The Sidekick Podcast

Even though more Churches than ever have an element of Church Online these days, there are still some Lead Pastors and Leadership Teams who are hesitant to start doing church online for our Church. There are a variety of reasons why they feel this way.

I have heard a bunch of these over the years and so has Jeff Reed. That is why I invited him back to the podcast. Jeff has been on the forefront of using online tools to reach people for Christ being a former Online Pastor who now leads up The Church Digital. He joins me today to talk about what to do when your Lead Pastor or Church Leadership is hesitant to start up Church Online for your Church.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! Have you had to deal with Church Leadership or a Lead Pastor who was hesitant to start up Church Online? What did you do? Share below or on Twitter using #ymsidekick when you post.

* If you want to connect with Jeff you can read his 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.

* The Twitter Advantage – Some churches are giving up on Twitter and that’s a mistake. This platform has unique advantages over other social platforms and can be leveraged to bring people from your community through your church’s front door. Discover how Twitter can be one of the most effective tools in your communications tool box.

* 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.

What’s your end game with high school students? How can you best set up your high school students, in particular, your seniors to win and be successful in college?

If you haven’t figured it out, hopefully, after this conversation, you will have some great ideas. That is why I asked Charlie Conder on to the podcast. Charlie works for Orange and is an Orange Specialist for Students but is also a certified Executive and Ministry Coach.

Today, she and I talk to her friend and former student about how student ministries can best set up high school seniors for success in college.

ACTION STEPS:

* What do you think? How do you take care of yourself in the midst of crazy ministry season? Share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick to share. 

* If you want to connect with Charlie, you can a few different ways.  She’s has a website where you connect with her about Ministry Coaching. Although she doesn’t blog enough

Branding is so important these days. Whether it is for personal use, a small business or a Church. Your brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies you and sets you apart from others. Once you have the right branding, having the a website and social content strategy is also important.

While branding, website development and social strategy are important to you, your business or Church, it can be rather costly. That is where the Good Work Agency comes into play.

Led by one of the best, most recognized Church Communications Specialists in the Country, Katie Allred, the Good Work Agency is based out of the University of Mobile. They are college students who are putting their classroom learnings into practice by helping your church, small business or non-profit affordably get new branding, socal media content or web development so that you can be more effective. They personally helped me rebrand YM Sidekick for a very affordable price.

So today, Katie and I talk about what they do, why they do it and how they can help you.

What do you think? Can the Good Work Agency help you? Share your thoughts below or on social media using #ymsidekick so we can all learn from each other.   

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! Have you used the Good Works Agency at all? If so, how have they helped you? Share your thoughts and insights below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick when you post.

* Connect with Katie: Katie is a great resource and you can find her here or at the Church Communications page here.  You can also follow her on Twitter here. She’s a great resource so hit her up and pick her 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 here.

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

Is Vocational Student Ministry here to stay? That is a question that has been asked time and time again over the years. And, it has been a question Ben Kerns and I have talked about over the years as we have each been involved in student ministry for over 20 years.

As a point of reference to the conversation, Ben wrote a blog post on his site entitled, “Why vocational youth ministry will be here FOREVER!!!!

Whether you are a Student Minister, Campus Pastor, Family Minister or Church Communicator, communications is KEY to your ministry. You need to be able to get information out not just to those you are ministering to but to the whole Church as well. So how is the best way to do that? What the communications request process you go through? That seems to be the stumbling block for many churches out there.

That is why Justin Dean joins the podcast today. Justin is the Co-Founder of That Church Conference, author of PR Matters, runs SundayU and the Sunday to Sunday Facebook Group. He has a background in Church Communications and basically bleeds Church Communications.

Today Justin joins the podcast to talk  a new request form he and his team developed designed specifically for Churches. It’s called Request Forms (go figure) and can be found at Church Comm Tools.

ACTION STEPS:

* What stood out to you from this conversation? What communications request process do you use? How is it working?  Share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick to share. 

* If you want to connect with Justin you can find him on Twitter, connect with him on any of the above links. 

* 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.

Ministry is tough. That is why its important to take a vacation or two during the course of the year. While vacations are so important to your personal and ministry health, is it possible to fully disconnect from work during your vacation?

That is why Cory Sullivan is here on the podcast today. Today we talk about vacation and if and when it is OK to work on vacation. For example, if you work on vacation, when do you work? How long do you work? What are the general rules of thumb when you do this?

Find out all this and more in today’s podcast.

ACTION STEPS:

* What about you? Have you ever worked during vacation? If so, when and how do you do it? Share them with us 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 NOW 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).

The Online Ministry community is a wonderful community. They are so helpful and encouraging. Through a mutual friend, Jeff Reed, I came across Rey De Armas., the Church Online Pastor at Christ Fellowship in Miami, Florida.

Today Rey and I talk about the numerous workplace opportunities people have and how using digital and online tools, you can help them share about Christ effectively, creatively and quite honestly, very simply.

Find out the ways you can set your online community up to be ministering in their workplaces in today’s podcast.

ACTION STEPS:

* What do you think? How are you using online tools to set people up to minister in their workplace?  Share them with us on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick to share. 

* Rey is a great resource. If you have question or thoughts, connect with him on Twitter here. And listen to TheChurch.Digital podcast with him and Jeff Reed here.

* 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 NOW 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).

Unity is a key in ministry. You want unity in your leadership team, unity in those you are reaching, and unity in your staff. If there is disunity, it can cause some real problems in your ministry.

That is why Cory Sullivan is here on the podcast today. Today we talk about what causes disunity on your teams, especially in Family Ministry departments and how to overcome that disunity and unite the overall team.

One of the ways you can do that is through the Orange Tour. Whether you go to the Orange Conference or not, we really value the Orange Tour and seek to go every year to that as well. Why would we go both each year? Primarily because of how it helps our ministries grow and develop. But another reason why we choose to go is because it can unite our team and our Family Ministry.

Find out how in today’s podcast.

ACTION STEPS:

* What about you? How do you unite your department? What do you do?  Share them with us on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick to share. 

* Sign up for the Orange Tour on June 13th and save!

* 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 NOW 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).

Starting a Church is hard and it is not for everyone. But there are some people that God calls to be Church Planters. So how do you start it effectively? What kind of training and tools can you get that can help you?

Sean Cronin from Passion 4 Planting joins me today on the podcast. Today we talk about what Passion 4 Planting does and how their FREE resources, Assessment, Bootcamp and Distance Residency Cohort can help you plant successfully.

We spend a great amount to time talking about the Distance Residency Cohort and starting a church effectively as a Church Planter.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! Are you thinking about staring a Church? What are you looking to do to get the training the equipping to launch successfully? Have you looked into Passion 4 Planting. Share your thoughts and insights below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick.

* Connect with Sean: Sean is a wonderful ministry resource, especially for Church Planters. If you would like to connect with him, check him out on Twitter.

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe or NOW 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).

“Go where kids are”. That has been the mantra of student ministry since Young Life popularized it. The basis was that teens were no longer coming to Church so if you wanted to reach them, you had to go where they were to meet them, build relationships with them and lead them to Christ.

But what happens in the digital world we live in today where smartphones and social media has taken over students lives? Can you still meet them where they are at?

That is why Ben Kerns is back on the podcast. Ben wrote a blog post on his site entitled, “It is impossible to do ministry where your students live :(” stating that we are no longer welcome in the world of students and we have to find new ways to reach them. So how do we do that? What can we do? That is what Ben and I talk about in today’s podcast.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! What do you do to reach students where they are at in today’s world? Share your thoughts and insights below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick.

* Connect with Ben: Ben is a great friend and a tremendous ministry resource. If you would like to connect with Ben, you can a few different ways.  He’s on Twitter as well as his blogs – Average Youth Ministry (more student ministry focused) and Benjamin Kerns (more leadership focused) with tons of great insights each week.

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe or NOW 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).