ep.122: The State of Theology in Youth Ministry
We filtered results of the State of Theology 2025 report to represent those who tend to serve as volunteer youth leaders. We need to discuss what these results uncover.
ep.121: Unexpected Skills for Youth Workers
In ep.121 of the YPT Podcast, Mike and John discuss unexpected skills needed to thrive in youth ministry, with a special focus on what mental toughness looks like for pastors.
ep.120: Rooted Conference Highlights & Pressure to Become "Real" Pastors
Mike and John discuss highlights from the Rooted Conference, and reflect on a common question they heard from attendees: how do you know whether to stay in youth ministry or not?
ep.119: Teaching a Christmas/Advent Series & How Many Retreats Are Too Many
In this episode, Mike and John discuss how they handled Advent/Christmas in their teaching calendars, and then answer a question about how many camps/retreats is too many.
ep.118: How Mike Prepares a Sermon
Mike is all alone in this episode… so he brings you behind the scenes by sharing his sermon preparation process for a recent message on Romans 8.
ep.117: Gospel-Shaped Sanctification & Student Leadership
How can we encourage youth to grow in Christ while avoiding the pitfalls of both legalism and antinomianism. Also, should we allow teenagers to teach at youth group?
ep.116: Talking With Students About Sexuality and Gender
The Bible talks about sexuality. If we aren’t, then can we really say we’re teaching the Bible? In this podcast episode, Mike and John discuss how to go about teaching on sexuality and gender at youth group .
ep.115: Youth Ministry Failures & How to Not Be a Know-it-All
In this episode, Mike and John reflect on what they’ve learned from some of their failures as youth pastors, then they brilliantly answer a listener question about how to not be a know-it-all.
ep.114: Gospel-Centered Teaching & Addressing Topical Issues
How do we preach Christ from Genesis through Revelation while practicing responsible exegesis? And how do we address topical issues if we’re committed to expository teaching?
ep.113: Training Volunteers & Building Trust
How can youth workers train and equip their volunteers? What does a healthy recruiting and onboarding process look like? And how can a new youth pastor build trust with an established team of volunteers?