On episode 30 of The Student Ministry Podcast, I interview Justin Herman, who recently made a transition from leading junior high ministry at Mariners Church to leading all student ministry at Sandals Church. Justin and I dive into all the reasons why he made the switch. We also chat about the structure of Justin's ministry at Mariners … Continue reading Choosing Family with Justin Herman (The Student Ministry Podcast – Episode 30)
A few months ago, my wife and I took a trip down to the Denver Downtown Aquarium. We had a meet-and-greet with a binturong, who was really fun and, exactly as we expected, smelled just like popcorn! Throughout our self-guided aquarium tour, I took a ton of videos and photos. Well, I eventually got around … Continue reading A Day at the Denver Aquarium
On this episode of The Student Ministry Podcast, I interview Andrew Larsen, who recently made the transition out of student ministry into a lead minister role at Safety Harbor Community Church in Safety Harbor, FL. Not only will we get into Andrew's story, but we talk about what that transition has been like, and if … Continue reading Moving from Student Pastor to Lead Pastor with Andrew Larsen (The Student Ministry Podcast – Episode 29)
One of the most exciting things about Orange is its approach to all-church ministry. If you are familiar with their family ministry philosophy, you already know that it is more than just a plan for kids and student ministry. It's actually something that can transform how your entire church does ministry -- to kids, students, … Continue reading Bring Your Team to Orange Tour
One of the things I love doing is networking with other youth workers. I especially love it when it intersects with my love of the outdoors. Yesterday, my wife and I had the privilege of joining several other youth pastors and volunteers from Colorado in Buena Vista to raft the Browns Canyon section of the … Continue reading Whitewater Rafting in Browns Canyon with Noah’s Ark
The longer I am in student ministry, the more I realize that there are so many things involved in making it happen. You have all the more traditional things like teaching, games, worship, trips, and regular communication, but you also have other elements that have been added over time. In many settings, the student ministry … Continue reading Creating a Volunteer Strategy in Student Ministry (OC18)
On this episode of The Student Ministry Podcast, Nick Blevins, Tom Bump, David Maddron, and Tom Pounder join Steve Cullum to talk about their experience at The Orange Conference 2018. For those who are regular listeners, you will notice a departure from the regular setup in this episode. These five guys were asked by Orange … Continue reading The Orange Conference 2018 Recap (Episode 28: The Student Ministry Podcast)
Every year at The Orange Conference, they honor volunteers in some way. This year, they hopped on the Hamilton hype train and did a parody of "Alexander Hamilton." (Please forgive the shakiness of the footage, as I didn't have time to get the tripod setup.) https://youtu.be/lJ1smOpQWIc [Photo provided by Sterling Graves.]
As I've mentioned before, this year's theme at The Orange Conference 2018 was "One Voice." The idea behind this is that we can do more when we work together. This thought is applicable to many situations, but there was one that stood out to me more than some others -- that we should work together … Continue reading What if… Just Jesus? (OC18)
Going into The Orange Conference 2018, I knew the theme was about working together. When it came to the workshops, though, I chose them a couple months ago. I picked them by just focusing on where I thought I needed some help. At this point, the conference is just over halfway complete, and I've been sensing … Continue reading Learning to Layer and Let Go (OC18)
