Pizza & Side Hugs

In this week's episode, the Pizza and Side Hugs team covers parent meetings. You may have some questions about what it can look like to run a successful parent meeting, how to take first steps in building a relationship to be able to partner with parents, and how to encourage attendance. In this short slice, hear about all that and more!

Intro Slice (0:30)

What’s Tough About Parent Meetings? (1:18)

Conclusion (16:33)

Parents listening, tell us what you want out of a youth ministry meeting? What should people be avoiding or including?

[email protected]

Ever wondered what an out of the park kick-off event could look like? Look no further! The Pizza and Side Hugs team is coming in this week with all the ideas when it comes to a Kick-Off Launch. 

Intro (0:15)  

What’s an all-time YM Kick-Off game you’ve played? (8:22)
Big Picture: What’s the Purpose of a Kick-Off (2:00)
Programming for a Kick-Off (15:00)
Your Kick-Off Should Set You Up for Future Gatherings (20:03)
Promoting your Kick-Off (27:42 )
Conclusion (35:55) 

Let us know what you want us to discuss! Send us something: [email protected]   

 Game Links:
Slip 'n' Slide Kickball: https://www.clarkscondensed.com/diy-slip-n-slide-kickball/
Olympic Game Night: https://ministry-to-children.com/10-wacky-olympic-games-for-kids-ministry/
Stand Up If: https://www.teachstarter.com/us/teaching-resource/sit-down-if-back-to-school-movement-icebreaker/

Calendar Pro Tips

Season 4, Episode 10

Around the Horn (0:45)
When do you put out a calendar? (1:37)
Design (8:12)
Calendar Consistency/Rhythms of Calendaring (10:05)
Sanity Check/Ministry Check (14:18) 
Conclusion (17:17) 

Send us a screenshot of your calendar so we can get good ideas or judge it hard. We will also accept screenshots of embarrassing moments in ministry.  And anything that fits the tag: #loudjulia

Email us: [email protected]

So You’re a New Youth Minister

Season 4, Episode 5

Intro (0:13) 

What’s a Mistake You Made Early on in Youth Ministry? (5:15)

Big Picture: You Chose an Incredible Job (3:30)

Quick around-the-horn about why YM is an awesome field of work.

What to Know Right Away (8:20)

• What questions should you ask immediately? 
• Who are the first people you meet with?
• What are reasonable goals for your first year?

Where to Start (23:45)

• Let’s say you’re in your first 3 months of being a youth minister at a new parish setting. What are you working on first?
• There are a lot of people you’re going to be working with. What are the first things you’re doing to serve those various groups?
• What are things that may sound exciting but need to wait until you’ve gotten going a bit?

Where to not Start (31:40)

You Don’t Know Everything (36:44)

• What kind of mindset is needed at the start of this role?
• Where do you turn to for learning and support?
• How do you establish some habits of balance in your life from the start?

Segment: Case by Case (44:04)

Nora from New Albany:

Confirmation is killing me. It seems as though I have so many parents and students who are looking for shortcuts or excuses, and the lack of real commitment is so disheartening. I find myself looking forward to Confirmation finally being over and dreading starting back up again in the fall. What are you supposed to do for students whose parents don’t even really care?

Conclusion (53:15)

Let us know what you want us to discuss! Send us something 

[email protected]

NFCYM Link: https://nfcym.org/ 

Diverse Teams

Season 4, Episode 4.5

In our last podcast, we talked about the principles for recruiting a great ministry team. These adults will be core to your mission. One thing we touched on briefly was the need for “the right fit” for a ministry leader. Today, we want to highlight this even deeper by talking about having diversity within your team.  

Julia: Diversity of ages (multigenerational) (4:00) 

Jake: Diversity of ethnicity and race (5:16) 

Rachel: Diversity of ability to connect with various student personalities (6:21) 

Paul: Diversity of skills and geniuses (7:13) 

Best Practices (11:09) 

What are some things you’ve learned about the value or challenge of diverse teams in ministry?

Conclusion (12:44) 

Send us a message about a great youth ministry teammate of yours who had different ideas than you but brought a lot to the team. Or just send us a dad joke and we’ll probably talk about it.

[email protected]

Recruiting a Team

Season 4, Episode 4

Intro (0:05) 

Big Picture: We Need a Team for Good Ministry (1:30)

Recruiting (9:33) 
Church volunteer recruiting vs. Notre Dame football recruiting operation. 

Find the Right Fit (17:25)

Do Your Research (28:14)

Consistently Reach Out (35:13)

 Retaining a Team 

• Recruiting doesn’t really stop, it just changes over time. 
• We should anticipate it taking 2-3 years for a volunteer to be fully bought into a mission and their role as a mentor. 
• We need to be always thinking about ways to support AND challenge our team to make sure this work is always fascinating teamwork.

Final Thought (51:30)

Conclusion (54:00)

Let us know what you want us to discuss! 
Send us something [email protected]

Clear Labels, Full Bellies, Can’t Lose

Season 4, Episode 3.5

There are two things that are absolutely essential to nearly ever youth ministry gathering: 1. Prayer. 2. Food. (1:00)

Maslow’s Hierarchy (1:57)

Advice for food at YM event (3:51)
Allergies (8:40)
Laudato Si (14:27)

Conclusion (17:13) 

Send us a message about your youth ministry, or just send us something funny and we’ll mention you. [email protected]

Abraham Maslow: https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQQne2iT1ghgKcHr0jJqpwMP5H-li4fdrR-NVix3kqgf-ZOpiSS 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html 

What it takes to host a Maslow Pyramid Party

Evaluating a Youth Ministry Year

Season 4, Episode 3

Intro (0:20) 

What is Feedback You’ve Received in YM That You’ll Never Forget? (1:45)

Big Picture: What’s the Purpose of Evaluating? (11:47)

Evaluation obviously seeks to make your ministry better, but it can feel tough to justify given everything else you have to do. Here’s why it’s important:

• Creates accountability for leaders
• Adds intention to the full process of ministry
• Gives others a chance to share their voice about a ministry they care for
• Creates metrics to measure success and data to advocate for your ministry
• Helps parish staff and parishioners understand the needs of the youth and youth ministry

Details: How Do You Evaluate Best? (18:15)

• Who evaluates your ministry? How do you get feedback or thoughtfully think through your ministry with different constituents?
• When do you evaluate? What time of the year works best for this?
• How much evaluation is needed? What kind of data will you keep or follow-up will you have?
• What questions are asked? What are helpful questions to ask of others or within a ministry’s leadership?

Google Drive Folder with Examples of Surveys you can use: https://shorturl.at/dksw5

Segment: Case by Case (40:33)

Isabel from Indianapolis:

I am a volunteer in a youth ministry and want to relate to students, but I feel like I don’t know what they’re going through and I definitely don’t know the slang for kids today. How do I relate to young people who have such different experiences than me?

Conclusion (48:00)

Let us know what you want us to discuss! Send us something 

[email protected]

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Sign-off

Conference Rankings
Season 4, Episode 2.5 - A Slice

Why you should go to a Youth Minister Conference(0:35)

Our top 3 youth ministry conference or professional development opportunities:
(4:15)

Conference Links
Notre Dame Vision: http://mcgrath.nd.edu/vision
NFCYM Exchange: https://nfcym.org/featured-events/exchange/
Life Teen Conference: https://lifeteen.com/events/catholic-youth-ministry-convention/ Thriveanooga: https://www.thrive.rs/thriveanooga/2024
Orange: https://theorangeconference.com/
John Bosco Conference: https://steubenvilleconferences.com/events/sjb/
LA Congress: https://recongress.org/
National Catholic Network for Pastoral Juvenil Hispana (La Red): https://www.laredpjh.org/ 
Campference: https://archindyym.com/campference 

Conclusion (19:50)
 What’s one aspect of youth ministry that you dread? We’d love to address it. Let us know with an email! [email protected]

Intro (0:47) 

Memorable Overnight Experiences (5:15)

Challenges in Ministry that Includes Overnight Stays (18:15)

NEW SEGMENT! Case by Case (33:41)

Pete from Plainfield:
I’m at a parish with a school, and there seems to be a big divide between middle school students from the school and from the parish. How do I encourage both groups to participate in youth ministry?

Conclusion (41:47)

Let us know what you want us to discuss! Send us something [email protected]