I’ve always enjoyed incorporating popular music into youth ministry. From middle school through high school, asking young people to share and talk about the music that moves them is an effective and eye-opening way to enter the lives of adolescents. Several years ago, when the concept was still relatively novel, I put together three successful U2charist worship services, complete with a pretty authentic U2 cover band. I eventually realized, however, that these events mostly drew Gen Xers like myself. The young... Read more

Allyson Robinson is a groundbreaking preacher and LGBTQ activist. She made news in recent years as the first openly transgender Baptist minster. MSNBC suggested she might be the most radical preacher in America. I know this for sure: she preached a powerful closing sermon at PYM16. Bringing our theme of “Faith in an Age of Reason” to a moving conclusion, she shared how faith nearly killed her, reminding us that belief and certainty don’t make pain and suffering just go away. Through stunning imagery, she read... Read more

At PYM16 Teer Hardy and Amanda Pine presented a seminar called “Youth Ministry Beyond the Bubble. Teer and Amanda both work at Great Bridge United Methodist Church in Chesapeake, VA. Connect with Teer at his blog. I have to admit, I was a little hesitant to head to Dallas for PYM16. A drag queen worship leader?!? Faith and science?!? Social Justice?!? Rob Bell?!? Speaking of Rob Bell, it’s not everyday Rob Bell gets to be your opening act.  I mean usually it... Read more

“Progressive” is a slippery word that means different things to different people. From the beginning of the Progressive Youth Ministry journey, people have wondered what we mean by progressive. My response generally has two elements. At a basic level, progressive youth ministry is simply youth ministry done from a theologically liberal or progressive perspective. Most broadly this means that we are followers of Christ who take the Bible seriously but not literally. We recognize that theology is fluid and not static. We are... Read more

In my previous post I discussed what motivates me to do progressive youth ministry and asked others to share their motivations. Yesterday I saw a Facebook notification about a comment from a friend and onetime youth ministry colleague: “I’ll be very curious to see how everyone’s motivations bring them to select which ‘team’ they end up on.” My heart sank a little because this comment touches on a potential criticism of the progressive youth ministry movement: do we really need... Read more

My commitment to progressive youth ministry has always been very personal—a reality I suspect is shared by many people in this movement. I loved my high school youth group. My best friends were there. I valued the mentorship of trusted adults. But growing up in a conservative evangelical denomination, I was basically a fundamentalist by the time I left high school. To say that I was unprepared for life outside of my small-town evangelical bubble would be an understatement. I... Read more

For fourteen years I was a youth worker who identified as a progressive Christian and served in progressive churches. I quickly realized that the vast majority of the youth ministry publishing and conference world was monopolized by more conservative evangelicals. With every book I read and every conference I attended, I found myself having to constantly translate and filter content in order to tease out nuggets of material that would be transferable to my context. When a few youth ministry... Read more