Effective Youth Ministers 08.13.2025

Today’s Reflection

A holy life is not an exhausted one, even for people in ministry with youth. The most effective youth ministers I know, the ones with blazing faith that points beyond themselves to Christ, are on fire with Jesus, not for Jesus. Their ministries stand the test of time not because they have zeal for God but because they have God; or more precisely, God has them, and they radiate divine light because of it. Christ somehow lives in their bones and in their bloodstreams; they welcome him into their lives the way children welcome Christmas and new puppies. As youth workers, they can no more avoid embodying Christ with young people than they can avoid exhaling. They are more midwives than middle managers, people who jump-start life with God and inspire us (the word comes from the Latin “to breathe in”).

—Kenda Creasy Dean, Ron Foster, & Megan Dewald, The Godbearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry, Revised Edition (Upper Room Books, 2022)

Today’s Question

What do you think about this statement from today’s reflection: “A holy life is not an exhausted one”? How often does your life tip toward exhaustion? Join the conversation.

Today’s Scripture

While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come.—1 Timothy 4:8 (CEB)

Prayer for the Week

I am no longer my own, but thine.Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.Put me to doing, put me to suffering.Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,exalted for thee or brought low by thee.Let me be full, let me be empty.Let me have all things, let me have nothing.I freely and heartily yield all thingsto thy pleasure and disposal.And now, O glorious and blessed God,Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.And the covenant which I have made on earth,let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.—A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition from The United Methodist Hymnal