Friday Review: The Very Best of 2025
Each week this year, we compiled 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. This is our best of 2025 list, with a couple of articles in each category that stood out in particular.
This year, I (Alex Tufano) wanted to include a few brief thoughts that popped up as I compiled this list. First, there were over 75 articles and podcast episodes that made the “short” list. While the 21 highlights below are valuable, there is much more to go back and explore.
Second, a few themes stood out in particular as I looked back at the last year. Across multiple categories, there were a lot of great articles about why theology matters and how it connects to youth ministry, raising children, etc. There were fewer articles on the short list for this “best of” from the Biblical/Theological Studies category, yet I think this demonstrates that theology is not being written into a box as much as it has in the past. It was interesting to see which articles on Cultural Reflection are still relevant today and which were very time-sensitive (remember when Snow White was a flashpoint?). In particular, concerns about social media and AI are two ongoing trends for youth workers to be thinking about, while we may feel freed from being up on every single piece of pop culture. There were a lot of great articles on preaching, and I encourage you to consider how you might grow your preaching and teaching through a YPT Workshop or the resources at Simeon Trust. Finally, there were several good parenting articles on parenting our parents as they age. This is important for us to keep in mind, as many of the parents of teens we serve are also in the stage of life where their parents are beginning to experience the challenges of aging. We have an opportunity to care for parents in that area as well as helping equip them to disciple their teens.
Finally, 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! We only benefit from having more of a well to draw from.
(Inclusion in this list does not imply complete agreement with the publishing source, but we have found these articles to be particularly beneficial.)
Youth Ministry
A Theological Vision for Discipling the Next Generation, by Bob Thune (The Gospel Coalition)
This is a fantastic article that encapsulates the need and growing desire for theologically grounded youth ministry. It stands in for a whole host of articles that align with the heart of YPT in this way.
More Than Helpers: Nurturing the Hearts of Your Volunteer Team, from Growing Young Disciples
Growing Young Disciples knocked it out of the park this year, and they continue to be one of the best sources of great content for youth workers. This piece in particular is a really helpful encouragement to pastor our teams of youth leaders and other volunteers well.
Creating a Child Protection Policy for Your Church, by Chelsea Kingston Erickson (Rooted)
In one sense, I hate including an article like this, but in another sense, it’s an absolute necessity. If your church does not yet have policies and procedures for protecting your children, teens, and other vulnerable populations, stop reading and get that in motion ASAP. Chelsea’s article is a great place to start.
Biblical & Theological Studies
Don’t Take the Supper at Youth Camp or Get Baptized in the Jordan, by Ben Robin (9Marks)
The nature of our ecclesiology and how we engage with the ordinances are topics youth ministry has not typically given much thought to, but we ought to. This is a good succinct argument for why the local church matters.
Why You Can't Dodge Theological Questions, by Jake Meador (Mere Orthodoxy)
Mere Orthodoxy might be the best long-form blog, both in the quantity of topics they cover and in their ability to be consistently great reads. This article is a great jumping in point and lays a good foundation for the necessity of theology.
Doug Wilson vs. Public Schools: On the Freedom of the Gospel, by Owen Strachan (To Reenchant the World)
I’ve personally bristled against much that Owen or Doug have written or said, as I find them a bit too brash. However, Owen’s article is a fantastic piece engaging on how Christians should think about their engagement with the world. In my context in particular, it seems that schooling is one of the most pressing theological questions parents are considering.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
The Dangerous Secret Your Young Men Are Keeping: Neo-Nazi Thought Has Entered the Church, by Will Spencer (Christ Over All)
One of the recurring themes through this year has been young men - whether it’s their renewed engagement with the church or their engagement with worldly figures of masculinity like Andrew Tate and Joe Rogan. This article bridges the gap between both of those worlds and is a must read.
Snapchat is Harming Children at an Industrial Scale, by Jon Haidt and Zach Rausch (After Babel)
As I mentioned above, social media concerns remain a major trend in cultural reflection. Jonathan Haidt is one of the people working deeply in that thought, and this is another must-read.
CCM, Magnolia, and the Temptations of Christian Subculture, by Samuel D. James (Digital Liturgies)
Samuel continues to be the standard for engaging with culture. For years, he and Chris Martin (who writes less, but had 2 articles on the short list) have been the best source for these lists. This article is a helpful examination of Christian culture, and a good reminder that as we often think of cultural reflection involving the culture “out there” we also have to look inward from time to time.
Pastoral Ministry
Expository Preaching—The New Golden Calf, by Ryan Denton (Reformation21)
The three pastoral ministry articles here each provide a different focus, and this one is all about preaching. I resonated strongly with Ryan’s distinction between exegesis and expositing, and I think it’s a very helpful article warning us to not stop short and encouraging us to consider how we can preach the Word well.
Why We Need to Talk About Body Image in Women’s Discipleship, by Andrea Lee (The Gospel Coalition)
Andrea’s article fits well in the “issues pastors must think about” category. Youth workers especially need to think about how their ministry is discipling girls and be aware of the reality of body image issues. This article is a great companion piece to Andrea’s book on the topic.
Be Known, Not Impressive, by Barnabas Piper
In addition to preaching and pressing issues, Barnabas’ article hits on the person of the pastor. With his experience as both a pastor’s kid and now a pastor himself, Barnabas writes with clarity and conviction on the type of people and the type of pastors we should be.
Family & Parents
Theology Should Be the Primary Language of Your Kids, by Hunter Williams (New Growth Press)
Helping parents understand the role of theology in their parenting and the lives of their children is hugely important. This article from Hunter is a great one to send to parents as you hope to align the work of youth ministry and their work as parents.
Your Soccer Coach Has a Plan for Your Life, by John Beeson (The Bee Hive)
This year, John’s articles were often a great source to draw from. This one resonated in particular with observations I’ve made about parents in my orbit and with my own experience as my kids begin doing sports and other activities. We must be intentional about our schedule and our commitments, and John helpfully encourages parents to consider what they are prioritizing.
Gospel Hope for Parents of Boys Struggling with Motivation, by Jon Lilley (Rooted)
I send an article out to parents each week, and hear back pretty sparingly on which ones were really good. This was one I heard back on, and several parents in our ministry have been dealing with apathetic boys this year. Jon’s article is full of grace and hope for those parents.
Best of YPT Blog this year (according to Alex)
Common Grace in Youth Ministry: Equipping Teens to See God’s Goodness at School by Jack Fitzgibbons
I love Jack’s article for how it encourages us to see the gift of common grace and to help our students see how God is good through common grace.
Not Everything is Discipleship by Mike McGarry
The title summarizes the article so well - not everything is discipleship. Mike argues that defining discipleship clearly actually helps us do it more effectively, while calling everything discipleship leads to ambiguity.
Leading Your Family as a Youth Pastor by Bryan Barrineau
Whether you have a spouse and kids yet or not, considering how we can lead our families well is not simply a good thing to consider pragmatically but it’s also theologically necessary.
Best of YPT Podcast this year (according to Alex)
ep.89: The Significance of Eating Together with Seth Stewart
Both podcast episodes with Seth are gold, and this one about the importance of meals is 3-star. Whether you’re a foodie like myself or not, this is a great episode.
ep.111: Risky Youth Ministry & Ministry to Students with Disabilities
Episodes 110-113 are a stretch of straight fire, and all are worth a re-listen. Both the topics on this one are really valuable to consider.
ep.121: Unexpected Skills for Youth Workers
In the new format you usually get two big topics, but this one has multiple as Mike and John offer several skills youth workers need but might not know they need going in.