Youth ministry can be challenging, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. That’s why we’ve built this youth ministry blog. We want to equip you with practical, gospel-centered content that simplifies leadership and strengthens student discipleship. Whether you need curriculum insights, teaching strategies, or leadership development, you’ll find actionable tools to help you lead well and avoid burnout.
Our blog covers three core areas:
Each post includes relevant tags for easy searchability. Whether you’re leading a large student ministry or discipling a handful of teenagers in a small church, these resources will help you lead with confidence.
Use the search bar below to find exactly what you need, or scroll to explore the latest posts. Wherever you are in your youth ministry journey, we’re here to help you lead students toward lasting faith—without sacrificing your own.
Teenagers are constantly navigating friendships, cliques, drama, and social pressure. They crave belonging—but many are settling for shallow relationships instead of real biblical community. They have thousands of “friends” on social media. Somehow, they still feel alone. They want to be accepted. Unfortunately, though, they often sacrifice authenticity to fit
Youth pastors know the weight of choosing the right curriculum. Pick a curriculum that’s biblically weak, and your students miss out on depth. Choose a curriculum that’s too heady, and your students check out entirely. Find a curriculum that’s too generic, and your students never connect. So what should you
For many students, Easter is just another holiday—spring break, chocolate bunnies, and an excuse to wear something nice to church. Your church may even host a community event around Easter time! But the cross isn’t just a story—it’s the turning point of human history. So how do we cut through
The beautiful thing about youth ministry is that there are hundreds of topics you can choose to walk through with your students. You want to spend three years in Romans? Done. Feel like talking about friendship for 5 weeks? Great. Fancy a skip through the classic Old Testament stories? Love
Have you ever looked out at your students during a sermon and seen blank stares, crossed arms, or that “I’d rather be anywhere else” look? Welcome to the struggle of spiritual apathy. Many teenagers aren’t rejecting faith outright—they just feel disconnected, disinterested, or stuck in a cycle of going through
Every youth pastor has been there—it’s Tuesday, and you have no idea what you’re preaching on Wednesday. Maybe you’ve been too busy to plan ahead. Maybe you like the freedom of picking topics week to week. It’s possible your students ask great questions, and you just want to follow their
Ask ten youth pastors how much time they spend on lesson prep, and you’ll get ten completely different answers. Youth pastor lesson prep take wildly differing amounts of time depending on gifting, capacity, and (if we’re honest) time management skills. Some agonize over every word and spend hours crafting the
Anxiety is no longer just a personal struggle—it’s a generational crisis. And they’re bringing those anxieties into your youth group. As youth pastors, we can’t just tell students to “pray more” or “stop worrying”—we need to give them biblical tools and real hope to navigate their anxiety. Here’s how to
I got involved in youth ministry, somewhat, by accident. There was no goal of vocational ministry, no seminary training, no intentional seeking of a job. Rather, there was a military move, a new church just getting its feet off the ground, and a group of students needing to be discipled.
I’m a huge basketball fan, so I love it when the shot clock is winding down. The pressure feels good. It’s dramatic and enrapturing. But feeling the shot clock winding down on Wednesday night youth group prep probably doesn’t feel as cool, does it? And, of course, when I say
I’m an Enneagram 3. In case that means nothing to you, it means I function as someone who values high achievement and the appearance of perfection–looking well-put-together. That’s probably why I’ve always been a big believer in strong systems within a youth ministry. And one of the biggest debates in
Remember your first crush? No? Me neither. Because we’re old. But still, I feel like most of us can relate to the students we lead in part because we remember, if vaguely, what “young love” is like. I mean if there’s one topic that never stops dominating your students’ thoughts,
We’d love to partner with you to equip the youth ministry community with gospel-centered ministry posts. The youth ministry community benefits when new voices speak into the areas of ministry and life that we all find challenging.
If you’re interested in guest writing for G Shades, reach out using the Contact Us page. Alternatively, you can use the link below to schedule a Zoom call.
