Do we over-normalise our faith?
At the end of 2016, Youth For Christ released a piece of research called ‘Gen Z: Rethinking Culture’. One of the stand out quotes from that immense work was an answer to the question, “What is your experience of Christians”. It went like this: “They are normal like everyone else. Their faith doesn’t change them.” […]
27 habits to beat burnout
There are plenty of reasons that youth workers burn out, and more than a few horror stories. However, the best work a youth worker can do is long term youth work. So stick to it! In the meantime, here’s 27 habits to get into to help you avoid the burnout trap! Surround yourself with good […]
Faith formation in a Post-Christendom context. Part Two: Some Ways Forward
This week, Jonny Price, Youth and Children’s Ministry Leader in York, returns to give us some insight faith formation with a post-Christendom culture. This is the second in a two part series, so check out part 1 here. Recently I wrote about some assumptions that we make around faith formation. Here I want to explore […]
Faith Formation in a Post-Christendom World. Part 1: Challenging our assumptions. By Jonny Price
This week, Jonny Price, Youth and Children’s Ministry Leader in York, returns to give us some insight faith formation with a post-Christendom culture. This will be a two part series, so check back for the next post soon. Faith formation is important. Good faith formation is very important! How we do good faith formation has […]
Are you addicted to controversy?
Just before Christmas I wrote a post discussing what we mean when we call our Bible a sword. As a postscript I added the thoughts below, but after further reflection – and as a recovering controversy-addict myself – I think these thoughts are worth standing on their own and expanding, which is the point of […]
Check us out on the Premier Youth and Children’s Work Podcast
It was an immense privileged to be interviewed by Ruth and Emily from Premier Youth and Children’s Work during the national Youth For Christ conference in January. We talked about my background, the Bible in youth work, evangelism, and supporting dads. Have a wee listen here: https://www.youthandchildrens.work/Media/Podcasts/January-2019-Issue
Lovin’ Youth For Christ right now…
I’ve just returned from the British Youth For Christ national conference. Three full days and an evening of just seeking God together as a national movement. I am full, I am happy, and I am motivated! I have been with Youth For Christ for nearly eight years, and the movement has never felt to me […]
The Scariest Verse in the Bible for Youth Workers
[The following is an extract from Chapter 6 of Rebooted] The scariest and most challenging verse in the Bible for me as a youth worker is Matthew 19:14, ‘Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”’ What a wimp […]
Are you called to ministry? The fundamental question.
Who do you want to serve? The greatest commandment says to love God with every ounce and fibre of your being and it says to love other people like you do yourself (Matt. 22:36-40). Basically… Do you love God and love others? Or In reality – do you want to serve your own needs? Do […]
Where have all the boyscouts (youth pastors) gone?
I recently took part in discussion about the decline in full-time youth ministry positions. The question before us was: why are there so few qualified applicants to so many vacant youth ministry positions? Much of the conversation was measured and insightful, is not a tad predictable. Low pay, poor management, unrealistic expectations, and a general […]
Is the Bible a weapon?
I recently read a post from a young minster asking whether he should officiate the wedding of a believer to an unbeliever. He was genuinely seeking advice. Some of the responses were brilliant. They asked clarifying questions, they raised important perspectives, and they bought the issue back to the Gospel. Overwhelmingly the answer (probably rightly) […]
Is it your responsibility to make the people you love ‘feel’ loved?
A couple of days ago, a famous pastor in America quoted this: You must bear the burden of responsibility that your children BE loved, but you dare not bear the burden of guaranteeing that they FEEL loved. In that case you would replace God’s objective command with their subjective response, and make a human the […]
Ethics, Critical Thinking, and Youth Ministry
I remember first reading Mere Christianity by CS Lewis when I was in my late teens. His opening ‘but that’s my orange segment!’ gambit inspired me to think more clearly about morality and ethics in relationship to my faith. Fast forward a couple of years and I’m sat in my first ethics lecture a bible […]
Working with Bereaved Young People
The reality Child Bereavement UK report that 70% of schools have a bereaved pupil on their role at any one time, that 92% of all young people will experience a significant bereavement before they’re 16, and that a parent of a dependent young person dies every 22 minutes. This is not something that ‘might’ come […]
Reaching our unreachable inner city teens – on Evangelical Alliance
Here’s a short post I wrote for the Evangelical Alliance. Check it our here.