Youth Ministry Sherpas: Coast To Coast DYM Podcast Network

It’s Move Up Season in youth ministry. There are new families moving their oldest child into a youth group for the first time. There are freshmen moving into high school. And of course, seniors graduating to the next thing, whatever that may be.
For youth pastors, navigating these changes is a big challenge. We have to communicate well, help people feel comfortable in their new setting, ensure nobody gets lost in the shuffle, and handle the calendar, often in a compressed period of time. All that, while dealing with our own emotions of seeing beloved students graduate. It can be physically and emotionally exhausting.
Multiply that by a billion if your own kids are graduating. Steve has lived it three times! (Yes, Shannon, someday that will be you!)
Transitions and Move Ups are truly madness, but it’s an important part of shepherding people and taking good care of your ministry. We hope this episode is helpful, even if we don’t have all the answers.

Today the Sherpas welcome good friend and Download Youth Ministry Co-founder Josh Griffin to the podcast!
We talk with Josh about his unforeseen call to youth ministry as a college student, and his discouraging first job at a small church in the upper midwest. It was during a hard time that he discovered Doug Field’s book, “Purpose Driven Youth Ministry.” That led him on a pilgrimage to Saddleback Church, one of the most influential churches in the country. His future was forever changed by the relationships he formed there.
Now the Jr High Pastor at Mariners Church, Josh shares about the challenges of large church ministry (5 youth services on Easter!),  the formative days of Download Youth Ministry (which was almost named Digital Youth Ministry), the democratization of youth ministry resources, and how optimism is the only way forward in these troubled times.
We also find out how our own Brock Morgan was selected as a trainer for the National Day of Volunteer Youth Ministry Training!
Josh is a generous spirit and we are grateful for his friendship and encouragement. It’s a great conversation.

Smelly Cabins, Snack Shack, Silly Skits, Scary Bus Rides, Smooching Kids – nothing says summer like Summer Camp!
Even after our many years of experience and all the various programs we’ve led, we still believe in Summer Camp. It’s one of the foundations of our ministries. Summer Camp provides the chance to get away, break rhythm, avoid distractions, build relationships, and have significant, life-changing moments with God. There’s no substitute.
Despite its long-standing history and value, we’ve also seen an increasing reluctance on the part of parents to send their kids to camp. Mix that in with travel sports and the financial costs, and it’s not an easy thing to get kids to go!
But we still love it, still sold on it, and are still taking our kids this summer. Hear our reasons, and do likewise!

Episode 18: The Beauty and Necessity of Contemplative Youth Ministry With anxiety at an all-time high and attention spans at an all-time low, how can youth pastors help our students experience God in deeper and more meaningful ways? Is it more than music, games and messages?

On this episode, Shannon, Brock and Steve talk about the value and beauty of contemplative practices in youth ministry. Whether it’s the Prayer Labyrinth Steve’s group just experienced, or Lectio Divina in Shannon’s ministry, or a chance to get prayed for every week in Brock’s ministry, we think we’re onto something significant. These aren’t new ideas–– in fact, most of the practices are centuries old–but modern churches often forget how powerful they can be. We’ve made them part of our regular ministry rhythm, and we hope others might do the same. Our students crave it.
Who knows, maybe our ideas will even work upwards into “big church?”
This is an episode your students need! You probably do, too.

Mark Yaconelli’s bookhttps://www.amazon.com/s?k=contemplative+youth+ministry&hvadid=580750104392&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9008050&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15997339013655376092&hvtargid=kwd-2809949768&hydadcr=22568_13493238&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_7izs79mno6_e
We are proud members of the Download Youth Ministry Podcast Network https://www.downloadyouthministry.com Watch us on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@youthministrysherpasC2C Follow us on Instagram!Email us at youth ministrysherpas@gmail.com

Sadly, we are missing Shannon today, but Brock and Steve got together the day after they both preached in their churches’ main services to talk about our experiences with preaching. It can be a big deal for youth pastors. We both get to do it regularly, and we’ve seen the benefits our time in the “pulpit” has brought to our ministry within the congregation. Whether you preach once a year or once a month, preaching is a great way to gain credibility, speak into the culture of our church, and celebrate the Next Generation. But it also brings some challenges, like time management (we still have to plan for youth group that week), staying humble (“I like it when YOU preach!), and not trying to sound smarter than we are. Preaching is really important, yet probably less important than we make it.
The most important question is this: pulpit, podium or music stand? 
It’s Episode 17: When Youth Pastors Preach

We are proud members of the Download Youth Ministry Podcast Network https://www.downloadyouthministry.com Watch us on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@youthministrysherpasC2C 
Follow us on Instagram!Email us at youth ministrysherpas@gmail.com

Today, we talk about money. It’s a sore subject in youth pastor circles. Many youth pastors and youth workers feel underpaid, unappreciated, and undervalued. What’s worse; talking about it or asking for more feels unspiritual. Aren’t we just in it for the kids? Well, yes, but what can we do to improve our financial viability so we can take care of our families, build church health, and achieve longevity in youth ministry?

Dan Navarra is our guest. Dan is the creator and curator of the Annual Youth Pastor Compensation Report. https://www.chemistrystaffing.com/resources/compensation-youth-pastor-2023/
Dan is passionate about helping workers earn what we’re worth. He has a wealth of experience working with youth pastors, churches and leaders, and offers some powerful advice for us. The news isn’t all good – we have a long way to go – but being informed enough to advocate for ourselves is an important step.

The Youth Ministry Sherpas get pretty fired up over this one. You will, too.
You can find Dan Navarro here in most Youth Pastor Facebook Groups or here:https://www.chemistrystaffing.com/team/

We are proud members of the Download Youth Ministry Podcast Network https://www.downloadyouthministry.com Watch us on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@youthministrysherpasC2C Follow us on Instagram!Email us at youth ministrysherpas@gmail.com