Creator & Author Guidelines

Everything you need to know about submitting resources to our platform

Welcome, and thanks for your interest in contributing! Our mission is to equip ministry leaders with battle-tested, ready-to-use resources that save them time and help them lead well. Every resource on our site was born in the trenches of real ministry — and we want yours to join the lineup.

Below you'll find everything you need to know about what we're looking for, how to prepare your submission, and what happens after you hit "submit."

Who Can Submit?

Anyone actively serving in ministry — whether you're a volunteer small group leader, a full-time youth pastor, or a creative who partners with churches. If you've built something that worked in your context and could help someone else, we want to hear from you.

What We're Looking For

We accept resources across a wide range of categories. If it helped real people in a real ministry setting, it's probably a fit. Here are the main content types we publish:

Teaching & Curriculum

Sermon series, lesson plans, small group guides, Bible studies, devotionals, and topical teaching series. Multi-week series are especially valuable.

Games & Activities

Icebreakers, crowd games, team competitions, trivia nights, and interactive group activities — anything that gets students engaged and having fun.

Media & Graphics

Countdown timers, bumper videos, motion backgrounds, social media graphics, promo templates, title slides, and worship lyric slides.

Training & Leadership Development

Volunteer training guides, parent resources, student leadership materials, and ministry planning tools.

Events & Calendars

Event planning kits, retreat guides, camp schedules, and annual ministry calendar templates.

If your resource doesn't fit neatly into one of these categories, submit it anyway — we love being surprised.

Content Standards

Every submission is reviewed by our team before it goes live. Here's what we're looking for:

Proven in the field. We strongly prefer resources that have actually been used in a ministry setting. If it crushed with your group, tell us about it. That real-world proof matters.

Theologically sound. Content should be rooted in Scripture and appropriate for a broad evangelical audience. Avoid highly divisive denominational positions — write for the wider Church.

Inclusive and adaptable. Your resource should work for groups of different sizes, settings, and demographics. Remove references to your specific church name, logo, inside jokes, and local details so that any ministry leader can pick it up and make it their own.

Well-written and polished. Please edit your work before submitting. Have at least one trusted friend, fellow leader, or grammar-savvy volunteer read through it. Submissions full of typos, incomplete thoughts, or structural errors will be returned to you for revision before we can review the content itself.

Original work. You must own the rights to everything you submit. Do not include copyrighted song lyrics, images you don't have permission to use, or content created by someone else without proper licensing.

Formatting Requirements

Proper formatting dramatically speeds up the review process. Please follow these guidelines for each content type:

Teaching & Curriculum

Submit lesson content as a Google Doc . Set sharing to "Anyone with the link can edit" so our team can review and edit your content. Paste the link in the "Editable Content" section of the product form.

Title documents clearly: Week 1 – Teaching Guide , Week 2 – Small Group Questions , etc.

Include open-ended discussion questions that invite real conversation and point toward practical application.

Small group guides are not required but are strongly recommended — they make your resource significantly more useful.

If you also have designed PDF versions, slides, or other final files, upload those using the drag-and-drop file uploader in the "Deliverable Files" section.

Games & Activities

Include a clear "How to Play" section with step-by-step instructions.

Provide a supply/equipment list with quantities. Note how smaller groups can scale down.

If your game includes slides (trivia, etc.), submit a non-editable PowerPoint file structured as: Title Slide → Instruction Slide → Question → Answer → Question → Answer, etc. Include at least 10 question/answer pairs.

Do not number slides on the actual slide — this forces leaders to play in your order and limits customization.

Include optional tiebreaker slides and a blank customizable slide.

Double-check spelling, answer accuracy, and slide order before submitting. Have someone else verify it too.

Media & Graphics

Image files: 1920 x 1080px, 72 ppi, RGB color mode, JPG/JPEG format.

Video files: Export as MP4, H.264 codec, 1920x1080 (or 1280x720 minimum), 29.97fps.

Do not embed videos inside PowerPoint files — this bloats file sizes. Submit video files separately.

Social media graphics should be provided at standard platform dimensions (1080x1080 for Instagram, 1920x1080 for Facebook/YouTube, etc.).

If your resource includes motion backgrounds or countdowns, provide them as standalone video files.

Training & Leadership Resources

Submit written content as a Google Doc (sharing set to "Anyone with the link can edit") and paste the link in the "Editable Content" section.

Upload any handouts, worksheets, or supplemental materials as separate files using the drag-and-drop uploader.

If the training is designed to be led in-person, include a facilitator guide with timing suggestions.

General File Organization

Use a clear, consistent naming convention for all files.

Editable content (teaching guides, curriculum) goes in a Google Doc — paste the link in the form.

Final deliverable files (PowerPoints, videos, graphics, PDFs) get uploaded via drag-and-drop in the form.

Include a brief "Start Here" document that explains what's in the package and how to use it.

The Submission Process

Step 1: Create something great.

Build a resource for your own ministry. Use it. Refine it. If it works — really works — move on to Step 2.

Step 2: Prepare your submission.

Clean it up using the formatting guidelines above. Remove your church branding, insider references, and anything that makes it hard for another leader to use. The more "ready to go" your submission is, the faster we can get it published.

Step 3: Submit your resource.

Use the product form on the website. Paste your Google Doc link for editable content, and drag-and-drop your final files (slides, videos, graphics) into the upload area.

Step 4: Review & editing.

Our review team — made up of experienced ministry leaders and editorial pros — will evaluate your submission. We look at theological accuracy, practical usefulness, writing quality, and overall fit for our audience. Only the strongest submissions move to the editing stage, where we'll work to make your resource as user-friendly and polished as possible.

Step 5: Publication.

Once your resource is finalized, we'll publish it on our store and make it available to ministry leaders everywhere.

Not every submission will be accepted, and that's okay. If yours isn't selected, it doesn't mean it's not valuable — it just may not be the right fit for our platform at this time. We encourage you to keep creating and submitting.

Royalties & Compensation

We believe creators should be rewarded — and the more you sell, the more you earn. Our royalty structure is tiered based on your total lifetime sales:

Tier Total Sales Card Sales Wallet Purchases

Starter $0+ 40% 20%

Rising $500+ 45% 25%

Established $2,000+ 50% 30%

Pro $5,000+ 55% 35%

Elite $10,000+ 60% 40%

As your sales grow, you automatically move up to the next tier. The best way to climb? Submit clean, polished, ready-to-publish content that ministry leaders actually use.

Tips From Successful Creators

Here are a few things we've learned from our most prolific and successful contributors:

Write for the end user, not yourself. Imagine a youth pastor downloading your resource at 4pm on a Wednesday with youth group at 6pm. Make it that easy to use.

Test it first. Resources that have been field-tested are dramatically better than theoretical ones. Use it with your group, get feedback, refine, then submit.

Keep it simple. The best resources don't require a seminary degree to understand or a massive budget to execute. Accessible and practical wins every time.

Be thorough but concise. Include everything someone needs to run your resource — but don't write a novel. Clear instructions, necessary materials, and a clean layout go a long way.

Invest in quality. A little extra time on formatting, proofreading, and presentation makes a huge difference in whether your resource gets accepted and how well it sells.

Collaborate. Connect with other creators. Get feedback. Share ideas. The best resources often come from community, not isolation.

Questions?

If you have questions about the submission process, formatting requirements, or anything else, reach out anytime at hello@youthpastor.co .

We can't wait to see what you've built. Let's help ministry leaders win.

Ready to get started? Apply to become a creator