Why YPT Exists

YPT empowers youth workers to pursue theological depth. We do that by training youth workers to think biblically about youth ministry and to teach theologically with confidence. We are praying for the Lord to raise up a new generation of theologically-deep youth workers who will call students into a faith that’s big enough for them to grow into (instead of being content to give them a kid-sized faith they’ll quickly outgrow).

What Does YPT Do?

  • Weekly blog article, focused on theological reflection within youth ministry.

  • Weekly Friday Review, to help you find articles for your own enrichment and to share with your volunteers and parents.

  • Our eBook, Youth Ministry is Theological Ministry, is our gift to subscribers. It’s a collection of ten articles (five on each of our two primary emphases), written by six YPT authors across three countries. This book is a crash-course in understanding what makes YPT tick.

  • YPT Podcast, published weekly to help youth workers hear from a variety of youth workers and Christian leaders.

  • Contact Mike about speaking at a workshop, conference, or retreat for youth pastors, parents, and students.

  • Facebook Community, for youth workers to ask questions, find resources, and generally encourage one another. We do have a few mandatory membership questions, in order to share a certain measure of theological alignment to prevent division within comment threads.

There are a few exciting opportunities ahead: Theological Guides, a YPT Curriculum, Youth Pastor Study Weeks, and online gatherings. We’ll see what materializes, but the Lord is doing something here at YPT. These projects (and others) do require readers like yourself to partner with us by giving. Learn more about becoming a YPT Partner on our Give page.

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Mike McGarry is the Founder/Director of Youth Pastor Theologian. He served as a Youth Pastor for 18 years and has two youth at home. He is an ordained pastor and earned his Doctor of Ministry degree in “Ministry to Emerging Generations” from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Mike is, the author of Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith (New Growth Press, forthcoming July 2023), Lead Them to Jesus: A Handbook for Youth Workers (New Growth Press, 2021), A Biblical Theology of Youth Ministry: Teenagers in the Life of the Church (Randall House, 2019), and was a contributor to Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practical Guide (Crossway, 2017).