Paul Turner

WEBSITE SHOP PODCAST YOUTUBE BLOG Greetings Awesome Person, ABC's of Youth Ministry S is for Sanctuary Where is your safe place? For me, it used to be church. As an only child, going to youth group was like visiting play cousins. Working at a church feels less like sanctuary and more like community theatre. Everyone trying to give the audience the best King Lear but with midwest accents. “In jest, there is truth.”― William Shakespeare, King Lear With eyes on students and hearts set on...

WEBSITE SHOP PODCAST YOUTUBE BLOG Greetings Awesome Person, It's Mental Health Awareness Month and as someone who has struggled with anxiety and depression for over 10 years, I can't let this month go by without telling some of my favorite people in the world, "You Matter!". Sadly, as believers, we are not exempt from the struggles of this life. I have seen and heard, and I bet you have to, men and women of faith and those in ministry, end their lives because they thought they had no one to...

WEBSITE SHOP PODCAST YOUTUBE BLOG Greetings Awesome Person, ABC's of Youth Ministry R is for Respect If you don't respect yourself and the calling God has placed on your life, no one else will. Church folk, like Joseph's brothers, will throw you in a pit and try to sell you off or sell you short, but you have to find some sticks in that hole and build a ladder to get you out Here are the 5 Rungs of Respect I used to get out of a hole or two. Thou shalt not quit caring I put this at the top...

WEBSITE SHOP PODCAST YOUTUBE BLOG Greetings Awesome Person, ABC's of Youth Ministry Q is for Quickly Youth Ministry is a lot of things, slow is not one of them. This is why a youth pastor must be quick in these three areas Quick to listen You may feel like you have a lot to offer, a lot of ideas brewing in you feel must be shared, and I have no doubt that feel they must be shared, but the gold is not in the speaking but the listing. Listening grants insight to when, where and if your idea...

WEBSITE SHOP PODCAST YOUTUBE BLOG Greetings Awesome Person, ABC's of Youth Ministry P is for Process Prayer is a P word that certainly belongs in the ABC's of youth ministry, but prayer is also a process. It is a process of hearing and discerning our Father's voice discovering how much we don't know undoing who we are and building who God desires us to be Building a successful youth ministry is a process and in that process are 4 more processes (and many more) an evangelism process - how will...

WEBSITE SHOP PODCAST YOUTUBE BLOG Greetings Awesome Person, ABC's of Youth Ministry O is for Oops! How many things will you regret because you were afraid of trying something new because of what others might think? I saw a comment on Instagram and I responded by trying something new. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paul Turner (@thedproject) Trying new things has become second nature to me because I know the damage is borderline imaginary. I made a Youth Ministry Playbook for...

WEBSITE SHOP PODCAST YOUTUBE BLOG Greetings Awesome Person, ABC's of Youth Ministry N is for No. Yep no. It's the most powerful word in your arsenal of words and you should get used to saying it in various ways and for various reasons. No, I can't do that, it's my family time (setting priorities) No, I can't do that but I can... (being flexible) No, I won't do that, it will affect my reputation (the inner voice no) No, just no (setting your convictions) No, we're not adding that to our...

WEBSITE SHOP PODCAST YOUTUBE BLOG Greetings Awesome Person, ABC's of Youth Ministry M is for Motivation Before you motivate others you have to be motivated. "At the root of the word motivation is the word motive, which is similarly defined as the reason for a particular action" What motivated you to get into youth ministry? What motivates you to stay in youth ministry? What is your why? Your reason? Some reasons may not make sense, anymore, like Because it's what I've always done Because I...

WEBSITE SHOP PODCAST YOUTUBE BLOG Greetings Awesome Person, ABC's of Youth Ministry L is for listening I know what you're thinking, "Why isn't L for love?" That's because listening to students is loving. Listen to their stories Listen to their jokes Listen to their complaints (valid and invalid) Listen between the lines Listen quickly, speak slowly “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”― Ernest Hemingway “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they...