ep.130: Getting Students to Engage and Love One Another
In this episode of the Youth Pastor Theologian podcast, hosts Mike McGarry and John Gardner discuss effective strategies for engaging students in small group settings within youth ministry, and how to create an environment where students love one another. They highlight the importance of asking good questions, creating an interactive environment, and fostering deeper relationships among students... while bathing your ministry in prayer.
Recommended Resources:
Lead Them to Jesus: A Handbook for Youth Workers, by Mike McGarry
You're Not Crazy: Gospel Sanity for Weary Churches, by Sam Allberry & Ray Ortlund
YPT Curriculum (designed to promote discussion among teenagers, with special attention to "quieter" groups)
Mike McGarry is the Founder and Director of Youth Pastor Theologian and served as a youth pastor for nearly twenty years. He's written four books for youth workers and teenagers, his latest is now available: Iconic: Being God's Image in Your World. Follow Mike on Instagram or X/Twitter.
John Gardner is the Pastor of Youth Ministries at Grace Church in Longmont, CO. John and his wife Jackie have been married for 15 years and love spending time trying out new food, exploring the national parks, and playing board games. Follow John on Instagram.
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