I invited Preston Hocker to join me on the podcast today. Preston is a pastor, security advocate, and co-creator of Lead Volunteers latest course, Lead Security. Preston helps us think about security holistically and gives us encouragement and advice on how to cast vision to senior leadership or volunteers to take safety more seriously. 

This conversation is an important one so I hope that you lean in and resist the urge to say, “that would never happen to us” and skip past this episode! 

Resources Mentioned

Lead Security Course

Lead Security Youtube Page

@leadsecurity

One aspect I believe that kids ministry leaders should always be learning and growing in is our ability to teach good theology to kids of all ages. It’s hard and I can attest that I have even grown leaps and bounds in this area and partially because I’ve personally grown in my love and knowledge of God. We can’t teach what we don’t know and believe.  

Over the next couple months, we are sprinkling in episodes that help us grow in knowledge around a specific doctrine or theological conversation and help us grow in practice as we go out and teach our kids and families good theology about a good God. 

To kick this season off, I wanted to invite my new friend Josh Zello on the podcast. I’ve seen Josh launch Jesus Loves Preschoolers, but what I didn’t know is that he has years of experience and education in early childhood. Josh helps us learn new ways to teach our preschool friends the Gospel story in a way that they will understand. 

This is definitely a note-taking episode. I learned SO much and cannot wait for you to hear this episode with Josh. 

Resources Mentioned:

Jesus Loves Preschoolers

@joshuazello

My guest today is Amanda Druffel. Amanda is one of the creators behind Kids Ministry Solutions. Her and her mom create the cutest and most helpful teaching resources for home and church, but she also is on instagram helping us all be more efficient in our work. 

Her helpful tips are suggestions from many years in ministry are helping us all balance home & work life. In our conversation today we talk about balancing it all and how we can work more efficiently to free up our time for our people. 

Resources Mentioned:

1-on-1 Coaching

Kids Ministry Solutions Etsy Shop

@kids_ministry_solutions

Kim Botto is back on the podcast today and we are taking things to the next level. Kim was on the podcast back in 2023 where we talked through building a Special Needs Ministry.

Today, we are talking about her new book, Boundless Hope for Every Child, and what belonging looks like in those unexpected moments on Sunday morning.

Resources Mentioned:

Boundless Hope book

Listen to Episode 38 with Kim Botto

https://kimbotto.com/

Today's episode, I am diving into another one of the 5 Foundations of Kids Ministry: Volunteers!

I am sharing 5 random, yet intentional things you may not be thinking about when it comes to leading a team of volunteers.

It is short and sweet and I think it will be the pep talk we all need in the middle of the Spring semester.

Part of the job of a kids or family ministry leader is to continue to equip and encourage parents to step into their role as disciple-makers. Parents have a million reasons not to participate in home discipleship and we get the incredible opportunity to remind parents there are a million reasons to participate in home discipleship.

My guest today is Vanessa Myers and she is a longtime kids ministry leader and creator of Family Faith Builders. She has created countless resources for family discipleship, kids ministry leaders, and Bible teachers.

We talk about so equipping parents and teachers to teach the Bible. Her latest resource is the perfect gift for the Bible teachers on your team and it is designed to help them get into God’s Word and become better Bible teachers by relying on the Holy Spirit living inside of them and not just a curriculum.  

Resources Mentioned:

Family Faith Builders

Teacher of the Word Resource

It is always bittersweet when the time comes to graduate kids into student ministry, but we know they are ready! In today's episode, I chat with Dan Istvanik all about the big transition from kids to students. Dan is a family pastor, creator of Youth Ministry Hub and on the Next Gen team for the Global Leadership Network. He shares his 30+ years of youth ministry wisdom as we are all gearing up to move kids from one ministry to the next.

Resources Mentioned:

⁠Milestone Masterclass ⁠

Middle Years Life Transitions Article

Youth Ministry Hub

Tis' the season for Easter planning! In this episode, hear how two real Next Gen leaders are preparing their teams and ministries for Easter Sunday. Hear how they debrief, plan, recruit, and celebrate their teams throughout the Easter season. We also share a few stories of maybe what not to do or how to learn from our mistakes.

You will love this real conversation with real leaders that I admire so much.

Resources Mentioned:

Milestone Masterclass

Wonder Ink Seder Resource

Today's episode looks a little different as we introduce a new podcast format that will be sprinkled throughout the year.

In these unique episodes, I will be talking about one of the 5 foundations of kids ministry. This week, we are zooming in on partnering with parents. I share some research I find fascinating and what to do with it.

Research Mentioned:

OneHope

State of Child Discipleship

Children's Ministry in a New Reality

Resourced Mentioned:

Parent Roundtable

Have you ever been stuck when teaching kids big Christian doctrines? Same.

My friends Sam Luce & Hunter Williams wrote a new book that will help leaders and parents everywhere teach kids theological truths that will impact their faith for a lifetime.

Resources Mentioned:

Spring Cohort

Creating Milestones That Matter

How to Teach Kids Theology Book