CJ Palmer
CJ is the Director of Audio and Video for the Digital Content team at Orange and one of the hosts and producers of Rethinking Youth Ministry, a podcast raising the bar for student leaders everywhere. CJ has been leading small groups for middle school students at North Point Community Church since 2007, which means he's probably spent more time talking to middle schoolers than adults in his life. He also placed 5th in his 8th-grade class field day fun run. CJ and his wife, Teri, live in Alpharetta, Georgia, with their son, Harley, and their robot vacuum, Barbara.
The Balance of Real and Weird
Friday May 1, 2020 | CJ PalmerAs a small group leader, you’re probably encouraged to be open and honest with your students about your own life. After all, being open and honest paves the way to relational trust, which is crucial when you’re leading students. But one question many new leaders ask is, “How real should I be with my students?” […] Read more
The Sunday Morning Dinner Party Experience
Friday May 1, 2020 | CJ PalmerLet’s pretend that tonight you have to go to a dinner party. It’s not the kind of party you’re looking forward to, though. You’re going alone, you know very few people, if any, who will be there, and you fear you will end up making small talk with acquaintances all evening. You’re not even sure how […] Read more
What To Do If You Have A Bad Co-Leader
Friday May 1, 2020 | CJ PalmerMost of the time, having a co-leader is awesome. It’s awesome to have someone else walking through the SGL experience with you. It’s awesome to have someone you can silently laugh with when a kid says something ridiculous during group. And it’s awesome to have someone you can rely on when you can’t make it […] Read more
When the Going Gets Tough And You Feel Like Giving Up
Friday May 1, 2020 | CJ PalmerHow do you prepare for a tough workout at the gym? Most athletes will tell you that the best way to prepare is to eat well and get a great night’s sleep. Why? Because when you’re in the moment – when you’re halfway through a set of 50 pushups – the desire to keep going dramatically […] Read more
4 Tips to Utilize Social Media for Your Ministry Without Getting Overwhelmed
Wednesday October 23, 2019 | CJ PalmerSocial media is where your students are hanging out. If you want to reach them, you need to engage with them on their turf. So, what should you do? Just keep struggling to stay up-to-date with your social media posts and suffer through the overwhelming nature of it all? Of course not. Just because it's overwhelming now doesn't mean it has to stay that way. Here are four tips to help you utilize social media in your ministry without getting overwhelmed. Read more
JULY: The Best Month to Set Goals for Your Student Ministry?
Monday July 3, 2017 | CJ PalmerJuly isn’t exactly the month most of us think about setting goals. In fact, July is probably the time of the year when goals are farthest from our minds. After all, we’re a full six months past the goals we set in January and six months away from the goals we’ll set next January. Not only is it not goal-setting season, […] Read more
The Best Way to Mobilize Teens to Serve in Family Ministry
Thursday May 25, 2017 | CJ PalmerLet’s start by being honest. Improving the way you mobilize teens to serve in your church probably isn’t on your list of things to do this week. Or if it is, it’s right below “fix the broken urinal handle in the men’s restroom” on your task list. Mobilizing teens just doesn’t feel like a pressing […] Read more
How to Leverage More Opportunities in Student Ministry
Monday February 27, 2017 | CJ PalmerThink back to the last big game you watched. Maybe it was a football game with the season on the line or a basketball game with huge implications. No matter what sport you’re into, after any big game there are always postgame interviews with the winning players. And they all say nearly the same thing […] Read more
Defining the Small Win for Your Small Group Leaders
Tuesday April 19, 2016 | CJ PalmerMost small group leaders have big wins in mind for their small group. They anticipate the big, pivotal, fulfilling moments that remind them why they’re leading a group in the first place – moments like leading a student to Christ or watching a student get baptized. But if big moments are the only wins your leaders are shooting for, they’re going […] Read more
