Turning Down the Noise

Our world can be full of clutter, distractions and deafening voices. How are we inviting teens and their families to turn down the noise?

Precision

Not very often we hear about precision in our business. For a surgeon, yes. For a diamond cutter, yes. For a tree feller... A tree feller?

Discipleship does not happen by accident. Too many ministries keep busy and have lots of fun, but aren't very intentional or precise when it comes to the real Christian maturity process.

Dave Brotherton now lives in Sauble Beach, Ontario and Pastors Sauble Christian Fellowship. Dave was a youth pastor for 20+ years, taught youth ministry at Ambrose University in Calgary for 8 years, and was the National Youth Director for the Alliance Churches in Canada since 1999. Now Dave leads a church and speaks into youth ministry from the Senior Pastor's perspective.

Canadian Youth Worker Interview with Graeme Watt

Join us this week as Graeme shares his story about serving, youth ministry, Canada and his organization Loveworks.

Canadian Youth Worker Interview with Jason Ballard

Jason Ballard works with Alpha Canada. He's in love with his wife Rachel, their son Hudson and Jesus. Jason spends his time creating resources and helping local youth workers learn to use Alpha to create spiritual conversations in their ministry setting. Watch our interview as we talk about all things Canadian and all things youth ministry.

Interview with Ken McIntyre regarding Youth Ministry, Canada & Wonderings

Ken McIntyre is the youth ministry director at Beddington Pentecostal Church in Calgary, Alberta. Ken loves working with people, using technology & all things Canadian.

Watch/listen to this conversation about God's activity in and through the life and ministry of Ken (Follow him on twitter: @ken_mcintyre)

The 'attraction model' of youth ministry that we all used to live by....

In this video, I'm rambling on about the 'old way' of doing youth ministry. Building specific events to attract new kids was common place. For a while, periodically, we'd have great results. More often than not, we just had great programs... 

1.  in my experience, few kids ever really shifted their attendance/engagement from the big, crazy Friday night event to the weekly discipleship/growth meetings. The different programs we offered were just too different. Kids that came for the fun just came for the fun. Only a few shifted like we intended.
2.  kids have told me that they didn't appreciate getting invited to a fun event and being blindsided with a serious, invitational 'God talk'.  This changed how we invited kids - not what we did. We started inviting kids to 'a big fun thing where we will talk about God'... that didn't really work either.
3.  my youth group just ended up bringing the same kids over and over... they got used to it, accepted the deal and had fun; but results diminished. Some of those kids finally accepted Christ because of the relationships built - could we not have done that much more effectively?
4.  I spent a TON of time and money on attracting kids. Kids came for the program, not for relationship, not for growth, not for the message, not for God. I was a program director more than a shepherd.

 Here's about 5 minutes of my ramblings...

 

How should we respond? Create healthy, authentic followers of Christ who will work at following Christ well. Then, in the relationships they have, invite friends into the community who practices following Jesus well.... Get good at doing what Christians do... let the world see that!

Let's not 'green screen' folks into hearing the gospel.  
dave


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P.S.
After shooting this, I remembered where I got the ideas I mentioned in the video. The article that talked about the choir and the debate team is by Ken Moser. His article on tearing down the house is awesome! So, Ken... I'm not stealing your material; I'm pointing it out! Good job.

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Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. 
This summer, Dave is transitioning to lead the ministry of Sauble Christian Fellowship, Sauble Beach, ON. 
twitter: @oldbrotherdave 

Video Interview with Phil Prendergast - The Meeting House

Phil is a youth ministry worker who is passionate about Canada, intergenerational ministry, youth and the Toronto Maple Leafs! Listen to a conversation between Phil and I as we chat about Canadian youth ministry trends, what we love about Canada and what we hope every Canadian Youth Worker would know about their ministry.

Open Vancouver is coming in September!

I'm so excited to officially announce that Open Vancouver is happening on September 26-27. It's a new and innovative youth ministry gathering meant for youth workers, volunteers, and anyone interested in dialogue, idea-sharing, dreaming, and learning about what Jesus is doing in the youth ministry world around Vancouver, BC.

Here's the Open manifesto:

There aren’t many places in the church where all ideas have the same opportunity to be presented. Everything is editorialized, shaped, and packaged. Every idea is filtered through a lens.

We think something is wrong with that. Deep in our souls we know the solutions to the problems we face today are already out there, waiting to be discovered.

Open is just that. Open. The Youth Cartel sets the table, plays host, and invites anyone and  everyone who has an idea to the table for a day where we all have equal value for our ideas. Whether you are a big dog with 20,000 people writing down your every word, a college student with some crazy ideas, or somewhere in between, the table is open–we will give you your shot and equal time to share your idea.

Now that doesn’t mean you will automatically be appreciated or celebrated. It’s an open table and you have the chance to play with the big boys. There will be winners and there will be less-than-winners. Just like everyone has the same shot, everyone undergoes the same scrutiny. The point isn’t that everyone will be equally received, the point is that anyone can have the platform.

No one gets paid to present at Open. Why? That wouldn’t be fair, would it? Those making presentations submit a proposal and chances are good that if they’ve got something to say that’s on topic, they will get a shot. Their only compensation is the chance to present their ideas, and free entry to the day.

So what does it cost? We’ve kept it as simple as possible. Tickets start at $25 for the day. If we sell out early then that’s it. But as we get closer to the day, tickets will naturally get a little more expensive.

True to the premise of Open, we aren’t out to make a lot of money. We are splitting any proceeds for the day equally with a local organizer and a local ministry recipient. We think that’s fair, and we will be 100% open about the money so you know who has made what.

From top to bottom we want Open to be a different type of event. We set the table, invite all, and provide a day where the best stuff filters to the top. Why? Because we trust you. We are in this together. We care deeply about impacting the Kingdom and we know you do too. And we know that low control, high trust openness is the way to get there.

Join us. Bring your ideas, bring your voice, and let's dream.

I love this manifesto! Contextualized, approachable, affordable, idea-sharing, and more than just megachurch pastors and well-known authors on the platform. Imagine shorter, TED-like presentations--around 20-30 minutes--with time for dialogue and questions afterward. Imagine extra time to chat in the hallways and foyer with a new colleague in ministry. From theology to program ideas to brain development to technology to social media, and everything in between: if it's youth ministry and happening in BC, we'll have fruitful discussions about all of it.

Here's what makes Open Vancouver a uniquely awesome youth ministry event:

It's local. The content is firmly focused on ideas, concepts, and best practices for developing a youth ministry for your context. The presenters and conversations will be from youth ministry practitioners in the Vancouver area. We want to have dialogue about what's happening in the youth ministry world right here in British Columbia. We want to have a distinctly Canadian Open event; this isn't about an American organization coming (though I'm admittedly American), it's about local Vancouver-area youth workers gathering to equip and encourage each other.

It's informal. While some events have special rooms for big-name speakers or large stages that put people at a distance, Open is...well...open. You'll have opportunities to ask direct questions and have conversations with speakers. The presenter you saw in a session might be learning in the seat to you later in the day. It's low-key and informal; we're all peers here.

It's inexpensive. This doesn't mean Open is cheap or shoddy. It just means we're hosting a fantastic event and we're not in it for the money. For $25, you get an all-day gathering on Saturday which includes a catered lunch at Trinity Western University. Yeah, we're gonna feed you.

I've participated in Open Seattle for the past two years and have greatly benefited from the conversations and relationships that grew from those gatherings. I love the organizing team we have for Open Vancouver in its kingdom diversity: Clay Imoo is a Catholic youth ministry leader and huge Canucks fan from Richmond and Matt Wilks is a lead pastor and Barefoot ministries guy from Calgary, AB. They're also both awesome leaders of the Canadian Youth Worker team, and we're striving to make this a distinctly Canadian youth ministry gathering.

Pastors, community youth workers, volunteers, parents--anyone who wants to share and grow, you're invited to Open Vancouver.

Check out the Open Vancouver website here. More info and registration will become available as the date approaches, as well as blog posts about Vancouver-area youth ministry. Registration will begin on July 1.

If you want to submit an idea for a presentation for Open Vancouver, click here and propose your idea! There are no speakers currently on the website, because we haven't picked them yet. Keep checking back at the website, as we'll be adding speakers as we get submissions.

If you want to be a sponsor for Open Vancouver, click here and contact us! We need a few awesome organizations to sponsor each of our session tracks.

Share this blog post and/or the Open Vancouver weblink with your youth worker friends in BC: vancouver.openym.org

Interview with Grover Bradford

Grover Bradford is a Canadian Youth Ministry legend. He possesses over 20 years of ministry experience with missional agencies and the local church. Listen to our conversation about the current and future state of youth ministry in Canada and join the conversation!

6 Predictions for the Future of Youth Ministry

(This post also appeared at The Mayward Blog)

First, a disclaimer: I really have no idea what I'm talking about here. I haven't done any official research, worked on a PhD for these predictions, or examined data. This post is entirely anecdotal and from personal observation, experience, and conversations from leading and learning in youth ministry for a decade in American and Canadian contexts. I'm going to throw these six predictions out there and just see what the youth ministry tribe thinks:

Here's my forecast for what North American youth ministry will look like in ten (10) years...

1. The range for a youth ministry will be from age 8 to age 35. With puberty starting earlier and extended adolescence becoming ubiquitous, a youth pastor will be responsible for shepherding third graders going through puberty as well as 32-year-olds who are still struggling with their sense of identity and autonomy. I still believe the church can become a micro-culture where young people are viewed as potential-filled adults and treated as such, but I think the greater culture may go this route if it continues on the same trajectory, and the church (and youth workers!) will need to find a way to respond accordingly.

2. The drastic decrease of the full-time youth pastor position in churches. The only churches able to afford a full-time youth pastor will be the large suburban megachurches, mostly in evangelical circles in the United States. The vast majority of youth workers will be part-time or volunteer-based youth ministry, and the primary youth workers (apart from parents) will be teachers/professors, coaches, and counselors. Churches will have to become more innovative and collaborative in their youth ministry practices, potentially having more regional youth ministries and partnerships between churches to love the teens in the surrounding neighbourhoods. I wonder what this shift could mean for colleges and seminaries with youth ministry degrees and professorial staff.

3. Youth ministry resourcing organizations will become entirely online and regional. With the advent of the Internet and blogging/tweeting/Facebooking world, the age of the huge youth ministry convention will be over, and the one-size-fits-all curriculum and training that comes from many organizations will go by the wayside. What works in a Catholic setting in Seattle simply doesn't work the same for a Baptist in Nashville. This regional emphasis will clear the way for smaller contextual gatherings and giving voice to a wider variety of youth workers. It will also mean having to discern and sort through the mass of content being created--anyone can create their own website, start a consulting/coaching program, or publish their own book and curriculum, meaning there will simply be more resources (good and not-so-good) to choose from.

4. The traditional family structure of "two married parents with biological children" will be the vast minority. Single-parent homes, divorced parents, blended families, gay parents raising kids, foster and adopted children, and grandparents or other family members raising children will be more of a norm. As the culture is redefining family, this will radically change the entire concept of "family ministry" for churches, as well as increase the need for individualized familial care and counsel. As the family system becomes more complex, so do many of the issues for adolescent identity formation.

5. Families--Christian and non-Christian--will have little to zero Biblical knowledge. As the North American culture becomes increasingly post-Christian, expecting that parents and teens will be familiar with common Bible stories taught in Sunday school will be unrealistic (because Sunday school programs won't exist). Young people will be more familiar with the filmic versions of Jesus or Bible characters (Moses, Noah, etc.) than the characters in the Biblical accounts, and with apps/electronic devices becoming more normative for reading habits, having a Bible or a daily devotion--aka "quiet time"--will be quite different. People read and learn differently in the Internet age; the Bible as literature will be understood and interpreted in new ways by the next generation of readers, requiring a shift in how we teach the Bible and theology.

6. Relationships marked by grace and truth will still matter. It's always been this way. Whatever the future holds, a long obedience in the same direction with a few close Jesus-following friends and mentors will always endure. Beyond programming, culture, demographics, or trends, fostering authentic relationships between adults and youth will continue to be the mark of healthy youth ministry, no matter the age.

What do you think? Which predictions do you think could be accurate, and which sound absurd? Share your thoughts and forecasts in the comments.

Understanding Canadian Aboriginal Youth Ministry - LIVE online panel discussion

Monday April 28th                       1pm (Calgary time)




 

Youtube/Google+ LIVE event:
           Understanding Canadian Aboriginal Youth Ministry
                                    
 - watch it live here -


3 people serving in First Nations work will form a panel for a 30 minute dialogue on the culture, uniqueness, perspective and heart of our Canadian Aboriginal youth.

Panel:

Amy Flater - Involved in Aboriginal youth ministry for 9 years, works with Anchored Warriors (partners with the Christian & Missionary Alliance in Canada) and the Native Youth Conference.    

Tracey Bert - Herself a Cree/Saulteaux, currently a Psych student, working towards Aboriginal youth work. Worked at Mt. Royal University as Student Success Coordinator for First Nations students. Spent time in the far north with the Dene people in community health and wellness.

Ray Aldred - Cree, a storyteller, 30+ years in Christian ministry, mostly in First Nations work. Currently teaching Theology at Ambrose University College.


Host: Dave Brotherton Youth Ministry Prof at Ambrose University College in Calgary, National Youth Director for the Christian & Missionary Alliance in Canada.


this video will remain on youtube for future training and reference.

Great thoughts from Mark Buchanan interview

Yesterday (Feb 28th, 2014) I got the chance to interview Mark Buchanan. There were a couple of things he talked about that really challenged my thinking.

First, in regards to youth pastors, he talked about valuing the things that are important to your senior pastor. The most important thing in Saul's kingdom period was the fight against the Philistines. While Saul was king, David poured his life into that battle. Goliath was only one part, collecting twice as many foreskins as required was another. We see in David's personal life and in his kingdom period, that the surrounding peoples weren't an issue! David lived and worked amongst the Philistines. David engaged Hittites, Canaanites, etc in his armies! The battle with the Philistines was Saul's passion, not David's; yet David engaged whole heartedly in it while he was under the leadership of Saul. What is it that your supervisor values highly, that isn't an issue for you? Are you willing to pour your heart and energy into that? Mark says that this is what it takes to be an effective youth pastor & team member in your job.

Secondly, Mark talked about his perspective on the Sabbath. I really like his take. To over-simplify.... what is it that you get drained of through the work week? Do you get worn out in your heart? In your head space? In your attitudes? In your physical stamina? What is it for you? Is it your intimacy with God? It is those things that we can ought to pour energy into during our sabbath day. If my soul is worn out, then focus the sabbath on renewing your soul. If I am physically worn out, then focus your energy on physical recovery. I like the idea of: "if you work with your hands, then sabbath with your head and heart. If you work with your head, then sabbath with your hands".  Interesting way of thinking about it.

Anyway, here's a link to the full interview - if you haven't watched it, it might be worth the 30 minutes.
 
VIDEO: interview with mark Buchanan


Dave

Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. 
twitter: @oldbrotherdave

Vision - Orientation or Direction

We all need to know where we are going and how we are going to get there. Vision is a key element to youth ministry. In this video I share some thoughts about reframing the practice of vision in youth ministry.

What are your thoughts about vision?

About Me: Jason has lived in Calgary, Alberta Canada since 1995, and been a youth pastor since 2001. He is married to the love of his life, Bonny, and together they have three incredible children: Saydie, Cannon and Deklon. Jason possesses a desire to see youth, parents and families become who God created them to be through loving and living like Jesus. He currently serves on staff at Centre Street Church in Calgary. He loves hockey, playing guitar, writing and creating environments and opportunities where others can realize their potential in Jesus while experiencing the full life He promised to those who follow Him!

Meditation: A weird waste of time...

...or is it?  Are you feeling overworked, can't keep up with the pace, too much work? I love what I do, and I'm passionate about social justice, but the volume of work is draining. Check out this video from Ken Shigematsu, senior pastor of Tenth Church in Vancouver, BC for some life changing views that he gained during a deep spiritual journey.



Ken is an energetic and creative communicator who's outward energy is fed by a deeply contemplative personal life. He doesn't have any less crises then the rest of us, yet he's managing them a heck of a lot better. Before entering full-time ministry, he worked for the Sony Corporation in Tokyo. Ken is also the author of the bestseller God in My Everything. 

About me: I live a pretty simple life... trying to love God and treat others as good as myself... I epically fail at this but mercifully God loves me anyway... different cultures inspire me... the outdoors is my passion... I'm pursuing my MDIV / Masters in Counselling at Tyndale... I spent 22+ years in the skate / snowboard / entertainment / marketing / retail industry at the executive level... led the charge at West 49/Billabong for 12 of them... I've worked in youth ministry leadership roles for more years then I can count.. after many moons in the corporate world I switched to the dark side and am currently the Manager of Youth & Student Campaigns at World Vision Canada... but more then anything I love giving my heart to mentoring and helping youth! #lovelife #dreambig #keepitreal #socialjustice #jesusjustice I/T @cindymielke facebook.com/cindymielke

Doin' it Old School - an old idea that might work great in this digital world

Sometimes an idea from a different 'era' comes around again and is not just novel, but creatively different. Connecting kids, encouraging, affirming, creating memories, and causing reflection can be as simple as licking a stamp....

Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. 
twitter: @oldbrotherdave

Parents - Allies or Enemies?

This post is also featured on the Youth Cartel blog here.

When I first started out in youth ministry I thought my role was to be everything a teen's parents could never be in their life. I focused on being edgy, cool, hip and of course up to speed on pop culture.

Then something happened. I myself became a parent.

So what was my new role as a youth worker going to be now that I was parent myself? Did this eliminate my identity as a hip, cool and with-it youth pastor?

The truth is, being a parent has enhanced my ability to both pastor and parent. Neither of these roles are mutually exclusive, but somehow they have blended together to help me reshape how I lead families in the present and into the future. Here are three things that I'm learning about working with parents in ministry.

1. Parents aren't the enemy. We've all had negative interaction with parents I'm sure, but these experiences don't make parents bad people. Parenting is the most difficult job on the planet. Add into the mix the explorative tendencies teens possess, and you get an emotionally charged scenario 9 times out of 10. Parents are passionate about their kids, and sometimes their passion is mis-communicated as anger, rage or displeasure. Wise youth leaders find ways to disarm emotionally charged confrontations and turn them into win-win scenarios for all parties. Parents sometimes just need someone to listen...just like teens do. I wonder if we spent more time listening to the stories and needs of parents if we'd build greater partnerships with them?

2. Parents need to be loved & valued too. If you're constantly told that you aren't doing a good job, wouldn't you begin to believe it? Most teens (like most human beings) have no problem telling people when things aren't working well for them, but when it comes to sharing encouragement, they might struggle to do so. Consider your next upcoming parents gathering. Spend a few moments encouraging and inspiring parents instead of asking them to change something they do right away, you might find that they are more willing to consider your ideas once you've spent some time listening to them.

3. Parents want to belong & fit in. Often times parents feel isolated in their parenting struggles or wins with their kids. The family schedule is usually oriented around that activities of the children. Parents often sacrifice their own desires and needs for socialization for the sake of their child's development. Are your parent connection times more about information being given, or relationships between parents being built? The most powerful gift you can ever offer another human being is to help them see that they aren't alone in life. Parents long to belong and fit someplace...is your ministry to families a place where they can do that? 

What are you learning about working with parents? Post your ideas below!

Jason has lived in Calgary, Alberta Canada since 1995, and been a youth pastor since 2001. He is married to the love of his life, Bonny, and together they have three incredible children: Saydie, Cannon and Deklon. Jason possesses a desire to see youth, parents and families become who God created them to be through loving and living like Jesus. He currently serves on staff at Centre Street Church in Calgary. He loves hockey, playing guitar, writing and creating environments and opportunities where others can realize their potential in Jesus while experiencing the full life He promised to those who follow Him!

Context Matters in Youth Ministry

Confession: I'm an American.

I know, I know. You may be wondering, why is this guy writing for Canadian Youth Worker?

Because CYW is a group of awesome people who love youth ministry, and they graciously gave me a chance! I love youth ministry and I love Canada. As an American living and serving in Canada, I'm still learning a LOT about the value of new perspectives and how to adapt to my present context and setting.

Context matters.

1. Con-text: 

   Noun. the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.

The way I do ministry in my church--large, suburban, Mennonite Brethren, mostly white, British Columbia--is going to be different than the small Pentecostal church down the street, or the Catholic ministry in the next city, or the Chinese church plant in Vancouver, or the Baptist congregation in Winnipeg, or the YoungLife club in Toronto, or the mentoring program in Montreal. And that's okay. We have different contexts.

While there are principles and truths that transcend context, there is no one-size-fits-all philosophy for youth ministry. Yes, we're all called to make disciples. But how I make disciples might be different in my context than yours. Yes, we're all called to share the good news of Jesus. But how I share that good news works differently in different places. Yes, we all need to help young people know and understand God's Word. But how I go about introducing a teen to the beauty of Scripture might be different than how you do it.

How I do ministry depends on where I'm doing ministry. I'm going to have different conversations with the teens in the local high school who have never heard of Jesus apart from a swear word on TV, than the teens who grew up in the church in my youth group on a worship night. I'm going to be addressing different questions with the middle school boys who are just realizing they like girls, than with the young engaged couple in their early 20s who are navigating vocational and identity questions regarding their sexuality and future marriage.

We have to deeply know and understand our contexts--the church, school, neighbourhood, and city where we live and work and breathe. You live in a particular context. Where you live is no accident. Jesus has you there for a reason: to love your neighbours as yourself.

A few questions to ask about your context:

• What are the particular strengths, joys, and opportunities in your context?
• What are the particular trials, struggles, or obstacles in your context?
• What is the history of your context--your youth ministry program, your church, your city?
• What are the questions the teens in your area are asking and wrestling through?
• What are the five or six defining values of your context?
• What is God up to in your context? Where is He moving, and how can you get on board with Him?
• Who can I learn from in this present context? Which voices need to be heard? Which stories need to be told?

As a literal picture of context, look at the orange dots in the picture below. Which orange dot is bigger?

The right one looks bigger, doesn't it? Cover up the grey dots, and you'll find that they're the exact same size. It's all a matter of perspective and knowing the surrounding context.

Context matters. Become a student of your context.

Joel Mayward is a pastor, writer, husband, and father living in Langley, British Columbia. He’s been serving in youth ministry since 2003, and is currently the Pastor of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at North Langley Community Church. A writer for numerous youth ministry publications and author of Leading Up: Finding Influence in the Church Beyond Role and Experience, Joel writes about youth ministry, film, theology, and leadership at his blog, joelmayward.blogspot.ca.

What are you MOST passionate about?

Whatever you are most passionate about should be obvious to the people around you. The kids in your ministry and the leaders you work with should quickly be able to respond to this question with confidence: "What is your leader so passionate about that it bleeds through to everything in the ministry?"

Dave Brotherton

Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. 
twitter: @oldbrotherdave

What's in a Name?

This post also appears on The Youth Cartel blog.

I remember the first moment when I found out I was going to be a dad. Mixed emotions of excitement, nervousness and joy flooded into my soul. The weight of responsibility of caring for and discipling a young child into adulthood become the focus of my thought power and energy leading up to the moment of birth (and beyond!). Of all the responsibilities associated with being a parent, none seemed as important as providing a great start for this new child by choosing the name they would live into.

My wife Bonny and I spent countless hours creating names for our children. We created a spreadsheet listing all the leading name candidates, researching their meaning and dreaming about what we hoped our children would live into in terms of values, character and aspirations for their future.

The day came where we met each of our three children and called them by name. In that moment everything seemed settled, new, hope-filled and amazing.

Fast forward a couple of years and these young little babies who are now young children are beginning to live into and own the name that they have been given. They respond to it when it’s called (for the most part…), they introduce themselves by it and they know how to write it. My kids are beginning to share who they are with others, starting with their name.

I often marvel at the power that names have in each of our lives. Working with teens I’ve seen firsthand the positive and negative effects of names or labels that have been placed on these kids by those who they trusted and cared about. How we speak to each other and what references or names we use matter. The grade 7 boy who is home-schooled is more than just a home-schooler. The grade 10 girl who has dated half the youth group is more than just the floozy. The student that lives in the rough part of town is more than an underprivileged kid.

The names we share with one another and we give to others matter. What names are you using to refer to the teens and families under your sphere of influence and care? Are they names that breathe life into their souls, or names that reinforce all the lies they may be tempted to believe about who they are? What’s in a name, and does a name really matter?

Another short video from Dave Brotherton. What will the kids in your youth group now, look like when they are 25, 30, or 35? What about their heart, their character, their lifestyle, their witness?  Are we really challenging kids to lay the foundations that will take them into adulthood? Or are we serving fast food, or just creating more of the busy, board, voiceless crowd that already exists? What does today's culture need in our Christian kids? Yes, they need to be Christlike examples with compassionate servants hearts, whose action is oriented towards the poor, oppressed, hurting and lost; but more than that, here is 3 things....

Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada and the director of Legacy Youth Conference. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. 
twitter: @oldbrotherdave