Viral Youth Ministry Part 1. Online Community IS Community
Social-media-for-public-relations1Ask FM, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter et al – the city gates of a new century. They are what coffee shops and pubs we’re to the generation before: the hub of community, gossip, news and living interactions with real people. “Communities have social rules, cliques, groups, hierarchies, activities and spaces. You will find all of these […]
Avoiding Design Disasters in Youthwork PR
The youth work world contains a gauntlet of design disasters. Pursuing the average noticeboard takes more Ibuprofen than a serious man flu weekend. Comic Sans, clipart, multi primary colours and more caps-italics than a Schwarzenegger trailer. This screams cheap, it screams fake and it screams don’t come here! Substance is always more important than flash, […]
Surviving Camp With A Fully Charged Mobile Phone
Getting though summer camp with a fully charged mobile phone is like running down the side of a mountain with a dirty martini trying desperately not to spill it – good luck! From hurrying up the tardy group member, to locating the mini bus, to checking in with concerned parents, every precious little bit of […]
How to Create your own Digital Personal Assistant
There seems to be an irrefutable law of physics in the youth work world that the better you are with young people the worse you are with admin. Admin tends to fall into two categories – the blitz and the habitual. The former is what youth workers can do; the creative once in a while […]
PA Hacks For The Mobile Youth Worker
We already know that Youth Workers are often expected to be all things to all people – and one of those things is ‘expert PA engineer.’ Making sound work for a variety of events and projects in an increasingly multi-media-driven generation is important. Making it work simply is the nightmare! Add to this that the […]
Rules young people want to add to Social Media
For a young person social media can be a Crystal Maze of awkwardness and mind games – full of traps and ambushes with a prevailing sense of kill or be killed! We run training for teachers, youth workers and young people themselves on how to stay safe in social media. Yesterday we shook this this […]
6 Announcement Slide Mistakes & How To Fix Them – by Lindsey Moss
Great post from Lindsey Moss of ChurchMediaTech.com. Re-posted with her permission. Check out the original here and have a browse through their other great articles here. There are many studies published online confirming that visual cues help us retain information which is what I love so much about announcement slides! When you add visual cues […]
12 Extreme Youth Work Games
Most games we play are silly. Some are character building or encourage teamwork. Others are downright dangerous! Here’s my list of youth work games that stretch the risk assessment to the extreme. I’m not condoning or suggesting you play any of these extreme youth work games & definitely not without proper supervision. … … Here […]
12 Sabbath Activities for Families
Happy Sabbath everybody! Good day to chill and draw close to God as a family. Here are some off the cuff Sabbath ideas that you could do today as a whole family! 1. Go onto Google Earth together and pray for places you explore 2. Write ‘prayer pegs’ (little wooden pegs with things like ‘God […]
7 New Ninja Rules To Make It More Extreme
We all love the game of ninja right? Jumping around and freezing trying to look like Bruce Lee is always epic and hilarious. Although, admittedly it can drag a wee bit after a while. Never fear – here are a few ways to spice up your ninja games! 1. Push-up Ninja. Every move must begin, […]
6 Youth Group Tactile Discussion Activities
Starting genuine conversations in a youth group can be a nightmare! Keeping them rolling while staying on track doubly so. Small group conversations tend to oscillate between pulling teeth and taming out of control petrol fires. One of the best ways to engage different personalities and create real dynamic conversation is to use tactile (hands-on) […]
The EU Debate and Young People
Like many of you, I too have struggled with the poisonous rhetoric and toxic conversational tone surrounding the EU Referendum debates. The well-slung mud has been mixed with arsenic and so many previously respectable voices have been claimed by street thuggery and gang postures. Whatever view you hold, and however you decide to vote, our […]
44 Youth Ministry Models
Ok, I lied: there are only really 11 here! Each one, however, will morph dramatically 4 different ways depending on whether your main driving focus is to bring people in, build them up, link them together or send them out. These 11 (or 44) models of youth ministry are not exhaustive – but you’d be […]
The Christology of Soul Survivor
Another year, another quality trip to Soul Survivor! We always go and we always love it, and this year was no exception. Brilliant people, great messages, passionate responses and more cheeseburgers than you could fling a ketchup sachet at. All this said, the ol’ theology student in me still twinges a little bit during these […]
Are Parents The Best Mentors?
Marginalise parents in youth ministry at your peril. They are the linchpin to effective, long term discipleship, and the primary Biblical institution for passing on the truth of the Gospel to young people. They are not, however, the only part of effective youth work. They are not peers or pastors for instance. They are not […]