Youth Ministry Unscripted: The Rooted Youth Ministry Podcast

In this episode, Danny sits down to talk with Matt Luchenbill, the Students & Family Ministries Pastor at New City Presbyterian Church outside Detroit, MI, and the Director of the NextGen (Youth Ministry) Ministries of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) denomination. Matt talks about some whys and hows in partnering with parents. While these relationships can be both hopeful and difficult, partnering with parents is worth our perseverance.

“Ask questions, learn from parents. Take that humble perspective, that teachable perspective to seek understanding.” 

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Hosted by: Danny Kwon, author of Teenagers and Mental Health; Becca Heck, M. Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary; Isaiah Marshall, Rooted's Director of Ministry Development; and Josh Hussung, M. Div. in Pastor Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

 In this episode, Danny sits down to talk with Emmie Thompson, co-director of Middle School Ministry at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church on Lookout Mountain, TN and Adjunct Professor of Youth Ministry at Covenant College. Emmie reflects on different and distinct ways to promote intergenerational integration in youth ministry, not only adults to students, but older students to young students. Emmie also talks about investing in high school and college leaders, as well as adults, so her middle schoolers can benefit from these intergenerational relationships directly and indirectly. Finally, she speaks about the realities and difficulties in youth ministry and how to persevere through them.  

“The high school volunteer and college volunteer piece is so important to us because it’s really showing middle schoolers what being a high school Christian looks like, and they see that being embodied.”

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Hosted by: Danny Kwon, author of Teenagers and Mental Health; Becca Heck, M. Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary; Isaiah Marshall, Rooted's Director of Ministry Development; and Josh Hussung, M. Div. in Pastor Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

In this episode, Danny sits down to talk with Syler Thomas, who has been overseeing and leading the student ministries (along with other roles) at Christ Church in Lake Forest, Illinois since 1998. Syler been a frequent speaker at Rooted Conferences and serves on the Rooted Steering Committee and Parent Steering Committee. He talks about hope and perseverance in youth ministry in general and in terms of the realities of youth ministry in new seasons. He also talks about hope and perseverance in relational discipleship, along with how youth workers in ministry can nurture practices and rhythms to embrace a healthy, gospel-centered perspective, in order to thrive, survive, and persevere in ministry.   

“I do think there is some sprinting that happens in the fall, but you have to keep in mind that it is a marathon. You are always looking at the big picture. And so caring for my soul becomes really important.”

Resources:

Follow @therootedministry on Instagram 

Hosted by: Danny Kwon, author of Teenagers and Mental Health; Becca Heck, M. Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary; Isaiah Marshall, Rooted's Director of Ministry Development; and Josh Hussung, M. Div. in Pastor Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

In this joint episode with Anna Meade Harris, host of the Rooted Parent podcast, Danny Kwon welcomes Mike McGarry, author of a newly released book for teenagers, Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith. As a veteran youth worker, father and husband, Mike is no stranger to the difficult questions kids ask. In his book, Mike answers twenty tough questions with insight, compassion, and theological integrity. In our podcast, you'll hear him discuss how to make questions welcome in your home and ministry.  

"When we shame kids for asking questions, we're making it more difficult for them emotionally to ask their questions."

Resources:  

• Join us at Rooted 2023 to hear Mike's workshop on teaching theology to teenagers.
• Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith
• Teenagers Need a Safe Place to Ask Hard Questions by Anna Meade Harris

Hosted by: Danny Kwon, author of Teenagers and Mental Health; Becca Heck, M. Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary; Isaiah Marshall, Rooted's Director of Ministry Development; and Josh Hussung, M. Div. in Pastor Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

In this episode, Tucker sits down with Andrew King, the Youth and Family Pastor of Hope Community Church in Charlotte, NC, to talk about the importance of building relationships with students in youth ministry. Andrew has a wealth of practical insight to offer on one of Rooted's five pillars; press play to hear it!

"I am building trust, I am building a relationship, so that when things are difficult, I've become a person they can trust and can come to with harder questions."

Resources:

Follow @therootedministry on Instagram

Join us for our 2023 conference in Nashville, TN for workshops on relational discipleship.

Hosted by: Danny Kwon, author of Teenagers and Mental Health; Becca Heck, M. Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary; Isaiah Marshall, Rooted's Director of Ministry Development; and Josh Hussung, M. Div. in Pastor Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

In this episode, Tucker sits down to talk about Intergenerational Integration with Isaiah Marshall, the Director of Student Ministry at Strong Tower Bible Church in Nashville, TN. Isaiah talks about how to integrate students into the life of the local church, and how to integrate the local church into the lives of students. Press play to hear more!

"Young people co-laboring with older adults communicates that that young person has something of value to contribute."

Resources: 

Follow @therootedministry on Instagram

Join us for our 2023 conference in Nashville, TN!

Hosted by: Danny Kwon, author of Teenagers and Mental Health; Becca Heck, M. Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary; Isaiah Marshall, Rooted's Director of Ministry Development; and Josh Hussung, M. Div. in Pastor Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

On this episode of the Rooted Youth Ministry Podcast, Tucker sits down with Terrence Shay, the Family Ministry Pastor at FCBC Walnut in Southern California, to talk about the administrative responsibilities of Youth Ministry. Click play to hear Terrence speak about the importance of administration and organization in ministry and how it serves the people you work with.

Hosted by: Danny Kwon, author of Teenagers and Mental Health; Becca Heck, M. Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary; Isaiah Marshall, Rooted's Director of Ministry Development; and Josh Hussung, M. Div. in Pastor Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

On this episode of the Rooted Youth Ministry Podcast, Tucker sits down with Becca Heck, a longtime youth worker from metro-Atlanta, to talk about the necessity of the youth pastor's care for their own soul. Since youth ministry is a profession prone to burnout, Becca talks to us about how we can not only avoid that, but also make sure we stay spiritually healthy for the long haul.

Resources:

• Anxiety: Finding the Better Story, by Liz Edrington
• Follow @therootedministry on Instagram
• Join us for our 2023 conference in Nashville, TN!

Hosted by: Danny Kwon, author of Teenagers and Mental Health; Becca Heck, M. Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary; Isaiah Marshall, Rooted's Director of Ministry Development; and Josh Hussung, M. Div. in Pastor Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

On this week’s episode of the Rooted Youth Ministry Podcast, Tucker sits down with Skyler Flowers, steering committee member and Assistant Pastor at Grace Bible Church in Oxford, Mississippi, to talk about what Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry looks like in the day-to-day life of a youth group. Click play to hear more!

Resources:

Gospel-Centered Resources at Rooted

Kendal Conner's Bible-Storying Talk on the Rooted Conference Podcast

Follow @therootedministry on Instagram

Join us for our 2023 conference in Nashville, TN!

Hosted by: Danny Kwon, author of Teenagers and Mental Health; Becca Heck, M. Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary; Isaiah Marshall, Rooted's Director of Ministry Development; and Josh Hussung, M. Div. in Pastor Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Danny Kwon is a longtime Youth Pastor, college professor, and Senior Director of Youth Ministry Content and Cross Cultural Initiatives for Rooted, and in this episode of the Rooted Youth Ministry Podcast he speaks with Tucker Fleming as part of our Foundations of Youth Ministry series about the history of youth ministry. If youth pastors struggle to understand the history of their field, it's difficult to move forward in a fruitful way. Hit play to hear Danny flesh out a timeline of the history of youth ministry and why it matters for youth pastors today.

Resources:

Rooted Resources on the History of Youth Ministry

Follow @therootedministry on Instagram

Join us for our 2023 conference in Nashville, TN!

Hosted by: Danny Kwon, author of Teenagers and Mental Health; Becca Heck, M. Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary; Isaiah Marshall, Rooted's Director of Ministry Development; and Josh Hussung, M. Div. in Pastor Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.