
Talking Youth Ministry - A Youthscape Podcast
Join Martin, Lucy and Rachel for a weekly dive into all things youth ministry. Inspiring, fun and plenty of practical advice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest episodes

Apr 3, 2023 • 50min
How do you pastor young people in an age of toxic misogyny? | Katie Madanat | Tough Questions in Youth Ministry | Episode 241
Rachel sits down with Katie Madanat as they discuss what expectations youth leaders should expect around modesty and what their response should be in those difficult scenarios. Meanwhile, Martin and Rachel figure out the books that they wish they had written and we hear from another unsung hero of youth work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 20, 2023 • 60min
How do we not make summer events idols? | Robbie Thomson | Tough Questions in Youth Ministry | Episode 240
Martin sits down with Robbie Thomson, Events Director for Satellites, to discuss the importance of making sure summer events have the right weighting in our youth ministry calendars, and how they fit into a wider understanding of discipleship. Rachel and Martin also talk about the newest purchase at Rachel's church, a flappy man... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 13, 2023 • 49min
How do you support young people when your own teenager is in crisis? | Claire Banham | Tough Questions in Youth Ministry | Episode 239
Rachel sits down with Claire Banham as she shares some of the story of her journey to creating the Haven, a safe space for young people suffering from anxiety and how that started with walking her own teenage daughter through her anxiety. Martin and Rachel also tell us about how they've changed their youth work styles as they've grown up and an incident with starbucks earlier today... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 6, 2023 • 56min
How do I pastor sexually active young people? | Gareth Cheesman | Tough Questions in Youth Ministry | Episode 238
Trigger Warning: This episode contains conversation about abortion.Martin sits down to Gareth Cheesman from Acet UK as they discuss a whole host of questions around relationship and sex education including, condoms, polyamory and what AI means for future tough questions we might want to be asking in youth ministry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 27, 2023 • 1h 2min
How do you lead faith based youth work when you're no longer sure church is a good place for young people? | Richard Passmore | Tough Questions in Youth Ministry | Episode 237
Rachel sits down with the wonderful Richard Passmore as they unpick ecclesiology and what church for young people could look like. Meanwhile, Martin and Rachel share their reflections on the recent events coming out of Asbury college in America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 20, 2023 • 55min
How do you manage rest when the job is never done? | Paul Friend | Tough Questions in Youth Ministry | Episode 236
Martin sits down with Director of South West Youth Ministries, Paul Friend, who has just come off a three month sabbatical to discuss something we all know is important, but often find is at the bottom of our to-do list: rest. They chat about what Paul has learned from his time on sabbatical and how do you manage to build in rest when there's never a clear and easy time to do it. Meanwhile Martin and Rach discuss their own barriers to rest and sabbath as well as an interesting documentary Rachel has just seen... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 13, 2023 • 46min
How do you manage challenging volunteers? | Alex Drew | Tough Questions in Youth Ministry | Episode 235
Martin sits down with Youthscape's own Alex Drew (for the second time), as they discuss training, volunteers and how to best set up other members of our youth teams to win. Rachel and Martin bond over their dread of becoming a 'challenging volunteer' and they troubleshoot some of each other's difficult situations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 30, 2023 • 47min
What is a plausible answer to the question of suffering? | Ruth Jackson | Tough Questions in Youth Ministry | Episode 234
Martin sits down with Ruth Jackson, former editor at Premier Youth and Children's Work magazine and current presenter and producer of Unbelievable? apologetics radio show and podcast. They discuss the relevance of apologetics in today's age and how you as a youth worker should respond to the challenging question of suffering. Meanwhile, Rachel and Martin update us on the latest exploits with their dogs, and Rachel pitches her new idea for something called "The Guilty Youth Worker". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 23, 2023 • 51min
Should we lead in the midst of a faith crisis? | Naomi Allen | Tough Questions for Youth Ministry | Episode 233
In this week's episode, Martin sits down to hear from Naomi Allen from Open Doors as they try and tackle a question that includes suffering and looks at doubt in the midst of leading young people. Rachel and Martin discuss the 'dark night of the soul' and Martin lets us know what strange request he received around a recent funeral. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 16, 2023 • 49min
What do I do if I disagree with my church’s teaching? | Matt Summerfield | Tough Questions for Youth Ministry | Episode 232
Martin and Rachel kick off the new year with a new series where they delve into the tough questions of youth ministry. Sitting in the hot seat today is Matt Summerfield, author, church leader and chair of Youthscape's trustees. He shares stories from his time leading Urban Saints and Martin and Rachel share some of their 'Elephants in the Closet'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.