Stay ConnectedWelcome to the Youth Ministry Booster podcast! The most honest and hilarious podcast in student ministry. Hosted by Zac Workun and Chad Higgins. We are the biggest fans of youth ministry leaders like you!
We are here for you with the humor and the help to engage, entertain, equip, and encourage.
Youth ministry is better together. Learn more @ http://www.youthministrybooster.com
Hey buddy...
Are your teaching methods actually connecting with how today's students learn? I mean they love Roblox, Minecraft, and Cedarwood Scents.
In this conversation, Chad and Zac challenge youth ministry leaders to move beyond traditional sermon-style approaches to create more engaging, effective learning experiences.
The disconnect is clear: while schools have changed their teaching methods to include more group work, technology integration, and interactive learning, many youth ministries still rely on one-way communication models that don't match how students absorb information the other five days of the week.
As Chad notes, "If modern day teachers are trying to shorten lessons to be more engaging and hands-on, why are we trying to defend a longer sermon?"
• Teaching approaches should differ based on room size, audience age, and learning context
• Students learn differently in school than previous generations, with more group work and interactive methods
• Fill-in-the-blank worksheets and guided notes help students track with teaching and practice note-taking
• Visual aids and object lessons create memorable sensory connections to abstract concepts
• Teaching students to teach others builds confidence and develops them as disciple-makers
• Our goal should be equipping confident believers who can articulate and apply their faith
• Consider your specific audience when planning - teaching 10-year-olds differs from teaching adults
• Moving beyond content delivery to skill-building and confidence development transforms youth ministry
"It's all about the numbers." Ever feel like your ministry's is trapped by attendance numbers? What if the most powerful metric isn't quantitative at all?
The stories unfolding in your student ministry reveal far more about God's work than any statistical report. We mean it! We want you to measure in stories! This webinar replay reveals why stories are a better scorecard for ministry success than numbers, showing how collecting and sharing transformation narratives creates lasting impact.
Chuck Peters joins Zac and Chad to talk about the importance of story in leading your ministry.
Show Notes
• Stories are already happening in your ministry whether you're collecting them or not. We just need systems to collect and share them!
• What you treasure is what you measure; focus on transformation over attendance. Stories elevate VALUES.
• Creating systems to collect ministry stories helps combat our natural forgetfulness. Become a JOURNALIST for your ministry.
• Be strategic about which stories you share with different audiences (parents, staff, church members)
• Add categories to your collected stories to easily find and share them when needed, the power of GENRE.
• Train students to tell their own stories as part of their spiritual formation, the formational discipline of TESTIMONY.
• Practice discernment; don't embellish stories or share what isn't yours to tell, INTEGRITY.
• Ask better questions to help leaders identify meaningful stories in their ministry
• Use volunteer huddles to celebrate what God is doing across different ministry areas. Help others gather PERSPECTIVE.
• Stories should make God the hero, not the ministry leader or program
Check out our storytelling resources and learn more about Youth Ministry Booster Season 7: The Power of Story at www.lifeway.com/studentleadertools.
Learn more from webinars like this one at: https://www.lifeway.com/en/special-emphasis/ministry-success-webinars
Ever wondered if there's a way to make meetings less painful and more productive? Kate Downing pulls back the curtain on what makes ministry team gatherings work—or fail spectacularly.
Returning guest Kate Downing shares practical strategies for transforming team meetings from dreaded time-wasters into valuable, engaging experiences that build team culture and advance ministry goals.
Kate's Great Tips
• Starting meetings with celebration time (20-30 minutes) focused on relationship building and recognizing God's work
• Using language like "what are you praising God for" instead of "wins" to avoid creating competition
• Creating and sharing detailed meeting agendas that serve as both roadmaps and historical records
• Incorporating professional development through theological training and guest experts
• Maintaining focus on relevant topics while knowing when to take detailed discussions "offline"
• Ending meetings 15 minutes early for "15 minutes of fun" as a built-in reward
• Applying similar meeting principles when developing student leaders
• Setting clear start and end times to respect everyone's schedules
• Using collaborative note-taking systems that allow everyone access before and after meetings
Join us for Season 7 of the Youth Ministry Booster Podcast where you'll hear from Kate and other great leaders as we talk about what it means to fly fair and fast in youth ministry.
Broncos, Gameboys, Doves... er uh Pigeons?
Join Zac for an interview with Shane Pruitt. As they discuss how our culture has shifted to embracing a distorted version of a personalized Jesus while rejecting biblical authority, and why youth ministers must help students discover the authentic Jesus of Scripture.
SHOW NOTES
• Culture has shifted from accepting God-talk but rejecting Jesus-talk to accepting Jesus-talk but rejecting Bible-talk
• People reshape Jesus into their own image, creating an idol with Jesus' name
• The Jesus many claim to follow often aligns perfectly with their preferences and prejudices
• False views of Jesus lead to incorrect evangelism, discipleship, and mission
• The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) are where we rediscover the authentic Jesus
• If our understanding of Jesus never challenges us, we might be following a false version
• The new "Not My Jesus" Bible study is available for both teens and adults to study together
• Jesus makes the invisible God visible – to know God's heart, look to Jesus' heart
Check out "Not My Jesus" Bible study from Lifeway, with free teaching videos included with each purchase.
https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/not-my-jesus-teen-bible-study-book-with-video-access-P005850065
Have you ever wondered why it seems so many youth ministers quit or leave around the three-year mark?
In this candid conversation with longtime youth ministry veteran and author Jody Livingston, we talk the secret to youth ministry longevity.
It's 2 old friends with personal stories, hard-earned wisdom, and practical insights that are meant to encourage youth ministers young and old. Fresh and wizened.
In Staying Power, Jody Livingston shares his journey of ministry longevity through the lens of his passion for Volkswagen buses and how he navigated challenging seasons to build a sustainable youth ministry career.
Grab a copy of Staying Power by Jody here.
https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/staying-power-P005850004
Key Points From This Interview
• Personal connection between father-son relationship and Volkswagen obsession
• The critical "2.5-3 year mark" where most youth ministers face their greatest challenges
• How unrealistic or unclear expectations from various church stakeholders create friction
• The importance of defining and communicating your own metrics for ministry success
• Navigating seasons where visible ministry fruit seems absent
• Recognizing burnout warning signs in yourself and ministry colleagues
• Finding authentic community and friendship despite the isolating nature of ministry
• Implementing intentional rest rather than merely "vegging out" on days off
• Practical approaches to sustaining your calling when ministry gets difficult
Remember your calling is in this time, to a place, and this next generation, now. When things get hard, lean into the why behind your ministry rather than focusing solely on results or metrics.
Jay Winn shares how his youth ministry at Riverpoint Church is shifting toward a more relational approach in response to changing student needs. Despite having fewer resources following leadership transitions, Jay is finding success by investing deeply in authentic connections with students rather than focusing primarily on programs and events.
• Returning to "old school youth ministry" with a focus on authentic relationships and personal discipleship
• Making small groups optional rather than mandatory, resulting in more engaged participation
• Moving midweek gatherings to Thursday nights with a discussion-based format that has grown from 30 to 85 students
• Creating systems where youth staff have specific students to check on regularly, making relationships a measurable part of ministry
• Recognizing Gen Z students' increasing need for one-on-one mentoring amid rising anxiety and information overload
• Structuring Sunday morning as the ministry's "front door" with high-energy programming while reserving other gatherings for deeper discussion
• Working toward a staffing model with one full-time staff member for every 50 students
• Planning a fall retreat focused on helping students reconnect with God personally rather than focusing on service to others
Join the Youth Ministry Booster community to connect with other youth pastors who are growing, learning, and adapting their ministries to meet today's challenges.
Alleigh Jezek shares how she revitalized a youth ministry by creating an inviting atmosphere, multiplying small groups, and building an authentic community where students feel empowered to lead and invite friends.
🧠 IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Alleigh @alleighjezek Instagram or email her with questions about youth ministry strategies or even how to run a game of Scatter Ball! It's a blast!
The hype of camp is fading. The smell of leftover sunscreen and emotional debriefs still lingers. But now it’s time to face the real ministry question: What’s next? In this episode, Chad and Zac unpack the sneaky shift from summer chaos to fall calendars, and how to survive the mid-summer mental fog without quitting or creating a whole new youth group (again).
July can be a peculiar time in youth ministry. The adrenaline of summer events still lingers while the pressure of fall kickoff looms on the horizon. Some of us respond by mentally checking out ("laid out on the carpet," as Chad puts it), while others frantically start dreaming up complete ministry overhauls. Both responses stem from the same reality: seasonal transitions are hard, and our brains don't always cooperate.
Chad shares his strategy of scheduling a dedicated "dream planning day"—a physical and mental reset that helps him formally shift from summer to fall mode. This intentional transition, often accompanied by a change in location, creates space for creativity to return. Meanwhile, Zach offers the complementary approach of completely stepping away through hobbies, physical activities, or creative pursuits that engage different parts of the brain.
Perhaps most powerfully, let's talk about "Tuesday faith," learning to find meaning and purpose in the ordinary moments of ministry between the mountain-tops of camp experiences and the valleys of crisis. As Chad notes, "Not all flowers grow year-round," a reminder that seasons of apparent stagnation are natural and necessary parts of ministry.
🛠️ IN THIS EPISODE:
This episode is for the youth worker staring at a whiteboard wondering if it’s too early to plan the fall kickoff or too late to nap until Christmas. (It’s not. Just… plan a little, nap a little.)
If you're currently navigating the summer-to-fall transition in your ministry, this episode offers both practical strategies and the reassurance that you're not alone. We're all still learning—even after decades in ministry—how to work effectively through the rhythm of seasons.
Want to connect with a community of youth workers who understand these challenges? Check out Youth Ministry Booster or reach out directly to chad.higgins@lifeway.com or zac.workun@lifeway.com to learn more about how we can support you in your ministry journey.
The emotional marathon of summer camp affects every youth minister differently. Whether you're riding high on spiritual victories, nursing wounds from what felt like failure, or simply exhausted beyond words, this episode offers genuine encouragement for wherever you find yourself.
Zach and Chad dive into their contrasting pre-camp experiences - one fueled by caffeine-like excitement, the other weighed down by planning anxiety. They share practical wisdom about externalizing your plans (either in meticulously organized binders or digital systems) to create both present peace and future efficiency.
Camp Brain, Binder Blues, & the Post-Camp Fog
It's that time of year—when youth pastors everywhere go from pre-camp jitters to post-camp exhaustion in just five sleepless days! In this episode, Chad and Zac take you on the emotional rollercoaster known as Summer Camp Season. Buckle up, it's a wild ride full of excitement, duct tape, and probably at least one crying senior guy.
🛠️ IN THIS EPISODE:
This is the Summer Camp Survival Guide your soul needed. It's honest, a little chaotic, and fully soaked in sunscreen and sanctification.
Whether you're preparing for camp, in the thick of it, or recovering from it, this episode provides the encouragement that you're not alone in this emotional journey.
Share your camp stories with us on social media or email us at podcast@youthministrybooster.com!
Kate Downing joins us to discuss her new Bible study "Fighting With Fear" and shares profound insights about the theological significance of fear in ministry leadership and decision-making.
• Fear itself isn't bad—we were designed to fear, but the object of our fear matters
• Ministry decisions often trigger fears about consequences and others' opinions
• The "brain dump" technique helps sort problems into what you can and cannot control
• Decision fatigue plagues ministry leaders who try to reinvent the wheel annually
• Document everything to avoid recreating the same work year after year
• Christian leadership requires balancing fear-fueled paralysis with reckless fearlessness
• Scripture mentions the fear of God over 200 times as our proper orientation
• Leaders should filter decisions through the question: "Does this honor and obey God?"
• Student anxiety often reveals deeper theological misconceptions about God's character
• Ministry in 2025 should focus on equipping students as ministers, not just recipients
Check out "Fighting With Fear: Becoming Fearfully Unafraid" by Kate Downing, available now wherever books are sold. The six-session Bible study for teens includes video access and additional resources.
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