Volunteer Youth Worker Podcast

Whether you want to ask for feedback, get to know parents or their students more, have more buy-in for your gatherings, or just see more parents utilizing your resources (aka reading your emails) – this conversation is for you! Parents WANT to get involved and are a tremendous blessing to your ministry, no matter your context. Join today’s conversation with Steve, Sid, and Jer as they give three p...

School is starting again which means that some (if not most) of your students’ stress levels are increasing again. Going to school is a huge commitment in a teenager’s life and it comes with a lot of pressures. Some of the pressures are honest and real. Some of them are perceived and maybe even imagined. But all of them are real to your students. Join today’s conversation with Steve Zacharias and...

Deconstruction is a hot topic in many Christian spaces. If your students are at all connected online they’ve heard people talking about it. They might even be doing it themselves. Depending on your age and stage of life, walking with students who are deconstructing can come with a lot of different emotions and varying solutions. Join today’s conversation with YWC’s Steve Zacharias as he interviews...

Sometimes a teenager will walk into a room and you can just tell that their emotions are through the roof. As a youth worker, you have the incredible opportunity to disciple students, but that means considering their entire selves — emotions and all. While that’s easy to say, it’s much harder to act out. Especially when a student is so sad that they're bringing the whole group down, or so mad that...

As youth workers, you see the downstream effects of your students living in a digital age every time you spend time with them. Constant access to information and entertainment are marking our culture, but what do we do with it and is there a way for redemption in the midst? Join Andy Gabruch as he talks about how to understand the digital age and how you can redeem digital spaces as transformed pe...

If you’ve ever spent time at camp you know that life changing and faith defining moments are almost inevitable. That means that you have the incredible opportunity to engage with any of your students who served at camp and continue to process their experience with them when they return home. Join Sid and Jeremy as they talk through questions that you can use to spark the right conversations when y...

When you discover ways to make the most of every part of your program (check out episodes 134-142 if you’d like more about that!) you’ll probably also end up assessing what parts are most effective. That’s usually when youth workers recognize that so much life change for your students is happening in your small groups. That’s what happened for Miles Barnes and then his ministry decided to make som...

Going to church can sometimes get lost in the midst of all the other responsibilities in our world today. That can be especially true for students when they graduate and have to decide to attend on their own (maybe even in a new community that they’ve moved to). But the act of going to church doesn’t have to feel like another thing on a checklist of things to complete. It doesn’t have to be regula...

Loss is all around us--from change to disappointment to death. We see grief show up in ourselves and in our students. What does it look like to make space for grief in youth ministry and lead in the midst of it? Join today's conversation with Holly Bishu, Kara Allison, and Austin White as they unpack personal experiences with grief in their ministry and cover practical tips for leading amidst loss...

Rolf (from Power to Change - Students ) and Tim (from Alpha Youth Canada ) hosted this conversation as a webinar, but we are bringing it to you through this podcast 🎉  If you’d rather watch the Shepherding Graduating Students Webinar , use this link: https://vimeo.com/716792278/1bd9ee134f In the conversation you’ll hear: Advice from Olivia a current post-secondary school student (feel free to sho...

As a volunteer you know that you have a TON of priorities in your life. So when your volunteer role gets lonely, it can be challenging to know what to do. In fact, you’ve probably wondered if it's time to walk away.   But before you make that decision, we think you should join Steve Zacharias in today’s conversation as he unpacks the three types of students that you are likely pouring into. And wh...

As a volunteer you know that you have a TON of priorities in your life. So when your volunteer role gets lonely, it can be challenging to know what to do. In fact, you’ve probably wondered if it's time to walk away.   But before you make that decision, we think you should join Steve Zacharias in today’s conversation as he unpacks the three types of people you need in your life. Because there’s a g...

As a volunteer you know that you have a TON of priorities in your life. So when your volunteer role gets lonely, it can be challenging to know what to do. In fact, you’ve probably wondered if it's time to walk away.   But before you make that decision, we think you should join Steve Zacharias in today’s conversation as he unpacks the three types of people you need in your life. Because there’s a g...

What do you hope your students’ relationship is like with their phone? What’s the ideal way for an adolescent to interact with technology? What’s the right amount of screen time per day?    These are the questions that we should be wrestling with as youth workers. Instead, teenagers often see adults simply becoming frustrated around their use of technology. But what if we could be thoughtful about...

The media landscape continues to morph and change, but what isn’t new is the need for critical discernment of the media that we all consume (teenagers included)! But how do you actually teach healthy discernment and the pursuit of holiness without just veering into behaviour modification? Join today’s conversation with Tyler Rody, a youth worker in Saskatoon, as he unpacks some thought provoking w...

Youth ministry is an important calling no matter what your role.   But for those of you who are Jr. High small group leaders there are special rewards in heaven for you.   Sure it can be challenging to keep a Jr. High small group on topic from time to time, but the real challenge is that it’s also this fast changing time developmentally, socially, physically, and emotionally for those students. An...

Have you ever seen a public story about when a Christian did something wrong? It could be a national news headline or it could be something a friend shared on social media. Either way, you don’t have to look far to see the effects of sin amongst those that call themselves Christians.   But when those stories reach your students, what are you supposed to do? How can you speak truth to terrible circ...

You probably have noticed it on the news. Or on social. Or in politics. Or maybe even in your home and workplace.   The Church is increasingly distrusted by those outside it (and distrusted by some of those inside it too!). But what do you do when culture doesn’t value church or faith like it used to? Should your approach as a youth worker change?   Join today’s conversation with Sid Koop, Lisette...

The world is changing fast--the technology and media that your students are navigating are significantly different from the what they were navigating even just a year ago. It is such a huge part of your students’ lives, so what is your responsibility in the midst of it? Join today’s interview with Brett Ullman to learn more about what you should know about technology and media in today’s world!  ...

Have you ever been in the middle of small group and the conversation takes a dramatic turn that you weren’t expecting? How should you respond in those moments? If you’ve created a safe space for your students you can expect for your conversation to be derailed at some point with some heavy topics. Join Sid, Lisette, and Jer in the final part of the small group series, this conversation being all a...

If you’ve been part of a small group it is almost inevitable that things have felt out of control at some point and you may have wondered if there was any way to get back in control. But sometimes it’s simply because the environment of your group isn’t conducive for everyone to engage. In fact, you might have a student who just can’t engage well with your group in it’s current structure. What are...

Setting your group up for success with clear goals and helpful expectations is your best chance at keeping conversations on track. But that means as the leader you have to have an understanding of the role and goal of your small group. Join in the conversation today with Sid, Lisette, and Jer as they talk through the language you can use so everyone in your group knows how to best participate in t...

Have you ever been leading your small group and things just seemed to get out of control? Maybe in the moment you wondered if there was something that you could do better. Or maybe you just gave up and hoped for next week to be better. Let us encourage you – even in the worst of circumstances there’s always a way to regain control! Every group has experienced it at some point, so know that you are...

“Youth ministry is messy… and so is mental health.”   Mental health has always been a thing, but the conversation surrounding it definitely changes. In today’s world, it is so important to feel equipped to have conversations around mental health with your students, even if it's a bit messy. Join today’s conversation with Brett Ullman as he unpacks how you can make your ministry a safe space for st...

Ever wonder what the markers are of students who continue to follow Jesus in their university years? And are there things that you can do to help your students continue walking with Jesus even after high school? Join the conversation with Sarah Trouborst as she shares stories from the trenches of ministry on Canadian university campuses to answer those questions.   As Sarah mentions, one of the be...