We start a short series on Christian Apologetics, starting with the basics of Christian Worldview. Dr. Brad Alles and Rev. Joe Cox join us to give resources to develop our worldview grounded in God’s Word and truth.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• “Share Hope” YouthLead Curriculum (Leader: Brad Alles) - youthesource.com/2019/12/12/share-hope/
• Brad Alles’ Resource Website – bradalles.com
• Summit Ministries – summit.org
• Answers in Genesis – answeresingenesis.og

Bios: Dr. Brad Alles is an Assistant Professor of Education at Concordia University Wisconsin. He is a frequent Bible study teacher and speaker at local, state and national youth gatherings, as well as youth worker, teacher, and pastor conferences.

Rev. Joe Cox is Campus Pastor and Director of Curriculum at Lutheran High School South in St. Louis, Missouri. He teaches English and Theology and coaches the school’s mock trial teams.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

Members of the YouthLead Executive Team, teens elected to serve the program for a three year term, join Mark and Julianna in talking about how to support teen leaders and what they enjoy about being young leaders themselves

Bios: Reagan Martens, Austin Barber, and Adam Beadle are representatives from the YouthLead Executive Team. This team is elected by their peers to serve for three years. They provide leadership and direction to the YouthLead program and serve as leaders during our YouthLead training.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

Part of our 40 End Goals talks about how we engage and support in service and mission locally and across the globe. Rev. Mark Rabe and Erin Alter from the LCMS Office of International Mission join us to talk about how youth leaders can explore these topics and support current and future missionaries.

Find the LCMS Office of International Mission at international.lcms.org, Missions Unpacked at international.lcms.org/missions-unpacked, and the Five Minutes with a Missionary Podcast at kfuo.org/category/missionary-podcast.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

Bios: Rev. Dr. Mark A. Rabe is the director of recruitment for the LCMS Office of International Mission. Rabe served from 2015–2021 as an LCMS missionary and theological educator at Mekane Yesus Seminary in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Erin Alter is the director of short-term missions for the LCMS Office of International Mission.

Both in the 2022 Gathering Theological paper and in the Seven Practices we talk about the importance of telling personal stories, but especially God’s story. Julianna and Mark talk to Pastor Ted Doering about his study that dives into God’s story and our story.

Bio: Rev. Ted Doering is the pastor at Narrative Church, an LCMS church plant in Williamson County, Texas, just north of Austin. He is blessed to be married to Chelsey, who works as the hospitality coordinator for TX district. Ted enjoys spending his free time with friends over a good meal, sampling the many local forms of breakfast tacos and BBQ, hiking in the Texas Hill Country, catching a movie, and cheering for all forms of professional Houston sports teams.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

In our last episode on difficult conversations, Pastor Jonathan and Christa Petzold help us think about how to approach issues of gender and sexuality in our youth ministry.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

Bio: Rev. Jonathan Petzold holds an MDiv from Concordia Seminary St. Louis. He serves as Senior Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church and School in Roselle, Illinois. Christa Petzold holds an MA in Theology from Concordia University Irvine and a degree in Mathematics and Lutheran Secondary Education from Concordia University Wisconsin. She works as a stay-at-home mother, homeschooling their four children. Jonathan and Christa have been married since 2010 and enjoy learning and teaching God's Word together. They also love coffee, Star Wars, traveling, and quiet evenings at home. Between them, they have authored multiple books and blogs and one that we want to highlight is Male and Female: Embracing Your Role in God’s Design, published by Concordia Publishing House.

We are highlighting a second study in this year after the Gathering on Vocation. DCE Amanda Jahnke joins us to talk about vocation with teens now and in the future.

Bio: Amanda Jahnke is a DCE currently serving Concordia Preparatory School in Townsend, Maryland. She previously served at St. Paul in Fort Worth, TX. She received her undergrad and graduate degree in Family Sciences from Concordia St. Paul.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

Suicide is not easy to talk about in your youth ministry, but it is necessary as it is the second-leading cause of death among people ages 10-24. Megan Miessler, LCSW, joins us to talk about how we can approach this topic well and care for young people who may experience crisis around suicide. Find the Columbia Protocol App at apps.apple.com/us/app/columbia-protocol/id1450966911 and Mental Health First Aid at mentalhealthfirstaid.org.

If you or someone you know is in crisis or mental distress, help is available. Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat online at 988lifeline.org.

Bio: Megan Miessler is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Megan began working with children and youth as a DCE in the Lutheran Church. She received her MSW from University of Central Florida and her DCE from Concordia St. Paul. Megan works with children and families and focuses on play therapy, depression, Anxiety, Crisis Intervention, School Counseling and Marriage Therapy.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

Deaconess Emma Heinz and Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor join Mark and Julianna to talk about how we approach life issues in youth ministry and teach a full theology of life in all things to our youth. Find LCMS Life Ministry resources at lcmslife.org and life resources on the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com/life.

Bio: Deaconess Emma Heinz lives in St. Louis and is married to Seminarian Ben Heinz. She has served as a Deaconess intern in the Office of National Mission, including helping with the LCMS Gathering registration. She currently serves as registrar for Higher Things and in her spare time likes to read and write.

Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor serves as director of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Life Ministry. After a first career in marketing, she received an M.A. from Concordia Theological Seminary and earned a doctorate from Bethel University. She is married to Rev. Jonathan Manor, and they have five children and two grandchildren.

Mark and Julianna continue the series on challenging issues you might face in youth ministry. Rev. Brian Earl joins them to talk about ministering in the face of drug and substance use and addiction.

Bio: Rev. Brian Earl is a board-certified chaplain currently serving in mental health populations at the Raymond G Murphy Medical Center in Albuquerque, NM since 2019. Before that Brian completed a VA Interprofessional Advanced Fellowship in Addiction Treatment at the West Haven, CT VA. Brian is an ordained LCMS Pastor and before being called to chaplaincy in 2015, Brian served as a parish pastor in Nebraska. He and his wife Christa have three children and two cats.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

Our next study in the 40 End Goals series helps us to think about how we navigate difficult times with humble confidence and teach youth to do the same. Pastor Brandon Metcalf joins us to talk about his study and how we can support teens regardless of what challenges they face.

Bio: Rev. Brandon Metcalf serves as Associate Pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Bethalto, Illinois. Brandon has a degree from Concordia University Nebraska and served as a Director of Christian Education in Missouri before entering the Seminary. Brandon loves any chance to work with God’s people to help them hold onto the promises of God. Along with “Connected for Life: Essential Guide to Youth Ministry” and youthesource.com, he is a contributing author to “Word of Strength and Promise: Devotions for Youth” and has spoken at district and national youth gatherings. He enjoys Frisbee, volleyball, and board games but his greatest joys come from being a husband and father.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.