Check out Mary Mary’s video “I Worship You”. Thank God for YouTube, Tangle and others that have made videos more readily available.  

Do you incorporate videos into your praise and worship experiences? There are few venues for Christian videos to be displayed on a national level. In our ministry we try to expose our students to what they don’t see on BET or MTV. Students need to see positive videos and hear positive music, so they know they have a choice. YouTube has become a major venue for Christian artist to promote and display their music. Stay turned for more hot Urban finds from YouTube!

Worship is your life surrendered to God in every aspect. Many times we as youth leaders we allow our students to mistake a worship experience as praise, singing, & dancing. Singing and dancing are forms worship but not true worship. Teach your students true authentic worship reflects every aspect of their lives. We must Worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23-24… Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”)

 Teach your students:  Who you are and the way you live that count before God. It’s who you are at school, work, your grades, attitudes and who they are within their relationships. God is concerned about every aspect of our lives. Youth leaders it’s time raise the standard as it relates to Worship. It goes far beyond the bands, praise teams, dance teams, drama ministry and events. Who cares if your band is hitting every note or if you have the best dance team in town! What is the heart condition of those who are worshipping? True worship encompasses our whole being. Worship involves everything about you; everything that you do and every part of your [...]

Continue Reading “A Lifestyle of Worship”

Using spoken word as a ministry tool in youth ministry. Spoken word is simply a “WORD that is Spoken aloud”.  Spoken word is a form of literary art or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. Spoken-word is often done with a musical background, but emphasis is kept on the speaker. Using spoken word can be a powerful way to drive a point home with students. It allows scripture and testimonies to come alive.

Check out how we use Spoken word to minister to students.

\”A Different Kind of Graditude\” performed by Destinations at SONset

Scar by: Maya

Every day people are faced with situations, or crossroads where they can choose to make God-honoring decisions or not. In this three-week sermon series, Doug Fields tackles some of the more difficult roadblocks that can hinder us from serving God freely. With humor, odd examples, and serious look at the Bible, this message series is great to take your students.

Crossroads topics include:

• When Your Past Is A Roadblock
• When Your Conflicts Are A Roadblock
• When Fear of Risk Is A Roadblock

For more information on this product and others, check out www.simplyyouthministry.com

This last year in ministry has been one of the most mentally and physically challenging for me. I’m learning to live in a place of surrender and dependency on the Holy Spirit, definitely. I think it’s just the trials that we all face to make us stronger and to deepen our faith.I’m discovering as I have been on my journey, many of my friends have been on the same journey just in different ways. I ‘m learning to appreciate this seasoning in my life and to be  thankful for all the resources created for such a time as this! 

 I read Doug Fields book “What Matters Most” a few years ago. I decided to really re-calibrate myself this year and read it again. It was exactly what I needed, again. I suggested the book to a great friend of mine who is not in Youth ministry. I felt the book was written broad enough to captivate a vast number of audiences, regardless of your career or ministry roles. The principles transcend for anyone not just youth workers! My friend was really impacted by the book and wanted to write her thoughts here on SimplyUrbanMinistry Blog!

 When I began reading the book “What matters Most”, I amazed out how someone else in the world totally understood what I was feeling and experiencing at the exact moment. For so long, I wore my busyness as a “badge of honor” and if you weren’t [...]

Continue Reading “What Matter’s Most”

Written by: Volunteer Youth Leader Shawnice Wilson

Shawnice wrote this letter after our team traveled to Orlando for the Youth Pastor Summit last week. Shawnice has volunteered in youth ministry for over 10 years. She and her husband have dedicated their lives to student leadership development.

I was thinking this morning that our youth workers could use a word of thanks.  I attended a Youth Pastor’s Conference this week.  It had great speakers and entertainment and it offered a time of refreshing and refocusing that was much needed for me.  Yet, there was one thing that bothered me.  There was a question that was asked in two of the sessions I attended – one a main session and the other a breakout session.  The question was “How many of you have ever thought about quitting youth ministry?”  I saw tens to maybe hundreds of youth ministry volunteers throw their hands into the air.  What I saw made my heart sink.  I immediately began to think “What can we do?  What’s missing?  What’s lacking?  Is it that they lack the spiritual depth to handle such a position, the greater understanding of what it means to be a youth worker – sacrifice?  Is there a training that we can provide to help these distraught youth workers? 

In all my years of youth ministry, I have never felt that way.  Frustrated – yes, disappointed -yes, in awe of parent responses and student mistakes – yes, but never have I had the [...]

Continue Reading “Thank You!”

Whether we realize it or not, we have a huge impact on our teen’s sense of self-worth. In fact, parents with poor self-esteem usually translate their insecurities to their children, while parents with strong self-esteem usually raise children who view themselves positively. That means you need to be your teen’s greatest champion. Here are 12 ways to cheer him on.

1. Encourage proper identity. Teens experience pressure to succeed at an early age. As a result, they can grow discouraged or feel like they can’t measure up to our hopes or their own goals. Encourage your teen to base her self-worth on who she is in Christ, not what she does. Let her relationship with Christ be her chief identifier.

2. Listen. As parents, we often talk “at” our teens rather than taking the time to listen to them. Cultivate the art of listening. Avoid formulating a mental comeback while your teen is speaking, but really listen to discern fears and emotions behind his words. Let your teen know you are available any time she wants to talk.

3. Validate feelings and opinions. It’s really hard to live in a house where opinions aren’t valued and where you’re not allowed to express emotion. Consider having family forums – times of discussion that involve all family members. Let each family member have a voice.

4. Console and comfort. Your teen may be having some emotional battles at school or in relationships. Each teen [...]

Continue Reading “12 Ways to Instill Self-Worth in Your Students”

Cynthia Logan’s daughter was taunted about photo she sent to boyfriend

Video

‘Sexting’ leads teen to suicide March 6: 18-year-old Jesse Logan took her own life after a nude picture of her was passed around by e-mail. TODAY’s Matt Lauer talks to her mom, Cynthia Logan, and Internet safety expert Parry Aftab about the dangers of “sexting.” Today show

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