Youth Ministry For The Longer Haul Podcast

The generation of students we’re all ministering to right now is going through unprecedented times… or are they? More on that in a minute. Ok, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room. It’s been a while since you’ve heard from us. Like you, Jody and I have been trying to navigate doing youth ministry in COVID and learning new rhythms for how we do life. That said, we’re back! And we’re back BIG! In this episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Tim Elmore as he shares with us about his new book, The Pandemic Population. This is SUCH a timely interview as he addresses how COVID may impact our teenagers and ways we can help shape their narrative. LINKS MENTIONED GrowingLeaders.com JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS! AirOSport.fun AIR O SPORT is a new engaging, multi-use game that's guaranteed to get everyone in on the fun!  Easy to learn, challenging to master...boredom never stood a chance! Be sure to use the promo code:

If you've been around the show you know that the focus of what we do here at the Longer Haul is helping Youth Pastors stay put and experience longevity in ministry. In this episode, we're tackling a crucial question you have to be able to answer when things get tough.  Without considering and resolving the answer to this you're likely to leave when things get tough.  It could literally be the difference between staying and going. JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS! AirOSport.fun AIR O SPORT is a new engaging, multi-use game that's guaranteed to get everyone in on the fun!  Easy to learn, challenging to master...boredom never stood a chance! Be sure to use the promo code: LONGERHAUL to save on shipping and get a free upgrade on your discs. ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study curriculum, student devotionals, DiscipleNow resources, youth leader development, and summer camp exper

I think it is safe to say we're all tired of doing youth ministry under quarantine... In this episode, Chris had the chance to jump on (yet another) Zoom call with our friends at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board to talk through post quarantine opportunities you need to consider for your youth ministry.  It's packed with some really practical thoughts you should be considering now as you're processing what "back to normal" should look like. (Also, you'll hear Chris rant on a bit about Zoom fatigue.  Worth listening just for this) JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS! AirOSport.fun AIR O SPORT is a new engaging, multi-use game that's guaranteed to get everyone in on the fun!  Easy to learn, challenging to master...boredom never stood a chance! Be sure to use the promo code: LONGERHAUL to save on shipping and get a free upgrade on your discs. ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study

WE LOVE OUR LISTENERS!!! Because our listeners LOVE teenagers! Last week we got a bunch of YOU together for a zoom call where we talked about what we're all going through. It turned out to be a great episode as we heard from listeners from different parts of the country. We talk about a little bit of everything in this episode, but perhaps the reason it turned out so great is that it was a Zoom room full of folks that are living and breathing youth ministry. In a time like this, it's great to have a support group. We'd love to have you in our podcast Facebook group. A much smaller Facebook group with way less... well... people in a bad mood than most. LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED: JaredHall.com YM360 Care Packages JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS! AirOSport.fun AIR O SPORT is a new engaging, multi-use game that's guaranteed to get everyone in on the fun!  Easy to learn, challenging to master...boredom nev

A couple of weeks ago Chris got word through social media that his friend, Patrick Thompson, like many, right now had gotten sick. It was super encouraging to hear over the last few days that he has recovered and is doing much better. Patrick and Chris have been friends for over 10 years now from back when he was a youth pastor living in Georgia. Patrick and his family were called as church planters to New York City almost 8 years ago and Chris' church has had the blessing of partnering with him a couple of times now on short term mission trips. We asked Patrick if he'd be willing to come on the podcast and share his experience with what it was like to be sick with the virus. We also wanted to have some hard conversations about how this might impact the future of the church and youth ministry in the coming days. We've been blessed to have some great conversations with some amazing people over the years, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that this interview is probably the best and most timely interview w

Like all of you, it has been a CRAZY couple weeks for us as we've adjusted to our current normal of not meeting with teenagers in person. So, we decided to take a moment and share a quick update regarding what we're doing and what we've learned in the last couple of weeks of doing youth ministry in quarantine. We're praying for you as you lead your teenagers during these unusual days. By the way, it'd be a GREAT time to join our super secret Facebook Group... Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED: youthgroupathome.com JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS! AirOSport.fun AIR O SPORT is a new engaging, multi-use game that's guaranteed to get everyone in on the fun!  Easy to learn, challenging to master...boredom never stood a chance! Be sure to use the promo code: LONGERHAUL to save on shipping and get a free upgrade on your discs. ym360.com YM36

Have you ever wondered if we're doing all we can do to reach students for Jesus in a way that will last into their adult years? After hanging out with teenagers and trying to point them to Jesus for over 30 years now, I have and still do. Jody and I believe that part of experiencing youth ministry for the longer haul means we're willing to evaluate our methods and effectiveness on a regular basis. We both ran across an article a couple of months ago called: Time for ‘Radical Reevaluation’ of Youth Ministry by Dr. Richard Ross. Dr. Ross is a friend of the show, Chris's former professor and has been thinking about youth ministry longer than anyone I know. So when he puts out an article about needing to reevaluate youth ministry, it got our attention. LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED: Is it Time for Radical Reevaluation of Youth Ministry by Dr. Richard Ross richardaross.com JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS! AirOS

For many youth workers, fundraising is a necessary part of helping our student experience programming that we believe could help point them to Jesus. We know that for many of our students to be able to experience events like camp, mission trips or weekend retreats, they're going to need financial help. In this interview with Bubba Crowder we get to the heart of fundraising and share some ideas on how to make fundraising most effective. We're also super excited to introduce a new sponsor with an incredible give-a-way. Be sure to listen in order to find out how you can win. LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED: Fund the Nations Southeast Conclave ENTER THE GIVEAWAY thelongerhaul.com/giveaway JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS! AirOSport.fun AIR O SPORT is a new engaging, multi-use game that's guaranteed to get everyone in on the fun!  Easy to learn, challenging to master...boredom never stood a chance! Be sure to

We are just returning from attending a great conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We had a BLAST at Conclave! While there, we were able to sit down with some great youth ministry thinkers. Today we're sharing with you a great interview with Dr. Scott Pace where we talked about the importance of how students understand identity. Scott and Ed Newton has a great new book out called Student Ministry by the Book. In this episode we talk about his new book and also talk about the importance education plays in the life of a youth pastor. LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED: Student Ministry by the Book by Scott Pace and Ed Newton The College at Southeastern Southeast Conclave JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study curriculum, student devotionals, DiscipleNow resources, youth leader development, and summer camp experiences through GENERATE Camp by YM360.

Our hope for you as 2019 comes to an end is that 2020 gets off to a great start. We can't thank you enough for trusting us with your time each week. We don't take that for granted, so we want to be sure to continue to help you accomplish your goal of experiencing longevity in youth ministry for both your current gig and potentially your lifetime. In light of that, we always want to be open to sharing with you our ups and downs in an effort to allow God to use our experiences to help spur you forward. In this episode, Jody and I take a look back at 2019 and share with you some lessons we learned.   LINKS MENTIONED: Episode 80: Jimmy Fallon's Rules for a Great Youth Ministry Episode 58: Maturing as a Youth Pastor Time for "radical reevaluation" of Youth Ministry by Richard Ross JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study curriculum, student devotion

Family ministry can mean a lot of different things in the context of ministry. For some, it means that their entire ministry is family-focused and inclusive. For others thinking in a youth ministry context, they think of family ministry as their efforts to minister to the families of the students in their ministry. Regardless of your definition, I think we can all agree that some level of family ministry is important. In this episode, We in with Nick Blevins from the Family Ministry Podcast to talk about the impact family ministry can have on your youth ministry. LINKS MENTIONED: Family Ministry Podcast with Nick Blevins Graphic Design Help JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study curriculum, student devotionals, DiscipleNow resources, youth leader development, and summer camp experiences through GENERATE Camp by YM360. Check out YOUTH MINISTRY

Here we go! Episode 100!!! Wha what! Thanks for hanging with us and trusting us with your time. We're celebrating episode 100 with Clay Scroggins, Lead Pastor of Buckhead Church in Atlanta, Georgia. Clay is also the author of How to Lead When You're Not in Charge and a brand new book called, How to Lead in a World of Distraction. In this episode, Clay joins us to talk through how distractions impact youth ministers and what we can do about it. Trust me when I tell you, this is a good one! RESOURCES MENTIONED: How to Lead in a World of Distraction: Four Simple Habits for Turning Down the Noise by Clay Scroggins LINKS MENTIONED: TLH065: How to Lead When You're Not in Charge Graphic Design Help JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study curriculum, student devotionals, DiscipleNow resources, youth leader development, and summer camp experiences thr

We all love to be appreciated! I know I do! When it comes to volunteers in our youth ministries, we big-time need to know how to encourage and appreciate what they do for teenagers. In this episode, we interview Erin Wells. Erin works with Jody at High Desert Church in California as the Student Ministry Director. It wasn't long after Jody got to High Desert that we started talking about having her on the show. She's amazing at encouraging volunteers, so we do a deep dive into what's she's learned along the way. And of course, we add a few tips of our own along the way. RESOURCES MENTIONED: Slack GroupMe LINKS MENTIONED: Graphic Design Help JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study curriculum, student devotionals, DiscipleNow resources, youth leader development, and summer camp experiences through GENERATE Camp by YM360. Check out YOUTH MINISTR

It's safe to say that the reason Jody and I are doing the Longer Haul Podcast together is that we first met while attending a network meeting. We've both greatly benefited from networking with others over the years and we think you can too. In this episode, we interview Zach Wyatt, a networking guru from Chattanooga, TN who knows youth ministry and knows how to establish GREAT youth ministry networks. We talk through the success they've had in Chattanooga and learn from Zach how to implement that success in metro and rural communities. This is a fun one! LINKS MENTIONED: Episode 059: The Importance of Youth Ministry Networks and Community Episode 022: Getting Adults to REALLY Pray for your Students Graphic Design Help JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study curriculum, student devotionals, DiscipleNow resources, youth leader development, and su

We believe in longevity, but we know that all of us eventually have to experience a transition and work for a new church. How you approach the first year of ministry at your new church is crucial. Jody recently experienced this when he left Georgia and headed to California. As he approaches the end of his first year of ministry there, he's here to talk about what that first year has been like and how we should all approach our first year of ministry at a new church. In this episode, we take a look at Navigating Your First Year at a New Church. LINKS MENTIONED: Episode 069 Graphic Design Help JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study curriculum, student devotionals, DiscipleNow resources, youth leader development, and summer camp experiences through GENERATE Camp by YM360. Check out YOUTH MINISTRY THREE SIXTY at YM360.com For being a loyal liste

Whoa! What a summer! We both had an amazing summer, but we have been BUSY! If you're like us, you LOVE summer youth ministry. But by the end of summer, you're completely worn out. Youth ministry without a summer, though? NO THANKS! In this episode, we take a look at what we've been up to all summer and we couldn't help but to throw a few tips in along the way. LINKS MENTIONED: Episode 069 Graphic Design Help JOIN THE PODCAST GROUP! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study curriculum, student devotionals, DiscipleNow resources, youth leader development, and summer camp experiences through GENERATE Camp by YM360. Check out YOUTH MINISTRY THREE SIXTY at YM360.com For being a loyal listener use promo code: LONGERHAUL for 20% off your next order. *some exclusions apply*

We love student mission trips! Sometimes those trips are fairly close to home and sometimes they're super far away, but they're almost always incredible. There is something about getting kids outside of their comfort zone that can be truly life-changing. Giving them the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with others is giving them the opportunity to live out the great commission that we're all called to follow. But what do we do to leverage that experience in their lives to create long-lasting change in the way they're following Jesus? It's important that we consider doing much more than just taking our students on a trip, having a great experience and then coming home until the next big youth trip or youth event. We believe the key is discipleship. The kind of discipleship that prepares a teenager to go on mission, live out the mission while on the trip and continuing to live out the great commission when they get back home. In this week's episode, we're going to take a look at discipling students dur

Almost 19 years ago, Wendy and I (Chris) had our first kid. I remember being overwhelmed at the thought of being a Dad. We had no idea what we were doing and we had no idea how it was going to impact our being in youth ministry. It's been quite a ride these last 19 years. Last month, that soon to be 19 year old graduated from High School. He's grown up in youth ministry and been on practically as many youth ministry trips as I have. Jody and I decided to have him on so Jody could get some dirt on me... I mean... so we could pick his brain about what was great and what was challenging growing up in youth ministry and having a youth pastor for Dad. If you're approaching parenthood or are approaching that time where your kid is going to be a part of your youth ministry, this episode is for you. I'm proud of my boy! This one is perhaps one of the best we've done! Or maybe that's just a proud Dad moment?!? Take a listen and let us know what you think. Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Fa

Under the category of "things you didn't know you'd have to know as a youth pastor"... Budgeting. Whether having to create a budget, maintain a budget or fundraise to get a budget, youth pastors have to become proficient in the skill of budgeting. Brent Baskins is a youth ministry professor at Shorter College and spends a lot of time helping youth pastors be the best they can be. When we saw a tweet he posted about budgeting, we decided to have him on. That turned out to be a great call because in this episode Brent shares great wisdom you'll want to pay attention to. The secret is not so secret anymore! Our Facebook group is growing and is a great way for us to stay in contact with one another. We'd love to have you. Join our Facebook Group! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study curriculum, student devotionals, DiscipleNow resources, youth leader development, and summe

Today we're opening the youth ministry vault and sharing with you 5 great summer youth ministry ideas and here's the bonus... We both share 5 each so it ends up being 10! Plus a bonus idea, so really 11! If you're still looking for some ideas for this summer or are hoping to freshen things up in the future, this episode is for you. The secret is not so secret anymore! Our Facebook group is growing and is a great way for us to stay in contact with one another. We'd love to have you. Join our Facebook Group! Click here to join our Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast Facebook Group RESOURCES MENTIONED: Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR! ym360.com YM360 is the premier provider of youth ministry Bible study curriculum, student devotionals, DiscipleNow resources, youth leader development, and summer camp experiences through GENERATE Camp by YM360. Check out YOUTH MINISTRY THREE SIXTY at YM360.com For being a loyal listener use promo code: LONGERHAUL for 20% off your next orde