A couple of things come to mind but first of all, I have to say that I'm always humbled by people who juggle family, jobs and ministry. You guys are amazing!!

Here are a couple of things I would suggest...

Do you have other volunteers working with you? If you have a team or can recruit one, it'll be easier to stay on top of ministry stuff. Divide up the responsibilities so that you're not trying to do everything yourself.

Also, are there any other healthy youth ministries in your community? Could you partner with another youth pastor on some things? The great thing about doing that is that your students get to hang out with another group and you're able to do more activities/events without doing all the work.

The most important thing (and, by far, the most difficult thing) is to create boundaries so that you don't burn out. It's easy to let youth ministry become a 24/7 thing but you can't keep that up forever. You won't be effective in ministry if you're totally exhausted, frustrated and overwhelmed. That's a lesson I learned the hard way.

I'll be praying for you. Keep us posted!!

Amen to that!

when you embed them I think you're stuck with the animoto logo. But when you download them to your computer it's not there so if you want to upload it to your site that way or throw it on a DVD you're good to go :)

Aw man. You stole mine! :)

... I agree that twitter is a great resource for YM. Being in an area with very few youth workers can be kind of isolating at times. Twitter gives me a chance to bounce ideas off other youthworkers, share struggles and find encouragement. I'll add prayer to the list too. It's awesome to be able to share a need for prayer and have so many people praying so quickly. Good stuff!

To anyone who reads this post and joins twitter, post your twitter names so we can all follow you!!

wow. I LOVE the artwork illustration. Canvas, frame, etc. What a great visual to help us figure out what training should look like. Thanks Chris!

How about 'knowing when to refer' ... dealing with students who are struggling and may need more help than you can give. Mandatory reporting is sometimes a part of that too.

I just started using this book to train small group leaders >> http://www.youthspecialties.com/shop/product_info...

So far all the leaders are loving it!! :)

Great thought Brandon!! Just like the lead youthworker shouldn't be the only one connecting with students, they shouldn't be the only one connecting with parents either :)

Amen to that!!!

I see that here too and it bums me out! I wish I could get people to understand what they're missing!