 How many of you have already had lunch I just need to know what kind of audience we're working with I saw some people come In with boxes how many of you have not had lunch then all right? This is good because I am want to make sure I understand I know I am that spot on the break outside that you know around noon about I got about 30 minutes before Mines start to wander and go like hey, what's for lunch? What are the options? So I will make sure I respect that time as well just excited to be here shout out to pastor Preston and the radiant team They have done such a great job of hosting. I'm already Here's the thing. I'm gonna warn you guys. I'm a Extrovert seven on the Enneagram. I'm a big Includer for those of you watching online I am trying to I'm gonna do my best to stay within the confines of this table. I'm super interactive So you guys will be getting an arm workout today. I won't have people standing up moving around respect online and all that so please just Like I said, don't be shocked like oh, is this just a like intro thing? Like no, this will be like point two point three point four Conclusion like we're gonna be active moving around and making sure that you guys are extra hungry going to lunch But like I said, my name is Phil Johnson. I'm from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I'm a youth director out there been at My wife and I's current church for eight years have been in youth ministry for 11 best job We've ever had we absolutely love serving in next-gen ministry There's something special about when a student discovers who they were created to be and who God is Especially on a firsthand way and it's something for us that we love modeling what it looks like to follow Jesus But model them being fans of people because everyone has a critic but not everybody has a fan and we get to have that Opportunity to come alongside and partner with the next generation in that. I'm also a new iPhone user I've been an Android user for 16 years. I feel like now Some will say that's a miracle my other like my green bubble friends. I have not forgotten you There's still some PTSD. I can't change the bubbles to green on my iPhone yet So I'm still trying to figure that out just to try to have like a combined spot I am a Minnesota sports soap opera fan for those of you that are sports enthusiasts We have really bad sports teams in Minnesota We're really good at making you like feel like hey We might this might be the year just to watch your heart break over and over and over again And so what was that? He's gonna well, he's gonna move the team to Seattle So that will we get really good and then they'll move and then it's like oh here We are again the Minnesota soap opera continues But that's where then I love eating Chick-fil-A and Chipotle to help just kind of like watch that like just you know Comfort me if you will So I want to do a few shout out to you today once again online if you guys can Just so you can interact as well drop emoji in the comment section all that stuff How many of you have been in youth ministry longer than 10 years? Longer than 10 years. We got what okay? How many years? Dude, what's your name? Matt can we give it up for Matt come on 17 18, but we but I just might have you come up here Just share some thoughts that as well. How many of you have been in youth ministry less than two years less than two years Okay, how many of you have been in next-gen ministry less than one year less than one year Less than six months less than six months. How long? Since January. Can we what's your name? Timber, can we just congratulate him or welcome to the next-gen fam? Yes, oh, it's it's a grind and it's amazing of how many of you here are Part-time or volunteer kids and youth coordinators part-time or volunteer part-time and volunteer Can we give it up in the room y'all our heroes? I've been in youth ministry 11 years I've served both in the volunteer role and part-time role and I know there's a grind to that as well There's something to be said about working the jobs you work and then to step in those those areas as well In that capacity that takes a lot and I do believe that there's something special God has in store for you I want to pray for you guys at the end of the the session here today, too Because it's one of those that there was a powerful moment In the session right before we stepped in here that pastor Lee had for those that felt like they were giving up That they're just ready to give up and my heart broke because I watched Just these ministers and people that were in ministry Just you could sense the weight They were carrying through the tears and just the prayers that were happening and one of the things that I really believe is like one of the things that enemy will try to do is loosen that grip on the plow the field that you've been called to and One of the things that I believe that conference is the purpose that they serve has helped strengthen the grip It's spoken of in Isaiah a prayer that I just really Resignate with it with is like they would strengthen the hands of those with the hands on the plow and then strengthen their legs for those of you That are standing in the gap for the next generation Man you guys are heroes and I love being in rooms where people smell like sheep if you will I love being in rooms around people that have the marks of being in the trenches Because how many you know like when you shepherd sheep are gonna poop on you, right? The sheep are gonna bite and it's one of those things that like there's a resiliency that is required when you are working in kids and youth ministry and so the purpose of this session here today is Just looking at what is it look like for us to position ourselves to be a future Ready youth ministry and then even with some of our kids team members in here to be future ready next-gen Ministry leaders one of the things many things I love about youth workers and kids workers is how you guys resemble Just what Paul was talking about in 1st Thessalonians 2 8 and he said we loved you so much that we were delighted To share with you not only the gospel of God But our lives as well a common denominator that we all have online and here in this room is you guys have committed To sharing your lives with your flock that no matter what it is that you've been walking through that you are choosing on those Wednesday nights those smorgas when you go to that game when you're showing up you get that Late-night phone call that late-night text message the student that you've been pouring time and time into that has walked away from Faith or also started ghosting you and you're like man, what am I doing all? that you are choosing To share your lives with them as well as past the Apostle Paul talks about and a future ready youth ministry It's one of those kind of like play-ons because you're going like we don't really know What the future holds but what we can do is begin to look at what are some of the trends that we're seeing what some of the Trajectory and how do we position ourselves in such a way that we are not just reacting to everything that's going on But there's an intentionality intentionality and a strategy if you will to position ourselves to shepherd the flock that we have And so we're gonna be looking into this and the reality our students are future-minded Our students are moving into the future whether they realize it or not Whether they don't realize the ripple effects of the words that they're saying the tick-tock videos that they're making the things that they're Standing up for and they're talking about our students are future-minded and they are moving into the future So for us, there's a responsibility We have as next-gen ministers and teams so once again Position our ministries in such a way that would be able to minister and shepherd the flock that we have in the future So one of the first challenges we have is our actions have to represent The knowledge that we proclaim to know about our flock It's one thing to talk about what we know of Gen Z and shocker gen alpha is right around the corner kids Ministry has gen alpha in it Youth ministry will have gen alpha within the next year the first group of gen alpha will be in your middle school Ministries, so it's a little bit of a shock here. I know some people are like, what about Gen Z? What about Gen Z? Well, we're about to have a multi-generational Kids and youth ministry right your youth ministries you have gen alpha coming in you also now will be working with Millennial parents, right? That's like I mean some of you like I just got used to working with Xers and boomers Well millennials are a lot different parents. Let me just tell you that all right But our actions and our strategies have to reflect the knowledge that we say we have we see it all throughout the Bible Especially in the book of James that it's one thing just to speak on it to talk on it But our game plans on our strategies They need to reflect that which we know to be true about the flocks that we are leading And so what I'm just gonna look at here one of the things that I appreciate about conference sessions like this There's moments where I have felt overwhelmed right you get all these points. There's all these things you're like Where do I start in applying this? It's like man. I want to have a worship experience like this I want to have a community engagement strategy with like this I want to have this youth room or these kids spaces or this like there's all these things like where do I begin and One of the things that have been beneficial to me is Leading with questions and so really today my my responsibility is I want to leave you with questions for you to consider because everyone It's coming from a different context. There's some here and online that are coming from multi campus cons are Context some that are volunteer some of that are part-time some of that are working with a staff some of you You are the staff you are facilities you are the curriculum you are small group You are all of you above and these questions are meant to help just navigate like how do I answer this within my context? Because then that also helps eradicate some of that spirit of comparison because you're going this is the needs of My flock this is what I know to be true here and how do my strategies? Reflect that so to position ourselves as a future ready youth ministry here are four questions and strategies I would just want to share with you once again These are ones just based off trends that we are seeing will be relevant and needed five to ten years from now First one is what is my student discipleship strategy? What is my student? Discipleship strategy so a typical one a system we might see is there's a program right? There's a Wednesday night for those of you that meet on Wednesday nights So maybe I meet on Sunday nights or whatever night of the week you choose to meet There's a service element usually there's a desire for small groups There is a desire for events like camps and conventions and and those are good But what we got understand those are like especially the events and services those don't disciple students. I Think there's we can fall victim to that rut of going like well We had this powerful moment the altars and that's needed But discipleship is the ability to walk with to help unpack to create a safe place Where a student who has grown up in church can look you say pastor? I don't really know if I believe the by what the word of God says I feel scared to ask my parents because they're on staff and so where do I ask these questions? We have students that are the level of biblical illiteracy right now is Alarming right. I just had a group of students that are new and they're like hey when you say like chap like 163 Like what's the 16 and what's the 3? I'm like, oh, that's the chapter in the verse. They're like, oh, that's what it is Right and like it's and I think some of us are afraid to begin to dive into some of those elements of just really realizing Where are our students at when it comes to some of that and so discipleship there's needs to be an intentionality Within that strategy and it discipleship it happens up close. It's impossible to be shallow and disciple It's impossible to remain shallow in relationships and be able to disciple effectively We saw how Jesus modeled us all throughout the New Testament and how he got in he I mean he wasn't afraid of getting into the mess the doubts and the fears that his disciples were walking with I love when you dive into the text and I mean now like the logos presentation last night same thing I feel like I don't know how many of you guys have heard that before like yes. Yes. Yes. Yes Okay Now I like need to redo everything so I feel like I'm just missing some of the depths of it But when you look at the text of what Jesus did to disciple He's has people that would have in today's context be from liberal like progressive left conservative right People that have social media people that don't have social media people that were business that would take advantage of Initially of those of a lesser social economic spot those that were fighting to overthrow government Like these were all the people that were a part of his group, but he created a safe environment There was an intentionality in the discipleship. Where is that taking place within our youth ministries and kids ministries? Where what does that strategy look like to create a safe place to have honest conversation to ask tough questions? within that real community Discipleship can't be delegated Discipleship cannot be delegated it can be multiplied it can be caught by other leaders and volunteers on your team But it is not something that for us as leaders that we can go that's somebody else's job I'm gonna hire that out for the larger churches. It's like no discipleship needs to be a muscle that we are constantly Working at when it comes to ministers of the gospel and when we're looking at this future of where students are coming gen alpha Gen Z there's a few things that we can I think we can all agree on that students need when it comes to this discipleship Discipleship strategy first one is they need to experience the real Jesus in a real way They need to experience the real Jesus in a real way, and what does that mean? It's looking at what are we doing to create some of those moments where like hey away from the lights away from the big events This is how you can experience Jesus in your room in your car because I could tell you the most powerful Interactions I've had were not at events There when I was driving in my car, and I felt the Holy Spirit just begin to move in such a way just in my vehicle that I was just I had to pull over and start breaking down crying Those are the moments that I remember in my spiritual journey How are we what are we doing within the process to empower our students to experience a real Jesus in a real way? What are we doing for our students that to help them with the cultural discernment? What is truth? What is a lie? We are seeing students are seeing model that they want to be affirmed rather than to know what is true Hey retweet like affirm my opinion. I don't care if it's true Because I'm tying my identity to am I being accepted based off this opinion How do are we teaching them to navigate some of the cultural discernment of what is true? What is lie? What is the Holy Spirit and what is emotion? And so within that discipleship strategy third is within that is looking at meaningful relationships We just did our typical youth relationship series as a lot of youth ministries do every year I was amazed to find that one of the number one questions was how do I just have a relationship? I think I and I was like prepared to answer all the big ones about like about sex and gender identity and all these But the basic questions that we kept getting were How do I just have a friendship? How do I have a relationship and? What does it look like for students to have meaningful? Relationships especially having youth ministry now post COVID as I was like the cove ripple effects We won't really know the effects of some of those students that have been online Distant from community disconnected from community So what does that look like in the discipleship strategy for them to have meaningful relationships? Another need that we see is how do they lead? How do they carry out the mission in a counter cultural? Environment how do they like lead in a culture with because like the mission of Jesus? It's counter cultural and so what does that look like one of the biggest questions? I get from students is going hey, I believe in Jesus I just don't know how to talk about him in a context where I would be labeled and Cancelled for just knowing that I'm a Christian So I'm scared to even mention. I'm a Christian let alone talking about my faith What are we doing within that strategy to equip them to lead in a counter cultural environment and then finally? The intentional discipleship see I for me I felt convicted this past year one of things COVID exposed for me and our ministry was that we we were majoring in Experiences and minoring in discipleship That we were majoring in creating an experience that they wanted to bring their friends to that they wanted to post online But we were minoring in discipleship And it was one of those things I don't know if you've guys have been there like where we took a step back and our team we just cried out to God forgive us Forgive us for those moments that we've missed these moments and opportunities to disciple And it's those and once again those environments are helpful But there's a discipleship process that getting down with them and we have to prioritize discipleship So that first question what is my students discipleship strategy look like second strategy to help position our youth ministries to be Future ready Was my volunteer and leader training strategy look like because for a youth ministry to be future ready You have to have volunteers and leaders that are future ready And I won the number one excuses I get when we are recruiting right they're going I like either I don't dress like students I don't have the I don't know what what they're wearing I don't know what they're talking is lit still word word. No lit will is not a word anymore. That was a couple years ago Let's please we got to stop using that But leaders going like well, I don't know if I'm out of spot in my own faith journey I don't know if I can handle all this It's I just kind of do a Jesus did ask ask the questions right, but it's looking at how are we preparing them? to Be the future ready leaders that our students need and so some of the things that we have seen work I love I'm stealing this from pastor Reggie Joyner and dr. Virginia war down in Atlanta They have a phenomenal template when it comes to just training volunteers and helping Understand who's in their flock and so these are five questions That leaders need to be able to answer for their students And these are ones that are our great training tool when you have Volunteer leaders that are coming straight from full-time jobs that are hopping into your youth ministries that have kids that like It almost feels like babysitting for some of the students that show up right the parents Like just please take them for the next two hours and leaders like I don't know what to do with them Here's five questions that can help on that answering the first one Do we know their name? Can we answer the question? Do we know the students name? Gen Z and Gen Alpha are the most diverse generations that we have seen and there's something super important about being able to pronounce a student's name correctly Especially when they come from a different background than you there's the most powerful sound a student can hear It's the sound of their name being spoken correctly. There's something and I know I fall victim to this as well of where I'll go What up, bro? What up girl? Hey, dude, and like we say that but to say their name To get in the habit of calling them by name Because in a day and age where they're known by user names account handles to say the name It speaks value. We see that model by with Jesus and Zacchaeus that he wasn't looking at Zacchaeus up in the tree Go hey tax collector. It was Zacchaeus and in that moment it communicated value to everyone in that room And we do that when we we we say a student's name So the first question is do we know their name second? Do we know what matters to them? Right not what we think matters I'll just assume that every student loves tick-tock and assume that every student knows these certain things But do we know what matters to our student? There is a Story one of my mentors she shared and she talks about there was a student in her youth ministry that loved trains I've yet to have a student that loves trains But I'm taking lessons from her and the student he was 16 years old And he was the youngest person in his train club by 40 years It was a group of 55 and up that they would have these meetings once a month And they would take different like assignments and recreate Different parts of Minnesota with and they have their homework assignment They take these cards and they have to build these trains and different parts of Minnesota Then they would come back and they would put them together and she heard that the student of hers loved trains So she's like well, I'm gonna drive 30 minutes I'm gonna show up because you like trains and I'm a fan of you So I'm gonna show up and let me I'm gonna learn a little about trains And so she shows up and everybody's shocked like who is this person? She obviously does not know anything about trains and so and the six-year-old so excited to see her there And so he's like pastor pastor pastor He's introducing her to all these older guys and these older ladies and and then all of a sudden she hears this like Sniffling in the background. She turns around and it's the kids parents and they're like, what are you doing here? And she's like well, I heard your son love trains And I just wanted to see like I just wanted to see him in his environment it mattered to him So then it mattered to me and they started to to cry as they shared the story of going like we've Just been contemplating whether or not we need to leave the church We've been contemplating this there's so many questions we have and we just don't know if this is if this religion thing is for us If this Jesus thing is for us But what you did today Showing up like this if that's what you're about it. That's what this Jesus is about Then what then we're gonna stay fast forward over ten years later. They're now board members at this church Planted all because a pastor a leader took the time to figure out what mattered to a student What matters to them? So what's the students name what matters to them and then throw them where do they come from? Do we know where they come from? What's their their school background or where they're coming from? What's the home background? We're gonna get to that here in the in a little bit on the home side of things But do we know the context of which they are coming from? I think it's very easy when it comes to especially on a disciplinary side that we've all had to face in a youth ministry or kids ministry setting That to look at the surface level and just to call out the surface part but not take the time to dig in like man What's the root behind this? Where are they coming from and to begin to take the time to understand where are they coming from so? Question one. What's their name? Do they we know their name? Do we know what matters? Do we know where they come from? Do we know what they've done? Students and leaders if we can empower them equip them to answer this question This is huge because students and I don't know about you. I have some that will test me They'll go. All right, you say Jesus loves me. Would he still love me if he knew that I did this Do you still believe all those things that you prayed over me that you said about me? Even after I've made this mistake Even after I've had these doubts Do you still believe I just Jesus still believe that even after what I've done? And so there's something powerful on this was where I love like I initially started in middle school And there's something so beautiful about middle school students that they like don't know how to fake it yet, right? It's like are you okay? Yeah, I'm fine High school. It's like they have the face right it's like cats and dogs middle school is dogs Like do you like me? Do you like me high school? It's like cats like I'll see if I like you Let's see. They're just like, oh, let's see. What do you what clothes are you wearing? He's like, what are you on tiktok? Oh, you're one of your cringy on tiktok. I don't know if I like you like It's all these conditional elements, right? But do you know what I've done and being able to answer that question because when I share that because like in middle school It's like those middle school leaders become the heroes, right? Because it's when they get into high school They look back like you love me even when I was annoying and I had put way too much axe body spray Which is still a thing that is not a just a previously like that is still think one of the worst ideas ever had in youth ministry I gave like little like dollar axe body spray cans to new guests and of course I didn't think like oh They're gonna use it right here right now So that lasted one month and then we got rid of that as our new guest gift at that point But to have those middle schoolers come back and go like even when I was at my worst, you still love me Isn't that Jesus? I was just spoken of in Romans That even when I was about my worst and so there's something to be said about knowing being able to answer that question Do you know what I've done and finally? Do you know what I'm capable of? Do you know what I'm capable of these are five questions that we can empower leaders with that will help them be future-ready To know a student's name to know what matters to them to know where they come from to know what they've done to know what they're capable of Recently did a podcast exercise with students that had said I want to do a podcast I want to do a podcast we're like all right. Well, let's let's see what that would look like Let's just we're not good. We're just gonna put together an exercise and I just sat back and I listened and I was convicted and amazed all at the same time Convicted at seeing the potential that I had failed to see in these students But amazed at what they were capable of and all they needed was an opportunity and I'll be honest be the first say that there's a lot of you that have been burned by giving students an opportunity with a Mic or a platform I've had to get up and there's been a several times we've had to unpack No, that's theologically incorrect that actually doesn't happen. That's actually not true But do we know what students are capable of and do we have a strategy that reflects giving them an opportunity? So these are five questions that we have seen that when it comes to empowering leaders to be future-ready that can help with that And even when you're doing training and looking at training, there's a lot of great resources I love what the Radiant Network is putting out I love what Pastor Preston and Zach are doing on the youth ministry side and there's so much around the country That's available that even if you're volunteer and part-time. There's great resources that you can share with your leaders And team training's done in a group development's done one-on-one Training is often done as a group training is the what to do and why we do it the development is like Hey, this is this is like the you the developing you as a leader and so training it could be an email short video pick So some of the things that you're seeing within your group So the first two questions that we have what is your discipleship student discipleship process look like and strategy? Which is your leader training strategy look like and this next one that I think it's overlooked a lot is what is your parent partnership strategy look like? What is your parent partnership strategy look like? Here's some facts about parents that you guys will be ministering to here in the future millennial parents Over 65 percent of students that come from millennial homes have both parents working So they are seeing and seeing parents and families model where both parents are gone, but both parents are hard at work The age gap has never been wider from a parent to a student So if you think now that so some of the parents in the room if you think that tech gap is large now And you're feeling it it's going to even be larger for millennials to alpha That the age gap There's been a surprising rise in single fathers 20% of fathers are single single parents and Single moms like there's been a lot of great focus from the church to continue to come alongside single moms But there's me students are coming from single fathered homes 20 less than 25 percent of students are coming from traditional nuclear homes where it's a mom and dad that are married And that's their birth parents less than 25 percent of students are coming from that home So you have to look at even like what you're talking about on a Wednesday I what some of your strategy because you're going like what's my audience and chances are the majority is not coming from something that We think they are coming from less than 25 percent are coming from nuclear homes 33 percent of millennial parents This is all from Pew research 33 percent of millennial parents That have children together are not married. So you're also seeing 33 percent of these students are gonna be coming up are seeing like well My mom and dad live together What's the problem? They're not married. It's okay And so these are some of those dynamics that when you're partnering with parents being aware of your audience and Who you're ministering to and partnering with so three? Biblical values that we can hold to in these partnerships as we look to position youth ministries to partner with parents on a future ready side Is our partnership must be rooted in God things not just good things Must be rooted in the God things now once again understanding our audience that some parents that like they might not be coming from a Biblical background How can it be rooted in the God things but yet still communicating with them in such a way that it's a partnership aspect? I love how Paul talked about this in Philippians where it's the partnership in the gospel We get a chance to be purpose partners with parents and guardians We have that opportunity and that's something that we can lean in on when it comes to partnering with them There are a lot of people partnering with parents and their students. Yeah teachers coaches people in a you Environments all those different settings, but there's a limit to what they can do on a spiritual context There's a limit and that's where we as youth workers as kids workers We have that opportunity to step into that and once I place back to Discipleship strategy and we have an opportunity to communicate to parents man. We care about your kid We want to see your kid when do what that means to a parent I'm starting to experience I have a six and a four-year-old and there's something so special when I see a Person walk in and care more about my kid than anybody else in the room There's something that makes me just like melt When I see my kids even forget about me and they just run to this person because they feel safe They feel seen they feel valued We get to do that for parents who are on the front lines That are might some of them might be on there and they might the single parent right the divorced couple We have an opportunity to step in and be purpose partners with them The second one of this is our partnership puts us in a supporting role. It's key to know we are in a supportive role We are not in a leading role. Okay, that is the parent and the guardian side But we are there on a supportive role and once again that could and that connects back into okay These are our audience like where are they coming from the third one to keep things moving here The partnership model we are the Aaron and her to their Moses. We are here to lift their arms up Even if they don't believe in the God that we're talking about We are there to lift their arms up in support because how we do that might just be the opportunity to open the door to a conversation on faith How we love their kids might just be the opportunity. We had a leader I can't take any credit for this. She showed up to her this one of her small groups soccer girl in her small group her Soccer game she came with a sign. She was a volunteer college student working two jobs go through college shows up big old sign and Just for the sake of this context. I'm I this parent comes up He goes what the and I will keep out the rest of the language He heard because I'm sitting in the background watching this all take place in it So he starts like I'm like do I have to step in like you're this dude's custom But he was so shocked like why are you more excited to watch my girl than me? Like are you paid to do she says no, I'm I'm a college student I'm just I'm such a fan of your girl such a fan of your girl and he's sitting there He's just so dumbfounded. He's like what do you mean you're a fan? So he starts quizzing her right and so and this leader is so excited. She's like all about all your girl She's amazing. She's been coming to Wednesday nights. He goes all that's where she's going. Okay, okay And he's asking these questions and finally get he goes well well what church are you with what what religious group? She's like well, we're part of a manual Christian center and she gives him the address One month later the family shows up the entire family is baptized To this day that family still set second row during second service All because there's a leader that was willing to partner with a family that had no idea who Jesus was We are I have the opportunity to be the Aaron and the her to their Moses What is your parent partnership strategy look like last one I have last question here today? What is our community engagement strategy look like? What does it look like to engage with our community? I mean the question that always haunts me It's like man. How does my community know that we are with them? What would our community miss if our organization if our church was not there anymore? Would they notice we were gone? Would they notice that we weren't present? Story I'm gonna share is one not of like a highlight of say hey look at us But it's one to speak to the intentionality that we can have when it comes to partnering with the community and that engagement so eight years ago started at Emanuel and So it's trying to get in the schools and in our area is really hard to get in the schools There are some bad experiences with churches doors were closed left and right the only doors open were private Christian schools And for me, I had a heart I wanted I want to get the kids that and the public setting right I wanted to get on the public school and I had to mute some my friends down south because there's like Texas high schools are Different I'm like watching them like bring pizza in the lunchroom. I'm like, oh, that'd be nice That's that's great, but for us. I was like I was able to get in as a garbage guy So I would go in middle school and I would pick up garbage during lunch And then I I upgraded after a year. I began to be on the door patrol Making sure like hey, who could go to the bathroom and who couldn't right? It's like so much power so much power in that moment Then after about six months, I got upgraded to lunch from para and I was able to walk from table to table Interactive students I'd carry fruit snacks in my back pocket and I'd give them riddles So I'd always go to the troubled tables right that would like be causing most ruckus I'm like, all right you get this riddle I got fruit snacks and they would spend all lunch trying to figure it out, right? And it was just little things, right? It was just like nothing life-changing. I wasn't allowed to say I'm a pastor. I was just I was like, I'm mr. Phil It's mr. Phil walking around right and and then we would we would bless the lunchroom pairs at the end We would do like a lunch for them and we tell stories of these students and stuff like that and after a few years one of the middle school Teachers became the principal of the high school and it was one of those that we just kept knocking the door We just kept as as we could we would show up in the best ways that we could with what we were allowed to do One year ago. There was a death of a very prominent student that was very well-liked in our in that school It was one of those students like Peak physical condition played multiple sports died in a swimming accident There's so many questions and there was a memorial for the student outside the school and and as we do as many of you Guys do we just we just showed up. We just wanted to show support and The principal saw me there the principal we'd worked with for several years He goes hey pastor come here now. Lori shocked. He said pastor. I'm like whoa. I'm not used to that He pulls me in and we he brings me into the room with the kids family and as close as friends and we just begin to have this moment of Just wrestling with these questions and I walked away and I asked the principal said why me Why us why why like you have counselors and all these things and He's like we've watched you and your team the last seven years You care about these kids. You don't care about Your platform you don't care about all this and we needed the people that love the kids most in that room today That was after seven years picking up trash dropping off Gatorade No microphone at time. No youth group invites And we care about you guys Has been a beautiful partnership since we've hosted then the ACT classes and ACT testing at our site and there's multiple other school things but that came for eight years Not eight months Not a several years and so I would ask you what's your community engagement strategy because the people in your community They need to see you present your students need to see you present on the campuses or in those areas Our way to kind of see this is the way that we like to model is show up physically mentally and randomly Showing up physically being on site because there's something that when you show up to a game faculty sees that Parents see that and it's not to say hey look at me. I'm here as some extroverts tend to do We need to take a page sometimes out of the introverts books of just going like hey the intentionality that introverts have I'm like like just taking all of that advice from them, but showing up physically on campus Right showing that I'm present even if the kids just ignore you, right? It's there's a present There's something powerful in the present of just being there Showing up mentally being aware of what's going on on the campuses small hack Subscribed to the school newsletter find out like or subscribe to the school calendar. What's going on low-hanging fruit teacher Cut our teacher conferences. Can I tell you teachers are not pumped about teacher conferences? All right What would look like to bring dinner to drop off snacks to bring coffee that morning, right little things like that Can I tell you restaurants and local businesses love partnering with schools? Right. Those are easy wins connecting the dots. Hey Chick-fil-A. We want to bless the teachers national appreciation or teacher appreciation is today You know, we want to just bring breakfast to all the teachers. What what can we do? How can we make that happen? Showing up mentally being aware of what's going on and then showing up randomly. That's those big moments, right? Hey book fair. I know that none of you guys want to set up Hey, we're gonna bring a team of volunteers or we're gonna set up the book fair for you. Why? And we just we love that you care about this next generation We just we just want to come alongside of you. There was a story. I loved a friend of mine pastored in Pennsylvania There was a church that partnered so much with the school that the school district This is true story. They had when they would bring in new teachers They had to let new teachers know when they came to this one school to say hey Don't compare this school to any other school. They're like why they're like. Yes, it's nicer. Yes It has all the things but it's because a church is partnering with them That it became so noticeable the difference of the impact of a church in an educational community That they had to in all teacher intros had to let these new teachers know in education that this is because of a church This is because of a church and One of our things that we have to look at was our engagement strategy with our community look like in the future So as I get ready to wrap up here and just open up for some questions and then Trying to break some pastoral stereotypes and end a little early for you guys on the lunch side What does the next five to ten years? Hold only God really knows but what we can expect there's gonna be change There's going to be change. There's gonna be disruption There's going to be like what's it? We don't really know the ripple effects of COVID Generation Alpha it's been interesting to watch some of the cultural markers that they're placing on this generation Politics has been a major bullet point for this generation coming up. They've seen households and friendships divided over politics There's been a highlighting of failure. That's almost been glamorized There's a fear. This is the most entrepreneurial generation Gen Z and Alpha, but they are the most risk averse They don't have that Rocky movie, right? They don't have the example of how to get back up Isn't it a resilient generation? But what does that look like for us to be future ready to begin to call that resilience out to begin to pray that God would just use Him in such a way to change just their surroundings for us. We must we got to remain flexible. I love Pastor Wayne Cudero He's the pastor in Grand Rapids. He had the quote bless it or the flexible for when they bend they shall not break Blessed are the flexible for when they bend they shall not break It's remaining flexible and really what that looks like. It's leading with an open hand in an open heart The open heart saying God what you want to do Got what you desire and the open hand of saying like how can I give this to students? How can I continue to empower them? How can I continue to multiply other disciples? What does that look like? And so for us when it comes to all of this The leading with an open hand and leading with an open heart And what I just want to do here, I want to close in prayer Because I think for us here in the room we care about students we care about the next generation Otherwise you wouldn't be here You and me taking time out of your schedule to come to a conference to send in a breakout session To listen to some things you're like already knew that yep Listen if I can if what you don't do if that leads you to something you will do great Like I'm not here to just share like hey do all this stuff But even if you're like that idea that stinks Hopefully it leads you to a good idea then then this is a beneficial breakout But for us, I think my prayer as I was praying this morning for this group Like how we don't need the credit God, we don't want the credit. We don't need it Because you can inspire from a platform, but you develop from the background God, we don't need the credit. We just want you to have the glory God, we want you to have a generation that knows you That knows who they are in you because everybody has a critic, but not everybody has a fan What would it look like for a generation five to ten years from now? That knows Jesus is helping others to know him as well Because for those of you that have kids in this room The generation you're leading just might be the teachers for your children That just might be the coaches So I'm gonna close with this point and then I'm gonna pray and I'm gonna open up I'll have Pastor Preston come up and we can do some Q&A As we leave here today. Let's let's take the challenge. Let's do something for our students that someone has done for us Do something for a student you wish someone would have done for you And do something for a student that you hope someone does for your student one day Heavenly Father God, I'm just grateful Lord for each and every member representing this room from kids to youth young adults volunteer part-time to full-time God we just we give you glory in this moment God for what you have done Well, we just don't look to what has not yet happened But Lord God we are full of faith as we look ahead to the future and God may we not be full if you're God I pray right now for each and every volunteer and leader and pastor in this room God that as they have been so faithful Lord so where they are God I pray that as a spoken of in your word That God you would refresh those who refresh others God I pray for a fresh outpouring of your spirit God even right now in this moment Lord God even in this the moments of worship to come in The other breakouts Lord God I pray for a spirit of refreshing Lord God a time of refreshing God Well, we pray for the new ideas God to begin to stir up God Lord even right now I pray against the spirit of comparison God I pray against a spirit that will come and rob us of the joy of what we get to do God I pray against that spirit that would rob us of the joy of the salvation we have in you Lord God I pray that in this next season Lord, I pray that there would be a new Excitement Lord as we begin to see what you are doing and what you are capable of Lord God We pray for new depth Lord and our students God We pray for our new commitment to discipleship Lord God to empowering leaders to partnering with parents to Engaging in our community Lord God Lord I pray from this room Lord We that there would be these God-sized dreams that have been on the shelf collecting dust God that we be picked back up and begin To be applied Lord God and we just pray that we would see that ripple effect That would come from the Midwest here Lord God that would stretch all throughout the country Lord God and not for the glory of a church But the glory of heaven and that we would see your kingdom advance or God Lord I pray for wisdom as we are diving into the hurting and broken realities that our students are living in God I pray for our protection against empathy fatigue God I pray it for our protection against that compassion fatigue that would drain us or God that as we are feeling that weight Lord That Lord that we would not try to do this on our own strengths But God that there would be a partnership with the Holy Spirit that understanding that God that what you have places where you have places What we are doing Lord God it is impossible without you and God I pray That there be a new commitment to our devotion to you in this season a new devotion to prayer a devotion to being students of your word of God even for us vocalizing our own faith and not just from a platform or a microphone But God even in our our daily lives got how we treat our own friends got how we lead our relationships in our life God we pray that we would model that mission that you have called us to And God even right now I pray a special blessing on pastor Preston and the team here radiant Lord God as they are hosting and opening up their doors So so many of us are here today that I pray a blessing on this church Lord God as it has been an anchor to the community Lord God that Lord that there has it's they are a Wellspring Lord God of encouragement God for those that are on the journey and Lord I pray that you would continue to bless them and their ministry Lord God I pray for pastor Lee and the team here Lord God even the remaining portions of this conference or God God you are just Getting started and we pray Lord God that of this phrase the best is yet to come It is not just a catchphrase But it is a belief that the blessings are not just behind us But the blessings are still ahead of us and so God we cling to that and we believe that in the name of Jesus Amen, amen. All right 15 minutes left. Look at that. We broke some stereotypes here today got some time for Q&A There it is awesome So I'm gonna I don't know if I pass off to you or Yeah, so we can just open it up for Q&A For those of you who don't know my name is Preston Cole's I'm one of our student pastors here at radiant pastor Zach and I get the honor of serving together here at radiant and just More than anything just humbled by what God's doing But as I was sitting up here and as Phil was praying I felt like he just spoke a power message and even had a whole ministry moment there at the end so good But I was just feeling really for you guys I know a lot of us as Phil was asking at the beginning Kind of like our time in youth ministry and stuff and I having myself only been here for two years But knowing y'all we've been through some crap this last year. We're exhausted, right? My I never want to see a camera again. I never want to go on Instagram live again my like I like I have a switch that when there's a camera in front of me I get loud and extrovert and it's like emotionally draining and so I'm like if I have to do a four minute Instagram live I will pass out like I'll be so I'm so done so I just know that like I and I loved Phil's prayer over each and every one of you because a Refilling a refreshing just I my prayer is that you guys being here even moments like we just had in worship Just spontaneous moments like that where the Holy Spirit's filling us up with a fresh fire fresh energy Like I think according to Phil's whole teaching and I mean that's something I think we've probably all been thinking about and why you're in this room What is the next ten years gonna look like you know, it's it's looked one way for the last decade 20 30 years But we've shifted something's happened in our culture where we recognize Oh shoot what got us here is not gonna get us there You know, what's been happening is not gonna work anymore. It needs to shift and change And so anyway, I love the hunger from you guys, but again my prayer is that this Weekend well not even weekend Monday Tuesday is Filling for you guys like be refreshed be renewed pray that you go back refueled ready to go But yeah, so we'd love to just open it up for questions Anybody if you have them and again, I mean, I think it can be anything in terms of strategy action plans any bit of Phil's four points discipleship parents Community yeah Nate Lake That's so real because the the trigger word in ministry right is burnout, right? It's one that a lot of us have seen and people have experienced So the output light or side of things to speak directly to it So within the strategies is looking at the art of habit stacking, right? It's it's building those habits and within the program of going like hey like this is we're gonna start right? I think all of us have had those moments where we're like here's this big goal this thing that we're wanting to do and then it's like not realizing the details that go Into making something like that happen right like I love talking to miss Eric out here I'm like hey, how much goes into planning this conference and she's like oh we start like we're gonna start playing for next year on Thursday like it's it's one of those that the amount of that going into it So when it comes to student discipleship parent partnership leader training and community engagement I would just challenge that hey What's do the quick assessment even if you're one person of going what do like where are we currently at and Assessing the reality of going like hey, this is where we're out on the discipleship side Here's those may some students that I can lean on When I was a volunteer youth pastor looking at where some of those kids that can run a conversation that you know As we're setting up chairs together we can walk through that hey Here's what this discussion is gonna look like tonight and to just like bring them with I'll take kids grocery shopping with me on a discipleship side I'm looking for ways that like I said habit stacking that if I'm already doing this who can I bring with on that one It is interesting though Nate I love that question because it's the through like some of the most important things that we proclaim are the hardest to Maintain our schedule time with God time with family and time to sermon prep, right? Those are the things that people here would like and we I got to make sure this happens But those are usually the first to go when it comes to ministry So looking at what are some of the things that you're doing throughout your week That are natural That you can just bring people with and habit stacking is like it's the building like hey This might be my goal It's the Scott Wilson down in Texas has a great illustration of it if there's a 20-foot goal that we're trying to accomplish You know sometimes we have too many like like three large steps And that's like seems too big to even start but then there's too many little ones that you're like man We're never gonna get there, but it's identifying within your group of going like hey We got a group of 10 kids got a group of 30 kids I got two leaders that I maybe can count on it's identifying that hey What is a step like hey by by September? We'd like to be here. Hey, and then breaking up into quarters That's been something that's been really helpful for us because then it takes away the pressure of going I need to do this for in a year, and then it's like we lose track of it two months later, right? And so breaking up into quarters Hey quarter one my goal for discipleship is this my goal for leaders is this and just breaking it out to make It bite-size and and building off those habits and looking for key moments to bring students and leaders along with you Like I said those games like community engagement I'll bring a leader with and we'll connect with students and there's like even discipleship moments I'll happen there while waiting for a student to come out of the locker room. You're going like hey man Like you're talking like for four quarters of a basketball game, and then it becomes hey So like what's what are kids in your school saying about this current situation like what what are you hearing and you start to And then that helps me on my sermon prep side because I'm like, oh, that's what they're all talking about I actually know where they're at so it's looking for ways to leverage what's already happening Rather than feeling the pressure of creating from scratch in all those areas Yeah, it changes each season. I think it's one that And all of us have seasons and I think we can fall into that right of going it has to be this way but there's sometimes that When we got like new leaders or there's leaders that have left that Bringing them up to a place where they can shepherd in a way that reflects your heart And so there are seasons that you know, so like back to school. It's gonna be heavy on student Discipleship it's getting those new students plugged in Making sure that there's a good spot there and and you know your ministry calendar as you're looking at that and identifying Here's a spot where I'm making sure that there's a touch point maybe with parents, right? Like one of the things that's been good for us is I know Preston has PTSD with screens But for us like parents like we will pre-record a message with a staff member or a key parent volunteer 15-minute conversation we posted once once a month called our parent connect and it's just a resource of like hey How to help talk about the Bible with my students and that's not something it does it takes maybe 45 minutes to an hour and what we have found is we get more student volunteers then because parents are like man I love what you're doing. How can I help because you're bringing them in on the conversation with you So looking for ways once again bite-sized things not total like program overhaul But little wins throughout a quarter that can help lead into so to answer questions directly There's not a set way leaders students parents their seasons that it's my responsibility as a pastor spiritual component aside It's my job to make sure that I understand those rhythms and have a strategy that reflects those rhythms Oh, that's a tough one I've been in rooms with youth pastors that have arguments like it's politics, right? There's some that like hey, they need to be school-based. They need to be gender-based They need to be like hey friend base and so one of the things that I found talk to your pastor Like what's the heart of small groups from the top down because there's a favor that's hap that happens when it's accompanying Along the mission the vision of the church what we have found in our context is We want kids to want to be there and so when it comes to so it's more so like the relationship base But we are aware of the dark side that there is the dark side of that is it It's very much a breeding ground for clicks and so and that clicks will happen regardless of any strategy So it's identifying that what are like how will these clicks be formed will be formed by the location and schools by friends by shared experiences within that group and so and that's one thing we will use mystery like it's like We're about relationships clicks will form It's our job to understand that how are they being formed and what we can do to continue to create on ramps So we do friendship based and then we do a shadow process. We have a long on ramp for leaders I knew I used to be feel like this way like we just have to get leaders in we have to get leaders in and then also like one Month later like actually I'm not going to be here anymore Bye and then the kids like left with where I don't have a leader anymore like so we have a long on ramp We have a shadow process and there's a very Lengthy interview that I have with them is about a 15 to 30 minute interview because I want to make sure that they Understand what we're asking of them, you know, there's gray areas that different context where it comes to Like some with illegalization of weed or there's alcohol some of those gray areas with leaders Even with stuff like that will do like hey, we're not even making it theological We're just saying you're leading minors and so we're just asking that in this context to choose not to do those things Regardless of what law might be out there because we're leading minors and we don't know if a kid It's coming from an alcoholic background or drug addiction and we just want because we know what we allow Moderation will be done in excess. We've had high schoolers. I would go like oh Listen, I can handle my liquor better than my leader can and it's like no, that's not the conversation Let's talk about Jesus right and so but within that process I say that to circle back to how do we place them in there? there is a shadow process that is a part of a interview process and We embrace the awkward of it being longer than I might like because I have found they stay longer and One of the things that with the average youth pastor staying at a church 18 months Pew research 18 months is the average length of a youth pastor My goal is like we I want to have a leader that's there for three years I'm asking for a three-year commitment. So to do that for us like I said it could work different other ways Students are forming groups based off friendship interest groups and then leaders based off like as they shadow Which groups that they connect with because we want them to want to be there and then so that's how we have done it I've heard once again groups that have dozens and dozens of small groups that do it based on schools Based off other things like that, but that's how we have done it And that's something that we have found that has created some great on-roads to create those safe environments for conversations That is a great question. I remember the days in youth group I'm like, I don't know if anybody's gonna show up like I'm planning all this I don't like we could have zero kids in the room right now and then the kids that show up You're like, I'm gonna have to babysit you more so than actually preach to you, right? Like it's like your parents gave you sugar before you came in here That gap managed one of the things if it's a smaller group that we have found Do you have any volunteers? Yes, that's awesome though Dude, let's just celebrate you guys like listen, there's people there. We got there's people with zero says that six. Oh Look at you. Okay creating creating that culture. I love it what I would look at There have been ministries some models that I've seen that have been that have helped navigate that It's like some of your your younger students may it might be a hey We're in a worship together and then the ninth or like eighth grade and below They're gonna go with these couple leaders and they're gonna have a small group conversation while I preach then to the large or the older kids and then there's a Footflop because we understand middle school is asking. What do I believe high school is actually asking? What are the doubts of what I believe and so there's even questions there? So Having those separate context now that it challenges us because we have to make sure we hit our time then So one's not going 45 minutes and then we're and the other one's like 30 minutes But it's understanding that maybe it's providing different outlets for that So we've done that in the past and that's worked It's forced me though to make sure I'm communicating with my leaders ahead of time and empowering them in a way that they're like Hey for 30 minutes Pastors not here. I'm not gonna lose any of these kids like I got this right and so that's one model that I've seen done Well, but also just the small like embracing that small group model just having some of those conversations And it's okay if it doesn't look like some of the services right away As you are building once again that habit-stacking idea of going like hey I want to teach them how to have conversations about Jesus I want them to feel safe enough to ask questions about Jesus if it's a smaller group that might just be the model as well So either like separating them or just getting in that small group Maybe empowering some of those 11th and 12th graders to to hop in on some of those conversations as you trust them Well, it's 12 30 I want to respect the lunch time. It's actually a minute before 12 30 I will stay in here though. If there's any other questions would love to to answer them to the best of my ability Grateful for you guys. Thanks for what you do appreciate you enjoy lunch and enjoy the rest of the conference