Youth Ministry Booster

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After 9 Episode 27: Are The Graduated Forgotten? In this episode Zac and Chad discuss the importance of having a good graduation plan. Students aren't your students forever so it is important to not only teach them well, but prepare them for the next chapters in life. Don't get caught hoarding students! Love them well and release them well! Follow us on twitte...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After 9 Episode 26: How Do I Make Ministry Relationships Last? In this episode Zac and Chad discuss the importance of building lasting relationships in ministry. It's not easy work and sometimes it is the thing we can miss in the midst. Hear from Zac and Chad and a couple of their new friends share a camp story that doesn't stink! Follow us on twitter @after9m...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After 9 Episode 25: Help I'm Trapped In A Large Church, In this episode Zac and Chad share from the other side of the fence. Companion to Episode 23 this week's episode probes the questions of what it is like to be caught up or caught in, the trappings of a large church with all the resources you want and more leaders than you can handle. Moreover, it can also...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After 9 Episode 24: Help I'm Trapped In A Small Church, In this episode Zac and Chad share one of the recurring themes plaguing many minds in youth ministry, the question "am I stuck in this church?" Whether you call it under-resourced or feel like you have a "larger capacity" we have all felt at times like maybe we could have done more at a pla...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Episode 23 of After 9. Zac and Chad are happy to share the mic with a fellow pastor and podcaster, John Chandler of Sermonsmith. John has interviewed over 65 of the very best preachers alive today and he shares his wisdom and thoughtfulness on the importance of sermon preparation and pastoral attentiveness. You can check out John's podcast Sermonsmith @ http://serm...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 22: Could I Tell A Better Story? In this episode Zac and Chad recount one of Chad's favorite stories and dissect its parts to help you see all the mechanics of sharing a good story. Hey friend! you have a life worth's of stories, an archive, stay attentive to life's happenings , God's workings, and focus on the important details. Story...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 21: Why Don't The Kids Listen To Me Talk? In this first episode of season 2 Zac and Chad share some of their history and rivalry on the HS Speech & Debate circuit, Zac's worst talk and some insight on what really matters when you are preparing to deliver a message. Sometimes it may feel like your students haven't heard a word you have s...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 20: Is This A New Chapter For After 9? Why yes, yes it is. In this episode Zac and Chad share some of their favorite moments from the first season of After 9. Listen in as Zac and Chad get each other laughing so hard that they have to cut to a break, Zac recounts his story of almost quitting, and Chad educates the masses about the usefulness of a "ge...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 19: Do I Have To Plan Camp? In this episode Zac and Chad share their favorite summer camp stories and get you ready for camp this summer. Let's talk about preparing, planning, and followup to make this year's summer camp the best experience ever. Listen in to hear about that one time that kid peed all over everything at Zac's camp and how y...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 18: Do I Have To Make This Phone Call? In this episode Zac and Chad talk about those tough phone calls in youth ministry that you have to make regarding students, parents, and volunteers. When does a prayer request become a phone call? Listen in for how you can begin to cultivate a healthy practice of making the call. Also hear what chores Zac and Chad de...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 17: The Deacons Just Don't Understand. In this episode Zac and Chad talk about the people who are invested in your ministry but maybe not directly involved. Whether it is that one lady, that cranky usher, the senior adult committee leader, or that one deacon, we have all got people who watch what you the youth ministry leader is doing and what the ki...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 16: If I Only Had a Better Youth Room? In this episode Zac and Chad talk about youth rooms, cleanliness, and godliness. Does it ever seem like sometimes all you get accused of is making a mess? Does it ever feel like if you just had a better youth room or facility you could get more done? Welcome to the honest discussions and helpful stories about both. J...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 15: Am I The Worst At This? In this episode Zac and Chad talk... honestly. Maybe more honestly than they ever have shared before. It's about to get real. In this episode they confess their biggest weakness and "worse-ness" in ministry. They also find ways to encourage each other and hopefully you. Signup for bonus #extra9 content @ bit.ly/a...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 14: Why Does No One Read My Newsletter? In this episode Zac and Chad talk about the difficulties of getting people to read all of those great communications that youth ministers send out to parents, guardians, and students. I mean you worked really hard on that email newsletter and it seems like no one knows when the next event starts or that it even happ...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 13: What Just Happened At My Weekend Event? In this episode Zac and Chad talk shop after a busy winter retreat or DNOW weekend. If you have ever had the "event comedown" or "DNOW hangover" then this episode is for you. All of that ministry, all of those good times, all of those pastoral moments, might be leaving you feel low or wonderi...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 12: Why Does No One Want To Help Me? In this episode Zac and Chad talk honestly about the volunteer leaders that are vital to our ministry. Somedays it seems like an impossible task, other days it feels like no one cares like you think that they should care, but any time you are ministering to youth you need the help of trustworthy volunteers. The real qu...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 11: Where Can I Find Some Rest? In this episode Zac and Chad lament the times that rest seems so hard to find. It's like a lost friend you are praying that will call you back. They also will have you rolling with laughter as Chad shares about his truck's "gittin' stick," starlight mints, and social media hunger games. Important re...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 10: Do I Have Any Friends In This? In this episode Zac and Chad share the stories about the kinds of youth ministry friends you should be fostering and the kinds of friends you should be seeking out. They also share an oral history of how #uthmin came to be presently understood in their home state. If it is true that youth ministry is more established tha...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 9: Is This the Night I Quit? In this episode Zac and Chad share the nights that they almost quit youth ministry. These are heartfelt, gut-level honest stories of ministers who quit, almost quit, and in doing so found better reasons and better versions of their pastoral selves. If you would like to share your #almostquit story with @after9ministry please e...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 8: Did My Student Just Betray Me? In this episode Zac and Chad talk about the ways in which it can feel like students in your ministry can negate, derail, and betray you from your call. Ever had a week where you felt like the student you cared the most about you went Judas on you? Then this episode is for you. Take heart friend, your vocational call is no...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 7: What's New For You This Year? In this episode Zac and Chad talk about the big new things for which they are most excited in 2016 and invite you to consider what's up and new and happening for you. Are you going to watch your garden grow? Launch a new idea? Or overhaul the whole ministry? We hope you are praying and thinking about something th...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 6: Is It Time To Move On? In this episode Zac and Chad talk about transitions in youth ministry. Is it time to leave your church locally? Is it time to leave The Church vocationally? Is it time to stay and weather a storm? Why did Chad talk so much about the middles school band incident? All of this and more in this week's episode of After9. Remember...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 5: Do I Have To Like My Staff? In this episode Zac and Chad talk about pesky staff relations, office drama, and micromanagement. Worship Pastors, Children's Pastors, Senior Pastors, you can't live without them and wish you didn't have to work with them. Right? However, maybe they are your greatest asset and potential your biggest supporters...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 4: How much is too much? In this episode Zac and Chad talk about that looming plague of overcommitment in ministry. You want to do it all. You believe you can do it all. You did it all for a season and now you are done. Hear the good permissive word. No. You can't do it all. Commit to your core and choose your dispensable time wisely. Also pray for C...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to After9 Episode 3: Can I Succeed in Ministry Without Really Trying? In this episode Zac and Chad will talk about that elusive topic of success in ministry. For many youth ministers it is the bane and leading cause of burnout and anxiety. The endless question, "how many do you have in your youth ministry?" stirs up anxiety and causes friction. We hope that their...