Pizza & Side Hugs

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]

[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]

[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

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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 

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SUBSCRIBE!

Sign-off

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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]

[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]

[email protected]

Sacred Scripture is the Word of God, one of the two major sources of the deposit of faith. Together with capital T Tradition, Scripture comprises the Truth of the Triune God, Jesus Christ, and the Catholic Church. But, upon graduation from youth ministry, are our students literate in Scripture? Do they know the basics of salvation history? Have they prayed with the Psalms or can they draw conclusions to big questions from Gospel parables? Can they even navigate the Bible?

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What’s consistently tough about second semester in youth ministry?
Whether it is  waning attendance, losing enthusiasm, prepping for big summer trips while doing everything else, calendaring for next year,  or just plain burnout from a busy first semester, January- May can be often be difficult or feel overwhelming.  This episode we dive into why that is and what we can do about it.

Time Stamps
Intro (0:47)
What are some of the unique nicknames we've had (5:15)
Media Mentions - NEW SEGMENT!!! (11:06)
Jake- Instagram account: sbmowing
Paul- Book: Start Talking to Your Kids about Sex
Julia- Confirmation Program Pilot
Rachel- Book: Be Healed 
Second Semester Scaries (18:15)
Theories why this happens? (19:20)
Antidotes to the second semester scaries this year? (20:33)
Lessening the second semester scaries down the road? (31:00)
Pep talk for the second semester scaries? (35:00)
Conclusion (41:47)
Let us know what you want us to discuss! Send us something
[email protected]

[email protected]

At the start of a new year of ministry, it’s easy to get caught up in, “What’s new in your ministry?” But the fundamentals of YM should excite us even more. This episode is all about Running it Back to why you want to do this in the first place!

Top 5 Fundamentals To Focus on At the Start of the Year

1. Seeing the Kids- (6:50)
2. Putting Yourselves in Parent’s Shoes-(17:00)
3. Being a Companion for First Year Leaders- (27:16)
4. Getting Ahead in Order to Be Present- (34:58)
5. Praying for Your Community- (42:45)

Links from the Show
iGen- Dr. Jean Twenge
Drawing from nationally representative surveys of 11 million young people as well as in-depth interviews, iGen is the first book to document the cultural changes shaping today’s teens and young adults, documenting how their changed world has impacted their attitudes, worldviews, and mental health.

From Christendom to Apostolic Mission: Pastoral Strategies for an Apostolic Age
Every human society possesses a moral and spiritual imaginative vision, a set of assumptions and ways of looking at things according to which life proceeds. This essay is an attempt to contribute effective strategies to engage our own time and culture once more with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and – for a weary world – to awaken the Catholic imaginative vision.

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Looking for something specific? 
(2:31) We have another guest: Nick Vergatos 
(3:13) Finding Great Volunteers 
(7:03) Know What You Want From Volunteers 
(9:40) Why it's good to avoid the term "volunteer" 
(10:45) Alternative words to use for those that help in ministry 
(13:12) "Dating" vs. "Marrying" Your Volunteers 
(14:43) Creating Volunteer Job Descriptions 
(17:16) Equipping New Volunteers 
(19:40) Continual Training and Orientation is Vital 
(20:34) DTR (Define the Relationship) With Volunteers 
(23:25) Volunteers Understanding Wins 
(24:51) Interview with Nick Vergatos 
(31:35) What Keeps Nick Coming Back  

• Why he wanted to get involved
• Process of getting involved
• Why he keeps coming back
• How to decide what roles to take on
• When he's been celebrated as a volunteer

38:21 Playing to Strengths of Volunteers
Volunteer Shout Outs

Shareables (resources)

• Interested in learning more about your strengths - yes, we all have them. Take Gallup's Strengthsfinder assessment.
• Looking for an example of a volunteer job description? Check this one out for an idea!

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