Chris Wilterdink (WJ)

I say, “A local church just hired a new Director of Youth Ministry. It is a full-time paid position, and it is this person’s first paid experience in youth ministry.” Before reading on, formulate a picture in your mind of the typical person taking on their first paid youth ministry job. Are they “green”? Are Continue Reading...

I just returned from Las Vegas where I participated in Relevance LEAD http://live.relevancelead.com/ and Relevance X http://www.relevancex.com/ Each event is designed to bring together young adults (YAs) in the UMC. Relevance X has been going on for several years as an fellowship, service, keynote style event weekend. It initially began as an event for the Continue Reading...

In the first several weeks of January 2012, the Supreme Court made a ruling on the case of Hannah-Tabor v EEOC. This case examined the rules under which religious institutions (like churches) must operate in regards to the treatment of their workers, including hiring and firing practices. This case highlights the need for churches, especially Continue Reading...

Given the chance, how would you divide the following word? GODISNOWHERE Most naturally the spaces make either GOD IS NOWHERE or GOD IS NOW HERE. I’m sure that many of us have used this simple exercise to look at assumptions we hold about God, perhaps discussions on the difficulties of Biblical translation, or even discussions Continue Reading...

Here in the Western Jurisdiction, and indeed across the whole of the US, Annual Conferences are reorganizing and restructuring themselves – to become leaner, more efficient, and highly cost effective. While each Annual Conference sets up their new structures and roles, some young-people specific staff now find themselves either without jobs or with revamped portfolios Continue Reading...

If any of you attended the National Youth Worker’s Convention from Youth Specialties this year, you probably were among the first wave of folks to experience the YS Network. At first glance, YSnetwork.com appears to act very similarly to many other social media sites. Therefore you may be asking yourself, “Why do I need to Continue Reading...

Seemingly no matter the depth of transgression or how painful the series of events that play out because of poor choices, we must take time for reflection and have the chance to learn from mistakes that others have made. I believe this statement true both on a personal and institutional level. The following observations address Continue Reading...

With the size and spacing of Annual Conference Events, some groups of young people ache for more chances to connect with their fellow young people from different churches in their area. Why not explore different options within your districts for brief and cheap multi-church events? Group has recently revamped its “1 By Youth” program into Continue Reading...

So in between YOUTH 2011 in Purdue and Sacramento, I took a Sunday off of church – I had fallen behind on my yard work with so much time on the road and my front yard was in desperate need of weeding and general TLC. Little did I know that by heading out in the Continue Reading...

There are a wealth of available tools and tips to help you evaluate your ministry – many of them aimed at helping those who minister with young people to evaluate and plan their ministries more effectively. They can be complex or simple – but often they use terms and concepts that can be difficult for Continue Reading...