Welcome to the Youth Ministry Booster podcast! The most honest and hilarious podcast in student ministry. Hosted by Zac Workun and Chad Higgins. We are the biggest fans of youth ministry leaders like you! We are here for you with the humor and the help to engage, entertain, equip, and encourage. Youth ministry is better together. Learn more @ http://www.youthministrybooster.com
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October 15, 202648 min
Building A Biblical Worldview For Teens In An Algorithm Age w/ Daniel Kinkade
Send us Fan Mail Your students already have a worldview. But is it being shaped by Scripture or by the scroll? Every teenager is building a foundation for how they understand the world. The question is whether that foundation is being formed by God's Word or by algorithms, friendships, feelings, and whatever shows up next in their feed. Zac Workun sits down with Daniel Kinkade from Lifeway Students to explore what it actually takes to build a biblical worldview in teenagers. They tackle the gap between knowing Scripture and living Scripture, why students need space to wrestle with difficult questions, and how youth leaders can make the most of increasingly limited time with students. Along the way, Daniel shares the unforgettable observation from a middle schooler: "Jesus didn't play Minecraft." It's funny, but it reveals a serious discipleship challenge: Are we helping teenagers connect ancient biblical truth to their everyday lives? You'll hear practical encouragement for: Moving students from Bible knowledge to biblical conviction Asking application questions that lead to transformation Helping parents navigate digital discipleship Creating small groups where students can wrestle honestly Leading faithfully when the results aren't immediately visible The takeaway: Youth ministry isn't just about teaching students what to believe. It's about helping them become people whose lives are shaped by what they believe. Listen, subscribe, and share this episode with a youth ministry leader who needs the encouragement. Support the show Join the community!
October 1, 2026Episode 38254 min
What If Your Youth Ministry Outlived You? w/ Broke Church Van
Send us Fan Mail A broke church van is funny until you realize it might be the perfect picture of youth ministry: underfunded, wildly creative, occasionally held together with duct tape, and somehow still getting students where they need to go. Live from Nashville, Zac sits down with Blake and Rico from the Broke Church Van Podcast to talk about the stuff only youth pastors understand, and the surprisingly serious ministry lessons underneath it. Why does fun matter so much in youth ministry? How do you lead students who have already spent eight hours being told to sit down and pay attention? And what happens when you're expected to be the game guy, Bible teacher, counselor, event planner, comedian, and spiritual leader all in the same night? But also, Are you building a youth ministry that can survive without you? Blake and Rico share what they've learned about moving beyond personality-driven ministry, developing volunteers, sharing leadership, and building a student ministry that belongs to the whole church, not just the youth pastor. The friends we make along the way! We also talk about the relationships that make longevity possible: ministry friends who can tell you the truth, spouses who keep your priorities straight, shared calendars, family rhythms, and learning that you don't have to carry the whole ministry yourself. Plus: dodgeball theology, Waffle House warning signs, terrible church vans, Matt Flanagan casting choices, and Diet Mountain Dew. The goal isn't to build a youth ministry that needs you forever. It's to faithfully build one that can outlast you. Support the show Join the community!
September 24, 2026Episode 38151 min
Youth Ministry Burnout, Mental Health & Finding Your Life Again with Dane Leake w/ Dane Leake
Send us Fan Mail Youth ministry can feel like a holy adrenaline rush. Packed rooms. Camp. Baptisms. Students responding to the gospel. The next Wednesday night is always coming. But what happens when you start needing the ministry as much as the ministry needs you? Dane Leake joins Zac for an unusually honest conversation about burnout, mental health, identity, and the hidden cost of chasing the next ministry high. Dane shares the story of his 2023 collapse, years of overwork, lack of sleep, caffeine, unprocessed grief, and tying too much of his identity to ministry outcomes eventually caught up with him. After camp, his body and mind effectively shut down. What followed included hospitalization, stepping away from a ministry he loved, and a long season of rebuilding his life. But this isn't just an episode about burnout. It's about learning another way to lead. Zac and Dane talk about the dopamine cycle built into ministry, the warning signs Dane wishes he'd noticed earlier, why a bad Wednesday can ruin your entire week, and the danger of confusing ministry success with personal worth. They also get intensely practical about what changed: real Sabbath, honest friendships, clear personal values, slower rhythms, letting go of outcomes, and learning to lead from conviction rather than KPIs. And the conversation eventually turns toward our students: if we're trying to disciple an anxious, screen-saturated generation, maybe our ministries can't simply offer them another adrenaline hit. This one is for the youth minister who loves ministry—but is beginning to wonder what ministry is doing to them. In this episode: • Why youth ministry can become emotionally addictive • The warning signs of burnout we tend to rationalize • Dane's 2023 mental health crisis and road toward recovery • Why your identity cannot rise and fall with Wednesday night • Sabbath as structure, delight, and resistance • Conviction vs. outcomes in ministry leadership • Why ministers need people who can see the “storm conditions” before the storm • Programming for an anxious generation without manufacturing emotional response • How to work hard without losing your soul Youth minister, you don't walk alone. YMB isn't just a podcast. It's a place to belong. Join a community of folks that share your calling. Support the show Join the community!
August 20, 2026Episode 38044 min
Busyness Isn't Good For Youth Ministry Business
Send us Fan Mail “We’re good, just busy” might be the most common sentence in American family life, and it’s reshaping what people can realistically say yes to. It's become the default answer for families, pastors, and church leaders. And when everyone feels stretched thin, youth ministry can easily respond by either adding more programming or blaming sports, school, and extracurricular activities for stealing students away. But what if that's not the whole story? Maybe youth ministry doesn't need more things on the calendar. Maybe the things already on the calendar need to matter more. In this episode, Zac Workun and Chad Higgins explore the difference between being busy and being intentional . Families demonstrate all the time that they're willing to make significant commitments when they understand the value. Sports have practices, specialized training, games, and clearly defined wins. Meanwhile, churches can accidentally fill calendars with gatherings that all feel vaguely similar—and therefore increasingly missable. That leads to a challenging principle: If everything is for everyone, eventually it feels like it's for no one. What if every gathering in your student ministry had a clearer purpose? An outreach event doesn't have to accomplish the entire discipleship process. A small discipleship gathering doesn't need the attendance of your biggest event. Some environments are designed to invite. Others help students practice. Others should give students opportunities to lead. Or, as Zac and Chad put it: pep rallies, practices, and games. The conversation moves beyond programming into a bigger vision for student discipleship . Instead of measuring success primarily by how many teenagers attended, what would happen if churches became clearer about the kind of disciples they're trying to form? Could students graduate from youth ministry knowing Scripture, understanding core theology, experiencing meaningful Christian community, serving the church, sharing their faith, and increasingly teaching others to do the same? That's a much more compelling goal than simply keeping the calendar full. And it might help us rethink the supposed competition between church and everything else in a teenager's life. The goal isn't simply getting students into more church activities. It's forming students who know how to follow Jesus everywhere else. If your fall youth ministry calendar is already packed, this episode will help you ask a better question than “What should we add?” What is all of this actually for? This Episode Will Help You Think About Youth ministry programming and calendar strategy Student discipleship pathways Family ministry and parent partnership Measuring spiritual growth beyond attendance Outreach versus discipleship environments Developing student leaders Biblical literacy and theological formation Evangelism training for teenagers Equipping students to live on mission Creating meaningful next steps for students Youth Ministry Booster exists to encourage and equip youth pastors and student ministry leaders for healthier, more intentional ministry. Subscribe to the podcast, share this episode with another youth ministry leader, and leave a review to help more youth pastors find the conversation. Support the show Join the community!
August 13, 2026Episode 37935 min
Small Groups for a Doomscrolling Generation | Why Students Don't Talk Anymore
Send us Fan Mail Student ministry has always adapted to changing culture. The message never changes. Sometimes the methods need to. In this episode, Zac Workun and Chad Higgins ask an important question: Today's students aren't disengaged...they're simply communicating the way they've been formed to communicate. From AIM away messages and Facebook walls to Snapchat, group chats, Twitch streams, and endless scrolling, every generation learns differently because every generation communicates differently. That reality matters when we gather students into circles and ask them to process the deepest questions of life in real time. Rather than criticizing technology, Zac and Chad explore what youth pastors can learn from it. You'll hear practical ideas for creating healthier discussions, reducing unnecessary social pressure, helping students observe Scripture before performing knowledge, and equipping small group leaders to become guides instead of answer dispensers. The conversation also explores why Twitch and creator culture may actually reveal something hopeful: students still want to learn—they often learn first by watching trusted people model wisdom before stepping into it themselves. That's why one of the greatest opportunities in youth ministry today is inviting students to move beyond consuming content toward creating, teaching, serving, and leading within the life of the church. If you're leading teenagers today, this episode will help you think more carefully about attention, communication, discipleship, and what faithful ministry looks like in a digital age. Episode Highlights Why today's communication habits matter for discipleship The hidden social pressure inside traditional small groups Asynchronous communication and why students hesitate to answer Practical discussion techniques that increase participation Observation-first Bible study Why co-leaders model wisdom better than lectures What streamer culture teaches us about learning Developing student leaders instead of passive spectators Discussion Questions How has technology changed the way your students communicate? What parts of your small group environment create unnecessary pressure? How could you help students ask better questions instead of only giving answers? Where could students move from observing ministry to actually leading it? If this episode encouraged you, subscribe , leave a review, and share it with another youth pastor or volunteer. Every share helps more ministry leaders find practical, Gospel-centered encouragement for leading the next generation. Support the show Join the community!
August 6, 2026Episode 37831 min
Time is Pressure In Youth Ministry, Alternate Spiritual Signals
Send us Fan Mail Time is limited. Your calling isn't. Camp season leaves most youth pastors physically exhausted, emotionally stretched, and mentally staring at an already-full fall calendar. In this episode of the Youth Ministry Booster Podcast, Zac and Chad begin with some hilarious camp memories before asking a much more important question: Why do we always feel like we're running out of time? This conversation isn't another productivity episode. We can't help you get more hours in the day. It cannot be done. Instead, it's an honest look beneath the calendar to examine the emotional, mental, and spiritual realities that shape how we lead. We do have practical insights about identifying your biggest time wasters, setting healthy constraints, reusing ministry systems instead of constantly reinventing them, and why technology alone can't solve the deeper issues of procrastination or overwhelm. More importantly, Zac and Chad explore what happens when ministry pressure begins affecting your relationships, your emotions, and your walk with Christ. They discuss fight-flight-freeze responses, protecting your family during busy seasons, inviting trusted friends into your struggles, and recovering the sacred nature of ministry instead of reducing it to a checklist. The challenge at the end is simple: Don't just organize your tasks. Order your day around prayer. Episode Highlights Transitioning from summer ministry into fall Identifying obvious and hidden time wasters Escaping perfectionism and unnecessary busywork Setting constraints that actually create freedom Why AI doesn't solve internal overwhelm Understanding ministry stress through fight, flight, and freeze Protecting your family from ministry spillover The importance of trusted friendships in ministry Building a prayer-first rhythm for leadership Questions What consistently steals the most time in your ministry? Where do you tend to respond with fight, flight, or freeze when ministry pressure increases? What ministry resource could you stop recreating every year? How could prayer become the organizing rhythm of your workday instead of simply opening meetings or events? Subscribe to Youth Ministry Booster for practical conversations that help youth pastors lead healthier ministries and become healthier leaders themselves. Support the show Join the community!
July 30, 2026Episode 37730 min
How To Build A Sustainable Youth Ministry w/ Dr. Jody Dean
Send us Fan Mail What if the biggest threat to your youth ministry isn't a lack of volunteers, budget, or attendance... but your own exhaustion? In this episode of the Youth Ministry Booster Podcast , Zac Workun sits down with Dr. Jody Dean (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) for an honest conversation about burnout, sustainability, and staying faithful for the long haul. Drawing from decades of ministry, mentoring, and leadership development, Dr. Dean shares practical wisdom for youth pastors who love student ministry but feel like they're running on empty. Together they unpack: Why so many youth pastors quietly wonder if they have "one more year" left. The healthy rhythms and time management practices that prevent burnout. A simple four-season reset framework to replenish your soul before you hit the wall. Why friendship and accountability are essential—not optional—for ministry longevity. How to measure ministry success without becoming enslaved to attendance numbers. The four foundational systems every sustainable youth ministry needs. The warning signs that weariness is becoming burnout. Why faithfulness matters more than chasing ministry success. Whether you're fresh off summer camp, gearing up for another ministry season, or simply feeling tired, this conversation is a timely reminder that God has called you to more than surviving ministry—He has called you to endure with joy. Your labor is not in vain. Support the show Join the community!
July 23, 2026Episode 37639 min
Youth Ministry Success Means Maturity w/ Dr. Jason Engle
Send us Fan Mail What if we've been measuring youth ministry by the wrong scoreboard? Attendance matters. Camp decisions matter. Great programming matters. But Jesus didn't commission us to create busy ministries—He commissioned us to make disciples. Recorded live at SBC 2026, Zac Workun sits down with Dr. Jason Engle to explore one of the most important conversations every youth pastor needs to have: What does spiritual maturity actually look like? Drawing from the Great Commission and Colossians 1:28, Jason argues that the true aim of youth ministry isn't simply activity, engagement, or even decisions—it's helping students become mature in Christ . Together we unpack: Why spiritual maturity should become the primary metric for youth ministry How Paul's prayers reveal a biblical vision for discipleship The difference between alignment and attunement in spiritual formation Why students often open up more side-by-side than face-to-face How teaching extends far beyond a sermon Why fun and theological depth are never enemies How to disciple teenagers in an age dominated by distraction Practical ways to cultivate margin, abiding, and spiritual disciplines Why students shouldn't graduate dependent on youth ministry—but equipped to pursue Jesus on their own One of the most memorable moments comes when Jason shares the story of a student he believed wasn't listening, only to discover years later that God had been working beneath the surface all along. If you've ever wondered whether your ministry is making a lasting difference, this conversation offers both biblical clarity and tremendous encouragement. Key Scriptures Matthew 28:18–20 Colossians 1:28–29 Ephesians 1:15–23 John 15 Hebrews 12:1–2 Memorable Quotes "The goal isn't students who depend on the ministry. It's students who know how to pursue Christ when the ministry is gone." "You can't microwave spiritual formation." "Spiritual maturity isn't a destination—it's a trajectory." "Students don't just need to hear about abiding. They need to practice abiding." Support the show Join the community!
July 16, 2026Episode 37529 min
How Youth Ministry Can Help College Students Thrive w/ Paul Worcester
Send us Fan Mail What if the greatest measure of success in youth ministry isn't getting students to graduation... ...it's what happens after they leave? Every youth pastor has watched it happen. A student who was faithful all through high school slowly disappears during their first semester of college. Rarely is it one dramatic decision. More often it's loneliness, distraction, isolation, and never learning how to follow Jesus without someone planning their spiritual life. In this episode, Zac Workun sits down with Paul Worcester (North American Mission Board) to explore what college ministry leaders see every fall—and what youth pastors can do before graduation to help students develop a faith that actually lasts. Together they unpack why the first 90 days of college are one of the most important windows in a student's spiritual life, how discipleship must move beyond teaching into training, and why smaller discipleship groups may be one of the missing pieces in modern youth ministry. 📘Paul also introduces Thrive , a new Bible study designed to help students navigate the transition from high school to college with a gospel-centered identity and sustainable spiritual habits. If you want your graduates to leave your ministry prepared—not just inspired—this conversation is for you. In This Episode Why the first 90 days of college often determine a student's spiritual trajectory The difference between teaching students and training disciples Why youth ministry small groups may still be too big How accountability changes spiritual growth Helping students learn to feed themselves through Scripture and prayer Creating a better handoff between youth ministry and college ministry Why every youth pastor should connect graduates to a BCM or healthy collegiate ministry before move-in day Preparing students for head, heart, and hands discipleship—not just apologetics Helping students build identity in Christ instead of performance Why sanctification is a lifelong journey—not a finish line Grace-centered discipline versus legalism in a distracted generation Simplifying youth ministry around a wide front door and a deep discipleship core Key Takeaways One of the biggest ideas from this conversation is simple: Students don't simply need more or better sermons. They need better training. Intentional, relational, and personal. Teaching informs. Training transforms. When students regularly practice Scripture, prayer, accountability, evangelism, and spiritual disciplines before graduation, they're far more likely to continue those rhythms when nobody is checking attendance. As Paul says: "More time with fewer people leads to greater lasting Kingdom impact." Support the show Join the community!
July 9, 2026Episode 36025 min
Help For Counseling Overwhelmed Teens w/ Dr. Kristin Kellen
Send us Fan Mail Teenagers are drowning in noise, and most of them don’t have the brain bandwidth or life experience to sort it all out yet. From the SBC 2026 exhibit hall, we talk with Dr. Kristen Kellen about what it looks like to counsel teens faithfully when anxiety, comparison, and overwhelm feel like the background music of adolescence. If you've ever wondered: "Am I doing enough for struggling students?" "When should I listen...and when should I refer?" "How do I help teenagers who feel anxious all the time?" ...this conversation is for you. We get specific about emotional health and why it can’t be separated from the rest of life. Sleep, food, hydration, exercise, and screen time matter more than we want to admit, especially for developing bodies and brains. Then we challenge a popular idea that quietly shapes teen culture: the belief that emotions are authoritative and binding. Dr. Kellen gives language that protects kids from shame while still giving them agency, helping them move from “I feel anxious, so I am anxious” to “I’m experiencing anxiety, and I can respond wisely.” For youth pastors and youth leaders, we dig into the difference between helping a student feel better in the moment and helping them become healthy over time. We talk modeling emotional regulation, naming feelings without being ruled by them, and using practical steps that build resilience. We also explore suffering and spiritual maturity, why Scripture assumes hardship, and how patience and the fruit of the Spirit grow through repeated practice, not instant change. If you’ve wanted a clearer framework for Christian counseling and pastoral care with teens, this conversation will give you traction. We talk about why so many teenagers feel overwhelmed and how we can respond with wisdom instead of panic. We lay out practical ways to help students name their feelings, build agency, and grow toward long-term health and spiritual maturity. In This Episode Why so many teenagers feel overwhelmed today The relationship between brain development and emotional maturity Why feelings are real—but shouldn't become our authority Helping students become healthy instead of simply helping them feel better Simple counseling principles every youth pastor can practice Why modeling emotional regulation matters more than having all the answers Building spiritual resilience instead of instant relief The role suffering plays in Christian maturity How youth ministry can become a "laboratory" for practicing the Fruit of the Spirit Knowing when to partner with parents, counselors, and mental health professionals Why your faithful presence matters more than you realize Quotes "If we always focus on the fix, students may never learn the skill." "Teenagers don't just need answers—they need adults who model healthy faith." "Youth ministry is a long game played inside a very short season." "Don't underestimate the ministry of simply being present." "Our goal isn't just to remove suffering—it's to help students meet Christ in the middle of it." Support the show Join the community!
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