Youth Ministry Sherpas

Welcome to our new show, SHERPA LEGENDS!Each month, we will present a conversation with a Youth Ministry Legend. Our conversations center around their story. How did they get into youth ministry, what has kept them in it, and what were some of their favorite adventures along the way? We hope you will tune in each month for the next SHERPA LEGEND! Our second legend: GREG SPECKA post-college job at a home for emotionally-disturbed teenagers led Greg Speck into a nearly 40-year career in youth ministry. For the past 30 years, Greg has been speaking full-time to students around the world. From camps and weekend retreats to mission trips and international conferences, Greg's special blend of humor, storytelling, sincerity, and love for students have provided him with opportunities to share the Word of God with hundreds of thousands of middle- and high-school kids. Sherpa host Steve Anderson first encountered Greg at an outreach in Pennsylvania many years ago when he was a new youth volunteer. Since then, Steve has

*Yawn*Another week of school.Another Sunday (or Wednesday).Another youth group.So much of our students' lives are driven by school, by sports, by academics, and by expectations. To many of them, life is a boring routine, or a constant preparation for the next thing. Do we treat church the same way? Do you ever worry that we are getting boring?We sat down the day after the MBSBE (Most Boring Super Bowl Ever) to talk Student Ministry. After wasting four hours of our lives watching the battle of the punters and a weird halftime show from Maroon Five and Big Boi (not to be confused with Bob's Big Boy, which serves great hamburgers), we thought we'd spend thirty minutes of our time in a conversation about how not to be boring in youth ministry. By being winsome, by being surprising, and by being transcendent, we think youth ministry offers something nobody else can offer.We hope this episode doesn't bore you. It's definitely better (and shorter) than the MBSBE. Episode 44 -- How to Not Be Boring

Young love, isn't it precious?Unless it's messing up your youth ministry!We're coming up on Valentine's Day, and you know what that means: We get to take our wives out to dinner based on where we can go for free! Steve and Karen will be dining at Bonefish Grill (courtesy of a gift card from someone at church), while Mathew and Gina will get free dinner at Fogo de Chao courtesy of the sponsor of the big volleyball tournament they are working that weekend.So what do we do with dating couples in our youth ministries? The truth is, there is little chance they will end up together, and little chance we can stop them. How do help protect their hearts for when things go sour, and how do we protect our ministries from the toxic fallout that descends in the wake of the break up? There are no easy answers, except to the one question everyone is wondering: What did Mathew say when he was invited to Prom?Episode 43 -- Love and Relationships 

Finally, after 41 episodes, we got something right!We took advantage of a federal holiday to get our wives -- Gina and Karen -- together in the studio to talk about youth ministry from their perspective. What has it been like to be married to a youth pastor for all these years? How did they survive the nights at home while their husbands were out working with other peoples' kids? How did they handle the expectations placed upon them by others? Do they ever wish we'd all chosen a different life? Do they have any advice for others whose spouses are youth workers? Most importantly, do they realize that without them, we (Mathew and Steve) would be toast?!This podcast is 200% better than all the others!Episode 42 -- Our Better Halves

It's late January, how are your New Year's Resolutions going?Now is the time when we often fall away from the things we started this year. We have to say, over here at Youth Ministry Sherpas, we are doing pretty well. Mathew has been drinking enough water to fill a small pond and create an impressive level of bladder control. Steve has been in his new hot tub nearly every evening, winding down the day with his wife. He's hydrating his soul, if not his skin. In this episode of Youth Ministry Sherpas, we wrap up our three-part "mini-series" called "Burning Out, Falling Down, Drying Up" with a conversation about how to stay hydrated in student ministry. How do we avoid becoming spiritually dry and brittle, ready to crumble at any moment? How can we avoid becoming kindling for ministry trouble and spiritual danger? There are some simple practical steps we can take--as well as some deeper spiritual rhythms--that we recommend to keep us fresher than a rapper's new wardrobe or a high mountain stream.By the way, don'

It's winter in Maryland, and things are getting a little dicey. We've had our share of snow, ice, and sleet. And of course, we also face a new year of challenges in youth ministry.In this episode, we continue our start-of-the-year discussion of "How to Avoid Burning Out, Falling Down and Drying Up." Other than falling on the ice, what are ways that we as youth workers can fall down? Are we vulnerable to unchecked ambition, dishonoring our church leadership, or straight out moral failure? We all think it can't possibly happen to us, until it does.But we can avoid these dangers, and make it through this year closer to God and better youth workers than we are today. That's what we hope happens, and what we are counting on.Episode 40 -- "Burning Out, Falling Down and Drying Up."

Welcome to our new show, SHERPA LEGENDS!Each month, we will present a conversation with a Youth Ministry Legend. Our conversations center around their story. How did they get into youth ministry, what has kept them in it, and what were some of their favorite adventures along the way? We hope you will tune in each month for the next SHERPA LEGEND! Our first legend: HEATHER FLIESHeather is the Junior High Pastor at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, MN, where she has served for over 22 years. She's a frequent conference speaker, and was co-host at the National Youth Worker's Convention in St Louis this year. In 2018, she was named Bethel Seminary Alumna of the Year. (We didn't know alumna was a word, either, but apparently it is)https://www.bethel.edu/news/articles/2018/august/heather-fliesDespite never realizing her dream of marrying a Viking's offensive lineman, Heather has helped many others realize theirs. She has been one of the leading voices for junior high ministry, for women, and for longevity during her

Welcome to 2019!We're back after a nice Christmas break. The McCabes enjoyed their frozen pizzas, days spent in pajamas, and their house guest, Clark W. Griswold (courtesy of Amazon and Steve). The Andersons enjoyed time with their adult children in their new favorite gathering spot, the backyard hot tub. Alas, now it's time to get back to work.Speaking of New Year's, what resolutions do you have? Mathew wants to Cheetos for cheese sticks and protein so he can shed a few pounds. Steve wants to become sort of Jewish and pretend the day begins at sundown instead of sunrise. Our success in these endeavors is yet to be determined.Which brings us to this episode. We wondered, "What will be be like one year from now? Will we be spiritually, emotionally and physically healthy? Will we still be doing youth ministry? What do we have to do this year to avoid burning out, falling down, and drying up? What do we need to practice in order to still be here doing this thing we love in January, 2020?We hope this is helpful a

It's Christmas!Time for lots of cookies, parties, and ugly sweaters. It also marks the end of an amazing year for us! At this time last year, the Youth Ministry Sherpa Podcast was still a dream. 65 full- and short-length episodes later, we're a thing! Who knew llamas would be the mascot of youth ministry everywhere?!We are both ready to celebrate Christmas. We have our favorite Christmas movies to watch, and are looking forward to time with our families. Mathew is going all Clark Griswald (remember to ask him afterwards what he got from Amazon), while Steve, though he loves Clark, is more of a George Bailey kind of guy. He even met Jimmy Stewart once (sort of). Anyway, other than a youth ministry Christmas party or two, the days of filling Christmas break with youth activities (dare we say, Lock In?) are over. Take a break. Give your volunteers time off. Relax and plan....nothing.We already have great plans for 2019 -- including a new season of episodes starting January 8th and a new series called "Sherpa Leg

Batman meets SupermanBrady meets ManningDickens meets TwainJames meets JordanStallone meets SchwarzeneggerLincoln meets Washington...Or 88-year-old Clint Eastwood meets 96-year-old Betty White?It's the first-ever crossover podcast with our friend Derry Prenkert of My Third Decade!Derry is a veteran youth worker from Indiana and host of the My Third Decade podcast, another great youth ministry podcast dedicated to longevity. He has been at his church for 22 years, having started as an intern and now serving in a fresh role as Next Gen Pastor. He started My Third Decade about the same time we started Youth Ministry Sherpas. Together, we have 54 years of youth ministry experience in 3 churches (about 82 years overall!). It's all part of this new wave of old people doing youth ministry podcasts! Just kidding. Derry is only in his 40s; we are the ones who are old here.Anyway, we've wanted to do an episode together for a while, and we finally pulled it off. We talk about some of our most significant moments in our

First, we apologize if this episode puts you in a bad mood. It was just one of those days.Steve was in a really bad mood when we recorded. It had something to do with the Pittsburgh Steelers losing late the night before. We take our football teams pretty seriously, and when things don't go our way, we get a little salty. A lot salty, actually. You might even say pissy. Hey, we might be shallow, but at least we're honest.This is why we try not to watch football when we know we are going to be around students. We don't want our mood to be affected when we are trying to lead a youth ministry. Who wants a grumpy, angry youth pastor?But the truth is, we all struggle with the various moods that ministry and life bring our way. Being a youth worker doesn't make us exempt from being angry/frustrated, disappointed/sad, tired/apathetic. In fact, ministry itself is often the number one factor making us feel this way. Welcome to life shepherding people!In today's episode, we lay it all on the table. We don't always feel

We made it!After waiting for four months to see if we could raise enough money to make it happen, and waiting for four hours on the tarmac to see if the airline could remove enough ice to make it happen, we made it to the National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC) in St. Louis! We set up our booth in the Exhibit Hall and spent the next 96 hours meeting people, giving away t-shirts, and hearing stories of what God is doing in youth ministries around the country. Nearly 5000 people were there. "These are our people."I don't think we've ever had more fun!While we were chatting with folks and hawking the podcast, we also set up our "studio" and asked people to join us for a few minutes. We recorded nearly 30 responses to questions we made up. The results are interesting, encouraging, and funny. Here they are for your listening pleasure.We're already excited for NYWC 2019 in Tampa. Can anyone say, "SHERPA HOUSE??!!"Enjoy Episode 35 -- Your Answers to Our Questions at NYWC 2018 Also mentioned in this episode:National

Happy Thanksgiving from two turkeys with a podcast!It's Thanksgiving Week -- one of our favorite weeks of the year, because it means the end of the fall youth ministry sprint and a chance to relax, spend time with our families, eat, watch football and take a nap. That, folks, is a good combination!We just got back from the National Youth Workers Convention in St. Louis. Wow, what a great time! It was wonderful being with our "tribe" of youth workers from all over the country. It's like a family reunion without the crazy uncle and awkward third cousin. Oh wait...Anyway, we had an absolute blast hanging out in the exhibit hall, meeting people and introducing them to this podcast. It's hard to believe we just started this thing in January--two joes from Maryland--and there we were with a giant banner like we were a legitimate thing!? What a privilege to meet so many faithful youth workers. Thanks for stopping by to say hi. We got some great material for a future episode, and we also discovered that people love l

"Measure twice; cut once." - Every Dad Ever"The standard is the standard." - Mike Tomlin"Lock-ins are the devil." - Youth Ministry SherpasWhat do Dads, successful NFL coaches, and healthy youth ministries all have in common?They all have MANTRAS, defined as "statements or slogans repeated frequently."  They are like rules for living, second-tier theologies, subtle truths that permeate everything we do. Mantras are stated, repeated (sometimes ad nauseam), and repeated again until they become a permanent part of the culture we are creating.We have mantras too. In today's episode, Steve and Mathew reflect on some of the "Mantras" that are near and dear to us. Without really thinking about it (before today), here are some things we say all the time that have become a major part of our youth ministries. We didn't learn these in some textbook, although some are informed from Scripture. But they reflect our passions and our perspective. Some of them are theological truths; others more practical. All of them are deep

Ladies and Gentlemen, by the time you read this, both hosts of the Youth Ministry Sherpas Podcast will be (gasp!) IN THEIR 50s!Steve has been doing the senior adult swim for a few years already, but Mathew is just getting into the pool, turning 50 on November 1. And guess what? We're not dead yet! We might even have some gas left in the tank. It sure smells like it.Anyway, the years sure have flown by. Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Mathew's 40th birthday at a hotel in Pittsburgh during a Youth Specialties conference. Steve bought the margaritas; Mathew dissolved into a puddle of tears. It has been a good ride, my friend. But that's a story for another episode. Anyway, it's amazing to look back and see how we've grown through each decade--from destroying kids in dodgeball and seeking legitimacy in our 20s, to pioneering and building healthy programs in our 30s, to hitting our stride and becoming more intentional in our 40s, to entering the "sage stage" in our 50s. It has been quite a journey, a

It's Halloween! It's also Episode 31. Is that a coincidence, or are there darker forces at work?In this episode, Steve and Mathew share our stories of the times we were scared in youth ministry. We've both lost kids on trips (well, almost). We've both scared them as often as possible. And we both have crazy stories to tell. Steve's youth group used to meet in a haunted house (for real). For some reason he thought it was a good idea to terrify middle school girls with a re-enactment of Jesus raising a little girl from the dead. (It was worse than a scene from the Exorcist.) Mathew once hosted a Halloween party that was crashed by an inappropriately bulging Ninja Turtle and a risque Naughty Nurse. He also left his students on the hayride while he fled for his life from a costumed shotgun-toting maniac. Not our finest moments.Oh well, we're not monsters, we're just knuckleheads. All that matters is that we get to eat all the candy leftover on Thursday.So turn off all the lights and enjoy the spooky fun with Epis

"What's it like having your own children in your youth ministry?"It's a question we've been asked frequently. The answer is: Challenging and Awesome!Most youth workers get into youth ministry either before they have kids, or when their kids are small. Stay in it long enough, though, and you get to experience the challenges and joys of having your own kids in your youth ministry. Mathew has four kids -- two in college and two in high school. His time is running out. Steve has three kids, all of whom came through the ranks of his youth ministry and are now young adults. We'll both tell you, there's nothing better than having your own kids in your youth ministry. Not that it's always easy. There were times when our kids felt the weight of expectations from others in the church, expectations which were unfair and unrealistic. And our kids were far from perfect. Mathew had to wrestle his oldest onto the middle school camp bus in front of a busload of living people (and a cemetery full of dead ones). Steve had to s

Every youth worker has one of those days when you feel like you are on top of the world--fresh on the trail and ready to conquer anything. This is the day we are capable, in control, and ready for whatever comes our way.Notice we said "one" of those days. Because one is about all we get, it seems Most of the time we feel overwhelmed, lost, and completely in over our heads. Just a few weeks before recording this episode, Mathew was literally lost in Yosemite valley while on a 5-day hike to Half Dome. Only a miraculous glimmer of his GPS signal saved he and his friend from a cold and potentially dangerous night in the California wilderness. There was a moment of panic and a sense that things were about to get real. That experience serves as the perfect analogy for what happens to us as youth workers. We are overwhelmed by the  multitude of responsibilities of the calling we've chosen. We are burdened and overhelmed by other people's problems that we know and bear. And every now and then we get a phone call deli

Well, a few weeks ago we said we were back. And we were, for two episodes. Then, unfortunately, we ran into some technical issues, lost two episodes we had recorded (they were good, we swear), and then we were out of town for a week. That's the bad news. The good news is that we were attending the Download Youth Ministry Conference (DYM200) in Orange County, California. It was amazing! We got so much swag we could barely close our suitcases, but moreso, we brought home some wisdom and encouragement to share with you.In this episode, we talk about our experiences at DYM--the amazing people we met, the youth ministry greats who poured into us, the beach house we shared (shoutout to the #danapointcrew), and our photoshoot with a llama (finally!). We also share some of the lessons we learned, not really content, per se, but more about what it means to be in youth ministry. We learned how important is it to be part of the greater youth ministry tribe. We learned it's better to not be in a hurry to find or provide

It's a good thing we were all perfect teenagers. It's a good thing we never made a mistake, got into trouble, or smashed a shopping cart against a light pole with our car. That's why we are such good and holy youth workers.Okay, that's probably a lie. A huge lie. The truth is, we all mess up, and as teenagers we all made our fair share of mistakes. We moved on thanks to the grace of God and the kindness of people.In this episode of the Youth Ministry Sherpas podcast, Steve and Mathew share a few (mild) stories of their idiotic younger days. (We edited out the really bad things because we don't want anyone to think less of us.) Steve shares his struggles with a recent real-life situation he still isn't sure he handled well (without giving away too much information), while Mathew shares his clever interrogation techniques gleaned from hours of watching Law and Order.What do we do when students mess up? How do we go about restoring them? What is the posture of our heart? How do we deal with the fallout in our gr