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24 Apr 2025

How I Produce a [Weekly] Leader Podcast in under 1 hour

By Nick Clason|2025-04-01T08:02:32-07:00April 24th, 2025|Help Me With..., Hybrid Ministry, Mental Health, online youth group, Podcast, Technology, Volunteers, Youth Ministry Hacks, Youth Ministry Ideas|0 Comments

You need to train your volunteer youth leaders, but how do you produce a podcast, which gives you the outlet to offer more trainings than you even know what to do with?

And how do you not lose your life to it?

In this epsiode I outline and detail how I produce a weekly leader podcast in only one hour per month!

Yes, I’ll show you everything I do from getting started, the gear, and maintaining it!

And if you’re interested in seeing more of what the Hybrid Ministry Show has to offer, I’d love to encourage you to check out more!

13 May 2024

Following Up With Visitors and New Students

By Ronald|2024-05-13T11:43:29-07:00May 13th, 2024|Youth Ministry Hacks|7 Comments

When you get a chance to hang out with new students, do you have a process of making sure you can follow up with them? Do you follow up with them?

If you don’t have a process, you won’t follow up with students.

Here’s my suggestion to you and it’s in three parts:

Get Their Info

Every time you meet a new student, get their information. You need four things:

First and Last Name

Grade

Gender

Contact Info

What contact info do you need? That depends on you. What are you more likely to use to follow up with a student? Their phone number? Email? Street address?

Whatever you use, get the same thing each time. And determine HOW to get that info as well. Is it a card students fill out? Is it an online form they scan with a QR code?

In our ministry, I had students fill out a card and they got a big candy bar from me when they turned it in. You may want to give them a cool t-shirt or even a gift box, but that’s totally up to you!

Whatever you do, do the same thing each time because of step two.

Have a Plan for Follow-Up

Do you text every student after they come to youth group? Do you send them an email with links to next steps? Do you send them something in them mail?

Whatever you do, have a plan! It’d be best if you had students know that you are glad they showed up and let them know they’re welcome back anytime!

It’s totally fine to have a prewritten text or email or letter to send out to students. You can make it personalized with a few extra words or not. That’s up to you!

Put Follow-Up on Your Weekly To Do

Following up with students SHOULD be important. But if it’s not on your weekly list of things to do, it won’t get done.

Make it happen at the same time each week. Like every Thursday after youth group night. Or every Monday after Sunday is over with. Whatever you do, make sure it happens each week at the same time.

That will help you recognize when you have visitors and when you don’t. Knowing that will let you see if your group is inviting in friends or if they aren’t.

And if they aren’t, then you can learn what you can do about it!

Any extra thoughts? I’d love to hear them!

5 Apr 2024

How do I Sign Into the NEW Sidekick?

By Josh Griffin|2024-04-18T14:59:22-07:00April 5th, 2024|Sidekick, Sidekick Hero Blog, Sidekick: What's New, Youth Ministry Hacks, Youth Ministry Ideas|6 Comments

DYM Gold Members Rejoice! Sidekick is included in your membership!

1000’s of your youth ministry friends are using it every week. If you haven’t poked around yet and tried out Crowd Voting, the FREE section, the one-click integration to DYM products you already own, the “presenting from your phone or iPad”… there’s so much. And, we’re making it better every day.

Here’s how to log-in:

Let us know what you think and what you’d want for us to include in the ever-growing FREE category next. Even 100’s of your recent DYM purchases are instantly available in Sidekick to insert in just 1-click!.

Let us know if you have any questions,

Doug & Josh
[email protected]

19 Dec 2023

And the Winner of the Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest Is … Chosen Using Sidekick, of Course!

By Josh Griffin|2023-12-19T08:25:06-08:00December 19th, 2023|Mariners Youth Ministry, Sidekick, Sidekick Hero Blog, Youth Ministry Hacks|0 Comments

Our Mariners Church Student Ministry Volunteer 🎄Christmas Party🎄 was last night (’tis the season), and the Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest is always SO fun … but choosing a winner has never felt quite right. Sure, there’s the “audience applause” gauge, the crowd favorite, and then there’s me—always biased to the Star Wars-themed holiday gear, naturally.

🤔 If only there were a way to have people cast their ballots so we get an actual popular vote of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Enter: Sidekick.

(click image to enlarge)

AND IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM!

We picked our 6 finalists and had them hit the stage. Then everyone whipped out their phones for a serious and scientific showdown…

Some of the best parts about Sidekick Live Voting are:

You can only vote once (no cheating)
Voting is anonymous (no hating on people who voted differently than you)
You can choose whether or not to show voting results in real-time (you can build suspense)

For our event, here’s how we set up our Live Voting Presentation Settings:

We toggled the “Show Live Results” to OFF so we could gather all the votes in secret. And then, only after all the votes were cast did we dramatically reveal the winner.

AND IT WORKED PERFECTLY!

It was close … but we all knew the real winner that night: Sidekick.

Just kidding… well sort of. Sidekick was the tool that helped us easily solve the annual debate of who won the ugly Christmas sweater contest. So in a way, because of Sidekick, we all won. Perfection!

How will you use Sidekick +Phones this week in your ministry?

Josh

If you’re using Sidekick and you run into any issues, or if you just have a question, please feel free to reach out to our support team at: [email protected]. Or you can check out other helpful articles and walkthroughs at the Sidekick Help Desk by visiting https://help.sidekick.tv.

Finally, if you choose to use the new Sidekick… let us know how you do it and what types of polls you do because we want to highlight you. Our goal is to highlight a youth worker every week with different ways they’ve used Sidekick to help their students engage. If you’re interested in being recognized as a Sidekick Hero, just click the big red button below:

If you’re using Sidekick and you run into any issues, or if you just have a question, please feel free to reach out to our support team at: [email protected]. Or you can check out other helpful articles and walkthroughs at the Sidekick Help Desk by visiting https://help.sidekick.tv.

Finally, if you choose to use the new Sidekick… let us know how you do it and what types of polls you do because we want to highlight you. Our goal is to highlight a youth worker every week with different ways they’ve used Sidekick to help their students engage. If you’re interested in being recognized as a Sidekick Hero, just click the big red button below:

11 Dec 2023

How a Silly Idea Called Llamabucks Changed Our Youth Group This Fall

By Josh Griffin|2023-12-11T23:47:43-08:00December 11th, 2023|josh griffin, junior high, junior high ministry, Mariners Youth Ministry, Youth Ministry Hacks, Youth Ministry Ideas, Youth Ministry Resources|11 Comments

Last week I had 11 students tell me last week’s memory verse from youth group.

Now, maybe that’s not the most incredible thing in your context, but I added a memory verse to our program over a year ago and this was exactly 8x the most we’ve ever had recite a verse from memory. Now, you could certainly chalk up part of that to poor leadership on my part for the past 365 days, and that’s certainly a contributing factor. But what accounted for the change?

Enter: llama bucks.

Back at Fall Kickoff we introduced a new currency in our youth group, playing off of a llama theme that has kinda taken over. No more prizes, just llama bucks. Serving? Get a llamabuck. Ask a great question in your small group time? Score a llamabuck.

SAY A MEMORY VERSE? Get a llamabuck.

And this thing has taken on a whole life of its own. Despite us having a really horrendous resume and zero experience in distributing an internatioal currency and inflation … we’ve given out thousands of llama bucks. And they can be used in two key ways:

Use them in small amounts right away in the llama store outside the youth room to grab some Nerd Ropes or a Liquid Death (it’s just water people) or some JHM merch.
Save up for the Llama-auction on January 13th, 2024. We have a big event planned with lots of fun, big items (most requested was an eBike, we’ll see, sounds expensive) but we’ll have fun items for students to bid on to use up their bucks.

Reward what you want to see happen in your youth ministry. Not a new idea, just our spin on it … and it’s crushing right now.

Josh

11 Sep 2023

Winning Youth Ministry: Training Volunteers

By Ronald|2023-09-11T14:32:47-07:00September 11th, 2023|Youth Ministry Hacks|3 Comments

Volunteers are the unsung heroes who invest their time and hearts into shaping the spiritual growth of the next generation. In the world of youth ministry, nothing is as crucial as ensuring your volunteers are well-trained and fully equipped for the incredible task they’ve taken on. Let’s dive into the significance of training volunteers, how it benefits them, strengthens your ministry, and impacts your church.

Empowering Your Volunteers

Let’s start with the heart of it all: your volunteers. These are the individuals who selflessly give their time and passion to nurture the faith of the youth in your church. So, why is training them so important?

Through training, your volunteers acquire the necessary skills to engage with and make a meaningful impact on the lives of young people. This includes honing their communication skills, mastering conflict resolution, and becoming experts in lesson planning. Training often includes personal spiritual development, which allows your volunteers to deepen their own faith as they guide others on their spiritual journeys. When volunteers receive thorough training, they gain the confidence they need to tackle the challenges that come their way. A confident volunteer is an enthusiastic and dedicated one.

Strengthening Your Ministry

Having a standardized training program ensures that all your volunteers are on the same page, delivering a consistent message and experience to the youth in your ministry. Proper training encourages your volunteers to bring fresh ideas and innovative approaches to your ministry, fostering creativity and adaptability. Volunteers who know their roles and responsibilities well are more efficient in planning and executing activities, ultimately lightening the load on youth pastors.

Impacting Your Church

The positive effects of volunteer training don’t stop at your youth ministry’s doorstep—they have a wider impact on your church community. A vibrant and well-organized youth ministry can attract more families to your church, contributing to overall church growth. Volunteers who feel valued, equipped, and confident are more likely to stay committed to your church for the long term. A thriving youth ministry has the potential to engage the broader community and draw new members to your church family.

Hey! This is a great time to talk about training your volunteers!

Sign up for National Day of Volunteer Youth Ministry Training. This event is about to become your secret weapon for supercharging your volunteer training efforts and setting your youth ministry up for unprecedented success.

Date: September 23, 2023
Cost: Just $199 for your entire volunteer team
Location: Take your pick between hosting it at your church or attending one of our 300+ locations

Here’s the best part: the cost is per group, not per person. This means you can bring as many youth ministry volunteers as you can gather, making it the best deal in youth ministry.

On this special day, your volunteers will receive youth ministry-specific training from renowned speakers like Christine Caine, Albert Tate, Doug Fields, and more. It’s going to be a fun, helpful, and momentum-building experience that will leave your volunteers inspired and ready to make a profound impact on the lives of the youth in your community.

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to invest in your volunteers and, in turn, elevate your youth ministry and church. Mark your calendar for September 23, 2023, and get ready to equip your team for an amazing ministry year.

In conclusion, remember that your volunteers are the backbone of your youth ministry. By giving them the tools they need to succeed, you’re not only investing in their personal growth but also in the future of your ministry and church. So, gear up for the National Day of Volunteer Youth Ministry Training, and watch your volunteers soar to new heights.

Need something to start training your volunteers right now? Check these awesome resources out from DYM!

28 Aug 2023

4 Hacks to Communicate Better!

By Ronald|2023-08-28T09:20:48-07:00August 28th, 2023|Youth Ministry Hacks|6 Comments

Hey there, fellow youth ministry adventurers!

Picture this: You’re embarking on an exciting journey through uncharted territory. You have a map that guides you, but imagine if you were the only one with that map. You’d be navigating the twists and turns alone, right? Well, that’s where the power of communication comes in!
Don’t just hold your map close to your chest. Let others see the path and everything on it so you can get there together!

Connecting with Parents:
Parents are like your trusty co-pilots on this journey. They’re just as invested in the growth and well-being of their students as you are. When you communicate your youth ministry plans, goals, and activities with parents, you’re not just informing them – you’re inviting them to be active participants in their student’s spiritual journey. Imagine the impact when parents know what their students are learning, where they’re going, and how they can support the process.
Think of how you can regularly communicate to parents! Is it a weekly email? A blog? Social media groups? Whatever you plan to do, make it consistent and let parents know how you primarily communicate with them!

Guiding Your Leaders:
Your youth ministry leaders are the compass that helps steer the ship. When you communicate your plans and goals clearly with them, you’re aligning everyone’s efforts toward a common purpose. They can better prepare, engage, and lead when they have a clear understanding of the destination and the path you’re taking to get there.
If your group is small enough, a text thread might serve as the best way to communicate with leaders. If it’s a little larger, think of using email. Same with parents: be consistent!

Engaging Your Students:
Your youth ministry participants are the explorers on this journey. When you communicate what’s in store for them – from upcoming events to the heart behind the teachings – you’re fueling their excitement and curiosity. Clarity breeds enthusiasm, and when students are excited, they’re more likely to actively engage and participate.
You can do this from the stage just as easily as social media. Just make sure when you communicate to students, you’re telling leaders and parents the same information at the same time!

Involving the Whole Church:
Your church is the ultimate support system on this journey. When you communicate your youth ministry plans and activities with the larger congregation, you’re inviting everyone to rally behind the youth. Whether it’s through prayer, encouragement, or even participation, involving the whole church community strengthens the bonds within your church family.
Your church may have a weekly bulletin, or a website, or just lots of posters everywhere. However your church communicates, make sure you’re on the same page and giving them all of the information that they need!

Navigating the Adventure Together:
In a youth ministry, effective communication isn’t just a tool – it’s a lifeline. It’s the bridge that connects parents, leaders, students, and the church community. It transforms your journey from a solo expedition into a shared adventure, full of camaraderie, support, and growth.

So, fellow adventurers, let’s remember the power of communication as we navigate the uncharted territories of youth ministry. Share your plans, goals, and activities with everyone onboard. Let’s journey together, united by a common purpose, and create a lasting impact that echoes through the years.

Stay tuned for more insights and guidance on this incredible journey we’re all on. 🌟

Need some help letting everyone know the game plan? Grab this fully editable calendar from DYM and look like a pro!

24 Jul 2023

Ministering to Students Who Aren’t Showing Up

By Justin Knowles|2023-07-13T13:16:16-07:00July 24th, 2023|Uncategorized, Youth Ministry Hacks|11 Comments

We just recorded a podcast for Youth Ministry Hacks (CLICK HERE to listen) about the importance of following up in youth ministry. Follow up is such an important aspect of ministry but something easily overlooked because it’s easy to miss to move on to bigger and better things.

One of the things I get asked the most about in youth ministry is what is the exact system we have set up in order to make sure student don’t fall through the cracks? Below is what we have set up right now. Does it work? If I am honest, we don;t know yet. We only really started the whole process in all phases about 2 months ago. It seems to be doing it’s job. I do know we will be looking at it and adjusting it as we go, but it seems to at least fill some holes we had noticed over the past two years of having lots of news students but not being at “sticky” as we have been wanting.

We are in a season where we have the ability to track who is coming to our campuses and we want to make sure we are effectively following up with every student who walks through our doors throughout the year.

We will run a weekly (new students), a monthly (this month vs last month) and a quarterly (CCB roster scrub) report.

The following is how we need to be following up with each group of students that we can run reports on:

1st Time Student Follow Up:

When a new student comes to SCY for the first time they fill out a QR code with their info. The info gets put into a list where the youth network team will then create a new student profile and put it in a queue for the youth lead to follow up with.

Here is how the process is set up in CCB:

Thursday
- “Glad you came” postcards get written up (cards have been provided) and addressed with a note and put in the mail.
- Follow up text from the lead.
- Follow up text from the group leader they were placed with the previous night.
- Parent email, introducing the lead and the ministry
Tuesday
- Queue will prompt a follow up invite with a text from the youth lead to invite back to groups the following night.
Thursday
- Youth lead will check to see if that student came back to groups.
  - If student did, connect with them and let them know they are so glad they got to come back and will help them get more connected in the ministry
  - If the student did not, they will keep them in the queue and invite them back the following week for 3 weeks.

Monthly CCB Report – Students who checked in last month but not this month

We have the ability now to run a monthly report of every student who checked into a group the previous month who has not come back the current month. This is a good way to follow up with kids we have not seen in a bit and a good way to see if any of the first time students have been plugged in.

Follow up should look like the following:

All follow up should happen within two weeks of receiving the roster by campus.
A “We miss you” postcard addressed with a note from the lead be sent in the mail.
A call or text to the student
- “Hey! We have noticed you have not been here in a few weeks. Just letting you know we miss seeing you! We hope you are good. Is there anything that we can be praying for you about or do for you and your family? We hope to see you soon!
- Something along those lines.
An email to the parent with a very similar text.
If the CP knows the family, they can reach out to the parents.

Quarterly CCB Report – Students who have checked in this year, but who have not come this quarter

We have the ability to run a report to see students who we have not checked in at youth for 3 months. This is a great opportunity to reach out to youth and parents to let them know we notice, to check in and invite back.

Follow up should look like the following:

A “We miss you” postcard addressed with a note from the lead be sent in the mail.
A call or text to the student
- “Hey! We have noticed you have not been here in a few weeks. Just letting you know we miss seeing you! We hope you are good. Is there anything that we can be praying for you about or do for you and your family? We hope to see you soon!
- Something along those lines.
An email to the parent with a very similar text.
If the CP knows the family, they can reach out to the parents.
That student should be removed from any CCB group roster so we can have accurate information in regards to youth rosters as they are a leading indicator for the success of youth at Sandals.

Whatever church management system you have, it really doesn’t matter, you can take this process and apply it. If your group is small or if it’s massive, the important part is being intentional with the process of follow up to make sure you are covering all bases and making connections with students.

Hope this is helpful.

@justinknowles3

20 Jul 2023

DYM Free for Fall!

By Ronald|2023-07-21T08:34:02-07:00July 20th, 2023|Uncategorized, Youth Ministry Hacks|13 Comments

We know the fall is a crazy time for youth pastors! You’re getting ready for a new semester of ministry. You’re trying to get excited about your students going back to school and you’ve probably got several things already on the calendar.

That’s why DYM wants to make your fall. Amazing with a three day event called free for fall.

We’re giving away $200 worth of resources to every single youth pastor, who registers for it. Just for putting your name on the list, you’ll get a free editable full calendar for you to use so you can already look like a hero to your parents.

After that, we’ve got three days of crazy awesome resources for you to use in your ministry right away!

We want you to have the best fall you possibly can and we can’t think of a better way than to be giving away free resources to jumpstart your ministry. Click this link to sign up and get excited for August 1st through the 3rd and DYM‘s free for fall!

27 Feb 2023

20 Questions on the Way to Your Mission Trip

By Ronald|2023-02-27T20:44:50-08:00February 27th, 2023|Youth Ministry Hacks, youth mission trips|16 Comments

As a youth pastor, I know that the time spent traveling to a mission trip can be long and tedious, especially if you’re stuck in a van with a group of teenagers. But fear not, this time can be used to your advantage! Use this time to help your students begin to think about the mission trip and the impact they can have.

Here are 20 questions to get the conversation started:

What are you most excited about for this mission trip?
What do you hope to gain from this experience?
How do you think this mission trip will challenge you?
What do you think will be the biggest obstacle you’ll face on this trip?
How can we prepare ourselves spiritually for this mission trip?
What do you think our biggest impact will be on the community we’re serving?
What do you think we can learn from the people we’re serving?
How can we build relationships with the people we’re serving?
What do you think our team’s strengths are?
What are some ways we can use our strengths to serve the community?
How can we work together as a team to accomplish our mission?
How do you think this mission trip will change you?
What are some ways we can continue to serve after the mission trip is over?
What are some things you’re nervous about for this trip?
How can we support each other during challenging moments on the trip?
What are some things we can do to be culturally sensitive to the community we’re serving?
What are some things we can do to show God’s love to the people we’re serving?
What are some things we can do to have fun and build relationships with each other on the trip?
How can we stay motivated and focused on our mission throughout the trip?
What are some practical ways we can make a difference in the community we’re serving?

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Twenty questions? That’s a lot of questions to ask teenagers!” But trust me, it’s better than listening to them argue over who gets to play DJ for the hundredth time.

In all seriousness, using this time to have meaningful conversations about the mission trip can help set the tone for the trip and get your students excited about serving. It also gives them a chance to process their thoughts and emotions before arriving at their destination.

So, next time you’re on a mission trip van ride, don’t waste the opportunity! Ask your students some of these questions and get the conversation started. Who knows, it might just make the van ride go by a little faster, and maybe even a little more enjoyable.

Ronald

Need some help with your nest mission trip? Check out these great resources on DYM!

Are you taking your students on a long van ride or trying to find things to do to keep the kids occupied during hours of driving to the mission trip? Use these printable no-prep travel games to get your teens interacting, having fun together, and building memories! You get 18 games that can be printed and put in each vehicle! Guaranteed fun and laughs!

This includes 3, five-day student devotionals designed for mission trips. The 3 topics include Leading Like Jesus, Loving Like Jesus, and Serving Like Jesus.

Co-written with my wife for our ministry’s week-long mission trips, our students AND leaders LOVED these devotionals! Students raved that it was the perfect start to their day, and leaders even demanded more devotions when they returned home.