The Sidekick Podcast

We live in a social media world and there is no turning back. It will keep on evolving and changing as technology advances more and more. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, a new app or social network comes out and you have to learn it all over again.

So the question isn’t will social media ever stop or will we ever get bored with it. The question is how are Christians to behave in this social media world. As you have probably noticed people don’t always behave properly or make wise decisions on social media, even Christians.

That is why Phil Schneider is back on the podcast. Phil is a Senior Staff Writer for ChurchMag and has a just written a new ebook entitled, “The Social Christian”.

In today’s episode, Phil and I talk about:

* What Phil does with Church Mag

* What is “The Social Christian” book all about and why did he write it

* A breakdown of 3 different aspects of social media as mentioned in the book.

Want to get the book? You can find “The Social Christian” here.

If you want to connect with Phil you can read his blog here or you can find him on Twitter (twitter.com/phillip320). He is very active on social media so definitely hit him up if you have a question.

ALSO: Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group so you can become more effective using digital tools for your ministry! This is for ALL Ministers, not just Church Communicators or Social Media Managers.

What do you think? How do you feel about social media and how a Christian should use it? Share your thoughts below or on social media using #ymsidekick. 

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.

Church communication is not a new job. It has actually been around a very long time. However, with the development of social media and other digital tools used to help churches communicate more effectively in this digital world, more and more churches are looking for Church Communicators who understand digital technology and know how to use it effectively.

However, many Church Communicators are self-taught as many did not go to school in digital communications. So how do you become a Church Communicator? What must you do?  That is why Jeanette Yates is on the podcast today. She is self-taught Communications Director and has some valuable insights on what you can do become more equipped to help your church reach more people.

In this episode Tom and Jeanette talk about…

* Jeanette’s background and how she got involved in Church Communicaiton

* What an average Sunday looks like for her

* How she takes a sermon and posts content throughout the week

* What were some of the things she did to train herself (it involves some great podcasts like Church Marketing Sucks and Pro Church Tools – can’t go wrong with either one of those!)

* Groups you can belong to help you get insights and learn from others (Church Communicators, Church Social Media Managers and That Church Summit) and a great amount of FREE training that these groups offer.

As Jeanette mentions, what is works for her doesn’t always work well for others. So start slow and make sure you are doing it right before you get into other areas of learning.

It was great talking to Jeanette and she would love to talk to you about any kind of church communication question. You can connect with her on Twitter.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Join the Digital Bootcamp Facebook Group so you can become more effective using digital tools for your ministry! 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! How are you recruiting, training and developing volunteer leaders to give them the vision of being disciplemakers?  What do you do? Share below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick.  

Internet trolls and negativity are all over social media. You can’t help but run into it unless you have a private account for every social media network. While that may work a little for your personal accounts, it most definitely won’t work on your Church or ministry account.

The reality is you are going to have to face trolls and negative comments from time to time. What do you do and how do you respond when you encounter them? That is why Seth Muse is back on the podcast. In this episode Seth and I talk about:

* What has he been up to lately (including Easter)

* What he did on Easter Sunday to capture what was happening

* How he used Instagram and Facebook on Easter

* How you can use all sorts of communication the week after (hint: one of them DOES include snail mail)

* Special Podcast update from the Orange Conference coming next week!

The great news about this is that you can utilize all the stuff that Seth did on ANY Sunday. So these are great insights to use.

Seth is a great resource in communications and would be happy to connect with you. You can check in on him on Twitter click here (twitter.com/thesethmuse). Also, check out his his blog and podcast and as well as his Facebook page.

What about you? How do you deal with online trolls and negativity on social media for our ministry and personal life?  Share your thoughts and 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.

YouTube has been all the craze for tweens and teens for years and years. They LOVE YouTube! That is why it is so important for ministries to be on YouTube in some way. At the very least, it would be appropriate for a student ministry to be on the channel.

That is why I invited my friend, Brian Mason, onto the podcast. Brian is a Young Life Area Director in Belton, Kansas. He has been using videos and YouTube for his ministry for years and is seeing fruit from his efforts. So today, in this episode Brian and I talk about…

* Brian’s background and how he got started in ministry

* Why he started making videos

* What equipment he is using to make videos

* What videos can you make for your ministry (hint: it’s about your particular style)

* How long it takes to put a video together for his channel

* How videos are not just for teens.

Check out Brian’s YouTube channel and his Vanilla Ice Parody as well! They are great and it really shows that you don’t need a video background to make a channel and great videos!

Do you 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! How are you recruiting, training and developing volunteer leaders to give them the vision of being disciplemakers?  What do you do? Share below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick.  

I’ve been all about Volunteer leaders lately. The reasons are simple actually, they are essential and now is the perfect time to be raising up and training volunteer leaders in your ministry.

That is why Tom invited Ben Marshall to the podcast. Ben is Campus Pastor at The Church at Hamilton in Michigan but has several years of student ministry experience.

In this episode Tom and Ben talk about…

* Ben’s background and how he got started off in ministry

* What have been some key elements recruiting leaders (hint: it’s about being disciplemakers).

* What Ben does to train volunteers and set them up to be successful.

* How he casts vision for his leaders when he is gone on trips

* Other leadership ideas from emails to training meetings

* How he honors leaders on trips and events with what leaders pay

If you would like to learn more about Lead Small, click here. And if you want to check out Grow Curriculum and Strategy, click here.

It was great talking to Ben and he would love to talk to you about any kind of ministry question connect with him on Twitter. You can also catch his blog here.

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! How are you recruiting, training and developing volunteer leaders to give them the vision of being disciplemakers?  What do you do? Share below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick.  

Two years ago, under the leadership of  Kristen Ivy, Executive Director of Messaging for Orange, and Reggie Joiner, the ReThink Group published a book entitled, “It’s Just a Phase” which helped parents and church leaders best be able to know how to effectively help children through the various stages of life. It’s an amazing resource.

Now, two years later, Tom tracked down Kristen, now the Director of the Phase Project, to get an update on Phases. So, in this episode they talk about…

* the reasonings behind the book, how it can serve your ministry leaders and parents as well as what is next from Orange to help ministry leaders not miss each phase children are going through.

* what they are working on with Phases now and what some of the lessons they are learning as they talk with leaders and students (hint: it has something to do with middle school ministry)

* how YM Sidekick listeners can get in on the Phases guides (some free stuff!!)

To get the book you can goto Amazon or the Orange Book Store.

Orange Tour is coming up this fall. To sign up for the Orange Tour, got this link.

To email Tom some ideas on future episodes email him 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! Have you read the book yet?  What do you think and how are you using it in your ministry? Share below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick.  

One of the best ways to keep volunteers engaged and involved consistently is to honor them and what they do. We all know this. But while simply honoring them very generically may be enough to keep them around, there are more specific ways you can choose to honor your volunteers.

That is why Tom brought in Chad Booher today. Chad is the “Utility Player” at New Life Christian Church. He serves in a variety of roles around the Church but has been effectively working with volunteers in each of the roles.

In this episode Tom and Chat talk about…

* what Chad does and his background (hint: it wasn’t a ministry job)

* how he chooses to honor his volunteers

* how you can be discovering new ways to honor your volunteers.

Chad is a great resource to talk to and would love to talk anytime and even share his excel spreadsheet he has for honoring volunteers. Email him and message him on Facebook and he will get back to you.

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! How are you getting specific about honoring those who serve alongside of you?  What do you do? Share below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick.  

Marriages are hard work. That really goes without saying. But when you are in ministry there seems to be an even greater emphasis on your marriage as your ministry and marriage go hand in hand. Recently, Married People released a book entitled, “Your Best Us“.  That is why Tom invited Cory Sullivan back on the podcast. He recently wrote a blog post entitled, “Habits” about the book. So, in this episode Tom and Cory talk about:

* What is 1 thing Cory has been learning lately

* What is “Your Best Us” about

* How has Cory been applying what he has been reading in the book into his marriage

* What Tom and Cory think about the latest Superhero movie trailers (gotta have a little fun)

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 marriage books have you read? How have they helped you? 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.

Images are everything, especially if you are trying to communicate a story. And, in particular, photos that involve real people and real events go a long way in communicating that story to others. I talked about it in this blog post and I have also brought in Ben Shapely to talk about it as well.

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:

* Ben’s work background

* What the purpose of photography and the Church is

* What kind of people are you looking for to take photos for the Church

* How do you train and equip them

* What kind of equipment do photographers need to have for your Church

To connect with Ben, check him out on Facebook or you can email him.

What about you? Do you have a Photography team for your Church or ministry?  How do you recruit, train and utilize them for the 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.