Premier Youth and Children’s Work Podcast

Deputy Editor Jess Lester spoke to children's musician and songwriter Michael J Tinker about his latest single Be Strong and Courageous, after it knocked Baby Shark from number two on the iTunes Charts. Plus, he explains why he thinks music is equally important for us adults as well as our children when it comes to learning Bible truths

Howard Worsley joined us to talk about his new book 'How to not totally put your children off God' and offers up advice for parents on how to get kids engaged and interested in faith at home

We spoke to iconic children's work author Ronni Lamont about her new book Faith in Kids, and how we can nurture our children's spirituality and faith from home

Recent events have seen us sit and have difficult conversations with our children and young people, most notably around the coronavirus pandemic. Funeral pastor, author and mum Annie Willmot shares her tips for talking about difficult topics with kids, and gives insight into how she's coped parenting in a pandemic. To read more from Annie, check out the June's third YCW digital magazine.

We spoke to Myles Macbean, director of Scripture Union, about their vision to engage with the children and young people on our doorsteps that still don't know the gospel, and how SU are continuing their work from lockdown. Plus, Myles reveals why he thinks we should embrace technology. You can hear more from Myles in the latest YCW magazine, available online or via the YCW App on App Store and Google Play.

We spoke to Adesola Ayodeji, a dance evangelist from The Message Trust, about how we can use art to reach out to young people outside of our churches and how he has used dance as a means to engage online with children and youth while in lockdown.

We spoke to Rachel Turner, pioneer of Parenting for Faith, about how we can help develop our children's faith in lockdown and how to protect your own faith as a parent. Plus, Rachel offers up encouragement for her fellow church leaders and youth and children's workers.

We spoke to Naomi Allen, head of youth work at Open Doors, about how talking to children and young people about persecuted Christians can help them feel less alone in the difficulty of coronavirus, and how we can encourage young minds to look beyond themselves and towards the wider church. Plus, Naomi offered up her tips for maintaining your faith in lockdown and gives kids tips on how to pray for others.

John Mark Comer is pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, a father of three and an author. He spoke to us (before the coronavirus crisis) about his most recent book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (WaterBrook), what it means to practise Sabbath and how we can take a step back from technology. You can read more of John Mark's interview in the May edition of Youth and Children's Work magazine.

Life in lockdown is hard enough without adding homeschooling into the mix. We spoke to a deputy head teacher about helping children to learn, supporting vulnerable families and preparing young people to go back to school. We also got his top tips for homeschooling.

We spoke to Joel Harris, intern and head of youth and social media at mental health charity Kintsugi Hope, about how we can be supporting our children and young people's emotional wellbeing. Joel gives his five top tips to staying mentally healthy in isolation and talks us through how to do schoolwork from home.

We spoke to Simon Barker from Scripture Union about how to reach out to and disciple young children in this strange time. He also suggested some ideas around Easter.

How do we celebrate Holy Week and Easter in a fresh way with families, particularly now we’re in lockdown? We spoke to Lucy Hall from Wintershall who shared her experience as an educator and a mother.

Crises often brings out our true colours. We spoke to Hope Together's, Dan Randall, about how Christians are coming together to reach out to young people in their communities. He also shared how to do evangelism during Holy Week and Easter, even during lockdown.

We spoke to youth evangelism officer for the Church of England, Jimmy Dale, about equipping young people to do evangelism and how we can use Easter to reach out to those who have never heard the gospel.

We spoke to Guvna B about his new album and how we can support vulnerable young people. Plus, what does Easter look like for Guvna B?

Holy Week can be an opportunity to think about some of the more difficult elements of our faith. We spoke to Sam Donoghue from the Diocese of London about how to speak to young children about death and grief.

The Coronavirus pandemic has forced us to think about how we do faith at home. But, how do we do that in a way that helps children explore their own faith? What does Easter look like in this setting? And how do we talk to children about difficult topics like death and resurrection? Ruth Jackson spoke to Gill Ambrose, Chair of Trustees for Godly Play UK.

Ruth Jackson spoke to Azande Mbhele, UK lead for Youth Alpha, about her faith journey as a child and how to help young people reach out to their friends, even in the midst of a global crisis. You can see video clips of Azande and Ruth’s conversation on the YCW Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/ycwmag/

Caroline Flack’s tragic suicide has reminded us how important it is to protect our children’s mental health. YCW editor Ruth Jackson spoke to Amy Sixsmith, the diocesan mental and wellbeing youth worker for the Manchester Diocese, about how we can do this.