Welcome back for part 2 of my 10 favorite youth ministry websites. If you missed yesterdays post with the first 5 websites, you should go and read part 1 here, My 10 Favorite Youth Ministry Websites. Today I share the next 5 websites or blogs for youth ministry. So without further delay...here we go! CPYU.orgWalt Mueller is the culture guru. He has spend his career watching, evaluating, writing about the impact that culture has on the lives of teenagers. A regular lecturer in the youth ministry conference world, Walt brings his wisdom and insight to youth workers in the form of training and resources to help us get a better grasp on what's happening in the world around us. Walt is also a sought after speaker/teacher for parents, churches, and other organizations who look to encourage parents and adults as they face the task of raising or working with students. Walt's blog, Learning my lines... and the CPYU.org website is my number one go-to site for the latest on culture. [ VISIT CPYU.ORG ] TERRACECRAWFORD.COMLong-time youth worker, Terrace Crawford, offers his wisdom and experience at TerraceCrawford.com. From blog posts to coaching, Terrace's site is loaded with great content and resources. Needing more than just an article? Terrace is also a coach and youth speaker. And be sure to check out Terrace's new podcast! The weekly podcast called, This Week in Youth Ministry, is a great podcast where Terrace interviews various guests and talks youth ministry. Visit Terrace's website and blog by clicking here, TerraceCrawford.com. StuffYouCanUse.orgLaunched in 2010 by Kenny Elle Campbell, veteran youth workers who have a heart for sharing great resources with the Church! The site StuffYouCanUse.org, offers an great blog, buckets of resources, a helpful podcast, devotional content, games, and practical training. If you have visited StuffYouCanUse.org, I would highly recommend you taking some time to surf around and see what they have to offer. [ VISIT STUFFYOUCANUSE.ORG ] StokedOnYouthMinistry.comStokedOnYouthMinistry.com is a newer site for me. I have just recently started reading the various posts that have come along by Todd Jones and his list of blog contributors. Todd has been doing youth ministry since 2006, and uses the blog to share, encourage, and inspire other youth workers. Along with the blog posts, your can find a selection of resources such as games, teaching materials, and links to a handful of other youth ministry sites. [ VISIT STOKEDONYOUTHMINISTRY.COM ] TheYouthCartel.comThe brain child of Mark Oestreicher and Adam McClane, TheYouthCartel.com is more than a blog. From their own, About Us page, The Youth Cartel’s mission is to encourage and challenge adults who minister to youth through holistic professional coaching, strategic consulting, transformational events, and inventive resource development that advance youth ministry in new ways. Yes, the blog is great, but The Youth Cartel also offers coaching and ministry support through their growing list of events which they sponsor. [ VISIT THEYOUTHCARTEL.COM ] So there you have it, 10 of my favorite youth ministry websites/blogs. In no order of importance, these are the sites that I most frequent when I am looking for resources, reading up on what's happening in the youth ministry world, or looking for what others are thinking and saying. What are so of your favorites websites of blogs? Share them below and I will add them to the growing list of sites for others to discover. Do you have your own site or blog? Send me a link and I will include you in an upcoming post for new and undiscovered bloggers! As always, thanks for reading! - jay
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We've all got our favorites. Books. Resources. Games. Songs. Movies. Websites. The world of Youth Ministry is one of ideas, and the exchanging of ideas. That makes websites and blogs an ideal platform for sharing, reading, and discovering ideas. But with so many websites and blogs, it can be a little dizzying when looking for a site or blog that offers content which is helpful, inspiring, and consistent. There are a number of sites and blogs that I visit frequently when looking for ideas, insights, or encouragement. These would be my favorite youth ministry websites or blogs. Over the next two days, I want to share with you, my 10 favorite youth ministry websites. These are not in any order, but each offer great content, creative ideas, and reliable insight. If you find your site here in the list, know that you are appreciated! Keep up the great work! YouthSpecialties.com/blogYouthSpecialties.com/blog. - Perhaps the grandfather of youth ministry resources and publications, Youth Specialties offers an excellent site and blog for youth workers. The site has evolved from an commerce site to more of an event and resource site. Sure you can still order product, but the overall focus of the site seems to lead you to the YS events and the YS blog. YS has beefed up their blogging to provide a more complete and rounded offering of tips, ideas, culture tracking, and helpful youth content. I particular enjoy the YS Idea Lab videos that run periodically and the articles that challenge our ideas of youth ministry and how we are reaching students. YouthMinistry.comYouthMinistry.com - Here is another site that has seen significant change over the last couple of years. YouthMinistry.com, a site from Simply Youth Ministry/Group Publications, hosts an excellent blog. With categories such as Culture, Discipleship, Leadership, Programming, Small Groups, and Tech Stuff ( and more), YouthMinistry.com offers solid content from "In The Trenches" youth workers! These aren't writers sitting in an office or cafe. These guys are with students, leading adults, and dealing with church politics, so what they write about comes out of their experiences. YouthMinistry360.com/blogYouthMinistry360.com - One of the first blogs I started reading on a regular basis was the YouthMinistry360.com blog. YouthMinistry360 (YM360) launched with a desire to provide solid, biblical teaching content for youth ministries. But more than just being another resource company, YM360 wanted to further the youth ministry conversation and created a blog where youth workers were asked to contribute articles on various topics. Like the YouthMinistry.com Blog, YM360, sought youth workers serving in youth ministry. For a number of years, YM360, has remained one of my favorite blogs to visit. DownloadYouthMinistry.com/blogDownloadYouthMinistry.com - Birthed by Josh Griffin and Doug Fields, DownloadYouthMinistry.com from the idea of taking materials created by youth workers and offering them to other youth workers for a nominal fee. High quality, Easy to use, Inexpensive, and trench-tested lessons and media products to help you do ministry. But more than offering resources and products, DYM hosts and excellent blog. Love God, Love Students is a super helpful blog written by some of the current youth ministry thinkers such as, Josh Griffin, Justin Knowles, Jen Bradbury, Jonathan McKee, and Neely McQueen. This is a great blog to follow and read on a regular basis. Not too mention that some of the products offered on the site are pretty good. JonathanMcKeeWrites.comJonathanMcKeeWrites.com - I was first introduced to Jonathan McKee back in 2001, when trolling the internet for youth ministry websites. His TheSource4YM.com was honestly one of the first sites I used when I needed creative new games ideas. Now, some many, many years later, Jonathan grown his site to include a great blog for youth workers. I have always found Jonathan's site and blog to be super helpful for ideas and good, readable content. And that's why I round off todays first five of my favorite youth ministry websites. So there you are, the first five from my ten favorite youth ministry websites. Be sure to check in again tomorrow as I share the next five! Till then, thanks for reading! - jay Jay Higham is a 25 year veteran of student ministry; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently the Youth Director at Hickory Church, located in Western PA. Jay has been married to Amy for 20 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, (4 boys and 1 little girl). Jay is an aspiring author, blogger, speaker, and consultant. He is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and sharing with other youth workers. You can learn more about their ministry to the family by visiting their family blog at, www.TheHighamFamily.com!
Youth workers love sharing great resources. I'm no different. When I come across a resource that is super helpful to me, I want to make sure others hear about it. Today, I'm sharing a great resource that I found to be super helpful!
Earlier this year, I shared a post that talked about 2 books that I was reading. You can read that post here: What I'm Reading Right Now. In that post I shared the book, Angels, Who they are and How They Help. What the Bible Reveals, by Dr. David Jeremiah.
In wanting to teach about angels, the resource had to be biblical. Angels, Who they are and How They Help. What the Bible Reveals is! Jeremiah scourers the scriptures looking for evidence for angels. From the role and God's servants, to their work, power, creation, and end; Dr. Jeremiah presents a complete picture of the biblical perspective.
I also wanted a resource that properly ranked the position of angels. David does an amazing job at reminding the reader about the proper placement of angels with the rest of creation. In a time when angel worship is still an issue, Dr. Jeremiah provides clear, biblical support for why we need to remember who it is that we are called to worship, and why. If you're looking to teach through the topic of angels and demons, Dr. David Jeremiah's book, Angels, Who they are and How They Help. What the Bible Reveals, is a resource that I would highly recommend! It's super easy to read and understand. It moves quickly and it's content is organized in a way that makes sense. When it comes to teaching the content, each chapter provides a plenty of information to fill a 20 minute, 30 minute, or even a 40 minute time span. It will just take you a few minutes to organize the material into a teaching plan. When you do teach the material, be sure to have plenty of Bibles for your students. I always find it helpful to have my students see what I am teaching as it is in God's word. - jay
Jay Higham is a 24 year veteran of student ministry; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently the Youth Director at Hickory Church, located in Western PA. Jay has been married to Amy for 19 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, 4 boys and 1 little girl. Jay is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and caring for the hearts of husbands. You can learn more about their ministry to the family and husband by visiting their family blog at, www.TheHighamFamily.com!
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Welcome back to our Thursday installment of the Ministry ReCap! Here's a quick look at what we did this week at our student ministry activities. High School Ministry :: Tuesday Night Game Time: Soccer (broke the gym clock) Snack: Chips, soda, water, coffee drinks Announcements: We had 3 announcements - Winter Retreat, February 26-28, 2016 [ CLICK HERE ] - 2016 Winter Jam, January 30, 2016 [ CLICK HERE ] - After Dark, February 5, 2016 [ CLICK HERE ] Teaching Message: - The Jesus Centered Life, Week 3 - Jesus and His Friends Total Student Count: 15 Junior High Ministry :: Wednesday Night Game Time: Jedi Dodgeball (kids choice) Snack: Klondike Bars, Fruit Punch, Water Announcements: - Winter Retreat, February 26-28, 2016 [ CLICK HERE ] - After Dark, February 5, 2016 [ CLICK HERE ] Teaching Message: - Who is God? God the Father, Loving and Perfect (JR High LIVE) Total Student Count: 33 Things we're working on... This past Sunday, the Elders rolled out a new vision statement for the entire church. We in the student ministry department are reworking some of our ministries and programs so that we fit inside the visions goals and priorities. I will be updating you as we make changes. But you can look at Monday's post where I started sharing some thought on church vs. student ministry visions. You can read it here...Is the Church Vision Your Student Vision. Adult Leadership Recruiting... We are also in the throws of recruiting adult volunteers to work with both the HSM and JHM programs. Are goal is to recruit 6-8 adults to work with HSM, and 10-12 adults to work with the JHM. Student Leadership Ministry... And next week, we hope to launch our new Student Leadership program. I'll share more on that later next week. Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check in next week to see what we're doing. - jay Jay Higham is a 24 year veteran of student ministry; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently the Youth Director at Hickory Church, located in Western PA. Jay has been married to Amy for 19 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, 4 boys and 1 little girl. Jay is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and caring for the hearts of husbands. You can learn more about their ministry to the family and husband by visiting their family blog at, www.TheHighamFamily.com!
For the first time in years, and I mean years, I've decided to purchase prepackaged curriculum. Why? And What? Well, I went with something I know and trust.
Throughout my 24+ years of student ministry, about 85% to 90% of what I have taught to students I have written. Bible Studies, Series, stand alone lessons, retreats...I've even written a full vacation bible school curriculum. I have researched and studied, prepared and planned. And I have invested a great many hours in writing and creating. I've done this because I love it. I love working the creative juices and developing materials that lead students closer to God. But as I settle into my current ministry, I am quickly realizing that there are more things I want to do with and for my students. I'm juggling two programs; a Junior High Ministry, a High School Ministry, and I am teaching Sunday school. I have to recruit and build a leadership team. I need leaders and volunteers to work with students and help is other areas of the ministry. And I am quickly picking up other responsibilities around the office and church. On top of this, I want to focus more time on being students. So the idea of writing curriculum is a bit overwhelming to say the list.
Starting this January (2016), I will be using the Junior High LIVE Curriculum, by Simply Youth Ministry & Group Publishing. The LIVE Curriculum came out a number of years ago as an ongoing program for small groups that allowed youth workers and youth pastors to plan, schedule and share the teaching materials with their small group leaders. Being web-based made it easy for small group leaders to download the teaching materials and use them without the hassle of printing numerous copies and getting them to your leaders.
The Junior High materials offer the user 2 years of teaching materials that build upon each other. You can simply go with their structure or rearrange to create a program unique to your group. I have already gone through the lessons and order them to suit our needs. I ordered and grouped a number of series together, left a few spaces open for holidays and events, and even scheduled a few fun nights along the way. By the time I was finished, I had planned our teaching calendar through 2018. With all of that done, I can now focus more time on caring for students and leaders, dream and cast vision, and build a stable, sustainable ministry for long-term ministry.
We've just started using the LIVE materials, and I am really excited. With the pressure of creating multiple lesson plan lifted, I am already finding myself with a little more time in my day. So far, I've really liked what we've used. And as I look at what's coming up, I am confident that our students with get great Bible teaching in fun and creative ways!
I don't think I'll ever stop writing and created my own materials, but having the LIVE Curriculum around is a real help. So thanks to my friends over at Simply Youth Ministry, for creating a resource that I can trust and my leaders can use. Check out the LIVE video below and see just how easy it is to simplify your planning. Click on the LIVE logo and learn how you can try the curriculum for 30 days, free! - jay
Jay Higham is a 24 year veteran of student ministry; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently the Youth Director at Hickory Church, located in Western PA. Jay has been married to Amy for 19 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, 4 boys and 1 little girl. Jay is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and caring for the hearts of husbands. You can learn more about their ministry to the family and husband by visiting their family blog at, www.TheHighamFamily.com!
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AuthorJay Higham is a veteran youth worker of over 30 years; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently serving as the director of family ministry at a church, located in West Virginia. Jay has been married to Amy for over 25 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, (4 boys and 1 girl). Jay is an aspiring author, blogger, speaker, vlogger, and social media junkie. He is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and training youth workers to love and serve their students with passion and excellence. Archives
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