The FYI on Youth Ministry

As youth leaders, the example we set extends beyond the youth group. In this episode, Matt Manno  ( Nextgen Pastor at New Life Fellowship in Queens )  shares how his team models growth for students. Listen for practical insights on how to be emotionally healthy youth leaders can help volunteers face the pressure to be perfect, and help students reflect on what they model for each other. Mentioned...

Welcome back to a new season! In Season 9 we're talking about discipleship to cultivate a faith in our students that goes beyond the youth group. In this episode the coauthors of FYI's latest book Faith Beyond Youth Group , Jen Bradbury, Brad Griffin and Kara Powell, introduce us to the 5 points of the Faith Beyond Youth Group Compass.   Mentioned in this episode: Faith Beyond Youth Group   Sign u...

When students trust you, opportunities for discipleship will abound. Building trust requires relational consistency and proximity. So, tune in to hear about the practical steps you can take to cultivate the relational proximity needed to form trust with your students! Mentioned in this episode: Blog: Learning to listen to teenagers Sign up for our email list Related FYI resources: Blog : 5 ways yo...

Why are models important in character-forming discipleship? " The way we live our lives is the greatest sermon we will ever preach because our students are paying close attention to how we talk, what we share, how we react, and especially how we treat others." In this episode, Giovanny Panginda shares how we can be models for our students and how we can help them find other healthy models .   Ment...

How can youth ministry leaders cultivate compassion and kinship in their youth ministry?  "What always works is not the hard message, but the care [people] feel immediately and the fact that they felt seen. You learn that lesson over and over again. Cherishing people is not hard." Tune in to hear more of Father Greg Boyle's story and practical wisdom!  Mentioned in this episode: Homeboy Industries...

What is the role of a youth leader? What are the qualities of a good youth leader? Andy Jung shares 4 ways youth leaders can change the way we understand our calling from youth ministry "superstar" on the verge of burnout, to the ones charged to lead all adults in the church as they invest relationally in our teenagers. Mentioned in this episode: Sustainable Youth Ministry by Mark DeVries Adopted...

" Google the words "Anxiety is like," and you'll be shocked by the number of comparisons and descriptions you'll find … As the Body of Christ, we can help change the script for young people grappling with anxiety." In this episode, Rachel Dodd shares 4 hope-filled messages the church needs to tell today's anxious young people. Mentioned in this episode: Lifeway Research: Suicide Remains a Taboo To...

Teaching compassion to teens starts with being compassionate leaders. Tune in to hear Cameron Lee share practical strategies from biblically-informed psychology that will help you cultivate trust-filled discipleship and make a lasting impact in the lives of young people. Guest: Cameron Lee Hosts: Rachel Dodd, Roslyn Hernández Mentioned in this episode: Compassion Curriculum   The Fog Blog Dr. Kris...

What's love and humility got to do with lament? More than we might initially imagine! In this conversation, you'll hear insight, stories, and practical ideas from Soong-Chan Rah about how we can cultivate love and humility with teens in our youth ministry through the spiritual practice of lament.   Guest(s): Soong-Chan Rah Hosts: Chuck Hunt, Roslyn Hernández   Mentioned in this episode: Prophetic...

Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, Marcos Canales, and Elizabeth Tamez Méndez share stories, and practical wisdom on teaching teenagers about hope and perseverance. Your students face lots of challenges, and we know you and other caring adults in your ministry want to be there for them. Join this empowering conversation on cultivating hope and perseverance with your students.  Guest(s) : Marcos Canales, Eli...

Rev. Dr. Dwight Radcliff talks with us about the prophetic truth-telling power of hip hop and its importance to the process of forgiveness and racial justice. Join the conversation to get ideas about spiritual formation practices you can use to teach students in your youth ministry about forgiveness.   Guest(s): Dwight Radcliff Hosts: Roslyn Hernández, LaTasha Nesbitt   Mentioned in this episode:...

Listen as Rich Villodas shares thoughts and ideas on faith practices that can help support teens' spiritual formation by cultivating humility in ourselves and our Gen Z students. Guest: Rich Villodas Hosts: Roslyn Hernández and Giovanni Panginda Mentioned in this episode: New Life Fellowship Humilitas by John Dickson Sign up for our email list Related FYI resources: Blog:  Walk and pray in awe and...

Robert Chao Romero talks with us about the historical oppression BIPOC have experienced in the U.S. in the name of character and virtue education. Hear how ministry leaders can safeguard discipleship and spiritual formation models from unintentionally causing harm, along with ways youth ministry can benefit from honoring and including families and cultures in our communities. Guest: Robert Chao Ro...

As youth leaders, we all want to disciple our students to be more Christ-like but resources on discipling for character development are scarce. This season, we explore Christ-like characteristics and youth ministry activities that can help you support your students' spiritual formation as they become more like Christ. Jen Bradbury shares highlights from FYI's Character and Virtue Development proje...

In this episode, Giovanny Panginda and Roslyn Hernández talk with Kevin Wilson about the intersections between immigration experiences and faith. Join us to hear insights and practical ideas to help you connect with immigrant students and families in your ministry.  Mentioned in this episode : Cross Culture Christian Sign up for our email list Related FYI resources : Blog: Reading Scripture with i...

In this episode, Osheta Moore and hosts Roslyn Hernández and Gio Panginda talk about the importance of youth ministry ­curriculum that represents our students' diversity and is relevant to their context. Tune in to hear practical ideas that can help you choose and adapt curriculum and youth ministry teaching to be inclusive. Mentioned in this episode : Made for Pax Wade in the water Dear White Pea...

Students today are thinking about and have been affected by recent and historical racial violence. In this roundtable discussion we discuss recent incidences of racialized violence, ways we can support students when they need to process, and resilience practices that have helped affected communities of color. Guests in this episode are Ray Chang, Dr. LaTasha Nesbitt, and Brad Griffin, and hosted b...

How can you support your students' antiracism participation? Guests Dr. Alma Zaragoza-Petty and Propaganda share insights from their own antiracism work and give practical tips about how leaders of all ethnic backgrounds can get involved in this work with their students. Alma also talks about her upcoming book, Chingona , in which she writes about her journey of healing from patriarchy, white supr...

This season we are talking about how to have conversations about race and ethnicity with your students and other adults. In this episode, authors Kat Armas , Jennifer Guerra Aldana , and Ahren Martinez give us a brief overview of the guide, Talking About Race with Teenagers . They also share helpful practices to support your antiracist work and to honor your students' ethnic backgrounds. If you ar...

Have you wondered about how to talk about race with middle school and high school students? Maybe you have questions about how to have conversations about race and ethnicity with other leaders. If you want to know more about why race matters to your students, God, and the church, this season is for you! In this episode, the authors of the guide Talking About Race with Teenagers , Kat Armas , Jenni...

In this season finale, our guest Dr. David Wang shares important and practical insight on trauma-informed ministry. Tune in to learn how youth leaders can care for themselves and walk alongside students who have experienced trauma. This episode is hosted by Giovanny Panginda and Roslyn Hernández and was inspired by SCARS - Trauma Informed Discipleship , a free video-based resource developed by our...

In this episode co-hosts Jennifer Guerra Aldana and Brad Griffin have an honest and helpful conversation with Dr. Joyce del Rosario about the particular challenges for leaders of color leading in predominantly white spaces. Listen in to hear practical ideas so that we can all cultivate awareness and spaces that are inclusive. 

Does it feel like you're on the edge of burnout? The ongoing crises of the pandemic have made it harder to recover from difficulties in life and ministry. Join our conversation with Dr. Christin Fort as she shares biblical insight on resilience, and gives us practical strategies to restore health in ministry.

Spending time in God's presence and experiencing awe can be a life-giving spiritual practice to cultivate. In this episode Giovanny Panginda and Lisa Nopachai introduce an 8-minute guided walking prayer resource originally developed to train students to integrate mind, body, and spirit as they find grounding in God and experience awe and wonder in their everyday surroundings—but youth leaders can...

It's been a really tough couple of years in ministry. Are you feeling overwhelmed—and maybe even a little guilty about broken relationships with your students? Hosts Roslyn Hernández and Giovanny Panginda revisit a conversation between Brad Griffin and Josh Packard of Springtide Research packed with insights that will help you reframe student decline in ministry participation. Tune in for practica...