The Word in Youth Ministry - A CPYU Podcast

Youth and Families Pastor, Scott Herron, joins the podcast with Kyle to discuss growing as a teacher in our youth ministries. The words from Scott offer encouragement to youth leaders young and old alike. He emphasizes how an early important lesson he learned was that he didn't always have to be "the guy." His ministry thrives most when he remembers to get out of the way. He shares about how his teaching has changed over the years and ways he's improved as a teacher of God's Word as he's learned to be patient with himself. Scott also shares tips regarding whether or not to use curriculum. This episode also includes a discussion about not getting hurt or upset when students don't attend youth group when they are engaged in the body of the church on Sunday mornings and serve in other capacities.

Tim McAlpine joins the podcast to recommend and discuss one of his favorite preaching books, On Preaching by H.B. Charles, Jr. He and Kyle discuss some of Tim's favorite chapters and talk about the importance of staying true to the text of Scripture in our preaching. Tim also includes some advice to free us from the weight and temptation of trying to be funny or entertain when we're teaching student's God's word. There's also some great conversation about proper use of illustrations, and how illustrations from Scripture itself are the best ones! Tons of great advice for youth workers trying to be faithful to Scripture and teach the Bible well.

Kyle invites friend of the show and Assistant Pastor Greg Buchanan on as a guest co-host. Together they interview Tim Keesee of Frontline Missions. Tim helps youth pastors know how to cast a vision for teens to be a part in advancing and expanding the Kingdom of God through missions. He helps set real expectations about the work of missionaries and the role that suffering often plays in the lives of Christians who live in parts of the world that are hostile to the Gospel. They end with a great list of missionary biographies that are recommended reading for youth pastors and teens alike.

Kyle invites Chelsea Kingston Erickson, Editor of Youth Ministry Content and Director of Publishing for Rooted, to join the podcast to discuss the importance of not forgetting to teach The Old Testament within our youth groups. Chelsea provides listeners with great practical tips on how to do this well and shares plenty of great resources that youth workers can use. Kyle and Chelsea not only dive into the importance of teaching the whole of Scripture but also offer up examples on how they've approached doing so in the past.

Alex Duke, Director of Training and Sending at 3rd Avenue Baptist Church and Senior Editor at 9 Marks joins the podcast. Kyle and Alex discuss the perils of separating youth from the larger Church body as well as some principles healthy churches should strive for. They cover topics like communion, baptism, membership and more. Alex and Kyle agree that healthy churches are likelier to produce lasting disciples. Alex explains the goals of expository preaching and encourages youth pastors to stick around for the long haul as we never know what kind of seeds we are planting and what work the Holy Spirit will do later in the lives of the students we've ministered to.

In a first for our podcast, Kyle invites one of his students to join the conversation. Kyle and Malachi have read 15 theology books together of the last 4 years. Together they discuss what this looked like, what some of Malachi's favorite books have been, and how Malachi has grown. Throw in some fun banter about Ohio State vs. Penn State, a snake being brought to a recent youth group meeting, and how Malachi and his friends "bet" on how long the Sunday morning sermons will be, and it makes for a fun and lively discussion. More importantly, the conversation provides encouragement to other youth leaders who might want to try reading theology books with students. It is possible! And this episode provides an example to show the way.

Kyle and youth pastor RJ McCauley of Magnolia Church in California have a great discussion about sermon illustrations. They use the book "Illustrating Well: Preaching Sermons That Connect" by Jim Wilson as a discussion prompt. They talk about when to use illustrations, how to determine if an illustration is worth while to use in the first place, whether we should limit the number of illustrations we use, and more. Ultimately, they stress that illustrations should always point back to the text we're trying to teach.

Kyle invites Jeremy Meeks of the Charles Simeon Trust to help us with practical tips to become a better preacher and teacher. We walk through many of the question used during the Charles Simeon Preaching Workshops. We look at concepts like structure of the biblical text as well as context of the text, cultural, historically, biblically, and more. Jeremy also tells us about the helpfulness of commentaries, but issues a strong warning not to rely on them too heavily. Jeremy also explains the importance figuring out what the main point of the biblical text is, rather than trying to communicate something we think is important that might not actually be part of the text. We're also encouraged to ask the question of "how does the passage connect to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?" and Jeremy helps us think about doing that properly without falling into some common traps.

Kyle has a fun conversation with Mike McGarry of Youth Pastor Theologian. They encourage youth pastors to be intentional about how they teach and preach to students. Mike explains how we can teach theology in ways to will connect with students. They also discuss practical tips regarding planning a teaching calendar, when or when not to use curriculum, and even the length of time we should be teaching our students in various settings. 

Kyle welcomes two guests this episode as we take a look at practical ways we can use camps, conferences, retreats, and other special events to ignite spiritual growth in our students. Foster Toft, Pastor of Student Ministries at Bethel Church in Indiana joins us as well as Eric Miller, Executive Director of Ministry at Momentum Ministry Partners. Together, they walk us through properly valuing special events within a larger scope, sequence, core values, and purpose within our existing ministries. They encourage youth workers to utilize these trips (and the car rides to and from!) as a way to poor into relationship building with the teens they serve.

Kyle invites Youth Pastor and CPYU Research Fellow Mike Terry to co-host this episode featuring Valerie O'Brien of Aspen Ministry. Valerie tells us about Aspen Ministry's 10,000 question project where they are collecting questions about faith and life from students in order to better hear them and point them to Jesus based on where they are and the questions they are actually wrestling with. Valerie reminds us of the importance of answering the questions students are actually asking rather than the questions we think they're asking. How do we answer questions in a way that is both truthful and communicated with a heart for the asker?

Kyle invites his co-worker, Middle School Pastor, and CPYU Research Fellow Josiah Rios to co-host this episode. Together they interview pastor and author Paul Tautges about his book Remade: Embracing Your Complete Identity in Christ. Identity formation is a huge issue among our teens, so we need to help them understand that they are both created by God and redeemed by God in Christ. When teens live into this reality, it helps lift the impossible burden of creating their own identities. They take time to dive into what Paul calls a triple lens perspective, understanding that we are sinners, sufferers, and saints and how we can teach that paradigm to students.

Kyle Hoffsmith and Pastor and CPYU Research Fellow Jason Engle discuss 4 important questions youth workers should ask when they are preparing to give a Bible message. Jason reminds us to teach the Bible rather than using the Bible as a supplement in our teaching. We are encouraged to keep Scripture in context and understand what the original intent of the author was. Kyle and Jason help us focus on teaching the main idea of a passage. Finally we're encouraged to consider our audience. This episode is chock-full of practical tips veteran and rookie youth workers alike can use to improve their Bible teaching skills.

Kyle Hoffsmith welcomes Greg Stier to the podcast. Greg is the founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries and author of the new book Radical Like Jesus: 21 Challenges to Live a Revolutionary Life. Greg passionately shares how important it is for discipleship and evangelism to go hand in hand and not be separated. Kyle and Greg talk about equipping and encouraging kids to share the Gospel in our youth ministries so they can make an impact in their world.

Kyle Worley, Lead Pastor at Mosaic Church in Richardson, TX, joins the podcast to discuss his book Home with God. We use his book to lead us into a discussion about how to teach about the doctrine of union with Christ to students. He tells us about some misconceptions about this important topic, and helps us address these misunderstandings. Kyle gives us insight into how the truth and beauty of union with Christ helps students when they're wrestling with topics of acceptance, identity, and difficult home lives.

Kyle invites his co-worker and CPYU Research Fellow Josiah Rios to co-host this episode. Leslie Schmucker, author of Broken Children, Sovereign God: Rejoicing in God's Goodness Amidst Childhood Mental Health Struggles joins them and together they discuss ministering to children, youth, and families who are struggling with mental health concerns. Leslie encourages us to elevate Scripture over everything as we care for them in our churches. She also emphasizes the need for prayer. They also discuss practical ways we can support struggling families when even the act of making it to church on Sunday mornings can turn into such a big deal for them.

Pastor Chris Polski joins the podcast to discuss the importance of using physical Bibles. Kyle digs into an article Chris wrote for The Gospel Coalition titled "Don't Give Up On Physical Bibles." Chris talks about the obvious benefits of limiting digital distractions, but also talks about the example, the stored history, the value to the next generation, and other benefits that using a physical Bible can have.

Kyle invites Doug Franklin of LeaderTreks on the podcast. They discuss the idea of "happathy" within our youth groups, what it is, and how we can combat it. How do we intentionally invest in discipling the next generation so they don't experience happathy? Doug emphasizes the importance of being "small" and that in order to do so, we must put a priority on developing our volunteer staff and training them to be relational.

CPYU Research Fellows and Youth Pastors Josiah Rios and Mike Terry join the podcast. We all know that ministry to middle school students can be challenging. Mike and Josiah help us take a look at barriers to teaching the Bible to middle schoolers and how to break through them. How can we teach middle school students in a way that keeps their attention without sacrificing the substance of the message? Mike helps explain the differences of teaching simply vs. teaching superficially. Josiah helps us realize the importance of prayer and letting our passion and excitement for the Gospel genuinely shine through. We are also encouraged to stay true to the text of Scripture.

Youth Pastor Billy Evans joins the podcast to discuss theology with Kyle. Specifically, they have a great discussion about how to teach theology to our students. Billy walks us through how he taught through doctrinal statements at his church. They discuss special revelation as well as general revelation and the ways in which God has revealed himself. Are there any barriers that need to be overcome in order to address theology with our students? Billy helps point out some of those barriers and how we can work through them. They also discuss differences between systematic and biblical theology. They mostly focus on systematic theology and Billy helps us think through how to approach this in terms of scope and sequence. We even get into a discussion about whether to teach opposing views and how to do this well.

Do we minister to teens shaped more by the cultural narratives around us than the Word of God? Are we influenced or worried about what our students or teens will think about us? Are we aiming for relevance or truth? Tim helps us reflect on these tough questions and encourages us to lean into the truth as found in God's Word. Tim helps us wrestle with issues of fear, with believing lies (even ones we tell ourselves), and confronting our misplaced desires.

Kyle invites youth ministry professor Duffy Robbins on the podcast. They discuss ways in which messages are delivered poorly, as well as ways in which they can be delivered well. Duffy helps point out traps we might fall into so that we can avoid them. He encourages us to keep preaching the Word and provides ways to keep filling our own wells. Kyle and Duffy discuss whether or not the way we should approach teaching to teens has changed at all since the advent of the smartphone.

Kyle invites CPYU Research Fellows Kerry Trunfio and Jason Engle to joint the discussion for this episode. We take a look at questions that have been submitted by e-mail from our listeners. The three of them take the time to answer questions about Bible engagement, a "Simple Church" model, and more.

Kyle has a conversation with Art Rainer of Christian Money Solutions. They discuss the importance of being generous with our resources because we serve a generous God. Thinking biblically about money is a skill that will set them up well for the rest of their lives. Giving allows us to live with greater contentment and satisfaction as we come to realize that we are simply stewards of what God has provided to us. Art helps us lean into a biblical worldview of possessions, finances, and money and offers listeners lessons on how we can teach and model the concept of generosity to our children and the teens in our ministries.

Kyle invites CPYU President Walt Mueller and author Andrew Walker to join this episode. They discuss transgender ideology, how it is impacting our kids, and steps we need to take in our youth ministries to teach the truth. The importance is teaching solid theology is stressed, with an emphasis on going back to Genesis 1 and 2 to see God's intended creational order. Andrew Walker takes a look back at how some of the cultural issues surrounding the LGBTQ+ movement have changed so quickly, even in the short number of years since he wrote the first edition of his book, and addresses some of the changes he'd make or add today.

Pastor and author Tim Challies joins the podcast to discuss his book Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God. We use the opportunity to talk about how we can train those in our youth ministry how to suffer well. If we haven't taught a deep theology of suffering to our teenagers, then they can be blindsided later in life when suffering comes. Tim describes how walking with faith through suffering is an opportunity to steward the suffering that God has given for us. Suffering is an inevitable part of life in general, and particularly of the life of a Christian, so we must do our part to equip our students biblically with a proper view of God's sovereignty in suffering.

Our culture has a broad misunderstanding about sex, marriage, divorce, cohabitation and other related topics. Dr. Jim Newheiser joins the podcast to help us look at teaching these topics from a biblical perspective. His years of pastoral counseling experience help us realize the importance of confronting cultural lies and pointing to biblical truth. Students need to be equipped to think through whether they are being called to get married, and whether or not they are ready for marriage. We also take a look at the pitfalls of cohabitation and instead teach about the covenant of marriage. We can help teenagers begin thinking about preparing and maturing for marriage years before they are even considering getting married themselves. We also take a look at teaching about divorce sensitively knowing that many students in our ministries are coming from broken homes.

In this episode Kyle emphasizes the importance of learning from church history. In that light, he invites Pastor Rick Marshall to discuss his time serving as Director of Crusades/Missions for Billy Graham. Rick talks about the importance of ministry to the next generation and reflects back on his time with Billy Graham to help pass along a few lessons. He shares about Billy Graham's heart for young people and what it looks like to not only start well, but to finish well.

Kyle welcomes Mike McGarry, founder of Youth Pastor Theologian on the podcast to discuss teaching the Bible the students. Mike emphasizes the importance of teaching theology and filling our students' cups. Together, they discuss Mike's latest book Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith and how important it is to let students ask questions in your youth ministry setting. There's plenty of great information to learn from this 20 year youth ministry vet in this episode.

Kyle invites youth pastor Will Standridge to join the podcast. Together they discuss teaching 1 Samuel 15. Their conversation covers sermon prep, considering the setting, praying for your audience, and dives into the difficult passage. Will offers great advice to youth pastors, not only for teaching this specific text, but for teaching students in general.

Kyle and Rich Brown of Next Gen Matters discuss the importance of teaching The Word to the next generation. They look at passages of scripture, from Acts and II Timothy, and talk about lessons we can gain as we work to pass the torch and equip our teens. Do our students have a relationship with Jesus? How do we teach students the truths of Scripture and get them to engage with the Word of God? How do we get them to actively serve in the life of the Church? We look at these questions and more on this episode of The Word in Youth Ministry.

Kyle invites Reggie Seutia, Pastor of Music Ministry, to join the podcast to discuss worship and song in youth ministry. They discuss the importance of using good songs in our worship and how we can use songs with intentional lyrics and rich content to teach the Bible and theological truths. Reggie encourages us not to sing certain songs just because they're popular or trendy, but instead to evaluate them in terms of whether they are true to scripture. Kyle and Reggie also discuss ways we can use our time with high school students as a way to train future worship leaders. They also discuss practical issues like lighting, volume, and even the key songs are played in.

Dr. Mitchell Chase joins Kyle to discuss the importance of teaching about the Fall to our students. Dr. Chase discusses his latest book "Short of Glory: A Biblical and Theological Exploration of the Fall." Together they encourage us not to shy away from this topic, but instead to help place it within the larger biblical narrative. Understanding the effects of the Fall and realizing our sinfulness helps us better comprehend and appreciate the grace, redemption, and justification offered through Jesus Christ.

Kyle invites his youth pastor on the podcast to discuss the impact he had on his life and ministry and to pick his brain about teaching the Bible to the next generation. Chad Groff offers encouragement to youth workers, both new and "seasoned" alike. Chad reflects on how his methods have changed over a few decades of teaching the Bible, provides insight on staying up-to-date with culture, and discusses how having children of his own in the youth group impacts his ministry.

Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration. Kyle and Jason discuss helping our students understand God's Grand Story as we teach them Scripture. Knowing where books of the Bible or certain passages fall within the bigger picture help us provide context for our students. How can we use this narrative to help students navigate culture and the things they deal with in every day life?

CPYU President Walt Mueller joins host Kyle Hoffsmith for this episode. They give a shout out to Matt and Linda as they transition to new roles and discuss the future of the podcast and how we'll handle co-hosts moving forward. Together they talk about Bible teaching in the new school year. There is also a helpful conversation about devotionals along with some highly recommended ones.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt have a great conversation with Dr. Jonathan Pennington. He discusses his new book Come & See: The Journey of Knowing God through Scripture. He describes three different ways in which we often approach reading Scripture: informational, theological, and transformational. After describing each, he encourages listeners to approach Scripture with an appropriate balance of all 3.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt invite Mike Flavin, a veteran youth pastor for over 42 years, to join the podcast. Mike shares lessons he learned, emphasizes the power of small groups and empowering other leaders to teach the Bible well, and reminds us that home is really where the action is! New and veteran youth workers alike will be encouraged and equipped by this helpful conversation with Mike.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt welcome Tony Souder to the podcast. Tony is the founder of the Pray for Me Campaign. Together they have a great discussion about intergenerational ministry and how churches can utilize the power of prayer to bring people of different generations together. How can churches utilize the Pray for Me Campaign? Tony shares some powerful stories about the work God is doing in our churches through the power of different generations praying for each other.

Kyle, Matt, and Linda discuss spring break and then transition to the halls of their local schools in a conversation with Travis Deans. Travis started 9 Month Mission Trip as a way to encourage students to see their school as a missions field and provides resources to help them be effective ambassadors for Christ among their peers. How can we encourage teens to share the Gospel with their friends at school? Travis suggests getting them to pray for their peers is a great place to start. Students are encouraged to embrace struggles and challenges as a place and opportunity to grow.

Kyle runs the podcast solo this episode, but invites in guest Matt Smethurst. Matt discusses his book "Before You Open Your Bible: Nine Heart Postures For Approaching God's Word." Following a fun discussion about Michael Jordan, Kyle and Matt focus on a few of the heart postures we should have before we dig into Scripture. He encourages us in the idea that we are all theologians, and we can help our students realize this as well. Matt emphasizes community in the body of Christ and setting students up well now so they remain in the Church for the rest of their lives.

Kyle, Matt, and Linda have a lively discussion with Peter J. Williams about his book "Can We Trust the Gospels?" Dr. Williams tells us the importance of being able to trust the Gospels, and how they help us know we can trust all of Scripture. Matt engages with Dr. Williams in a discussion about how geolocation helps confirm the stories of Jesus as told in the Gospels. Linda asks a helpful question about so-called contradictions, and Dr. Williams provides a helpful way for us to discuss paradox with our students. He also encourages us to stretch our students academically far more than we often think they can handle.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt invite Associate Pastor Phil Leineweber to share about the work he has done toward building a teaching plan for students at his church. Phil shares about a youth ministry institute that he helped form in order that students would be challenged during their middle school and high school years to engage with various books of the Bible and topical studies. Phil emphasizes the need for intergenerational worship on Sunday mornings. What should Sunday morning Sunday School classes cover vs. a mid-week youth meeting? They address cycling through series, books, or topics so that those who aren't regular attendees might still hear particular messages by the time they graduate. Phil also emphasizes the need for flexibility within the overall framework of a larger scope and sequence.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt welcome back Sean McDowell. As we approach the Easter season, we take a look at teaching about the resurrection. Sean helps us avoid some bad ways we often approach this topic while pointing us to some helpful tips we can use as we prepare to teach this important subject to our students.

Kyle, Matt, and Linda welcome Mitchell Chase back to the podcast for a second time. He discusses his new book "Hope for All the Earth: Understanding The Story of the Old Testament" and the importance of teaching the Old Testament to students. Mitchell helps us to see the Old Testament as the Bible that Jesus read and knew, and its importance for our own lives. He encourages listeners to help students understand the larger biblical story and how the Old Testament fits into it. With that in mind, themes of exile, sacred space, and redemption are discussed to help us see the Old Testament in a big picture way.

Brian Sorgenfrei, formerly of RUF, and current pastor at CPC Oxford, joins Kyle, Matt, and Linda in a great discussion about teaching the Bible to high school and college students. Brian suggests that we not only need to ask great questions of the text, but we need to be asking the questions that students themselves might be asking. Doing so helps make the Bible compelling to students. They also enter a conversation about family dynamics, relationships at home, and building trusting relationships between students and adults.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt welcome Greg Anderson, who is the President of Inspiration Point Christian Camp & Retreat Center. Together they discuss the important role that Christian camping can serve in the life of teens. Greg talks about the marriage of the outdoors and the Scriptures and how God can use the two together to make disciples. We also discuss how to find a Christian camp that is a great fit for your ministry. Greg also points us to research describing the 5 pillars that should be in place at a camp in order for it to be effective.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt discuss the results of The State of Theology report recently released by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research. They highlight some of the figures and statistics that were surprising, encouraging, or perhaps discouraging. They  also share whether or not they see some of these results playing out anecdotally within their churches and youth groups. The team then talks about what they believe we need to be doing better in our ministries in order to address some of the concerns that the survey results brought to life.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt take a look at 1 Timothy 3. They acknowledge that students might not see how this passage pertains to them. We can help our students see the importance of this God-given plan and structure for His Church. We can also use this passage to show them that passages like this help us hold to good biblical doctrine in our churches, and conversely help protect against false teachings and teachers, by installing strong leadership. Perhaps, in our current cultural context of so many losing faith in institutions, we can use this to instill trust in our churches and show that there should be built in accountability among leadership. We also look at other texts we can use to supplement the teachings of 1 Timothy 3.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt look at the topic of evangelism. Why is training our students in the area important? How do we do it well? How does sharing the gospel help us in our understanding of the gospel? What are some of the pitfalls we need to be aware of so that we can avoid them? We also discuss how evangelism is ultimately tied into discipleship. We also offer Scripture passages we can turn to to learn more about this topic and teach our students about it.

How do the 10 Commandments fit into the whole of Scripture? What do they mean for us today? What do they mean for the teenagers that we serve? How can we impress these truths onto the hearts of our youth in ways that they'll relate to? We also take a look at this portion of the law and what makes them similar or different from other old testament laws and how we should view the law today. Does it seem overwhelming to teach an entire lesson on a single command, such as "You shall not steal"? We also show how traditional catechisms can help bring these commands to life and help our students ask deeper questions about what is required of our behavior and gain a fuller picture of the life God is calling us to.