The size of a youth ministry and congregation can change many aspects of programing and caring for the faith lives of teens. Pastor Leon Jameson joins Mark and Julianna talk about how large youth ministry can be healthy youth ministry and how that might look different from other sizes. Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

Bio: Pastor Leon Jameson is Associate Pastor of NextGen Ministries at Hales Corner Lutheran Church in Hales Corner, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. Leon served as a Director of Christian Education in large congregations in Wisconsin and Missouri, working mainly with families and youth. While serving in Missouri he started at Concordia Seminary to become an ordained minister and has since completed his studies. Leon grew up on the Denver, CO area (a Bronco fan), is a proud graduate of Concordia University Nebraska where he met his wonderful wife, Gretchen. They live in Milwaukee area with their two wonderful daughters.

Even the smallest youth ministries can be healthy and help young people become disciples for life. DCE Leah Abel joins Mark and Julianna in talking about the strengths and how God can work through small youth ministries. Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

Bio: Leah Abel is a Director of Christian Education who lives in Denver, Colorado. Leah graduated from Concordia University Nebraska and spent 11 years serving as a DCE in Florida and another six years serving youth and families in Colorado. She now serves as a Project Manager & Ministry Facilitator who serves events like the LCMS Youth Gathering and the National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference as well as churches and church workers. Leah loves her husband, Scott, who is an LCMS pastor and their wonderful daughter, Amelia. Leah also loves great music, cooking, being outdoors, and a great cup of coffee.

At the National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference in 2021, we held a sectional specifically for first time leaders to the LCMS Youth Gathering. It went so well we invited DCE Annie Anderson to join us and share some of her insights for first time (and experienced) adult leaders!

Learn more about the LCMS Youth Gathering at lcmsgathering.com and find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

Bio: Annie Anderson is a DCE from Mesa, Arizona, currently Called to Hosanna Lutheran Church. She’s been to 7 LCMS Youth Gatherings in a variety of roles (student, YAV, adult leader and Gathering Planner), and has experience leading groups to many local and regional gatherings. She has led big and small groups. She recently married her husband, Pastor Tim Anderson.

We can experience diversity and inclusivity in our communities, congregations and youth ministry in many areas of life from ethnic and cultural diversity to socio-economic, education diversity, to physical skills and abilities. Mark and Julianna talk with Ashley Paavola about how youth ministry can thrive when a church brings together a diverse group of young people.

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

Bio: Ashley Paavola has served youth and families for over 17 years of ministry. Ashley currently serves as the Youth & Family Director of All Nations Church, an LCMS church plant in University City, Missouri. Ashley met her husband, Chris, while serving together at Pathfinder Lutheran Church in Ellisville, Missouri. They have been married for 16 years and have five children.

In preparation for the 2022 LCMS Youth Gathering, Mark and Julianna talk to Krista Miller, the registrar and operations manager for the Gathering. They talk about what registration for the upcoming Gathering will look like.

Bio: Joining us is Krista Miller. Krista serves as the Gathering Registrar and Operations Manager for the LCMS Youth Gathering. “In All Things” is her eighth Gathering. Before working for LCMS Youth Ministry, she worked in a number of medical and businesses positions. She lives in St. Louis with her husband, John, and they have two grown children and children-in-laws and two beautiful grandchildren.

Urban ministry can have its own unique challenges and joys. Join Mark and Julianna as we have a conversation with Heidi Lewis, DCE in urban south St. Louis. We will discuss the ways a setting in the city can impact youth ministry.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com. Join the LCMS Youth Ministry Facebook Group at facebook.com/groups/LCMSYouthMinistry.

Bio: Heidi Lewis is a DCE serving in urban south St. Louis where they actively share the Light, Life and Hope of Jesus with their neighbors and community. Heid has unique and varied serving experiences in ministry: suburban large congregations, urban, urban re-vitalization and a church plant. Mostly she loves to hang out with people and love them, do creative projects and plant flowers (though keeping them alive has proved problematic). She is married to Pastor Dave Lewis and mom to a Skylar.

In the first of our series looking at different youth ministry contexts Mark and Julianna talk to Angela Kollbaum who has worked with rural youth and families for 25 years. She shares some of the joys and concerns of doing ministry in Rural and Small Town.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com. Join the LCMS Rural and Small Town Youth Workers Facebook Group at facebook.com/groups/1038543456170629, and the LCMS Youth Ministry Facebook Group at facebook.com/groups/LCMSYouthMinistry.

Bio: Angela Kollbaum has been working with rural youth and families for 25 years. Angela is currently serving as the DCE at Trinity Lutheran Church in Madison, NE and as a therapist in a local counseling agency. Angela received her Bachelor's degree in Social Work and Psychology in 1990 from Dana College. She also completed her Master's in Family Life Education and Ministry in 2011 from Concordia University-Nebraska. She most recently completed her Master’s in Theology with DCE certification from Concordia University-Irvine and a Master’s in Professional Counseling from Concordia University-Wisconsin. Angela is married to Pastor Todd Kollbaum and they count as their greatest blessings, being parents to five pretty amazing kids and grandparents of 3 amazing grandsons. Angela also finds great joy in relationships with countless other youth that are not her biological children.

Mark and Julianna kick off a series on how context impacts youth ministry by talking about some key features of identifying the context of your youth ministry.

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

Over four hundred youth, adults, and ministry supporters attended the 2021 National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference in Houston. Participants and speakers from the conference join the podcast to discuss takeaways and highlights from the event. Learn more about the National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference at lcmsgathering.com/national-2021. Find more information on YouthLead at lcms.org/youth-ministry/youthlead.

Guests:

• Rev. Jacob Heine — Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas
• Heather McCormick, DCE — Faith Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas
• Isaiah Duport — YouthLead Executive Team
• Leah Abel, DCE — Denver, Colorado
• Cassie Moore, DCE — St. Mark Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas

Being a youth leader means taking on many different roles depending on your youth’s needs and the situation. As we look at another chapter of Connected for Life, Mark and Julianna discuss key roles of the youth worker with Pastor AJ Mastic.

Bio: AJ Mastic is the Highlands Campus pastor at Renewal Church, a multi-site congregation in Denver, CO. He is a 2007 graduate of Concordia University Texas and previously served as a Director of Christian Education in Arkansas and Colorado. As a DCE at St. John’s Lutheran in Denver, he entered the Specific Ministry Pastor program with Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and has served as a pastor since 2013, planting Renewal Church in 2018. He is married to Megan and they have four young children.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com and your copy of Connected for Life at cph.org/p-31891-Connected-for-Life-Essential-Guide-to-Youth-Ministry.aspx.