Limitless Youth Ministry Podcast

What are the things that make it difficult for young people to believe in God? How do young people view the character of God? Why are young people praying less? How courageous are our prayers with young people? Who influences what young people believe? What could inter-generational youth ministry look like? These are just some of the questions we put to Laura Hancock as she unpacks the impact of l...

We welcome Laura Hancock to unpick the recently published from Youth for Christ, The Z to A of Spirituality.  It's a fascinating conversation that stimulates all kinds of relevant questions for our youth ministries, including... What is the impact of spiritual experience in the lives of young people? Why do more young people believe in ghosts than God? Have we lost our spiritual awareness? Ho...

Joel Harris returns to the podcast to talk through six key elements relating to the mental wellbeing of young people. They are... Honesty Depression Anxiety Perfectionism Shame Anger Joel offer some really helpful analogies that will help us in our pastoral support of young people, as well as discussing the beauty in our brokenness, the power of your own story, and the importance of vulnerability....

Joel Harris spent most of his teenage years growing an online following through YouTube & Instagram, becoming a social media influencer and travelling the country presenting shows. Despite such success he struggled with his identity, and the subtle trap of seeking worth through likes and followers.  In this Episode of the Limitless Leadership Podcast, Joel discusses his personal story, ex...

Jonathan Rowland is a Youth Pastor in Enfield and former officer with the Metropolitan Police. Jonathan tells his own story of how racism has impacted him personally, and goes on to share some great wisdom for how youth leaders can respond to racial injustice.     Because this is such an important issue this chat is a long one, but it’s well worth listening through to the end as Jonathan shares wi...

In this final episode of a three part series, Tim Alford reveals three more leadership blindspots; things that may be limiting our leadership potential though we are unaware of their presence.    Tim and Ollie discuss the impact of straying out of your lane, aiming for nothing, and ideas without execution. This is a conversation for those who want to take a deep dive into their leadership and refl...

HOW DO WE DO YOUTH MINISTRY WHEN WE CAN’T MEET? The times they are a changing! We're learning youth ministry in a totally new paradigm with the outbreak of COVID-19... so how do we do youth ministry when we can't meet? Martin Saunders, the Deputy CEO at YouthScape and all-round youth ministry legend, shares his insight on a compelling episode of the Limitless Leadership Podcast.     There are some...

Tim and Ollie continue the conversation about leadership blindspots, revealing some common traps that we fall for in youth ministry.    This month the discussion turns to the impact of perfectionism on those we lead. We reflect on one of the most common leadership blindspots for youth workers - the failure to lead up. And we explore what happens when we lose our focus on the most important things...

Are there some areas in your leadership that you may not be aware of but could be holding you back?    In this first episode of a three part series, Tim Alford sits down with Ollie Ward to shine a light on some leadership blindspots; things we may not yet be aware of, but could cause a leadership crash if we fail identify and address them. This is a conversation that will cause you to reflect on y...

Whether you are a paid employee, or a volunteer yourself, leading volunteer teams is a BIG deal in youth ministry...   We've all experienced difficult team members who have caused negativity to spread through our teams. We've experienced the frustration of inconsistent attendance. We've all felt the stress caused by not having enough team members. But we've also experienced the joy of leading a fu...

In part two of their insightful conversation, Tim chats with Soul Survivor's Ali Martin about effective preaching in a youth context.    In the last episode Ali explained her process of preparation, this time she drills down into the delivery of a message. Ali reveals some common pitfalls that we must avoid, as well as some principles of best practice that will enable us all to become better commu...

Episode 43: Effective Preaching in a Youth Setting - Part 1   How do you preach effectively for young people? Soul Survivor's Ali Martin joins us on the podcast to discuss just that!    This is an insightful look into Ali's process of preparation. She talks resources, prayer, illustrations and reveals how she sets about structuring a talk.    This pod is full of practical tips and incredible wisdo...

Hallmarks of a Healthy Culture - Part 2   Tim sits down with Paul Friend, Director of South West Youth Ministries (SWYM), for the second part of their conversation about creating a healthy culture in our youth ministries.     In this episode, Tim and Paul discuss the importance of prayer, reconciliation, accountability, serving and identifying blindspots as keys to cultivating a healthy culture.  ...

Tim sits down with Paul Friend, director of South West Youth Ministries (SWYM), for a chat about how to develop a healthy culture in our youth ministries.    What is culture? How do we build and maintain a healthy culture where young people and teams flourish? And what is required of the leader themselves?   In this first episode of a two-part conversation, Paul describes three crucial factors tha...

EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS MINISTRY - JAMIE PRICE AND TIM ALFORD How do you build a relationship with your local school? How can you serve them when you're there? How do you deliver effective assemblies, RE lessons and mentoring sessions? Jamie and Tim discuss all this and more in a vital conversation for everyone in youth ministry. Enjoy!  FOR MORE ON LIMITLESS OXYGEN: http://www.limitlesselim.co.uk/oxyge...

Pioneering and Sustaining New Youth Ministries - Jamie Price and Tim Alford Tim sits down with Jamie Price, the leader of the Limitless Pioneers initiative, to discuss what it takes to start a new youth ministry from scratch.  This episode also contains some fantastic principals for reaching out to young people in your community, so regardless of whether you're starting from zero, or looking to en...

Church Culture vs Youth Culture - Andy Hancock What happens when the culture of your youth ministry is at odds with the culture of the wider church community? What happens when young people struggle to engage with our Sunday services? What responsibilities do we hold as youth leaders towards our senior leaders? How do we help our churches to become spaces that are engaging for young people?   Andy...

This month Tim talks with returning guest Andy Hancock on fostered and adopted young people. Andy discusses attachment theory and behaviour management in this incredibly insightful episode. Enjoy!

Anther great episode full of insight on working with parents.  Tim is joined by Faye Harris to unpack this topic. Enjoy!!

We are back with part 2 of the previous episode! This is amazingly insightful. Definitely worth a listen and share!

Olly and Tim talk who are Generation Z and how youth workers can reach them.  Enjoy!

This months episode is a good one! Tim is joined by Ollie ward who is the Youth track Lecturer in Regents Theological College. They talk about Practical Theology and Reflective Practice in Youth Ministry. Prepare to take notes.  Enjoy!

This month Tim chats with Pete Hopper. Pete trained as a youth worker and did anything from prison work to arts within youth work. He now works for Open Doors the persecuted Church organisation.    Tim and Pete talk all things persecuted church and how young people can engage with the persecuted church.   Enjoy

This episode is a MUST listen to. With racial tension ever getting thicker in our society, the Church should be showing society a different take on ethnic diversity. Daniel Shillingford and Tim Cooling join me to talk about Diversity, Shared Leadership & Cultural Awareness among other things. Such a great episode!   Daniel Shillingford is the Youth Pastor at City Gates Illford (London) and Tim Coo...

This Month we are coming in HOT with an amazing episode!!This episode Dustin is absent, but Tim keeps it moving with our guest Craig Britherston. Tim and Craig unpack the topics Risk and Failure. This is an incredible episode. Prepared to be encouraged yet challenging ged.    'Craig is based in Ireland and involved in pioneering work there. He also works part-time for Limitless on the 'Pioneers' p...