Prayer and Bible Study Accompaniment
I want to end this series where it all begins: with Scripture. With prayer. With the practices that are supposed to be the foundation of everything we do in our lives of faith exploration.
Communities of Practice for Next Generation Ministries.
But by and large, if you're a children's ministry coordinator, a youth pastor, a young adult ministry leader — you're figuring it out on your own. Often without formal training. Often without peers who understand what you're navigating. Often feeling structurally marginalized within a denomination that says it cares about young people but doesn't always resource the people who actually work with them.
And here's the thing that really gets me: these leaders are shaping the future of the church. They're the ones helping young people grow in faith, building relationships, creating the environments where the next generation encounters the love of God. And too often, they're doing it alone.
So we want to experiment with something…
Listening Partner Support Network
One of the things we heard in our listening sessions was this sense that ministry leaders are "running around trying to do their best... and they're being forgotten." The people who serve are somehow left out of the serving. There's a divide between the work of ministry and the care of the ministers.
This initiative exists because we believe that divide shouldn't exist. You deserve to have someone in your corner. Someone who will hold space for you the way you hold space for everyone else.
Virtual Front Porch Initiative
Here's what we heard over and over: It's not that you don't care about your digital presence. It's that there's already so much to manage. And for many of you, this kind of work just isn't your best gift. (That's okay. Neither am I. That’s why I contracted with Lauren three weeks into the COVID shutdown of 2020 - more about her in a second.)
But here's the thing. Google and social media are the first places people look when they're searching for a faith community. Your church's digital presence isn't just a nice-to-have anymore — it's your front porch. It's where people decide whether to come closer or keep walking by.