• 244: How Can You Help Foster a Lifestyle of Generosity in Students? Interview with Jaidon and Maximus from First Assembly Church in Calgary
    Jul 7 2025

    As part of our series on spiritual disciplines, William Dmytrow sits down with Pastor Jaidon McCusker and student leader Maximus from First Assembly Calgary to explore the spiritual practice of generosity. This conversation dives into how young people can begin to develop habits of generosity right now—with their money, time, and everyday choices.

    Maximus shares his personal story of how a small decision to give years ago sparked a lasting posture of generosity in his life. Together with Pastor Jaidon, they unpack how youth ministries can create opportunities for students to serve, give, and live generously both within and beyond the church walls.


    Have a question or want to dig deeper? You can email jeremy@youthworker.community.

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    24 mins
  • 243: How Can the Practice of Spiritual Community Fuel Discipleship?
    Jun 30 2025

    You obviously care deeply about the discipleship of the students in your group, but what is the role of community and accountability in the midst of those relationships? University student Dayton Bracewell shares in this conversation all about his own journey from spiritual stagnation to vibrant discipline and how his understanding of the power of community and accountability has grown. The transformational role of spiritual community in your group is absolutely essential to cultivating lasting discipleship for the next generation.

    Have a question or want to dig deeper? You can email jeremy@youthworker.community.

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    29 mins
  • 242: How Can You Help Your Students Grow in the Practice of Prayer? Interview With Students 🥳
    Jun 23 2025

    In this episode, Jeremy sits down with a remarkable group of high school students from Moncton, New Brunswick, who are helping spark a prayer movement across their city’s schools. As part of our summer series on spiritual disciplines, this conversation focuses on the power of student-led prayer and how it’s transforming lives, schools, and churches across multiple denominations.

    You’ll hear firsthand how a youth camp, a student’s quiet prayer walk, and a desire to invite God into their school has led to hundreds of students gathering weekly, forming leadership teams, praying audacious prayers, and even seeing classmates come to faith and get baptized. It’s a story of unity, revival, and how God works through simple obedience.


    Looking for ideas on where to start with your group?

    • Create space for students to lead and pray—don’t underestimate their hunger or capacity
    • Invite students to ask God for “big” things: revival, transformation, salvation
    • Encourage student leadership teams to identify their gifts and take ownership
    • Start small—consistent prayer walks, student Bible studies, or Alpha lunches
    • Partner with other churches and schools to build unity and momentum


    Have a question or want to dig deeper? You can email jeremy@youthworker.community.

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    26 mins
  • 241: How Can You Help Students Train for Godliness? Interview With Will from Ebenezer Church in Saskatoon
    Jun 16 2025

    In this episode, Jeremy sits down with Will—youth pastor at Ebenezer Church in Saskatoon—for a powerful conversation about how ancient spiritual disciplines are reshaping his youth ministry. This is the kickoff to a special series featuring youth workers and students whose lives have been changed by practicing the way of Jesus.

    Will shares how challenges early in his ministry led him to rethink how he was engaging with spiritual formation practices. Now, years later, his youth ministry is thriving—not because of hype, but because students are being trained to follow Jesus for life through habits like Sabbath, fasting, prayer, and Scripture engagement.


    If you’ve ever wondered how to help your students truly grow, not just attend, this conversation is a must-listen.


    Learn more about Practicing the Way at their website: practicingtheway.org



    Have a question or want to dig deeper? You can email jeremy@youthworker.community.

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    20 mins
  • 240: What Do You Do When You’re Too Busy for Spiritual Disciplines?
    Jun 10 2025

    Jeremy and Sid are back to talk about something every youth worker eventually wrestles with: what happens when you're too busy, tired, or distracted to keep up with your spiritual disciplines? Whether it's summer camp season, the back-to-school ministry crunch, or just the demands of life, it’s easy for spiritual practices to get pushed aside.

    Sid offers helpful language to distinguish between guilt and shame, and reminds us that spiritual disciplines are not about earning God’s favor—they’re about posturing our hearts to grow in love for Jesus and others. They unpack how to rethink your current rhythms, adapt your practices to your life stage, and reframe everyday moments as opportunities for spiritual connection.


    This episode is also a launchpad for a series of conversations with youth workers and students about different spiritual practices and how they’re impacting lives.


    Have a question or want to dig deeper? You can email jeremy@youthworker.community.

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    27 mins
  • 239: How Should You Best Prepare For Your Role? Interview with MCS-Horizon Students
    Jun 2 2025

    Noah Reed and Ryan Murray are two youth workers from Winnipeg, Manitoba who open up about how mentorship has shaped their preparation and fruitfulness in youth ministry. Both trace their ministry health and leadership development to intentional mentors throughout their lives—some formal, some unexpected.

    Listen in and learn about what mentorship looks like in practice, how to find a mentor (even if no one is offering), and why both practical ministry and spiritual mentorship matter. Whether you’re a brand-new volunteer, a seasoned youth pastor, or somewhere in between, this conversation offers practical encouragement and guidance to help you grow in both your leadership and your walk with Jesus.

    And as Ryan reminds us, the best mentors don’t just call out your weaknesses—they call out your strengths when you can’t see them.


    Learn more about MCS-Horizon at mcs.edu/about/mcs-horizon


    Have a question or want to dig deeper? You can email jeremy@youthworker.community.

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    35 mins
  • 238: What Should You Say to Your Students About The End Times? Interview with Cody Matchett
    May 26 2025

    This conversation has Jeremy sitting down with theologian, pastor, and author Cody Matchett to tackle a topic that keeps showing up—how to talk about the end times with students. This isn’t just about interpreting Revelation or breaking down scary apocalyptic imagery. It’s about offering students a vision of hope, justice, and renewal grounded in Jesus.

    Cody helps reframe the “end times” as not a roadmap for escape, but a call to live as future people in the present. Listen in to hear how you can use Revelation to engage questions about evil, justice, judgment, and God’s goodness in a world that often feels uncertain.


    You should pick up Cody’s book, Revelation for the Rest of Us on Amazon.


    Have a question or want to dig deeper? You can email jeremy@youthworker.community.

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    34 mins
  • 237: What Does It Look Like to Help Students Engage the Scriptures? Interview with Hakeem Bradley
    May 19 2025

    In this episode, recorded live at the 306 Network Gathering, Will Dmytrow sits down with Hakeem Bradley from BibleProject to talk about how youth workers can help students engage Scripture in meaningful and compelling ways. Hakeem breaks down how understanding genre, embracing hard passages, and recognizing design patterns in Scripture can transform how students read the Bible. He also unpacks fresh ways to explain the biblical metanarrative using creation–decreation–recreation, and describes how biblical authors act like filmmakers, producers, and sculptors to help us see the big picture.

    Whether you're preparing a sermon, leading a Bible study, or sitting one-on-one with a student, this conversation is packed with wisdom and encouragement for helping Gen Z encounter the beauty of the Bible.


    Follow Hakeem on Instagram @hakeembradley1 or check out his blog at hakeembradley.com.


    Have a question or want to dig deeper? You can email jeremy@youthworker.community.

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    40 mins