Nick Blevins Family Ministry Podcast: Children | Youth | Students | NextGen

In this episode, Mike Clear shares some of his experiences moving from working within family ministry roles to serving family ministries through Orange and the Rethink Group. He also explains more about the heart and strategy behind some of the world's leading Kidmin curriculum and how it is being utilized in churches.

Mike Clear

Connect with Mike on Facebook.

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Notes

Thoughts after moving from church leadership roles to volunteering:

• Getting to choose a church based on the focus on the community and kidmin
• Enjoyable to serve because you want to instead of having to
• Consider the lives and rhythms of your volunteer force
• High-bar / High-grace

What is Orange all about?

• PHASE appropriate curriculum
  • First Look
  • 252 Kids
    • Weekly Bottom Lines – phrases to remember and prompt conversation
  • 252 Preteen
    • Weekly Questions – questions to prompt dialogue and ownership
    • Preteens want to know if it's a safe space to ask questions

What are some best practices for implementing curriculum?

• Speaking of Orange Curriculum, they have attempted to be accomodating and provide options for churches/ministries of every size
• PLEASE call your Orange Specialists
• Don't ever use a curriculum “as is”
  • Edit for contextualized culture in your community and in your church
  • You know your kids better than curriculum writers, but you shouldn't have to hire someone to write

Is Orange Curriculum too moralistic??

• For kids in elementary age, they need to get to know Jesus
• Life Apps are opportunities for kids to see how the Bible truly applies to their lives
  • what God is doing “in you” to help change you and the world around you
• It's not just a curriculum, it's a strategy
  • if you highly value groups, this strategy will support you
  • if you do not value the strategy, the curriculum will be difficult to implement

Action Items

1. Try out the preteen curriculum – see the YT show
2. Listen to Orange Kids podcast
3. Listen to Ear Biscuits podcast on denouncing faith

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In this episode, Greg Stier explains how a youth ministry can be mobilized towards evangelism and become an active movement within the local church. Between parents and leaders, the next generation needs to be directed and empowered to share their faith and dare to believe Him for life-change in others.

Greg Stier

Connect with Greg on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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Notes

A little about Dare 2 Share:

• Early on – Dare2Share Weekend Conferences
  • Friday-Saturday
• Now: Live Simulcast
  • 126 cities in one day
  • Dare2Share Live – 10.10.2020
  • Inspiration – Motivation – Application – Activation
• Curriculum for Student Ministries
• Lead the Cause Camps
• Apps
  • Life in 6 Words Mobile App
  • Dare2Share App

How do students overcome the FEAR of evangelism?

• Inspiration
  • Share the WHY behind sharing faith – eternal significance
  • Gen Z does not have a context for “hellfire and brimstone”
• Tell them “How” to share
  • Ask
  • Admire
  • Admit
  • Gospel presented through their personal story
• Choose a way to care for people AND share the gospel
• If you're not risking a social death, then you're not really growing

What has changed in youth ministry since D2S started? (methods and practices)

• Everything has changed – social media and being in a post-Christian nation
• But in some ways, nothing has changed
  • teenagers are seeking a king, a cause, and a crew
  • the gospel doesn't change, but it's not the front door (having to explain the meta-narrative)
• Teenagers that are equipped to have face-to-face conversations become “like flowers for bees” – people want to flock toward them

Encouragements for leaders and volunteers

• Focus on advancing the gospel
• Program your services accordingly
• Youth Ministries need to have more time
  • Prayer Time
  • Story-telling Time
  • Equipping Time
• Have a set of values for volunteers
  • Volunteers should set the bar for the students as someone who grows in their faith, shares their faith, and is making disciples

Action Items

1. Check out Dare 2 Share
2. Teach students practical evangelism
3. One per

In this episode, Jenny Funderburke Smith points toward some specific ways to create a gospel-centered approach to kid's ministry, regardless of the size of your church or the curriculum you use. She also shares some very helpful tips on how to structure discipline within our ministry environments for children.

Jenny Funderburke Smith

Connect with Jenny on her Blog and Twitter.

Ministry Boost

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Notes

What does it mean to be Gospel-centered?

• The gospel is not just “you get saved and that's it”
• Presenting the grace and truth of the gospel EVERY WEEK, regardless of your curriculum
• The gospel affects more than just their eternity, it affects their day-to-day lives
• Not a checklist of do's and don'ts
• Point back to Jesus at some point in every service – He's the Hero
• Present the BIG PICTURE of God as Creator, sin, and Jesus as our Savior

GospelAtCenter.com

• Problem: there is a lot of games and fun out there in Children's ministry, but not a lot of Jesus sometimes
• What you focus on will define your ministry (Fun, Environments, Volunteers, etc.)
• Check out the website

Discipline within Kids Ministry

• Anything goes vs. Nothing goes
  • Anything goes: don't want to make anyone upset, in an effort to make come back; very few boundaries
  • Nothing goes: all rules, very strict and not much fun
• The root of the word Discipline is “disciple”
• Figuring out boundaries and consistent rules/consequences
  • Verbal Warning
  • Remove from game/activity
  • Take out of the room (opportunity for a gospel conversation)
• Base level expectations: Show love for God, Show God for others, Show love for yourself
• Use 20-seconds of the service to set expectations; not just a list of do's and don'ts

Working with kids that have experienced trauma

• Trauma-informed care: understanding the experiences of a child and approaching situations with specific strategies based on their trauma
  • Ex: foster care, divorce, abuse, adoption from a foreign country, refugees, etc.
• These kids need relationship and understanding and should find it within the church

Action Items

1. Evaluate your approach through gospel filter
2. Create culture/language for discipline ideal
3. Check out Revitalize – particularly if you're small

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In this episode, Paula Dannielle speaks from her experience as a single parent and leading a ministry with the single-parent in mind. There are specific changes you could make to your ministry to more intentionally serve single-parent families and Paula shares what has impacted her church community.

Paula Dannielle

Connect with Paula on Instagram, and Twitter.

Ministry Boost

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Notes

What are some ways the church can serve single parents better?

• Remember that Single parent homes have to do the same thing that two-parent homes do with 50% of the time
• Their time is of the essence; make it worth their time; be sure that “in-person meetings” are something that must in person
• Don’t overlap events or occasions that involve multiple phases for kids/students
• Be aware of the calendaring and timeline of communication of special events, particularly for budgeting purposes

What can churches do intentionally for single parents?

• ALL students at her campus live in single-parent homes
• Programming has an on-ramp because most students come only every other week
• Group leaders communicate through text message to kids and parents to keep everyone in the loop
• Frequency is declining, so recaps during programming and group time is key so no one is lost
• Using apps to stay in contact (Lead Small App for communication with parents)
• Create and carve out positions for single parents where they don’t have to commit to serving every week
• Love them well; maybe you don’t know which ones you have; build relationships

What unique things can churches do to partner with parents?

• Consider when your services are for students (because if they have multiple phases in their home, it could take up their entire Sunday)
• For student groups, make them flexible throughout the week to provide options for single parents’ kids
• One-on-ones with parents: ask if their child will be attending and determine where to meet with them (not just Starbucks, maybe consider Chick-fil-A or even their sporting event)
• Gearing social media to connect with single parents
• Connect with adult ministries leadership to arrange for children to attend ministry events (or childcare)

How do you stay in communication with parents that do not attend your church?

• If there are multiple children in the family, assign one parent email to each child (making sure both parents get represented and is communicated to)

Action Items

1. Evaluate your calendar with a single-parent lens
2. What's your % of single parents in your church?
3. Find a pastor or counselor outside your church

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In this episode, Tony Myles sheds light on youth ministry from the unique perspective of a pastor. After sitting in both the Youth Pastor and Lead Pastor role, he brings an understanding of how each can complement and strengthen the ministry of the other.

Tony Myles

Connect with Tony on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Ministry Boost

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NotesSenior Pastor talks about Youth Ministry: Big Takeaways

• Why the focus of the book:
  • Prideful as a young leader
  • Felt a draw toward more than just Youth ministry after having been challenged with pride
  • Lessons from Nehemiah:
    • Focus on your own relationship with God
    • Have a relationship with your church
    • Then, you can step into ministry

• Unique Perspective from Senior Pastor
  • Pastors just want Youth Pastors “to do their job”
  • Youth Pastors want entitlements but not all the responsibility
  • Question: are you here because you want to say something, or because you have something to say?

• Immaturity in regard to students, but sincere maturity with regard to senior leadership and church staff
  • Alpha personality vs. Beta personality
  • Different work schedule… being around the office and present

• Student Leadership
  • “The Squad” is a model where you take students and ask for their feedback on what student is like and how to improve it
  • You don't have to use the word “Leadership”
  • Create a safe space for them to grow and be challenged and build community
  • From this, allow them to start owning the ministry and the tasks that fit their strengths
  • “That sounds like that would really bless you guys. Who else do you think that would bless?”

• Today's Youth Ministry Culture
  • Create unique experiences
  • Be personal
  • Make sure it's working for the community you are in

Action Items

1. Get the “If, What If” book
2. Get students together for convos (Squad origin)
3. The Miracles of Jesus devo with students

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In this episode, Alfred Burgess shares some of his experiences within multisite NextGen ministry over the years and his heart for reaching outsiders. Having served on staff at two large multisite churches, Alfred provides a unique perspective on how an effective NextGen ministry can exist in different church models and how to create environments with the outsider in mind.

Alfred Burgess

Connect with Alfred on Instagram, Twitter and Email.

Ministry Boost

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NotesKids Ministry at Sun Valley:

• Franchise model, where kids ministry looks the same at all campuses
• Campus pastors and teams make decisions related specifically to the campuses
• NextGen Central Team makes decisions specifically related to brand, curriculum, vision, etc. for kid's ministry
• Small group, Large group, Small group model, using Orange curriculum

Student Ministry at Sun Valley:

• “If anyone can do multisite student ministry well, you're a genius in my book.”
• Multiple methods being used to experience success (weekends, home groups, Sunday evenings, etc.)
• Last 3.5 years, lots of turnover in students/families and volunteers, but gaining traction and credibility
• Returning to what things were before when things were more successful
• Staffing ratio 1:70-80

NextGen Staffing Structure:

• Alfred oversees all NextGen from an Executive level
• Central Student Ministries Pastor reports to Alfred, and student pastors at each campus report to this person
• Central Kids Admin, Central Kids Curriculum and Central Kids Programming all report to Alfred
• Campus Children's Directors report to Alfred
• Staffing ratio 1:125
• Preschool, K3 and 456 Coordinators at campuses report to Children's Director (and other ancillary roles)

Reaching Outsiders (foundation):

• In AZ, many people have a short “memory” within the church, meaning they do not understand “churchy” terms
• Be clear, not cute; people need clarity
• Be likable, not just loveable
• Simple, not simplistic

Reaching Outsiders (specifics):

• Don't assume that parents know what kids are learning/experiencing AND don't assume kids fully understand what's being taught or that they are reviewing this at home
• In ministry environments, where many kids will not be returning each week, review what has been talked about
• Don't assume that volunteers know and understand what has been communicated after one weekend, and be straight forward and give clear information
• Student ministries are typically filled with students who come because if who is there; kid's ministry grow because of and are defined by the FUN they have within their services

Action Items

1. Establish trust in your YouthMin
2. What isn't outsider friendly?
3. Multisite? – Define decision rights

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In this episode, Jeff Bates dives into some specific practices on tracking family ministry data at Elevation Church and gives practical tips for how to get these families more engaged. Each family is unique and defining engagement can be tricky, so there is a great need for creative ways to keep families connected throughout the year.

Jeff Bates

Connect with Jeff on Instagram, Facebook and Email.

Ministry Boost

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NotesKey numbers to track for engagement:

• Creatively thinking and tracking family attendance
• Tracking attendance through kid's ministry
• Engagement percentages for the overall church

Keys to successful Youth Ministry engagement at Elevation:

• Strong small group leaders
• Moved away from large weekly gatherings to focus on groups
  “Scrap the thing that looks awesome for the thing that really is going to be lasting.”
• Monthly large group gatherings for multiple campuses

Keys to partnering with parents:

• Creating events with relevant content for parents (topics: technology, marriage & parenting, sex, etc.)
• Connecting parents with other parents
• Different class options for parents throughout the year

Action Items

1. Define engagement at your church
2. Look at the numbers
3. Pick one to improve

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In this episode, Christine Kreisher casts a compelling vision for why our key concern for volunteers should be retaining them, not just recruiting them. This crucial shift in mindset is the focus of the final part of a six-session series from an online event called Volunteer Bootcamp, hosted by Ministry Boost.

Christine Kreisher

Connect with Christine on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Volunteer Bootcamp

Get access to the full Volunteer Bootcamp sessions and notes here.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

Volunteer Bootcamp Webinar

Ideas for Retaining Volunteers

Intentional Approach to Retaining

• • We cannot do it all – for every 8-10 volunteers, there needs to be someone that sees people and cares for their spiritual growth
  • Identify one person who can own and champion the “connection” aspect for volunteers
    • Do not underestimate the importance of one-on-one connection

• • Stoprecruiting.com
    • Resource: Coach job descriptions
    • Resource: What Floats Your Boat?
      • Flattery falls flat; make it your goal to praise volunteers and celebrate them well

How do you measure whether or not volunteers are enjoying themselves and feeling connected?

• Laughing
• Showing up on time (especially for huddles)
  • Create a WIN statement for huddles:  “A huddle is a 7-10 min focused, high-energy,  mini pep rally to cast vision for the day, build team morale, communicate any last-minute changes and pray for the day.”
  • Team Building time
  • Share life-change
• Having a voice
  • Give opportunities for feedback/input; let them know they are heard, and then help them understand the vision behind why you do what you do

“Approaching our volunteer processes and culture with excellence, focusing on recruiting, onboarding, encouraging, training, and empowering, inevitably leads to a retention of those volunteers.”

Action Items

In this episode, Jon Birkmire explains how their NextGen ministry has thrived and developed by empowering volunteers to lead in high capacity leadership roles, allowing them to lead like staff. This is the fifth part of a six-session series from an online event called Volunteer Bootcamp, hosted by Ministry Boost.

Jon Birkmire

Connect with Jon on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Volunteer Bootcamp

Get access to the full Volunteer Bootcamp sessions and notes here.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

Volunteer Bootcamp Webinar

Model for Empowering Volunteers

Empowered Ministry Model

• Volunteer Directors & Volunteer Coaches/Producers
  • Staff oversee ministry areas, but Volunteer Directors oversee the different experiences underneath the director's leadership
• Volunteer Director = Manager
• Volunteer Coach = Assistant Manager
• Producers = Experiential Specialists
• *These roles and language are “transferable” from different ministry areas
• Each role needs specific job descriptions that reinforce empowerment
• Look for high-capacity leaders to raise up to a new level of leadership

Ask the question, what are the things that are taking up a majority of your time that you are not good at?

A.D.A.P.T.

• ASK – make the ask of the person you want to be on your team; give job description and onboard them
• DOWNLOAD – give them all the information they need to succeed
• APPRENTICE – strategy is as follows
  • I do → You watch → We talk
  • I do → You help → We talk
  • You do → I help → We talk
  • You do → I watch → We talk
  • You do → Someone else watches
• PREPARE and TURN LOOSE
  • There is nothing worse than delegating ownership to someone and then you constantly follow them around; let them lead

Action Items

1. Create a new org chart
2. Write job descriptions<

In this episode, Dan Scott shares his experience of providing consistent and ongoing training for volunteers that produces excellence and unity for ministry teams. This is the fourth part of a six-session series from an online event called Volunteer Bootcamp, hosted by Ministry Boost.

Dan Scott

Connect with Dan on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Volunteer Bootcamp

Get access to the full Volunteer Bootcamp sessions and notes here.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

Volunteer Bootcamp Webinar

Ideas for Strategically Training Volunteers

Annual Training: global to all volunteers

Quarterly: targeted training for specific volunteers

Monthly: huddles for volunteers on a monthly/weekly basis

• Curriculum updates and encouragements
• Small group training
• Event communication
• Monthly Coach's Training
  • In this model, coaches are delegated the communication of vision, information, and training during weekly/monthly huddles with their teams

Ongoing Evaluation: a process for evaluating volunteers’ effectiveness

• “The worst thing you could do is only meet with volunteers when something is wrong.”
• Utilize conversation for both encouragement and coaching
• In regard to Large Group, record a service and allow team members to self-evaluate
• Resource coaches with what they need to have one-on-ones with their teams to reflect and evaluate

**The idea is that training is not just sporadic information, it’s strategic conversation about upcoming ministry events or focuses. Create a consistent and constant culture of training.

Action Items

1. Create a 1-year plan
2. Try out TrainedUp – (Discount code: BOOST10)
3. Start huddles

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