Category: Youth Ministry


By now, some of you may be aware that I have written two chapters in the new book, ‘Youth Ministry on the Front Foot’, edited by Zac Veron.

In the book I’ve written on two areas of youth ministry that have been key points of my teaching and training over the years.

Firstly, I wrote the chapter, ‘How to make your youth group fun and fulfilling’.

The main principle is that our ministry should be structured, participatory, applicable, dynamic and engaging, and that we should avoid using entertainment to make the Bible seem less boring.

Secondly, I wrote a chapter called ‘Think Dual-Action.’

The main principle here is that we should aim the whole youth program at both believers and unbelievers, and avoid the error of running separate youth activities aimed at either believers or unbelievers.

These chapters are only two of the 35 within the book, written by Mike Everett, Eugene Hor, Cameron Hyslop, Ron Irving, Sarah Macken, Dave Miers, Ken D Noakes, Murray Norman, Scott Petty, Graham Stanton, Zac Veron and Kylie Williams.

Overall, I reckon the book is worth reading if you’re involved in youth ministry and would like to develop your skills and hone your strategy.

Now, the good news is that if you haven’t yet got yourself a copy, I’ve been able to organise a mate’s rate… for my online mates.

You can take 20% off the purchase price (not the shipping cost) of the book for any purchases made through the CEP online store from 01 to 30 June 2012.

Simply click on this link, and enter the code JODIEMATE when you checkout your purchase.

The other day, as I trained a bunch of youth and children’s leaders at my church, I was vividly reminded of the impact that youth leaders have on the teens in their group.

For many years I’ve trained youth ministers and leaders about the importance and impact of their ministry.

But now, as a parent of teenagers of my own, the significance of youth ministers on the teenagers has arrived very close to home.

Read my tribute called ‘Thank you, youth leaders’, in today’s sydneyanglicans.net.

The Kony 2012 phenomenon is remarkable on many fronts.

Regardless of what you think about it, you can be assured that our young people know about it and are trying to work out what they should think and do about it.

To help them and to help us grownups, I’ve written two articles.

The first I wrote for sydneyanglicans.net called ‘Talking to kids about Kony’.

In this, I offer seven things that adults should think about as they talk to youth and children about this topic.

The second I wrote for Fervr.net called ‘Should you help make Kony famous?’.

This attempts to apply the advice I’ve given in the earlier piece so that my seven ideas can be modeled to anyone trying to work out just how to put these thoughts into words.

You might also refer the youth in your church, whether believers or unbelievers, to this Fervr.net article.

Let’s pray that our youth are wise in responding to Kony, but far more importantly, wise for salvation.

If you’ve been going to a Sydney Anglican church, or maybe been influenced by someone who studied at Moore College, then it’s likely you’ve been impacted by a view of church known as ‘Knox Robinson’, after two key figures at Moore.

My training and lecturing in youth ministry has been strongly influenced by this understanding of the church, especially in terms of what we ‘do’ when we gather.

The latest edition of ‘The Briefing’ has an excellent summary of this doctrine, and I think it’s an important read for anyone who is responsible for shaping the content and context of a Christian gathering.

Read the article in full here at The Briefing online.

As we deal with the disaster fatigue that comes from our 24-hour exposure to news coverage, we tend to seek refuge from this through finding fun. The pagans seek to “eat, drink and be merry”, and we in youth ministry are often tempted to follow a similar strategy.

Yet, the right thing for us to do in our youth groups right now is to lead our kids through a sober reflection on the global crises facing us, and to show the students how to respond appropriately to these events.

So what is your youth group going to do this weekend in the light of the Japanese disaster?

Read my further thoughts (and contribute your comments) in my latest article at sydneyanglicans.net