The Sidekick Podcast

Student ministry is a tough ministry to be apart of for a variety of reasons. But, one that stands out in particular is that student ministers don’t always get to see the fruit of their labor. You can invest years and years into the lives of students but see nothing happen. However, that doesn’t mean something isn’t happening. In fact, well after they have left your ministry, they may very well come back and try to learn more from you about life and Christ.

That is why Tom brings Ben Kerns back to the podcast. He is a student ministry veteran and has seen many of his students both choose to follow Christ AND choose to walk away.  In fact, he wrote a blog post a while about students freely examining their faith in Christ and

Ben’s blog post is entitled, “Our Own Rumspringa” and will be the primary discussion of the podcast episode. In this episode, Ben and Tom talk about:

* What Ben has been doing during the holidays

* Ben’s blog post as he breaks down 4 scenarios students experience when they test out their faith freely

* Ben and Tom share experiences about people walking away and being for there whether they come back or not

* We talk about Ben’s book that addresses this as well. You can find it on his blog and YM360.

The reality is students may walk away from faith in Christ. Don’t take it personally. Continue to love and serve them…hopefully they will come back. And when they do, they will come seeking you out which gives you another opportunity to show Christ to them.

Ben is a great resource and would love to connect with you. You can connect with Ben a few different ways.  He’s on Twitter (twitter.com/averageym), has an awesome blog (http://www.averageyouthministry.com) with tons of great insights each week.

So what do you think?  How have you been teaching your students about making wise decisions? And how effective has that been? 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 (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.

How do you engage your community as a minister? What are you like at neighborhood gatherings or on social media? Are you always spiritual, offering Pastoral advice and thoughts or are you a regular guy? It’s a question all ministers must decide how they will answer.

If there is anyone Tom knows that knows how to engage the community effectively, Stan Rodda is one of the best at it.

Stan Rodda is the Linton Hall Campus Pastor at New Life Christian Church in Northern VA. Stan also blogs and podcasts regularly about leadership in ministry and in business.

So, in today’s episode, Tom and Stan talk about:

* What Stan has been up to recently

* A discussion on what are Christian Radio stations really communicating

* How ministers can effectively engage their communities for Christ

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

What do you think? How do you engage your community as a minister?  Share your experiences and stories 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.

Everyone has a next step of faith they can take in their personal and professional lives. And today to talk about that is Will Cravens. Will is the founder of Endurance Leadership which does a variety of mission trips all over the world. Will is also Tom’s Youth Pastor and mentor.

Over the course of his life, Will has taken many steps of faith both personally and professionally. They haven’t always been easy, but they have pushed and challenged Will and his family in a way unlike any other. His stories are inspiring and encouraging, all because he trusted God and took that step of faith.

So, in this episode, Tom and Will talk about

* Will’s ministry background

* How he was challenged to take a step of faith in his life (both professionally and personally)

* The challenge to take a step of faith in our own lives.

Will has a ton of ministry experience so if you ever want to connect with him you can find him on Twitter (twitter.com/wcravens).

So what do you think? What are some steps of faith you’ve taken over your life?  Share your stories 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.

“We all live with the fear that things like this could happen to us,” Ohio State President Michael Drake said at a news conference outside the hospital Monday afternoon. “We live in an unstable world.”

This was from the Wall Street Journal article about and I think speaks volumes to the status of our world. We live in a very unstable world where anything can happen. For this very reason we, as ministers, HAVE to be communicators of hope to the world.

That is why Justin Dean joins the podcast today. Justin is the Co-Founder of That Church Conference, author of PR Matters coming out in 2017 and the former Communications Director Mars Hill. Simply put, he knows a lot about communications.

In this episode, Tom and Justin talk about

* Justin’s background in communications

* How ministers can be hope in the world today through Social Media

* What That Church Conference

If you want to connect with Justin you can find him on Twitter (twitter.com/justinjdean).

So what do you think? How are you working ON your ministry this summer?  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.

Volunteer leaders are essential to any ministry. But more importantly, how you mobilize them to take an active part is vital to the success of your student ministry.

That is why it is great to have Justin Knowles back on the podcast! 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.  You can find his blogs here.

In this episode, Tom and Justin talk about a recent blog post Justin did entitled “Give it Away, Give it All Away” and:

* What caused Justin to give more responsibility away to his leaders

* 2 pratical ways to give mobilize to your leaders

* Why he shuts down his Student Ministry for 2 weeks before New Years and how it beneftis everyone

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.

So what do you think? How are you working ON your ministry this summer?  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.

No matter what position you serve on your church staff, there is a lot of value that comes from being coached/mentored by someone who has been through ministry before. But not only is being coached by someone else extremely important, there is just as much value as you coaching someone else who is younger than you. Whether it is a volunteer or a staff person, coaching someone else not only helps that other person but challenges you as well.

That is why Tom invited Cory Sullivan back on the podcast. In this episode Tom and Cory talk about:

* What they are thankful for

* How does being coached by someone else help

* How does coaching someone else help you and that other person

* How you can help Cory rebrand his blog.

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

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.

What about you? How have you seen the value of being coached and coaching someone else in your life? 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.

No matter what our ministry is, we are communicators in one way or another. And one of the most important ways we communicate to others in this digital world is through email. But how do you create an email that people will want to open. How do you make an email “open” worthy?

That is why Tom brought in Seth Muse to the podcast. Seth has a ton of experience in this as he has been in ministry for quite some time. So today Seth is going to share about:

* His background in ministry

* 3 specific ways you get your emails to open on a regular basis

* A Checklist that Seth mentioned about getting your emails opened

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, you can find his blog and check out his Facebook page.

What about you? What do you do to get your emails to “open”? 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.

Numbers are so much apart of how ministries judge effectiveness. And they DO MATTER. However, there can be times when we become so fixated on numbers that we don’t appreciate what God is doing and who is coming out.

That is why Tom invited Cory Sullivan back on the podcast. In this episode Tom and Cory talk about:

* What Cory has been up to lately

* What’s the story with numbers anyway

* The value of honoring and celebrating the numbers that you do have

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…he’d love that

What about you? How do you honor the numbers you do have and celebrate them in your ministry? 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.

We all want to be good leaders. And as Dan Eno, New Life Linton Hall’s Student and Worship Minister, were just reading through the book H3 Leadership, a great way to lead is by leading through YOUR example.

If you are leading by telling people what to do but not being an example of leadership yourself, there can be a real disconnect between you and your leaders.

So, in today’s episode, Tom and Dan talk about:

* What Dan has been up to lately (reference to Recruiting Interns episode)

* What is leading by example

* Some practical ways for you lead by example

If you want to connect with Dan you can find him on Twitter (twitter.com/daneno426). He is very active on social media so definitely hit him up if you have a question.

What do you think? How are you leading? What are you demonstrating in your leading of others? 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.

A few weeks ago, Tom had Ben Kerns on to talk about his blog post, “Pot, Prostitution, and Porn: Develop a theology of morality in an amoral context“. In the podcast Ben and Tom talked about behaviors and how we teach students about obedience. Hear that episode here.

This week, Tom has brought in Shannon Meyer, M.Ed., a credentialed teacher with experience working in impacted communities in the inner city to dig a little deeper into this issue of ministering to students through a behavioral issue. She is also in charge of Yolo Parents in which she seeks to help parents and educators be in tune with themselves and their children so that they can connect in ways that form lifelong healthy relationships.

This background is exactly why Tom invited her on the podcast. In today’s episode they talk about:

* Shannon’s background

* Behaviors and what could be going on with someone

* How this applies to ministry

This may or may not be new to you, but it is a great reminder that when people behave badly in person or online, there is probably a deeper issue going on. Don’t be quick to punish the behavior without digging deeper into a potentially bigger issue.

To dig even deeper, in the episode Shannon referenced research about this from Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne-Bryson. You can learn more about that here.

So what do you think? How have you experienced this before and what did you do about it? I would love to hear from you so 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 (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.