Category: Resources

Help! I Don’t Know How to Lead Students

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Sometimes in church life we may find ourselves in a role we never dreamed we’d fill. There may be no one else available, or we may feel God pulling us into a space outside our comfort zone. And sometimes, that may be serving in student ministry.

If this is you, or someone you know, let us encourage you/them. Students are amazing and, in our possibly biased opinion, one of the best groups in the church. While working with them may feel overwhelming, we want to encourage you that if you have a heart for students, you can do it.

The reality is that students crave genuine relationships and connection with others. You don’t need to be the cool leader, you just need to be the leader that genuinely cares, shows up, and listens. The best thing you can do is invest consistently in your students by being present, hearing and seeing them, and fostering a safe place for them to be themselves.

So what are some ways you can do this? Take a look at these tips we hope will get you started and help as you continue in this important ministry.

1. Commit to being present.

This doesn’t just mean showing up to every student ministry event, while that is extremely important. Students do need to see you physically present. It also means being mentally present with your students.

You can be mentally present by putting work and life stressors on the back burner and trying not to bring them with you to youth group. You can also make sure to spend your time with the students, not hanging out with other leaders or playing on your phone.

One of the best ways you can show students how important they are is by giving them your undivided attention when you are with them.

2. Actively listen to your students.

Listening is another way to be present. And while we are to guide and shepherd our students, the first thing they need to learn about us is that we are listening to them. This is how we show them that we genuinely care.

Practice active listening by seeking to understand what your students are saying and why, and by asking thoughtful follow-up questions that continue to foster the conversation. Don’t worry about handing out advice and instruction right away, and don’t listen just to give a response. Show students you are someone who will hear them and wants to know what they have to say.

3. Be yourself and don’t fake it.

Students can spot a fake a mile away, they’re naturally good at it. So do yourself a favor and don’t pretend to be something you’re not. Bring your authentic self to youth group and let that person shine.

The reality is not every single student will click with you, and that’s okay. You’re not there to be everyone’s best friend. But students should be able to see and know the real you, that is one of the best ways you can show them that they matter to you. Give students the respect they deserve by being real with them.

4. Have fun.

If you haven’t been around student ministry before, one thing you need to know about students is that they love to have fun. Whether it’s playing 9 Square, hanging out with their friends, playing sports or music at school, getting crafty and creative, or whatever else they enjoy, students are always up for having a good time.

Since your students like to have fun (and because we serve a God who created a world for us to enjoy), we can also have fun with them. It doesn’t mean you have to do all the things, but you can engage and have fun with them. Laugh, enjoy your time with them, play as you are able, and celebrate with them.

Having fun shows your students that you’re relatable, willing to meet them where they are at, and someone who desires to share life with them. And it can show them that you don’t take yourself too seriously.

If you want to dig a little deeper into leading students, we invite you to check out more of our blog posts! Here are a few to get you started:

Leading Students Well in Chaotic Times

Quick Tip: Giving Students Ownership

Leading Small Groups: Self-Guided Discussion

8 Keys to Building a Successful Student Ministry

Are You Asking the Right Questions?

Trip Tricks: Carabiners

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Trips are an amazing part of student ministry because they allow our students to connect with God and one another in intentional and transformative ways. If you’ve been serving in student ministry for any length of time, you are well aware of how important trips are and how much our students love them.

The thing with trips though is that we need to be intentional with them to afford our students the best possible experience that ultimately helps them grow in their relationship with Jesus.

The purpose of this new series, “Trip Tricks,” is to share specific ways we have learned to do this over the years. These are not a one-size-fits-all approach, but instead suggestions that can be molded and shaped to fit your program and student demographic.

When I started working at my current church I inherited a variety of things. Some I kept and others I didn’t. One of the things I kept, and am forever grateful for, are carabiners.

Now you may be wondering, “why on earth do you need carabiners for student ministry?” And no, I am not taking my students rock climbing, although that does sound like fun.

Carabiners are our way of engaging in intentional community and encouragement on trips. They provide students and leaders alike an opportunity to get to know new people and build authentic, biblical community as they grow together.

Allow me to explain. Carabiners are simply the tool we use, and you can utilize any other item for this. We take a bunch of small carabiners and a special memento that we clip to it that has one of the individual trip member’s names on it.

We purchased wooden keychains that have our student ministry logo on it and on the backside we created a sticker via Canva with each person’s name, trip, and year on it. We printed that off on sticker sheets and all of a sudden we have a keepsake for each person.

We then connect each keychain to the carabiner and attach all the carabiners to a holder. The next step is setting the stage.

On the first day or night of the trip we explain very simply what the carabiners are by saying something like this: “Each of you has a carabiner with your name on it that you will be able to take home at the end of the trip. During the trip, you will be getting someone else’s carabiner and your job is to get to know them because we will take time each day (or however often you want to do it) to encourage one another in our group.”

This is a little stretching for some people because it may mean meeting new people or getting stretched outside of their comfort zone. But affording your team an opportunity to build intentional and authentic relationships by encouraging and caring for one another will help your team flourish.

Here is how you can start your share time: have everyone sit in a circle and simply ask for a volunteer, pick someone, or lead by example. Each person will say who they have and then speak words of encouragement and affirmation into their life. Then they hook their carabiner onto the holder and pass it to the person they just encouraged. This continues until everyone has gone.

Now if it doesn’t go in a perfect circle and someone gets called on who already went, we allow them to choose who goes next. Once everyone has shared, you can hand out the carabiners again but make sure everyone gets a new name that isn’t their own.

Typically on a weeklong trip we try to do carabiner sharing at least five times. But that is how our group does it and it is subjective to the group and trip dynamic.

I’ll be honest, the first few times your group does this may feel a little awkward or indifferent. But the more you embrace it and lead by example, the more impactful this time will become. You will begin to see a culture and relational shift among your team as they begin to engage in Christ-centered ways.

The whole point of carabiners is to draw your team closer as they embrace the authentic type of relationships that God desires for us. As they begin to understand what true, authentic, biblical community is about, your team will draw closer together and crave more of what God desires for us.

Review: The Bodies Behind the Bus Podcast

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Elise and I make a habit out of trying to listen to a wide variety of podcasts. Some are humorous, others are true crime, many are focused on ministry, and still others focus on sharing stories and critiques on ministry, leadership, and toxicity.

The Bodies Behind the Bus podcast focuses on the latter part of the list and truly seeks to help the church and ministry leaders be better at how they love, shepherd, and lead the church.

I do want to pause and address the “why” for a moment. Some of you may be asking, “why would you share a resource that can critique the church harshly and point out its flaws?” I think rather than simply ask that question we need to look at the causation for said question.

The cause is this: the church is made up of broken people and when broken people lead without checks, balances, and accountability, problems can and will arise. This leads to toxic leadership, unchecked authority, and a culture of harsh management and fear. This is the “why.”

When the church is made up of broken people, we must be striving to grow and be more aware to protect ourselves from falling into those categories as well as learning and empathizing with others who have been recipients of those negative behaviors.

With that being said, here is why I recommend this podcast. The hosts alternate between interviewing individuals who share their stories, digging deeper into hot topic issues surrounding churches, leadership, and culture, and dialoging about how the church needs to grow and change.

These episodes are highly informative and helpful to understand how to be a better leader who shepherds and cares for the flock. It also helps congregants and lay people understand what healthy leadership should look like while providing helpful and thoughtful ways to engage with your leadership.

The stories you will hear will pull at your heart as you empathize and sympathize with the story tellers. You will hear stories about churches and leaders you may know and many you do not. But by listening to each episode, you are allowing yourself to be shaped into a better leader by learning first and foremost how not to lead but also by becoming a better listener and shepherd for your people.

So often in the stories shared, people aren’t listened to and are dismissed. By allowing your heart and mind to hear these stories, you’re positioning yourself to be a better listener and leader because you’re seeing people where they are at and growing in your relational and emotional intelligence.

I will say this when it comes to The Bodies Behind the Bus: it may be helpful to take your intake slowly rather than the firehose method. These episodes, especially interviews with survivors, can be heavy and soul crushing. They are raw and can feature strong language, and as you hear the stories, stats, and fallout, your soul will grieve deeply. Because of that, it would be helpful to listen to the podcast in bite sized chunks rather than trying to power through many episodes at once.

You may not agree with everything in this podcast. I don’t expect you to. What I would challenge you to do is listen to it and allow for there to be room for empathy and sympathy in your heart as you hear the stories. Then allow for that to help mold you into the shepherd God has called you to be.

Resourcing Leaders

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Elise and I have each been in youth ministry for twenty plus years. That’s crazy when we step back and think about how things have changed during that time. Technology has evolved. How youth groups do things has changed (bye-bye “Fear Factor” challenges). Styles and culture have changed. Students are walking through more difficult things.

Have you seen how things have changed and evolved over the last couple of decades? What about over the past five to ten years? The reality is that our culture and what our students are walking through has changed drastically and will continue to do so. But with that can often comes a feeling of ineptness for ourselves and our volunteers.

If you’re like me you may remember the first time a student came to you about a new issue you hadn’t been taught how to respond to. Maybe it was about eating disorders or disordered eating. Perhaps it was about sex, sexuality, and gender. Maybe it has to do with cutting and self harm. Or was it the time a student talked about the reality of their mental health and how it was affecting them.

Do any of these sound familiar? Have you ever had a student come to you with these issues or any of the litany of others we deal with? Here’s the thing: many of us have had some type of formal training if we are on church staff. Whether it was a single semester class, listening to podcasts, going to conferences, or additional resources at your disposal, you probably have more knowledge than some of your lay people when it comes these issues by nature of your role and responsibilities.

That is not a slight against our volunteers, but instead a challenge for us to be aware of what our people need. Typically, those of us who are leading ministries have more knowledge and awareness of issues or we know what resources to utilize when needed. The majority of our volunteers may not have the same knowledge or background and because of that we bear the responsibility of helping to resource and equip our people.

With that responsibility in mind, we should do all we can to help our people when different issues or circumstances arise. I understand that for many ministry leaders, paying for resources may not be feasible each year or at all. The resources you stock don’t necessarily have to be resources that require you to pay for them.

You could download and print out articles to share. Podcasts are an easy option to resource to your leaders. Websites like The Bible Project have videos, articles, and more for your leaders. Some national ministries may also be willing to send you resources at a discounted rate or for free if you reach out to them about your circumstances.

If you are able to purchase items for your leaders here are some ideas for what you could utilize to resource them.

Study and Journaling Bibles: Having study bibles or journaling bibles for your leaders and students to utilize in small groups, discipleship relationships, or for individual study are great resources.

Bible Study Resources: Equipping your leaders with resources to help students study the Bible is a huge win. This will help your leaders feel prepared and ready to walk with students through God’s Word and help them understand it.

Bible Studies: We love She Reads Truth and He Reads Truth for all of their materials. Their Bible studies are great for students because they don’t speak down to them or try to be hip and cool. Instead they offer topical, whole book, and character Bible studies. While these may seem a little costly you can get digital versions for less and if you subscribe to their emails, you can watch for sales including their clearance sales when books are significantly marked down.

Topical Books: If I have learned anything throughout my years in ministry, it’s never be surprised by the questions you are asked. Whether from students, parents, or leaders, the questions will always be there and they will span a wide swath of issues and circumstances.

With that in mind, we have curated books on a variety of topics to help people think through and navigate different issues. We have books on mental health issues, books on hot button issues in Christendom, books about identity, books on community, small group leading, and more. Basically if we saw a book that would be helpful, we allocated part of our budget to begin building a library of resources.

Scriptural Citations and Resources: One thing we have started to accrue over time is a running list of Scripture references for a variety of issues. So often students are looking for answers and ask “what does God think about this” or “what does the Bible say about that.” Having a running list of references allows us to resource our leaders and to point them toward what the Bible has to say.

What resources do you make sure to give to your leaders?

Resource: Gen Alpha Report from One Hope

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I always try to stay up to date on how culture is shifting, what students are engaged in, and what future generations are turning to. I am also always on the lookout for free resources; we all know that money is tight in student ministry. So when those two pieces come together, I jump at the opportunity to gain resources, insight, and equipping.

Enter One Hope. I wasn’t super familiar with this ministry until recently, but found out about it through an email blast from one of their ministry partners. They sent out an email with a title asking, “Want to know more about gen alpha for free?”

Of course I had to check it out. And what I found was a great resource that is rooted in research and diligent study of this upcoming generation. One Hope’s mission is “to affect destiny by providing God’s eternal Word to all the children and youth of the world.” With a mission statement like that, and by doing some digging on their website, I knew I had to check out this report.

In order to download the report all you need to do is go to this link and enter just your name and email address. A few moments later check your inbox for the full sixty three page report. This is a great resource that is highly informative and provides insight into not just the habits and rhythms of Generation Alpha, but also insight into how they engage with media, families, and faith.

I’ll be honest, there was information that I found to be very helpful as we lead and care for the upcoming generations. As we seek to reach students where they are at, it is helpful to know how they are viewing their lives, relationships, and faith because it allows us to help shepherd and disciple them and their families. This report provides us with a wealth of knowledge and ways to practically engage with our students.

You may not agree with all the findings, or perhaps you haven’t yet seen some of these perspectives pop up in your ministry just yet. But knowledge and insight are powerful tools that allow us to grow and pour into our students in effective and beneficial ways. My encouragement would be to download and read the report and think critically about how we can care well for Generation Alpha as we continue to point them to Jesus.

Resource: FYI Report on Youth Leader Burnout & Wellbeing

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I love getting resources whether they are digital or physical. I’m the guy who is always signing up to get newsletters, promotional materials, and always looking for a free t-shirt or hat. But aside from the random freebies and additions to my closet, I’m also on the lookout for resources that help me grow as a youth pastor, an individual, and as a disciple of Jesus.

One of the resources I recently obtained had to do with the holistic health of student pastors, put out by the Fuller Youth Institute. Back in the days of the Youth Specialities annual conference, I signed up to receive their emails and digital resources, and I can honestly say I’ve never been disappointed with what they send.

This last week I had an email from FYI pop into my inbox with this title: “🚨 ALERT: High burnout month ahead!” I’ll be honest, the title immediately grabbed my attention and upon reading it I saw that it contained an amazing free resource. The “FYI Report on Youth Leader Burnout & Wellbeing” is available as a free download at this link. You will need to enter your name and email info, but I can promise you that it is totally worth it.

Right on the sign up page for the free download, Fuller Youth Institute gives you a brief preview of what’s in their report. It includes “the latest research on the experiences of today’s youth leaders, firsthand insight and stories, tips for developing strategies, and practical recommendations.” What I can tell you is if you thought that sounds good, the report is a hundred times better.

Fuller’s report is constructed in an easy-to-read way, filled with stats and solid research, punctuated by real life experiences from many different youth leaders, investigative in its approach, and encouraging and challenging in its challenge to youth leaders, churches, and church staff. At the end of the day this report is encouraging because while it focuses on the realities of burnout amongst youth workers, it doesn’t claim that as the end result.

Instead, it highlights how we can overcome and avoid that result so we can thrive in our roles. The encouragement to pastors and church leaders is also beneficial as it provides them with thoughtful and practical ways to come alongside youth workers as they walk with them and encourage them.

All in all, this is an amazing resource to read through and be aware of. The end game may still be a struggle, especially if you don’t have support in your role. But this report helps you to see you aren’t alone and provides solid responses to help you thrive in your position.

It also equips you with resources to highlight the necessity of partnership within the church that may help others come alongside of you. I just wouldn’t recommend passive aggressively placing this in your senior pastor’s mailbox. Instead, consider sharing it with them over coffee or lunch, or doing the same with an elder or two. The more relationally intentional you are in sharing this with leadership, the greater the potential they will listen and respond.

So what are you waiting for? Go download this report now!

Happy 2025: Celebrating 6 Years of Kalos

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As we ring in the New Year, we are also celebrating our sixth year of writing and posting on this site! We have loved getting to share out of our personal experiences and life lessons over the years we’ve served in student ministry. The highs and the lows, the wins and losses, and the encouragements and painful moments have all contributed to what we have shared here.

While we look ahead to a new year, we also want to look back at some of our favorite pieces. We’ve published over 300 blog posts these past six years, and here are some of our top picks!

Nick: 10 Little or No-Prep Youth Group Games

Not gonna lie, this one took me back to when we first started Kalos. It’s one of my first posts and honestly is one that I am super proud of because it relates to everyone serving in student ministry. We have all experienced that “oh no” moment when we realize we don’t have a game ready for youth group and our supplies and time are in short supply. These games are ones I keep in my back pocket for just such an occasion and I hope that they are helpful to others serving in student ministry.

Elise: Get Off the Fence: Why Students Need You Now

This was one of my first posts for the blog, but it also is timeless because students will always need committed, dedicated leaders in their lives. It contains a message that endures over time, and I hope encourages those who doubt their ability to serve the next generation.

Also, a good follow-up to this post is one I wrote in 2020: Questions to Ask Yourself Before Volunteering in Student Ministry.

Nick: Quick Tip: Don’t Forget Your Family

This is actually one of my most recent posts, but it’s one that is near and dear to me because I think it’s a reminder I (and others) need to hear. It’s one that reminds me to make a constant effort to have my priorities in order and to prioritize my family.

Elise: 8 Tips for Ministering to Pastor’s Kids

As a PK who has also been a youth leader for PKs, I still love this post. It’s a reminder of what most PKs need: a safe place to be accepted and challenged. And while some can certainly be difficult to deal with, loving PKs well is worth it.

Nick: Quick Tip: Finding Community

Another relatively new post, but one that speaks to my heart because ministry can be lonely for staff members and spouses. Elise and I have both experienced isolation and loneliness during our time in ministry, and my hope with this blog post was to encourage all of us to find and join a community. In doing this, you will find your overall health grow and become healthier, and you will also find more joy and value in your life.

Elise: 5 Tips for Navigating Current Conversations

I wrote this post back in 2020, but it feels almost more relevant now. In the shifting tides of culture and politics, we encounter so much division–both outside and within the church. There have been so many instances where I wish we would just listen to each other in order to understand, rather than assume. I hope that this post remains relevant and helpful, and not just for youth leaders, but for all who follow Jesus Christ.

Nick: Packing for Trips: Leaders

This is a post that I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from over the years from other youth workers, and honestly was a post that was born out of years of taking trips. For me I love this post because it’s a practical way to help other leaders prepare and think through practical things that they will potentially need on a trip. You may not use all of these items, but being prepared is key and I’m very proud of the way this has helped others prepare and succeed on their trips.

Elise: Book Review: She Deserves Better

I loved this book so much, I had to highlight it once again. For those of us who grew up in purity culture, who work with young people, who have our own kids, or who lead within the church, this book is essential. I am thankful for the health, science, and godliness She Deserves Better brings to conversations surrounding gender, sexuality, and self. Check out the post, but even more so, check out the book!

Resource: A Fun Christmas Party Activity

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This year at our Christmas Party we are bringing back an activity we took a risk on last year because it paid huge dividends. The activity: decorate your own Christmas t-shirt with the opportunity to win a prize for your small group.

Last year we went with Christmas hoodies but that proved to be cost prohibitive, so this year we switched to t-shirts. The excitement, expectation, and energy this competition created has blown us away, and so we want to share this with you as a resource you could incorporate into your Christmas parties.

The objective: Create a Christmas-themed t-shirt that will impress the judges and allow your team or small group to win the prize.

The rules: Teams or small groups must design and create a Christmas-themed t-shirt using only the elements on their table. They cannot bring in any outside elements. Teams may exchange items with the game host if there are additional items available. Teams will have a set time to create their shirt and when the time ends, a member of the team must be wearing it.

Penalties: Teams lose points for using outside items, not having the shirt on at the end of the build time, having items on the floor (trust us, your facility team will thank you), not listening, or whatever else you’d like there to be penalties for. The judges can choose how many points to deduct for each offense.

Judging: Each person wearing the t-shirt gets 30-60 seconds to present (think runway style) their group’s design and explain why they should win. Judges will confer and choose the team they think has won. Judges can use scorecards to rank the teams in different categories (most unique, most likely made by someone’s grandmom, most over the top, most annoying, etc.) on a scale from 1 to 5. Judges can deduct points throughout the competition for penalties.

Prizes: We decided last year to incorporate a prize that we could reuse each year that would allow students to have a lasting legacy at our Christmas parties. We found an inflatable snowman that we have the winning groups sign with markers. We bring it out each year for everyone to see past winners and for the new winners to sign.

Variants: We are incorporating a new element this year. Teams can win advantages by participating in two additional competitions. The first competition is a lookalike contest where they need to do their best to look like a member of our student ministry team. The winners of that competition receive a golden gift box of extra supplies that only their team can use. The other competition is the team who brings the most first time guests gets a time advantage.

Supplies: We use large or extra large t-shirts with a variety of decorations including bells, tinsel, ornaments, bottle brush trees, fairy lights, jingle bells, pipe cleaners, bows, ribbon, and any other fun dollar store or Amazon items. We also make sure to have glue guns and glue sticks to attach the items, and we found these for a good price on Amazon a year ago. Lastly, we got some multicolored fabric markers to allow teams to draw and write on their shirts. The key is utilizing fun elements that are inexpensive.

Communicating with Your Significant Other

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Elise and I have been married for over eleven years, and both of us would say our communication has evolved since we first got married. I can speak from my perspective and share that my communication didn’t just get better but was more of a roller coaster. There were times I communicated clearly and authentically with a desire for the relationship to grow and flourish. But there have also been times where I haven’t been a great communicator. I would shut down, I wouldn’t share my emotions, and I wouldn’t communicate well overall.

The reason I share this is not to create a “poor me” mentality, but to share with you that I get it. Communication can be hard. Communication takes work. Communication is necessary. My desire today is to share some lessons Elise and I have learned about communication in hopes of giving you some resources and an opportunity to learn sooner than we did in certain areas.

I will also say this: learning healthy communication isn’t just for those with significant others. While this post is written to that group of individuals, these truths and pieces of advice can be applied to all relationships.

Make sure to spend time together.

Let me explain this because I think a large portion of us would say a resounding “we do” to this statement. And while you may spend quantitative time, is it quality time? Were there screens involved? Did you communicate? Was there intimacy (not just sex but true, holistic intimacy)? Was the conversation meaningful? Did each person feel seen, heard, and loved? When we can answer those questions in the affirmative, then we are truly spending intentional time with our significant other.

Listen well.

Listening is a skill and an art. It takes time, intentionality, and practice to listen well. Listen not to solve problems, but to understand and know the other person. When you listen in that way, it makes the time purposeful and not simply about finishing the conversation or righting the issue.

When there is conflict, be willing to engage with it.

Please hear me on this: I’m not advocating for seeking out conflict. Please do not run and try to find issues or problems to turn into a bigger issue. Instead, we all know that in every relationship there will be some type of conflict. Some minor and some major. How you deal with that conflict is paramount to helping your relationship heal and thrive.

Don’t run from the conflict, don’t dismiss it, and don’t attack the other person. Instead remember who the conflict is with: your best friend. Remember what the goal is: it isn’t winning, it’s thriving together as one. When you put things in perspective, conflict doesn’t have to be bad but instead can be handled well where each party communicates, is seen and heard, and resolution begins.

Be mindful of your tone.

Our communication can often be changed by our tone and approach to it. If we come to the conversation with an agenda or a specific attitude, that will be communicated toward our significant other. We also need to be aware of how and why we are saying the things we are communicating. Sarcasm, critical or accusatory words, or even manipulative comments can be extremely detrimental to the relationship. When you’re mindful of your tone, you are going to truly be able to communicate and care well for one another.

Share authentically.

For some reason couples don’t always share how they are feeling. Whether they don’t feel they can, are trying to avoid conflict, or don’t know how, we must be able to be authentic in how we communicate. We need to share feelings, both good and bad. We need to take off the masks and be honest with each other. We need to be vulnerable and receive vulnerability well from one another. When you share authentically and value your spouse when they do, you are creating a safe and healthy space for your relationship to flourish and grow.

How to Make Leader Training Fun

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Let’s be honest for a moment: we have all been to a training session that has been boring. It could’ve been an information dump, a boring speaker, stuff we knew, or the environment was not conducive to training, which made us fall asleep. I’m not saying I have done that, but I’m also not saying I haven’t.

The reality is, we all have experienced a training that has made us want to fall asleep or has bored us to tears. Now let me ask you a question: what would people say about your training sessions? Are they boring or are they fun? Do people enjoy going to them or do they treat them like the plague? Have people fallen asleep during your trainings or are they engaged?

We must seek to make our training sessions fun and beneficial. The more fun elements you include the more people will engage and buy-in to the training because they are enjoying themselves. So what are some quick and easy ways to make training fun?

Theme the training.

A theme is something that I’ve only recently started to incorporate. A couple of years ago one of our church staff members asked me what type of theme our training had. To be honest, I was a little embarrassed to admit I’d never thought of that. But after listening to this staff member, I began to understand why a theme is important. It shows that your team is valued and needed, it makes people feel seen, it makes the training more inviting and engaging, and it brings fun into the mix.

You don’t need to go all out, but you could if you wanted to. The theme could be as easy as searching Pinterest for ideas and doing what you’re able to do in light of your available resources. Consider searching for “teacher gifts” and using that as a launching point. This year we took the theme of “You’re crushing it” and added a note to Crush sodas for each leader. We continued the theme by getting clementines and jelly fruit slices to put out on the tables. The theme was also carried into our PowerPoint and notes we handed out.

Provide food.

Food is a must. You don’t need to provide a full meal if you aren’t able to, but even having snacks or treats on the tables elevates the training and valuing of your people. We always try to center our trainings around a meal because it lowers walls and fosters conversations, and it shows our people that we care about them. This could be as simple as pizza from a local shop, a home cooked meal, or small bags of chips and candy on the tables.

Play games.

I don’t know about your leaders but mine tend to be hyper-competitive, even more so than our students sometimes. We know they love to laugh and have fun, so whenever we can, we try to incorporate a game for them to play. Sometimes it’s a PowerPoint game, other times it’s a game like charades, or even a team-building game. Whatever it is, I would encourage you to play along, laugh with them, and have some sort of prize for the winner. This makes it more engaging and highlights that fun is a value of your ministry.

Utilize conversation and collaboration.

Training sessions where the speaker drones on and on get a little bit monotonous. Okay, a lot. So when you break up the speaking and engage with your team and invite them into the conversation, you’re opening up collaboration which values and affirms them. Think about breaking people into groups and asking the groups to share with the large group after they have finished. Allow for feedback on topics from your team. Open up the floor for Q&A. These types of moments are critical to not only making your training successful but for valuing your people and helping them to know that they are a part of the team.

Bring in new skills.

Doing the same training over and over again can get, well, boring. I get it, there are some things we have to train on all the time (i.e. safety measures, protecting students from abuse, background checks, transportation, etc.), but we also should bring in new aspects to leading well that can help our leaders continue to grow and flourish.

Think about spiritual gift assessments, personality training, studying the Bible, training on cultural trends and narratives, navigating difficult relationships, dealing with misbehaving students, handling a crisis, soul care, and leading well. All of these are simply starting points but the more we seek to equip and train our leaders with new skills, the better suited they will be to love, lead, and care for their students.

Don’t always be the trainer.

This is a big piece of training. You don’t always have to be the trainer! Bringing in new voices will not only help people hear things in a new and exciting way, but you are also bringing in people with different skill sets and expertise that you may not have. This could be another staff member, a community member, a counselor, a volunteer, a leader in the community, or whomever else would be beneficial to help your leaders grow. My only caution is that you make sure they know your vision and mission and that what they share aligns with your values.