By LCMS Youth Ministry & KFUO Radio
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The podcast currently has 134 episodes available.
In this special episode, we interview Rev. Dr. Terry Dittmer, who served LCMS Youth Ministry for many years. His stories help give us some wisdom and perspective about youth ministry.
Bio: Rev. Dr. Terry Dittmer had a distinguishing career serving the church. He served as a Lutheran high school teacher, parish pastor, poet, song and hymn writer, and supporter of young people and those who care for them. One of the main ways he did this was as a staff member of LCMS Youth Ministry. He led organizations such as Lutheran Youth Fellowship and served as the department’s communication director. In the early 2000s, he served as the Director of LCMS Youth Ministry until he retired in 2016. He now lives in Kirkwood, MO with his wife Shari. He enjoys his home and backyard and spending time with his children and their families.
Resources:
Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.
We believe every young person should have at least five Christian supportive adults in their lives. DCE Hailey Jo Miller comes on the podcast to talk about how she engages and encourages supportive adults in her youth ministry.
Bio: Hailey Jo is the Director of Student Ministry at Memorial Lutheran Church. She's served in ministry for 13 years and loves working with students to affirm their baptismal identity and connect God's word to their daily living. Her current hobby is cleaning up after her 5 children and saying "no" to the 59th snack of the day.
Resources:
As we dive into the Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry, Mark and Julianna are joined by DCE Angela Kollbaum to talk about what it means to have warmth, challenge, and grace.
Bio: Angela Kollbaum, DCE, PLMHP is a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner (LIMHP) and Certified Professional Counselor (CPC) in the state of Nebraska with Lutheran Family Service (LFS). She is a member of a Christian counseling team as a master’s-level prepared mental health and marriage and family counselor. She serves clients in person in the Norfolk and Northeast Nebraska area. Angela also serves Nebraskans through telehealth. She also serves as the director of the LFS Church Worker Wellness Team to provide support, encouragement, and prayer for church workers throughout the LCMS. She is Called as the Director of Christian Education (DCE) at Trinity Lutheran Church in Madison, NE.
Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry avaliable at CPH: https://www.cph.org/seven-practices-of-healthy-youth-ministry?srsltid=AfmBOorekrYOVJEP-oK7TM9kmh8fOC_6Ob3v9S9unGIRdDp0RHxTlSTg
Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.
Mark and Julianna kick off a series that goes through each of the seven practices of youth ministry. But before they do, let’s take a second to remember how we got these practices to begin with and what they are designed to do.
Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry avaliable at CPH: https://www.cph.org/seven-practices-of-healthy-youth-ministry?srsltid=AfmBOorekrYOVJEP-oK7TM9kmh8fOC_6Ob3v9S9unGIRdDp0RHxTlSTg
Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.
The Gathering is more than five days. One of the ways we hope that groups come together is in pre-Gathering Bible studies. Pastor Doug Bender and DCE AJ Vega, members of the Gathering Bible Study Team, join us to talk about the themes and values of pre-Gathering Bible studies.
Bios:
Pastor Doug Bender serves as an associate pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and School in Macomb, Michigan. Before serving at Immanuel, Pastor Doug was a campus pastor for six years at Concordia University Wisconsin. One of his greatest passions is supporting and encouraging students and young people in faith and life, and he is thrilled to join the Gathering planning team and for the ways God’s Word will impact countless lives before, during, and after the Gathering!
AJ Vega is the Director of Discipleship and Outreach at St. John's Church and Renewal Church in Denver, Colorado. AJ has served on multiple teams for the Gathering in the past, including serving as an Emcee for the 2019 Gathering in Minneapolis and serving on the Bible Study Team in 2022 in Houston. When not working, AJ loves to spend time with his expecting wife (!) his cat, Bruno, and drinking pour-over coffee in the wee hours of the morning.
Youth Gathering Resources:
It is almost time for registration to start for the 2025 LCMS Youth Gathering! New staff Becky Kammeier and Emily Myers join us to discuss key things to know about how to plan for your registration to the Gathering.
Youth Gathering Resources:
One component that is a part of every youth ministry is time in God’s Word. This episode is a discussion of how you can intentionally plan, choose, and write Bible Studies and Devotions for your teens.
Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.
New Orleans is a city with a lot of LCMS Youth Gathering history, and we are excited to be there again in 2025. Listen to Mark and Julianna talk about NOLA as we prepare for the next Gathering.
Youth Gathering Resources:
Most youth ministries use games regularly, but new youth leaders might not know how to best use those games. We are joined by Signe White, Ellie Lutz, and Keith Peters, who all serve in camp ministry, to talk about how to use games for teaching, community building, and more.
Resources in this episode:
Guests in this episode:
With three decades of service in the LCMS, Signe White is a seasoned ministry leader whose passion for the outdoors and leadership development has shaped her role as Executive Director of Camp Perkins, a thriving outdoors ministry and conference center. Signe blends her passion for nature and outdoor play with her focus on fostering and empowering new leaders through visionary guidance and strategic leadership, both within the organization and the wider church community.
Ellie "Frisbee" Lutz has been a camp professional for 13 years and also served as a church youth leader for 2 years. She has led programs at camps in Wisconsin, Idaho, and her current location, Lakeview Ministries in southern Indiana. Her camp nickname is "Frisbee" because (as she tells the kids) she's fun to play with and good at spinning in circles.
Keith Peters served in various Christian camp ministries and in a parish ministry, prior to joining Lutherhaven’s team as the Director of Summer and Youth Ministry in 2021. During summers at Camp Lutherhoma throughout high school and college he was privileged to learn game leading and has been training others to lead games for two decades. His other interests include teaching adult bible study classes, logging miles either by running or cycling, and drinking good coffee.
DCE Jeremy Becker joins Julianna and Mark for a conversation about how youth leaders can foster community and relationships that build belonging in their youth ministry.
Bio: Jeremy Becker is a Director of Christian Education with over 24 years. He currently serves St. Paul Lutheran Church in Weston, Florida before that, he served at Concordia Lutheran in Kirkwood, Missouri. He was recently awarded the Master DCE award from the National Association of DCEs. He is married to Kristin and has two daughters.
Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.
The podcast currently has 134 episodes available.