Friday Review (8/19/25)
Each week we compile a list of helpful articles from other sites, in a variety of categories, for youth workers to read, reflect on, and/or discuss with parents and volunteers. If you have any articles you’d like to suggest, we’d love for you to share those in the Youth Pastor Theologian Facebook group. That’s a great way to bring them to our attention and to discuss them with like-minded youth workers! (Inclusion in this list does not imply complete agreement with the publishing source, but we have found these articles to be beneficial.)
Youth Ministry
Creating Space for Teenagers to Play in Youth Ministry by Jennifer Crisp (Rooted)
The experience made me realize it is so important to get our students into spaces where they can truly “be kids” and experience the rest that Jesus offers. So, dear fellow youth worker, may my reflections from this trip also help you to create such spaces year-round.
Parents and Church Leaders Disagree on How Best to Disciple Children, from Barna
Effective child discipleship doesn’t happen by accident. It takes parents, leaders, and mentors joining together—integrating home, church and community into a durable set of relationships and practices strong enough to carry a child’s faith into the future.
Train the Saints (Part 1), from Growing Young Disciples
If you want speed, work alone. If you want fruit that lasts, train a team. Most children’s and youth workers know this in theory, yet many of us quietly dodge team training. Weeks blur, terms gallop, and before we know it we have built a ministry that depends on our energy more than on God’s design.
Biblical & Theological Studies
Communion Is the Most Countercultural Thing Christians Do, by Parker Moore (Relevant)
Every time the bread touches your tongue, you remember you’re not self-made. Every time the cup stings your throat, you remember the cost of grace. Every time you stand shoulder to shoulder with people you wouldn’t choose as friends, you remember the church was never meant to be a curated community of the like-minded.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
I'm Triggered, by Steph Boon (Things We Didn’t Know)
In a world overcome with blaming and discrediting, Christians need to pause and ask how we contribute to divisive discourse. One subtle way that we disengage and cause further disunity is by developing “hot-topic” words or phrases that we dislike, and then implicitly, or even explicitly, dismissing someone’s message (or even dismissing them) when they use these terms.
The Vocational Theology of Toy Story, by Andy Shurson (Center for Faith & Culture)
As Toy Story explores what it means to be a toy, it offers lessons about what it means to be human. You are not a toy, but you need to know what you are created to do. Here are two lessons from our friends from Toy Story on what it means to work as a part of God’s kingdom.
A La Carte: Charlie Kirk Special Edition, by Tim Challies
Challies has curated an ongoing list of commentary and counsel from trustworthy voices about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. There’s a lot to comb through here, but lots of wisdom, too.
Pastoral Ministry
Preachers, Perfect Your Voice, by Greg Morse (Desiring God)
It is no virtue to be ignorant of the voice’s secrets. Some of us suspect the pulpit deserves more than the vocal clothing we wear the rest of the week. Yet often, when the moment comes that demands more than ordinary speech, we try to dress up our sound but end up with the notorious preacher’s voice, marked by unnatural inflection and amateur drama.
4 Things Every Kids Minister Needs From Their Pastor, by Jana Magruder (Lifeway Research)
Kids ministers are not just caretakers or entertainers; they’re spiritual leaders shaping the next generation of the church. To do this effectively, they need more than just permission to operate; they need partnership. Here are four things every kids minister needs from their pastor to flourish in their calling.
Male Friendship Is Declining. Wives Can Help, by Winfree Brisley (The Gospel Coalition)
As both church and culture have encouraged men to take on more practical responsibilities in the family, have we unintentionally discouraged men from taking time to cultivate friendships?
Family & Parents
Shatter Your Kid-Centered Kingdom, by Jen Oshman
I was surprised when I discovered that other moms—moms who’d lived here all along—felt the same way. It turns out those voices are in other heads, too. After the elusive “best” for our kids, we seem to be sprinting in relatively the same direction, trying to make it to the goal line of school enrollment, team tryouts, play auditions, the best church youth experience, and more. We respond to one another with knowing nods and furrowed brows, indicating it’s tough to stay on top of it all, but we have to, right? It’s how we give our kids the best.
How to Relieve Tension in Your Home, by Adam Griffin (Crossway)
Our culture accepts such levels of patronizing from moms and dads, but Christian parents are called to a higher standard. If we speak to our children in condescending ways, it reveals that we have a worldly idea of leadership: “I’m in charge. I’m up here. You’re down there.”
From YPT this week
ep.110: Navigating Doubt and Deconstruction & Should we have Parents as Volunteers?
The YPT Podcast returns with a discussion about doubt and deconstruction, then Mike and John respond to a listener question about whether or not parents should be their kid’s small group leader.
Teaching Youth a Good (but not always safe) Gospel, by Christopher Talbot
We’ve taught students the gospel means “good news” but are we showing them the gospel truly is “good”?