The Sidekick Podcast

Ministry is great and there is so much great stuff that can come with God’s blessings, direction and your hard work. However, as great as ministry can be, where ministry and a “regular job” differs is that ministry isn’t a 9 to 5 job. You are always “on” when you work in ministry no matter what your job is.

Having a mindset and culture in your Church of always being “on” can cause many boundaries to get blurred. So what can you do? Do you just deal with it because you are in ministry or is there something you can do so you don’t get destroyed and lose everything (health, marriage, family, life, etc)? Thankfully Jeanette Yates joins me today as we talk about setting up boundaries so you can be healthy at home and on the job.

In addition to this, I hit up Jeanette with 3 quotes from That Church Conference 2019 and get her fresh takes from them. Make sure you check out That Church Conference as it’s a great conference for Church Communicators.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! What about you? How are you setting up boundaries so that you can be successful in life and ministry? Share below or on Twitter using #ymsidekick when you post.

* If you want to connect with Jeanette you can listen to her podcast here or you can find her on Twitter. She is very active on social media, especially on Twitter so get in touch with her.

* Facebook Group! Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers.

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe to the podcast and see what cool things we do each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

Sex addition is nothing new. In a world that glorifies sex in so many different ways, it can be tough to combat it as a family and ministry. Especially with the proliferation of smartphones since 2007, access to porn and inappropriate content is increasingly available to anyone…even children. So what can you do as a minister to help?

Today, Ryan Sebastian, a Student Minister in North Carolina joins me to talk about 4 ways to help sex addition in your student ministry. In this podcast we do talk about Covenant Eyes, a great tool for parents and ministers to use. You can learn more about it here.

ACTION STEPS:

* What about you? What are some ways to help sex addiction that your ministry is doing? I would love to know. And, if you have another tool that you use other than Covenant Eyes please share that as well. You can share all of this below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick to share. 

* It was great talking to Ryan. If you would like to connect with him, you can on on his Facebook Page and Instagram. He has a ton of great content on there and you can find his podcast up there as well.

* Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers.

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe or on Spotify to see what great things we talk about each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

* If you have an idea for a topic for a future podcast episode, email him here.

* Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).

Social Media is a great tool for student ministers to use. However, just like so many great tools, it can cause a lot of problems. This is true here. Social media allows student ministry leaders to connect with students at any time. The problem is that sometimes student ministry leaders don’t alway use their own personal social media effectively.

So what are appropriate student ministries leader expectations for social media? Cory Sullivan joins me on the podcast to talk about just this as we have had various conversations with student ministry leaders and their social platforms. We will share our expectations and our interactions with leaders about this.

ACTION STEPS:

* What about you? What are your leader expectations for student ministry leaders in regards to social media? I would love to know. Share it with us below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick to share. 

* Cory is a great resource and you can find him blogging here.  You can also follow him on Twitter here. He’s a great resource so hit him up and pick his brain.

* Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers.

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe or on Spotify to see what great things we talk about each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

* If you have an idea for a topic for a future podcast episode, email him here.

* Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).

Recently Apple, Inc. had their annual fall iPhone event. It is their biggest event of the year each year. In addition to giving more specifics about Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ this year, they released an updated iPad, Apple Watch and iPhone.

While some people were really excited about the news, there were some who were not as excited. One of those people is Jeff Reed. Jeff loves all things Apple, but this event did nothing for him. The reason for that was because he felt like it lacked Innovation, something that Apple used to do.

So today Jeff and I discuss the Apple Event but, more importantly, talk about the church and innovation. We talk about different ways they have recently and how they can continue to innovate with technology in the future.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! How do you feel about innovation and the Church? Are we doing enough? Share below or on Twitter using #ymsidekick when you post.

* If you want to connect with Jeff you can read his podcast and blog here or you can find him on Twitter. He is very active on social media so definitely hit him up if you have a question.

* Facebook Group! Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers.

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe or on Spotify to see what great things we talk about each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

* If you have an idea for a topic for a future podcast episode, email here.

* Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).

Recently Carey Nieuwhof did a podcast where he talked about how we have created a completely downloadable experience for Church these days. And, to some degree, that is needed. But, as he shares, we need to create experiences in our physical churches as well.

With this as the backdrop, Adam McLaughlin, who has been traveling around America and Canada for much of the past 12 months, shared in a blog post about his visit Churches and how they have created experiences at their Churches that helped to keep people coming back to their Churches. So today Adam and I talk it in this podcast episode.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! What kind of experiences are you creating that are bringing people back to your physical Church?

* If you want to connect with Adam you can read his blog here and gets some great FREE ebooks here. You can also find him on Twitter. He is very active on social media so definitely hit him up if you have a question.

* Facebook Group! Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers.

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe or on Spotify to see what great things we talk about each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

* If you have an idea for a topic for a future podcast episode, email him here.

* Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).

When you are communicating in your ministry, are you seeking to communicate and engage with people or are you simply pushing product. And when I am talking about pushing product, I’m referring to events and activities that your ministry is doing.

That is why Meagan Ranson is on the podcast today. I have known of Meagan for a few years now as I’ve seen her on Twitter and helping out with Facebook groups. However, this is the first time I’ve been able to connect with her for the podcast. Today she and I talk about different Church communications trends as well as what she will be talking about at That Church Conference. You can watch her and many others share at the conference for just $17! It’s a great deal, you get it here. But today, discover how you can engage with people over product when you share on social media.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! How do you choose people over product? Share below or on Twitter using #ymsidekick when you post.

* If you want to connect with Meagan you can find her on Twitter. She is very active on social media so definitely hit her up if you have a question.

* Facebook Group! Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers.

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe to the podcast and see what cool things we do each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

Whether it is an admin person, a part-time person or a full-time person, by God’s good graces you will have a chance to hire someone to help you in your Church or ministry. But how do you make sure this new hire is set up effectively so that they can succeed in their position? It all begins with how you onboard them into your staff.

Today, Stan Rodda joins me on the podcast to talk through how to effectively onboard a new hire into your staff. Why Stan? Because he just had to do this recently. So Stan and I share our experiences as we discuss what needs to happen the first few days and weeks to set this new hire up for success.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! How have you effectively onboard a new hire? Share below or on Twitter using #ymsidekick when you post.

* If you want to connect with Stan you can read his blog and listen to his podcast here or you can find him on Twitter. He is very active on social media so definitely hit him up if you have a question.

* XXXIII Apparel. Great deals on custom apparel that Stan does. There are some great designs here.

* Facebook Group! Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers.

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe to the podcast and see what cool things we do each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

Having a website for your Church or ministry is so important in today’s world. Once you have it all set up, how do you optimize it for next steps? What can you do to make sure people visiting your website don’t just stay on your website but take a next step to something else?

In today’s podcast, Justin Nava returns and talks about optimizing your website effectively so people know how and can take a next step and get more involved in your Church. Justin is a website specialist with years of experience working with Churches on this very issues. See what your Church can do today.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! Are you optimizing your website for next steps that people can take? Share your thoughts and experiences by posting on Twitter using the hashtag #ymsidekick to share.

* Justin is a great resource. So, if you have any website, SEO or any other church communication question, you need to connect with him. You can find him on his website and you can see some of what he does at Church Training Academy. You can also connect with him on Twitter.

* Facebook Group! Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers.

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe to the podcast and see what cool things we do each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

College is often viewed upon by many as some of their greatest years of their lives. I know it was great for me. However, what many of us fail to remember about college is that the first year can sometimes be a very hard year. It’s a year of transition that can be tough.

While it is challenging, what makes it even tougher is that there are not a lot of resources for college students to learn from about this year of adjustment.

That is why Crystal Chiang is on the podcast today. She just recently wrote a book with Gerald Fadayomi called “Starting Now“. It is a 30 day devotional that college students start on day 1 of their college career and is designed for them to get focused on what is most important those first few weeks of school. In addition, students and mentors can sign up for On My Team. It’s a great way to connect leaders and mentors with college students.

In this episode Crystal and I talk about what the devotional is about, how it was put together and how it can help college students.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! What resources do you give college students so that they can be successful their freshman year? Share below or on Twitter using #ymsidekick when you post.

* If you want to connect with Crystal, you can find her on Twitter. She is very active on social media so definitely hit her up if you have a question.  Or you can check out her blog as well. She posts regularly there.

* Facebook Group! Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers. If you are a ministry leader or volunteer, this is the group just for you!

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe to the podcast and see what cool things we do each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

Camp happens every year. You know when it is happening and there are things to get accomplished throughout the year to make it successful. Yet, no matter how much you prepare for camp all year long, at some point or another it gets to be crunch time and a week to 10 days away you enter a “Go” time frame that is just intense while you try to get things done.

So how do you handle that and what do you do to make sure your camp trip is a success and you do not forget untying? Enter Cory Sullivan. Cory joins me on the podcast as we talk about last minute camp preparations you can be doing to make sure it is a successful camp trip.

In this podcast we will walk through the last 2 weeks before a camp trip for him and what that looks like.

ACTION STEPS:

* What about you? What is on your last minute camp preparation checklist? Share it with us below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick to share. 

* Cory is a great resource and you can find him blogging here.  You can also follow him on Twitter here. He’s a great resource so hit him up and pick his brain.

* Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group to learn how to be more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers.

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe or on Spotify to see what great things we talk about each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it.

* If you have an idea for a topic for a future podcast episode, email him here.

* Sign up for the Sidekick Scoop to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).