All youth articles
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ArticleThe new Netflix series Adolescence raises difficult but essential issues for Christian parents to grapple with
Few television shows capture the emotional chaos of growing up as honestly as Netflix’s latest series, Adolescence. Diving deep into the complex struggles faced by young people today, this is more than just a typical coming-of-age drama. With its innovative use of single-take episodes, its raw and poignant cinematography immerses you into a world of identity crises, societal pressure, online dangers, and the hidden pain of those caught in the fallout of serious mistakes.
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ArticleSiblings of youth and children with additional needs need support too - Here’s five things Christian parents can do
This article is written by Phoebe Ridout, who is the daughter of Mark Arnold (from the Additional Needs Alliance). Phoebe shares her experience of growing up as an additional needs sibling to her brother, James, as well as offering learnings for us all…
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ArticleIt’s not all in the head - Physical activity is really important for the mental and spiritual health of youth and children
In 2024 there were 9.3 million NHS Couch to 5K runs started in the year as people sought to get healthy. I really enjoy physical activity but there are times (especially at the end of a busy day or if it is cold and dark) that dragging myself away from a comfy sofa is quite a challenge. However, one thing I do know is that being active is good for me and I always feel better having chosen to abandon the sofa for exercise.
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ArticleNicotine pouches might not be as bad as smoking, but Christian parents need to know about this new fad on the street
Max (a 16-year-old boy) and Ollie (a youth worker in his mid-twenties) are at a youth club for young people aged 11-18. The discussion starts like this…
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ArticlePlaying is good for your kids. Here's how Christian parents and churches can encourage it
Play is a funny thing. Everyone knows intuitively what it is but struggles to define it. It’s fun, but it is also a serious business. We associate it with children but deep-down love it as adults. It comes naturally and yet we seem also to spend a lot of time working at it. Play is a bit of a paradox but before we give up on it lets step back and consider what exactly it is and why it is important.
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ArticleCaptain America: Brave New World – Can people change (beyond turning into a Hulk…)?
It’s been a while since we’ve had a smaller scale story in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – MCU – based on earth and it was a nice change of pace to have a story with more personal stakes than an alien invasion.
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ArticleKnife Crime: What parents need to know and what they can do
Knife crime is a devastating issue affecting communities across the UK. It’s a crisis ripping through communities, leaving families shattered and futures stolen. Across the UK, and especially in cities like London, young people are being pulled into violence, not because they want to hurt others, but because fear leaves them feeling like they have no choice. The numbers don’t lie. Knife crime is rising, lives are being lost, and entire communities are being scarred.
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ArticleChristian parenting in hospital: surviving through everyday faith
I’m sitting just to her side, wedged between the ward wall and my child’s hospital bed. For me and many other parents this has become a familiar yet daunting place. The rhythmic soundscape of oxygen masks and intermittent beeping from machines becomes our lullaby. It merges into the background of chatter and children’s cries, as we try to rest and get some sleep.
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ArticleThe circle of discipleship
Mark Griffiths and Rachel Turner’s monthly look at NexGen ministry
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ArticleWhy some parents can be grizzly bears
Every child and young person needs support to help them learn or engage with activities. Some need additional or different support from those of the same age to ensure that everyone benefits from all they participate in. We want to address some of the important questions around these needs. Welcome to ‘All inclusive’.
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ArticleLeadership discipline three: SILENCE
Welcome to part three in our series on leadership disciplines – a combination of spiritual practices and leadership rhythms that will have a significant impact on who we are becoming and where we are going as leaders. So far, we have discussed fasting and prayer, today we ...
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ArticleIs Christian youth work disappearing?
Tim Gough puts our youth work in a historical context and asks: “What’s next?”
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ArticlePresence in youth ministry
It can be easy to be always on the lookout for the next big thing in youth ministry, so we can get on board and be relevant and up to date and on trend. Our regular contributor and youth-work expert, Mark Oestreicher, takes us through his thinking about the future trend of youth ministry, and it’s not what you might think.
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ArticleBecoming the leader your leaders need - part 2
There’s a story in Exodus 17 of a time when Israel were at war against the Amalekites. The Bible tells us that “as long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but when he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning” (Exodus 17:11).
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ArticleWhere are all the influencers?
“This could be game-changing for youth ministry!” – new research about young people sharing faith offers invaluable insights for the future of church youth work. Dan Randall, youth director at Hope Together takes us through the stats.
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ArticleTeenagers and Bible reading
Recently, another youth ministry leader asked me a bunch of questions about teenagers and Bible reading. He asked great questions that made me think. But since this is my column, I’m using his questions as a starting point, but tweaking them and adding more. So, consider this me interviewing myself about teens and Bible reading (and honestly, much of this applies to older teenagers too).
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ArticleA tale of two cities
Have we minimised the ‘go into all the world’ command, to ‘go into my safe neighbourhood’? Ian Spence, Frontier Youth Trust’s west of England activist, and Dave Joyce, Director of Bath YFC, are taking Jesus at his word.
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IssuesQ&A: Kenda Creasy Dean
Editor Ruth Jackson chatted to Kenda Creasy Dean, an ordained United Methodist pastor and professor of youth, church and culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. Kenda has written numerous books, including Almost Christian: What the Faith of our Teenagers is Telling the American Church
