A heart-first kickoff to season two on the power of abiding in Jesus, why confidence flows from intimacy with God, and how to diagnose fruit to find the root. We talk with John Zick about honest stories, simple rhythms, and practical boundaries to guard your heart and lead from overflow.

• Defining abiding as ongoing relationship with God
• Rival mentality versus true fulfillment
• Fruit diagnostics from Galatians to locate your roots
• Anointing versus approval and the danger of autopilot
• Practical boundaries and calendar blocks for health
• Integrating prayer into ordinary moments
• Resetting vision for ministry by guarding your heart
• Resources from the Called Initiative and how to connect

Connect with John Zick!

✉️ Jzick@ag.org

Check out the CALLED free resources at called.ag.org

Support the show

Check out the FREE youth ministry resource Vitals for Youth Ministry by clicking below!

https://www.leadthegeneration.com/vitals

Connect with the hosts!

Eran Holt - Director of Lead the Generation

📸 @eranholt

Caleb Leake - Youth Pastor at Allison Park Church

📸 @calebmleake

This episode is sponsored by:

World Serve International

🔗 Click Here!

Allison Park leadership Academy

🔗 Click Here!

We share a field-tested playbook for building a healthy youth leadership team, from recruiting people who care to training them with simple rhythms that last. Ashton Peters unpacks “The Third Voice,” showing how mentors help students from unchurched homes grow with steady guidance.

• Leadership development as the engine of sustainable youth ministry
• Recruiting seasoned adults and diverse voices beyond “cool factor”
• Practical sources for volunteers, including the church secretary and lobby time
• Clear onboarding with expectations, shadowing, and a simple booklet
• Support roles that prevent burnout and let small group leaders focus
• Weekly huddles, monthly meetings, and an annual retreat as core rhythm
• Spiritual parenting and mentoring for students from unchurched homes
• Gritty realities of youth ministry and how teams walk through hard things
• Tools and resources for content, training, and consistency

Buy “The Third Voice” by Ashton Peters on Amazon or MyHealthy Church to grab the book today!

Support the show

Check out the FREE youth ministry resource Vitals for Youth Ministry by clicking below!

https://www.leadthegeneration.com/vitals

Connect with the hosts!

Eran Holt - Director of Lead the Generation

📸 - @eranholt

Caleb Leake - Youth Pastor at Allison Park Church

📸 - @calebmleake

We pull back the curtain on youth ministry insecurity, comparison, and the pressure to make every Wednesday hinge on one person, then map a better way—equipping leaders, planning with purpose, and building systems that last. Gabby O’Rourke shares candid stories and a practical framework to turn vision into sustained growth.

• Naming insecurity and resisting comparison
• Equipping volunteers over owning the night
• Character, calling, culture, competency as a framework
• Prayer-led recruiting of multi-generational teams
• Yearly scope and sequence for content planning
• Small group prep and response culture that disciple
• Assessing ratios, roles, and Wednesday flow
• Fixing foundations before cosmetic changes
• Opening feedback loops and receiving input well

Support the show

Check out the FREE youth ministry resource Vitals for Youth Ministry by clicking below!

https://www.leadthegeneration.com/vitals

Connect with the hosts!

Eran Holt - Director of Lead the Generation

📸 - @eranholt

Caleb Leake - Youth Pastor at Allison Park Church

📸 - @calebmleake

We sit down with Reggie Dabbs to explore how presence, scripture, and bold invitations move students from passive listeners to active disciples. From back-row handshakes to altar calls, we unpack a simple, focused path to help students live on mission every day.

• Making mission normal in daily life
• Earning trust with presence and integrity
• Using scripture as the engine of change
• Writing messages backward from response
• Leading clear, bold altar moments
• Staying tender by avoiding green rooms
• Modeling testimony without losing depth
• Encouraging discouraged leaders as tag changers
• Practical tips for prayerful preparation

Give us a review, give us a like, give us a share on any of the platforms you’re watching.

Support the show

Check out the FREE youth ministry resource Vitals for Youth Ministry by clicking below!

https://www.leadthegeneration.com/vitals

Connect with the hosts!

Eran Holt - Director of Lead the Generation

📸 - @eranholt

Caleb Leake - Youth Pastor at Allison Park Church

📸 - @calebmleake

We talk with Carrie Brooks about building a safe, Jesus-centered community where students can belong while they figure out what they believe. From a hilarious living-room play to a practical playbook for small groups, this is a master class in culture, habits, and care.

• Why belonging is the on-ramp to belief
• Five measurable habits for small-group leaders
• Structuring grade and gender groups that move up together
• Leading discussions where students talk more than leaders
• Using labs to practice Bible reading, prayer and evangelism
• Showing up at student events and building camaraderie
• Recruiting and retaining leaders through care and vision
• Creating low-cost, high-impact group events
• Why consistency and a three-month test matter

Support the show

Check out the FREE youth ministry resource Vitals for Youth Ministry by clicking below!

https://www.leadthegeneration.com/vitals

Connect with the hosts!

Eran Holt - Director of Lead the Generation

📸 - @eranholt

Caleb Leake - Youth Pastor at Allison Park Church

📸 - @calebmleake

We explore how authority from God creates confidence without ego and why rebuilding Bible literacy is the safest path back to health in youth ministry. John Rush shares stories, practical tools, and a call to play the long game: disciple deeply and watch evangelism grow.

• Authority that produces humility and courage
• Candid youth ministry stories and lessons learned
• Celebrating innovation without losing formation
• Assessing Bible literacy with simple AI tools
• Measuring fruit of the Spirit, not just attendance
• Keeping the found as a pastoral priority
• Shifting preaching from clever to substantive
• Gen Z’s hunger for stability and doctrine
• Relational ministry beyond the stage
• Ethical, effective use of AI in prep
• Discipleship as the engine of evangelism
• Student-led movements built over time

If you love the podcast, give it a like, give it a subscribe, give it a share, give it a review, whatever platform you’re on

Support the show

Check out the FREE youth ministry resource Vitals for Youth Ministry by clicking below!

https://www.leadthegeneration.com/vitals

Connect with the hosts!

Eran Holt - Director of Lead the Generation

📸 - @eranholt

Caleb Leake - Youth Pastor at Allison Park Church

📸 - @calebmleake

Phil Johnson shares how to create a youth ministry culture centered on missional living by modeling authentic evangelism and celebrating students who live out the Great Commission in their daily lives.

• Discipleship and evangelism should be integrated, not treated as separate ministry focuses
• Creating a missional culture starts with what we celebrate in our youth ministry
• Students often focus on their unique calling while neglecting the broader mission of sharing Jesus
• What gets celebrated gets remembered, gets repeated, and gets replicated
• Personal stories of life transformation carry more weight than theoretical teaching
• The priority should be falling in love with the mission before pursuing specific assignments
• Gen Alpha seeks adults who will slow down and walk with them through their questions
• Building a missional culture takes years of consistent modeling and intentional celebration
• Ministry leaders should not only share the gospel from stage but model evangelism in daily life
• Practical elements like mission trips and campus outreach reinforce missional values

Utilize the Vitals for Youth Ministry assessment tool with 25 questions that will give you a health score on each of the five vitals.

Support the show

Check out the FREE youth ministry resource Vitals for Youth Ministry by clicking below!

https://www.leadthegeneration.com/vitals

Connect with the hosts!

Eran Holt - Director of Lead the Generation

📸 - @eranholt

Caleb Leake - Youth Pastor at Allison Park Church

📸 - @calebmleake

Joseph Kellogg shares his strategic approach to leadership development in youth ministry, focusing on how to mobilize leaders for a missional youth movement. His four-year strategy prioritizes multiplication at every level, creating systems that transform followers into commissioned leaders who can effectively reach Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

• Joseph has been in youth ministry for 24 years and recently returned to lead youth pastor role at Victory Church in Tulsa
• The key to reaching 30,000 teenagers in his area is building a robust leadership pipeline
• Added 50 new leaders in three months through "intense intentionality" in recruiting
• Created clear pathways for leadership from student leaders to adult team leads
• Leadership development meetings called "Heart and Soul" provide monthly training and connection
• Measures success by leadership multiplication metrics, not attendance numbers
• Uses Jesus' model of calling, championing, coaching, and commissioning leaders
• Recommends starting with a mindset of "refusing to do ministry alone"
• Encourages youth pastors to identify specific ministry roles and turn them into teams
• Connect people's passions to their purpose by offering various commitment levels
• Create regular leadership huddles before and after services to build team culture

Join Joseph at the Healthy Youth Ministry Conference on October 6-7 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Connect with him on Instagram @JosephKellogg for more youth ministry resources and coaching opportunities.

https://www.hymconference.com/national-conference

Support the show

Check out the FREE youth ministry resource Vitals for Youth Ministry by clicking below!

https://www.leadthegeneration.com/vitals

Connect with the hosts!

Eran Holt - Director of Lead the Generation

📸 - @eranholt

Caleb Leake - Youth Pastor at Allison Park Church

📸 - @calebmleake