Volunteer Youth Worker Podcast

We want to hear from you! Submit your youth ministry question or drop us a line at youthministry.team .   We mentioned an Alpha link, which is located HERE . 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 https://www.youthworker.community/ to find out what we're up to.

A lot of times it happens the year before a big transition. The year before high school. The year before graduation. Sometimes parents are even the ones driving the conversation. And sometimes the particular teenager in question is honestly a little more mature than the rest of the group. Should you graduate them early? How do you keep them engaged? Has someone done something wrong? Sid, Jason, an...

Building a heart for evangelism in your teens is a critical goal for their spiritual journey. But to honestly inspire and equip them for action is a challenge. Ben and Tim walk through practical ideas that you can use to help teenagers see their role in what God is doing in the lives of their friends.   They’ll also share an incredible story of how God moved through a group of students in Pincher...

Whenever dramatic growth happens in a ministry it’s helpful to ask questions and learn about the values that might contribute to that growth. Today’s conversation will give a glimpse into such a youth ministry and you might just come away thinking more deeply about the prayers you pray and the words you speak for the teens you shepherd.   Learn more about the Youth Ministry that Joel leads here ,...

There’s that moment when you’ve been praying with a teen for a specific thing and then all of a sudden it’s clear that their prayer is not going to be unanswered. Or maybe it's answered with a resounding, “No.” That’s a major challenge for you as their leader and mentor as you hope their faith is able to withstand that kind of challenge. What should you say in those moments? How do you journey wit...

When you show up to an event, ministry, or small group, you always bring with you a culture. Since every youth ministry rises and falls on the whole team (not the point leader), it’s a critical question to ask yourself, “what kind of culture am I bringing into this space?” Join this week’s conversation as Jason interviews ministry veteran Clark Moran . We want to hear from you! Submit your youth m...

When it comes to helping adolescents with their mental health there are biological options, psychological options, and social options. The great news is that as youth workers, the social help that we offer the teens in our care is a critical part of the holistic picture. Listen in to today’s conversation as a pediatrician talks through the role that youth workers play in helping teens find hope an...

If you find yourself in charge of the teaching or curriculum in your youth ministry, you definitely want to listen in on this week’s conversation. Brody unpacks the process their team went through to land on a scalable solution that allows their youth ministry team members to stay focused in each of their roles. Whether you are in a large or small ministry, discover the practical and strategic rea...

With mental health at the forefront of our cultural conversation, you can get easily get overwhelmed trying to make sense of it all. How can you know what the teens in your group are talking about when they talk about their mental challenges? When is it the kind of challenges that require professional help? And where do you fit in as a youth worker? Join the conversation as this week you’ll learn...

Youth culture is changing at such a rapid pace that keeping up with the times is nearly impossible for any youth worker. Yet it’s clear that having a framework for understanding how we ought to engage with our culture is more important than ever. So how do you go about understanding what teenagers are facing today without having to start a TikTok account or watch a bunch of Twitch streamers? How c...

As a youth worker, you don’t have the power to change the weather patterns or calm the stormy ocean, but you can help teens learn how to build a boat that will carry them through the rough waters they find themselves in throughout their lives. Join the conversation as Iona Snair unpacks the conversations you can be having with the teens in your group that will lead them to resilience.   Learn more...

You know that your students should be reading the Scriptures on their own, but how do you encourage them to take that step? How can you move from just telling students about the truth of Scripture to helping them discover and search out the truth for themselves? Listen in and discover a practical model that will help you teach your students to read the Bible this week. We want to hear from you! Su...

Have you had weeks where the ice breakers are falling flat and staying on topic just seems like a chore? You aren’t alone. Leading conversations with students can be extremely challenging, and although the list of suggested questions is helpful, some weeks they just aren’t cutting it. What are you supposed to do when no one wants to answer the questions? Who even writes these things? Have they bee...

It can be a weird dynamic in your group when the students who are coming don’t necessarily want to be there. They don’t engage in games, lessons, small groups, or large events. Maybe these students even come from Christian homes that support your ministry, but the teens themselves just aren’t interested in it. What can you do to help those students engage?   We want to hear from you! Submit your y...

You likely want to build bridges to the families and parents of the teens in your group, but what do you do when the feeling isn’t reciprocated? What happens when teens have parents who are antagonistic when it comes to faith? What does it mean to honour parents when the parents don’t believe in the Scriptures that teach us that principle?   We want to hear from you! Submit your youth ministry que...

If you’ve been in youth ministry for more than a couple weeks you’ve experienced a student in your ministry that causes a ruckus. Someone who derails conversation and shifts the tone of the gathering. It’s such a common occurrence that if we aren’t careful we can assume it isn’t worth dealing with. But the truth is that there’s so much at stake and we need to thoughtfully process what to do when a...

If you’ve been in youth ministry for more than a couple weeks you’ve experienced a student in your ministry that causes a ruckus. Someone who derails conversation and shifts the tone of the gathering. It’s such a common occurrence that if we aren’t careful we can assume it isn’t worth dealing with. But the truth is that there’s so much at stake and we need to thoughtfully process what to do when a...

You likely hope the teens in your ministry are part of a Sunday morning service, but sometimes the sermons aren’t that accessible for teens. What can you do as a volunteer to help them not only pay attention, but actually love and learn that part of their faith experience? Are there things you can do that help an intergenerational service connect more with teenagers?   We want to hear from you! Su...

You’ve likely recognized that culture continues to become more secular, no matter what part of the world you live in. Yet you’ve likely not experienced the extent of secularization like what’s happening in Quebec these days. Join today’s conversation to hear about the struggles and the hope that comes from doing ministry in such a unique place.   We want to hear from you! Submit your youth ministr...

When you are leading a small group of students you can easily get overwhelmed by the journey that your students are on. Are they ever going to make progress in their faith journey? When will you get to celebrate their baptism? It can seem like one step forward and two steps back sometimes. In this week’s episode, Louie will share a brilliant idea that he’s learned from working with hundreds of sma...

What do you do with a small group when their leader can’t make it to the program night? Or what do you do when you want to see change in the ministry you are part of but don’t know how to convince your point leader to buy into the change? Or how do you create a great culture on your youth ministry team? Vince oversees hundreds of small group leaders and has processed these questions on a large sca...

Seeing ministry from different vantage points lets you recognize the grander narrative that God is writing in the lives of students. That’s why it’s unique when you get a chance to hear from someone who speaks to students across North America who also has been a veteran youth pastor and is now a church planter, lead pastor, and father of teenagers. Mike Miller brings passion and vision to investin...

Asking the wrong questions can actually shut down conversation and make students feel unsafe sharing in your group. But it can be challenging to know when the truth needs to be made clear versus when discussion should occur. And realistically, if you are going to be able to adapt to the specific situations in your students’ lives, how do you move beyond the questions on your small group leader que...

Life can sometimes take a wild turn and throw you on a road you weren’t expecting. Kim has experienced that in profound ways, and through it all is able to direct people to see the message of Jesus as one of hope and life change. When you find yourself wrestling with your own experience or working through a difficult season for a student, today’s episode will help you process the journey. Hear fro...

If you want to make a long lasting impact on the spiritual life of a teenager, when possible (we know sometimes it's not), you definitely want to build more bridges with their parents or guardians. When parents see you partnering with them you’ll be better positioned to not only disciple the student but also help parents as they care for their kids. What are some ways you can do that? Brett unpack...