The Sidekick Podcast

Summer Internships are great for college students to learn the ropes of how to do a job in their field of study. And having summer Interns are great for employers to have some young college students around to invest in and see if they might be some future employees once they get out of college.

This past summer Tom helped to bring in 5 summer interns to help out at New Life. In addition, he brought Ebony Bright (a former summer Intern) back as a Resident and Summer Intern Coordinator. Tom has always been a huge proponent of summer internships because not only did he do summer internships while he was in college but he sees these are great opportunities for churches and students alike.

But it’s hard work and takes a lot of time and effort.  That is why today Tom and Ebony talk about:

* What Ebony’s ministry background is

* 3 things Tom saw in how Ebony lead the Summer Interns that made it effective

* Other things Ebony did to help make this summer successful, not just for the Interns but for the Church as well.

Thinking of having a summer internship program at your Church in 2017? Here is a way to get started.

Also, to learn more about #SMVWeek16 (Summer Ministry Vlog Week 2016), click here.

What do you think?  Have you had summer interns at your Church before? How did it go? What did you learn? 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.

Back in 1997 when Tom first got into ministry there were plenty of resources available for ministers. However, all of them costed money. That really handicapped Tom and a bunch of smaller churches that couldn’t afford all these wonderful, yet expensive tools to help.

Well, back in 2006, Life.Church decided to take a different approach to providing resources to churches and ministers.  They decided to GIVE IT AWAY…for FREE! All of it!

That is why Tom brings in 3 of Life.Church’s Open Resources team to share about what is happening.  So, in today’s episode, Tom talks to Greg Gackle, Brandon Donaldson and Charlie LaTurno will talk about:

* Their specific background and how they got started in Life.Church

* What is Open?

* How your ministry can use Open

* What are some new features that the guys are most excited about.

As Brandon said, Life.Church believes in the big “C” in Church and helping all churches reach as many people for Christ.  It’s an amazing and humbling approach to take. And we are all grateful for their generosity.

What do you think?  Have you ever used Open Resources? What did you like most about it? How are you using it for 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 a successful leader, right? Of course we all do. That is why Tom brought back Stan Rodda on the podcast.

Stan Rodda is the Linton Hall Campus Pastor at New Life Christian Church in Northern VA. And Stan has rebranded his blog to talk more about leadership in ministry and in business.

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

* What Stan has been up to recently

* Why he is back blogging again and now podcasting

* How to be a more successful leader using Stan’s 3 Essentials to becoming a successful leader blog as the basis

* What are some other lessons learned he has gleaned from using it

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 are you becoming a better, more successful leader? 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.

Justin Knowles back on the podcast! In case you haven’t heard him on the podcast before, you are in for a treat! 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 about understanding the Whys of ministry

* how do student ministers get caught in the grind

* what it looks like to actually work ON your ministry, not just IN your ministry.

If you want to connect with Justin you can find him on Twitter (twitter.com/justinknowles3). You can also find his writing at DownloadYM.com.

After the conversation was done, Tom made a big announcement about Summer Ministry Vlog Week ’16 (#SMVWeek16) in which he and Justin will be participating in the week of August 8 -12.  Stay tuned for more details.

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.

Jate Earhart knows gaming.  He’s an active gamer who just so happens to work at New Life Christian Church. It was because Jate was playing with Pokemon Go and mobilizing others in the immediate area (teens and young adults) that caused Tom to look into it.

But then when Pokemon Go was trending and all over social media it was immediately clear that this was an immediate phenomenon that the Church had to take notice of and begin to use in some way.

That is why Tom invited Jate to come on the podcast. In this episode Tom and Jate talk about…

* How he got involved in gaming

* What is Pokemon Go – understanding the basics of Pokemon Go

* Ways you can utilize Pokemon Go for ministry

The reality is you can discount Pokemon Go as a temporary “fad”, but the thing is whether it is Pokemon Go or another game, there will be apps and games that take the world by storm. Because of this, churches have to be prepared with how they can get involved because these present churches with a great opportunity to help others come to know Christ.

If you want to connect with Jate you can find him on  Twitter (twitter.com/jatedesigns) and you can find him regularly posting on GameChurch City.

So what do you think? What are you doing with Pokemon Go and how are you planning on using it in your ministry.  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.

Two weeks we talked to Chris Wesley about maximizing the summer with your volunteers. This week, we are talking about how YOU can to use the summer to recover from a long year.

That is why Tom asked Ben Kerns, the all-American Youth Pastor for California (yes, he does surf) to join him to talk about a recent blog post he wrote and how that plays into his summer recovery plan.  In this episode Tom and Ben talk about…

* Ben’s blog post, “Who is holding up your hands?“

* How uses the summer to recover and refresh for the fall

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 do you utilize the summer to recover and refresh for the fall?  What are you doing?  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.

The summer can be a very productive time for you and your volunteer leaders.  That is why Tom asked Chris Wesley back on the podcast.  Chris is the Director of Youth Ministry at Church of the Nativity in Timonium, MD.

So, Tom asked Chris to join him to talk about how to maximize the summer months to recruit, train and develop your volunteer leaders. In today’s podcast Tom and Chris talk about…

* What Chris has been working on lately.

* How he has been using the past few months and what he will be doing with volunteer leaders in the months ahead

* Chris’ book, “Rebuilding Youth Ministry” (http://www.christopherwesley.org/books/rebuilding-youth-ministry)

You can connect with Chris a few different ways.  He’s on Twitter (twitter.com/chrisrwesley), has an awesome blog (http://www.christopherwesley.org) with tons of great insights each week and he also blogs at both YM360.com or DownloadYM.com

So what do you think? How are you planning on utilizing the summer to invest in your volunteer leaders?  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.

There is so much noise these days.  This talking head saying one thing. Another talking head saying the exact opposite.  This candidate on that side will speak “truth” while the other is a “liar”. This person on social media pointing out this fact and those facts while another will post an exact opposite opinion with entirely different facts.

They will all be right…in their own ways.  They are the only smart people the room…in their own eyes.

But in the midst of it all, we lose a sense of kindness, respect and love towards others.  And it weights on us.  Or maybe just some.

So, that is why, in today’s episode, Tom brings back Cory Sullivan to talk about what it means to love God and love others throughout all the noise. How can loving God and loving others possibly change things.

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? What do you think about this whole “love God” and “love others” approach to the noise out there? 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.

Student ministry seems to be a very male dominated area.  Most of the student ministers are men and thus most of the planning and programming is geared to guys.  Not a fact as I don’t have stats here, just a hunch after being in student ministry for almost 20 years.

That is why Tom brought on Amy Jo Girardier on. Amy Jo is a student minister to girls and also works for Lifeway…yes THAT Lifeway!  Amy Jo is the perfect expert to have on the show to address what do we do with girls in students ministry and how do we minister to them more effectively.  So, in today’s episode, Tom and Amy Jo talk about:

* how she got involved in student ministry and her current role.

* what are tween and teenage girls dealing with today

* how do you effectively reach girls today

Amy Jo is a great resource and you can find her here.  You can also follow her on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/amyjogirardier). She’s a great resource so hit her up and pick her brain.

What about you? What are you doing to reach tween and teen girls in your student 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.

When you say Snapchat people are going to have a strong opinion about it. Regardless of what you may personally feel about it, Snapchat stands to be a great social media platform for you to reach people for Christ.

That is why Tom brought on Van Baird on. Van wrote a great blog post about it. So, in today’s episode, Tom and Van talk about:

* how Van got involved in Church communication

* how the Church can use Snapchat for good

* what is the “That Church Conference” and why it is vital for Church communicators

Van is a great resource and you can find him here.  To find his post about Snapchat, go here. You can also follow him on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/vanbaird)

What about you? What do you think about Snapchat? Are you using it for ministry? If so, how? 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.