Jeremy is joined by Steve Zacharias to explore a topic most youth workers have wrestled with: how do you have meaningful conversations with students who are anxious, shut down, or unsure how to engage?

Steve draws from both personal experience and practical ministry to unpack how anxiety shows up in student behavior and how youth leaders can respond with empathy, curiosity, and calm. They talk about fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses, why students often seem resistant or disengaged, and what we can do to build trust, slow the pace, and help students feel seen and safe.

If you've ever walked away from a conversation thinking, “Did that even work?” this episode will help you rethink success, show up more helpfully, and ask better questions.

Have a question or want to dig deeper? You can email jeremy@youthworker.community or steve@youthworker.community

Here are a few of the practical next steps from Steve’s episode…

• Take a deep breath before youth group—your presence matters more than your pressure
• Learn to identify the four responses to anxiety: fight, flight, freeze, fawn
• Regulate your own anxiety first—what tone, pace, and posture are you bringing?
• Let students choose the space for deeper conversations (not always the foyer!)
• Ask fueling questions to explore anxiety:

1. “What are you feeling? How do you feel about talking with me?”
2. “What’s it like for you to feel this way?”
3. “When did you start feeling this way?”
4. “What was going on at the time?”

• Ask flipping questions to reframe the situation:

1. “If you switched places with someone else, what would you see?”
2. “Whose voice do you hear in the pressure you’re feeling?”
3. “What would you imagine Jesus saying to you in this moment?”

• Avoid “why” questions—reframe with what or how to reduce defensiveness
• Use Scripture gently to help students reflect, not just correct