Adventures – Page 5 – youthworkers

Answering a Question with a Question

July 29, 2010
Adventures
Discipleship

“I once heard a theologian remark that in the Gospels people approached Jesus with a question 183 times whereas he replied with a direct answer only three times. “Instead, he responded with a different question, a story, or some other indirection. Evidently Jesus wants us to work out our answers on our own, using the principles that he taught and lived.” -Philip Yancey, Prayer (p. 205) Teens have questions. A lot of questions. When they ask, it’s hard not to try and give them a quick, church answer. Q: “Why do bad things happen to good...

Teens’ Faith on the Decline — A Potential Solution?

July 28, 2010
Adventures
Discipleship

The great guys at youthministry360 gave us the first heads up on the latest study from the Barna Group: How Teenagers’ Faith Practices are Changing. It’s well worth the read if you have the time. The researchers spotlighted a disturbing trend. They concluded that teenagers’ faith is declining, but the spiritual losses have escaped the notice of youth workers and church leaders. Church/youth group attendance is great–about 60 percent of all teens are engaged in some type of “group spiritual activity” each week. So on the surface,...

Emergencies on the Mission Field

July 27, 2010
Adventures
Logistics

While it’s not the most fun subject to talk about, it’s a fact of doing missions. At some point on some trip, something unexpected will happen. You are going to have an emergency on your hands. It might not be as extreme as getting caught in the Haitian earthquake or being held up at gunpoint, but the odds are something will happen that’s out of your control. How the emergency affects your team and the focus of the trip will depend on your leadership. Leadership starts at home with trip preparation. There are a few basic travel essentials you should have in...

I Went on a Mission Trip and All I Got Was This T-Shirt

July 22, 2010
Adventures
Preparation

At AIM, we believe that short-term mission trips are one of the best discipling tools the church has today. They’re kinda like the Slap Chop of raising up world-changers, you know? Many churches and youth groups (maybe even yours) across the country have experienced the power of short-term missions firsthand. And yet, there’s also an attitude that short-term missions just another fad. They’re something a group does once a year, sandwiched around summer vacations or the annual spaghetti dinner. Instead of viewing a trip as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and something...

Let’s Play 18: Seven Ideas for Youth Workers to Encourage Change

July 21, 2010
Adventures
Discipleship

“Golf is a good walk spoiled.” – Mark Twain I play golf. Not well, but I play. It’s a great chance for me to get some exercise, connect with the people (usually guys) I’m playing with, and spend some quiet time reprioritizing. I’ve played since middle school and actually used to hit the links a few times a year with my youth pastor while I was in high school. Usually, we’d walk down the fairways together or ride in a cart on the really hot days. We chatted about youth group, my looming college decision, sports, music, whatever came up. I...

Inner City Missions: The Forgotten Field

Dori Beach used to work in a women’s rescue shelter. She tells the story of a pregnant 15 year-old named Janice. Janice is representative of so many who are caught in the whirlpool of generational habits. She’s a victim of incest who has raised many of her mother’s nine children. While the average 15-year-old has only recently given up playing with dolls, Janice will soon have the responsibility of caring for a real baby. In an odd way, it is for her a status symbol, a signal that she has come of age. Her mother is hardly equipped to help; Janice will have to raise the...

Author: Adventures