Youth Pastor Training and Leadership

For anyone who has ever felt unqualified to share the Good News, this training is for you. My Eight: Embrace and Engage in the Wonder of Evangelism uses Scripture and stories from Dr. Newton’s life to make plain how not only are we, as Christ-followers, more than capable of sharing the Gospel, but we are also called to do so. It does away with the idea that you must have a microphone or a stage to make Jesus known, but instead invites us to see the beauty and joy of embracing and engaging in evangelism everyday.

Youth ministry changes quickly depending on what's going on in the church, what's happening in the culture, the makeup of the current students involved in the ministry, and literally hundreds of other factors. These changes often go unnoticed because we, as youth ministry leaders, are too busy or assume nothing has changed. If we don't take a step back and assess our ministry, we are in danger of becoming less effective in our reach and discipleship. Having recently stepped into a couple of new ministry environments, each with its own unique contexts, I learned just how much value there is in the ability to quickly and accurately assess each context. With my degree in business combined with a fair amount of youth ministry experience, it occurred to me that the ability to perform a SWOT analysis could be a real game-changer for youth ministry leaders. So, in this five-lesson module, I will break down a SWOT analysis for you and discuss how to apply it to your youth ministry. 

In the journey of faith, the decision to be baptized marks a significant milestone for many individuals, particularly students, who are embarking on their spiritual path. It is a moment of profound significance, signifying their commitment to follow Christ and embrace the teachings of Christianity. In navigating the complexities of guiding students through the baptismal journey, a multifaceted approach that prioritizes timely action, is intentional with inclusive discussions, and one that sits on a solid foundation rooted in Scripture is indispensable. In this three-lesson module, we will discuss how to create a baptism counseling strategy that approaches the subject of baptism with humility, openness, and reverence—one that engages in meaningful dialogue, listening attentively to the voices of tradition, Scripture, and the Spirit. And one that extends grace and hospitality to all who seek to explore the depths of faith.

In this single-session Masterclass video, we will explore the two-and-a-half ways that you can approach summer programming/calendaring, which will help you absolutely crush it. We will explore the pros and cons of these approaches in detail, along with one ministry failure story and one idea for each approach that you can try out. Nick also shares five outside-of-the-box connection ideas you can try this summer (complete with downloadable examples). All of this is to capture significant summer momentum and set yourself up for a fantastic fall return from a fruitful youth ministry summer!

No matter the size of your ministry. No matter how long you’ve been there or what type of church you participate in, chances are, you’ve had experiences with parents who may be a little bit more “needy” than other families in your ministry. These are the families who are a little more opinionated or maybe more willing to share their opinions with you (and everyone else) more than the rest. We’re talking about the families whose emails you leave unread just a little bit longer because, honestly, you’re not totally sure how to respond. The families that call your phone you may send them to voicemail because you want to hear what they have to say before you answer or call back. It’s the family that on a Sunday after service, you’re standing in the lobby, and you see somebody walk into you, and you go, “Ohh man, that’s so and so, and I’m not sure I’m ready to have this conversation.” We all have families in our ministry who we just struggle with, right? We don’t hate them. We don’t dislike them. However, at the end of the day, they just make life a little bit more difficult for you, and we want to know how to navigate, how to engage, and how to care for these families really well because God has entrusted us with that task. God has placed those families in our church, so we don’t just want tactics or tips and tricks to figure out how to avoid these families or just pass them off to someone else. We want to be pastors. In fact, God has invited us into this as pastors, and we have a responsibility and, hopefully, a desire to care well for the people that God has placed in our ministry context. So, in this single-session Masterclass, Josh talks about difficult parents and five things to consider when choosing to pastor them well.

Working with teenagers, especially post-pandemic, you are most likely fully aware that adolescent mental health issues are as significant and debilitating as they are widespread (and growing). In fact, according to the Director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, “The average high school student today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s.” So what can we do, as youth ministry leaders, to lean in and help our students who are coping with or struggling to navigate mental health issues? In this single-session Masterclass, Jon provides seven thoughts to help you get started.

In this single-session Masterclass, Josh addresses a leadership topic that is oftentimes frustrating for people. We love the joys of student ministry. We love it when we can cast a vision for something that sticks and that people get excited about and want to follow us to see it come to fruition. But what about those other seasons where we cast vision, and nothing happens? What about those times when you get super excited about something—a new program a new idea, a new initiative, whatever it is—and we cast that vision to church leadership or families or our volunteers or our students, and they look at us with a little bit of confusion like we have four heads? So, let’s talk about what to do (and not do) when our vision doesn’t stick.

I think that we are all familiar with the Great Commission that is found in Matthew 28. I want to suggest, as a starting place, that the Great Commission is what youth ministry is all about. I think we'd all agree that we're not just about entertaining; we're not just about enculturating teenagers into the way of the church; we're about making disciples. And most of us in youth ministry are highly intentional in one way or another about how we go about doing that. That's what we want to consider in this video: reframing discipleship and what that could look like.

Fair warning to all my fellow youth workers: in this video, I’m going to step on some toes (youth worker toes, parent toes, church leadership toes) and challenge you to join me in doing something that, for some reason, in our culture, sounds wildly controversial. My challenge isn’t for your youth ministry to go vegan. My challenge isn’t for you to stop playing games. I’m not even going to suggest that there is a correct timespan for a sermon. What I am going to do is to tell you why I disabled all my push notifications on my phone, and strongly suggest that you consider doing the same.

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. 

How are you being intentional about ensuring that your current students feel seen, welcome, and pursued by your ministry? How do you help a new student feel like they belong? One of the things I’ve been experimenting with lately is sending postcards or cards to students and leaders. Let me tell you just one of the things I’ve noticed: There’s power in writing postcards! A handwritten note or card is not only a lost art form, but it’s also a unique and simple way to say, “I saw you,” “You are welcome/wanted here,” and “You matter to us because you matter to God.” So, let me share some tips and even an example of what sending some cards to your students, guests, and leaders could look like in your ministry context.

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.

"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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.