Jen Banagas and Chaská Moore join us for this episode on the first of a two-part series sharing about their experiences as indigenous persons growing up in America on and off the reservation as well as serving on Young Life Staff. In this conversation, Jen and Chaská remind us that beyond all stereotypes, discrimination, and differences, we share one thing in common: our humanness. From this place, we begin to invite students of all cultures and nations to take their next steps in following Jesus.

John Byard and Sarah Foster host Derek Walne of Ohio State and Anne Pinkerton of Missouri State to dive into the final “S” of Successful Spring Ministry: Squad. Whether your leadership team is all students or a mix of adults and students, you will be encouraged by what these veteran staff share about student leadership. As we build trust and cast vision to our student leaders, we help equip them to invite their peers from every area of campus to experience community, adventure, and significance.

Do your small groups fill a night of the week and lack consistency, or are they a community of students that live life closely and seek their next steps with Jesus together? Sam Moore and Lauren Bratcher of the University of Texas join us in this episode to share a small group system and approach for building a sustainable small group ministry that develops and builds a disinterested college student to a discipled graduate that thrives spiritually and seeks to serve the kingdom in every area of their life.

In a season of limited travel and complicated logistics, University of Memphis College Director Blake Spann and YLC student Bryce join the podcast to remind us why—even now—it’s worth it. The story of Blake and Bryce’s spontaneous trip to the beach reveals students’ desperate need for community, adventure and significance—and there is simply no better way for them to experience this than to invite them to take a risk out of their comfort zones, to get off campus and be changed by an adventure of a lifetime.

In the first of a 4-podcast series, Ben Boelter of Fresno State and Andi Seaton of Cal State San Marcos talk Social Media, a platform where they have met and engaged with hundreds of new students. While painting a picture of community, adventure and significance, they also relentlessly interact with followers to make the invitation personal. In a culture where social media is a dilemma, YLC staff can redeem this tool, enter into the world beneath, and invite students to take their next steps in following Jesus.

Do we care more about our thriving ministry, or our own soul? In this episode, Donna Hatasaki joins Kenny Nollan and Jason Rinne to remind us that the greatest gift we can give God this advent season is our unedited, unvarnished self. This takes time and significant effort to stop and be still. As we invite desperate students to take their next steps in following Jesus, we must first experience what it’s like to be on our knees, desperate ourselves for intimacy with Christ. We must take our next step, too.

Jason Rinne and Kenny Nollan host Alberto Cuellar, Director of Diversity Initiatives & CQ Training, and Bridget Chacón, YL Area Director in El Paso leading YLC at UTEP, to talk race from the Latino perspective. Many Latino college students are walking away from faith amid tension of embracing their roots and pressure to assimilate into American culture. Bridget and Alberto share their own experiences and encourage staff as we invite Latino students into una vida en comunidad, aventura y significancia.

In this episode, Kelly Coleman at Texas State University and Nate Roser at the University of Cincinnati share how building trusted relationships with student leaders and creating a culture of accountability helps motivates students in peer-to-peer ministry. Our student leaders must live a life of community, adventure, and significance in order to invite their peers to experience the same. YL College staff ultimately have the privilege of helping our student leaders take their next steps in following Jesus.

Jason Rinne, Sarah Foster and Connor Saben host college directors Tamra Roland (Central Florida) and Ben McGill (Nebraska-Lincoln) to hear what’s worked and what hasn’t as they innovate ministry this semester. We’ve learned a lot about ministry during a pandemic, but one thing is for sure: students are showing up desperate for community and need us to keep showing up for them. Amid failures, we keep going, we try something new, and we continue inviting students to take their next steps in following Jesus.

John Byard returns to the podcast with Chico Area Director Joe Grap and Chico State College Director Kevin Reid. Joe and Kevin share how their volunteers, funding and Committee structures work together as a team under one area. While Episode 10 speaks to stand-alone college areas, this episode surrounds Committee support for YLC within a local area Committee structure. By unifying resources, ministries can be stronger together—ultimately inviting more students to take their next steps in following Jesus.