Dennis Beckner
Dennis Beckner is a volunteer youth worker who trains volunteer youth workers. From 1999 to 2020 he was a leader at Saddleback Church’s Student Ministry. He is the author of Volunteer Youth Ministry, A Roadmap For Effective Leadership, and owns VolunteerYouthMinistry.com. Graduated from Point Loma Nazarene College in 1994, BA Religion
I gave a Swiss Army Knife to a former student who has become a co-leader of mine this year. I decided to make it more than just a gift. This is something I kind of stumbled on that I will...
This one was very difficult for me to do. This year I started over with a new group of Freshmen. Their parents were very cordial and involved, in a healthy way. Several of them offered to send desserts or help...
I keep these camp pictures on my mantle to remind me of the great youth ministry memories made while doing summer camp. On this Thanksgiving Day, that’s what I’m thankful for: Youth Ministry, getting to impact young lives for Christ,...
Doug Fields tells youth workers that as youth workers we have earned a place in students’ lives to hold them accountable and live up to expectations. That’s not a direct quote, but expresses the idea of what he shares. I...
I need to give a shout out to Stoked On Youth Ministry. I’ve been following them on Twitter for a while and like their resources. When you need a lesson or a game, go check them out. They “get it”....
Saw this blog post over at DownLoadYouthMinistry.com by Justin Knowles. He wrote a brilliant post about why you may see youth staff not hanging out with students. Strategic youth workers will do what he does. I’m posting an excerpt from...
The last few years God has been moving me in new directions. He’s been challenging my perspectives, priorities and approach to youth ministry. Yesterday a fellow youth worker, Kevin, gave me a movie to watch to see if I thought...
Got asked a twist on an age-old question today. A student asked, “Since we are supposed to follow God and surrender our lives to God why do Christian men tell people to follow there dreams and to have the job...
I’m very thankful and honored Doug Fields wrote the foreword to my newly released book, Volunteer Youth Ministry, A Roadmap For Effective Leadership. I’m sharing it here to help my readers know what to expect when they download this ebook....
This is a follow up to my last post about meeting with the new small group leader my recent high school graduates have. Their new leader has the same passion I do for seeing the boys grow spiritually. We even...