Youth Ministry Institute at NOBTS

05/07/2026

Youth pastors have a front-row seat to one of the most formative seasons of life. Adolescence is where identity, belief, and belonging are forged. Your leadership speaks directly into all three. Press On!

04/25/2026

Dr. Odom’s book released 100 days ago! Have you read it yet? Get your copy today!

04/24/2026

Every student you invest in carries future influence.
You are not only shaping who they are today, but also who they will become as leaders, parents, and faithful followers of Christ. Keep going!

03/25/2026

The Student Spiritual Growth & Influence Survey is designed to help you gain a clear, data-informed understanding of how teenagers are growing in their faith and how deeply they are connected to the life and mission of the church.
This tool measures two key areas: Spiritual Growth and Spiritual Influence.
Spiritual Growth examines how a teenager’s personal faith is developing through three categories:
Relationship with God, Spiritual Disciplines, and Service to Others.
Spiritual Influence evaluates how well a teenager is connected to and shaped by the faith community around them, including Connection to the Youth Group, Connection to the Church, and the Spiritual Influence of Parents.
This assessment serves as a snapshot of your students’ current spiritual journey. It captures key indicators of spiritual vitality such as engagement in spiritual disciplines, acts of service, connection to church, and parental spiritual leadership. When taken together, these indicators provide a picture of your youth group’s overall spiritual health, revealing strengths to celebrate and areas that need intentional care.
Instead of relying on vague impressions, you can identify trends across grade levels, genders, or patterns of church engagement. The result is actionable insight that strengthens your discipleship strategy.
Here is how it works:
You choose a unique identifier code for your group, such as “Calvary Jackson Youth.” Distribute the survey link and tell students to enter the church code to begin. Students take the free survey and immediately see their own results. After students complete the survey, email [email protected] with your unique code. You will receive a 30-page aggregated report summarizing the group’s results.
Individual responses remain anonymous. The report contains only average scores for the group.
For a limited time, the group report is free. Visit

Subscribe to receive a free video series called Deconstructing Youth Ministry Myths, plus you’ll get a free PDF titled “5 Shifts Every Youth Ministry Needs to Make.”

03/22/2026

Youth ministry is not confined to a room or a program.
It is a relational bridge connecting teenagers to the larger body of Christ and helping parents reclaim their role as primary disciplers.

03/20/2026

The Student Spiritual Growth & Influence Survey is designed to help you gain a clear, data-informed understanding of how teenagers are growing in their faith and how deeply they are connected to the life and mission of the church.

This tool measures two key areas: Spiritual Growth and Spiritual Influence.
Spiritual Growth examines how a teenager’s personal faith is developing through three categories: Relationship with God, Spiritual Disciplines, and Service to Others.
Spiritual Influence evaluates how well a teenager is connected to and shaped by the faith community around them, including Connection to the Youth Group, Connection to the Church, and the Spiritual Influence of Parents.

This assessment serves as a snapshot of your students’ current spiritual journey. It captures key indicators of spiritual vitality such as engagement in spiritual disciplines, acts of service, connection to church, and parental spiritual leadership. When taken together, these indicators provide a picture of your youth group’s overall spiritual health, revealing strengths to celebrate and areas that need intentional care.

Instead of relying on vague impressions, you can identify trends across grade levels, genders, or patterns of church engagement. The result is actionable insight that strengthens your discipleship strategy.

Here is how it works:
You choose a unique identifier code for your group, such as “Calvary Jackson Youth.” Distribute the survey link and tell students to enter the identifier code to begin. Students take the free survey and immediately see their own results. After students complete the survey, email
[email protected] with your unique code. You will receive a 30-page aggregated report summarizing the group’s results. Individual responses remain anonymous. The report contains only average scores for the group.

For a limited time, the group report is free. Visit deconstructingym.com

03/19/2026

A youth pastor who listens, shows up, and teaches God’s Word week after week becomes a stabilizing spiritual voice in a teenager’s life.

03/10/2026

Radical change is needed in youth ministry to lead teenagers to develop lifelong faith. We can’t keep doing ministry the way we have in the past. We must be willing to tear down ineffective old structures and rebuild them for lasting impact. This book will help you deconstruct your youth ministry and reconstruct one that leads to the spiritual transformation of teens and parents.

03/08/2026

Have you taken our Youth Ministry Arenas Assessment? You can see your score then download a free PDF report with suggestions for improvement. Visit deconstructingym.com

02/20/2026

The Student Spiritual Growth & Influence Survey is designed to help you gain a clear, data-informed understanding of how teenagers are growing in their faith and how deeply they are connected to the life and mission of the church.

This tool measures two key areas: Spiritual Growth and Spiritual Influence.

Spiritual Growth examines how a teenager’s personal faith is developing through three categories: Relationship with God, Spiritual Disciplines, and Service to Others.

Spiritual Influence evaluates how well a teenager is connected to and shaped by the faith community around them, including Connection to the Youth Group, Connection to the Church, and the Spiritual Influence of Parents.

This assessment serves as a snapshot of your students’ current spiritual journey. It captures key indicators of spiritual vitality such as engagement in spiritual disciplines, acts of service, connection to church, and parental spiritual leadership. When taken together, these indicators provide a picture of your youth group’s overall spiritual health, revealing strengths to celebrate and areas that need intentional care.

Instead of relying on vague impressions, you can identify trends across grade levels, genders, or patterns of church engagement. The result is actionable insight that strengthens your discipleship strategy.

Here is how it works:

You choose a unique identifier code for your group, such as “Calvary Jackson Youth.” Distribute the survey link and tell students to enter the identifier code to begin. Students take the free survey and immediately see their own results.

After students complete the survey, email [email protected] with your unique code. You will receive a 30-page aggregated report summarizing the group’s results.

Individual responses remain anonymous. The report contains only average scores for the group.

For a limited time, the group report is free. Visit deconstructingym.com