📅 New episodes drop on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month!

👉 GRAB YOUR FREE 4-PART YOUTH MINISTRY SERIES: https://landing.ym.wol.org/series-giveaway-fifty1-quiettime

In this episode of Stacking Chairs, Josh and Kyle sit down with Zack Jernigan (High School Pastor) and Josiah Brondyke (Middle School Pastor) from Idlewild Baptist Church in Florida to talk about something every church wrestles with—keeping middle school and high school ministries connected.

It's easy for ministries to become silos. Different schedules, leaders, and rhythms often mean students "start over" when they move up. Zack and Josiah unpack how they intentionally bridge that gap through communication, shared goals, and humility.

From unified discipleship paths to team collaboration, this conversation is full of practical insights for youth pastors who want to build ministry that's relationally strong and spiritually consistent from 6th through 12th grade.

✅ Why middle school and high school ministries often feel disconnected ✅ The importance of shared discipleship goals between ministry teams ✅ How to communicate and collaborate across age-specific programs ✅ Making the handoff between ministries relational, not just administrative ✅ Building mutual trust and respect between ministry leaders ✅ What small churches can learn from Idlewild's approach ✅ How alignment impacts long-term student discipleship

✅ Youth Ministry Curriculum & Tools (start free): https://multiply.life ✅ Free 4-Part Series Giveaway: https://landing.ym.wol.org/series-giveaway-fifty1-quiettime

🔗 Find all things Stacking Chairs: https://linktr.ee/StackingChairsPod

📱 Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1371987896934818 📸 Instagram: @wol.youthministries 👍 Facebook: facebook.com/wolyouthministries ▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/@wolyouthministries 🌐 Website: youthministry.wol.org

Welcome to Stacking Chairs: A Multiply Youth Ministry Podcast. We're here to equip and inspire youth leaders—whether you lead a youth group, run a camp, or serve in any ministry that reaches students for Christ. With practical insights and real-life stories, we celebrate those who show up early, stay late, and literally stack the chairs. Join us as we encourage one another to lead well and impact the next generation. Keep stacking those chairs!

This episode is brought to you by Word of Life Youth Ministries. We help churches build strong, engaging youth ministries through coaching, curriculum, and Gospel-centered events. Our mission is clear: Every Student, Everywhere, Growing in Christ.

📅 New episodes drop on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month!

👉 GRAB YOUR FREE 4-PART YOUTH MINISTRY SERIES: https://landing.ym.wol.org/series-giveaway-fifty1-quiettime

Episode Summary: In this episode of Stacking Chairs, Josh and Kyle sit down to tackle one of the biggest challenges in youth ministry: loneliness in leadership. Even in a room full of students and volunteers, many youth pastors feel like they're carrying the weight alone. That's why we're diving into Multiply U, a free leadership training platform designed to help you equip your team, grow together, and stop doing ministry solo.

We unpack why team-based leadership matters, how to break the cycle of burnout, and how practical tools like Multiply U can make equipping your leaders simple, scalable, and sustainable. Whether you're leading volunteers, staff, or just starting to build your ministry team, this conversation will give you hope and a plan.

Key Talking Points: ✅ Why so many youth leaders feel isolated ✅ The "Expectation Monster" every leader faces ✅ Why equipping your team is not optional—it's essential ✅ How Multiply U makes training volunteers easy and free ✅ The role of community, coaching, and shared learning ✅ Real steps to stop doing ministry alone

Great Youth Ministry Resources: ✅ Youth Ministry Curriculum & Tools (start free): https://multiply.life ✅ Free 4-Part Series Giveaway: https://landing.ym.wol.org/series-giveaway-fifty1-quiettime ✅ Multiply U (Free Training App): https://wol.is/multiplyu

🔗 Find all things Stacking Chairs: https://linktr.ee/StackingChairsPod

📱 Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1371987896934818 📸 Instagram: @wol.youthministries 👍 Facebook: facebook.com/wolyouthministries ▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/@wolyouthministries 🌐 Website: youthministry.wol.org

About Stacking Chairs: Welcome to Stacking Chairs: A Multiply Youth Ministry Podcast. We're here to equip and inspire youth leaders—whether you lead a youth group, run a camp, or serve in any ministry that reaches students for Christ. With practical insights and real-life stories, we celebrate those who show up early, stay late, and literally stack the chairs. Join us as we encourage one another to lead well and impact the next generation. Keep stacking those chairs!

Special Thanks: This episode is brought to you by Word of Life Youth Ministries. We help churches build strong, engaging youth ministries through coaching, curriculum, and Gospel-centered events. Our mission is clear: Every Student, Everywhere, Growing in Christ.

📅 New episodes drop on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month!

👉 GRAB YOUR FREE 4-PART YOUTH MINISTRY SERIES: https://landing.ym.wol.org/series-giveaway-fifty1-quiettime

Episode Summary: In this episode of Stacking Chairs, Josh and Kyle welcome Gideon Kohls—a former podcast listener turned Bible Institute student, camp counselor, and future youth ministry leader.

Gideon shares his story of growing up in church without a youth pastor, discovering the impact of intentional discipleship, and how Word of Life camp and the Bible Institute helped solidify his calling. From working at a pizza shop to leading campers through real-life conversations, Gideon reflects on lessons learned, habits formed, and how to stir a hunger for God's Word that lasts.

This episode is a powerful reminder that youth ministry is not about programs—it's about people, discipleship, and pointing the next generation toward Jesus.

Key Talking Points: ✅ Going from podcast listener to podcast guest ✅ Growing up without a youth pastor—and the difference when one finally arrived ✅ How COVID shaped Gideon's journey and led him to Florida ✅ The role of camp ministry and drama team in reaching students ✅ Why daily disciplines like quiet time and Scripture memory are essential ✅ How youth leaders can model growth that sparks hunger in students ✅ Reaching students where they are without leaving them there ✅ Building intentional programs that let the Holy Spirit do the real work

Great Youth Ministry Resources: ✅ Youth Ministry Curriculum & Tools (start free): https://multiply.life ✅ Free 4-Part Series Giveaway: https://landing.ym.wol.org/series-giveaway-fifty1-quiettime ✅ Learn more about the Bible Institute: https://wordoflife.edu/

🔗 Find all things Stacking Chairs: https://linktr.ee/StackingChairsPod

📱 Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1371987896934818 📸 Instagram: @wol.youthministries 👍 Facebook: facebook.com/wolyouthministries ▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/@wolyouthministries 🌐 Website: youthministry.wol.org

About Stacking Chairs: Welcome to Stacking Chairs: A Multiply Youth Ministry Podcast. We're here to equip and inspire youth leaders—whether you lead a youth group, run a camp, or serve in any ministry that reaches students for Christ. With practical insights and real-life stories, we celebrate those who show up early, stay late, and literally stack the chairs. Join us as we encourage one another to lead well and impact the next generation. Keep stacking those chairs!

Special Thanks: This episode is brought to you by Word of Life Youth Ministries. We help churches build strong, engaging youth ministries through coaching, curriculum, and Gospel-centered events. Our mission is clear: Every Student, Everywhere, Growing in Christ.

📅 New episodes drop on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month!

👉 GRAB YOUR FREE 4-PART YOUTH MINISTRY SERIES: https://landing.ym.wol.org/series-giveaway-fifty1-quiettime

What does it really look like to help students take next steps in their walk with Christ? In this episode of Stacking Chairs, Josh and Kyle sit down with author and Word of Life leader Scott Foreman to unpack how to move students from stuck to growing.

Scott explains why next steps are more than slogans, how to equip parents as primary disciplers, and how to assess ministry health with four simple Acts 2 priorities. From "no Scripture, no social media" mornings to setting churchwide benchmarks, this conversation is packed with practical tools to help you personalize discipleship and build steady, Gospel-centered growth.

✅ Next steps are part of sanctification, not one-size-fits-all slogans ✅ How to personalize growth rhythms that actually stick ✅ Equipping parents as the first disciplers, with youth ministry as reinforcement ✅ Four lenses for ministry health: Word, Community, Evangelism, Stewardship ✅ Balancing team strengths through delegation so no one gift dominates ✅ Building benchmarks for kids and parents at every stage (elementary through graduation) ✅ Sticky habits like "no Scripture, no social media," analog Bibles, and family devotions ✅ Word of Life's pathway for next steps: Quiet Time, sharing the Gospel, mission trips, Camp Crew, Bible Institute

✅ Youth Ministry Curriculum & Tools (start free): https://multiply.life ✅ Free 4-Part Series Giveaway: https://landing.ym.wol.org/series-giveaway-fifty1-quiettime

🔗 Find all things Stacking Chairs: https://linktr.ee/StackingChairsPod 📱 Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1371987896934818 📸 Instagram: @wol.youthministries 👍 Facebook: facebook.com/wolyouthministries ▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/@wolyouthministries 🌐 Website: youthministry.wol.org

Welcome to Stacking Chairs: A Multiply Youth Ministry Podcast. We're here to equip and inspire youth leaders—whether you lead a youth group, run a camp, or serve in any ministry that reaches students for Christ. Through practical insights and real-life stories, we celebrate those who show up early, stay late, and literally stack the chairs. Join us as we challenge one another to lead well and impact the next generation. Keep stacking those chairs!

This episode is brought to you by Word of Life Youth Ministries. We help churches build strong, engaging youth ministries through coaching, curriculum, and Gospel-centered events. Our mission is clear: Every Student, Everywhere, Growing in Christ.

🙌 GET YOUR FREE YOUTH MINISTRY SERIES: https://multiply.life

📅 New episodes drop the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month!

Let's be honest—most of us are making it up as we go.

In this episode, Josh and Kyle sit down with Phillip and Casey Puett for a raw, encouraging look at what happens when we stop winging it and start leading with intention. From burnout and budgeting to raising kids and serving in ministry as a couple, the Puetts share what they've learned (and are still learning) about trusting God with their yes—even when life is messy.

Whether you're married in ministry, navigating multiple callings, or just trying to find healthy rhythms, this episode is for you.

• Why "just winging it" doesn't work in real-life ministry • Casey's honest story of burnout and rebuilding with purpose • Creating space for each other's callings in a marriage • Trusting God with your family, finances, and future • Setting boundaries and rhythms that actually work • Parenting in ministry without losing your sanity • What faithfulness really looks like when life feels stretched

📲 RESOURCES & LINKS Free Youth Ministry Curriculum → https://multiply.life All Links → https://linktr.ee/StackingChairsPod Join Our Facebook Group → https://facebook.com/groups/1371987896934818 Instagram → https://instagram.com/wol.youthministries Facebook → https://facebook.com/wolyouthministries YouTube → https://youtube.com/@wolyouthministries Website → https://youthministry.wol.org

Stacking Chairs is a Multiply Youth Ministry Podcast from Word of Life. It's for leaders who show up early, stay late, and want to do more than survive ministry—they want to do it with purpose. Join Josh and Kyle for real conversations, practical insight, and encouragement that hits where you live.

Keep stacking those chairs! 🪑

🙌 GET YOUR FREE YOUTH MINISTRY SERIES: https://multiply.life

📅 New episodes drop the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month!

What if church wasn't built on programs, but on real community? In this episode, Josh and Kyle sit down with Ander Chen of Acts 2 Network to unpack how their ministry reaches college students, disciples them intentionally, and raises up lifelong kingdom workers—all without a cookie-cutter system.

They talk about life-on-life discipleship, bivocational ministry, and why college ministry might be the most overlooked but strategic age group in the church today. Whether you're a youth leader, a college student, or just wondering what church could look like, this conversation will challenge you to go deeper than just "doing church."

• Why college students are often spiritually hungry—and often forgotten • The power of life-on-life discipleship over flashy programming • How Acts 2 Network plants ministries by prioritizing relationships • Challenges of discipling intellectual, searching students • Preparing high school students for spiritual life in college • What bivocational ministry looks like in real life • Why true discipleship starts with faithfulness, not excellence

📲 RESOURCES & LINKS Free Youth Ministry Curriculum → https://multiply.life All Links → https://linktr.ee/StackingChairsPod Join Our Facebook Group → https://facebook.com/groups/1371987896934818 Instagram → https://instagram.com/wol.youthministries Facebook → https://facebook.com/wolyouthministries YouTube → https://youtube.com/@wolyouthministries Website → https://youthministry.wol.org Explore Acts 2 Network → https://acts2.network

Stacking Chairs is a Multiply Youth Ministry Podcast created by Word of Life. Whether you're leading a youth group, running a camp, or showing up early to set out chairs, this podcast is for you. Join hosts Josh and Kyle as they equip and encourage ministry leaders to keep showing up—faithfully, relationally, and biblically.

Keep stacking those chairs! 🪑

🙌 GET YOUR FREE YOUTH MINISTRY SERIES: https://multiply.life

📅 New episodes drop the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month!

Episode Summary: In a world focused on speed and numbers, what if the biggest ministry impact comes from just one conversation?

Josh and Kyle dive deep into the value of one-on-one discipleship—sharing how they're building relationships with students, earning trust with parents, and prioritizing meaningful connection in a busy ministry world. This episode will leave you challenged, encouraged, and ready to start small for big impact.

Key Talking Points: • The power of one-on-one discipleship • Practical ways to meet with students • Earning trust from parents and setting wise boundaries • Learning through brokenness and humility • Encouragement to "start with one" • The difference small meetings can make in a student's faith journey

📲 RESOURCES & LINKS Free Youth Ministry Curriculum → https://multiply.life All Links → https://linktr.ee/StackingChairsPod Join Our Facebook Group → https://facebook.com/groups/1371987896934818 Instagram → https://instagram.com/wol.youthministries Facebook → https://facebook.com/wolyouthministries YouTube → https://youtube.com/@wolyouthministries Website → https://youthministry.wol.org

About Stacking Chairs: A Multiply Youth Ministry Podcast from Word of Life, created to equip and encourage youth leaders. Whether you're leading a youth group, camp, or anything in between—we're here to talk real ministry, real impact, and the people who literally stack the chairs.

Keep stacking those chairs!

SIGN UP NOW AND CLAIM YOUR FREE SERIES FOR ANY AGE GROUP IN YOUTH MINISTRY: https://multiply.life

New episodes drop on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month!

Episode Summary:

If you're navigating multiple callings, limited time, or trying to make sense of Gen Alpha's world (Skibidi what??), this episode will encourage and equip you.

In this episode of Stacking Chairs, Josh and Kyle candidly share their own experiences with bi-vocational ministry—what it looks like, the struggles, and the unexpected blessings. They also dive into a timely conversation about the emerging Gen Alpha generation, what's changing in youth culture, and how leaders can prepare to reach and disciple this new wave of students.

Key Talking Points: - What bi-vocational ministry really looks like today - Encouragement for leaders serving without a full-time ministry role - The growing need to celebrate and honor volunteer leaders - Why Gen Alpha is different—and what it means for your youth ministry - Generational dynamics in today's church - Practical tips for preparing your ministry to engage Gen Alpha effectively - The importance of relational ministry across generational divides

Great Youth Ministry Resources: https://multiply.life

Join the Conversation: Are you navigating bi-vocational ministry or already seeing shifts with Gen Alpha students? We'd love to hear your experiences! Share with us in the comments or on social media. Let's grow and learn together.

Find all things Stacking Chairs: https://linktr.ee/StackingChairsPod Join our Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/1371987896934818 Instagram: @wol.youthministries Facebook: facebook.com/wolyouthministries YouTube: youtube.com/@wolyouthministries Website: youthministry.wol.org

About Stacking Chairs: Welcome to Stacking Chairs: A Multiply Youth Ministry Podcast. We're here to equip and inspire youth leaders—whether you're running a youth group, a camp, or any ministry that reaches students for Christ. With practical insights and real-life stories, we celebrate those who get there early, stay late, and literally stack the chairs. Join us as we challenge and encourage one another to lead well and impact the next generation. Keep stacking those chairs!

New episodes drop on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month!

Episode Summary: What happens when church culture replaces the Gospel with rules? Pastor and podcaster JC Groves joins the show to talk about growing up in a legalistic system—where modesty meant swimming in jeans and salvation meant constant fear.

This isn't just JC's story. It's the story of students sitting in your youth group, quietly wondering if they'll ever be "enough." And if we're not careful, legalism becomes the gateway drug to deconstruction.

This week on Stacking Chairs, we get honest about spiritual trauma, identity crises, and how Jesus sets us free—not through rebellion, but through real discipleship.

Key Talking Points:

• The hidden harm of man-made religion 🎭

• Why legalism leaves students feeling afraid and fake 🧱

• Deconstruction vs. Gospel reconstruction 🛠️

• What it means to actually disciple students 🧑‍🏫

• The freedom found in grace, not performance 🙌

Great Youth Ministry Resources: 📚 Curriculum & Tools – Everything you need to lead well

Let's Talk: Ever watched a student walk away from church because of legalism? You're not alone. Jump into the conversation on the Stacking Chairs Facebook group or DM us on Instagram.

🎧 Find everything here → linktr.ee/StackingChairsPod

About Stacking Chairs: Stacking Chairs is the Multiply Youth Ministry Podcast. We celebrate the leaders who show up early, stay late, and live to see every student grow in Christ. With real stories, practical wisdom, and honest conversations, we're here to help you build deep and engaging youth ministries.

Special Thanks: Powered by Word of Life Youth Ministries—on mission to help every student, everywhere, grow in their walk with Christ.

📅 New episodes drop on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month!

In this episode of Stacking Chairs, Josh and Kyle sit down with veteran youth pastor Chris Bowles to tackle the problem of "winging it" on Wednesday nights. Chris unpacks how a clear, written strategy moves students from unreached guests to core disciples and keeps ministry healthy when staff transition. Drawing on decades of local church experience and new tools from Word of Life, he explains how intentional planning frees leaders from burnout, empowers volunteers, and delivers consistent discipleship long after any one pastor leaves.

✅ Four levels of student growth – unreached, uncommitted, committed, core ✅ Personality driven ministry versus plan driven ministry ✅ Simple calendar hacks that ensure weekly touch points beyond Wednesday night ✅ Training volunteers to disciple so the pastor is not the bottleneck ✅ Metrics that matter more than attendance ✅ How Word of Life coaching and resources give churches a ready made roadmap

✅ Youth Ministry Curriculum & Tools (start for free): https://multiply.life

🔗 Find all things Stacking Chairs at: https://linktr.ee/StackingChairsPod 📱 Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1371987896934818 📸 Instagram: @wol.youthministries 👍 Facebook: facebook.com/wolyouthministries ▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/@wolyouthministries 🌐 Website: youthministry.wol.org

Welcome to Stacking Chairs: A Multiply Youth Ministry Podcast. We're here to equip and inspire youth leaders whether you run a youth group, a camp, or any ministry that reaches students for Christ. With practical insights and real life stories, we celebrate those who get there early, stay late, and literally stack the chairs. Join us as we encourage one another to lead well and impact the next generation. Keep stacking those chairs!

This episode is brought to you by Word of Life Youth Ministries. We help churches build deep and engaging youth ministries through coaching, curriculum, and creative Gospel events. Learn more about how we are on a mission to ensure Every Student, Everywhere Is Growing in Their Walk With Christ at Word of Life Youth Ministries.