Switch Leader Podcast

In the final week of Gospel Shaped Relationships, Josh and Kaitlyn unpack “Without Hindrance” and why the greatest hindrance to our influence is pride, whether it shows up as arrogance or insecurity. Looking at Paul proclaiming the gospel boldly even under house arrest, they explore what it looks like to live with humble confidence and to see people the way Jesus does. Switch Leaders will leave with practical questions to help students name their pride and insecurity, plus a challenge for the week. It’s also a reminder that you can only dare students toward being one degree more devoted if that devotion is alive in you through your own spiritual disciplines.

In week three of Gospel Shaped Relationships, Josh Baldwin and Kaitlyn Caffrey tackle the topic of influence through the story of Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8. They unpack three filters for distinguishing godly influence from worldly influence - serving others versus elevating self, God’s will versus personal desire, and integrity versus approval, and challenge leaders to examine their own influence with the students they shepherd. A powerful reminder that the Kingdom of God expands when leaders lead with godly influence, and a call to use the influence you’ve been entrusted with to love students the way Jesus does.

Week two of Gospel Shaped Relationships takes Switch Leaders into Acts 2:42-47 to see what it looks like for the early church to be devoted to Jesus together. Kaitlyn and Josh walk through the 3-2-1 for this week's message: three barriers to godly community (the enemy's plan, pride, and past pains), three truths to live into, and two small group questions to get students talking honestly. Then comes the challenge: leaders go first by picking one thing to be devoted to for a week, then walking alongside their students as they do the same.

Switch Leaders, we're kicking off Gospel Shaped Relationships and stepping into the book of Acts. Josh and Kaitlyn unpack Acts 1:8 and why Jesus chose the word "witness," not expert, debater, or scholar, for the people He sends. When Jesus changes your life, you can't keep it to yourself, whether that's the day He saved you or the way He's still changing you today. Kaitlyn challenges us to go first: if Wednesday night is the only place we talk about what God is doing in our lives, it's time to take our story further, starting with a simple "I was, but God, and now" testimony.

SwitchFest is this week's big bring-in night, and Josh and Kaitlyn unpack the message students will hear. We'll be teaching on doubt, built around John 20 and Thomas's encounter with the resurrected Jesus. This episode reminds us that doubt isn't disqualifying but can actually be a doorway to deeper faith, along with practical ideas on how to sit with a student's hard questions without rushing to "fix" them. It's a strong reminder that your job in small group isn't to erase every doubt — it's to be a safe, present guide as students bring their questions to God, process them with people they trust, and choose to keep following Jesus.

Fresh off The Bash where 420 students said yes to Jesus, Josh and Kaitlyn dig into why how we follow up matters just as much as the bring-in moment itself — walking through Switch's bring in, build up, train, send out strategy and landing on the core truth of Ephesians 2: we're not saved by good works, but when we're saved, it's time to get to work. Leaders will walk away with a clear, practical framework for coaching students toward one gospel conversation a day, plus language for helping students name the insecurities that keep them silent about their faith. It's a great reminder that this challenge starts with us — if we want students practicing gospel conversations, we have to be having them too.

This week's Switch experience is The Bash — a party with a purpose, and this year that purpose is preparing Switch Leaders for one of the most important conversations you can have with a student. Josh and Kaitlyn walk through Stay Here's ACT training (Ask, Convince, Take Action), modeled after Jesus's own approach to the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5. You'll learn how to ask the hard question with compassion instead of shame, how to convince a student that their life is worth living, and how to walk alongside them toward real help and healing. This episode is a summary — not a substitute — for the full ACT training linked below, which every leader should complete before Bash night.

Switch Leaders close out "The God Revealed in Jesus" with the Gospel of John, tackling a question every student wrestles with: how do you know someone is who they say they are? Josh and Kaitlyn walk through John 11's account of Lazarus's resurrection, showing how Jesus's words and actions consistently matched — proving He is exactly who He claimed to be. Leaders will get three powerful small group questions to carry students toward real, honest reflection: what pain are you hiding from Jesus, what limitations have you placed on His power, and who have you written off as too far gone? Plus, a challenge to stay locked in and lead well through a jam-packed, high-momentum month ahead.

This week, Switch Leaders dig into the Gospel of Luke and its bold claim: Jesus is the fulfillment of every promise God has made. Josh and Caitlin unpack Luke's introduction and Jesus' own introduction of Himself in Luke 4, where He reads a Messianic prophecy and declares, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" — then challenge leaders to set aside their own expectations of who Jesus should be so students can encounter who He really is. Leaders will walk away with a three-step framework for helping students investigate Jesus with confidence, plus a fresh challenge to keep setting the tone and holding the line in small group.

In this episode, Josh Baldwin and Kaitlyn Caffrey continue "The God Revealed in Jesus" with the Gospel of Mark, unpacking how Jesus is the Son of God and rightful King who is both all-powerful and perfectly loving. They explore why we can't have the kingdom without the King, and challenge leaders to help students wrestle with what it really means to deny themselves and follow Him. A practical conversation on submission, obedience, and pointing students toward the significant invitation Jesus extends to each of us.