Youth Ministry Booster
Welcome to the Youth Ministry Booster podcast! The most honest and hilarious podcast in student ministry. Hosted by Zac Workun and Chad Higgins. We are the biggest fans of youth ministry leaders like you!
We are here for you with the humor and the help to engage, entertain, equip, and encourage.
Youth ministry is better together. Learn more @ http://www.youthministrybooster.com
Youth Ministry Booster
Wisdom of the Why Amidst Transitions in Youth Ministry w/ Amanda Mejias
What happens when a dedicated youth ministry leader steps into a new role amidst organizational upheaval?
Amanda Mejias shares her ministry journey from organizing recreation basketball leagues and fitness programs at her home church in Virginia to becoming a girls ministry specialist at LifeWay.
Amanda’s story is not just about transitions but about uncovering the deeper calling of ministry because of the transitions and the unexpected leadership opportunities that arise even during challenging times.
Check out this enriching conversation; Amanda discusses the vital importance of community and support among women in student ministry. We explore the importance of collaboration over competition, the value of sharing resources, and the significance of understanding the "why" behind ministry efforts.
Amanda’s experiences and insights provide a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone involved in youth ministry, particularly during this introspective fall season. Whether you are looking for encouragement or practical advice, this episode offers something valuable for everyone.
A snap. I am nervous. We haven't seen him, we haven't heard from him. So I thought, man, maybe in his new role he's just spending a lot of time in Nashville. So I thought, why not bring the podcast to Nashville? Look for Chad. Chad's not here, but, even better, our friend Amanda's here. Hey, amanda, hello.
Speaker 2:I feel like a disappointment. You're like, and I came to Nashville and he still is here. We'll settle.
Speaker 1:But Amanda's even better, Amanda Mejia. So welcome to the.
Speaker 2:You Can Shoot Booster podcast. Glad to have you today.
Speaker 1:Thanks for filling in for Chad again. Yay, chad Cation continues. But hey friend, hello, we're excited to have you. We're recording live in Nashville today, which is fun.
Speaker 2:I know it's fun, it's fun to hang out and be here.
Speaker 1:Same white walls, though the white brick it haunts. But, amanda, tell us a little bit where you think Chad is. You know Chad, he's on our team. I know he's been gone for like six weeks now. Where do you think Chad?
Speaker 2:is I mean surely it's on a sabbatical.
Speaker 1:Ooh, a sabbatical that he didn't tell anybody. Oh, I don't know if that works out like he wants it to. He disappeared.
Speaker 2:Well, he disappeared. Well, chad was on a vacation. There's only one place, that Chad vacations. Yes, and it's on a boat, oh yeah. So I don't know, man loves a boat, I don't know what ocean or body of water. Chad's in, but my guess is he's on a boat somewhere. Let's plan it for him If he's gone for this many weeks.
Speaker 1:What body of water do you think that Chad Higgins is in the Mediterranean the. Mediterranean. Oh good, the end of summer sail. Yeah, he got it, that's right. Does Carnival Cruise do Mediterranean cruises? I bet the Royal Caribbean, I bet he's doing research. That's it, he's doing research.
Speaker 2:Carnival's too below, that's true.
Speaker 1:I don't know. Chad likes to party. He's here to party, so who knows? But, amanda, we're glad to have you on the podcast today, because we're going to learn more about you and we're going to talk about wisdom in ministry. I think the fall season is always kind of an introspective season that way, and so, friend, you have served in ministry for a number of years now on our team, for the last five and a half years.
Speaker 2:Tell the folks at home. Amanda Mejiaz how in the world did you end up at Lifeway? That's always a great question because, sometimes I'm like I don't know how I got here. Why youth ministry? Of all the?
Speaker 1:things in the world. Why youth ministry? I know.
Speaker 2:So I am from? I came from Rose Virginia, born and raised. It's kind of where I spent most of my life.
Speaker 1:Grew up at the same church, the VA, the West VA or the VA East VA. We are like East Coast. Is that another state? It feels like it sometimes Because it's like beachside, right. Yeah, we're like right between, like, williamsburg and Virginia Beach. So I grew up going to Jamestown. History and the beach. Oh yes, yes, very esteemed. Every field trip. Oh yes, the Colonials. This is the history of our country.
Speaker 2:Yes, so, yeah, yeah. So I grew up there. I grew up in the same church and got to college, and every time I feel like I try to leave and go to another school, or have big plans. The Lord was like nope, you're going to stay right here. And served at my home church really when as soon as I could legally like 16. She's a year removed. Call her in.
Speaker 2:Right, but by the time I got Like a SWAT team strike like move, move, move they Right, but by the time I got Like a SWAT team strike like move, move, move.
Speaker 1:They're like what position can we just find, Offload, yeah.
Speaker 2:And so I started serving with our recreation ministry.
Speaker 1:That was kind of my like jump start yes, recreation ministry Adult softball. Shout out to the recreation ministers that are planning games ad nauseum for everyone. Amen, there's degrees in that. Did you know that? That's wild.
Speaker 2:I, I believe it. And also there's student pastors who I know, who plan full upward programs.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, so like On top of everything else, on top of everything I was like how did you get that's a lot of clipboards to? Carry. It's a lot of whistles, a lot of clipboards.
Speaker 2:It's so much.
Speaker 1:So recreation, like? Are you talking like basketball?
Speaker 2:leagues, yeah, upward leagues, open gyms yes. Okay, ball was like a big thing. We did something called Seat to the Street. Seat to the Street, yes.
Speaker 1:Say more. Say more for this church campaign.
Speaker 2:Literally, I was. I am not the most athletic person, but I we would do this like training, especially in January. Every like new year was like getting people walking, okay. And so we were in a larger church and we had a setup where we had like the track around the gym.
Speaker 1:Yes, like silver sneakers, and so we would just like help track people's walking.
Speaker 2:Okay, and then, like after like eight weeks, we would host a 5K and the program was called See to the Street.
Speaker 1:But my favorite was when so it was like, instead of couch to 5K, see to the street, get your booties up off them. Pews yes, exactly.
Speaker 2:So my favorite, though, was when we either had bad weather or something like that and they wanted to mix up the area. There was a space around the worship center where you could walk inside the church, and seven laps around the worship center was a mile.
Speaker 1:Hold up, wait, wait. The weather gets bad. Everybody moves inside and literally walk seven times around. Balls of Jericho are coming down.
Speaker 2:We would say, like don't blow your trumpets like this Keep the horns at the ready, can you?
Speaker 1:imagine I'd hate to imagine disaster for anyone but on one of those days, if there was an accidental roof collapse at the church scripture reimagined. It just happened right there.
Speaker 2:It would have been strange, do you have?
Speaker 1:any pastors named Joshua on staff or Scripture reimagined. It just happened right there.
Speaker 2:It would have been strange. Did you have any pastors named Joshua on staff, or was that like forbidden? No, okay, that's smart, interesting, right, smart, yeah, well, so, yeah, so that's where I really got my start. Fell in love with recreation ministry. Yeah, and really then fell in love with camp ministry.
Speaker 1:Yeah, which is how.
Speaker 2:I first got connected with.
Speaker 1:Yeah, people were excited.
Speaker 2:So did center kid camps for three summers to serve kids ministry. Shout out to our CK friends. I know, were you ever?
Speaker 1:peach. Huh, were you ever peach?
Speaker 2:I was never peach Okay.
Speaker 1:We'll figure out who peach is one day. If you don't know, it's fine. If you're a CK person, you can do it If you know.
Speaker 2:You know If you know, you know, We'll figure out who Peach is. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, the legend continues. Centricate for three years. That's how I met my husband. Was he your centricate Camp love? We are camp.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh okay, all right, we have the coffee poured. We have the table.
Speaker 2:Let's dish All right Camp love, and I will give you the quote.
Speaker 1:Rule followers Fine.
Speaker 2:Fine, Well, I was. There's a whole lot of story there, but the end of the summer I'll give you the one-liner that sealed the deal.
Speaker 1:Brandon, it's one-liner or you're one-liner. They're playing gaga ball right. Because to me, what do you do at camp?
Speaker 2:other than play gaga ball and someone came up to you, go with him.
Speaker 1:These students or other staffers? This is other staffers. So, like you knew, it was serious and I just freaked out and just immediately started. So it wasn't like students that were like shipping you or whatever. No, this was like other staffers, like hey, it's happening, he's talking, this is happening, now it's happening.
Speaker 2:Love it and I started walking.
Speaker 1:didn't even like to him or away, uh, away from him, okay, okay well, next thing, you know he's conflict avoidance.
Speaker 2:He's like running up next to me and um. You know he's like hey so I've been wanting to tell you this last week of the summer. Yeah, is there a lot last weekend yeah, camp and he said I can't let a woman like you walk into my life and watch you walk away. So seal that deal, take.
Speaker 1:Take notes, listeners. Yeah, that's how you close a deal at the end of camp.
Speaker 2:It's true. So, 11 years and two kids later, here we are. Here we are.
Speaker 1:Congratulations. Well, he's a cutie too. We love Brandon. Yeah, yeah, yeah so left Centricate.
Speaker 2:That was my last summer.
Speaker 1:Camp's a blessing for you. Camp was great. 10 out of 10 would recommend.
Speaker 2:I know and I truly thought I was going to do camp recreation ministry, but that's really where I fell in love with curriculum and Bible studies. And where I feel like God kind of shaped my desire to go to seminary one day. And so imagine my surprise when I got a call from the church and they're like hey, we're opening this like multi-site campus, We'd love for you to be the admin. And I was like no, thank you, that's a weird sell.
Speaker 1:That was not really my plan. How would you like to administrate between multiple locations?
Speaker 2:I'm over here just doing hands-on ministry.
Speaker 1:With the people Right From the seat to the street.
Speaker 2:I'm thinking I'm about to go off to college and get to do ministry school. Study and do and the Lord kind of changed my plans and started off as an admin. I was very quickly promoted as a ministry assistant.
Speaker 1:Oh good, oh yes, so I got to serve our staff, which was just—. Title improvement Always good.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's good. So I got to serve our team of seven, yeah, and so I did a lot of kids ministry, did a lot of student ministry.
Speaker 1:So a little bit of everything. A little bit of everything, our hospitality ministry was like my baby, so like loving my volunteers and my old man parking team that ate breakfast together every Sunday morning. I love they were.
Speaker 2:They were my people.
Speaker 1:70 and older and my church growing up. It was the mowing crew Thursday. They would all like go mow before it got too hot. Then they would have like donuts or breakfast together and I was like stop it.
Speaker 2:I know this is.
Speaker 1:this is small groups. I don't care who you are Count it, add it to the ministry clock.
Speaker 2:Yes, 100%. So they, I, just I fell in love just with the local church and, at the end of the day, like I knew that, like my heart though, was for like church staff, yeah, and I was like yeah, capital. C and to love on church leaders, whatever their role look like. But I had just a natural bent towards student ministry.
Speaker 1:It's the most fun. It's the most fun. It's so fun Always has been always will be the most fun and I loved our youth pastors that we got to work with.
Speaker 2:I worked closely with them in camp and that was kind of like my baby getting to help plan student camp.
Speaker 1:So a little bit of everything all the way through.
Speaker 2:And meanwhile doing seminary. Freshly married and right when I thought that I was going to wrap up seminary and apply, for something, whatever's next, whatever's next Find out. We're pregnant with Blakely, which was not in my original five-year plan.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And it was the best plan. But, I'm thinking I'm going to be an admin forever which is fine. This is just not what I thought and I was 28 weeks pregnant when an editor position for a gospel project for students opened up here at Lifeway. Yeah, and applied for that role. Same I'm not moving at 28 weeks pregnant Like it was August.
Speaker 1:This is a lot of life happening.
Speaker 2:This is cute but good interview experience. I could get closer to working on Bible studies and curriculum and that's where my heart is for and the ministry leader, so it was like one step closer. Well, I only had like one interview and I remember when I applied my husband was like so when do you think you would actually like take this job?
Speaker 1:realistically and I was like he's like laying out the logistics. He's like that's cool career experience, but like what's the plan?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love it. Yeah, yeah, I love that. Your husband the carpenter like has like the plan I land. I know he was a pastor at the time. He was an associate worship pastor on our staff, and so a move for me would be a big move for both of us. And I remember it was August and I was like, well, I mean the soonest I'd move. It's like the baby would need to be at least three months old, and that would be even crazy, and no one's going to wait for me from August to February.
Speaker 2:Well, that was the year that the Lifeway stores all shut down uh rest in peace and uh um, they kind of put a hiring freeze on jobs and everything so I didn't really hear back, except like one interview.
Speaker 1:It was a good talk.
Speaker 2:We'll be back, yeah, exactly don't know when, but eventually so january rolled around um, the process picked up quickly and they're like can, can you start in February?
Speaker 2:And so me and my husband left our two full-time ministry jobs and moved to Nashville with our two-and-a-half-month-old and it was crazy but fell in love with LifeWay, loved getting to work on Gospel Project and six months after that our girls ministry specialist, mary Margaret West, who I love she walked away for a new position or to move with her husband and I was the new girl and they're like hey, do you think you can like?
Speaker 1:manage? How about more content editing Right? How about more things, yeah Like.
Speaker 2:Can you manage the emails for now and I'm like, OK, we could do that, and honestly just like happy to serve and then, a few months after that, my precious boss. At the time, he was like listen, if I leave you as an editor he said I'm pretty sure you're gonna shrivel up and not say he said, you have a heart for people and I want to see that in action. He's like have you ever thought about girls ministry?
Speaker 2:And I was like, yeah, I'm gonna pass on that one, but thank you uh, I mean when we were on church staff like I, we had like teen guys over our house every saturday night like that, were like in the youth band that would play with brandon the boys.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, so like it was.
Speaker 2:Girls ministry was like the farthest thing. I I'm like, I'm not an event planner, I don't wear pink, like I don't want to talk about purity, and your handbags are remarkably small yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't even know if I had a purse at that point more of a backpack than a purse.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, right, uh, and so I just felt like the wrong person for the job. Um, but obviously, when you start asking the lord, what does he? Want um there's surprised by certain plans and so I stepped into a girls ministry specialist role in february of 2020 yep um right, when no one knew what girls ministry looked like. Well, I guess, march 2020 was when everything kind of flipped upside down any of ministry was going to look like.
Speaker 1:So here I am on these zoom calls, a chance to reimagine all of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah and here I'm on the zoom calls, thinking that I'm coming to like learn from them to how to do girls ministry. And so here I am on a zoom call with these amazing I get like emotional, like thinking about these women, um, and I'm like cool, I'm just gonna sit back and they're like hey, amanda, do you want to like chime in?
Speaker 1:here, what do you want?
Speaker 2:and I'm like I have nothing to offer you, but the lord was kind and just I. That's where I feel like my calling just became very clear. Is that I'm not here to like be the smartest person around the table but, I'm here to shepherd and love these women who are just like we're lost, we're hurting we're uncertain and getting to look at them and saying like, you're not alone.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I'm going to be here. But look at these other women and bringing them together and that's what I've kind of done for the past four years now is bringing women together in student ministry, whether they're a girls minister or youth minister, whatever their title may be, and to help them find like their place and their community with one another.
Speaker 1:Love it Well, and that's kind of some things we're going to talk about. Today is so this is a unique episode for us.
Speaker 1:We have team chat all the time, but one of the things that's unique for our team that we kind of tease about is that we're like ministers for ministry leaders that we're pastors for youth pastors, we're students of student ministry, girls ministry, and so one of the things I just wanted to share with our crew, with our listeners, is just what are some of the things that you've been hearing or learning along the way. We talk about it all the time, whether it's online in a community like Booster or a network coffee or a big group text. Youth ministry leaders are always asking, like the idea how did you do it? How do you face challenges Like even the dangerous waters of like Facebook wisdom are like out there, because we all want to learn from what others are doing, and that's one of the I think the gifts that we've had is not that we are the experts, but we're super informed, Like I feel. Like I feel like I have like the aggregate of like. I don't know if this is right, but here's what I'm hearing.
Speaker 2:Here's what everyone's been saying.
Speaker 1:Everybody's doing it this way, and so I just wanted you to, for our crew to share a little bit of like what are some of the things that you've heard that either might be really encouraging or insightful, or maybe even like like reaffirming, like. I feel like sometimes we can hear, like some things online, like social media is really good at distorting, like outliers, when the core of the thing might be far more consistent or reliable than we realized, and so I know that for one of the conversations that we've had both in this next season of ministry, it's just the importance of keeping the questions really specific to where the students are at today. I think it can be really easy to get absorbed in like generational talk, right, like everything's, like Gen Z this or Gen Alpha, that, and it's like, yeah, but what about like Tommy and Stephanie, like what are, like their big questions?
Speaker 1:Because that's something that you, as their youth ministry leader, can be best to help answer, more than just the big research? And so, even in that like aggregate of like all the things that we're hearing, how would you redirect some of those things that you've heard to a youth worker, minister, listener.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh yeah. I've learned a lot from just listening to girls ministers. I think there's a whole lesson there of just being willing to listen and not just showing up and being like I'm the smartest person in the room, Let me tell you but being willing to hear.
Speaker 1:I have the one size fits all, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think that is one of the things I've learned, especially with girls ministry, is that, like you know, I have a group text of 150 girls ministers or women doing girls, ministry in different ways, and none of them is there's no one size fits all to girls ministry, and I think that is the key to youth ministry. But what I've learned from them?
Speaker 1:is that they?
Speaker 2:still want collaboration. So it's like you know they're not going to all have the same mega girls weekend event retreat away with a great, famous speaker that they pay you know thousands of dollars for, but what they're all looking for is like hey, what topics are your girls?
Speaker 1:needing.
Speaker 2:Or hey, my girls are struggling with this. What resources do you have for parents? Or hey, do you have a budget proposal that I can adapt for my ministry? Or what are some gift ideas for leaders?
Speaker 2:And it's just this, I think a lot of times people assume that girls are like catty or dramatic or there's like the spirit of competition, and what I have learned more and more in the space, specifically with women in youth ministry, is that, like there is so much like the spirit of celebration with one another, like championing one another not like you know well, our ministry does this- and our ministry does that Like?
Speaker 2:it's more of like how do I come alongside you and make you feel seen and valued? And part of that may be just because oftentimes the women are like maybe if you have a team of people, there may usually be like one female on staff or maybe more men, not all the time, but but sometimes yeah, yeah um, and so for them to get to be around any kind of other women in the space.
Speaker 2:it's like, let me take this chance not to compete with you or to compare to you, but how can I champion you? How can I?
Speaker 1:Well, and I think that's one of the things I mean we've said it before on the podcast Nobody understands youth ministry better than other youth ministry leaders. Like, nobody understands what you're going through better than this community, and that's why it breaks my heart when it starts to get maybe competitive or comparative, and I think the word that we talk about a lot on our team that people will probably get sick of in a few months but we love it, is collaborative.
Speaker 1:And I think exactly what you're sharing. It is someone who is willing to be open-hearted enough to ask, but then kind enough to champion or celebrate, Because that's one of the things that comparison or competition can't do is cheer for each other. And I think that's one of the things that we've got to be really good about, because if everything else again big trends that we're talking about are true, there is a shrinking number of folks that are willing to consistently and faithfully do this thing called youth ministry.
Speaker 1:So the last thing that we'd willing to share openly enough that will cheer for you and maybe even like critique or challenge you when it is the like I think I should have this big mega weekend. The simple questions sometimes that are like why, yeah, why do you think you need to do that? Like how many? Like there's so much like online, like facebook, wisdom of like I'm gonna do this thing and everybody's like do it and then book me to speak at it. And it's like well, hold on. But like is that the thing that we really need? Like what? What is the thing behind the thing? And I think that's one of the wise pieces the more that we do this is learning to ask each other. Man, I hear what you're concerned about, like I hear the thing that you, like are wanting to try or do the idea. Youth ministry is prolific for coming up with ideas, but like what is the heart concern? That's like really motivating the idea?
Speaker 2:like yeah, it's I, you know, we have our his glory, her good podcast um and we're not available on spotify podcast or youtube.
Speaker 1:Youtube got it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah anyway, but it's really interesting watching, like the listen ratings or whatever of just like which episode topics are more popular.
Speaker 1:Sure, sure, sure.
Speaker 2:We try to like label them very straightforward.
Speaker 1:There's no guessing what this episode it is, what it is Right.
Speaker 2:It's empathy, darn it. Yeah, yeah, no-transcript about and those are our lowest rating ones. The ones that are the highest rating are the ones that talk about their value and what they're doing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's the why.
Speaker 2:So it's not the how or the what it's, the why, the culture it's the why am I here, or what am I going to be doing a year from now, and why do I stick this out when it gets hard?
Speaker 1:That's why we always ask the story of how you got into it. Because, again, of all the things, of all the things, that calling story of what would draw you in, because of who would draw you in, is such a powerful connective element. More than like, oh well, you've done this or you're at that church, I always just want to know how did you get started, why is this a thing and why are you still doing it and that, why like? If you don't have that identified, that is something that you should have like written, or get Nathan to wood carve it or whatever. Have it. Have you got to have it near and dear?
Speaker 1:Like Karen, my wife, karen, an English teacher, always talks about treasure chest, so we each have like little tote boxes of like notes or printed off emails of things that remind us, the things that we forget, and I think for so much of what ministry is is building a better memory and, like some of the things that I love, that into what was needed to help shape it, because the why is the same yeah.
Speaker 2:And so like the how.
Speaker 1:More than the role, more than the title Right.
Speaker 2:It's the why and the heart, and I think that's what connects us. And if we can get past the oh, I do it this way or I do this way, or my idea is better.
Speaker 1:How yeah, the how?
Speaker 1:and we just get back to why we have a lot more in common because we just want to see kids know Jesus right. So that's one of the things for folks that have been listening for a long time, they know this story. I was networking youth workers as part of my very first ministry job because I was lonely Tuesday afternoons at 2, there was a standing appointment at a certain Starbucks in northwest Oklahoma City that we just kept sending group texts out to folks. Like man, if Tuesday morning staff meeting was long, or after your campus visits, like that was the thing, it was just like getting the folks together was true. It was then, it was now, it probably will be always like the true thing of it and it may look differently from north carolina to oklahoma, to lifeway or whatever but, like the truthfulness of the why.
Speaker 1:If you can can identify that, then you can weather the challenges or the traditions or even the changes of what you might serve and do and so so where's your why at now, Like, let's say, say more of identified and live living into it? Where?
Speaker 2:are you at now? I do feel like my why I am going to make a confession here on the podcast. First, first heard, recorded but like of like, deciding like. What is my why of like, why. Why am I here at Lifeway now? I think I know that yeah but why am I gonna still be here five years?
Speaker 1:from now or um, you know.
Speaker 2:So now I'm like looking up, do I go to seminary?
Speaker 1:do I go to business school like what?
Speaker 2:what is the why? And the reality is, is that I would say my personal why? Is still the same that it was. It's like love and lead and minister to church leaders. And so I don't know what that's going to look like five years from now? But if my, why can stay the same? Like you know, my role may look different, or it may not. I could do what I'm doing now forever and be totally content and happy.
Speaker 1:Well, that's a question for you, for folks listening. Amanda, thank you for chatting today and talking about ministry. I know that for a lot of folks that do know, you maybe are connected either through Lifeway Girls Instagram or your personal Instagram that we can link and stuff below. But we'll even share the group text if folks want to get connected with you. For women in ministry that are serving and looking for connection in the group text.
Speaker 1:We're excited for this next season of Youth Ministry Booster, but also the continuing conversations to remind and encourage, to connect and to collaborate, because that's what we get to do. So any last words of wisdom for our folks out the door.
Speaker 2:Oh, man, I would just say continue to find those people to celebrate and champion. Those are the people that are going to be in it with you the longest. That's it, that's right.
Speaker 1:All right, friends, we'll see you back next week on an episode of the Youth Ministry Booster Podcast with, hopefully, chad, or maybe more clues about where he might be. So we'll see you then. Bye, bye, bye.
