We know that you are exhausted as you return from a big event like the Gathering. Mark and Julianna talk through some things to keep in mind in the first days and weeks after the Gathering to help make the Gathering a catalyst for healthy youth ministry.

Resources:

• YouthESource Website – youthesource.com
• LCMS Youth Gathering – lcmsgathering.com

Mark and Julianna record from the Interactive Floor of the 2025 LCMS Youth Gathering!

Resources:

• LCMS Youth Gathering – lcmsgathering.com
• YouthESource website – youthesource.com

End Goals is the podcast of LCMS Youth Ministry in the Office of National Mission. LCMS Youth Ministry Staff discuss practices for healthy youth ministry and interview practitioners who provide insight for experienced and new youth leaders.

As the Gathering gets closer, we are taking some of your big questions so you can be confident heading to New Orleans in just a week!

Resources:

• YouthESource website – youthesource.com.
• LCMS Youth Gathering – lcmsgathering.com

As large youth events like servant events, camps, and the LCMS Youth Gathering are happening this summer, adult leaders may be focused on their youth. But it is important for adult leaders to care for themselves as well. DCE Annie Anderson and Pastor Peter Couser talk about best practices for making sure all the adult leaders thrive and connect with the Gospel at large youth events.

Bio:

Annie Anderson is a DCE, preschool director and preschool teacher, all 3 in 1, at Hosanna Lutheran Church and Little Palms Preschool in Mesa Arizona. Endure 2025 will be her 9th LCMS Youth Gathering as a participant, adult leader or planner. She has a passion for empowering and equipping adult leaders to point the younger generations to Christ. Together with her husband, Rev. Timothy Anderson, they are in the process of adopting 2 siblings out of foster care. Oh, and they have a dog, Phoenix.

Pastor Peter Couser is Campus Pastor of Concordia Prep (formerly Baltimore Lutheran High School) in Towson, MD and is the Mission Developer of NewThing Lutheran Church which meets in the school and was chartered in June 2022.

Resources:

• YouthEsource website – youthesource.com.
• LCMS Youth Gathering – www.lcmsgathering.com

Rev. Sean Daenzer joins Mark and Julianna to talk about the Divine Service on Wednesday at the Gathering. We hope this helps you get excited and prepare your group for this unique worship experience.

Bio:

Rev. Sean Daenzer serves as director of LCMS Worship and chaplain of the LCMS International Center. He previously served for seven years as pastor of a dual parish in rural North Dakota. Daenzer holds a Bachelor of Music in Organ from Hope College, Holland, Mich. (2006), and a Master of Divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. (2011). He and his wife, Audrey, have four children.

Resources:

• Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.
• LCMS Youth Gathering – www.lcmsgathering.com

There so many ways Christians can serve and live out their vocations. The church also needs professional church workers! In this episode, Rev. Dr. Jim Baneck talks about how youth ministry can encourage young people to consider church work.

Bio:

Rev. Dr. Jim Baneck is the executive director of LCMS Pastoral Education. In this role, he encourages the spiritual, character, confessional, physical, emotional and intellectual development of LCMS pastors and other church workers. He and his wife, Myrna, live in St. Louis and are blessed with four grown children and ten grandchildren.

Resources:

• Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.
• Set Apart to Serve: https://www.lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve

Mark and Julianna wrap up our series on the Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry with some ideas for practical use and next steps.

Resources:

• Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.
• Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry available at CPH
• Research from the Pacific Northwest District: https://nowlcms.org/resources/youth-leadership-initiative-survey/

In the final episode going through the Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry, we talk with Rev. Dr. Mark Koschmann about helping youth understand vocation and how God has placed them to be His hands and feet in the world.

Bio: Rev. Dr. Mark Koschmann serves as Vice President of Faith and Ministry and Chief Mission Officer for Concordia University, St. Paul. He also serves on the Executive Leadership Team and is responsible for assisting the University in maintaining a strong institutional mission and identity as a Christ-centered Lutheran university. In his role, he oversees CSP Ministry and Church Relations and serves as the Chairperson for the Department of Theology and Ministry. Dr. Koschmann assists his congregation, Jehovah Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, as a pastor, liturgist, and Bible study teacher. He and his wife, Dr. Kara Koschmann, have three children.

Resources:

• Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.
• Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry available at CPH
• Rev. Dr. Koschmann’s Vocation Curriculum - https://www.youthesource.com/2019/07/bible-study-leading-lives-that-matter/