Hybrid Ministry - Episodes Tagged with “Digital Discipleship”

Episode 165: How to Build a Youth Social Media Team That You Don’t Have to Run

Nick Clason — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Struggling to keep up with your youth group’s social media? In this episode, I’ll show you how to build a student-led social media team for your youth ministry—from recruiting Gen Z content creators to assigning creative roles like studio recruiter, sermon recap editors, and “man on the street” interviewers. Plus, I’ll show you how my Fall Social Media Pack (available on Patreon) gives you 3 months of done-for-you content your students can run without you lifting a finger.

//Social Team Checklist
https://www.patreon.com/posts/social-media-138081327?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

🍂 FALL SOCIAL MEDIA PACK
https://www.patreon.com/posts/fall-seasonal-137477671?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/165

*🦸 HYBRID HEROS GET THE PACK FOR FREE! *
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

FALL MASTERCLASS PLAYLIST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fsa_fgbYCE&list=PLngXlSr64YaLfP12NPWmpBzXoCcEsAyBF

//Fully Built out Studio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVT1xvh9-5k

//TRY OPUS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//100 BONUS IDEAS & TEMPLATE
https://share.hsforms.com/1JOHqd4XOTbC5ZgfXB85BCwnumis

✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

📊 [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

👉 STAY CONNECTED WITH NICK
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hybridministry/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clasonnick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HybridMinistry
Website: https://www.hybridministry.xyz

--------------
🎉 FREE STUFF 🎉
We have all kinds of FREE Things that you can use in your context!
The best way to pay us back is a review or a YouTube Subscribe!
https://www.linktr.ee/clasonnick

--------------
🛠️TOOLS I USE THAT CAN HELP YOU!
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products
//VIDIQ
https://vidiq.com/hybrid

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

//OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Student Social Team Framework
01:08 Why Students?
6:30 What we post
08:23 Studio Roles
11:43 On the Street Roles
13:46 The Power of the Social team
14:53 How I do no work
20:05 How you can do no work

--------------
TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're tired. Apparently, your

00:00:01:28 - 00:00:02:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
weekly

00:00:02:10 - 00:00:02:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
message

00:00:02:22 - 00:00:03:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
isn't writing itself.

00:00:03:29 - 00:00:04:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Senior

00:00:04:13 - 00:00:04:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
pastors,

00:00:04:23 - 00:00:08:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
who used to be youth pastors, continue to pitch you mid-tier

00:00:08:18 - 00:00:09:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
ideas, and

00:00:09:00 - 00:00:09:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
the finance

00:00:09:12 - 00:00:13:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
team, they just won't get off your back for that missing pizza receipt.

00:00:13:03 - 00:00:20:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What in the world would you possibly have time to draft and dream up a fully student led social media team?

00:00:20:13 - 00:00:26:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because of all of that and because of all these commitments, that's why your feed looks like this.

00:00:26:08 - 00:00:28:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What if the answer isn't more of you? But what

00:00:28:26 - 00:00:38:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
if the answer is actually more then, because you, as a youth pastor are surrounded by the world's most capable content creator, they're called

00:00:38:09 - 00:00:49:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
teenagers. I have, in my context, built, student led, and student completely run social media teams. And in this episode, I'm going to share with you

00:00:49:07 - 00:00:53:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
how you can do that mistakes and means and all.

00:00:53:16 - 00:01:14:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And they're going to post things that are not only going to make your feed come to life, but also they'll never post something that's going to result in getting you fired, probably. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. Well, hey everybody, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. If you and I haven't had a chance to meet you. My name is Nick Claussen.

00:01:14:13 - 00:01:39:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I am a 15 year youth ministry veteran who's been passionate about social media and digital and ushered into that an absolutely expedited pace in Covid and through Covid. And now, since Covid, I have built social media teams and social media, platforms that completely are self-sustainable. Now at this point, and in this episode, I am going to fully outline in detail for you all of that.

00:01:39:20 - 00:02:04:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because here's the thing. In this, episode and on this podcast, I talk a lot about my hybrid ministry strategy. In fact, my entire hybrid strategy is linked down below. You can download it, you can use it, you can take it in that e-book. I recommend posting ten times per week. And I'm going to share with you the ten posts that I post per week in my current student ministry on social media.

00:02:04:17 - 00:02:31:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, if you download my student or my fast seasonal social media pack, which is over on Patreon, the getting started version of that, social media strategy is actually only posting three times per week because I get it. Like youth ministries and youth pastors, they're busy. And so in this episode, what I want to outline for you is how to do that completely through your student volunteers.

00:02:31:02 - 00:02:51:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we're going to explain, the reason behind why you should pick students as part of your social media team. Also, what are some roles that you can recruit them into as you are creating and building a social media team? We'll talk about some roles for, students. If you're shooting in like a studio, we can talk about roles for students.

00:02:51:28 - 00:03:14:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you are shooting some stuff on the street or like out and about in your space. Also, student ministry editors, which are honestly, in my opinion, the biggest life savers and time savers for me. And then finally, I'm going to give you, the opportunity to go grab a checklist of everything that you're going to need for these, for these roles and to build these teams.

00:03:14:29 - 00:03:31:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But first of all, let's take just a quick step back before we get into the nitty gritty. And then once again, there are chapters always listed down below in these episodes. So if you want to jump ahead, you can. But why students you got to understand their digital natives like this is their world. This is what they speak.

00:03:31:06 - 00:03:55:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I like this concept called hybrid, where we go from our in-person moment and we take our online presence and we find a way to blend the two. In fact, the entire playlist linked right here that we just went through for the fall kickoff event idea is all about leaning into your hybrid, from your event to the ongoing donut voting bracket, to the welcome guest, to creating and building a social team like the students.

00:03:55:04 - 00:04:15:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Blend that all the time. And while for adults, especially during Covid and us in ministry, we didn't love it, we were even maybe annoyed by it. But like, this is their world. This is their life. YouTube is huge right now. Students spend hours online on YouTube looking at and creating and consuming content. This is just a part of their world.

00:04:15:15 - 00:04:40:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, as we're trying to position ourselves as youth ministries and youth pastors to help spread the the news and message of Jesus, like we should use students to help give us that ability and help give us that chance to help spread and reach and make that message of Jesus known on the social media channels. Also, students are used to this like they're used to having an authentic social media voice.

00:04:40:17 - 00:05:07:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like this is this is just like I said, they're digital natives. This is who they are. They value authenticity. Like, this is them. This is what they do. Right? There's also on your social media teams, there's a deep well of opportunities. For example, we had a student join last year and, the person who is overseeing the team, just like from a scheduling aspect of it, he looked at me and he's like, Nick, I don't have anywhere to put this person.

00:05:07:03 - 00:05:35:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I was like, sure you do. And he goes, wait, what do you mean? I said, I don't know those like given those clapperboard, she's like, no, I was like, buy one and then have that person run the clapperboard. I was like, you can always invent opportunities to help make students feel like they're a doing something. But being that there is plenty of runway and avenue to enlist students for, and I'm going to share with you even how to build a team of editors so that you even have more above and beyond opportunities to, recruit people.

00:05:36:06 - 00:06:02:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then, you know, the bonus in all of this is that, like, as they get into this, like, this gives them not only, like leadership experience, but also some opportunity to, like, be a disciple in this avenue of social media. Right? It may not be the most precise, it may not be the most theologically astute. It may not, you know, be the deepest or the the most, like, precision, and, you know, tightened up version of all this stuff.

00:06:02:06 - 00:06:29:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But like, they can learn how to influence their friends for and with the message of Jesus. So let's explore now, like, what exactly are some of the roles that we have instituted in our social media team? Let's take a look. So if you download my seasonal social media pack, you'll see that I recommend, two things transition videos and man on the Street videos.

00:06:29:11 - 00:06:51:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Those are things that are part of the custom for you section. And what the custom for you section is, is it's the section of my pack that makes it, your church specific because I do, I do give you some done for you stuff like Bible verses and, how to deal with anxiety, how to, you know, some like emoji guesses, some, some spiritual practice videos.

00:06:51:21 - 00:07:07:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Those are nameless, faceless. So any youth ministry can download those and use them. The custom for you section. What that does is it puts your people, your faces and your stamp on your social media, but that is going to require you to get out of camera, get out your phone, get out someone's phone and film some of these things.

00:07:07:29 - 00:07:31:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so two of those are interview interview questions like man on the street style and transition style videos. Those are two staples of our social media strategy in our youth ministry. Every single Wednesday night, we are filming something and so we're but we're only filming one type of thing per week. So one week we're filming main on the street, and then maybe the next week we're filming transition style videos.

00:07:31:21 - 00:07:53:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I also include For you some bonus content of like topic ideas for either dress and or may seven question style videos. And so those are the others that we have on our monthly schedule. So man, on the street transition style videos, drafts, seven questions. Any given that you come into our youth ministry, we're doing one of those four things.

00:07:53:18 - 00:08:12:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, in the bonus section, the drafts are the seven questions. If you want to start doing some of those, we film those in like a fully, built out studio. I'll link the tour episode to our studio if you want to see our studio, what we've bought, how we outfitted it so that we can have multiple different sets in one, one room, one space.

00:08:12:16 - 00:08:36:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can go check that out again. Link down below in the description. But here's some roles for for people in that, in that type of night, in that type of setting. So we record using podcast style microphones, which means we need to record into some sort of audio interface. So we plug it into like a Scarlett focus, eight eight and then that runs into like a computer, and then the computer is running like Adobe Audition.

00:08:36:22 - 00:08:57:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we have a person who sits there and runs audio. And so they literally do the thing like speeding, speeding, speeding. And so that person makes sure that the audio is actually rolling. And then they'll also put headphones on to ensure that they can hear what the people are saying and they can actually mix it. Do like a live mix using the Scarlett focus right.

00:08:57:24 - 00:09:18:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We'll also have someone running camera. And so they'll literally click the record button on the camera and then they'll click, you know, stop record. And for a while there, we had them clap in front of the camera. But like I said in the intro, we actually just, bought a clapperboard. And so either they can do it or if you have enough people, you can have a whole nother person do it.

00:09:18:03 - 00:09:37:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the clapperboard that we bought is a dry erase. And so you can put like, you know, you can erase it and you can write like drafts, take four and then you can write the names of the people and that way if you could get them to spell their names for you, you're going to get their names on the edit spelled exactly right, which I think is really important.

00:09:37:15 - 00:10:01:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We also have a television screen, which sometimes for like our leader podcast, we have that on the actual camera and use it as like a presentation, if you will. But for these videos, we actually put it, off camera so that the contestants can see the slides because there's like scripts and stuff, like for example, the script that like for seven questions is, hey, the name of the game is seven questions if you want to play and close your eyes, the answer is going to be right here on the screen.

00:10:02:01 - 00:10:16:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The category is fill in the blank. It's hard sometimes. The sixth grader walks in. They want to be part of the social team. They want to be on in want to do the social challenge. And you tell them the script and they can't remember it. And so that TV right there really helps them, you know what I mean?

00:10:16:25 - 00:10:36:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, see what they're supposed to do. And then we'll also after that script, we'll just make a slide that says one and that's question one. And then two, three, four. And so that that screen also helps them like keep track of the questions. And then there's always some sort of like call to action at the end of every video like hey, comment below your answer or comment below, did you get it?

00:10:36:07 - 00:11:08:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or you know, whatever. And those are just kind of like prompts so that someone doesn't have to speak them. Because when someone speaks them from off camera, you have to edit them later, which is not the end of the world. But again, it helps. And so you can have someone literally sitting there running slides. It's also helpful to have people recruiting because we're in our studio, students might not know that the social challenge is going on, or they might know now, at this point in our in our context, but they might not be like aware of it or looking for it or, you know, running towards it.

00:11:08:11 - 00:11:23:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you have people who are like, hey, you want to be in social challenge today? And then they'll bring them back to our studio and then they'll help, kind of like queue up a line. And then lastly, you can have a host, a person who is out in the hallway talking to the people, waiting, explaining to them what they're going to do when they get in there.

00:11:23:15 - 00:11:44:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you're going to want someone who's got some charisma on that. But, all of those are different roles that we have tried to implement and institute for our studio based social challenge nights. Now, there are those are drafts and seven questions. So that's two out of our four social, challenge, you know, scheduling nights. The other two are when we're out and about.

00:11:44:22 - 00:12:02:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we grab a tripod, a camera and a microphone, and we hit the street and we don't go anywhere. But just like our student lobby. But we're out and about. We're more visible. So you don't quite need as many, like, hosts or anything like that. But you may need like a recruiter. You still need someone like, hey, you want to come be on social media tonight?

00:12:02:21 - 00:12:18:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You want to come here to some questions. And so they'll fold people in the queue up a line. They'll get them off to the side there. So that's another option or another role. Of course you're going to have your interviewer. So the person that's on camera that's asking the questions like, hey, would you rather this, would you rather that?

00:12:18:15 - 00:12:40:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And listen, all of these questions are included in my social media pack. And so what I recommend is that you batch record so that you ask 4 or 5 questions, and you ask 4 or 5 people the same 4 or 5 questions, and then boom, you have 4 or 5 different men on the street style videos. And so that interviewer there's asking the same person these, you know, 4 or 5 different questions.

00:12:40:21 - 00:13:04:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Obviously, you're also going to have a camera person. You're also going to have an audio person. And I like to have the audio person, plug the headphones directly into the camera and listen to make sure that they can hear, and that's not too loud. And, you know, if like, anything gets cut out, that they can make them go back and reshoot it with film it, you can have someone holding up like a sheet with the questions or even times we've rolled that TV out.

00:13:04:14 - 00:13:24:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right? And so we've had a person there, managing that TV or running slides for that, you know, or whatever the case may be. And so those are all different ways and things that you can use for like man on the Street transition style videos are very similar, except for all you really are doing is like, you know, you get like a video of a kid who was riding a skateboard and they fell on the floor and they fell like in this certain position.

00:13:24:19 - 00:13:40:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you tell someone, hey, lay like this, and then you give them some sort of script like, oh, that hurt. Make sure that you always have someone to help pick you up. We got that here at our church on Wednesday nights. See you at 630 or something. You know, something silly like that. Like it's kind of meant to be, you know, silly like that.

00:13:41:00 - 00:13:58:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Those are the two, like, on the night, jobs. And let me just tell you, like, once we started walking around with the camera, especially for, like, man on the street or, like, transition style videos, the kids came out of the woodwork in their interest level for it. We have, seven, I want to say different like serving teams for students.

00:13:58:01 - 00:14:25:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We have welcome team. We have cafe, we have tech team. We have social team, we have photography. We have worship. Maybe that's it. Oh no. And then we have our table leaders. That's probably like our highest, spiritual bar of of role. The team that people want to be on the most is the social team. And so we have, like, increased our engagement around student serving because the social team exists.

00:14:25:29 - 00:14:48:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the real, in my opinion, this role right here, this next role, this is really like the role that has changed everything for me. It's the student editor. So I post ten pieces of content per week. And this is a genuine, real, true, authentic statement. I don't edit any of it okay. So let me let me walk you through, what I post.

00:14:48:14 - 00:15:07:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's some of it's going to be similar to what you might get in the fall seasonal social media pack. Some of it is a little bit different. You can sprinkle in any of these ideas because I'm asking you in the seasonal social media pack to post three times per week. So if you like any of these ideas you got, you got margin to kind of add this and make it your own and bring your own flair.

00:15:07:20 - 00:15:27:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I post like a meme Monday every single Monday morning that is just like a static carousel kind of based post. What we've done in our, our staff team is we created a Google Drive folder and we just say, hey, as you're scrolling social media, if you come across memes, save them and dump them in this folder.

00:15:27:12 - 00:15:46:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so all I have to do on Monday is go grab them from that folder, pull them out. You know, I put ten out for carousel post and I post them, recently I've only started doing five because I've also started posting them over on the YouTube posts section, and they only allow five total, as opposed to Instagram, which now I believe allows like 20.

00:15:46:18 - 00:16:16:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I wasn't posting, by the way, I wasn't posting to YouTube, but I had a kid who said, are you going to do me Monday anymore? And I was like, yeah. And he's like, on YouTube. And I was like, oh, so that made me, you know, kind of start doing it, on, on YouTube there. Additionally, I post three sermon recap clips, so like, what we do is we film our messages long form posted to YouTube, and then we edit them for YouTube with edits and captions and all the things.

00:16:16:24 - 00:16:42:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But before, we edit those or I'll have whoever is editing for me because I actually pay for an editor on these. I'll have them send me just a clean copy so they'll they'll compile it all together chronologically, and then they'll send me a copy without captions and without any of the, you know, B-roll or whatever. And I'll take those clean copies and I'll upload them into something like Open Source Pro, which, by the way, there's a link down below if you're interested in checking it out.

00:16:43:01 - 00:17:21:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It doesn't change anything for you, but it is a small, affiliate commission link for me, which would be incredibly helpful if that's something you want to try out. It makes my job so easy. I clips those up, and then we just download three of those and store them to post on three different days in our week. If you don't pre film like a long form message, then my foster seasonal social media pack, it gives you like devotional scripts that you can hold your phone and you can speak direct to camera on those, and it'll tell you exactly what to say and how to include it and that, that, that hits the same

00:17:21:14 - 00:17:40:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
basic gist of what, a clip is meant to do where your Devo, clip, which isn't maybe tied to like a specific sermon or message, but it's still it's going to perform really well. I'm going to do a really good job for you on social media. So either one of those is fine, but it's some sort of spiritually charged content, right?

00:17:40:05 - 00:17:58:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because some of these other things aren't spiritually charged content. And so your goal is you want to hook people, hook students, or hook your, your students friends with some of the goofy stuff so that you're showing up more and more in their algorithm. So that's why you also want to include some of these spiritual things so that they'll run across those as well.

00:17:58:27 - 00:18:17:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the way I don't edit them is I use opus clip if you want to, you know, film something on your phone, that's fine. Then what I would recommend is handing over your phone to a student editor. Or if you pay for like a service like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci resolve, you can get them on a computer and they can edit that video for you.

00:18:17:28 - 00:18:36:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or even if you don't want to do it, have a student film there and let them edit it, and they can use something like on their own phone, like cap cut, or even just something simple like the TikTok or Instagram Reels editor. Our four social challenge archetypes remember seven questions drafts, man on the Street, transition style videos, all edited by students.

00:18:36:25 - 00:18:58:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And right now I'm actually building like a tutorial. Because, like, I've trained students and it takes a lot of my time to get them up to speed, but I'm building tutorials now, where they're watching me edit one, and then they can go back and they can watch that as reference as they edit. And so now I'm able to recruit more students without any experience, and I'm having them do that on something like Adobe Premiere Pro.

00:18:58:25 - 00:19:14:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I have had students in the past who have their own editing, kind of like chops. And I'll just send them a link from our Google Drive of like, like a seven questions and I'll say, hey, get this under a minute, add captions on the screen, add music, and send it back to me. And they do a great job and I'm fine with it being that way as well.

00:19:14:21 - 00:19:39:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So it doesn't have to be exactly like I'm doing it, or exactly in like, you know, my template, which, by the way, I have, seven questions and address template link down below. It's included in the for seasonal social media pack, or just in 100 bonus ideas for free listed down below in the description. Another video that we do is like, just like our Wednesday night recap, which is a very simple collage style video.

00:19:39:05 - 00:19:57:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I walk around with my phone and I get anywhere from like 5 to 7 second clips. Put that in TikTok, it does auto cut for me and boom are done. And then the last remaining of my ten is one of my four seasonal social media packs. Either a verse, a spiritual practice video, a how to carousel or an emoji phraseology guesting.

00:19:57:12 - 00:20:21:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And again, all of those are going to be included in my fast seasonal social media pack, which, by the way, if you didn't know, is 1799. However, I have a bonus Patreon podcast for $4 a month where I not only give you everything in my store for free so that includes this pack, but also I, recap what we did from a creative programing standpoint and from social media.

00:20:21:13 - 00:20:48:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
From a social media standpoint. The previous week in student ministry. Think of it as like your weekly, debrief meeting with, like, you know, a trusted friend. And if I were you, that's $4 a month. You can charge at times $1,248 to like, professional development or your student ministries budget in that way. But what I'm going to do is I'm going to include a checklist for you of roles, of things to do, of what to film all of that.

00:20:48:21 - 00:21:16:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's over on my Patreon. Once again, that will come with a nominal fee because Patreon doesn't let me give it away for free. However, if you are a hybrid hero, you get that checklist that costs you $0 included in your $4 per month membership Hybrid Heroes tier. This is how we do it. This is how I have handed all of this off, and I don't lift a finger any more for capturing, editing, or creating any of our social media content.

00:21:16:03 - 00:21:38:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You two can build a robust, student led, student driven social media team and social media feed. All you gotta do is start leaning in. Some of the students that God has gifted and and given to you in your context. I'm rooting for you. Don't ever hesitate to reach out. I got the pick my brain. Link down below in my, description.

00:21:38:08 - 00:21:50:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If there's something that can help you get this up off the ground. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget. Stay hybrid.

Episode 164: 🚀 Fall Social Media Pack: Stop Guessing. Start Posting.

Nick Clason — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Struggling to keep up with youth ministry social media this fall? In this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show, Nick Clason unveils the Fall Social Media Pack—a done-for-you, but also fully customizable content calendar built to align with your fall kickoff event, guest strategy, YouTube channel, and in-person ministry, saving you hours every week. Learn how to post your way to better engagement on Instagram, TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts, while bridging the gap between digital discipleship and real-life impact in your church!

🍂 FALL SOCIAL MEDIA PACK
https://www.patreon.com/posts/fall-seasonal-137477671?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut
DYM: https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/world%27s-greatest-donut/games/food-8745.html

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/164

*🦸 HYBRID HEROS GET THE PACK FOR FREE! *
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

FALL MASTERCLASS PLAYLIST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fsa_fgbYCE&list=PLngXlSr64YaLfP12NPWmpBzXoCcEsAyBF

COLEADER CURRICULUM
(Use code HybridMinistry10 for 10% off)
https://www.coleader.co

✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

📊 [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

//OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Fall is here!
00:14 Time to Finish Strong
03:38 Unboxing the Fall Social Pack
08:58 How to Build your Social Media to Actually last!

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:05 - 00:00:34:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Fall is here. So stop scrambling to post every single Wednesday on your social media because I've already built your social media plan. Just copy paste it. Post it. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. Welcome, everyone, to the Hybrid Ministry show. And today it's finally here. It is launch day this fall. Seasonal social media packs, similar to the summer one that I had running all summer long, is exactly what you need for your youth ministry social media.

00:00:34:03 - 00:01:00:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It is a blend of custom and done for you, content that you can pair together and best of all. If you've been following along in this fall, a masterclass for your kickoff event. If you did The World's Greatest Donut, if you did the bracket, then students are now locked into your social media. That entire playlist is linked right here at the top of the screen or in the show notes down below if you're listening on your podcast.

00:01:00:16 - 00:01:35:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if your students are locked in to your social media now because they've been voting and discovering and determining what the world's greatest donut is in your context and in your student ministry, well, then, now you want to continue to to lean in to what's going on on your social media and like, don't forget that. Like if you also used our welcome box strategy and our magnetic calendar and like they open that box and they scan that QR code in there on your YouTube channel, like students are seeing your content on their algorithm.

00:01:35:01 - 00:01:55:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so therefore you need to keep feeding that algorithm. Unfortunately for social media, you have to continue to keep feeding it in order for it to like be successful. But fortunately for you, I have just created a seasonal three months worth of content so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. All you got to do is download this pack.

00:01:55:22 - 00:02:14:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's less than $20 or better yet, become a Patreon member for $4 a month, which, if you add that up for three months, is $12 and you get the pack for free as a part of your membership and bonus podcast every single Monday morning, you can use that to continue to add to your feed while you're doing that.

00:02:14:13 - 00:02:34:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the social media pack is taking care of it over here. You get to go over here and deal with all the things that you have to do for fall. You have to start locking in your curriculum, which I would recommend co-leader, by the way, and you can use hybrid ministry ten for 10% off that, or you have to like build your calendar, you have to build your budget, you have to recruit new volunteers.

00:02:34:08 - 00:02:58:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, you know, like, you got this thing over here that's gnawing at you. You know, you should do it. You know, it's important. Maybe you don't, but, like, trust me, it's important. And so my pack will help take care of that. It will give you content that you can continue to post and keep that thing active. And the best thing is that when you typically download a pack, it's not very custom to you and your ministry, right?

00:02:58:07 - 00:03:23:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When you download a pack, more often than not it's a bunch of like static and stock graphics, and we have a few of the like done for you that like, isn't tied to your context or your ministry at all. But we also have a whole section where it will be you or your students or your volunteers, your faces that people know, love and will recognize and that will help make your social media feed feel custom and personal, which is the entire goal.

00:03:23:12 - 00:03:54:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So without any further ado, what I want to do is I want to unbox this a little bit. And so in the next section, let's look at what is included. If you choose to, jump into the full seasonal social media pack. So if you are watching here on YouTube, you are seeing my screen. And so if you download the, fall seasonal social media pack from Patreon, you are going to get a folder that looks like this.

00:03:54:23 - 00:04:16:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so it says start here Hybrid Strategy Guide and then custom for you and then done for you. So in the start here PDF, it just explains what's going on with the seasonal social media pack three months of custom fall related youth ministry, social media. Just as a reminder, Patreon members for four hours a month, you get this package included in your membership.

00:04:16:27 - 00:04:41:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So consider signing up that now up to $48 a year, and you'll get four seasonal social media packs along with a bonus podcast every single Monday morning. But like I said, it's completely either done for you. It's either a section of done for You, which is just download, plug and play or custom for you. It's got some recommendations here of like maybe some microphones that you might want to consider investing in.

00:04:41:12 - 00:04:59:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like this one right here, for example, I just want to point out like this one, I mean, like, oh, here we go. Opened up. This one is 789. So like, it really is very, very like affordable and very, very cheap. Obviously it's not going to be incredibly, you know, high quality, but it will still get the job done.

00:04:59:22 - 00:05:19:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then right here, is your recommended posts per week. Okay. And so you look here, it's like September 1st and you got like your spiritual practice posts, your emoji posts, your Bible trivia posts. Okay. Or if you want to build your own calendar, you can do it down here, in this blank section of the schedule.

00:05:19:29 - 00:05:45:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Furthermore, this right here explains kind of like the strategy that I'm attempting to get you to, to participate in. So, like, why social media? Why vertical video, and all these things. This actually is available as one of the member downloads from but a year ago over on Download Youth Ministry. But I'm just including it here so that you can kind of like see and understand like the strategy and like and what I'm saying here.

00:05:45:11 - 00:06:12:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then let's look at the Dunphy section first. There are five Bible verse real videos. So, here's, you know, a bunch of different, like, verses you can post those super quick, super easy. Here's some like emoji, back to school, kind of like guessing themed, ones that you can post super again, super quick, super easy. Here are some spiritual practice videos Bible memorization, study praise.

00:06:12:27 - 00:06:33:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, share. You know, pray for a friend. And then, take the next 60s to sit in silence. And then finally, these are like some curso based videos. So, like, what do you do if you're feeling lonely? What do you do if you're feeling sad? And what do you do if you're feeling insecure? So like, those are all very simple.

00:06:33:19 - 00:06:57:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like I said, download done for you. And then over here, these are the custom ones. Right? So every single one of the custom folders gives you some instructions how to do it, what to do. These are some Bible trivia, questions. So it's got five different rounds of five different posts that you can do Bible trivia. You can either hop on screen and do it, or better yet, hand it to a student and let them do it.

00:06:57:15 - 00:07:15:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then I also give you some graphics that you can use, to just overlay it, and you can build that in like a cap cut editor or a TikTok editor. And once again, have your students do it. Here are some, like recap or like devotional type videos. They're like, you're going to be your spiritually charged pieces of content.

00:07:16:01 - 00:07:32:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Again, you can hop on camera or you can hit to student and all of these, right? I have five script ideas right here that you can use. And it's got editing notes and all the things like that. If you have like a long form version of your message, you can use link in the description, something like an opus stock pro, to clip that up.

00:07:32:28 - 00:07:50:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can also just post that and then kind of like skip this little, folder section altogether. These are some men on the street. Would you rather fall based questions? So here's again some instructions on how to do it, what those are. And I created overlays. So all you gotta do is just go around, ask a handful of students using one of those microphones that you bought.

00:07:50:11 - 00:08:10:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Would you rather wear an itchy sweater or continually have leaves in your pocket? Would you rather be lost in a corn maze or smashed your perfectly carved pumpkin? Would you rather have, to eat leftovers for a month or risk every lawn in your neighborhood? Right. And so you see how like, those, those are great. And then finally, here are some transition invites, our videos.

00:08:10:07 - 00:08:39:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I give you the beginning of a video and then you overlay that right here and like, boom, you have one of your students pop in and, they say, hey, you should come to youth group, like, Wednesday night. What time? All that type of stuff. And I give you five of those. And so these all are the custom sections of your, of your social media strategy because a, a completely done for you is going to rob your social media feed of you.

00:08:39:22 - 00:08:59:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I don't want to do that. And so this is about as easy as we can make it so that like it still has you in it, but it's still also like not that much work. You can clear this bar. And like I said, we can get your students up to speed on this, which is what we're going to talk about in the next section of the video.

00:08:59:20 - 00:09:39:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So remember, while we're trying to increase social media engagement on your feed, the ultimate goal in all of this is not just social media engagement, but hopefully life change in the in the life of your teenagers and of your students. And so hopefully, the more that they engage with you on social, it's also going to mean the more that they're going to engage with you in person, which is really like the impetus for this entire hybrid strategy online, which is where a lot of students are spending their time and their lives paired with your in-person moment, so that together you can create a solid hybrid environment, one that, like your students, they're they're stepping back

00:09:39:21 - 00:10:09:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and forth in between those two worlds constantly. They live in that sweet spot called hybrid. And this social pact helps bridge that gap between those two different, sometimes seemingly opposing sides of the ministry aisle. And so I want to encourage you to continue to lean into it. And best yet, the best way that I have discovered to keep this ongoing, sustainable strategy, because I want to point out, I'm encouraging you to post three times per week.

00:10:09:11 - 00:10:41:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In my context, we post ten times per week. The only way that I'm getting ten posts done per week is by creating and leaning into a fully student run, an LED social media team, and I am going to detail and outline every single step of that in the very next episode, so that you can build that for yourself so that you can pass that off and you can teach your students very simply how to become influencers in their faith, not just online, but in their faith.

00:10:41:23 - 00:10:55:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That episode is going to be the link to right here on screen. Go ahead and tap that. Head over to that video and we will see you in episode 165 for building your own social team. But until next time, and as always, my friends, do not forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 158: This Changes Everything - Train Up Teenagers!

Nick Clason — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Nick Clason of the Hybrid Ministry Show, unpacks the #1 thing he's done to make his church's social media strategy keep running amidst the busy seasons. Not to mention, his full-scale strategy that will not only give you the space to level students up into leadership, but provide you with the posting plan while they're learning.
Tune in!

☀️ SUMMER SOCIAL MEDIA PACK
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/summer-seasonal-social-media-1540452?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=productshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

*🦸 HYBRID HEROS GET THE PACK FOR FREE! *
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/158

✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

📊 [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

//OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Develop Your Students
00:49 Why Have a Social Media Team?
04:58 Summer is the Perfect Window to Develop it
05:21 Your Full Social Media Strategy
06:48 A Content Strategy that Runs while you Train

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:20:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You've got teens who love TikTok, who know Capp cut better than you and are making videos all summer long. What if this summer, rather than just discipling them, you actually turn them into influencers who are reaching their peers for Jesus through social media. Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry show. Well hey everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:00:20:14 - 00:00:41:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you and I haven't had a chance to meet yet. My name is Nicholas and the host of this here Hybrid Ministry podcast. And in this episode, I want to talk about why you should, train teen editors to edit and to manage your social media content. Why? Summer is the perfect window to do that. Also, how do you stay active on social media while you're in the midst of building up a team?

00:00:41:12 - 00:01:01:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And finally, I have the ultimate and most perfect solution for you, so be sure to stick around to the very end of the video. But the reason why you should be leaning into teenagers on social media is because, according to Pew Research, a recent study showed that 90% of teens and an even earlier studies showed that 95% of them spent regular time on YouTube.

00:01:01:05 - 00:01:25:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Not to mention the fact that they use their mobile device, Gen Z, more than any other device combined. And I think the screen time is up to an average of seven plus hours per day, which is the equivalent of watching the entire Lord of the rings trilogy every single day. And so this is where teenagers are. And the fact is, you and I work as youth pastors in a day and age where we can reach teenagers through their screens and through their devices.

00:01:25:25 - 00:01:41:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you should train teenagers to do that because you might not be well versed in it. You might be not be very good at it. And see, probably most importantly, you have other things to do. You got sermons to write, you got leaders to develop, you got bosses to meet with. You got students to grab coffee with.

00:01:41:29 - 00:02:10:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You have a plenty of other things going on in the meantime, you still should be reaching teenagers and reaching students and being present on your church's social media platform. In addition to that, it helps give students development and leadership and ownership. You know, according to the study, Growing Young by fellow Youth Institute, they said that key chain leadership was a key for students who grew up in youth group, but also chose to stick around in youth group after they graduated from high school.

00:02:10:15 - 00:02:32:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So what what actual areas of leadership and ownership are you handing to your teenagers? And the fact is, this is school is gone. Students have more, windows of availability. You should be teaching and training your students this summer to take your social media platform so that once you hit the fall, you are off to the off to the races and you hit the ground running with students managing and editing it.

00:02:32:09 - 00:02:51:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, last summer I remember I was sitting there, we had an intern on our staff, and then his younger brother was in sixth grade, maybe seventh grade. And they were just like sitting around. We were cleaning up after the night. And so his younger brother was still in the building with, you know, the rest of our team helping and just kind of hanging out, waiting for his brother to be ready to take him home.

00:02:51:24 - 00:03:07:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I looked at him and I said, hey, you want to learn how to edit TikTok videos? And he's like, sure. I say, have you ever done it before? He's like, no. And I was like, all right, sweet. I said, come in tomorrow, see if your brother, your mom can take you. Have him text me and, we'll get you set up.

00:03:07:21 - 00:03:30:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We'll get you editing. And so he came in the next day. We haven't have the luxury of having a spare computer sitting around, and I showed him how to edit and actually teaser. If you go and grab my, summer social media pack, you'll see that two of the bonus pieces of content are things called drafts, where you go back and forth with a student or with another person, and a game called Seven Questions.

00:03:30:11 - 00:03:45:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I got him set up editing that game. Seven questions real easy. I used Adobe Premiere Pro. I taught him how to use it. That's what I use. I taught him how to how to use what I know how to use. And, he was slow at first. He had a lot of questions, but I kid you not, this is not an exaggeration.

00:03:45:23 - 00:04:07:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This last week we haven't been meeting on Wednesday nights. And, so fast forwarding the story after he got up and running, he pretty much comes in every single Wednesday and edits for me. He's home school. He comes in around 2 or 3:00. He brings his dinner and he edits until youth group gets started around six. So he sits there for 2 or 3 hours and, we, we repaid him with free summer camp this year.

00:04:07:19 - 00:04:27:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or we'll let him get snacks at a liter workroom. And so we haven't been meeting on Wednesdays for the last several weeks. If you're a subscriber on my Hybrid Heroes Patreon membership to. You know that, we're back now, but, I called up his mom, and I said, hey, listen, like we haven't had a brand new edit for some of our social content in nearly five weeks, can you please send him?

00:04:27:29 - 00:04:47:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the reason I tell you that is because I want to. I want you to notice and see how reliant I actually have become on student editors. Like I don't touch edits anymore. And so the downside is I've filled my time with other things. And so if I don't have a student comes in, come in and edit, we're in a little bit of a hole.

00:04:47:15 - 00:05:08:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, he's been incredibly helpful with that. And so he's taking it taking it for us and kind of, you know, gone off to the races with that. And so student editors are amazing. And this summer, while they have more free time, if you choose to carve out a little bit of time, train up leaders, create a strategy for them, like help them understand and know what's next.

00:05:08:02 - 00:05:23:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can hand it off to them full stop. I genuinely mean it because I've seen it happen in my own context. But now you might be thinking like, what is a good strategy? Like, what should we be doing? I'm glad you asked. Actually, link down below is my free hybrid strategy guide. It will tell you exactly what we do.

00:05:24:01 - 00:05:46:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if you buy my seasonal summer social media pack for only 1799, it's the cost of less than $0.07 per post idea. It will cover three months worth of posting or better yet, become a Patreon member. Get my weekly bonus podcast where I recap everything we've done and you get that resource for free. It will actually give you a three post per week strategy, and there's two sections of it.

00:05:46:28 - 00:06:02:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The first section of it is done for you, which means you don't have to think about it. The graphics work no matter what context you're in. You download and you upload and you're off to the races. You're done. The custom for you does require a little bit more work. And that right there is something that you could genuinely hand off to a teenager.

00:06:02:12 - 00:06:22:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There's devotional content. There's Bible trivia content. There's men on the street, content you can let your teenagers do all of those things, and they can own that, and you can just cut them loose to run wild with it. Maybe my custom for you ideas give them a springboard, but then they have better ideas. They should. I'm 35 years old.

00:06:22:29 - 00:06:41:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I have gray in my beard. There's no way that a teenager in Gen Alpha Gen Z doesn't have better ideas than I do. But my strategy will help give you, like, the track that you want your teenagers to stay on, and then this pack will help you hand off to teenagers to actually take it. And actually run with it.

00:06:41:29 - 00:07:03:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And for less than $20, you can have three months worth of content. It is so worth it. And that strategy will run not only in the background as you are getting your teenagers up to snuff, and as you're getting them trained and as you're getting them off to the races. But then additionally, it will give them something to continue to lean into and to own and to create that key chain style of leadership.

00:07:03:24 - 00:07:24:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You and I know this. The Apostle Paul says our job is to equip the saints for the works and for the acts of service. Your job is not to run a social media channel and to be a social media manager, but you have teenagers who are interested in it and would really be good at it. And so why don't you take the opportunity to level them up and to hand off a serving opportunity?

00:07:24:27 - 00:07:48:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The last thing I'll end with is this is our student social media team is our biggest and most energetic team serving team in our entire student ministry. Kids clamor to be on it. And so if you want to get kids involved in serving, because we know how important serving is not only for the retention long term and remaining involved in youth ministry, but also for their long term development of their faith.

00:07:48:29 - 00:08:09:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you want to do that, you need to start having a social media strategy and one that you can hand off to students and teenagers, and this pack will help you do that. Well, hey my friend, so glad that you're here. Don't forget, and as always, link down in the description to everything that we talked about. Make sure that you subscribe so that you don't miss a single another episode the rest of the summer.

00:08:09:19 - 00:08:13:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But until next time. And as always, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 157: What’s Better for Ministry? Done-for-You or Custom Social Media

Nick Clason — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Nick Clason breaks down the battle between Done-for-You and custom church social media—and why your ministry might need both. Discover how a hybrid ministry strategy saves time and amplifies your church’s voice. This episode unpacks it all and points you to the ☀️SUMMER Social Pack—the perfect combo of polish and personalization.

*🦸 HYBRID HEROS GET THE PACK FOR FREE! *
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/157

✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

📊 [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

//OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Done vs Custom Social Media
00:19 The Tension Filled Debate
00:51 Custom - Pros & Cons
03:39 Done for You - Pros & Cons

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;04 - 00;00;29;18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let's settle the debate that has been splitting up church staff rooms for years. No, I'm not talking about oat milk or regular milk in your lattes. I'm talking about done for you. Social media versus custom social media. Let's check it out. So let's break it down. DIY or custom social media is just simply better. Like, it's like eating organic.

00;00;29;18 - 00;00;55;08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, you know, it's better. You know, it's good for you. You know, it's what you should do. However, as you also probably know, it takes so much longer. And that's what leads us to then pivot back into the done for you. Because it's simple. It's easy and it's done for you. So let's break these two things down. So what are the pros of doing a custom social media?

00;00;55;10 - 00;01;29;02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
One with your name, your face, your personality? Well, the first thing is obviously it's tailored for your people. It can be tailored for your people because you're their pastor. You know what they like. You know who they are. You know what they need, and so you can create that for them on your social media feed. The other thing, like we talked about in the episode linked right here, is that it showcases your voice through a series of what Hubspot's trends report is calling Micro Connections.

00;01;29;08 - 00;01;50;12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Your voice becomes what people kind of gravity hate towards and are used to seeing on your social media. You want your voice and you want your face. And you got to think, if you're a pastor at a church, there's already an element to you, or there's already an element to your church where your people are familiar with your pastor's voice.

00;01;50;12 - 00;02;19;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so why should your social media not continue to be an extension of that online? And then the last piece, of course, is that it has the opportunity to engage authentically. We're like a done for you or like a custom thing for you. Like doesn't quite have that as much as because it's just a bunch of rote, static graphics that were done and can be used on anyone's social feeds, across any church, in any part of the world, or any part of the country.

00;02;19;23 - 00;02;37;24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And while the graphics look amazing and maybe even better than what you can pull together, it's not really you. And you don't have the opportunity to then reach through that and engage authentically with your people, which is one of the problems, in my opinion as well, of doing something that is like a done for you, which we'll get to in just a second.

00;02;37;26 - 00;03;02;17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, the cons of like a custom social media feeds is it takes hours. And secondly, it also requires skill like you need typically a staff person who knows what they're doing. In my experience, a lot of pastors, a lot of church, ministry people, they don't have that skill or they don't have it yet. And so they don't hop in to learn that skill and therefore they just shy away from it.

00;03;02;17 - 00;03;27;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Which I get, like, we don't like to kind of put ourselves out there into new and sort of like uncharted territory. There is another thing out there that, let's just be honest, like, people feel this pressure to try and compete with every other big church in the country. Like, you can't be elevation and that's okay, right? It's not necessarily a bad thing that your church isn't the biggest, greatest, sleekest, best looking church.

00;03;27;06 - 00;03;50;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like it's okay that you're not. You can't be them. And, no one's expecting that of you. We just want you to be you. So let's move on then, and talk about the pros and the cons of done for you. Done for you is like ordering DoorDash, right? It's convenient, it's simple, it's easy. And best of all, there's no messy dishes to clean up.

00;03;50;11 - 00;04;09;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You get all of the goodness and none of the work that has to go with it. So let's talk about the pros of done for you. First of all, and probably most obvious is that it saves you time. Like, you know, you're busy and this gives you a solution to your busyness to still remain active on social media.

00;04;09;13 - 00;04;42;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Secondly, you you look your feed looks more polished, like you have professional designers and professional graphic artists doing these done for you. Social packs. And so therefore you can lean into their expertise and you can just post their things. And then lastly, it helps you stay consistent because if you take over a fully custom social media strategy, you know that like eventually the week of VBS is going to hit, which is what I'm right in the middle of right now and I'm exhausted.

00;04;42;15 - 00;05;01;07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or you got summer camp, or you got a missions trip, and social media falls back to the back burner because you weren't able to stay consistent while you were on social media. So those are some of the pros of having done for you. It saves you time, it looks polished and it helps you stay consistent. But the cons what are some of the cons.

00;05;01;07 - 00;05;22;04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, it's going to feel cookie cutter right. Again, if they can do it for this church and your church, they can do it for a hundred other churches. The other thing is it definitely lacks your church's flavor like it's not your church on social media. It's some graphic designer in a lab who cooked it up hours away. And that's your on now on your church's social feed.

00;05;22;04 - 00;05;41;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like that's not really who you are. You're just borrowing something that someone made somewhere else. And then the last part is like, you gotta be honest. Like you might still have to tweak it a little bit. Like there might still be some things that don't exactly fit your church or your church's culture. And so therefore when you post it, captions whatever.

00;05;41;11 - 00;06;01;23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like you have to tweak some of it because it might not fit your exact vibe. What they gave you. And so there's still a little bit of work to do. So let's what's better? Like let's land it once and for all. Let's settle the debate done for you versus custom. What if I told you that you didn't have to choose?

00;06;01;24 - 00;06;27;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah that's right, because I actually made for churches and for youth pastors the summer seasonal social media pact for this exact reason. It helps you stay consistent. It creates a social media posting calendar. Half of the packs are done for you like they're ones that work. They're sleek, they're modern, they look the part and you can just download them and post them and go and not think anything of them.

00;06;27;21 - 00;06;47;23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The other half of them are custom for you. So yes, a little bit more work, but I've tried to take the like all of the work that you're going to have to really do out of it. There are scripts. I just read the thing and do it direct into your camera. There are graphics just overlay the graphics. You look like a pro, but it's still you.

00;06;47;23 - 00;07;17;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's still your church. It's still your people on your church, social media feed. All of those things are all in that, like, custom for you. And then I have a posting calendar so you can follow that in an effort to stay consistent. And so that if you do that, you won't fall off the wagon when it becomes a busy week, when it becomes VBS week, when you go off to summer camp, your social media will still have something regularly being posted to it three times per week, which is what what I recommend.

00;07;17;23 - 00;07;39;01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you download this pack and post at that rhythm of three times per week, it will get you through the months of June, July and August. And I get it. You're watching this video, this podcast dropped in the middle of July. You can grab it now and cram all in, because coming up in just a couple of weeks is going to be our full social media pack.

00;07;39;01 - 00;08;01;19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you didn't know this members to my Patreon who get a bonus weekly podcast already for $4 per month, they get this pack as a part of their membership tier. So join get the bonus podcast where we're talking all things hybrid ministry. We're talking all things creative youth ministry programing. You'll get that delivered to your podcast catcher every single Monday morning without fail.

00;08;01;21 - 00;08;23;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And every single time we drop a seasonal social media pack, it is yours for free and is yours for the taking. I would love to have you check those things out. They are made for you and this is just to hopefully help make your life easier. It really is an entire summer social media hybrid strategy locked and loaded.

00;08;23;06 - 00;08;47;25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's what I do in my church every single week, and I just want to help you win in your youth ministry. So skip the burn up. Skip the Canva at 9 p.m. on every single Sunday night, heading on into your week, and grab the best of both worlds with the summer seasonal social media pack. It is linked down below and let your summer get scroll worthy.

00;08;47;25 - 00;08;51;12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And as always, don't forget my friends to stay hybrid.

Episode 155: The Secret Sauce to Consistent Summer Engagement

Nick Clason — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Consistency is hard—unless you steal my system. In this episode, I break down my exact weekly summer content rhythm for youth ministry using the ☀️ Summer Seasonal Social Media Pack: 1 spiritual reel, 1 fun reel, 1 carousel, and some bonus hybrid magic. You’ll get the full template, schedule, and content—so you can stay consistent, connected, and (mostly) sane all summer long.

*🦸 HYBRID HEROS GET IT FOR FREE! *
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/155

✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

📊 [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Dodgeball in a Cornfield & Summer Youth Ministry
00:55 My Secret Sauce Strategy
01:46 Monday’s Post
03:17 Wednesday’s Post
04:25 Friday’s Post
05:08 Bonus Ideas
06:11 Amazing Deal

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:06 - 00:00:29:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Consistency is hard unless you have a system. So steal mine if I'm giving you permission. So can we just be honest? Like summer youth ministry is kind of like playing dodgeball in a cornfield. No walls, no rules. Just pure chaos. You're leaders gone. You're students at camp. You simply trying to keep your Instagram feed, not looking like a ghost town.

00:00:29:08 - 00:00:56:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, in this video, I'm going to share with you my weekly social media strategy and how I grew a YouTube channel, along with several other social accounts to over 900 subscribers, completely organically. And best yet, it's actually all available to you. Link in the description. For less than a cost of a weekly cup of Starbucks. Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry show.

00:00:56:24 - 00:01:18:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well hey everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. If you and I haven't had a chance to meet you. My name is Nick Clayton and in the trenches youth pastor currently serving on assignment in the DFW Dallas Fort Worth area. And I've been passionate about this thing. Digital ministry. I'm trying to make it, possible, accessible and frankly, easy for all of us.

00:01:18:22 - 00:01:45:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I have a full proof system that I actually I want to share with you. And like I said in the open, steal it, man, it is yours. And so every single Monday, I post some sort of spiritual real. My goal, my goal is to post two pieces of content per day. However, what I recommend for most churches and most youth pastors who, maybe don't have as big of a team or as much experience with content is to post three reels per week.

00:01:45:12 - 00:02:04:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you are following my proposed and recommended secret sauce strategy, it would be posting some sort of spiritual reel per day. Now, if you prefilled your messages, or even if you like, capture your video live in the room somehow, then I recommend posting it into something like an opus clip. There's a link down below for you to check out.

00:02:04:25 - 00:02:28:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Opus clip where I'll take your message and I'll just chop it up for you using I super easy, super great. The other good thing is, if you do have some sort of like long form message version of your, of your message, if you're teaching in some way, shape or form, when you upload that to like YouTube shorts, you can link a featured video to the short and it can link out to your long form of that.

00:02:28:28 - 00:02:57:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's what that's what we do. If you don't have either a, the capacity to sit down ahead of time film, that's what we do and that's what I recommend or B, capture it live in the room when you're teaching, then see if you download my social media pack. I actually have, but a bunch of different scripts to help you get through the summer of videos that you can just shoot on your phone selfie style and edit directly in something like a TikTok editor, an Instagram Reels editor, or even something like Cap Cut.

00:02:57:15 - 00:03:16:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's what I would recommend you doing on Monday. And listen, if you're going to steal this, you're just going to grab my strategy. The number one way that you could give back to this channel is a very simple like or a subscribe. It really it costs you nothing over on YouTube or on your podcast catcher. And it really does help us out a whole bunch.

00:03:17:01 - 00:03:35:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Moving on. The second style of post I recommend that you do is do something fun. You know, I think a lot of times in youth ministry we feel like we have to be serious all the time, especially when it comes to what's going on on social media. But the fact of the matter is that think about your personal social media habits, whatever platform it is for you.

00:03:35:23 - 00:03:56:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Maybe it's Instagram, maybe it's TikTok, maybe it's YouTube, maybe it's even something like Reddit or Facebook. You know, I feel a lot of youth pastors on Facebook. Why do you get on social media? Maybe you always get on to, like, do your devotions in a low key sort of sense of the way, hoping that your church that you follow is going to post scripture and, and some sort of reels like that.

00:03:57:01 - 00:04:15:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or if you're like me, you get on to laugh, to be entertained. Maybe I'm a huge basketball fan. I get on to, watch basketball content. And sometimes, sometimes I'm just going to be very honest with you. Sometimes I even I even get in arguments about my favorite team. So, that's a confession I'm willing to make, but post something fun.

00:04:15:12 - 00:04:48:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in this downloaded pack, I include some done for you fun content, emoji guesses, or transition hook style videos. Things to have fun with your students. And then Friday, go ahead and post some sort of carousel post. Post a Bible verse or post, something spiritual like what to do if you're facing anxiety. You know, I, I posted that, recently, actually, this link right up here at the top of the screen is, from a video what I posted using my weekly summer content pack and the carousel post performed incredibly well.

00:04:48:08 - 00:05:02:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Go back and listen to that one. You'll see the ways that people were responding to it and says what to do when I'm facing anxiety, what to do when I'm struggling with anger, what to do when I'm struggling with lust, and we feel some of those in there completely done for you. Grab them, download them, post them to your feed and use them.

00:05:02:24 - 00:05:38:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And they're there for you and they're there for the taking. But I also recommend, in addition to some of these things that I've given to you, I've included some of my bonus content. And every week we get together with some of our students and we do man on the street interview style videos, or we do, tier rankings, or we do a guessing game called seven questions like, and we'll get students together on camera, either me versus them, them versus a staff person or them versus each other with podcast microphones or just a little like Bluetooth connected to your phone's sort of microphone, and which interview them we like, have fun, chatting it

00:05:38:26 - 00:05:57:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
up with students, hearing their opinion, and then also like kind of messing around with them on on the edit, which is another really kind of like fun way to create content not only for your students, but also with your students and all of that, all of that. The good news is included in my summer seasonal social media pack.

00:05:57:20 - 00:06:20:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's it. That's my one week. You take that, you repeat, you rinse, you repeat. You do it again, copy it, steal it, and implement it in your ministry. But hold on a second. I got an amazing deal for you on the other side. Check it out. So there's a lot going on this summer, I get it. And you want to stay active even when you're doing slip and slide kickball.

00:06:20:16 - 00:06:42:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This isn't a metaphor. I really own this, and someone's probably definitely gotten hurt on it before. So here's the deal I don't spend six hours a day. I don't spend six hours a week on all of this. I've put all of this together. So all you need to do is hit the link in the description and go download the Summer Seasonal Social Media pack.

00:06:42:02 - 00:07:01:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It has my weekly proposed schedule for you for the summer. It also has some pre-made templates, things like man on the street, questions, graphics. All you got to do is overlay that in an editor and you can do it directly on your phone, or even in something a little bit more upgraded, like an Adobe Premiere Pro or a DaVinci resolve.

00:07:01:09 - 00:07:21:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then half of the post that you're going to get are completely done for you. Plug and play and you're off to the races. The other 50% is custom, because I don't think that a fully downloadable, where it removes your face and removes your voice and it removes your personality. I don't think that's a good strategy for social media in 2025.

00:07:21:07 - 00:07:40:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so the good news about my pack is that I still allow you to be the voice, to be the face, to create content with and for your students. And you and your students are featured on your social platforms. But I've done all the heavy lifting on their scripts and graphics and templates and, telling you exactly what to do.

00:07:40:02 - 00:08:04:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All you gotta do is follow my instructions, put a cell phone camera and you are off to the races. The result? Consistency, engagement, and not fumbling the bag on your social media feeds this summer. Listen, I got you a link down in the description. Thank you guys so much for being here on the Hybrid Ministry Show as we attempt to make digital discipleship easy and possible and accessible.

00:08:04:10 - 00:08:08:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 153: What I Posted This Week Using My Summer Content Pack

Nick Clason — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500

I didn’t make anything new this week. I literally just hit post. Let me show you exactly what I shared using my Summer Content Pack—and how it performed.
Plus two bonus pieces of content that were the true all-stars at the end of this video!

*🦸 HYBRID HEROS GET IT FOR FREE! *
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/153

✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

📊 [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 I didn't make anything new this week!
00:29 Post #1
01:13 Post #2
02:18 Post #3
03:05 When a post doesn't perform…
04:34 Easy Summer Social Media Strategy
06:06 Post #4
07:16 Bonus Post: 7 Questions
07:55 Bonus Post #2: Drafts
08:37 The Power of Variety

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I didn't make anything new this week.

00:00:02:10 - 00:00:06:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I downloaded, I posted, or I used the scripts included.

00:00:06:29 - 00:00:15:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to show you exactly what I use out of my summer social Media content pack, as well as let you know how it performed,

00:00:15:02 - 00:00:17:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
plus two bonus

00:00:17:08 - 00:00:23:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
pieces of content that are also included in the pack. And I'm gonna let you know how those perform as well.

00:00:23:08 - 00:00:28:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They were really the all stars of the week. Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry show.

00:00:28:17 - 00:00:44:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right, so first up, we have the what to do if archetype. This is included in the done for you section of the Summer social media pack. And this particular post if you're watching here on screen, which is why you should definitely be subscribe to our YouTube channel.

00:00:44:11 - 00:01:03:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you can see some of this stuff is because, this one says what to do if you're feeling anxious. We had a lot of great engagement on this, including some shares. One of our leaders shared the whole carousel to her Instagram story. Why? Because it's relevant to what people are going through. And so here's what's so cool on Instagram, we had

00:01:03:15 - 00:01:08:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
483 people view the post, 13 likes, five shares.

00:01:08:13 - 00:01:09:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then over on

00:01:09:08 - 00:01:13:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
TikTok we had 151 views with 12 likes.

00:01:13:12 - 00:01:29:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The second post type that you're going to see is the Devo style clip. Now this one is included in the custom for use section, where I've included scripts and graphics and templates, and depending on what that type of post is. But this particular one, I use one of the scripts that I've included.

00:01:29:14 - 00:01:52:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I shot this 1 in 1 take. You'll notice I'm going to cut off because I'm just getting ready to play pickup basketball on Tuesday morning of, before staff meeting this week. And so I just still had that outfit on. I grab my phone selfie style video, low pressure sitting in my office, and then I use this script, like I said, included in the social media pack, and I think it landed perfectly.

00:01:52:13 - 00:01:56:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But best of all, again, if you're watching here on YouTube, check this thing out.

00:01:56:00 - 00:02:06:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I edited this whole thing in the TikTok TikTok video. TikTok was that TikTok video editor at man, and it looks so professional.

00:02:06:24 - 00:02:10:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And here's how it performed on Instagram. We got 179 views, ten likes,

00:02:10:21 - 00:02:18:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
YouTube, 895 views, four likes and then TikTok 535 views and 55 likes.

00:02:18:17 - 00:02:40:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Post three is another one of the custom for you. This is the transition hook style video, so this one is a vertical piece of content where I include the start of the video and then here at the very end, it cuts to one of our, students in our ministry that's actually, acting out the rest of it, where he then stands up and he talks to people about God.

00:02:40:27 - 00:02:52:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, sometimes we invite people to church. Sometimes we invite people to events to Sunday morning to Wednesday night, or we just simply talk about the importance of leaning in to God and trusting him. But what I want you to see here is look at this on

00:02:52:07 - 00:02:55:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Instagram. 427 views, 16 likes

00:02:55:01 - 00:02:59:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
YouTube 1686 views 16 likes. Check this one out

00:02:59:13 - 00:03:03:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
TikTok only 50 views zero likes.

00:03:03:13 - 00:03:03:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now I want to

00:03:03:23 - 00:03:20:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
stop here and talk for a second. What do you do when you experience a post like this? My guess is, you've done something like this before. You've tried something before, you've tried your hand at social media, and you've gotten a post like this one, right? Here's the thing. Just like basketball, many of you know I'm a huge basketball fan.

00:03:20:13 - 00:03:41:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Just like basketball, you have to trust the process. Sometimes you guard your kids to the best of your ability. And here is where we do turn around. Three pointer at the end of the shot clock and it goes in. But all you can do is control what you can control, get in position, practice and use and do the fundamentals and just continue to execute.

00:03:41:29 - 00:04:00:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Sometimes it goes well for you and other times not so well. But the fact of the matter is you just got to keep showing up. And that's really the game with social media. And that's what makes it so hard. I think a lot of times for youth pastors is to continue to show up when you experience less than, you know, less than encouraging results.

00:04:00:29 - 00:04:19:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Kind of like this one, right? And you'll notice this is a clunker, but it's a clunker on TikTok. And that's why I recommend diversifying the platforms that you use. I have analytics from YouTube. I have analytics from Instagram, and I like how both of those performed, even though on TikTok it didn't quite perform how I want it to.

00:04:19:16 - 00:04:33:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But that's okay because I still got over 2000 views, or at least close to it. I'm doing math in my head on the fly. Never a good recipe, but, I and I got over 2000 views, across two other platforms, even though I only got 50 on one.

00:04:33:28 - 00:05:11:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hey, youth pastors, church communications people, would you like to have your social media dialed in for the next 90 days, especially with summer on the horizon? Listen, that's exactly what you're going to get with the summer and seasonal social media packets. A new product that I'm rolling out exclusively on my Patreon is three months of custom strategic content for less than $20, and this is built specifically for busy youth pastors like you who want to stay active on TikTok and Instagram Reels and YouTube without spending ten plus hours a month figuring out what to post.

00:05:11:19 - 00:05:32:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So here's what you're going to get. You're going to get 50% of the content completely done. It's turnkey. Plug and play, post it and go. The other 50% is custom content for you to still shoot. However, I'm going to provide scripts and templates and frameworks so that your face, your students and your volunteers are who are seen on your social media feeds.

00:05:32:24 - 00:05:54:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is not just pretty graphics. This is a full blown social media strategy for the next three months, designed by someone who knows both youth ministry and digital ministry. And so if you're tired of scrambling for the cost of less than a pizza and frankly, more nourishing than a pizza, grab the seasonal social media pack today. Oh, and I almost forgot.

00:05:55:02 - 00:05:57:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Patreon members get it for free.

00:05:57:20 - 00:06:11:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right, post number four is the fourth and final one I'm going to share with you today. This one is again from the done for you section. And this woman is so plug and play. I've already created it for you, even though the thumbnail says I created none of these.

00:06:11:15 - 00:06:27:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I created all of these, but I created them for you to take and to do and to download. And I supply all of the different verse texts. And here's how it performed. Instagram 207 views eight likes YouTube 1198 views 62 likes

00:06:27:01 - 00:06:30:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
one comment from Jenna Jack which says I memorized this passage.

00:06:30:29 - 00:06:36:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then on TikTok 507 views 95 likes one comment to save

00:06:36:12 - 00:06:41:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
the summer social media pack includes eight different types of videos.

00:06:41:10 - 00:07:00:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I've shared four of them with you. Two of the ones I share with you were from the done for you section, and two of the ones I share with you are from the custom for you section. The custom for you are making your social media about you, you, your leaders, your students like making you guys the real heroes on your social media.

00:07:00:24 - 00:07:07:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But to channel my inner Billy Mays here, I want to say, but wait, there's more.

00:07:07:04 - 00:07:25:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I also pulled out one of our seven questions archetypes, and that's included in the bonus section of the content with over 100 different topic type ideas. And on this particular seven questions, we took it to our studio in our church, and I sat down with two of our students, two of our high school girls, and they played seven questions.

00:07:25:03 - 00:07:45:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
One of them was thinking of something in their head, and the category was beach item, and she was thinking of Beach Umbrella. And the other one had to guess. And for that one on Instagram, we had 431 views and 19 likes. On YouTube we had 227 views, eight likes, and on TikTok we had 963 views and 21 likes.

00:07:46:00 - 00:08:02:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We also then, with a couple of our high school boys, sat down and did a NBA dress section, which I do have words for these guys because nobody, nobody included the MVP of the NBA this year one Shay Gilgeous Alexander. Regardless of that, here's

00:08:02:18 - 00:08:08:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
how their post performed on our social media on Instagram 500 views, 17 likes, two comments, seven shares

00:08:08:27 - 00:08:17:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
YouTube 1244 views 13 likes TikTok 862 views 36 likes three

00:08:17:04 - 00:08:18:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
comments and two saves.

00:08:18:05 - 00:08:27:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And listen, the comments are not always the nicest, especially when you do sports stuff. So just be on the lookout for that. Protect your students. Or, you know, I don't know, maybe don't.

00:08:27:19 - 00:08:39:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But here's what I notice, right? Variety works. You'll notice I share with you, two from our PAC, two from Denver. Done for you, two from custom, and then two of my bonus ideas.

00:08:40:01 - 00:09:05:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All very different varieties. Some spiritual, some not spiritual, some plug and play, some where you have to do a little bit of editing, but every style hits differently. Some are more reflective, some were more scroll stopping. But the big takeaway is that I didn't actually create any of these from scratch. And so like I said, every single one of these comes straight out of my summer content social media pack.

00:09:05:17 - 00:09:10:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You get it for just 1799 is linked down below in the description, which is

00:09:10:17 - 00:09:32:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
three months worth of your social media strategy. And that's actually only $0.07 per post idea. It's insane value. You would not avoid buying something for $0.07 if it was going to really increase. And add so much value to your life. Just look at how performed on our social channels.

00:09:32:16 - 00:09:58:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
These are real results from a real student ministry in Dallas, Texas area. They can be your results to. All you got to do is head over to the link and download those. You won't. You will not regret it. Listen, I want you to save actual time this summer for actual ministry. Let me do the work. Let me play on your social media calendar and hey, I'll see you next week with more info and deep dives like this.

00:09:58:27 - 00:10:02:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And don't forget, as always my friends, to stay hybrid.

Episode 148: How I’m Doing 3 Months of Content with THIS One Resource

Nick Clason — Thu, 08 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500

This is your youth ministry summer social media game-changer. With 3 months of ready-to-go posts, training videos, and templates, you’ll never stress about what to post again. Designed for youth pastors by a youth pastor using a proven hybrid ministry model.

*🦸 HYBRID HEROS GET IT FOR FREE! *
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/148

//TRY OPUS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//SOCIAL CHALLENGE PLAYLIST
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaKLwZqOkQe7NzOqSVR0-P1s

✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

📊 [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Digital vs In-Person Ministry
01:02 Why Hybrid Ministry Matters
06:47 Summer Social Media
09:22 Gear You’ll Need
09:39 Summer Social Posting Schedule
10:01 Done For You 1
10:21 Done For You 2
10:41 Done For You 3
11:11 Done For You 4
11:51 Custom For You 1
13:26 Custom For You 2
15:57 Custom For You 3
16:51 Custom For You 4
17:40 Bonus Idea

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:09:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In this video, we're going to explore the world between digital ministry and in-person ministry, a thing that I like to call hybrid

00:00:09:27 - 00:00:37:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
ministry. Welcome to the hybrid Ministry show, My friends. And in today's episode, what I want to look at is I want to look at the competition between hybrid ministry and in-person ministry. In fact, linked right here at the very top of the video is one of my favorite episodes I've ever done, where my friend Josh sat down with me and he he asked me to take an in-person youth ministry program and make it hybrid or bring about a hybrid component.

00:00:37:07 - 00:00:55:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we're going to explore what exactly I mean by that. What exactly is digital ministry? And make sure you stick around to the end, because I have a resource that I think will help you absolutely crush, lock in and make your summer youth ministry social media absolutely

00:00:55:14 - 00:00:59:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
pop. I have a resource for you. It's going to blow your mind.

00:00:59:17 - 00:01:19:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry show. Well, hey everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. If you and I haven't had a chance to meet yet, my name is Nick Klassen. I'm a youth pastor of 14.5 years, and I have been pursuing this thing called hybrid ministry for a while now. And let me just help you understand some

00:01:19:15 - 00:01:20:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of the reasons why.

00:01:20:12 - 00:01:24:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
For me. So for me, there are kind of three core

00:01:24:15 - 00:01:30:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
statistics. There's several out there, honestly, but three that really stick with me is that Gen

00:01:30:21 - 00:01:45:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Z. And we can assume Gen Alpha because we don't have data yet on them. But but this we can assume this to be true. Gen z, Gen Alpha. They use their mobile device more than they use any other device combined.

00:01:45:08 - 00:02:03:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Furthermore, 69% of students own a smartphone, but I get this the age of 12. We do have data for them, and then also 90%, according to Pew Research, use YouTube. 90% of teenagers say that they use YouTube. And I get it, man. Like if you're a youth

00:02:03:06 - 00:02:08:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
pastor, you're like, phones are a distraction. Gotta get rid of, use paper Bibles.

00:02:08:19 - 00:02:36:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, digital Bibles don't count all the things like I've heard it. I've been there. I've been a part of youth ministry for a long time. But there's a verse in Jeremiah chapter 29, no, not 2911, but right before that verse, Jeremiah is having a conversation with God. And here's what God says to Jeremiah. He says you should build homes, plan to stay, plant gardens, eat the foods that they produce, marry and have children, and find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren.

00:02:36:18 - 00:02:41:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Multiply. Do not dwindle away. But you gotta understand the context here,

00:02:41:21 - 00:03:04:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
which we don't do for Jeremiah 2011 very often, is that the Israelites are stuck as captives in Babylon, and what God is telling Jeremiah to do is he's saying, stop complaining. Stop trying to find a way out. Stop trying to leave. Instead, invest in where you live and youth pastors, pastors, church communications people, discipleship pastors, college pastors.

00:03:04:23 - 00:03:22:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Digital ministry is not going anywhere. You may not like it. You may not even think it's the most effective. But the majority of millennials, Gen Z and we can assume Generation Alpha, say that a digital version of church is valuable to them and one that they would lean into, and it doesn't

00:03:22:01 - 00:03:24:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
mean that their in-person attendance is going to go away.

00:03:24:22 - 00:03:43:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's a lot of the fears of us in church leadership is that if we offer a digital component, they're just going to choose that instead of, coming to church in person. But far from it. We're also seeing in this generation, more than even older generations, that community is so much more important to them. So they don't want to forsake the in-person moments.

00:03:43:07 - 00:04:06:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so when we take the in-person moments and the best that it has to offer, when we take the digital things and the best it has to offer, and we find that sweet spot right in the middle, we find what I call hybrid ministry. A great example of it is honestly, Home Depot. And think about it like you throw on your new balances and you throw on your cargo shorts on on a Saturday morning, you got a project and then you're going Home Depot.

00:04:07:01 - 00:04:29:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And but you don't really have like an agenda, right? You're just walking around. You're just kind of like you're taking in the smell of lumber and you're just you're just kind of exploring what the hallways and the aisles of Home Depot have to offer other times, and then, like, you don't have time, right? You go online, you make an order so that it's delivered to your doorstep because you don't have time to just live out your full dad mode experience.

00:04:29:15 - 00:04:37:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But my favorite, honestly version to experience Home Depot is while I'm in the store on their app because their app. If you haven't seen it yet, their app shows you

00:04:37:05 - 00:05:01:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
where every single thing in their entire store is located. And so that's what I think we should be doing as youth pastors. Finding a way to intersect where teenagers already admitted they're spending their time, not forsaking the good elements of gathering together and community and accountability and all those things, but also leaning into this hybrid sort of moment.

00:05:01:08 - 00:05:19:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, well, I want to do is I want to give you one of the easiest ways to kind of to kind of step foot into this hybrid space. And it's by up taking your social media engagement. Now, here's the thing. A lot of youth pastors, and if you've been following me along on this channel for a while, posts

00:05:19:28 - 00:05:24:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
announcements on their feed, just assuming that social media is another announcement platform.

00:05:24:27 - 00:05:45:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the reality is that that's not what social media is best made for. It doesn't mean that we can't still get the word out about what we have going on, but what it does mean, and what we should be doing is that we should be intersecting and invading the lives of students on the places that they spend their time, including TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

00:05:45:07 - 00:05:51:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Remember, 90% teenagers say that they use YouTube in the ways that they're consuming it reels TikTok videos and

00:05:51:27 - 00:06:05:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
YouTube shorts. And so the good news is that you can create the same type of content short form, vertical based video that goes on TikTok, that goes on Instagram, that goes on YouTube, and maybe even Facebook if you choose to post it there as well.

00:06:05:17 - 00:06:25:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But you don't have to create multiple different types of content like I did when I first started in youth ministry 15 years ago. Instead, you post that, you know, 180 or 1080 by 1920, vertical based video. And then you post it in all the places that you want to post it. Don't have a TikTok account, no

00:06:25:26 - 00:06:27:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
video post on Instagram and YouTube.

00:06:27:22 - 00:06:48:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Don't have a YouTube account? No big deal. Post on TikTok and Instagram. Don't have an Instagram account? No problem. Post on TikTok and YouTube. Don't have any of them? Start a YouTube account and start posting YouTube shorts because 90% of teenagers self-identify that they're on it. So what should you post? I'm glad that you asked. Let's dive!

00:06:48:25 - 00:07:10:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I'm so excited to roll this out because I can't lie, I have been looking for a thing to provide for youth pastors on a social media platform. Landscape that is custom. That's not just a bunch of pretty graphics, but also doesn't add more work to your plate. And I can't lie, I've been wrestling with what kind of service can I offer?

00:07:10:21 - 00:07:37:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I think I have something, at least messaging wise, for youth pastors, but once they get into it becomes a lot of work and it gets a little bit overwhelming. So if you're watching here on screen, you'll see my screen. And this is what I'm offering. So I'm offering this brand new program called Seasonal Social Media, which essentially is 40 posts, three months worth.

00:07:37:02 - 00:07:58:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you follow my recommended posting strategy, I recommend that youth pastors post three times per week and this will satisfy that reality. And so what you get is three months of custom, youth, ministry, social media content and it all costs less than $20. And here's the good news. Just like this ad copy here says it's not just content.

00:07:58:06 - 00:08:19:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It really is a full social media strategy included in the download. If you choose to go ahead and do this, is you get my complete Hybrid Strategy guide, which will detail and outline a lot of what I have just been saying on this video and I've been saying in other podcasts for years and years and years. And so this will lay the foundation and the philosophy.

00:08:19:15 - 00:08:46:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then this is what you're actually going to get. You're going to, take this, this social media, package. And it's got two different categories, and it's got completely done for you content that you literally download and you post and you plug and you play, set it and forget it. The other 50% is custom content. So you're going to be filming this, but the good news is you don't need to film every single thing yourself.

00:08:46:17 - 00:09:04:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You don't need to edit everything yourself. And if you don't have any of those skills, I'll walk you through how to do all of that on this podcast, as well as in this little document here. If you go ahead and download this thing where you can import some of what I have to offer, that's custom, but I have templates and I have layovers and I have scripts and I have things that you can do

00:09:04:28 - 00:09:15:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and things that you should say, and all of those things that you can edit in an in-app editor, like a TikTok or an Instagram Reels, or even over on something like Cap Cut.

00:09:15:17 - 00:09:32:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you got, like I said, you got done for you. You got things that are still left for you to shoot, but I provide all the assets that you're going to need for it. Here are things that you can buy all you really, honestly need is your camera phone. You can upgrade some microphones, which I do recommend upgrading some microphones.

00:09:32:03 - 00:09:50:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can check out some of those links there. And optionally if you want to buy a better camera, if you have a little bit of budget, here's what I recommend. Here is also your posting schedule. Okay, so the week of June 2nd post this video, then post this video, then post this video the week of June 9th.

00:09:50:20 - 00:10:09:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This video, this video, this video all the way on through. Don't like my schedule? No big deal. Make your own. All right. Here you go. But what's going to happen? Let me show you first when you open these up. Here's what the done for you package looks like in, you open it up and there are four different types of videos.

00:10:09:15 - 00:10:25:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, there are Bible verse videos and there are five different Bible verse videos. And so what you can do is you'll see right here, you just very simply posted Bible verse, add a caption and you're good to go. This one right here is one of my all time favorites a sell it over and download youth ministry as well.

00:10:25:18 - 00:10:47:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But it is emoji phraseology and I combine these two together because I used to make these for stories, but now I'm trying to make them for reals. So see if you can comment what this summer edition emoji phraseology is intending to say. The correct answer of courses. Sunburn. You continue on down. I have five of those. And here I have five different spiritual practice videos.

00:10:47:09 - 00:11:08:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So for example, a student scrolling and they stop across one of your reels or TikToks or YouTubes that you post and you encourage them to actually lean in to some spiritual practices that they can actually, they can actually, while they're on social media, connect with God in a real and meaningful way. And so this one is a 32nd take time to pray.

00:11:08:23 - 00:11:32:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this timer counts down that. And then lastly this is the only non video post. These are like carousel based posts like that you can post on Instagram. But the good news once again you can also post photo slides on TikTok. And you can also post that on your YouTube, post feed as well on your on your community use, because the community tab now is just called the Post Feed.

00:11:32:12 - 00:11:52:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I created these. What do you do if you feel anxious. And it's got Bible verses, along with the header of an instruction of what you can do. And I got it for five different categories about anxiety, loneliness, giving up temptation or anger. So those are the done for you. Those are turnkey okay. Here's the custom for you.

00:11:52:12 - 00:12:18:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right. So in every single one of these there's an instruction. And then the instruction video tells you exactly what to do along with gives you an example along with in most cases gives you some sort of script. So in this case this is Bible trivia. You hop on your cell phone, you shoot a selfie style video under 60s, and you simply ask these questions and all you gotta do is print this out, or pull this up on your computer screen and read it directly to the camera.

00:12:18:13 - 00:12:23:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then when you're done, you can go ahead and you can, post a video and you can

00:12:23:06 - 00:12:37:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
overlay it with one of these overlays. In fact, right here on screen, if you're watching on YouTube, is an example of me editing a video that I did for our ministry in our context, using this exact same overlay, using the TikTok, video editor.

00:12:38:05 - 00:13:00:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When I was done and I posted it, TikTok now auto saved my video without a watermark, and so then I could go to Instagram and post that same video. And then I could also go over to YouTube shorts and post that exact same video. If you don't have TikTok, you can also use it in the Instagram Reels editor by using the little sticker, button and then put this in, drag it to full screen.

00:13:00:14 - 00:13:21:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the only thing you're probably gonna have to do at the end, because Instagram doesn't auto save your reels that you post, go on to Google Chrome, search it, download Instagram reel without watermark, save that, video, and then go post it wherever else you choose to post it. Perhaps TikTok or perhaps YouTube. Let me just recommend, if you do have TikTok, just start there.

00:13:21:05 - 00:13:26:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's a lot easier than some of these other platforms to start with. So that's Bible trivia. This

00:13:26:13 - 00:13:44:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
one right here is either your devotional or your recap content. So let me let me speak to what your options are here. You preach a sermon every week, so get on your cellphone again. Self-styled video lesson 60s. And just riff on one of the points of your last sermon.

00:13:44:17 - 00:14:00:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, for example, you talked about God is Love. Pull up in your camera and say, you know what? Sometimes it's hard to love people and go on and talk for 60s I know you can do it. All right. Here are three best practices with that. Number one, always add a caption. Number two

00:14:00:27 - 00:14:03:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
add some sort of title on screen.

00:14:03:13 - 00:14:04:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right. And then number three

00:14:04:17 - 00:14:09:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
add music. And then a bonus. Best practice a hack is do

00:14:09:06 - 00:14:18:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
not listen to me. Do not reference your in-person gathering. Not that you shouldn't. And other people shouldn't have to know about it. But

00:14:18:15 - 00:14:25:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
don't say something like, you know, last Wednesday we talked about such, such and such. Leave that be on social media.

00:14:25:11 - 00:14:49:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
People are stumbling upon your content organically. They have no frame of reference for what you're talking about. So you can both serve your current students because they're going to remember what you just talked about, along with any potential new viewers. The other thing you do is if you're only given 60s, which is what I recommend to keep under, is that if you say under 60s saying, you know, last Wednesday night, it was great.

00:14:49:27 - 00:15:13:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We had a lot of good time. Remember that dessert auction we had? Don't forget those of you that were there. And maybe if you weren't, that we talked about love, you just wasted, like, five, eight, seven seconds of your precious 62nd real estate. Now, you don't have to just recap your videos. You can do like if you click on this little example here, this is a a clip from a long form message that that I do, which is what I recommend doing.

00:15:13:20 - 00:15:26:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you see my hybrid strategy guys also included in here, I recommend long form versions of videos posted on YouTube. But for right now, if you're just downloading this pack and you're just focusing on social media, do some

00:15:26:01 - 00:15:37:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
sort of devotional recap. If you don't have a video of your sermon, if you do, go ahead and, throw it into a service like Opus Stock Pro, which is what we use, to clip our long form down into short form.

00:15:38:03 - 00:15:59:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But again, if not just use a Devo style, video or, if you don't have like a recap or something to say, you can use some of these, scripts that I've created that you can, just follow verbatim, follow some of the instructions, and you can post those and you'll be good to go. These right here are called man on the street style interviews.

00:15:59:25 - 00:16:32:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
These are one of the lowest hanging fruit ways to, interact with your students. You basically go around, you just interview them. And this is where you get any, like, a microphone, to buy, you can get a super cheap USB Bluetooth microphone that plugs directly into your phone, but you go around, you interview students. And what I always recommend doing is interviewing 5 to 8 students, ask them these same five questions, and then you can splice that up again in something like the TikTok editor or in something like Cap Cut and I've also created this transparent overlays that you can use that you can import in.

00:16:32:29 - 00:16:50:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so the question would you rather sing instead of speak, or would you have to dance everywhere? Would you rather hop like a frog or moo whenever you get nervous? These are completely included. You can put those over. You can look like a pro. Add captions from the in-app editor that does it for you completely. For free, and you're off to the races.

00:16:50:29 - 00:17:09:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the last one. Here are some of my favorite style videos. These transition invite style videos. This is the best way to invite people to what's going on at your church. And so what I've done is I've created these videos here that are the beginning of a hook. And so you see right here, this guy is skateboarding. Immediately he falls on this railing right here.

00:17:09:11 - 00:17:28:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what you would do as you would cut to a student on a railing somewhere else, sitting just like that, acting like he's a guy falling off the skateboard. And then he says, hey man, come to youth Wednesday night. We'd love to see you. And I gave you five of these that you can do, right? Including right here in the instruction video, an example with inspiration.

00:17:28:22 - 00:17:52:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I think it's inspiration from this, this bike video right here. Now, that's for three posts, you know, per week. What if you got bandwidth for more? Well, right here is your, bonus content. 100 different ideas here. 100 social challenge ideas. This is what we do in our ministry. We post two times a day, five days a week.

00:17:52:19 - 00:18:15:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so the way that we accomplish that is by this is from this playlist right here, linked right here in this document. And then here all of the bonus ideas and ways that you can not only see examples, but also bonus content to be able to see, you know what what our students are up to, and different like different categories that you can use for these different challenge style videos.

00:18:15:19 - 00:18:24:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is the summer social media pack. All right. This will last you for three months. And so you download it now

00:18:24:29 - 00:18:39:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you got 50% film your own content. And again you can you can do selfie style videos in your office for these first two right here. And then you can hand these off to a volunteer on any given Wednesday or any given Sunday night.

00:18:39:22 - 00:19:12:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I just want to encourage you that it is time to stop ignoring digital and social media. It is the way of the future is where our students are again, not as Hebrews 1024 and 25 says, not forsaking and neglecting, meeting together, but we're using the medium of the day. Just like the Apostle Paul wrote and sent letters, we're using the medium of the day that we have an advantage on of many other people in church history, because they wouldn't have had this kind of access into the lives of the people that they're trying to minister to.

00:19:12:04 - 00:19:31:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's why I think hybrid ministry is so important, and that's why I think that this product is so valuable. So check it out down below, link in the description. And let me just say, I also post and host a weekly bonus podcast where I talk about everything I'm doing in hybrid ministry, everything I'm doing on social media, and everything I'm doing in my programing.

00:19:32:02 - 00:19:53:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I'm only doing it for $4 per month. If you become a Patreon, a hybrid here for $4 a month, you will get this social media pack which is valued at greater than what, three months worth it? Becoming a Patreon will be. You will get it completely for free or at least completely included in your membership. $4 a month.

00:19:53:23 - 00:20:15:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Charge it to your church budget. Call it a developing expense because it's what it is. It's a professional expense for you to become more creative, more hybrid, in your programing and on your social media. And it'll also unlock this seasonal summer, social media pack, which we're going to start releasing for every single season. And this right here is the summer version.

00:20:15:04 - 00:20:28:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I hope you guys found this episode helpful. Share it with a friend. Let somebody know that the summer season the social media pack is finally here. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 140: Social Media that [ACTUALLY] Works | Engage Don’t Broadcast

Nick Clason — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 04:00:00 -0500

🦸BECOME A HYBRID HERO
patreon.com/hybridministry

✅ CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Struggling to make social media actually work for your youth ministry or overall church? In this episode, we’re breaking down a 3-step strategy to move from just broadcasting announcements to real engagement that inspires and connects. If your social feed is just a wall of static graphics, it’s time to rethink your approach—let’s build a social media presence that truly makes an impact!

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/140

PLAYLIST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_NBW-9fOP4&list=PLngXlSr64YaIUQ25aqwTI5__iga2uAe0c

//DYM LIVE STREAM
https://www.youtube.com/live/9EMnJc05ln8?si=-Ivo6HMSdhFu-7AI

//NUCLEUS
https://www.nucleus.church

//CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

//HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//STUDIO EPISODE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/studio

//BECOME A HYBRID HERO
patreon.com/hybridministry

--------------
🎉 FREE STUFF 🎉
We have all kinds of FREE Things that you can use in your context!
The best way to pay us back is a review or a YouTube Subscribe!
https://www.linktr.ee/clasonnick

--------------
🛠️TOOLS I USE THAT CAN HELP YOU!
Some of the below links are affiliate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products
VIDIQ
https://vidiq.com/hybrid

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

⌚TIMECODES
00:00 Is your Church Social Media on Life Support?
01:50 Stop Ignoring Digital Ministry
04:17 Step #1
06:23 Step #2
09:43 Step #3

TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Is your social media account

00:00:02:24 - 00:00:03:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
on

00:00:03:06 - 00:00:10:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
life support, like just a bunch of pre downloaded graphics or things that you've made in Canva?

00:00:10:17 - 00:00:28:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If it is, rest assured you're probably in the majority of other youth workers or even church communications social media managers who know that there's more for social, but you just don't have the capacity or the bandwidth or maybe the desire to take it to that next level.

00:00:28:26 - 00:00:58:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But in this video I want to do is I want to help you take your social media from broadcasting a message to engaging the message and in the video playlists that we've been currently in, linked right here at the top of the screen. If you're watching here on YouTube, we've been talking about communicating in your church, communicating with better church announcements, and one of the key elements and areas I think a lot of churches wrongfully default to is posting their announcements to social media.

00:00:58:21 - 00:01:26:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's where you just broadcasting about you. But I want to shift your strategy to engagement. Social media's invention. Social media is existence. Its best existence is not for information transfer. However, it is a good spot for inspiration along with entertainment. So give me a like if you've ever had your social media account look like this that you're seeing here on screen, if you're watching on YouTube or give me a sub if

00:01:26:06 - 00:01:26:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
these

00:01:27:00 - 00:01:35:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
announcement based posts have actually returned and yielded good results for you, the fact is, it probably have it.

00:01:35:10 - 00:01:44:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's why in this video, I want to lay out my three step social media strategy. And as always, here in the hybrid Ministry show, there are

00:01:44:13 - 00:01:45:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
chapters

00:01:45:11 - 00:01:56:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
linked down below. Welcome everyone to the Hybrid Ministry show flavor. Welcome back to the Hybrid Ministry Show. If you and I haven't had a chance to meet yet, my name is Nick Clayson.

00:01:57:02 - 00:02:26:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I've been in youth ministry for 14 years, and I've always known and seen the importance of a social or a digital media existence and a present presence. However, Covid really, really ushered that in. And as sort of a result of what Covid did, not only like around me, but in me, I decided like, man, I really like I see churches going a certain direction up and down a certain path and like, I want to be a voice that has something to say about it.

00:02:26:09 - 00:02:40:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And interestingly enough, I was on a livestream not too long ago. If you want to go check it out with, download Youth Ministry. And Josh was like, why are you the guy we're talking to you? And I said, it's interesting because I just started recording videos in

00:02:40:11 - 00:02:40:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
my guest

00:02:40:21 - 00:02:41:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
bedroom

00:02:41:05 - 00:02:47:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
early in the morning, and, here I am now on a live stream answering more questions to other people.

00:02:47:13 - 00:03:16:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it but it was because I was so passionate about this idea of social and digital media. And so, I don't think that when we're just posting announcements that we're doing, first of all, any service to our social platforms, to the algorithms, nor are we really serving our audience, especially on social in a, discovery era where people, stumble upon accounts that they've never seen before.

00:03:16:24 - 00:03:29:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But your Canva graphic for the chili cook off, that's only getting a handful of likes that that's not being discovered by anybody new, nor even probably your current church

00:03:29:27 - 00:03:30:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
members.

00:03:30:12 - 00:03:30:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so

00:03:30:21 - 00:03:43:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you really just making double the amount of work for you. And we've been discussing that in the last three videos about more effective communication, where I laid out better communication strategies for all churches and youth ministries.

00:03:43:27 - 00:03:55:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But in this video, what I want to do is I want to say, okay, so if that's what you're supposed to do, if you're supposed to kind of leaning on email and leaning on your website and leaning on social for inspiration and entertainment,

00:03:55:27 - 00:03:56:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
what

00:03:56:21 - 00:03:58:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
exactly should you be posting?

00:03:58:22 - 00:04:03:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm glad you have three steps for everyone and their social media is is, three steps.

00:04:03:26 - 00:04:21:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Social media checklist. Step number one is make sure that your website is up to date. I've said that in every single video so far that we've been in this playlist. And it's true because when you take away social as an avenue for announcements or when you

00:04:21:00 - 00:04:21:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
reduce

00:04:21:15 - 00:04:21:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
your amount

00:04:21:24 - 00:04:30:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of stage announcements, there's still has to be a full bodied, one stop, robust shop for your church people to fall to.

00:04:30:07 - 00:04:49:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I think the best spot for that is your church website. And the first video we talked about the difference between Netflix TV and cable TV. And so when your website is a great spot, it can be a Netflix type location, an on demand type location rather than

00:04:49:02 - 00:04:52:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
hopefully they see the graphic that has the info on social media.

00:04:52:06 - 00:05:18:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hopefully they they saved the email that you sent with the registration link. Hopefully there just have a photograph or you know, whatever the the audio version of that is memory from your staged announcement to do exactly what you want them to do in that moment. And if any people don't have those things, they're just in deep trouble. However, if you have a great website, none of those things matter as much, at least on the information side, right?

00:05:18:25 - 00:05:42:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can still inspire them with the stage announcement. You can still be witty on social media and you can still send a awesome email, but your website is the place where they can go to for that. That information that they really need to download and also move toward action them. And so as we've been talking about, I can actually if that's something anyone's interested in, I can actually do that for you.

00:05:42:28 - 00:06:04:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I can build a website for you one time, or you can kind of contact me to just come on and and run that on an ongoing basis, as well as even potentially we can explore what it looked like for me to run that plus your social media. But step number one, regardless of if it's me, regardless of if you use groups, which I recommend your website, just very simply needs to be up to date.

00:06:04:22 - 00:06:27:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I don't care what you use, I don't care who you use, I don't care how you get there, but make sure your website is good and thorough and up to date. Okay, that's the first step in the social media strategy process. Let's move on here to step number two. So your website kind of being up to date, that sort of satisfies the first check in the process.

00:06:27:07 - 00:06:30:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that also makes what I'm going to recommend here on

00:06:30:17 - 00:06:44:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
social, which is the second step here. The second step is you kind of want to become enamored with shorts, reels, TikTok style videos, because when your website is good,

00:06:44:04 - 00:06:44:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you don't

00:06:44:17 - 00:06:44:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
have to

00:06:44:28 - 00:06:54:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
worry about the information. So now you can leave that behind and you can now move ahead towards the era that social is really made for and meant for.

00:06:54:10 - 00:06:58:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, quick hit trip, quick hit, quick trip down

00:06:58:26 - 00:06:59:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
history,

00:06:59:29 - 00:07:00:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
memory lane

00:07:00:25 - 00:07:21:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
2020 TikTok ushered in this new era of of social called the Discovery ERA. It was made popular with an app called TikTok. It is now banned in the United States of America, at least in the App Store right now. But TikTok brought in this brand new style and archetype of video.

00:07:21:00 - 00:07:25:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, it was so popular that not even four years later, according to

00:07:25:29 - 00:07:33:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
video, 90% of the internet's traffic is found on short form, vertical based video.

00:07:33:26 - 00:07:34:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because

00:07:34:20 - 00:07:49:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
every other platform then was trying to catch up and keep up with this brand new one called TikTok shorts. Reels. Facebook has Instagram has YouTube has some and even other like places like, Twitter.

00:07:49:15 - 00:07:51:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're even on there, it'll it'll

00:07:51:08 - 00:08:08:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
be on a video, you'll be watching video and it'll auto scroll to the next one. They even built in the scrolling type functionality. And there's a couple pieces of relevant things with it. First of all, it's video based and it's short and it's quippy and it's fun. But secondly, like I said earlier, it said discover re era.

00:08:08:07 - 00:08:37:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you jump on Reels on Instagram, if you jump on your TikTok for you page more than I think 90% of the I believe that's the stat of the videos that you're served are from people that you've never actually even met. And so that's good news for you and I. As churches and youth ministries, we can get on to other people's for you pages without buying their attention or without having them have to follow or subscribe or or know about our channel.

00:08:37:05 - 00:09:02:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The key is producing good content. And so step one website. Step two start focusing on good shorts, which is why I've created down below my hybrid strategy. Got it will not only lay out my plan and what I do in my student ministry, but it will also give you different ideas and types of content that you can use for your social media and for your shorts, you know?

00:09:02:09 - 00:09:21:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But like in our student ministry, I post ten different pieces of content, every single week. And it's all different. Kind of like styles of content. And so if you'd like more info on that, you definitely hop down and grab my free strategy guide. It will lay out how we do it, what we do, and how we capture it, how we batch record.

00:09:21:20 - 00:09:25:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I also talked about it in my live stream, a lot of different videos on my

00:09:25:13 - 00:09:38:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
channel. We'll kind of unpack it. And so I'm not going to, you know, bog you down with that info here on this video, but go, go check it out. Go subscribe. Go listen to some more podcasts and we'll get you covered on what exactly we do.

00:09:38:23 - 00:09:39:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Moving on to

00:09:39:28 - 00:10:05:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
step number three then is shorts are great, and if you don't have any capacity and you need to stop there and, and, you know, bolster your strategy and bolster your infrastructure to make that happen. And by all means do that. But then step three, the eye on the prize for all churches and youth ministries is you want your long form primary teaching content posted to YouTube.

00:10:05:18 - 00:10:18:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
90% of teenagers, according to Pew Research, are on YouTube, and so generation Z and Generation Alpha are landing in and making YouTube home. In

00:10:18:01 - 00:10:18:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
fact,

00:10:18:11 - 00:10:18:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
according to

00:10:18:25 - 00:10:40:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
a book called Meet Gen Alpha by Mccrindle and Fell, they said that YouTube is actually supplanting Google as the number one primary search engine for Generation Alpha. And so you want to be on YouTube, and if you're running your church, social media for, you're like overall church, you probably have some measure, some version of a live stream.

00:10:40:20 - 00:11:13:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's great. Put that on YouTube. If your equipment is good and working, then great. Put that on YouTube. In student ministry, if you have the ability to do that, then go ahead and put that on YouTube and anywhere else you want to put it. But you definitely have to make sure that you put it on YouTube. And then if you don't have anything, which my strategy guide will lay out exactly how we do this in our environment and in our setting, we don't have any live stream equipment, so we actually sit down before the message several weeks ahead of time, pre-record our message using like a teleprompter.

00:11:13:28 - 00:11:33:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, we've built out like a full studio, so like, I can have all that stuff linked down below. You can check out my studio episode, and you can buy any of the stuff that we have that might be helpful for you. And I also have a Patreon where I'm talking about how I implement my hybrid strategy in my, environment every single week.

00:11:33:14 - 00:11:43:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that podcast is $4 a month. It's one extra bonus podcast per week. Plus, literally, I think I throw in a freebie almost every single week. So

00:11:43:13 - 00:11:52:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I believe that that podcast is a very nominal fee for a lot. A lot of value. And so if you want to kind of go all in on this hybrid strategy, I would recommend that.

00:11:52:14 - 00:12:16:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But we sit down, we pre-record it, and then we post those to YouTube trying to answer some of life's hard questions with our titles, with our tags, and even with our thumbnails. And so again, comes for you. I can help you with that. But the goal then is to take your short content and build an audience that eventually promotes and and pushes people over to your in long form content.

00:12:16:08 - 00:12:45:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's the that's the Mecca of your social platform. And what that does is that that reduces the anxiety, that reduces the pressure that is on your social channels to communicate your announcements. If your website's doing its job, then you're short form content, both fun and serious, can point to you and promote your long form content, which is serious, which will also then helps to help answer students big questions about life and faith, regardless of if they're in your context or not.

00:12:45:16 - 00:13:03:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
With an eye towards and with the focus on your students or your people in your context, and then like just, you know, a next steps form or some way for them to respond to whatever sort of like message that you have put on YouTube. And what I would recommend again, is that takes us all the way back to number one.

00:13:03:04 - 00:13:26:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Make sure there's a good like digital next steps form, one that's universally used and applied in all of your settings when you're teaching. And then with that link you can just post that in the comments of a YouTube video. And your website is helping serve your holistic hybrid and digital strategy. And that is my three step social media process.

00:13:26:15 - 00:13:27:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Make sure your website's up

00:13:27:17 - 00:13:46:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to date. Lean into shorts. Start producing as many of them as you can that make realistic sense during your week? Just be. Just be consistent with it. Don't have a number in mind. And then all with an eye toward the prize of. Start posting your long form messages to YouTube and and all of that.

00:13:46:09 - 00:14:09:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I can help with coaching. I can help by running it for you. I can help on my Patreon. I can help on this channel for free. So give me a subscribe if you would like to hear more about that topic. But until next time and as always, my friends appreciate you being here. Appreciate you trying to communicate in a digital and noisy world, but I want to encourage you to stay hybrid.

Episode 139: The Best Communication Method for Your Church

Nick Clason — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0600

📊 HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

✅ CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Struggling to figure out the best way to communicate with your church? In this episode of The Hybrid Ministry Show, Nick Clason breaks down the most effective communication methods for parents, teens, and volunteers—backed by real stats and practical strategies. From email to social media to podcasts, find out how to make sure your church announcements actually reach the right people!

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/139

//HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

//NUCELUS
https://www.nucleus.church

//REMIND
https://www.remind.com/

//GROUPME
https://www.groupme.com

//CROSSCREEK STUDENTS LEADER PODCAST
https://www.youtube.com/@crosscreekstudents/podcasts

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

⌚TIMECODES
00:00 The Best Church Communications Channels
02:14 Adult or Parent Communication Strategy
06:19 Student Communication Strategy
11:48 Volunteer Communication Strategy

TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:05 - 00:00:28:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Give me a like if your church still produces a bulletin and give me a subscribe if it's completely quit producing a bulletin. You know, it's interesting. In my 14 years of youth ministry experience, the first two churches I worked at, they were all about those bulletins. Man, we printed those suckers. Every single week. Interestingly, though, the last two churches I worked at both also post Covid, which I'm wondering if that has something to do with it.

00:00:28:05 - 00:00:51:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Chose not to produce a weekly bulletin. You know, in one of the earlier on churches, there was a week where, like, the secretary was out and somehow I ended up not only producing the bulletin for me, like a graphic like design document standpoint, but then I was also in the office cutting them. And my wife, she called me, said, what are you doing at work still?

00:00:51:16 - 00:01:15:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I was like, I have to cut the bulletin. And as I was doing that, I gave myself this thought. I was like, do teenagers even read this? And now, you know, I was producing this for the rest of the church. But in my mind, and as I was having this conversation with myself, I thought, I don't think that teenagers actually read this, but they're parents, right?

00:01:15:05 - 00:01:36:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's why we produce these things. And so we've been in this series called communication and the Noisy World. Slinked right up here at the top of the screen. And in this video we want to talk about is the particular channels that your churches should be leaning into. We're going to explore three different audiences. We're going to explore the adults in your church.

00:01:36:21 - 00:02:09:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We're going to explore the students in your church. And then we're also going to explore the volunteers in your church and or in your ministry. And what I want to do is in each of those, I'm going to give you my favorite communication method and some statistics that back the reasons up for why you should be leaning into those channels and as always, I want to remind you that there are chapters down below or in your podcast catcher, wherever you're listening to this, so that you can hop ahead to the section of this episode that makes the most sense to you in your ministry and the context in which you're serving.

00:02:09:23 - 00:02:34:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome, everybody, to the Hybrid Ministry show. So I've been in youth ministry for 14 years, and so and in all of my experience of being in youth ministry, when I think about adults that I'm trying to minister to, those adults in particular are either parents or volunteers. And so in this particular section, let's chat about parents. And so these are parents of youth ministry students.

00:02:34:26 - 00:03:07:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, if you're a church communications person or a senior pastor watching this like these, what I'm about to share, I believe, also relates to just adults attending your church in general. Okay. Because what I'm going to say, we're going to talk about the adults in your church, the strategy that I believe that you should employ first and foremost and make your number one like major thing that you double down on, that you pour gas on, that you make work is an email strategy.

00:03:07:10 - 00:03:35:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right. Here's a couple of reasons why over 4.3 billion people globally use email. Furthermore, 99% of consumers check their email on a daily basis. This is according to HubSpot, and 73% of millennials and Gen Z, which if you're in youth ministry, those are your parents. And if you're not in youth ministry, those are the future adults of your church.

00:03:35:10 - 00:04:06:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The largest based millennials are the largest in the workforce and the largest opportunity for your your givers. Okay. They prefer email communication from brands at a rate of 73%. This is according to Adobe, so email isn't going anywhere. Now. I also, if you have been watching in the last couple of videos in this playlist, like we link just a second ago, I have been and I've always been my strategy, my hybrid strategy, whether it's for students, parents, whatever.

00:04:06:16 - 00:04:27:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
First and foremost, make sure your website is good and remains up to date. So you want your email to be how you communicate and how you maybe market certain, like classes or events or whatever. But then you want to be able to take them to your website and or you want to send an email because think about user habits.

00:04:27:23 - 00:04:48:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're you're checking your email at lunch or on your work break, okay, on your lunch break at work and you see something from your church. You don't have time right then and there to stop and go sign up, but it jog your memory and you're there. So then you want when someone later just goes to your website because they're thinking, oh yeah, I need to go sign up for that thing after dinner.

00:04:48:06 - 00:05:19:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When they get home from work, they need to be able to discover that relatively quickly on your church website, even if the email had a link to it, even if they don't follow that link directly. You want your website to be clear and easy to navigate, which is why I continue to recommend nucleus. And also I just want to let you know, like if your website is not exactly up to it, I can create a couple of automated things for you, like updating your church Google calendar which will also naturally update on your website.

00:05:19:24 - 00:05:36:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you're interested in something like that, I offer a service called Church Communications done for you. I would love to explore what that looks like to either a build a one time website or be step into some sort of partnership sort of thing. But email is the way to get Ahold of the adults in your church.

00:05:36:07 - 00:06:13:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If if billions of users are using it and 99% of people are checking their email on a daily basis, then you as a church, you have the opportunity to get in front of all of your people, which diminishes the need for those church stage based announcements and diminishes the needs for those church bulletins. Okay, and I'm not necessarily saying that you should toss those things out and not even worry about them anymore, but what I am saying is that your primary strategy should be email and then those other pieces, stage announcements, bulletins, whatever you want to say, even social media.

00:06:14:01 - 00:06:36:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They should all supplement what's going on on email. The second category of people that we're going to talk about here are teenagers, students. Okay. So this is particularly aimed for youth pastors. Once again, if you're not in that then hop down to the chapters below and jump ahead to the next one you need. As a youth pastor, you want to try to get to teenagers phones.

00:06:36:25 - 00:06:55:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now you got to think about this. All teenagers are in a little bit of a different season of life, of adopting usage on their phones. So some of them aren't yet using, like text messaging yet. Right? So that's why I say a little bit more generically. You want to get to their phones because some parents let them have Instagram and some don't.

00:06:55:05 - 00:07:16:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Some parents let them have YouTube and some don't. Some parents let them text certain people and some don't. And so in some ways, somehow we need to get on their cell phones, which is what I'm promoting trying to do by using and utilizing, our hybrid strategy in our in the current student ministry that I serve in, this is our attempt and this is our, our play to get on to students cell phones.

00:07:16:11 - 00:07:31:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so my hybrid strategy is actually linked right down below in the description or on your podcast catcher. I would love to have you check that out. It's completely free, but it helps. It helps give you my strategy and also helps you implement some pieces and parts of that so that you can start trying to get onto their phones.

00:07:32:00 - 00:07:54:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But here's some reasons why it's valuable and important for us to get to their phones. Because 69% of students of teenagers own a smartphone by the age of 12, according to Common Sense Media, and also 90% according to Pew Research. 90% of teenagers use YouTube, so there's a couple of different ways to get to their phones. Number one, social, okay.

00:07:54:13 - 00:08:26:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And short form vertical based video is still king. Going to vertical in 2024, 90% of the internet's traffic was short form, vertical based video. And so you can employ that short form, vertical based video strategy on Facebook. So I wouldn't recommend that platform necessarily for students or these other through TikTok, Instagram, YouTube. And if TikTok goes ahead and gets banned, you can still employ that that video based strategy by leaning into reels and TikToks and YouTube shorts by cross posting to places like YouTube and Instagram.

00:08:26:15 - 00:08:51:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And there are, you know, there are some TikTok like alternative apps being produced, like a lemonade app. And I don't know if that's going to take or pop, but but maybe go secure your church's handle on it. And then if it does, boom, you're there. And you can continue to employ that strategy. If it takes TikTok's spot, you know, once, like certain things get shook out here with the Congress ban or, you know, whatever is going on with that.

00:08:51:20 - 00:09:10:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so the point is that short form, vertical based video while TikTok may not last forever, that strategy right now, that strategy is so, so clutch. And I actually I noticed it last night because here's the thing about that strategy. I was on Instagram and I was scrolling through stories, which are things posted by people that I follow my friends.

00:09:11:05 - 00:09:31:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's a nod back to the social Graph era of friendship based social media. And I was scrolling through and I know friends, whoever I was, I was looking at your stories. I got bored, close it out, hopped into reels which then started showing me popular and like, entertainment based and reels that are actually getting a lot of views.

00:09:31:17 - 00:09:55:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And now all of a sudden I was, I was hooked. I was there for a while and that's going from that social graph era over into that discovery based era. And that's where we want to find ourselves in student ministry like we want we can. Here's the thing, though. You can post like a discovery based thing, and you can share that link to your audience so you can post that real on to your story so that all the students who follow you, they still see it.

00:09:55:19 - 00:10:11:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or you can even like yesterday I posted, a YouTube short, also an Instagram reel and a TikTok, and I sent the YouTube short link in our text group and I said, have you answered this crazy? Would you rather question yet? And I sent it to all the kids are sign up in our text group, which is the second.

00:10:11:10 - 00:10:32:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So socials one one way to get to their phones. The second is to get to text messages. All right. And so if you want like blasts I would recommend a service like remind. It's completely free for schools. Or if you want a group chat feature I would recommend a group me both of them listen to me. Both of them have their shortcomings I get it, okay?

00:10:32:11 - 00:10:59:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But it's a great, like, neutralizer. Okay. If you if you have Apple phones and Android phones, GroupMe can put everyone in a group, chat app without, like, the fuss of the blue bubbles and all the things, the compressed pictures that Apple won't allow to come through. Because RCS messaging, even though it's been around since 2007, like it'll do these things where it it will it will create like a level playing field.

00:10:59:01 - 00:11:18:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. And you know, if you if your church communications database has some sort of texting service, that you already pay for, then by all means use that. Don't I don't necessarily recommend remind over something like that. Or if you've already dug deep to pay for some sort of texting service and continue to use that, probably better. But that that also goes for when kids are serving.

00:11:18:01 - 00:11:34:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like if you can send them text notifications instead of just email notifications. The goal again is to get to their phones, especially if almost 70% of 12 year olds in on up have smartphones. All right. And so I know you're going to run into because I run into this too. You're going to run into kids who don't have it.

00:11:35:02 - 00:11:59:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you always do have to have a small alternative for a more analog approach. But that's that's widely okay. Right. As we're trying to communicate with teenagers. And then the last area, the last area of ministry is what about your volunteers? What about your leaders? Okay. Now, this may not be, the highest or, like, email is still going to probably be what you're going to use.

00:11:59:02 - 00:12:20:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Just like going back to the, you know, parent adult section of this video, all the stats, all the reasons that's why email still is worthwhile for you volunteers. However, I will say in the last, six months or so, me and my team, me and my boss has started recording a weekly leader podcast. Yes, you heard that right.

00:12:20:10 - 00:12:44:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Weekly. Now we batch record, so we record four at a time. It's about an hour worth of our time. And then it takes me just a minute. Like, really not very long to just edit those suckers into, a YouTube video as well as an audio only podcast. And then we post those every single Monday morning. And so we encourage our leaders to, subscribe to that and listen to it.

00:12:44:27 - 00:13:25:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We try to make it like 15, no more maximum than 15 minutes. Usually they're closer to ten minutes each. And just, we've asked them to adopt that as their normal rhythm on their way to work, on their way on Monday morning to work, habit. And so what what this does is this reduces the pressure around a once a year or a biannual or even a monthly leader meeting to communicate all the big things that we need to communicate, because you know, that you need to, hook them with inspiration, but you also need to tell them, like, boring details like, hey, when you guys are like, checking in, you need to click this

00:13:25:07 - 00:13:43:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
little button here, and you make sure you check in to both of these groups so that our metrics above all, they don't care about that stuff. But the Leader podcast gives you an avenue to share those little snippets of things. It also gives you an avenue to drip culture slowly. And so that's one of the things we've been doing.

00:13:43:02 - 00:14:04:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We've been attempting to make our culture a little more conversational and a little less teaching, and we've just been dripping that slowly on the podcast. And what's so fun is last week I sat down with some of my leaders, we do a yearly leader debrief, and I heard them starting to use some of the language that we've been putting on our leader podcast.

00:14:04:04 - 00:14:26:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In addition to gripping the information and sharing more announcements, we'll do like giveaways, we'll do leader shout outs, we'll share funny stories. And so then every week that that, posts on Monday, there's always the off chance that our leader group chat gets a little flurry of activity around whatever topic happened on the on the podcast or people are, you know, laughing about some of the things that are going on there.

00:14:26:23 - 00:14:49:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So according to Nielsen, the average podcast listener consumed up to seven a week. And so if you have people on your leader teams that are already podcast listeners, that's a super easy one. If not, you can help them adopt it. Or also, again, you can post those, video form to YouTube. YouTube also has a podcast RSS kind of section built into it that you can also use and utilize.

00:14:49:24 - 00:15:21:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so even if they're not podcast adopters, they can still access it via the video. And so with your email strategy for adults, with your get to their phones strategy for students and with your podcast strategy for leaders, then use your stage and your bulletin announcements to really hit hard and to just simply reinforce and point people back not only into those channels, but then also off to your website where they're ultimately going to take their next step, call to action sort of things.

00:15:21:07 - 00:15:42:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so in this next video, what I'm going to do is I'm going to help break down why you on social media should be focusing now more because our, our, our, information and our announcements have been taken care of how you should start focusing on engagement as opposed to simply broadcasting information. That video is going to be linked right here on screen.

00:15:42:05 - 00:15:49:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're watching on YouTube, go ahead and tap that. We'd love to see you over there. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 138: Steal this Clearer (& Less Boring) Church Announcement Strategy

Nick Clason — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600

📊 HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

✅ CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Tired of your church announcements being ignored? In this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Podcast, we’ll show you how to create clearer and less boring announcements using three practical hacks: reduce your CTAs, centralize next steps, and inspire over inform. Stop overwhelming your audience with noise—learn how to simplify your messaging, engage your community, and make your announcements impossible to miss.

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/138

//HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

//NUCELUS
https://www.nucleus.church

//TRANSITION STYLE VIDEOS
https://share.hsforms.com/1UrHggOX1Q3mH_A3F3f8dWwnumis

//HUBSPOT (For List Segmentation)
https://www.hubspot.com

//KIT (Formerly ConvertKit)
https://partners.kit.com/x9dbnh372pji

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

⌚TIMECODES
00:00 Steal this Church Announcement Strategy
01:48 Myth
05:44 Hack #1
08:39 Hack #2
11:17 Hack #3
13:31 The Ultimate Church Announcement Decision Making Grid
18:09 Bonus Tip

TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:19 - 00:00:01:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I want you to

00:00:01:08 - 00:00:06:55
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
steal this clearer and less boring church announcement strategy.

00:00:06:55 - 00:00:21:33
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because why? Because you've been announcing your event for several weeks, maybe even months now at this point. And give me a like, if this has ever happened to you, you get that text from that student or that church member that said, when is the event again?

00:00:21:38 - 00:00:27:51
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or is it too late to sign up? Or when are we supposed to be there again? And you just want to pull

00:00:28:33 - 00:00:29:51
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
your hair out? But like we talked

00:00:29:51 - 00:00:30:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
about in the

00:00:30:13 - 00:00:30:40
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
last

00:00:30:40 - 00:00:41:39
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
video partying on, he has this concept called inadvertent blindness. And what he's really saying with that is he says, we really only see what we're looking for.

00:00:41:44 - 00:00:42:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so in

00:00:42:09 - 00:00:42:34
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
this

00:00:42:34 - 00:00:42:58
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
video,

00:00:42:58 - 00:01:08:50
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
how do we have clearer and less boring church announcements, ones that are actually going to, incite inspiration and not just one where you're only simply disseminating information? So in this video, what I want to do is I want to share with you the myth about church communications and church announcements. I want to share with you three hacks that will help you have clearer and better and less boring church announcements.

00:01:08:54 - 00:01:33:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm also going to share with you the ultimate church decision making grid. How do you announce what you announce so that the best and most relevant announcements are the ones that are being said from the stage and from the platform, and from the areas and the channels that you want to be saying them from. And finally, stick around to the very end of the video, because I have for you a bonus hack that may in fact change everything.

00:01:33:18 - 00:01:38:50
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And as always, if you're watching here on YouTube or wherever you're listening in the podcast catcher, there are chapters

00:01:38:50 - 00:01:56:40
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
listed down below so that you can jump ahead to the areas of the video that make the most sense to you. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. So what's the myth? Okay, the myth is this. The myth is that people don't come to your church function, your church thing.

00:01:56:44 - 00:02:24:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We assume that they're not coming to the thing because they don't know about the thing. And so therefore, what do we do? We share more information about the thing. Oh, well, it's actually at seven and we're going to have this and we're going to put it in the fellowship hall, like, and we just give them more and more boring details about it, assuming that those boring details about it are going to be what's going to help them overcome their in in the action and misinformation and get them to that event.

00:02:24:17 - 00:02:41:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's not why they're not coming. They're not coming because they don't care about it. They're not coming because they're busy and they have a schedule conflict. They're not coming because your thing is not the most important thing in their life. Sorry. Like, I hate like I'm not trying to be rude, and I'm not trying to say that to you in a way that's demeaning.

00:02:41:17 - 00:03:16:35
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But like, your thing is not as important as you think your thing is. And so the reason why people don't come to church events is not because they're missing information. But as we talked about in the last episode, credit to Brady Shear for this analogy is we got to start thinking more like movie trailers, right? So a movie trailer moves people towards inspiration, and they try to incite curiosity in such a way that when they see that movie trailer, they're like, I have to go and they'll move heaven and earth and they'll find the tickets and they'll find the theater, and they'll get to that event of their own accord.

00:03:16:39 - 00:03:36:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Our church events. First of all, we're not able to compete in a lot of times with movie trailers. Like I get it right, but we we result and we, you know, get our church announcements to a spot where we think we just need to share more information. What time, what date. And like those are really boring church announcements.

00:03:36:23 - 00:03:57:55
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the more information that you share in that church announcement, again, we're assuming the myth is we're assuming they don't have enough information, so we'll just give them more information, when in fact, what you actually need to do is you need to inspire them. You need to move them to action through inspiration, through storytelling, through captivation of their senses and their imagination.

00:03:57:55 - 00:04:18:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you're like, dude, I'm a youth pastor. I'm a church secretary, I'm a senior pastor. I can't do any of that. And like, I get it, these are not skills that we often refine or hone in on our own. They're not disciplines that that we have maybe necessarily been been, you know, given or taught in like a seminary degree or whatever the case may be.

00:04:18:22 - 00:04:42:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But in this world with over information and with this noisy world, like, that's what we're competing. See, so like this, these, this myth. Right? This myth is the reason why, posting your announcements to social media is a bad idea because, again, this myth helps us think, oh, we need to put this information out there on the internet.

00:04:42:25 - 00:04:58:40
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We need to let them know when and where and how much dice to bring to the bunker. And I and which fellowship hall we're going to be in, like people again, they're not getting on social media for more information for information download. And if they are, I'm going to tell you where you should put that information because you should include it.

00:04:58:40 - 00:05:18:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay. But and we'll get to that in a second. But they're not getting on social for that. They're getting a social once again for in from Earth, not for information for inspiration and and maybe even for some humor and maybe for some entertainment. And so that's actually what I sort of push towards in my free strategy guide, which is going to be link down below.

00:05:18:26 - 00:05:39:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you haven't grabbed it, go ahead and grab it. It is, like I said, it's completely free, but it'll help lay out in detail what I do to kind of live this hybrid version of ministry and what I do on social media. But if that's not what they're looking for, and if our announcements are chock full of too much information and not enough inspiration, then what should we do instead?

00:05:39:29 - 00:06:03:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm glad you asked. That's where these three hacks are going to come in. Okay, so hack number one is reduce your CTAs, CTAs is an acronym. And it sure. It's a marketing word for reduce your calls to action. So a call to action is what you're actually asking someone to do as a result of the information. You have a bunco night.

00:06:03:36 - 00:06:27:42
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you want them to sign up for the bunco night, right. But oftentimes we're stacking multiple call to actions. Okay. So in an announcement moment in your church, we often get up there and everyone gets an opportunity that the kids in the youth and the women and the men's and then the whole church picnic, and there's just there's too many different things.

00:06:27:42 - 00:07:02:56
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, too much thing, too many things that can cause somebody brain to get overwhelmed, psychologically speaking. And therefore, instead of promoting action, it does the exact opposite. It causes paralysis and it promotes inaction. In fact, Simon Sinek, he shared this story of the salesman who was a shoe salesman, and the shoe salesman said he learned the key to selling shoes, and the key to selling shoes was anytime he would have, a person trying on shoes and he had three shoe options, they would always say no.

00:07:03:01 - 00:07:17:56
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But when he reduced it to simply just two options, right? Reducing the call to actions when he would reduce it down to just two options. And so if they had three, he would and they're like, they had two. And they're like, let me see this pair. He would say, which one of these do you want me to take away?

00:07:18:01 - 00:07:36:32
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They would remove one. He would take one away. And then that he'd bring the new pair in, and then there would be two new sets of shoes. And then he would say, which of these do you want, A or B, as opposed to which of these you want A, B or C? And he said when he had two options, he always sold.

00:07:36:32 - 00:08:02:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When he had three they would walk away. And so the same is true in our church announcements. You your assumption and it's a faulty one. But your assumption now hates it is that the more you offer on the stage, the the better it's going to be for your church and for your people. And let's be honest, if you work on a church staff, there's the pressure of getting everyone's announcement equal airtime.

00:08:02:16 - 00:08:20:35
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so again, we're going to talk about the decision making grid of how you come to those decisions. But you need to reduce your call to actions on your stage. What do you really want the people in your auditorium in your service? What do you really want them to do? And everything else? We're going to find another way.

00:08:20:39 - 00:08:39:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We're going to find another avenue to promote it. And you might be thinking, yeah, but you just told me, I can't put that on social. And you're right. I did say that again. We'll get to it. But reduce your calls to action. And then within that okay. So reduce the number of announcements that you're sharing. But within that simplify see where they go.

00:08:39:17 - 00:09:06:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Which leads me to my second hack. Centralize everything on your website. And now you might be thinking and even assuming that you're doing that. But again credit to Brady Scheer of that pro church tools, his announcement strategy, his church website strategy, and his church website builder, which if you don't have a good church website and you want one that's good and actually easy to put together, I recommend nucleus Dot church.

00:09:06:06 - 00:09:29:56
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
His whole goal with it is to get everyone to the same centralized location. And so when you give an announcement, then people are and an announcement that's inspiring. And that one that's chock full of information. So a good announcement about a, you know, story of life change at the last women's bunco night and then someone sitting there like, I need to get to the bunco night.

00:09:29:56 - 00:09:51:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But when is it? Where is it? Like they go to the website, and the website has all of the information that they're looking for. Your announcements will be better if your website can supply them with the information that they're looking for. Because again, like I said in the last video, which is linked right up here at the top of the screen, if you're watching here on YouTube, I so we operate in a cable TV mentality.

00:09:51:29 - 00:10:22:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In order to come to the bunker, you need all this information. You need the when, the where, the why, the what, but in what. People aren't living mindset wise that way they're living in a Netflix culture. And so they're like, oh, my church has a bunco night. When is that again? And they're thinking about that, on a Thursday at 4 p.m. and so on a Thursday at 4 p.m., they need to be able to go to your church website and get all the information that they're looking for, as opposed to relying on you in the moment on Sunday to get to church.

00:10:22:27 - 00:10:45:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Bunco night information, which they're not interested in at that moment, but they may be interested later. And so you if you catch them and hook them with inspiration, they'll want to go and then later in this Netflix culture, they'll go on demand and they'll go get it on your church website, which if you're hearing this and you're like, wow, okay, so we need to overhaul our church website.

00:10:45:27 - 00:11:05:56
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That may be the case. And you may be right. And you know what? I can offer that for you. I have a service called Church Communications done for you. You don't have enough time to kind of overhaul your social media strategy on your church website. I would encourage you to take a look at the link below. I'd love to offer that to you, and we can explore what that might look like for us to walk into a partnership together.

00:11:05:56 - 00:11:39:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because I want you to win, and I want more people to come to your church bunco night. But again, the third hack then, is, as we've been talking about, kind of in this whole video, right? Aim to inspire over inform, aim to inspire over and form a sort of been the basis of this whole video. But once again, and here I want to point out like here's what the dictionary.com definition of inspires, really, it's to fill someone with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

00:11:39:21 - 00:12:07:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. And so a video, if you're watching here on YouTube, like this is one of my transition style videos that we do for social media. Might not seem inspiring to you, right? However, imagine a person stumbling upon it on social media because they can stumble upon your videos like this on social media. Which of these do you think performs better, this video or this standard static announcement graphic that you cooked up in Canva?

00:12:07:17 - 00:12:33:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. Which is why down below I have my social transition video pack, the ones that I recommend. I have six of those plus six cap cut meme style videos. Go ahead, download those and then start using and posting those on your social media, because this video is using the medium for what it's made for. And it may not be like inspiring, but it's entertaining and it gets it still gets the message across.

00:12:34:00 - 00:13:08:51
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
While your other one, yeah, it gives all the information, but this other one, it inspires, it promotes action. It may, you know, cause people to share it. It may be entertaining, it may cause them to laugh. And then as a result of that, like when there's a bunco night, let me go find that out. And then they head over to your church website, which is built, you know, comes done for you or you build it on your own and it has all of the relevant and pertinent information you're using now, the the broadcast channels and the platforms for what they're made for, as opposed to just simply, crushing it and pounding information down

00:13:08:56 - 00:13:33:45
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
through people's channels. Because remember, the myth that we all believe is that they just need more information. But the fact is, it's not exactly it. We need to optimize our our communications in the channels that we find ourselves so that they lean into what those channels are built for and made for. So now this leads me to the ultimate church announcement decision making grid.

00:13:33:57 - 00:13:56:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay. And so the question that I want you to ask yourself when you're considering putting an announcement up on the church platform, up on the church stage, is does this announcement apply to greater than 50% of the people in the room? If not, find another way. Now you might be thinking like, but I got to keep the men's ministry happy in the women's ministry happy.

00:13:56:01 - 00:14:23:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And and I will say, when you institute this church decision making, the search announcement, decision making grid. Yes. At first you are going to have some unhappy people, especially if you've been announcing everything. Okay. However, once you institute this as a policy, when someone asks you to announce such and such thing, you can say, I'm sorry, we actually only do this and you got to still be people over process in this, okay?

00:14:23:42 - 00:14:49:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But let the policy point to the policy and let the policy be the bad guy. But the reason that your announcements aren't captivating enough people is because you're getting up and you're announcing something that only pertains to 10 to 15% of the people in your population or in your congregation. And so you might be thinking like, okay, yeah, but the, the platform, the, the stage, that's the only time that we have to announce anything.

00:14:49:23 - 00:15:12:54
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So what I recommend is 50% or more okay. And then if not find another way. And so you might be thinking well what are some other ways. So here's not an exhaustive list but just a list kind of get your brain going. So you could do social media right. And if it's like an outsider event, you might even consider, doing some advertising and putting some some dollars behind like a Facebook or an Instagram ad.

00:15:12:58 - 00:15:33:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Your website is a fantastic spot to advertise things. Text messaging, emails. And let me, let me just say for a minute, like if you can do list segmentation and there are tools out there like, like a HubSpot or like a ConvertKit, and they're going to have a they're going to have a little bit of cost associated with it.

00:15:33:29 - 00:15:57:44
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you may need to put that above and beyond a thing like, you know, church community builder, planning center or whatever your church management software is. But you can create list segmentation. And so you can actually send custom emails for people based on where they actually are in your church, as opposed to just sending big church blasts. Because I think that's another reason why some of our information falls on deaf ears.

00:15:57:44 - 00:16:16:58
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We're sending irrelevant announcements to people, but we don't know how to, make our lists smaller and more custom. Right? Like, again, in the industrial age versus the digital age and the industrial age is all about numbers. So we just need to get the most amount of people on our email list and then just blast them with this information over and over again.

00:16:17:03 - 00:16:37:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But in the digital age, people want to be known for who they are as an individual. And so if we can send them customized, tailored emails that are broken down into what, marketers called lists and, segmentation of lists, that's going to, I think, perform better for you on open rates and click through rates and called actions and actually then taking those call to actions.

00:16:37:51 - 00:17:03:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But so you can use like banners on your website, you can even use printed banners, pop up banners and things like that. And nucleus actually does all of those things again for you. Okay. Now so so if it doesn't apply to greater than 50%, don't announce it. And okay. And I would say no more than two call to action zone one and two announcements.

00:17:03:05 - 00:17:25:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now again you might be like what? Like how you're trying to riot okay. Some of you you have church bulletins. You have bulletin boards like use those other means and methods. I mean, let me just say like, you know, right now we have a, high school, like, kind of retreat disciple now weekend thing coming up. We don't announce anything in store for student ministry in our main church announcement platform.

00:17:25:09 - 00:17:44:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay. But right now we're we're pushing and announcing our high school weekend in there. And, you might think, like, oh, Grace, you probably have, like, a lot more traction, like, we have less traction on this event signups than anything else. And it's not because people don't know about it. It's just because it's and it's ended up kind of being a bad weekend for a lot of our students.

00:17:44:04 - 00:18:12:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, again, the publicity thing is not necessarily the issue. We don't have more people coming to our events because of it. Like, we people know about what we have going on because we use and utilize these other kind of platforms and channels to, you know, to our best vantage. Okay. Now, so all those things being said, the myth plus through hacks now the decision making grid, the last little bonus tip that I have for you is when you're sharing announcements.

00:18:12:32 - 00:18:34:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay, here's how you can here's how you can lean into inspiration and away from away from information is share stories, use footage, and use photos, especially if you have it from previous and past events. Share a story about life changing as you're doing it. I have some some videos in the back or some photos on the back scrolling.

00:18:34:16 - 00:18:55:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is a picture from last year's bunco event. And this is. This is Sally. And Sally had an amazing time and she came for the community. But she stuck around for for the life change. And now she's a part of a group and now she's serving. And as she leading bunco night. And that's why you should come to bunco night and go to our church website to sign up for this year's bunco night.

00:18:55:25 - 00:19:15:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like something like that. So much more inspiring. Then this Thursday, 6:00 bring a dip to share and all the boring information your website can handle that it does a good job of that. And people, people know to look for it and people are looking for it in that way. And so you have all these different avenues beyond just your stage.

00:19:15:16 - 00:19:36:35
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So how do you maximize each individual avenue in 2025 so that it gets the message across in a way that is captivating and inspiring. And then the people in your church know about what's going on and actually move towards action of signing up for and attending your church's events. Well, I'm glad you asked because that's the next video here in this playlist.

00:19:36:40 - 00:19:50:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's going to be linked here on screen. So go ahead and tap that and we'll see you over in that video. But don't forget my friends. And as always to stay hybrid.

Episode 137: 3 Reasons Your Announcements Aren’t Working

Nick Clason — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600

📊 HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

✅ CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Ever feel like no one’s listening to your church announcements? In this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show, Nick Clason dives into the common pitfalls of church announcements, revealing three reasons why they’re not working—and offering actionable solutions to fix them. From battling “inattentional blindness” to cutting through the noise of a digital world, this episode will help you craft announcements that inspire life transformation, not just attendance.

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/137

SOLUTIONS
1) HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

2) CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

3) STEAL THIS ANNOUNCEMENT STRATEGY
[VIDEO LINK]

//I CREATED THIS VIDEO SO YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO HIRE ME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OHWZFZHvaA&t=19s

//NUCLEUS
https://www.nucleus.church

//VIDEO OF TIME SPENT ONLINE
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DD5zLeTMitb/?igsh=MTlpMHR5c2I5Yzl5bw==

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

⌚TIMECODES
00:00 Nobody Knows What's Going on!
01:40 The Problem
03:58 The Goal
07:43 Reason #1
11:56 Reason #2
17:09 Reason #3

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Do you ever feel

00:00:01:23 - 00:00:02:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
like

00:00:02:19 - 00:00:07:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
knows what's going on at your church? Like

00:00:07:00 - 00:00:14:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you feel like nobody is ever really listened to you when you're giving the announcements?

00:00:14:04 - 00:00:16:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, in this episode I want to talk about is the

00:00:16:20 - 00:00:28:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
problem with most church and youth ministry announcements. So if you're a youth pastor person in church communication to pastor, this will help increase

00:00:28:03 - 00:00:31:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and uptake your engagement around announcements.

00:00:31:02 - 00:00:42:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I want to talk about the ultimate goal with all church announcements. And finally, stick around because I'm going to share with you three reasons that your church announcements may not be

00:00:42:11 - 00:00:47:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
going as well as you think. Plus, one solution for each of those

00:00:47:11 - 00:00:47:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
reasons,

00:00:47:22 - 00:00:50:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
including a concept called

00:00:50:04 - 00:00:55:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
inadvertent blindness. We're going to dive into that. And I have a free

00:00:55:04 - 00:01:00:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
resource that I think can absolutely change the game for you.

00:01:00:14 - 00:01:00:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I

00:01:00:19 - 00:01:01:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
think part

00:01:01:06 - 00:01:13:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of our problem here in 2025, in churches in North America, or let's just be honest around the world, is that we need to stop acting as churches. Look, we're in the 1990s

00:01:13:08 - 00:01:17:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and stop making boring announcements.

00:01:17:21 - 00:01:35:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Give me a like, if you've heard the stat that we as humans have a shorter attention span now than goldfish, if that's the case, then we definitely have to figure something out, because you have some great things going on at your church, and if people don't know about it, they can't get to them.

00:01:35:04 - 00:02:03:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let's talk about it. Welcome, my friends, to the hybrid minstrel show. So what is our problem? Our ultimate problem with bad church announcements is that nobody is showing up or that, like, nobody even knows about what we have going on. I actually, I did a video, a while back called Youth Pastor or Event Coordinator. It's going to be linked right up here at the top of the screen if you're watching here on YouTube.

00:02:03:00 - 00:02:05:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But one of the things I've learned in my 14

00:02:05:07 - 00:02:25:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
years of youth ministry experience is that attendance and, just people simply showing up. That's a really important factor to planning a good event. You can have an awesome event, but if you don't have people there, it's going to be a problem. And part of people getting there is knowing that the event is happening and understanding, knowing, hearing.

00:02:25:12 - 00:02:57:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you know, like realizing that you're giving a church announcement that requires action out of them. And the video I explore this kind of tension, right? That many of us in ministry, church ministry, like, regardless of if you're in youth ministry or not, we feel about our jobs and it's this it's right. Is are we meant to be doing what we're doing to ultimately make disciples, or are we doing what we're doing to plan killer events?

00:02:57:21 - 00:03:23:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And sometimes, if you're anything like me, let's just be honest. It feels like we are our job. Like it has morphed much more into an event planner and I don't know about you, but that's not exactly why I got into youth ministry. Right? But the problem, right, that's the problem with our church announcements, is because we have an event and we want people to get to it.

00:03:23:16 - 00:03:50:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Poor attendance is the problem with bad church announcements. Okay. And so if attendance is our issue, if that's the baked in assumptions, that's the baked in desire. And when we say, nobody knows what's going on, it's because nobody is attending our events. That is the no. But that's who that is coming from. So let's take a step back then.

00:03:50:05 - 00:03:59:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Even more right than just the event, then just the good or not so good church announcement and ask ourselves, like, what is our

00:03:59:05 - 00:04:12:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
goal around this event? What is our goal by giving this announcement? All right, so our goal just like the problem or the opposite, the problem, our goal is to get more people

00:04:12:22 - 00:04:14:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
aware of and more people

00:04:14:05 - 00:04:20:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to know about the thing, the event, the Bible study, the workshop, like whatever it is.

00:04:20:22 - 00:04:21:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right.

00:04:21:15 - 00:04:28:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Is that the goal? No, it's not our goal. At least not ultimately,

00:04:28:17 - 00:04:29:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
at

00:04:29:01 - 00:04:29:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
least not

00:04:29:09 - 00:04:53:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
the meta goal. Right? Attendance is not necessary is really the goal in and of itself. But like I said, when we feel like event coordinators, it can feel like the goal, the goal in church ministry, the goal with all of your events, ultimately, the reason you're even having such and such event

00:04:53:19 - 00:04:54:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
is

00:04:54:05 - 00:04:56:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
life transformation.

00:04:56:21 - 00:05:28:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Give me a subscribe if you agree with that statement. Life transformation is the ultimate goal, not attendance. It certainly helps having people there at your event because if they're not there, how can their lives be transformed? So I'll give you that. But we have to stop making a Tennessee Ultimate goal. I have to start realizing that we're really trying to be in the business about life transformation, which is done and led down the path through disciple making.

00:05:28:17 - 00:06:08:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you have to remember that prior to the digital era, attendance was the means to accomplish that life transformation. But we live now in the digital era, and so we can reach people and we can, disseminate a message through much more efficient and effective means. Now, with cell phones and technology and podcasts and YouTube videos and social media and fill in whatever blank you want to write, you got to realize that it's getting people in the room was originally that goal towards life transformation, but that's not exactly the era that we're living in.

00:06:08:08 - 00:06:19:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So what is the goal? If the goal is life transformation, how can we accomplish that? And also, how can we accomplish that in the new digital

00:06:19:05 - 00:06:19:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
era? Right.

00:06:19:16 - 00:06:20:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Churches

00:06:20:01 - 00:06:34:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
like I referenced it in the intro, churches are operating like it's the 1990s. And here's what I mean by that. In the 1990s, if you want to do watch Seinfeld, you had to catch it live on NBC the night that it aired and debuted.

00:06:34:20 - 00:06:49:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you didn't, then you better hope that you have a good DVR, which I don't even know if those are existed in the 90s. And then if you didn't have that, then tough luck. Mean you're going to have to catch that sucker on syndication when it comes out in the summer.

00:06:50:05 - 00:06:59:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Compare that to the drop of Stranger Things season two, where my wife and I, pretty children watched the entire season on

00:06:59:14 - 00:07:00:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
a Saturday, right?

00:07:01:04 - 00:07:06:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like it's just a completely different mindset and framework. We live in a

00:07:06:07 - 00:07:26:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Netflix culture, not a cable TV culture, and so people when you have information, they're operating under the guise of it being Netflix, but we're treating it like cable TV, like we said, this thing I'm going to share with you the key to life. Feel like cool, tell me where to find it.

00:07:26:00 - 00:07:34:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you're like, Sunday at 10:00, so only time to find it. That that's a huge cultural disconnect.

00:07:34:06 - 00:07:43:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I have a few ideas of three different problems and a solution for each of the problem. Let's dive in.

00:07:43:10 - 00:07:57:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So one of the reasons that I think our church announcements can tend to be failing is this. This first concept here, I think, is just that we live in a culture with an oversaturation of noise.

00:07:57:01 - 00:08:20:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, there's so much noise around us. There's so much and so many things that are just simply vying for our attention. And so we as a church, we two are vying for people's attention, piling on, on, Karen, you have a podcast called Inadvertent Blindness. And what he said, he said, really? We really only see what we're looking for.

00:08:21:03 - 00:08:21:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And

00:08:21:13 - 00:08:41:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
so the fact is, if people aren't looking for your church thing, again, that Netflix versus cable TV, if they're not looking for it, like, oh, I heard there was a retreat. So I'm going on the website to find the answer to it. Right? As opposed to us who we're like, we're dishing it out. We're like, well, we announced it on Sunday.

00:08:41:05 - 00:09:01:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They weren't looking for it on Sunday. Right? It's that oversaturation of noise, inadvertent blindness. Right. So if you think about some of the noises in the world, I shared this a couple videos back. I'll share it again here. It's going to be linked on screen. If you're watching on YouTube to have you take a look. If you're in a podcast catcher, you can scroll down and click the link to our YouTube video.

00:09:01:04 - 00:09:26:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Love to have you over there. Give us a like you show it. But, show up over there. But this video here talks about how we spend our time, especially spending our time online and the online amount of time like that. We as as people, sociology, have spent time on phones and on devices has skyrocketed compared to some of the time prior to the invention of tech.

00:09:26:14 - 00:09:47:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Which, let's just be honest, it's not necessarily a surprise, but it is like it is a like factor that we have to deal with, right? In today's day and age. In 2025, people that don't know what's going on, it's probably because there's so much to pay attention to. So

00:09:47:15 - 00:09:56:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
my proposal, right, my solution is get my free hybrid strategy guide.

00:09:56:21 - 00:10:26:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's linked down below in the show notes. And the reason why that's important is because that will help you shift in some areas from a cable TV culture, where the only time that people can hear you hear the message of Jesus, hear your announcements, whatever the case may be to more of a Netflix culture and it just it encourages you to show up where people are spending their time, which is on social media.

00:10:26:14 - 00:10:46:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. Give me a segue. Right. If you've ever heard or thought this before, like, hey, we need to get the word out, let's blitz our social channels. And if all you're ever doing is blitzing your social channels with getting the word out, then you're just turning your social channels into an announcement bulletin board. And that's not what those were made for.

00:10:46:04 - 00:11:07:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you're going to have a less effective reach on those social channels because you're not using them what they were made for. Instead, send an announcement out via like a push notification, a text message, or even like update it on the calendar, right? And like and like what we do is like we encourage our parents, our students to just like, subscribe to our Google Calendar.

00:11:07:05 - 00:11:15:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so something changes. It changes on our end. It'll change on their end if they're subscribed to it in their where in their calendar,

00:11:15:02 - 00:11:27:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
which is what, like an event. That's where an event is meant to be inside a calendar, but not just on your church calendar, on your church website that you want people to go to so that they know about your event.

00:11:27:18 - 00:11:29:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You want it to somehow get to their

00:11:29:10 - 00:11:56:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
personal calendar. That's how people live their lives through their calendars. So use the things that are meant to be used for the purposes that they're made for. And you use social media for the purposes that it's made. For my hybrid strategy, God will help you knock social media out of the park and become more hybrid with some of your messages and other, channels and usages on social media.

00:11:56:12 - 00:12:20:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So the second reason that I believe that some of our church announcements are falling flat is because we as churches are living in a cable TV mentality versus a Netflix or an on demand mentality. Or like, you understand, we've been talking about that in this video. The person who, I think has helped navigate that best for churches is, Brady Scheer up at Pro Church Tools.

00:12:20:14 - 00:12:42:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, he has a website builder called nucleus. And now, whether you use his website builder or not, and if you don't really have experience building websites, then I 100% recommend nucleus because it's a church, website builder for churches and by church like people. And so you don't have to have a ton of like, website skills to make it happen.

00:12:42:18 - 00:13:02:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like a noob like me can build a website using nucleus. But more than that, like what I want you to understand is that his concept behind it being nucleus is that every church announcement is done on the website. And so as opposed to like you getting up on the stage and

00:13:02:11 - 00:13:02:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
saying,

00:13:02:23 - 00:13:03:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
if you

00:13:03:07 - 00:13:07:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
want like information about bunco night talk to do your aunt Sally.

00:13:07:08 - 00:13:25:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you want information about the youth retreat, talk to youth pastor Ryan. And if you want to give, you can give via, our website. You can do text to give. You can scan this QR code for Venmo. We have Apple Pay, we have Google Pay. And, if you want to know about the prayer meeting, email Chuck.

00:13:26:02 - 00:13:35:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Chuck at our church.com and the kids ministry has a big camp out thing coming up. Swing by and grab a flier in the lobby

00:13:35:18 - 00:13:36:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
like

00:13:36:04 - 00:13:36:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
there

00:13:36:14 - 00:13:50:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
were five different call to actions in that, right? There's Sally, there's the youth pastor. There's any different amalgamation of giving opportunities. There's emailing, and then there's a flier. And he said,

00:13:50:00 - 00:13:55:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
make your nucleus, make your church website, your one stop shop.

00:13:55:19 - 00:14:12:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I created a video. I'll link it down below. A couple weeks back. And the video is literally titled, I created this video so that you don't have to hire me. And in it, I talk about my three step strategy guide, which you'll get some of that in my hybrid ministry, strategy guide if you download that from earlier.

00:14:12:17 - 00:14:41:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But in the video, the three step strategy is step number one update and keep your website up to date. Your website should be a reliable one stop shop for everybody, and one of the ways to make your announcements better is to have the support of your website behind it. And so like for example, Brady uses this example all the time, like a trailer for a movie.

00:14:41:11 - 00:15:08:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When you go to the theater, you're not like sitting there watching a trailer to a movie that you can't wait to see. And it ends with them being like, now on November 27th, it's going to be showing at 11, 1131, 115, 230. And that's going to be in theaters six theaters, seven is going to have at 315. Like, no, that's boring, but that's what we do as churches, right?

00:15:08:16 - 00:15:31:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Bunco night. Here's all the details in the fellowship hall. Bring a dip to share. It's going to be on November 27th. It's going to be at 730. If you don't have any dice, make sure you contact your aunt Sally and she'll bring you an extra pair of dice. That's boring. And so we're trying to take information and make that be the thing that captures people, people's attention.

00:15:31:18 - 00:15:52:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you know as well as I, especially for Chinese social media for that that's not what social is used for. Best, you're not going to get them hooked them with the information. And so what do we do to capture their attention? So a movie trailer is just like, you know, it like makes you like fall in love with the idea of this movie wicked.

00:15:52:09 - 00:16:12:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then when it comes out, what do you do? You go discover when it's playing. You go to the website, you figure out how to get the tickets, you wanted to do it first, and then that promoted you to action in church. We give all the information and hope that that's going to promote people to action, and it has the opposite effect.

00:16:12:12 - 00:16:38:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you back up your church announcements with a good website, that's always up to date, you can get on stage and make your announcements good closer to like a movie trailer. Esq knowing that your website is going to answer the questions that people are looking for. So my solution to this cable TV versus on demand world is I have a resource.

00:16:38:16 - 00:17:01:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I have a service called communications for you. It's where I will run your church communications. I will make your website. I'll keep it up to date. I can even help promote and manage some of your socials, and so you can explore more of what that looks like in the link down below. But I'm sure as I'm explaining, like you, you have a good website and all these things, you're like, that sounds great, I don't have time.

00:17:02:01 - 00:17:04:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I can make your announcements better by keeping

00:17:04:20 - 00:17:30:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
your website behind you. Good, clean and up to date. And then reason number three is very simply, your announcements are just boring. Like they're just boring. And what I have for you is an announcement strategy that I want to encourage you to start steeling for better, more crisp and clearer church announcements.

00:17:30:16 - 00:17:31:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And

00:17:31:02 - 00:17:34:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
that is going to be linked on the video in the very

00:17:34:12 - 00:17:47:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
next, video, in this, playlist and in this series. And so that's going to be right here on screen. If you see that, go ahead and tap on in so that you can get better and less boring church announcements. We'll see you over there in that video.

00:17:47:20 - 00:17:52:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And don't forget my friends as always to stay hybrid.

Episode 130: 2024 - A Celebration of You: Hybrid Ministry Stats & Stories in Review

Nick Clason — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600

🎧 Become a “Hybrid Hero”
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

✅Let me Run Your Church Social Media
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

DESCRIPTION
Join us as we celebrate YOU in the "Year in Review for 2024" of the Hybrid Ministry show.
We'll celebrate some statistics, give some shout outs and share the "best of" clips from the 2024 Hybrid Ministry Show.

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/130

//BONUS Pod!
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

//Custom Coaching
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//GIFlashback Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVHcraeNlC8&list=PLngXlSr64YaIui8LNpnlUI3yFAm9SGrLy&index=5&t=24s

//9 Best DYM Games
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

//No Prep Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=melm8BS97es&list=PLngXlSr64YaLIJceFHg7w8vxlx5ARqXeg&index=6&t=164s

//Youth Ministry Planning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTQXsananwI&list=PLngXlSr64YaKjRX2ytO0tvzo8VnF6X03t&index=2&t=202s

//YouTube for Youth Ministry
https://youtu.be/ucvXfaVRJ6E?si=aNYGzB08DV6HHD3G

//Interview Series
https://youtu.be/D4vE7_ZqBpE?si=Hdk5X2KRn_SGr6HM

//Hybrid Tools
https://youtu.be/0np1d4Trcn0?si=7OkkCVCmY8Kvx6ha

//Meet Gen Alpha
https://youtu.be/DWYvsn2Kglk?si=FrnlS3C1xDHITyDb

//Social Challenge Framework
https://youtu.be/K_9Ch2KVNH0?si=THozXMi9NqzxJeUt

//Sidekick
https://youtu.be/lXI3ZKSvFY0?si=O-Em7X00hV9waXBE

//Sidekick + ProPresenter Setup
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

//Interview with Nate Clason
https://youtu.be/uplCz1S1nz4?si=sne7LvdGvAgrKU72

//DYM Blog Post
https://blog.downloadyouthministry.com/introducing-hybrid-ministry-with-nick-clason/

⌚TIMECODES
00:00 Welcome to 2025!
00:40 Some Stats & Wins
08:47 Personal Reflections
11:21 Thank You to our Amazing Guests!
14:45 Year in Review

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;36;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What a year it has been. From the incredible wins to the unforgettable moments, we have covered so much ground together. And in this special Year in Review episode, we on the Hybrid Ministry show, we are celebrating you, our amazing community with highlights and stats and the best of the hybrid minstrel show here in 2024. Make sure that you stick around because I've actually distilled a highlight reel of the 2024 Hybrid Mr. Podcast Best Moments.

00;00;36;14 - 00;01;08;04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This just might be your favorite episode yet. Welcome back, everybody to the Hybrid Minister Show. I as always, I'm your host, Nick Claassen. And today we're going to be taking a little bit of a trip down memory lane to celebrate the amazing year and this incredible journey that you and I have been on together. As we always have on this podcast, we're going to be exploring the cutting edge ministry ideas and equip you with the tools to dominate the digital space in 2025.

00;01;08;04 - 00;01;35;14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's been a ride in 2024, and 2025 is only going to get better. And it is all thank you to you. You know, in 2024, we released a total of 52 audio podcast episodes because we release one every single Thursday. If you haven't liked or subscribed yet, wherever you listen to your podcast, it's free and it will show up in your podcast.

00;01;35;14 - 00;02;13;17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Catcher. Every single Thursday. Why? Because youth ministry often happens for most youth ministries across the country on Wednesday, so who doesn't need a little jolt of energy to get the to get them through the rest of their week on Thursdays? But 52 episodes released because we have not missed a single Thursday in the two and a half or so plus years that we've been doing this podcast, I just want to share with you some some highlights of the top performing video over this last year was a video that I titled top five Last Minute Game Ideas.

00;02;13;17 - 00;02;36;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're watching here on YouTube, you can see some of the clips being overlaid with B-roll. We also over this year we've had nine different playlists that we've worked through. And so in each of those playlists, there's a obviously a top performing video in each of those playlists. And so our very first playlist we had was the 2024 On Demand masterclass.

00;02;36;22 - 00;02;56;28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in that video, the five No Prep games was a part of the masterclass. And that video had to, 361 views. And so that was not only the number one video for the year, but obviously the number one in the masterclass playlist. We also dropped a bonus you might not notice we dropped a bonus playlist called the Friday Game Day Series.

00;02;56;28 - 00;03;28;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It released every Friday on YouTube, and, we covered nine of my favorite DRM games that I use. And so actually, if you had any of those or linked down below in this episode nine of my all time favorite do swim games, I'm giving them away to you completely for free. They are games that are on the, they're on the, they're on the website, the download Youth Ministry website, but I'm giving them away to you in this episode, 100% completely for free.

00;03;28;06 - 00;03;49;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the best performing video in that playlist was the GIF flashback episode. We also went through a playlist titled some of the Youth Pastor's Biggest Problems, and the number one episode in that was youth Ministry planning weekend services versus mid week programing. And actually in that episode we ranked youth ministry curriculum. Spoiler it's clear you should try it.

00;03;49;29 - 00;04;12;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, if you haven't yet, hit the link down below. Sidekick.tv/pricing if you've never signed up for anything with Diam or Calendar, use the code Hybrid Ministry ten. All one word for get 10% off your first order. We went through the YouTube for Youth Ministry Play lesson playlist in the best performing video, and that playlist was the flagship title episode YouTube for Youth Ministry.

00;04;12;22 - 00;04;33;07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I then took you through some of the hybrid ministry tools and gear that you needed and the the best episode, and that the highest performing episode was the best gear for Digital Ministry in 2024. Must have tech accessories. Then over the summer, we went through an interview series and that episode, the one that was best in that playlist, was the solution to distractions.

00;04;33;07 - 00;04;56;24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
At youth group, where I interviewed my good friend Josh Baldwin from Download Youth Ministry sidekick and co-leader. Then we went through Meat Generation Alpha, and in that playlist, the Ora and Bach versus Covenant Eyes. An honest youth pastor review was the highest performing video in that playlist. Finally, I went to my Social Challenge framework, which is the four things that I'm creating content with students and for students.

00;04;56;24 - 00;05;17;16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I can't tell you, I think that might be my most popular playlist to date cumulatively, and just word of mouth and things I've heard from youth pastors on the street. So thank you so much for that feedback. But the best episode and that one was the third one, how churches can use social media ideas and examples. And finally, the sidekick more engaging youth ministry.

00;05;17;16 - 00;05;39;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Again, the best episode on that one was the live sidekick demo at the day of recording. And again, don't forget Code Hybrid Ministry ten. If you're interested in sidekick or link down below for how we are using to computers to run Sidekick and Pro Presenter seamlessly. To switch between the two, grab that black magic video switcher, it will make your life so much easier.

00;05;39;10 - 00;06;05;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now listen on YouTube. In total, we had 84,569 views, including our shorts content with 522 hours of watch time and 151 new subscribers. And in the youth ministry space is a fantastic number and I'm so thrilled, with those stats and with those numbers, simply because here I am in my guest bedroom late at night, recording a podcast into the back of my cell phone.

00;06;05;23 - 00;06;26;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, I have a real job, and I'm just doing this on the side with my own. Sort of like, equipment at home. And so thank you so much for your support. You might also not know this, but we have an audio only podcast. It drops anywhere you get your podcasts, including Spotify or Apple Music, not Apple Music, Apple Podcasts.

00;06;26;12 - 00;06;51;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we had almost 5000 downloads. Our biggest month was by far August, with almost nearly 1000 downloads in that month alone. And the number one downloaded audio podcast was my interview with my brother himself. The, YouTube video is linked down below in the show notes. But here's my interview with my brother, Nate Clayson. We talked about social media and how he's doing it in his context and in his youth ministry.

00;06;51;11 - 00;07;13;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So shout out to all of you again, thank you for an amazing year. Thank you for cruising through the stats with me. But what I wanted to do now is I wanted to share some of the best comments that we've gotten so far this year, and so far today. So from Jesse Johnson, first of all, he disagreed with my take on coffee and saying that Duncan was terrible, which I'll give him that it's not great.

00;07;13;00 - 00;07;30;01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's a chain. But if I have to choose between that and Starbucks, that's what I'm stuck with. That's what I'm going to choose. But he said he said using polls in the welcome loop in sidekick is so easy, I can't believe I didn't think of it. Excited to try that one out. Claire said this in our best parenting app podcast.

00;07;30;01 - 00;07;49;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We use bark and it has been so wonderful for our family. We have an 11 year old, and it has been a lifesaver. We can monitor everything that she does online, block her from seeing certain websites, track her locations, etc. recently, she disabled the app because her and my husband, we both get notifications, so we went to our daughter immediately.

00;07;49;05 - 00;08;06;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It turns out she had disabled it because she wanted to watch South Park and Family Guy, as well as some other PG 13 movies. She said nope. Luckily, my husband and I got there before she could see anything inappropriate. We're grateful for bark to bark, for protecting our little girl from online dangers, and protecting her from innocence and inappropriate content.

00;08;06;29 - 00;08;26;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We love bark. Paul Turner said this about our, why youth ministry. Follow up isn't working. He said, this is great stuff. Lots of idea. I went and bought it. Talking about the box that I sold. I'll be sharing this with my newsletter. If you ever want to collab, let me know. Keep up the great work! And finally, a frequent guest here on this podcast.

00;08;26;05 - 00;08;59;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Over a year ago we did a Christmas episode together. He was also on one of my interview series over the summer, Eric with the K Williams. He said this is great. Anyone starting out needs to watch this and he's talking about my church social media from scratch episode in the hybrid ministry tools. Man, what an amazing year. But if I'm looking back and if I'm taking on some of my reflections and kind of key moments, I'd have to say it's two individuals, a guy by the name of Tim Kelly and Kendall Eaton, both, by the way, who happen to live in the state of Indiana.

00;08;59;05 - 00;09;21;14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I don't think that the collab done this, but both of them at two different times. Tim actually reached out to me for some custom coaching this year, and that was a super fun and super, just a honestly rewarding process to walk through. And it showed me the value of custom coaching, because what I would have recommended to you in my guest bedroom and to the back of my cell phone camera was a little bit different.

00;09;21;14 - 00;09;38;14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Once I started talking to Tim, which is why I believe custom coaching is valuable for anyone who's interested it. Link down below if you want to inquire about what that looks like. It is a very modest and a very cheap price for custom coaching. Or if you don't want like the one on one zoom type interaction and consider joining our Patreon page.

00;09;38;21 - 00;09;55;04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's a dollar per week for a bonus episode, $4 per month, and I'll just share, stream of consciousness ideas. And you might not need the actual, like, coaching to do this, to do this, but you'll get to glean ideas. And then I was at the I 100 conference, a month ago or so, and Kendall walked up to me.

00;09;55;04 - 00;10;20;02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
He said, man, thank you so much for your podcast is really helpful. It's really beneficial. I shared your playlist, your ideas with some of our social media people and is incredibly, incredibly helpful. And so it's just really rewarding for me to be able to do this and just put this content out into the world, out into the ether and get feedback from real, live human beings and real life people who've come to me, in different instances, in different cases.

00;10;20;02 - 00;10;39;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Tim, all virtually Kendall in person to say, man, thank you for what you're doing. It really is helpful to me to hear that. And so if if you know you have feedback or anything like that, I would obviously and always welcome that. Lines and channels of communication are completely open. You know, here on this podcast we have a couple of really cool benchmarks.

00;10;40;12 - 00;10;56;27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Just in the month of December, we launched a Patreon page, are selling a couple of products over there, as well as that monthly podcast that I'm talking about. And so that's a pretty fun kind of benchmark kind of new thing for us. And new endeavor. Would love to have you, check that out if that's something you're interested in.

00;10;56;27 - 00;11;19;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then also, back in August, I got the opportunity to start posting these podcasts to the Download a Youth Ministry blog. So if you're interested in that, you can go blog that download Youth ministry.com to check that out. And the link down below introduces my very first, post on there, actually, Josh Bowman, he introduced me and then I now am an author there on the doing blog.

00;11;19;06 - 00;11;48;07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So that's something that's really, really exciting. But speaking of Josh Bullman, as well as many of our other guests, I would like to thank my different guests that I had on this year. So Josh Boardman, of course, from down the youth ministry, we actually had him on twice. We talked once about sidekick and solutions to distractions and youth ministry and harnessing sidekick and utilizing and using cell phones, to not be a distraction, but instead to be something that you can use to help promote creativity and involvement engagement.

00;11;48;07 - 00;12;13;09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But then one episode, my all time, my favorite episode this entire year was there. Him and I sat down and he brought a service, a mock service order sheet that he put on, and then he said, hey, how can you hybridize this? How can you, make this, accessible to the people sitting online streaming at home? Man, both those episodes go to either one of them now, but that was one of my all time favorite episodes.

00;12;13;11 - 00;12;31;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I had, Eric with a K on when we talked about better event for promotion, and that was actually a collaborative episode. So the first part of that interview was on his channel, Practical Youth Ministry Tips, and the second part was over here on my channel. And so if you only listen to on my channel, you only heard really half of that conversation.

00;12;31;24 - 00;12;53;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Of course, I mentioned earlier, my brother, we had David Carpenter, youth pastor from Kentucky, my former resident, Caleb Fly mule, fly wheel, Miata, and again, Zeus take on what we've been doing. And youth ministry and student ministry. He worked with and for me for an entire year in this sort of hybrid, infrastructure. So if you want to hear an honest take here from him.

00;12;53;00 - 00;13;18;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then we had a really special episode dropped this year, our 100th episode. And so for our 100th episode, I went all the way back to the beginning, even before this podcast started. And I talked about, when I started at church in Covid. And so I interviewed my current boss now and my boss then, Darren Sutton, his son, who is our video editor for much of what we did, for our digital online presence, for a show that we created on YouTube called unscripted.

00;13;18;10 - 00;13;44;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So his son Isaac was on the show. And then I also interviewed Sam Voss, good friend of mine and host of the unscripted show and podcast Super Fun Time. But hey, listen, this year, like, I'm wondering if, as you know, I'm recapping and recounting 2024 if as you got your eyes set on 2025, what are you doing to have a more hybrid, more digital, more creative youth ministry?

00;13;44;03 - 00;14;14;16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because as my friend and boss Darren says, digital is no longer a luxury. It is now a necessity. And so that's what we're trying to accomplish again over on our Patreon page. If that's something that you're interested in, where I will talk about what we're doing on a week to week basis in our youth ministry over on Patreon, I would love to have you just come check out, listen in on what we're doing, and hopefully maybe just that $4 a month is an investment, enough to help kickstart and spur on your own creativity.

00;14;14;16 - 00;14;38;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We love to have you join us over there. It's super fun. Community. There's all sorts of perks as well. But hey, thank you so much for sticking around for this entire episode. And as promised, at the very top right here, we have an amazing, recap overlay. I went back through every single episode, and I pulled out some of my favorite snippets and clips from the last year.

00;14;38;16 - 00;15;00;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So enjoy this. And as always, my friends, don't forget to stay hybrid. Okay, so there are like three kind of core tenets philosophical things that you guys need to understand when it comes to time management. These aren't tips. These aren't tactics. These are things that you have to understand first. And these have to inform the tips and the tactics.

00;15;00;10 - 00;15;24;16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Know my tips. No amount of tactics will be helpful to you if you don't understand these things. So core tenet number one is that you are 100% responsible for your time. The reason this matters is because this is the difference between is that kid and kid in ministry or is that kid and youth ministry? And if we're talking about youth group numbers and youth group attendance, we need to understand Gen Alpha, but we also need to understand Gen Z.

00;15;24;19 - 00;15;47;01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The kicker on this is that Gen Z, really the youngest Gen Z that we have, is going to be freshmen and sophomores in high school. And now after that, they're waiting on up there in college already, and they are entering the workforce. What should you be? Gen one, number one, start posting longform to YouTube, get a DUI gym membership.

00;15;47;03 - 00;16;14;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it looks very different in 2024 and frankly, beyond because of generation Z and now Generation Alpha saving up Z into the adult ministry, conversation Alpha into the youth ministry conversation, it makes me wonder if the future is already here. I think it might be Megan and all her friends, and she brought a lot of her friends to youth group, so this, like kind of mattered because, like, she could bring two, 3 or 4 different friends with her.

00;16;14;00 - 00;16;35;17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The youth group, they had show choir and it met every single Wednesday night. And so that made Wednesday nights a really tricky night to do youth ministry. But Brandon, the only other boy in the youth ministry, had Tuesday night and Thursday night karate. And then of course, Friday nights are like the football game. Like for most towns USA.

00;16;35;23 - 00;16;58;18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's when the high school team is playing his football game. So that really left us with Monday night as an option, which but the pro of, of Wednesday night to me is probably the your most traditional youth night. It's been what, a lot of churches, a lot of youth groups have done for years. And like down here where I live in DFW, Dallas-Fort worth area, a lot of churches do.

00;16;58;18 - 00;17;22;13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Wednesday night, and I came from Chicago. Not many churches did did Wednesday night. And that's just kind of a cultural thing, right. But the pro to me is it's like a midweek kind of jolt of energy. Well. Hey, everyone, welcome to Friday Game Day. In this episode, link down below 100% completely for free. I have for you back to school.

00;17;22;15 - 00;18;04;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Bingo. And if you're like, I don't need back to school bingo, it's not back to school yet. Well, then head on over to download Youth ministry.com and you can grab my end of the school year. Bingo! Well, that idea of course, is go hybrid. And listen, I'm not saying to completely abandon your in-person meetings. In fact, that would go completely against the hybrid strategy because hybrid is melding together of your digital presence in your in-person presence and making it one in the same, but linked right here on screen and down in the description or wherever you're getting this or hybrid ministry X, y, Z/089 is my 100% completely free strategy guide, is my e-book on

00;18;04;03 - 00;18;32;07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
how I build out a full fledged digital strategy. It's mostly focusing on a done for you social media strategy, but it's anchored by the, long form teaching video, which takes place and is posted weekly every time we teach pre filmed messages on YouTube direct to Camera Pro. Number one, of course, is like develop mentally splitting middle school and high school seems to be appropriate.

00;18;32;09 - 00;19;07;16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In my over a year journey on this podcast, I have grown to love YouTube. When I started with social media and what I started trying to reach students on the internet, YouTube was a distant kind of far strategy that was on my radar. Like it was like, I'll post some videos over there. But in my time since that, which was probably five, six, seven years ago, I have come to love YouTube and I am more and more convinced that YouTube, in addition to all other digital and social mediums that we can effectively reach students with.

00;19;07;19 - 00;19;30;04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But YouTube is one of the best resources out there. You can always say down below in the description are links. And so for every single video that I post on my Student Ministries YouTube channel, we post two links. The first link is a Next Steps digital type Connect card, and I think about your own viewing habits on social media.

00;19;30;04 - 00;19;55;08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When you're on there, you're not necessarily on there to just, be informed, right? Link down below is a complete log of every single piece of gear that I have built in the studio.

Isaac Sutton
All of the students in the room who are watching unscripted have bingo cards that coordinated to stuff that know yes, digital integration is not a luxury, it's a necessity.

00;19;55;10 - 00;20;19;09
Sam Vos
It was probably I probably felt God's hand more in like my career, my life in that moment than a lot of other moments.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Unscripted played a really major role in like the catalyst to especially my podcast and everything like that. I would say the reason for that is simply realizing and understand that students live online.

Darren Sutton
There's a lot I've messed up in my years of youth ministry, but that is one thing that I'm really proud of.

00;20;19;13 - 00;20;30;14
Darren Sutton
Like in the middle of the pandemic, there was not a blank ministry kept going. We're going to try something different.

00;20;30;17 - 00;20;53;12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you should use your cell phone to your advantage.

Caleb "Flywheel" Maeda
I think. I think the things that have been working the most has been getting students involved on the page, not even in terms of like on the page traction as much as like in-person traction.

David Carpenter
We speak to our students on Wednesday nights for about 18 to 22 minutes. Sunday morning there's a, you know, 28 to 32 minutes.

00;20;53;14 - 00;21;24;18
David Carpenter
And we think they probably remember everything we said, right? Like they they wrote the notes, they've got it and they've already applied every one of these points. You know, it was alliterative. And remember my great illustration. And one, you know, when when we're including things that are reflecting on the teachings, I think that reinforces and reminds those who were in the room.

Nate Clason
and seeing you, like, super passionate about it and watching your podcast really, honestly like, and your different videos and clips on like TikTok and stuff to sign it

Josh Boldman | Download Youth Ministry & The Greatest programming specialist in America
every single time you had to type in the password.

00;21;24;19 - 00;21;47;00
Josh Boldman | Download Youth Ministry & The Greatest programming specialist in America
It was a great and I, I got into trouble. One time I was in front of our I like our whole camp, like it was like a thousand kids, right? And sidekick was running and then it crashed and then they had to reopen it. And they're like, from the booth they yell out, what's the password? And in front of 1000 students, I had to say a password into the microphone.

00;21;47;00 - 00;22;09;14
Josh Boldman | Download Youth Ministry & The Greatest programming specialist in America
And here's the best part. You ready for this? It was the same password for everything. Like my my bank account and, all this stuff. So, like, we need to not be afraid of what our students want, and we need to not be afraid of them expressing their opinion. And we need to not be afraid of them disagreeing with each other or with us.

00;22;09;14 - 00;22;36;20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Better event promotion as well as a holistic digital and social media approach for your church and your youth ministry. And this is actually part two. Part one is linked right here at the top of the screen over on another channel, because we're doing a massive mashup collab. And I am joined today by my friend Eric with the K petition, because in just a minute, we're gonna look at the Bark vs Aura

00;22;36;20 - 00;23;01;20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But Aura has parental controls and they are now in partnership with circle. You might remember Circle by Disney, the first video idea that we do it's called Drafts challenge idea number two that we do in our church and in our student ministry is a game called name of the game is seven Questions. A man on the street named transition stab video is where it starts with the video of something else.

00;23;01;20 - 00;23;22;24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the most popular one I can think about is like a a bull, ramming a guy during the running of the bulls. And then all these people cutting right there to jumping into the back of some chairs and millennial churchgoers said this. They said hybrid church just as much as physical church will be a get this good fit for them.

00;23;22;26 - 00;23;44;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
One of the things about five minute countdowns that I actually hate, and I know that as talking to a guy who works for Download Youth Ministry, and that's where a lot of the money is made and a lot of five minute countdowns are sold. I actually prefer, which, by the way, talking to you right now, let this be an unofficial sidekick feature request.

00;23;44;24 - 00;24;11;13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. Because right now in sidekick, you can, you can loop your announcements, right? You can loop some, like, graphic slides. And I actually prefer that to be the five minute countdown with just the five minute countdown overlaid in the corner, so that all of the announcements that you're announcing and trying to let your students know about are happening, is being seen on the screen.

00;24;11;18 - 00;24;37;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the very last piece of it, my favorite piece of it, the piece that I think makes it hybrid, is right. When you open the box, you see this QR code here and it just says welcome video. Scan me. And so we'll have students who are new to the open this up theoretically on their porch, on their patio or wherever they will scan it, and then it will take them to a video right here will be launching here during the course of this playlist, starting officially on December 2nd.

00;24;37;09 - 00;25;00;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
A brand new bonus podcast. I'm going to be releasing it one time per week. Going to be over on my Patreon page, but a student give them an opportunity to to be a part of this. Give them a seat at the table to let them know that that this church is about the next generation and that matters. Again, it's no longer the day where we can just hand this off to to an unpaid intern.

00;25;00;24 - 00;25;11;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hope that they keep our social media on life support. Like get after it. My friends, 2025 is going to be your year. We are here in the Hybrid Ministry show to help.

Episode 109: Don't be scared of Social Media with Nate Clason

Nick Clason — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 04:00:00 -0500

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

💥[CUSTOM] Hybrid Coaching💥

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

======================================
DESCRIPTION
In this video, youth pastor, Nate Clason shares his journey to posting on social media more regularly.
He also shares the one key secret that has brought his group more closely together.
And be sure to stick around to the very end, because live on the podcast, Nate and Nick discover one additional benefit to social media that will help youth pastors win with parents, pastors and even elders at your church!

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/109

//METRICOOL VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2_sNx3NKN0&t=558s

//10,000 HOURS
https://www.amazon.com/10-000-Hours-Become-Practice/dp/1475033621

//STUDENT'S VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GqzMZKfONok

👉 STAY CONNECTED WITH NICK
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hybridministry/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clasonnick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HybridMinistry
Website: https://www.hybridministry.xyz

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
https://linktr.ee/clasonnick

======================================
🛠️TOOLS
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products
VIDIQ
https://vidiq.com/hybrid

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Intro
00:51 How did you end up as a youth pastor?
02:29 What was your original relationship with digital?
04:45 What would you say to a "regular" youth pastor?
12:10 What wins have come from social media?
19:27 What in your context has been most effective?
23:20 Additional benefits of Social
--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:02
What is up everybody?

00:00:01:02 - 00:00:03:03
Welcome back to another episode

00:00:03:03 - 00:00:04:20
of the Hybrid Ministry Show

00:00:04:20 - 00:00:07:02
I am your host, Nick Clason

00:00:07:02 - 00:00:08:07
here with you as always

00:00:08:07 - 00:00:09:23
and if you’ve been here the last couple of weeks

00:00:09:23 - 00:00:11:12
you know that we’ve been doing some different interviews

00:00:20:22 - 00:00:24:00
It is with my brother, Nate Clason

00:00:24:00 - 00:00:26:03
Good morning, Nate, how you doing bro?

00:00:26:03 - 00:00:27:02
I'm doing pretty good.

00:00:27:02 - 00:00:28:03
Probably not better than

00:00:28:03 - 00:00:29:03
your wife, though, right?

00:00:29:03 - 00:00:30:05
Don't say that to

00:00:30:05 - 00:00:31:02
in front of anyone.

00:00:31:02 - 00:00:31:18
You know, True.

00:00:31:18 - 00:00:34:17
Well, I’ve known you longer

00:00:34:17 - 00:00:35:12
That is true.

00:00:35:12 - 00:00:36:11
But not too much longer, so.

00:00:36:11 - 00:00:38:05
That’s probably what I’m thinking

00:00:38:05 - 00:00:38:18
when I say that

00:00:38:18 - 00:00:39:02
Yeah.

00:00:39:02 - 00:00:41:05
Yeah.

00:00:41:05 - 00:00:43:14
Nate, give us all

00:00:43:14 - 00:00:44:15
a little bit of background

00:00:44:15 - 00:00:46:19
what’s been your church

00:00:46:19 - 00:00:49:16
youth ministry, student ministry

00:00:49:16 - 00:00:51:20
experience and story

00:00:51:20 - 00:00:54:09
kinda get that conversation

00:00:54:09 - 00:00:55:24
out of the way

00:00:55:24 - 00:00:57:07
set a little bit of a baseline

00:00:57:07 - 00:00:58:19
as we dive into this

00:00:58:19 - 00:01:00:04
social media discussion

00:01:00:04 - 00:01:00:14
Yeah.

00:01:00:14 - 00:01:01:21
So I felt called

00:01:01:21 - 00:01:05:00
to, ministry at a Mexico

00:01:05:00 - 00:01:06:02
missions trip.

00:01:06:02 - 00:01:07:19
when I was in high school,

00:01:07:19 - 00:01:09:08
a late high school,

00:01:09:08 - 00:01:11:01
and actually kind of fell off.

00:01:11:01 - 00:01:12:05
my journey a little bit.

00:01:12:05 - 00:01:13:07
my journey a little bit.

00:01:13:07 - 00:01:14:01
Kind of started

00:01:14:01 - 00:01:15:14
serving, working

00:01:15:14 - 00:01:16:13
in, like,

00:01:16:13 - 00:01:18:02
the public work, you know,

00:01:18:02 - 00:01:19:15
the secular work environment

00:01:19:15 - 00:01:20:21
and just kind of saw

00:01:20:21 - 00:01:21:13
I wasn't called

00:01:21:13 - 00:01:22:16
the ministry anymore

00:01:22:16 - 00:01:23:15
and got connected

00:01:23:15 - 00:01:25:13
one day at my custodian

00:01:25:13 - 00:01:26:18
job at a school

00:01:26:18 - 00:01:29:03
with, a pastor's wife

00:01:29:03 - 00:01:30:21
who was subbing at the school.

00:01:30:21 - 00:01:32:06
And I told her,

00:01:32:06 - 00:01:33:16
we were talking about music,

00:01:33:16 - 00:01:34:04
and she found out

00:01:34:04 - 00:01:34:21
that I could play

00:01:34:21 - 00:01:35:17
a little bit of guitar,

00:01:35:17 - 00:01:36:21
and she asked if I could

00:01:36:21 - 00:01:38:06
help with her church worship

00:01:38:06 - 00:01:40:03
and got connected that way.

00:01:40:03 - 00:01:41:06
And through that,

00:01:41:06 - 00:01:41:23
got connected

00:01:41:23 - 00:01:43:22
with a, leader

00:01:43:22 - 00:01:45:10
in that denomination

00:01:45:10 - 00:01:47:10
who eventually got me ordained

00:01:47:10 - 00:01:48:12
and got me connected

00:01:48:12 - 00:01:49:17
with other pastors.

00:01:49:17 - 00:01:50:04
Eventually,

00:01:50:04 - 00:01:51:14
where I became a youth pastor.

00:01:51:14 - 00:01:52:10
And now I'm

00:01:52:10 - 00:01:53:08
serving in a little bit

00:01:53:08 - 00:01:54:02
of a bigger church

00:01:54:02 - 00:01:55:15
in the Taylorville area

00:01:55:15 - 00:01:57:05
as the associate pastor

00:01:57:05 - 00:01:57:15
of student

00:01:57:15 - 00:01:59:11
ministry and worship ministry.

00:01:59:11 - 00:02:00:11
So it started

00:02:00:11 - 00:02:01:08
with worship ministry

00:02:01:08 - 00:02:01:18
and kind of

00:02:01:18 - 00:02:02:23
evolved into youth.

00:02:02:23 - 00:02:03:21
And I never kind of

00:02:03:21 - 00:02:04:18
saw that coming,

00:02:04:18 - 00:02:05:06
but praise

00:02:05:06 - 00:02:06:09
God that he got me to kind of

00:02:06:09 - 00:02:06:23
where I felt

00:02:06:23 - 00:02:08:11
called to years ago, you know?

00:02:08:11 - 00:02:10:01
So that's cool.

00:02:10:01 - 00:02:10:18
Yeah, so

00:02:10:18 - 00:02:11:22
the gateway drug

00:02:11:22 - 00:02:13:11
to your youth ministry

00:02:13:11 - 00:02:14:06
was worship

00:02:14:06 - 00:02:14:15
Yeah

00:02:14:15 - 00:02:16:04
That’s where you started

00:02:16:04 - 00:02:16:16
as you can tell

00:02:16:16 - 00:02:17:09
by the man bun.

00:02:17:09 - 00:02:18:13
Right?

00:02:18:13 - 00:02:19:18
Yeah

00:02:19:18 - 00:02:21:24
Or something about that manbun

00:02:21:24 - 00:02:23:14
We won’t talk about that

00:02:23:14 - 00:02:24:07
But

00:02:26:09 - 00:02:28:07
You started doing youth ministry

00:02:29:10 - 00:02:30:13
When you jumped into

00:02:30:13 - 00:02:31:12
youth ministry

00:02:31:12 - 00:02:32:18
What at that point

00:02:32:18 - 00:02:35:11
was your like understanding

00:02:35:11 - 00:02:36:17
or your relationship

00:02:36:17 - 00:02:38:10
with digital and social media

00:02:38:10 - 00:02:41:06
and all that type of stuff?

00:02:41:06 - 00:02:43:04
I've always kind of

00:02:43:04 - 00:02:45:00
been, like.

00:02:45:00 - 00:02:45:23
I've always been aware

00:02:45:23 - 00:02:46:13
of social media.

00:02:46:13 - 00:02:47:13
Never knew how important

00:02:47:13 - 00:02:48:19
it was to student ministry.

00:02:48:19 - 00:02:49:23
I didn't really,

00:02:49:23 - 00:02:51:24
it was actually post Covid

00:02:51:24 - 00:02:52:22
when I really.

00:02:52:22 - 00:02:53:13
Well,

00:02:53:13 - 00:02:54:08
in the middle of Covid

00:02:54:08 - 00:02:54:20
that I started

00:02:54:20 - 00:02:55:10
getting involved

00:02:55:10 - 00:02:56:05
in student ministry.

00:02:56:05 - 00:02:57:10
And,

00:02:57:10 - 00:02:59:06
I didn't have

00:02:59:06 - 00:03:01:10
too many platforms.

00:03:01:10 - 00:03:02:12
And my first church

00:03:02:12 - 00:03:03:10
was social media,

00:03:03:10 - 00:03:06:02
mostly through Facebook.

00:03:06:02 - 00:03:07:19
I had that's pretty

00:03:07:19 - 00:03:08:21
much it for my first church.

00:03:08:21 - 00:03:10:06
And I mostly connected

00:03:10:06 - 00:03:12:09
with parents on that platform.

00:03:12:09 - 00:03:14:06
and I realized

00:03:14:06 - 00:03:15:03
that probably wasn't

00:03:15:03 - 00:03:16:02
a strength.

00:03:16:02 - 00:03:18:23
so here, though,

00:03:18:23 - 00:03:20:08
I would say that I've,

00:03:20:08 - 00:03:22:08
I've kind of adapted, adopted,

00:03:22:08 - 00:03:25:09
Instagram, Facebook.

00:03:25:09 - 00:03:26:24
I created a TikTok.

00:03:26:24 - 00:03:27:13
And Nick,

00:03:27:13 - 00:03:28:16
I know you're so passionate

00:03:28:16 - 00:03:29:09
about YouTube,

00:03:29:09 - 00:03:30:04
me and Jessica have been

00:03:30:04 - 00:03:30:20
talking recently,

00:03:30:20 - 00:03:31:13
my wife,

00:03:31:13 - 00:03:32:13
about the idea

00:03:32:13 - 00:03:33:19
of getting on YouTube here

00:03:33:19 - 00:03:34:01
soon,

00:03:34:01 - 00:03:34:18
just because I feel like

00:03:34:18 - 00:03:35:24
that'd be a bigger,

00:03:35:24 - 00:03:37:02
overall

00:03:37:02 - 00:03:38:06
reach for our students

00:03:38:06 - 00:03:40:06
to, to have us on YouTube.

00:03:40:06 - 00:03:42:02
But I'm not super connect.

00:03:42:02 - 00:03:42:24
I wasn't super connected

00:03:42:24 - 00:03:44:08
initially to social media.

00:03:44:08 - 00:03:45:18
I would say that.

00:03:45:18 - 00:03:48:12
So what was the

00:03:48:12 - 00:03:49:09
What would you say was

00:03:49:09 - 00:03:49:22
the driving force

00:03:49:22 - 00:03:50:24
or the catalyst

00:03:50:24 - 00:03:52:11
to get you connected

00:03:52:11 - 00:03:53:12
to some of those things?

00:03:53:12 - 00:03:55:08
Like what was your “aha” moment?

00:03:55:08 - 00:03:57:09
If there was one?

00:03:57:09 - 00:03:58:19
well, I think seeing you,

00:03:58:19 - 00:03:59:09
like, super

00:03:59:09 - 00:04:00:02
passionate about it

00:04:00:02 - 00:04:01:08
and watching your podcast

00:04:01:08 - 00:04:02:11
really, honestly like,

00:04:02:11 - 00:04:03:11
and your

00:04:03:11 - 00:04:05:03
different videos and clips

00:04:05:03 - 00:04:05:23
on like TikTok and stuff

00:04:05:23 - 00:04:06:23
on like TikTok and stuff

00:04:06:23 - 00:04:07:20
of how important

00:04:07:20 - 00:04:09:04
social media is

00:04:09:04 - 00:04:10:11
kind of drives me

00:04:10:11 - 00:04:11:17
to make sure I have that.

00:04:11:17 - 00:04:12:21
And like really,

00:04:12:21 - 00:04:13:10
a lot of that

00:04:13:10 - 00:04:14:12
is truly

00:04:14:12 - 00:04:16:18
from like your passion for it.

00:04:16:18 - 00:04:18:05
And I'm seeing other leaders

00:04:18:05 - 00:04:19:04
saying, hey, you know, like,

00:04:19:04 - 00:04:20:02
this is a new era.

00:04:20:02 - 00:04:21:17
It's no longer like

00:04:21:17 - 00:04:22:03
you're not going

00:04:22:03 - 00:04:22:20
to meet in person

00:04:22:20 - 00:04:24:14
as naturally and as, as,

00:04:24:14 - 00:04:25:21
as often as you like.

00:04:25:21 - 00:04:26:15
And there's going to be kids

00:04:26:15 - 00:04:27:14
that don't make it every week.

00:04:27:14 - 00:04:28:07
So it's like

00:04:28:07 - 00:04:28:22
it's good for them

00:04:28:22 - 00:04:29:04
to have

00:04:29:04 - 00:04:30:05
some sort of

00:04:30:05 - 00:04:31:22
avenue of seeing,

00:04:31:22 - 00:04:33:18
some of the stuff

00:04:33:18 - 00:04:34:13
that we're talking about,

00:04:34:13 - 00:04:36:03
even if it's just like a recap

00:04:36:03 - 00:04:36:15
or whatever,

00:04:36:15 - 00:04:37:13
just to kind of give them

00:04:37:13 - 00:04:38:06
a basis of

00:04:38:06 - 00:04:39:21
what we're talking about. So.

00:04:39:21 - 00:04:40:22
Yeah, no doubt

00:04:40:22 - 00:04:42:08
I would agree

00:04:42:08 - 00:04:45:20
But that feels obvious, maybe

00:04:45:20 - 00:04:50:03
So tell people

00:04:50:03 - 00:04:51:14
I think it was helpful

00:04:51:14 - 00:04:52:12
Because you’re a guy

00:04:52:12 - 00:04:54:24
Who is like

00:04:54:24 - 00:04:57:04
What I would deem as

00:04:57:04 - 00:04:59:04
like a lot of other youth pastors in America

00:04:59:04 - 00:05:00:10
You’re just kinda like

00:05:00:10 - 00:05:02:23
jumping from week to week

00:05:02:23 - 00:05:03:24
program to program

00:05:03:24 - 00:05:05:18
like making sure you got a game

00:05:05:18 - 00:05:06:18
making sure you got a message

00:05:06:18 - 00:05:07:22
making sure you got a small group

00:05:07:22 - 00:05:08:09
making sure you got enough leaders

00:05:08:09 - 00:05:08:24
making sure you got enough leaders

00:05:08:24 - 00:05:09:24
like all the things

00:05:09:24 - 00:05:12:12
all the like whirlwind

00:05:12:12 - 00:05:15:14
elements of just being a youth pastor

00:05:15:14 - 00:05:17:11
and then

00:05:17:11 - 00:05:18:24
you got someone like me

00:05:18:24 - 00:05:20:17
who’s telling you

00:05:20:17 - 00:05:21:20
“you need to get on social media”

00:05:21:20 - 00:05:23:08
“you need to get on social media”

00:05:23:08 - 00:05:25:19
speak to somebody

00:05:25:19 - 00:05:27:22
who’s in the space that you were

00:05:27:22 - 00:05:29:17
a year, year and a half ago

00:05:29:17 - 00:05:30:23
that’s like

00:05:30:23 - 00:05:32:20
“Yeah that sounds awesome”

00:05:32:20 - 00:05:33:23
“I would love to”

00:05:33:23 - 00:05:35:24
“There’s no way I could ever do it!”

00:05:35:24 - 00:05:37:20
“It’s too hard”

00:05:37:20 - 00:05:38:18
“It’s too much”

00:05:38:18 - 00:05:39:11
It’s too...

00:05:39:11 - 00:05:40:19
Whatever. Fill in whatever

00:05:40:19 - 00:05:42:16
blank of why it’s

00:05:42:16 - 00:05:43:18
why it’s not

00:05:43:18 - 00:05:46:02
gonna be achievable or possible

00:05:46:02 - 00:05:48:02
talk to somebody who’s in that

00:05:48:02 - 00:05:49:03
in that sorta space

00:05:49:03 - 00:05:50:15
like you were not too long ago

00:05:50:15 - 00:05:50:21
Yeah.

00:05:50:21 - 00:05:52:16
Well, there is a way to

00:05:52:16 - 00:05:53:11
connect all your

00:05:53:11 - 00:05:54:14
social media platforms

00:05:54:14 - 00:05:56:01
so that when you post on

00:05:56:01 - 00:05:56:23
it, posts on all of them,

00:05:56:23 - 00:05:57:08
I think that's

00:05:57:08 - 00:05:58:08
a big part of it.

00:05:58:08 - 00:05:58:22
And honestly,

00:05:58:22 - 00:05:59:22
I don't even

00:05:59:22 - 00:06:00:23
like for some things.

00:06:00:23 - 00:06:02:01
Like for my pictures,

00:06:02:01 - 00:06:03:13
it goes from Instagram

00:06:03:13 - 00:06:04:00
to Facebook.

00:06:04:00 - 00:06:04:15
They're connected.

00:06:04:15 - 00:06:05:06
But for some reason

00:06:05:06 - 00:06:06:23
whenever I do a reel or video,

00:06:06:23 - 00:06:07:13
they're not.

00:06:07:13 - 00:06:08:06
So I have to go in

00:06:08:06 - 00:06:08:24
and do it myself.

00:06:08:24 - 00:06:09:07
Somehow.

00:06:09:07 - 00:06:09:23
I'll have to

00:06:09:23 - 00:06:10:21
figure all that stuff out.

00:06:10:21 - 00:06:12:02
But,

00:06:12:02 - 00:06:12:22
that's a part of

00:06:12:22 - 00:06:13:06
it is like,

00:06:13:06 - 00:06:14:06
if you haven't connected in

00:06:14:06 - 00:06:15:12
some way to the same email

00:06:15:12 - 00:06:16:16
and to the same connection,

00:06:16:16 - 00:06:17:24
like you can link it

00:06:17:24 - 00:06:19:12
so that when you post on one,

00:06:19:12 - 00:06:20:23
it goes to all of them.

00:06:20:23 - 00:06:21:11
And honestly,

00:06:21:11 - 00:06:22:01
like not

00:06:22:01 - 00:06:23:24
everyone sees each platform

00:06:23:24 - 00:06:24:18
and sometimes they do.

00:06:24:18 - 00:06:25:21
And that's okay.

00:06:25:21 - 00:06:26:10
But I think it's

00:06:26:10 - 00:06:28:06
just so important to know

00:06:28:06 - 00:06:30:08
that kids are on,

00:06:30:08 - 00:06:31:05
students are on

00:06:31:05 - 00:06:32:04
these platforms,

00:06:32:04 - 00:06:32:22
and they're

00:06:32:22 - 00:06:34:11
looking for inspiration,

00:06:34:11 - 00:06:35:20
they're looking for hope,

00:06:35:20 - 00:06:36:13
and it's our way

00:06:36:13 - 00:06:38:08
to kind of minister to people

00:06:38:08 - 00:06:39:05
through the social

00:06:39:05 - 00:06:40:03
media platforms

00:06:40:03 - 00:06:41:05
that God has

00:06:41:05 - 00:06:42:03
really entrusted us

00:06:42:03 - 00:06:43:04
with as youth pastors,

00:06:43:04 - 00:06:44:07
if we're on them,

00:06:44:07 - 00:06:44:24
to do

00:06:44:24 - 00:06:45:22
the right things on their

00:06:45:22 - 00:06:47:16
not just not just,

00:06:47:16 - 00:06:48:14
and it's

00:06:48:14 - 00:06:49:16
good to have fun things

00:06:49:16 - 00:06:50:20
and different activities

00:06:50:20 - 00:06:51:05
and different

00:06:51:05 - 00:06:52:05
like kind of goofy

00:06:52:05 - 00:06:53:19
things for kids to kind of,

00:06:53:19 - 00:06:55:17
you know, be by.

00:06:55:17 - 00:06:57:00
But it's also good to have,

00:06:57:00 - 00:06:57:17
you know,

00:06:57:17 - 00:06:58:19
content

00:06:58:19 - 00:06:59:21
that could inspire

00:06:59:21 - 00:07:01:03
and change lives.

00:07:01:03 - 00:07:02:04
and I, I've seen,

00:07:02:04 - 00:07:03:24
aspects of both,

00:07:03:24 - 00:07:05:00
you know, so it's good.

00:07:05:00 - 00:07:05:16
Yep.

00:07:05:16 - 00:07:07:09
So like that’s like the big

00:07:07:09 - 00:07:09:15
picture reason.

00:07:09:15 - 00:07:10:15
Students are on it...

00:07:10:15 - 00:07:11:24
We should be on there...

00:07:11:24 - 00:07:14:00
helping redeem those moments

00:07:14:00 - 00:07:15:19
I like to think about

00:07:15:19 - 00:07:17:21
in the Bible

00:07:17:21 - 00:07:19:16
the Apostle Paul was using like

00:07:19:16 - 00:07:20:13
pen and paper

00:07:20:13 - 00:07:22:07
and then like mail carriers

00:07:22:07 - 00:07:23:11
to like get his message across

00:07:23:11 - 00:07:26:09
today I would envision that

00:07:26:09 - 00:07:28:17
He would be using something like digital

00:07:28:17 - 00:07:29:14
Exactly.

00:07:29:14 - 00:07:30:22
Pretty vigorously

00:07:30:22 - 00:07:32:04
to get his message across

00:07:33:05 - 00:07:36:09
So that’s the big picture, “why”

00:07:36:09 - 00:07:36:22
Yeah, Yeah

00:07:36:22 - 00:07:38:08
Students are there, It’s important

00:07:38:08 - 00:07:40:03
Talk about like

00:07:40:03 - 00:07:42:23
What it took from just like time management

00:07:42:23 - 00:07:44:21
Talk about what it took from like

00:07:44:21 - 00:07:47:24
platform understanding

00:07:47:24 - 00:07:50:07
You, I feel like

00:07:50:07 - 00:07:51:02
correct me if I’m wrong, but

00:07:51:02 - 00:07:52:07
I feel like you had to

00:07:52:07 - 00:07:54:05
get to know how to use

00:07:54:05 - 00:07:55:11
a lot of these tools

00:07:55:11 - 00:07:57:14
talk to someone who may be

00:07:57:14 - 00:07:58:09
in the space

00:07:58:09 - 00:08:00:03
“I want to- I don’t even know what

00:08:00:03 - 00:08:01:07
to do. Or how to do it.”

00:08:01:07 - 00:08:02:16
Or like what’s even

00:08:02:16 - 00:08:03:07
possible

00:08:03:07 - 00:08:04:11
Or what ever I should do.

00:08:04:11 - 00:08:06:07
Like get real practical

00:08:06:07 - 00:08:06:18
You know,

00:08:06:18 - 00:08:08:12
I think

00:08:08:12 - 00:08:10:00
it doesn't take as much time

00:08:10:00 - 00:08:10:15
as you think.

00:08:10:15 - 00:08:11:09
I mean, yes,

00:08:11:09 - 00:08:12:05
creating the video.

00:08:12:05 - 00:08:13:05
I mean, you never,

00:08:13:05 - 00:08:14:14
I think, was like

00:08:14:14 - 00:08:15:16
creating a short

00:08:15:16 - 00:08:16:19
or like a reel.

00:08:16:19 - 00:08:18:05
You never want to make a reel

00:08:18:05 - 00:08:19:10
any longer than a minute

00:08:19:10 - 00:08:20:21
or so like that.

00:08:20:21 - 00:08:21:11
So you really

00:08:21:11 - 00:08:22:05
it doesn't take that long

00:08:22:05 - 00:08:22:23
to create that video.

00:08:22:23 - 00:08:23:12
If you could do it in

00:08:23:12 - 00:08:24:13
1 or 2 takes, like it's

00:08:24:13 - 00:08:25:22
not a big deal with that.

00:08:25:22 - 00:08:26:24
And then

00:08:26:24 - 00:08:28:11
that's a big part of,

00:08:28:11 - 00:08:29:10
what students look at.

00:08:29:10 - 00:08:29:24
They don't watch

00:08:29:24 - 00:08:31:00
like long videos.

00:08:31:00 - 00:08:31:16
They're not going to watch

00:08:31:16 - 00:08:32:20
a 20 minute video.

00:08:32:20 - 00:08:33:13
But if you can keep it

00:08:33:13 - 00:08:34:10
a minute, you know,

00:08:34:10 - 00:08:35:10
that's more realistic

00:08:35:10 - 00:08:36:19
for them to kind of,

00:08:36:19 - 00:08:37:19
you know, dive into it

00:08:37:19 - 00:08:39:15
and interact with it.

00:08:39:15 - 00:08:39:23
and I think

00:08:39:23 - 00:08:40:07
a lot of

00:08:40:07 - 00:08:42:00
it is like interaction,

00:08:42:00 - 00:08:43:08
like if you, you know,

00:08:43:08 - 00:08:44:00
what did you learn from

00:08:44:00 - 00:08:44:12
this video?

00:08:44:12 - 00:08:45:14
You know, make comment in the

00:08:45:14 - 00:08:47:03
in the comments, tell us who

00:08:47:03 - 00:08:49:04
who won this in this game or

00:08:49:04 - 00:08:49:22
and I don't think it's

00:08:49:22 - 00:08:51:01
I don't think it's,

00:08:51:01 - 00:08:54:20
it's as much it's not as time

00:08:54:20 - 00:08:55:19
consuming as you think.

00:08:55:19 - 00:08:56:22
It's I mean,

00:08:56:22 - 00:08:58:00
some people are

00:08:58:00 - 00:08:58:21
slower than others

00:08:58:21 - 00:08:59:08
and some people

00:08:59:08 - 00:09:00:04
are faster than others

00:09:00:04 - 00:09:01:00
at getting stuff done.

00:09:01:00 - 00:09:02:03
But once you kind of

00:09:02:03 - 00:09:02:24
get the bearings

00:09:02:24 - 00:09:04:08
and the grip

00:09:04:08 - 00:09:05:04
on, on different

00:09:05:04 - 00:09:06:05
like ways of doing things,

00:09:06:05 - 00:09:06:14
and you're in

00:09:06:14 - 00:09:08:06
kind of your groove on things,

00:09:08:06 - 00:09:09:12
it becomes pretty natural

00:09:09:12 - 00:09:10:09
and second nature

00:09:10:09 - 00:09:12:00
and pretty fast stuff done.

00:09:12:00 - 00:09:13:07
I do a kind of a good amount

00:09:13:07 - 00:09:14:05
of social media stuff,

00:09:14:05 - 00:09:15:10
with even both worship

00:09:15:10 - 00:09:17:01
and youth a little bit.

00:09:17:01 - 00:09:18:06
Not as much with worship,

00:09:18:06 - 00:09:19:10
but some.

00:09:19:10 - 00:09:20:03
And it's like

00:09:20:03 - 00:09:20:21
it's really

00:09:20:21 - 00:09:22:21
it doesn't take that much time

00:09:22:21 - 00:09:25:07
to, to post stuff, I think.

00:09:25:07 - 00:09:26:17
yeah, that's that's

00:09:26:17 - 00:09:28:03
an encouraging thing

00:09:28:03 - 00:09:28:17
to think about.

00:09:28:17 - 00:09:29:12
It's like

00:09:29:12 - 00:09:30:06
it's not going to take

00:09:30:06 - 00:09:30:22
you forever

00:09:30:22 - 00:09:32:01
to get a couple posts

00:09:32:01 - 00:09:33:14
out, a day

00:09:33:14 - 00:09:35:07
or maybe several week.

00:09:35:07 - 00:09:36:01
I think it's good to have

00:09:36:01 - 00:09:37:11
at least one a day or,

00:09:37:11 - 00:09:38:24
you know, multiple a week.

00:09:38:24 - 00:09:39:14
So you can kind of

00:09:39:14 - 00:09:40:16
get keep interacting

00:09:40:16 - 00:09:41:06
with your students.

00:09:41:06 - 00:09:43:02
So I don't know,

00:09:43:02 - 00:09:43:24
is that what kind of answering

00:09:43:24 - 00:09:45:19
your question? Okay.

00:09:45:19 - 00:09:46:08
Yeah, for sure.

00:09:46:08 - 00:09:48:09
I mean there’s like...

00:09:48:09 - 00:09:50:18
I can’t remember, exactly

00:09:50:18 - 00:09:52:19
I’m trying to look it up right now

00:09:52:19 - 00:09:54:04
But there’s a book, the concept

00:09:54:04 - 00:09:55:04
is called like “1,000 Hours”

00:09:55:04 - 00:09:57:05
Maybe it’s 100 hours

00:09:57:05 - 00:09:59:06
I’ll put the link in the

00:09:59:06 - 00:10:00:11
shownotes if you’re interested

00:10:00:11 - 00:10:01:06
I’ll figure it out

00:10:01:06 - 00:10:03:07
But the concept

00:10:03:07 - 00:10:04:09
is like

00:10:04:09 - 00:10:06:10
No one is gonna be good at anything

00:10:06:10 - 00:10:07:01
until they spend

00:10:07:01 - 00:10:08:01
some time on it.

00:10:08:01 - 00:10:09:22
And so if you feel intimidated

00:10:09:22 - 00:10:10:21
by something

00:10:10:21 - 00:10:11:15
of course you’re gonna

00:10:11:15 - 00:10:12:13
feel intimidated by something

00:10:12:13 - 00:10:13:07
new. It’s new!

00:10:13:07 - 00:10:15:16
That’s what new stuff does

00:10:15:16 - 00:10:16:16
None of us are good

00:10:16:16 - 00:10:18:17
at new stuff right away

00:10:18:17 - 00:10:20:12
And I think it’s really telling

00:10:20:12 - 00:10:23:17
to your point

00:10:23:17 - 00:10:24:15
You were in that boat

00:10:24:15 - 00:10:25:00
And you were like:

00:10:25:00 - 00:10:27:15
“I don’t know”

00:10:27:15 - 00:10:28:21
Just to shed a little bit of light

00:10:28:21 - 00:10:30:02
When I was telling you

00:10:30:02 - 00:10:31:04
you should

00:10:31:04 - 00:10:31:23
dive into some of this stuff

00:10:31:23 - 00:10:32:10
You were like:

00:10:32:10 - 00:10:33:22
“I don’t know man...”

00:10:33:22 - 00:10:35:10
“I don’t really do that type of st-”

00:10:35:10 - 00:10:36:22
“I don’t really do TikTok”

00:10:36:22 - 00:10:38:14
“I don’t really do any videos”

00:10:38:14 - 00:10:40:01
And I was just like:

00:10:40:01 - 00:10:41:18
“Hey just try it. It’s not that hard.”

00:10:41:18 - 00:10:42:11
Yeah.

00:10:42:11 - 00:10:43:05
And so to hear you say now

00:10:43:05 - 00:10:44:15
a year and something later

00:10:44:15 - 00:10:46:04
“It’s not

00:10:46:04 - 00:10:47:05
doesn’t take as much time.

00:10:47:05 - 00:10:48:05
as you might think.”

00:10:48:05 - 00:10:49:09
Yeah.

00:10:49:09 - 00:10:52:14
That’s a good word on that

00:10:52:14 - 00:10:53:12
The more time you

00:10:53:12 - 00:10:54:10
spend on something

00:10:54:10 - 00:10:55:19
the better you’re gonna get with it.

00:10:55:19 - 00:10:56:14
Yeah.

00:10:56:14 - 00:10:57:07
And so like

00:10:57:07 - 00:10:58:14
I had one of our

00:10:58:14 - 00:10:59:11
interns yesterday, say

00:10:59:11 - 00:11:00:04
something about

00:11:00:04 - 00:11:01:15
like video editing

00:11:01:15 - 00:11:01:24
She was like

00:11:01:24 - 00:11:04:11
“I wanna help you edit video”

00:11:04:11 - 00:11:06:23
“I wanna do more video editing.”

00:11:06:23 - 00:11:08:07
cuz she also wants to learn

00:11:08:07 - 00:11:09:15
And I just looked at her

00:11:09:15 - 00:11:10:01
I was like:

00:11:10:01 - 00:11:11:02
“You just gotta do it.”

00:11:11:02 - 00:11:11:15
Yeah.

00:11:11:15 - 00:11:13:00
Like doing it is the key

00:11:13:00 - 00:11:13:22
Sit down with it

00:11:13:22 - 00:11:14:19
And the more you like

00:11:14:19 - 00:11:16:05
sit down with it, spend time on it.

00:11:16:05 - 00:11:18:08
The more you can get it done

00:11:18:08 - 00:11:18:21
Yeah.

00:11:18:21 - 00:11:20:00
I've learned on my phone

00:11:20:00 - 00:11:20:15
cap cut.

00:11:20:15 - 00:11:21:08
The free version.

00:11:21:08 - 00:11:23:12
Even like it does wonders

00:11:23:12 - 00:11:24:11
for a lot of things.

00:11:24:11 - 00:11:25:15
Like there's

00:11:25:15 - 00:11:26:13
there's a pro version

00:11:26:13 - 00:11:27:06
that probably costs,

00:11:27:06 - 00:11:27:23
but, like,

00:11:27:23 - 00:11:29:05
even the free version

00:11:29:05 - 00:11:31:17
has given me, like, a lot of,

00:11:31:17 - 00:11:32:09
you know, help.

00:11:32:09 - 00:11:33:02
And there's not a lot

00:11:33:02 - 00:11:33:12
there's really

00:11:33:12 - 00:11:34:03
not a lot to it.

00:11:34:03 - 00:11:35:03
There's a lot of little things

00:11:35:03 - 00:11:35:21
you have to kind of figure out

00:11:35:21 - 00:11:36:14
what does what,

00:11:36:14 - 00:11:37:13
but once you do,

00:11:37:13 - 00:11:39:04
it's pretty easy to kind of

00:11:39:04 - 00:11:39:24
get the gist of it

00:11:39:24 - 00:11:40:22
pretty quickly.

00:11:40:22 - 00:11:41:24
So.

00:11:41:24 - 00:11:43:02
And ya know

00:11:43:02 - 00:11:43:18
what’s even fun

00:11:43:18 - 00:11:44:10
Yesterday, I had a

00:11:44:10 - 00:11:45:06
student

00:11:45:06 - 00:11:46:13
a 6th grader come in

00:11:46:13 - 00:11:48:07
and I taught him how to edit

00:11:48:07 - 00:11:49:19
videos for social media

00:11:49:19 - 00:11:50:12
Awesome,

00:11:50:12 - 00:11:50:24
And he edited two

00:11:50:24 - 00:11:51:11
cool.

00:11:51:11 - 00:11:51:23
In a 3 hour

00:11:51:23 - 00:11:52:13
period of time

00:11:52:13 - 00:11:53:19
He’d never used

00:11:53:19 - 00:11:54:11
Adobe Premiere Pro

00:11:54:11 - 00:11:55:08
It turned out pretty good?

00:11:55:08 - 00:11:56:03
The videos?

00:11:56:03 - 00:11:58:08
Yeah. I’ll post the link down below

00:11:58:08 - 00:12:00:00
You can see the student’s

00:12:00:00 - 00:12:00:11
edit

00:12:00:11 - 00:12:01:08
Awesome

00:12:01:08 - 00:12:02:06
Man, it was crispy

00:12:02:06 - 00:12:03:15
It was a crispy edit

00:12:03:15 - 00:12:04:01
Cool.

00:12:04:01 - 00:12:05:10
Shout out to him

00:12:05:10 - 00:12:07:03
Alright, so let’s...

00:12:07:03 - 00:12:09:05
Shift gears a little bit, Nate

00:12:09:05 - 00:12:10:15
And, umm

00:12:10:15 - 00:12:12:01
Talk about

00:12:12:01 - 00:12:13:01
what

00:12:13:01 - 00:12:14:12
Advantages

00:12:14:12 - 00:12:15:18
or what wins

00:12:15:18 - 00:12:16:10
you have seen

00:12:16:10 - 00:12:17:19
out of social media

00:12:17:19 - 00:12:19:07
in your group?

00:12:19:07 - 00:12:20:13
Right, what has

00:12:20:13 - 00:12:22:03
having a camera around

00:12:22:03 - 00:12:24:02
What has doing different like

00:12:24:02 - 00:12:25:06
Challenges

00:12:25:06 - 00:12:27:03
Your little like

00:12:27:03 - 00:12:28:01
devotional thoughts

00:12:28:01 - 00:12:30:09
Take it any direction you want

00:12:30:09 - 00:12:31:10
But what has

00:12:31:10 - 00:12:32:08
having these

00:12:32:08 - 00:12:33:15
having just a presence

00:12:33:15 - 00:12:34:24
on social media

00:12:34:24 - 00:12:36:11
what has it done in your mind

00:12:36:11 - 00:12:38:13
to your youth group?

00:12:38:13 - 00:12:39:04
you know, I'm

00:12:39:04 - 00:12:40:09
going to say something

00:12:40:09 - 00:12:41:20
that may be a little bit off

00:12:41:20 - 00:12:42:23
the track of this little bit,

00:12:42:23 - 00:12:44:04
but it's related to this.

00:12:44:04 - 00:12:45:03
I think I've noticed

00:12:45:03 - 00:12:46:02
a lot more people

00:12:46:02 - 00:12:47:09
outside of my ministry

00:12:47:09 - 00:12:48:04
are being reached

00:12:48:04 - 00:12:49:13
than just my students.

00:12:49:13 - 00:12:50:00
There's people

00:12:50:00 - 00:12:51:13
that see my videos

00:12:51:13 - 00:12:52:13
that that are like,

00:12:52:13 - 00:12:53:13
not from our ministry,

00:12:53:13 - 00:12:54:11
that are like, inspired

00:12:54:11 - 00:12:55:16
and like asking questions

00:12:55:16 - 00:12:57:05
and like, where is CSM at?

00:12:57:05 - 00:12:58:01
And all this stuff.

00:12:58:01 - 00:12:58:07
And they

00:12:58:07 - 00:12:58:14
may not

00:12:58:14 - 00:12:59:21
even be from around the area,

00:12:59:21 - 00:13:01:06
but they're like curious

00:13:01:06 - 00:13:02:16
and finding things.

00:13:02:16 - 00:13:03:03
And we're starting

00:13:03:03 - 00:13:04:02
to get more students now

00:13:04:02 - 00:13:05:06
and like seeing my videos

00:13:05:06 - 00:13:05:16
and being in

00:13:05:16 - 00:13:06:07
and following things.

00:13:06:07 - 00:13:06:19
And actually,

00:13:06:19 - 00:13:07:10
we copied off

00:13:07:10 - 00:13:08:01
your guy's church

00:13:08:01 - 00:13:08:24
one time you did this thing

00:13:08:24 - 00:13:09:10
where you went up

00:13:09:10 - 00:13:10:19
to students and go,

00:13:10:19 - 00:13:12:08
hey, you know,

00:13:12:08 - 00:13:13:22
do you follow Cross Creek,

00:13:13:22 - 00:13:14:13
your church?

00:13:14:13 - 00:13:15:00
And I go, hey,

00:13:15:00 - 00:13:15:14
do you follow

00:13:15:14 - 00:13:17:00
CSM on on TikTok

00:13:17:00 - 00:13:17:24
or do you follow CSM

00:13:17:24 - 00:13:19:21
on, you know, Instagram?

00:13:19:21 - 00:13:21:09
And they're always scrambling

00:13:21:09 - 00:13:22:20
and they show their phone

00:13:22:20 - 00:13:23:14
and they either know

00:13:23:14 - 00:13:24:01
who they do

00:13:24:01 - 00:13:25:01
or because of that,

00:13:25:01 - 00:13:25:24
they start following.

00:13:25:24 - 00:13:27:01
You know,

00:13:27:01 - 00:13:28:19
I think it's just

00:13:28:19 - 00:13:31:03
so important to be present

00:13:31:03 - 00:13:32:01
there.

00:13:32:01 - 00:13:35:03
and, give them an avenue

00:13:35:03 - 00:13:36:10
where they can

00:13:36:10 - 00:13:37:19
if they missed a week

00:13:37:19 - 00:13:38:24
and I, I don't always do it,

00:13:38:24 - 00:13:40:10
but I try to do a recap video

00:13:40:10 - 00:13:41:14
from the week before

00:13:41:14 - 00:13:42:00
and talk

00:13:42:00 - 00:13:43:24
more about different messages.

00:13:43:24 - 00:13:47:12
And, I think they need that

00:13:47:12 - 00:13:48:00
to kind of

00:13:48:00 - 00:13:48:21
if they're not there, like,

00:13:48:21 - 00:13:49:08
hey, they can

00:13:49:08 - 00:13:50:17
they can see what's going on.

00:13:50:17 - 00:13:52:04
So that's, that's really good.

00:13:52:04 - 00:13:53:09
Yeah.

00:13:53:09 - 00:13:54:15
Well and it’s even like

00:13:54:15 - 00:13:55:16
Ya know

00:13:55:16 - 00:13:56:17
you even said it

00:13:56:17 - 00:13:57:18
there, like

00:13:57:18 - 00:13:59:24
just by doing like something

00:13:59:24 - 00:14:01:05
some little like

00:14:01:05 - 00:14:02:12
challenge thing

00:14:02:12 - 00:14:03:12
like it created like

00:14:03:12 - 00:14:04:01
a fun

00:14:04:01 - 00:14:04:18
Yeah.

00:14:04:18 - 00:14:05:12
moment.

00:14:05:12 - 00:14:06:02
Yeah.

00:14:06:02 - 00:14:06:17
And then if

00:14:06:17 - 00:14:07:22
you do go around

00:14:07:22 - 00:14:08:13
and you’re kinda like

00:14:08:13 - 00:14:10:17
doing man on the street-style videos

00:14:10:17 - 00:14:11:07
and you’re

00:14:11:07 - 00:14:12:18
interviewing people and tryina

00:14:12:18 - 00:14:14:08
catch em not following you,

00:14:14:08 - 00:14:15:07
or prove to

00:14:15:07 - 00:14:17:02
people that they are following you.

00:14:17:02 - 00:14:18:24
Then later, they’re gonna look

00:14:18:24 - 00:14:20:02
for that online.

00:14:20:02 - 00:14:22:03
Right? And then that’s gonna create

00:14:22:03 - 00:14:23:09
and organic moment

00:14:23:09 - 00:14:25:10
an organic shareable moment

00:14:25:10 - 00:14:26:09
that they might

00:14:26:09 - 00:14:27:18
show their friends

00:14:27:18 - 00:14:28:19
“Hey, check this video out!”

00:14:28:19 - 00:14:30:04
or something like that, right?

00:14:30:04 - 00:14:31:09
like something that they could even

00:14:31:09 - 00:14:33:02
then be proud of

00:14:33:02 - 00:14:34:05
Ya know, and so there’s

00:14:34:05 - 00:14:36:15
I think, opportunity

00:14:36:15 - 00:14:37:16
Not

00:14:37:16 - 00:14:39:21
just with people who don’t go to your church

00:14:39:21 - 00:14:40:18
But also,

00:14:40:18 - 00:14:42:12
with students that are

00:14:42:12 - 00:14:43:03
Yeah.

00:14:43:03 - 00:14:43:17
in your youth ministry.

00:14:43:17 - 00:14:45:12
that can, ya know

00:14:45:12 - 00:14:46:14
help them feel

00:14:46:14 - 00:14:48:07
like some sort of sense of ownership

00:14:48:07 - 00:14:49:22
and some sort of like, win

00:14:49:22 - 00:14:52:06
in and through your social media

00:14:52:06 - 00:14:53:15
it’s in the

00:14:53:15 - 00:14:54:21
it’s a really low

00:14:54:21 - 00:14:55:19
hanging fruit there, ya know?

00:14:55:19 - 00:14:56:05
Yeah.

00:14:56:05 - 00:14:56:11
And I

00:14:56:11 - 00:14:57:20
feel like a lot of people.

00:14:57:20 - 00:14:58:14
A lot of students,

00:14:58:14 - 00:14:59:18
specifically students

00:14:59:18 - 00:15:02:00
want to see other students.

00:15:02:00 - 00:15:02:09
Sorry.

00:15:02:09 - 00:15:03:13
On videos

00:15:03:13 - 00:15:04:13
and, like, in things

00:15:04:13 - 00:15:05:12
instead of just me.

00:15:05:12 - 00:15:06:10
Just Jessica.

00:15:06:10 - 00:15:07:06
That's the leader.

00:15:07:06 - 00:15:08:07
They want to see students.

00:15:08:07 - 00:15:09:02
And when they see students,

00:15:09:02 - 00:15:10:02
they're more attentive

00:15:10:02 - 00:15:10:17
to watch

00:15:10:17 - 00:15:11:07
and kind of

00:15:11:07 - 00:15:12:10
participate with it

00:15:12:10 - 00:15:13:16
when when they're there

00:15:13:16 - 00:15:14:02
instead of

00:15:14:02 - 00:15:14:21
just adults

00:15:14:21 - 00:15:16:01
kind of sharing recaps

00:15:16:01 - 00:15:16:12
or whatever

00:15:16:12 - 00:15:18:02
that may look like, you know?

00:15:18:02 - 00:15:18:17
So I've learned that

00:15:18:17 - 00:15:19:16
kind of the hard way

00:15:19:16 - 00:15:21:09
a little bit, you know, so.

00:15:21:09 - 00:15:21:24
Yeah, for sure.

00:15:21:24 - 00:15:24:02
And we’re all just trying stuff, right?

00:15:24:02 - 00:15:26:04
Like what I did, when I moved here

00:15:26:04 - 00:15:29:20
I guess just about two years ago, now

00:15:29:20 - 00:15:31:23
when I moved here like

00:15:31:23 - 00:15:33:15
my strategy that I brought in is

00:15:33:15 - 00:15:35:18
not the same strategy that I have today

00:15:35:18 - 00:15:38:04
So, as you get going

00:15:38:04 - 00:15:40:02
and I think that’s a good encouragement too

00:15:40:02 - 00:15:41:07
back to the question a minute ago

00:15:41:07 - 00:15:42:14
like just get started

00:15:42:14 - 00:15:43:03
Yeah.

00:15:43:03 - 00:15:44:02
and once you get started

00:15:44:02 - 00:15:45:08
you’ll start to like uncover things

00:15:45:08 - 00:15:46:08
that you didn’t know

00:15:46:08 - 00:15:46:23
Right? Like

00:15:46:23 - 00:15:47:23
a great example

00:15:47:23 - 00:15:50:14
in our context is

00:15:50:14 - 00:15:52:00
we had a resident, Caleb

00:15:52:00 - 00:15:52:18
two videos ago

00:15:52:18 - 00:15:53:05
I’ll link it right here

00:15:53:05 - 00:15:54:02
Caleb

00:15:54:02 - 00:15:55:10
But he

00:15:55:10 - 00:15:56:18
had this idea

00:15:56:18 - 00:15:59:02
about this thing called the Social Challenge

00:15:59:02 - 00:16:00:10
and we would do a film

00:16:00:10 - 00:16:02:08
a filming of it every single Wednesday night

00:16:02:08 - 00:16:04:01
and he wanted that to be like

00:16:04:01 - 00:16:05:21
a long form version of a YouTube video

00:16:05:21 - 00:16:06:21
and so

00:16:06:21 - 00:16:08:17
we did that for a semester

00:16:08:17 - 00:16:10:15
and I mean, that, that

00:16:10:15 - 00:16:12:01
project would eat his lunch

00:16:12:01 - 00:16:13:11
cuz he would do it on a Wednesday night

00:16:13:11 - 00:16:15:00
and then he would work all day

00:16:15:00 - 00:16:16:14
on a Thursday on it

00:16:16:14 - 00:16:17:22
and he didn’t work on Fridays

00:16:17:22 - 00:16:19:15
so like his whole Thursday

00:16:19:15 - 00:16:22:08
was eaten up by getting this social challenge edited

00:16:22:08 - 00:16:23:05
posted

00:16:23:05 - 00:16:25:03
up and live on YouTube

00:16:25:03 - 00:16:27:03
and. But we, so we

00:16:27:03 - 00:16:29:03
killed the long-form version of it

00:16:29:03 - 00:16:30:10
because it was like the

00:16:30:10 - 00:16:32:19
time factor. Like the immediacy of it

00:16:32:19 - 00:16:35:07
But we shifted it to more short style

00:16:35:07 - 00:16:36:07
more challenge style

00:16:36:07 - 00:16:38:03
and what that’s done

00:16:38:03 - 00:16:39:12
is that has like

00:16:39:12 - 00:16:41:11
you said, that has put so many more

00:16:41:11 - 00:16:42:18
students on our

00:16:42:18 - 00:16:43:12
platform

00:16:43:12 - 00:16:45:08
so we’ve taken the same block of time

00:16:45:08 - 00:16:46:19
that we would have taken to shoot

00:16:46:19 - 00:16:47:24
one big long video

00:16:47:24 - 00:16:49:21
and we’ll just shoot like 5

00:16:49:21 - 00:16:50:06
Okay.

00:16:50:06 - 00:16:50:24
Five shorts.

00:16:50:24 - 00:16:52:15
And then we can just bank them

00:16:52:15 - 00:16:54:00
And so we got em

00:16:54:00 - 00:16:54:20
Like I got in my

00:16:54:20 - 00:16:56:19
folder right now, I got like

00:16:56:19 - 00:16:57:19
5 or 6

00:16:57:19 - 00:16:59:06
of like a certain style of game

00:16:59:06 - 00:17:00:06
we call them drafts

00:17:00:06 - 00:17:01:04
and then I got 5 or 6

00:17:01:04 - 00:17:02:10
of another certain style of game

00:17:02:10 - 00:17:03:15
we call it 7 Questions

00:17:03:15 - 00:17:04:10
Yeah.

00:17:04:10 - 00:17:05:09
And so like I have

00:17:05:09 - 00:17:07:17
Some pretty like set

00:17:07:17 - 00:17:09:06
what I post every day

00:17:09:06 - 00:17:11:00
and when I post certain things

00:17:11:00 - 00:17:11:23
but like

00:17:11:23 - 00:17:13:06
when I don’t have something

00:17:13:06 - 00:17:14:19
or when I need something to kinda

00:17:14:19 - 00:17:15:08
fill the gaps

00:17:15:08 - 00:17:16:03
like I got those

00:17:16:03 - 00:17:16:08
Yeah.

00:17:16:08 - 00:17:16:11
Yeah.

00:17:16:11 - 00:17:17:01
They’re just sitting

00:17:17:01 - 00:17:17:22
right there. And so

00:17:17:22 - 00:17:20:06
we stumbled into that

00:17:20:06 - 00:17:21:18
Right? Like what we started with

00:17:21:18 - 00:17:23:03
the idea of the social challenge

00:17:23:03 - 00:17:23:24
what we started with

00:17:23:24 - 00:17:25:12
is not what it is now

00:17:25:12 - 00:17:26:01
Yeah.

00:17:26:01 - 00:17:27:09
And what’s cool, is like

00:17:27:09 - 00:17:29:08
it, in the room

00:17:29:08 - 00:17:30:13
like in our programming

00:17:30:13 - 00:17:32:02
it’s still called the same thing

00:17:32:02 - 00:17:33:02
from when it started

00:17:33:02 - 00:17:34:15
to what it is today

00:17:34:15 - 00:17:36:14
we still call it the “Social Challenge”

00:17:36:14 - 00:17:37:20
so students know what it is

00:17:37:20 - 00:17:39:16
and students know there’s an opportunity

00:17:39:16 - 00:17:40:16
for them to compete

00:17:40:16 - 00:17:41:23
and get on camera

00:17:41:23 - 00:17:43:05
and they love that stuff

00:17:43:05 - 00:17:43:20
That's awesome.

00:17:43:20 - 00:17:45:12
And it’s opt-in-able

00:17:45:12 - 00:17:46:11
though, ya know?

00:17:46:11 - 00:17:47:19
and that’s the nice part

00:17:47:19 - 00:17:49:00
is like we say, “Hey”

00:17:49:00 - 00:17:50:18
“During free time, if anyone wants

00:17:50:18 - 00:17:52:01
to come do the Social Challenge

00:17:52:01 - 00:17:53:09
we’ll be back here in this room.”

00:17:53:09 - 00:17:56:10
And so it’s not forced

00:17:56:10 - 00:17:56:19
Yeah.

00:17:56:19 - 00:17:57:06
We’re not making anyone

00:17:57:06 - 00:17:58:12
who is shy or whatever

00:17:58:12 - 00:17:59:06
have to get on it

00:17:59:06 - 00:17:59:24
But then you know

00:17:59:24 - 00:18:01:19
there’s definitely kids who DO want to be on it

00:18:01:19 - 00:18:02:12
Yeah.

00:18:02:12 - 00:18:03:19
And they’re like banging down the door

00:18:03:19 - 00:18:04:07
to get in there

00:18:04:07 - 00:18:05:00
Do you have, like,

00:18:05:00 - 00:18:06:07
the same, like,

00:18:06:07 - 00:18:07:15
smaller, kind of smaller

00:18:07:15 - 00:18:08:03
group of students

00:18:08:03 - 00:18:08:12
that always

00:18:08:12 - 00:18:09:05
want to be on videos?

00:18:09:05 - 00:18:09:23
Or do you have a pretty good

00:18:09:23 - 00:18:10:17
variety of students?

00:18:10:17 - 00:18:11:13
I want to be on videos

00:18:11:13 - 00:18:12:12
because I feel like it's

00:18:12:12 - 00:18:13:07
kind of slim for me.

00:18:13:07 - 00:18:14:02
of kids that actually

00:18:14:02 - 00:18:16:12
want to be on video.

00:18:16:12 - 00:18:17:19
Yeah, I mean it’s

00:18:17:19 - 00:18:19:05
Yeah, I think it’s

00:18:19:05 - 00:18:20:12
the same kinda group

00:18:20:12 - 00:18:21:02
Yeah.

00:18:21:02 - 00:18:22:13
the same like middle school

00:18:22:13 - 00:18:23:02
boys

00:18:23:02 - 00:18:23:23
Yeah.

00:18:23:23 - 00:18:24:18
like the kid who edited

00:18:24:18 - 00:18:26:02
is the kid who’s always on ‘em, too.

00:18:26:03 - 00:18:26:18
Yeah yeah

00:18:26:18 - 00:18:27:08
yeah yeah.

00:18:27:08 - 00:18:28:07
Like he’s a

00:18:28:07 - 00:18:31:07
he’s very camera hungry

00:18:31:07 - 00:18:32:14
Yeah yeah.

00:18:32:14 - 00:18:33:12
And that’s ok

00:18:33:12 - 00:18:35:01
everyone’s gonna go through waves

00:18:35:01 - 00:18:35:22
this kid doesn’t

00:18:35:22 - 00:18:38:20
he’s a 6th grade-7th grade boy

00:18:38:20 - 00:18:41:03
he’s not insecure about anything

00:18:41:03 - 00:18:41:21
That's awesome

00:18:41:21 - 00:18:42:24
But like one day he will be

00:18:42:24 - 00:18:46:01
He probably won’t be that kid

00:18:46:01 - 00:18:48:10
for his entire youth ministry career

00:18:48:10 - 00:18:49:04
Right?

00:18:49:04 - 00:18:51:07
And so like, you just

00:18:51:07 - 00:18:53:13
that’s the nice part is you can offer that

00:18:53:13 - 00:18:55:00
and if you got kids

00:18:55:00 - 00:18:56:20
The other fun thing we’ve started to do

00:18:56:20 - 00:18:58:21
Beyond just

00:18:58:21 - 00:19:00:06
being on camera

00:19:00:06 - 00:19:01:17
is like helping run the camera

00:19:01:17 - 00:19:04:06
And so like maybe they don’t wanna be on the camera

00:19:04:06 - 00:19:06:04
but maybe they can be like behind the scenes

00:19:06:04 - 00:19:06:23
or edit

00:19:06:23 - 00:19:07:14
Yeah.

00:19:07:14 - 00:19:08:23
And that- students love

00:19:08:23 - 00:19:10:14
getting a chance to do that

00:19:10:14 - 00:19:12:10
And the more, I guess the older I’m getting

00:19:12:10 - 00:19:13:23
the more I’m trying to figure out, like “How can I

00:19:13:23 - 00:19:16:08
not just do student ministry

00:19:16:08 - 00:19:16:24
for students,

00:19:16:24 - 00:19:17:13
but how can I

00:19:17:13 - 00:19:19:03
let students do student ministry for students?”

00:19:19:03 - 00:19:19:23
That's good.

00:19:19:23 - 00:19:23:14
So that’s one of the things we’re trying to pursue

00:19:23:14 - 00:19:25:10
But Nate, tell me what

00:19:25:10 - 00:19:27:12
in your context has

00:19:27:12 - 00:19:30:13
been the most fun, or most effective thing?

00:19:30:13 - 00:19:31:08
that you’ve done

00:19:31:08 - 00:19:32:19
just with regard to digital

00:19:32:19 - 00:19:33:11
it doesn’t have to be

00:19:33:11 - 00:19:35:18
social media- anything, it can be anything

00:19:35:18 - 00:19:38:09
any sort of thing in the digital space

00:19:38:09 - 00:19:40:04
Well, I'll be honest.

00:19:40:04 - 00:19:41:16
I've really recently

00:19:41:16 - 00:19:43:10
kind of started a. And this.

00:19:43:10 - 00:19:43:22
I don't even know

00:19:43:22 - 00:19:44:18
if you consider this

00:19:44:18 - 00:19:45:11
what you're looking at,

00:19:45:11 - 00:19:47:17
but I started a Snapchat,

00:19:47:17 - 00:19:50:03
group with our students,

00:19:50:03 - 00:19:51:12
and I go, hey, invite.

00:19:51:12 - 00:19:53:00
And that's a it's

00:19:53:00 - 00:19:53:24
me social media

00:19:53:24 - 00:19:54:20
invite

00:19:54:20 - 00:19:56:00
anyone that is

00:19:56:00 - 00:19:57:19
that is not that

00:19:57:19 - 00:19:59:01
I don't have access to

00:19:59:01 - 00:20:00:16
into this group chat.

00:20:00:16 - 00:20:01:19
And people are just adding

00:20:01:19 - 00:20:02:15
people as we go.

00:20:02:15 - 00:20:03:12
And as soon as I add

00:20:03:12 - 00:20:03:24
someone else

00:20:03:24 - 00:20:04:16
and they have friends

00:20:04:16 - 00:20:06:06
that are from CSM, I'm them.

00:20:06:06 - 00:20:06:22
And it's like

00:20:06:22 - 00:20:08:00
the group is grown,

00:20:08:00 - 00:20:08:17
but the more people

00:20:08:17 - 00:20:09:02
that are in there,

00:20:09:02 - 00:20:10:04
the more it gets blown up.

00:20:10:04 - 00:20:10:22
It's been fun to

00:20:10:22 - 00:20:11:13
just kind of see it

00:20:11:13 - 00:20:12:18
expand slowly

00:20:12:18 - 00:20:13:08
throughout

00:20:13:08 - 00:20:14:15
the last couple weeks.

00:20:14:15 - 00:20:14:21
That's

00:20:14:21 - 00:20:15:04
something that

00:20:15:04 - 00:20:16:01
I'm excited about

00:20:16:01 - 00:20:17:06
because it's like it's

00:20:17:06 - 00:20:18:08
a different way of connecting.

00:20:18:08 - 00:20:19:04
We have GroupMe

00:20:19:04 - 00:20:19:19
and we connect through

00:20:19:19 - 00:20:20:24
GroupMe mainly,

00:20:20:24 - 00:20:22:00
but I think Snapchat

00:20:22:00 - 00:20:22:23
should have a funner,

00:20:22:23 - 00:20:25:07
like fun, fun way to like

00:20:25:07 - 00:20:26:12
send funny pictures

00:20:26:12 - 00:20:27:15
and whatever.

00:20:27:15 - 00:20:28:16
Like you can best group

00:20:28:16 - 00:20:29:10
like this

00:20:29:10 - 00:20:30:23
kid was blown it up

00:20:30:23 - 00:20:32:11
with with like

00:20:32:11 - 00:20:33:24
filters of people's faces

00:20:33:24 - 00:20:35:09
being all distorted and stuff.

00:20:35:09 - 00:20:36:23
And just as he's being goofy

00:20:36:23 - 00:20:37:19
and I don't know

00:20:37:19 - 00:20:38:13
if that answers your question

00:20:38:13 - 00:20:39:08
the way you wanted me to,

00:20:39:08 - 00:20:40:14
but it's just, you know.

00:20:40:14 - 00:20:41:03
Yeah, no, it’s great!

00:20:41:03 - 00:20:42:02
I mean it’s

00:20:42:02 - 00:20:43:01
that’s the thing, like

00:20:43:01 - 00:20:44:09
every church is different, right?

00:20:44:09 - 00:20:45:17
So I’m not going into this with any sorta

00:20:45:17 - 00:20:46:19
like agenda

00:20:46:19 - 00:20:47:09
I’m just tryina get

00:20:47:09 - 00:20:50:04
to know what real youth pastors

00:20:50:04 - 00:20:51:14
and real churches are doing

00:20:51:14 - 00:20:53:12
like to connect with students

00:20:53:12 - 00:20:55:00
and that’s a great example, because

00:20:55:00 - 00:20:57:10
youth ministry 15 years ago

00:20:57:10 - 00:20:58:06
like you don’t have that

00:20:58:06 - 00:20:58:16
opportunity

00:20:58:16 - 00:20:59:10
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:20:59:10 - 00:21:01:02
Whether

00:21:01:02 - 00:21:02:09
Cuz like our church

00:21:02:09 - 00:21:03:18
doesn’t let us use Snapchat

00:21:03:18 - 00:21:04:10
Oh, really?

00:21:04:10 - 00:21:06:01
Whether it’s Snapchat

00:21:06:01 - 00:21:07:10
or whether it’s GroupMe

00:21:07:10 - 00:21:08:16
or whether it’s a Group Message

00:21:08:16 - 00:21:11:09
or whether it’s an Instagram DM Group

00:21:12:15 - 00:21:13:18
The concept

00:21:13:18 - 00:21:14:22
is a group message

00:21:14:22 - 00:21:15:14
Yeah.

00:21:15:14 - 00:21:17:15
You and I, if we were youth pastors

00:21:17:15 - 00:21:18:14
fifteen years ago

00:21:18:14 - 00:21:20:12
we don’t have that opportunity

00:21:20:12 - 00:21:21:01
Yeah.

00:21:21:01 - 00:21:22:11
That doesn’t exist

00:21:22:11 - 00:21:24:19
And so, that’s why I say

00:21:24:19 - 00:21:26:19
it’s so important for youth pastors to just

00:21:26:19 - 00:21:27:22
figure something out, because

00:21:27:22 - 00:21:29:19
look at that opportunity

00:21:29:19 - 00:21:31:06
like you have a chance to

00:21:31:06 - 00:21:32:23
message your students

00:21:32:23 - 00:21:34:22
on like a Tuesday morning

00:21:34:22 - 00:21:35:12
Yeah.

00:21:35:12 - 00:21:36:06
like otherwise you would have

00:21:36:06 - 00:21:37:03
had to wait for them to

00:21:37:03 - 00:21:37:17
Yeah.

00:21:37:17 - 00:21:38:17
come to you

00:21:38:17 - 00:21:40:01
to be a captive audience

00:21:40:01 - 00:21:40:12
Yeah.

00:21:40:12 - 00:21:42:03
But now we have the ability to

00:21:42:03 - 00:21:43:14
And there’s like

00:21:43:14 - 00:21:45:09
there’s checks and balances within that

00:21:45:09 - 00:21:47:01
and there’s times where that can get abused

00:21:47:01 - 00:21:48:11
but at the end of the day, like

00:21:48:11 - 00:21:50:00
The opportunity that we have is fantastic

00:21:50:00 - 00:21:50:09
Yeah.

00:21:50:09 - 00:21:51:20
So, it’s

00:21:51:20 - 00:21:53:19
Important I think to lean into that

00:21:53:19 - 00:21:54:21
We should ask our dad

00:21:54:21 - 00:21:55:13
how he did that

00:21:55:13 - 00:21:56:18
when he was a youth pastor.

00:21:56:18 - 00:21:58:05
You know, just to see for him.

00:21:58:05 - 00:21:59:02
Fifteen years ago?

00:21:59:02 - 00:21:59:08
What?

00:21:59:08 - 00:22:00:05
Because he was doing it. What?

00:22:00:05 - 00:22:01:05
It was like not many.

00:22:01:05 - 00:22:02:05
There wasn't cell phones,

00:22:02:05 - 00:22:02:12
you know.

00:22:02:12 - 00:22:03:08
So how do you.

00:22:03:08 - 00:22:04:16
Well yeah, you just didn’t

00:22:04:16 - 00:22:05:16
do a group chat

00:22:05:16 - 00:22:06:03
Yeah.

00:22:06:03 - 00:22:08:00
It was all about the in-person

00:22:08:00 - 00:22:08:12
It was.

00:22:08:12 - 00:22:09:01
Yeah.

00:22:09:01 - 00:22:11:08
And that’s the struggle

00:22:11:08 - 00:22:13:14
Right? Like the struggle now

00:22:13:14 - 00:22:14:22
sometimes when

00:22:14:22 - 00:22:16:07
you introduce an idea of digital

00:22:16:07 - 00:22:18:13
there may be an older

00:22:18:13 - 00:22:21:03
generation or demographic

00:22:21:03 - 00:22:24:00
that remembers it done a different way

00:22:24:00 - 00:22:26:19
And no shade on that or them

00:22:26:19 - 00:22:28:06
but the fact is we just

00:22:28:06 - 00:22:29:14
live in a different day

00:22:29:14 - 00:22:30:21
And so

00:22:30:21 - 00:22:33:02
and whatever

00:22:33:02 - 00:22:36:12
And so however they were doing things before

00:22:36:12 - 00:22:39:03
teenagers have zero concept of that today

00:22:39:03 - 00:22:39:08
Yeah.

00:22:39:08 - 00:22:39:21
Yeah, yeah.

00:22:39:21 - 00:22:41:09
They are digital natives

00:22:41:09 - 00:22:42:15
and digital dependents

00:22:42:15 - 00:22:44:07
And so to

00:22:44:07 - 00:22:45:12
not have something

00:22:45:12 - 00:22:48:04
Right? And that’s the thing when I hear arguments

00:22:48:04 - 00:22:49:11
from youth pastors who say:

00:22:49:11 - 00:22:50:20
“Well, I don’t use social”

00:22:50:20 - 00:22:52:08
“Well do you have a group chat?”

00:22:52:08 - 00:22:53:08
“Well yeah we have a group chat!”

00:22:53:08 - 00:22:54:22
“Well, you’re doing something!”

00:22:54:22 - 00:22:56:10
You’re not doing nothing

00:22:56:10 - 00:22:57:24
And so there’s

00:22:57:24 - 00:23:00:08
That’s the thing I love, I love that

00:23:00:08 - 00:23:02:17
the sky is legitimately the limit

00:23:02:17 - 00:23:05:06
Wherever your creativity will lead you

00:23:05:06 - 00:23:06:06
in today’s day-in-age

00:23:06:06 - 00:23:07:19
you can do

00:23:07:19 - 00:23:08:17
you can do anything

00:23:08:17 - 00:23:10:12
Right? And it can be

00:23:10:12 - 00:23:12:19
as robust of a strategy as you want

00:23:12:19 - 00:23:13:24
or it can be as like

00:23:13:24 - 00:23:16:14
paired down and focused on your kids

00:23:16:14 - 00:23:18:21
Both are great, I think

00:23:18:21 - 00:23:19:17
Yeah.

00:23:19:17 - 00:23:21:14
So last thing, Nate

00:23:21:14 - 00:23:23:03
How do you

00:23:23:03 - 00:23:24:15
know something’s working?

00:23:24:15 - 00:23:27:08
Like when you post something

00:23:27:08 - 00:23:29:07
Or- how do you know when like

00:23:29:07 - 00:23:31:11
that was good. That was a win?

00:23:31:11 - 00:23:33:13
What are some of the things that

00:23:33:13 - 00:23:34:24
you look for, whether it be

00:23:34:24 - 00:23:37:03
like metrics, like number type things

00:23:37:03 - 00:23:38:05
Or even just like

00:23:38:05 - 00:23:39:17
the word on the street

00:23:39:17 - 00:23:41:06
or the scuttlebutt that you might hear like

00:23:41:06 - 00:23:43:08
in the hallways of church

00:23:43:08 - 00:23:44:12
I think I see

00:23:44:12 - 00:23:45:18
people share things.

00:23:45:18 - 00:23:47:03
Even if it's not a lot of shares.

00:23:47:03 - 00:23:48:10
Like, there's, like, adult,

00:23:48:10 - 00:23:50:08
like adults that are in our

00:23:50:08 - 00:23:50:22
our ministry

00:23:50:22 - 00:23:52:01
that kind of see this stuff,

00:23:52:01 - 00:23:53:07
and they'll share it.

00:23:53:07 - 00:23:53:24
Or student

00:23:53:24 - 00:23:55:14
and multiple students like it.

00:23:55:14 - 00:23:56:14
We have a good amount of like

00:23:56:14 - 00:23:56:21
we have a good

00:23:56:21 - 00:23:57:21
amount of views.

00:23:57:21 - 00:23:58:10
If there's a good

00:23:58:10 - 00:23:59:00
amount of views,

00:23:59:00 - 00:23:59:14
it means that it's

00:23:59:14 - 00:24:00:13
kind of catching on.

00:24:00:13 - 00:24:00:24
Honestly,

00:24:00:24 - 00:24:02:09
I do a lot more reels,

00:24:02:09 - 00:24:03:15
even for like picture

00:24:03:15 - 00:24:05:04
on new picture reels.

00:24:05:04 - 00:24:06:14
And they they're,

00:24:06:14 - 00:24:07:03
they're ones

00:24:07:03 - 00:24:07:17
that kind of

00:24:07:17 - 00:24:08:11
just to kind of show

00:24:08:11 - 00:24:08:17
like what

00:24:08:17 - 00:24:09:02
we've done

00:24:09:02 - 00:24:10:08
in the night of CSM.

00:24:10:08 - 00:24:11:00
I like to do like

00:24:11:00 - 00:24:12:03
recap videos of

00:24:12:03 - 00:24:13:07
like what we did

00:24:13:07 - 00:24:14:06
that last night

00:24:14:06 - 00:24:16:01
at CSM or today or whatever,

00:24:16:01 - 00:24:17:10
just kind of show people

00:24:17:10 - 00:24:19:02
kind of quickly and pictures

00:24:19:02 - 00:24:20:10
of what we've been up to you.

00:24:20:10 - 00:24:21:19
And I think I don't

00:24:21:19 - 00:24:22:21
I think our adults

00:24:22:21 - 00:24:23:21
like parents and,

00:24:23:21 - 00:24:25:01
and the adults in the church

00:24:25:01 - 00:24:26:03
want to see what's going on

00:24:26:03 - 00:24:27:05
with the students.

00:24:27:05 - 00:24:27:23
And when the adults

00:24:27:23 - 00:24:28:17
are encouraged

00:24:28:17 - 00:24:30:00
and and feel

00:24:30:00 - 00:24:31:20
uplifted by students,

00:24:31:20 - 00:24:33:20
inspire inspiring others

00:24:33:20 - 00:24:35:19
to come and and lead

00:24:35:19 - 00:24:36:17
and leading their friends

00:24:36:17 - 00:24:37:20
to Christ and

00:24:37:20 - 00:24:39:17
and getting on stage on Sunday

00:24:39:17 - 00:24:40:01
morning

00:24:40:01 - 00:24:41:12
and leading worship and

00:24:41:12 - 00:24:42:20
and when they get on

00:24:42:20 - 00:24:44:03
stage on Sunday morning

00:24:44:03 - 00:24:45:15
and and share

00:24:45:15 - 00:24:46:14
the announcements

00:24:46:14 - 00:24:47:21
in front of the whole church.

00:24:47:21 - 00:24:48:18
that's just

00:24:48:18 - 00:24:49:00
I think

00:24:49:00 - 00:24:49:19
they're inspired by that

00:24:49:19 - 00:24:50:06
and all that.

00:24:50:06 - 00:24:50:19
You know, I,

00:24:50:19 - 00:24:52:20
I, I capture that stuff and,

00:24:52:20 - 00:24:53:12
and then I go on

00:24:53:12 - 00:24:53:24
and share it

00:24:53:24 - 00:24:54:14
with their friends.

00:24:54:14 - 00:24:55:20
Hey, this is something that

00:24:55:20 - 00:24:56:21
that happened in our church.

00:24:56:21 - 00:24:57:22
Our students are doing things.

00:24:57:22 - 00:24:59:03
So it's all related

00:24:59:03 - 00:24:59:21
in the social media

00:24:59:21 - 00:25:00:16
because you captured

00:25:00:16 - 00:25:02:03
the images and then

00:25:02:03 - 00:25:03:13
and then you,

00:25:03:13 - 00:25:04:01
share it on

00:25:04:01 - 00:25:04:23
like your platforms

00:25:04:23 - 00:25:05:18
to kind of show

00:25:05:18 - 00:25:06:20
the world and people

00:25:06:20 - 00:25:07:20
that God's up

00:25:07:20 - 00:25:08:06
to something

00:25:08:06 - 00:25:08:24
at Calvary Student

00:25:08:24 - 00:25:10:20
Ministries and, and just,

00:25:10:20 - 00:25:12:11
yeah, that's mainly it,

00:25:12:11 - 00:25:13:01
I think, is

00:25:13:01 - 00:25:14:22
just seeing people inspire

00:25:14:22 - 00:25:17:08
by what's going on. You know.

00:25:17:08 - 00:25:18:21
Well and think about it

00:25:18:21 - 00:25:20:24
if you didn’t have some sort of creative outlet

00:25:20:24 - 00:25:21:22
to share stuff like that

00:25:21:22 - 00:25:23:07
like how would people know?

00:25:23:07 - 00:25:24:03
cuz if they’re not

00:25:24:03 - 00:25:25:02
They would have no idea.

00:25:25:02 - 00:25:26:19
If they’re not in the room

00:25:26:19 - 00:25:28:13
they don’t know

00:25:28:13 - 00:25:29:08
Exactly.

00:25:29:08 - 00:25:30:02
There’s another

00:25:30:02 - 00:25:31:23
You just stepped in another benefit

00:25:31:23 - 00:25:32:24
Right, like?

00:25:32:24 - 00:25:35:22
People, adults, parents

00:25:35:22 - 00:25:38:18
Pastors, elders

00:25:38:18 - 00:25:40:22
who are not coming to youth group

00:25:40:22 - 00:25:42:08
on Wednesday nights or Sunday nights

00:25:42:08 - 00:25:44:09
Especially not frequently

00:25:44:09 - 00:25:45:14
You can help them

00:25:45:14 - 00:25:48:17
Ya know, that’s a win for you

00:25:48:17 - 00:25:49:23
Maybe as a youth pastor too

00:25:49:23 - 00:25:52:01
Just putting some of that stuff out there

00:25:52:01 - 00:25:53:02
Yeah.

00:25:53:02 - 00:25:54:13
Like Nate said

00:25:54:13 - 00:25:57:17
“It’s not as hard as you think it might be.”

00:25:57:17 - 00:25:59:01
Yeah.

00:25:59:01 - 00:25:59:18
So last word

00:25:59:18 - 00:26:01:13
last final bit of encouragement

00:26:01:13 - 00:26:03:14
What would you say to someone who

00:26:03:14 - 00:26:04:20
is on the fence

00:26:04:20 - 00:26:05:20
Who’s

00:26:05:20 - 00:26:08:00
maybe like you a year and a half ago, is like

00:26:08:00 - 00:26:09:14
“I’m not sure about all this stuff.”

00:26:09:14 - 00:26:11:05
What’s one thing

00:26:11:05 - 00:26:12:19
That you would say like, “Hey, do this”

00:26:12:19 - 00:26:15:18
Just. Just do this one thing

00:26:15:18 - 00:26:18:14
This week?

00:26:18:14 - 00:26:19:23
Yeah, that's a tough question.

00:26:19:23 - 00:26:22:23
I would say like.

00:26:23:02 - 00:26:23:19
Like kind of

00:26:23:19 - 00:26:24:16
like what you said.

00:26:24:16 - 00:26:25:18
Give it a shot

00:26:25:18 - 00:26:26:23
and see if it see

00:26:26:23 - 00:26:27:14
what happens.

00:26:27:14 - 00:26:28:02
I mean,

00:26:28:02 - 00:26:29:00
you're not going to get.

00:26:29:00 - 00:26:30:05
And don't be discouraged

00:26:30:05 - 00:26:30:20
if you don't get

00:26:30:20 - 00:26:31:23
a hundred followers

00:26:31:23 - 00:26:32:22
in the first,

00:26:32:22 - 00:26:34:07
you know,

00:26:34:07 - 00:26:35:09
couple days

00:26:35:09 - 00:26:36:15
or weeks or months even, like,

00:26:36:15 - 00:26:37:07
it takes some time

00:26:37:07 - 00:26:39:07
sometimes and sometimes slowly

00:26:39:07 - 00:26:40:16
growing thing.

00:26:40:16 - 00:26:42:01
But,

00:26:42:01 - 00:26:43:03
I say give it a shot

00:26:43:03 - 00:26:43:19
and just

00:26:43:19 - 00:26:45:08
try it out for a little bit.

00:26:45:08 - 00:26:46:20
And like I said, please

00:26:46:20 - 00:26:48:13
do not be afraid of the time.

00:26:48:13 - 00:26:50:03
Just like engaging it with it.

00:26:50:03 - 00:26:51:17
It's not as bad as you think.

00:26:51:17 - 00:26:52:22
And honestly, like,

00:26:52:22 - 00:26:54:02
I feel like youth

00:26:54:02 - 00:26:56:12
pastors are really called

00:26:56:12 - 00:26:58:00
to this generation

00:26:58:00 - 00:26:58:20
of reaching people

00:26:58:20 - 00:26:59:11
through social media.

00:26:59:11 - 00:27:00:09
That's just where we're at

00:27:00:09 - 00:27:01:06
and in society

00:27:01:06 - 00:27:02:16
where we need to be

00:27:02:16 - 00:27:04:16
on social media in some way.

00:27:04:16 - 00:27:05:10
And I don't even think

00:27:05:10 - 00:27:06:05
that Facebook's really

00:27:06:05 - 00:27:07:11
that platform for students.

00:27:07:11 - 00:27:08:09
It's more for adults

00:27:08:09 - 00:27:09:03
at this at,

00:27:09:03 - 00:27:10:04
you know, Facebook's

00:27:10:04 - 00:27:12:03
more of an adult thing.

00:27:12:03 - 00:27:14:00
And so just find that avenue

00:27:14:00 - 00:27:14:22
that you can,

00:27:14:22 - 00:27:15:24
get started

00:27:15:24 - 00:27:16:17
with and connect them

00:27:16:17 - 00:27:17:16
together, connect your

00:27:17:16 - 00:27:18:08
link, your,

00:27:18:08 - 00:27:18:22
you know, your

00:27:18:22 - 00:27:19:16
platforms together

00:27:19:16 - 00:27:20:11
so it's easier for you

00:27:20:11 - 00:27:21:17
to post multiple things.

00:27:21:17 - 00:27:23:03
You got this.

00:27:23:03 - 00:27:24:04
The church needs you.

00:27:24:04 - 00:27:24:19
You know.

00:27:24:19 - 00:27:25:08
Yeah

00:27:25:08 - 00:27:26:05
Love it

00:27:26:05 - 00:27:27:08
Love it, well hey

00:27:27:08 - 00:27:29:04
thanks for being on this morning

00:27:29:04 - 00:27:30:08
Thanks for getting up early

00:27:30:08 - 00:27:30:12
Yeah.

00:27:30:12 - 00:27:31:03
I mean, I.

00:27:31:03 - 00:27:34:06
And uh- and yeah

00:27:34:06 - 00:27:34:21
Love you, brother.

00:27:34:21 - 00:27:36:07
Hey, we'll stay in touch.

00:27:36:07 - 00:27:37:19
You too!

00:27:37:19 - 00:27:40:12
Hey! Stay Hybrid!

Episode 108: David Carpenter on Social Media for Youth Ministry

Nick Clason — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 04:00:00 -0500

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

💥[CUSTOM] Hybrid Coaching💥

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Church Youth Pastor, David Carpenter, shares how he teaches the Bible to his teenagers and lays out his complete digital process.

The amazing thing about David's strategy is that it not only looks great online, but it's incredibly cost effective.

David is a digital discipleship genius, listen in!

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/108

//YOUTH PASTOR FACEBOOK GROUPS
https://www.facebook.com/groups/493666560814931
https://www.facebook.com/groups/youthpastorsonly

//DAVID'S CANNON M-100
(This link does create a small commission for our channel)
https://walmrt.us/3W0Fu4g

//FAST & AFFORDABLE GRAPHIC DESIGN
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaIdZ-RLm5uVVlHj46FKrMYw

//HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
Do it all on your phone!
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//DAVID'S CANNON 70D
(This link does create a small commission for our channel)
Camera: https://walmrt.us/3xGoMiN
Lens: https://walmrt.us/3LkIZxu

//NICK'S LINKTR.EE
https://linktr.ee/clasonnick

//BRADY SHEARER - PRO CHURCH TOOLS
https://prochurchtools.com/

//DAVID ON SOCIAL
[CHURCH ACCOUNTS]
https://www.youtube.com/@Harrodsburg.Students
https://www.instagram.com/harrodsburg.students/
https://www.tiktok.com/@harrodsburg.students
[PERSONAL ACCOUNTS]
https://www.facebook.com/dlcarpen140
https://www.instagram.com/davidleecarpenter/

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Who is David Carpenter?
02:59 What is your current youth ministry social media?
07:16 What exactly do you do?
14:19 Digital Discipleship for Cheap
16:48 The Easiest Content for Youth Pastors to Create
20:34 Don't Be Afraid!

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00:00:01:02 - 00:00:25:04
Nick Clason
What's going on, everybody? Hey, I got another interview style episode for you today. This time it is with David Carpenter. He's a youth pastor in Kentucky, and I came across David through social media, I think, in like a youth pastor, only or doing type style Facebook group. He was talking and answering a question about social media. And so his answer intrigued me.

00:00:25:04 - 00:00:45:21
David Carpenter
I clicked on his profile and I saw that David is very much leaning into a digital and hybrid ministry experience in his church and in his ministry. So I reached out and I scheduled an interview. And so, without any further ado, I have the exclusive David Carpenter interview for you to check out here on the Hybrid Ministry episode.

00:00:45:21 - 00:01:08:00
David Carpenter
If you find this helpful in any way, I would love it if you would subscribe, like, and share it with a friend, but without any further ado, check this interview out between myself and David Carpenter. I'm here with David. David, what is up, man? How are you doing this morning?

00:01:08:00 - 00:01:26:11
David Carpenter
I'm doing great. I am recovering. We're in the middle of a VBS week right now as we're recording this.
So some of I'm sure if some of you all know how that goes and, we're, you know, kind of making it through, but it's it's a good time and it's a good week. So now we're doing it. VBS at night, church or VBS in the morning. Church. Yeah, we're VBS at night. okay. And I'm, I'm crazy youth pastor David.

00:01:26:11 - 00:01:38:16
David Carpenter
So I, you know, get stuck up on the stage and then do crazy dances and jump around and, and the like. So that's kind of the kind of the rhythm, at least once a week in the summer, that, that we're in. But yeah, it's a good time.

00:01:38:11 - 00:01:45:16
Nick Clason
Yeah. We've all been there. We've all been. Yeah, we've all been there, just, you know, part as part of the gigs.
How goes. So, Well, that's awesome. I'm excited that you guys are having a good week. I hope that you're getting, at least some sleep. And I hope that your coffee this morning is strong so that you can recover. Well, it is VBS know, but I, I came across David, I think, in like a DYM or youth pastor's only or something like that Facebook group.
and someone had asked some sort of question about social media or something, and, you replied, I have no idea what you said, but I started creeping on you and your profile, and I just saw a lot of different, like, videos and like shorts and reels and stuff like that. and it was more than I was used to for, I guess I would say like the average or like or standard youth ministry, social media that I saw.
And so because of that caught my attention. and so I followed you and or became friends with you or something on Facebook. reached out to you and, and chatted a little bit. But I'm excited to have you on here today, because I'd love to know, you know, what is like your as it stands today, in your student ministry at your church.
Like what is your current sort of like social media or digital presence? What does it what does it look like? What do you what do you aim in for? And how's all that going?

00:02:51:04 - 00:03:16:19
David Carpenter
Yeah. well, I appreciate you asking and obviously honored to to be here. And we connected on, on that, question. And, you know, I started doing social media stuff when I was probably shoot 14 or 15.

00:03:16:21 - 00:03:46:04
David Carpenter
my dad was a pastor. And obviously, I'm sure lots of pastors kids out there know you get roped into doing things. And he was kind of an early innovator and had started doing a weekly YouTube show for our church. This was probably back in 2012, 2013, and I wanted to increase the views on it. So I created a Facebook page for it and kind of started to put together a logo for it and, and try to find ways to increase its, viewership and things like that.

00:03:46:04 - 00:04:15:09
David Carpenter
And kind of got my feet wet doing, you know, video editing and social media stuff at that point. But, instead of ministry, you know, we are looking at social media as an opportunity to disciple our students, but also as a, an outward opportunity to disciple, you know, literally people across the world, and, you know, practically that looks like a couple different things.

00:04:15:11 - 00:05:00:16
David Carpenter
platforms we use, we use, YouTube. We put our regular, weekly ministry teachings on podcast form. we use TikTok and we use Instagram, which is connected to a Facebook account. Our students don't engage there much, but, we, we share some of that stuff because I think it helps to keep parents connected, but, kind of a shift in the mindset going into it for us is, is that opportunity for discipleship that, you know, we are producing teachings and content that, man, it it's kind of already done and we have the opportunity to capture it and record it and then redisplay it, to potentially an audience that

00:05:00:16 - 00:05:21:21
David Carpenter
was missing on a Wednesday night or an audience that may, may never be able to come to our church. and so, you know, kind of, for you, probably about a year ago, we, we started thinking about ways for our church and our student ministry to really maximize, digital, you know, opportunities to reach people and, and disciple people.

00:05:21:23 - 00:05:41:03
David Carpenter
And over the last year, we've been kind of rolling that out and stepping into that over time. because we want to make sure that we can do it in sustainable and continuous ways. But, yeah, it's it's really just it's it's an opportunity for discipleship and for us to tell the story of our church, for us to tell the story of our state of ministry.

00:05:41:05 - 00:06:06:18
David Carpenter
people love stories. And, when, when we have the opportunity to share the stories of what Jesus is doing in the lives of our students or, or just even ways that our students are connecting and and enjoying their teenage years in a healthy Christian community. we feel like that's a win.

00:06:06:18 - 00:06:32:09
Nick Clason
So, yeah, no doubt, the most recent episodes, that I had, I had are like, year long resident on here.
And it was interesting because he mentioned the value that like, our social media sort of like presents and, and just philosophy and strategy, the value that it brought to like our attendance and our students are actually like in the room. Right. Because a lot of times, a lot of times I think it's like, we view it as like a replacement for the kids that were not at church or, for the kids that aren't even there yet.

00:06:32:09 - 00:06:57:17
Nick Clason
But he was like, no, it I thought it enhanced like the experience for the kids are already there, which was like an interesting like I'd seen it too, but I hadn't like, I hadn't come to that sort of like conclusion, like he had. So I because I do think the argument a lot of times that I feel like either we face as youth pastors or even just like me with this podcast, it's just that there's not enough time, and we need to focus on the kids that we have.

00:06:57:19 - 00:07:16:08
Nick Clason
And so to hear you say like, this is not this is an opportunity. This is a way for us to lean in with the kids that we have like that I agree with I would agree with that. And so get like get specific here, like help, help us out, help people out. Like what exactly do you do? Like what camera do you use?

00:07:16:08 - 00:07:38:00
Nick Clason
What like software are you using to edit. Like what's your because you're a real youth pastor with a real job, with real responsibilities, with real messages to write and programs to create, like, how are you, involving digital media into that? And like, what's your workflow with all that? Because it feels like it would probably be a steep learning curve or just a lot of extra work.
And maybe it is, but like, what are you doing? What's helping you out? What's what are some shortcuts? Maybe that might be out there.

00:07:38:00 - 00:07:55:02
David CarpenterYeah. Well, first, I think what you said is completely true, that it's it is an outward facing thing, but also one, I think sometimes where we as preachers assume that people come and listen to us.

00:07:55:03 - 00:08:27:07
David Carpenter
I speak to our students on Wednesday nights for about 18 to 22 minutes. Sunday morning there's a, you know, 28 to 32 minutes. And we think they probably remember everything we said, right. Like they they wrote the notes. They've got it in. They've already applied every one of these points. You know, it was all iterated. And I remember my great illustration and one, you know, when, when we're including things that are reflecting on the teachings, I think that reinforces and reminds those who were in the room and also, things like we did a post on our social that did really well a few months ago of, yeah, a picture of a student taking notes,

00:08:27:09 - 00:08:44:03
David Carpenter
and the post was all overlaid on the photo of the student was the notes from Wednesday night, some of the notes that we'd given them, and then in the caption was information. What? Why do we encourage students to take notes? Why do we give out handouts and and give an opportunity to teach culture in in those moments? So it definitely is for the kids in the room too.

00:08:44:03 - 00:09:06:21
David Carpenter
But yeah, practically speaking, we, from, September, August to May, we regularly gather for student nights. Our church takes the month of June off, and then we come back in July with some different programing on Monday nights. But for those student nights, we capture those, I capture those from our soundboard straight into GarageBand. It's nothing fancy.

00:09:06:21 - 00:09:27:24
David Carpenter
I think if you listen to podcasts, you're probably smart enough to go get a it's a I think it was an $8 adapter that is a board out to a usb-C in. And I just record the audio of the speaking. and we do podcast for the reason of one number one demographic for podcast listeners is like 12 to 22.

00:09:28:01 - 00:09:43:13
David Carpenter
I heard somewhere. And so our students and student aged people are listening to podcast. And also I use those as a resource for our parents always encourage our our parents to stay connected. If you listen to the podcast as a parent, hey, you can listen to what your student is learning and stay engaged and connected to our students in that way.

00:09:43:17 - 00:10:03:11
David Carpenter
So we have audio in that way. And then we as a message is beginning. Our church is not a very big church. We're in a more rural area. We're about an hour, 45 minutes an hour south of Lexington, Kentucky. and so we have a canon in 100, which is not a super nice camera. it's an outdated model.

00:10:03:11 - 00:10:27:06
David Carpenter
I think the 200 came out a couple of years ago. So this is a post post, you know, model camera. and we set it on a tripod high enough that it's pretty well over the students head, and we record those and, get a long form video of the message. and that goes on YouTube and that, that again, the primary purpose of that is for our parents to have a way to connect.

00:10:27:08 - 00:10:47:19
David Carpenter
I don't have any visions of, of those, you know, going viral or making me famous. it's, you know, those are we're getting 2 to 6, eight views on those videos. but, you know, it's it's so that we have a digital record of it. And then, those get split into my goal is always two short form clips that go on TikTok and Instagram.

00:10:47:19 - 00:11:10:15
David Carpenter
And if you can get them short enough YouTube shorts a week. as a way to reiterate, I reiterate, there's a word in there somewhere. I probably reiterate. There you go. That's the one. our teachings on Wednesday night, to connect back with those students and obviously to disciple people who, you know, they may be near to you, but are far from out or need encouragement in their faith.

00:11:10:17 - 00:11:32:20
David Carpenter
so that's pretty practical. I use Premiere Pro. I've always used Adobe products. it's but the what we do, I mean, you I feel you could get a YouTube video, of your teachings. You could use a phone and a, digital recorded mic, like a, phone in usb-C mic, especially if you've got a light, you know, new model phone.

00:11:32:22 - 00:11:53:09
David Carpenter
if you're not in a large space, this as your space gets larger, it's the lens being able to zoom in on the space that you're in. But it's not fancy technology. the church has invested $10 in an an adapter to record the audio, and now we just, we got better quality from the board straight into to a laptop.

00:11:53:10 - 00:12:16:05
David Carpenter
So, I mean, so that's that's kind of the we build out from there because, we can stay consistent with that, especially through the school year. the other things we're doing is, we show up with a camera to everything we do. I use a canon, I'm sitting here looking at it. I think it's a. Let me look, let me tell you, for I like to.

00:12:16:07 - 00:12:36:00
David Carpenter
It's a 70 day. I couldn't reference a 7080 or an 80, but with a 70 to 200 lens. I'm not a photographer. about two and a half years ago, I started taking pictures. And I've gotten better over time. You can put that thing in auto, and if you take enough pictures, you can get a couple good ones.

00:12:36:04 - 00:12:52:17
David Carpenter
Some. Some will look good, right? Yes. Exactly right. If you can get a couple good ones in focus, and we have leaders now that, you know, of course, like when I'm, when I'm speaking or on stage playing a game or something, I can't get those pictures. I tell them, hey, just this is how you focus it and do your best.

00:12:52:17 - 00:13:11:01
David Carpenter
And they always, you know, I've got multiple leaders who can come out with a couple good pictures. Those are great to have for your YouTube thumbnails and Instagram Reels covers. And then also just having a photo library, is helpful for for to stay consistent. That's one of the most important things I feel like with social and success in is consistency.

00:13:11:01 - 00:13:34:23
David Carpenter
And I think for people like us who work, you know, a full time job as a student, pastor, youth pastor, that's probably the greatest challenge. So building rhythms into your regular weekly life to prioritize social is important. And I think that's kind of what you are in doing what you're doing, trying to encourage people towards. And something I would definitely Amen.

00:13:34:23 - 00:14:00:06
David Carpenter
Yes and amen with what you're doing to say, hey, we are busy, but the five ten hours a week that it takes to, you know, record and and put a message on YouTube, cut it up into some clips, maybe find another way to to post on social once another week, once. Once a week. Twice. Like it's worth it because you are connecting to your kids where they already are.

00:14:00:06 - 00:14:20:17
David Carpenter
And it's an incredible mission field. It's an incredible opportunity. And, and I think it it's one of those things where sometimes we think, well, if I had time, I would, but it's like, no, this is something we need to make time for. Digital discipleship, should should be a priority, especially, for people reaching, you know, Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

00:14:20:19 - 00:14:40:05
Nick Clason
Yeah. Dude. I mean, I couldn't agree with you more. You said, like, so many things in there that, like, I like I feel like I've been saying, you know, so, like, the first thing of which is, like, you spent $10 to get better audio. And so because one of my arguments that I feel like a lot of youth pastors have is like, we're not the main room, we're not the main auditorium.

00:14:40:05 - 00:14:56:02
Nick Clason
So we don't have like the live stream gear. We don't have all that type of stuff. And like, you know, you just made the case, like, you don't have to have all that. Like, you can just put a camera up in the back of the room, like one of the strategies that we recommend, here on this podcast is like just sitting down like pre filming your messages.

00:14:56:02 - 00:15:25:05
Nick Clason
But if you don't even have the time to do that, like you can do it, David did. And just put a camera in the back of the room, capture your audio. And that's even one less like step of extra work, you know, and like you were saying, and it's interesting when you talk about like, having a digital library, like, that's a fantastic resource for down the road, because you might be counseling a kid, or kid might come to you with a particular issue and you're like, I've actually like studied that in Scripture.

00:15:25:05 - 00:15:45:09
Nick Clason
And like, I have that information and I've packaged it in like a sermon. It just was like two months ago. But like you have the YouTube link, let me send that to you. Because maybe they weren't there, maybe they weren't coming to your church yet, or maybe they whatever the reason, right, that were to your point, they just don't remember it because our teachings aren't as valuable as we hope and think that they they would be.

00:15:45:09 - 00:16:09:17
Nick Clason
And there's so there's really is so much like I agree, so much value in creating like a digital, a digital library far beyond what we can possibly think or imagine. I think. And you, if you start now, that begins to build and compound on itself, you know. So if let's say you're hearing this in the middle of this summer and this year, you're like, I'm going to start capturing my messages and posting them on YouTube.

00:16:09:19 - 00:16:27:19
Nick Clason
By the end of the school year, you have a full year library worth of content. So like David said, just you gotta find the time like it's it's we it's no longer an option anymore. I don't think I think you can keep doing it and you probably won't get fired, right. You can keep living life in your very like analog youth pastor way.

00:16:27:23 - 00:16:50:05
Nick Clason
And with all the irons in the fire like that is a way to keep doing the job. But I think we yeah, as youth pastors, can be more effective if we choose to invest in, engage and lean into what this digital space has to offer. For sure. David. What? if anything, is there anything that you're like, I would love it if we could get to this spot.

00:16:50:07 - 00:17:10:15
Nick Clason
Like, these are some of your, like, goals or dreams for your digital stuff, but your youth pastor and you haven't, you know, but legs all the way under it yet or, you know, it's it's a down the road sort of project that you'd like to see. Certainly. you know, obviously you want to continue to work to upgrade the quality of the, the content you're putting out.

00:17:10:17 - 00:17:35:00
David Carpenter
I would love to, lean into, more conversation, type content for YouTube and podcasts and even, you know, using those on social. We did a series, in the month of February. we call it All My Friends. And we sat and took three weeks. I interviewed, a couple different people, two of them. One week it was two of our students, two of our graduating seniors.

00:17:35:00 - 00:18:09:22
David Carpenter
And those videos are our best videos on YouTube. bar none, you know, and did so well. And and it's, you know, it's telling those stories. Yeah. I think people really like that. So content like that and, and more, student driven content, I think is the place we're going. And for your busy youth pastor, man, lean into, you know, your students, your students, our content creators, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are born into a world where they are all create content.

00:18:09:24 - 00:18:31:24
David Carpenter
I mean, go watch a seven year old kid. I go to the gym and my the my gym owner, his daughter, I think she's 7 or 8 and she walks around the gym with a digital camera and makes pictures and videos and, and edits and stories of, you know, her and all her, you know, people at the gym.

00:18:32:01 - 00:18:55:17
David Carpenter
They are all doing it. Yeah. Ask them, lean into them. And that's kind of a space that I would want to grow in. Is is including and and using our students, in that ministry, as, as a way to include them in the discipleship process online and also to, to tell their stories.

00:18:55:17 - 00:19:16:17
Nick Clason
And that's so good. And, you know, you use Premiere Pro, I use Premiere Pro.
So, like, you might hear a couple of guys on this podcast be like, man, it's like, I don't know that I'll have access to it. Like everything now is so accessible. Like I did a whole week's worth of daily recap videos off of my cell phone with cap cut a year ago. And like Canva, you know you can use Canva Pro and do tons of stuff on there.

00:19:16:17 - 00:19:34:24
Nick Clason
And because you're nonprofit, if you're church, it's free. You know, Canva, Canva for, nonprofits is completely free, but they'll give you like the pro, the pro version of it. And so like, you don't have to have all of these, like, higher level skills that you used to have to have, like the barrier to entry into this stuff is is so much lower.

00:19:34:24 - 00:19:53:11
Nick Clason
And you're so right. Like, our students absolutely eat this stuff up and probably want us to just get out of the way and let them do it anyway. So we should just we figure that out. All we gotta do is put a little infrastructure around it. Form.

00:19:53:11 - 00:20:18:13
David Carpenter
Yeah. I mean, what better thing could we do than like, really as student pastors?
What what better, greater opportunity we have then to empower students to step into ministry and to see their life as ministry? They're on social. They they're just like, we we want to encourage them to see their high school basketball team as a ministry. So we would we should do encourage them to see their digital life as a ministry.
Right. It's it's not that we put it in a compartment but that all of that we all of the things we do, our ministry and opportunities to share Jesus and and what better thing could we do than to teach our students that and to include them in that, that

00:20:18:15 - 00:20:55:23
Nick Clason
you're you're so right on that. Well, David, any other sort of like thoughts or words of encouragement that you would have, like, you have opportunity here to like, talk to some other youth pastors, people in church ministry like, you know, what what would you as you look out across the landscape of youth ministry and probably, if you're like me, the lack of digital integration that is existing like what? What would be your like final words or just, you know, final encouragement pieces to to other youth pastors?

00:20:55:23 - 00:21:20:05
David Carpenter
Yeah. You know, I was, I'm a great resource for, for anybody listening. of course, you know, these resources here. I looked at your Linktree the other day, and, I mean, gosh, some incredible resources you've got for for student pastors on there, for a digital resource.

00:21:20:05 - 00:21:45:20
David Carpenter
And also, I would encourage people to look into pro church tools. Brady here, I listened to his podcast every week. And and he is giving out, I mean, just free stuff. he did a, a poll on his Instagram, a couple months ago and asked, you know, these are church creatives. These are people like you and me who value church using digital, you know, marketing and digital opportunities to reach people.

00:21:45:20 - 00:22:18:05
David Carpenter
Jesus. And he asked those churches how many of them their church has a TikTok page. And of those people, 10% said yes. and I you know, you mentioned that group on Facebook of youth pastors only. and I think every time I see someone and it may have been even in that post that we connected on ask about TikTok, I see so many comments of, well, TikTok is just, you know, naked people or dancing people or, or or music that we wouldn't want our students to listen to or whatever.

00:22:18:07 - 00:22:56:23
David Carpenter
And, you know, my courage would be, don't be afraid to step into new things. as in terms of digital, you know, digital outreach, as a student pastor, as a student ministry. you know, when I came to, to this church, our, our ministry was very young, lots of middle schoolers, fewer high schoolers. And with that, fewer of our students had social media, like, a lot of our consistent students weren't on Instagram, they weren't on TikTok.

00:22:57:00 - 00:23:25:12
David Carpenter
And I think sometimes we could think, well, our students aren't even there. Why would I even invest into that? The one there's students in your community who are there, and two, you know, we're we're not affirming everything on something by putting our presence there. There's bad stuff everywhere. You know, our kids grow up and go to college.

00:23:25:14 - 00:23:42:08
David Carpenter
And guess what? I tell our kids all the time, hey, when you go to college, if you want to get into something, you can find it there, right? Your parents can only protect you for so long. And that's true in a lot of digital spaces. If you want to find, sinful things in on the internet, it's not really hard to do.

00:23:42:09 - 00:24:03:22
David Carpenter
All right? We're all mature and old enough to know that that's true. So our choice is either to be afraid and hide and say, well, if I'm not there, I'm not encouraging anybody to go there. Or we can say, hey, there's lost people there. There's people that are far from God there. And I mean, shoot, the way that TikTok's algorithm prioritizes locality.

00:24:03:24 - 00:24:27:24
David Carpenter
There are people in your community, students in your community who are there. And even if you would not encourage your students to go create an account, there, you can still go reach people there. And we have the greatest message that's ever been told. And we have the greatest means to take that message to the whole world. Why would we be afraid?

00:24:28:01 - 00:24:49:00
David Carpenter
And that would be my encouragement. Man is, hey, don't be afraid, try stuff. And guess what? I made a post. shoot. It was on our I was actually on our church page and it did did well on Instagram and did well on YouTube shorts and flopped on TikTok. I mean, like seven views, like horrible, awful. and guess what?

00:24:49:02 - 00:25:27:04
David Carpenter
The sun still came up the next day and not everything's going to work. But don't be afraid. Step into digital spaces because there is an incredible opportunity to minister to students and reach students in those spaces. And so I would just encourage you, don't be afraid. Yes, we have discernment from the Holy Spirit. Yes, there is wisdom. And no, we don't have to say yes to everything, but be wise and be willing to step out and trust that God can take your, a message that that someone is listening is is teaching maybe to a room of of 15 students.

00:25:27:06 - 00:25:44:06
David Carpenter
And there's something you could say in that, or a guest could say in that, or one of your students could encourage somebody with and millions of people could be encouraged with the love of Jesus. And I mean, what, what kind of incredible opportunity is that? And why would we not lean into that in any way we could? you're so right.

00:25:44:06 - 00:26:12:16
Nick Clason
And, you know, TikTok was just the new one, but everyone else has figured out how to compete with them. Now. So Facebook, Instagram have reels and YouTube shorts. And so if you're like, well, my kids aren't on TikTok, well, if they're on Instagram, you can still make the exact same type of content. If they're on YouTube, you can like my I, I crack up because like my hours, I have parents who are like, my kids aren't on TikTok, but they're on YouTube more like they're on than they're watching the same same things, same stuff.

00:26:12:20 - 00:26:32:04
Nick Clason
You haven't done anything. They're just on YouTube now. So, yeah. you know, it's it's all that's the thing. Like I work at what I say is one of the most conservative churches, and so we have just as much parents or whatever who might be a little freaked out by some of these things. And, but YouTube seems to be like the safe one.

00:26:32:08 - 00:26:50:05
Nick Clason
You know, I'm like, well, on YouTube and, like, oh, yeah, that's fine. Like, because parents watch YouTube and you can watch it on your TV in your house because there's like an app for it on your all your smart TVs and stuff like that. And so like our executive pastor, his daughter, she's not social media but do watch all of our like YouTube stuff on their TV in their house.

00:26:50:05 - 00:27:11:09
Nick Clason
Like even the silly stuff that we do. Even like the little shorts in the games and stuff that we do on there. And so it's like you said, it lean into it because if that's where our students are, I think there's a stat from Pew. Like 95% of teenagers say that they will use YouTube. So if that's where they are, like, you're right, why would we not be there to get there?

00:27:11:11 - 00:27:28:09
Nick Clason
So get there. Well, man, I appreciate your time. David, where would be like, if people want to see all this stuff, I'll drop some of these things in the show notes. Like, how can they get Ahold of you? How can they, check out what you're doing on your churches and youth ministry, social media? let us know where where they can find you.

00:27:28:11 - 00:27:47:20
David Carpenter
Yeah. Our, our church is, everywhere. It's it's Harrodsburg dot church. So our seed ministry is Harrodsburg dot students. That's YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook. You should be able to get to there. my Facebook and Instagram, our David Lee Carpenter. There's a lot of David Carpenters out there, so I put my middle name in there. You should be able to find me. and if I can help or encourage anybody along the way, I would love to do that. I'm thankful for you to to let me. Come on. And I hope it helps somebody bless somebody today.

00:27:47:22 - 00:28:44:24
Nick Clason
Absolutely. Hey, thanks for being on. Appreciate your time today. And we'll talk next time.

Episode 100: 💯 HybridMinistry - How it all Started

Nick Clason — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 04:00:00 -0500

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Episode 100 I decided to sit down with some friends that have all had a hand in the creation of the Full YouTube show we all had a hand in creating during the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020.

While Digital and Social Ministry were top of mind for me prior to 2020, the COVID shutdown thrust it into the forefront for me personally and I decided to dive fully into it.

When I started on the very first day of COVID, I had to get creative on how I introduced myself to students, parents and leaders without using the easy in person tools we'd all grown accustomed to using.

That being said, I'm grateful we still have access to those tools, today.

But I realized just how important Hybrid Ministry is to the next generation of teenagers.

This episode chronicles my first day, and I chat with friends who were instrumental in producing and creating the YouTube show we had crafted during those COVID days.

I hope you enjoy this 100th episode special!

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/100

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Intro
00:50 Hybrid Ministry During COVID
03:25 Two Weeks to Flatten the Curve
07:01 The Most Fun Memories of Unscripted
09:27 What this means going forward for churches in 2024 and beyond

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:01
Isaac Sutton
all of the students in the room,
who were watching unscripted,
had bingo
cards
that coordinated to stuff that
was.

Nick Clason
Yes.

00:00:08:19 - 00:00:09:23
Darren Sutton
digital integration is not a luxury. It's a necessity.

00:00:12:09 - 00:00:18:24
Sam Vos
it was probably I probably felt God's hand more in like my career, my life in that moment than a lot of other moments.

00:00:18:24 - 00:00:25:04
Nick Clason
unscripted played a really major role in like the catalyst to especially my podcast and everything like that.

00:00:25:04 - 00:00:31:04
Nick Clason
I would say the reason for that is simply realizing and understanding that students live online.

00:00:31:04 - 00:00:39:22
Darren Sutton
there's a lot I've messed up in my years of youth ministry, but that is one thing that I'm really proud of. Like in the middle of the pandemic, there was not a blank ministry kept going.

00:00:39:22 - 00:00:41:06
Sam Vos
we're going to try something different

00:00:50:00 - 00:00:55:02
ABC News
president's words come after the World Health Organization today declared the coronavirus a global pandemic,

00:00:55:02 - 00:00:57:19
Darren Sutton
I remember this very clearly.

00:00:57:19 - 00:01:01:24
Sam Vos
I mean, obviously, I came down to Parkview in February of 2020

00:01:01:24 - 00:01:06:06
Darren Sutton
the Thursday before we went home, we're like, yeah, there's something happening in the world that's not going to affect us. On Friday it became clear that

00:01:07:24 - 00:01:10:05
Nick Clason
which for context I started on Monday.

00:01:10:05 - 00:01:13:06
Darren Sutton
that maybe we'd miss a couple of weeks of meeting together. Yeah. And I have been toying around for a while with, like, a YouTube show. like, in my mind, that there was like, we were just not speaking a digital language at all.

00:01:24:06 - 00:01:25:12
Sam Vos
going there, Darren had a very kind of a new perspective on what he thought ministry would be. Right. So he was already kind of starting to talk about like, how do we take digital and kind of infuse that with what, you know, historically, youth ministry has been.

00:01:38:21 - 00:01:41:22
Darren Sutton
you know, in the grand scheme of the engine of ministry, there is no time to dream a dream,
right?
Well, Covid forced us to do that.
I kind of laid out this idea for, basically a variety show, some kind of YouTuber And I said, you know, if we decided to do this, I think we probably need to do a week or two and a big a beta test.
So could we, could we film a show? Yeah, right.
And over the weekend we came up with a whole concept for the for the YouTube show and shot it on Monday.

00:02:04:22 - 00:02:07:23
Sam Vos
Well, I'd only been there for like 3 or 4 weeks, right. Yeah.
Which I'm fine with. So then obviously it
happens. You'd only been there 3 to 4 hours is kind of like, hey, we need somebody to be the guy. And obviously I was like.
the same day we started filming was the same day that they were like, "hey, everybody's got to go home" and

00:02:20:04 - 00:02:31:04
Isaac Sutton
everybody was packed in tightly into a room and they had a like,

Nick Clason
as we're in this like, hey, don't go by people time, like and then cram all these people into a room.

00:02:31:04 - 00:02:33:11
Nick Clason
remember, like, everyone was like on vacation?

00:02:33:11 - 00:02:34:10
Nick Clason
getting married.

00:02:34:13 - 00:02:35:20
Nick Clason
had was took PTO

00:02:35:20 - 00:02:37:06
Nick Clason
I was the new guy.

00:02:37:06 - 00:02:40:02
Nick Clason
Right. You were like the longest tenured person in the room.

00:02:40:02 - 00:02:46:15
Sam Vos
it was probably I probably felt God's hand more in like my career, my life in that moment than a lot of other moments.

00:02:46:15 - 00:02:47:07
Darren Sutton
And that was your first day in the office? Yep. We all came and I was like, hey, Nick, no time to onboard you. We're filming the show

00:02:52:21 - 00:03:00:20
Sam Vos
then on our first day of filming this digital piece of it where there was, worship element in kind of this hosting element and stuff like that, filmed the first episode of unscripted at the church.

00:03:03:12 - 00:03:05:24
Nick Clason
not socially distanced whatsoever

00:03:05:24 - 00:03:07:06
Isaac Sutton
was a choice.

00:03:07:06 - 00:03:09:19
Darren Sutton
and the whole student ministry team got in there. We filmed the show, and at 11:30, we got a message from the, executive pastor saying, bye, everybody. We'll see. You

00:03:18:21 - 00:03:22:20
Sam Vos
that was this the same day we started filming was the same day that they were like, hey, everybody's got to go home and just for two weeks

00:03:25:14 - 00:03:27:21
Darren Sutton
Everybody thought at that point, probably till Easter,

00:03:27:21 - 00:03:35:03
Isaac Sutton
but nobody really knew how crazy it was going to get. Everybody was just in the. It was the rumor phase of Covid.

00:03:35:03 - 00:03:40:08
Nick Clason
but making fun of it. Basically.

Darren Sutton
Yeah. For sure. Like, this is so stupid and and so much so that like, things were changing so quickly that we filmed that thing not socially distant. On Monday by the time it aired on Wednesday, we had to put out a statement that said "this was filmed before socially distancing was a requirement."

00:03:56:03 - 00:03:56:19
Sam Vos
You know, time goes by. Maybe 3 or 4 days. Three people show up to my house with equipment being like cameras, microphones, a table, chairs, Now all this planning vision is starting to happen. Like, we're doing this right now on a zoom call

00:04:10:10 - 00:04:15:14
Darren Sutton
how much we had to pivot in that time is I still just a little bit crazy when I think about it?

00:04:15:14 - 00:04:17:24
Sam Vos
and then my wife and I looked at each other and we go, we don't have we don't have room in this spot.
Right? Because we're live in downtown Chicago in a high rise,

00:04:22:04 - 00:04:25:13
Darren Sutton
700 square foot apartment with his kid and his wife.

00:04:25:13 - 00:04:27:19
Sam Vos
every single week. When we would film, we would have to move the couch out, move that, move the chairs out. Right. We'd have to bring everything kind of stacking on top of each other by the kitchen, do the set, do the show,

00:04:36:09 - 00:04:46:18
Darren Sutton
you know, we were filming group stuff on zoom calls and trying to figure out where is the most appropriate place to set up a studio where only one person can press play.

00:04:46:18 - 00:04:46:23
Sam Vos
And, then put it all back together and send it. So then I'm running over to the camera, right. I'm getting out. I'm looking at the screen. Right. Because I turn the screen around, I'm looking at it. I'm like, okay, it looks good. And I'm running back to the camera, clicking record that I'm running back to the chair and starting.

00:04:59:06 - 00:05:10:00
Isaac Sutton
heart of Covid era for unscripted, which I didn't even like, start working. Working on unscripted until episode like 22. Yeah, something like that. I was kind of, later after some of the kinks had been fleshed out, I guess.

00:05:14:00 - 00:05:23:04
Nick Clason
yes, it went through the completely remote, like everyone from their houses, every bit via a, like cell phone camera. But I remember, Darren sent us all, like, desktop tripods so that we could like via Amazon so that we could have stable, you know, pictures and not like this

00:05:35:08 - 00:05:38:12
Sam Vos
I mean, the hashtag, the world's greatest drink kind of happened out of nowhere, What happened was I was also like, I'm just going to have to just pull everything out that I can think of and hopefully something sticks. It's kind of like when you're just, like throwing everything you can at something. You're like, one of these things works great,

00:05:51:12 - 00:05:57:05
Darren Sutton
So students were tuning in because that was the only connection with humans. They had

00:05:57:05 - 00:05:59:15
Nick Clason
which I think was like the only live anything.

00:05:59:15 - 00:06:05:06
Darren Sutton
Yes. Was gone. Like, yeah, everything was gone. Everything was gone. But we were still having church and we were one of the few. And I will tell you, like, there's a lot I've messed up in my years of youth ministry, but that is one thing that I'm really proud of. Like in the middle of the pandemic, there was not a blank ministry kept going. And that wasn't just me. That was a large team that made that happen. I could have never done that by myself.

00:06:20:19 - 00:06:21:10
Nick Clason
Yeah.

00:06:21:10 - 00:06:26:11
Isaac Sutton
And I remember that being a big part of me joining unscripted was like, we want to we're making this the thing. It went from being the Covid strategy to being, the way they were going to move forward with youth ministry.

00:06:37:03 - 00:06:41:10
Sam Vos
Now I will say in, during Covid and when I was filming at my house, right, there were some there were some moments there too, where I was like, oh, this, this feels like God's doing something. Covid and unscripted allowed us to say, hey, what? Maybe this is what church youth ministry could look like. Maybe it's it could be more progressive thinking. Yeah, sure, sure. I think it also be

00:07:00:16 - 00:07:03:12
Darren Sutton
what I remember most was just innovative thinking,

00:07:03:12 - 00:07:06:01
Sam Vos
I think there needs I think churches need to make a shift. And I felt like unscripted was a vision of what that shift could look like.

00:07:09:19 - 00:07:27:03
Darren Sutton
then it was so successful and also super a lot of fun. And also it became very clear that we had not been speaking the language of our constituency, that it became something that we permanently added to what we do

00:07:27:03 - 00:07:28:12
Isaac Sutton
was a really cool thing to do. It was something that got into people's houses. it was something that engaged students with, students on a level that they were already familiar with. I mean, students know about YouTube, YouTube shows.

00:07:41:02 - 00:07:42:10
Sam Vos
Lacroix is all I got. So I guess hashtag world's greatest drink. I don't even really like Lacroix.

00:07:47:12 - 00:07:51:03
Sam Vos
my favorite drink, Lacroix. I am one of those guys. So, it's just so it's so refreshing every time.

00:07:54:23 - 00:07:59:19
Darren Sutton
But then we started like building that into the nomenclature of what we did. And

00:08:00:07 - 00:08:03:12
Sam Vos
world's greatest people, but this is actually hashtag the world's greatest drink.

00:08:04:00 - 00:08:10:15
Darren Sutton
every semester, we would do a hashtag world's greatest drink bracket, and kids would get to vote on what that season's drink we're going to be like.

00:08:11:01 - 00:08:15:17
Nick Clason
Where when we hit the duck squeak, they had to play duck, duck, goose to it.

00:08:15:17 - 00:08:16:24
Sam Vos
hashtag world's Greatest drink. And then all sudden we would start hiding Lacroix in spots and stuff like that.

00:08:20:17 - 00:08:24:04
Darren Sutton
did an episode on pets, which is why I'm wearing this shirt. and I loved it because kids were so engaged with sending in pictures of their pets, we couldn't be in person yet.

00:08:30:13 - 00:08:33:23
Sam Vos
I think another very absurd thing that we did was that whole duck thing.

00:08:34:24 - 00:08:37:10
Nick Clason
the search for Chuck, the search for Chuck.

00:08:37:10 - 00:08:44:23
Darren Sutton
Chuck, is he in there? He's not here.

00:08:44:23 - 00:08:49:02
Darren Sutton
have a mascot also something that came accidentally. Chuck the duck,

00:08:49:02 - 00:08:53:19
Isaac Sutton
sci fi saga was was a blast. I know that was going so fun. So, Minecraft server was a tragic affair. I spent probably like so long. It's trying to set up a minecraft server for

00:09:09:03 - 00:09:16:15
Darren Sutton
So Chuck got lost or kidnaped or. I don't even remember now what the exact story was, except we just spent all summer looking for him, right?

00:09:16:15 - 00:09:25:22
Isaac Sutton
We if you found the duck and text it into a certain number in a certain amount of time, you would win a prize that coordinated to a theme, because each week was themed

00:09:28:00 - 00:09:40:10
Sam Vos
all sudden Covid happened and it kind of felt like, okay, this is the reason that I'm supposed to be here. so for me, it was a very fulfilling time. Covid was, I would say, where I think for a lot of people it was not that. However, when we got students in there filming and students in there doing audio, I think when these students all sudden like kind of took, you know, they grabbed on to this idea of unscripted and they felt like they owned it and belonged to it. That's the thing that was actually worth everything that we did.

00:09:57:16 - 00:10:02:05
Isaac Sutton
yes, there was a lot of trial and error with unscripted, especially in, in, in all areas of unscripted. There was tons of trial and error. Right. I don't think we ever fully came out of unscripted with like this was the best format and we kept it the whole way through.

00:10:15:07 - 00:10:28:15
Darren Sutton
you know, the interesting thing, which I don't think is actually that interesting, but really kind of blew people away, was how much more open kids were on zoom than they were in person. Yeah, because they're in their room. They're in their natural environment. They may or may not have to be on camera. but there was not the intimidation factor of sitting in a room and wondering what you're thinking about me. There was some kind of invisible protection for them being on camera, which worked pretty well.

00:10:44:07 - 00:11:00:15
Nick Clason
But as we look ahead to this next wave of generation, like we have to find a way to find ourselves online with with Gen Z, definitely with Gen Alpha, like, it's all they know, right? And they, they can shift between in-person and online into that hybrid space back and forth as if it's nothing.

00:11:00:15 - 00:11:06:17
Isaac Sutton
the ones that we filmed in a bunch of different locations, yeah, that was that. They were great. They were so well done. And it was a series over the course of four weeks about the impacts you can make on the world. Yeah.

00:11:21:00
Nick Clason
and we were like on location and like, that was that was so fun. I thought

00:11:23:06 - 00:11:25:06
Darren Sutton
in that I would end up carrying into the future was pre filming talks. And, you know, even when we ended up in a context where that wasn't necessary anymore, it really helps you frame exactly what you want to say the way you want to say it, in a medium that's going to live in perpetuity beyond you.

00:11:45:08 - 00:12:09:10
Isaac Sutton
Yeah. I think the other benefit to this is that whole part of it. Right. was that it democratize like the week, the day that you come from as well like that I was able to serve, like I was able to work as the guy who produced unscripted and made sure everything was running on Wednesdays. And then I could still also volunteer on Thursdays as a small group leader.

00:12:15:06 - 00:12:39:04
Nick Clason
after three years or however many years of us doing it, once restrictions started lifting, once people started coming back in the room and frankly wanting to be back in the room like we needed to find a way to to pivot and adjust. And I still think we did. But again, like I was telling you before we started hitting record was we we started at that point then with the baseline of online. And so then we were like, how much do we sprinkle in in person because of how good online is? We're like a church. Where I'm at now is like, we started with in person. And so now we have to try to like add the hybrid moment, the digital pieces to it to help create that good. Like intersection between both in-person and online.

00:12:58:10 - 00:13:10:14
Sam Vos
relationships start in person and then they can transition to digital. Meaning you live in the same state as me or friends and then you move away. But we still continue being friends,

00:13:10:14 - 00:13:23:02
Isaac Sutton
even if, your hybrid experience doesn't, kick off in the room like you want to, it might reach 1 or 2 people that wouldn't, that you wouldn't have reached otherwise.

00:13:23:02 - 00:13:30:24
Nick Clason
Yeah. And like, now my like, the adaptation, like, we have a fully in-person model, essentially. Right. Yeah. However, I still see the value in the content, the teaching content in particular, like having a home beyond just when it when it's preached. Right. And we don't have the live streaming capabilities, which is why we do the, the pre film. But that can also that, that that anchors our social media strategy.

00:13:52:17 - 00:13:57:02
Darren Sutton
we learned that social media is for interaction, not for advertising. I think that we learned that, digital, what we call in our context, digital integration is not a luxury. It's a necessity. You have to figure it out. Our students are not just digital natives, they're digital dependents. And if we are not harnessed in whatever level of digital medium we can harness, then we're missing. We're missing an opportunity to speak the language of the people that we're working with. so I don't view everything through the lens of how does this translate digitally, but I definitely view our ministry through the lens of where is the digital expression of what we're trying to communicate to, to kids long term. Yeah. So,

00:14:44:10 - 00:14:50:05
Nick Clason
the argument I felt at the time was should we do in-person or should we do online? And I was like, how about both right. And the tension in all of that is both takes resources.

00:15:02:01 - 00:15:17:15
Nick Clason
my learnings right. For the in the room side of things was like it probably needed the show, probably needed a refresh and a rebrand to, distance it from Covid and not make it the Covid thing anymore. because while it was still good, it's still carried all those connotations. And then on the, the YouTube side of things, we just needed to double down on some like titling keyword and research like artistic thumbnail renders

00:15:31:09 - 00:15:32:21
Sam Vos
means that churches exist

00:15:32:21 - 00:15:37:14
Sam Vos
for two groups of people, correct?

00:15:37:14 - 00:15:38:16
Nick Clason
Insiders and outsiders. There we go.

00:15:37:14 - 00:15:38:16
Sam Vos
I wonder if those those things being digital and in-person. Interact with those two groups differently.

00:15:45:18 - 00:16:05:22
Nick Clason
like, it's more accessible than I thought it was to create a digital like moment, like, you know, once we shifted away from the show into a new church and we were here, like, we did an entire, like, six months worth of content off of a cell phone.

00:16:05:24 - 00:16:07:11
Darren Sutton
Yeah, yeah,

00:16:07:11 - 00:16:12:04
Nick Clason
The church exists to change the world. and to be a family and to create a place for people to find meaning and belonging. Okay. I think that there can be entertaining elements within church. I encourage youth pastors and youth ministries to create entertaining elements on their social media. That's why most people get on social media nowadays is to be entertained in some form or fashion.

00:16:32:18 - 00:16:35:20
Darren Sutton
So some kind of message or whatever on the regular? I think it's super important to post regularly, whether you know how to do it or not, you play dumb for a student because there is a student who definitely knows how to do it. investing in that. And I wouldn't know what these are. But this guy well investing in some subscription services or whatnot that can help you do this easier.

00:16:58:13 - 00:17:10:14
Nick Clason
servicing millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, by the way, middle schoolers and on down. And so the church has to figure out how to speak their language because they're the next generation.

00:17:10:14 - 00:17:13:18
Darren Sutton
I subscribe to your TikTok and your YouTube. He didn't pay me for that. I really would, and I am, so you should be too.

Episode 098: Ultimate Guide: Audio, Lighting, Camera and Set Design for Church YouTube

Nick Clason — Thu, 23 May 2024 04:00:00 -0500

🎙️ Church YouTube Studio Guide🎙️

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/studio

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Check out our ultimate guide for setting up your church youth ministry YouTube studio with the best audio, lighting, camera, and set design recommendations! Enhance the quality of your online services and reach more viewers with professional tips and recommendations. Whether you're a beginner or looking to upgrade your current setup, this video has everything you need to create an engaging and impactful virtual church experience. Watch now and take your church's online presence to the next level!

FULL PLAYLIST
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLHMhNNfqmmmAsKRJ1VCBJl
======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/098

//YOUTUBE VIDEO
https://youtu.be/yVT1xvh9-5k

//CHURCH YOUTUBE STUDIO GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/studio

//[FREE] HYBRID MINISTRY STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//YOUTUBE COACHING [FREE!]
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Are you ready for another level?
01:56 Optimizing Space for a YouTube Set and Decoration Recommendations
05:32 Best Camera Gear for Churches
07:35 Lighting for Youth Ministry YouTube Channels
08:43 Audio for Church YouTube Channels
12:18 Which to start with if you can't afford them all at once?

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:06
Nick Clason
YouTube for

00:00:02:06 - 00:00:07:07
Nick Clason
youth ministry. We're actually in the eighth and now second to last

00:00:07:07 - 00:00:22:29
Nick Clason
episode of our playlist titled YouTube for Youth Ministry linked right here on screen. If you're watching on YouTube and in this playlist, I've explained to you the value of pre filming your messages, how to edit your videos, and exploring the other features available to you

00:00:22:29 - 00:00:23:27
Nick Clason
in YouTube.

00:00:23:29 - 00:00:43:18
Nick Clason
What if you've started doing those things and now you're ready to take it to the next level? You see, in my 100% completely free guide to Hybrid Ministry links right here on screen and down below in the show notes, I tell you how you can get started filming content on YouTube for under $100. But what if? What if you have a little bit of budget?

00:00:43:21 - 00:00:48:21
Nick Clason
Like what if you see the ultimate value in all of this and you're ready to take it to the next level?

00:00:48:21 - 00:01:01:23
Nick Clason
Well, in this episode, I want to take you on a tour of the set that we have built in our student ministry. You ready to invest? You ready to spend a little bit of money? I can get you all up and going for less than $5,000.

00:01:01:24 - 00:01:24:19
Nick Clason
Don't freak out on the sticker shock if you're interested in some of these things, because if you do want something cheap, I can actually offer you some coaching right now at a 100% completely free rate for just the first few people. So if you're interested, click down below, inquire to see if that is still available so I can help you begin to hybridize your ministry and reach more students with the effort that you're putting in.

00:01:24:19 - 00:01:25:28
Nick Clason
As a youth pastor

00:01:25:28 - 00:01:39:19
Nick Clason
with the message of hope and with the message of Jesus. But this studio thing, it's it's a next level type of thing. So I'm going to give you a tour, share with you some examples and some videos, and walk through every single piece of gear in every single element. And

00:01:39:19 - 00:01:43:12
Nick Clason
then finally I'm going to rank those different elements because we're going to be talking about the set.

00:01:43:12 - 00:01:57:01
Nick Clason
We're going to be talking about the camera, we're going to be talking about audio, and we're going to be talking about lighting. What's most important, if you can't spend it all right now, how should you prioritize? We're going to dive into it. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:01:57:01 - 00:02:04:26
Nick Clason
And in this episode linked down below is a complete blog of every single piece of gear that I have built in the studio.

00:02:04:28 - 00:02:26:11
Nick Clason
And we're just going to walk through it. and so first we're going to talk and work through just the set, like just what's going on, where it is like what things look like. And so what I did, like I said, link down below in the blog. I did, some blackout curtains. We had two big windows in the room that we converted into a studio space.

00:02:26:11 - 00:02:29:12
Nick Clason
So I got blackout curtains, which would help me kind of

00:02:29:12 - 00:02:48:16
Nick Clason
control the lighting. And so I had to buy some curtain rod. So, we have a gold curtain rod, and then also got some white, thermal insulated curtains. You can see both of those links in the blog. also, I got a peel and stick wallpaper, brick wall paper, which was absolutely meticulous to hang.

00:02:48:16 - 00:03:16:21
Nick Clason
And then it didn't stay hung on the wall. So I actually ended up just going to Home Depot and buying a panel of, brick there. And we just did that as well instead of the the peeling stick wallpaper, but whatever you might want. And so what that did was that created for us sort of like a brick in the corner of one of the the living or in one of the, corners of one of the rooms created a brick kind of vibe, like, we also did some, like, neon signs and stuff like that, and then I don't have those linked.

00:03:16:28 - 00:03:35:20
Nick Clason
but if that's something you're interested in, you can go shopping. We got a custom one made. then I created another section of our room, another section of our space with, like, a kind of like a photo background. And so I got the the ten by ten photo backdrop stand, and then the photo kind of, studio fabric that just rolls down.

00:03:35:20 - 00:04:01:07
Nick Clason
And we use that for a lot of, like, standing sets and a lot of, teaching videos, especially where we want to have a lot of text off to the side or, or behind us. And so I really, really like that one for, for those types of like educational or informational videos. And then the other like corner the corner that's kind of opposite the brick so that you if you're counting, we got brick and then we got the photo backdrop and then the white, we got a white wall as like a corner.

00:04:01:09 - 00:04:20:01
Nick Clason
and I'm not going to link any of this below, but we just used white paint. So go to Home Depot, get some white paint, and then create whatever sort of decor you want. And again, I'm not going to link every single thing because I didn't buy all of this stuff. Like we repurposed some furniture and we repurposed some shelving and we repurposed some decor.

00:04:20:05 - 00:04:40:25
Nick Clason
We bought some decor. but like one fun thing we did is we, we have like, mugs. And so we'll use a different mug every single one of our teaching videos. This is a little kind of like Easter egg type of thing, but but we had a student who, like, brought a bunch in as, like a donation. or I've just found random things like on, on Amazon or Walmart.com.

00:04:40:25 - 00:05:02:09
Nick Clason
And if I'm looking, I just might search something like, you know, teenage boy room or teenage girl room decor. I don't know, you know what? What's in these days? And so I'm a 34 year old youth pastor, but but searching that type of stuff, we've come up with these like Spiderman, kind of like neon lights and, just, you know, some other, like, kitschy, kind of like, tchotchke type of things.

00:05:02:12 - 00:05:18:01
Nick Clason
so you'll see, like prior to this, you know, if you're watching here on YouTube, prior to this, we would just kind of film anywhere we could find usually, like in one of our offices. and because our offices are already decorated, it sort of created a little bit of a set. But now we have our own set.

00:05:18:01 - 00:05:39:18
Nick Clason
Like, we've been able to create sets that look a little bit more like this or like this, and looks just a little bit more meaningful, a little bit more purposeful. And of course, the nice part, right, is that you don't supplant someone from their office when you're getting ready to film. next we'll talk about camera. And I've been mentioning mentioning it here, in this playlist, the Sony ZVE-10.

00:05:39:20 - 00:05:59:01
Nick Clason
we use it. It's phenomenal. It's a fantastic, valued $699. It's linked in the blog down below. and then we also got a, tripod for about a little over $100. So $111 is what this one I found here. Walmart is comparable. And then we got a teleprompter. you're also going to need like an iPad.

00:05:59:04 - 00:06:15:08
Nick Clason
if you want to do the teleprompter type of thing. and then I just use a free app, out of the App store, where we can, like, script out all of our messages, type them out and put them on a teleprompter, and then, walk them through. And just a little hack, at about 11 or 12 speed.

00:06:15:08 - 00:06:36:25
Nick Clason
And every teleprompter is going to be different. But the particular app we're on 11 or 12 speed and then like two, a 2000 to 2400 word seems to be the sweet spot for length of video for YouTube. I try to keep our YouTube videos, that we pre film anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes at the absolute maximum.

00:06:36:27 - 00:06:46:03
Nick Clason
and you'll notice like this is a difference between one being shot on a cell phone, his cell phone. And here's one. Once we started using the, the Sony ZVE-10

00:06:46:03 - 00:06:53:20
Nick Clason
also, I'm going to cut you to a clip in just second. this is one without me scripting it. Some kind of just, like, ad libbing it and talking to the camera.

00:06:53:23 - 00:07:02:16
Nick Clason
and then the next one right behind it is going to be one of me actually using, a teleprompter. How do you find

00:07:02:16 - 00:07:20:08
Nick Clason
true friends who believe what you believe and allow you to enter into a community of, like minded people who think the way you think, leave the way you believe, and like the things you like.

00:07:20:10 - 00:07:46:02
Nick Clason
God won't give you more than you can handle. Have you ever heard that before? Well, spoiler it's actually 100% inaccurate. All right, now let's talk about lighting. So, we bought some different like lighting boxes. So I got the apurture light box. 30120 12 by 48 at $69 value. And then also the apurture light octa dome 120.

00:07:46:02 - 00:08:12:16
Nick Clason
That's $129, as well as some different stands. So we got the show Maven ten foot light C stand. That's 119.99 And then the newer professional photography studio stand for light reflectors that, I think there's two of those for $40.99. Those are kind of the, the things to go with the lighting. But then we got apurture, Amaran, and apurture, Amaran 100 x bicolor, and then 200 x.

00:08:12:18 - 00:08:30:20
Nick Clason
The 200 x was $349, and the $249 was was of the one. And so, this is example like you'll see here on screen of us doing it without the lighting, we would just use either natural lighting or like a ring light. and in some cases it was pretty bad. but then this right here is

00:08:30:20 - 00:08:39:18
Nick Clason
once we started using these lights and this is one of the most important things that that we did, to really, I think, level up some of our quality and production.

00:08:40:12 - 00:09:03:14
Nick Clason
but the last and perhaps, well, not perhaps definite, the, the most expensive, is what we did for the audio rig. so we got to focus, right, Scarlett? Two eye, two USB audio interface, third gen. actually, we didn't get that one. This is, a two channel, one. So if you have two people on camera, and you need two audio inputs, this one is $189.99.

00:09:03:16 - 00:09:26:29
Nick Clason
the one that we got, though is the focus, right? Scarlett? 18i8 In-n-out USB audio interface, third gen that has four audio inputs and that one a little bit more expensive at $359.99. and then we used, the Sennheiser EW 112P G4 portable wireless lavalier microphone. those that's where the expense comes in, right.

00:09:26:29 - 00:09:34:15
Nick Clason
Like and you'll see this this is like Stephen A Smith wears this on ESPN on TV. But $699.95 we bought

00:09:34:15 - 00:09:51:06
Nick Clason
three of them. so we have three different people on camera and on microphone at any given time. but honestly, we typically only use it for like one sometimes maybe two for do, some social media type filming where we do some sort of banter back and forth.

00:09:51:11 - 00:10:09:23
Nick Clason
so depending on however many you want of those, if you want one, it's, you know, $699, but if you want 2 or 3, obviously it's going to make that more expensive. And then we also did get a shotgun microphone. my friend who is an audio engineer said, I like to put a shotgun microphone there too, just in case something happens with the wireless packs.

00:10:09:26 - 00:10:33:13
Nick Clason
you still got something. And so the shotgun mic, the Sennheiser MKE 600 shotgun mic with an XLR plug into a jack of 18 18 inch cable is $329. And we do use that a lot, especially with students, because the, lavalier microphones, while they are portable, they do need to be plugged into the focus, right? Which does need to be plugged into a wall.

00:10:33:15 - 00:10:47:11
Nick Clason
Meanwhile, the Sennheiser shotgun microphone is battery powered, so we can take that kind of like out on the street and do a little bit more, quote unquote, like man on the street type of stuff. and then of course, the last thing you're going to need is you're going to need some good headphones. And so here's what I recommend.

00:10:47:11 - 00:11:06:03
Nick Clason
Sennheiser HD 569, a closed back wired headphones at 199 95. Now, listen, I get it. It's expensive. And you're looking at this know does this really make a difference? Well here let me show you what the audio, if you're listening, is you're going to be out here. This is what the audio sounded like with just a little bit of an elevated upgrade.

00:11:06:03 - 00:11:25:28
Nick Clason
This out of my iBook, less than $100 microphone, filming direct camera. This is what it sounded like. And then directly following it is going to be. Once we started using the focus, right. And some of the other microphones and stuff that I just recommend. So check it out. Like what do you want to do when you grow up?

00:11:26:00 - 00:11:51:23
Nick Clason
Like, have you ever really thought about what you're going to do with your life? In this video, we're going to explore the value of the final word. So as you can see, it definitely does make a difference. Now here's the thing, right? Keep in mind if you're like, dude, that's a lot, I understand, I get it, okay? And you may not be in a spot where you want to level your gear up to the spot.

00:11:51:25 - 00:12:11:17
Nick Clason
Let's just be honest, most of the videos that you're going to be showing to students, like they're going to be probably watching them on their cell phones, and so does the 4K quality matter. Like probably not. You know, in some cases, does audio quality really matter? I, I, I think audio really matters. And so that's, that's why I want to rank this.

00:12:11:17 - 00:12:24:25
Nick Clason
Right. I want to chat through and rank. Like if you were to start with one of these for lighting, set audio camera. What's most important thing to start with. And of course, this is

00:12:24:25 - 00:12:38:04
Nick Clason
my ranking. This is Nick Clausen's custom hybrid ranking of of elements to level up your gear beyond just $100 mark. to go a little bit more premium, for a youth ministry budget.

00:12:38:06 - 00:13:02:04
Nick Clason
but you can figure out what you want and what is most valuable and meaningful to you in your context. But for me, I would start with lighting, like leveling up the lighting and getting away from just like ring lights only, or natural lights only like having some good quality lights are powerful that are customizable. You can even buy some gels to like, throw flash color on to there and stuff like that.

00:13:02:04 - 00:13:06:23
Nick Clason
If you want. lighting really, really makes a difference. And you can see that

00:13:06:23 - 00:13:13:02
Nick Clason
in these examples here before and after. the second thing for me that I would do is I would do

00:13:13:02 - 00:13:26:13
Nick Clason
audio and, the only reason that audio is not more, not ranked higher than lighting is probably because of the cost. The cost is quite a bit more, and the learning curve is also a little bit more.

00:13:26:13 - 00:13:46:22
Nick Clason
I thought, man, I tell you what, I don't know anything about audio engineering. I'm just I'm kind of hacking it. but the Sennheiser, the portable lavalier microphones like those gave me a run for my money the first time that I was getting them up and running. now, now we got it all figured out. But like, that first time, I was like, dang, I was, you know, I was watching YouTube videos and trying to figure those things out.

00:13:46:24 - 00:14:13:11
Nick Clason
The third for me is the camera. Like, I still think that, comparably, like side by side, my cell phone camera, has a pretty comparable picture to what the Sony ZV ten does. And I mean, and maybe it should, right? Like, my cell phone actually costs more than the Sony ZV ten. But the fact is, my cell phone also has a lot of other functionality on it that the Sony doesn't.

00:14:13:11 - 00:14:25:05
Nick Clason
And so, I think you can get by longer, even if you wanted to go with like the tripod, and the teleprompter rig, you can, you can teleprompter to a cell phone. And so, that would be my third

00:14:25:05 - 00:14:34:23
Nick Clason
one. And then fourth and final is just to set like it's I'm in a very fortunate situation where I was able and afforded to take a room and really make it a priority.

00:14:34:23 - 00:14:52:03
Nick Clason
Like we have said, hybrid ministry and digital integration. It's it's not an option anymore, like it's a necessity. We are reaching students, generation Z, Generation Alpha, who are no longer just digital natives, like their digital dependents. And so to have a studio or we could pull students

00:14:52:03 - 00:14:57:29
Nick Clason
in after Wednesday night and film with them and have a space is completely crafted and curated in any moment.

00:14:57:29 - 00:15:09:13
Nick Clason
We're we're like, you know, a couple weeks ago, we wanted to film some videos for our incoming fifth graders, and I just pulled our team mates together and said, hey, we're going to film this. We walked in the studio and popped the lights

00:15:09:13 - 00:15:13:14
Nick Clason
on and clicked record, and off we went. And then we were done. And then I took that, and I.

00:15:13:19 - 00:15:40:27
Nick Clason
I went and edited it like, it's nice to have that. It's nice to have that space. and honestly, it's also become a space that other people have wanted to use, for different like video projects and stuff like that throughout the year and different divisions of ministries within our church as well. And so if you have the space and if you have the buy in from leadership to allow you to to convert a space, I would recommend it because digital and hybrid ministry, they're just they're not going anywhere.

00:15:41:03 - 00:16:00:08
Nick Clason
And advice from my very first co-host on this podcast. His name is Matt Johnson. Shout out to Matt episode one through seven. Co-host on this podcast. He told me when I said, bro, I'm thinking about certain podcasts. His advice was, you know, he gave me some tactical things and some gear like recommendations. And he said, but do you want my real advice?

00:16:00:12 - 00:16:17:10
Nick Clason
And I said, of course. He said, just start like, just do it. And that's what you got to do with this YouTube thing. Like just start. We've talked about it now. You know what it takes. You know, like all the gear you use, you've seen my studio, but you gotta do it and then you gotta do it again for the next series after that.

00:16:17:14 - 00:16:41:09
Nick Clason
And then you got to do it again for the next series after that. And you might be wondering, like how do you maintain and how do you not grow weary of this? Because it's you put a lot of energy behind getting up and off the ground, but how do you how do you maintain this creating over and over, sort of momentum to continue to continually show up in a hybrid space and hybrid ministry on YouTube, on social media?

00:16:41:09 - 00:16:59:00
Nick Clason
Well, I'm actually glad you asked because we're going to be talking about that in the next and last final video, episode 99 linked right here on screen as we are trying to make digital discipleship easy, possible and accessible. So as always, stay hybrid.

Episode 075: 🤑 Digital Discipleship on a Dime: 5 Budget Friendly Tips

Nick Clason — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 04:00:00 -0600

🔥SURE FIRE RESOURCES TO LEVEL UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA GAME 🔥

📅 "1 Month Done for You Social Media Posting Tool"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

☝️ONE-CLICK SOLUTION FOR REELS & SHORTS
OPUS FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

========================================

DESCRIPTION
👋 Welcome to our YouTube channel & podcast!

🤑 Are you looking to create impactful digital discipleship resources without breaking the bank? Look no further! In this video, we present 5 budget-friendly tips that will help you craft effective resources for your online community.

digitaldiscipleship #budgetfriendlytips #onadime #youtubetips #digitalministry #christiancontent #churchmedia #faithtech #christianvlogger #technologymatters #christianinfluencers #digitaloutreach #ministrytech #faithonabudget #discipleshipmatters #christiancreators #technologytips #churchcommunication #contentcreationtips #faithonadime #digitalmission

========================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "1 Month Done for You Social Media Posting Tool"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🎅 "The Ultimate (and FREE!) Christmas Party Gude"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/christmas-party-run-sheet
PRACTICAL YM TIPS: https://www.youtube.com/@practicalyouthministrytips

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

📹 "Adobe Premiere Pro Presets for Animating Layers"
https://share.hsforms.com/1VL1oWwWwQ82PLwsPFkPITgnumis

========================================
🛠️TOOLS
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products
//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS

https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

Website: https://www.hybridministry.xyz

📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/075

//YOUTUBE VIDEO
https://youtu.be/WiosrLIifdA

#1 USE FREE STUFF FIRST
//CANVA
https://youtu.be/g0FQWvKjP_E?si=VW1l2akc9PXTLztT

//HYBRID MESSAGE ENHANCEMENT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIgEtxPLGBg&t=44s

//YOUVERSION LIVE EVENTS
https://my.bible.com/events

//QR CODES
https://www.qr-code-generator.com/

//FREE EBOOK
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

#2 PRE-FILM YOUR MESSAGES
//PRE-FILM YOUR MESSAGES:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDxepdu4iiM

//YOUTUBE GEAR FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

//OPUS.PRO
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

#3 DON'T REINVENT THE WHEEL
//CAPCUT
https://www.capcut.com/

//OPUS.PRO
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

#4 USE SOCIAL MEDIA
//FREE EBOOK
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

#5 UTILIZE HYBRID EVENTS
//WORLD'S GREATEST DONUT EVENT GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

🕰️TIMECODES
00:00-00:19 Budget Friendly Digital Discipleship Tools
00:19-02:00 Use Free Stuff First!
02:00-03:36 Pre-Film Your Messages for YouTube
03:36-04:36 Don't Reinvent the Wheel!
04:36-07:10 Social Media
07:10-08:05 Utilize Hybrid Events

✍️TRANSCRIPT
Try Transcribing for Yourself at Rev.Com
rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

Nick Clason (00:00):
Well, hey everyone. Welcome back to our channel. We're going to be exploring five budget friendly tips to help you create hybrid resources. Hybrid is when you're not just focusing on the digital aspect of your ministry, not just focusing on the in-person aspect of your ministry, but a melding together of the two. So let's waste no time and dive right in To tip number one, which is use free stuff first. I have all kinds of links in the description under this, but we had an episode where we talked about Canva. Canva will give every church and nonprofit a free pro account. So if you're looking for good graphics, Canva is the best option I believe for that. Another one of my favorite hybrid options is the U version Bible app, and specifically when you're preaching messages, which we just dropped an episode a couple episodes ago about message enhancement, U version events is a place where you can send people to take digital notes, to take next steps to read Bible plans on their own.

Nick Clason (00:58):
Another one of my all time favorite resources is the Humble QR code. It had a resurgence during covid, but it is a great way when people are in your space to have them scan something and then go ahead and take a next step all based digitally. And hey, listen, I also have a completely free ebook, and this is free for you. It's 40 done for you ideas to help you engage with social media in a custom way. There are a lot of social media programs, resources and graphics out there, but this resource will help you, your volunteers, your students, be the faces and the heroes and those people on your social media platforms. So download that, check it out. We'd love to have you take a look at it. And hey, if you are getting value so far out of this video, I'd love to encourage you to like, subscribe, maybe leave a rating, maybe share it with a friend.

Nick Clason (01:49):
All of those things really incredibly help not only us get the message out, but more importantly help people understand the mission behind this hybrid experience. Let's move on to tip number two. Tip number two is pre film your messages. Now, I have a video linked right here at the top of the screen called What Every Youth Ministry Needs to Do, and it is my full student ministry recommended strategy. Most churches in America have live streaming capabilities, but most youth ministries do not. If you do them, by all means, you should be live streaming your messages and posting them to YouTube. But in the event that you don't, I recommend sitting down direct to camera and having a pre-filed message moment. You can create a little bit of a set. You can put some plants on screen just like I am right here. You can use a microphone like this. You can use just a little shotgun microphone, and you can do it for less than a hundred dollars. I have a link to that complete blog in my show notes as well. But it's things like a little phone tripod, a little shotgun microphone, and maybe a little ring light just to help get your lighting up a little bit.

Nick Clason (02:58):
And boom, you are off to the races. Not only is it going to help you engage with a digital presence on a platform like YouTube, and it's also going to give you the ability to clip those long form clips down to shorter vertical based ones that you can post. I have a link to a free resource called Opus Pro. Link to that in the show notes, a little also teaser on what's coming next. And then finally, it gives you a chance as youth pastor to practice and hear your message before you deliver it live in the room. So pre film your messages, create a presence for you and your youth ministry on YouTube. Tip number three is don't reinvent the wheel, which that's the tip, right? Once you've recorded those videos, sat down direct to camera, either a real camera or a phone or whatever, edit it a little bit.

Nick Clason (03:48):
You don't have to. You can use a free editor like iMovie, movie maker Canva, a cap cut, not Canva, cap cut, but then drop that long form video into a free AI video, short form creator and I have a link. You can try it out. It's called Opus Pro. It's down in my description, and it will AI generate the best hooks, the best, most relevant places. It can put captions on the screen. It can also give you a little preview of the text of what the video is about so that when someone's dropping into the middle of a long form sermon, they're not confused about what's going on, but use the tools to your advantage. And Opus Pro is free for several hours of recording, and then it's a very nominal feat to keep using it after that, after the first part of the year.

Nick Clason (04:36):
Tip number four, use social media. Now, listen, I know sometimes in the youth ministry space, in the church world, social media gets a little bit of a bad rap, and the fact is, there are bad things out there, and so everyone needs to manage it to their own standards, and they need to practice their own walk of holiness in social media. But social media is a completely free tool that you and I have the ability to get on there and borrow space. And it's already where majority of our students are spending their time. In fact, 95% of teenagers admit to using YouTube. My kids are seven and five and they watch YouTube. It is just a part of the fabric of what we do, so be on those platforms. And the good news is that social media, short form, vertical based video is still king, and you can do that on all four platforms, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Facebook's iffy if you want to use it, but it's really easy to link it to your Instagram account, and so therefore you can just kind of get a two for one on that one. But use social media, and once again, like I said, free ebook will help you get started on that. It will take the film, your messages strategy, and then the clips from that along with some other fun content. And boom, you're off to the races. Listen, I posted a video,

Nick Clason (05:56):
One of favorite styles not too long ago. We draft things, and so it's like one person makes a pick when another person makes a pick and one person makes a pick, another person makes a pick, and it was called Drafting Blue Characters. And I had my boss, Darren do it, and he's colorblind, and it was really hilarious because he actually picked Vision, the red guy from Avengers, that's his number two pick, but that on Instagram got something like 13,000 views, and it wasn't a serious clip, right? But we gained a lot of followers and got a lot of engagement on our account as a result of that. So then now hopefully those people who have engaged with our account at that level on a more fun level will then also pay attention to some of the sermon clips that we post, which I posted one recently, and it got over a thousand, 2000 views.

Nick Clason (06:42):
And then hopefully if they're engaging with that, then maybe they'll take a next step from there over to our YouTube channel to watch a full message. And then once they're on, they're encouraged, promoted to click the link down the description to take some sort of next step to let us know what their next step might be. You see, that's why I do the silly to narrow it down to the serious, to narrow it down to the long form, to narrow it down to them taking a next step where we can engage with them in a relationship with Jesus. Tip number five is utilize hybrid events. I have a link in the description again for a free event guide of one. I just did. I posted episode not too long ago called The World's Greatest Donut. It is one of my all time favorite hybrid events.

Nick Clason (07:26):
It utilizes outreach, it utilizes games, and it utilizes social media to create a perfect hybrid event for you, your church, and your student ministry. But it's just a great opportunity to lean into the hybridness, not just digital, not just physical of your student ministry and of your space. Well, everyone, I hope that these five tips were helpful for you to create amazing digital discipleship, amazing hybrid moments in your student ministry. We are here to help make hybrid easy, to make discipleship more accessible for your students. Won't click the link right here on the screen to watch the next video, but we will talk with you next time.

Episode 072: 🧑‍🚀 New Frontiers in Digital Discipleship for the Church: Message Enhancement 💬

Nick Clason — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 04:00:00 -0600

🔥SURE FIRE RESOURCES TO LEVEL UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA GAME 🔥

📅 "1 Month Done for You Social Media Posting Tool"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

☝️ONE-CLICK SOLUTION FOR REELS & SHORTS
OPUS FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

🧑‍🚀 EXPLORING NEW FRONTIERS PLAYLIST
Exploring The New Way to Approach Ministry, Full Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLQ3UpL1HRb3FFtEu-7S1XZ

========================================

DESCRIPTION
Preaching, Teaching and Youth Ministry
It’s part of what we do in the church.

You’ve also heard that this generation, according to crossrivertherapy.com has an attention span of just 8.25 seconds. Which is 4.25 seconds LESS than we experienced in the year 2000.

Famously, that’s less than a goldfish

But teaching and preaching the Bible, is not only an integral part of youth ministry, but learning the Bible is important to the discipleship and developmental process, not only in teenagers, but in anyone who claims to follow Jesus Christ as their savior.

So how do we take the Hybrid approach to teaching and preaching.
Hybrid is not just your physical gathering
But not ignoring it in favor of your digital experience, either.

It’s both.

In this episode we’ll explore the how to preach and teach to a TikTok Generation.
What we’re up against.

What we can learn from culture

And finally, 3 Hybrid Solutions you can implement THIS Wednesday night.

churchattendance #hiddentruth #unveiling #2023 #church #truth #revelation #faith #spirituality #religion #worship #community #christianity #belief #sunday #sacred #divine #belief #sermon #christian

========================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "1 Month Done for You Social Media Posting Tool"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

📹 "Adobe Premiere Pro Presets for Animating Layers"
https://share.hsforms.com/1VL1oWwWwQ82PLwsPFkPITgnumis

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS

https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

Website: https://www.hybridministry.xyz

📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/072

//View all the Charts and Graphs via YouTube
https://youtu.be/iIgEtxPLGBg

//Mr. Beast on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA

//Alex Hormozi
https://www.youtube.com/@AlexHormozi

//Steven Furtick
https://www.youtube.com/@stevenfurtick

//Research on Attention Spans
https://www.crossrivertherapy.com/average-human-attention-span
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/pdf/10.1152/advan.00109.2016

//My Youth Min by Ym360
https://myyouthmin.com/

//The Learning Triangle
https://www.educationcorner.com/the-learning-pyramid.html

//Solution #1
https://sidekick.tv/

//Solution #2
https://my.bible.com/events

//Solution #3
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

🕰️TIMECODES
00:00-01:36 Preaching to the Generation with the Shortest Attention Span in History
01:36-03:33 Teaching, Preaching and Hybrid Ministry is vital to the next generation
03:33-11:15 Teaching to a TikTok Generation
11:15-15:46 What can youth pastors learn from culture?

15:46-21:39 3 Immediate Hybrid Solutions

✍️TRANSCRIPT
Try Transcribing for Yourself at Rev.Com
rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

Nick Clason (00:00):
Preaching teaching and youth ministry, they go together. It's just part of what we do. But what do you do when you're trying to preach and teach to the generation with the shortest attention span of only 8.25 seconds? Famously, you've heard it's less now than a goldfish down 4.5 seconds from the year 2000. And is there a way for us to digitally enhance through hybrid means the way in which people learn and listen to our teaching and our preaching now in this generation because teaching and preaching is not only an integral part of youth ministry, but it's an integral part of the way in which we disciple our students and help them understand the claims, values and teachings of Jesus. So how do we take this hybrid approach, not just digital, not just in person, but melding of the two together to increase awareness and to help bring about a better retention of our teaching and our preaching to our students.

Nick Clason (01:08):
In this episode, we will answer how to preach and teach to a tick talk generation and what we as communicators are up against. Additionally, we'll explore what we can learn from the culture that's around us. And finally, I want to offer for you three hybrid solutions to help engage and increase teaching and preaching and awareness in your context that you can implement tomorrow. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. Well, hey everyone. Welcome back to another edition of the Hybrid Ministry Show. I, as always am your host Nick Clason. I'm a 13 year youth ministry veteran now currently located in the DFW Dallas Fort Worth area. Excited to be with you. I've been teaching and preaching my entire career, but I've also been engaging with the importance of hybrid ministry. I've been aware of that and aware of the digital revolution ever since I started in youth ministry, which is why we have this playlist right here linked at the top of the screen that you're a part of as we are exploring new digital frontiers.

Nick Clason (02:12):
The last video was all about games and how we can implement hybrid into our games and into the fun in our youth ministries. And this episode is about enhancing the messages. So I hope that you'll stick around to the very end of the video because in addition to that, I have a sure surefire resource linked in the description below. That's not only going to help you win on social media and bring about your messages and all those things to your students and help bring that to them the other hours of your week, but it'll also help you have fun with them like we talked about in the last video. And so I want to encourage you to I you to subscribe. Those things are free for you and they mean a lot to me, and I want you to do that because we do drop resources, like I just mentioned, 40 done for you, an entire month's worth of social media, but not just a bunch of graphics.

Nick Clason (03:04):
This is you actually getting in front of the camera, getting in front of a video, using yourself, your students, your leaders, whoever you want to help change the game on your social media platform. And so those types of things are coming at you every single week. We'll drop a new episode every single Thursday, so like subscribe, can't wait to see on the other side, but hey, we are going to be diving into teaching to a TikTok generation. Let's explore that together. So famously, this generation has an attention span of 8.25 seconds. It said that that is less than the household goldfish. So I don't know if any of you guys have gold fishes or teenagers in your house, but if you do, your teenager has a shorter attention span than a goldfish. What is going on nowadays though is the short form video revolution ushered into us by TikTok during the pandemic has changed the way in which we engage with content online.

Nick Clason (04:07):
It just has our attention spans are getting shorter. The need and relevance for a really, really crucial opening section of your video is what is going to determine if someone sticks around in your video or if they're going to leave. In fact, I want to share with you three examples from three very different classes and creators and just like different pockets of YouTube, but all three very good, three people who know what they're doing on social media. And I want to point out to you, we're going to watch 'em right here live on screen. I want to react to how well their hook and how well their intro does. So the first one up is a Mr. Beast video. So let's check this out together.

Nick Clason (04:54):
Hundred million mankind, okay? He's just taught, he's just B roll. He's got Justin Timberlake on there. Whoa, got those waves with his editing's great all the way to this barely functioning house, more of a shed. Well, why does this house cost a dollar? Yeah, we get another storm. It's probably going to, he's already into the content now of his video. He's only 38 seconds in. It feels like the intro. It just seamlessly moves straight into the content. Mr. Beast is probably the best at the opening ones. This one is more of a entrepreneur guy, guru trying to help you win online. So let's check out his video. This is my most brutally honest advice to my, you beat 99% of people zoomed out without media advice to my younger self and

Nick Clason (05:57):
How I, you're going to lose sleep. You'll doubt whether it'll work. You'll stress. He's catering to the difficulty of what he does and what the people that follow him need to do. He's got B roll, he's got light transitions, all that type of stuff. Great. Now this one right here, this is Churchill from Elevation Steven S check this one out sitting on that you're not using today. That's not the beginning of his sermon, but it's the beginning of this video. Arrows, you should have taken everything God gave you kept striking until you saw it to. They edited it so that it started there at what they considered to be the most interesting part, artillery to be defeated. It was his lack of drive. The reason I want to show all of you that is that the first 30 seconds or less of every single one of those videos, all very different, but all very good.

Nick Clason (06:56):
Everyone who edited that video knew exactly what they were doing. So I actually have a video that I just released on a platform called My Youth Men, which is a membership tier of YM 360. You can check it out, link in the description for a seven day free trial. But the video is about discipling students and teenagers through the usage pitfalls and platforms with cell phones as opposed to a way, and I show you those videos because I want to say that's what we as communicators are up against. Your students are watching those for entertainment, for fun, even maybe for inspiration with a Steven Furtick. And then you and I get up as their youth pastor and we start teaching at them in all of our old seminary taught ways. I think as I said in my video, that there are new ways of doing it.

Nick Clason (07:51):
In fact, this is a educator's tool. It's going to be up here on the screen. If you're listening to the podcast, make sure that you hit the link in the show notes so you can see everything on YouTube with all of our video overlays and all of our things flying in. But this is called the knowledge pyramid, and there are two sections to it. There's the passive teaching methods and then there's the participatory teaching methods. And most of us in church are using the passive teaching methods and the percentages are broken down by the knowledge retention rate. So how well this style of teaching helps people retain that type of teaching. And so the lowest at 5% is lecture based style. You might think 8.25 seconds is low, but I'm just going to admit to you, I am bored after a lecture after only 8.25 seconds.

Nick Clason (08:42):
You have to be really killing it, and I have to be really interested in that form of content. In the lecture style pyramid, 10% of the retention rate is reading, 20% is audio visual. So that would be something like including slides and or video in your teaching. And then 30% is demonstration. That's of the passive teaching style methods. So all of those things are all things that you've been taught probably in seminary of how to teach someone and how to maintain relevance as you teach someone. But then it shifts and at 50% a discussion group, a participatory teaching method is where that learning retention rate jumps up to 50%. If someone practices what they've learned by doing it, it jumps to 75% and then if they teach others, it jumps to 90%. So in most cases, us as youth pastors, we push our students through passive teaching methods, and then finally we get them into a discussion group As a participatory teaching method, discussion group is the lowest of the participatory section of retention, and that is why you and I as we are teaching, we need to differ at what we're doing. Look at what Mr. Beast did, how he looked at all the different houses, right? And he kept it moving. He was only on each house for just a few seconds. He was moving, he was garnering interest, he was keeping you hooked. Even look at fur, he's on the floor with arrows in hand doing his thing. Yeah, it was lecture style, but there's visuals to it. And in our youth ministries, more often than not, we're going to push people in to small groups, which is a relevant and meaningful participatory teaching method.

Nick Clason (10:32):
And so as we know and look at the different teaching pyramid styles, here is my question, what do we do? How do we infuse and use hybrid to help increase the retention rates of the learnings? Because you know that the message that you're teaching matters. It's a truth of God. It's a truth from God's word, and it's been put on your heart by him, and you're trying to help share that message with the students in which God has entrusted to you in your student ministry. So what do you do about it? I think that there are a couple of clues that we can learn from culture, even from some of those YouTube videos that we watch. And so that's what we're going to check out in the next section. Neil Bradbury has a quote. The link to that article is in the show notes. He says, the eight second myth, as he classifies it for attention spans is actually more related to human behavior on websites and on social media and how many seconds the average person spends on a website before clicking away or navigating off of it.

Nick Clason (11:39):
So we have famously dubbed Generation Z and Gen Alpha subsequently as the generation with the tension span lower than a goldfish. And that's true as it relates to social media and Mr. Beast and Alex Har Zi, and even Steven Fer and Elevation, they're trying to capture people's attention on social media. So they do have to make that happen within eight seconds. And we are up against that, I would say, as communicators because that's how students are spending a majority of their time. Gen Z's using their cell phone more than any other screen-based device combined. However, I want to point something out that is a website statistic. And so while that is true of websites, the attention span is a little bit longer because eight seconds is incredibly short. And check this out. Over the last however many years, these are the top five grossing box office movies of all time.

Nick Clason (12:35):
So in 2009, avatar came out, and I think it's even been supplanted by itself for the re-release or something like that, but Avatar, the movie is two hours and 42 minutes. Avengers End Game came out in 2019. Shout out to my favorite movie. I love you. 3000. It is three hours in one minute. I was nervous going into Avengers end game. I was like, I might have to pee. What do I do if I have to pee? And I did. Titanic in 1992 was three hours and 14 minutes. Star Wars episode seven, two hours and 18 minutes, and an Avengers Infinity War, the prequel to end game 2018, two hours and 29 minutes long. Movies are still making money, they're still making them, and they're still releasing them. Also, shout out to Disney for owning four of the top five of those properties. All that to be said though, if it weren't lucrative and if it weren't making money, Disney and the other major motion picture companies in America wouldn't be making movies at that length.

Nick Clason (13:43):
So what does that mean for us? We got this eight second thing, but now we got movies that are going longer than three hours. How do we reconcile the difference between those two? My contention is this, if it's good, people will pay attention. It's that simple. And here's the reality. Most research, including Ted Talk and that organization say that a sweet spot for lectures is anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. That's optimal. However, if it's moving, if it's keeping attention, if it's changing things up, even just going back and watching Mr. Beast intro video, how if it's moving and adapting, you can keep the attention of your audience. But here's a gut check. If Avatar and Endgame and Star Wars and Titanic are keeping people's attention, but you're losing them after only eight seconds, then the gut check moment for you and I as youth pastors might be, we might be more boring than we think we are.

Nick Clason (14:46):
In fact, I've been recording videos on this YouTube channel for six months, eight months now, and that's been a gut check moment for me. When certain videos get less views, I'll go back, I'll look at the analytics and I'll go and re-listen to it myself. And you know what? I'll notice, man, I'm boring, right? I have to learn how to be more captivating. I have to learn how to be more interesting. I have to learn how to keep and retain my audience longer throughout the duration of my videos. Not only is that true for me as a communicator via YouTube via video to y'all, but it's also true for me as a youth pastor. But going back and looking, watching those videos, which by the way, if you are not prerecording your messages or recording them at all to go back and look and learn, you are missing out on the easiest way to become better as a communicator.

Nick Clason (15:31):
But there's another hack and there's another little silver bullet that's going to slide in here because we are going to be exploring three hybrid ideas in this digital frontier to enhance our messages in the room. Let's check it out. So what are these hybrid ideas? Like I said, it's not just physical. It's not just digital, but it's a melding of the two. So in my mind, you're teaching live in the room, but you're putting things on their cell phone or putting resources on their cell phone for them to use later because they're taking their cell phone with them for the other 165 hours beyond just the one hour that you've been in your program. And most of us as youth pastors, we're not good enough to contend with cell phones. So instead of contending with them, using them, leaning into them, we just forced them to lock them away or get rid of them.

Nick Clason (16:20):
But one of my favorite solutions from my favorite people over at Download Youth Ministry is sidekick. Check it out, sidekick TV link in the show notes. I get zero kickback from this, but I'm a power user and they just released or they're going to release and listen. I may be letting the cat out of the bag a little bit, but they're going to be releasing a polling feature. So you can put a QR code on the screen, students can scan it, and they can vote live time, and you can show it live from the stage. And better yet, you can now control sidekick from your phone or your iPad if you don't have a tech person running back in the back. And so you can do live interactive types of things to interact with your in-person and letting them use the digital means in front of them.

Nick Clason (17:08):
So you can ask like, Hey, what is the best Thanksgiving food? Is it stuffing mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, Turkey or ham? Let us know. Scan this QR code, and then you can get live results from your audience. You also, just like the learning pyramid showed, in addition to your lecture style, you need to be bringing visual aid with it. Use your screens, use your multimedia to your advantage. Use the things that are common to your students, like memes and tos. You can even pull out things like, Hey, show the most interesting photo from your last week in your camera roll. And one of my all time favorite ways to be hybrid is any sort of call to action, a camp, sign up, a discipleship, sign up. Even now, the sidekick voting thing use QR codes. They've had a resurgence since the pandemic, but people now can scan QR codes with just their camera app and their phone.

Nick Clason (18:02):
It will pull a link up and boom, you are off to the races. Use QR codes to your advantage. Use sidekick, use digital media, use your screens to interact and make things hybrid. The next idea that I have for you is you version events in our space, we call them digital notes. And so we link our YouVersion live events. If you didn't know, YouVersion is the Bible app made by Life church, but they have a events portion. And so what happens is if someone is in your church, it will pull geographically all the events that are live and they can get in there and there can be notes. Your main points scriptures you Additionally, my favorite reason for it is you can create call to action. So you can put your camp signup, you can put a Bible reading plan so they can be on the digital notes.

Nick Clason (19:01):
They can be taking notes in the space in your room as you're teaching, as you're preaching. And then at the end, you can be like, and hey, if you are learning right now and enjoying this message about prayer, but you want to grow even deeper into prayer, then I have a seven day prayer challenge plan linked in the you version, in the digital notes, whatever you want to call it. And kids can click it on their phone and write their sign up for a Bible reading plan. It's a way to help foster discipleship to lean into the hybrid, right? You taught something, but now by just having notes available to them on their phone, you can say, Hey, click accept, and start reading that plan. The third idea that I have for you is use YouTube and use social media. In fact, in the links down below, I have a couple of things, a less than $100 YouTube setup for you to start doing messages similar to this one right here where you're sitting direct to camera and posting your messages to YouTube.

Nick Clason (19:59):
If you have live streaming capabilities, then do that. But if you don't, as a youth pastor, I get it. I don't either sit down, prerecord your messages. In addition to that, you can use a service also linked in the description called Opus Pro to then take your long form and clip it into short form and give yourself a bunch of social media content for the week. And if you then need something to help fill in some of the other gaps, that's where my surefire resource, my ebook, my 40 done for you ideas comes in. And that message can live in perpetuity online as you help answer the specific faith questions of this next generation. It can be more than just for students who miss. It can be for parents to check it out. It can be for students who don't even go to your church.

Nick Clason (20:43):
It can be for students who go to your church to share messages with friends if they would never bring their friends to church, they can share a message on YouTube with their friends. And so those are my three ideas, sidekick in digital media, you versions, digital notes, and finally, utilize and use YouTube and social media to your advantage. The final piece of this playlist is we're going to be exploring and talking about how do we care for students in an ongoing type of way. We meet with them once a week, but then there's 167 hours. How can we, in a hybrid way care for the students pastorally in the ways in which God has entrusted to us? That video is linked right here on the screen. Make sure you check it out. We're making digital discipleship easy, possible and accessible. So as always, and don't forget, stay hybrid.

Episode 071: 🧑‍🚀 New Frontiers in Digital Discipleship for the Church: Youth Ministry Games 🎮

Nick Clason — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 04:00:00 -0600

🔥SURE FIRE RESOURCES TO LEVEL UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA GAME 🔥

📅 "1 Month Done for You Social Media Posting Tool"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

☝️ONE-CLICK SOLUTION FOR REELS & SHORTS
OPUS FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

🧑‍🚀 EXPLORING NEW FRONTIERS PLAYLIST
Exploring The New Way to Approach Ministry, Full Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLQ3UpL1HRb3FFtEu-7S1XZ

========================================

DESCRIPTION
👋 Welcome to our YouTube channel & podcast!

🧑‍🚀 In this playlist, we are exploring the 3 new digital frontiers for churches and youth ministry pastors and leaders.

🎮 And in this video we're exploring the world of Youth Ministry Games and Fun!
What is different?
Where did games even come from in the first place?
And how should we adjust as we move forward into this new digital frontier?

In the subsequent videos we'll talk about
💬 Message Enhancement
🐑 Shepherding

So be sure to subscribe, so you don't miss a thing!

churchattendance #hiddentruth #unveiling #2023 #church #truth #revelation #faith #spirituality #religion #worship #community #christianity #belief #sunday #sacred #divine #belief #sermon #christian

========================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "1 Month Done for You Social Media Posting Tool"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

📹 "Adobe Premiere Pro Presets for Animating Layers"
https://share.hsforms.com/1VL1oWwWwQ82PLwsPFkPITgnumis

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS

https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

Website: https://www.hybridministry.xyz

📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/071

//View all the Charts and Graphs via YouTube
https://youtu.be/OiBjI9dMxu8

//Rank 'Em
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/rank-%27em---fall-edition/fall-8962.html

//Visual Variance Voyage
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/visual-variance-voyage%3A-fall-edition/holiday-or-seasonal/fall-9043.html

//Adobe Photoshop & Premiere Crash Course
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaKVpQBDSQV6Q9hFeXCptHSu

//Budget Friendly Design Options
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaIdZ-RLm5uVVlHj46FKrMYw

//Emoji Phraseology Vol 1
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology/social-media/instagram-6801.html

//Emoji Phraseology Camp Edition
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology---camp-edition/games/sequels-8122.html

//Emoji Phraseology: Summer Edition
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology---summer-edition/games/bundles-and-sequels-8088.html

//Emoji Phraseology: Easter Edition
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology-easter-edition/games/pop-culture-6957.html

//Emoji Phraseology: Vol 2
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology---vol-2/games/sequels-8640.html

//Emoji Phraseology: Halloween Edition
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology---halloween-edition/fall/halloween-8320.html

//Emoji Phraseology: March Madness
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology---madness-edition/spring/march-madness-8594.html

//Emoji Phraseology: 4th of July
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology---patriotic-edition/summer/4th-of-july-8780.html

//Emoji Phraseology: St. Patrick's Day
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology-shamrock-edition/games-6929.html

//Emoji Phraseology: Christmas Edition
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology%3A-christmas-edition/christmas-games-8426.html

//Emoji Phraseology: Superhero Edition
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology---superhero-edition/games/pop-culture-8827.html

//Emoji Phraseology: SuperBowl
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology---big-game-edition/sports/football-8520.html

//Emoji Phraseology: Bible Story Edition
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology---bible-story-edition/games/bible-based-8687.html

//Emoji Phraseology: Back 2 School
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology---back-2-school-edition/fall/back-to-school-8900.html

//Emoji Phraseology: Valentine's Day
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology%3A-love-edition---game-%26-social-media/games/humor-6855.html

🕰️TIMECODES
00:00-02:08 Exploring New Digital Frontiers in Youth Ministry
02:08-04:10 What is Hybrid Ministry?
04:10-08:20 Why do we play games in Youth Ministry?

08:20-17:35 3 Hybrid Game Ideas you can use this week!

✍️TRANSCRIPT
Try Transcribing for Yourself at Rev.Com
rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

Nick Clason (00:00):
Games and youth ministry, they go together like peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, Batman and Robin. But how can we as youth pastors or ministry leaders readjust the way in which we approach games and lean more into this digital space that we found ourselves in? Should we ignore it or should we find a way to capitalize on it? My approach and my mission for this podcast is to turn your ministry hybrid. How do we make your ministry hybrid, not just in person, not just digital, but a melding of the two. Does that mean that we should play more like cell phone based games, Kahoot games, zoom screen games? In this three part playlist, I want to give you the three new frontiers that we should be exploring as youth pastors, as youth ministry leaders into the digital space and frontier number one. Today. In this episode, we are going to be exploring the world of youth ministry and youth ministry games.

Nick Clason (01:02):
We're going to delve into the why and the philosophy of youth ministry and give you three games that you can adopt and take into your student ministry immediately today. All of this in effort as we are in this new digital frontier, this new digital space to effectively reach the students that God has placed in our trust with the message of hope and the mission of the gospel. We're also going to be exploring in this playlist how you can bring up your message enhancement in the hybrid world, and finally, how you can implement ongoing care, shepherding and relationships to the students that God has entrusted into you and your care in your student ministry. But let's dive further into this new frontier of digital discipleship through the means and avenues of games. Make sure also that you stick around to the very end because at the end I'm going to leave with you a one surefire resource that you can implement with multiple done for you game ideas and ways that you can hybridize your ministry.

Nick Clason (01:58):
And I have the ultimate hack that you can bring just about any game and turn it into a hybrid game. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. Well, hey everyone. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. I am Nick Clason, a 13 year youth ministry veteran, currently serving in the great state of Texas. And I want to let you know that I am on a mission, as I said in the intro, to help youth pastors usher themselves more and more into this digital age. And I want to make sure that we are keeping the integrity of our in-person gatherings while also offering more and more of an opportunity for our students to engage with us from a digital mindset and digital framework. And so what I actually have for you as a surefire link in the description, I have a ebook. I have created 40 a whole month's worth of posting strategy for you as a youth pastor implement the strategy that I'm currently using, the one that I've used to grow our YouTube account and our followership in our social media from zero to around 300 up to this point and just under a calendar year.

Nick Clason (03:03):
And it will give you ideas and games that you can use and implement that are turnkey right now that you can use. But they're custom. You and your students and your volunteers get to be the heroes on your youth ministry. It's not just a bunch of static on account of foreign kind of boring graphics. It's real faces, real human beings. If you put a little bit of work in, you can totally revolutionize your student ministry. And I also want to let you know that links right here at the top of this video is a link to a video, what I believe every youth ministry needs and why this is also important. It's basically the thesis for this entire podcast. Hey, and finally, I want to make sure that you like and subscribe to this episode because here's why we are going to be dropping more and more episodes, especially this one as we're exploring new frontiers of hybrid ministry in the next episodes to come.

Nick Clason (03:49):
And I want to make sure that you don't miss it and likes, honestly, they're free and they really, really help us out and they help us get this mission to more and more people. But let's explore before we dive into the actual nitty gritty of games and youth ministry, let's talk about the philosophy and even the history of youth ministry and youth ministry games. Where did games come from? Why do we do them? It seems like it's the rite of passage. Every single youth ministry needs games. You look at resources like YM 360, download, youth ministry, even old school back in the day group. They're all trying to help solve this problem of how can you have games and what do games look like and where can you best take care of supplying games for you and your students? And we have screen-based games and active games and digital games and hybrid games, and we're going to get into all of that.

Nick Clason (04:43):
But I wanted to take a step back and be like, where did this even come from? So back in the 18 hundreds when students were not going to school on a regular basis, they were working six days a week, they invented this idea of Sunday School to bring about an age graded focus for students and an age graded Bible study, one that was a little bit more relevant to them in their timeframe, a little bit more relevant to them in their age group. And so what they did was they created this breakdown by age and grade and gender even. And they started to create this school vibe where they would teach the Bible. Well then fast forward to the 1940s, churches were maybe not super relevant to reaching young people. And so these two organizations popped up right around the same time, young Life and youth for Christ.

Nick Clason (05:34):
And so they both came with the mindset with the entire goal is to reach young people, reach 'em for Christ, and help change them from the inside out and revolutionize them with the power of the gospel. And then finally in the 1970s, churches began to start to see a void of that because what they were doing was in Sunday school mode, they're having volunteers and parents kind of lead these groups, but they started to identify this need for pastors, for people who could come in and who could be specialists in this area for teenagers and for the young people in their churches because they saw what was going on with Youth for Christ and Young Life. And they wanted to also bring that and usher that into the local church. And so since about the 1970s and the Jesus Revolution time, shout out to that movie if you haven't seen it yet, but they're bringing about this young people, this place for young people to come and find belonging, meaning, and purpose.

Nick Clason (06:28):
So that's the history of youth ministry. But why games? So if you look over time, there's always an element of fun and something that will bring about a draw of a crowd. And so to get the maximum amount of people you might feed people, you might offer fun, you might offer warmth, you might offer a great environment or a good vibe. And the truth of matter is, is that games have always sort of been a staple in what we've done in youth ministry, so much so that I do think at some point we've gotten a little bit rote with them and they're benign, and we just do them without even thinking like, well, what's the game going to be? Well, why are we even doing games? What's the purpose? And so what I've seen in my 13 years of student ministry experience is that if you just do games for game's sake, it doesn't have much to offer.

Nick Clason (07:17):
But in my mind, the purpose of a game is to help speak the language of teenagers, which by the way is the entire reason why I have this ebook linked in the description below for you to become more hybrid and for you to become more digitally focused. Because I believe it's a way for us to speak the language better of our teenagers and teenagers, whether they want to admit it or not, they love fun. Fun is the currency of teenagers. Fun helps break down the walls of people who may or may not know why they're at your church or who God is, or they're exploring this faith thing for the very first time. And fun helps alleviate and reduce the tension out of the room why we do what we do. And so with that in mind, I want to give you three game ideas, three hybrid game ideas that you can take use and even download immediately with links in the description of this episode that you can use both on your social media in person, and better yet, maybe you can find a way to meld the two together.

Nick Clason (08:17):
So let's explore that in the next section. All right, so link below in the description are three games that I have in my Download Youth Ministry store right now, and they are fun ones that I like to use. But I also just want to let you know that in all of this, many of the things that I'm going to be suggesting to you are also linked in my completely free ebook. So if you don't want to go pay for it, you can come up with some of these ideas on your very own by just looking at my completely free ebook, which is 40 done for You Ideas to help you and your students and your volunteers become the heroes on your church's social media and in your church's digital presence. And listen, in my ebook, I'm going to give you just a little bit of a sneak peek and a little bit of a hack.

Nick Clason (09:01):
I recommend that you sit just like this direct to camera and present and preach your message ahead of time before you deliver it live into the room. You then use that to clip up, make short sermon clips. But if you aren't willing and don't have the time to do that, I do recommend the remainder of my strategy, which is having fun with your students and having fun with your leaders and having fun with maybe even other staff on camera and posting that to your social media because it's a way that you can interact and engage with something that's live and happening real and in the room, but you can also show that content out to the rest of the world, and if not the rest of the world, at least the rest of your church, the rest of your youth ministry, the parents that are connected to the students in your ministry.

Nick Clason (09:45):
And so three of these ideas are ideas that I have either detailed or outlined before, or ones that I've come up with since I released the ebook. So the first one is a game called Rank 'em, and there's two different ways to do it. I believe right now I have the fall version online on DYM and coming up soon, I should be having the Christmas version drop onto Download Youth Ministry. But Rank 'em is basically a, Hey, let your students take these five things and rank them one through five. Now, one of my favorite variations to that is what's called, and maybe you've seen it if you've been on TikTok or Reels, is the blind ranking thing, which is where different categories of things come in. So let's say you're doing

Nick Clason (10:24):
A blind ranking of a TV show, and I say The Office, and then you have to put it in one through five list. And so for me, if I got the office, I'd be like, well, that's one. But then if someone was like, fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines, I'd be like, man, I like that show a lot. Probably put it at three. I'm afraid to give away two. And then if someone's like, okay, Ted Lasso, I'll be like, oh, Ted Lasso so good. I want to put it at one, but I can't start putting the office there. So I guess I'll put it in at two. And then if someone was like the ugliest houses in America, I'd be like, okay, I can put that at five. I like it, but I want to reserve four for something. And then they said, the Mandalorian, I'd be like, all right, four.

Nick Clason (11:00):
And I'd be like, you know what? I don't hate that list. What do you think Office, Ted Lasso Fixer Upper Mandalorian houses in America. I'm okay with that list, right? But the point is, I didn't know what was coming next. That's the idea of a blind ranking. And so I have two versions in this actual game. Rank 'em where you can play live in the room with five things. You can do the one by one where they come in one at a time and you have to choose to rank 'em. I also have a social media version where you can take it and you can post it on your reels tos, YouTube shorts, and you can let students interact with it there and give their rankings. You can post it on YouTube story, or I'm sorry, Instagram stories if you don't have any of the other short kind of form platforms.

Nick Clason (11:39):
But you can use this. And again, if you get this game, I played this game in my context, live in the room a couple of weeks ago, and we only got to three questions. So what I did was, the way that I played it was I had myself and a co-host. And so the first one was me. They had to guess my rankings of these certain things at their tables together. And then how they did. Then we went to my co-host, they had to guess his rankings of the certain things, and then finally we switched that and they could rank them themselves. But the game has 10 questions, and so we only used three. So that leaves me seven more that I can use kind of sprinkled throughout on my socials throughout the rest of the week. Game idea number two is the visual variance voyage.

Nick Clason (12:20):
And because I'm a good Baptist, I like a good alliteration, but essentially it's a spot the difference game. And so if you get the widescreen version on DYM, I should have a fall version as well as a Christmas version coming out here soon. You have two graphics come in side by side, and you have to spot the difference. And listen, the best thing right now is that Adobe Photoshop, generative AI is letting you just add things to pictures kind of here and there. And it is a game changer for a game like this. By the way, if you want to level up your Photoshop skills, I have a link in the playlist to my Adobe editing and Photoshop. If that's something that you're interested, go check that out if you want a cheaper version. I also have link down there below Budget graphics for people who are looking to save time and money going through PowerPoint, Canva, Adobe Express and Instagram.

Nick Clason (13:04):
But in the visual variance voyage, you have two different pictures and you're just trying to identify what is different. But there's a timer on the screen and it's counting down. So you can play that live in your room, you can get contestants, you can play it in groups, you can play it at tables. But I also like that I have created a vertical based graphic that you can use, and you can then take those, and you can post those on Instagram stories or on shorts, whatever. And again, in both of these, rank 'em and in the visual variance voyage, if you don't want to use my canned graphics with a canned background, you can take the concept, right? You can take the two pictures and you can show them to somebody on a camera walking around your youth space like, Hey, spot the difference in less than 10 seconds.

Nick Clason (13:45):
Go. And then have them try to guess it, but you film them and you post that to your TikTok or to your YouTube short or whatever, and you can do just a simple picture and picture. Take my graphic that I've created and do a picture and picture with the video that you take of the person trying to guess. And so that's taking it to the next level where you take a game that you could just post a game in and of itself. But if you take that game and you film somebody trying to play it, then that's a whole nother level to it. Which leads me to my third option, which is my favorite option is emoji phraseology. I have just about any variant of season and game that you can think of. And basically what it is is you're trying to guess the emoji phrase, whether it's Christmas, whether it's fall, whether it's New Year's, whether it's February for Valentine's Day, whether it's St.

Nick Clason (14:28):
Patrick's. I mean, I literally have just about every season on download youth ministry, every single variation is linked down below in the show notes. But one of the favorite ways that I've done with this is I've just done one question by one question where we've gone up to people and we've asked them to guess, and then we've taken that graphic and they looked at it, and then I did a little picture and picture, or I actually put the actual icons on. I've done it where I did full editing and Adobe Premiere Pro with animations and sounds. And I've also done it where I just, in the TikTok editor, I just put the emojis on the screen and people had to try and guess and see what was playing. And so in all of those are games that you could play physically. Those are also games that you can play only digitally.

Nick Clason (15:10):
And my favorite is film other people playing those games and then post those out to your socials. One of the ones that was the biggest hit for the emoji was we went around and we did bible story emojis, and we asked different members of our staff and those, those were a massive hit, seeing other pastors and staff and senior pastors out there trying to guess those things on our socials. So here's the thing. The last way, the Ultimate Hack, I told you I was going to give you this ultimate hack. You can play just about any game, any game on download, youth ministry. It doesn't have to be one of my games. It can be any game that you find on there. It doesn't even have to have a phone-based formatting for it, but play any game. And then at the end of it, if it's a subjective based game where people are creating something, making a song, doing a lip sync, decorating a donut, whatever the case might be, take pictures of those things and then post them to social media and tell them that the vote is going to be what determines the winner.

Nick Clason (16:09):
And the voting is done on Instagram that does two things. It promotes your social media and it allows the students to be the judge, not just some random celebrity judge, not just you trying to pull something out of your hat at the last minute, right? Because Gen Z and Gen Alpha love to be publishers, they love to contribute to publishing the content, not just simply basic consumers being told what has happened to them. That is an older school, older industrial minded way of doing things. They want to know that their voice matters and that they actually even have a voice that you care about and that you want to listen to. And so that, I believe, is way number one, that you can wade into this exploring of a new frontier of how you can implement fun and games, not just in your room, not just online, but also in a hybrid way to help give students an opportunity to lean in and have their voice be heard in this hybrid way of doing things.

Nick Clason (16:59):
Which reminder is why I said in my ebook, I outline all the ways that you can flesh this out with posts twice a day for five days a week. You can scale it back if you don't have the bandwidth to do that, but whatever the case might be, I have millions of ideas in there from spiritual practice to fun, to your message content and ways that you can get that message out to spread the message of hope. So click the link for that down below in the description, and in the next video, we're going to be exploring how you can enhance your message and your ministry live in the room with hybrid versions. You're not going to want to miss it. Click that on the screen and we'll catch you on that side.

Episode 057: Understanding Generation Alpha: Navigating Future Implications for Pastors and Church Leaders

Nick Clason — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:00:00 -0500

Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Podcast, where we explore the ever-evolving landscape of ministry in the digital age. In this enlightening episode, we dive deep into the emerging Generation Alpha and its future implications for pastors and church leaders.

🎙️ Unraveling Generation Alpha:
Generation Alpha, born between 2010 and 2025, is the first generation to be entirely immersed in the digital world from birth. These tech-savvy and highly connected individuals are growing up amidst unprecedented technological advancements, shaping their worldviews, values, and relationships in unique ways. Join us as we dissect the defining characteristics of Generation Alpha and explore how they differ from previous generations.

🧭 Navigating Future Ministry Challenges:
As Generation Alpha matures, pastors and church leaders must prepare for new ministry challenges and opportunities. How can the Church effectively communicate timeless truths to a generation that processes information differently? What strategies can we adopt to ensure that biblical values remain relevant in the fast-paced, technology-driven lives of Alpha kids? Nick share insights and experiences that shed light on these crucial questions.

💡 Embracing Innovation and Adaptability:
In this episode, we emphasize the importance of embracing innovation and adaptability in ministry. Discover how churches and faith communities worldwide are already leveraging technology to engage with Generation Alpha on digital platforms, fostering meaningful connections and nurturing their spiritual growth.

🌟 Building a Generation Alpha-Inclusive Ministry:
Join us as we explore practical tips and strategies for building a Generation Alpha-inclusive ministry that celebrates diversity and encourages genuine connections. From utilizing interactive multimedia content to designing age-appropriate digital discipleship programs, our experts share actionable advice to empower pastors and leaders in reaching and discipling the Alpha generation effectively.

🎧 Tune in to the Hybrid Ministry Podcast and join the conversation on navigating ministry in the era of Generation Alpha. Don't miss this opportunity to equip yourself with the insights and tools needed to effectively minister to the next generation of faith pioneers.

🌐 For more resources, articles, and discussions on ministry in the digital age, visit our website at HybridMinistry.xyz

🎥 YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick

📱SOCIAL
TIKTOK:
https://www.tiktok.com/@clasonnick

INSTAGRAM:
http://www.instagram.com/hybridministry

🗒️ SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/057

🆓 FREEBIES
FREE Animation Effects for Adobe Premiere Pro:
https://share.hsforms.com/1VL1oWwWwQ82PLwsPFkPITgnumis

FREE E-Book:
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

⏱️TIMECODES
00:00-02:30 Intro
02:30-07:25 Meet Generation Alpha - Who are they? When were they born? What do we know?
07:25-10:38 Three Interesting Trends about Generation Alpha
10:38-18:06 How Generation Alpha will shape the church in the Future
18:06-19:00 Outro

TRANSCRIPT
Nick Clason (00:00):

Nick Clason (00:07):
Well, hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show. I am your host, Nick Clason, thrilled, excited, pumped, and Jack to be with you. Another episode in the Cross Creek Mug. Listen, I'm gonna take this rig back to my house at some point in time, but I brought this in, um, 'cause I did those Adobe and Photoshop episodes and, um, that was a little bit for me, selfish and two-pronged. Um, but for those of you not watching, I'm in my office, uh, drinking some coffee this morning. Um, freshly roasted Burundi from Burundi. Did it on my back patio last night. Didn't get the chaff off as much as I would've wanted to. So I'm gonna be working on that here in the future. Uh, in this episode, we are going to be talking about all things generation Alpha. Now listen, we've been talking Gen Z a lot, but we are gonna, um, shift the conversation even younger because Gen Alpha is currently, um, thought to have been born between 2010 and 2025, meaning they're not even born all the way yet, .

Nick Clason (01:17):
And so we're gonna talk at them, we're gonna talk about them a little bit. There's a few statistics and things that are interesting about them, but they're not fully formed and they're not fully developed yet. And so these are just a lot of things that may just be conjecture, things that we're looking at ahead in the future, curious about. So join me as we dive into that, and here's why, because I think that the younger generations tend to formulate and bring about formation to the older generations and the older demographics. So as always, you can head to the link in the show notes, http://www.hybridministry.xyz/057 for full transcripts. It's also gonna have a link to our YouTube channel where you can subscribe, like rate review, a rating or review in the purple podcast app would be amazing. We are on Instagram, we are on TikTok, we are all the places. And Link in the show notes will have your chance for a 100% completely free ebook, as well as the video transitions that you can get in Adobe Premier Pro. Without any further ado, let's dive into why we need to look at and learn from Generation Alpha for the future of the church. Here we go.

Nick Clason (02:30):
All right, so Generation Alpha, that is a new demographic younger than Generation Z, right? We had Generation X, generation Y, which we have nicknamed and colloquially, colloquially called the millennials, and then Generation Z. What do you do after Z? Well, you go back to the beginning. So now we're in Generation Alpha. They may have a new name, they may have something, um, that they're called in the future, but for right now, we are referring to them as generation alpha. So right now, I am a youth pastor. If you're not in youth ministry, you may feel like this isn't even a thing that is worth worrying about, but just for some frame of reference and context, right now is actually a really clear year in my mind because middle schoolers are generation alpha and, um, high schoolers are Generation Z. That line, it's an arbitrary line that you draw right between like generations, but most researchers would draw that line, like I said, 2010.

Nick Clason (03:28):
So you do a little bit of quick math that makes it like a 13 year old. So you're looking at sixth grade, seventh grade, maybe some eighth graders, and then ninth grade and on up. They are younger. But similarly to look at the gap between Gen Z and millennials, we called them, um, some people have called them millennials because they're zrs, but they're also millennials. So they got kind of attributes of both generations. The same thing is gonna be true of the lines, the edges of these arbitrary drawings. Couple of things that are worth noting that I wanna share with you. Um, I got, uh, I looked at an article from exploding topics.com/blog/generation alpha stats. I'll drop the link to that for y'all in the show notes. Make sure you go check that out. Most of this stuff comes from there, but they have it linked to deeper research where they got their information from.

Nick Clason (04:17):
So go ahead, check those things out. But children between ages of eight and 12, okay? So that's upper elementary, lower middle spend on average four hours and 44 minutes in front of screens every single day. Just think about that for a minute. Four hours and 44 minutes. And while you may be listening to this and thinking, man, that's crazy, that's a lot. How much time are you spending in front of a screen every single day? I mean, right here is my office, I'm sitting in front of a screen, I have another screen, I have my phone, I'm, I'm in front of this eight hours a day, right? Not to mention TVs, not to mention phones, but what really struck this cord for me, what was really making me want to dive into this a little bit more is this the actual screen itself. So we were on vacation last week.

Nick Clason (05:03):
We were in Florida and we had a tv, just like every room in the America on vacation in hotels or condos has a a tv, right? And there was a problem with the TV though, because the TV only had basic cable. My kids don't understand basic cable, so they would wanna watch TV and they would ask to watch a certain show, and I'd say, bro, I I can't get that show on the TV for you. I can't make Phineas and Ferb be what they play. I don't even know if Disney Channel does Phineas and Ferb anymore. It was mostly big city Greens is what was on. And so instead, my kids as opposed to being like, oh, okay, like they didn't get it. They're like, well, okay, can we watch Phineas and Ferb on your iPad? So I have a seven year old and a four year old.

Nick Clason (05:45):
And so one of them adopted my iPad and one of them adopted my wife's iPad. One of them watched Pho and Ferb, one of them watched Mickey Mouse Funhouse. Meanwhile, in the master bedroom where my wife and I were staying the TV in there, I couldn't get it work. And I had, I host a podcast about hybrid ministry, so you'd think I of all people should be able to get this thing to work when I couldn't. My wife was like, well, it's a lost cause. So since I couldn't, the two of us also were just like on our phones, right? Like, um, at the time of the vacation and, and you know, we're gonna be a month in advance or so on this, uh, when I actually post. But, uh, it was n b a free agency. So I was like, checking woe notifications if you know, you know, Sean's notifications from the Athletic and just watching like, uh, YouTube and podcasts and things like that as they're, you know, analyzing the Fred Van Veit signing in Houston and Dylan Brooks and in Houston, and you know, Chris Middleton back to The Bucks and all these things, right?

Nick Clason (06:34):
So I'm just watching it on my phone. My wife's, you know, she's over there on reels. That's her normal anyway, she's not a big like TV person. She's more like scroll some reels, you know, for her like entertainment, so to speak. So the four of us, my, my wife and I, and my two kids, all of us were on screens, but not the biggest screen, not the TV screen. And I think I, to me, it was like just this eye-opening moment. First of all, I can't even go on vacation without thinking about this podcast, right? But it was this kinda like eye-opening moment, like, man, none of us are watching tv. We're all just on smaller screens. What does this mean? So it caused me to just start asking some questions about the younger generation, um, gen Alpha. I think that these are gonna be related to Generation Z as well.

Nick Clason (07:16):
Uh, so I wanna share with y'all a couple of stats. So let's go ahead and take a minute, dive into what some of these, um, fascinating generation Alpha stats are. Let's go. All right, so like I said, according to the exploring topics.com blog, here are some of the stats from Generation Alpha. 47% of Gen Alpha say that they prefer to split their free time between screen time and being outdoors. 47%. So right about half prefer screen time and outdoors. And I think, like if I were to inspect that and ask some questions about it a little bit, really what I'm saying is like, indoors equals screen time and outdoors equals outdoors, which is, you know, normal. The question is like, is there, are there things inside that Gen Alpha are navigating, using, spending time on that are not screen based? The next thing I wanna show you is it says Gen Alpha use an average of 4.2 streaming services.

Nick Clason (08:13):
That's Gen Alpha. Frankly, I use Disney plus, I use Discovery Plus I use Netflix. Sometimes I use Prime, sometimes I use Hulu. Sometimes I stream off the E S P N app. Sometimes I use like Sling. I mean, I'm up to seven. So while you were like, man, that might sound like a lot. I, I don't think it actually sounds like a lot at all. I have tons of different streaming services, and quite frankly, I've cut the cord with cable years ago, and every time I go on vacation, I'm reminded like, yeah, I don't want cable. Like, that's not what I want, right? Like, I enjoy my streaming services, part of the problem. Now, streaming services, you add all the costs together just as much as cable or more. And so I'm like, I don't know if this is actually saving me any money. 'cause there's enough platforms out there now that they're diversified across all of 'em, you know?

Nick Clason (08:58):
Um, additionally, 59% of gen alphas say that watching TV and movies is their favorite weekend activity. 50% name it as their favorite afterschool activity. And 70% of eight to 11 year olds consider TV and movies to be among their favorite activities. So just think about that. Screen time, gen Z, all that stuff is part of what, um, how they're spending their time on screens. It is wild. And lastly, 38% of gen alpha gamers want a video game that allowed them to build or create. And I think there's something there talking about Minecraft, talking about Roblox types of games. They like to be contributors and creators to the moment, not just passive consumers. You know, my kids, they watch, um, some YouTube, uh, we have YouTube kids, we try to have all the blocks that we can keep 'em safe out there on the internet. But the, my son has recently gotten into watching people play video games.

Nick Clason (09:59):
And I'm like, bro, why don't you play a video game yourself? So this weekend I downloaded Mario Kart so that we could have some family Mario Kar battles, which has been pretty fun. Uh, but it's kinda like my kids, uh, seven and four year old, it's kind of their first time ever playing, um, video games, right? And so, um, they're now getting to experience what it's actually like to, to play it. And then I got home from church yesterday and man, they, they had been playing it for hours up to that point. So pretty fun. Um, pretty exciting times. But what does all this stuff mean? So let's dive in to talk about some big ideas and pictures of what this might mean for the church going forward. All right? So let's talk about what this might mean for the idea of the future church.

Nick Clason (10:43):
So philosophically speaking, as you're listening to this, you might be thinking Gen Alpha, I don't have to care about that. I don't have to worry about that. I'm not in youth ministry. And while that may be true, um, because even some of these kids aren't even born yet, right? Uh, gen Alpha, the lines I've read are 2010 to 2025. Birth years. We're in 2023 at the time of this recording. So there's still two more years of gen alphas to be born, to be popping out people, right? So, , what does this mean? You might be thinking, and here's here's why I think this matters, because philosophically, churches and cultures tend to gravitate towards youth. Watch any movie on Hollywood, watch any movie on tv like you're going, the the main character you're going to find is somebody who is young. And so younger generations tend to kind of carry the weight and carry the day as it pertains to culture and culture.

Nick Clason (11:32):
Building youth shapes culture. So if youth shapes culture, then we need to look at what the youth and what the younger people are doing, um, gravitating towards what the trends are, and then what this might mean for us as a church going forward. Because here's what's gonna happen. If not, we're going to become less relevant. We're gonna become more antiquated. And if we are not because we're trying to attract people and, and make Jesus attractive, but because we're trying to be, as Paul said, I, I become a Jew for, for Jews, a Greek for Greeks to, so that I may win some in accordance and for sake of the gospel. And so that's what we're gonna do. Uh, we're going to, um, try and meet people and reach people where they are, where they are spending their time. So philosophically speaking, culture tends to trend younger. So what does that mean? And what are some of the things that we can just right now look at, grab and move forward? Let's go ahead, take a look at that.

Nick Clason (12:32):
So practically speaking, I have three practical ideas for churches. So the first thing is make things optimized for your phone. Listen, if your website is already not optimized for a phone, like you need to probably stop listening to this right now and go make that happen asap. That is a very crucial and very important part of ministry, I think in, uh, 2023 and beyond. Also, what are ways in which you can invade the phone, not in a creepy way, but in a meaningful way to generations that are not at church in the moment, right? So like both, how can they engage with the at church? So one of my favorite things is the YouVersion, um, bible app, the notes section where they can take notes, follow along, but also like Bible reading plans, short form video, um, short, short form video based content pieces for social media, TikTok, reel shorts, um, that are both funny, fun, relevant and, um, biblical and things that are gonna help them like grow more, uh, as a disciple and as a follower of Jesus.

Nick Clason (13:35):
So both, what can you do for phones in person and what can you do for phones, um, while they're not there. The other thing I think that is worthwhile is as much screen time as people are spending, how can we as a church offer for them moments not on screens at church. So like, we most recently went to summer camp a couple weeks ago and we offered and challenged our students to adopt the low sell slash no sell challenge. And we rewarded students who took part in that because we thought they would get more outta camp if they were on their phones less as opposed to more. But here's the thing, we didn't just do a blanket no cell phone policy because kids use their phones for alarms. Kids use their phones for cameras, kids use their phones for all kinds of different things. And quite frankly, so do you, and so do I like my phone is my g p s my phone is my daytimer, my phone is my like, you know, I got a question.

Nick Clason (14:29):
Look it up. Like my phone is, is a lot of things to me. And I think that's part of the problem is we a lot of times equate screen time to just simply social media when in the reality screen time is a lot of things. Like when I travel, my screen time goes through the roof, not 'cause I'm spending more time on my phones at my vacation destination, but because I'm traveling and I got my Maps app open the whole time and my screen is counting that against me. The second thing is, can you incorporate video games? Students are spending more and more time on video games. So both that could be like in your environment, especially if you're a youth pastor, that's not a foreign idea. It's, it's been around for years. Honestly. I grew up in a ministry that had video games offered to me as a teenager, but can you also, um, maybe incorporate video games in things like Twitch streams or YouTube gaming, like those types of things.

Nick Clason (15:17):
And can you use that to both, um, let students watch and, and view and participate in from a passive view perspective and or can you flip that script and give them opportunities, platforms, times to come in stream? Things like, can you find a way to incorporate that into your ministry to create a wider pool and a wider reach? Because just think about this. If you invite someone into to stream on one of your platforms, they're gonna cross promote that. They're gonna tell their friends that they're online, like all kinds of fun stuff like that. So, so start thinking and asking yourself, are there ways to incorporate video games? That's one of the ways that Gen Alpha is using, especially things like Minecraft and Roblox. One of the things that I thought was awesome during c o we built a dedicated for our own student ministry Minecraft server, and it was really cool.

Nick Clason (16:08):
Like it was a really cool thing. Um, you know, covid and, and you know, our leaders not really getting it and getting into it helped it, you know, not have as much traction as I think it could have maybe should have. Um, but, but things like that are so cool, so niche. Are there ways to utilize that for the advancement, um, of your student ministry culture, advancement of the name of Jesus, the gospel, all those types of things I think worth que are, are worth questioning. And the third thing is I think we need to start discipling students through it and not away from it. If you're anything like me, you've grown up in, you know, early nineties, uh, mid two thousands almost all of the things were like challenging students to, to lay things aside, like turn your phone into a dumb phone, all these things.

Nick Clason (16:53):
And I think those are good things. I think if you, if you feel so inclined to do that personally, then you should do that. But I think, like I said, phones are not going anywhere, right? Um, but how do we help disciple people through it? Um, because they have it, right? Like, I'll just say this as a parent, I am going to hold off on getting my kids a phone for as long as humanly possible. I say that right now when they're seven and four. I can't tell you what it's gonna be like in five years or seven years and where they're at with that, but I don't want them to have a phone. 'cause there are dangers on there that pornography addiction, things like that all can stem from a simple device in your pocket. That being said, many, many of our people have them. So how do we help navigate them through it? How do we help create within them good digital hygiene, um, good practices to navigating having a phone and living in the worldwide web in the 21st century and using it for good and using it to reach people for the gospel. So I think that's a shift that the church needs to start moving towards is less, Hey, cut it off, go cold Turkey instead. Hey, you have it, but with it, here's how you can use it.

Nick Clason (18:07):
Well, hey everyone, thanks so much for sticking around to the end of this episode. I hope you found it helpful. As always, link in the show notes for transcripts, links to the YouTube video if you wanna watch that. And TikTok, Instagram, YouTube shorts, all those things go like, follow, subscribe, uh, all the places. Um, we love hanging out with y'all. If you have a question, head to our website, http://www.hybridministry.xyz and send us a question. We would love to answer it here on the pod at some point in the future. And don't forget, we got a couple freebies in the show notes as well. So go to the show notes. That is going to be your one stop shop for everything that you need. And don't forget, and as always, stay hybrid.

Episode 026: Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account? A Complete Guide to Posting a TikTok from Start to Finish

Nick Clason — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 04:00:00 -0600

SUMMARY
In this episode, Nick walks through the step-by-step and page by page menu options for posting a TikTok. Whether you're versed in this or this is your first time opening the app, this guide will take you from start to finish! And Nick shares some tips on what and how to share to other social media platforms.

This also comes with a complete digital downloadable guide: https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook
Or check out the complete YouTube Video on it: https://youtu.be/oxBn-p9O-eg
As always, every episode available with FREE transcripts at: http://www.hybridministry.xyz
And hang with Nick on TikTok at: https://www.tiktok.com/@clasonnick
FREE Checklist: https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/free-social-media-checklist

TIMECODES
TIMECODES
00:00-00:53 – Intro
00:53-03:11 - Why TikTok, Reels and Short Form Video?
03:11-03:47- - Logging Into TikTok for the First Time
03:47-05:56 - Video Menu Options
05:56-07:03 - Profile Menu Options
07:03-12:07 - Creating a Video
12:07-17:21 - Editing the Video
17:21-19:34 - Time to Post it!
19:34-20:46 - Make sure you do this ONE THING before posting to other platforms
20:46- - Outro

TRANSCRIPT
Nick Clason (00:01):
So have I already ruined my TikTok account? Here's a guide on how to post TikTok from start to finish. Hey everyone, my name is Nick Clason. I am the host of the Hybrid Ministry podcast, and this is a little special YouTube slash podcast episode I'm excited to bring to you on the framework for posting a TikTok in 2023. Now, there's a lot of things out there about like SEO and keywords and strategies and tips and hacks, and in fact, I actually have a checklist that I have pre created for all social media, just a basic like, uh, have you done this? Have you done that for posting to social media at your church? You can get the description or you can get the link for that in the description, the video down below, uh, or in the show notes, hybrid ministry.xyz. But why TikTok? Like why of all the platforms that we have, why TikTok?

Nick Clason (01:01):
And here's why. Every platform right now, Facebook, Instagram reels, YouTube shorts, they are all going after this short form video content. It's like lightning in a bottle. It's so easy to go viral. Um, and when I say easy, it's like you post the dumbest thing and it goes viral, but then you spend a lot of time and effort and energy on something that you think is amazing and it gets like 14 views. And so the reality is it's this very finicky, very like, hard to like land what is going to go viral, but when you see other social medias copying another social platform's kind of bread and butter, it's worth noting and it's worth, uh, going all in on. And so when every single major social platform is copying TikTok in their, uh, their, their for you sort of algorithm, you need to make that a priority.

Nick Clason (02:00):
It's, I would liken it to win Instagram stole stories from Snapchat, and now TikTok is actually stealing B reels, uh, post, now they call it the now feature in TikTok. So, uh, if you've never logged into TikTok, uh, or you have, and you know, you should, you've heard me talk about the importance of short form video, but you, you open it and it's overwhelming. You don't know what to do or you think you know what to do, but then you get kind of turned around editing videos or whatever and whatnot. This is meant to be a, uh, a thorough guide to every feature available in TikTok. Now, some caveats, I've really only been using TikTok for about three to six months now. Um, I too is just as much of a novice when I opened it. They're constantly evolving and changing, and I'm not even a hundred percent sure if I know all the features. I tried to comb through each and every feature as I was in preparation for this video, but there are several I haven't even used. And so

Nick Clason (02:59):
I just wanna be clear with that. Like, uh, I'm still at a very basic level, and so if, if I can do it, what we're doing in our church, you too can, can get up some very basic sort of content. So when you log into TikTok for the very first time, a video is probably going to start blaring at you at full volume. Okay? That can be a little bit disconcerting and throw you off. You're a rocker because most other platforms keep videos muted. TikTok for whatever reason is the opposite, so turn your volume all the way down, or if you just tap the screen, the video, whatever video they play, um, it'll pause it. Now, uh, if you're getting on TikTok for the first time and they're feeding you things that you don't wanna see, they're not, you're not interested in, hold that video down and just click, not interested.

Nick Clason (03:43):
Do that a few times and you're gonna teach the algorithm what you want to see. So when you, uh, are sitting there looking at a video, video that TikTok fed to you, you have, uh, several different video menu options. And so I want to, uh, run through what those are. The first one is you can, on the right hand side of your screen, you can follow the creator. Uh, that little plus sign right there will give you a, uh, follow, um, or not follow kind of option. Now, if you look at the very, very top of your screen, you're going to be looking at either following or for you, you're either in your following algorithm, all the people that you're following, or you're in your for U algorithm. TikTok will almost naturally bring you to the for U algorithm. So just be aware of that.

Nick Clason (04:34):
Even when you click follow the people, the videos that you're seeing may not be coming from followers. That's, again, that's one of the things that makes this algorithm unique. Um, you can, like the video, that's the heart. You can comment on it, you can save it. That's a little save, uh, little bookmark looking icon there. You can share it. That's the arrow out. You can send it to people within the TikTok app. You can, you can download the video and save it, or you can copy a link and send it. Uh, and then the bottom, uh, icon there, a little round one kinda looks like a, a record turning. That's the sound, that's the audio that is being used. Could be like an original audio from the creator, or it could be like a sound or a trend or something like that. All of that is to you.

Nick Clason (05:15):
On the right hand side of the screen at the bottom, you have five menu options. You have your home button and the subcategories for that, like I said, up at the top of the following. And the four you, then you have the, now that's TikTok, s b real copycat. It's almost identical to what Be Real is doing. Uh, you got the plus button there, then very dead center, that's your create button, okay? Then next you have your little envelope, that's your inbox. And for there you get your notifications, dms, likes, follows, et cetera. That's all the things that you, uh, when people interact with your content or your videos. And then finally, the last thing on the very right hand bottom corner, uh, is your profile. That's where you have your videos. Um, once you click on that, you'll see, uh, another kind of menu across the top.

Nick Clason (06:02):
Uh, the left most option is your videos, everything that you've posted kind of on your grid. The next one are your private videos. The next one are your saved videos. Remember that bookmark icon. And personally, I like to use that as a way to save ideas. So if I'm going through TikTok and there's a sound or an idea that I think is fun or interesting that I can use later, I'll save it. That's then where I'll find it. And what I'll personally do is I'll save that on my personal account, and then I will share that video to my ministry account. Then I will switch accounts, log over into my ministry account, go into my dms, and get that video from myself, and then I'll use that, um, either that sound or that idea or that trend or whatever I need from that video, maybe a filter, whatever that I'll use to them post.

Nick Clason (06:46):
Um, moving on on that menu, you got your liked videos. And then finally, um, there at the top, you can edit your profile, your link, all the other necessary and pertinent information there. Okay. Now, how do you, that's just simply viewing a video and kind of navigating through your basic menu items. So how do you then create a video? So the way to create a video is on your home screen. You can tap that plus button, all right? And once you tap that plus button, you're given several options. All right? At the very, very top center, uh, there's the option to add sound. You can add a sound that way by clicking it and searching for a sound. Or like I said, when you see that record player on a video, you can click on that. Um, and once you're, once you click on that, there will be a, it'll pull up all the videos, uh, that have used that sound.

Nick Clason (07:37):
You can click use this sound option. That is personally, I think the easiest way to do that. That's why I like to save those videos and then share them so I don't have to go and try and find those sounds. Again, that's my way of kind of archiving and remembering where those sounds are. Now one thing worth noting, if you're on a personal account, you can use any sound you want. If you are a business account, those are much more limiting. There are ways around it, um, like recording the video and then in post-production in like Adobe Premier Pro or something like that, dubbing that sound over. Then when you post it, it's gonna be technically an original sound. It's not gonna come from the trend sound. Uh, there are pros and cons. Uh, I've talked about this in past podcast episodes. There are pros and cons to, um, personal and business accounts.

Nick Clason (08:23):
Uh, you just gotta choose what matters most to you. I think probably the biggest downside of not doing a business account is your link and bio isn't really a link. It's just typed out and people have to like, then go type it into a browser so they can't click and go to your stuff. That's a pretty big downside, and you don't get as many analytics. Um, you still can see views and likes and those types of things by going to each individual video, but you're not able to see trends. And so once things start getting going for you, you probably do wanna swap over to a business account. Just know that it's gonna limit the sounds that you are able to use as a business account on your TikTok platform. All right, so you've clicked to create video. At the bottom of your screen, you're gonna have this big red record button that is gonna probably feel very familiar to you.

Nick Clason (09:09):
It's gonna look like a camera phone or something like that. Right above that, that red button you have the, you have a thing that says 15 s. That's for 15 seconds to the left of that. If you slide 30, uh, or 60 s I'm sorry, and then slide again, you have three m three minutes, okay? Uh, you can shave the time down after you record. So if you don't know how long it's gonna be and you just want to go the three minutes, then if you don't take that full time, it's not gonna post the full three minutes like black at the end of your video, right? So, uh, just know that going into it, if you're using a sound, like if a sound, you click use sound and it's already loaded at the top of your video there. When you click 15 s or 60 s, um, you switch to that often right below it, it'll say, this sound will only allow you to record for a maximum of seven seconds or something like that.

Nick Clason (09:59):
All right? And so then, you know, oh, I can just stick with the 15 seconds and I don't need all the other stuff. Right? Okay. So, um, to the left of the record button are, is your effects menu. So there, that's where you're gonna get like your green screen, or right now there's a delay mirror effect that's kind of trending on TikTok that's there. Um, things that like rotate through on your head that my TikTok account personally, like I do this thing for football and all the NFL teams rotate through. I have so many views on those, it's ridiculous, but that's what's helping kind of grow my audience. Um, that's where you're gonna get those types of effects. To the right of that is your upload button, okay? That's where you would upload a previously recorded video or photo from your phone, from your camera roll that you already shot outside of the TikTok app, for example.

Nick Clason (10:46):
Um, and so then at the top right you have, uh, the flip button that's just simply to flip your camera forward facing, rear facing beneath that you have, uh, your speed. So you have different speeds, 0.3 x 0.5 x one x, two x, and three x, uh, for recording speeds. Uh, below that you have the retouch option, full disclosure, and never used that thing. It's kinda like a filter thing. Beneath it, you have another filter option. This one I think is more about image, less about the specifics of like a retouch sort of thing. Beneath that, you have your timer. That's where you can like set your phone down and give it like a three second head start, so you can walk away from it and do a dance or whatever the case might be. Um, you have a three second, ten second option. When you do that.

Nick Clason (11:29):
Beneath that you have your q and a option. That's where sometimes you'll see a person's comment on the screen and you can reply with video to the comment. All right? So once you're ready to record, those are all your menu options. Now that we're ready to record, tap that record button. When you wanna start, and when you wanna stop immediately to the right of the button, you have two menu options that are now available. After recording, you have delete, it looks like, kind of like a backspace button. If you want to delete what you recorded, start over, try again. You can do that. There. You also have a red check mark. Um, and that's where you then accept the video. And now you move on into the next sort of editing phase of the, the video. Now, your new menu, once you're into the editing phase, in the top middle of the section, you have your sound.

Nick Clason (12:15):
If you haven't added a sound yet, that's where you can add a sound. Um, if you've already recorded a sound, a video with the sound, that's where you could delete that sound if you no longer want that sound mm-hmm. on the right hand side of the screen, um, you have, you are at the very top. You have your text on screen option, that's where you click that and you can type that out, um, on your left. Then you now have three different menu options, um, from your, from your text editor, right? You have the square with the A around it. If you, if you select that, that will add a border to the text on the screen. So it might be easier to read if you select it. Again, that will put a full background on that. And if you select it, again, it'll add a background, but now it's transparent and if you select it again, it'll go back to your original without any of those effects on it.

Nick Clason (13:04):
Then to the right of that, you have your paragraph alignment, you have center, then left alignment, then right alignment. And then to the right of that, you have your person with a speech. That's where you often get that voiceover effect. That says, um, that, that's used as a hook. A lot of times on videos, uh, if you choose that, it will make that, um, text on screen. It will turn it into, uh, a voiceover. And there, once you select that, you'll be given, uh, different options, different types of sounds to play around with. Um, once you select that, the menus you have are recommended motion creative vocals. Those are categories for the types of sounds, and then sub options within those. Okay? To determine what your text, uh, looks like, um, you have the classic option. You have the typewriter option, the handwriting option, neon option, and the CIF option.

Nick Clason (13:57):
And those. So you got your, your a, your paragraph, your speech, and then to the right of that, that's where you get your text, um, looking options. Okay? And then from there you can select colors and they do swipe from right to left so that you can pick which color you want on, on, on screen there. All right. So when you're done, select, done, pretty self-explanatory. The last thing that you can do then is once that, uh, text is now on the screen, if you select it, it'll pop up three menu options. All right? So you can, uh, text to speech, you can add that feature, or if you already did it, that's where you can change, uh, the voice or whatever the case may be. You can set the duration. How long does that text remain on screen? That's where like if, uh, at a certain sound effect or element or whatever, something pops up, uh, you would drag, you would drag the text to start there or to stop there.

Nick Clason (14:49):
Okay? And then the last thing thing is to edit, to actually like rewrite or, you know, you had a typo to go in there and change that. All right, moving on down beyond the text, you have your sticker options. That's things like your mentions, hashtags, you can add polls, support nonprofit, add a location, ask a question, reply the date, the time, all kinds of things. If you're familiar with Instagram Stories editor, it's very similar to the sticker options that you see on Instagram Stories. I've actually never even seen that menu option until I went to prepare for this video and I was like, oh, I didn't know all this stuff was on here. Um, beneath that, you have effects, okay? And so across the top, once you click effects, you have your trending effects, then you got visual motion effects, transitions, and, uh, split options.

Nick Clason (15:31):
So you can kind of explore different effects, things to add to your video and what, whatever, and whatnot. Right there, beneath that, you have your filters. It's just gonna change the look, feel your video. Beneath that, you have studio, that's where you're actually editing, cutting your video, okay? So if you wanna do something to edit the video, click on the video. It's gonna give you a video bar and a sound bar. If, if you have, uh, like just the, the audio from the video that you recorded, they'll be together. If you have a audio, like a song, those are gonna be two kind of separate things, okay? So if you click on your, your top option, your video option, once you do that, a little menu option down beneath will, will pop up. So you have split, you can change the speed, you can adjust the volume, you can rotate it, and ultimately you can delete it.

Nick Clason (16:20):
Uh, split is a great way. If you have like one big, long thing, um, and you're trying to do a little cuts, you drag to the spot, you split it, and then you delete the rest of the video, then you may add in another video that, that same video, probably do another cut, split delete on the front, delete it on the backside. I hope that makes sense. Um, so then to the right of your video bar option, right? You can click full screen and then there's a plus button, and that's where you can then add that video. Like I was just talking about. If you select the audio, you got your video bar, your, your audio bar, if you select audio, you can add your audio option. Once it's added, you can either replace the sound, adjust the volume, or choose to delete it. You save at the top right and you cancel at the top left.

Nick Clason (17:05):
Moving back out to our editor, um, beneath that you have your captions option A recommend a caption for almost any talking head video on TikTok. That's how, uh, SEO and search is gonna find certain topics. Beneath that, you have your Noise reducer, then your audio effects, and then finally your privacy settings. So once you're done there at the bottom, you then have two options. Bottom of your, your screen on the left, you have the stories option. And then to the right of that, you'll have your next option. Next is where you go to kind of tap to get to your final step before you actually post it. Okay? And so, um, there is where you would type in your caption, different from your captions on screen, right? But your caption of your actual video, the one that kind of like floats up, and then the likes and stuff stuff, follow it.

Nick Clason (17:50):
Um, you would also include your hashtags there. And then to the right of your, uh, caption box is where you would select your cover. If you click on that, you can drag your finger to a certain part of the video. You can also add title and text on top of it. Um, the, the title and text, it should be noted that those don't show up when someone's swiping through and just finding your video, those are mostly seen when someone lands on your profile and you want them to know what the video is. Okay? So those, those could be helpful. Also, if you do have onscreen things different from your, your text option, your title, text options there, like I showed you, um, those will also show, um, if someone land on your profile, they'll just be in a different type of format than, than TikTok has to offer.

Nick Clason (18:36):
Um, if they're, uh, like I said, if they're scrolling past, so they won't display on that screen. Also, there you can tag people, you can add a location, you can add links, and here's what it's available on the links. You have books, minigame Alpha by Titan Breathwork, Buzzfeed Quizzes, Contra Profile, disco Loco, 3d, I R L List with Two Eyes, Quizlet, rotten Tomatoes, stat Muse, and Whisk. Um, never use any of those. So you can check those out. You can then choose, um, who can watch the video, allow comments, allow to, uh, allow, allow Stitch, allow high quality, upload more options, save to device. If you click on the more options, save to device, which I just finally turned off by the way, I couldn't figure out where to get that. That's where you get that. You can select your caption language, um, branded content and ads, and then there's an automatically shared to IG or text ig, ig stories, Snapchat.

Nick Clason (19:30):
And then the last thing is, um, you can either put it in drafts or you can post it. Last thing I'd recommend, if you are uploading this to other places, um, once you upload it, click uh, go back into your profile, click on the three ellipses option, um, click copy link, and then go to your browser on your phone or on your computer, and type in to Google save TikTok without video watermark or save TikTok video without watermark. If you copy and paste that link into there, it will then download you an option from TikTok without the TikTok watermark all over it. Then you can take that same video and you can post it to Instagram, Facebook, YouTube shorts. Um, one thing I've noticed personally, just very anecdotally, is that every time I would post a TikTok, um, and then Instagram with the watermark, Instagram would give me almost no views once I started removing that. Um, we, we've had videos go, you know, 20,000, 30,000, 40,000 views because we removed the watermark. Um, I think that the two are kind of competing against each other. Instagram wants to use them, TikTok wants you to use them, so just confuse them and think that they're both being used even though you, you are using both of them. And, uh, they, they just aren't seeing that. Um, and that's just algorithm and kind of AI

Nick Clason (20:46):
Stuff. All right, so, hey, thank you so much for hanging out and getting that guide if, uh, or getting this guide on how to, how to post TikTok, um, on your account. Listen, if you found this helpful, like subscribe, share, rate, review, all the things, check us out, hybridministry.xyz and check out the description for, um, not only the, the social media checklist, but also the checklist on this, um, the written form of this video on how to post a TikTok, download that, put it on your desk, put it above your, your computer so that when you're posting, you have it as a reference. And until next time, we'll talk to you later.

Episode 022: Bridging the Generation Gap by using an episode of the Office.

Nick Clason — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 04:00:00 -0600

DESCRIPTION
In this episode, Nick dissects an Office episode that he recently was viewing and correlating that to how older and younger generations often approach the discussion around "In-Person" and "Digital" ministry. His proposal, was less "Either/or" and instead it was a "Both/And" approach. One that he likes to call "Hybrid"
What can the church take that is set to defacto "In-Person" only and create digital versions and digital access points for those same elements? Such as sermons, community and Bible reading.

Full transcripts and other resources available at: http://www.hybridministry.xyz
FREE Social media checklist at: https://merry-swamp-3547.fireside.fm/articles/free-social-media-checklist
Or come hang on TikTok at http://www.tiktok.com/@clasonnick

TIMECODES
00:00-04:12 What we can learn from The Office
04:12-07:24 Digital - Ryan
07:24-09:16 In Person - Michael
09:16-11:21 How to make those two become Hybrid
11:21-14:57 Sermons
14:57-16:12 Helping People Find Community
16:12-17:53 Bible Reading
17:53-19:38 Outro

TRANSCRIPT
Nick Clason (00:02):
What is up everybody? Welcome to another episode of the Hybrid Ministry podcast. So excited to be here with you. My name is Nick Clason, and I am of course your host. Glad to have you today. You know, I wanted to talk a little bit about, um, a little bit different of an episode today. I wanted to look at an episode from the American TV show, the Office. Now obviously, like many, many of us are very familiar with this television show, right? Um, and you know, it's actually really funny. I have a coworker who's younger, she's in her twenties, and she didn't even know that the show ever even aired on like Network tv. She thought it was always a streaming show. So anyway, so I'm, I'm doing a little re-watch of this show, and I mean, here's the thing, like truth be told, I'm kind of like always doing a re-watch of this show.

Nick Clason (00:53):
I'm always, it's always at some level or some layer available to me. But the episode in particular that I wanted to focus on was from season four, episode two. It's called Dunder Mifflin Infinity. And if you're not familiar with the show, let me just bring you up to speed a little bit on it. So, Ryan, new manager at Dunder Mifflin. Um, Michael is still the, uh, the regional manager, the guy that everyone's kind of like used to and, and no, and he's famous and whatever and whatnot. Ryan is now his boss. And so that lasts for about a season. But Ryan is this new kind of young, up and coming guy. And so Ryan's entire like focus and identity and purpose is, he wants to bring D Mifflin into the 21st century. He wants to digitize them. And so Ryan is sort of this all digital, this all kind of person, right?

Nick Clason (01:40):
Online is the future. This is how it needs to happen, this is how it goes. Eventually, Ryan ends up in jail for fraud. So it doesn't exactly end up well for him, but let's just take a look at this episode in a microcosm. Um, conversely, there's Michael, who's old school. Michael's all about relationships. Michael's all about customer service. That's always sort of been done. Mifflin's calling card in the office is they're able to, um, out customer service, the big box retail guys. So what they're doing constantly in all of their sales and all those things is they're saying like, Hey, we're better than Staples. We're better than Office Depot, and we're able to supply you guys with the best possible customer service. And so we have Michael, basically we have Michael versus Ryan, right? In this, in this episode. And as I was watching it, it made me, um, it made me really like interested in this juxtaposition that we find ourselves in the church, in digital versus in person.

Nick Clason (02:41):
All right? And so, um, basically to, to summarize, uh, the rest of the episode, Ryan's pushing everyone to be more digital, gives everybody blackberries. Like that's the whole thing. Michael is opposing it. Jan, his now, uh, girlfriend is telling him that, um, he can sue Ryan for being, um, ages istic, um, and pushing out all the old people. And so, um, in an attempt to win everybody back over, Michael takes gift baskets to 10 clients that they've lost and that have, uh, switched over to other companies. And in that, while he's doing that, right, people are like, Hey, um, thank you so much for this gift basket, but that website thing that you're talking about, that's actually quite interesting to me. So let me know when that's a, when that's up and running. I'll be interested in exploring coming back to your company. And so there's wins for them, um, but there still are wins in the kind of like customer service side of things.

Nick Clason (03:41):
And so if you're a fan of the show at all, uh, just real quick, Michael drives his car into a lake because he is following a GPS way too closely and way too literally. And, um, he comes back to the office soaking wet and he thinks that he's lost. And, but in the meantime, for some reason, Ryan doesn't have the kones to stand up to Michael and just put him in his place, which I always find odd and interesting, but it's just this kind of weird tension between the digital guy and the in-person guy. So let's explore digital real quick. So Ryan is the digital guy where online is the future. And, and it's where everyone's going. I mean, that's kind of the entire thrust of the entire nine seasons, right? Is that this company is becoming so irrelevant with how they're doing things that like all the other guys are, are passing them.

Nick Clason (04:28):
Like even in the beginning of this episode, there's a funny kind of bit where Ryan is talking about the overhaul of the website, and Jim goes, well, I don't know what's wrong with our website. And he goes to it and it's got like this little, uh, stick figure animation that says under construction coming soon, and it gives like a year. And like at the time of the airing, like that year had already passed. And so therefore it just goes to show that they had not at all and in any way been investing in their website, which is such a wild thing to think about how recently this show aired. Like that was, that's an, that was a necessary thing for people back then, or at least I feel like it should have been. And maybe, um, I'm forgetting how much older that show is, right?

Nick Clason (05:08):
But anyway, so Ryan's coming in and he's ready to overhaul this whole thing. And I, I see elements of myself in Ryan, um, and how I viewed digital ministry, um, very recently, and even maybe still a little bit if I am being completely and totally honest, right? So, uh, in the ways that I, I see myself like Ryan, I'm pushing all my chips into the middle, uh, saying I'm all in on online because I look at all the stats. I see that generation Z millennials, uh, high percentage of people are living their lives on Facebook. Uh, gen Z spends five to eight hours of screen time a day. And so therefore I'm like, we need to show up where they are. And I still believe those things, by the way, right? But sometimes at the, at the downfall of what happens on, uh, in an in-person experience or an in-person ministry type of moment, um, I forget that like there are valuable things, um, that can happen in the in-person type of moment.

Nick Clason (06:09):
And also, uh, the way I am, I'm, I, I often play devil's advocate. And so I feel like in uh, organizations, I kind of come in and I end up sort of taking the role of the change agent. And so if everything is, uh, a pendulum swing to, um, all the in-person style of ministry, I'm trying to push them to think about things another way. Not that I don't agree with these things, but just that like this church or this organization that I'm working in, they don't need more of that, right? They need more of this. And so my attitude and my posture becomes one of kind of all in and continually pushing in that way. So, uh, definitely in the last church I worked in, like there was this big argument on the heels of Covid. Covid was over. People were done with it.

Nick Clason (06:52):
They were ready to either come back or be in person or give up online, whatever. And I thought we were doing some valuable things online. And so therefore, I was making an attempt to continue to remain online. And so all I talked about all the things, I said, all my arguments were online, online, online. And I wonder if people that I worked with, like, do you, do you even care about some of this other in-person stuff? And the answer of course is, yes, I did. Right? But like, because of my personality and my devil's advocate this, I needed to keep pushing about it that way.

Nick Clason (07:26):
So let's look at Michael. Michael, anti-d digital anti online wants to be all about in-person, right? He's saying customer service still matters. He brings the gift baskets to all of his customers. I would say that I resonate with Michael in this episode very much like when I, uh, was back in Bible college, right? Um, in a lot of ways when I'm in college, I didn't have the ability to kind of nuance or think about things or see things in other ways. And so like this, like this is the way that it has to be. This is the way it's supposed to be very like dogmatic, right? Like I would say you can't do church without being together. Um, and I've even had conversations with, uh, former students of mine who've said those types of things, like, well, preaching has to be in person. And maybe one day I'll do a deep dive.

Nick Clason (08:14):
Um, first of all, I need to do some study into the theology of preaching in the theology of proclaiming God's word, right? But like, I need to look into that and say like, can preaching and can the exposition or delivering of God's word be done in a different way than behind a pulpit? And I guess I would have to say, I think it has to be, because biblically speaking, most pastors, exhorters teachers, overseers, shepherds, were not behind a pulpit. Like that's, that's a much more recent phenomenon. And so to say that that's the only way it can be can't actually be true. Cuz if you look at the Bible, that's not the way it was back then. And if we wanna wanna be true to what the Bible has to say and what the word of God has to say, then I don't know that we can make that, that, you know, conclusion.

Nick Clason (09:03):
Exactly. And so we see Michael very much in that like, this is how it has to be unwilling to kind of move and change and flex and adopt and become different, right? Like with the times and like, what's going on? All right, so that was Ryan. That was Michael. Well, now let's look at a hybrid approach to this, right? Because as I was watching this, obviously it's for comedy and obviously, right, it's for show, but Ryan and Michael, in my personal opinion were both right, but both of them were so consumed with winning, right? That like, it became, uh, comical about who is gonna win this guy or that guy, right? So, so Michael didn't want to go online at all. And I think that's dumb. Like there is going to be value in that, especially when you're watching the episode and some of the customers that he's seeing are like, uh, yeah, let me know when your website's back.

Nick Clason (09:57):
I think that they could do both, right? They could, they could have good customer service and have a good online sort of port, uh, portal, right? And make those things marry together. I think that, um, they could really serve their customers well cuz they are still small. And so if they were able to come up with a relevant, useful, good, uh, website, then could they bring that to their customers? And I think the answer to that is yes. And I wish that they would've, uh, seen that and that Michael and Ryan would've come together and willing and were willing more to work in like, sort of like a hybrid sort of way. I think. Um, Ryan wanted to go strictly online and was not concerned about losing the touch of, uh, their personal, uh, customer service, their personal touchability that Dunder Mifflin had. And I think that that's a big loss for him.

Nick Clason (10:47):
I think he's missing out on a pretty important moment. Why? Because, uh, Ryan, uh, didn't know what d mifflin's as up the sleeve was. The asep the sleeve was their customer service. So the people that were choosing to be with them did not want to be with them because of a nice new flashy website. Of course, he's thinking about reaching people, but how do you retain the people that are already there, um, as customers of your paper company? Okay? So I think both of them play a role. I think they mesh together really well. And at that intersection is where we find hybrid ministry. So let's explore in church, um, the pairing of the Ryan and the Michael, and where can some live things that we have a church have adopted or have become customary or we're just so used to, where can some of those live things be made more digital?

Nick Clason (11:39):
Okay, so number one, we have sermons. Let's talk about sermons again. I think one day I'd love to do a deep dive, maybe that'll be a future episode here of, um, sermons and exposition of the Bible and teaching and proclaiming of, of God's word. Um, where can some of those things be made into a digital format? Well, first and foremost, if you are preaching a sermon every single week, you can record that audio and immediately turn that into podcast. I read something that, um, the majority of adults, uh, listened to eight hours of podcasts a week. And so, um, I know like last week, for example, let me give you an example of my own life. I went to like a membership class at my church and I've told you guys, I'm new at my church. Um, and we weren't able to go to service or we were, but we kind of chose not to.

Nick Clason (12:28):
So hopefully anyone who like, um, I work for, sorry about that. Um, and guess what I did? I, I went and I was like, I'm gonna listen to this podcast, uh, later throughout the week. And so that is a really easy way for, for people in your church who miss. And it might even be, uh, easy way for people, um, who are unconnected to your church to come to, uh, at least an awareness of your church at a very like elementary level. And all you need to do is some simple plugin things into your audio board, capture your pastor's audio, some pretty basic mixing on the back end. You maybe don't even need to do a ton, as long as it doesn't sound horrendous. And then just upload that thing to an iTunes, um, apple podcast, Spotify podcast capture so that people can discover it.

Nick Clason (13:15):
Another layer to that of course could be to create like YouTube sermons. So to record your, um, sermon and your audio and pair those together. Of course, if you listen to my last episode, um, my 2023 and Beyond YouTube strategy for churches, I highly, highly recommend pre-filing your content, pairing down your sermons. Cuz most sermons or lectures are anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes long. And that's a little bit too long for the YouTube algorithm. You want to try and slide somewhere between that 12 and 18 minute range for videos on YouTube. So of course you could do that as well. Again, all you're doing is taking your content from your sermon and you're overlaying it and creating an opportunity for it to be digital, right? So like then another option is you have your sermons. So break those up into small short TikTok clips.

Nick Clason (14:07):
Like if you're not good at video editing, an option that you can do is you can take, uh, just a camera like I'm doing and talk directly into it and create 30 to 62nd clips from your message. Like you already have the content. So even if you can't get a clip from the actual pastor preaching a sermon, you can still use the same topic or the same content or the same passage and rip that post that and do 3, 4, 5 different little like sermon clips throughout the week. You can use that in short form video and everything, every single platform, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok are all about the short form video content. So use those things to your advantage. So with your sermons, you got got audio podcasts, you got YouTube videos, and you also have short form video. TikTok style clips. Another option for a thing that, um, is done live, but can be made.

Nick Clason (15:03):
Um, digital is a group finder. Most churches are all about community, are about helping people get connected, find their place, find their place to serve, uh, find, have something on your website that operates as a connection portal, uh, connect group, a small group, a grow group, or whatever you call your small groups. Have people be able to go on there and browse and search, make it user friendly. Uh, a lot of church management softwares will have those things as an available option that you can use some sort of group finder type of thing or just build something on your website. But the reality is, is like in my personal life, if I can't get an appointment with a dentist or a doctor or whatever through creating an appointment online, I don't want to use them. So I'm probably not gonna call, I'm probably not gonna email.

Nick Clason (15:51):
I might email. Um, but if I can have a full service, create an appointment type of thing online, I'm gonna do that. And I think the same is true for churches, especially for finding community, for finding groups, for finding places to jump in, uh, and be able to serve. So create something that's full scale, full service and available for your people to use, uh, to find community. The last option is daily devotionals. We all know the importance of getting people in the word, but there's a recent stat out there that said 8% of Christ following Christians, uh, read the Bible only one time a week, 8%. So how can we as a church, help give our people the tools that they have? There are an unlimited amount of tools. Now think about before the printing press. What did they have to use? They had to go to church to get the Bible, but now they can access it on their phone.

Nick Clason (16:45):
Probably many of us have multiple Bibles on our shelves at home. So how can we help get people, um, using scripture throughout their week? So a couple of options are, uh, the U version Bible plan, uh, u version Bible app on people's phones. They have plans, you can read things together, you can also put sermon notes on there so that people can follow along. And then when they're done at the bottom, you can link out to a plan to read together or to encourage people to read through on their own u version. Done by Life Church is an absolutely incredible tool for churches and it's only getting better. So use that as something that you can help promote scripture and um, bible literacy with the people in your church and in your congregation. Another option, of course, like I said, is um, you can use devotional type content.

Nick Clason (17:28):
So this is different than sermon content, but devotional content or going deeper on the sermon or something like that. And you can do that in TikTok, real short form video. Uh, you can even do like a little mini-series, like how to read the Bible and do a three-part series and post it, uh, on your social media for the week. But what are different ways that you can use social media, short form video, TikTok and those types of things to create devotional type content. So like I said, I think that there's been this, this fight between digital Ryan Howard and in person Michael Scott in the Dunner Mifflin Affinity episode. And I just wish I could have got together and helped counsel them. Been like, this is how you can marry those two things. And I find that to be true in the church community and coming together and praying and crying on each other's shoulders and carrying one another's burdens.

Nick Clason (18:21):
That's so important. And it cannot be done digitally, but people also need to be discipled. People need to read Bible content. People need to hear the truth from God's word, and they're not always available to show up to your in-person event in a physical form. So what are ways that you can support people in your church to help them, uh, through the means, through the the phone that's sitting in their pocket to help coach them and and teach them what it's like to live a life? Um, that's not just digital, not just physical, but it's hybrid. Hey guys, once again, thanks for hanging out. Uh, we've, we have full transcripts for every single episode over at hybridministry.xyz. I'd love to encourage you to go check that out. It's a great place to find some stuff there. Also, um, on my personal TikTok @ClasonNick, c-l-a-s-o-n-n-i-c-k, uh, posting little clips, um, from podcast episodes, um, current and past. So go check out on, hang out with us there. Love to connect with you in that way. Until next time, we'll talk to you all later.