Premier Youth and Children’s Work Podcast

Deputy Editor Jess Lester spoke to children's musician and songwriter Michael J Tinker about his latest single Be Strong and Courageous, after it knocked Baby Shark from number two on the iTunes Charts. Plus, he explains why he thinks music is equally important for us adults as well as our children when it comes to learning Bible truths.     

Howard Worsley joined us to talk about his new book 'How to not totally put your children off God' and offers up advice for parents on how to get kids engaged and interested in faith at home

We spoke to iconic children's work author Ronni Lamont about her new book Faith in Kids, and how we can nurture our children's spirituality and faith from home

Recent events have seen us sit and have difficult conversations with our children and young people, most notably around the coronavirus pandemic. Funeral pastor, author and mum Annie Willmot shares her tips for talking about difficult topics with kids, and gives insight into how she's coped parenting in a pandemic.  To read more from Annie, check out the June's third YCW digital magazine. 

We spoke to Myles Macbean, director of Scripture Union, about their vision to engage with the children and young people on our doorsteps that still don't know the gospel, and how SU are continuing their work from lockdown. Plus, Myles reveals why he thinks we should embrace technology.  You can hear more from Myles in the latest YCW magazine, available online or via the YCW App on App Store and Google Play. 

We spoke to Adesola Ayodeji, a dance evangelist from The Message Trust, about how we can use art to reach out to young people outside of our churches and how he has used dance as a means to engage online with children and youth while in lockdown.  

We spoke to Rachel Turner, pioneer of Parenting for Faith, about how we can help develop our children's faith in lockdown and how to protect your own faith as a parent. Plus, Rachel offers up encouragement for her fellow church leaders and youth and children's workers.

We spoke to Naomi Allen, head of youth work at Open Doors, about how talking to children and young people about persecuted Christians can help them feel less alone in the difficulty of coronavirus, and how we can encourage young minds to look beyond themselves and towards the wider church. Plus, Naomi offered up her tips for maintaining your faith in lockdown and gives kids tips on how to pray for others.

John Mark Comer is pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, a father of three and an author. He spoke to us (before the coronavirus crisis) about his most recent book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (WaterBrook), what it means to practise Sabbath and how we can take a step back from technology. You can read more of John Mark's interview in the May edition of Youth and Children's Work magazine. 

Life in lockdown is hard enough without adding homeschooling into the mix. We spoke to a deputy head teacher about helping children to learn, supporting vulnerable families and preparing young people to go back to school. We also got his top tips for homeschooling.

We spoke to Joel Harris, intern and head of youth and social media at mental health charity Kintsugi Hope, about how we can be supporting our children and young people's emotional wellbeing. Joel gives his five top tips to staying mentally healthy in isolation and talks us through how to do schoolwork from home. 

Crises often brings out our true colours. We spoke to Hope Together's, Dan Randall, about how Christians are coming together to reach out to young people in their communities. He also shared how to do evangelism during Holy Week and Easter, even during lockdown. 

We spoke to youth evangelism officer for the Church of England, Jimmy Dale, about equipping young people to do evangelism and how we can use Easter to reach out to those who have never heard the gospel. 

We spoke to Guvna B about his new album and how we can support vulnerable young people. Plus, what does Easter look like for Guvna B? 

Holy Week can be an opportunity to think about some of the more difficult elements of our faith. We spoke to Sam Donoghue from the Diocese of London about how to speak to young children about death and grief. 

How do we celebrate Holy Week and Easter in a fresh way with families, particularly now we’re in lockdown? We spoke to Lucy Hall from Wintershall who shared her experience as an educator and a mother. 

The Coronavirus pandemic has forced us to think about how we do faith at home. But, how do we do that in a way that helps children explore their own faith? What does Easter look like in this setting? And how do we talk to children about difficult topics like death and resurrection? Ruth Jackson spoke to Gill Ambrose, Chair of Trustees for Godly Play UK.

Ruth Jackson spoke to Azande Mbhele, UK lead for Youth Alpha, about her faith journey as a child and how to help young people reach out to their friends, even in the midst of a global crisis. You can see video clips of Azande and Ruth’s conversation on the YCW Facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/ycwmag/

Caroline Flack’s tragic suicide has reminded us how important it is to protect our children’s mental health. YCW editor Ruth Jackson spoke to Amy Sixsmith, the diocesan mental and wellbeing youth worker for the Manchester Diocese, about how we can do this.  

Ruth Jackson spoke to BBC Humberside about a survey exploring right and wrong. 

Ruth Jackson captures some thoughts from the final day of the last ever Soul Survivor. She spoke with Mike Pilavachi, the worship band, youth workers, caterers, young people, medics, the sports team and parents.

HOPE's Dan Randall speaks to Ruth Jackson about why he thinks 80 percent of church budgets should be given to children's and youth ministry! They cover many subjects including schools’ work, sex, testimonies, taking risks, discipleship, evangelism, volunteering and much more.

We spoke to Stephanie Gauld, former director of CBebbies interactive and Disney online studios EMEA, and Joe Watson, former director of numerous BBC shows, about faith, children and media. Stephanie and Joe both work for the Little Worship Company, a project from Wonderborn Studios to inspire children aged 0 to 7 with a knowledge of God.  

We spoke to worship leader Tim Hughes about the legacy of Soul Survivor and the impact it had on countless young lives.

Youthscape’s Martin Saunders speaks to Ruth Jackson about his journey to faith and into youth work. He discusses important questions around gender, sex and identity and shares some thoughts about his new book The Man You’re Made to Be. 

As Soul Survivor draws to a close, deputy editor Emily Howarth chats to the founder and all-round legend Mike Pilavachi.

Dave Martin explains how and why running a Messy Cafe has revolutionised his church. He shares the joys, pitfalls and best practice for running a Messy Church.

School can be the best days of your life. But some young people find it so hard. Deborah Barnett from TLG (Transforming Lives for Good) shares how we can support those on the edge of exclusion.

Nick Page, author of the book with the very impressive title above (and over 80 other books), shares why we should drop the term 'Bible study' and rethink how we get children and young people to engage with the big picture story of Christianity.

Jess Lester works for The Sun. She explains why her boyfriend’s celibacy converted her to Christianity and why youth and children’s workers need to be telling young people about the option of waiting for marriage.  

Ruth Jackson speaks to Sarah Lumgair about black consciousness, why Christian is seen as a 'white' religion and how we can change that stigma. Plus an early bird ticket deal for an apologetics conference for young people!

Keeth Bandara launched the Candyshop to give young people a place to talk about their struggles with sex and relationships. He's now a father and a pastor. He and Lee, a member of his church, chat to Ruth Jackson about their experience of faith growing up, along with why and how we can have that conversation in our groups. 

The cricket world cup, which is being hosted in England and Wales has begun! Scripture Union’s Ben Poch shares a bit of his faith journey and looks at how we can use sport to reach children and young people.  

Ruth Jackson speaks to the Croydon foster care team to find how we can make sure our churches are the best places fostered kids can be.

The award-winning worship leader opens up about the impact of his father's suicide, the legacy of Soul Survivor, mental health and parenting. 

Premier Youth and Children's Work deputy editor Emily Howarth speaks to award-winning comedy writer James Cary about youth work, parenting small children and humour.

Iiiits Easter! Natalie Evans from Big Church Youth chats to us about supporting volunteer teams. Plus, what does lasagne have to do with diverse leadership teams?

This month we are joined by Ollie Deeks and Stephen Fenwick to chat about social media, gender, Bible study and twins.

Ruth and Emily chat through the role of grandparents, empowering children with additional needs and supporting gay teenagers. Plus with Valentine’s Day coming up, how can we ensure that we’re buying products for our loved ones that do not have any slavery in their supply line? Molly Hodson from International Justice Mission shares her advice.

We are recording from the Youth for Christ Conference with Tim Gough. Tim is a youth worker in Llandudno, author of Rebooted: Reclaiming youth ministry for the long haul, a biblical framework and a font of knowledge. We talk tough questions, evangelism and reading the entire Bible three times a year!

It's Christmas, so the YCW team get their festive on! Designer John Lloyd joins in to talk Santa, creche corners and creepy dolls.

This month we lament the rise in knife crime and consider the highs and lows of rural ministry. Meanwhile, 13-year-old Noah Brierley shares his experiences of school.

To honour World Mental Health Day, we highlight some of the mental health issues children and young people face, as well as us adults with guest interview Patrick Regan.

Soul Survivor will be stopping their summer festivals after 2019. To help us process this massive news, we spoke to Youthscape’s Martin Saunders.

When does adolescence stop and what impact does this have on our children? How can we make our youth groups places of inclusion for young people of all socio economic backgrounds? Editor Ruth Jackson is joined by youth workers Beth Resch and Josh Felstead.

How do we balance engaging with culture, while being countercultural? What’s the best way to handle badly behaved kids in church? What does all-age worship look like? Ruth and Emily are joined by Sam Donoghue from the Diocese of London to think about some of the big issues in youth and children’s work.

How can we encourage the girls in our children's and youth groups? Plus what relevance does the reformation have for teenagers today? We discuss some of these important questions with Ellie Hughes from charity The Riverbank Trust.

How do we parent in a digital age? Are marketing techniques getting in the way of our ministry? What is it like being a Christian in school? Editor Ruth Jackson, deputy editor Emily Mitchell and designer Matt Withers discuss all this and more.

How do young people maintain their faith when everyone around them seems to be going in a different direction? We are joined this month by an actual young person! 15-year-old Flo shares her experiences and tips about how we can help support Christian children and young people.

How do we ensure that there is diversity in our children’s and youth groups? Guvna B joins us to discuss how we can better reflect and reach out to ethnic minorities, as well as how we can engage children and young people in politics.

How can we help engage children and young people in church? Youth worker of the year Becca Willet from St Albans, Fulham joins us to discuss some new research from Google and unpack what that means for a younger generation who want to create and not just consume.