Top 10 Cool Youth Group Names in 2019

Looking for cool youth group names in 2019? That's a big job! We know you want this ministry's name to be meaningful, but also wow your students. Cool, but ultimately rooted in the Truth. Good news: you can do both with these 10 name suggestions. These are our top 10 youth group names to use in 2019. Feel free to comment your own ideas at the bottom!   Refuge This name will remind your youth students that God is their refuge and strength in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1). Your youth group can feel like home! Thrive We only truly thrive when we abide with the True Vine. Citizens We're not citizens of this world, we are citizens of heaven! With the many distractions and pressures… Read more »

Why Disciple Now?

Why Disciple Now? As a youth group leader/pastor, you've got lots of options of programs, trends, strategies, and events at your finger tips that are fun and effective. But as you seek to bring something new to your church, you may wonder which is best for impacting your kids for Christ. Disciple Now (DNOW) has gained popularity recently for creating a holistic opportunity for youth to find their place in the church. In this weekend camp alternative, kids are actively discipled by the adults in the church and encouraged to join in the ministry of the church as part of the body, rather than as the kids of the body. So as you look for new ways to engage your students in Christian life and create opportunities for… Read more »

How To Survive A Youth Lock-In

So you think you've got what it takes to stay up all night with a legion of rowdy teens amped up on pepperoni pizza, red vines, and red bulls? We hope you're right. But if you're at all hesitant, we've pulled together our list of tips and tricks that will teach you how to survive a youth Lock-In. Call for Back-Up - At about 3am, you're gonna hit a wall. Your energy will drain and you'll regret ever going into ministry in the first place. That's when you're gonna need somebody who can help you scale the wall and push on till sunrise. Gather a great team of adult volunteers who can back you up when your fatigue catches up with you. Pro-Tip: Break your team… Read more »

How To Pray For Winter Camp

As you prepare everything needed to take your Youth Group to higher ground for Winter Camp this year, there's one detail you don't want to leave out. Prayer. There's nothing more important (and easier to over look), than spending time with the Lord in prayer. But when the stress is high and the deadlines are crushing in, it can be difficult to know how to pray for Winter Camp. Here in Southern California with our droughts and mild weather, it's not always a guarantee that there will be snow in the mountains when we get there. So as camp gets closer, students and leaders begin to murmur and whisper their hopes that there will be white stuff, even just a little, waiting for us in the… Read more »

Top 3 Disciple Now Outcomes

Want your community to recognize the kids in your church as thoughtful, generous, and inspiring? Want your seniors and parents to participate in leading the youth? Want to see your students leading lives that reflect well on Jesus’ name? These top 3 Disciple Now outcomes will breath new life into your youth ministry and your church as a whole. Disciple Now (DNow) is an incredible weekend event/retreat that engages your whole church in the effort to raise up your youth into young adults who are passionate about following Christ. But it’s not like any old youth group getaway. DNow creates opportunities and outcomes you may have thought impossible. Top 3 Disciple Now Outcomes Transformed Teens Let’s be honest—the teen years are the years when we transform the most naturally.… Read more »

Greatest Youth Lock-In Games

Youth group Lock-Ins (or All-Niters as some churches call them) are an incredibly fun (and exhausting) way to connect deeply with the kids in your youth ministry and their unchurched friends. But 12 hours is a long time to fill with interesting activities. So we've pulled together our list of the greatest Youth Lock-In Games of all time to help you make your next All-Niter the best time ever! But before we get started, a warning. Lock-Ins are not for the faint of heart. Staying up all night with dozens of teenagers will test your stamina, your patience, and your sense of humor. This activity requires you to prepare by eating well, getting plenty of rest ahead of time, and prayer for your students, volunteers, and… Read more »

Top 5 Winter Camp Games

You’ve packed the vans full of sleeping bags, sleds, and tire chains. You got more than your share of college ministry buddies to take off work and act as chaperones for the week. The cabins are reserved, the message notes are printed, and sign-ups went better than expected. And you’ve got the most important component of the youth group winter camp machine paper clipped together in your hot little hands - the hold-harmless release forms.   That’s because you’ve got planned some of the rowdiest, coldest, most snow-tacular games ever thought up for the kids in your church. So to help you fill in the gaps, we’ve collected the Top 5 Winter Camp Games for church youth groups.   Broom Ball If you’re looking for a way to give your… Read more »

5 Day of Service Ideas to Reach Your Community for Christ

So you’ve convinced your staff and congregation that the next step in growth as a church is to do an all-church day of service to your community. That’s awesome! But what kinds of service projects will excite the body and impact your neighborhood for Christ?   Lots of churches are looking outside their 4 walls to serve their cities and towns in tangible ways. But many times the options for service aren’t very obvious or they’re difficult to arrange. So, we pulled together a quick list of 5 Day of Service ideas that are easy to organize and get us all geared up for getting our hands dirty in Jesus names.     Serve The Servants You’d be surprised what gets cut from the budget of your local Police Department. In… Read more »

What Do Churches Do On October 31st?

  When did Halloween become the biggest holiday of the year? For those of us who have been around for a few decades or more, the immense commercial attention and community activities available on October 31st is astounding! What was once a 'Seasonal Section' in the toy stores and one TV special repeated every year, is now a massive cultural touchstone, with 2 months of retail build up and a flood of movies and TV tie-ins.   So as the church continues to be an influence in the community, it does what it can to connect with and impact the surrounding neighborhoods with alternate activities - with a little less spooky, and a lot more attention on Jesus.   We checked out churches across the country to see what they're… Read more »

How To Be Wild & Free: 3 Tangible Results Of CSR For Small Business

“The purpose of life is to discover your gift; the work of life is to develop it; and the meaning of life is to give your gift away.” — David Viscott You may think it’s a little odd that a t-shirt company’s favorite phrase is “It’s not about t-shirts.” After all, if it’s not about t-shirts, why get into the t-shirt business in the first place? But the truth is, a business worth having is never about the product it sells. It’s about much, much more. Don Kick, the founder of Impact Shirts, got into the t-shirt business to use his creativity to help churches, businesses, and schools unite their members and help their communities thrive. In 25 years of business, he has served thousands of everyday… Read more »