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
What Is Relational Discipleship? w/ Christian Moore
Wait Chad Higgins is a verb now?
In this episode, we're excited to welcome Christian Moore to the garage floor!
Join us for a fun and lighthearted conversation where we imagine Chad Higgins' latest adventures—most likely cracking jokes at a Waffle House—and share our own quirky late-night memories from this iconic spot. We talk favorite orders and those infamous Waffle House training videos that are part of its charm.
Does ministry need a dramatic calling moment?
Christian takes us through his journey from Tulsa’s church sanctuary, where he found peace during family struggles, to a surprising path into youth ministry. Even with a start in physical therapy, Christian’s heart for students led him to step away from jobs and dive into ministry. With encouragement from a pastor, he realized that natural gifts and a passion for serving others are all it takes to make a meaningful impact.
Let’s talk relational discipleship!
Christian shares practical ways to connect with all students, not just the regulars—like sending simple texts or showing up at community events. We also dive into empowering students through serve teams, deepening discipleship, and staying humble as a ministry leader.
We wrap up by discussing how sermon planning evolves and the exciting "Year of the Devoted" model, helping students apply biblical truths in real, impactful ways. You don’t want to miss this episode filled with laughter, heart, and great ministry insights!
Make sure to tune in for ministry tips, stories, and inspiration!
A snap Christian.
Speaker 1:Yes, sir.
Speaker 2:What's going on, man?
Speaker 1:How are you doing today? I'm doing good. How are you?
Speaker 2:Dude Christian thanks for joining us all the way from Jinx, America, here in Tulsa.
Speaker 1:Hey, someone on your podcast the other day said Yukon America. Oh yeah, they got to cut it out.
Speaker 2:It's Jinx America, get it right, anthony, or pay the price. Yeah, yeah, dude, we are so glad to have you on the show today. Uh, sharing, doing because, one, you're a new friend, but two, like I think you might be actually able, one of the few ones that could solve the riddle of where chad is on chad chadcation, because you actually know chad I do know chad spent a good deal of time with chad, had chad out to do a little d now with y'all or whatever.
Speaker 2:Uh, man, christian, before we jump into the, the what's what and the hey, hey, like, where in the world is Chad Higgins today?
Speaker 1:Where is he at? I've got some thoughts. Where is he at today? Oh, we've got thoughts. Okay, I grew up in Oklahoma in the Baptist student ministry world and so, like as a student, I knew Chad whenever he was a youth pastor, just as he was the funny guy at every event, the guy that always made us laugh whenever he did announcements. Then I got older and got into ministry and I've been around chad, like you said, at d nows and things.
Speaker 2:According to my students, if you were to ask them, chad did our last d now yeah, yeah, yeah and they love him okay, so they rightfully, so rightfully, so they made like his picture, their phone backgrounds, they.
Speaker 1:They show people his picture and they say we chad, we chatted them, so chad chad's, not just a photo or a person, he's a verb chad's a verb. Let's chat him. That's what they say, man, and they get them, and so they're. They would think he's probably somewhere climbing a mountain, conquering the world.
Speaker 2:A viking like they think chad's all in dude, dude, chad, chad. The viking adventurer is a show that the discovery channel needs just chad and the great outdoorsdoors.
Speaker 1:But me knowing. Chad and knowing where I spent most of some ministry time with him, especially from the first D-NOW I did whenever I was in Owasso I think Chad's probably just in a Waffle House right now, I think.
Speaker 2:Chad's set a Waffle House booth making people laugh with stories. That was my first real experience with Chad and that's just how I always picture him. Dude, dude. If anybody's gonna make benefit of the free wi-fi at, a waffle house. It's our guy chad. It is okay. How do you think he gets his hash browns? So what? What is? It, oh, man he scatters smothered dice like what's, what's?
Speaker 1:the uh smothered, smothered. Okay, definitely smothered, definitely smothered, yeah, yeah, absolutely what is your?
Speaker 2:what is your Like when you go? All-star breakfast All-star breakfast you have to no hashies. What about? The all-star? Is your go-to Like? Why?
Speaker 1:all-star. It's like you get a little bit of everything.
Speaker 2:Okay, you get you know, eggs, bacon.
Speaker 1:Okay, Waffle all that.
Speaker 2:Dude, walk us through. Are you scrambling the eggs over easy with the toast? Okay, you put the over easy egg on the toast and you let the yolk run on it. You know? Yeah, that's ever since I was a kid. That's okay. So now it's like waffle house. Uh, is that like a regular one for you, or is that like a late night? We had a big weekend or is that like a?
Speaker 1:I'm actually very rarely ever at a waffle house?
Speaker 2:it's not. I know a lot of people love it. They call it their waffle home.
Speaker 1:But it's got to be. It's got to be a group of people that are just like like Owasso. We went every year for D-NOW, it was the tradition, like after first service. Take the band and speaker to Waffle House.
Speaker 2:That's where I spent the first amount of time with Chad. We're so glad you guys have come in from Alabama. Have you guys heard about?
Speaker 1:our waffle home. Yeah, have you been scared at 11 o'clock while you try to eat these eggs?
Speaker 2:Okay, have you seen the Waffle House training videos? No Dude if you need a YouTube deep dive. They have these Waffle House training videos for various scenarios. It's unreal. I love that they really do caution and protect their folks at a myriad of the opera, yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, I've never not had a unique experience at waffle house though it's never been a normal, just like my friend joe erwin does tiktok and instagram stuff yeah and one of the ladies that was a waitress at the waffle house recognized him and she followed him like she's, like I've seen you and she still comments on everything now, and so it's like that's the lady from waffle house, like she loves him and so picking up followers at the waffle house that is that's a bold play joe. That's a bold play.
Speaker 2:No, you're right I don't think I've been to a waffle house and there's not been like a story worth telling after, whether it was something like questionably violent or a health scare or, like you know, just just a strange. Again now I'm a late night waffle house guy, that's, that's one thing. So you say in chat this is going early, like that tells me, like I'm actually wondering if he's okay.
Speaker 1:That's true, like if you are there before midnight, there might be something going on in your life If you're there before 9am.
Speaker 2:I'm more concerned than if you're there after 9 PM.
Speaker 1:Right, absolutely yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Like what choices did you make that you're like this is the only place.
Speaker 1:Every breakfast place open. Right, right, yeah, I don't deserve anything else.
Speaker 2:This, this is, this is like a real, it's like a real guilty Like this is what I've earned. Yeah, absolutely Well, christian, for the folks that don't know you a little bit, man, give us a little bit how you end up in youth ministry. I know we got some big topics that we're going to talk about today, about connecting with students, networking with other youth ministers and so to that effort like man, help us get to know you a little bit more, because man like just to be really truthful, honestly, you're like another, like one of like. We've had some younger guys like Anthony and Micah and some other folks I love hearing from it makes me sound like an old person, but Gen Z youth pastors. It really feels like there is a new wave and a new era. So I just want folks to get to know you how you got in ministry, because I do love this story of just the enthusiasm and excitement to get into ministry.
Speaker 2:But, just, dude, tell us a little bit about you.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So man, growing up I was always in church. I grew up here in Tulsa and the Tulsa area. I've been here most of my life and so um grew up in church and and loved church Like that was my safe place. As a kid had had some family issues growing up with parents getting divorced and some tragedies and thing where church was always the safe place, like I wanted to be there, I felt loved, I felt comforted whenever those things happened, like those are the people that that took care of us and you know. And so I loved church.
Speaker 2:The church was like, I mean in a model way. Church and even youth ministry was like a family like a home for you that's powerful to hear.
Speaker 1:When the doors were open, I was there, and when the doors were closed, was that grew up in it.
Speaker 2:Even was family involved. Or really are you one of the?
Speaker 1:students that was there because, like, it meant so much to you. Yeah, my, my brothers went, my mom I have older brothers my mom went, uh, and so they were, but I was definitely like I was the one that was there every single time the doors were open, and if they weren't open?
Speaker 2:helping or, like maybe, playing games. Definitely both. Uh, we appreciate your honesty. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely, but it was great, and so, as I got older, though, I got started in college and decided, like I'm going to go do physical therapy is what I thought I wanted to do. And so I started college for that and I was just serving in the student ministry at a church. Here my brother ended up going into student ministry. He's eight years older than me.
Speaker 2:He's a pastor at a church which you didn't know we were brothers until the last time we talked. I didn't know, so, aj, he kept saying brother. I thought he meant brother in the Lord. This is my on-camera confession Actual brother.
Speaker 1:AJ, this is your real brother.
Speaker 2:I mean yeah, we talked about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I was just serving the time or you know I just like I wanted. There was jobs in college that I quit because they were like hey. I need you to start working Wednesday nights and I was like just not going to do it.
Speaker 2:Like I love being at church, like that's you're like model student, you're like, you're like model youth.
Speaker 1:I love. It's important whenever they they tell me like I may be interested in ministry, I was like not thinking that I should go into ministry because I didn't have the big call, like because growing up all I ever heard about is. I remember whenever God called me to ministry.
Speaker 2:A big call moment.
Speaker 1:This big moment of like this is all I know, this is what I'm supposed to do, and I didn't feel like I'd ever had that Like.
Speaker 1:God so like I'm always going to help with ministry. But I'll go do something else and had a guy, a pastor at a different church that I was talking with. That was just really wise and he was like dude you to it. He's like he's gifted you, he's given you the passions. He's like do you think God's going to be upset that you choose to be a student pastor? Because you never felt like you had your big call, like your big aha moment, Emotional moment. Response yeah, God's not going to be mad about that.
Speaker 1:Like he's not going to be upset that you want to do ministry and so that was huge for me of like and how I explain it to students. Like it doesn't have to be this. You are at D now and you were crying and you knew right then that this is the only thing I'll ever do with my life. Like, if you are passionate, like if you're passionate about it, if you have abilities to do it and you could see like I could do this.
Speaker 1:Like do it Like God's given you that passion for a reason. That's a call.
Speaker 2:That's such a refreshing refreshing version of the story because I think for so many folks in ministry, like the call story is powerful and it means a lot and if that's you listening, like that is something that we encourage you to hold on to, because sometimes, like a job will make you question the work, but the call will remind you of who called you.
Speaker 2:But there's that element of like preparedness man, like that just I hear in your story of, like that God had been at work for this a long time, coupled with just knowing how much ministry meant to you, is really like. Again, youth ministers often either seem to be like they're paying back a debt because they were like the worst kid in ministry, or for for for. I would say for the two of us at this table, youth ministry was such a blessing in the life for us and our family that we feel almost owed to it in the ways in which it just made a big difference to us. Okay, Tell them a little bit about, though, how you got your first job, Cause this, this, this is what I love is that, like everybody else, is like man. I wish I, I wish I had opportunities, but you would have made some.
Speaker 1:You gotta grind, you gotta some. Some people wait and some people go, you know, but yeah, no, seriously, I, I. So I talked to the church I was at and they didn't have like any internships or like a program or anything at that point, and so but and that didn't stop you, it didn't stop me, and so I was like we don't have an internship program, I guess I can't intern.
Speaker 1:But I was like man, god's calling me to do this now, not like four years from now, whenever you're done with college, or like I feel like God's telling me, like, do this now, like you're passionate, this is what you love, and so I actually went to our association like Tulsa Metro Baptist Association website Shout out to the local association job board hey, you keep posting.
Speaker 1:That's a good, faithful word, that's right and I just went and got the directory of every Baptist church in Tulsa and I went through and I just said, okay, these are the churches that, like art, I feel like are healthy, that I can learn from them, and and so I just checking out websites looking at like.
Speaker 2:What are they up to? Going through hundreds of churches, like asking the people?
Speaker 1:pastors, I know. What do you know about this church? Like you know, and and so then I'm. I. I got my resume together, made a ministry resume for the first time and a cover letter about what I felt like the Lord was calling me to and where my passions were, and then just sent it out to the youth pastors at all those churches and just said hey, I'm looking for an internship, I want to start in student ministry. Where do we go?
Speaker 2:Where do we go? Where do we go? Anybody got anything?
Speaker 1:And it was like two or three weeks before I really heard anything going. So I was pretty discouraged at first. A lot of youth pastors that reached out and great I appreciate them reaching back out and just going hey, we're praying for you, keep going like we don't have an internship spot or a program, but like if I can help you, and so I got to have some coffees and meet some people and network that way.
Speaker 1:Uh, but then first baptist awaso yeah reached out to me and they're like hey, we got your email a couple weeks ago. We want to set up an interview with you. And I'm like okay, this is awesome, Great. And they're like who told you to apply? Who told you we?
Speaker 2:were hiring. Who let you know? We hadn't even posted it yet. Yeah, Was it one of our pastors?
Speaker 1:And I was like no, it was just the Lord, he told me like I sent an email on tuesday and the day before that monday he got approved to like hire an intern on like a paid position. So he's like I just figured someone on our staff who knew I was approved told you because you, like, I got approved for the position the next day. I had your email. He's like there was no like and so I knew no one there. I didn't know anyone in the church, I didn't know anyone on Um.
Speaker 1:I just went to a brand new church and it was like you're the youth intern now and no one knows me and uh, it was great.
Speaker 2:I loved it. I learned a lot there and it was one of my favorite.
Speaker 1:I mean just moments of ministry and learning from those guys, but yeah, even from a church where I always grew up with my family too to jump into church where I knew no one, and I was by myself. It was like, okay, I'm trusting God. Challenging tests.
Speaker 2:What, what, what has ministry really made of? What does it look like? But, man, I just again for the folks that are maybe in the middle of a spot, or or for again younger folks in ministry that are wondering like, or you know where is my opportunity working at? Like the fact that you were like no, we treated it like a project. It's like well, we're in an area full of a lot of churches. I want to try to figure out what the good, healthy churches are that I would want to be a part of and then prepare myself to. Again to the mentor that said God has prepared a work in you. The evidence of the fruit is your preparation in kind too so dude, powerful, but now serving at an amazing church, one of our dear friend sister churches here in the Tulsa area, jinx, america.
Speaker 2:One of the ministry topics that we've talked about a lot and I see it even as a third-party two-year ministry is the way in which y'all are growing and connecting with students in the area. I'll say it for you Y'all are doing some really cool, growing, flourishing things. But when I asked you what you're passionate about, you named something that I think for folks to hear is really important, and that's the way in which there's almost this desire or holy pursuit to connect students from the fringe in, and I think that's a tension that most ministries probably feel, and then they're not sure what to do. And so, just knowing the quality of what y'all are doing and that being a passion for you, man, would you give us some, like some insight or effort or understanding, like what are y'all doing to help kind of connect the fringe in?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'll say on that topic like absolutely we want students to connect into our ministry. Like if you're running your ministry in a healthy, godly way, you know. Like if they will connect to my ministry, then they're going to grow in their relationship with God.
Speaker 1:Like if they'll do the things that we're setting out and if you you know, if you don't know that about your ministry, then you've got to start over and just go. Okay, then what do we need to do to build that pathway? But yeah, and so we do all kinds of things to try to help people feel connected, mostly relationship based, you know. But actually, more on that question for me and where my passion is, we did this disciple story thing personally for our staff about what is a calling you have and what is something God's gifted you with that you're passionate about. And it was this whole too long day and at the end of it you get down to two words.
Speaker 1:And mine was pursuing wonders pursuing wonders, and so that was something that I, just, like the staff, saw in me, that I started realizing God had had passion me in, and it was more than just like actually getting the fringe kids plugged into my ministry. But just how do I actually stay connected and disciple those kids that aren't ever going to get plugged into my ministry?
Speaker 2:Like they're.
Speaker 1:you know, like I want kids to be in my ministry, but the ones that I know that are just going to show up on Sunday mornings or whenever their parents make them, that are never going to actually come to my ministry, they still deserve my attention and people to invest in them and pour into them as well. It's just something God gifted me with, naturally that I didn't realize I was doing it until some people really pointed it out to me and was like, hey, if you're more intentional with this, really all it is, but it's just being there, man. It's always showing up Like the. There's those kids like I text them every week and just ask them how they're doing.
Speaker 1:Like no, if I told our adult leaders like, yeah, I text you know, I'll just say a random name, gus, this week they would be like who's Gus? They wouldn't know. Um, but he still needs some. Like somebody still needs to be there for him and check in on him. And so you know, like playing basketball, I have kids that will come and play basketball. We'll open up the gym one night and I'll text them, invite them that they will come play basketball and then talk to me about stuff while we're playing basketball.
Speaker 1:They will never come on a Wednesday night.
Speaker 2:Like, even though they like me.
Speaker 1:I don't know why I still.
Speaker 2:I don't know why but you know, programmatically, maybe not tethered, but to the life of the church as both like community connection and you as pastoral figure.
Speaker 1:There is a relational web because our our call is to go and make disciples and teach them everything that god's commanded them. Not go and make them connected to your ministry, yeah, and hope that it sticks. And so I'm like man, if they're not gonna catch my ministry, that doesn't change my call to invest in them. And to disciple them.
Speaker 1:Um, and so you know you, obviously you can't do that for everyone Like, but you there, there are kids that that need it, that need that person. That may never actually be your Wednesday Sunday kid, but they will connect with you personally. Um, a big thing is like I open up my house for like big basketball games or football games or like UFC fights.
Speaker 1:There was some this Saturday and a whole group of like one of my adults and like 15 high school boys came over and they watched the UFC fights you know, and it's like there's kids that came to watch the UFC fights, that are like friends of friends that will come to church every once in a while, but whenever they show up in there in my house and I'm like, okay, this is a normal guy, Like you know they'll open up and they'll talk and they're, they'll be around and then it's just like I go to every like.
Speaker 2:I try to go to everything in the community and try to not be in charge of anything like okay say more, say more for my minute, because I think that's one of those like pastorally, like there's, there's some folks that are like well, I want to be in charge of the things that I can be in charge of so say say more, my friend, yeah, yeah yeah, this, and actually I've had some students tell me this like they want to see you.
Speaker 1:It means like those.
Speaker 1:Those are the kids that I'm seeing at basketball games I'm seeing them at football games and, if I, just, but not their coach right there right and if I'm saying hey gus, hey jack, like that's all it takes is that they saw, that I saw them and I know them and like, even if I don't remember their name here's here was something that was hard for me at first like I wouldn't remember their name, like maybe I shouldn't go say hi to them. If I see someone, even if we're in a grocery store, we're in the most awkward position. If I see them, I'm going to go say hi and acknowledge them somehow, cause now they know he knows me, like he remembers me, he knows me. So, no matter where I'm at, if I see someone that I know, I'm going to go say hi to him, even if the jinx fca, and be there and help. I don't want to be in charge of it.
Speaker 2:I know there's a lot of like oh, dude, there are other student ministers want to be in charge of it, like I'm now. You're stepping on toes because some folks are like I'm not going to be a part. I want to help co-lead the students who are leading it to lead it like I will be a resource to them.
Speaker 1:But like I, like I have my service, I have my wednesday nights like that I'm, that is what I'm in charge of, and everywhere else like I just want to be a friendly person that people can know and love and trust, and so I I show up, but like I'm not gonna go sit in the student section during a football game, like that's their space I'm gonna walk by and say hi, yeah, yeah, and like make sure I connect with the folks, the parents that are there, yeah, but, Okay, help us.
Speaker 2:Help us a little bit, cause this is one of the things I think for some folks we've talked about the podcast before the relational stuff doesn't always get the right assessment for the work that it is what, what, what is your? Do you? Do you have like a rhythm or a system or a tool to help keep you reminded or mindful of? Like man, we haven't seen Gus in a few weeks. Is it just like catch as you can, or do you have like the like reminders or things set for?
Speaker 2:stuff Like how do you you have a large ministry, like there's only so much bandwidth that you have. So how do you manage that of who gets your attention, who gets your messages, who gets your reminders?
Speaker 1:I have been mapping it out a lot more and trying to make it organized and so, like I have a prayer journal and part of that is always have like one of the days is like students. You know that I'm praying for that. I haven't seen in a while.
Speaker 2:And so.
Speaker 1:I'll text them whenever I'm praying for them. Hey, I'm praying for you this week. How can I pray for you?
Speaker 2:So not just praying, but I don say, I haven't seen you at church. I really wish you'd be here, you know like. No, I'm just.
Speaker 1:I'm thinking about you. I'm thinking about your life with Christ. How can I pray for you?
Speaker 2:Well cause they get it Like if, if, if. If pastor is messaging them, like if you are messaging them, they, you don't have to just be like hey, man, don't forget the thing that we have. They know, being being mindful, reminded doesn't have to always come with a specific like invite to. Now, invites are important. We want to create an invitation culture in our ministry. But, dude, if you send a message to Gus and you're like bro, I haven't seen you in a few weeks, how can I be praying for you? You don't have to guilt him with like bro, you haven't been at church. Like the youth pastor texted him. He got it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he knows, he not know, he knows, he knows I probably should have been there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, but or or it's oh, he does still care, he hasn't forgotten. Like it is that, especially in a ghosting age of, like teenagers and dating, and like man it's we either are together or we never talk again that someone in your life would keep up with you even after, like, a period of not hearing from them dude, dude, that's like counter-cultural right, like that's like yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's the other part of it, though, and it's just one of the passions and giftings that the Lord gave me, but it's just like my mind thinks about people like that are on the outside, and for me it can be in anything Like if I think about them, I'm gonna text them right then. And so that's like a big thing, even if I'm on social media, if I'm on social media and Gus posted something on a story and I'm like oh yeah, I have a text Like I'm going to at that point?
Speaker 1:right then just text him.
Speaker 2:Let the algorithm guide you. Yeah, right.
Speaker 1:And I'll tell him like hey, I saw your story. Are you like? That was the way that it got to the point where, like, I need to check in on them. And so if I see them tagged in a Facebook post or on Instagram or even that I'm like, oh, I haven't checked in with them. A little bit Like, and so I just try to send texts like right away, Like just often.
Speaker 2:How are?
Speaker 1:you doing and I've seen the spiritual fruit of it. I've had kids go off to college that, like I said, if you ask my adult leaders, hey, what about Gus? They'd be like, oh, the kid that only came to Falls Creek every year, that's all they would know about him. But him and I I mean he's in college now and he'll text me a couple times a month asking me to pray for certain things or asking for advice and it's like we've kept that relationship that helps him be able to to see the Lord through me.
Speaker 1:That didn't happen in church Just because I would send a thoughtful text every once in a while, you know so yeah, well, tell me a little bit more.
Speaker 2:I know that one of the questions that we get a lot on the podcast for folks is the ways in which, in the things that we can structure, we're trying to move students to either a deeper level of discipleship or more engagement. And one of the things I know about your church and your ministry is that there's a really, again, third-party looking in. I know you probably would be like, well, hold on, but just a third-party looking in. There seems to be a really strong, healthy culture of students that are leadership or core. How are you structuring that? Because, again, I think sometimes for folks they just want to hear what someone else is doing and that is a key area for so many ministries of every size is moving students from being either kind of on the fringe or around or there sometimes to actively engage, like what are some of the elements of things that you would attribute as, like man, we love this, this is working, or maybe even cautions of like, nah, don't do this, don't do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I mean it is newer for us of setting up those leadership teams and how to run them. We started them last year at the beginning of the school year, so we've been doing it for about a little over a year now. So I was I've been at Jinx at First Baptist Jinx on staff for about four years, but I was the associate to a student pastor before.
Speaker 2:Kind of in the system for a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so I've taken over as the student pastor over the last year and a half two years. And so there's been some small changes that we've been doing along the way. One of the biggest ones we did was serve teams and so beforehand, me and the other student pastor and maybe a couple of volunteers pretty much like did everything on Wednesdays and Sundays. Like you know we're going to show up early and set all this up. We're going to make sure that the sound's working.
Speaker 2:We're going to make sure, like it was just the same few folks making it happen, and mainly just the staff.
Speaker 1:It was mainly like we're just going to make sure everything's ready. So whenever they show up, they can just. And what I realized is like man, there's lots of students around here who get here early, like who would help if they had the opportunity. Like, and it became such a like and it wasn't our students fault, but it became the come set and listen and not the come and participate like come and own.
Speaker 1:And so we we opened serve teams last year and we were like there may be no one that shows, because we did a Sunday night which we don't do Sunday nights, like with our church and so we said, hey, sunday, you know, sunday night we're going to open up serve teams, we're going to tell you what they are, you can sign up to serve. And we were like there may be no one who shows up, like they may just think, and we had like 60 students show up for our first serve night, ready to go?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we were like okay, this and they, uh, they signed up for different teams and we just set up teams for everything, for every student. We defined like here's what you do and here's how you win in your role and so that way they know, like these are my objectives, and so we have, you know, uh, a greeting team. We call it like our, our, uh, our, welcome team, welcome team. We have a host team.
Speaker 2:They actually will go on stage with an adult and do the announcements and host the service the service yeah, we have a game team and so they do, uh, one wednesday a month they get to to do a game before service make it happen.
Speaker 1:I mean, they plan the game, they do all of it.
Speaker 2:They just tell me hey, these are the supplies we need okay I order it off amazon yeah, other than that they're doing all of it, like every element has sound worship um cafe team, check-in team that are checking people in whenever they come in, like everything that happens in our student ministry that, like adults, were just doing before.
Speaker 1:Now. We just told the adult hey, you're going to be in charge of this team.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're going to have eight students that you're going to schedule to serve at least once a month and you're just going to make sure that they are doing what they need to do Like you don't have to like, and they love it Like our students. We told them show up you know 545 to set things up, and now they show up at 5.15 to set things up because they're just excited to be there and have something to do, and so it's like it has been huge to watch them go and the way that they have felt pride in what happens in Wednesday nights because they're like we help make this happen.
Speaker 1:Like what the Lord is doing here. We're not just sitting and watching, we're a part of, and so it has been just tremendous watching how they've stepped up to serve on, serve teams and serve each other.
Speaker 2:So well and again, I think that's that's the missing ingredient. For so many folks is like it's extra work. So make sure to tell the folks serve teams are extra work, but on the front side, on the front side, it's like a lot of time to develop like, okay, here's all of the you know, and I told you this earlier.
Speaker 1:actually I'm a big fan of resourcing other people.
Speaker 2:I'm not afraid to ask for help If somebody's already done it and they're doing it.
Speaker 1:Well, why should I spend multiple days trying to create something whenever they've already created it and I can go hey, can you help me with what you've created and I'll adjust it to what fits our needs? And so it was an Oklahoma Baptist guy who's like we have these serve teams.
Speaker 2:This is how we do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I changed them for how we would use them for our students instead of starting at square one so if you want to do serve teams, I can send you all of our christian's.
Speaker 1:Got you all of our serve team stuff, and then but yeah, but it's all the work on the front end yeah, but then now on wednesdays, whenever I get there and I'm you know, I'm like I just walk around and I just get to talk to like I'm not. It's so freeing on Wednesdays. I'm not running around like the tech stuff's going crazy.
Speaker 2:This is I got to fix this Kicking the legs out of the table, setting the game up.
Speaker 1:I actually get to focus on investing in the students and like knowing their names and saying hi and just walking around and everyone else you know in their small pockets are making everything else run and work, and so Well and it's a chance that it gets to scale with you.
Speaker 2:It's a chance that it gets to scale with you, like one one of the things for our folks doing youth ministry roadmap, roadmap course right now.
Speaker 2:Like scale is one of the key tenants of it and I think sometimes we imagine things that would not scale. But whether you have a ministry of 20 or 120, 200, whatever, like you, just you need a percentage of them at every step along the way to help with those things. And again, the payoff, like that's that's the part, like, yes, it would be easier, easier to just do it yourself, to just take a Wednesday afternoon, set everything up and do and then. But but the connection that it gives the students and the ownership is the payoff that's in dividends. And I got to imagine and I'd love to check in with you in a couple of years like you do it long enough and it's now cultural and you don't even have to. Like I mean, it's just it, just it is going to just take care of itself. Because it's one of those like oh, no man, like I look forward to being on the host team when I'm in high school or a junior or whatever kind of deal.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, yeah, and I mean, and it it will help your ministry, because even I know you said I'm one of the younger youth pastors but even like it's teaching our students how to use social media in a good way, which is full of evil and you know, for most youth ministries it's like just stay away from social media students Just don't.
Speaker 1:But. But, like we set up a social media team and they like I'm old enough now that I don't know what how to make reels and what's cool about them and they will. What's the?
Speaker 2:right sound to use, I mean.
Speaker 1:I've got like four or five students now who will send me reels all throughout the week. Can I make this? Can I make this?
Speaker 2:I'm like sure you make it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, send it to me and we'll post it, so that saved me hours from trying to figure out how to make one reel a week to say hey, we're having church this Wednesday.
Speaker 2:And it's formational in a way that's not just lecture-based. That is like so many student ministries. The modes in which students are able to test and learn is either sitting and listening or sitting and discussing. We're sitting and discussing, and so anything that activates students to serve and share their gifts whether it's behind a computer, in front of a phone or on the gym floor, man, that just feels like real life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's been good.
Speaker 2:Okay, okay, I will ask you though so I tease a little bit that you are in the fresh crop of these ministry folks, but you have been around enough years that I think, for the folks that need to hear man at this point, you've been at the same church for four years. You had a couple other places a few years before that you probably have a pretty strong opinion about doing ministry. So how do you stay fresh to it, renewed to it? Because I think for a lot of folks Chad I talk about, for a lot of folks chat I've talked about a lot there's this bell curve of like the first two years you're like I have no idea what I'm doing, and then, like years four through seven or nine, you're like I got this and then maybe or maybe not, you hit a wall and you're like, oh, I, I need help actually. So like, how are you staying fresh where you still love the thing and you're still about it and it's not just like a chore or task, because, again, you exude passion for it.
Speaker 1:So, christian, help us have passion again, right uh, my biggest thing is what I was saying earlier. I'm never afraid to ask or to you know, to, hey, someone's doing this. Well, instead of going, how can I mimic exactly what what they're doing? I'll just ask them hey, what are you doing? Like, how, how, why is this working so well for you? And then seeing, like, how would that fit in with my student ministry? And so you have to surround yourself in places that you can do that. I know y'all have like cohorts that that people can join. I'm in a student ministry cohort that we we meet online on.
Speaker 1:Zoom and there's people from around the country every Wednesday morning.
Speaker 2:Just about it, yeah, and we talk.
Speaker 1:You know we talk about personal life and we talk about but, like I've, there's a lot of ideas. Those guys go hey and we do a thing called like leader in the middle at least like once a month where it's just like hey, someone who has a question that they need advice, like yeah you know how do you do this.
Speaker 1:You're just going to be the one to ask question, we're all going to tell you what we've experienced and you take away what you want from it, and so always putting yourself in places um, you know, to learn and to grow and to be willing to change things is super important, and I'm just like I would rather ask for help over and over again than fail on my own, and so I ask a lot, like I'm big on like God has put the relationships in my life for a reason. I'm just going to ask lots and lots of questions.
Speaker 2:Man, and so, again, that humility starts younger, younger, because that's, I think, one of the things people often wait to get humble instead of staying humble right. And so I think that's probably man, hearing you say it that way with such wisdom, is true, that's one of the things that like, because, again, like there's sometimes folks that are almost so unteachable that you're like man, I guess, whenever he gets crushed, maybe he'll come calling or whatever.
Speaker 2:So just thank you for that humility, but also the invitation to others that, like man, like this is not a competitive sport, like this youth ministry is a team sport, whatever city you're playing at or whatever.
Speaker 1:Well, and I will say to go with that the greatest thing is like the greatest gift you can give your ministry is your personal holiness, and so that is like that is number one and one thing that our staff has been so encouraging and accountable with, because there's been churches in the past that I worked at where nobody ever actually asked me while I'm on staff. How is your spiritual life? How are you spending time with God in the week?
Speaker 1:Like they just assumed because I'm on staff. I am but really like I was doing a lot of things for God without God.
Speaker 2:Sermon writing doesn't always evoke personal holiness, and that's yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, and it's like you know, I'm like I'm at church all the time, I'm always hearing about God's word, but am I really sitting down and like spending my time to pray with God and to just read scripture for myself? And a lot of times there wasn't checks and balances or any accountability, and so our church now has been super accountable. Every week we do a check-in and our pastor does it in just such a loving way too, not like, are you doing your job?
Speaker 1:But that was one of the things our pastor told us the greatest. More than any idea, you have more than your personality or how good you are at speaking, or your serve teams or anything. The greatest your personality or how good you are at speaking or your serve teams or anything. The greatest gift you can give actually anything your family, your life, your ministry is your personal holiness. Like we can't take people somewhere, we don't know how to get to and so like.
Speaker 1:That's number one is like am I spending time with God? Because whenever I do, I'm like. I want them to experience this.
Speaker 2:Like it's an overflow of like.
Speaker 1:That's what keeps me passionate about it. It's not just we're having fun, but it's like man what I'm experiencing on a daily joy with Christ which actually isn't the big fun moment. I just want them to have that too and to lean into it.
Speaker 2:The overflow, right Like the ministry, has to come from the overflow, because it's far too much effort to just try to fabricate it and like muscle it or white knuckle it or whatever. Okay, what's something that you're doing now differently than you did when you first started positive, negative, habit, holiness, whatever, like what. What is something? Because we're always trying to figure out ways to improve. So what are some things that you just you've tweaked, adjusted, done different in the last year and a half than you did in the first couple of years.
Speaker 1:So, like I said, I started in ministry really young. My first internship I was like 19, and I just kept going, and so first, whenever I would do sermons, it's really just like how we would decide what we're preaching on Wednesday nights. It was usually like a Google sermon bumpers and I found one I liked and it's like, okay, this one's called Masks. I'm going to come up with a four-week series because it has a cool video about masks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, a fine video, right sermon.
Speaker 1:Right, and that's what it was. Like, I'm going to do all these topical things. I'm going to find the ones that look cool, and then I'm going to somehow try to find a sermon that you know and I catch myself like just basically scripture out and so now it's changed where we do a word of the year.
Speaker 2:We started it last year, so this is our second year of doing it Youth ministry wide or church wide.
Speaker 1:Student ministry. So last year we did, and we did Wednesday nights. We make it a big deal Like we're going to announce this thing.
Speaker 2:Oh, you do like a word drop, like drop the word.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like this year we did an Instagram poll of like what do you think the word is Wrong, answers only. And then we played all of the funny ones in service before we did it. It was fun, it was yeah, but last year was the year of the neighbor and so we did t-shirts and stickers and, like students, are learning about neighboring, yeah, and they're learning a million things in their life and they're like you can teach different topics, all but like if you tell them for a whole year I want you every service.
Speaker 1:We do like we're going to talk about different stuff. But how does this help me? Love my neighbor the way that Jesus commanded us to like that helps them for the whole year ago.
Speaker 1:I can grow in this one thing I can keep doing it, and so our big thing was like year of the neighbor. This isn't about inviting people to church, though, like we didn't want our students to feel like this is about me getting more numbers, so I looked good, Like this is we told them this is how you love your neighbor, even if they will never come to church.
Speaker 2:It's not the year of the attender, it's the year of the neighbor.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, and we saw so much fruit from that in the way, and so we just taught, we, we set through that passage in Luke, where you know Jesus says love the.
Speaker 2:Lord your.
Speaker 1:God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. And then he did series all around it. So this year is the year of the devoted.
Speaker 2:Okay, we're doing the year of the devoted.
Speaker 1:And so we're going through, like devoted, daily devoted to. Scripture will be a sermon series devoted to prayer, devoted to each other, devoted to your circle, so like where God has put you, devoted through trials. And so we'll go through and every sermon scripture will be about like being daily devoted to.
Speaker 2:God.
Speaker 1:And so it's the um, the scripture of you know, deny, deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow me. And so it says take up your cross daily, and so we're talking about.
Speaker 2:How do you do?
Speaker 1:that every day. Um, and so that's what we're. We're teaching through and like having one focus for the year.
Speaker 2:We did stickers and t-shirts and all that stuff again, but it helps the students go.
Speaker 1:Okay, this year I'm gonna learn how to be devoted to god and we're just gonna go through that um and we're trying something new this year okay, we're doing three weeks of teaching and one week of training for every through our wednesday night.
Speaker 2:Okay, same same more so. So wednesday night program, like that's your midweek gathering. Some folks maybe do it on a sunday, tuesday, wednesday or whatever. So it's three weeks on of maybe like we're doing devoted daily is our, is our um sermon series right now, okay, and so this sermon series, we're about to go into week three.
Speaker 1:We're teaching the story of noah in the ark and him being devoted daily and building against all odds, yeah that probably getting made fun of and being called crazy big boat dry land.
Speaker 2:Uh, questions, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:And so. But at the next week, week four, the students will come in. We're going to make it more like a little more lighthearted. We'll do like we're going to do free snow cones and popcorn and stuff to try to make that night feel like you're not just missing church Like we're, but and so but we're going to do trainings and so our leaders have signed up to teach different breakouts.
Speaker 1:Basically, oh okay, and that Wednesday night students will get to decide what breakout they go to, and each one will be like here's how you actually apply what we've been talking about the last three weeks in some way to your life and then work on it together. And so, like Devoted Daily we're talking about, like, do you have a daily calendar? Because like you have to prioritize things, if you're going to do Devoted.
Speaker 1:Daily. Another one is just have you made goals this year? And so there's going to be a thing of like if you want to be devoted daily, what are you being devoted to? And so we'll make smart goals. What are your spiritual goals? What are your physical goals? What are your and so they go and actually do some like hands-on training of like.
Speaker 2:This is what I'm learning, this is how I use it, Cause last year we did some series that did that, but felt really convicted of like we're making like actually to do it well, dude, the chance to actually model it in the room and then involve other adult leaders in an authority that's not just like one's one mic, one stage, one room. I dude, I love it. Dude, report back because I think that's one of those. Um, I mean, we, we are big fans of trying to take the time that we have with students and not just project to them what they should do, but to practice it like to be in the room actually like no man.
Speaker 2:We, we mean, make God a part of your day and they don't just have to go. Yup, it's like no, no, get your, get your calendar out, let's, let's figure out where God fits into your day.
Speaker 1:That's so. Yeah, and that's the you know I grew up with, always here, and you should read your word every day and you should, but I don't know if anybody actually taught me how to do it right until I got like in college, all the sermon series about how you should be in the bible every day.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's pray and go that's why I'm like man if we're gonna give them a whole thing about being devoted to scripture and let's teach them how to like hear journal, or how to ask the three questions, or whatever it is that will help them actually understand scripture Like let's give them some tangibles and not just the like. Feel bad that you don't know what you're doing every day.
Speaker 2:You ought to. I'm not going to tell you how?
Speaker 1:but you ought to yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, christian, you've given us some great things here. If folks wanted to get connected with you and maybe pick up some of the things about the lead team things you're talking, serve team that you're talking about, or maybe even some of the things related to what you're trying now, or just to follow along with what's next for you guys at FBC and Fuse Like what's the best way to stay connected with you, follow up with you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's a. You can go to our church website for my email. It's just christian at fbcjinxorg.
Speaker 2:And so if you're wanting Well done. I didn't have much of a choice, well done.
Speaker 1:No, but yeah, you can email me for any. If there's like questions or resources or social media, follow on. I got Facebook or Instagram. I'm not really active on them. I'm not like the. I'm not an influencer youth pastor. You're not going to see me posting sermons and stuff. But I'll interact, I'll message you back. So I see whenever they come in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and if your name's Gus, get on the list.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, christian man, we've enjoyed having you so much on the show today.
Speaker 1:Thanks for sharing and for everybody else we'll see you back next week.
Speaker 2:Ah snap, hey, thanks for coming to this episode of the Youth Ministry Booster Podcast. If you want to learn more and gather resources like the ones that were mentioned on this one, make sure to check out youthministryboostercom. Also, if you like what you heard today, give us a little love, rating and review on Apple, itunes or Spotify. The follow subscribe means a lot to us and the reviews mean a lot to our guests and listeners like you. Stay connected, get plugged in and we'll see you next time.
