The Sidekick Podcast

Volunteer recruitment. Those 2 words alone can make a ministry leader cringe. Why? Because it is tough. For starters, there are never enough volunteers to go around. Secondly, recruiting volunteers can be a real challenge. That is why Nick Blevins is back on the podcast. Nick is the Next Gen Pastor at Community Christian Church in Baltimore, MD to talk about strategies on how to best recruit and develop volunteers for your

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! What are some to the strategies you use to recruit volunteers for your ministry? Share below or on Twitter using #ymsidekick when you post.

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

* VOLUNTEER PLAYBOOK. Learn more about the Volunteer Playbook Group and get on the waitlist now for the next group starting up 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. 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.

There are some great leaders and people who share leadership ideas in the ministry world. Brian Dodd is one of them. Brian is the Director of New Ministry Relationships for Injoy Stewardship Solutions where they help churches fully-fund their mission and vision. But that, as he says, is his “day job”.

I met Brian through reThink and the Orange Conference (we both blog for them). Brian has a fantastic blog called “Brian Dodd on Leadership“. He helps people be ministry be the leader they can be and grow in that leadership position. And, he has a NEW book out on 10 enduring principles of APEX leaders. It’s called “Timeless” (if you order from the link you can save 25% and get FREE shipping).

In this episode we talk about the book and cover 2 of the 10 principles and how they have played out in his life.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! What are some leadership principles you have adapted into your life and how have they helped you be a better leader? Share below or on Twitter using #ymsidekick when you post.

* If you want to connect with Brian 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. 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.

Now that Easter is over, what does your Church do? Is there anything your Church and your ministry can do now to maximize the momentum you may have right now? There are actually 4 key dates between Easter and the 4th of July that your Church can target and use to keep that momentum going.

To discuss and brainstorm different ideas your Church or ministry can be doing is Stan Rodda. Stan has been a Campus Pastor for many years and has a lot of experience leading Churches and ministries. In today’s episode, Stan and I talk about 4 specific calendar dates that your Church can use in different ways.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! How do you use these 4 days? What have you done in the past or are planning on doing this year? 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.

* 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 Orange Conference is a month away! It is truly one of the annual events I go to that I look forward to every year. I believe it is one of the best conferences put on by any group I have ever been to.

Going with me again this year is Cory Sullivan. So, in this episode Cory and I talk through what we are excited about this year with the Orange Conference, tips for how you can prepare for it (and conferences in general), and things you can be looking forward to. With a theme of “One Voice: We Can Do More Together” it is sure to be another great year at the Orange Conference.

ACTION STEPS:

* How do you prepare for a conference? What do you look forward to doing? Share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick to share. 

* You can still register for the Orange Conference. Simply click this link.

* As always, 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.

* 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.

Facebook is an amazing network where you can connect with friends and family from all over the world.

What is also great about it is that you can use it to help other people as well. For instance, Heather Smith, part of our Outreach team at New Life, used Facebook to help a person in need recently. Not only did it help this person, it actually brought a new opportunity for the Church to get to know many other people in the community.

So in this episode I take to Heather about why she choose to use Facebook to reach out to this community member and how that has brought about a whole new outreach to the community that is growing.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your story! If you have used Facebook in some way to help your neighbors or community, share it with us and on social media using #ymsidekick when you share on Twitter.

* If you would like to connect with Heather to find out more about what is happening because of this outreach, feel free to email her.

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

Assimilation. That is a key word in making sure that people coming for the first time or two to your Church are getting connected. So how do you make sure you connect them? What is your assimilation process?

Today I have Marcy Carrico on the podcast. Marcy is an Executive Assistant at the Church at Clayton Crossings in North Carolina. She works with social media, the website and database management (something for another podcast episode).

So, today, Tom and Marcy talk about:

* what she does and how she got involved in Church communications

* why she is passionate about Assimilation

* what is the “big rock” for your Church

* different ways to follow up with people on Monday

* what follow up gets the better response and why

* how a database can help you follow up

* why a phone call can be very important

* is there value to a Pastor making a phone call to connect

* the danger to a Pastor giving access to others

* the tension between online connect cards and automated responses

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! How do you use assimilation and connect people in your Church? Share your thoughts on what you are doing and how it is going.

* If you want to connect with Marcy, check her out on Facebook. You can also check out her website as well. She loves blogging about assimilation and Church databases. It is great stuff!

* 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.

It doesn’t take rocket science to know that there is no guaranteed “safe place”. As much as we make a school safe or a Church safe there are no guarantees. Tragedy will happen again and our students and those we are ministering to are going to have to deal with a range of emotions and thoughts. So how can we be preparing for that now?

That is why Tom brings Ben Kerns back to the podcast. In this episode, Ben and Tom talk about what ministers and Churches can do to help students and those they are ministering to deal with all that is going on in this world today. There are no set answers but hopefully the discussion will bring about a good conversation you can have with your ministry staff and volunteers on what you can do today in case the next time one of these tragedies happen hits too close to home.

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! 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 (sorry folks, no Twitter for him unfortunately), 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.

Pastors work really hard and spend lots of hours on their message. So it would be a real waste if they just shared it once and then it was forgotten about and not used again. Wouldn’t it be great to find ways to maximize the message more than just to share on Sunday and get more bang for the buck?

That is why Ben Stapley is back on the podcast. Ben is the Creative Arts Pastor at Liquid Church in New Jersey. Ben has a lot of experience running  So, today, Tom and Ben talk about:

* what Ben does and why he tries to maximize as much content as possible

* how they maximize their message

* how to cut up and post a message throughout the week (words, images, and videos)

* how you can keep content flowing all week long from the message

* how you can take a message and make it into a Group curriculum or book for your Church

* how to cross promote your content on multiple channels to increase awareness

* how to leverage your worship and music

* how to maximize the service experience

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! How do you maximize your message at your Church? What do you do? Share your thoughts on what you are doing and how it is going.

* If you want to connect with Ben, check him out on Facebook or on Twitter. You can also check out his website as well. He is very active on social media so definitely 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.

Are you doing Church Online? If so, what does it look like? What tools do you use? What is your mission – global or more local? One thing that I have discovered doing Church Online for the past 4 years is that Church Online looks different at every Church that is doing it. The way we do it is different than the way Jay Kranda and Saddleback Church does it which is different from the way that Jeremy Henderson and Lake Pointe Church does it.

Church Online is every evolving and changing just as technology changes and evolves. And, that is a great thing. Enter Chris Norris. Chris is the Online Site Pastor at McLane Church in Erie, PA.

Today Chris and I sit down and talk about how they do Church Online at their Church. In addition, we also talk about…

* What is life like living in Erie, PA in the winter

* Chris’ background and he got started in Ministry

* How he got involved in his Church (the location was not a school or Church building)

* What was the original vision of the online campus at his Church

* What does his Church Online look like for them

* How they do Simulated Live services

* How they use technology to get the same message each week for all their Campuses

* Break down how they do their Church Online experience (volunteers, tech, etc).

* What is one of the goals he has for Church Online at McLane.

* How has their reach been – who have they been reaching

* What their next step is for their online ministry

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! How do you do Church Online? Share your thoughts on what you are doing and how it is going.

* 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.

* 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.

Children’s Ministry is something we don’t talk about very much on the podcast as we tend to focus on online tools and student ministry strategies. However, in our continued series on analytics, we talk to Dave Maddron about Children’s Ministry. Dave is a Children’s Minister at First Baptist Church Lees Summit. He is also an Orange Blogger taking about Children’s Ministry topics.

Today Dave and I sit down and talk about…

* Dave’s background in Children’s Ministry – it wasn’t a very direct route.

* What does his Children’s Ministry set up look like at his Church

* What analytics does Dave look at (it’s not all about attendance)

* How he uses social media to reach parents

* How he uses Facebook Groups for his ministry and leaders

* What other data does Dave looks for his ministry

* What digital tools he uses to advertise events

* How he uses Facebook Live

ACTION STEPS:

* Share your thoughts! What are the analytics do you track as a Children’s Minister? Share your thoughts.

* If you want to connect with Dave you can read his blog here. You can also find him on Twitter. She is very active on social media so definitely her him up if you have a question. Definitely check out his podcast as well on his blog!

* 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.