Rethinking Youth Ministry | A podcast for youth ministry leaders, pastors, volunteers, and anyone who cares about students

If you’re in youth ministry, you know that creating boundaries that keep you sane can be a challenge. There’s always a text that needs to be answered, an email that needs a response, or a meeting that needs to happen. So what does it look like to set healthy boundaries to help balance your personal life and ministry? This week, join ministry leaders for a conversation about the importance of setting boundaries and for some practical ways you can begin implementing boundaries right now.

The end of summer marks the end of mission trip season for most youth ministries. But guess what? It’s time to start thinking about NEXT year’s trips! (Insert shocked face emoji here.) But don’t worry! We’ve got you covered. This week, join Brett Talley, Ashley Bohinc, and Erica Schimelpfenig, Executive Director of YouthWorks, for a conversation about what you can do NOW for your 2019 student mission trips—and how you can leverage momentum from this year’s trips to make next year’s even better

If you work with students, you know that bullying is an issue many of them are facing. In fact, recent studies reveal that 1 in 3 students experience bullying at some point in middle school or high school. So what does that mean for us as youth leaders? This week, join ministry leaders and Mitch Young, Principal of Forsyth Central High School in Georgia, for a conversation about bullying and ways we can be proactive about it in the lives of our students.

A new season of XP3 Middle School and XP3 High School curriculum just released! Whether or not you use XP3 curriculum, we invite you to join us for a behind-the-scenes conversation about writing and creating great series for students. This season, we're talking about growing in your faith, forgiveness, Christmas, and trending topics and questions in culture that students are facing. For more about XP3, visit TryXP3Free.com.

If there's one thing all ministry leaders and youth workers can agree on, it's this: We never quite have everything we wish we could in our youth ministry budgets. On this episode, join ministry leaders for a conversation about building a killer youth ministry environment, investing the budget you do have in the right things, and leveraging resources and connections for your ministry—all on a limited budget.

As a youth worker and ministry leader, you have countless tasks, responsibilities, and projects that need to get done each week in your youth ministry. The bad news? You're just one person. The good news? Your high capacity volunteers can help! This week, join ministry leaders for a conversation about identifying high capacity volunteers, inspiring volunteers to do more, and hiring “volunteer staff” without paying them.

Raising up student leaders in your youth ministry is no small task. In fact, it requires a lot more time, energy, and planning than you might think you have time for. However, it’s actually one of the biggest investments you’ll make—not only in your youth ministry, but also in the next generation. On this episode, join ministry leaders for a conversation all about identifying, training, and empowering students in your ministry to become the leaders and influencers they have the potential to be.

What needs to be on your bucket list this summer? What movies should you see? What books should you read? And will Shef ever get as buff as Doug Fields? Find answers to these important questions and more on this week's special bonus episode, as we talk about what's on our youth leader summer bucket list.

Every church will experience seasons of transition in leadership, vision, or direction at one point or another. And these seasons of change can having a lasting impact on the students we lead. So what does it look like to lead our youth ministries well through these transitions? On this episode, join ministry leaders for a conversation about leading through transition, honoring everyone involved through the process, and serving the students in your ministry throughout it all.

Great worship experiences in youth ministry rarely just happen. With so many distractions and opportunities for disengagement, setting up your students to worship in an engaging and meaningful way can be a real challenge. On this episode, join ministry leaders and worship leaders as they discuss leading middle schoolers and high schoolers in developmentally appropriate ways, creating a culture of worship for your students, and what it takes to set up worship in your youth ministry to win.

We all have programs and events that our students and volunteers love and might be working well. But what happens when that program doesn’t exactly align with the vision of your ministry? Or when you can’t name the reason behind having the event in the first place? On this episode, join ministry leaders for a conversation about why you should kill something that’s working and how you can replace it with something that better aligns with the purpose and vision of your youth ministry.

Partnering with local schools as a youth leader or ministry leader sounds impossible. After all, public schools and religion don't mix, right? While partnering with local schools can be challenging, it's certainly not impossible. In fact, it can actually be done really well when we approach it the right way. On this episode, join ministry leaders for a conversation about what it looks like to effectively partner with and serve our local schools—and the effect it might have on our ministries.

If you've been in youth ministry long, you’ve probably heard parents, volunteers, or even other youth workers tell you their students want to “go deeper” in their faith. But how do you set your ministry up for depth? How do you keep your ministry from being shallow? This week, join ministry leaders as they talk about the characteristics of a deep youth ministry, wrestle through some common tensions youth workers face, and discuss practical ways you can take your youth ministry deeper.

Small Group Leaders are vital to your youth ministry. If we're honest though, keeping up with SGLs beyond the kickoff of the year can be a real challenge. But should we really leave such an important part of our ministry unchecked? This week, join ministry leaders and Afton Phillips, Director of Small Group Strategies at Orange, for a conversation about the importance of evaluating Small Group Leaders and what it looks like to set your SGLs up for success in your student ministry's context.

Creating structure that supports the strategy of your youth ministry is key to overall ministry health and growth. But what should that structure look like? And how do you know if you have the wrong structure in place? On this episode, join Kurt Johnston, Pastor to Students at Saddleback Church, for a conversation with ministry leaders about the importance of structure and what you can do to create and implement structure that aligns with the overall strategy of your ministry.