Youth Ministry Maverick: Hosted by Jeff Harding
A podcast for youth pastors, youth workers, and parents about ministry topics and methods that range from the conventional to the unconventional...all for solid investment in the next generation of the Church.
Episodes
For Episode 100 and our Season 3 Finale, Jeff welcomes the innovative and solid youth ministry guru - Mark Matlock! Mark starts with describing the beginning of his ministry journey, and how both creativity and wisdom help us pave the way for relevant methods and maximum impact when it comes to investing in the next generations of the church. He also teases the intriguing book project he's working on in collaboration with Barna and...
Summer Camp is a thrilling and effective staple of youth ministry...but for many of us, our format for content delivery might be older than some of those cabin bunks. Promoting life change through Scripture and the Spirit, AND introducing habits and perspectives that help students maximize their daily walk with Jesus means we need to have two-pronged approach to what we present at camp. Listen in as Jeff discusses what it looks lik...
As we approach the end of Season 3 and the milestone of Episode 100, Jeff shares some exciting news about a special guest, a big giveaway, and the new format for the podcast starting with Season 4 this fall. Listen for details, and be sure to check our website and social media profiles to make sure you're ready for the future!
For this special Juneteenth episode, Jeff reflects back on Episode 6 when he was able to talk with Mikiala Tennie and Karli Loving about the then-recent killing of George Floyd and conversations of racial tension that were enveloping the national headlines. He shares some brief thoughts about what he has learned and observed in the last three years before revisiting that conversation.
How can we set up a healthy and consistent annual rhythm for our youth volunteers? You might prefer more frequent and shorter meetings, longer monthly meetings, a blend of the two, or something totally different. But there is a good structure that allows your volunteers to feel prepared, recognized, and cared for...and it's still one that affords flexibility depending on your ministry context and number of volunteers. Listen in as ...
How can you make this summer effective and beneficial for you and your students? Listen in as we discuss 3 ways to capitalize on this unique and wild season of youth ministry.
With hyper middle school students, and technology and social media affecting attention span and ability to impress all students, we need solid methods for connecting with our students during programming. These 5 methods should give you a good starting rotation that you can tweak and add to over time.
Youth ministry roles are always the most plentiful on church job boards, and ever since COVID, it seems more difficult to land a role and/or find the right person to fill a role. Once that massive hurdle is cleared, you have several smaller hurdles that combine into another massive one...the first year on the job. How long should you wait to implement change? What about the upperclassmen who probably aren't thrilled to have you hij...
Caesar Kalinowski joins Jeff for a "part two" discussion going off their conversation from Episode 91 about introducing a new perspective and model for youth ministry. No matter what your youth ministry structure is, these 6 rhythms are a fantastic method to improve how you cultivate relationships in a community of any size and shape for your betterment and the spreading of the gospel.
What if the way local churches did youth ministry was to pour most of their efforts into discipling parents so they can establish missional communities that youth workers can attend and support? Caesar Kalinowski joins Jeff to talk about an interesting approach that he has taught, trained, and replicated in cities across the country.
Check out Caesar's website, Everyday Disciple, here.
When it comes to our online world, we're usually just concerned about content. But what about habits, and how our students are mentally, emotionally, and physiologically affected or "trained" while just trying to grow up AND learn what it means to follow Jesus well? Dr. John Dyer joins Jeff to discuss a perspective of discernment and awareness we might not be actively pursuing when it comes to digital discipleship.
While this could easily be about Jeff's mistakes (of which there are plenty), Dan Istvanik from Youth Ministry Hub joined Jeff to graciously and honestly list his top 5 mistakes from almost 30 years of youth ministry. Listen in as they talk through each mistake, what was learned, and the importance of adapting that knowledge before repeating those mistakes in your own ministry.
Whether it's basic tenants of our faith like the divinity and resurrection of Jesus, creedal confessions like the Apostle's Creed, or more in-depth issues like pneumatology or ecclesiology...thinking about how you incorporate good theology into your youth ministry discipleship is important for students to flesh out their beliefs. Mike McGarry joins Jeff to discuss different approaches for implementing a theological rhythm, and why ...
We certainly want to have results and benchmarks that can be measured in our ministries, but we can't let those overshadow a healthy long-term approach to investing in our students. Mike Haynes joins Jeff to discuss how focusing too hard on results (especially in the short-term) can distort the necessary process-orientation youth ministries need for the long haul.
Talking with our students about finding their identity and purpose is good, but you can't talk about those things without talking about the practical approach to living out their faith. Kate Boyd returns to YMM to talk with Jeff about how to help students think about the process of who they're becoming, instead of only thinking about right belief and right practice. They also talk about Kate's new book, which you can preorder here.
...We want our students to find their identity in Christ, and a critical step in determining what that means for their life is to help them discover their purpose as new creations in Christ. Brad Griffin, Senior Director of Content & Resources for the Fuller Youth Institute, joins Jeff to discuss how youth workers can help teenagers in this process using the Holy Spirit, Scripture, and community.
Click here to learn more about Brad an...
Recruiting volunteers for your ministry? Important. Keeping their involvement and investment fresh, and retaining them long-term? Crucial! Charlie Conder joins Jeff to talk about how to make sure we have healthy and solid volunteers for front line ministry.
Check out Charlie's website here: https://www.charlieconder.com
We've heard about networking before, along with the general benefits. But where do you begin? What about different size groups/ministries? Is it realistic? Is it worth it? Jeff goes over 3 ways that networking can refresh your ministry, and explains how they're best taken in consecutive steps. Also, check out Episode 25 with Kevin Miles from NNYM, and Episode 66 with Olivia Williamson from Claim Your Campus for further insight and ...
Whether it's attendance numbers or other short-term markers of success, too many things take priority over the long-term healthy elements of the ministry that matter. However, it's certainly easier said than done when you have pressure from supervisors or others about those short-term markers. How do you flip the script on healthy expectations? Veteran youth pastor Kyle Wassom talks with Jeff about the reasons and methods that go i...
Mission trips have been a staple in youth ministry programming for decades. But are they just well-intentioned placeholders? Is there strategy involved with why they're scheduled and where they're scheduled? Jeff talks with Tim Brokopp from the Amoveo Group about the importance of having strategic intentionality for both.
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.