Youth Ministry Meditations On Fatherhood, Failure, & Freedom w/ Wyatt Pennington

Send us a text

New Year, New Episode.

Welcome special guest Wyatt Pennington everybody! A new father, emerging and awesome youth ministry leader Wyatt walks us through a practical reframe: treat parents as partners, not an inbox. He details quarterly parent nights that include worship, teaching for adults, prayer, and a genuine response, plus simple series-based resources that turn “What did you learn?” into real conversations around the table. The result: families feel pastored, not processed—and students keep growing after Wednesday night ends.

We also tackle the screen-shaped world teens inhabit. Instead of declaring tech the enemy, Wyatt models a wiser way: analog alarm clocks, physical Bibles that never ping, printed workbooks, and clear boundaries that make space for God. We unpack how algorithms disciple kids with precision and why embodied practices and honest witness can out-form what big tech outspends. Finally, we get granular on communication: preach shorter sermons with one sticky point, yup just one, and lead descriptively by sharing your actual habits and failures, and commit to loving Jesus when no one is watching.

High Points
• new dad lessons on sacrifice and joy
• modeling boundaries students can see
• calling story from midweek to camp
• caught not taught approach to mentoring
• rebalancing ministry toward parents
• practical parent nights with response
• screens, algorithms, and formation
• analog habits that make space for God
• descriptive leadership over prescriptions
• why shorter sermons carry further

Signups for the Youth Ministry Preaching Experience are live. Check it out at lifeway.com/experience come check it out… sign up, let’s hang out in Nashville for three days and talk about what it means to teach, preach, and connect with students in 2026 and beyond

Support the show

Join the community!