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.

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.

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."

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.

Teaching teenagers the Word of God is both an incredible privilege and a weighty responsibility. Scripture itself says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness (James 3:1 ESV).” So, how do we best honor the Lord, His Word, and His calling upon our lives to teach and disciple His sheep? In this two-session Masterclass, we will discuss tips and methods to effectively teach teenagers the Word. In session one, I will share eleven tips for teacher preparation and spiritual preparation. I’ll also point out a few helpful resources that you can use. In session two, we will discuss lesson planning and explore seven different teaching models that you can utilize in your youth ministry.

Do you want to get on the good side of your finance committee? Are you tired of coming back from camp or D’Now Weekend celebrating incredible spiritual highs, only to be scared to face the incredible lows of having a meeting about all the money that you’ve spent? Are you ready to never go over budget again? In this two-session Masterclass, we dive deep into the essential aspects of mastering your youth ministry finances. In session one, we will explore the art of planning and navigating a solid operating budget, discover the power of operating out of your church’s purpose, and enable you to take complete control of your financial situation and get the most out of the budget you’ve been given. In session two, I will share the principles behind a solid budgeting technique and my sure-fire negotiating tactics that will save you money on those trips/camps. Oh, and I’m also giving you my “Ultimate Trip Calculator” (100% FREE) so you’ll never blow out your budget again

Have you ever had the thought or said out loud behind a closed door (after checking for listening devices, of course), “Youth ministry would be soooooo much easier if I could just get parents out of the way and actually do ministry with the students!” Don’t worry, you aren’t alone (and I won’t tell them you said that). Youth ministry leaders and parents often seem like baking soda and vinegar; mix the two, and you’re going to get a reaction. But this doesn’t have to be the case. In this single-session Masterclass, I will share eight thoughts that can help you turn the parents in your church from foes to friends (and maybe even your biggest cheerleaders).

As a growing and thriving youth ministry leader, you know that the health of your ministry is directly connected to the health of your volunteers. But January is a natural time for your volunteers to start slumping slightly. How can you, as a ministry leader, encourage them to remain committed to the mission of Jesus? How can you, yourself, go from surviving the winter/spring semester to thriving? In this two-session Masterclass video, we will look at three key shifts leaders should take this January to remain hope-filled, give you three tips to help your volunteers stay motivated, offer three offbeat ideas to ensure that you remain healthy/motivated, learn three things that every volunteer needs from you, and discover how you can prepare yourself to be ready to ride the natural wave of momentum that is available to almost all of us in the summer and fall.

As a youth ministry leader, we are called to make disciples. Part of that disciple-making process involves pouring ourselves into students, identifying and activating them to live out their faith by living and leading in a God-honoring way. So, how do we do that? In this one-session Masterclass video, we will discuss how to clarify what we want a student leadership team to accomplish, identify student leaders, invite them to lead, acquire parent buy-in, and activate our students to lead out in a life of service to Jesus through their unique giftings.

Mission trips can be incredibly impactful and provide opportunities for significant spiritual growth for your students. That said, mission trips can also be overwhelming. In this one-session Masterclass, we will go on a trip together to discover the benefits of taking students on a mission trip, how to plan for a mission trip, tips for fundraising, and some best practices while on the trip.

Youth ministry leader, how are you going to lead students well if you aren't leading yourself well? In this single-session Masterclass video, you will learn ten critical principles for leading yourself and leading others.

Technology is one of the most frustrating and confusing issues parents in your church are trying to navigate regarding their teenagers. They spend countless days and nights feeling overwhelmed, under-equipped, and completely outmanned when it comes to knowing how to respond to screens. This MYM Live Online Training Event is not the typical “technology is evil, so let’s run from it and teach parents to do the same.“ Instead, technology and parenting expert Brian Housman is here to provide you, as a youth ministry leader, with some practical steps and prudent boundaries regarding technology so that you can educate and equip the parents in your church on leading and loving their students through setting healthy boundaries with screens without using shame or blame.

Middle school ministry is not the dressed up kids ministry or dumbed down high school ministry, and we need to intentionally pray, plan, program and present in ways that are effectively meeting the unique needs of these students. Especially after a national pandemic and cultural changes, now more than ever is the time to understand middle years ministry to the emerging Generation Alpha entering our student ministry.

Middle school ministry is not the dressed up kids ministry or dumbed down high school ministry, and we need to intentionally pray, plan, program and present in ways that are effectively meeting the unique needs of these students. Especially after a national pandemic and cultural changes, now more than ever is the time to understand middle years ministry to the emerging Generation Alpha entering our student ministry.

Now more than ever, teens are struggling with stress, anxiety, and fear. The issues young people are facing are complex and wide-ranging. So how can parents and youth workers understand them better? What are the best ways to meet young people where they are and help them feel seen, loved, and known—by our youth ministries, by their parents, and ultimately by the God who cares for them so deeply? Coming off of his latest book, The Anxious Teen, Brock will provide in this seminar a context to help us understand today’s anxiety-ridden reality, he will teach skills and practices that will impact our youth ministries as well as help parents guide their children in moving forward in a lasting and healthy faith and life.