The Sidekick Podcast

A new calendar year is upon us and with every new year that comes up, everyone desires to make the new year even better than the year before. For student ministers, there are two great opportunities to help make the new year a better year than every before.

Enter Terrace Crawford. Terrace is a Student Ministry veteran with a ton of experiences and a huge heart to help other student ministers. He is on the podcast today to talk about 2 great opportunities for the new year.

In today’s episode Tom and Terrace talk about:

* Terrace’s background in ministry

* What is Ministry Downloads and who is it for

* How Ministers can make some extra cash with Ministry Downloads

* What is the Youth Ministry Cohort

* Who is the Cohort for and how can it help them in the new year

If you want to connect with Terrace, you can a few different ways.  He’s on Twitter, blogs at terracecrawford.com. and podcasts as well.

Resources mentioned in this Episode

* Youth Ministry Cohort (Sponsored this episode. Great Student Ministry Coaching starting in January 2018)

* Ministry Downloads (Great resources for ministers and you can save 25% on purchases by typing YMSidekick in the coupon code section)

To email Tom some ideas on future episodes email him here.

Also, Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe to the podcast and see what cool things we do each and every week!

What do you think?  What resources do you use for your ministry? Have you ever been apart of a cohort? How did it help you? Join the conversation by sharing below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick.

 

Having a content strategy for your Church is really important for communicating your message to the masses. But how do you do it? What goes into the strategy and how does it get organized?

These are great questions that Jennifer Wilder, Digital Strategist for the reThink Group, can answer.  Some of her responsibilities include social media for Orange and heading up the Orange Leaders blog and she has a lot of experience with creating and organizing content.

In today’s episode Tom and Jen talk about:

* What Jen does for Orange and OrangeLeaders.com

* Why you should still post on Google + (even though no one is on there haha)

* Why she still uses Twitter both personally and professionally

* The breakdown of what she does with Orange Leaders and how she starts getting topics

* How she narrows down the topic list and how she adjusts for tragedies that happen all too often

* How a blog can be used as a marketing tool

* What different pieces of content do they create

* What image creation tools she uses (Adobe Spark is one of the primary ones)

* How she works with other people at Orange to get their content and “needs” out (this directly applies to Churches)

* How Churches can encourage families with their content

* Why blogging is still vital to your Church’s content strategy

* How Audio Blogs can be another way to get your content out to people in your Church.

If you want to connect with Jen, you can a few different ways.  She’s on Twitter and oversees the Orange Leaders blog that has tons of great content from from a variety of different sources.

Resources mentioned in this Episode

* Orange Leaders Blog and Audio Blog

* YMLX – Youth Ministry Leaders Exchange coming up in February

* Digital Bootcamp (FREE Facebook Group to help you improve your digital knowledge for minisry

* Youth Ministry Cohort (Sponsored this episode. Great Student Ministry Coaching starting in January 2018)

* Ministry Downloads (Great resources for ministers and you can save 25% on purchases by typing YMSidekick in the coupon code section)

So what do you think? How have you thrived during the Middle School years?  Join the conversation by sharing your thoughts and insights below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick. 

Also, Tom would love to hear from you about what you’d like a future topic to be. To email Tom some ideas 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.

The middle school years are stressful for students. But they can be very stressful for student ministers as well! So how can you not only survive the middle school years but also set it up where you, your leaders, parents and students thrive during these years? Christopher Wesley joins the podcast again to talk about his blog post, “How To Handle Middle School Students Without Going Crazy“.

In today’s podcast Tom and Chris talk about…

* What Chris has been doing lately

* Why Middle School Ministry is Important

* The value of thinking outside the box

* The value of loving on parents as well as students

* How can you connect with Christopher, keep up to date on all that is happening with Marathon Youth Ministry, and listen to The Church Podcast.

Resources mentioned in this Episode

* Orange Curriculum (Tom and Chris have both used)

* Grow Curriculum (new curriculum Tom is using)

* Digital Bootcamp (FREE Facebook Group to help you improve your digital knowledge for minisry

* Youth Ministry Cohort (Sponsored this episode. Great Student Ministry Coaching starting in January 2018)

* Ministry Downloads (Great resources for ministers and you can save 25% on purchases by typing YMSidekick in the coupon code section)

If you want to connect with Chris, you can a few different ways.  He’s on Twitter, has an awesome blog with tons of great insights each week and he also blogs at both YM360.com or DownloadYM.com

So what do you think? How have you thrived during the Middle School years?  Join the conversation by sharing your thoughts and insights below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick. 

Also, Tom would love to hear from you about what you’d like a future topic to be. To email Tom some ideas 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.

Over the past few years, more and more Churches have started live streaming. When you think of Live Stream you think about streaming your services online. But as Dave Curlee shares, there are at least 4 different ways Churches can live stream right now with limited to no money.

In today’s podcast, Tom and Dave talk about:

* What Dave does and how he got involved with that

* Why Dave views Live Streaming as vital for the Church

* The 4 different modes/variations you can live stream at your Church

If you want to connect with Justin you can find him on Twitter. You can also find him at the Church Training Academy where he and Justin Nava help to give you tools to maximize your ministry.

Also, learn more about Digital Bootcamp where any and every minister can learn great digital tools to help expand your reach and help more people come to know Christ.

So what do you think? Where are you with live streaming in your Church?  Share your thoughts and insights below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick. 

Also, Tom would love to hear from you about what you’d like a future topic to be. To email Tom some ideas email him here.

Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe (http://ht.ly/QdLHJ) 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.

“I think I might need to go to counseling”. Have you ever thought that? Better yet, have you ever been told, “maybe you should go talk about this with a counselor”. If you have thought that or been told to do that, it is never a really great feeling. But, speaking from experience, I know the tremendous benefit from going to talk to a Counselor about life and ministry.

Someone else who knows the benefit of it is Justin Knowles. Justin is the Lead Next Gen. Pastor of Christ’s Church of the Valley in San Dimas, CA. He oversees Jr. High, High School and College ministries at the church.  He is also a fantastic writer who is one of the core contributors to the Download YM blog.

Recently, Justin wrote a great blog entitled “4 Reasons Why Youth Workers Should Go To Counseling“. Although it is written toward youth ministers, this is a great blog for every ministry. In today’s podcast, Tom and Justin talk about:

* What Justin has been up to lately

* What was the basis of his post. Why did he choose to go seek counseling.

* Why Tom decided to get counseling

* The real benefits Justin and Tom have gotten from going to counseling.

If you want to connect with Justin you can find him on Twitter (twitter.com/justinknowles3). You can also find his writing at DownloadYouthMinistry.com  and follow his podcast, “The Other Student Ministry Podcast” (it’s great, by the way).

Also, learn more about Digital Bootcamp where any and every minister can learn great digital tools to help expand your reach and help more people come to know Christ.

So what do you think of the interview? Have you every been to counseling? How have you seen the benefits of it in your life?  Share your thoughts and insights below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick. 

Also, Tom would love to hear from you about what you’d like a future topic to be. To email Tom some ideas email him here.

Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe (http://ht.ly/QdLHJ) 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.

Life Groups for an Online Campuses are still relatively new and developing. How you do them, what you cover and what provider you use to do Online Life Groups varies. It really depends on what works best for your ministry.

Enter Jeremy Henderson, the Online Pastor at Lake Pointe Church just outside Dallas, Texas. He has taken a different approach to Online Life Groups recently where he has opened up online viewers to be apart of physical, in home life groups. It’s a new, fresh approach so, in this podcast, Tom and Jeremy talk about:

* How Jeremy got started with Online Church

* How Lake Pointe Church does Online Church

* How they do Online Life Groups

* Why they decided to combine some Online and Physical Life Groups together

* What it looks like to add the Online element to the Physical Life Group and how that goes over

* What is the CITN (Church IT Network) and how that helps Church Tech and Online Church Ministers

To connect with Jeremy, check him out on Twitter

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

What do you think? How does your online content help connects people to your local church? Share your experiences below or on social media using #ymsidekick so we can all learn from each other.

To email Tom some ideas on future episodes email him here.

Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe (http://ht.ly/QdLHJ) 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.

People are attending Church less and less. Those are what the stats are saying. However, while they are not attending the physical church building less and less, they are still attending Church.  How is that possible? It’s through Online Church and thinking creatively and out of the box. You can use online capabilities today to help keep members of your Church connected even if they can’t physically able to.

How are they able to do that? That is why Tom has Sly King on the podcast today. Sly is in charge of Social Media and the Online Church at the Worship Center Christian Church and is actively looking to find creative ways to use online tools to help people hear about God and grow in their faith.

In this podcast, Tom and Sly

* What Sly has been up to lately – teaching at That Church Conference

* The value of online ministry

* How online ministry connects people to the local Church

* Different ways to utilized online content to help the local church

To connect with Sly, check him out on Twitter or email him.

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

What do you think? How does your online content help connects people to your local church? Share your experiences below or on social media using #ymsidekick so we can all learn from each other.

To email Tom some ideas on future episodes email him here.

Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe (http://ht.ly/QdLHJ) 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.

I have been very blessed to have been involved in ministry for over 2 decades and have had some great ministry partners and volunteers that I have worked with. Because of that time I have a lot of moments where I think, “Remember when” and think of a great time in ministry where God has done great things and I just rejoice and thank God for the blessing.

Cory Sullivan is one of those leaders who I have been blessed to have worked with and had a lot of great moments in ministry with him. So I thought it would be great and fun to have an episode where we remember when. So that is what Cory and I do.

But there is a point to this podcast. It isn’t just a fun episode for Cory and I to talk through. It is the hope that this will inspire you to do 2 things:

* Give your “Remember When” person a call, thank them for doing ministry during that time and share the great memories God has done during that time.

* If you don’t have a “Remember When” person you do ministry with, keep praying and looking for that person. God never wants us to do ministry alone. I pray that God blesses you with that person so you look back and remember when with.

OTHER ACTION STEPS:

* 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.

* If you are looking for someone to coach you in Student or Online ministry, email Tom ([email protected]) to set it up.

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

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

* Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe (http://ht.ly/QdLHJ) 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 someone says SEO, what comes to mind? Do you even know what SEO is? SEO means Search Engine Optimization and it applies directly to your website. So if you are a Church Communicator who oversees the Church’s webpage or analytics, SEO is something you should know.

I know very little in regards to this so that is why I invited Justin Nava to join me. Justin loves SEO and wrote a great post called “How To Start With Search Engine Optimization” as a way to help all of us who want to learn more about SEO a starting point.

In this episode he and I will talk about…

* Justin’s background and what he is currently doing

* How a Page Title affects your Google rank and why that is important

* What is a Meta Description

* How Keywords are different from Page Title but yet how it all goes together.

It was great talking to Justin and he 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.

ALSO: Join Justin and I in the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group. Justin is actually one of the contributors and will be bringing his expertise of websites and all things web to the Group. So, if you can become more effective using digital tools for your ministry join the group ASAP. This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers.

Have an idea for a future topic or someone for Tom to interview? Email him some ideas on future episodes here.

Listen and make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe to the podcast and see what cool things we do each and every week!

Join the conversation! What other SEO basics do you have that you can share?  Share below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick.  

Sometime soon life throws you a curveball and things just blow up…right in front of you. And sometimes those times just so happen to affect your ministry.

I had one such moment that affected this weeks podcast. So I improvised and decided to call us Cory Sullivan up to see what ministers can do when things blow up.

In this episode Tom and Cory talk about:

* Why Cory is on speaker phone (hint: it’s Tom’s fault)

* 2 big suggestions from Cory on what you can do when unexpected things happen

* Ministry experiences Tom has had with the unexpected and how that was handled

The reality is you will never be able to fully prevent the unexpected to happen and things not blow up. However, how you handle the situation and how you prepare in advance just in case something happens will make all the difference in the world.

As always, Cory is a great resource and you can find him here.  You can also follow him on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/big_sully55). He’s a great resource so hit him up and pick his brain.

Also, if you are looking for someone to coach you in Student or Online ministry, email Tom ([email protected]) to set it up.

What about you? What do you do when unexpected things happen during ministry moments? Share what they are and your experiences below or on social media using #ymsidekick so we can all learn from each other.

To email Tom some ideas on future episodes email him here.

Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe (http://ht.ly/QdLHJ) 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.