The Word in Youth Ministry - A CPYU Podcast

Linda Oliver, Kyle Hoffsmith, Matt Beham
  • 5.0 (18)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

A podcast by youth workers, for youth workers, from the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. The Word in Youth Ministry equips and encourages youth pastors to preach God's Word in their youth ministries and develop biblical literacy among teens.

  1. FEB 10

    Episode 102: "Using The Apostles' Creed with Students" with Andrew Slay

    Kyle and fellow youth pastor Andrew Slay discuss using The Apostles' Creed in our youth ministries. Andrew lays out ways in which it can be helpful to use as a tool to help students understand the Bible better. He also explains how it can help answer some of the biggest questions that teens are facing in life.

    34 min

  2. JAN 27

    Episode 101: "Teaching Children about Identity" with Christina Fox

    Kyle Hoffsmith invites author Christina Fox on the podcast. They discuss the topic of teaching identity to children and why it's important to do so at a young age. They discuss her children's book "Who Are You?... A Little Book about Your Big Identity." Teaching children their true identity can help keep them from placing their worth and value in the wrong things as they grow up. They mention several passages of Scripture that are useful in helping us with biblical identity formation. An emphasis is put on Genesis 1 as a great place to start.

    30 min

  3. JAN 13

    Episode 100: "Celebrating 100 Episodes and Encouragement for Youth Workers"

    Celebrating 100 episodes of The Word in Youth Ministry Podcast! Kyle Hoffsmith, Walt Mueller, and Chris Wagner all take a look back over some of their favorite moments and episodes. They look forward to what is to come and celebrate what God is doing through this podcast. They also offer encouragement to youth workers as they continue the awesome task of teaching the Bible to students. Here's to another 100 episodes!

    48 min

  4. 12/16/2025

    Episode 99: "Challenging Students with the Truth about Sex" with John Kidd

    Kyle invites veteran youth pastor John Kidd to join the podcast to discuss teaching about sex to students. John recently taught a series to his students on the topic, which he titled "Cheap Sex." John gives us insight into how he prepared for the series and some of the resources he turned to. He also helps us understand some of the differences between temptation and desire. They also tackle the idea that love is not affirmation as opposed to the cultural narrative that love is love. John also reminds us to know our audience, know the influences they are facing, and to know the parents of our students, so that we can tailor our teaching accordingly while always remaining anchored in God's Word.

    41 min

  5. 11/18/2025

    Episode 98: "The State of Theology" with Ben Marshall, Val O'Brien, and Marty Mandak

    Kyle invites youth pastors Ben Marshall and Marty Mandak, along with Aspen Ministry's Val O'Brien to join the podcast. Each tackle a statement from the 2025 Ligonier State of Theology Report and what it tells us about our culture, The Church, and our youth ministries. Based on the results of the survey, what holes do we need to fill in our teaching? What areas do we need a complete fix? These veteran youth workers tackle some difficult questions and how we can use this study to bring about lasting change in your youth ministry programs by clinging firmly to Scripture.

    58 min

  6. 11/04/2025

    Episode 97: "From Burnout to Fruitfulness - Productivity for Youth Workers" with Reagan Rose

    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.

    32 min

  7. 10/21/2025

    Episode 96: "Stirring an Affection for The Church" with Katie Polski

    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.

    31 min

  8. 10/07/2025

    Episode 95: "Reframing Dating for Students" with Foster Toft

    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.

    36 min
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About

A podcast by youth workers, for youth workers, from the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. The Word in Youth Ministry equips and encourages youth pastors to preach God's Word in their youth ministries and develop biblical literacy among teens.

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