None of us want to have a student ministry that is ineffective. It's not something that is going to make its way onto anyone's new years resolutions list. And yet, if we are not careful, we can find ourselves down the line having to readjust and learn things the hard way because of mistakes that we make today. How can we learn to avoid potential miscues without having to learn everything through the school of hard knocks? What steps can we take now to insure that we are laying the foundation for an effective and life-impacting student ministry? In this episode we sit down with several members of our student ministry team here at LifeWay to discuss common ailments that can lead to ineffective ministry and things that we can do now to avoid these pitfalls.

You labor for hours, days, and sometimes even weeks on what you'll be helping your students learn about God and their faith. But when the time comes, many times all you see in front of you are blank stares from students who seem to know less and less about their faith and about God's Word. The truth probably comes as no surprise: students we work with are becoming more and more Biblically illiterate. Where does the problem lie and where do we begin to address this spiritual epidemic? In this episode Paul Turner, National Student Ministry Leader, sits down with Lynn Pryor, Biblical and Instructional Specialist for LifeWay Student MInistry, to talk about this important issue.

Every year tens of thousands of students and student leaders travel to Fuge camp locations all over the country. Centrifuge alone has had the privilege of impacting over 1,000,000 students over the course of its history. This year students and leaders were able to participate in 'Dill or No Dill' a game-show atmosphere based on the popular TV series. Top prizes included a $100 iTunes gift card, an Xbox 360 game system, an 8-volume Fuel DVD collection, and a big screen TV. Contestants were able to play for a chance to win one of these top prizes for their youth ministry, with winners to be chosen at the end of the summer in a random drawing by the Fuge staff. Recently, some of the Fuge team here at LifeWay got together to conduct this drawing and call the winners 'live' via StudentCAST.

Homosexuality is certainly a hot button topic when it comes to the media and politics, but it also an issue that student leaders are having to face in the context of their students and ministries. How do you address this key issue in the place where you are serving and how can you help students in your ministry who may be struggling in the area of homosexuality? In this episode, Paul Turner sits down with Pam Gibbs, author of 'Designed by God: Answers to Students' Questions About Homosexuality,' to talk about this important subject. Also listen in to find out about the new Fuge 'Do Not Conform' Tour featuring BarlowGirl with Matthew West and Downhere hitting a city near you this fall and also find out how you can win a free DecemberRadio concert exclusively for your youth group!

How can you help your students keep their spiritual focus and passion when camp/summer are over and school has begun? How can you maintain the closeness you have experienced with your students through their involvement in your summer ministries? In this episode's round-table discussion, we sit down several members of our Fuge student camps and events team to discuss these issues and more.

StudentCAST is taking a brief hiatus until mid-September. Tune back in on Tuesday, September 19th for a new episode.

In this episode we discuss how to approach one-on-one mentoring relationships with students. How do you best begin developing these kinds of relationships? Should you build closer connections with only a handful of students or spend the same amount of time with every youth? We also introduce a new feature of LifeWay.com/students that enables youth leaders to impact other student workers around the world.

In this episode we talk about how to prepare students for the new school year. How can you help them maintain the renewed interest in God and their own spiritual lives due to summer camps, mission trips and other activities? What are some ways that you can help equip them to be prepared as summer ends and school begins? We also feature a new unique girls ministry resources, 'His Girl' and 'Your Girl,' which can help bridge the gap between your teen girls and their moms.

In this episode we discuss how to best minister to teenage girls, who are facing more pressures than perhaps ever before in our history. How can we effectively minister to girls in face of these pressures? Where do we begin? What does a great girls ministry leader look like? We also take a look at some new and upcoming resources from LifeWay Student Ministry that focus on girls ministry.

In this episode we talk about the need in student ministry to find a balance between ministry demands, family time & time/focus for your own spiritual walk. We talk with Michael Lusby, youth pastor, husband & father of two about how he finds balance in the midst of a busy summer ministry schedule. We also talk with several members of our student ministry team here at LifeWay about the benefits of training your leaders.

In this episode we talk with Paul Turner about the continued impact of Hurricane Katrina in the gulf coast region and how youth ministries are making a difference, nine months out from when the hurricane first hit. We also spotlight LXVI, the new CD-ROM based Bible book study that walks students through the sixty six books of the Bible and provides leaders with useful tools to prepare their lessons.