It’s one thing to agree that leading yourself is important for ministry, but it’s a different thing to know how to live it out in your own life. The Youth Cartel has created a practical guide for you to assess what you need and identify how to get started. The Youth Cartel provides resources and coaching for church-based youth workers. The Youth Cartel’s Youth Ministry Coaching Program is a yearlong leadership development program for youth workers that utilizes a cohort approach

Even if we love recruiting mentors, it can sometimes be challenging to find suitable adults for our team. Our friends at Ministry Architects offer a proven six-step model for recruiting mentors that can help you recruit a team of adults who love young people and point them to Jesus. We know you want to see faith matter more to young people. That's why Ministry Architects specializes in implementing healthy systems and innovative change for the future of the Church. Their team of experienced ministry leaders delivers practical resources, customized for your context, to fuel a transformational approach to ministry.

You can use your gifts to equip your mentors. But it’s likely there are also areas where you are not an expert. Thankfully, you don’t have to be! You can access other resources to get your team the training you all need. Our partner Download Youth Ministry (DYM) exists to help you develop the team that you and your young people need. Download Youth Ministry will help equip you to recruit, train, and nurture the volunteer mentors needed to fulfill God’s purpose for your ministry. DYM is committed to helping youth workers win by providing youth group resources for youth workers, by youth workers.

Our partner, the Asian American Christian Collaborative (AACC), seeks to see Asian American Christians established in their spiritual and cultural heritage. AACC is committed to amplifying the voices, issues, and histories of Asian Americans in the church and larger society. They aim to equip, empower, and encourage Asian American Christians towards holistic discipleship, helping them unlock and unleash the fullness of their God-given gifts.

We’ve talked about how to cultivate belonging in our ministries, but there’s so much more to say! This video from the Fuller Youth Institute offers you all sorts of practical ideas to point young people to Jesus’ best answers to their biggest questions about belonging. The mission of the Fuller Youth Institute is to equip diverse leaders and families to help faithful young people change our world. Their strategy for doing so is to turn research into resources that answer leaders’ and families’ toughest questions about faith.

Our partner, EQSaints, exists to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). Through helpful resources, hands-on training, and inspiring events, they provide you with tools and knowledge for the evangelization of your teens and for walking with them into discipleship. Check out a preview of their discipleship series, “Equipped for Life”.

We’ve talked about how service and justice help young people discover their purpose. But our partners at the Urban Outreach Foundation (UOF) have much more to share about how essential purpose is for a young person’s faith formation. In this video, UOF reminds us that young people are shaped not so much by what we say to them, but more by what they do with us and what we empower them to do themselves. Urban Outreach Foundation’s mission is to promote healthy churches, excellence in leadership and preaching, and community development. UOF equips pastors, leaders, and churches with coaching, courses, and curriculum for growth to help you make a God-sized impact in your church and community.

Communication is key to any relationship. We don’t just need to know parents, they need to know about us and our youth ministries. In the next video, our partners at Axis talk about simple steps you can take to better communicate and to support the families in your ministry to connect about faith. At Axis, we translate pop culture to help parents and caring adults understand and disciple their teenagers. Since 2007, Axis has helped hundreds of thousands of parents navigate conversations with their teens, creating resources on topics like mental health, social media, gender, sexuality, faith, doubt, media, technology, and so much more. Our goal is to help connect parents, teens, and Jesus in a disconnected world.

The culture of a church has everything to do with whether an innovation can take root. Enjoy the gift of a short, helpful assessment provided by our partners at the Ministry Leadership Center (formerly the Center for Youth Ministry Training) to help you champion change. The Ministry Leadership Center (MLC) equips leaders and communities of faith to develop innovative, effective, and theologically informed ministries so youth may experience the love and grace of Jesus Christ, leading to identity and purpose. MLC's Ministry Transformation Lab equips YOU to innovate faithfully in your ministry context through innovative ministry labs, proven resources, and individualized coaching.

Based on your results from the valuable Cultural Assets for Innovation handout, think about these questions: Which of the nine indicators are strongest in your setting? Which seem like they need additional attention? How can you work with others in your faith community to provide that additional attention and make more progress toward your ministry purpose statement? The Ministry Leadership Center (MLC) equips leaders and communities of faith to develop innovative, effective, and theologically informed ministries so youth may experience the love and grace of Jesus Christ, leading to identity and purpose. MLC's Ministry Transformation Lab equips YOU to innovate faithfully in your ministry context through innovative ministry labs, proven resources, and individualized coaching.