The Word in Youth Ministry - A CPYU Podcast

Kyle invites former youth worker and middle school volunteer Reagan Rose to join the podcast to talk about productivity. What does it look like for youth workers to prune their schedules? What things do we say "no" to? How do we avoid burnout? What are practical ways we can ensure that our schedules are focused on the right things? Kyle and Reagan talk about all these issues and then turn to addressing productivity with our students. Reagan offers us some Scripture passages we can focus on ourselves, as well as teach our students.

Katie Polski joins the podcast to discuss her book "Beyond the Back Row: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Local Church for Your Family." Kyle and Katie discuss stirring an affection for The Church among our children and teens. They talk about some of the reasons church attendance has declined in importance while also warning against it becoming a legalistic endeavor. Listen in to gain some great insight on the importance of The Church and how we can help our kids not only see the importance but also develop a love for The Church themselves.

Kyle invites return guest, youth pastor Foster Toft, to have a discussion about dating. They address the reality that parents and families are each going to have their own philosophy about dating and what is appropriate for their own kids. From there they take a look at ways we can reframe the dating conversation. Foster encourages us to note that marriage and dating are not the same. He introduces 3 biblical truths about marriage that can appropriately help us look at dating from a biblical perspective.

Kyle invites his sidekick Josiah Rios to interview him about 5 book recommendations. Though these books are great reads for anyone, Kyle specifically chooses these books as ones to put into the hands of our high school students. We also get a nice glimpse into the ministry at Old North Church, where Kyle and Josiah are pastors. Kyle also shares ways to create a culture of reading within a youth ministry.

Pastor Sean DeMars joins the podcast and Kyle interviews him about his book Redemption Song: A Primer on Singing for the People of God and what we can learn from it when it comes to leading our students to worship well through song. This episode covers topics like me-centered songs vs. God-centered songs, practical steps in helping congregations and youth groups join in singing, the nature and importance of community in worship, using songs to teach theology, the regulative principle of worship, and much more.

Kyle, and side kick Josiah Rios, interview author and Children's Pastor Hunter Williams about the importance of teaching theology to children. They discuss the book Hunter co-authored titled How to Teach Kids Theology: Deep Truths for Growing Faith. Hunter offers encouragement for youth leaders and volunteers who want to teach theological truths but feel ill-equipped. They discuss the idea of intelligibility and how to appropriately teach truths to children of different ages. We want to teach children biblical truths in language that they understand, but there are times where we also want them to be blown away by how big God really is even if they Won't fully grasp it. Hunter also emphasizes creating a pathway in your church to accomplish the ministry and discipleship goals that you set.

Kyle invites Dr. Rich Brown of Next Gen Matters to have a discussion about how to equip our students to reach other students. Rich recognizes that students are the ones who are best positioned to reach their peers with the Gospel. To that end he offers great suggestions on how to equip them to do so. We as youth workers can provide support to our students as they work to evangelize and disciple their own peer group!

Kyle invites Teaching Pastor and CPYU Research Fellow Jason Engle to the podcast for our summer series discussing preaching books. Jason discusses the book Why Johnny Can't Preach by T. David Gordon. He encourages us to be first transformed by the Word as we interact with Scripture in order to best communicate the Word to our students. Together, Kyle and Jason tackle sermon prep, multi-tasking, digital tools, and the importance of abiding in Christ.

Kyle invites 2 women on staff at his church to discuss ministry to teenage girls. Bethany Hearne, Student Ministry Coordinator, and Beth Harrell, Women's Ministry Director at Old North Church provide great insights on what it looks like to minister to teen girls. How are the experiences of teenage girls today different from the past, and how does that impact how we reach them with the Gospel? When is it appropriate to separate girls from boys in youth group? Together, "The Beths" also answer some questions submitted by listeners through our Facebook Forum, including how to effectively equip female volunteer leaders.

Youth and Families Pastor, Scott Herron, joins the podcast with Kyle to discuss growing as a teacher in our youth ministries. The words from Scott offer encouragement to youth leaders young and old alike. He emphasizes how an early important lesson he learned was that he didn't always have to be "the guy." His ministry thrives most when he remembers to get out of the way. He shares about how his teaching has changed over the years and ways he's improved as a teacher of God's Word as he's learned to be patient with himself. Scott also shares tips regarding whether or not to use curriculum. This episode also includes a discussion about not getting hurt or upset when students don't attend youth group when they are engaged in the body of the church on Sunday mornings and serve in other capacities.