Volunteer Youth Worker Podcast

When you’ve been serving students in youth ministry for four decades you gather some stories and wisdom along the way. That’s what’s fun about hearing from Ron Friesen, who is still optimistic and excited about the role youth workers play in the faith development of students even as he’s watched multiple generations grow up through the ministries he’s led. In today’s episode, Ron brings practical...

You likely have (or will have at some point) someone in your group that is just really difficult to love. It’s a student who is disruptive, or one that did something awful, or one that is just mean. In those moments it can be difficult to know how to respond. In this week’s conversation, Randy Carter will share two heart-wrenching stories that have the power to help us refocus what unconditional l...

Your social feeds are likely filled with back to school pictures as a new routine starts for students. But what do you do with all those teens that have moved away? As you watch them struggle to find new friends and new rhythms is there any way to support them from afar?  In this episode, Jeremy interviews AJ Crocker from Briercrest College and Seminary . They highlight a lot of resources that can...

There are lots of mixed emotions when back to school season hits, but perhaps one of the surprising struggles is when students have a hard time returning from summer camp. If you have students who have had significant experiences this past summer, how can you help them reintegrate into their school year routine? Are there any best practices to help them process all that God did through them during...

How do you balance your work time, family time, time with God, and your ministry to students? When we raise the bar on our ministry to students it is easy to see how we could spend more and more time volunteering. But how do you know if it’s too much? How do you set up healthy boundaries around your time? We want to hear from you! Submit your youth ministry question at youthministry.team Mentioned...

You know it can feel daunting to look ahead at the next ministry year’s calendar and wonder what you’re going to do. You hope that this year will be the best yet, but there are so many things to juggle, and if you aren’t careful, the fall will be crashing in around you. You got this though -- you and your youth ministry team can launch this year’s ministry season in a great way. We want to hear fr...

Whether it’s your regular program, special event, summer camp, or some other gathering -- you have probably found it difficult to engage and interact with students who are shy. Maybe they are new to your environment or maybe they are just nervous and timid around groups of people, but whatever the reason, it’s difficult to make a connection and have a meaningful conversation with them. Since not e...

Summer brings a great opportunity to build relationships with your students outside of the typical routine, but what are the best ways to make that connection? What if your students are away at summer camp or working a job? Thinking creatively about leveraging the summer can lead to important spiritual conversations, can launch you well into the fall, and can give you a chance to connect with stud...

Summer camp is a key time for students to make major spiritual decisions. One of your students (or maybe one of their friends?) might come back from camp having made a decision to follow Jesus. When you discover that, what should your response be as a small group leader? Is there a way to reinforce that decision and help them take their next steps?    We want to hear from you! Submit your youth mi...

You have that regular student who shows up to every event and every youth night, but you sometimes wish they wouldn’t. The issue isn’t that they are a regular attender, the issue is that this student is very abrasive and continually gets on everyone's nerves--including all the leaders! You know that you are supposed to respond in a loving way, and yet it seems like this student is derailing the cu...

You have that regular student who shows up to every event and every youth night, but you sometimes wish they wouldn’t. The issue isn’t that they are a regular attender, the issue is that this student is very abrasive and continually gets on everyone's nerves--including all the leaders! You know that you are supposed to respond in a loving way, and yet it seems like this student is derailing the cu...

Heading into the summer there is so much youth ministry that happens at summer camps and with that comes unique challenges. Like what happens when your cabin is full of only unchurched students? It can be a struggle to keep students’ attention on a good day, but what happens when they don’t think the Bible is even relevant for them?    We want to hear from you! Submit your youth ministry question...

Building trust, communicating value, and following up with students are key responsibilities of great small group leaders, but sometimes it can be challenging to do those things well. When you gather with your group it can be chaotic and challenging to be strategic in your interactions. If students are drawn to where they are known and where people are interested in them, how can you better show s...

On April 6, 2018, sixteen people were killed when a coach bus struck a transport truck in Saskatchewan. Most of those who lost their lives were players from the Humboldt Broncos, a junior hockey team. The crash made news across Canada and as the country watched an emotional vigil, Sean Brandow, the team’s chaplain and a local pastor, delivered a powerful gospel message. His faithfulness led to a n...

What happens when someone in your small group is bullying another student in your group? You are trying to create a safe place and yet someone is struggling in your midst. We know there’s always more to the story, but what do you do when you discover the story is clear--someone is being bullied.   We want to hear from you! Submit your youth ministry question at youthministry.team Mentioned in this...

What happens when someone in your small group is bullying another student in your group? You are trying to create a safe place and yet someone is struggling in your midst. We know there’s always more to the story, but what do you do when you discover the story is clear--someone is being bullied.   We want to hear from you! Submit your youth ministry question at youthministry.team Mentioned in this...

Students these days are digital natives and global citizens. That means that if we are strategic we can combat declining attendance and busy schedules by meeting students where they are at throughout the week--online and on their phones. What are ways to engage students outside of our programs?   Kendra Golden is a Central Team Leader in Content Development at Life. Church, which reaches over 100,...

These days in our culture it seems like there’s more value placed on exploration and relativism than actual truth. Is there a way to approach faith conversations that allows us to anchor students in the truth? Can we approach their hard questions with boldness and confidence? Is it worth preparing answers to some of the big questions that students wrestle with? We want to hear from you! Submit you...

Your students are wanting to take action and let their faith push them into places where injustice happens and hope is needed. But that might mean a change in our perspective and posture as leaders. How do you tackle a bigger vision for your ministry that doesn’t burn you out? How can you mobilize this generation to see God’s mission as bigger than just what happens within the walls of our youth m...

When you started out you were probably optimistic about ministry and the chance to invest into students’ lives. But over time it can be challenging to hold onto that optimism. After all, there’s that kid who you poured into and now they’ve left. Or the student who hurt you after all you did for them. And so then you started anticipating getting burned, even projecting past failure on future situat...

Listen to today’s episode to find out how you can be part of this week’s giveaway! And follow Sid , Jason , and Jeremy online to hear more what’s coming up on the podcast. We want to hear from you! Submit your youth ministry question at youthministry.team Mentioned in this episode: Update for 2024 Lots has changed since this episode initially aired! So to stay current with us here in 2024, head to...

Ministry is better when you work together with other volunteer leaders. However, while there are massive upsides, there’s still a challenge to working alongside of others, especially when you are coleading a small group. What are some strategies and best practices around working with a coleader? What happens when there’s disagreement or even hurt between you and your coleader? We want to hear from...

You have that student who struggles to engage in conversation during group time. They don’t talk very often. They don’t add a lot to the discussion. They are just so quiet. What should you do? Is there a time to push them to speak up? What can you say that might make them more comfortable sharing their thoughts, opinions, or answers?   We want to hear from you! Submit your youth ministry question...

Have you ever felt the tension when your students attend a Sunday morning church service and they don’t understand how to engage in worship? There’s so few places in our culture where people to gather and sing together, and yet that practice is a core part of most church services. Is there a way to help students better understand worship? What can you do to make sure that they don’t miss the oppor...

Easter is on all our calendars, but have you ever wondered how to talk about it with your students? You might be surprised at how few of them actually know the Easter story, let alone how many will spend time thinking about the meaning of Easter without your prompting. So why not take advantage of the opportunity you have to spark a meaningful conversation with them this year?   We want to hear fr...