Starfield lead worship for the YS convention and Will sits down with them to see how they got started in worship and much much more. 

Beth is our director of spiritual formation whose main focus is to encourage youth workers to nurture and pay attention to their own spiritual lives. She provides spiritual direction for individuals in the San Diego area as well as nationwide at conferences and retreats, and oversees the ministry of spiritual formation at all YS events. Joe is a theater educator and director, second-generation youth worker, co-owner of a small business with wife, Beth, and has a dozen years' experience teaching in public high schools and as an adjunct instructor at Concordia University in Irvine, California. Joe designs the Prayer Chapels for YS conventions. 

Rich Van Pelt is a veteran of forty years of church and para-church youth ministry. Recognized for his expertise in crisis prevention, intervention and recovery, Rich has written and spoken extensively on the topic all around the world. A passionate and energetic speaker, author, consultant and ordained Pastor, Rich is National Director of Ministry Relationships for Compassion International. 

IJM exists to protect people from violent forms of injustice by securing rescue and restoration for victims and accountability for perpetrators, ensuring that public justice systems work for the poor. Hear Cheryl Noble and Rebecca Straun talk about the ministry and their experiences with it. 

Tommy Kyllonen (aka Urban D.) founded the youth ministry at Crossover Community Church in 1996 with just four teens. Over the next six years he and his wife developed a first of its kind Hip-Hop Youth Ministry which grew to 200. The adult ministry on Sunday remained much smaller as the different pastors were always bivocational. In January of 2002 Tommy became the lead pastor at Crossover and a new vision was birthed to specifically reach the hip-hop culture. The church became Purpose Driven in their structure and began to truly engage the culture in their community. Without compromise they carefully incorporated many elements into their worship context and campus with music, dance, visual arts, media, and relevant messages. The ministry has seen incredible growth as their weekend attendance has jumped from 40 to over 400 in less than four years. Their youth services reach hundreds more. 

Mark Matlock has been working with youth pastors and students for nearly twenty years. Mark is the president of WisdomWorks Ministries and speaks at their PlanetWisdom student events across the country each year. He?s the author of several books, including What Does God Want From Me?, Living a Life That Matters, Don?t Buy the Lie, and Freshman. Mark lives in Texas with his wife, Jade, and their children, Dax and Skye. 

Mueller is founder and president of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding based in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Mueller speaks widely on matters of faith and youth culture at conventions, church seminars, training conferences and public school groups. He has also written articles for publications such as Youthworker Journal, Living With Teenagers, New Man, Discipleship Journal, Group, Junior High Ministry, Today's Father, Youthworker Update and Christian Camp and Conference Journal. His other books include Ministry to Families with Teenagers (Group, 1988) and the Gold Medallion winner Understanding Today's Youth Culture (Tyndale, 1995 and 1999).  

Ren? Rochester M.Ed., Ed.D., is the founder and president of Urban S.E.T. Inc. (Strengthening, Educating and Training) and Dr. Rochester is the designer of the patent PHAT ?STAR? Preventive Holistic Adolescent Training:Serving Teens At Risk Model an ecological design field tested in her dissertation. The model has developed into PHAT STAR Learing programs, products and services. 

Steve is the Executive Director of the Contextual Learning Center at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, where he also teaches as an adjunct professor in youth ministry. He is the Co-Founder of Intersect, a ministry that provides leadership training and consulting to emerging leaders in ministries around the world. Steve is currently a doctoral student in the Higher Adult and Lifelong Education (HALE) program at Michigan State University. 

A popular speaker and author, she currently serves as Pastor of Small Groups and Discipleship at Ocean Hills Covenant Church in Santa Barbara, CA. She speaks at youth conferences, women conferences, colleges and churches across the country. Laurie is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary. 

Tommy Woodard and Eddie James are The Skit Guys. They have been best friends since high school, and have been communicating God?s Word and impacting lives through comedy, drama, and teaching for over 15 years. They recently released two new books through Zondervan called, Instant Skits and Skits That Teach. They have also produced other plays, skits, and videos covering a wide variety of topics that are available to download through their website. 

Lucas Leys is the director of Spanish ministries, Especialidades Juveniles. He is responsible for creating youth ministry events and resources for Spanish-speaking ministries, worldwide. Much of his time is spent organizing training events in South and Central America and Spain, as well as in the United States. The ultimate goal is for Lucas to establish Youth Specialties throughout the Spanish world. 

Philip Yancey serves as editor-at-large for Christianity Today magazine. He has written twelve Gold Medallion Award-winning books and won two ECPA Book of the Year awards for What?s So Amazing About Grace? And The Jesus I Never Knew. Four of his books have sold over one million copies each. He lives with his wife in Colorado. 

Hope. It's a concept that is both elusive and fragile, both rare and powerful. So few dare to allude to it, and fewer still make it their mantra. After all, it is so much easier to sing of loss and regret than to push through it and persevere. Yet, the word "hope" is the very word that Josh Pearson, front man for the Chattanooga, Tennessee quintet NEVERTHELESS, uses to describe the goal of his band. True hope though faith. Their debut album Live Like We're Alive is the vehicle through which they want to make this one word known. They are far beyond driven to live for this purpose. 

Jack Gabig has worked in youth ministry in Pittsburgh, Penn., for 20 years. A graduate of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Penn., he was ordained in 1995 in the Episcopal Church, USA. In 2002, He left parish ministry to begin Ph.D. research at the Centre for Theology, Culture, and Religion at King's College, London, looking at the influence of Disney on American culture and how this affects young people's perception of faith and worship. He's currently serving as acting chaplain of New College in the University of Oxford as he finishes the writing of his doctoral thesis.  

Noel is president of the Center for Student Missions. Since 1988, CSM has provided urban mission and service trips for youth, adults, and family groups. CSM operates year-round sites in eight major cities in the United States and Canada. Noel also served at Youth Specialties for nearly 13 years as the founding editor for Youthworker Journal, marketing and production director, and vice president of publishing, successively. 

Leeland is a brand-new Essential Records progressive rock band that's instantly capturing the imagination and hearts of all who hear it. In a short time, Leeland has managed to create a buzz like none other-from MySpace to PureVolume and across the music industry. "Our responsibility as a band," according to Jack Mooring, "is to be a light to people and to fulfill the Great Commission. Secondly, our vision is to write songs that are vessels for the presence of God. Through our songs, we hope people experience God in such a new way that they are inspired to draw closer to him." 

Efrem Smith is senior pastor of The Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has also served as executive director of The Park Avenue Foundation (Minneapolis) and urban ministry director of Minnesota Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Efrem is a member of the CORE seminar training team of Youth Specialties and a speaker with Kingdom Building Ministries. 

Dave the Horn Guy is Dave Enns, a musicianâ??????s musician and a guy with a lot of horns. His innovative spirit and musical genius have led him to perform all over the country, from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno to major sporting event half time shows and national corporate events.  

An experiences communicator, June has spoken to students in public and private schools, youth organizations, nonprofit agencies, and Fortune 500 companies. She's a highly motivated, genuine speaker who has received local, state, and national recognition through radio, television, and newspaper. 

Dave Wright is the coordinator for youth ministries in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. He's been in full-time youth ministry for over 20 years, serving churches near Chicago and Cheshire, England. Dave is a regular feature writer for Youthwork Magazine (UK), a contributor to YouthWorker Journal, and a speaker at conferences in the United Kingdom and the United States. 

Shane Claiborne is a prominent Christian activist and sought after speaker. He is a founder of The Simple Way, an intentional community in inner city Philadelphia, that has helped birth and connect radical faith communities across the country. He's the author of The Irresistible Revolution, and in his down time is a sassy circus performer. 

Larry Warner is the director of b, a nonprofit ministry that designs and provides spiritual formation experiences for leaders, churches, and individuals. He is also a spiritual director, adjunct professor, and the coauthor with Jeannie Oestreicher of the forthcoming book for YS/Zondervan, Imaginative Prayer for Youth Ministry: A Guide to Transforming Your Student's Spiritual Life into Journey, Adventure, and Encounter. Jeannie has completed a certificate in spiritual formation and direction and serves on the Soul Shaper Board at Youth Specialties. 

The one-man theatre of Curt Cloninger is quality performance with a lasting truth. Curt Cloninger is a Christian and a professional actor and writer. He uses his comic and dramatic skills to present theatrical entertainment which moves people to see and feel the good news of God in fresh and creative ways. For more than twenty years Curt has performed thousands of times on college campuses, for churches, in theatres, and for conferences all over North America. 

Ted M. Stump is founder and director of High Impact Ministries, which trains and equips students and youth workers to use student-led cell groups.  

Flatfoot 56 has been playing Celtic punk since 2000. The band has toured across the U.S. and has a large following of people who love a good time. Flatfoot56 is made up of three brothers (Tobin, Justin and Kyle Bawinkel) and a terrific piper friend, Josh Robieson. Action is the name of the game with Flatfoot. These guys love it when the crowd is perspiring as much as they are at the end of the show. The incredible distribution of Red, Sony BMG and support from Flicker Records part of the Provident Label Group. gives our fans more opportunity to get Flatfoots melodious bagpipe and mandolin music into their hands. The newest album, "Jungle Of The Midwest Sea", will be re-released in stores May of 2007.  

Chuck's passion for truth, people, and teaching has kept him in ministry for the past 11 years. Chuck chairs the student ministries department at Eternity Bible College and is pastor of student ministries at Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California. 

Ted & Lee first performed at a YS convention in the mid-1990s, and have been part of the extended family ever since. We've laughed and cried together, shared questions and doubts and encouragement and spiritual journeys. 

Danny Holland has studied youth culture professionally for nearly two decades. As the former executive director of True Lies and the Founder of Parent & Teen Universities, Inc., Danny is an internationally sought after speaker and author. 

Tony Jones is the National Coordinator of Emergent Village ( www.emergentvillage.org ), a network of innovative, missional Christians. He's also a doctoral fellow and senior research fellow in practical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Tony has written several books on philosophy, theology, ministry, and prayer, including Postmodern Youth Ministry and The Sacred Way. He's a sought-after speaker on the topics of theology and the emerging church. Tony lives in Minnesota with his wife, Julie, and their three young children. 

Jason is a PhD. student at Princeton Theological Seminary and has worked in youth ministry in the U.S. and abroad. 

Krystal Meyers is on a mission to share that peace with the world. With her long blonde hair flying, her guitar pouring out power-chords, and her voice soaring toward heaven, Krystal shares the love of God with other believers and with those who don't know Him yet. "My faith means everything to me," she says. "It's who I am. It's the basis of everything I do. Jesus Christ is everything. He's given me peace and joy that is so unreal that I just have to sing about it. It comes out in my music. I have to share what I believe!"  

Having served as an urban Youth Pastor, an Author, a Professor, an Activist, and an International Evangelist, he comes armed him with a fresh and global perspective. His insights into the Word of God are both reverent and relevant enabling him to hold the attentions of both the young and the old alike. His animated and articulate approach produces a griping delivery that simultaneously captures both Saint and Seeker. Add in his heart grabbing stories and side-splitting humor, and you can begin to understand why Chris Hill has become a top national and international speaker, in both sacred and secular circles, in such a short time. 

The Journal of Student Ministries caught up with Brock Morgan to discuss volunteers in youth work and the changing state of youth ministry.

Brock has been working with middle school and high school students for the past 15 years. He was the Youth Specialties Training Director and is currently the high school pastor at Bayside Church in Granite Bay, California. He's a frequent seminar, retreat, and camp speaker. 

We sit down and talk with Maggie and Duffy Rob bins from Eastern University. You don't want to miss this one of a kind interview. This is the second episode in the YS podcast. 

Marv Penner and Rich Van Pelt talk with Will Penner from The Journal of Student Ministries. This is the first episode in the YS podcast.