Youth Ministry Booster

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Episodes

341

Latest episode

Nov 2026

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EN-US

About the show

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

Listen to episodes

60 recent

November 12, 2026Episode 38734 min

Are You Making Disciples Or Just Managing Chaos? The Essence Of Youth Ministry

Send us Fan Mail “What is rapture?” came out of the question bucket at youth group. One middle schooler stood up and said, “That’s not what I thought it was.” He figured rapture was a Christian music genre where you rap Scripture. So naturally, we rapped Psalm 23. We laughed, but think about what had to be true of that room for him to stand up and say what he actually thought. He trusted the people around him enough to risk getting it wrong. That’s easy to miss when you’re trying to get through the lesson and get everybody picked up on time. On this episode of Youth Ministry Booster, Zac Workun and Chad Higgins talk about discipleship as root work . A lot of it happens where you can’t see it, but there are signs you can pay attention to right now. Are students bringing questions of their own? Will they open a Bible and look for an answer? Can they listen to each other, admit when they’re confused, and stay in the conversation? We also get practical about what to change on Wednesday night. When small group is so loud nobody can finish a sentence, a little structure can make room for a student who rarely gets heard. When everyone knows to say “Jesus” so you’ll move on, a question bucket or a little play might get them talking honestly. Even the timing of the big game can shape what happens when you sit down to open Scripture together. We close with the two builders in Matthew 7:24–27. Both hear Jesus, and one puts his words into practice. What would it look like for your students to practice loving the neighbor sitting next to them in small group this week? Send this episode to a volunteer or youth ministry friend and ask them, “Where are you seeing discipleship take root?” If the conversation helps, follow Youth Ministry Booster and leave a review so more youth leaders can find the show. Support the show Join the community!

November 5, 2026Episode 38627 min

The Wednesday Night Hangover: The Emotional Toll of Taco Bell and Youth Ministry

Send us Fan Mail Some Wednesday nights end with a chalupa spike . Others end with a quiet drive home, a heavy heart, and a lot to process. In this episode, Zac Workun and Chad Higgins return to the roots of the Youth Ministry Booster Podcast to talk about the emotional life of youth ministry. The work is deeply relational, which means the highs can be exhilarating—and the lows can hurt. A student’s pain, a stagnant season, or the guilt of coming home with nothing left to give can all follow you long after the building is empty. Zac and Chad talk about the danger of letting ministry momentum define your worth, the importance of naming what you’re feeling, and the practices that help leaders serve faithfully over time: time with God, honest friendships beyond your church, a life-giving hobby, and caring for your body and family. They close with Mark 4:26–29 and the reminder that youth pastors are called to scatter seed. God gives the growth, and God is at work in the minister, too. Scripture: Mark 4:26–29 What helps you process the emotional highs and lows of ministry? Send this episode to a youth ministry friend and keep the conversation going. Support the show Join the community!

October 29, 2026Episode 38557 min

Married in Ministry: Fighting for the Right Things with Grant & Corinne Allen

Send us Fan Mail You can be really good at ministry and accidentally become pretty mediocre at marriage. Ouch. But if you've ever found yourself giving your best energy to students, volunteers, church events, and last-minute emergencies, only to come home with nothing left in the tank, you know the tension. This week on Youth Ministry Booster, Zac sits down with two of our favorite people, Grant and Corinne Allen, to talk about the beautiful, exhausting, and occasionally ridiculous reality of being married in ministry. With a toddler, a newborn, and more than a decade of ministry experience, the Allens have learned that loving your church and loving your family aren't competing callings. But both require intentionality. We talk about the weekly calendar meetings that save their sanity, why "it's just a season" can become a dangerous excuse, how to call each other out without crushing each other, and the ministry boundaries that sounded selfish at 23 but feel like wisdom today. And yes, we get into the awkwardness of students having your personal cell phone number, bringing a toddler on an international mission trip, and realizing your two-year-old might actually be better at ministry than you are. But underneath all the funny stories is an important question: What does faithfulness look like when you genuinely cannot do everything well? Corinne offers a beautiful reminder about choosing presence over perfect attendance. Grant challenges us to fight for the right things instead of fighting each other. And together, they offer encouragement for ministry couples who want to serve their churches faithfully without losing the joy of being a family. If you're married in ministry, preparing for marriage, raising kids while serving at church, or trying to establish healthier rhythms, this episode is for you. A FEW THINGS WE TALK ABOUT: Why ministry and marriage need shared expectations, not competing calendars How to communicate during busy seasons before resentment grows Setting healthy boundaries around students, phones, and availability Raising ministry kids who experience church as a blessing, not a burden Being faithful with the time and capacity God has actually given you A QUESTION FOR THIS WEEK: Are you fighting for the right things—or just trying to keep everything going? Share this episode with your spouse or another ministry couple, and make some time to have that conversation together. Support the show Join the community!

October 25, 2026Episode 38447 min

Embrace the Chaos: What Middle Schoolers Really Need | Keiron Miles

Send us Fan Mail Middle school ministry isn't something to survive. It's something to steward. Middle schoolers are curious, chaotic, hilarious, and learning how to become independent people for the very first time. So why do we sometimes treat them like a problem to manage instead of disciples to develop? Zac Workun sits down with Keiron Miles , a veteran middle school ministry leader, to talk about what it really takes to connect with, teach, and disciple sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Keiron introduces middle school as the introductory stage of adulthood , where students are discovering how to make decisions, engage in meaningful conversations, follow Jesus independently, and belong to a community of faith. Together, Zac and Keiron unpack some of the most practical challenges in youth ministry: keeping Bible teaching engaging, building better small groups, developing intentional teaching plans, caring for tired volunteers, and creating meaningful opportunities for students to serve. You'll hear practical ideas for: Teaching middle schoolers without losing their attention Using brain breaks, movement, and creativity to make Scripture memorable Coaching students through small group conversations Building an intentional year of Bible teaching and discipleship Equipping and encouraging middle school volunteers Helping students take meaningful next steps through missions and service And perhaps most importantly, why the investment you make in middle school now can shape the health of your high school ministry for years to come. The takeaway: Don't wait for middle schoolers to grow up before you start taking their discipleship seriously. Embrace the chaos. Show them Jesus. Listen, subscribe, and share this episode with the middle school leader in your life. Support the show Join the community!

October 15, 2026Episode 38348 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!