Youth Pastor Theologian isn’t a one-person website. We hope it can become a common-ground place for fellow youth pastor theologians to share their insights and reflections. Here are the three main types of articles we will prioritize on this site, though other types may be considered.
Theological Reflection About Youth Ministry: what is youth ministry, how do we measure effectiveness, and best practices. I want these articles to avoid mere pragmatism, but I also want us to avoid theologizing things so much it's disconnected from real-world youth ministry. Make it theologically rich, but grounded in boots-on-the-ground youth ministry.
Theology for Youth Workers: How would you teach different doctrines to teenagers and apply it to students’ lives (“Teaching students good Christology”). These articles can also engage different theological works and apply them to youth ministry (“How Jonathan Edwards helped me be a better youth pastor”). Set a model for theological engagement in youth ministry.
Theological Reflection on Youth Culture: how do we evaluate today’s youth culture. Where is there common-grace truth to affirm, and where does the gospel call for change?
Please read How to Write a Good Blog Post from our Resources Page, and then review these basic guidelines:
Send a good draft. You don’t need to send in a masterpiece, but please don’t send your first or second draft. I (Mike) am a full-time youth pastor with a family and simply don’t have time to spend hours editing submissions. I will happily help you publish your best work, but edit your article to the best of your ability before you submit it for consideration.
Write for Youth Workers. Please remember that YPT exists to encourage and train youth workers who want to build on biblical/theological foundation. Articles should not be addressed to pastors in general or to teenagers directly, but to youth workers.
No sermon manuscripts or seminary papers. Do not submit your sermon manuscript or seminary paper without editing/rewriting it to fit this website’s emphases. We want articles that are biblically/doctrinally rich AND rooted in real-world youth ministry.
Limit theological jargon. Most readers of a site like this are generally familiar with common theological jargon… but not all. We want articles to model theologically sound ministry to real teenagers. If you use jargon, please explain it.
Length. Articles should be between 800-1200 words. Some can be shorter, some can be longer. In general, if you can’t say it in 1200 words then you’re trying to say too much in one article. If that breaks your heart, consider making it a two-part article when you submit it.
YPT is not actively seeking new articles at the moment, but if you’d like to submit an article then you can email Mike McGarry. We are currently re-evaluating our submission process over the summer and will share our new process in the Fall.