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What happens inside the walls of your ministry context—in small groups, at camps, and during mid-week services—are obviously impactful in the life of a student. But what if I told you that what happens outside of your church—the ministry opportunities that take place on a student's turf—can be even more impactful? Let me tell you why on-campus ministry is important, share some dos and don’ts, and walk you through ways I've learned to do effective campus 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.

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.

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.

Written by Dr. Noel Forlini Burt. The Book of Hosea sits squarely within the corpus of the Minor Prophets, what many scholars refer to as The Book of the Twelve. This collection spans many centuries of history in the lives of God’s people, Israel. This history covers the collapse of Israel, the northern half of the kingdom, to the nation of Assyria; the exile and displacement of Judah, the southern half of the kingdom, to the nation of Babylon; and the return of the exiled Judahites back to their land and the subsequent rebuilding of their lives following that return. Over the course of this six-lesson module, we will explore the wilderness tradition together through one of its primary intertexts—the prophet Hosea’s use of wilderness imagery in the 8th century BCE. In particular, Saint Jerome’s statement about the barrenness of the desert experience. 

Written by Dr. Danny Kwon. Parenting well is the hardest job on the planet. Partnering with parents in youth ministry may be the second hardest job. You've probably studied teenagers' needs, their culture, and even their ever-changing lingo in preparation to be the most dynamic youth worker your church has ever seen. But when was the last time you studied their parents? What are their fears? What motivates their decisions? And why do some of them seem so hard to please? A Youth Worker's Field Guide to Parents is for youth workers who struggle to communicate with and relate to the moms and dads of the teenagers they want to reach the most. Whether you're a veteran youth worker or just starting out, or a church leader who wants to embrace parents more effectively, this three-part module will provide you with tips for peacemaking, insights for better empathy, and the motivation you need to make these important relationships work.

How well does your group remember the events of 2023? Maybe they do, or maybe they can just guess really well through this multiple choice trivia game that covers everything from pop culture and business headlines to absurd stories and odd events!

We've selected a leader and asked them to choose between two things. See how well you know your leader by trying to guess what they said.

Written by Dr. Noel Forlini Burt. The ancient story of Jonah is so much more than a mere caricature of a story about a “prophet and a big fish.” In this six-lesson module, we’ll do a deep dive into the text of Jonah, giving attention to the different aspects of God’s character and our spiritual formation and ministerial lives. Through this deep dive, we will discover God as Creator, God as Deliverer, a God who cares about our disappointment in ministry, a God who cares about us in spite of our disobedience, a God who attends to our depression, a God who is with us in our waiting, and a God who is compassionate about the whole world (even the people we despise).

Written by Dr. Danny Kwon. Parenting well is the hardest job on the planet. Partnering with parents in youth ministry may be the second hardest job. You've probably studied teenagers' needs, their culture, and even their ever-changing lingo in preparation to be the most dynamic youth worker your church has ever seen. But when was the last time you studied their parents? What are their fears? What motivates their decisions? And why do some of them seem so hard to please? A Youth Worker's Field Guide to Parents is for youth workers who struggle to communicate with and relate to the moms and dads of the teenagers they want to reach the most. Whether you're a veteran youth worker or just starting out, or a church leader who wants to embrace parents more effectively, this three-part module will provide you with tips for peacemaking, insights for better empathy, and the motivation you need to make these important relationships work.

Your group is filled with so many unique people who have each had their own share of experiences. These questions will help them to get to know each other better as they move from one side of the room or the other (or raise a left or right hand, if you group is large) to indicate if they “DID” or “DIDN’T” do it.

How well can you identify different breeds of dogs? Let's find out.

Gifts Of Christmas is a four-session series that will help your students understand the gifts God gives us through the incarnation of Christ that we celebrate at Christmas: hope, peace, joy, and love.

There are sports everyone has heard of, but what about the ones that seem to be so unique they might be made up? See if your group can tell which is a real sport somewhere around the world, and which is made up from a movie, TV show, book or otherwise!

There are sports everyone has heard of, but what about the ones that seem to be so unique they might be made up? See if your group can tell which is a real sport somewhere around the world, and which is made up from a movie, TV show, book or otherwise!

There are sports everyone has heard of, but what about the ones that seem to be so unique they might be made up? See if your group can tell which is a real sport somewhere around the world, and which is made up from a movie, TV show, book or otherwise!

How familiar are your students with the name behind the name they know when it comes to their favorite authors? Test their knowledge of who they are also known as (AKA) in this fun trivia game!

Can you guess the country with just the outline of it? If you can, you are globally aware! If not, don’t worry – you’ll get a good hint. Try this as an all-play in your group to see who knows their countries!

Can you guess the country with just the outline of it? If you can, you are globally aware! If not, don’t worry – you’ll get a good hint. Try this as an all-play in your group to see who knows their countries!

Can you guess the country with just the outline of it? If you can, you are globally aware! If not, don’t worry – you’ll get a good hint. Try this as an all-play in your group to see who knows their countries!

See if you can guess which actor/actress provided the voices for these famous animated characters.

You will be given a subject. Whoever is first gives an answer to the subject and then the second player goes. It continues until a player freezes or repeats an answer.