of their favorite TV series they missed while off at college. So here are two questions for your church body to consider: What role will your church play in keeping students plugged in during the summer? Does your church have a plan for connecting with college students during the summer? Whether it’s … [Read more...]
Do Groups Really Matter?
Anytime I'm in the presence of collegiate or young adult ministry leaders, I’m always intrigued by the conversations that surface about our ministries. “What does your large group worship time look like?” “What are some of the issues you're tackling in your group gatherings?” “What type of missions opportunities does your group do?” Are those relevant and important questions to ask? Absolutely. They're all aspects of what draws young adults to our ministries and keeps them involved with the ministry as a whole. However, … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Overcome Disappointment in Ministry
We’ve all been there. We planned something for months and the day finally comes--and only 3 people show up. We had a significant conversation with someone in our collegiate or young adult ministry about a life decision--and a few days later, they're making choices as if that conversation never happened. Disappointment is a regular factor of ministry, but it's a topic we rarely discuss. We often treat it like a forbidden topic to talk about as leaders. So how do we deal with disappointment in ministry? I’ll be honest: … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Celebrate Heroes in Ministry
Everyone loves a hero. There’s just something that stirs within us when a hero shows up to save the day. As I recently sat with strangers in a sold out theatre, I observed (and participated in) the spontaneous applause when the hero did something that proved he was fighting for something bigger than himself – when he was fighting for something that mattered. For those of us who lead collegiate and young adult ministries, there are heroes in our midst every single time we gather. We could never do what we do without the … [Read more...]
Why Every Day Is Like Opening Day
For every fan of Major League Baseball, Opening Day is something special. Baseball parks are spruced up. There are new rosters. Teams are a mere 162 games away from their first game in the playoffs. Opening Day is a day full of hope for every baseball fan (even Cubs fans – sorry, couldn’t resist since I’m a lifelong Cardinals fan). Opening day represents a new beginning and a lot of promise. Similarly, the impact that churches and collegiate ministries are making in the lives of college students and young adults is even more … [Read more...]
3 Things to Remember When Sharing the Gospel
I’ve been in reflection mode after spending parts of the past three weeks in Panama City Beach, Fla. helping with Beach Reach 2014 (check out the Facebook page HERE). If you're not familiar with Beach Reach, here's a quick run down of what happens. College students from campus ministries and churches all over the country come to Panama City Beach (one of the hot spot destinations for college spring breakers) to provide free van rides, serve lots of pancakes every day, and genuinely share with the thousands of spring breakers that … [Read more...]
3 Practical Ideas for Reaching Young Adults
One of the most popular questions we hear from church leaders is: What outreach ideas do you have for reaching young adults? Let's cut right to the ideas, but keep in mind that a healthy and balanced young adult ministry plan should have one or more of Threads’ four markers of ministry—Community, Depth, Responsibility, and Connection—at its core. Hold a community sports event. Since it’s March Madness time, we feel obliged to start with the idea of creating a basketball tournament in your community. It’s a great way to impact our … [Read more...]
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