If you are like me you try to read as many articles, blogs and books as possible but just cannot catch all of them.  “In Case You Missed It” is my way of pointing out a few “reads” that I think are too good to miss.

Small Groups Cover a Multitude of Styles – Brandon Baker

“The sermons are relevant and I love my small group.”

Each year when I interview Abilene Christian University students for our intern position I hear some version of that phrase from the one’s that attend the Beltway Park Baptist Church. While ten years ago I may have had 5% of the students I interviewed say that they attend Beltway, now I assume they attend Beltway unless otherwise specified.

The small town of Abilene is littered with Church of Christ options for the Church of Christ college crowd. And yet, they have been increasingly choosing to attend this particular Baptist church.  But why?

There are many factors that contribute to Beltway’s success in reaching the college crowd. The facility is modern, the preacher is relatively young, the leadership is Spirit-led, and “they have instruments” (Church of Christ phrase). But these are not the reasons that are overwhelming cited by the college students. “THE SERMONS ARE RELEVANT AND I LOVE MY SMALL GROUP”

Read more here.

How to Lead and Keep Volunteers – Doug Fields

My dentist has a plaque on his wall that reads, “You don’t have to floss all your teeth, just the ones you want to keep!” I hate flossing … but I get the point.

There’s a similar principle in leading volunteers: “You don’t have to encourage/affirm all your volunteers, just the ones you want to keep!”

Most leaders understand how vital the principle of affirmation is when leading volunteers. Good leaders already know this!

Volunteers are not serving for the money (duh, that’s why they’re called “volunteers”) … they have their own reasons for why they volunteer their time (I believe the two biggest reasons are because they either feel called, or someone asked them—but that’s for another post at another time), they have their own inner motivation that connects to their “why” … but a good leader can add to a volunteer’s longevity by delivering some timely encouragement.

Read more here.

Helping Disconnected Students Connect – Justin Herman

Whenever we talk about increasing ministry impact on students’ lives, too often we think about those students who are the mainstays, who are the most ingrained in our ministry’s programs and initiatives. It’s easy to see why we think this way. You see these students every week. They’re fresh on your mind. But, the problem is that not all of the students you have the chance to interact with are in a small group, or are attending your events. Not everyone of your students goes on a mission trip. See where I’m headed?

As we seek to make the most impact with what we’ve been given, maybe we should be asking how we can seek to impact those students who might be the most disconnected.

When we begin to consider our impact on disconnected students, our minds should immediately turn to our adult volunteers. These leaders are our best foot forward at making disconnected students feel connected. And not just any leaders. You need leaders who understand how to be welcoming to disconnected and unfamiliar students. 

Making disconnected students feel welcome has the potential to be one of the most vital parts of your youth ministry.

It starts with a student’s first impression. Do you have a welcome team of volunteers as a part of your student ministry? Do you make the first fifteen seconds of a student’s arrival at church great? Do students walk away with a sense of belonging? This is an easy thing to pass over and to drop the ball on when it comes to how we train our leaders. Trust me. I’ve dropped the ball on it myself.

So with the perspectives of both having done it well, and having neglected it, I have a few thoughts on the subject:

Read more here.