Middle School Ministry Podcast
189 episodes - English - Latest episode: 15 days ago - ★★★★★ - 65 ratingsThe Middle School Ministry Podcast
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Episodes
Sunday Morning Squirrels 03.17.19
March 17, 2019 17:19 - 5 minutes - 5.24 MBSunday Morning Squirrels: A quick breakdown of our middle school ministry service. I hope it's helpful for you! Games: Mix and Meet Where's the Ball? Songs: Good Good Father Burn Like a Star Bible Study: Main Idea: God is faithful, even when our life is hard. Scripture: Psalm 117:1-2 Mini Case Study Examples: Chad’s dad lost his job. His mom still works, but they have a lot less money for fun stuff like eating out and buying video games. Chad is getting tired of eating at home and is sad he...
Minisode - Free DYM Gold Membership Trial
March 14, 2019 18:33 - 6 minutes - 5.6 MBOne Month Trial of Download Youth Ministry Gold Membership Are you swamped for time in your ministry? Do you wish your church would pay for you to have an intern? What if you could get back hours of preparation and planning in your week? That's what the DYM Gold Membership is all about! If you've ever used any of the Download Youth Ministry resources, you already know they offer trench-tested youth ministry products that are designed to help you and save you time! The Gold Membership is a gam...
46 - Jeff Selph Spoke At Our Middle School Retreat
March 12, 2019 14:02 - 18 minutes - 16.8 MBI met Jeff Selph at the DYM 100 three years ago. We sat and talked because we were at a trampoline place and A) I had just gotten out of my cast for my broken leg, so jumping wasn't really the best for me and B) Jeff used to be a bigger dude, so jumping wasn't really the best for him. That friendship has been really good for me (and for him I hope!) the last few years. He came to speak at our middle school retreat and these are some thoughts we had after things had wrapped up. Bonus points f...
45 - When Middle School Kids Don't Want to Be Here
March 05, 2019 14:35 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBSometimes students are at youth group, but they have no interest in BEING there. That may look like sitting off in a corner by themselves. Or maybe it looks like crocodile tears. I've seen both. What do you do when you have a student who would rather be ANYWHERE else than your program? Well, I've got some thoughts, but I'd love to hear your suggests as well! Scroll down to find my email. Shoot me a message. I'd love to hear from you! Train your students and your leaders to look for the loners...
44 - Pride and the Middle School Pastor
February 26, 2019 17:35 - 17 minutes - 15.6 MBThis middle school pastor struggles with pride. I want to be upfront, be seen, and be an important part of the church body. But pride can really do damage to a ministry, a church, and the people who go there. In this episode, I talk about how I fight my pride and offer some suggestions on how you can too. God doesn't need us. He uses us anyways. Someday somebody will take over for you and the church will be just fine. Remembering the unnamed faithful in the Bible. We can do great harm from a ...
43 - Middle School Students in Rural Churches
February 19, 2019 17:02 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBThere are two minutes in this show that are gold and I don't talk during any of them. I just got to spend the weekend down in south Georgia with some amazing bi-vocational and volunteer youth leaders who are really making a difference in the lives of students. I learned a lot and was reminded that MOST of our churches in America are 150 or fewer, meaning they have smaller youth groups and even smaller groups of middle school students. It changes how some things happen when it comes to middle ...
42 - IKEA and Middle School Ministry
February 12, 2019 15:45 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MBThere's a brand new IKEA opening up around the corner from my house. That's a big deal for us. We got in early to scope it out and honestly, I love the store. It all looks cool, it's set up well, and everything is intentional! They had a big WHY WALL on the exit, talking about why they do what they do with their stores and it got me thinking: when it comes to middle school ministry, what would be on our why wall? Check out what I talked about in this episode. I hope it's helpful to you! If it...
41 - Dealing with that ONE Middle School Kid
February 05, 2019 14:15 - 13 minutes - 12.8 MBHow do you handle "that one kid" who always disrupts your talks? They constantly draw attention to themselves (both positively and negatively) and sometimes, if you're honest, you kind of deflate when they walk in the room. I have that kid in my group. And I want them to keep coming! But right now it's a challenge. In this episode, I talk about my game plan, as well as what's happened in the past. Suggestions welcome! (PLEASE) Here are some things I talk about in this episode: Connecting with...
40 - Middle School Students and the Spring Slump
January 29, 2019 14:15 - 12 minutes - 11.4 MBThe Spring Semester is underway! Students are getting busy and sports are ramping up! That usually means students have to begin to decide if they are going to do homework, practice, or come to church? The Spring Slump is a real thing! How are you going to deal with it in your ministry? Here are some things I talk about in this episode: Make sure your leaders are aware of the Spring Slump and let them know about your plan! Spend time investing in the students who are present! Take a look at yo...
39 - Middle School Student's who are Hurting
January 22, 2019 15:21 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBMLK has come and gone. We went on a march and led to some neat conversations with my daughters. It reminded me of the deeper conversations I had with my students over the last semester. The stereotype of a middle school student is that they are carefree or at least careless. The reality, however, is that a ton of our students are going through deep hurts. How do you deal with them? Here are some things I talk about in this episode: Students are going through difficult circumstances: from porn...
38 - Networking and Middle School Ministry
January 15, 2019 14:36 - 11 minutes - 10.2 MBDo you know what my busiest day during the week is? Monday. I'm thinking podcasts are now going to be a Tuesday thing. Cool? Cool. Something I love to do is spend time with other youth workers and student pastors! I love to bounce ideas off of them, listen to what they are struggling with and hear about the wins they are having with their ministries. Networking is a huge thing that can save a youth pastor from burn out, making some really tough decisions in a bubble, and give you the encoura...
37 - Taking a Break (in Ministry...Calendaring)
January 07, 2019 22:34 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBWhew! I had a crazy Christmas Break. I don't know about you all but, the season really needed a time to get away and rest. We got away. We almost rested. We need breaks scheduled within our calendars! In order to make it, we have to put times in our ministry calendars that allow us to get away, but also allows our students and leaders a chance to reset and come back! Here's some things I talk about in this episode: Are there normal times you can calendar to take a break from your programming?...
36 - Senior Adults and Middle School Ministry
December 17, 2018 22:38 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBI was hanging out with our student ministry network of youth pastors here in San Antonio and my mind was BLOWN by someone I just met! He's making a huge push to partner his middle school ministry with his church's senior adult ministry! They're going on a mission trip TOGETHER this summer! Isn't that wild!? I love the intergenerational aspect of that and it really got me thinking: How can we get senior adults invested in our middle school ministry? How can we get our middle school students ...
35 - Chris Hargrove and MORE connecting with Middle School Students!
December 10, 2018 16:20 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MBChris Hargrove and I continued our conversation from a few weeks ago about how to connect with Middle School students! Here are some things to think about: Utilize social media (if your middle school parents let them have it!) to reach out to students! Make posts that encourage engagement (like polls or questions) so your student ministry social page stay in front of your students' faces! Giving away the social media reigns to a volunteer during a service Getting students serving with adult v...
33 - Todd Jones and Parenting while Pastoring
November 27, 2018 18:33 - 22 minutes - 41.4 MBTodd Jones is a middle school pastor out in California. He's also the dad of four girls (two of whom are twins)! In this episode, we sat down and talked about what it's like to be a parent AND a middle school pastor. Even for you who do not have kids, there's something in here for you to learn about what having kids may look like in the future and the necessity of communicating with your spouse! Enjoy! Here are some things to think about: What events and programs will my own kids be a pa...
32 - Michelle Rompel talks about being a young woman in ministry
November 19, 2018 13:31 - 19 minutes - 36.2 MBHalf of the population is female. A lot smaller percentage of females serve in full-time ministry. Michelle Rompel and I talked about her experiences being a lady and working with middle school students. Also, we talked about being young and how that affects your relationship with the parents of the students you're ministering to! How do parents treat you differently when you're young? In what ways does your staff support you? How can we be cheerleaders for ladies in ministry? How can ...
31 - Communicating with your team
November 12, 2018 13:30 - 12 minutes - 24 MBOne time I forgot to tell me team I would be gone for the entire morning. Was it a great time to get phone calls about what I was up to? Did they have a good answer for a parent and my boss who came looking for me? Nope. Because I didn't communicate! Sharing information with your team and your leadership is HUGE. Don't neglect this trust building practice that will really help everyone you work with trust you to do the right thing with information. Sharing information with the right peo...
30 - Michelle Rompell and Middle School Student Anxiety
November 05, 2018 14:00 - 17 minutes - 32.7 MBMichelle Romper is in the Bay Area of San Francisco and has been in ministry for 2 years. She was hired and has been rocking it right out of the gate! We had a really great conversation about anxiety in a middle school student's life, especially as it applies to school and their future opportunities. Here are some things to think about: What thing is creating anxiety in your students? How are extra curricular activities affecting your students? What students want you to pray for shows y...
29 - Chris Hargrove and Connecting with Middle School Students
October 29, 2018 14:00 - 17 minutes - 32.3 MBWe need to connect with Middle School Students! Sometimes it feels like they're on a different planet, but it's essential for us to find points of connections with them throughout our time ministering to them! Enter Chris Hargrove! He's the Middle School Pastor at Lakewood Baptist Church in Gainesville, GEORGIA. Don't get it wrong. We had a conversation about how he makes effort to connect with the middle school students in his care. Here are smart things that were said: In essential t...
28 - A way to tackle outreach with Middle School Students
October 22, 2018 13:30 - 15 minutes - 28.4 MBWho wants to play Airsoft? I do not. I did not. And neither did a lot of my students. But this one kid did. Oh man did he want to shoot people with plastic pellets. What started out in my ministry as an ever increasing "No we won't do that as an event" eventually became a "Why don't you plan that with your small group and invite some friends?" Game changer my friends. In this episode I talk about using small groups to plan small events and use them as an outreach tool. Here are some thi...
27 - A Magical Middle School Conversation with David Wood
October 15, 2018 15:33 - 19 minutes - 36.6 MBThis week I talked with a wizard! The great David Wood himself! David is a youth pastor out in Modesto, CA and has been at it for 2.5 years. I met him two years ago at a great conference called DYM100 and we got to reconnect this year at DYM200. I'm so glad he took some time to talk to me, because he's about to be a very busy guy. More on that later. I hope you enjoy our conversation. I sure did! Here are some things to think about: We're both really glad we don't work with the children'...
26 - How Mark Ordus did his series on Sex
October 08, 2018 14:18 - 23 minutes - 42.8 MBI got a great chance to talk to Mark Ordus, a real live pastor who had a series on sex with his students! He's the Pastor of Student Ministries at Crossroads Community Church in Ottawa Lake, Michigan. He recently did a series on sex with his students and we got a chance to catch up after things wrapped up. It was a cool conversation because we got to look at what he did, what he'll do in the future, and how things went! Here are some things to think about: Record your talks! This is alway...
25 - Preparing your Middle School Ministry Sex talk
October 01, 2018 14:15 - 15 minutes - 28.6 MBMiddle School ministry is all about transitions! Whether it's INTO middle school or OUT OF middle school, there are two major transitions that happen during the life of a middle school student. How you approach each of these transition times is HUGE. Make sure you think about these in intentional ways. Here are some things to think about: How can you partner with your children's director/pastor to make the transition INTO middle school a win? How can you prepare for the 8th to 9th grade ...
24 - Recruiting Parents
September 24, 2018 14:15 - 15 minutes - 28.6 MBSome student pastors would rather have back to back to back middle school lock-ins than recruit parents to help with the student ministry. Other swear that parents are the best volunteers they have! I fall into the second category and try to tackle why in this episode. Don’t neglect to recruit from the pool of people who are the most invested and committed to your student ministry. Why some student pastors don’t like to ask parents to help My journey from thinking of parents as hostile ...
23 - Middle School Ministry and Transitions
August 27, 2018 13:56 - 14 minutes - 26.8 MBMiddle School ministry is all about transitions! Whether it's INTO middle school or OUT OF middle school, there are two major transitions that happen during the life of a middle school student. How you approach each of these transition times is HUGE. Make sure you think about these in intentional ways. Here are some things to think about: How can you partner with your children's director/pastor to make the transition INTO middle school a win? How can you prepare for the 8th to 9th gra...
22 - Middle School Ministry and Promotion Time!
August 20, 2018 14:35 - 13 minutes - 25.3 MBPromotion time! I love the fall for the reason that we get to relaunch our ministries, reset and get students excited again! During this time, I really think about two HUGE promotion times: students coming INTO the student ministry for the first time and moving 8th grade students to their Freshman year of high school. I ask these big questions at the end: When does your promotion take place? Why is it when it is? Do you have all summer to welcome students, or all summer to say goodbye t...
21 - Ministry and Priorities
August 13, 2018 14:04 - 14 minutes - 26.3 MBMy summer plans for the podcast did not turn out like I wanted them to. But that's ok, because the reality of life is that there are priorities we all have and MUST adjust our lives to! In this episode, I take some time to talk about my priorities, how they affected my summer plans, and how we all need to take a minute to figure out what our priorities have to be and adjust accordingly. Here are some things to think about: My relationship with God is the most important thing in my life. ...
20 - Middle School Ministry and SUMMER
August 06, 2018 14:37 - 14 minutes - 27.6 MBSummer blew up in my face this year in a great way but man I am tired! In this episode I break down our summer schedule and the reasoning behind why we do what we do! I hope you've had an amazing summer as well and that this episode will help you plan next year. I ask these big questions at the end: What is the summer culture for my ms students? What is the summer expectations of my parents? What changes to my normal programing can we make? How can we BEST serve students during the sum...
19 - Middle School Mission Trips
April 24, 2018 13:31 - 16 minutes - 30.9 MBSummer is just around the corner! For those of you thinking about a Mission Trip for your summer, how do middle school students fit into that plan? I talk a little bit about what we do for our own mission trips AND what you might consider in planning yours as well. In this episode I talk about: Thinking about who, what and where of a mission trip Building trust with parents BEFORE the trip happens Planning some meetings to help get our information and expectations Giving updates while o...
18 - A Very Middle School Sunday
April 16, 2018 14:37 - 11 minutes - 21.3 MBFor those of you in the trenches of ministry to middle school students, this recap of my last Sunday might sound familiar to you. In this episode I talk about: Ukele's Funny videos that weren't Rainbow lights Nearly broken computers Be encouraged! Got a middle school ministry question? Email [email protected] Need student ministry resources? Check out www.downloadyouthministry.com Listen to the Podcast? Review the podcast!
17 - How to handle MS Drama (an inconclusive guide)
April 09, 2018 14:12 - 15 minutes - 28.4 MBMiddle school drama. It's going to happen. In this episode I talk about what we do in two different instances of drama: middle school drama directed at adults and drama between students. It doesn't ever all go away because we're all going to have drama. In this episode, however, hopefully I talk about how to better deal with it in these ways: Talking about respect versus fun Defining what respect looks like Showing students the Biblical way to confrontation Reminding ourselves the goal ...
16 - Setting Expectations for MS Leaders on Retreats
March 19, 2018 13:35 - 13 minutes - 24.8 MBWe had a middle school retreat this last weekend and I learned a ton! This year, we had an AMAZING student to leader ratio, but more importantly we made a big push to set the expectations we had on our leaders early. I talk a little bit about that in today's episode. In this episode I talk about: Helping leaders avoid the bubble Getting them to have conversations with students Helping them be above reproach Setting expectations so you can see results! Got a middle school ministry qu...
15 Middle School Ministry without Cell Phones
March 06, 2018 17:11 - 11 minutes - 21.7 MBDo your middle school students have cell phones? A lot of mine don't! At a recent training we were talking about a few different ways we could encourage students who don't have a cell phone yet and, even though some of our ideas were old school, they can still be such a big win! In this episode I talk about: Mailing stuff: postcards, letters, snacks Going to their events/games/plays Inviting them to hang out and eat on a bank holiday This all happened because of a DYMU training video. C...
14 - Middle School Ministry and Food Allergies
February 26, 2018 14:15 - 16 minutes - 29.3 MBI'm not bitter, I promise. But MAN have I been neck deep in food allergies this year in Middle School ministry! I don't know about you, but with every event, retreat, and trip I've been flooded with questions about food. I hope this helps you think through these issues in your minsitry before they become issuses! In this episode I talk about: Having a food allergy policy Making a distinction between medically neccesary and preference Wanting students to learn how to manage their own ...
13 - Social Media and Middle School - Part 2
February 19, 2018 14:49 - 13 minutes - 24.5 MBMore words on Middle School students and social media! In this episode I talk about: How students should think of social media like a tattoo. That students should THINK before they post Why we should model this approach in our own social media use. Got a middle school ministry question? Email [email protected] Need student ministry resources? Check out www.downloadyouthministry.com Want to see my resources, including my newest ebook on speaking to Middle School st...
12 - Social Media and Middle School Students - Part 1
January 22, 2018 14:42 - 11 minutes - 25.2 MBIn this episode, I take some lessons learned from conversations with the queen of middle school ministry, Katie Edwards and share them with you! We do our students a disservice if we just hand them social media accounts without any training about how to use them. We also do our parents a disservice if we don't talk about this with them as well! In this episode I talk about: The benefit of getting social media accounts in steps, instead of all at once Comparing getting a social media ...
11 - Amanda and Gabe talk about the Positive Middle School Pastor Experience
January 01, 2018 14:16 - 22 minutes - 41.1 MBIn this episode, I get to talk to Gabe Reed and Amanda Veenstra, the middle school pastors at Napanee Missionary Church in Napanee, Indiana. We talked about the positive aspects of working with Middle School students because, let's face it, most of the time we don't hear about that part! It was a great conversation and you should totally hit them up. They're doing a great job out there! We talked about: Our own middle school experiences Recruiting MS Volunteers How to talk about MS mini...
10 - Mark O and Understanding the Middle School Student
December 18, 2017 14:07 - 20 minutes - 38 MBIn this episode, I don't talk much. That's because I'm listening to Middle School Ministry Guru Mark Oestreicher (MarkO) talk about how he goes about trying to understand the kid in front of us. The squirrelly middle school student who shouts out during prayer time or You got this. We take a look at: Middle School students and abstract thought Helping Middle School students "flex" their abstract thinking muscle A great book to read: How God Changes Your Brain Taking ministering to Midd...
09 - Teaching a Large Group of MS Students
December 11, 2017 14:18 - 14 minutes - 27.3 MBIn this episode, I talk about how I teach middle school students in a large group setting. Large doesn't have to mean hundreds, but just more than allows for a typical small group discussion. It doesn't have to resemble a nuclear blast, but it also probably won't look like coffee at Starbucks and a John Piper book discussion. You got this. I talk about: Thinking shorter Setting up your teaching into 5 minute "blocks" How to teach interactively Planning out concrete application Got a ...