Reggie Joiner's Blog, page 35

Explaining Orange to Holiday Visitors at Your Church

The holidays are here and so are new families. Something about fried turkeys and cute baby Jesus draws people to our ministries like a powerful magnet, during this wonderful time of the year. Though some of these families are visiting cousin Jeffrey for Thanksgiving, or visiting their in-laws for Christmas, or maybe ringing in the New Year with Grandma, other families live near our churches and are visiting because of the holiday season.

Regardless of their reasons for visiting, sharing the ...

8 Do’s and Don’ts for Interacting with High Schoolers on Social Media

Social media is the place where all the world’s a stage and you—a grown adult—find yourself playing understudy to the next generation. Hey, we get it. As soon as you get a grasp on Facebook or Instagram they announce another big change. And new social media platforms are popping up all the time.

You might be tempted to juststay away from social media, but then you’d miss out on some big opportunities for connection.

If you want to grow in relationship with your teen, you have to be willing to...

Christmas, Volunteers and All-The-Things

We all know when you are in ministry world you have to start thinking about Christmas a few days after you survive promotion Sunday. Our minds are always thinking ahead to the next thing. And Christmas is a biggie! So, now that your pastor has made the final call on the days and times of the Christmas Eve service, you’ve reviewed the curriculum, planned your volunteer Christmas party, planned a family Christmas night, scheduled an event to promote your missions emphasis for the month, set the...

3 Biggest Hiring Mistakes Pastors Make

By Tobin Perry

James looks like the perfect candidate for your church’s new youth minister role. His resume is spotless. His experience is unquestionable. His leadership credentials are off the charts.

So you hire him right on the spot.

At first, it seems like a great hire. The rest of the staff loves him. He does a great job of engaging your youth. Parents think you hit it out of the park.

But a few months in, you notice something. Your new youth minister isn’t fitting well in the new...

In Times Of Crisis: Create Space For Grace

Have you ever felt stunned when a child or teenager shares something shocking?

Have you ever witnessed a crisis happening and wondered what to do?

Have you ever watched a student leave your church knowing the fears that wait for them at home or at school?

Have you ever been invited to know more about a kid’s inner battle but haven’t been sure what to say?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’re probably a parent, a youth leader, or maybe even a loving friend who wants to help...

Communicating Vision That Invests in Insiders but Prioritizes Outsiders

“As a church, we should invest in insiders, but prioritize outsiders.”

Jeff Henderson tweeted this not long ago. It packs a powerful punch to the everyday choices we make in ministry. It’s easy for us to think, yeah, of course I do that . . . the vision of our ministry is blah, blah, blah. However, when those insiders and outsiders are real people, with real concerns and their own ideas, living up to this idea can be a struggle. Maybe you remember the first time—the first time that you were...

Change Is a Process, Not a Position

I will never forget one of the first campus visits I made as children’s director at Elevation Church. I was newly promoted from kids’ campus director, and I was thrilled at the opportunity to lead the charge and make a greater impact on families. I climbed out of my car and skipped to the door. Okay, I may not have skipped, but I was definitely walking on clouds as I made my way in, clipboard in hand. It was going to be a great day, a start to an incredible journey.

It was most definitely the...

Letting Kids Be the Tradition-Makers

A Birthday Cake for Jesus

He was only four years old, but my son was very concerned as we carefully placed the nativity under the Christmas tree. “If this is Jesus’ birthday, why doesn’t He get a cake?” I looked at him, my mind racing to come up with some great theological statement about God in flesh not really caring that much for buttercream and sprinkles.

But in that moment, the Lord reminded me that Ian’s real question wasn’t about the cake at all—it was about inviting Jesus into the...

Do Your Volunteers Know You Care?

A few weeks ago I sat in on staff meeting with the kid’s ministry team from my church, Cross Point in Nashville, Tenn. This is an amazing team. They lead kids ministries at six different campuses all over the greater Nashville area. But, they come together each week to meet as one team, one church body. There are so many things I would love to share from our meeting, but I would have to write a book, not a blog post.

One of the ladies threw out the question, “How do our volunteers know we...

Saying Less, More Often

“If you knew kids and students would be more engaged with your message if you packaged it differently, would you?” – Reggie Joiner

You have about 40 hours a year . . . that’s it. After the sick days and vacation time, the kids and students who come to your church will have about 40 hours to hear you present to them the most important, life-changing, and essential message that they will ever hear. Those same kids will spend about 10 times that, 400 hours a year on video games. Upwards of 500...