Urban Youth Pastor

On finishing your ministry well, developing leaders, journaling in community... and ending a podcast.

Nation of Islam, Black Hebrew Israelites, and more: the religious landscape of the inner city is incredibly diverse. How can youth ministers communicate the gospel clearly and compellingly amid the noise?

Does God really care about me?

If I've been baptized, I'm saved, right?

Isn't Christianity a white man's religion?

Youth ask hard questions, and kids in inner-city neighborhoods are no exception. Joel and Blake talk through some of the hardest questions they get from their students, how they respond, and what they've learned about the questions behind the questions.

No one falls asleep during "the sex talk" at youth group. But how are kids actually living? What messages are they getting about sex from their peers, parents, and playlists? And how can youth ministers connect the Bible's teaching about sexuality (including the gospel of grace) to kids' sex lives?

Every youth pastor says their goal is to help parents raise their children, but what does that look like when a student's parents are dysfunctional or completely absent? How can a youth pastor encourage a tired, frustrated single mom about her teenage son?

What role can the Bible have in an inner-city youth ministry? How do you decide what to teach? What are the challenges?

Fistfights. Shootings. Inner-city kids have seen (and done) it all. What does youth group look like here?