Send us a textTrade the hype for a deep concern with holiness! What if your youth ministry felt unmistakably sacred and still radically welcoming?In this episode of Youth Ministry Booster, Zac Workun sits down with Ribbon Dorado to explore a youth ministry model built on formation over frenzy—one that helps teenagers love the church they’re actually growing into.Ribbon shares his powerful journey—from foster care and a “muddy paper” sense of calling, to serving as a hospital...
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Trade the hype for a deep concern with holiness!
What if your youth ministry felt unmistakably sacred and still radically welcoming?
In this episode of Youth Ministry Booster, Zac Workun sits down with Ribbon Dorado to explore a youth ministry model built on formation over frenzy—one that helps teenagers love the church they’re actually growing into.
Ribbon shares his powerful journey—from foster care and a “muddy paper” sense of calling, to serving as a hospital chaplain in a trauma bay, to theological formation in seminary—and how those experiences have shaped a clear vision for discipling teenagers in 2026.
Together, we unpack a durable, repeatable youth ministry framework designed for long-term faith formation:
- A two-hour Sunday night gathering that prioritizes formation over games
- A monthly rhythm that includes a Student Sabbath at home, complete with table liturgies
- A mid-month Worship in the Round, where students lead and testify
- Sacred worship spaces using incense, kneelers, and iconography to signal reverence
- Memorizing creeds, spontaneous testimonies, and students “fighting for the mic” to name where they see God at work
- Teaching shaped by the lectionary, offering a balanced diet of Scripture and resisting cherry-picking
We also talk about rethinking leadership in student ministry:
- Hospitality leaders who cultivate belonging
- Formation leaders who guide 30-minute Bible circles
- Thoughtful training, interviews, and resources that treat leaders as ministers—not just volunteers
- Language that dignifies the calling and responsibility of those shaping students’ faith
At the core is the soul of the youth pastor. Ribbon challenges leaders to abide in Christ (John 15), practice the daily Examen, read Scripture beyond sermon prep, and develop a living rule of life. Teenagers don’t just hear what we teach—they catch what we love. We lead from overflow, not exhaustion.
Finally, we reframe success in youth ministry:
- Are students worshiping with the broader church?
- Are families practicing prayer and Scripture at home?
- Two years after graduation, are students rooted in a local church?
Formation is a long obedience in the same direction—formed inwardly and sent outwardly.
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We explore how to trade hype for formation with guest Ribbon Dorado, from her journey through foster care and chaplaincy to building a youth ministry shaped by creeds, Scripture, and sacred space. We break down two-hour Sundays, monthly family Sabbaths, and leadership models that form teens for the long road with Jesus.
• recovering historic practices to form teens today
• designing separate spaces for play and worship
• using creeds, liturgy, and student testimony
• structuring two-hour Sunday nights around formation
• monthly rhythm with at-home Student Sabbath
• forming leaders: hospitality vs formation roles
• measuring fruit beyond attendance and events
• abiding practices: John 15, daily examen, rule of life
• helping teens integrate into Sunday worship
• defining wins as long obedience and mission
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