Journey to Israel: Inside the Ministry of Tourism and Life in Israel Today
Release Date: 01/21/2026
How to Pray for Revival: Why Your Prayers May Outlive You
Youth Worker On Fire Podcast
What if a prayer you pray today becomes part of an answer God is still revealing generations from now? In this episode of Youth Worker On Fire, Doug Edwards explores the power of persistent prayer, revival, intercession, and building a legacy of faith that can continue long after our lifetime. Jesus taught His disciples to always pray and never give up. But what might that kind of prayer actually look like in our lives, our churches, our youth ministries, and our families? Drawing from Mark Batterson’s Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge, Doug reflects on the extraordinary story of...
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Hugh Kirby: A Legacy Of Youth Ministry and Discipleship
Youth Worker On Fire Podcast
What does it take to remain faithful in youth ministry for more than four decades and still see your influence growing through future generations? In this interview episode of Youth Worker On Fire, Doug Edwards sits down with longtime ministry leader Hugh Kirby for a powerful conversation about youth ministry longevity, relational discipleship, mentorship, prayer, church leadership, and going the distance in ministry. Hugh has served in ministry for more than 42 years, including 17 years directly leading student ministry at New Hope Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Georgia. Today, he can look...
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Student Mission Trips That Change Generations: The Guatemala Legacy of Dr. Wes Collins
Youth Worker On Fire Podcast
What can one missionary’s faithfulness set in motion across languages, students, families, and generations? In this episode of Youth Worker On Fire, Doug Edwards remembers his friend Dr. Wes Collins and reflects on the extraordinary legacy Wes and his wife, Nancy, built through missions, Bible translation, education, and service among the Mam people of Guatemala. As a missionary connected with Wycliffe, Wes helped restore a written form of the Mam language and worked to translate the New Testament so that indigenous families could read Scripture in their own language. His ministry helped...
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3 People Every Youth Ministry Leader Needs: Mentors, Investors, and Operators
Youth Worker On Fire Podcast
No youth pastor, volunteer, ministry leader, business owner, or parent accomplishes meaningful work alone. In this episode of Youth Worker On Fire, Doug Edwards shares the three types of people every effective youth ministry leader needs: mentors, investors, and operators. Mentors provide wisdom from experience. Investors believe in the mission and contribute the resources required to move it forward. Operators handle the responsibilities, systems, communication, planning, and administration that allow leaders to focus on the work God has uniquely called them to do. Drawing from decades in...
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Work Smarter, Not Harder in Youth Ministry: Jesus’ Model for Multiplying Leaders
Youth Worker On Fire Podcast
Youth ministry is hard work... but it was never meant to depend on one person doing everything. In this episode of Youth Worker On Fire, Doug Edwards shares a practical and biblical challenge for youth pastors, student ministry volunteers, church leaders, and parents: work smarter, not harder, by following Jesus’ model of discipleship, delegation, and multiplication. If you are a volunteer youth leader, part-time youth pastor, or full-time student ministry leader, you already know the weight of ministry. The planning, teaching, trips, retreats, mission work, public school outreach,...
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Holy Surprises: How to Recognize God’s Invitations and Say Yes
Youth Worker On Fire Podcast
What if God is working all around you, but you are missing the holy surprises? In this episode of Youth Worker On Fire, Doug Edwards shares a powerful message about recognizing God’s unexpected invitations, trusting His plan, and learning to say yes when He opens a door. After a conversation at church with Larry Stevens about Israel, adventure, and the unexpected ways God connects people, Doug reflects on the phrase “holy surprises” and how God often works through conversations, interruptions, friendships, closed doors, open doors, and opportunities we never saw coming. This episode...
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5 Ways Summer Camp Changes Students Forever
Youth Worker On Fire Podcast
Summer camp is more than games, music, cabins, and memories. In this episode of Youth Worker On Fire, Doug Edwards shares five powerful things God often does through youth ministry summer camps, student ministry retreats, mission trips, and Christian camp experiences. Whether you are a youth pastor, student ministry volunteer, parent, grandparent, or someone praying for students this summer, this episode is a reminder that camp can become a life-changing place where students encounter Jesus, hear God’s calling, find healing, build Christian community, and return home ready to live on...
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Start Here: Evergreen Youth Ministry Stories, Parenting Help, and Student Leadership Wisdom
Youth Worker On Fire Podcast
Looking for encouragement, wisdom, and real-life stories to help you lead, parent, teach, or serve the next generation? In this episode of Youth Worker On Fire, Doug Edwards reflects on more than 300 episodes of conversations, stories, and teaching designed to encourage youth pastors, student ministry volunteers, parents, teachers, coaches, counselors, and anyone working with adolescents. Over the years, Youth Worker On Fire has featured youth pastors, ministry leaders, teachers, doctors, psychologists, school leaders, parents, grandparents, FCA leaders, public servants, and everyday people...
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Be Strong, Be Courageous, Be Kind: How God Builds Leaders Who Lift Others
Youth Worker On Fire Podcast
What does it really mean to be strong and courageous? In this episode of Youth Worker On Fire, Doug Edwards shares a powerful message about Christian courage, kindness, confidence, generosity, and leadership. Through stories from Theodore Roosevelt, Bear Grylls, Michelle Monaghan, Tony Robbins, and personal moments from his own life, Doug points us back to a biblical truth: God calls His people to stand strong, speak truth, care deeply, and trust Him with the outcome. This episode explores how simple actions can shape the people around us, offering a genuine compliment, showing respect, giving...
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Justin Terry: Remember Your Calling and Trust the Process
Youth Worker On Fire Podcast
What do you do when ministry gets heavy, life gets complicated, and your calling feels harder than you expected? In this interview episode of Youth Worker On Fire, Doug Edwards talks with Justin Terry, Experience Pastor at Journey Church in Colorado, for a powerful conversation about discipleship, calling, ministry leadership, burnout, family, and the faithfulness of God. Justin shares how God met him as an angry middle school student after his parents’ divorce, how intentional discipleship changed the direction of his life, and how mentors like Scotty Priest, Hugh Kirby, and his dad helped...
info_outlineIn this special interview episode of Youth Worker on Fire, Doug Edwards sits down with Noam, a young woman from Tel Aviv who works with Israel’s Ministry of Tourism and previously served in the Israeli military.
Recorded on location in Shiloh—the historic site where the tabernacle once stood and where Hannah dedicated Samuel to the Lord—Noam shares her personal story of growing up in Israel, serving in the army as a photographer, and what life has been like for young adults during and after the recent war.
In this honest and heartfelt conversation, Noam talks about:
• Growing up in Tel Aviv and living in a mixed Jewish and Arab community in Jaffa
• Why all Israeli young adults serve in the military and what that experience is like
• How the war affected everyday life, work, and sleep with rockets and alarms
• The emotional impact of October 7 and knowing friends who attended the Nova festival and never came home
• The relief when hostages began to return
• What it’s like living with both resilience and uncertainty
• Why, even after everything, she still says: “Israel is the best place in the world”
• Her invitation to Christians to come experience the land of the Bible for themselves
Doug also reflects on the biblical significance of Shiloh, where Samuel was dedicated to the Lord, and why hearing stories directly from the people who live in Israel brings Scripture, history, and current events together in a powerful way.
This episode is especially valuable for:
• Youth pastors and youth ministry volunteers
• Christian educators and student leaders
• Parents helping students process fear, conflict, and faith
• Anyone wanting a real, human perspective on life in Israel today
This is not a political episode. It is a personal story, a cultural conversation, and a window into the life of a young Israeli woman who loves her country, loves life, and believes in hope even after tragedy.
✨ Sometimes the best way to help students understand the world is to let them hear directly from the people who live in it.
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EPISODE CREDITS
Email us at: youthworkeronfire@gmail.com
Hosted by: Doug Edwards
Theme Song: "The One and Only" by The 808 : Listen to more at https://bit.ly/3FTYIAJ
Intro/Outro Voiceover: Michael Helms: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelTheSoundGuy
Edited by: Secret Roots Music House
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Youth Ministry, Student Ministry, Youth Pastor Life, Journey to Israel, Israel Interview, Noam Barak, Ministry of Tourism Israel, Life in Israel Today, Christian Leadership, Biblical History, Shiloh Bible, IDF Service, Young Adults in Israel, Faith and Resilience, Helping Students Process Trauma, Youth Worker On Fire, Next Gen Ministry, Christian Parenting, Discipleship, Cultural Conversations