I got a group FaceTime call from some of my students at the time. I picked up knowing one of two things would happen: either they’d make fun of me for no reason, or they had a real question about the Bible they wanted to ask. It, of course, was the first one. But as […]
Maybe it was the first time your pastor didn’t make eye contact with you while praising the rest of the staff. Maybe it was when everyone else seemed to get more stage time during announcements except youth group. It could’ve been when leadership asked for input on a church-wide decision and you weren’t consulted. Whatever […]
For most of us, February is the month of love—and also the month of the “sex talk” in youth group. It can be awkward, but it’s so important to talk about. I say this as someone who’s felt the awkwardness firsthand. My first time leading a talk about sex and porn was with our middle […]
A tired, defeated youth pastor emailed me recently asking for advice about behavior issues during youth group. She had already stepped down from her volunteer youth pastor role after a particularly rough night where the students wouldn’t listen. The room felt out of control. Nothing seemed to land. And by the end of the night, […]
It’s a fact: we could not do youth ministry or have a thriving group without our volunteers. Volunteer leaders allow us to disciple students well, run activities smoothly, and round out what our ministries can provide the students we shepherd. But how do we love our volunteers well so that they want to come back […]
If you’ve been in youth ministry longer than a few years, you’ve had a student bring up divorce at youth group. It’s tricky to know what to say or do–especially when you’re relatively new to the world of youth ministry! You can read all of the books, scroll through the TikToks, or listen to every […]
Every single youth leader has felt this tension before: students on their phones during youth group. You work hard to put together an amazing lesson plan including an absolutely fire interactive game element and maybe even an object lesson, and still you’ve got at least a few students with a physical Bible held up and […]
It’s that time again. It’s December, which means we have to plan for the year. I don’t know about you, but that is always an overwhelming task for me as a youth pastor. What events should we keep? Which events should we re-invent? What series were their favorite? Which game should we play more often […]
A new year always brings new faces, fresh energy, and—let’s be honest—a little bit of chaos in youth ministry. New students show up. New series need writing. Not only that, but new questions start stirring in your heart about how to lead this thing well. And if you’re not careful, January can feel less like […]
Oh man, this is so real and so painful. The students in our youth group really become our kids. I tell people I have one child, but really, I have 60–and they’re all between the ages of 11-14. As youth leaders, we invest time, build relationships, offer support, and speak life into the teenagers at our youth […]
