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It's been said that one of the greatest myths of leadership is that you must be in charge in order to be a leader. Unfortunately, as a youth pastor, odds are you find yourself leading from the second chair (if you have a chair at the table at all). So how do you lead well, serve with great integrity, and be an influential presence from your youth ministry seat? Here's how I do it at my church.

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.

Life is often mixed up, so why not play a game to show how even a few moments of attention can help you unscramble it? Use this game as a fun icebreaker as your students face off to see who can decipher these popular state capitals faster. First, it’s the name scrambled on its own, and then a clue follows. Play in teams or one on one!

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 amazing messy game I play in my ministry that will help your next event "slide" into the Guinness Book of Epicness.

As school returns, the summer heat begins to fade, and another ministry year starts to ramp up, two things are on the minds of a majority of youth pastors: 

1) Oh no, is Halloween on a Wednesday this year? 
2) I need to plan the Fall Retreat! Planning retreats are often daunting as they require attention to detail across many different areas simultaneously. 

This masterclass series in planning and programming a fall retreat will walk through everything you need to get right with creativity and programming, the questions you need to ask and answer about logistics, and will help you eliminate the potential pitfalls so many make when planning. 

"Your words have consequences... and taking responsibility for your actions is the right thing, regardless of the outcome."

Three friends meet in the school cafeteria after one of them makes an offensive joke in class. This piece touches on the theme that the way you live each and every day is as much of your mission field as when you go oversees on a missions trip. 

Author: Jonathan Skaggs & Katie Beazley

• Length: approximately 8 minutes 
• Actor Needs: 1 male actor, 2 female actors 
• Theme Verses: Proverbs 27:17, Colossians 4:6
• Downloadable PDF

“I get angry too. And you're right Steph. Life isn't the best right now, and dad may never come back. There seems not too much for us to be thankful for. But not only do we have each other, but we do have the Lord. He is our father and he will guide us. And for that I am thankful and forever grateful.'” 

When siblings sit down for dinner, one admits they don't think they should have to pray because they don't believe they have anything to thank God for. A dramatic scene about God's timing and providence and our trust in Him. 

• Author: Terrance Jackson
• Length: approximately 10 minutes 
• Actor Needs: 3 actors 
• Theme Verses: Psalm 9:10; Proverbs 3: 5-6
• Downloadable PDF

Choose your word for these times we're in: unprecedented, weird, challenging, exhausting. Each of them is true, of course. And youth workers everyw...