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!
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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
December 2023
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