Danny sits down with veteran youth pastor Justin Wong. Justin serves as the Pastor of Youth at Chinese Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. He has worked with students, parents, and families for the past 24 years. He received his Masters of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.   They discuss how social media impacts teenagers and families from a youth pastor’s perspective. Justin talks about how social media can be harmful in different ways, how it impacts the mental health of a teenager, but also how it can be redeemed by a youth ministry that ..read more

Danny sits down with longtime friend of Rooted Alice Churnock. Alice is a licensed professional counselor specializing in adolescents and college students. She enjoys leading seminars for groups both nationally and internationally, and is married and has two young boys in Birmingham, AL. They sit down to talk about the topic of eating disorders in teenagers.  She offers deep insights into eating disorders of teenagers as a licensed professional counselor.  Moreover, for churches and youth ministries, her insights offer help for churches and youth ministries, as they serve teenagers a ..read more

Danny sits down with longtime veteran Youth Pastor Brock Morgan.  Brock is a popular speaker for retreats, conferences, and camps and has written twenty books including, Youth Ministry in a Post-Christian World and Beautiful Rebellion. Brock is the associate pastor at The Bridge Chino and lives in southern California with his wife Kelsey, their daughter Dancin and their puppy, C.S. Lewis. They talk about teenage anxiety from a Youth Pastor’s perspective, including discussing Brock’s most recent book, The Anxious Teen.  From the Youth Pastor’s perspective, they discuss the struggle of ..read more

In this episode, Danny sits down with Liz Edrington. Danny and Liz talk about teenage anxiety from a counseling perspective for the church and youth ministry. As Liz has wide experience with youth and adult ministry, she offers a unique perspective on how the church and youth ministries can serve teenagers and families who struggle with anxiety. Liz is the author of a 31-day devotional for teenagers called Anxiety: Finding the Better Story (P&R Publishing, 2023).  Liz Edrington serves as the Fellowship Groups and Young Adults Director at North Shore Fellowship in Chattanooga, TN. She ..read more

Husband and wife Danny and Monica Kwon talk about the role of the church and the youth minister in helping struggling teenagers and their families as they navigate mental health issues.  As a seasoned youth minister and a Christian counselor, respectively, they offer helpful insights and practical suggestions on serving teens and families who are dealing with mental health struggles.  Before joining Rooted, Danny was the youth and family pastor at his church for 29 years. Monica is both a Christian counselor and licensed psychologist (PhD) who has treated mental health issues of teen ..read more

In this second episode of the new mini-season of the RYMP, husband and wife Danny and Monica Kwon talk about gospel centrality as the foundation for dealing with the mental health issues of teenagers and their families. They speak from their experience dealing with the mental health issues of one of their own teenagers. Additionally, Danny spent 29 years serving as the youth pastor at one church, while Monica is both a psychologist and a Christian counselor. In speaking from these three distinct but overlapping perspectives, they admit their failures as leaders in the church, but also how they ..read more

In this first episode of the new mini-season of the RYMP, husband and wife Danny and Monica Kwon talk about various aspects of youth ministry and the issue of mental health in the lives of teenagers. This was recorded at their Rooted 2023 Conference workshop. Before joining Rooted, Danny was the youth and family pastor at his church for 29 years. Monica is both a Christian counselor and licensed psychologist (PhD) who has treated mental health issues of teenagers and their families in both a clinical setting, and in serving along Danny in youth ministry. In this new mini-series season on youth ..read more

In this episode, Danny sits down to talk with Huey Lee, the longtime Youth Pastor at Christ Central Presbyterian Church in Northern Virginia and a member of Rooted’s Asian American Steering Committee. Together they reflect on hopes he has in youth ministry generally, as well as practical ways he strives to make the gospel central in youth ministry to his teenagers, parents, and ministry volunteers. Huey and Danny discuss aspects of persevering in youth ministry and some of the realities of serving teenagers, as well as how the gospel and its centrality help us continue in hope. Finally, he dis ..read more

In this episode, Danny sits down to talk with Travis Palmer, Dallas Knight, Emily Seibert, and Jamie Negus to discuss mentoring and their participation in the Rooted Youth Pastor Mentoring cohort. They discuss the valuable lessons and importance of mentoring, as well as the particular benefits and joys of the Rooted Youth Ministry Mentoring Cohorts were for them.  Quotes: “A mentor to me has really critical to me as a human, but also me in youth ministry and as a youth director…. because a mentor outside of my specific context…has been really powerful for me…. because they are able to ask ..read more

In this episode, Danny sits down to talk with Tracy Yi, Chelsea Erickson, Rebecca Lankford, and Tim Franks to discuss their selections for the 2023 Rooted Book Awards. The categories include best new books for youth ministers, parents, teenagers, and for Bible teaching. Here are your 2023 Book Awards Panelists: Chelsea Kingston Erickson   Chelsea is Editor of Youth Ministry Content and the Director of Publishing for Rooted. She previously served as a youth pastor in New England churches for 13 years. She and her husband, Steve, live north of Boston and are parents to Wells and Emmett ..read more