3 Reasons We Should Help Teenagers Serve in Their Church

I spoke last night to our high school students at our high school outside gathering before the students break into life groups (I lead a group of tenth grade guys). I always enjoy speaking to teenagers, especially the ones I am honored to pastor. I spoke about the joy of serving others and challenged our […]

3 Reasons Student Pastors Make Great Senior Pastors

First Baptist Church in West Monroe (First West) is a great church that has served North Louisiana well for a long time. A year ago they asked their student pastor, Michael Wood, to serve as their senior pastor. Not only were the people convinced of his character, as they watched his life for several years, […]

3 Reminders About Students from “Youth Camp”

This summer I was honored to serve as camp pastor at Fuge Camps for a week. Fuge is one of our summer events for students and student ministries, alongside Student Life, World Changers, and P2 Missions. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve student ministries in their mission of making disciples. Student ministry is […]

3 Ways Student Ministry Drains You

I have essentially served in three roles over the last 20 years: student pastor, executive pastor, and now Vice President at LifeWay. In my role as executive pastor and as the leader of the Church Resources Division at LifeWay, I have interacted daily with student ministry leaders. In other words, student ministry has always been […]

The Drain and Gain of Student Ministry

I am very grateful for the student pastors and volunteers that serve students in churches every single week. As Christ stepped into our culture to serve us, they step into the teenage world to love and lead students. Because of the responsibility to pass on the Christian faith to a new generation, churches must have […]

Leo Tolstoy: Youth Group President?

In many student ministries, Leo Tolstoy would be viewed as a hero, a model for moral discipline and Christian virtue. Tolstoy was a famous Russian philosopher and author in the mid-1800s, best known for his novel War and Peace. He pursued moralistic perfection in his faith, a task that many viewed as noble. He set […]