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Discipleship is more than getting to know what the teacher knows. It is getting to be what he is. - Juan Carlos Ruiz

We are called to make disciples. The pursuit of making disciples who love, follow, and are completely sold out to Jesus is (or should be) at the very core of everything we do in youth ministry. But when the rubber that is the busyness of our students' and volunteer leaders' lives meets the road of their good intentions, creating discipleship groups that work proves easier to say than actually to accomplish. Let me show you some principles that I have found that have proven to be successful when creating a discipleship group that works.

Whether you see it as a waste of time, a danger to society, a tool of a foreign government, or just the next version of Myspace that will go as quickly as it came, TikTok has your students’ eyes and attention. According to the Pew Research Center, TikTok claimed the #2 spot in the rankings of online platforms used by U.S. teens in 2023, surpassing the former powerhouses of Snapchat and Instagram. As we look at engaging our students and creating opportunities to share the Gospel with the lost, the question isn’t if TikTok will be banned or sold but how youth workers will redeem it and utilize it for the Glory of God. In part three of this three-part TikTok series, I want to share with you some ways to create engaging content while utilizing this social media platform in your ministry.

When you think about your students and student ministry, here are two questions I’d like you to consider: 1) What are you doing to help teenagers take more ownership and be more active or engaged during your small group experience? 2) Instead of allowing students to be passive participants in this formative time, what can you do or dream up that could give them regular opportunities to be discipled and grow in their faith in practical ways? Now, I don’t claim to have it all figured out, but we have created and implemented an idea in our student ministry that seems to be effectively answering these two questions. That’s why I want to share this idea for you to use in our own ministry or to serve as inspiration to try something different to move your students from “renters” to “owners” of your student ministry.

As the founder and director of GENERATE camp, I get questions all the time about the games we create and how others can do the same. So allow me the honor of sharing with you some methods that we use at GENERATE and how you can implement those methods to make the games at your next big event, DNOW Weekend, or camp/retreat absolutely amazing!

All of us in youth ministry have upset a parent and had to deal with the ramifications of it. If you haven’t had the experience yet, trust me; it’s coming, and it’s not fun. So, what do you do when you have upset a parent? How do you approach making it right or even winning back any lost trust? There’s no need to make a mistake when dealing with angry parents when you can learn from mine! Let me share with you three things that I’ve learned over the years to do when you need to deal with an angry parent.

Youth ministry is truly an incredible calling, but unfortunately, it is not void of its times of struggle and disappointment. In fact, serving as a youth worker seems to come with some struggles and disappointments that are uniquely its own. So, what are we supposed to do when things don’t go as planned? How are we supposed to respond when we start to wonder if all this work and effort are returning void? How do we keep moving forward in our service to the Lord through youth ministry when we feel like we are walking through thick mud? I don’t have all the answers, but I do want to share some thoughts and four things that have helped me navigate my own encounters with disappointment over the years. My hope is that if you are struggling right now, something in this video reminds you of who you are, whose you are, and that what you do matters.

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.

We've all been there...it's a Tuesday evening, and you're teaching on Wednesday night, but you still have no idea what you're teaching yet. Quite often in youth ministry, there are so many things pulling at your time that your lesson prep gets pushed to the side. So how do we avoid it? One way is to build a forward-looking schedule that is planned out in advance, invites over voices in, and shares the stage. Let me tell you how I do it in my own ministry context.

It's time for another big event, camp, retreat, or outreach, and you need a game that your students will be talking about for years to come. I got you! Let me share an old favorite with a few new twists that I play in my ministry every year as a large outreach. Don't dodge this opportunity to provide your students with a way to involve their friends in an epic night of ducking, dipping, dodging, and diving.

Being a spiritual leader can sometimes leave us feeling dried out. Why? Because we put a lot of effort into pouring out but not filling back up! So, let me share a few thoughts with you on how you can fill up while pouring out.

Youth Ministry tends to repeat itself, but that can actually get us into a place of complacency! Let me encourage you in this video to break away from the repetitiveness of student ministry and add something new and challenging!

Are you utilizing drama or skits in your ministry context? If so, do you know how to select the scripts that compel your audience to lean into those dramatic presentations? Let me give you some tips and tricks to do just that.

You have probably seen the temptation for your seniors to want to check out as they get ready to graduate. But what if there was something more for them during their senior year? In this hack, we'll share a few ways to elevate seniors in their final year of youth ministry.

Hey youth pastor, you've worked hard to create an incredible first time experience for guests. That's great! But how are you following up with those guests and assimilating them into your ministry? Let me share with you two ways we do it.

Generation Z, is the youngest, most ethnically diverse, and largest generation in American history, comprising 27% of the US population. They are digital natives who have never known a time without cell phones, the internet, or interactive social media. This generation is often stereotyped as tech-addicted, anti-social, or “social justice warriors,” but they also currently make up at least 50% of your youth ministry. Do you know how they think, how they learn, or how to engage them? Let me walk you through how we approach it.

Giving away ministry to students helps them develop a sense of ownership. There are several ways to do this, one of which is to let students pick the type of music in your ministry environments. Check out the video to see some helpful parameters to doing that and why it can make a difference in the life of a student.

Youth ministry (much like life) has its share of hard seasons, times when you find yourself crying out to the Lord to hear your prayer and longing to take refuge under the shelter of His wings (Psalm 61). Maybe you’ve been there. Perhaps you’re there right now. Maybe when you look around you, all that you see right now is the towering walls of the valley that surrounds you. These are hard places to navigate. These are rugged valleys to walk. But my brothers and sisters in Christ, my fellow youth workers, you are not the first to walk this valley, and you don’t have to navigate this dark place alone. In this video, I want to share a look into my heart and offer you a lot of encouragement and a little advice from someone who’s walked this valley.

The students of Gen Z and Gen Alpha are seeking to belong before they believe. As youth workers, we can either fight against that felt need or come up with creative ways to meet a student’s need and desire for belonging. It starts with asking a simple question: What are some concrete ways that I (and those who serve alongside me) can help teenagers find belonging within our youth ministries? From there, it’s honestly a mix of creativity and trial/error. In this video, I want to act as a catalyst for your imagination as you seek to answer this question in your ministry by sharing three ways our ministry does to foster unity and belonging.

Have you ever gotten better at something simply because you began to realize through some experience just how bad you were at it? In a world where our teenagers live at such a break-neck speed, constantly wired in with a phone in one hand and a speaker in one (if not both) of their ears, I wonder what it would be like if we invited them into a new place—maybe a place that would cause a little bit of discomfort and disruption. What if we took our group not to necessarily go and save the day or do a project but to go into a place they wouldn’t usually go to and just watch—kind of practice noticing? That’s the topic for this video—considering what it would look like to invite your students into practicing what it means to slow down a little bit and notice what’s (and who’s) around them, helping them experience something beyond themselves and learn how to notice the needs of others.

When it comes to teaching and leading our students to serve others (locally or globally), how do we show them the importance of serving others with dignity and respect? I think that starts with the beginning of the Bible. In Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness"' (ESV). The very first page of the Bible tells us that we are image-bearers of God. When we (and the students we lead) begin to see ourselves as image bearers of God, as the Imago Dei, we can start seeing others as the Imago Dei. That's how we are to serve others! We see them as Imago Dei and serve them with dignity, respect, and love. So, how does that play out today? In this video, I want to give you four tips to equip you and your students to serve others with dignity and respect that may be helpful.

If you’re anything like me, you are always on the lookout for event ideas for your student ministry that feel fresh, don’t break the bank, aren’t solely focused on games/physical activity, and capture the attention/imagination of your students. In this video, I want to share one of the ideas we created to do just that: a student-led film festival that still has our students talking and counting the months until we host it again next year. 

Over the years, there has been one particular student ministry event that has excited my students more than most and blown away my expectations each and every time. Not to mention that it’s proven to be a winner regardless of the size of the youth ministry I’ve been a part of or the ministry’s typical participation rate. Curious? Well, that event is a silent disco...in particular, a glow night silent disco. Sound fun? That’s because it is! So, let me walk you through all the ins and outs of hosting your own glow night silent disco for your ministry.

In most youth ministries and with most youth pastors, saying the words "All-Nighter" is equivalent to speaking the name of Voldemort; you just don't do it. But what if I told you that a well-planned, well-placed, and well-thought-through All-Nighter could become a favorite (and valuable part) of your ministry year? Let me show you how and why we do an annual All-Nighter in our ministry.

As youth ministry leaders, we spend an enormous amount of time and effort preparing to launch each new ministry year. So why are we not putting as much effort into closing out the ministry year? In this MyYouthMin look, I would like to challenge you to think about ending your fall semester as strong as you began. Let’s talk about why and how.

As the leaves begin to change color and everything else changes to some version of pumpkin spice, it’s time for you to think about and plan your fall retreat. Let me share with you three elements that we focus on in our ministry to make sure that our fall retreats are effective.

You can sense the excitement of school starting. You know you need to have a successful start to the year (as do all youth pastors). Yet, the same problem consistently presents itself each year--How do I do this in a fresh and effective way year after year? It's a question we all deal with each semester. Let me share with you how Upstate Student Ministry plans one of our cornerstone events to kick off the school year. I hope that it will help you discover some principles that can transfer to your ministry and help with your launch event.

Are you looking for some ways to be a team player, increase the serving opportunities for your students, connect with the kids/parents who be your future ministry audience, and grow your ministry in the process? Let me show you how our ministry has learned to be intentional with connecting children's ministry to youth ministry.

There are a ton of "things" you have to do to ensure that you are ready each week for your youth ministry programming. Rather than focusing on a bunch of to-dos, here's a helpful framework to make sure you are ready mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.

What is your strategy for youth mission trips? How are you making missions accessible to as many students as possible, no matter where they are in their faith journey? Let me share with you have we have done it by creating a multi-tiered youth missions strategy.

One of the things that I learned very early in my years in youth ministry was that the ministry I was doing WITH my students was about a lot more than just the ministry I was doing FOR my students. No middle schooler and less than half of the high schoolers who participate in your ministry actually get to your ministry events or activities on their own. And pretty close to 0% of your students pay for your ministry's camps, retreats, lock-ins, or other events. Parents are essential. And your ability as a youth pastor to earn the trust, respect, and buy-in of parents can quickly make or break your ministry's reach and impact. That's why I want to share three "must-do's" if you want to build trust and relationships with parents.

Effectively utilizing social media to communicate and engage your students can feel completely overwhelming. Even if you are a somewhat tech-savvy youth pastor, social media posting can quickly become yet another unchecked box on an ever-growing to-do list that you will never get through this week. What if you could eliminate those feelings of being overwhelmed or frustrated by learning to create and schedule an entire week's worth of social media in only one hour? Let me show you how I do it in my ministry.

Summer is coming; it will be camp time before you know it. Are you ready? Have you even thought much about your summer camp plans yet? For many students, your ministry’s summer camp experience is their most anticipated programmed youth ministry activity. Can we just say the quiet part out loud—there’s something exceptional about camp. Maybe it’s because camp is one of the few weeks in a student’s life where they get away from all the distractions and spend concentrated time praying, worshipping, and studying God’s Word. Perhaps it has something to do with camp being a place where many lasting memories are made or where so many students experience life change and take steps forward in their walk with Jesus. Camp is absolutely incredible, but pulling off a successful camp does not happen in a vacuum. A ton of planning, communication, and logistics goes into summer camp before any student even steps foot on that bus. This is the stuff that often goes unnoticed, unappreciated, and is sometimes overlooked. To keep your upcoming summer camp amazing (and from totally sneaking up on you), let me share some proactive things we do in our ministry concerning summer camp that will hopefully make your camp process as seamless as possible.

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.

Partnering with parents doesn't have to be rocket science. Sure, your steps towards a partnership need to be thoughtful, but they can also be as simple as they are purposeful. For example, here's a little secret that isn't that much of a secret at all: Parents love people who love their kids. Let me share with you some ways that I take some first steps towards a partnership with parents in my ministry by intentionally encouraging parents along the way.

Moving from a game to worship can be challenging when the energy in the room is still wild from the game. In this hack video, we’ll unpack a simple yet powerful strategy for leading effective call to worship moments that help students transition into a focused time of worship.

P.T. Barnum once famously said, "Without promotion, something terrible happens...nothing!" I would argue that the same can be said when it comes to leading games in a youth ministry environment. In my experience, without consideration, planning, and attention to these four things, your games will fall flat.