Road to Effective Youth Ministry

Who is Jesus?

Teens need to hear the Gospel and understand what that means:

Jesus died for us. God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins, providing a way of escape. If you will trust in Jesus today, you will be set free.

I think the church has done a little bit of a disservice to teenagers by not defining for them what their role is in the church. A lot of teenagers—even those that are Christians and passionate about their faith—feel almost like they're not really a part of the body of Christ.

"This training series is intended to train people at your church to serve as mentors and small group leaders in your youth group."

"This training series is intended to train people at your church to serve as mentors and small group leaders in your youth group."

Pastor Chris Durso talks about his 5 favorite verses in the bible that pertain to leadership and also touches upon how you can build a healthy youth ministry.

"Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel talks about some creative ways she's tried to engage youth, following her YMI lecture, 'Rigorous, Reasonable, and Real: Youth Ministry.'"

"Working in youth ministry you see the first wave of cultural changes. Cameron Cole, David Plant, and Liz Edrington discuss how to respond in faith."

"Scott Davis (head of Exodus Youth) shares some important tips on ministering to youth who struggle with homosexual confusion. He gives hope and direction for those who identify as 'gay' but who want to be changed by God’s power."

It's easy for youth ministries to function like a smaller church inside the larger church. Often youth groups are pretty separate from the rest of the church body and it leaves teenagers feeling disconnected and uninvolved in the life of the body.

Dr. Andy Root speaks about one piece of advice for every youth minister, following his YMI lecture, "Ministering to Youth Growing Up in a Screen-Based World"

Dr. Andy Root speaks about one piece of advice for every youth minister, following his YMI lecture, "Ministering to Youth Growing Up in a Screen-Based World"

Dr. Andy Root speaks about one piece of advice for every youth minister, following his YMI lecture, "Ministering to Youth Growing Up in a Screen-Based World"

Dr. Andy Root speaks about one piece of advice for every youth minister, following his YMI lecture, "Ministering to Youth Growing Up in a Screen-Based World"

How can worship be shaped in such a way that it confronts our culture's obsession with the young and new?

Francis Chan teaches about the sinful condition of mankind, and God's willingness to punish sin in spite of His love for us.

Don Carson, Tim Keller, and John Piper on how suffering prepares preachers.

Tim Schmoyer talks with four youth workers about teaching students God's Word. Together they share 13 different tips, ideas, and advice points for communicating scripture.

65% of kids raised in the church walk away from their faith within two years of leaving high school. While these kids may know Bible stories -- David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lion -- they don't know their faith. Phil Vischer discusses the importance of tackling hard questions so kids don't keep walking away:

What is the Bible?

Why do we need the Bible?

Why do we think the Bible is true?

How do we explain the difficult parts we keep ignoring?

Who is Andy Gabruch? Andy has been working with youth and young adults for over 11 years. He has worked with high school assemblies, pastored youth in Richmond and West Kelowna, and had various leadership roles with Canadian Youth Workers Conference, City Youth Forums, and Arrow Leadership. His current role is the Next Generation Ministries Director for the PAOC in the BC/Yukon District. His heart is to raise the next generation of Church. Andy is blessed with a wonderful wife Annick and four kids, Isabelle (8), Joseph (7), Benjamin (3), and Samuel (2).

A youth leader forum was hosted by Awana YM in Chicago, IL with Josh Griffin, Sean McDowell, Larry Acosta, Elizabeth Bjorling Poest, and Ryan Guard. Moderated by Awana Youth Ministries Director Steve Kozak, the panel answered questions from youth workers in the room on some of the greatest challenges in youth ministry. This is the full recording of that roundtable discussion.

Questions answered by the panel include:

What are the greatest challenges in youth ministry?

Students are going through so much that as leaders we didn't have to deal with, how are we to help those students?

How can suburban youth ministries connect and work with urban youth ministries?

How do we engage LGBTQ students to feel included in the church family and to have a relationship with Christ?

How to handle burnout?

How do we reach out to non-beliving students in a post-Christian world, especially atheists?

How to engage students with all the distractions?

How to involve parents in helping student engagement?

How do we partner with parents, especially when most students come from broken parent homes?

Kenny & Elle Campbell from Stuff You Can Use talk about 6 mistakes youth pastors make that kill growth in youth ministry.

A roundtable discussion about common blunders among new preachers.

4 tips on growing youth ministry

Did you know there's a difference between mentoring and discipling? Learn from three youth pastors as we discuss the differences and how it effects youth ministry.