From the biggest clichés while working in youth ministry to those inevitable tips for leaders, youth ministry offers a number of tropes – some useful, others that make you roll your eyes.

No matter where you stand, this is why we launched Youth Ministry Madness! It’s your turn to cast your vote to tell us which one resonates with YOU best. Over the past few weeks, we’ve whittled the list down from the top 32 (per our youth ministry experts) to the Elite 8.

A Cinderella story

You’re standing with 20 youth and chaperones at the box office for the youth baseball outing, and the tickets are safely in your office. Did we need those? 

We’ve all been there. Both as youth leaders and as well as normal adults. Perhaps that’s why “Did we need those?” has become the Cinderella story for Youth Ministry Madness; overtaking some crowd favorites and finding itself in the Elite 8.

Can “Did we need those?” continue to rise to the top? Will it overtake Creative Service Projects to be the ultimate winner?

An old favorite rises to the top

Last year, we challenged the youth ministry community to uncover the top youth ministry cliché. We brought back some of the favorites for this year’s tournament and who can resist “So many t-shirts” – after all, it doesn’t matter if it’s a mission trip, a lock-in, or a trip to an amusement park – that budget isn’t going to spend itself!

All the t-shirts face off against expense receipts (you’re notoriously bad at remembering to turn in expense receipts until you paid out-of-pocket and need to be reimbursed (like, yesterday)… which one will make it to the Final Four?

It’s up to you!

Now’s the time to cast your vote and get in on the Youth Ministry Madness fun, tell us where “Did we need those?” stands in your challenges as a youth ministry leader.

Stay up-to-date with the latest in Youth Ministry Madness by casting your vote here! The final winner will be announced on April 8.