Stuff You Can Use

Hey women in ministry! Can we have a quick chat? We want to tell you something. We hope you hear this message loud and clear...⁠ • Your voice matters.⁠ • Your presence matters.⁠ • Your ideas matter.⁠ • Your calling matters.⁠ .⁠ Thank you for speaking up, for showing up, for contributing, and for being faithful. You know all the leading, the mentoring, the discipling, the worshiping, the planning, the serving, and the pastoring you’re doing? Keep doing it. The Church needs you and this generation needs you. You were made for this.⁠ .⁠ Today (but also every day) may you be the leader, the decision-maker, and the culture-shaper God has created you to be. May you be her, and be her bravely.⁠ .⁠ Lead on, friends. We’re with you and we’re for you.⁠ ⁠ #woman #jesus #leadership #share #bosslady #womenleaders #empower #quotes #stuffyoucanuse #ministryleaders

Our job as pastors and volunteers is not only to help young people believe but to help them believe 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 — you know, without us holding their spiritual hands forever. But you don’t help kids or teenagers take ownership of their faith by... • Giving them all the answers. • Stifling their most challenging questions. • Treating doubt like the enemy to faith. Instead, we help young people truly make their faith their own when we... • Encourage tough questions. • Help them discover answers for themselves. • Leave room for their journeys, convictions, and expressions of faith to look a little different from ours (because we don’t have it all figured out either). • Welcome doubt as a natural and expected (and maybe even necessary) part of making our faith our own. With that in mind, maybe the kids and teenagers in your ministry who are asking the toughest questions are actually on the right track — maybe their questions prove they’re thinking, considering, and personalizing their faith in a brand new way. But the people who believe they have all the answers — who act like they’ve got everything figured out — maybe they’re the ones who still have some growing to do. Maybe, for some people, certainty is less about spiritual maturity and more about a faith that is still young and untested. No matter where someone is spiritually, Maria's words are a great reminder: Jesus wasn't threatened by questions, but he was often concerned about too much certainty. Certainty may be evidence that someone’s spiritual growth has stalled, but asking questions is often evidence that someone’s faith is still changing, stretching, and growing. So don’t shut down or ignore the questions. Encourage them. They might be proof that the person you’re pastoring is exactly on the right track. #inspiration #ministryleaders #leadership

It's Sunday, and you have spent your whole week preparing for today. It makes sense to feel nervous and hyper-focused. There are so many things that could go wrong, and you have such an important goal in mind. 𝐓𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲. But here's the thing. While you've been preparing for this program. Checking all the boxes, uploading all the graphics, studying your lesson, and preparing your team. 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. When you've invested so much care and attention into something so valuable, you want people to care as much as you do. You want families to show up on time and be excited to see what you have planned for them. But some weeks, showing up — on time or not — might be taking all the energy a family has to offer. Some weeks families will be dealing with... 🔘 A newborn who won't sleep. 🔘 Bad news about the health of a loved one. 🔘 A fight from Saturday night that's carrying into Sunday morning. 🔘 Disappointment. 🔘 Pain. 🔘 Loss. As you prepare for your program this week—and believe us, we think your program is going to be incredible and exactly what some kids or teenagers need today—remember, you don't know what anyone else is dealing with when they walk into your church. Today, if a family is running late, a kid is extra disruptive, an element of your program falls flat, or just for no particular reason at all - remind yourself of why you are doing this. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅. Thank you Dr. Lamar Hardwick D.Min. for this quote!

What are you talking about in your youth ministry this month? The series 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 (Grow Students, Volume 8) is all about living wisely! For anyone who's ever felt like they needed a game plan to help them through difficult decisions or maybe just a better strategy for day to day living, this series may be just what they've been looking for. If you want to test out a series from Grow Students FOR FREEEEEE, just click this link: https://lnkd.in/gzyB8sRn

Who's talking about 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐧 this month in kids ministry? 👑 If you're using Grow Curriculum this month, you are! And we're so excited about this series! King Solomon is best known for wisdom and building God’s temple. Thankfully, he passed on his wisdom so others could have a strong foundation for building up their faith. In this series, kids will hear from Solomon and the wisdom he shared about the kind of life God wants to help us build. Swipe to see the Big Ideas we'll be covering and the verse kids will be memorizing! And if you want to check out a 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗘𝗘𝗘 sample series from Grow Kids Curriculum & Annual Strategy, just comment "MORE WISDOM PLEASE" We want to share ... the samples, not the wisdom ... But maybe that, too.

"Where can I go to get practical, helpful ministry training that my church can actually afford?" WE FOUND A PLACE!! Emerging Leaders is a 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 6-month leadership development plan for current or future ministry leaders. The program runs 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, and is designed to help you grow in your leadership, learn practical ministry skills, and build relationships with both your peers and experienced ministry leaders from the Stuff You Can Use team! The course is free, but space is limited! So if you or someone you know is interested in this opportunity, head to this link ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g38GEBCa #leadership #training #ministryleaders #resources #ministrytraining

Youth and kids ministry leaders know how important it is to invest in families. At Stuff You Can Use, we've discovered hosting an Annual Parent Workshop is an effective way to ensure discipleship continues at home. A great parent workshop features... ➡ A shared meal ➡ Vision-casting for families ➡ A themed breakout discussion ➡ A chance for parents to get to know other parents If you're looking for ideas, we've got you covered! We already made this just for you! #youthministryleaders #kidsministryleaders #parenting #workshop #ministrytips

As kids and youth leaders, we get to walk alongside young people at the exact moment they are discovering who they are, what they believe, and what they’ll stand for. These are some of the most formative years in a young person's life and we get to be a part of it! 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲. Hang onto this reminder today that what you do matters so, so much. ❤️

Being a youth pastor usually means you're not just planning a teaching series each month... you're also hosting events. They’re a way to connect with students and their families, and even get new people in the door! Events matter, but hosting them regularly doesn't have to mean hosting them every month. That’s why we’re fans of keeping your events strategy really simple! Because you can make a bigger impact each year if you focus on fewer events that can make the most impact. Want more info on planning an effective event strategy? Check it out here ➡ https://bit.ly/3WxdV4c #youthministry #childrensministry #youthpastors #ministry

“What’s your biggest struggle in ministry?” 🙏 Every time we ask, we get hundreds of responses, and one of the most common answers is volunteers. So, if this is you right now, you are not alone! But we do have some tips for creating a volunteer culture that everyone will want to be a part of. With Grow, we provide everything from volunteer events to conversation guides to celebration ideas. And we have it all in a handy volunteer strategy guide! Check it out here ➡ https://lnkd.in/gJvJ-7Ex #stuffyoucanuse #growcurriculum #volunteers #youthministry #kidsministry #ministryideas #ministrytips #volunteers #annualstrategy #strategy #leadership