Posted by | Sep 17, 2026
Games can sometimes get treated like filler before the “important” parts of youth group, but the right game can help students relax, build relationships, create memories, and engage with your ministry. In this episode of Youth Ministry Answers, we’re talking about how to make games more fun, engaging, and strategic. So we asked Stephen Switzer to join Brooklyn and Damean to share practical ways to turn game time into something students and leaders actually look forward to.
QUESTION:
“How can I make the games in our youth ministry more fun?”
ANSWER: In this episode, we’ll talk about how to…
Choose games intentionally and create enough variety for different students, group sizes, and moments in your program
Respect your audience by inviting participation without forcing students into uncomfortable or embarrassing situations
Create more energy through great hosting, music, enthusiastic leaders, and fun rewards
Plan smooth transitions so games build momentum and fit naturally into the rest of your program
Ask a Question:
Have a youth ministry question you want us to talk about? Send it in at YMA.show and your question might be featured in a future episode!
Subscribe & Review:
Subscribe to Youth Ministry Answers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen for practical ideas, leadership tools, and conversations you can use right away. If this episode was helpful, leave a quick review to help other leaders find the show.
Posted by | Sep 4, 2026
Your church might have a great youth ministry, great volunteers, and great programming—but there are teenagers in your community who may never walk through your doors. In this episode of Youth Ministry Answers, we’re talking about how to build meaningful partnerships with local schools and expand our understanding of where ministry can happen. Brooklyn and Damean share practical ways to serve schools well, build trust over time, and show up consistently for teenagers where they already are.
QUESTION:
“How can our youth ministry build a healthy partnership with a local school?”
ANSWER: In this episode, we’ll talk about how to…
Get to know your local schools, their leaders, and the real challenges students and staff are facing
Become a solution by listening first and finding specific needs your church can meet well
Build long-term partnerships by supporting the people and programs already doing great work in your schools
Rethink how you measure success so serving teenagers matters even when they never attend your youth group
Ask a Question:
Have a youth ministry question you want us to talk about? Send it in at YMA.show and your question might be featured in a future episode!
Subscribe & Review:
Subscribe to Youth Ministry Answers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen for practical ideas, leadership tools, and conversations you can use right away. If this episode was helpful, leave a quick review to help other leaders find the show.
Posted by | Aug 19, 2026
Wanting to invest well in every teenager in your ministry doesn’t mean you need to be every student’s primary leader or support system. In this episode of Youth Ministry Answers, Kyle has a question about how male youth pastors can effectively lead and pastor the teenage girls in their ministry. So we asked Sunny Brown to join Brooklyn and Damean to share practical ways to create healthy boundaries, empower female leaders, and build a ministry where girls feel seen, valued, safe, and empowered to lead.
QUESTION:
“How can I effectively pastor the girls in my youth ministry when I’m a guy?” — Kyle Smith
ANSWER:
In this episode, we’ll talk about how to…
Create clear boundaries and systems that prioritize safety, transparency, and trust.
Build a ministry that reflects perspectives and experiences beyond your own.
Recruit, trust, and empower female leaders to have meaningful influence throughout your ministry.
Give teenage girls opportunities to use their voices, contribute, serve, and lead.
Ask a Question:
Have a youth ministry question you want us to talk about? Send it in at YMA.show and your question might be featured in a future episode!
Subscribe & Review:
Subscribe to Youth Ministry Answers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen for practical ideas, leadership tools, and conversations you can use right away. If this episode was helpful, leave a quick review to help other leaders find the show.
Posted by | Aug 7, 2026
Behind every series we create at Grow are months of planning, collaboration, biblical study, creative decisions, and lots and lots of revisions. In this episode of Youth Ministry Answers, we’re answering a question we get all the time about how we create all of the curriculum and resources at Grow. So we asked Elle Campbell and Danny Sugimoto to join Brooklyn and Damean to pull back the curtain on the collaborative process, biblical strategy, and creative decisions behind everything we include inside Grow Students Curriculum.
QUESTION:
“How do you create all of the curriculum and resources at Grow?”
ANSWER:
In this episode, we’ll talk about how we…
Collaborate with real ministry leaders, writers, editors, designers, and creators throughout every step of the process
Build a two-year scope and sequence around the subjects teenagers need help navigating
Start with Scripture before developing themes, activities, and resources
Create memorable themes and clear weekly Big Ideas that help biblical truths connect with teenagers and stick long after church is over
Ask a Question:
Have a youth ministry question you want us to talk about? Send it in at YMA.show and your question might be featured in a future episode!
Subscribe & Review:
Subscribe to Youth Ministry Answers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen for practical ideas, leadership tools, and conversations you can use right away. If this episode was helpful, leave a quick review to help other leaders find the show.
Resources:
Grow Curriculum
Posted by | Jul 21, 2026
Coming up with fresh ideas week after week can be exhausting. Between planning programs, games, events, messages, and everything else on your calendar, it’s easy to feel like you’ve run out of creativity. In this episode of Youth Ministry Answers, Janette has a question about how to keep coming up with fresh ideas for youth ministry every week. So we asked Caleb Jordan to join Brooklyn and Damean to share practical strategies for cultivating creativity, finding inspiration, and consistently creating memorable experiences without burning yourself out.
QUESTION:
“How do I come up with things to do every week?” — Janette Corum
ANSWER:
In this episode, we’ll talk about how to…
Plan ahead to create more margin for creativity instead of constantly planning week to week
Collaborate with others, borrow great ideas, and stay curious about the world outside of ministry
Build a system for collecting ideas and learn to use feedback to make those ideas even better
Create meaningful and memorable experiences by building consistency
Ask a Question:
Got a question you want answered? Send it in at yma.show — your question might be featured in a future episode!
Subscribe & Review:
Subscribe to Youth Ministry Answers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you look for youth ministry ideas, small group strategies, and ministry tools you can use right away.
If this episode was helpful, leave a quick review to help other leaders find the show.
Resources Mentioned:
Grow Curriculum
Grow Planning View
