Youth Ministry Sherpas: Coast To Coast

Comparison is the enemy of joy and longevity in youth ministry. Learning to appreciate our situation and what God is doing through us is vitally important to our long-term success and personal well-being as youth workers. But what if we could go a step further? What if we could actually celebrate the success of others, including the youth pastor next door and the church down the road? What if we m...

In a perfect world, we would all be perfect youthworkers. Every need would be met, every student would follow Christ, every expectation would be exceeded, and we would go to sleep at night knowing we made it happen. Yeah, right. Reality is much different. Despite our best efforts, we will fail. What do we do when the expectations others place on us, and the ones we place on ourselves, go unmet? Wh...

In a perfect world, we would all be perfect youthworkers. Every need would be met, every student would follow Christ, every expectation would be exceeded, and we would go to sleep at night knowing we made it happen. Yeah, right. Reality is much different. Despite our best efforts, we will fail. What do we do when the expectations others place on us, and the ones we place on ourselves, go unmet? Wh...

Some people might be considered "the face" of youth ministry. Mark Oestreicher is "the beard" of youth ministry. Marko, as he is known, has been a thought leader in youth ministry for nearly three decades. From his early days as an advocate for the value and legitimacy of middle-school ministry, to his authorship of influential books, to his stint as president of Youth Specialties, to his founding...

If you had to create a youth ministry legend from scratch, what ingredients would you include? Great beard? Check. Deep thinker? Check. Boundless love of students? Check. Great "getting fired" story? Check. Mark Ostreicher checks all the boxes of Youth Ministry Legend. He's the former president of Youth Specialties, founder of the Youth Cartel, a brilliant thinker, and a gadfly who challenges the...

Ahh, nothing is better than waking up in a camp bunk to the gentle sound of rain and the smell of... middle school feet, wet towels, and moldy sleeping bags.  They say our sense of smell carries the power of memories. Nothing brings back the past like powerful odors we've experienced in memorable moments of our lives. Thus, it's only fitting that we consider the calling of youth ministry from the...

Good volunteers are the heartbeat of any youth ministry. If Jesus recruited 12 disciples to help with his mission, we probably need a thousand. Or a million. In this episode, Steve and Mathew share their thoughts on how to effectively pastor our volunteers. Our volunteers can do things we cannot do, go places we cannot go, and shepherd kids we cannot shepherd. We need them more than we think we do...

  Youth workers take on many roles, perhaps the biggest of which is running the ministry. We teach, lead, and run programs. But sometimes we get so busy, we lose sight of the trees because we are looking at the forest. It's time to get back to the whole reason we got into youth ministry in the first place. We love students and want them to know they are loved by us and by Jesus. In today's episode...

 If you've ever been to a youth ministry conference, chances are that you've seen the Skit Guys. And if you've seen the Skit Guys, chances are you laughed until you cried. Keeping us in stitches and tissues is what they do best. Tommy Woodard and Eddie James have been bringing laughter and tears to the youth ministry world for over 25 years. They are truly the comedic legends of Youth Ministry. Th...

You see them on stage, read their books, and admire their work. But what about the stories behind the people? What led them into youth ministry in the first place? Why have they made it their life's work, and what have they learned about themselves along the way? Learn the story behind the calling and career of the men and women who have achieved legendary status in youth ministry with SHERPA LEGE...

Most of us got into youth ministry for the students. Then we found out we had to work with parents, too. That can be challenging and intimidating.  Of course, it doesn't take long to realize this is critically important if we want to succeed in youth ministry. Even for younger youth workers, how can we earn the respect of parents and consider them our allies? We, Steve and Mathew, haven't always b...

The Youth Ministry Sherpas Podcast is back! It was a good summer for us. After putting out of a ton of content over the past 16 months, we admit we were a bit fried and in need of a little break. Actually, we took a full-on break, as Steve was off for a 10-week sabbatical, completely out of touch with church life, youth ministry, and podcasting. In fact, his disappearance was so complete that he a...

No man (or woman, or youthworker) is an island. For us (Mathew and Steve), this whole podcast idea was born out of our friendship, which began when we met through our local youth network. In the 15 years since Mathew responded to Steve's cheesy flyer invitation to come and pray (as described in Episode 00), we've benefited in incalculable ways from the mutual encouragement and support we've found...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...

Welcome to Sherpa Shorts Season 2! Tired of waiting for summer to actually arrive? No Prob-llama! Steve and Mathew are back with another burst of Sherpa fun. We pulled out our Bermuda shorts, dark socks and Hawaiian shirts just for you! For 26 straight days, we will race through the alphabet, taking turns choosing a word that begins with the next letter as it relates to youth ministry. Some might...