EXCLUSIVE METRO YOUTH PASTOR COLLECTION

There is nothing like the honor and blessing it is when, as youth pastors, we get a front-row seat to watch God moving and working in the life of a teenager. One of the best moments is talking with a student about their decision to follow Jesus and follow through with being baptized. It's amazing and humbling at the same time. But the logistics of it all can also be a little intimidating. How does that process work in your ministry? Are you intentional in this pre-baptism meeting to walk a student through what baptism is, what baptism isn't, how it works, why we do it, and even what needs to come after? Are you making an effort to involve the parents in this entire process? Allow me the opportunity to share with you how we do one-on-one baptism meetings with students at our church. There's even a downloadable baptism meeting guide and checklist for you to adjust to fit your ministry context.

If you are like me, you spent your childhood years watching Nickelodeon and people getting slimed. Whether you were growing up during the time of You Can't Do That On Television, Double Dare, Family Double Dare, Figure It Out, or over the last 21 years of the Kid's Choice Awards, you know that the famous green slime made it cool and made you wish it was you getting slimed. In my ministry, we give adults and students alike the ability to live out that slime-coated dream. Let me tell you how we do it.

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.

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.

Have you ever planned and promoted an event only to have nobody show up or tell you they missed it because you didn't communicate it well? Jake Rassmusen combines his knowledge and experience in both the youth ministry world and also as the Director of Marketing and Strategy at YM360 to help you better promote and communicate your events so students will show up.

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.

Every Youth Pastor longs for dedicated help, an extra pair of boots on the ground to assist you in reaching, leading, and discipling teenagers. But are you and your church really ready for a youth ministry intern? Do you have a plan in place for training them up to do the work of ministry? Having served as an intern in multiple churches, I've seen firsthand the good, the bad, and the ugly of internships. So, let me share with you some important do's and don'ts of bringing on a youth ministry intern.

Are you looking for an annual student ministry event that engages your small groups or Sunday School classes in a multi-week competition? What if I told you that there was a way to have that AND it be something that your students would look forward to and included creativity, Bible memorization, giving, and outreach? Let me tell you about Tribal Wars!

Recruiting and developing ministry volunteers is an essential part of leading in youth ministry. As youth workers, we often spend so much time and effort trying to get people to say "yes" to serving that we don't spend the time required to make sure they understand how to be successful in their serving role. This is especially true when it comes to our small group leaders or Sunday School teachers. So, what are the top three things your volunteer leaders need to understand? As you think about it, let me share mine with you.

Every youth pastor knows that the success and lasting impact of your ministry requires more than you being "great with students." If you aren't resourcing, connecting, and communicating well with parents, then your ministry isn't reaching its full potential. Let me share with you some ways we have implemented in our ministry to resource parents, connect with parents, and communicate well with parents.

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.

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.

Every youth pastor is excited to have first-time guests checking out the youth ministry. The question is, are you ready for them when they arrive? When a first-time guest shows up at your ministry's front door, does it look like you were expecting them, or does it look more like you are surprised they came? Let me share with you some ways we are intentional in welcoming first-time guests to our ministry area.

The months and weeks that lead up to your youth ministry's camp or retreat can be a bit chaotic for youth workers, volunteers, parents, and students alike. But they don't have to be. Let me share with you five things that we do and send in our ministry before we leave for any camp or retreat.

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.

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.

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 youth ministry leaders, we work hard to promote and create student environments that our students get excited about inviting other students to be a part of. That's why it's always exciting whenever those friends and new students actually show up to check out our ministry. The question then becomes, what are we doing to connect with those new students so that they feel seen, welcomed, and want to return? Let me tell you some things that we do in our ministry to make that happen.

The holidays are quickly approaching, and the first half of the ministry year is coming to a close. Are you closing things down, mailing it in, or are you being a strategic youth ministry leader who is maximizing the winter break? Let's take a moment to look at those approaches together, and let me tell you why and what I do to maximize the winter break.

Discipleship is as critical for your students to understand and participate in as it is for your ministry to value. So, how are you teaching your students to be growing disciples themselves as well as those who disciple others? Let me share an odd but effective way to teach students discipleship that I promise you they will always remember.

I think it’s a safe bet that none of you got into youth ministry because you loved working with soundboards or training volunteers how to run lights. But the utilization of technology to supplement your ministry environments is important; especially if you want to speak the language of a generation that’s grown up on it. So with a limited understanding of tech and an even more limited budget to work with, what can you do to upgrade your production experience? Let me show you!

Are you trying to do youth ministry alone? Do you ever find yourself wishing that you had a community of fellow youth workers to engage with, learn from, bounce ideas off of, and do life with? As youth ministry leaders, we are better together. So, let's talk about how to find and build that community.

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.

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.