Responding in love and truth

Youth worker. . . you are just one bad decision away from being a headline.

Griffin’s YouTube which showed him beating a popular Fortnite gamer. The video got 7.5 million views.

People who claim Christianity but lack gospel awareness present a unique evangelistic challenge

— and why that’s good news

As part of Pew Research Center’s research into Americans’ digital lives, they surveyed over 1,000 parents of teens to better understand their experiences with raising teens in the digital age.

The newly released World Happiness Report, an annual study sponsored by the United Nations showing changes in happiness finds that teens who spent more time with digital devices were less happy; those who spent more time on other pursuits were happier.

Consistently eating breakfast as a family might promote positive body image for children and adolescents.

Sean McDowell

A parent shared this podcast between two Christian moms who have raised teenagers. They give some tremendous lessons, and ones you will want to hear as you either help parents teenagers

No one will be able to see this scene and then say they “don’t know” the truth about abortion

Donald Trump signed an executive order protecting freedom of speech on college campuses

Research in the UK has shown that people who buy these dolls are likely to have child porn in their possession

Women passengers rally to protect teenage girl from airplane ‘creep’

Shallow surface-level attraction is the currency in porn, and we’re here to say that’s cheap. Hold out for something real—hold out for real love.

The number of religious “nones” in the United States are now statistically equal than the number of evangelicals, according to a political scientist

George Lockhart

Teens today are spending their time differently than they did a decade ago. They’re devoting more time to sleep and homework, and less time to paid work and socializing.

Here is another excellent parenting video from Christine Carter. Great advice

Just over half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 – 51 percent of them – said they do not have a steady romantic partner

Preparing Young Christians in a Challenging World

TikTok will change the way your social media works — even if you’re avoiding it

Is TikTok safe? How does it work? And can I do a duet with my kid? Everything you need to know about this popular musical singing and sharing app.

Happiness and mental health are highest at a half-hour to two hours of extracurricular digital media use a day; well-being then steadily decreases, with those who spend the most time online being the worst off

“I wish I had spent less time trying to block out the lies and more time focusing on the truth.”

We desire for our children to tell us the truth, especially when confessing their sin. But how can we teach them to be candid with us, to speak the truth?

Why is it every time I teach at a youth leadership convention, the audience is comprised of 75% females?…

Pornography  is out there, and for everyone’s safety, you need to warn them of the impending danger

How to do youth ministry right. It means working with parents instead of working for them!

The percent of high school seniors who said they often felt lonely increased from 26 percent in 2012 to 39 percent in 2017

Almost eight in 10 young teenage girls say that pressure from social media is one of the main reasons for mental ill-health among their age group

A realistic insight into how your youth view their faith

Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World Than Actually Changing the World?

Most U.S. Teens See Anxiety and Depression as a Major Problem Among Their Peer

Adolescents are generous, too….

One of the greatest myths of leadership is that you must be in charge in order to lead

Walt Mueller

Welcoming teenagers as they walk in the door is one of my most important ministry practices

Contact work is vital to your ministry. If you and your leaders do a lot of it, it will yield great relationship results with people you are trying to reach

Steven Argue & Kara Powell

Who is Saint Patrick and why does it matter

Today most people know St. Patrick for green beer, banishing snakes from Ireland, using shamrocks to teach

I love how the video is very deep theologically, but fun as well

A growing body of evidence supports the idea that alcohol exposure early in life has lasting effects on the brain and increases the risk of psychological problems in adulthood

Spending time in nature boosts children’s academic achievement and healthy development in a variety of ways

The original purpose of Vacation Bible School has been lost in many of our current-day efforts. It’s time to get back to the basics

Buy a second phone

Many followed Him no longer after He said some hard things concerning personal cost and all the risks involved. The cost was too much.

Students demand action on climate change in planned global school walkout

Parents will be your greatest supporters or your biggest hurdle

A nationwide scheme to get children get into elite universities.

Finding the right family to host the Group is absolutely critical to the success of the group.

In this episode, Ben Trueblood and Mary Margaret West, talk with Kara Powell about her new book: Growingwith

You had a great fall and the winter months but,  spring attendance falls and you are wondering what happened?

VBS  is needed now more than ever, at a time when more and more families have no access to the gospel

More comfortable online than out partying, post-Millennials are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But they’re on the brink of a mental-health crisis.

Most youngsters getting good grades is a bigger worry than drinking or unplanned pregnancies

How are we at reaching students today where they are at, on their digital devices?

Amazing resource for youth pastors regarding compensation,  raise, taxes, housing allowance, and other pieces of the financial side of ministry.

The PSA encourages kids to break the law and endanger themselves and others

3 Realities Pastors and Parents Should Consider To Prepare Students For The Digital World

Marxism is not primarily an economic theory. It is primarily a surrogate religion. And it is creeping into the worldview of many Americans, including American Christians

On Preaching — Personal & Pastoral Insights for the Preparation & Practice of Preaching

Children with the greatest need for a supportive community were the most likely to feel unwelcome

I actually would allow my kids more freedom in their high school years to explore and express their questions about faith

“millennials the most evangelism-adverse generation on record,”?

The long-term perspective of the older saints encourages the younger generation to continue in faithfulness and service.

Five signs your church isn’t ready for the future

Provides a real-world and pro-active strategy to practically connect the generations in your church

Thom Rainer

Kara Powell and Steven Argue describe how to parent adolescent and young adult children

Guest Post By Kara Powell And Steve Argue

A Remarkable Parenting Resource

4 Things Youth Workers Would Tell Parents About Teenagers, Social Media, and Technology

10 undeniable facts about Michael Jackson’s Abuse Allegations

What My Daughter Would Say to Her Younger Self NoEating Disorder

Decades of cuts: the policies that dismantle youth work – a new book by Bernard Davies

George Lockhart

Dan Istvanik

20 Tips I wish I could have given parents of teens before their kids were 4

In a survey of nearly 1,000 teens ages 13 to 17, 70 percent say anxiety and depression are critical issues among their peers, the Pew Research Center found.

Where pot is legal, teens smoking pot and then getting behind the wheel of a car is common

Were also more than three times as likely to attempt suicide between the ages of 18 and 32.

She shouldn’t have shared the screenshot.

I I think as a woman I’m trying to be unapologetic and embrace my sexuality — and do what I want

Her mom had been posting photos of her, without prior approval, for much of her life

A female runner who failed to qualify or state is calling for the rules to change

Here are three tools I’ve discovered for policing my thought life

What’s the number one priority our parents list?

It’s that time of the year in which we take a good look at our ministry and begin to work through our 2019 goals

George Lockhart

The research of 595 suicides by people aged under 20 showed 128 had used the internet in a way that was suicide-related.

If I can go back and do it all over I would do this

The impact of the digital world is so powerful and pervasive that it’s almost impossible for most of us to keep up

NY Post

To be honest, any tablet you have can be very useful for your ministry, it doesn’t have to be an iPad

We talk about the relationship between social media and mental health. Here’s a few resources if you want to explore more

A place where you could be certain no minors would see pornography — nowadays they’re all watching on their phones

The complete list

Here’s a list of some of our favorite books for church leaders that are building a family ministry in their church.