Author

About the Author
I am a Youth Ministry veteran of twenty four years, and currently serve as the Student Pastor at High Desert Church.  I help equip and encourage Youth Pastors through this blog and podcast The Longer Haul.  My passion is helping Youth Pastors create a ministry of longevity that they truly love.  I am the grateful husband of Sarah and the dad of Emma, Anna, Lizzy, and Jack.  I am a speaker, lover of vintage VW’s, and the owner of one 1972 VW Westfalia Bus.

TLH091: Dealing with Discipline in Youth Ministry

Recently on our super secret Facebook Group, we were asked to address the topic of how to deal with discipline with teenagers. We immediately loved the idea as we remembered how much of a challenge this issue has been over the years. Because we knew it was a tough topic, we decided to invite back…

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TLH090: Old School Youth Ministry

Episode 90! We’re pumped! We both started doing youth ministry in the ’90s so we thought it’d be fun to do an episode highlighting all of the things we’ve seen change over the years… can you say overhead projectors??? It turned out to be a fun one with a few great tips along the way….

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TLH089: Staying Encouraged in Youth Ministry

Trust us when we say that there comes a time in all ministry callings where something will not go your way and you will face discouragement. Don’t get us wrong! We love what we get to do! Youth ministry can truly be one of the most rewarding gigs out there. But with great potential for…

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TLH088: Trusting God When Your Calling Changes

We had a chance to sit down with teaching pastor and youth ministry communicator, Nick Person. Nick LOVES youth pastors and clearly has a heart for youth ministry. We’re all likely going to face changes in our calling at some point in our ministry or at least be asked to do things that we didn’t…

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TLH087: Creating and Sustaining a Thriving Youth Ministry

When Alan Smith found out he was going to be transitioning at his church from being the youth pastor to the campus pastor, he also learned he’d be mentoring the youth pastor that took his place. Alan started mentoring his youth pastor by writing out lessons for them to look at together. Before he knew it, he…

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TLH086: Within Reach an Interview with Ben Trueblood

Ben Trueblood knows his stuff. As the Director of Student Ministry for LifeWay Christian Resources, Ben and his team are passionate about pointing students to Jesus through everything they do. Years ago Lifeway did a study often referred to as the “drop out” study that revealed how many students leave the church when they graduate high school….

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