Youth Ministry Sherpas: Coast To Coast

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsI This June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Pol...

Okay, we admit it’s wishful thinking. The pandemic isn’t quite over. In some places it’s as bad as ever. But we are both vaccinated, so we are feeling like we’ve awakened from a bad dream and are ready to move forward. Today, we wrap up our series about church and youth ministry post-covid. While we thought our first two conversations were helpful, our topic today is the most important of all. How...

Okay, we admit it’s wishful thinking. The pandemic isn’t quite over. In some places, it’s as bad as ever. But we are both vaccinated, so we are feeling like we’ve awakened from a bad dream and are ready to move forward. Today, we continue our series about the church and youth ministry post-covid. While we thought our first two conversations were helpful, our topic today is the most important of al...

Okay, we admit it’s wishful thinking. The pandemic isn’t quite over. In some places it’s as bad as ever. But we are both vaccinated, so we are feeling like we’ve awakened from a bad dream and are ready to move forward. That being said, there are some serious challenges ahead. The “return to normal” we’ve all clamored for isn’t reality. There will be a new way forward, and things will never quite b...

Okay, we admit it’s wishful thinking. The pandemic isn’t quite over. In some places it’s as bad as ever. But we are both vaccinated, so we are feeling like we’ve awakened from a bad dream and are ready to move forward. That being said, there are some serious challenges ahead. The “return to normal” we’ve all clamored for isn’t reality. There will be a new way forward, and things will never quite b...

Mathew has something huge to tell us. Meanwhile, Steve can’t even… Today we reveal something we’ve known about for a while. After 30 years in youth ministry and 16 years at his current church, Mathew is leaving the pastorate and heading out into the great unknown called “Life Outside of the Church.” This raises so many questions. How did he arrive at this decision? Why would he do such a thing? Wh...

Today we continue our series “Creating a Culture of…” The most important part of being a successful youth pastor isn’t teaching, meeting with kids, or planning events. It isn’t how charismatic we are, or how big our budget is. The most important thing is building a culture, what we call the “environmental architecture of a healthy ministry. Over time, our culture becomes a living entity, a self-pe...

Today we continue our series “Creating a Culture of…” The most important part of being a successful youth pastor isn’t teaching, meeting with kids, or planning events. It isn’t how charismatic we are, or how big our budget is. The most important thing is building a culture, what we call the “environmental architecture of a healthy ministry. Over time, our culture becomes a living entity, a self-pe...

Today we continue our series “Creating a Culture of…” The most important part of being a successful youth pastor isn’t teaching, meeting with kids, or planning events. It isn’t how charismatic we are, or how big our budget is. The most important thing is building a culture, what we call the “environmental architecture of a healthy ministry. Over time, our culture becomes a living entity, a self-pe...

What’s more fun than listening to the Youth Ministry Sherpas podcast? How about a healthy youth ministry? Today we kick off a four-part series called “Creating a Culture of…” The most important part of being a successful youth pastor isn’t teaching, meeting with kids, or planning events. It isn’t how charismatic we are, or how big our budget is. The most important thing is to build a culture, what...

What is wrong with you people!? What do you mean you don’t agree with everything we say? What do you mean the Youth Ministry Sherpas Podcast is not your favorite podcast ever? It’s easy to take offense—these days, probably easier than ever. Someone is always upset over something. As youth workers, we might be offended by someone’s opinion about our program, by their political views, by their lack...

It’s February. It’s icy. It’s cold. We haven’t seen the sun since the 1840s. (Okay, a slight exaggeration, but it feels that way.) If you live in Maryland, Wisconsin, New England, or the Midwest, you understand. If you live in California, well…whatever. Loser. Regardless of where you live, it’s the time of the year in youth ministry when it feels like everyone just wants to take a nap. The thrill...