Women in Youth Ministry

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: Melissa is passionate about getting creative in youth ministry and inspiring youth and youth directors to do the same. In this episode she talks about a new initiative where students can "choose their own adventure" in student leadership courses that apply to them. As a bonus, we talk about how BOTH Melissa and Heather got kicked out of church as young people! ABOUT MELISSA: Re...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: Brock & Hallie wrote the book The Anxious Teen together , published by our pals at the Youth Cartel. They bring their wisdom and an unforgettable rapport to this week's episode, where we talk about where teenagers are today. This is a powerful episode, diving into where parents and students are at today. ABOUT HALLIE: Hallie Scott, MFT is a licensed Marriage and Family Ther...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: The next Women in Youth Ministry Conference is coming up, and our Conference Team asked that I publish the keynotes from last year so that you all could get a glimpse of what is in store. This last keynote of the series was the last session of the conference, and my friend Gina Abbas got to do it. Gina was a key source of encouragement for me when I got started in ministry, and...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: The next Women in Youth Ministry Conference is coming up, and our Conference Team asked that I publish the keynotes from last year so that you all could get a glimpse of what is in store. As I relistened to Erica's keynote, I kept thinking about how this keynote embodies the theme of this year's conference: how do we find hope, even though the last few years have robbed us of o...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: The next Women in Youth Ministry Conference is coming up, and our Conference Team asked that I (Heather Campbell) publish the keynotes from last year so that you all could get a glimpse of what is in store. In this first keynote, I have the privilege of sharing my testimony, why I created Women in Youth Ministry, and the values that we hold as an organization that you will expe...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: Paige and Diane met while completing youth ministry masters' degrees, and have spent their entire relationship as youth pastors in two different churches! They share about how they have set boundaries while still being each other's best ministry volunteers, how to connect churches together so that they can both thrive, and being there for one another even if one is thri...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: Gabby spoke this spring at the Inaugural Women in Youth Ministry Conference about  reaching Gen Z and Gen Alpha, from the eyes of a Gen Z youth pastor. Since the conference, Gabby started the project called "Dear God, I'm sad" to remove the stigma regarding mental health in Christianity. If we want Christianity to remain relevant, especially to the rising generati...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE : Creating gender-inclusive spaces is a passion that I (Heather) share with this week's guest, Rev. Nora Elliott. Nora shares about how to create spaces for transgender and non-binary students in terms of "levels" -- applicable actions no matter your church context.  ABOUT NORA : Rev. Nora Elliott, ordained 5 years ago with the United Church of Christ, currently se...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE : It's been 6 months -- what's happened since the Women in Youth Ministry Conference? The first guest of this season is a new friend I made at the Conference, Sam Greene. Sam is a youth pastor and the host of the Stuttering Christian Podcast. Sam shares about her experiences as a person who stutters and a youth pastor, as well as some tips for youth pastors on how to be...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE : There's no better way to wrap up this podcast than interviewing Dr. Amanda Innovation Drury (we added the middle name). Mandy is passionate about innovation, and on this episode shares about the different innovative projects. Mandy helped Heather's church with an innovation project, and Heather shares about what they produced! ABOUT MANDY : Dr. Amanda Drury is an ordai...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE : When Jean posted about her mystery trip for middle schoolers in our Facebook Community, I asked no more questions; I invited her on the podcast so I could ask them! Listen to how Jean's church creatively engages with families to create a trip that's a complete mystery to everyone -- even the volunteer leaders -- until they get there. ABOUT JEAN: Jean Lapitan is the Dir...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: Jess has been at her church for 11 years - incredible! Jess had the typical student ministry, until a student with autism joined her group. This totally changed the way she did ministry in really cool and unexpected ways. By responding to these students' needs, now Jess's church has an intentional community of college students and young adults with disabilities who live...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: I invited my friend Matumaini Taylor on to talk about her program "Teens who Brunch," and she shares about her youth council, engaging students digitally, and more! ABOUT MATUMAINI: Pastor Matumaini Taylor, M.Div. is the Director of High School Ministry at Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, CA. She has 20 years of youth development and ministry experience and...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE : Mission trips weren't working for Victoria's youth group anymore, so she decided to rethink them entirely. Victoria created an experience where students could learn about systemic racism, then serve in their own backyard. ABOUT VICTORIA : I'm Victoria Hoppes, Director of Youth and Children's Ministries at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Indianapolis, IN. I most...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE : As we continue our discussion on Innovation, we are blessed to have an OG in ministry, Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean. Kenda talks a bit about the future of student ministry and women's role in driving the change we need to see. ABOUT KENDA : I'm a UMC pastor and the Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, and the Co-Founder of...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: Some people love them, some people hate them -- and it might just be the most controversial topic a youth pastor Facebook group sees. Ana and a group of youth pastors in New England decided to reimagine the way they did overnighters and contextualize them to their churches. ABOUT ANA: Ana Maciel has been serving as the director of Youth Ministry and Communication at Trinity Com...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: At first, TikTok just seemed like a funny place for weird dance moves, pranks, and pet videos. But then Bethany posted a video affirming the LGTBQ+ community and went viral. Now, Bethany has over 300,000 followers and is embracing ministry in a whole new way. ABOUT BETHANY: Rev. Bethany is a PCUSA Pastor currently serving at Everybody’s Church in Birmingham Michigan. During the...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: This season we are focused on innovation. For Samantha and her key volunteer Maddie, they were excited to start something new and shiny in their program. But all of that halted when one of their students told them that the students feel like the adults in the church don't listen to them. They ripped up what they knew about ministry and started at the base again: building re...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: This season we are focused on innovation. Caroline is a self-described "baby youth leader." At 25, Caroline is on a team of youth pastors at the church she's attended her entire life. The staff have all been there a long time, so you can imagine that driving innovation at a church with a bunch of tenured humans who are used to doing things the same way for a long...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE : This season we are focused on innovation. Kat went through an amazing innovation process at her church and created "FailSafe Studios." Hear about why how Kat answered her student's needs in a way that she never expected. ABOUT KAT BAIR : Kat Bair is the Director of Youth Ministries at First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth, Texas, and, in 2019, earned a MA i...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE : This season we want to focus the podcast on innovation -- a hot topic in the youth ministry community right now. Between some grants that have been available to youth pastors and a pandemic that forced people to get innovative, all of us have been faced with obstacles and been forced to turn them into opportunities. Who better to kick off this season than with Elle Campbell, w...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: For our last episode of the season, we are excited to have Pastor Kelsey Beebe of the Lady Preacher Podcast! Kelsey talks about what it looks like to embody our faith. ABOUT KELSEY BEEBE: Rev. Kelsey Beebe (she/her) believes firmly in an all-loving God, embodied Christ, and ever-moving Holy Spirit that connects us all. She holds a Master of Divinity, a Master of Fine Arts in Da...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: We've all heard about keychain leadership - giving teens the keys to the church - but Mari shares about HOW her church in California is doing this to totally reinterpret church and the way it looks. ABOUT MARI TRAPP: Mari serves at the Youth Minister at Sunny Hills Church of Christ in Southern California and teaches Youth Ministry at Hope International University as an adju...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: This week our guest is Anne Wilson. We discuss Marvel rankings, as well as what it looks like to be a Kingdom-Minded Leader, rather than a Success-Minded Leader. ABOUT ANNE WILSON: Anne is a leader, youth pastor, writer, and Bible teacher with a passion to see this generation know and follow Jesus. She currently serves as the lead youth pastor at Traders Point Christian Church...

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: Confirmation is the best part of youth ministry at many mainline churches. But how do we make it more meaningful for our students and leaders? Shannon shares with us her "three C's!" ABOUT SHANNON GREENE: Shannon is the Confirmation Director at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. She is passionate about youth spiritual formation and...