Pizza & Side Hugs

Conference Rankings

Conference Rankings Season 4, Episode 2.5 - A Slice Why you should go to a Youth Minister Conference(0:35) Our top 3 youth ministry conference or professional development opportunities: (4:15) Conference Links Notre Dame Vision: http://mcgrath.nd.edu/vision NFCYM Exchange: https://nfcym.org/featured-events/exchange/ Life Teen Conference: https://lifeteen.com/events/catholic-youth-ministry-convention/ Thriveanooga: https://www.thrive.rs/thriveanooga/2024 Orange: https://theorangeconferenc...

Overnight Overhaul

Intro (0:47)  Memorable Overnight Experiences (5:15) Challenges in Ministry that Includes Overnight Stays (18:15) NEW SEGMENT! Case by Case (33:41) Pete from Plainfield: I’m at a parish with a school, and there seems to be a big divide between middle school students from the school and from the parish. How do I encourage both groups to participate in youth ministry? Conclusion (41:47) Let us know what you want us to discuss! Send us something [email protected]

Stick with Scripture

Sacred Scripture is the Word of God, one of the two major sources of the deposit of faith. Together with capital T Tradition, Scripture comprises the Truth of the Triune God, Jesus Christ, and the Catholic Church. But, upon graduation from youth ministry, are our students literate in Scripture? Do they know the basics of salvation history? Have they prayed with the Psalms or can they draw conclusions to big questions from Gospel parables? Can they even navigate the Bible?

Second Semester Scaries

What’s consistently tough about second semester in youth ministry? Whether it is  waning attendance, losing enthusiasm, prepping for big summer trips while doing everything else, calendaring for next year,  or just plain burnout from a busy first semester, January- May can be often be difficult or feel overwhelming.  This episode we dive into why that is and what we can do about it. Time Stamps Intro (0:47) What are some of the unique nicknames we've had (5:15) Media Mentions - NEW SEGMEN...

Top 5 Fundamentals To Focus on At the Start of the Year

At the start of a new year of ministry, it’s easy to get caught up in, “What’s new in your ministry?” But the fundamentals of YM should excite us even more. This episode is all about Running it Back to why you want to do this in the first place! Top 5 Fundamentals To Focus on At the Start of the Year Seeing the Kids- (6:50) Putting Yourselves in Parent’s Shoes-(17:00) Being a Companion for First Year Leaders- (27:16) Getting Ahead in Order to Be Present- (34:58) Praying for Your Commun...

Repost- Games! (Episode 13 Original Run)

Looking for something specific? (03:22) - Failed Games (14:18)- Why we Play Games (23:25) - Things to be Aware of During Games (28:41) - Strategically Varying the Type of Games (37:35) - What if Youth Don't  Want to Play  (40:33) - Tactics to make your games work    (47:34) - Are Prizes Needed?       (52:17) - Our Favorite Games  Shareables (resources)  Name Game Alert! We love this game and so do the kids. Take a look at what we call Pool Noodle Smack Down. One of our all-time favor...

Repost- How to get people to show up! (Episode 9 Original Run)

Looking for something specific? (2:10) When No One Shows Up Stories (8:00) Getting People to Show Up to New/Different Events (10:30) Advertise Ministry Differently (Snapchat!) (14:17) Mentality of Hospitality (18:29) Advanced Notice is KEY (19:47) Syncing Ministry Calendars Straight to Phones (22:54) Who Needs to Have the Info? (24:45) Examine Your Processes (25:39) Save the Dates are Your Friend (27:25) Create "The Purple Cow"  (34:34) The Ministry Stretch (Creep) (37:52) It's a...

Repost- So You Wanna be a Youth Ministry Volunteer (Episode 7 Original Run)

Looking for something specific?  (2:31) We have another guest: Nick Vergatos  (3:13) Finding Great Volunteers  (7:03) Know What You Want From Volunteers  (9:40) Why it's good to avoid the term "volunteer"  (10:45) Alternative words to use for those that help in ministry  (13:12) "Dating" vs. "Marrying" Your Volunteers  (14:43) Creating Volunteer Job Descriptions  (17:16) Equipping New Volunteers  (19:40) Continual Training and Orientation is Vital  (20:34) DTR (Define the Relationship) With ...

Lessons from COVID

Episode 4- Accompaniment in Small Groups

Check out our great sponsor: Sock Religious Stop wearing secular Socks Episode Description What is the best way to accompany young people on their faith journey?  Learn the five tenets of establishing long-term small groups that every group organizer will want to share and every group leader will need to know in order to create, small effective faith groups. Episode Outline Intro- Ministry is about People not Programs 5 Principles of Small Group Leadership 1.  Show Up: Leaders need to b...

Episode 3- Discipleship in Youth Ministry

Check out our great sponsor: Sock Religious. Stop wearing secular socks. Episode 03  Looking for something specific? 04:10 - Discipleship is Overlooked… 07:02 - Disciples Make Disciples 9:50 - Ministry is about People not Programs 10:41 - Holiness is Attractive  14:40- Discipleship is a journey and people are at different stages 16:10- Reaching People on the Margin 17:10- Problem with Confirmation Preparation being the center of YM 22:22- Four Stages of Discipleship: Crowd, Seeker,...

Next Level Youth Leaders

Episode 02 - Next Level Youth Leaders Do you have emerging leaders in your youth ministry? This podcast is created for THEM! We give them ways to go beyond your ministry, based on the Scripture passage Acts 2:42. Also, you’ll find out how a prayer of fasting brought about a spouse, and how grunts are the sounds of discipleship…! Looking for something specific? 00:57 - Lengthy Introductions of Podcasters 7:46 - Shareable Podcast for your Youth 10:50 - Importance of Acts 2:42 15:42 - Breaki...

The Reboot: The Vision

We're Back! After a short break, we're back in action with Pizza & Side Hugs, a podcast for Catholic youth ministry leaders. Whether you're a youth minister, priest, volunteer, or parent, this podcast gives you creative, joyful, and faithful resources for making disciples. Looking for something specific? 01:00 - We’re SPONSORED!  03:10 - Why We’re Back 09:32 - What You Can Expect to Hear 10:16 - Creating a Youth Ministry Vision 15:37 - If You Don’t “Think Big” Easily 16:55 - How to Create a...