Episode 58: Biblical Youth Ministry in Hard Places (Tim Beilharz)

It’s easy to continue leading our youth ministries the way we’ve seen them run for the last few decades. But it’s more important to build our ministries on a biblical foundation. Instead of making our ministry less relevant to secular youth, maybe this is exactly the type of student ministry they need. Today we’ll hear from Tim Beilharz in Australia about biblical youth ministry in hard places. 

Discussion Features:

• What does youth group in Australia look like?
• If a youth leader wants to build his or her youth ministry on a biblical foundation, what are some of those cornerstones and what are some key Scriptures for them to wrestle with? 
• Some people assume that you need to go light on Bible teaching and doctrine in order to be relevant or culturally “with it.” How do you lead with the Bible first in a tough ministry culture like yours? 
• What recommendations do you have for new youth pastors in established ministries - how can they evaluate their ministry and begin making some changes? 
• As you talk with youth workers across Australia and also in the States and UK and elsewhere, what are some challenges we all share, and what are some lessons you think we can learn from one another about ministry to the next generation? 

Tim Beilharz is a children’s ministry advisor, lecturer, trainer and writer for Anglican Youthworks. He is also the Children’s Pastor at Soul Revival Church. Tim is currently enrolled in pre-PhD work at Macquarie University, researching the social nature of childhood faith formation in the context of intergenerational church communities. Tim lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and kids.

Resources

• Intergenerational Christian Formation, Holly Catterton Allen, Christine Lawton, and others
• Practical Theology, Richard Osmer 
• Cross-generational Ministry by Nick Hartman 
• Effective Ministry Tool, from YouthWorks
• Effective Ministry Podcast (available on all platforms)
• Timbeilharz.com 

Follow Tim on Twitter/X: @timbeilharz

Follow YouthWorks on Twitter/X: @youthworks

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YPT's ebook, Youth Ministry is Theological Ministry, is a free download for subscribers. This book captures the essence of Youth Pastor Theologian in one ten-chapter book, written by six different contributors from across America, Mexico, and the UK.