The Word in Youth Ministry - A CPYU Podcast

Kyle invites Reggie Seutia, Pastor of Music Ministry, to join the podcast to discuss worship and song in youth ministry. They discuss the importance of using good songs in our worship and how we can use songs with intentional lyrics and rich content to teach the Bible and theological truths. Reggie encourages us not to sing certain songs just because they're popular or trendy, but instead to evalu...

Dr. Mitchell Chase joins Kyle to discuss the importance of teaching about the Fall to our students. Dr. Chase discusses his latest book "Short of Glory: A Biblical and Theological Exploration of the Fall." Together they encourage us not to shy away from this topic, but instead to help place it within the larger biblical narrative. Understanding the effects of the Fall and realizing our sinfulness...

Kyle invites his youth pastor on the podcast to discuss the impact he had on his life and ministry and to pick his brain about teaching the Bible to the next generation. Chad Groff offers encouragement to youth workers, both new and "seasoned" alike. Chad reflects on how his methods have changed over a few decades of teaching the Bible, provides insight on staying up-to-date with culture, and disc...

Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration. Kyle and Jason discuss helping our students understand God's Grand Story as we teach them Scripture. Knowing where books of the Bible or certain passages fall within the bigger picture help us provide context for our students. How can we use this narrative to help students navigate culture and the things they deal with in every day life?

CPYU President Walt Mueller joins host Kyle Hoffsmith for this episode. They give a shout out to Matt and Linda as they transition to new roles and discuss the future of the podcast and how we'll handle co-hosts moving forward. Together they talk about Bible teaching in the new school year. There is also a helpful conversation about devotionals along with some highly recommended ones.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt have a great conversation with Dr. Jonathan Pennington. He discusses his new book Come & See: The Journey of Knowing God through Scripture. He describes three different ways in which we often approach reading Scripture: informational, theological, and transformational. After describing each, he encourages listeners to approach Scripture with an appropriate balance of all 3.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt invite Mike Flavin, a veteran youth pastor for over 42 years, to join the podcast. Mike shares lessons he learned, emphasizes the power of small groups and empowering other leaders to teach the Bible well, and reminds us that home is really where the action is! New and veteran youth workers alike will be encouraged and equipped by this helpful conversation with Mike.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt welcome Tony Souder to the podcast. Tony is the founder of the Pray for Me Campaign. Together they have a great discussion about intergenerational ministry and how churches can utilize the power of prayer to bring people of different generations together. How can churches utilize the Pray for Me Campaign? Tony shares some powerful stories about the work God is doing in our ch...

Kyle, Matt, and Linda discuss spring break and then transition to the halls of their local schools in a conversation with Travis Deans. Travis started 9 Month Mission Trip as a way to encourage students to see their school as a missions field and provides resources to help them be effective ambassadors for Christ among their peers. How can we encourage teens to share the Gospel with their friends...

Kyle runs the podcast solo this episode, but invites in guest Matt Smethurst. Matt discusses his book "Before You Open Your Bible: Nine Heart Postures For Approaching God's Word." Following a fun discussion about Michael Jordan, Kyle and Matt focus on a few of the heart postures we should have before we dig into Scripture. He encourages us in the idea that we are all theologians, and we can help o...

Kyle, Matt, and Linda have a lively discussion with Peter J. Williams about his book "Can We Trust the Gospels?" Dr. Williams tells us the importance of being able to trust the Gospels, and how they help us know we can trust all of Scripture. Matt engages with Dr. Williams in a discussion about how geolocation helps confirm the stories of Jesus as told in the Gospels. Linda asks a helpful question...

Kyle, Linda, and Matt invite Associate Pastor Phil Leineweber to share about the work he has done toward building a teaching plan for students at his church. Phil shares about a youth ministry institute that he helped form in order that students would be challenged during their middle school and high school years to engage with various books of the Bible and topical studies. Phil emphasizes the ne...

Kyle, Linda, and Matt welcome back Sean McDowell. As we approach the Easter season, we take a look at teaching about the resurrection. Sean helps us avoid some bad ways we often approach this topic while pointing us to some helpful tips we can use as we prepare to teach this important subject to our students.

Kyle, Matt, and Linda welcome Mitchell Chase back to the podcast for a second time. He discusses his new book "Hope for All the Earth: Understanding The Story of the Old Testament" and the importance of teaching the Old Testament to students. Mitchell helps us to see the Old Testament as the Bible that Jesus read and knew, and its importance for our own lives. He encourages listeners to help stude...

Brian Sorgenfrei, formerly of RUF, and current pastor at CPC Oxford, joins Kyle, Matt, and Linda in a great discussion about teaching the Bible to high school and college students. Brian suggests that we not only need to ask great questions of the text, but we need to be asking the questions that students themselves might be asking. Doing so helps make the Bible compelling to students. They also e...

Kyle, Linda, and Matt welcome Greg Anderson, who is the President of Inspiration Point Christian Camp & Retreat Center. Together they discuss the important role that Christian camping can serve in the life of teens. Greg talks about the marriage of the outdoors and the Scriptures and how God can use the two together to make disciples. We also discuss how to find a Christian camp that is a great fi...

Kyle, Linda, and Matt discuss the results of The State of Theology report recently released by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research. They highlight some of the figures and statistics that were surprising, encouraging, or perhaps discouraging. They  also share whether or not they see some of these results playing out anecdotally within their churches and youth groups. The team then talks about...

Kyle, Linda, and Matt take a look at 1 Timothy 3. They acknowledge that students might not see how this passage pertains to them. We can help our students see the importance of this God-given plan and structure for His Church. We can also use this passage to show them that passages like this help us hold to good biblical doctrine in our churches, and conversely help protect against false teachings...

Kyle, Linda, and Matt look at the topic of evangelism. Why is training our students in the area important? How do we do it well? How does sharing the gospel help us in our understanding of the gospel? What are some of the pitfalls we need to be aware of so that we can avoid them? We also discuss how evangelism is ultimately tied into discipleship. We also offer Scripture passages we can turn to to...

How do the 10 Commandments fit into the whole of Scripture? What do they mean for us today? What do they mean for the teenagers that we serve? How can we impress these truths onto the hearts of our youth in ways that they'll relate to? We also take a look at this portion of the law and what makes them similar or different from other old testament laws and how we should view the law today. Does it...

Kyle, Linda, and Matt respond to a listener e-mail regarding planning a scope and sequence for youth ministry. What are the benefits of long-term planning? How long should we plan out for, a year, 4 years, longer? Should we be picking topically, books of the Bible, something else? We provide thoughts and good practices we can implement as we work to develop a scope and sequence for the teaching th...

Kyle, Matt, and Linda dive into 1 John. They look at various themes that can be addressed, and how they might approach teaching this particular book of the Bible to students. Matt introduces us to 3 different "tests" that John weaves through his epistle to help us answer the question as to whether we are truly part of the family of God. Linda shares some helpful insights from recently teaching 1 J...

Kyle, Linda, and Matt answer questions sent in from a listener and fellow youth worker about teaching the Bible to students. In the series of questions, they provide insights on what lesson preparation looks like for them, how they avoid getting "stuck in the weeds", effective methods of teaching, making lessons accessible to a wide range of ages, and more.

What's the best way to approach teaching passages of Scripture to teens? In this episode Kyle, Linda, and Matt talk about various approaches, like taking a small passage and going through it slowly over the course of several weeks vs. tackling a larger passage or whole book of the Bible and covering it in only a week or two. What are the pros and cons of each? What does it look like to slow things...

Pastor, Author, and Professor Mitchell Chase joins the podcast to discuss using Typology and Allegory in our teaching of the Word of God to students. Kyle, Linda, and Matt ask him questions about his book, 40 Questions about Typology and Allegory , and how to best utilize and model these hermeneutical approaches as we engage in Scripture in our youth ministries. Mitch provides practical insight fo...