Teenagers today are different from teenagers even 10 or 20 years ago. The issues they are facing are complex and wide-ranging.How can youth workers understand them better? What are the best ways to meet anxious teens where they are and help them feel seen, loved, and known—both by our youth ministries and by the God who cares for them so deeply?

You will be shown just the eyes of a famous cartoon character. See how well you can correctly identify the character.

Your students have opinions! Let them share them and debate, be it by moving from one side of the room to the other, or by letting them make their case for whatever issue they believe in (or whatever issue you assign them). Jump into another crazy game of “versus” that will get the room energized!

Delegation is a buzzword in many churches and amongst many of us who lead in ministry. On the one hand, delegation in the context of leading in youth ministry is incredible because it leads to empowerment. On the other hand, delegation in the context of leading in youth ministry is challenging because it requires giving up control. In this video, I want to share five tips that I’ve learned and utilize in my ministry to intentionally loosen my grip in an effort to empower others.

Partnering with parents intentionally and success in student ministry go hand in hand. We all know that parents are hands down the biggest influencers in the lives of their students. So, it makes sense that if we want the parents in our churches and communities to invest in their teenagers’ spiritual lives, one of the best things we can do is invest in these parents. Most parents I’ve spoken to would say that they have a desire to grow in their parenting and in their ability to invest in their students’ spiritual lives at home. However, most also say they don’t know how or where to start. This is where I believe the church can come in with great intentionality and provide parents with a space to learn and grow alongside a community of other parents who are in the same boat. One of the ways our church looks to create spaces for this is through parenting events. These are events that are geared to help parents by providing them with great insights from quality experts, practical tools and resources they can use at home, and connecting them to other parents in our church or community for support and encouragement. We are in the middle of planning one of these parent events right now, and I thought you might find it helpful to get a look into the four big questions we ask/answer before we start planning or promoting a parent event.

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable of a man going on a journey who gives three servants a certain amount of money before leaving on his trip. After a long time, the man returns home and praises/blesses the two servants who used what they had been given to increase what the man had given them. However, to the third servant, who had hidden what he had been given instead of using it to make more, the master is angry with this servant. He calls this man wicked, takes away the money that the servant had been given, and gives it to another of the servants. We usually look at that parable as an end-times type of language, but when Jesus is talking, the Jewish audience’s perspective would have been about living life, and those questions that Jesus is raising are actually about stewardship. Jesus is kind of building this picture of how God has given us so much, so what are we doing with it? Not later, but right here and right now. So, I wonder if there’s room for us to explore that parable with our youth groups. Not through the lens of “Where are you going to go at the end,” but “What are you doing with what God has given you. . .your time, talent, and treasure?” In this video, we wanted to explore that with you and share eight thoughts to help your students to realize that they actually do have resources to steward.

Every thriving youth ministry is only as strong and as healthy as its team of dedicated volunteer leaders. Without these volunteer leaders, your reach and overall effectiveness as a youth ministry leader are extremely limited. This is your team: men and women who are bought in, sold out, and willing to love teenagers where they are so that they can point them to Jesus. The question is this: What are you doing to celebrate and appreciate these amazing people? In this video, I want to share five quick tips for appreciating your leaders well.

Hey student ministry leader, how is your relationship with your senior pastor? No, really. This is an honest and completely serious question. How is the relationship between you and your senior pastor? Are you cordial? Are you on mission together? Are you distant? Are you close? Are you at odds with one another? Do you trust them? Do they trust you? Maybe a more important and impactful question would be this: What are you doing to build the relationship between you and your senior pastor? In this single-session Masterclass video, I want to provide you with nine thoughts on how you can build a healthy and fruitful relationship with your senior pastor.

Welcome to the “The Ultimate Guide to Harnessing the Power of Summer Interns for Church Success.” In the first session of this dual-session Masterclass, we dive into strategies and tips that will help you and your church recruit, develop, and maximize the potential of summer interns and achieve results that are a win-win for everyone. Nick will also share a list of “do’s” and “don’ts” of leading interns from the mouths of some of his own interns. In session two, Nick will talk about moving from summer interns to having your own residency program and the phases of a residency. He will also discuss how to equip a resident to leave their experience prepared for ministry. Lastly, Nick will cover what to do when you have to let an intern or resident go. If you have interns and/or residents in your church (or you would like to), these videos will both challenge and equip you to do it well.

Do you ever find it odd that, as student ministry leaders, one of the things that so many of us struggle to do well is celebrate with/alongside the students in our span of care? You’d think that with the word “student” or “youth” being half of our job title, celebrating with/alongside students would come more naturally…or that we would at least be more intentional with it. In this single-session Masterclass, Josh points out four important spiritual milestones and three easy personal milestones that we need to pay attention to. He also provides some thoughts as to how we can be more intentional in celebrating with/alongside the students we serve.

As a youth pastor, not only are you responsible for preparing/preaching weekly sermons for your students in a large group setting, but you’re also tasked with equipping your leaders to teach the Bible in a weekly small group/discipleship setting. Each of these settings is unique and come with their own issues to navigate. Each of these settings has significant value. Each of these settings requires a youth ministry leader to think and prepare differently. In this two-session Masterclass video, Matthew will share some of the different needs that students have when they are sitting in a large group environment versus a small group environment. In session one, Matthew will explore the uniqueness of preaching in a large group setting and some tips that may help you in your leadership and preparation. In session two, Matthew will delve into the nuance in preparation, student needs, and leadership that comes with teaching/leading others to teach in a small group environment.

Social media consumes more than our time. It distracts us from what’s most important. It takes away part of our humanity. Most importantly, whether we care to admit it or not, it affects the condition of our souls. You can certainly use social media, and it can serve a purpose in your life and ministry, but ministry leaders, we need to stop looking at social media as a necessity for human connectivity. In this four-lesson, Brian Housman will share three big lessons that he learned during his social media sabbatical with the hope of helping you to ponder your own relationship with social media.

Whether in life or in ministry, change is inevitable. Hopefully, no student ministry leader says yes to the Lord’s calling or His leading, only to “give it a little while to see how it goes.” But change is part of life, and as ministry leaders, we need to be able to navigate change well. The Art of Change is a comprehensive guide written to help you navigate the transitions within youth ministry with grace and purpose. In this three-lesson module, we will explore essential strategies for departing from a ministry role with integrity, seamlessly transitioning into a new role with confidence, and maximizing personal growth during the interim period. Whether you’re a seasoned youth pastor or embarking on your first ministry position, this module will equip and challenge you to navigate change effectively, ensuring a smooth transition and continued personal and professional development.

Between all the MCU movies and Marvel comics characters, can your students spot the one lie hidden among two truths? Challenge them, whether by doing a face-off, having them raise their hand, or inviting them to play against a friend.

You will be given a specific Taco Bell menu item and a FALSE number of calorie count. Simply decide whether the real calorie count is more or less.

"The best engine for a successful, thriving youth ministry is a strong kid’s ministry. What happens if you have a strong kid’s ministry but you don’t nail the transition from kid’s ministry to student ministry? How do you make sure you’re prepared? And then, on the other side of youth ministry, there are students dropping out of church at an alarming rate, and this is even for students who are regularly committed to their church during youth group and during their middle school and early high school days. What is behind that? 

This two-session masterclass will dig into each side of the critical transitions that have to be successfully navigated in youth ministry. It will provide you with several ideas, tips, and tricks to help you nail the transition from kid’s ministry into student ministry and help you discover ways you can we help students take meaningful steps into college while also keeping them connected to the church and to their faith."

5 Views on Youth Ministry Short-Term Missions reflects the thoughts, personal stories, and real-life tips of five in-the-trenches youth workers who regularly lead short-term mission trips (STMs). Here you’ll find thoughtful but practical dialogue on the multiple views and approaches to STMs, from work camps to urban missions to long-term partnerships with Indigenous church leaders across the globe. Didn’t realize there were different views and approaches to STMs that thoughtful youth workers could disagree on? That’s part of the point of this book; to help youth workers have more insight into the issues and be more intentional in their responses. The five views of STMs found within this book are based on the contributors’ core commitments and worldviews (really, their missiology). Each of the contributors also offers a short response to one of the other views of STMs presented. Appendices tackle the important topics of junior high short-term missions and the incredible value of multigenerational trips.

As youth ministry leaders, we all have things that we’d love to do (know that we need to do) but often don’t have the time or clear vision for. Sunday and Wednesday are always coming, and the teenagers in our care need our attention. But what about their parents? What about the people who actually have the biggest influence on them? What are we doing to engage, equip, and empower those who God has called lead their children? In this MYM training, Family Ministry Pastor Chris Sasser will share a few ideas and tips on how we can engage, equip, and empower parents in our church as they seek to love and lead their teens.

You will be given a specific mascot and a list of colleges. Simply decide which mascot goes with the correct school.

Fast food chains have had some unique mascots over the years. Guess which ones actually existed! Use this amazing game to do just that as you have them walk across the room, hold up a thumbs up or thumbs down, or do a face-off among two students at a time!

From Jaws to Shark Week to Sharknado, sharks are everywhere. But there are a lot of sharks in the ocean. See how well you can correctly identify these types of sharks from the list provided.

How well do your students know pancakes? Use this amazing game to find out as you have them determine FACT or FICTION! Play it as a face-off among two students or invite the whole audience to play against a friend!

Easter Sunday should be one of the best celebrations of the year! But sometimes, it’s easy to get into a routine when it comes to Easter and forget what we're actually celebrating. We usually do a great job of celebrating Jesus coming back to life, but sometimes, we don’t spend too much time on what led up to that point. It’s easy to brush past the sadness that this joy comes from because it’s uncomfortable and upsetting. By going through Awaken: A 21-Day Kids & Family Devotional with your child, you can be sure they will be awakened to a fresh perspective on the gravity of all the Easter story holds. Even though the days leading up to Easter can be sad, heavy, and dark, you and your child will learn how to reflect on these things while still being able to rejoice that Easter Sunday always comes! 

Easter Sunday should be one of the most joyful days of the year for anyone who has given their life to Jesus. Christ’s resurrection deserves a grand celebration, and we, as believers, usually do a great job of celebrating! However, we can sometimes rush to rejoice and leave out the sadness, darkness, pain, and suffering that this joy comes from. Without reflecting on what led to Easter Sunday, we’re not getting the full picture of what Jesus has done for us through His life, death, and resurrection.

But what if your students could be awakened anew to the reality of all that Jesus has done for them? With Awaken: A 10-Day Easter Devotional, your students will be equipped to process through the gravity and solemnity of the Easter story. Even though the days leading up to Easter are dark and unsettling, your students will be encouraged to cling to the fact that Christ’s light shines even in the face of death. Easter Sunday always comes!