Notes from the Village.

Four Gospel writers told the same story four ways. So does hip-hop. What happens when we let both teach us how to sit with a teenager in lament.

Lauryn Hill gave a generation of Black girls permission to question, unlearn, and still love Jesus. A conversation with faith influencer Mariah Crawford.

Pecola, Troy, and Brenda were written to be overlooked. Black Girlhood Theology reads them again, and gives Black girls their stories back.

MLK, Baldwin, Malcolm, Obama. Cool was never just style. For Black teenagers it is identity in formation, and leaders should engage it rather than dismiss it.

The language we use for Black girls ages them before their time. A look at adultification and what it costs the girls in our ministries.

Ever since he was 14, Thomas Brackeen knew he wanted to work with young people for the rest of his life. Here is what he learned about staying.

Most drop-off happens in the handoff between grade levels. Emotional well-being, academics, and faith all hinge on how we steward those transitions.

Most of us were never formally taught how to disciple anyone. Six things worth knowing before you try it with teenagers.

Ministry leaders have a rare vantage point into the lives of the people around them. That view comes with a responsibility worth naming.

Burnout is real, and it does not wait for a convenient season. Mike Owens on the morning his body told him what he had been ignoring.

A phone call from the senior pastor, a family in shock, and a teenager in trouble. What a youth pastor learned about showing up in crisis.

Many of us grew up hearing “don’t question God.” Deconstruction is not the threat we were taught it was. Curiosity might be a gift.

We all want to leave a legacy. Building a volunteer team is one of the few ways to make sure it outlasts you.