Volunteer Youth Worker Podcast

Whenever new research comes out, we try to make it meaningful and accessible for you to know if and how it affects your ministry. Join today’s conversation with Rick and Lindsay from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s Center of Research on Church and Faith as they dive into one aspect of the brand new Parenting Faith Research Study .    When asked how much Christian parents agreed with the fol...

Teen culture can become more and more mysterious as you grow older. But no matter what stage of life you are in, there are some things you can do in order to understand more about the students in your group. Today’s conversation with Chandra Styles will give you some tips both on how to relate to teenagers and why it matters. She’ll also cover these two great questions you can use this week in you...

As much as we believe that every follower of Christ should be serving their community in some capacity there are times a volunteer leader needs to step down. If you’ve ever wondered how to tell if someone should step down or what your role could be if someone is in the process of doing so, this episode is for you! Join Rob from Briercrest and Jeremy as they share frameworks from decades of experie...

Your students won’t always be in your youth ministry. They’ll move on at some point. At the very least, they’ll all move on after graduating high school.   And the research is clear that any time a student experiences a transition in their life there’s a significant chance that faith might not make it through the transition. But that’s where you come in – you can help make sure that a student’s fa...

Revelation is hard to understand at the best of times. It frustrates and fascinates many people with its imagery and apocalyptic tone. And unless you are a Bible scholar, it’s likely you feel intimidated when students ask questions about it. Join today’s conversation with Cody Machett, co-author of Revelation for the Rest of Us with Scot McKnight, as he talks about how to engage students with the...

The weekly rhythms of your relational ministry certainly helps disciple students. You don’t want to give up on that. Yet, there’s something special about the experiences that happen outside of the normal rhythms. It’s those special events, retreats, camps, or unique gatherings that so many students point back to as integral for their faith journey. Why is that? And how do you plan those kinds of e...

The last three years have left many of our students feeling like they don’t have roots  or a solid foundation to stand on. On top of that, as followers of Jesus our students  can feel like much of the world is against them. But the truth is that the one who is for  them is intimately greater than what is against them. Through her extensive research  on developing gritty faith in teens, Ebonie Davi...

Disagreement is part of being human, so it shouldn’t be any surprise that you have times when you disagree with leadership. Join today’s conversation where Jeremy interviews Kevin Janzen to discover practical steps you can take whenever you find yourself at odds with someone in leadership. Whether it’s someone’s behavior, or a small disagreement about a program element, or even significant theolog...

Whether you were just at a youth worker training event or you brought students to a retreat – these types of gatherings can be a big game changer for your ministry. But the impact of the event can be measured by not only what happens during it, but what happens afterwards. Join today’s conversation as Matt Wilkinson from Today’s Teens Conference walks you through a simple takeaway step that will h...

Even if your ministry doesn’t include a class type environment, chances are you’ve struggled to know what to do with students who don’t engage in the way you hope they would. If so, this conversation is still for you!    Join Kara, a fellow Canadian youth worker, and Jeremy as they tackle what you can do with hyperactive teens that don’t do well in a class type environment. Kara will offer a few i...

We want to hear from YOU!   If you have a struggle that you wrestle with, would you drop it into this form ?   And if you would like to offer your own wisdom to someone else’s question, you can head to the same form (click through to page two).   There are so many ways for you to connect both in person and virtually this season! Check out these awesome conferences:  YWC Winter Conferences Canadian...

We’ve talked about loving the students who are seemingly unlovable (check out episode 42!), but what do you do when you have students who are actively impacting other students negatively? Maybe it’s feedback from parents upset that their kids have come home knowing a new curse word. Or maybe it’s that you’ve noticed the culture of your group start to slide into a place you’d rather not see it go....

In this special episode, you’ll join Mariah Smith and Jaden Neufeld from the team at the Canadian Church Leaders Network as they host a review of the Canadian Youth Pastor Summit (West). This event was hosted in partnership between CCLN and the Youth Worker Community. You can still join us for the Canadian Youth Pastor Summit (East) on March 21-23, 2023 and be a part of changing the climate of you...

Happy New Year! Check out today’s replay from 2019 with Randy Carter!   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-wrenc...

What a year it’s been! The end of the year is the perfect time to be reminded that the answer to whether the work you do matters is… YES! Listen in to today’s episode with the whole YWC team as they share about the difference they’ve seen volunteers make in the past year and be encouraged!    Merry Christmas!   We can’t wait to see you in the New Year for the Canadian Youth Pastor Summit on March...

If small group time hits and you start to wonder if you’ll ever have a real conversation with your students, this episode with Steve and Jeremy is for you!   It can feel like getting through the question sheet is the goal as a small group leader, but sometimes the questions just aren’t working. Or there’s not enough. Or they just aren’t connecting with where your students are at. Whatever the stru...

As followers of Jesus we want to be the type of people that continue to keep relationships, even when conflicts arise. Modeling how to make relationships last will increase our love for one another and is worth the struggle, but will require that you help students learn more about themselves and the people that they are fighting with.   Here are the steps that Steve walks through in this conversat...

Christmas is just around the corner and the holidays are complicated at the best of times. It’s the perfect time to ask your students some questions to get a sense of how they’re entering into this season and connect their current reality to the story of Jesus.    Here’s a few questions you can ask your students to start the conversation about Christmas: What do you know about the story of Christm...

Sometimes life gives our students way more questions than answers. And yet it seems like everyone expects them to just figure it all out! Whether they’re looking toward their future or wrestling to get through today, it doesn't have to be so stressful. You can help students process three big questions that will help them find clarity about all the rest:   Who am I? Where do I fit? What difference...

If you’ve ever been having a “normal” small group time and gotten hit with a hard question that made you start sweating, this conversation with Steve and Jeremy is for you!    When students ask hard questions, they are often testing your posture and whether or not you’re actually safe to talk to. Steve pointed out that often the best answers to hard questions are more questions. Here’s a few to ge...

If you’ve ever wondered if your students are taking any steps in their faith, this conversation is for you! Even the most regular of youth group nights can feature important steps that your students are taking steps in their spiritual journey.    Some of the markers that we talk about include: Focusing attention and responding to a personal question Seeing their place in community as part of the c...

If you’ve ever hoped that there were more volunteers on your youth ministry team then today’s conversation is for you! Even though recruiting other volunteers isn’t something you might feel responsible for, if you’d consider a few simple steps it could make a massive difference in your youth ministry.   As a volunteer youth worker you can… Own The Gap: If you see the need in your ministry, you can...

Whether you were at the event or not, your students will have some type of extra experience in their youth ministry journey. It might be a conference, retreat, or special trip, but in all cases you can be part making the most of that experience by supporting your students afterwards. Join today’s conversation as Sid walks you through four simple steps that will help you make the most of the events...

Today’s episode comes directly from a fellow youth worker! More and more students are choosing options other than a post-secondary education directly after their high school graduation. If those students are sticking around your context, it can be tricky to figure out if and how to continue to engage them in a new season of life. Join today’s conversation with Sid and Jeremy as they give some prac...

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”   That question has been asked of your students since before they can remember. By the time they hit junior high their “answer” informs the classes they need to take to get to whatever it is they think they are chasing. There’s so much pressure for students to know exactly what they want to do and it’s unproductive and unhelpful.   As a youth worker you h...