All Episodes

264: What is persecution and what can your students learn from the persecuted church?

263: What does the quiet revival mean for youth workers? Interview with Rob Chartrand from Briercrest

262: Q&A with Dr. Ken Castor on leading every kind of student (and more)... Part 2

261: Q&A with Dr. Ken Castor on discipleship beyond the program (and more)... Part 1

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

260: How do you know if you are teaching your students heresy?

259: (Part 2) Why do we have to play these stupid games at youth group?

258: Why do we have to play these stupid games at youth group?

257: What is a Gospel Advancing Youth Ministry? Interview with Greg Stier

256: How can you have a fruitful conversation with an anxious teen?

255: How does the rise of AI chatbots actually remind us of the value of embodied discipleship relationships (and other questions about helping your students flourish)? Interview with Dr. Jason Burtt from Trinity Western University

254: What should you do when it seems like your students are hiding behind a mask? Interview with Dr. Chap Clark

253: (Part 2) Can I still lead my small group when I’m personally struggling?

252: Can I still lead my small group when I’m personally struggling?

251: (Part 2) What role should you play with a student who is experiencing complicated family dynamics?

250: What role should you play with a student who is experiencing complicated family dynamics?

249: (Part 2) How can you help students grow in their love for Jesus and love for others?

248: How can you help students grow in their love for Jesus and love for others? Interview with Ben Woodman

247: How Does Serving as a Student Leader Grow Your Students’ Faith? Interview With Student from Moose Jaw

246: What Can Witnessing in High Schools Look Like? Interview With High School Students from Ebenezer Church in Saskatoon

245: How Can You Help Students Wrestle with Scripture and Love It? Interview With High School Student Leader from Ebenezer Church in Saskatoon

244: How Can You Help Foster a Lifestyle of Generosity in Students? Interview with Jaidon and Maximus from First Assembly Church in Calgary

243: How Can the Practice of Spiritual Community Fuel Discipleship?

242: How Can You Help Your Students Grow in the Practice of Prayer? Interview With Students 🥳

241: How Can You Help Students Train for Godliness? Interview With Will from Ebenezer Church in Saskatoon

240: What Do You Do When You’re Too Busy for Spiritual Disciplines?

239: How Should You Best Prepare For Your Role? Interview with MCS-Horizon Students

238: What Should You Say to Your Students About The End Times? Interview with Cody Matchett

237: What Does It Look Like to Help Students Engage the Scriptures? Interview with Hakeem Bradley

236: Are You Burning Out? How To Diagnose and Address Burnout in Ministry

235: Engaging Culture with Kingdom Principles – How Should You Help Students Process Today’s Issues? Interview with Kaitlyn Cey

234: How Can You Raise The Urgency of Reaching the Unreached With Your Students? Interview with Iris Weibel from GFA World

233: There’s a Leadership Pipeline Crisis In The Church – Is The Solution In Your Youth Ministry? Interview with Jon Dixon

232: How Can You Get Feedback On The Blind Spots in Your Own Life and Leadership? Interview with Garth Friesen

231: How Can Your Small Group Be Open to New Students While Still Fostering Deep Connections and Relationships? Interview with Deniel Sewell

230: How Can You Help Your Students Become Friends With One Another? Interview with Roger Reid

229: How Can You Support Your Point Leader? Interview Jordan Michalski from The Pastorate

228: How Do You Get More People to Care About Youth Ministry? Interview with Kara Alvaro

227: What is the Deconstruction of Christianity? Interview with Tim Barnett

226: How Do You Develop Student Leaders? Interview with Lydia Kidd

225: How Can You See More Progress With Your Students? Interview with William Dmytrow

224: How Can You Leverage Feedback From Your Students To Make Your Ministry Healthier? Interview with Josh Smith

223: Hard Conversations: What Do You Do If Your Point Leader Is Disorganized?

115: What Are The Ways That You Should Partner With Camps This Summer?

222: How Can Small Group Leader Coaches Help Your Ministry? Interview with Chandra Styles

221: How Does The Gospel Bring Hope in the Hardest Situations? Interview with Andrew Goodman from OMF

036: How Can You Connect With Your Students Through the Summer?

220: Is Your Ministry Stealing Time From Your Family?

219: How Do You Lead a Teen to Jesus? Interview with Mark Miller from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

218: Three Questions To Ask When Connecting With LGBTQ+ Youth: Interview with Kyla Gillespie

217: How to Foster a Culture of Prayer in Your Youth Ministry

216: How Can You Coach Other Small Group Leaders?

215: Can You Shape The Future of Your Students?

214: How Do I Deal With a Disruptive Student In My Small Group?

213: What Should You Do When God Doesn’t Answer The Prayers of Your Students?

212: What Shouldn’t You Share About Your Spiritual Journey With Your Students?

211: What Questions Should You Use To Talk About Social Media With Your Students? Interview with Meisha Watson

210: How Do You Help Students Understand What They Think About the Bible and Its Place in Life and Faith?

209: How Do You Communicate With Your Students In Between Gatherings?

208: Can Your Volunteer Experience Get Better Than This?

207: How Should You Interact With The Parents Or Guardians of Your Students?

206: How Do You Nurture Gritty Faith? Four Spiritual Practices for the Next-Generation & Being a Student of Those You Lead (Interview With Ebonie Davis by CCLN)

205: What’s Better For Your Youth Ministry – Live Teaching or Video Curriculum?

204: What Should Youth Workers Know About Artificial Intelligence? Interview with Andy Steiger from Apologetics Canada

203: What Do You Do After a Retreat With Your Students?

202: What Are The Unique Challenges of Youth Ministry in a Liturgical Church?

201: How Are AI, Social Media, and Technology Influencing the Faith of Teenagers? Interview With ChatGPT

200: What’s It Like to Wrestle With Gender Dysphoria And How Can Your Ministry Be Helpful For Folks With That Challenge? Interview with Kyla Gillespie

199: What Are Some Frameworks To Think More Seriously About Deep Discipleship?

198: How Can You Help Your Students Experience God More?

197: What Are The Critical Faith Shaping Tasks That Are Necessary For Rooting Long Term Faith In Adolescents? Excerpt From a Class at the Coalition for Youth Ministry Leadership

196: How Can You Help Students Think About Self-Esteem and Self-Denial? Excerpt From a Class at the Coalition for Youth Ministry Leadership

195: Does What You Do Matter to God? Excerpt From a Class at the Coalition for Youth Ministry Leadership

194: How Do You Know If You’re Really Making an Impact? Interview with Jeanne Mayo

193: When Your Students Want To Fight For Justice, How Can You Help Them Take a Step? Interview with Ally Global Foundation

192: Should You Pressure Kids to Follow Jesus?

191: How Can You Relate Better With Teenagers?

190: What Happens When A Volunteer Leader Needs To Step Down? Interview with Rob Chartrand from Briercrest College and Seminary

189: What Are The Top Ways To Support Students As They Transition To The Next Phase Of Life?

188: How Do You Teach Students About Revelation? Interview With Cody Matchett

187: How Do You Run A Great Event For Your Students? Interview With The Team From Briercrest's Youth Quake

186: How Can You Help Students Build Resilient Faith? Interview With Ebonie Davis

185: What Do You Do If You Disagree with Leadership? Interview with Kevin Janzen

184: What Should You Do After Attending a Big Event? Interview With Matt Wilkinson

183: What Do You Do with Hyperactive Teens Who Don’t Do Well in a Class Type Environment?

182: What Are Your Top Struggles as a Volunteer Youth Worker?

181: What Do You Do When You Have Students Negatively Influencing Other Students?

180: What Are The Key Audiences You Should Focus On, What Generation Z Cares About Most, How to Deepen Bible Engagement in Your Students, And More…

042: Randy Carter on How to Love The Unlovable Teen In Your Group? (Replay)

179: Does Volunteering in Youth Ministry Make a Difference? (2022 in Review)

178: What Do You Do If Your Students Aren’t Talking?

177: What Do You Do When Your Students Are Fighting with Their Friends?

176: How Should You Talk About Christmas With Your Students?

175: How Can You Help Students Find Faithful Answers to Life's Biggest Questions? Interview with Kristel Acevedo

174: How Do You Respond to Hard Questions From Students?

172: What Are Some Surprising Steps That Your Students Can Take In Their Spiritual Journey?

171: How Do You Find More Volunteers For Your Team?

170: What Should You Do With Your Students After An Event?

169: How Do You Engage Your Graduates Who Don’t Move Away After High School?

168: How Can You Help Students Figure Out Their Future Vocation?

167: How Do You Get Your Students' Parents More Involved In Your Ministry?

166: How Can You Help When Your Students Are Stressed About School?

165: What Can You Do When Your Students Are Deconstructing Their Faith? Interview with Randal Rauser

164: How Can I Help When Teenagers Get Emotional?

163: How Can You Redeem Digital Spaces? Interview with Andy Gabruch

162: What Should You Do When Teens Come Back From Camp?

161: How Do You Shift Your Ministry to a Small Group Model?

160: How Do You Teach Students to Go to Church On Their Own?

159: Help! What Do I Do When My Youth Are Grieving?

158: How Can You Shepherd Graduating Students Well? Webinar with YWC, Alpha, and Power to Change - Students

157: What Should You Do When Your Ministry Is Lonely? Part 3: Who Are You Pouring Into?

156: What Should You Do When Your Ministry Is Lonely? Part 2: Who Are You Running With?

155: What Should You Do When Your Ministry Is Lonely? Part 1: Who’s Pouring Into You?

154: How Should Teenagers Interact With Their Phones and Other Devices? Interview with Brett Ullman

153: Should You Burn All Your Students' Secular Music?

152: How Can You Thrive (Not Just Survive) in Jr. High Ministry?

151: What Do You Do When The News Headlines Are Bad For Christians?

150: Should You Do Youth Ministry Different When The Church Is No Longer Trusted In Culture?

149: What Should You Know About The Changing Technology Landscape As A Youth Worker? Interview with Brett Ullman

148: What Do You Do When Something Significant Comes Up In Small Group That Changes The Course Of The Conversation?

147: What Do You Do When You Have a Student Who Can’t Engage Well With Your Small Group?

146: How Can You Set Up Your Small Group For Success So It Doesn’t Get Out of Control?

145: What Do You Do When Your Small Group Is Out Of Control?

144: What’s New and Different About The Mental Health Journey of Our Students? Interview with Brett Ullman

143: What Do Great Small Group Leaders Do For Their Students After High School? Interview with Sarah Trouborst From Power To Change

142: How Do You Make The Most of Your Program Before It Even Starts

141: How Do You Make The Most of Times Outside of Program Moments?

140: How Do You Make The Most of The Farewell Portion of Your Program?

139: How Do You Make The Most of Hang Time During Your Program?

138: How Do You Make The Most of Small Group Time?

137: How Do You Make The Most of The Teaching Time of Your Program?

136: How Do You Make The Most of Game Time?

135: How Do You Make The Most of Welcome and Check In?

134: How Do You Make The Most of The Drop Off Time of Your Program?

133: How Do You Mentor Students Who Don’t Attend Regularly Because They’re Engaged In Sports?

131: How Can You Do Youth Ministry For The Long Haul? Interview with Michael Streilein

130: What Are The Questions the Next Generation Wrestles With That Every Pastor Should Consider? Interview with Kara Powell

129: How Should You Measure Your Ministry? Interview with Nathan Archer

128: Is It Honestly Worthwhile That Teenagers Get Saved? Interview with Jason Ballard

127: What Can You Do When A Student Is Experiencing Anxiety or Despair? Interview with Will Hutch

126: How Can You Call Teenagers To Live A Life of Sacrifice and Purpose? Interview with Richmond Wandera from Compassion

125: How Should Youth Workers Position Themselves In Conversations Surrounding First Nations Communities?

124: Should You High Five People When You Gather Again?

123: What Makes a Great Small Group Leader? Interview with High School Students from Village Church Youth

122: What Should You Take With You (and Leave Behind) From This Past Season?

121: What Are The Four Core Responsibilities of Every Youth Worker?

120: How Do We Help Teenagers In Crisis?

119: Four Things You Might Have Learned About Discipleship Through the COVID Season

118: What Does A Presence Driven (Holy Spirit Led) Ministry Look Like?

117: How Do You Walk With Your Student Through Grief and Loss?

116: What Can You and Your Students Do To Help End World Hunger?

115: What Are The Ways That You Should Partner With Camps This Summer?

114: How Can I Reach More Students and Be a Helpful Partner For Their School?

113: How Can You Lead Your Students to Respond to Hunger (and other injustices) in the World?

112: What Are Healthy Ways to Confront Racism or Prejudice and Make Sure Your Ministry is a Welcoming Place?

111: Are There Creative Ways To Do Ministry Even in Lockdowns? Interview with Laura Bronson

110: What Kinds of Questions Help Build Healthy Relationships With Every Student?

109: How Do You Help Gen Z Tell A Better Story?

108: What Should You Do Now to Help the Faith of Students Who Are Soon Going to Graduate?

107: What Are Some Best Practices When Mentoring Teenagers? Interview with Chris Tompkins

106: What Does It Mean to Take God’s Name in Vain and How Does Your Answer Shape The Theology You Pass Onto Teenagers? Interview with Dr. Carmen Imes

105: What Are Great Spiritual Leaders Doing (especially in this season)? Interview with Dr. Rob Blackaby

104: What Should You Know About Crisis, Trauma, Abuse, and Neglect (And When Is It Time to Report It)? Hosted by Jonathan Kornelsen

103: How Do You Pass On the Practice of Prayer to Teenagers? Interview with Ben Woodman

102: Could Sabbath Be The Answer To The Hurried And Hyper Connected World of Teenagers?

101: How Can You Help Teenagers Live Out Their Faith -- Even When They Aren’t At Your Youth Ministry?

100: Three Questions You Need to Be Asking Yourself This Year

099: How Can You Help Teenagers Lead Their Friends to Jesus? Interview with Greg Stier

098: How Do You Lead a Teenager to Jesus? Interview with Dr. Susan Booth

097: What Do You Do If Your Point Leader Transitions Out or Resigns?

096: Special Christmas Episode with Sid, Jason, and Jeremy

095: How Can You Create Transformational Experiences Without Going on Mission Trips? Interview with Alyssa Esparaz from Compassion Canada

094: How Do You Lead Students To Read the Bible More? (Part 2 of 2)

093: How Do You Lead Students To Read the Bible More? (Part 1 of 2)

092: How does the Bible Project Help People Engage with the Scriptures? Interview with Michael McDonald from the Bible Project

091: How Do We Grow Meaningful Relationships with Teenagers?

090: How Should You Teach Teenagers About Justice and Reconciliation? Interview with Lisette Fraser

089: How Can You Create a More Welcoming Space for Teenagers with Disabilities? Interview with Kathy Dubbeldam

088: What Do Great Youth Workers Do at the Start of Every Season?

087: What are Best Practices for Hybrid Youth Ministry that Works with Online and Physical Distancing Restrictions? Interview with Chandra Styles and Peter Yoon

086: Why are Large Scale Youth Events so Helpful for the Spiritual Journey of Teenagers (And What Should You Do If Covid-19 Cancels Them All Indefinitely)? Interview with Dale Winder and Olivia Bronson

085: What’s the Experience of People of Colour in Your Youth Ministry? Interview with Holly Bishu Goetz

084: What Should Youth Workers Know About Video Games? Interview with Dr. Kevin Schut

083: What Are The Emotional Challenges and Chemical Reactions That Make Pornography So Dangerous? Interview with Toni Dolfo-Smith

082: How Much Education Should Your Youth Ministry Staff Have?

081: What’s the Big Deal About Pornography? Interview with Brett Ullman

080: How Do You Talk About Baptism with Teenagers?

079: How Should You Interact With Parents or Guardians This Summer?

078: How Can You Keep Conversations Going About Racism With Your Group? Interview with Jeremiah Niengor, James Clarence, and Ryan Harmon

077: How Can You Start Conversations About Racism With Your Group? Interview with Phil Wambua

076: What Should You Do If You Aren’t Praying or Reading Your Bible?

075: What Do You Do When You Realize That You Don’t Like Doing Ministry Online?

074: What Should You Do If You Can’t Make the Youth Program?

073: What Should You Do With a Teen Who is Immature in Your Group?

072: How Can You Thrive Emotionally, Physically, and Spiritually as a Leader Right Now

071: How Can You Support Students Who Are Struggling Right Now?

070: How Can You Have a Healthy Personal Online Presence (Now That Ministry is All Online)?

069: What Strategy is Most Important For Small Group Leaders Now?

068: Conversation #3 On What Can You Do With Your Group In Light of COVID-19? With Guests Pat Steeves and Sarah Marriott

067: Conversation #2 On What Can You Do With Your Group In Light of COVID-19? With Jason Ballard and Peter Yoon

066: Conversation #1 On What Can You Do With Your Group In Light of COVID-19? With Sid Koop, Tim Gonsalves, and Jeremy MacDonald

065: What Do You Do With a Teen Who Thinks They Are Too Mature for Your Group?

064: How Can You Help Teenagers Reach Their Friends With The Gospel?

063: What Difference Does Speaking Life and Identity Into Your Teens Make and Can You See Exponential Growth From Middle School Groups to High School Groups? Interview with Joel Feddersen

062: Unanswered Prayers -- How Do You Walk a Teen Through Them?

061: How Do You Create a Culture Where You Move From Volunteer to Servant Leader?

060: What Does a Pediatrician Wish Youth Workers Would Do For Adolescents Struggling with Their Mental Health? Interview with Dr. Rob Meeder

059: What Do You Do When You Don’t Know What To Do for Curriculum or Teaching in Your Youth Ministry?

058: What are the Differences Between Mental Health, Mental Disorders, and Mental Distress? Interview with Dr. Kelly Dean Schwartz

057: What’s the Best Way to Understand Today’s Youth Culture? Interview with Walt Mueller

056: How Can You Help Teenagers Navigate The Storms of Life Without Getting Pulled Under?

009: How Do I Teach My Students to Read the Bible?

006: What Do You Do When Your Students Hate the Small Group Questions?

055: What Do You Do When Your Students Don’t Want To Attend Your Program?

054: How Do You Support Christian Teens With Atheist Parents?

053: What Do You Do With a Kid Who is Acting Out and Causing Chaos in Your Group? (Part Two: What Do You Do?)

052: What Do You Do With a Kid Who is Acting Out and Causing Chaos in Your Group? (Part One: What’s at Stake and What are the Tensions?)

051: How Do You Help Teenagers Pay Attention During Sermons?

050: What Does Ministry Look Like in a Very Secular Culture?

049: Louie Lovoy on Helping Students Take Their Next Step Spiritually

048: Vince Parker on Leading a Youth Ministry of 6000+ Students, Creating a Safe Place for Students to Wrestle with Their Faith, and Teaching Students to Lead Their Own Small Groups

047: Mike Miller on What He’s Learned Going From Being a Veteran Youth Pastor to a Lead Pastor With Teenagers

046: Chandra Styles on What Questions Should You Ask Students?

045: Kim Moran on How Do You Serve God When Your Life Isn’t Perfect and How Can You Support a Student When They are Going Through a Hard Time?

044: Brett Ullman on How Do We Build More Bridges with Parents?

043: Ron Friesen on What Do Great Youth Workers Do to Pass Along Faith to the Next Generation?

042: Randy Carter on How Do You Love the Unlovable Teen In Your Group?

041: How Do You Support Students Who Move Away?

040: How Do You Support Your Students Who Are Returning From Working at Camp?

039: How Do You Balance Your Life With Volunteering in Ministry?

038: How Do You Launch This Fall With Momentum?

037: How Do You Connect With Students Who Are Shy?

036: How Can You Connect With Your Students Through the Summer?

035: How Do You Encourage Your Student Who Recently Became a Christian?

034: What Do You Do When You Don't Like One of Your Students? (Part Two)

033: What Do You Do When You Don't Like One of Your Students? (Part One)

032: How Do You Lead a Bible Study When None of the Students Are Christians?

031: Geoff Stewart on Different Volunteer Roles, Helping Students Feel Valued, and The Best Question You Can Ask a Student

030: Sean Brandow on Faithfulness in Ministry and What Happens When a Crisis Hits

029: What Do You Do With Bullying Between Students? (Part 2 of 2)

028: What Do You Do With Bullying Between Students? (Part 1 of 2)

027: Kendra Golden on Spiritual Growth Outside of our Programs

026: Mark Clark on Apologetics in Youth Ministry

025: Danielle Strickland on Moving Students to Action and Putting Feet to their Faith

024: Carey Nieuwhof on Cynicism in Ministry and How to Regain Hope

023: Three Things You’ll Love about the Future of This Podcast

022: Are You Coleading a Small Group? Let’s Talk Strategies to Work Better Together

021: What Do You Do With the Student Who Won’t Talk?

020: Worship in Church -- How Do You Teach Students to Engage?

019: How Can You Have a Meaningful Conversation About Easter?

018: Cliques in the Group -- How Do You Avoid Them?

017: How Can You Help Your Students Share Their Faith?

016: Your Ministry’s Communicator isn’t Connecting -- What Should You Do?

015: Unwise Behaviour -- How Can I Challenge My Students When They Act in an Unwise Way?

014: Anxiety in Students -- What Can I Do to Help? Interview with Iona Snair

013: Answers to YOUR Questions on Transitions, Tough Questions, Unanswered Prayers, and Disagreements with the Point Leader

012: How Can We Get More Volunteers to Join Our Team?

011: Self-Injury -- How Do I Help and What Do I Need to Know? Interview with Dr. Marv Penner

010: What Do I Do When I Don’t See Growth in a Student?

009: How Do I Teach My Students to Read the Bible?

008: What Should I Do About Students who Stop Attending our Program?

007: What Do I Say if a Student Discloses That They Struggle with Porn?

006: What Do I Do When My Students Hate the Small Group Questions?

005: How Should I Help Students who are Hurting (Part 1)? Interview with Dr. Marv Penner

004: How Should I Connect with Parents?

003: How Should I Pray with my Students?

002: How Do You Have a Conversation with a New Student?

001: Does Volunteering in Youth Ministry Make a Difference?

000: Introducing The Youth Ministry Team Podcast