2017 is upon us as are the perennial New Year’s Resolutions. I applaud the attempts made through this holiday tradition to bring about change, but many are temporary. Students need more than holiday resolutions as they face challenges for the New Year. Now is a great time to invest a little extra time helping them think through those challenges. While…
There is no “Secret Formula” for bringing Generation’s Y and Z to Christ. However, there is a “Gospel Magnet” for attracting them. This may sound contradictory but hear me out. There is a difference in a “Secret Formula” and what I refer to as a “Gospel Magnet.” A formula suggests “X easy steps” to salvation or perhaps some procedure that…
Few things are more powerful than a generation of students awakened to prayer. History is replete with examples of young men and women in prayer groups under haystacks, and in churches or school rooms. Most were armed with nothing more than burdened hearts and a belief in God. It is not pushing a point to draw lines of correlation from…
“I’ve always been drawn to hands. I think it’s because it’s the way we touch people,” wrote Rachel Joy Scott in her journal. “If one person could go out of their way to show compassion, it could start a chain reaction.” Based on her honest and heartfelt journals, this hope-filled story reminds us that when we put our lives in…
She was just 15. The stray bullet was not meant for her. The news commentator said she was a victim--Caught in the Crossfire, but Trinity was still dead. Trinity’s high profile death exposes a larger epidemic that youth face globally--a fear for their own safety. Students are Caught in a Crossfire of Fear--and not just from a hail of bullets.…
I have always been inquisitive, having a desire to experiment. When I was only ten, I had a chemistry set. But only for a few months because I blew up my mother’s kitchen cabinets. I found out too late that the chemicals I used needed a converter. I also tried experimenting with electricity before I understood there was a difference…
You dreamed of it, wished for it and requested it but never really thought it would happen. Well…it is happening! You don’t have to travel to some distant region, learn a new dialect or talk the church board into a plane ticket…not if you live in New York or New England! If you live in the New York/New England area…
My blog last week addressed some serious concerns relative to girls. This guest blog by my wife Betsi provides some excellent direction concerning the discipleship of young women. Betsi is well qualified in the area of discipleship as she practices 2 Timothy 2:2 effectively and consistently. She has introduced to Christ and discipled more girls/women than I can count so…
Slavery at any time, under any circumstances, in any culture is wrong! For many people slavery is a topic in a history book. For the informed person, slavery is as much an atrocity in our present society as in any period of history. Life has been even more devalued today than when this country was at Civil War. The price…
Summer camp is a vital tool in the student ministry toolbox. It can either be a time of life change or simply a week of fun! As an annual event on the calendar; it plays a strategic role in the overall ministry of the church. Student camps come in all shapes and sizes. Like your church, they each have their…