What Does It Mean to “Train Up A Child…”?
How can we "train up a child in the way he should go"? “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will...
Help for Parents and Youth Workers
Each Saturday on "The Weekend Pulpit" we share a full-length Bible message from a recent meeting. Currently we are posting messages that I gave at the Wilds youth camp last...
A Word to 3rd Generation Christians
There is nothing quite like the excitement of being with first generation Christians! They do not use all of the cliches or know the church culture. But neither do they...
“Truth for Youth” Available on the Bible App!
Last month we made available for the first time a devotional plan on the YouVersion Bible App. “Which Way Do We Go?” is a fifteen day study on discerning the...
How to Make This the Greatest School Year Yet – Part 2
When I was in high school my dad came into my room early one morning and announced, "I have something for you!" My teenage mind hoped that perhaps it was...
How to Make This the Greatest School Year Yet – Part 1
Students are starting back to schools and colleges across the nation. Parents and educators alike are hopeful that this year will be the greatest year our young people have ever...
3 Ways You Can Touch This Generation for God
God works in every generation. His truth transcends time, and His power supersedes spiritual opposition. My hope for revival in our day is not rooted in men - it is...
Life’s Training Wheels
Life's Training Wheels Summer is a wonderful season to invest in young people. Over the last few days I have had the opportunity to spend substantial time with several hundred...
7 Keys to A Great Summer Camp
For many years summer camp was an institution for young people across the country. In recent years the proliferation of so many other events have often substituted for a week...
3 Days for Young People and Those Who Love Them
The key to a nation is a generation. I believe if we lose the next generation we lose the nation. Truth endures to every generation but every generation must hear...
5 Ideas For Teens @ This Time
If you are a teenager I am quite sure that your social life has been disrupted and your school year has been less than you imagined. (Or perhaps, better than...
How NOT To Choose A Mate
When I was a young man someone told me, “Choose only a date who would make a good mate.” That was good advice. A casual relationship can quickly turn into...
Reaching A Generation
We are all concerned about the direction of our communities and our country. It is easy to spend all of our time listening to the commentators and talking about how...
Thank God For Christian Education
The last two days I have been speaking in Michigan at a wonderful Christian Educator's Convention. It has been a privilege to spend time with men and women who are...
Finish Strong by Kurt Copeland
Kurt Copeland has been a faithful youth pastor at the Franklin Road Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee for many years. God has used he and his wife to make a...
10 Ways To Help A High School Senior
Over the last few weeks I have been privileged to spend time with a number of high school seniors. One of them is living in my own home! Just yesterday...
My Advice To A Young Preacher
My Advice To A Young Preacher Recently a teenage boy wrote to tell me that God had called him to be a preacher. What a joy to see another generation...
The Most Important Lessons I Learned in My College Years
A few days ago I had the joy of addressing a group of college students in a local church. There were freshmen and upperclassmen, full of hope and excitement as...
How To Keep the Next Generation
How To Keep the Next Generation A fellow preacher and personal friend asked me recently how I believed we could do a better job of retaining young people in our...
A Post By My 17 Year Old Daughter
Tammy and I thank the Lord for our children. Like every parent we pray that they will desire to follow Christ. More and more I understand the words of John,...
10 Suggestions for Those Who Work With Youth
Thank God for faithful youth workers. While raising our children I realized more than ever that no one raises their children alone. My wife and I praise God for every...
This Is Our Generation
Last night I finished preaching in another youth conference. These are special meetings and more needed than ever. It was a privilege to have our daughter Morgan with me on...
What I Learned from a Child About Singing Hymns
You can learn a lot from a child. Sometimes those we are teaching become our teachers. This happened to me again recently. As I walked through a certain place I...
Counsel to Young People and to Those Who Counsel Them
It is my privilege to work each week with hundreds of middle school, high school, and college age young people. It is fascinating that the older I get the younger...
Conducting An Effective Youth Rally
The youth rally is not the entire youth ministry, but it is a component part. Like summer camp or Vacation Bible School it serves as an emphasis on the things...
What to Do When You Have Questions
What to Do When You Have Questions Questions are opportunities to teach. God gave explicit instructions to Israel about what to say when your children ask (Deuteronomy 6:20-25). And ask...
The Power of Parents
As I sit in my study at home there are two pictures of my parents on the desk in front of me. One is a photograph taken on the night...
A Message Christian Young People Desperately Need
A Message Christian Young People Desperately Need It is my privilege to speak to young people on a regular basis. I have to admit that they are my favorite group...
For Christian Young People: You ARE Missing Out!
"A prudent wife is from the Lord." This verse means more to me the longer I am married. Tammy and I were driving along in the car recently. The kids...
Why I Believe in Local Church Youth Ministry
Why I Believe in Local Church Youth Ministry For the last twenty years I have had the joy to be involved in youth ministry in some way. It is the...
The Secret of Enthusiasm
Frequently I have said to youth workers that the key to connecting with young people is simple: BE ENTHUSIASTIC! Not the fake, plastic "put on" that often passes as a...
Resources Just for Youth Workers
Today we had the privilege to host a number of youth directors on our campus at Crown College. In the luncheon we discussed plans to begin a new youth fellowship...
Advice for High School Seniors
The senior year of high school can be both frightening and exciting. I love talking and praying with young people at this stage in life. Following the Lord is a...
Tips for Those Who Teach Teens
One of the great joys of my life is the privilege to speak to young people. Recently I was listening to one of our youth workers at the Temple Baptist...
The Urgency of Youth
My favorite group of people to speak to is young people. There is something special about their energy, their authenticity. Some time back I was preaching to a fine group...
Discipline Makes the Difference
Through the years that I have been privileged to work in a Bible college I have met so many extremely talented, capable young people. And yet, it has always puzzled...
Teens for Christ
One of the greatest privileges of my life has been the opportunity to work with young people. Youth ministry is not a stepping stone to another ministry. It is the...
What’s Your Story?
Everybody has one. A story that is. My story is not yours and yours is not mine. The details vary - except for one thing. God is the Author. If...
Social Media and the Great Commission
Social Media and the Great Commission Social media is here to stay. Over 5.35 billion people actively use the internet and just over 5 billion use some social networking site...
Just for Men
Just for Men “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13 In a day of effeminate men, I am more grateful than...
Thank God for Teachers
Today I had the opportunity to be with a group of the elementary children in our Academy. What formative years! As I watched the wonderful teachers that God has given...
The Tale of Two Brothers
This is a true story. I know that it is true because God told it in His Word. It is remembered as one of the saddest stories in all of...
