The Sidekick Podcast

It is vital in today’s world to have a website that is more than just average. Whether you are a business or a Church you need to have something that communicates to their audience effectively. The problem is that technology changes regularly so staying on top of what is effective in today’s online world is vital.

That is why Justin Nava is on the podcast today. Justin is a website specialists and today he will share 3 specific website trends that he is seeing today to make sure your Church’s website is effective today.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! What website trends are you seeing today? 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 out some of his work Church Training Academy (he teased it in the podcast). 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.

Easter is coming. In fact, Easter comes every single year. With Easter being one of the biggest Sundays in the Church two really big questions need to be asked. How are you preparing for it? And, just as important, how are you going to effectively following up Easter?

Today Adam and I talk about how you can effectively plan and follow up Easter for your Church or ministry. Whether you are 1 year away, 6 months away, 1 month away or even 1 week away, there are still things you can do to effectively prepare for it and have a follow up strategy for it. Adam has a great checklist that you can incorporate in your planning to make Easter a very effective Sunday for your ministry and Church.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! Have you started to plan for Easter yet? How do you plan on following up Easter? Share your strategy and experiences.

* 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.

* To get Adam’s Easter Checklist, head over to Easter Church Marketing to download your copy.

* 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.

Student Ministry Camp trips are life changing. Whether it is a weekend trip or a week long trip, they have the potential to make life altering impacts on tweens and teens. A week long mission trip made that kind of impact in my life and I stand by taking these trips.

However, how do you do those trips? Do you use an organization that prepares the trips and organizes all the details so all you have to do is show up and enjoy? Or do you plan a camp environment yourself? Both have pros and cons to it and both can be highly impactful.

But what if you wanted to do your own camp? What do you need to think through and consider. Dan Eno is back on the podcast to talk about what we did recently to prepare for a camp we did with our student ministry. Dan is the Student Minister and Worship Leader at New Life’s Linton Hall Campus and has accompanied me on these campus visits for the past 3 years.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! Have you done your own camp before? How would you encourage someone who is considering creating and running their own student ministry camp? Share your thoughts and insights below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick.

* Connect with Dan: Dan is a great person to connect with. If you want to connect with Dan you can find him on Twitter. He is very active on social media so definitely hit him up if you have a question.

* 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.

There are some really creative people out there. In the entertainment world there are a lot of creative people out there doing fun and unique things that bring smiles and energy to their program or platform. There are also some very creative people in the ministry world as well that light up the crowd when they get on stage or in front of people.

Being creative is a great trait to have as it helps people hear about God by breaking down barriers that people who don’t know Jesus may have when they first enter a youth group environment or Church service. The problem is that not all of us are naturally gifted at being creative. So how do you become creative? And is it possible to get inspiration so you can become jazz up your programmatic part of your ministry?

That is why Cory Sullivan is back on the podcast. Today we talk about being creative, how that helps your ministry and where you can get creative inspiration so that

ACTION STEPS:

* What about you? Are you creative? How have you seen creativity help people discover God? Where do people get creative inspiration? Share your experiences 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 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.

Creating community is really important in ministry. Whether you are in a physical space or online space, Churches are always striving to build community. It is what helps people grow in their faith. Also, Churches value is the ability to create content. They create so much content. For instance, a sermon or message has so much valuable content that you can use in a variety of ways.

Enter Chris Norris. Chris is an Online Pastor at McLane Church and Social Media Consultant in Erie, Pa. He is constantly thinking of content he can create and how to engage people so that he can build community online.

That is the heart of today’s podcast. In it we talk about how you can create community around a sermon or topic. Facebook Groups and doing Facebook Live is definitely a big part of this conversation as well as how you can do this in a multisite Campus setting.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! How do you create community with the content you create? Does some work better than others?

* If you want to connect with Chris you can find him on Twitter. He’s also on Instagram as well. He is very active on social media so definitely him up if you have a question. You can also check out his blog and consulting work here.

* 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.

While millennials have gotten all the attention the past few years, there has been a new generation quietly growing up. That is Generation Z. Generation Z are those born between 1995 until now. That means people who are 24 years and younger. According to Huffington Post, by 2020 Gen Z will make up one third of the entire population of the United States. That’s a lot of people in one generation.

So, while millennials have been all most Churches have been focused on, Generation Z is here and many children and student ministers are working with them now. So who are they? What are they like?

Today, Ben Kerns is back on the podcast and we are talking about Generation Z and how to best minister to them. As a point of reference, we look at some of Ben’s recent blog posts on them (here, here, and here).

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! What have you learned about Generation Z? How are you ministering to them? 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 Email, has 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 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.

In ministry you have the tremendous opportunity to share about Christ. Whether it is from the pulpit or in a children’s ministry setting or youth setting, sharing about Christ is an honor. Well, Easter is coming! And with Easter come a tremendous opportunity for you and your ministry. It gives you a greater audience to share about Christ to.

That is why Stan Rodda is on the podcast today. He talks about how Pastors can use the pulpit (or stage) to preach with intentionality and maximize the opportunity they have on Easter Sunday (or any other Sunday). We talk about 1 of those ways today and he and Lane Sebring will talk about the 4 others when he hosts Pastor Con on Feb. 15th.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! How do you preach or share about Christ with intentionality? 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. Also sign up for Pastor Con.

* 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.

Communication is key in any profession. It is especially essential for ministry leaders. Every day there is communication that goes on. You are talking to co-workers, leaders, those you are ministering to and countless others on a regular basis. So having the right communications systems and processes up for what you want to share and how you share it is so important.

The reality is that communication has changed a lot over the past few years! What used to work years ago is not as effective as it once was. Not only do you have to have a proper plan in place, it has to be the right plan. That is why Phil Bowdle’s new book, “Rethink Communication” is so important for ministers in today’s world.

Today I am excited to have Phil on as we talk about the changing playbook for communications and how ministers can be effectively using it to reach more people with the message of Christ.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! How have you rethought communications in your ministry? Share below or on Twitter using #ymsidekick when you post.

* If you want to connect with Phil you can read his blog here and you can find his book here.

* 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.

The way we do ministry today is so different then the way we did ministry years ago. That is a no-brainer. One of the big differences in how we do ministry is that we are increasingly online. We use digital and tech tools to help expand our reach to help people experience and get to know Christ.

Discipleship is key in any ministry and the great thing with doing ministry in this day and age is that you can use digital tools to disciple others.

That is where Jeff Reed comes in. 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 his series “Church Online in 2020” and his latest ebook, “What Happens When Church Online Groups Up” which talks about digital discipleship.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! What are you doing to create Online Discipleship opportunities for your ministry? 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.

When I decided I wanted to pursue ministry as my vocation, all I wanted to do was to be a “full-time” minister. I wanted that my sole focus. While that was ideal for me and many others, that isn’t always possible. And, ironically, it may not always be best.

A growing trend in ministry right now is bi-vocational ministry. That is where Meghan Howard comes in. Meghan was a full-time minister for many years but just recently decided to go bi-vocational and it has been a great experience for her, the Church AND the community.

So, in today’s episode Meghan Howard we talk about how this opportunity came about and what the benefits are of doing bi-vocational ministry.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! Are you a bi-vocational minister? What are the good and bad of it? What would you change, if you could? Share your experiences below or on Twitter using #ymsidekick when you post.

* Meghan is a fantastic resource for digital communication so make sure you follow her on Twitter as well on the Two Church Girls and a Microphone podcast. Check out her posts, podcast and chat with her 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. 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.