Youth Ministry Sherpas

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsIThis June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Police, Tom Petty, REO Speedwagon, and Michael Jackson, right? Mathew says the 80s has too much keyboard and polyester. He says it’s the 90s. Whatever – young people have so much to learn.Anyway, we are going for 22 straight days of wisdom, laughs and surprises, creating an iconic playlist for youth workers everywhere. Sounds like podcast perfection.Enjoy SHERPA SHORTS SEASON 4!Follow our Spotify playlist as it unfolds here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nt7bw8xB91soH0qX2WBRg?si=708f65ed8f4b4bc2Don’t forget to register for the National Day of Youth Ministry Volunteer Training. It’s the best deal since a 4-hour Spring

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsIThis June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Police, Tom Petty, REO Speedwagon, and Michael Jackson, right? Mathew says the 80s has too much keyboard and polyester. He says it’s the 90s. Whatever – young people have so much to learn.Anyway, we are going for 22 straight days of wisdom, laughs and surprises, creating an iconic playlist for youth workers everywhere. Sounds like podcast perfection.Enjoy SHERPA SHORTS SEASON 4!Follow our Spotify playlist as it unfolds here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nt7bw8xB91soH0qX2WBRg?si=708f65ed8f4b4bc2Don’t forget to register for the National Day of Youth Ministry Volunteer Training. It’s the best deal since a 4-hour Spring

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsIThis June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Police, Tom Petty, REO Speedwagon, and Michael Jackson, right? Mathew says the 80s has too much keyboard and polyester. He says it’s the 90s. Whatever – young people have so much to learn.Anyway, we are going for 22 straight days of wisdom, laughs and surprises, creating an iconic playlist for youth workers everywhere. Sounds like podcast perfection.Enjoy SHERPA SHORTS SEASON 4!Follow our Spotify playlist as it unfolds here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nt7bw8xB91soH0qX2WBRg?si=708f65ed8f4b4bc2Don’t forget to register for the National Day of Youth Ministry Volunteer Training. It’s the best deal since a 4-hour Spring

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsIThis June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Police, Tom Petty, REO Speedwagon, and Michael Jackson, right? Mathew says the 80s has too much keyboard and polyester. He says it’s the 90s. Whatever – young people have so much to learn.Anyway, we are going for 22 straight days of wisdom, laughs and surprises, creating an iconic playlist for youth workers everywhere. Sounds like podcast perfection.Enjoy SHERPA SHORTS SEASON 4!Follow our Spotify playlist as it unfolds here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nt7bw8xB91soH0qX2WBRg?si=708f65ed8f4b4bc2Don’t forget to register for the National Day of Youth Ministry Volunteer Training. It’s the best deal since a 4-hour Spring

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsIThis June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Police, Tom Petty, REO Speedwagon, and Michael Jackson, right? Mathew says the 80s has too much keyboard and polyester. He says it’s the 90s. Whatever – young people have so much to learn.Anyway, we are going for 22 straight days of wisdom, laughs and surprises, creating an iconic playlist for youth workers everywhere. Sounds like podcast perfection.Enjoy SHERPA SHORTS SEASON 4!Follow our Spotify playlist as it unfolds here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nt7bw8xB91soH0qX2WBRg?si=708f65ed8f4b4bc2Don’t forget to register for the National Day of Youth Ministry Volunteer Training. It’s the best deal since a 4-hour Spring

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsIThis June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Police, Tom Petty, REO Speedwagon, and Michael Jackson, right? Mathew says the 80s has too much keyboard and polyester. He says it’s the 90s. Whatever – young people have so much to learn.Anyway, we are going for 22 straight days of wisdom, laughs and surprises, creating an iconic playlist for youth workers everywhere. Sounds like podcast perfection.Enjoy SHERPA SHORTS SEASON 4!Follow our Spotify playlist as it unfolds here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nt7bw8xB91soH0qX2WBRg?si=708f65ed8f4b4bc2Don’t forget to register for the National Day of Youth Ministry Volunteer Training. It’s the best deal since a 4-hour Spring

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsIThis June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Police, Tom Petty, REO Speedwagon, and Michael Jackson, right? Mathew says the 80s has too much keyboard and polyester. He says it’s the 90s. Whatever – young people have so much to learn.Anyway, we are going for 22 straight days of wisdom, laughs and surprises, creating an iconic playlist for youth workers everywhere. Sounds like podcast perfection.Enjoy SHERPA SHORTS SEASON 4!Follow our Spotify playlist as it unfolds here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nt7bw8xB91soH0qX2WBRg?si=708f65ed8f4b4bc2Don’t forget to register for the National Day of Youth Ministry Volunteer Training. It’s the best deal since a 4-hour Spring

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsIThis June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Police, Tom Petty, REO Speedwagon, and Michael Jackson, right? Mathew says the 80s has too much keyboard and polyester. He says it’s the 90s. Whatever – young people have so much to learn.Anyway, we are going for 22 straight days of wisdom, laughs and surprises, creating an iconic playlist for youth workers everywhere. Sounds like podcast perfection.Enjoy SHERPA SHORTS SEASON 4!Follow our Spotify playlist as it unfolds here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nt7bw8xB91soH0qX2WBRg?si=708f65ed8f4b4bc2Don’t forget to register for the National Day of Youth Ministry Volunteer Training. It’s the best deal since a 4-hour Spring

Holy Llama Lips, it’s the Fourth Season of Sherpa ShortsIThis June, for 22 straight days, we are choosing a memorable song and then riffing about how it relates to youth ministry. This year we decided to go decade by decade, choosing 2 songs each, starting with the 70s and progressing to 2021. What’s the best decade for music? Steve says it’s the 80s. I mean, it’s hard to top Springsteen, the Police, Tom Petty, REO Speedwagon, and Michael Jackson, right? Mathew says the 80s has too much keyboard and polyester. He says it’s the 90s. Whatever – young people have so much to learn.Anyway, we are going for 22 straight days of wisdom, laughs and surprises, creating an iconic playlist for youth workers everywhere. Sounds like podcast perfection.Enjoy SHERPA SHORTS SEASON 4!Follow our Spotify playlist as it unfolds here:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nt7bw8xB91soH0qX2WBRg?si=708f65ed8f4b4bc2Don’t forget to register for the National Day of Youth Ministry Volunteer Training. It’s the best deal since a 4-hour Spring

Okay, we admit it’s wishful thinking. The pandemic isn’t quite over. In some places it’s as bad as ever. But we are both vaccinated, so we are feeling like we’ve awakened from a bad dream and are ready to move forward.Today, we wrap up our series about church and youth ministry post-covid. While we thought our first two conversations were helpful, our topic today is the most important of all. How do we care for our souls as youth workers in this crazy, post-pandemic world?We are excited to share the rest of our conversation with our two friends.James Sabin is the Youth and Family Pastor at Kingdom Community Church in Morgantown, WV, where he has served for 11 years. He is also the host of the Youth Ministry Soul Keeper Podcast on the DYM network or wherever you listen to podcasts.Jessica Sanchez is a trained spiritual director, a long-time youth ministry volunteer, the Director of Marketplace for Download Youth Ministry, and co-host of the Download Youth Ministry Podcast with Doug Fields, Josh Griffin and Kat

Okay, we admit it’s wishful thinking. The pandemic isn’t quite over. In some places, it’s as bad as ever. But we are both vaccinated, so we are feeling like we’ve awakened from a bad dream and are ready to move forward.Today, we continue our series about the church and youth ministry post-covid. While we thought our first two conversations were helpful, our topic today is the most important of all. How do we care for our souls as youth workers in this crazy, post-pandemic world?We are excited to welcome two guests on our show today.James Sabin is the Youth and Family Pastor at Kingdom Community Church in Morgantown, WV, where he has served for 11 years. He is also the host of the Youth Ministry Soul Keeper Podcast on the DYM network or wherever you listen to podcasts.Jessica Sanchez is a trained spiritual director, a long-time youth ministry volunteer, the Director of Marketplace for Download Youth Ministry, and co-host of the Download Youth Ministry Podcast with Doug Fields, Josh Griffin and Katie Edwards.Le

Okay, we admit it’s wishful thinking. The pandemic isn’t quite over. In some places it’s as bad as ever. But we are both vaccinated, so we are feeling like we’ve awakened from a bad dream and are ready to move forward.That being said, there are some serious challenges ahead. The “return to normal” we’ve all clamored for isn’t reality. There will be a new way forward, and things will never quite be the same.So now that the pandemic is over…what’s next?To that end, we are presenting a new 3-part series. In part 2, after we discuss Steve’s new pizza oven, we talk about YOUTH MINISTRY PROGRAMMING. What is next for youth ministry world? We are all clamoring to get back to “normal,” and first inclination is to immediately begin everything we were doing before. We miss the energy, the excitement, the room full of students and the bus trip to camp every other weekend. But is that the wisest thing? Would we be better served to step back and evaluate what we were doing before to see if it’s the best thing to do in the

Okay, we admit it’s wishful thinking. The pandemic isn’t quite over. In some places it’s as bad as ever. But we are both vaccinated, so we are feeling like we’ve awakened from a bad dream and are ready to move forward.That being said, there are some serious challenges ahead. The “return to normal” we’ve all clamored for isn’t reality. There will be a new way forward, and things will never quite be the same.So now that the pandemic is over…what’s next?To that end, we are presenting a new 3-part series. In today’s episode we talk about THE CHURCH and what it will be like in the future. Who won’t be returning? What will the impact of this tumultuous season be on pastors? Barna says that fewer than 50% of Americans will be attending church. What will become of the church in America? It’s not all butterflies and roses, but we believe God will ultimately bring good from it.Mathew decided to get out of ministry before he had to figure it out. Lame!Just kidding. Here’s a heartfelt discussion from two guys who have be

Mathew has something huge to tell us. Meanwhile, Steve can’t even…Today we reveal something we’ve known about for a while. After 30 years in youth ministry and 16 years at his current church, Mathew is leaving the pastorate and heading out into the great unknown called “Life Outside of the Church.” This raises so many questions. How did he arrive at this decision? Why would he do such a thing? What’s he going to do next? What existential crisis does this create in Steve? And of course, the biggest question of all and the one we know you are asking with fear and trepidation, “What does this mean for the future of the Youth Ministry Sherpas Podcast?” We answer all of that and more (well, at least we try) in this episode. Plus, stories about our amazing November recording getaway, why Mathew walked into the Sherpa studio like a drunk man, and the strange tale of some dude who got a driveway full of oil-soaked pennies. Episode 95 is monumental!Get your whole volunteer in on the best deal in the history of youth m

Today we continue our series “Creating a Culture of…” The most important part of being a successful youth pastor isn’t teaching, meeting with kids, or planning events. It isn’t how charismatic we are, or how big our budget is. The most important thing is building a culture, what we call the “environmental architecture of a healthy ministry. Over time, our culture becomes a living entity, a self-perpetuating lifeform, allowing our ministries to grow and flourish year after year. It’s bigger than us and bigger than our current crop of students or leaders. For this series, we’ve identified four key elements of any youth ministry culture – fun, outreach, leadership, and family.Today, Mathew and Steve discuss how to create a cult. (Just kidding. See our Instagram account). Actually, we saved the best for last. This one is near and dear to our hearts. Creating a culture of family is one of the things we are most committed to. The best youth ministries aren’t the ones with the flashiest youth rooms, the best worship

Today we continue our series “Creating a Culture of…” The most important part of being a successful youth pastor isn’t teaching, meeting with kids, or planning events. It isn’t how charismatic we are, or how big our budget is. The most important thing is building a culture, what we call the “environmental architecture of a healthy ministry. Over time, our culture becomes a living entity, a self-perpetuating lifeform, allowing our ministries to grow and flourish year after year. It’s bigger than us and bigger than our current crop of students or leaders. For this series, we’ve identified four key elements of any youth ministry culture – fun, outreach, leadership, and family.Today, Mathew and Steve discuss how to create a culture of leadership. Creating a culture of student leadership has been on the radar since our first days in youth ministry. There have been plenty of missteps and restarts, but it seems like we’ve landed in a good spot and are seeing the fruit of our efforts. Our Student Leadership teams hav

Today we continue our series “Creating a Culture of…” The most important part of being a successful youth pastor isn’t teaching, meeting with kids, or planning events. It isn’t how charismatic we are, or how big our budget is. The most important thing is building a culture, what we call the “environmental architecture of a healthy ministry. Over time, our culture becomes a living entity, a self-perpetuating lifeform, allowing our ministries to grow and flourish year after year. It’s bigger than us and bigger than our current crop of students or leaders. For this series, we’ve identified four key elements of any youth ministry culture – fun, outreach, leadership, and family.Today, Mathew and Steve discuss how to create a culture of outreach. With the current generation more unchurched than ever, it’s important to remain focused on those outside our walls, inspiring students to be others-focused as we tell the world about Jesus. We can help by making sure we use non-churchy language in our ministry, by encourag

What’s more fun than listening to the Youth Ministry Sherpas podcast? How about a healthy youth ministry?Today we kick off a four-part series called “Creating a Culture of…” The most important part of being a successful youth pastor isn’t teaching, meeting with kids, or planning events. It isn’t how charismatic we are, or how big our budget is. The most important thing is to build a culture, what we call the “environmental architecture of a healthy ministry. Over time, our culture becomes a living entity, a self-perpetuating lifeform, allowing our ministries to grow and flourish year after year. It’s bigger than us and bigger than our current crop of students or leaders. Many elements go into creating a culture. For this series, we’ve identified four of them.Today, Mathew and Steve discuss the value of fun. Whether it’s silly games that disarm the “too cool for school” crowd and envelope the shy ones, or the ridiculous traditions that began by accident and now have more sequels than the Fast and Furious franc

What is wrong with you people!? What do you mean you don’t agree with everything we say? What do you mean the Youth Ministry Sherpas Podcast is not your favorite podcast ever? It’s easy to take offense—these days, probably easier than ever. Someone is always upset over something. As youth workers, we might be offended by someone’s opinion about our program, by their political views, by their lack of involvement in our ministry. And let’s face it, we probably are experts at offending others, too.People getting offended is more rampant in churches than coronavirus, and youth workers are not immune. When we respond with defensiveness, with justification, or with sharp words, we only pour gas on the fire and make our lives more difficult.What if we make a concerted effort to be different? What if we are willing to look beyond the surface, give people the benefit of the doubt, respond gently, take it on the chin even if we think we are right, and above all – show humility? Would our modeling of pastoral humility m

It’s February. It’s icy. It’s cold. We haven’t seen the sun since the 1840s. (Okay, a slight exaggeration, but it feels that way.) If you live in Maryland, Wisconsin, New England, or the Midwest, you understand. If you live in California, well…whatever. Loser.Regardless of where you live, it’s the time of the year in youth ministry when it feels like everyone just wants to take a nap. The thrill of fall kickoff is a distant memory. The holidays are over. It feels like we are biding our time until summer camp or the next big trip.How do we keep our enthusiasm, avoid resigning, and keep our students interested through the inevitable season we call, “The Doldrums”?In today’s episode, we share our thoughts about how to manufacture even small jolts of energy throughout the year. Whether it’s coming up with a contest or challenge, catching up on some things we’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have time for, or just reminding ourselves that the ups and downs are par for the course, we think our ideas might be helpf