Our final podcast in our series for those involved in leading young people focuses on the essential theme of sustaining our passion for the local church. Andy Castle talks to Dave Green, from the YMCA, about the different challenges facing those employed by a local church and those volunteering. There are also plenty of ideas and tips to keep you excited about your local church!

Everyone needs encouraging and so this month Andy, Ruth and Louise focus on how we can be better at cheering others on, so that we can see people reaching their full potential. We also talk to Mary Ayers, youth worker in Isleworth, West London who enthuses about supporting young people and the difference a bowl of fruit made to her when she was younger.

This month the team look at how to plan a session well, recognising that we need to do more than just simply turn up and hope! Andy, Ruth and Louise discuss ways they go about planning and offer some creative ideas. There’s also an interview with Sarah Lunn, a part time youth worker near Durham, who reflects on her experiences of preparing quality sessions.

Andy, Ruth and Louise consider the question of how best to integrate young people into church life. They discuss the benefits of persisting with integration and give practical insights into how to bring the generations together. Andy speaks to Paul Friend from South West Youth Ministries, who shares his experiences and highlights the vital role of mission in bringing the church together. Plus there’s news of Pitstop, a new event for full time youth ministers.

This month Ruth and Andy focus on recruiting leaders for our teams, and discuss how we can find not just willing volunteers, but those who are going to flourish as youth leaders. We interview Kevin Westbury, youth minister at St Richard’s Church in Ham, Surrey, who talks about some of the lessons he learnt setting up a new youth ministry and the challenges of building a team with limited resources. Plus there’s news of Thrive, a new event for full time youth ministers in their first year of ministry.

This month the team talk about leaders as role models and how we can make sure our lifestyles match up to what we teach, recognising that young people are watching us much more than we often realise. We talk to Laura Fawcett from the Salmon youth centre in London who talks red carpet Christianity, fearing God and using a pork chop to explain the Trinity! There’s also news on Spirit-level, an exciting new church consultancy programme to develop a youth strategy for your church.

Andy and Ruth see in the New Year by focusing on the subject of tweenagers - young people aged between nine and twelve who feel too old to be children but too young to be teenagers. They discuss the importance of investing in this age group, as this is often the time when young people leave the Church. Andy and Ruth also tell us about some exciting new initiatives for youth ministers.

This month looks at how we help young people discover the call God has on their lives and discusses ideas for helping young people be obedient to this calling. There’s also an interview with Mark Norris, CPAS leadership development adviser (vocations), who talks about why it is urgent for the Church to address the issues of raising leaders in the church and he talks about the Your S.H.A.P.E. for Ministry online tool.

Louise, Andy and Ruth look at the subject of investing in young people as leaders, including the difficulties this raises as well as the exciting opportunities for our churches which emerge as a result. There’s also wisdom from Ian Macdonald, diocesan youth adviser for the Oxford Diocese.

Building bridges in our churches between the different generations. How can Christmas impact our thinking on the challenge of being a bridge between adults and young people? This month’s interview is with Martin Cornes, youth minister at St Peter’s Farnborough.