Five Minutes with Marko

“Who I am” and “What I do” are way too enmeshed for so many people in ministry roles. Marko teases out how to re-frame them.

In too many churches, the title Youth Pastor (or Youth Director or other variations) really means “Lead Program Planner for Youth.” Marko suggests a goodlier option.To learn more about our youth pastor coaching program, visit https://theyouthcartel.com

Being well-resourced can SO easily become an adventure in missing the point. Being under-resourced is a blessing!To learn more about our coaching programs for youth pastors, visit https://theyouthcartel.com

Marko unpacks a simple developmental framework that should shape our approach to ministry with middle schoolers.To learn more about our youth ministry coaching program, visit https://theyouthcartel.com

Marko unpacks the four primary approaches to small groups in youth ministry and invites you to consider what’s best for your context.Learn more about our youth ministry coaching at https://theyouthcartel.com

Marko uses the plot of the 2013 zombie film Warm Hearts to reflect on the status of our hearts and souls.To learn more about the Youth Cartel's youth ministry coaching program, visit https://theyouthcartel.com.

Marko shares an interview Josh Griffin conducted with him about why it’s so hard to get young teens reading the Bible on their own.Visit https://theyouthcartel.com to learn more about our youth ministry coaching programs.

Marko identifies and briefly unpacks four context in which change and transformation (in ourselves and the teenagers we lead) normally occurs.Visit https://theyouthcartel.com to learn more about our youth ministry coaching programs and training.

Lots of shanked shots and questions about the value of this effort; but then there’s an amazing shot that fuels you to keep playing.Visit https://theyouthcartel.com to learn more about our youth ministry coaching programs.

After hearing the story of another youth worker couple booted for unclear and seemingly unfair reasons, Marko reflects on why this is so common.

Marko reflects on a comment from a youth worker that there’s no such thing as a 12-year-old loser.Visit https://theyouthcartel.com to learn more about our coaching program.

As much as we’d like to think that developing an adult team for youth ministry might be a universal practice, Marko finds it’s still WAY too common for youth workers to be lone rangers.

Marko responds to a question he’s asked all the time: How do I know when it’s time to leave my youth ministry role?

Marko was asked to write a letter to the daughter of a friend. He shares this letter both as an encouragement to you, and a reminder of what we should be speaking into the lives of teens.Learn more about the Youth Cartel coaching program at https://theyouthcartel.com.

This question was louder 15 years ago; but there’s still some lingering pushback on any and all age-specific ministry in churches. Marko shares where this question came from, and responds to it.

Marko’s thinking on this question has shifted quite a bit on this question over his many years in youth ministry — in some ways, the answer is clearer than ever, and in other ways, it’s much more blurry.To learn more about Marko's coaching program, visit https://www.theyouthcartel.com/the-youth-ministry-coaching-program.

Neuroscience tells us that young adult brains aren’t yet fully developed when it comes to decision making and wisdom. Does that mean we should boundary them more as volunteers in youth ministry, or maybe just the opposite?

This episode is a little longer and a lot more devotional. Marko offers six suggestions for those inevitable times when it feels that God is silent or distant.Visiit https://theyouthcartel.com to learn more about our coaching programs.

Marko speaks from his decades of experience as a youth ministry volunteer at his church, about what he (and other volunteers) need from the ministry point person.To learn more about our coaching program, please visit https://theyouthcartel.com

Marko speaks from his decades of experience as a youth ministry volunteer at his church, about what he (and other volunteers) need from the ministry point person.To learn more about the Youth Ministry Coaching Program, visit https://theyouthcartel.com

Marko tells the story of an 8th grade guy who responded differently than expected when being challenged to step up.

Marko points out how culture (and parenting) has dramatically swung in the direction of treating teenagers like children, and young adults like teenagers.To learn more about Marko's coaching program, https://theyouthcartel.com

The primary objective of youth ministry is to walk alongside young people on their own journeys toward Christlikeness. There, now you don’t need to listen to the episode!Learn more about the Youth Cartel coaching program at https://theyouthcartel.com

Not the most fun of episodes, but Marko gets honest about the trends facing youth worker employment in the coming decades.

Marko goes on a rant about the poor logic being used to say that because parts of teenage brains are underdeveloped, they are broken and incapable. Hogwash!

Marko provides a summary of a fascinating brain study on what’s happening in teenage brains while being asked questions about identity, then adds some implications.Visit https://www.theyouthcartel.com/the-youth-ministry-coaching-program to learn about the Youth Ministry Coaching Program and currently forming cohorts.

Marko starts a 3-episode sub-season on teenage brains, in this episode talking about the role of third-person perspective in the formation of a young teen’s identity.

Marko reads an open letter he wrote to youth workers when his (now adult) kids were teenagers, including four requests.Learn more about Dreaming Youth Ministry's Future: https://www.theyouthcartel.com/blog/dreaming-youth-ministrys-future.

In this short (4 Minutes with Marko!) final episode of the year, Marko reflects on why patience is absolutely required when looking for outcomes and results in youth ministry.

Marko unpacks a simple assessment tool he regularly uses when coaching ministry leaders to think about how to address the different aspects of your job responsibilities in order to move toward greater vibrancy.

Marko shares a bit about his own growth — deep into life — in understanding and experiencing spiritual discernment, and suggests some ways our ministries should prioritize collaborative discernment.

Marko shares a story that illustrates how a student’s sense of belonging can be lost or gained through seemingly tiny acknowledgements of “we see you; you belong here.”

In this super-short episode (3 Minutes with Marko!), we’ll look at the difference between stupid risk, and the sort of faith-fueled risk that is absolutely essential for great youth ministry.To learn more about the Youth Cartel's coaching program, please visit TheYouthCartel.com/coaching.

Marko talks briefly about both the terminology of ‘junior high’ or ‘middle school’, as well as which grades are included. Bonus: a mini history lesson!

On the surface, this episode lists 12 ways to be a youth worker who stays put for a long time; but really, this episode is about humility.

Marko describes the characteristics of the sort of person who’s able to bring change from inside a church or organization.

Marko suggests that materialism isn’t the core problem, it’s consumerism. Bonus: this episode includes a snarky Top 10 Signs Your Youth Ministry Might Be Built on Consumeristic Assumptions.Learn more about The Youth Cartel Coaching at theyouthcartel.com.

In this first half of a two-parter, Marko sets up the problem of materialism and why it’s so difficult to effectively address

Marko wrongly says this episode is 8 minutes (it’s 11); but he rightly sets up presence as the central practice and vision for our youth ministries.

In the first half of this two-parter, Marko identifies the source-code for how our youth ministries became so program-driven.To learn more about the Youth Cartel and it's coaching options and resources, please visit TheYouthCartel.com.

In this double-length episode, Marko talks honestly about the forces that corrode innovation and the resources youth workers need to stay in orbit of the understandable hairball of their church.

A super-sized episode about the importance of cultivating and protecting trust as you head into summer programs.

Marko shares the story of an annoying conversation in a plane that reminded him of the power of listening and presence.

Marko uses the old video game Frogger to explain the transition young teens are living through.

In this episode, Marko explains how the onset of third-person perspective plays a huge role in young teen identity formation.

A final Nuggets episode, with two of ’em: the most important questions when making a programming change, and changing the implication of the title ‘youth pastor.’

3 more Nugs, this time on making wrong decisions, closed churches, and reframing ‘senior fade.’

3 Nuggets this time, on reframing dissatisfaction, a silly crowd breaker, and what I want for all of youth ministry.

A final four weeks of “small plates”. This time around Marko serves up questions, mistakes, flexibility, mystery, and rest!

Marko reflects on four seemingly insignificant moments from his own teenage years that significantly impacted the trajectory of his life.