J3 Youth Ministry

Dan Dupee is the Chairman of the Board of the CCO. (He served as President and CEO of the CCO from 1999-2015.)  He has a heart for college students and for seeing parents rise up and be the Spiritual Leaders in their families.   

Dan is also the author It's Not Too Late: The Essential Part You Play in Shaping Your Teen’s Faith, which was published in 2016 by Baker Books.    

We sit down with Dan about his book and the idea that parents of teenagers tend to do exactly the OPPOSITE of what is helpful to a teenager's growth as a Christian.

Dan is a WIZARD with 5th-9th graders.  But he's a humble wizard, so he claims he not an expert... but the man is lying.  He IS an expert.  He knows tweens - or as he likes to call it, the "Middle Years."  He shares a ton of wisdom with us and the J3 team is basically just in awe of this man's awesomeness.  He also lives in Lancaster PA, but he's not Amish... or... at least we don't think he is.  We didn't actually ask the question.  Check out his stuff at www.middleyearsministry.com

He's also wicked handsome and pulls off the shaved head look better than most.  That's just a fact.

Mike King is awesome and if you don't know him, you need to get to know him ASAP.  He's also a genius - especially in the area of ministering to teenagers. Mike is the president and CEO of YouthFront (www.youthfront.com) and is a long-time champion of making Youth Ministry more theologically grounded.  He's also wicked handsome and pulls off the shaved head look better than most.  That's just a fact.

He drops a ton of wisdom - so much that we couldn't contain it in one episode.  Mike has been doing youth ministry for over 40 years and has been a major influence on how youth ministry looks today.  Follow him on twitter at @MDKing and follow YouthFront at @YouthFront.

Bethany is an amazing person, and so we knew we wanted to sit down with her and pick her brain.  We were not disappointed! 

Bethany has a website - www.bethanyneedham.com - where she has an incredible blog.  Totally worth reading!  Also, you can follow her on twitter at @girlneedham and her blog @heygirlpod

Sign up today at www.j3youthministry.org!

Rocketown is an amazing place is Nashville TN.  It's so amazing that even trying to tell you WHAT it is, isn't a simple thing.  It's a youth center.  It's a skate park.  It's a concert venue.  And it's MORE!  Kenny Alonzo took over the leadership there in 2017 and we sat down with him.  He tells us his story, Rocketown's story, and invites you to stop by if you're ever in Nashville.  

But more importantly, it is revealed that John Chaffee is not familiar with the song "Friends" by Michael W. Smith... and Jonathan and Jonny immediately call into question if he is really a Christian.  

There's great wisdom from Kenny, great follow-up conversation with the 3 Js, and you should check out Rocketown's website asap!   www.rocketown.com

In part two of our conversation, Jim tells us about a project he recently worked on called “The Project of Us | 3 Practices for Crossing the Difference Divide” - It’s incredible and you should check it out immediately. (Check it out at https://vimeo.com/222440447). The Js have a great conversation about the importance of living outside the bubble and exploring the balance of the people we surround ourselves with.

Far too many people in Youth Ministry today do not know the name Jim Hancock. He is a pioneer in the field. We got lucky enough to sit down with him and talk about what he has been up to lately. In this first part of our interview, we talk about EdgeTV, the movie Breaking Away, the messy middle, and the importance of resisting “resolution” in certain contexts. It’s a brilliant conversation. Enjoy!

Doug is the Associate Pastor to Youth, Children, and Families at the Free Methodist Church in Santa Barbara CA. He has worked at that church for 34 years!  The J’s lose their minds over that fact.  Doug also works with Ministry Architects, InterLink, Congregation Trauma and Growth, AND facilitates local youth ministry networks.  Jonny asks him what the secret is to staying in the same place for so long.  Doug is open about some of the struggles early on and shares what kept him grounded. John Jonny and Jonathan discuss how well Doug balances his life, and how much loves doing ministry.  The question is asked “What would you be doing different if you thought you’d be staying for the rest of your life?”  Great Discussion!  You can contact at [email protected] … you can find him on facebook (www.facebook.com/doug.ranck) and twitter (@DougRanck).