Youth Ministry Sherpas

Great coaches have what's called a "Coaching Tree." It's the legacy of former assistants who have gone on to great things in their own right. The longer they coach, the farther and wider those branches stretch.No youth pastor has a deeper, wider, and more influential tree than Dr. Jim Burns.Jim Burns has been involved in youth ministry since the time he was saved at 16. He  even turned down a baseball scholarship to Stanford in order to study for the ministry at then little-known Azusa Pacific University. He led a growing youth ministry in California, where he mentored a high school kid named Doug Fields. Jim became a key part of the Youth Specialties speaking team, working closely with the legendary Mike Yaconelli and Wayne Rice. He has written resources which now have more than 2 million copies in print. He eventually turned his rich wisdom towards parents, and became the President of HomeWord and the Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific. He and his wife Cathy stil

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! Welcome to the 3rd Season of the Youth Ministry Sherpas Podcast!In this episode, we kick off a new season with a much-needed checkup when Steve discovers in horror that Mathew hasn't been to the dentist in 9 (or is it 11) years! Apparently, Mathew doesn't think it's necessary until the pain is intolerable. Steve, on the other hand, goes faithfully twice a year (hey, it's covered by dental insurance, so why not?). Since we are now at the halfway point of the typical youth ministry year, this reminded us that it's good to do a bi-annual check up on our youth ministry. What are our volunteers, our students, and we ourselves doing to remind ourselves of our vision and goals? What can we do to avoid the cavities and apathy that the long winter months sometimes bring?We are the danger, we mean, the dentist! (Breaking Bad reference there)Episode 67 -- Getting a Mid-Year Checkup

When we think about legendary youth speakers, Duffy Robbins is one of the first people to come to mind. He has been challenging, inspiring, and entertaining students for over 40 years. His warm style and quick wit has influenced many generations of students and youth workers.In addition to being a sought-after conference speaker, Duffy served for many years as Professor of Youth Ministries at Eastern University near Philadelphia, as well as a key member of the Youth Specialties speaking team. Recently, he and Maggie moved to the western part of Pennsylvania to take a similar position at Grove City College (Steve's Alma Mater). Following the raising of their two daughters, Maggie pursued her passion by becoming a Spiritual Director, and each year brings her special gift to the Youth Specialties Conference.Despite some confusion during the interview, we were able to determine they've been married for 46 years!For the official resume, Duffy has his D.Min. in Youth and Family Ministry from Fuller Theological Semi

Recorded live from the National Youth Workers Convention in Tampa, FL!If you grew up in a youth group sometime in the past 30 years, chances are you've heard Duffy Robins speak. Who knows how many students he has spoken to over his many years as a conference speaker. After a distinguished career as Professor of Youth Ministries at Eastern University near Philadelphia, Duffy has taken his talents to other side of the state, to Grove City College (Steve's Alma Mater!). We were blessed to be joined by Duffy's wife, Maggie, for our first-ever "live" show. We can't wait for you to hear our "legendary" conversation with Duffy and Maggie Robbins.

Do you know who Kami Rita is? You should. He's a man who knows his calling.Do you ever wonder if you should still be in youth ministry, or question whether you were ever called in the first place?We have. And still do. But deep down, we also know we were called to this. And what helps us persevere is coming back to the story of how God called us into this in the first place. We realize that we've been imprinted with a supernatural design to do what we do. It's something we will always have, and it's what keeps us coming back year after year, even when we grow tired, discouraged, or wonder if we still have it.Remembering our calling affirms our calling.Kami Rita is the greatest Sherpa in history. Earlier this year, he summited Everest for the 24th time at the age of 49. He is definitely called to climb the mountain. We think you are too. We hope we've helped you get this far.As 2019 draws to a close, may this episode encourage you to continue in this amazing calling until the 24th summit, the 49th year, the ne

One of us is the life of the party, sending invites to the whole neighborhood to stop over for a swim. The other is happier sitting alone by the pool sipping coffee, ignoring the doorbell.Which of us has a better personality for youth ministry?The truth is -- both of us and neither of us.In today's episode, Mathew and Steve discuss the questions we've asked ourselves our entire lives in youth ministry. What are the advantages and disadvantages of our personality types? What do we bring to the table that's needed, and what do we need to work harder at? Mathew is the more stereotypical youth pastor -- the life of the party who rarely grows tired of people. Steve, on the other hand, is just as happy spending the day alone with books as with students. What we've both come to realize is that God made us exactly as we are -- with strengths and weaknesses -- and will use us uniquely in the lives of students. We just need to know when to dig deep for the part of us that doesn't come naturally. Perhaps you've question

We were looking forward to this for 365 days!We were back at the National Youth Workers Convention for the second time as exhibitors. We had a blast meeting people from all over the country who are serving faithfully in youth ministries large and small. We gave away a suitcase full of fuzzy socks and llamacorns, enough stickers to cover the earth, and a few t-shirts and fuzzy llamas too. What a great time!We also had the privilege of being part of the official program at NYWC, thanks to Josh Griffin and our friends at DYM. We will release our Sherpa Legend Interview with Duffy and Maggie Robbins soon!But on today's episode, we share the answers we received to our question, "What is the greatest advantage of youth ministry in your 20s/30s/40s/50s?" We were blessed to hear answers from every generation. And we have to say, longevity and wisdom rule!If you were part of today's show, thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you next year.Episode 64 -- Live from NYWC

OH MY! We can barely contain our excitement!This episode releases the day before we fly to Tampa for the Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC)! We are pumped to hang out with our tribe, enjoy the Big Room sessions, and meet everybody in the Exhibit Hall! These are our people!NYWC is always one of the highlights of our year, which is saying something, because we've been to a LOT of youth ministry conferences. Mathew estimates he's been to 25 or more. In fact, we've been to at least 7 together. Conferences are great fun, and definitely have helped us stay in youth ministry for so long!Whether you are coming with a spouse, your team, or alone, we have learned some helpful tips for making the most of NYWC, or any youth ministry conference for that matter. Here are four things you can do to maximize your experience:Decompress -- make sure you take time for yourselfDeconstruct -- stretch yourself and learn something newDebrief -- seek conversations around what you are learningDeclutter -- don't

Get ready to meet royalty! Katie Edwards is the Junior High pastor at Saddleback Church in Orange County, where she has served for over 20 years. From her first days as an intern in a ministry of less than 10 kids to now serving as "The Queen" of youth ministry at one of the nation's most influential churches, Katie's journey is one of humble faithfulness and the blessing of God. When she began, she had no idea where this would lead or how the church would change. More than 20 years later, she has so much wisdom to share -- about junior high students, about serving from her strengths, about being a lifelong learner, and about creating a culture that is beautiful and sustainable, no matter the size. There's a reason she's the Queen, and we were blessed to be in her court for an hour.We know you will enjoy this episode of Sherpa Legends with Katie Edwards!

Get ready to meet royalty! Katie Edwards is the Junior High pastor at Saddleback Church in Orange County, where she has served for over 20 years. From her first days as an intern in a ministry of less than 10 kids to now serving as "The Queen" of youth ministry at one of the nation's most influential churches, Katie's journey is one of humble faithfulness and the blessing of God. There's a reason she's the Queen, and we were blessed to be in her court for an hour. Tune in Thursday to hear the full episode.

Comparison is the enemy of joy and longevity in youth ministry. Learning to appreciate our situation and what God is doing through us is vitally important to our long-term success and personal well-being as youth workers.But what if we could go a step further? What if we could actually celebrate the success of others, including the youth pastor next door and the church down the road? What if we made it our mission to be such kingdom-builders that we actually DO something to bless those who, for too long, were our "competition"?We recorded this episode the day after the Washington Nationals won the World Series. Neither of us are Nationals fans, but we enjoyed seeing our friends celebrate their team's victory. It occurred to us -- what if we were able to spread that goodwill to our friends in youth ministry, and help us all to be intentional about celebrating the victory of others? All of us would probably say it's a good idea to not be competitive, but what do we actually do to encourage and celebrate our you

In a perfect world, we would all be perfect youthworkers. Every need would be met, every student would follow Christ, every expectation would be exceeded, and we would go to sleep at night knowing we made it happen.Yeah, right.Reality is much different. Despite our best efforts, we will fail. What do we do when the expectations others place on us, and the ones we place on ourselves, go unmet? What do we do when they are simply unrealistic in the first place?You know, like the expectations we place on NFL refs? But we digress.We don't always like the great expectations placed on us, whether from church leaders, parents, students, or even ourselves. In this episode, we focus on the great expectations of parents and students. They can be enough to drive anyone nuts, but in the end, it helps to remember many of those expectations come from a place of pain.We also discover that the best lessons we learn really did come in kindergarten. And we also learned there is such a thing as a speed cuber.And Halloween is the

In a perfect world, we would all be perfect youthworkers. Every need would be met, every student would follow Christ, every expectation would be exceeded, and we would go to sleep at night knowing we made it happen.Yeah, right.Reality is much different. Despite our best efforts, we will fail. What do we do when the expectations others place on us, and the ones we place on ourselves, go unmet? What do we do when they are simply unrealistic in the first place?In this episode, Steve and Mathew fondly remember completing our high school English assignment to read Great Expectations. We both liked the book. But we don't always like the great expectations placed on us, whether from church leaders, parents, students, or even ourselves. This is the first of a two-part series, and we have an honest and heartfelt conversation about how to deal with the expectations of church leadership. More difficult to handle, for us at least, are the expectations we place on ourselves. In the end, it's about grace, grace, grace.Now

Some people might be considered "the face" of youth ministry. Mark Oestreicher is "the beard" of youth ministry.Marko, as he is known, has been a thought leader in youth ministry for nearly three decades. From his early days as an advocate for the value and legitimacy of middle-school ministry, to his authorship of influential books, to his stint as president of Youth Specialties, to his founding of the Youth Cartel, Marko has been a leading voice for youth ministry innovation, cultural interpretation and practical training. Somewhere along the way, Marko gained a reputation as the visionary Yoda of youth ministry, developing the next generation of cutting edge leaders while challenging the church to constantly re-think its methods and purposes. He has led over 50 intensive training cohorts for youth pastors around the country. Recently, he was part of Download Youth Ministry's National Day of Volunteer Youth Ministry Training, and our volunteers are still talking about his session on the teenage brain.Strip

If you had to create a youth ministry legend from scratch, what ingredients would you include? Great beard? Check. Deep thinker? Check. Boundless love of students? Check. Great "getting fired" story? Check. Mark Ostreicher checks all the boxes of Youth Ministry Legend. He's the former president of Youth Specialties, founder of the Youth Cartel, a brilliant thinker, and a gadfly who challenges the status quo wherever he goes. The youth ministry world would not be where it is today without him. Here's a sneak peak of our conversation with Mark Ostreicher.

Ahh, nothing is better than waking up in a camp bunk to the gentle sound of rain and the smell of... middle school feet, wet towels, and moldy sleeping bags. They say our sense of smell carries the power of memories. Nothing brings back the past like powerful odors we've experienced in memorable moments of our lives. Thus, it's only fitting that we consider the calling of youth ministry from the perspective of our noses.In this episodes, Steve and Mathew take a trip down memory lane as we recount some of our favorite smells in youth ministry. Many are pungent. Some are nausea-inducing. And others contain combinations that have been cited for health violations and nearly caused nuclear reactions. Yet all of them represent the beauty of youth ministry in all its aromatic glory--whether it be in the bathroom, the van, the bunkhouse, or the third bottle of Axe Body Spray emptied in the past 12 minutes.The bottom line -- We get to do this! Even when it smells bad, it's beautiful!EPISODE 59 -- The Smells of Youth M

Good volunteers are the heartbeat of any youth ministry. If Jesus recruited 12 disciples to help with his mission, we probably need a thousand. Or a million.In this episode, Steve and Mathew share their thoughts on how to effectively pastor our volunteers. Our volunteers can do things we cannot do, go places we cannot go, and shepherd kids we cannot shepherd. We need them more than we think we do, and we need to do everything we can to help them succeed. An effective head youth leader will do these things (and more) for his or her volunteers...Encourage them. Everybody needs affirmation and a pat on the back. Our words are powerful.Equip them. Youth pastors swim in the waters of youth ministry. We have resources our volunteers need and are too busy to find.Empower them. Don't be the blockage in your ministry!Enjoy them. Play together. Make memories. Treat them like kings and queens.Inspire them. This isn't chaperoning. It isn't babysitting. It's kingdom building work. Share a big vision for what we do!This is

 Youth workers take on many roles, perhaps the biggest of which is running the ministry. We teach, lead, and run programs. But sometimes we get so busy, we lose sight of the trees because we are looking at the forest. It's time to get back to the whole reason we got into youth ministry in the first place. We love students and want them to know they are loved by us and by Jesus.In today's episode, Steve and Mathew talk about how we can ensure that we are providing for students what they need most. It doesn't matter how great our game is, or whether the slides are in the proper order, or if we run out of soda. What matters is that we remember that each student is made in the image of God. Here's what we need to do to make sure we are fulfilling our primary calling as youth workers. To be great youth workers, we must:See themHear themBelieve in themChallenge themCelebrate themThe annals of youth ministry history are filled with successes of this kind. Ask any of our "Sherpa Legends," and you'll find in their pas

 If you've ever been to a youth ministry conference, chances are that you've seen the Skit Guys. And if you've seen the Skit Guys, chances are you laughed until you cried. Keeping us in stitches and tissues is what they do best.Tommy Woodard and Eddie James have been bringing laughter and tears to the youth ministry world for over 25 years. They are truly the comedic legends of Youth Ministry.They met in high school when Tommy was the top dog of the drama department and Eddie was the challenger looking to ascend the throne. Despite the rivalry (documented on ESPN's 30 for 30), it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. When Tommy invited Eddie to go to church with him, Eddie met Jesus, and the course of their lives was changed forever.Not that they knew it at the time. They just started doing skits together, and one opportunity led to another which led to another. The next thing they knew, they were on stage before thousands. And occasionally, in a garage performing for 18. In both places, they have been

You see them on stage, read their books, and admire their work. But what about the stories behind the people? What led them into youth ministry in the first place? Why have they made it their life's work, and what have they learned about themselves along the way? Learn the story behind the calling and career of the men and women who have achieved legendary status in youth ministry with SHERPA LEGENDS, our monthly special edition (delivered the 3rd Thursday of each month). Here's a teaser for September's show -- our fun and laughter-filled conversation with... The Skit Guys!