Youth Ministry Podcast

Starting a new job in youth ministry can be like drinking from a firehose. You're faced with new students, new coworkers, new parishioners and – naturally – new ways to lose credit card receipts. So how do you get started in a new congregation without losing the trust of the parents and volunteers? How do you set yourself up for a long and effective ministry? In this episode, Erik interviews not-so-special guest Bryan to talk about his new church job, being bi-vocational, and all the mistakes they've made in previous positions.

Nobody wants to hear about the things they're doing wrong. For many youth workers, that's exactly what a performance review sounds like—a chance to get dumped on. In this episode, Bryan, Erik, and special guest, Pr. Eric Carlson, discuss why performance reviews are critical to ministry success, how to get them started in your context, and who should be doing them (hint: everyone.) Eric Carlson is Assistant to the Bishop at Southeastern Iowa Synod, ELCA.

Summer, summer, summertime! A time for water games, mission trips, and…well, pretty much anything you want to do, right? Well, maybe. Summer may be a time of decreased attendance, but that doesn't mean it should lack the same quality and depth found during the program year. In this episode, Bryan and Erik discuss what makes a good summer ministry, how to plan it, how to mix fun and educational activities, and whether paintball should ever be on your calendar (it shouldn't).

Summer, summer, summertime! A time for water games, mission trips, and…well, pretty much anything you want to do, right? Well, maybe. Summer may be a time of decreased attendance, but that doesn't mean it should lack the same quality and depth found during the program year. In this episode, Bryan and Erik discuss what makes a good summer ministry, how to plan it, how to mix fun and educational activities, and whether paintball should ever be on your calendar (it shouldn't).

From graduating seniors to confirmands and the end of youth group, the final months of the youth ministry program year is full of opportunities to acknowledge and celebrate the kids in your ministry. But how do we differentiate a graduating high school senior from a kid who just finished confirmation? Can we use budget money to buy our volunteers a thank you gift? In this episode, Bryan and Erik talk about honoring students in worship, how graduation and confirmation Sunday sometimes deliver unintentional messages, and how to throw a really good end of the year party.

Bryan and Erik have heard your voices and they have responded! Yes, it's another round of Youth Ministry Mailbag, the podcast format where we take your questions and answer them live on the Youth Ministry Podcast. What do you do about noise in worship? Should you have a job description? And is it appropriate to maintain contact with members of a church once you've left for a new position? In this episode, Bryan and Erik style, profile, and answer your questions to the best of their ability.

Dave Sherer is a hip-hop artist known to many as AGAPE*. In this episode of the podcast, Bryan and Erik talk with Dave about the theology of mission trips, ways to prepare your group for the experience, and how to avoid some of the common mission pitfalls. Learn more about Dave's ministry at www.hiphopoutreach.com

Leaving a ministry position is never easy. Breaking the news to students, families, and other staff members is hard, as is the process of interviewing and starting at a new position. How we discern when it's time to leave – what we're being called to – is important for not only our health, but health of the congregations we're leaving. So how do we know when it's time to leave a church? How do we value and advocate for ourselves in the job search process? How do we sift through the various job advertisements to find one that will complement our gifts and experiences? In this episode, Bryan and Erik talk about changing roles, how to communicate openly and honestly, red flags in a job search, and one of them realizes people listen to this podcast.

Rachel Kurtz is a Minneapolis-based songwriter, performer, and recording artist. She shares personal testimonies of tragedy and triumph with a vulnerability that captivates her audience. In this episode, Rachel sits down with Erik to discuss life as a single mom, the ups and downs of being a traveling musician, and what it's like to change direction and expand her audience in the middle of her career. Check out her latest album, "Love, Rachel Kurtz" at rachelkurtz.com.

Discipleship is a word that is often used in youth ministry circles. But what does it mean? How do we make it a part of our ministries? And how do we tap into a word that has such diversity of meaning and practice? In this episode, Bryan and Erik discuss how to get kids to take ownership of their faith, the risks involved with doing so, and what a theological tool kit looks like.