The Word in Youth Ministry - A CPYU Podcast

Founder and president of CPYU, Walt Mueller, joins the podcast to discuss his latest book A Student's Guide to Navigating Culture. Kyle, Linda, and Matt pick his brain on why he wrote the book, ask questions about the "World, Word, Walk" paradigm the he lays out in the book, and discuss the role of relevance as youth workers balance being biblically but also culturally informed.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt discuss theological concepts regarding heaven and hell and how to best teach these subjects in our youth ministry settings. We look at what Scripture says about heaven and hell and we also provide very helpful suggestions about questions we can ask students to make these topics applicable in the here and now. Is heaven something that we long for? How do we help students live their lives with an eye toward eternity? Join this great discussion in Episode 16 of The Word in Youth Ministry.

In episode 15, The Word in Youth Ministry podcast discusses technology, social media, and youth ministry. How can we help our students see the importance of building in-real-life relationships? How can we address the issue of rest? What are some of the trappings that call out to our students in the realm of technology, and how can youth workers lead student's into the better narrative of God's redemptive plan for us as laid out in scripture? Tune in for a helpful discussion.

Jonathan Holmes, author, counselor, and pastor, joins the podcast to discuss biblical counseling. What does biblical counseling look like? What is the proper role of a youth pastor in counseling?  How can youth pastors work together with families, teens, and counselors to help minister the Gospel? Kyle, Linda, and Matt discuss these topics and more with Jonathan, plus Jonathan offers a list of helpful resources that youth workers should get their hands on.

Can we trust the Bible? Why do we have the books of the Bible we have? Is the text reliable? Kyle, Linda, and Matt discuss all these questions and more.

Plus, our sponsor, Crossway, has given us a dozen books to give away!

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Small groups are an important part of youth group. How do we use small groups effectively to help students learn more about the Bible? What kind of leaders do we look to help us in our youth ministry, and specifically in small group settings? How do we select and pick them? How do we equip and train small group leaders effectively? We want relationships to grow in our small group settings at the same time that students are also developing biblical literacy skills and diving further into the evening's lesson. Should we use pre-made curriculum in our small group settings? Kyle, Linda, and Matt discuss these topics and more as they answer a listener e-mail.

Kyle, Matt, and Linda converse with guest, Dr. Stephen Nichols, president of Reformation Bible College and chief academic officer for Ligonier Ministries. Nichols shares his heart for students and youth pastors and discusses how youth pastors can embrace topics like theology, church history, and apologetics to better help student's understand the Bible. Listen to this episode of The Word in Youth Ministry to be encouraged by Dr. Nichols as well as hear about recommended resources.

Our hosts take a look at biblical hermeneutics, helping youth workers realize the importance of teaching the Bible in proper context. We take a look at passages in Jeremiah, Romans, and Philippians as examples of how we often misuse Bible verses in our churches and ministries. We discuss ways in which we can help students properly understand the Bible passages they are reading.

In this episode, Kyle, Linda, and Matt discuss distinctive of the church and why it's important to teach these concepts to students.  We even take a walk down history lane and mention the Belgic Confession of Faith and what it has to say about preaching the gospel, the sacraments, and church discipline. We discuss what sets the church a part, why it's important to play an active role, and we share ideas on how we've incorporated these teachings in our ministry settings. As always, we provide some helpful book and resource recommendations as well.

In episode 8, Kyle, Linda, and Matt help us see all of Scripture as a story. They discuss how teaching students that the Bible provides a large narrative that falls into four chapters of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration is a helpful framework to help our students learn biblical truths and see how their own lives fit into God's big story. They provide a brief overview of each of these chapters and highlight ideas on how to present these concepts to the students in our ministries, including a fun way to get students to think about the new creation!