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.

Things I Love About Having Kids In Youth Ministry

This past Sunday I had the privilege of baptizing two of my daughters along with other students from our ministry.  It was an amazing day and a tremendous privilege.  A definite benefit to me being in ministry. In my last post I shared hard things about having kids in Youth Ministry.  While there are things…

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TLH022: Getting Adults To REALLY Pray for Your Students

What if you could REALLY get Adults to pray for students in your Youth Ministry? In today’s episode we are tackling that very topic.  Tony Souder shares about the Pray For Me Campaign and how you can launch it in your church. Links mentioned: Pray For Me Campaign Chattanooga Youth Network THL007: Why They Stay…

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TLH021: Making The Most of Summer in Youth Ministry

Summer in Youth Ministry can look WAY different from the school year.  With summer comes huge potential for your Youth Ministry. This doesn’t happen automatically though.  It cannot be assumed.  So what things are needed to make sure that you really do make the most of your Youth Ministry in Summer? Links mentioned: Building the All Star…

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Hard Things About Having Kids In Youth Ministry

Having children and being a Youth Pastor has both advantages and disadvantages.  I’ve previously written about events that changed my ministry forever.  Having children was definitely one of those. There are though some things I don’t like and worry about when it comes to being in Youth Ministry and having children.  These particularly seem to…

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TLH020: Qualities of a Vibrant Youth Ministry

What does a vibrant Youth Ministry look like?  You might be surprised.  In today’s episode Mark Oestreicher (Marko) shares 4 qualities of a vibrant Youth Ministry.  These are qualities that ANY Youth Ministry COULD have.  There are some huge takeaways from this episode. Links mentioned: WhyIsMarko.com @markosbeard TheYouthCartel.com Resources mentioned in this Podcast: Hopecasting: Finding, Keeping…

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TLH019: Inspiring Teens to Serve Others

In a culture that tells students it is all about them, how do we inspire teens to serve others?  How do we encourage them so see those around them and be moved with compassion to serve? In today’s episode Brooklyn Lindsey shares how to inspire teens to be more and do more, especially when it comes to…

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