Youth Pastor Theologian

Ministry to students after confirmation (or baptism, depending on tradition) can pose some unique challenges. Bård Norheim shares about "post-confirmation leadership training" in Norway, a nationwide effort by churches to prioritize discipleship and to help youth cultivate enduring faith by finding their belonging in their church community. 

• What does youth ministry look like in Norway? What are som...

Christian Universalism is a subtle heresy that's frighteningly common among GenZ today. It's a way that teenagers can affirm that "Christ is the only savior" and make other gospel-sounding affirmations while fully embracing the hyper-tolerant worldview of today's culture. In today's conversation, we discuss what Christian Universalism is and how youth workers can help students build their faith on the biblical message. 

Discussion ...

The Image of God (or Imago Dei) is one of the most important doctrines for youth pastors to teach teenagers, because almost every cultural landmine today finds its resolution in what it means to bear the image of God. That’s why I’m excited to be talking with Dr. Imes today about her new book, Being God’s Image. 

1. What is the doctrine of the Image of God and what prompted you to write this book now?
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The youth pastor’s authority comes from the Word of God. When we stray from teaching the Bible then we lose the capacity to say “Thus says the Lord.” Teenagers don’t need more opinions, they need God’s Word. But how can normal youth leaders teach with biblical depth and pastoral warmth? 

Discussion Questions

• What is expository preaching and what distinguishes it from other types of preaching? 

Partnering with parents is an essential part of biblical youth ministry. But "family ministry" can sometimes assume a certain type of family - namely, mom and dad with kids living independently. But 1/3 of kids in America today are living in a single-parent household. In this episode, we'll hear from Anna Meade Harris about her new book, "God’s Grace for Every Family: Biblical Encouragement for Single Parent Families and the Church...

Researchers have conducted a study on the religious lives of Australian youth, and there's much to be learned that translates across cultural boundaries. In this episode, Mike talks with Dr. Graham Stanton about this research and what it can mean for fruitful youth discipleship. 

• How would you describe the spiritual landscape of Australia, in general… and how is that shaping teenagers and youth mini...

It’s good to talk about theologically rich youth ministry, but if youth leaders don’t know how to have normal conversations and build relationships with youth then they’re never going to get to the theological gold. This conversation with Joey Molloy will help youth workers with some of the nuts and bolts of youth ministry we sometimes take for granted. 

• What are some ministry skills theologically-m...

Leadership matters. That should be a pretty obvious statement, but sometimes theologically-minded pastors can struggle to discern how much overlap really exists between pastoral leadership and leadership in other spheres. Today we’ll be talking about leadership, spiritual gifts, and the “Six Types of Working Genius” in order to help you lead your volunteers, parents, and students more effectively. 

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Sex has become central to people’s identity, lifestyle, and even community. But what if sex points to something even greater? Something eternally glorious, determined by God before the world was created? This episode focuses on So Much More Than Sex, a new video-based series for young adults. 

Scott Stein is the founder of Prepared to Answer, an apologetics ministry in Ontario Canada. PTA is also the supervising ministry for YPT, s...

It’s easy to continue leading our youth ministries the way we’ve seen them run for the last few decades. But it’s more important to build our ministries on a biblical foundation. Instead of making our ministry less relevant to secular youth, maybe this is exactly the type of student ministry they need. Today we’ll hear from Tim Beilharz in Australia about biblical youth ministry in hard places. 

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