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

In this episode, I interview NextGen Pastor, Lenny Moore. Lenny and I have a great conversation about being intentional when it comes to raising up new leaders. We talk about how to empower leaders in our ministry to lead according to their gifts, not ours, and Lenny shares his journey of discovering the importance of investing in leaders over programs.

Lenny Moore

Connect with Lenny on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Email: [email protected]

LennyMoore.org

First Baptist Church Jacksonville, NC

FREE Webinar: How to Use a Summer Team to Recruit VolunteersLinks Mentioned in This Episode

Family Ministry Values – The core values that determine the way Lenny and his team lead

G90 Goals – A resource to help you set and track goals every 90 days

How to Empower Leaders, Not Develop Doers

1. Allow producing great leaders to take precedence over program excellence
2. Accept the fact that some things will be done differently if they are not done by you
3. Lead with clear vision, not just clear orders
4. Regularly repeat the mission, vision, and values of your ministry
5. Spend less time making decisions and talking about “how”
6. Spend more time allowing others to make decisions and talking about “why”

FBC Jacksonville Staff Values

1. Integrity
2. Collaboration
3. Servant before leader
4. Hustle
5. Leader of leaders
6. Accessible

Action Items

1. Create a list of values for your ministry
2. Develop a plan to share these values regularly
3. Hand off leadership and control of one thing to someone else in your ministry

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Leave a rating and a comment in iTunes to let me know how this podcast is helping you and your ministry. Also, let me know how we can make it better!

Next Episode: John Huber

In the next episode, I interview John Huber. We talk about the family ministry values that he and his team utilize, and how they are intentional about creating a great culture. It is a really helpful follow-up to this interview with Lenny–you won't want to miss it!

In this episode, I interview Todd Adkins of LifeWay Leadership. LifeWay Leadership hosts an annual conference and has put out a free ebook on leadership pipelines for churches to help them be intentional about great leadership. Todd and I talk specifically about what a leadership pipeline is, how it is used, and the steps it takes to develop one in your ministry.

Todd Adkins

Connect with Todd on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

LifeWay Leadership

FREE Webinar: How to Use a Summer Team to Recruit VolunteersLinks Mentioned in This Episode

Ministry Grid – 4000+ sessions on developing the specific ministry roles in your leadership pipeline

5 Leadership Questions Podcast – Todd Adkins and Barnabas Piper interview leaders from a variety of professions and ask each guest five questions about leadership

New Churches Podcast – A podcast designed specifically for leaders involved in planting churches or launching multi-site campuses

Developing Your Ministry Pipeline (ebook) – LifeWay Leadership's resource that outlines what a leadership pipeline is, the structures and content that are vital to it, and the elements of the competency-based training that helps the pipeline thrive

Leadership Pipeline (book) – Ram Charan talks about how to grow leaders from inside your organization

Leadership Engine (book) – Noel Tichy argues for making leadership development an integral part of your organization's culture

MyLeadershipPipeline.com – Register for the LifeWay's leadership conferences or seek out regional coaching

Leadership Pipelines for Churches: Implementation

1. Determine when you moved from being a doer to a developer
2. Look at your organizational chart with your team and define levels of leadership
3. Hone your church's application and onboarding systems
4. Unify language across the board
5. Develop the competencies required at each level

Leadership Pipelines for Churches: The Six Competencies

1. Vision
2. Strategy
3. People Development
4. Collaboration
5. Stewardship
6. Discipleship

Leadership Pipelines for Churches: Vision, Huddle, Skills

1. Agree on cadence of meetings

In this episode, I interview NextGen Pastor, Allyson Evans, of Life.Church. Allyson and I dive into the specifics of leadership development and what it looks like to apprentice, train, and invest in the next generation of leaders.

Allyson Evans

Connect with Ally on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Email: [email protected]

Life.Church

Links Mentioned in This Episode

Craig Groeschel's Leadership Podcast – Life.Church's Lead Pastor, Craig Groeschel, talks weekly about the principles and practices involved in great leadership

Open.Life.Church – Check out Life.Church‘s leadership development resources

Life.Church Axioms | Life.Church Mission, Purpose, and Values | Life.Church Vision and Values

Releasing Leaders – A PowerPoint presentation on how to help your leaders inspire, invest in, and develop volunteers

Volunteer Development Guide – This helps your leaders answer the question, “What's my role in volunteer development?” and outlines the four principles that guide leadership development at Life.Church

Leadership XP – Life.Church's internship program for developing young leaders

NextGen Volunteer Onboarding Process

1. Cast vision of your ministry to potential volunteer
2. Process background check
3. Potential volunteer attends NextGen orientation
4. Cast deeper vision about level of volunteer commitment
5. Send them into the environment of their choice to shadow for 2-3 weeks
6. Coach follows up after shadowing experience
7. Placement

Children's Ministry & Youth Ministry Staff & Volunteer Ratios Survey – Take the survey and get the full results of this study on the staff and volunteer ratios it takes to do ministry effectively

Action Items

1. Create a list of axioms for leadership development at your church
2. Be intentional about one-on-one meetings and conversations
3. Implement a leadership structure or pipeline. Listen to next week's episode to hear practical steps you can take to do this.

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In this episode, I interview Children’s Pastor, Tom Bump, about what he’s learned throughout thirty years of ministry. We have a great conversation about how to delegate, focus on your strengths, and approach conflict. He even shares about a specific conflict he had with his senior pastor and what that journey looked like.

Tom Bump

Connect with Tom on Facebook and Twitter

Kids Ministry Collective Facebook Group

Kids Ministry Collective Podcast

Free ResourceCheck out my new free resource: 100 Volunteer Appreciation IdeasLinks Mentioned in This Episode

Halftime (book)- Bob P. Buford shares hist thoughts on how to leave a legacy and finishing strong

Stay or Go – Jim Wideman's resource that walks through the important question: Should I stay (in my current role) or should I go (to a new role)?

How to Delegate: The Ultimate Guide to Delegation (blog post) – An outline of what to delegate, to whom to delegate, and how to delegate, with resources to help you delegate better

CM Connect – An organization that connects children's ministries from all around the world

Achieving Longevity

1. Return to your calling
2. Do what you do best and develop those skills
3. Know who you are as a leader

Confirming Your Calling: Questions to Ask

1. What am I doing?
2. What is my gifting?
3. Do I see God's hand of blessing on my life?
4. Are people growing and coming to Christ because of my life?
5. Am I bringing other leaders along with me?

How to Delegate and Replace Yourself

1. I do, you watch
2. I do, you help
3. You do, I help
4. You do, I watch

Action Items

1. Have the conversation
2. Delegate – Check out How to Delegate: The Ultimate Guide to Delegation
3. Seek out a good counselor

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In this episode, I talk with Michael Covington of Disciplr. We have a great conversation about the new things Disciplr is putting out this year, and he shares the revolutionary changes they are making in how you get digital children's ministry curriculum, customize it, and share it with your team.

Michael Covington

Connect with Michael on Facebook and Twitter

Email : [email protected]

Disciplr.com

DavidCCook.com

Free ResourceCheck out my new free resource: 100 Volunteer Appreciation IdeasLinks Mentioned in This Episode

Get a 7-day, no-strings-attached free trial now and experience 

MailChimp – An email marketing platform that allows you to design and send mass, personalized emails to various segments of people

Slack – A tool for team communication that provides different channels of conversation for different topics

Trello – A project management resource for teams that integrates with Slack

Evernote – An online set of notebooks that allows you to keep track of all your ideas, checklists, and notes. It has team sharing capabilities as well.

3 Free Tools Your Team Should Know About – Check out Michael's article for specifics on how teams can leverage Slack, Trello, and Evernote

3 digital children's ministry curriculum organizations available on Disciplr : Tru | Gospel Light | Standard

Leveraging Technology

1. Recognize that the majority of ministries and churches are behind the times
2. Ask: How do we cut through the noise?
3. Think about your audience and meet them where they are
4. Train people in how they can leverage technology to carry out the great commission

Action Items

1. Check out Disciplr for digital children's ministry curriculum and get your 2.0 discount
2. Consider polling your church, or the parents in your ministry, and ask what their preferred methods of communication are
3. Check out MailChimp, Slack, Trello, and Evernote to see if any or all of these tool

In this episode, I talk with children’s ministry speaker, consultant, and writer, Melissa MacDonald.  She and I have a great conversation about helping kids find their place in God's story. Melissa shares how to disciple kids and teach them the Bible in a way they can understand it and apply it to their lives.

Melissa MacDonald

Connect with Melissa on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Christian and Missionary Alliance

MelissaJMacDonald.com

Links Mentioned in This Episode

Missing (book) – Melissa shares how leaders can learn from millennials, not miss the next generation, and how to disciple kids

Key Notes from Missing:

1. “I didn't feel like I belonged.” What does community look like?
2. “It was a nice story but it didn't matter to me.” How do we help them encounter a living story?
3. Do not depend on curriculum to dictate your direction
4. Ask: Who are we? How are we gifted? What has God called us to? What four truths do we want to communicate?
5. Weave your mission and vision into the curriculum you choose

Where Do Churches Miss the Mark?

1. Remaining stuck in tradition as culture changes
2. Focusing on memorization and information instead of transformation
3. Wasting time instead of making every minute matter

How to Disciple Kids When Teaching the Bible:

1. Remember that you are not a history teacher
2. Help God's word come alive and point kids to how they can apply it
3. Insert yourself into the story
4. Communicate that their choices effect God's story
5. Kids love to see the weird in the story
6. Address the unnerving so that they understand that no matter what, God wants to redeem your story
7. Be as prepared as possible and as interruptible as possible

Action Items

1. Check out Melissa's book Missing
2. Evaluate your teaching and the teaching of others on your team. Consider how much you are inserting yourself into the story and helping the kids apply it practically to their stories.
3. Ask yourself: How much time do I spend on editing or re-writing curriculum?

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In this episode, I interview Tom Pounder. Tom is involved in coaching and brining up new youth pastors at New Life Christian Church. He also has his own podcast and blog, YM Sidekick. His background in youth ministry has given him substantial experience with church social media and online engagement, leading him to become the Online Campus Pastor and head of social media at New Life.  Tom and I talk about church social media, youth ministry, the unique facility Tom’s church has, and how they are able to leverage its multi-purpose features for youth ministry.

Tom Pounder

Connect with Tom on Facebook and Twitter

Email: [email protected]

YM Sidekick

New Life Christian Church

NLCC Facebook | NLCC Twitter | NLCC Instagram | NLCC Youtube

Links Mentioned in This Episode

The Hangout – Details on the ministry that NLCC hosts every Friday night

Family Devotional – Watch Tom's devotional about Samson and other episodes he has posted

Check out the following resources to help you engage families on social media: Relevant Magazine | Christianity Today | Orange Blogs | Parent Cue | Go Weekly

Tom's 3-N Strategy

1. Engage
2. Inspire
3. Inform

Action Items

1. Leverage the social media platform your church currently has the most traction with
2. Check out the resources above that Tom uses to increase online engagement with families through church social media
3. Consider doing a mid-week video devotional for families

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Leave a rating and a comment

In this episode, I talk with the team at LCBC Church in Manheim, Pennsylvania. We talk about what Multi-Site Family Ministry, and what children's and student programming look like at their various locations–from their largest campus of 6,000 to their smallest campus of a few hundred. The team walks through specific practices in their ministries and the roles they leverage to support them centrally.

The LCBC Team

Connect with LCBC on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

LCBC Church

Jason Sheaffer: Director of kidMinistry at LCBC

Sonja Waltman: Executive Director of Ministries

Chad Herman: Central Director of Student Ministry

Children & Youth Ministry Staff/Volunteer Survey

The results are in! Thanks to everyone who participated in the Children & Youth Ministry Staff/Volunteer Survey. Click here for highlights, a list of the prize winners, and a link to take the survey if you would like to add your church's data and receive the full results.

Notes From This EpisodeVolunteer Onboarding Process

1. Give potential volunteer a tour
2. Potential volunteer chooses an area where they are interested in serving
3. Set up a time for them to observe and apprentice under an expert volunteer
4. Application process and background check
5. Attend orientation
6. New volunteer is placed

Action Items

1. If you are part of a multi-site family ministry, compare your church's model to LCBC. Ask: What do you like more about what they do? What do you like more about what you do? Why do you do things this way?
2. Talk with your team about how you can define roles in your ministry that will maximize content creation and relationship building
3. Begin to create or refine your volunteer on boarding process for this year

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To make sure you never miss a post, hit the subscribe button in iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or Tune In radio. Keep your friends and co-workers up-to-date as well by sharing it with them via email or social media.

Leave a rating and a comment in iTunes to let me know how this podcast is helping you and your ministry. Also, let me know how we can make it better!

Next Episode: Tom Pounder

In the next episode, I talk with Tom Pounder. Tom is the Student Minister at

In this episode, I interview Sam Luce. Sam and I talk about his journey leading children’s ministry and the tension between entertainment and discipleship – between making church fun and entertaining for kids versus discipling them and growing their faith.

Sam Luce

Connect with Sam on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

SamLuce.com

Redeemer Church

Links Mentioned in This Episode

“Pastor Success Is Not Your Goal” – Sam talks about fighting the urge for success and seeking faithfulness

The Confessions of St. Augustine (book) – St. Augustine shares his story of redemption in a way that is both personal and universal

True Spirituality (book) – Francis Schaeffer wrestles with the question “Did Christianity really make any difference in my life?”

The Summit – A worldview training camp for high school kids

Systematic Theology Books

Ages 2-5: Everything a Child Should Know About God

Ages 5-9: The Ology: Ancient Truths, Ever New

Ages 9-13: Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God

Ages 13+: Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith

Action Items

1. Evaluate your ministry. Ask some hard questions about where your ministry is living in that tension between entertainment and discipleship
2. Have a conversation with parents who have been in your ministry for a long time and get their perspectives on where the ministry is
3. Check out the list above for the books that Sam uses to partner with parents

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In this episode, I talk with Andy Needham. Andy is part of an organization called Greenhouse that puts on one-day children's ministry volunteers training and a one-day youth ministry volunteers training.We walk through what he and his team have learned in doing these events and how we can take those lessons to better train and equip our own volunteers.

Andy Needham

Connect with Andy on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Email: [email protected]

Berea.org

Greenhouse.Training

Links Mentioned in This Episode

Lead Kids – Children's ministry volunteers training

Lead Youth – Youth ministry volunteers training

Simply Worship – A day of equipping and encouraging worship and tech leaders

Joni and Friends – A ministry dedicated to sharing the love of Jesus with those affected by disability all around the world

Ministry Books – List of over 100 books for ministry leaders

Action Items

1. Provide opportunities for your leaders and volunteers to hear from other leaders
2. Take your team to Lead Kids or Lead Youth, or go individually and bring back ideas for training and networking in your area
3. Create a plan to invest in your volunteers this year. Maybe begin having one-on-ones or scheduling regular trainings and vision nights.

Subscribe | Share | Rate | Comment

To make sure you never miss a post, hit the subscribe button in iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or Tune In radio. Keep your friends and co-workers up-to-date as well by sharing it with them via email or social media.

Leave a rating and a comment in iTunes to let me know how this podcast is helping you and your ministry. Also, let me know how we can make it better!

Next Episode: Sam Luce

In the next episode, I interview Sam Luce. Sam and I talk about his journey leading children's ministry and the tension between making it fun and entertaining for kids versus discipling them and growing their faith.