Author Archives: Tom Shefchunas

About Tom Shefchunas

Tom (also known as "Coach Shef" or just "Shef") is the co-founder of Uthmin.net and the North Point Ministries Multi-Campus Director of Transit, their Middle School Ministry. Tom’s passion involves working with campus directors and their teams, as well as recruiting and developing the hundreds of volunteer small group leaders it takes to pull off Transit at the five churches of North Point Ministries. He also co-wrote Lead Small with Reggie Joiner, a resource for children and student small group leaders. Tom and his wife Julie live in Cumming, Georgia, with their three children, Mac, Joey and Cooper. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Hooks and Anchors

by Tom Shefchunas on September 16, 2013 in Leadership, Small Groups, Strategy.

A few years ago, one of my good friends and co-workers announced that he was leaving his job as a Middle School Director. If you’ve seen this go down before, you’ll probably be surprised by my next statement.

When he announced he was leaving, it was no big deal to the volunteers he announced it to!

For my friend, it probably would have been good for the ol’ ego if there had been weeping and gnashing of teeth, but, you know what?

His volunteers’ response (or lack thereof) is actually an indicator that he did a great job!

Happy Launch Day!

by Tom Shefchunas on September 12, 2013 in Uthmin.

Hello Middle School Ministry tribe!

This has been a long time coming. I am so excited to finally get started.

A couple of years back, a few of us dreamed of putting together a place where Middle School pastors could gather, share ideas, discuss ministry strategies, and engage in the community we tell our students is so important.

Let’s face it; ministry can be a lonely job. Middle school ministry can be even lonelier.

We could all use some quality time with some quality people that do what we do.

That’s why we set out to create Uthmin.

Why Focus on Middle School Ministry?

by Tom Shefchunas on September 11, 2013 in Strategy.

I spent the first 10 years of my professional life as a teacher, coach, and eventually a principal in the educational system. Though I loved the classroom and my kids, I grew more and more frustrated with the system. In response, I tried to change it from the inside out. Along the way, I went to graduate school to get my administrative degree and spent a lot of time not only working in the system, but stepping back and looking at it from an academic and scientific perspective. I got more frustrated—not with the teachers—but with the system they had to work in.

What is Uthmin?

by Tom Shefchunas on September 1, 2013 in Uthmin.

Here’s a question. When it comes to Middle School Ministry, and figuring out how to do Middle School Ministry better, where can we find the best ideas?

Seriously… think about it.

Where can we find the best ideas about how to do Middle School Ministry?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately.