I am honored to know another long-termer in youth ministry who has been in it longer than me. What a good man, Brian Farmer of First Baptist of Salisbury, NC, is. January 9 is a special anniversary to him. On that date in 1978 two friends of his were murdered. In reflecting on that anniversary Brian wrote this to me:

(Part of a long email entitled “Another Reason Why Youth Ministry is Still Important to Me”)

“This past October (when the murderer was executed) I relived the events in my mind, with more detail than I wish I had remembered. As I did so, one thought continually kept coming to the forefront, ‘did anyone ever minister to a young John Ferguson?’

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From a report by MediaPost entitled “5 Trends for 2014 (And Beyond):

One trend is “Random is the New Funny:”
“Humor has always had a strong influence on teen consumers, but lately it’s taken on a whole new tone. While adults scratch their heads at the latest video from Ylvis, teens (and the rest of the youth population) are cracking up. Random humor has become mainstream and youth marketers are starting touse it to great effect, from Skittles’s long-running campaign to Kmart’s recent commercial puns to the Dodge Durango spots featuring Ron Burgundy. The tactic is key for youth marketers today; with teens’ media saturated lives, it takes random, unexpected humor to grab their attention. This trend gives marketers the freedom to try just about anything in their ads, which can be a blessing (when an idea works) and a curse (when a concept falls flat). As an added bonus for advertisers that take the risk and succeed, teens love to share random humor, helping to spread the marketing message.” Source.

So possibly that random youth ministry idea you have could speak to that targeted group of teens you’ve been praying and seeking God for. Continue reading →