Youth Ministry Booster

Send us Fan Mail Youth ministry can feel like a holy adrenaline rush. Packed rooms. Camp. Baptisms. Students responding to the gospel. The next Wednesday night is always coming. But what happens when you start needing the ministry as much as the ministry needs you? Dane Leake joins Zac for an unusually honest conversation about burnout, mental health, identity, and the hidden cost of chasing the next ministry high. Dane shares the story of his 2023 collapse, years of overwork, lack of sleep, ...

Send us Fan Mail “We’re good, just busy” might be the most common sentence in American family life, and it’s reshaping what people can realistically say yes to. It's become the default answer for families, pastors, and church leaders. And when everyone feels stretched thin, youth ministry can easily respond by either adding more programming or blaming sports, school, and extracurricular activities for stealing students away. But what if that's not the whole story? Maybe youth ministry...

Send us Fan Mail Student ministry has always adapted to changing culture. The message never changes. Sometimes the methods need to. In this episode, Zac Workun and Chad Higgins ask an important question: Today's students aren't disengaged...they're simply communicating the way they've been formed to communicate. From AIM away messages and Facebook walls to Snapchat, group chats, Twitch streams, and endless scrolling, every generation learns differently because every generation communicates di...

Send us Fan Mail Time is limited. Your calling isn't. Camp season leaves most youth pastors physically exhausted, emotionally stretched, and mentally staring at an already-full fall calendar. In this episode of the Youth Ministry Booster Podcast, Zac and Chad begin with some hilarious camp memories before asking a much more important question: Why do we always feel like we're running out of time? This conversation isn't another productivity episode. We can't help you get more hours in t...

Send us Fan Mail What if the biggest threat to your youth ministry isn't a lack of volunteers, budget, or attendance... but your own exhaustion? In this episode of the Youth Ministry Booster Podcast, Zac Workun sits down with Dr. Jody Dean (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) for an honest conversation about burnout, sustainability, and staying faithful for the long haul. Drawing from decades of ministry, mentoring, and leadership development, Dr. Dean shares practical wisdom for youth ...