There is a new generation on the horizons of leadership in our congregations. While their permanent name will be assigned sometime in the future, researchers are calling them Generation Z, iGen, the Centennials or the Founders. For the sake of this article, let’s go with Gen Z. Most researchers have settled on Gen Z being born around 1995 – 2015 (although the final year is still being determined). They are characterized by being individuals who are too young to remember w

Anything worth doing, is worth reviewing, so we can see how to do it better. From worship services, to events, to camps & retreats, we have a responsibility to continue to improve and give God and our families the best experience possible. One of the ways to continually improve is to celebrate the wins and evaluate and plan for things that need improvement. Debriefing meetings designed to celebrate the contributions of your team, evaluate the furtherance of vision, and exam

Awesome trainings keep me dreaming all night on Friday and then wake me up at the crack of dawn on Saturday. Whether attending as a participant or communicator, I am in love with the idea of getting better. In the same vein, the one thing that will raise my blood pressure is getting excited about a training opportunity that winds up wasting my time. All of the effective training events I have attended have two common components. They are purposeful and well prepared. Nothing

Arborists, people who work with trees and plants, understand that pruning is not something just done for the look of a tree but it is necessary for the health of the tree. Pruning is done with the end-result in mind: making the tree healthier and a better fit for the environment that it is growing in. This principle can be applied in many of the churches we serve. Pruning is done to keep our congregations, and the individuals that make up the entire group, growing in a health

Instituting Orange in two different church environments, both of which were over 100 years old, has allowed me to be a part of shifting some of the ideologies, methodologies, and aspirations of churches seeking to serve our next generation. In 2011, I was looking for a curriculum that took the truths of the Bible and connected them across several age groups to strategically make disciples of Jesus Christ. Before mastering the Orange lingo, I was excited that First Look introd

A building is best built on a sturdy foundation. A sturdy foundation without a viable building is not worth much. They are both worth more together. That is the image that comes to mind when one thinks of Next Gen Ministry! A Next Gen leader is an individual, within a local congregation, that is responsible for the discipleship programming and spiritual growth of children & youth, birth through twelfth grade. Ideally, this person is a main decision-maker and is in the to