Category Archives: student ministry

Great Books for Christian Parents

By Cary Schmidt | March 8, 2010

Frequently someone asks what books I would recommend on youth ministry or parenting. They are generally the same books. While there are some good books on youth ministry, the most helpful to youth ministry are those on the family. Whether you are a parent or a youth pastor, I would urge you to read everything [...]

Also posted in books and resources, family | Tagged adolescence, biblical living, book review, books, family, parenting, student ministry, teaching, teen life | 5 Comments

Problems with Fun-Focused Youth Ministry

By caryschmidt | February 15, 2010

Is your youth ministry Bible-focused or fun-focused? It’s easy to focus more on making the youth group fun than on making it biblical. I’m all for having a good time with students in the right context, but we have a much higher calling. How easy it is to fall into the trap of spending more [...]

Posted in student ministry | Tagged biblical living, local church, ministry, student ministry, sunday school, teen life | 7 Comments

10 Things Teens Won’t Tell You (Part 1)

By caryschmidt | February 8, 2010

Have you noticed that teens are tight lipped? For a myriad of reasons—usually intimidation being the biggest—they really find it difficult to talk to adults at times. This is especially true with parents. In every home, there is a spiritual battle against authentic communication. Let’s face it—the devil doesn’t want parents and teens to truly [...]

Also posted in family | Tagged adolescence, family, parenting, student ministry, teen life | 1 Comment

Transforming Teens—From Kurt Skelly

By caryschmidt | December 2, 2009

If you work with young people, I want to encourage you to read the blog series “Transforming Teens” by Pastor Kurt Skelly. This is presently a seven-part series of articles that examines how Paul mentored Timothy. It is insightful, well-written, and helpful for anyone who is mentoring young lives.
These articles highlight seven critical qualities/steps of [...]

Posted in student ministry | Tagged college and career, leadership, student ministry | Leave a comment

Thoughts on Effective Youth Ministry

By caryschmidt | November 19, 2009

A frequent question: What are some keys for effective youth ministry? While I’m certainly not the authority, here are a few thoughts that I’ve seen the Lord bless (not listed in any particular order)…
A Strong Local Church—Jesus died for the church. It is His divine authorized institution for His work on earth. A youth group [...]

Posted in student ministry | Tagged college and career, local church, ministry, student ministry, sunday school | 6 Comments

7 Big Parenting Mistakes

By caryschmidt | November 10, 2009

Here’s a short list of mistakes that all parents can make when it comes to seeing, understanding, and biblically responding to the spiritual growing pains of life. (This is as much to myself as to others.) Stop and think about it—and pray for godly wisdom in responding to the issues of your children’s hearts with [...]

Also posted in family | Tagged adolescence, counseling, family, parenting, student ministry, teen life | 2 Comments

Struggling Teenagers? Don’t Give Up Early!

By caryschmidt | November 4, 2009

Have you had a student come through your youth group, graduate, and not mature spiritually the way you hoped? It seems no matter how we pray, labor, plan, or serve—there are some that graduate and drift spiritually.
What about trying to help a struggling student, only to feel like you’re spinning your wheels? Gauging by the [...]

Also posted in family | Tagged college and career, counseling, parenting, student ministry, teen life | Leave a comment

Youth Ministry Idea: Developing Leaders

By Cary Schmidt | September 21, 2009

Quick post for youth leaders (with the spirit of idea sharing) related to developing servant leaders in student ministry.
J. Oswald Sanders’ classic book Spiritual Leadership is one of the great reads on the subject. It’s worthy of revisiting on a regular basis.
The first time I read this book, I was in 8th grade, and my [...]

Posted in student ministry | Tagged book review, leadership, ministry, student ministry | 8 Comments

The Top Questions of Young Christian Singles

By Cary Schmidt | September 10, 2009

Throughout the year, our ministry to College and Career and Singles brings us into counseling, retreats, and venues where young Christian singles are airing really good questions. I have previously shared the details behind our Q&A times (both for teens as well as singles) and also the top 15 questions that teens ask.
Here’s the most [...]

Also posted in counseling | Tagged biblical living, college and career, counseling, sunday school, teaching | 2 Comments

10 Ways to Lose a Teen’s Attention

By Cary Schmidt | August 24, 2009

Quick post—the top ten ways to completely bore and disconnect with those you teach:
1. Say something not worth hearing—This is basic, but if you want people to listen, start by saying something worth hearing. The number one reason we lose the attention of those we teach is that we’re not convincing them that what we [...]

Posted in student ministry | Tagged communication, leadership, ministry, student ministry, sunday school, teaching | 4 Comments

Suggested Family Cell Phone Guidelines

By Cary Schmidt | August 22, 2009

Seems like kids are getting cell phones younger and younger these days! This post is one I’m only doing because of requests. Several years ago, as our boys became teens, we decided to get cell phones for them—primarily so we could get a hold of them in relation to school and youth group outings. It [...]

Also posted in family | Tagged adolescence, communication, family, parenting, student ministry, technology, teen life | 2 Comments

The Power of a Question

By caryschmidt | July 9, 2009

Helping Others by Asking the Right Questions

Not long ago I was on our church campus on an off day. As I left the building, headed home, there was an unfamiliar man taking photos of our buildings. Trying to be hospitable and also cautious, I approached him and kindly asked where he was from. He refused [...]

Also posted in counseling | Tagged communication, counseling, family, leadership, ministry, parenting | 3 Comments

Getting Teens to Air Their Questions

By Cary Schmidt | July 1, 2009

How an Honest Q&A Time Can Help Your Students

This week we’ve been at teen camp with 275 of our teens from LBC. It’s been a great week! One of my favorite aspects of camp is something we instituted a few years ago called “Answers to Tough Questions.” It’s a one hour Q&A time before dinner. [...]

Also posted in counseling | Tagged adolescence, parenting, student ministry, sunday school, teen life | 7 Comments

Beating Post HS Challenges (3)

By Cary Schmidt | June 12, 2009

(This is the third in a series articles about the first big tests that high school graduates face. We’ve been studying them in our senior Sunday school class and I hope these ideas will be helpful to you or those you influence.)

The Challenge of Freedom—this third challenge speaks of the increasing freedoms that always accompany [...]