This month’s podcast is a conversation we recorded at the D6 Conference, where we talk to friend and author Lydia Randall. Lydia is the author of My Faith Box, a resource for parents to intentionally journey with their child through their spiritual life. She is also the creator of Faith Path, a strategy for birthday-driven kits to help parents intentionally pass on their faith, one step at a time. She has a passion for the home, to see God strengthen marriages, and for parents to be true disciple-makers. We have a fun conversation about how to help and encourage parents as they seek to lead their families in the faith. 

On this month’s M2P podcast, our very own Amy Diller interviews her friend and single mom Donna Collins. Donna shares her story of raising her son as a single parent and she offers insight on how leaders in the church can help and support single parents in meaningful ways. In this conversation, Donna provides practical advice from her own experiences. She also offers words of encouragement for single parents and talks about some ways she has navigated her journey through the years. Sass and Kerry join in to offer their perspectives, and we’re excited to introduce a new member of the M2P team, Chris Hargrove.

On this month’s M2P podcast, you’ll join the conversation we had with wife, mom, and writer Carrie Bevel Partridge. Carrie and her husband, Kevin, have five children, two of whom they adopted from Colombia in 2016. They have been right in the middle of parenting struggles for a long time, and Carrie has a lot to say about our focus this month, “When Parenting Hurts.” Throughout the podcast, we will discuss her article, When Parenting Hurts: A Resource for Moms and Dads. This resource is full of ideas for parents to think through when they are going through hard times as a family. Carrie has been creating resources for families for over a decade, and her hope is to support, encourage, and offer hope to families as they navigate real life. This episode does just that. 

As we all move along our journey of life, we are no doubt shaped by what we encounter. Our experiences and the people we encounter have a tremendous impact on who we are. This is especially true of kids and teenagers. Kids and teenagers have many voices and influencers in their lives. As we attempt to disciple the children and teens in our church, in our homes, and in our community, we need to pay attention to the voices in their lives and do everything we can to surround them with the “cloud of witnesses” they need to grow in their faith. 

 On this episode of the M2P podcast, you’ll join Sass, Amy, and Kerry as they bring to you an interview they recorded while at the 2024 D6 Conference in Orlando, FL. The M2P team had a great conversation with pastor, author, professor, and dad Rich Griffith, about the power of surrounding kids and teens with the positive influences they need. Rich shares a lot of great nuggets from his book Voices: Helping Our Children and Youth Listen to Wise Counsel. Rich has many years of experience both in ministry and as a parent. Rich and the M2P team offer some great insight and encouragement to those of us leading kids and teenagers. It really is a great conversation!

One of the most significant challenges that parents have today is getting face-to-face with their kids and teens. The frantic pace of life and ever-increasing digital focus we all have can prevent us from engaging each other in ways that help us grow closer to the people we love. We all struggle in some way with having the healthy conversations we need to have. Our growing tendencies to isolate and communicate via screens are leading us away from the healthy relationships we all need and the conversations that help build and strengthen those relationships. 

On this month’s M2P podcast, you’ll join Sass, Amy, and Kerry as they bring you an interview they recorded while at the 2024 D6 Conference in Orlando, FL. The M2P team talks with Patti Pilkington Reed about the importance of having what she calls “smart conversations” with ourselves, our teenagers, and our young adults. Patti is an entrepreneur, author, certified coach, and a growth-oriented leader. The M2P team will dive into a conversation with Patti and discuss some of the key principles found in her new book Face to Face: Smart Conversations with Yourself, Your Teenager, and Your Young Adult. This book is a great encouragement and resource for parents and ministry leaders alike. There are lots of practical nuggets in this episode that will help you both evaluate how you deal with conflict through conversations and how you can help the parents in your church do the same.

In order to grow as disciples, families need to develop a culture of discipleship in their homes. However, the simple truth of the matter is that a lot of parents are intimidated by the notion of being the primary spiritual leaders for their kids and teenagers. As ministry leaders, we have the opportunity to encourage them to embrace their role, and we can paint a picture of discipleship at home that is actually attainable. As parents, we need to own our God-given role as lead discipler and maybe even consider developing a different picture of what it means to disciple kids and teens. Parents and ministry leaders don’t have to have all the answers or be professors of theology. We simply need to be authentically walking with Jesus and invite our kids and teens to join us in doing the same. That’s what discipleship looks like.

On this episode of the M2P podcast, the team sits down with Heather Quiroz to discuss a different way to lead ourselves, our kids, and our teenagers—the way in which Jesus led His own disciples. Heather is a gifted author, teacher, and speaker with over fifteen years of ministry experience. She turned her passion for teaching and sharing the Jewish roots of the Christian faith into founding First Century Youth Ministry with the goal of inspiring youth workers, leaders, and families to become grounded in the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and, in doing so, have a deeper love for the whole Bible. When she’s not writing, speaking, or leading trips to Israel, Heather stays busy sharing about her book (First-Century Youth Ministry: A Look Back For The Way Forward In Youth Ministry Discipleship), leading coaching cohorts, hosting episodes of The First-Century Youth Ministry Podcast, working at a staff consultant with Ministry Architects, or pouring herself into her first and greatest ministry of wife to Rodrigo and mom to their daughter, Adah.

Join us as Heather talks to us about the ways Jesus walked with His followers in the first century, how authentic discipleship happened then, and as she shares about some great, but simple practices we can implement in our lives and ministry. Take a listen and share the podcast with your friends.

Are you, as a ministry leader or parent (or both), looking for relief from the daily demands of leading? Are you worn down, near empty, or feel like you are being held captive to a schedule that offers no mercy? The daily weight of leading in ministry or at home is heavy and draining. And as our guest this month so wisely puts it, “Adapting to an empty tank is not only dangerous, but arrogant. It’s not just that you lead on an empty tank; you willfully acknowledge you are empty and depleted, and you push through and lead anyway.”

On this episode of the M2P podcast, the team is live at the D6 Conference in Orlando, where we welcome our friend, author, speaker, and disciple-maker Marianne Howard to pull up a chair and have a refreshing conversation about rest. The concept and the importance of rest are often looked down upon in our culture, which celebrates busyness as success in leadership. But, as Marianne reminds us, “To lead from a place of rest, we must live from the daily practice of intimacy. God’s primary call on our life is not ministry; it’s intimacy. Intimacy is remaining in that close, dependent relationship with Jesus Christ. Abiding is the most important aspect of a leader’s life because authentic leadership is an overflow of satisfaction in God.” Through our conversation with Marianne, we discuss her new book Rest: Overcoming Spiritual Fatigue and how we can all learn to step into experiencing the rest that God offers and that we so desperately need. Don’t miss this conversation as we spend some time talking about the concepts in the book and encouraging you to make spending intentional, restful time with the Lord a normal part of your rhythm of life. 

This month, we dive into an issue that we all know is at the forefront of child and adolescent development: the question of identity. Kids, teens, and even parents often struggle to embrace an identity that is rooted in their relationship with God. Instead, we frequently feel like we need to perform, achieve, or earn any love or acceptance, and we have great difficulty settling into an identity rooted in our relationship with God. In this episode, Sass, Kerry, and Amy discuss this struggle for identity and how we can help the kids, teens, and parents in our ministry embrace an authentic identity that will sustain them for a lifetime. 

Our digital world can be complicated, frustrating, and even incredibly dangerous. But one thing is certain: it’s not going away anytime soon. The constant innovation, proliferation, and saturation of technology in the lives of our kids and teens is why ministry leaders must know how to better lead and equip parents to navigate this ever-changing space. On this episode of the M2P podcast, the team is joined by our friend and parent ministry expert, Brian Housman, to discuss some of the specific issues that arise in parents navigating technology alongside their kids and teenagers. 

Brian is an influential voice in helping ministry leaders and parents discern how to guide their kids and teens to have a good perspective and healthy habits. He has traveled the world to teach and equip families since 1993 and currently serves as the Director of 360Family in Memphis, TN. Brian is also the founder of Screen Smarts, which is a revolutionary tool designed to help encourage and equip parents each week in just six minutes. Brian is a prolific writer for parenting magazines, most notably Parenting Teenagers, Homeschooling Today, and Parent Life. He has written four books: How You Always Meant to Parent, Engaging Your Teen’s World, Tech Savvy Parenting, and Raising Responsible Teens in a Digital World. Brian has been featured as a “parenting expert” (whatever that is) on more than sixty radio shows and TV programs, including FOX, ABC, and NBC affiliates. You can keep up with Brian and all he has going on through Instagram (@brianhousman) or Twitter (@BWHousman).