What’s more fun than listening to the Youth Ministry Sherpas podcast?

How about a healthy youth ministry?

Today we kick off a four-part series called “Creating a Culture of…” The most important part of being a successful youth pastor isn’t teaching, meeting with kids, or planning events. It isn’t how charismatic we are, or how big our budget is. The most important thing is to build a culture, what we call the “environmental architecture of a healthy ministry. Over time, our culture becomes a living entity, a self-perpetuating lifeform, allowing our ministries to grow and flourish year after year. It’s bigger than us and bigger than our current crop of students or leaders.

Many elements go into creating a culture. For this series, we’ve identified four of them.
Today, Mathew and Steve discuss the value of fun. Whether it’s silly games that disarm the “too cool for school” crowd and envelope the shy ones, or the ridiculous traditions that began by accident and now have more sequels than the Fast and Furious franchise, fun is a non-negotiable part of a healthy youth ministry. It’s something to focus on, fight for, and never forget.

Remember, take the gospel seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously.

By the way, we are still waiting for someone to take us up on our Youth Pastor Exchange Program. Daytona? Scottsdale? Santa Monica? Anyone?