Author

About the Author
I am a Youth Ministry veteran of twenty four years, and currently serve as the Student Pastor at High Desert Church.  I help equip and encourage Youth Pastors through this blog and podcast The Longer Haul.  My passion is helping Youth Pastors create a ministry of longevity that they truly love.  I am the grateful husband of Sarah and the dad of Emma, Anna, Lizzy, and Jack.  I am a speaker, lover of vintage VW’s, and the owner of one 1972 VW Westfalia Bus.

TLH046: When You Need a Downshift In Your Youth Ministry

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed, on the verge of burnout, and need a downshift in your youth ministry? One of the MAJOR keys to sticking around and have longevity in your youth ministry is being able to recognize and navigate slowing down from time to time.  Sometimes slowing now allows you to…

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TLH045: Reaching Post-Christian Students in Youth Ministry

Let’s be honest the culture has shifted drastically.  We can no longer assume that the teens who come into our ministry have an understanding of even the basics of the Christian faith.  This drastically changes how we minister to youth. So what are the keys to reaching these post-christian students in our youth ministries? In…

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My Collision Course With Burnout

I was on a collision course with burnout that was inevitable. Those close to me would have seen it coming. I didn’t. I knew I was skirting dangerously close to an unhealthily load and pace, but I just kept telling myself I could handle it all. I kept saying that is was only for a little while…

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TLH044: Surviving a Downturn in Youth Ministry Numbers

If you stay in youth ministry long enough you will face a season of a downturn in your youth ministry numbers.  Knowing how to push through this and strengthen your ministry in light of it is essential.  If though you manage this well you can actually come out stronger in the end having gone through this….

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TLH043: Secrets to a Great Guest Speaker

Bringing in a guest speaker for you youth can be a great thing…or it can go terribly wrong.  So what are the secrets to a great guest speaker? In this episode Chase Snyder and I tackle this and more.  The secrets to a guest speaker aren’t complicated, but they are really important.  In this interview…

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7 Secrets to Getting More Students to Sign Up for Your Youth Events

We all want to know the secrets to getting more students to sign up for your youth events right?  You know the feeling.  You’ve spent hours and hours planning an event.  You’ve invested time, energy, money into it.  All of this and then no one really shows up.  Or at least not as many as you’d…

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