Intro #2

For my first blog post I find myself playing a rousing game of spoons while on a mission trip.  I find that a good game of cards, whether it be spoons, sock and shoe, or go fish, can bring together a group of people in amazing ways.  That is one of the things that I love about ministry, it brings tons of different people, from different backgrounds and walks of life, together for one cause.
I'm Daniel, and I serve as a student minister in the same small town as Josh.  I also won't tell you the name of our town for a lot of the same reasons that Josh won't.  But, I will say that we do have a pretty sweet tower at one of the parks here. 
I am pretty new to this whole small town ministry thing.  I did grow up in a small town in east Tennessee, but didn't start serving in ministry until college, which was in a large town at a large church.  I moved to this town in July after being called as the student minster at a local church here. Before, I was serving as an associate middle school minister at a church in middle Tennessee. Before that I had served as an intern at another church in east Tennessee.   Those areas were completely different than the area that I currently live in, and because of the differences, ministry is done differently. Completely different.  I am under a huge learning curve here. Everything that I have learned in ministry is challenged everyday and it is both exciting and tough.  
That is why I wanted to start this blog.  I came into this situation thinking that I had it all figured out, and I will admit, some of my ideas have taken off with flying colors.  But I have also learned that some of the things that go on in much larger areas in much larger churches with much larger budgets are just not feasible, or sensible here.  However, my ministry to these students will have the same eternal impact on my students as my ministry in those churches did.  Therefore it is just as important. Just as Josh said, even though we serve in a small town with a small budget does not mean that our ministries are small.  The numbers may not be that same, but the impact is, and that is something that should not be taken for granted.
So here I am.  I want this blog to be a resource for all those minister out there, whether they be student minister or not, who find themselves in my place.  As Josh said, I want to give advice on things that do work and that don't work on our shoestring budget.  I want to talk about things that go awesomely, and things that flop.  I will try to give some advice on curriculum, events, mentoring, fellowship, and speaking.  I want to be open and honest about my struggles in ministry.  My hope is that you will find this blog helpful.  I hope that you will post comments, suggestions, and questions that you have for us.  
We plan on posting daily, whether it be the two of us or just one of us. Thank you for stopping by. Let us know what you think.