web01.fireside.fm Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:16:01 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Hybrid Ministry - Episodes Tagged with “Free Youth Ministry Resources” https://www.hybridministry.xyz/tags/free%20youth%20ministry%20resources Thu, 27 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0600 Hybrid Ministry is complicated and hard. Or is it? How do pastors and youth pastors create a vibrant extension, not replacement, of what's already happening during their weekly church services? To cater in a digital ministry way to an online focused ministry audience. Reaching Millennials, Gen Z and even Gen Alpha is going to require us to rethink some of the ways we do church. Follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick en-us episodic Digital Discipleship made easy Nick Clason Hybrid Ministry is complicated and hard. Or is it? How do pastors and youth pastors create a vibrant extension, not replacement, of what's already happening during their weekly church services? To cater in a digital ministry way to an online focused ministry audience. Reaching Millennials, Gen Z and even Gen Alpha is going to require us to rethink some of the ways we do church. Follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick no Digital, Online Church, Hybrid Ministry, Church, Meta, Gen Z, Millennials, Digital Marketing, Church Marketing, Youth Ministry, Student Ministry, Nick Clason, Digital Ministry, Church Social Media, Youth Ministry Social Media, YouTube for Church, YouTube for Youth Ministry, TikTok for Churches, TikTok for Youth Ministry, Instagram for Churches, Instagram for Youth Ministry, Facebook for Church, Facebook for Youth Ministry, Cell Phone Usage at Church Nick Clason nickclason@hybridministry.xyz Episode 177: After the Turkey... Watch This👀 https://www.hybridministry.xyz/177 01878858-4149-49e2-a61f-f300f647e758 Thu, 27 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0600 Nick Clason 177 After the Turkey... Watch This👀 full Nick Clason Thanksgiving is over, but we're just getting started! In this episode, Nick gives his 4 course meal of FREEBIES for youth pastors, 4 things for YOU, along with the 1 Mystery Course that can unlock everything! 11:07 no Thanksgiving is over, but we're just getting started! In this episode, Nick gives his 4 course meal of FREEBIES for youth pastors, 4 things for YOU, along with the 1 Mystery Course that can unlock everything! SHOW NOTES Shownotes & Transcripts https://www.hybridministry.xyz/177 Games https://www.patreon.com/posts/9-amazing-dym-142425755?utmmedium=clipboardcopy&utmsource=copyLink&utmcampaign=postsharecreator&utmcontent=join_link FREE E-Book https://www.patreon.com/posts/complete-guide-142500019?utmmedium=clipboardcopy&utmsource=copyLink&utmcampaign=postsharecreator&utmcontent=join_link //Coaching https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching //Social Team Checklist https://www.patreon.com/posts/social-media-138081327?source=storefront 30 CONNECTION IDEAS https://www.patreon.com/posts/30-small-group-141961735?utmmedium=clipboardcopy&utmsource=copyLink&utmcampaign=postsharecreator&utmcontent=join_link CALENDAR https://www.patreon.com/posts/winter-spring-141564188?utmmedium=clipboardcopy&utmsource=copyLink&utmcampaign=postsharecreator&utmcontent=join_link SURPRISE MYSTERY DISH Hybrid Heroes Patreon Membership https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry 👉 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 4 Course Feast for Youth Workers 00:40 Appetize 02:21 Side-Dish 05:33 Main Course 06:46 Dessert 07:30 Mystery Course - 2x Growth Strategy -------------- TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00:00 - 00:00:23:17 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Thanksgiving's over. I got one more meal left for you. I have four courses of thankfulness that I am serving up right now, in every single one of them. As a free resource for you. The youth worker. From games to social media to small group material and calendars, and the one secret dish that is the exact strategy that I used to double my youth ministry in just under two years. 00:00:23:17 - 00:00:44:13 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And I will show you how you, if you stick around to the end of the episode, can unlock that template and start using it in your youth ministry this week. So before you crash on the couch, grab a four piece record. This one's for you. Welcome, everyone, to the Hybrid Ministry Show and Happy Thanksgiving! Well, hey everybody, welcome to another episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show. 00:00:44:13 - 00:01:14:13 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry As always, I am your host, Nick Claussen. And happy Thanksgiving. At least that's the day that this episode drops. Whether you are watching it on actual Thursday of Thanksgiving or you are catching up after the holidays, we are glad that you are here. And I have four freebies that I am giving out today, so all of those are linked down below in the podcast or YouTube description, as well as one template that is going to change everything for your youth ministry if you fully lean in and adopt it. 00:01:14:13 - 00:01:38:14 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry But let's go ahead and get started. The first freebie is actually nine freebies. It is nine free games. These are all different games that I, in my time as an author and a youth pastor, have created and submitted to download Youth Ministry. And many of them are a part of a series. And so, you know, if you are a download Youth Ministry member that you get store credit. 00:01:38:14 - 00:02:05:06 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And so if you like any of these, you can go back and you can grab some of them in the future with some of your store credit. And then I believe one of the games is actually a three part that I'm including. And so it's not exactly nine. It's like 12. So, head down to the description, down below in the podcast or in YouTube and check out my nine favorite free dim resources on the store. 00:02:05:06 - 00:02:31:28 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry All given to you for free as just a way to say thank you. I'm thankful and I'm grateful for you as a subscriber, as a Patreon member, or as an email, newsletter, contributor. So we're excited to have you guys a part of the hybrid ministry universe. This next one here, I, I've honed over time, and I've been giving away a completely free e-book for as long as I can remember. 00:02:32:00 - 00:02:53:17 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry I guess it's not as long as this show's been around. But then, probably a year and a half ago, I want to say, or two years ago, I was asked by my friend Derek Prescot, who is, one of the gatekeepers over at Download Youth Ministry. If I could provide a mystery item for the, the dim, member, downloads. 00:02:53:24 - 00:03:15:01 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And so I gave I made a refresh to my hybrid ministry e-book and my original e-book, my original like strategy for youth pastors was post, you know, two times a day or whatever. And I have content to support the ability for you to do that two times a day. And that's actually how much we still post on social media in our student context. 00:03:15:03 - 00:03:34:18 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry But I've found over time as a coach, you pastors. And which, by the way, I do offer coaching. So you can check out that down below. Not free, but you can check it out. So part of this that is tends to be a little bit too much. And I'm also in like a free cohort right now. Also, Daire Pinker, the youth ministry leader cohort, fantastic free resource that I've partnered with. 00:03:34:21 - 00:03:55:05 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And I'm taking, some other youth workers or church communications people through a social media deep dive, cohort. And so, ten pieces of content is a lot because there's a lot on our plate. Not anymore. It's Thanksgiving, it's over. It's all gone. But there's a lot on our plate. Workwise. And so I've adjusted my e-book and now I'm giving this one away for free. 00:03:55:05 - 00:04:17:13 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And so this is my honed in once the complete guide to crush. So social media and youth ministry. If you downloaded any of my seasonal social media packs, this has been an included piece to that. Now I'm giving this away standalone for free. So if you're interested in that, or if you've downloaded my audiobook and now you want this one, this is probably the one I'm going to start pushing out here going forward. 00:04:17:15 - 00:04:50:21 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Three reasons for why you should do social media. The state of youth ministry, social media as it stands today via some informal data and some informal polls. And then what you should do in a simple three times per week posting schedule along and complete with different content ideas. And so one of the videos linked in this e-book will give you like 8 or 9 different styles of videos that you can start doing as well as, if you, our Patreon member, you know, that we talk about, every single week. 00:04:50:23 - 00:05:14:00 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Ways that you can get involved. And the seasonal social pack will also give you other templates and archetypes that you can use. So this is free down below in the description or in podcast. Go grab it if you want to, lean into social media and start crushing it in your youth ministry. More than just posting static standard Canva graphics, or the ones that you can download from free social media packs. 00:05:14:06 - 00:05:30:14 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry As good as those are, and frankly, as better designed as those can be, those just aren't the things that perform very well on social media. So if you really want to crush it, you probably need to start creating and finding a way to create a little bit of custom content that highlights your name, your faces, and your people on your social media. 00:05:30:20 - 00:06:02:28 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And this e-book will tell you exactly how to go about doing that. The third gift, the third freebie that I'm giving away here is my 30 connections idea. This is a free small group. This is a free small group resource for your small group leaders and actually an episode linked right here. I went through and I toured our leader workroom, and this is a digital, thing, a digital download that we allow our, our people to have, in our leader website. 00:06:02:28 - 00:06:23:05 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And so it's 30 different ideas, like 30 different icebreaker ideas for small group leaders. And so myself and a couple former staff members and I put this together. And so like ten of the ideas or mine, ten of the ideas are there's ten of the ideas or someone else's. And then we compiled, we collaboratively edited, and then now we offer and give this away to our small group leaders. 00:06:23:05 - 00:06:45:22 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry So there may be some like particular language is kind of like aimed at like small group leaders in my church and in my context. But this is really, really a good and fantastic resource that you can use. It's PDF. Go ahead, grab it and download it, print it, share it, whatever you to do and give it to your small group leaders and be a hero and save yourself tons and tons of time. 00:06:45:22 - 00:07:08:08 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And then the fourth, gift, the fourth course of this meal is my, calendar template. This is our, upcoming spring calendar shape and template and colors. And so you can take this, and then you can just add your own icons in your own text on top of it. And then you can get it printed on like a magnet, which is what I do, over on, place like sticker mule. 00:07:08:08 - 00:07:25:23 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Or you can just get it printed out on like cardstock or something big. Using something like Vistaprint or your own, you know, church's printer or whatever, you, whatever you choose to use. But all you gotta do is just put some text on top of this, some icons, maybe a QR code, and you are off to the races and it's fully customized to your context. 00:07:25:23 - 00:07:56:05 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry But I've given you the backbone for it and the template, and hopefully you find it helpful. The last secret mystery dish that is included in all of this, right? This is my two X strategy. Youth ministry in three years, because we leaned in, we adopted this strategy. We've seen two x growth. Now, there are other factors I would imagine, beyond just this strategy, but baked into everything that we do, we are always trying to lean in and ask the question, like how can our youth ministry be more hybrid? 00:07:56:05 - 00:08:28:07 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And so this is my hybrid hero's $4 per month membership to you. Here's the truth. If you buy this out of your personal money, it is less than the cost of a Starbucks cup of coffee per month. $4 per month. Included in is all the freebies that I just gave. Like, those are for everyone. Those are all included over on my Patreon as well as it will unlock the seasonal social media pack, which is the exact strategy if you download that, you don't even have to try and create that strategy from scratch. 00:08:28:12 - 00:08:47:13 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry You can just plug and play what I've provided. Now half of them are done for you, right? Which means like plug and play. Off you go. Those are the easy ones, but those aren't the as well performing ones. Those just keep your social media feed afloat. And they they, create a little bit of proof of life, like there's something going on here. 00:08:47:16 - 00:09:13:02 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry The real key to this is the custom part of it, where your faces, your leaders, your students are filmed. And then you can edit them on any sort of editor, any sort of phone editor, and then you can get them posted to your social media. And in all of that, also over on my shop, as a bonus, is my social media checklist for creating a student ministry social media team. 00:09:13:08 - 00:09:44:07 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And you can, send students or adult volunteer leaders or recruit another staff person to take this over so that it's not on your plate. You're the brains behind it. You create the strategy, and then you deploy and enlist your volunteers. And if you put this $4 per month membership to your on your church card and call it, continuing development, it's only $48 over 12 months, and it gives you access to all of my social media packs, as well as a weekly bonus podcast where I. 00:09:44:07 - 00:10:02:10 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry In just a minute, I'm going to click, stop on this video, and I'm going to go over and I'm going to record my weekly recap of what we did in our youth ministry and in our student ministry, how our hybrid ministry strategy is going, what we tried in our program, what went well, what we would scrap. And you can use that as your weekly debrief sounding board. 00:10:02:15 - 00:10:23:09 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry It's only $4, per month, and it ends up being $48 for the year. And it would be incredibly helpful, for me if you jumped in on it. But I think it could also be incredibly helpful for you, because it will take care. It will literally pick up social media and take it completely off of your Thanksgiving plate, which in most cases is a bummer. 00:10:23:12 - 00:10:50:10 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry But in this case, as it pertains to workload, it frees you up to do more teaching, to do more counseling, to have more meetings, to have more coffee with people in your church. And you can still look like a pro running social media in your student ministry, rooting for you as you're doing that. And guess what? Next episode linked right here on screen is where I unbox and unlock our Winter social pack that is going to release exactly a week from Thanksgiving. 00:10:50:10 - 00:11:03:04 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry So if you're watching this on replay, it's already linked right here. For the rest of you, next Thursday is when the, Winter social pack drops. So can't wait for you to take advantage of that. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget stay hybrid. thanksgiving youth ministry, free youth ministry resources, youth pastor tips, youth ministry games, free church resources, youth ministry ideas, hybrid ministry, youth group leaders, youth pastor tools, youth group small groups, student ministry growth, youth ministry calendar, thanksgiving youth group ideas, church social media strategy, youth worker encouragement, ministry freebies, youth ministry training, youth group games free, youth group curriculum, hybrid ministry show Thanksgiving is over, but we're just getting started! In this episode, Nick gives his 4 course meal of FREEBIES for youth pastors, 4 things for YOU, along with the 1 Mystery Course that can unlock everything!

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/177

Games
https://www.patreon.com/posts/9-amazing-dym-142425755?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

FREE E-Book
https://www.patreon.com/posts/complete-guide-142500019?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

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

//Social Team Checklist
https://www.patreon.com/posts/social-media-138081327?source=storefront

30 CONNECTION IDEAS
https://www.patreon.com/posts/30-small-group-141961735?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

CALENDAR
https://www.patreon.com/posts/winter-spring-141564188?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

SURPRISE MYSTERY DISH
Hybrid Heroes Patreon Membership
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

👉 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 4 Course Feast for Youth Workers
00:40 Appetize
02:21 Side-Dish
05:33 Main Course
06:46 Dessert
07:30 Mystery Course - 2x Growth Strategy

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:23:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Thanksgiving's over. I got one more meal left for you. I have four courses of thankfulness that I am serving up right now, in every single one of them. As a free resource for you. The youth worker. From games to social media to small group material and calendars, and the one secret dish that is the exact strategy that I used to double my youth ministry in just under two years.

00:00:23:17 - 00:00:44:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I will show you how you, if you stick around to the end of the episode, can unlock that template and start using it in your youth ministry this week. So before you crash on the couch, grab a four piece record. This one's for you. Welcome, everyone, to the Hybrid Ministry Show and Happy Thanksgiving! Well, hey everybody, welcome to another episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:00:44:13 - 00:01:14:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
As always, I am your host, Nick Claussen. And happy Thanksgiving. At least that's the day that this episode drops. Whether you are watching it on actual Thursday of Thanksgiving or you are catching up after the holidays, we are glad that you are here. And I have four freebies that I am giving out today, so all of those are linked down below in the podcast or YouTube description, as well as one template that is going to change everything for your youth ministry if you fully lean in and adopt it.

00:01:14:13 - 00:01:38:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But let's go ahead and get started. The first freebie is actually nine freebies. It is nine free games. These are all different games that I, in my time as an author and a youth pastor, have created and submitted to download Youth Ministry. And many of them are a part of a series. And so, you know, if you are a download Youth Ministry member that you get store credit.

00:01:38:14 - 00:02:05:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you like any of these, you can go back and you can grab some of them in the future with some of your store credit. And then I believe one of the games is actually a three part that I'm including. And so it's not exactly nine. It's like 12. So, head down to the description, down below in the podcast or in YouTube and check out my nine favorite free dim resources on the store.

00:02:05:06 - 00:02:31:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All given to you for free as just a way to say thank you. I'm thankful and I'm grateful for you as a subscriber, as a Patreon member, or as an email, newsletter, contributor. So we're excited to have you guys a part of the hybrid ministry universe. This next one here, I, I've honed over time, and I've been giving away a completely free e-book for as long as I can remember.

00:02:32:00 - 00:02:53:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I guess it's not as long as this show's been around. But then, probably a year and a half ago, I want to say, or two years ago, I was asked by my friend Derek Prescot, who is, one of the gatekeepers over at Download Youth Ministry. If I could provide a mystery item for the, the dim, member, downloads.

00:02:53:24 - 00:03:15:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I gave I made a refresh to my hybrid ministry e-book and my original e-book, my original like strategy for youth pastors was post, you know, two times a day or whatever. And I have content to support the ability for you to do that two times a day. And that's actually how much we still post on social media in our student context.

00:03:15:03 - 00:03:34:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I've found over time as a coach, you pastors. And which, by the way, I do offer coaching. So you can check out that down below. Not free, but you can check it out. So part of this that is tends to be a little bit too much. And I'm also in like a free cohort right now. Also, Daire Pinker, the youth ministry leader cohort, fantastic free resource that I've partnered with.

00:03:34:21 - 00:03:55:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I'm taking, some other youth workers or church communications people through a social media deep dive, cohort. And so, ten pieces of content is a lot because there's a lot on our plate. Not anymore. It's Thanksgiving, it's over. It's all gone. But there's a lot on our plate. Workwise. And so I've adjusted my e-book and now I'm giving this one away for free.

00:03:55:05 - 00:04:17:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so this is my honed in once the complete guide to crush. So social media and youth ministry. If you downloaded any of my seasonal social media packs, this has been an included piece to that. Now I'm giving this away standalone for free. So if you're interested in that, or if you've downloaded my audiobook and now you want this one, this is probably the one I'm going to start pushing out here going forward.

00:04:17:15 - 00:04:50:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Three reasons for why you should do social media. The state of youth ministry, social media as it stands today via some informal data and some informal polls. And then what you should do in a simple three times per week posting schedule along and complete with different content ideas. And so one of the videos linked in this e-book will give you like 8 or 9 different styles of videos that you can start doing as well as, if you, our Patreon member, you know, that we talk about, every single week.

00:04:50:23 - 00:05:14:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Ways that you can get involved. And the seasonal social pack will also give you other templates and archetypes that you can use. So this is free down below in the description or in podcast. Go grab it if you want to, lean into social media and start crushing it in your youth ministry. More than just posting static standard Canva graphics, or the ones that you can download from free social media packs.

00:05:14:06 - 00:05:30:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
As good as those are, and frankly, as better designed as those can be, those just aren't the things that perform very well on social media. So if you really want to crush it, you probably need to start creating and finding a way to create a little bit of custom content that highlights your name, your faces, and your people on your social media.

00:05:30:20 - 00:06:02:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this e-book will tell you exactly how to go about doing that. The third gift, the third freebie that I'm giving away here is my 30 connections idea. This is a free small group. This is a free small group resource for your small group leaders and actually an episode linked right here. I went through and I toured our leader workroom, and this is a digital, thing, a digital download that we allow our, our people to have, in our leader website.

00:06:02:28 - 00:06:23:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so it's 30 different ideas, like 30 different icebreaker ideas for small group leaders. And so myself and a couple former staff members and I put this together. And so like ten of the ideas or mine, ten of the ideas are there's ten of the ideas or someone else's. And then we compiled, we collaboratively edited, and then now we offer and give this away to our small group leaders.

00:06:23:05 - 00:06:45:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So there may be some like particular language is kind of like aimed at like small group leaders in my church and in my context. But this is really, really a good and fantastic resource that you can use. It's PDF. Go ahead, grab it and download it, print it, share it, whatever you to do and give it to your small group leaders and be a hero and save yourself tons and tons of time.

00:06:45:22 - 00:07:08:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the fourth, gift, the fourth course of this meal is my, calendar template. This is our, upcoming spring calendar shape and template and colors. And so you can take this, and then you can just add your own icons in your own text on top of it. And then you can get it printed on like a magnet, which is what I do, over on, place like sticker mule.

00:07:08:08 - 00:07:25:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or you can just get it printed out on like cardstock or something big. Using something like Vistaprint or your own, you know, church's printer or whatever, you, whatever you choose to use. But all you gotta do is just put some text on top of this, some icons, maybe a QR code, and you are off to the races and it's fully customized to your context.

00:07:25:23 - 00:07:56:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I've given you the backbone for it and the template, and hopefully you find it helpful. The last secret mystery dish that is included in all of this, right? This is my two X strategy. Youth ministry in three years, because we leaned in, we adopted this strategy. We've seen two x growth. Now, there are other factors I would imagine, beyond just this strategy, but baked into everything that we do, we are always trying to lean in and ask the question, like how can our youth ministry be more hybrid?

00:07:56:05 - 00:08:28:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so this is my hybrid hero's $4 per month membership to you. Here's the truth. If you buy this out of your personal money, it is less than the cost of a Starbucks cup of coffee per month. $4 per month. Included in is all the freebies that I just gave. Like, those are for everyone. Those are all included over on my Patreon as well as it will unlock the seasonal social media pack, which is the exact strategy if you download that, you don't even have to try and create that strategy from scratch.

00:08:28:12 - 00:08:47:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can just plug and play what I've provided. Now half of them are done for you, right? Which means like plug and play. Off you go. Those are the easy ones, but those aren't the as well performing ones. Those just keep your social media feed afloat. And they they, create a little bit of proof of life, like there's something going on here.

00:08:47:16 - 00:09:13:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The real key to this is the custom part of it, where your faces, your leaders, your students are filmed. And then you can edit them on any sort of editor, any sort of phone editor, and then you can get them posted to your social media. And in all of that, also over on my shop, as a bonus, is my social media checklist for creating a student ministry social media team.

00:09:13:08 - 00:09:44:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can, send students or adult volunteer leaders or recruit another staff person to take this over so that it's not on your plate. You're the brains behind it. You create the strategy, and then you deploy and enlist your volunteers. And if you put this $4 per month membership to your on your church card and call it, continuing development, it's only $48 over 12 months, and it gives you access to all of my social media packs, as well as a weekly bonus podcast where I.

00:09:44:07 - 00:10:02:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In just a minute, I'm going to click, stop on this video, and I'm going to go over and I'm going to record my weekly recap of what we did in our youth ministry and in our student ministry, how our hybrid ministry strategy is going, what we tried in our program, what went well, what we would scrap. And you can use that as your weekly debrief sounding board.

00:10:02:15 - 00:10:23:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's only $4, per month, and it ends up being $48 for the year. And it would be incredibly helpful, for me if you jumped in on it. But I think it could also be incredibly helpful for you, because it will take care. It will literally pick up social media and take it completely off of your Thanksgiving plate, which in most cases is a bummer.

00:10:23:12 - 00:10:50:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But in this case, as it pertains to workload, it frees you up to do more teaching, to do more counseling, to have more meetings, to have more coffee with people in your church. And you can still look like a pro running social media in your student ministry, rooting for you as you're doing that. And guess what? Next episode linked right here on screen is where I unbox and unlock our Winter social pack that is going to release exactly a week from Thanksgiving.

00:10:50:10 - 00:11:03:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you're watching this on replay, it's already linked right here. For the rest of you, next Thursday is when the, Winter social pack drops. So can't wait for you to take advantage of that. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget stay hybrid.

]]> Thanksgiving is over, but we're just getting started! In this episode, Nick gives his 4 course meal of FREEBIES for youth pastors, 4 things for YOU, along with the 1 Mystery Course that can unlock everything!

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/177

Games
https://www.patreon.com/posts/9-amazing-dym-142425755?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

FREE E-Book
https://www.patreon.com/posts/complete-guide-142500019?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

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

//Social Team Checklist
https://www.patreon.com/posts/social-media-138081327?source=storefront

30 CONNECTION IDEAS
https://www.patreon.com/posts/30-small-group-141961735?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

CALENDAR
https://www.patreon.com/posts/winter-spring-141564188?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

SURPRISE MYSTERY DISH
Hybrid Heroes Patreon Membership
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

👉 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 4 Course Feast for Youth Workers
00:40 Appetize
02:21 Side-Dish
05:33 Main Course
06:46 Dessert
07:30 Mystery Course - 2x Growth Strategy

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:23:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Thanksgiving's over. I got one more meal left for you. I have four courses of thankfulness that I am serving up right now, in every single one of them. As a free resource for you. The youth worker. From games to social media to small group material and calendars, and the one secret dish that is the exact strategy that I used to double my youth ministry in just under two years.

00:00:23:17 - 00:00:44:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I will show you how you, if you stick around to the end of the episode, can unlock that template and start using it in your youth ministry this week. So before you crash on the couch, grab a four piece record. This one's for you. Welcome, everyone, to the Hybrid Ministry Show and Happy Thanksgiving! Well, hey everybody, welcome to another episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:00:44:13 - 00:01:14:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
As always, I am your host, Nick Claussen. And happy Thanksgiving. At least that's the day that this episode drops. Whether you are watching it on actual Thursday of Thanksgiving or you are catching up after the holidays, we are glad that you are here. And I have four freebies that I am giving out today, so all of those are linked down below in the podcast or YouTube description, as well as one template that is going to change everything for your youth ministry if you fully lean in and adopt it.

00:01:14:13 - 00:01:38:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But let's go ahead and get started. The first freebie is actually nine freebies. It is nine free games. These are all different games that I, in my time as an author and a youth pastor, have created and submitted to download Youth Ministry. And many of them are a part of a series. And so, you know, if you are a download Youth Ministry member that you get store credit.

00:01:38:14 - 00:02:05:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you like any of these, you can go back and you can grab some of them in the future with some of your store credit. And then I believe one of the games is actually a three part that I'm including. And so it's not exactly nine. It's like 12. So, head down to the description, down below in the podcast or in YouTube and check out my nine favorite free dim resources on the store.

00:02:05:06 - 00:02:31:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All given to you for free as just a way to say thank you. I'm thankful and I'm grateful for you as a subscriber, as a Patreon member, or as an email, newsletter, contributor. So we're excited to have you guys a part of the hybrid ministry universe. This next one here, I, I've honed over time, and I've been giving away a completely free e-book for as long as I can remember.

00:02:32:00 - 00:02:53:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I guess it's not as long as this show's been around. But then, probably a year and a half ago, I want to say, or two years ago, I was asked by my friend Derek Prescot, who is, one of the gatekeepers over at Download Youth Ministry. If I could provide a mystery item for the, the dim, member, downloads.

00:02:53:24 - 00:03:15:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I gave I made a refresh to my hybrid ministry e-book and my original e-book, my original like strategy for youth pastors was post, you know, two times a day or whatever. And I have content to support the ability for you to do that two times a day. And that's actually how much we still post on social media in our student context.

00:03:15:03 - 00:03:34:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I've found over time as a coach, you pastors. And which, by the way, I do offer coaching. So you can check out that down below. Not free, but you can check it out. So part of this that is tends to be a little bit too much. And I'm also in like a free cohort right now. Also, Daire Pinker, the youth ministry leader cohort, fantastic free resource that I've partnered with.

00:03:34:21 - 00:03:55:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I'm taking, some other youth workers or church communications people through a social media deep dive, cohort. And so, ten pieces of content is a lot because there's a lot on our plate. Not anymore. It's Thanksgiving, it's over. It's all gone. But there's a lot on our plate. Workwise. And so I've adjusted my e-book and now I'm giving this one away for free.

00:03:55:05 - 00:04:17:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so this is my honed in once the complete guide to crush. So social media and youth ministry. If you downloaded any of my seasonal social media packs, this has been an included piece to that. Now I'm giving this away standalone for free. So if you're interested in that, or if you've downloaded my audiobook and now you want this one, this is probably the one I'm going to start pushing out here going forward.

00:04:17:15 - 00:04:50:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Three reasons for why you should do social media. The state of youth ministry, social media as it stands today via some informal data and some informal polls. And then what you should do in a simple three times per week posting schedule along and complete with different content ideas. And so one of the videos linked in this e-book will give you like 8 or 9 different styles of videos that you can start doing as well as, if you, our Patreon member, you know, that we talk about, every single week.

00:04:50:23 - 00:05:14:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Ways that you can get involved. And the seasonal social pack will also give you other templates and archetypes that you can use. So this is free down below in the description or in podcast. Go grab it if you want to, lean into social media and start crushing it in your youth ministry. More than just posting static standard Canva graphics, or the ones that you can download from free social media packs.

00:05:14:06 - 00:05:30:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
As good as those are, and frankly, as better designed as those can be, those just aren't the things that perform very well on social media. So if you really want to crush it, you probably need to start creating and finding a way to create a little bit of custom content that highlights your name, your faces, and your people on your social media.

00:05:30:20 - 00:06:02:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this e-book will tell you exactly how to go about doing that. The third gift, the third freebie that I'm giving away here is my 30 connections idea. This is a free small group. This is a free small group resource for your small group leaders and actually an episode linked right here. I went through and I toured our leader workroom, and this is a digital, thing, a digital download that we allow our, our people to have, in our leader website.

00:06:02:28 - 00:06:23:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so it's 30 different ideas, like 30 different icebreaker ideas for small group leaders. And so myself and a couple former staff members and I put this together. And so like ten of the ideas or mine, ten of the ideas are there's ten of the ideas or someone else's. And then we compiled, we collaboratively edited, and then now we offer and give this away to our small group leaders.

00:06:23:05 - 00:06:45:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So there may be some like particular language is kind of like aimed at like small group leaders in my church and in my context. But this is really, really a good and fantastic resource that you can use. It's PDF. Go ahead, grab it and download it, print it, share it, whatever you to do and give it to your small group leaders and be a hero and save yourself tons and tons of time.

00:06:45:22 - 00:07:08:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the fourth, gift, the fourth course of this meal is my, calendar template. This is our, upcoming spring calendar shape and template and colors. And so you can take this, and then you can just add your own icons in your own text on top of it. And then you can get it printed on like a magnet, which is what I do, over on, place like sticker mule.

00:07:08:08 - 00:07:25:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or you can just get it printed out on like cardstock or something big. Using something like Vistaprint or your own, you know, church's printer or whatever, you, whatever you choose to use. But all you gotta do is just put some text on top of this, some icons, maybe a QR code, and you are off to the races and it's fully customized to your context.

00:07:25:23 - 00:07:56:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I've given you the backbone for it and the template, and hopefully you find it helpful. The last secret mystery dish that is included in all of this, right? This is my two X strategy. Youth ministry in three years, because we leaned in, we adopted this strategy. We've seen two x growth. Now, there are other factors I would imagine, beyond just this strategy, but baked into everything that we do, we are always trying to lean in and ask the question, like how can our youth ministry be more hybrid?

00:07:56:05 - 00:08:28:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so this is my hybrid hero's $4 per month membership to you. Here's the truth. If you buy this out of your personal money, it is less than the cost of a Starbucks cup of coffee per month. $4 per month. Included in is all the freebies that I just gave. Like, those are for everyone. Those are all included over on my Patreon as well as it will unlock the seasonal social media pack, which is the exact strategy if you download that, you don't even have to try and create that strategy from scratch.

00:08:28:12 - 00:08:47:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can just plug and play what I've provided. Now half of them are done for you, right? Which means like plug and play. Off you go. Those are the easy ones, but those aren't the as well performing ones. Those just keep your social media feed afloat. And they they, create a little bit of proof of life, like there's something going on here.

00:08:47:16 - 00:09:13:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The real key to this is the custom part of it, where your faces, your leaders, your students are filmed. And then you can edit them on any sort of editor, any sort of phone editor, and then you can get them posted to your social media. And in all of that, also over on my shop, as a bonus, is my social media checklist for creating a student ministry social media team.

00:09:13:08 - 00:09:44:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can, send students or adult volunteer leaders or recruit another staff person to take this over so that it's not on your plate. You're the brains behind it. You create the strategy, and then you deploy and enlist your volunteers. And if you put this $4 per month membership to your on your church card and call it, continuing development, it's only $48 over 12 months, and it gives you access to all of my social media packs, as well as a weekly bonus podcast where I.

00:09:44:07 - 00:10:02:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In just a minute, I'm going to click, stop on this video, and I'm going to go over and I'm going to record my weekly recap of what we did in our youth ministry and in our student ministry, how our hybrid ministry strategy is going, what we tried in our program, what went well, what we would scrap. And you can use that as your weekly debrief sounding board.

00:10:02:15 - 00:10:23:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's only $4, per month, and it ends up being $48 for the year. And it would be incredibly helpful, for me if you jumped in on it. But I think it could also be incredibly helpful for you, because it will take care. It will literally pick up social media and take it completely off of your Thanksgiving plate, which in most cases is a bummer.

00:10:23:12 - 00:10:50:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But in this case, as it pertains to workload, it frees you up to do more teaching, to do more counseling, to have more meetings, to have more coffee with people in your church. And you can still look like a pro running social media in your student ministry, rooting for you as you're doing that. And guess what? Next episode linked right here on screen is where I unbox and unlock our Winter social pack that is going to release exactly a week from Thanksgiving.

00:10:50:10 - 00:11:03:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you're watching this on replay, it's already linked right here. For the rest of you, next Thursday is when the, Winter social pack drops. So can't wait for you to take advantage of that. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget stay hybrid.

]]> Episode 149: Youth Ministry in the Summer? Should You Shut It Down or Show Up Strong? https://www.hybridministry.xyz/149 1566b6ef-5529-4852-b275-e6563591ac44 Thu, 15 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500 Nick Clason 149 Youth Ministry in the Summer? Should You Shut It Down or Show Up Strong? full Nick Clason Summer is coming, and youth pastors everywhere are asking—do we keep programming or hit pause? In this video, we’ll break down the pros and cons of both options and help you decide what’s right for your ministry this summer. Stick around till the end for a FREE resource: 100 social media ideas to keep students engaged—even if you hit pause. Plus 3 tips for summer ministry, regardless of the direction you choose 13:59 no Summer is coming, and youth pastors everywhere are asking—do we keep programming or hit pause? In this video, we’ll break down the pros and cons of both options and help you decide what’s right for your ministry this summer. Stick around till the end for a FREE resource: 100 social media ideas to keep students engaged—even if you hit pause. Plus 3 tips for summer ministry, regardless of the direction you choose ☀️ SUMMER SOCIAL MEDIA PACK https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/summer-seasonal-social-media-1540452?utmmedium=clipboardcopy&utmsource=copyLink&utmcampaign=productsharecreator&utmcontent=join_link 🦸 HYBRID HEROS GET IT FOR FREE! https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry SHOW NOTES Shownotes & Transcripts https://www.hybridministry.xyz/149 //AVOID BURNOUT WITH DERRY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do3WGIctHDs&t=43s //SOCIAL CHALLENGE PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaKLwZqOkQe7NzOqSVR0-P1s //100 IDEAS 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 Youth Ministry in the Summer? 00:56 PROS: Meeting in the Summer 03:50 Lock in Your Social Media this Summer! 05:18 CONS: Meeting in the Summer 06:45 PROS: Taking a Summer Programming Break 08:24 CONS: Taking a Summer Programming Break 09:32 Tip #1 11:13 Tip #2 12:05 Tip #3 -------------- TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00:00 - 00:00:22:05 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Summer is coming, whether you like it or not, and youth pastors everywhere are trying to decide whether they should hit pause on their programing or whether they should keep going strong. I want to encourage you in this video, we're going to explore the pros of keeping your programing going and contrast it with the cons of what it would look like if you chose to take a little bit of a break. 00:00:22:12 - 00:00:43:06 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Make sure that you stick around for the entire video, because at the end, I have a hundred social media ideas for you to go ahead and take and adopt in your ministry, especially if we choose to hit pause as well as three tips for an amazing summer, regardless of the decision that you choose. Don't forget to subscribe so that you don't miss a single one of our episodes. 00:00:43:08 - 00:01:04:08 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Now, as we are leading into summer and during the entire course of the summer, and as always, there are chapters listed down below so that you can hop ahead to the part of the show that makes the most sense to you. Welcome everyone to the Hybrid Minister Show. What's up everyone? Welcome to the Hybrid Minister Show. In this episode, we're going to compare and contrast summer programing versus taking a break. 00:01:04:08 - 00:01:27:23 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry So let's not waste any time. What are the pros of staying engaged with having summer programing in your youth ministry? Well, the first pro I would say is that students, sports schedules and students extracurricular vehicular activities tend to take a little bit more of a dip. And so historically, youth ministries have been going strong through the summer. And I'm sorry if they've been going strong through the school year. 00:01:27:23 - 00:01:48:09 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And then they take a break during the summer, they match the students schedules. So while students are going strong during the school year, we're going strong during the school year when students tend to take a dip. We would also take a dip. And I think it's worthwhile to consider while student schedules take a little bit of a dip, what if our programing ramps up or at least doesn't go anywhere? 00:01:48:10 - 00:02:10:16 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Why? Because you may or may not have some students who are so busy during the school year that they're just simply not able to make a Wednesday night or Sunday night. But you have in programing, you do have an opportunity to now catch them when their schedule does tend to take a break. I remember one time, it was the very first week of our summer schedule, and it was the first time that I ever chose to stay to stay engaged during the summer. 00:02:10:23 - 00:02:31:01 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And I looked out across the audience and I saw a student who I hadn't seen for the entire time of my duration and my tenure as a youth pastor at that church. And I had messaged with her mom, and her mom was lamenting the fact that, you know, her dance schedule didn't line up with what our student ministry was, and our student sister had just made a change from Wednesday to Sunday. 00:02:31:01 - 00:02:47:17 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And at that same time, when our student ministry made that change, her dance schedule also made that exact same change. And so she was so bummed out that we shifted from Wednesday to Sunday because her dance schedule had just shifted from Wednesday to Sunday. So she missed literally the entire school year. But I looked out and boom, there she was. 00:02:47:20 - 00:03:08:28 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And I was like, man, had we not chosen to meet, she still wouldn't have been there. And so I know that you as a youth pastor, you have a heart to reach and capture your students. And so staying engaged in your programing during the summer can offer and allow you to have that sort of opportunity. The other thing that summer programing does is, honestly, it gives you a chance to try out some creative ideas. 00:03:08:28 - 00:03:28:02 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry In fact, if you didn't know this, I have a, Patreon account where I, weekly share what we're doing in our youth ministry. And it's just $4 a month, which is $1 per episode, where I detail and breakdown everything I'm doing to be creative and stay hybrid. And so this summer, I'm going to be taking you along on that journey. 00:03:28:05 - 00:03:51:11 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And I would love to encourage you if you're one that wants to increase your creativity in your youth ministry, lean into your social media and your digital presence. Come hang out with us over on Patreon, and we're going to be giving that out $1 per week for, the bonus podcast episodes. But it gives you a chance to to be a little bit creative, to try something different that maybe, I don't know, before wouldn't have worked on. 00:03:51:11 - 00:04:26:17 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry This episode is actually brought to you by my very own Patreon. The Patreon is my bonus podcast community, and I call those people over there who are subscribers. They're my hybrid heroes, and what we do over on my Patreon is a every single resource that I've created, and my shop is free for all Patreon members, along with a weekly bonus podcast episode and the cost right now to join my Patreon, I may go up, but right now legacy members can get it for $4 a month. 00:04:26:20 - 00:04:50:14 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry So every single time I create a resource that's just through my Patreon that costs money for people who want to go on to my shop and buy something, you get it for free as a patron member, plus a weekly bonus podcast where I talk about what I do on social media every week. I talk about what I do in my programing every week to try and keep it creative and hybrid, and how we're using sidekick over there. 00:04:51:01 - 00:05:09:21 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry In fact, this week I talk, for example, about how I didn't even have a tech person to run Pro presenter. I ran a game from the stage on my computer with name picker on sidekick by myself on my computer. It's amazing. I'll tell you how I do all that type of stuff on my Patreon, so go check it out. 00:05:09:21 - 00:05:29:17 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Link down below in the description where it says become a Hybrid Hero. Click that link and check it out. Hey, you get a free week trial if you're interested in it. Back to the show. All right, so what are the cons? Well, the cons are of course, that you don't get a break in your programing. If you go straight into your school, you're programing into your summer programing. 00:05:29:20 - 00:05:50:09 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry You don't get any little bit of a rest. And, additionally speaking, neither do your leaders. And so that, of course, is the con. And that's probably one of the major players in this decision is you've been working hard all September, from September through May all school year. And, and you're maybe looking forward to getting a little bit of a break, maybe a little bit of a breather. 00:05:50:11 - 00:06:14:26 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And, staying strong with your programing throughout the summer doesn't really give you that option. And in addition to that, because school year and, like fall based launches and the start, you know, post Labor Day and welcome back and back to school Sunday and all the things that go along with traditional church ministry, especially as it pertains to launching strong and launching hard in the fall. 00:06:14:29 - 00:06:31:14 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry You might need to be recruiting leaders. Not taking a break over the summer may not give you as much space to retool and get ready to launch strong in the fall. Or at least that may be some of what you're thinking and some of what, you know, you, you kind of have going on in, in your mind there. 00:06:31:14 - 00:06:52:26 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And so, I just want to encourage you, like, as you're kind of debating through this, like if your priority is having a strong, school year based student ministry, end of summer Rob's from that. I can imagine where that might be a con. Let let's take a look then, here at some of the pros and the cons of, choosing to take a break during the summer. 00:06:52:26 - 00:07:11:17 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry So the pros are that if you do feel like you're running just so hard and so fast and so strong, all during the school year, the summer definitely does offer a little bit of a reprieve. You know, burnout is real among youth pastors. Shout out to my friend dairy. Link down below or right here on YouTube at the top of the screen. 00:07:12:03 - 00:07:48:00 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry On my episode with him where I interviewed, how does he avoid burnout? It is a fantastic episode, and what I'll just say is, if taking time off during the summer is a way to help you avoid, burning out, then it's more advantageous to not meet during the summer so that you can tend to your soul. But I would just say, maybe it's worthwhile to go take a look at that episode from Derry and see if during this next school year, if there are some practices and some principles that he laid out, that you can actually apply so that when next summer rolls around, if you are considering maybe, not breaking for 00:07:48:00 - 00:08:07:27 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry your programing as opposed to breaking that, you won't be so tired and so burnout by the time you get on the doorstep of summer. So that you can maybe show up for your students. Another pro, of course, is that you do give an opportunity to give your leaders a break. So if you you know how important it is to lean on leaders. 00:08:07:27 - 00:08:24:00 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And leaders really are the backbone of student ministry. If you, don't meet during the summer, obviously you don't need your leaders to be there. If you do meet during the summer, you kind of need your leaders to show up, you know what I'm saying? So, that that is one of the pros of choosing to take a break during the summer. 00:08:24:00 - 00:08:50:29 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry The cons, of course, are like, just think about this. Do you really want to go three months without meeting, like, just like basketball? Student ministry is a momentum game. And so, taking three months off, especially when you probably got, a high level, high flying thing, like camp or a mission trip, woven throughout the programing of your summer to just do that and then come back and not have anything for several months. 00:08:51:01 - 00:09:17:08 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Like, that's really a con that is worth considering. Like, do you really want to come back and then just be like, all right, see you guys after Labor Day? Like for me personally, that feels like a little bit long and a little bit of an arduous, break. The other thing, of course, is that you're not meeting during summer students most available seasons is the pro, to the reason why you maybe should consider keeping summer programing going. 00:09:17:08 - 00:09:38:05 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry And so those are both sides. You can probably tell that objectively speaking, we do choose to meet during the summer. We retool, we scale it back. We we're very creative. We do things that are very different. And so let me just give you three tips, regardless of which decision you're going to, land on which which camp you fallen for this debate. 00:09:38:23 - 00:10:00:10 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Three tips to help you program amazing things, or at least, do amazing youth ministry during the summer, whether you're meeting or not. So tip number one is follow your church's guide. If you have regular, say, midweek or regular Sunday night activities, church wide kids, ministry ministries, all the things and they take a break, then perhaps consider also taking a break. 00:10:00:21 - 00:10:18:06 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry If if you're the only group that meets on campus when you meet, then that's not as big of a deal. But but consider following your church's lead. However, unlike the last video in this playlist where I talked about the importance of following your church's lead as a as it pertains to promotion, that's like a level like, absolutely. 00:10:18:06 - 00:10:43:28 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Do not deviate from your church's plan on this one. I would say I think things can be a little bit different because while some of the offerings for Kids Ministry and some of the offerings for adult ministry may be a little more elective based or a little more optional, if this is your main meeting time, then if you do choose to meet during the summer while the rest of your church takes time off, then stand strong on that and and communicate the importance of meeting when students are more available. 00:10:43:28 - 00:11:11:01 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Again, you don't have to do as wholesale or full scale of a programing. You can scale it back, you can throw some creative options. Again, I'm going to give you some of those and some of what we're doing, in our student ministry. But you can you can kind of pull back the, the, the programing, intensity a little bit so that you can have some fun and just make it a little bit more of a casual hangout, but the tip is, if you're sure you like, follow, follow your church's lead. 00:11:11:01 - 00:11:27:10 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry If you're unsure which direction to lean on this debate. The second tip I have for you is if you do take a break, and even if you don't, but if you definitely if you do lean in harder than on social media, because you may not be meeting on a Wednesday night or a Sunday night or whatever night you choose to meet, so you have more time in the office. 00:11:27:10 - 00:11:48:22 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry So lean harder into social media, which is linked down below. The freebie tease at the beginning of the video. A hundred different topic ideas for you, for different concepts that, you can use on social media. So for us, I have a four part social media, strategy and social challenge guide, a whole playlist detailed for free, listed down below in the description. 00:11:48:25 - 00:12:08:09 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Go check that out one episode per video, but this freebie gives you 100 different topic ideas to help you lean into some of the creativity and some of the social media, ideas. And then you can continue to kind of show up where your students are, even if you choose not to meet. And then the third and final idea is just simply this it's summer, man. 00:12:08:15 - 00:12:26:10 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry Have fun. Like if you do choose to meet, have fun while you do. If you don't have fun, do it on social media. Have a blast with your students creating content both for them and also consider doing it with them. And the thing about summer that's so fun. And one of the things that we do is we try to kind of ride the National Day trend. 00:12:26:10 - 00:12:46:15 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry So if you didn't know there is a National day every single day, multiple national days. So this summer, for example, we're choosing like, beautiful Grandparent Day where we're going to play Extreme Bingo, and National Cheesecake Day is going to round out our summer, you know, programing. And and Leon Day, which is, June 25th. It is the, backwards. 00:12:46:24 - 00:13:08:00 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry You know, Leon spelled backwards is Noel. So June 25th is when crafters start getting their Christmas supplies out. Last summer we did like National Avocado Day, and we celebrated some holidays like that. And so there's always an option of a thing that you can just kind of trend. So if we don't, we don't female our midweek throughout the, the the regular school year. 00:13:08:00 - 00:13:26:15 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry But during the summer we do we kind of have fun with it. It also is a fun way to kind of create some social media content around it. We'll go around, interview people and ask them, you know, things about each of those topics or whatever, and kind of do a man on the street style video and again, some of that is detailed in that line down below in that 100 free thing. 00:13:26:15 - 00:13:47:29 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry So go ahead and and grab that freebie so that you don't neglect in that you don't avoid social media this summer. Hey, everyone. Coming up in the next episode is the fourth and final installment of this versus playlist, where we're going to be looking at digital ministry versus in-person ministry. And if you're watching this, after its release, it's going to be linked right here on the screen. 00:13:47:29 - 00:13:54:16 Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry If you're watching this live, it'll be releasing next Thursday. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget stay hybrid. youth ministry,student ministry,nick clason,hybrid ministry,youth pastor summer break,summer youth group ideas,church summer programming,student ministry strategy,should youth group meet in summer,youth leader tips,church leadership,youth group calendar,summer sabbatical,derry sabbatical card,free youth ministry resources,social media for youth pastors,how to lead youth ministry,youth group content ideas,100 youth ministry ideas,patreon hybrid ministry,summer youth series Summer is coming, and youth pastors everywhere are asking—do we keep programming or hit pause? In this video, we’ll break down the pros and cons of both options and help you decide what’s right for your ministry this summer. Stick around till the end for a FREE resource: 100 social media ideas to keep students engaged—even if you hit pause.
Plus 3 tips for summer ministry, regardless of the direction you choose

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BEST DYM RESOURCES
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OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
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🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Youth Ministry in the Summer?
00:56 PROS: Meeting in the Summer
03:50 Lock in Your Social Media this Summer!
05:18 CONS: Meeting in the Summer
06:45 PROS: Taking a Summer Programming Break
08:24 CONS: Taking a Summer Programming Break
09:32 Tip #1
11:13 Tip #2
12:05 Tip #3

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:22:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Summer is coming, whether you like it or not, and youth pastors everywhere are trying to decide whether they should hit pause on their programing or whether they should keep going strong. I want to encourage you in this video, we're going to explore the pros of keeping your programing going and contrast it with the cons of what it would look like if you chose to take a little bit of a break.

00:00:22:12 - 00:00:43:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Make sure that you stick around for the entire video, because at the end, I have a hundred social media ideas for you to go ahead and take and adopt in your ministry, especially if we choose to hit pause as well as three tips for an amazing summer, regardless of the decision that you choose. Don't forget to subscribe so that you don't miss a single one of our episodes.

00:00:43:08 - 00:01:04:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, as we are leading into summer and during the entire course of the summer, and as always, there are chapters listed down below so that you can hop ahead to the part of the show that makes the most sense to you. Welcome everyone to the Hybrid Minister Show. What's up everyone? Welcome to the Hybrid Minister Show. In this episode, we're going to compare and contrast summer programing versus taking a break.

00:01:04:08 - 00:01:27:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So let's not waste any time. What are the pros of staying engaged with having summer programing in your youth ministry? Well, the first pro I would say is that students, sports schedules and students extracurricular vehicular activities tend to take a little bit more of a dip. And so historically, youth ministries have been going strong through the summer. And I'm sorry if they've been going strong through the school year.

00:01:27:23 - 00:01:48:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then they take a break during the summer, they match the students schedules. So while students are going strong during the school year, we're going strong during the school year when students tend to take a dip. We would also take a dip. And I think it's worthwhile to consider while student schedules take a little bit of a dip, what if our programing ramps up or at least doesn't go anywhere?

00:01:48:10 - 00:02:10:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Why? Because you may or may not have some students who are so busy during the school year that they're just simply not able to make a Wednesday night or Sunday night. But you have in programing, you do have an opportunity to now catch them when their schedule does tend to take a break. I remember one time, it was the very first week of our summer schedule, and it was the first time that I ever chose to stay to stay engaged during the summer.

00:02:10:23 - 00:02:31:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I looked out across the audience and I saw a student who I hadn't seen for the entire time of my duration and my tenure as a youth pastor at that church. And I had messaged with her mom, and her mom was lamenting the fact that, you know, her dance schedule didn't line up with what our student ministry was, and our student sister had just made a change from Wednesday to Sunday.

00:02:31:01 - 00:02:47:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And at that same time, when our student ministry made that change, her dance schedule also made that exact same change. And so she was so bummed out that we shifted from Wednesday to Sunday because her dance schedule had just shifted from Wednesday to Sunday. So she missed literally the entire school year. But I looked out and boom, there she was.

00:02:47:20 - 00:03:08:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I was like, man, had we not chosen to meet, she still wouldn't have been there. And so I know that you as a youth pastor, you have a heart to reach and capture your students. And so staying engaged in your programing during the summer can offer and allow you to have that sort of opportunity. The other thing that summer programing does is, honestly, it gives you a chance to try out some creative ideas.

00:03:08:28 - 00:03:28:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, if you didn't know this, I have a, Patreon account where I, weekly share what we're doing in our youth ministry. And it's just $4 a month, which is $1 per episode, where I detail and breakdown everything I'm doing to be creative and stay hybrid. And so this summer, I'm going to be taking you along on that journey.

00:03:28:05 - 00:03:51:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I would love to encourage you if you're one that wants to increase your creativity in your youth ministry, lean into your social media and your digital presence. Come hang out with us over on Patreon, and we're going to be giving that out $1 per week for, the bonus podcast episodes. But it gives you a chance to to be a little bit creative, to try something different that maybe, I don't know, before wouldn't have worked on.

00:03:51:11 - 00:04:26:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This episode is actually brought to you by my very own Patreon. The Patreon is my bonus podcast community, and I call those people over there who are subscribers. They're my hybrid heroes, and what we do over on my Patreon is a every single resource that I've created, and my shop is free for all Patreon members, along with a weekly bonus podcast episode and the cost right now to join my Patreon, I may go up, but right now legacy members can get it for $4 a month.

00:04:26:20 - 00:04:50:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So every single time I create a resource that's just through my Patreon that costs money for people who want to go on to my shop and buy something, you get it for free as a patron member, plus a weekly bonus podcast where I talk about what I do on social media every week. I talk about what I do in my programing every week to try and keep it creative and hybrid, and how we're using sidekick over there.

00:04:51:01 - 00:05:09:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, this week I talk, for example, about how I didn't even have a tech person to run Pro presenter. I ran a game from the stage on my computer with name picker on sidekick by myself on my computer. It's amazing. I'll tell you how I do all that type of stuff on my Patreon, so go check it out.

00:05:09:21 - 00:05:29:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Link down below in the description where it says become a Hybrid Hero. Click that link and check it out. Hey, you get a free week trial if you're interested in it. Back to the show. All right, so what are the cons? Well, the cons are of course, that you don't get a break in your programing. If you go straight into your school, you're programing into your summer programing.

00:05:29:20 - 00:05:50:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You don't get any little bit of a rest. And, additionally speaking, neither do your leaders. And so that, of course, is the con. And that's probably one of the major players in this decision is you've been working hard all September, from September through May all school year. And, and you're maybe looking forward to getting a little bit of a break, maybe a little bit of a breather.

00:05:50:11 - 00:06:14:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, staying strong with your programing throughout the summer doesn't really give you that option. And in addition to that, because school year and, like fall based launches and the start, you know, post Labor Day and welcome back and back to school Sunday and all the things that go along with traditional church ministry, especially as it pertains to launching strong and launching hard in the fall.

00:06:14:29 - 00:06:31:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You might need to be recruiting leaders. Not taking a break over the summer may not give you as much space to retool and get ready to launch strong in the fall. Or at least that may be some of what you're thinking and some of what, you know, you, you kind of have going on in, in your mind there.

00:06:31:14 - 00:06:52:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, I just want to encourage you, like, as you're kind of debating through this, like if your priority is having a strong, school year based student ministry, end of summer Rob's from that. I can imagine where that might be a con. Let let's take a look then, here at some of the pros and the cons of, choosing to take a break during the summer.

00:06:52:26 - 00:07:11:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So the pros are that if you do feel like you're running just so hard and so fast and so strong, all during the school year, the summer definitely does offer a little bit of a reprieve. You know, burnout is real among youth pastors. Shout out to my friend dairy. Link down below or right here on YouTube at the top of the screen.

00:07:12:03 - 00:07:48:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
On my episode with him where I interviewed, how does he avoid burnout? It is a fantastic episode, and what I'll just say is, if taking time off during the summer is a way to help you avoid, burning out, then it's more advantageous to not meet during the summer so that you can tend to your soul. But I would just say, maybe it's worthwhile to go take a look at that episode from Derry and see if during this next school year, if there are some practices and some principles that he laid out, that you can actually apply so that when next summer rolls around, if you are considering maybe, not breaking for

00:07:48:00 - 00:08:07:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
your programing as opposed to breaking that, you won't be so tired and so burnout by the time you get on the doorstep of summer. So that you can maybe show up for your students. Another pro, of course, is that you do give an opportunity to give your leaders a break. So if you you know how important it is to lean on leaders.

00:08:07:27 - 00:08:24:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And leaders really are the backbone of student ministry. If you, don't meet during the summer, obviously you don't need your leaders to be there. If you do meet during the summer, you kind of need your leaders to show up, you know what I'm saying? So, that that is one of the pros of choosing to take a break during the summer.

00:08:24:00 - 00:08:50:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The cons, of course, are like, just think about this. Do you really want to go three months without meeting, like, just like basketball? Student ministry is a momentum game. And so, taking three months off, especially when you probably got, a high level, high flying thing, like camp or a mission trip, woven throughout the programing of your summer to just do that and then come back and not have anything for several months.

00:08:51:01 - 00:09:17:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, that's really a con that is worth considering. Like, do you really want to come back and then just be like, all right, see you guys after Labor Day? Like for me personally, that feels like a little bit long and a little bit of an arduous, break. The other thing, of course, is that you're not meeting during summer students most available seasons is the pro, to the reason why you maybe should consider keeping summer programing going.

00:09:17:08 - 00:09:38:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so those are both sides. You can probably tell that objectively speaking, we do choose to meet during the summer. We retool, we scale it back. We we're very creative. We do things that are very different. And so let me just give you three tips, regardless of which decision you're going to, land on which which camp you fallen for this debate.

00:09:38:23 - 00:10:00:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Three tips to help you program amazing things, or at least, do amazing youth ministry during the summer, whether you're meeting or not. So tip number one is follow your church's guide. If you have regular, say, midweek or regular Sunday night activities, church wide kids, ministry ministries, all the things and they take a break, then perhaps consider also taking a break.

00:10:00:21 - 00:10:18:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If if you're the only group that meets on campus when you meet, then that's not as big of a deal. But but consider following your church's lead. However, unlike the last video in this playlist where I talked about the importance of following your church's lead as a as it pertains to promotion, that's like a level like, absolutely.

00:10:18:06 - 00:10:43:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Do not deviate from your church's plan on this one. I would say I think things can be a little bit different because while some of the offerings for Kids Ministry and some of the offerings for adult ministry may be a little more elective based or a little more optional, if this is your main meeting time, then if you do choose to meet during the summer while the rest of your church takes time off, then stand strong on that and and communicate the importance of meeting when students are more available.

00:10:43:28 - 00:11:11:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Again, you don't have to do as wholesale or full scale of a programing. You can scale it back, you can throw some creative options. Again, I'm going to give you some of those and some of what we're doing, in our student ministry. But you can you can kind of pull back the, the, the programing, intensity a little bit so that you can have some fun and just make it a little bit more of a casual hangout, but the tip is, if you're sure you like, follow, follow your church's lead.

00:11:11:01 - 00:11:27:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're unsure which direction to lean on this debate. The second tip I have for you is if you do take a break, and even if you don't, but if you definitely if you do lean in harder than on social media, because you may not be meeting on a Wednesday night or a Sunday night or whatever night you choose to meet, so you have more time in the office.

00:11:27:10 - 00:11:48:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So lean harder into social media, which is linked down below. The freebie tease at the beginning of the video. A hundred different topic ideas for you, for different concepts that, you can use on social media. So for us, I have a four part social media, strategy and social challenge guide, a whole playlist detailed for free, listed down below in the description.

00:11:48:25 - 00:12:08:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Go check that out one episode per video, but this freebie gives you 100 different topic ideas to help you lean into some of the creativity and some of the social media, ideas. And then you can continue to kind of show up where your students are, even if you choose not to meet. And then the third and final idea is just simply this it's summer, man.

00:12:08:15 - 00:12:26:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Have fun. Like if you do choose to meet, have fun while you do. If you don't have fun, do it on social media. Have a blast with your students creating content both for them and also consider doing it with them. And the thing about summer that's so fun. And one of the things that we do is we try to kind of ride the National Day trend.

00:12:26:10 - 00:12:46:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you didn't know there is a National day every single day, multiple national days. So this summer, for example, we're choosing like, beautiful Grandparent Day where we're going to play Extreme Bingo, and National Cheesecake Day is going to round out our summer, you know, programing. And and Leon Day, which is, June 25th. It is the, backwards.

00:12:46:24 - 00:13:08:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, Leon spelled backwards is Noel. So June 25th is when crafters start getting their Christmas supplies out. Last summer we did like National Avocado Day, and we celebrated some holidays like that. And so there's always an option of a thing that you can just kind of trend. So if we don't, we don't female our midweek throughout the, the the regular school year.

00:13:08:00 - 00:13:26:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But during the summer we do we kind of have fun with it. It also is a fun way to kind of create some social media content around it. We'll go around, interview people and ask them, you know, things about each of those topics or whatever, and kind of do a man on the street style video and again, some of that is detailed in that line down below in that 100 free thing.

00:13:26:15 - 00:13:47:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So go ahead and and grab that freebie so that you don't neglect in that you don't avoid social media this summer. Hey, everyone. Coming up in the next episode is the fourth and final installment of this versus playlist, where we're going to be looking at digital ministry versus in-person ministry. And if you're watching this, after its release, it's going to be linked right here on the screen.

00:13:47:29 - 00:13:54:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're watching this live, it'll be releasing next Thursday. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget stay hybrid.

]]> Summer is coming, and youth pastors everywhere are asking—do we keep programming or hit pause? In this video, we’ll break down the pros and cons of both options and help you decide what’s right for your ministry this summer. Stick around till the end for a FREE resource: 100 social media ideas to keep students engaged—even if you hit pause.
Plus 3 tips for summer ministry, regardless of the direction you choose

☀️ 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 IT FOR FREE!
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/149

//AVOID BURNOUT WITH DERRY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do3WGIctHDs&t=43s

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

//100 IDEAS
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 Youth Ministry in the Summer?
00:56 PROS: Meeting in the Summer
03:50 Lock in Your Social Media this Summer!
05:18 CONS: Meeting in the Summer
06:45 PROS: Taking a Summer Programming Break
08:24 CONS: Taking a Summer Programming Break
09:32 Tip #1
11:13 Tip #2
12:05 Tip #3

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TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:22:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Summer is coming, whether you like it or not, and youth pastors everywhere are trying to decide whether they should hit pause on their programing or whether they should keep going strong. I want to encourage you in this video, we're going to explore the pros of keeping your programing going and contrast it with the cons of what it would look like if you chose to take a little bit of a break.

00:00:22:12 - 00:00:43:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Make sure that you stick around for the entire video, because at the end, I have a hundred social media ideas for you to go ahead and take and adopt in your ministry, especially if we choose to hit pause as well as three tips for an amazing summer, regardless of the decision that you choose. Don't forget to subscribe so that you don't miss a single one of our episodes.

00:00:43:08 - 00:01:04:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, as we are leading into summer and during the entire course of the summer, and as always, there are chapters listed down below so that you can hop ahead to the part of the show that makes the most sense to you. Welcome everyone to the Hybrid Minister Show. What's up everyone? Welcome to the Hybrid Minister Show. In this episode, we're going to compare and contrast summer programing versus taking a break.

00:01:04:08 - 00:01:27:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So let's not waste any time. What are the pros of staying engaged with having summer programing in your youth ministry? Well, the first pro I would say is that students, sports schedules and students extracurricular vehicular activities tend to take a little bit more of a dip. And so historically, youth ministries have been going strong through the summer. And I'm sorry if they've been going strong through the school year.

00:01:27:23 - 00:01:48:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then they take a break during the summer, they match the students schedules. So while students are going strong during the school year, we're going strong during the school year when students tend to take a dip. We would also take a dip. And I think it's worthwhile to consider while student schedules take a little bit of a dip, what if our programing ramps up or at least doesn't go anywhere?

00:01:48:10 - 00:02:10:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Why? Because you may or may not have some students who are so busy during the school year that they're just simply not able to make a Wednesday night or Sunday night. But you have in programing, you do have an opportunity to now catch them when their schedule does tend to take a break. I remember one time, it was the very first week of our summer schedule, and it was the first time that I ever chose to stay to stay engaged during the summer.

00:02:10:23 - 00:02:31:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I looked out across the audience and I saw a student who I hadn't seen for the entire time of my duration and my tenure as a youth pastor at that church. And I had messaged with her mom, and her mom was lamenting the fact that, you know, her dance schedule didn't line up with what our student ministry was, and our student sister had just made a change from Wednesday to Sunday.

00:02:31:01 - 00:02:47:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And at that same time, when our student ministry made that change, her dance schedule also made that exact same change. And so she was so bummed out that we shifted from Wednesday to Sunday because her dance schedule had just shifted from Wednesday to Sunday. So she missed literally the entire school year. But I looked out and boom, there she was.

00:02:47:20 - 00:03:08:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I was like, man, had we not chosen to meet, she still wouldn't have been there. And so I know that you as a youth pastor, you have a heart to reach and capture your students. And so staying engaged in your programing during the summer can offer and allow you to have that sort of opportunity. The other thing that summer programing does is, honestly, it gives you a chance to try out some creative ideas.

00:03:08:28 - 00:03:28:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, if you didn't know this, I have a, Patreon account where I, weekly share what we're doing in our youth ministry. And it's just $4 a month, which is $1 per episode, where I detail and breakdown everything I'm doing to be creative and stay hybrid. And so this summer, I'm going to be taking you along on that journey.

00:03:28:05 - 00:03:51:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I would love to encourage you if you're one that wants to increase your creativity in your youth ministry, lean into your social media and your digital presence. Come hang out with us over on Patreon, and we're going to be giving that out $1 per week for, the bonus podcast episodes. But it gives you a chance to to be a little bit creative, to try something different that maybe, I don't know, before wouldn't have worked on.

00:03:51:11 - 00:04:26:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This episode is actually brought to you by my very own Patreon. The Patreon is my bonus podcast community, and I call those people over there who are subscribers. They're my hybrid heroes, and what we do over on my Patreon is a every single resource that I've created, and my shop is free for all Patreon members, along with a weekly bonus podcast episode and the cost right now to join my Patreon, I may go up, but right now legacy members can get it for $4 a month.

00:04:26:20 - 00:04:50:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So every single time I create a resource that's just through my Patreon that costs money for people who want to go on to my shop and buy something, you get it for free as a patron member, plus a weekly bonus podcast where I talk about what I do on social media every week. I talk about what I do in my programing every week to try and keep it creative and hybrid, and how we're using sidekick over there.

00:04:51:01 - 00:05:09:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, this week I talk, for example, about how I didn't even have a tech person to run Pro presenter. I ran a game from the stage on my computer with name picker on sidekick by myself on my computer. It's amazing. I'll tell you how I do all that type of stuff on my Patreon, so go check it out.

00:05:09:21 - 00:05:29:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Link down below in the description where it says become a Hybrid Hero. Click that link and check it out. Hey, you get a free week trial if you're interested in it. Back to the show. All right, so what are the cons? Well, the cons are of course, that you don't get a break in your programing. If you go straight into your school, you're programing into your summer programing.

00:05:29:20 - 00:05:50:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You don't get any little bit of a rest. And, additionally speaking, neither do your leaders. And so that, of course, is the con. And that's probably one of the major players in this decision is you've been working hard all September, from September through May all school year. And, and you're maybe looking forward to getting a little bit of a break, maybe a little bit of a breather.

00:05:50:11 - 00:06:14:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, staying strong with your programing throughout the summer doesn't really give you that option. And in addition to that, because school year and, like fall based launches and the start, you know, post Labor Day and welcome back and back to school Sunday and all the things that go along with traditional church ministry, especially as it pertains to launching strong and launching hard in the fall.

00:06:14:29 - 00:06:31:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You might need to be recruiting leaders. Not taking a break over the summer may not give you as much space to retool and get ready to launch strong in the fall. Or at least that may be some of what you're thinking and some of what, you know, you, you kind of have going on in, in your mind there.

00:06:31:14 - 00:06:52:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, I just want to encourage you, like, as you're kind of debating through this, like if your priority is having a strong, school year based student ministry, end of summer Rob's from that. I can imagine where that might be a con. Let let's take a look then, here at some of the pros and the cons of, choosing to take a break during the summer.

00:06:52:26 - 00:07:11:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So the pros are that if you do feel like you're running just so hard and so fast and so strong, all during the school year, the summer definitely does offer a little bit of a reprieve. You know, burnout is real among youth pastors. Shout out to my friend dairy. Link down below or right here on YouTube at the top of the screen.

00:07:12:03 - 00:07:48:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
On my episode with him where I interviewed, how does he avoid burnout? It is a fantastic episode, and what I'll just say is, if taking time off during the summer is a way to help you avoid, burning out, then it's more advantageous to not meet during the summer so that you can tend to your soul. But I would just say, maybe it's worthwhile to go take a look at that episode from Derry and see if during this next school year, if there are some practices and some principles that he laid out, that you can actually apply so that when next summer rolls around, if you are considering maybe, not breaking for

00:07:48:00 - 00:08:07:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
your programing as opposed to breaking that, you won't be so tired and so burnout by the time you get on the doorstep of summer. So that you can maybe show up for your students. Another pro, of course, is that you do give an opportunity to give your leaders a break. So if you you know how important it is to lean on leaders.

00:08:07:27 - 00:08:24:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And leaders really are the backbone of student ministry. If you, don't meet during the summer, obviously you don't need your leaders to be there. If you do meet during the summer, you kind of need your leaders to show up, you know what I'm saying? So, that that is one of the pros of choosing to take a break during the summer.

00:08:24:00 - 00:08:50:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The cons, of course, are like, just think about this. Do you really want to go three months without meeting, like, just like basketball? Student ministry is a momentum game. And so, taking three months off, especially when you probably got, a high level, high flying thing, like camp or a mission trip, woven throughout the programing of your summer to just do that and then come back and not have anything for several months.

00:08:51:01 - 00:09:17:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, that's really a con that is worth considering. Like, do you really want to come back and then just be like, all right, see you guys after Labor Day? Like for me personally, that feels like a little bit long and a little bit of an arduous, break. The other thing, of course, is that you're not meeting during summer students most available seasons is the pro, to the reason why you maybe should consider keeping summer programing going.

00:09:17:08 - 00:09:38:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so those are both sides. You can probably tell that objectively speaking, we do choose to meet during the summer. We retool, we scale it back. We we're very creative. We do things that are very different. And so let me just give you three tips, regardless of which decision you're going to, land on which which camp you fallen for this debate.

00:09:38:23 - 00:10:00:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Three tips to help you program amazing things, or at least, do amazing youth ministry during the summer, whether you're meeting or not. So tip number one is follow your church's guide. If you have regular, say, midweek or regular Sunday night activities, church wide kids, ministry ministries, all the things and they take a break, then perhaps consider also taking a break.

00:10:00:21 - 00:10:18:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If if you're the only group that meets on campus when you meet, then that's not as big of a deal. But but consider following your church's lead. However, unlike the last video in this playlist where I talked about the importance of following your church's lead as a as it pertains to promotion, that's like a level like, absolutely.

00:10:18:06 - 00:10:43:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Do not deviate from your church's plan on this one. I would say I think things can be a little bit different because while some of the offerings for Kids Ministry and some of the offerings for adult ministry may be a little more elective based or a little more optional, if this is your main meeting time, then if you do choose to meet during the summer while the rest of your church takes time off, then stand strong on that and and communicate the importance of meeting when students are more available.

00:10:43:28 - 00:11:11:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Again, you don't have to do as wholesale or full scale of a programing. You can scale it back, you can throw some creative options. Again, I'm going to give you some of those and some of what we're doing, in our student ministry. But you can you can kind of pull back the, the, the programing, intensity a little bit so that you can have some fun and just make it a little bit more of a casual hangout, but the tip is, if you're sure you like, follow, follow your church's lead.

00:11:11:01 - 00:11:27:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're unsure which direction to lean on this debate. The second tip I have for you is if you do take a break, and even if you don't, but if you definitely if you do lean in harder than on social media, because you may not be meeting on a Wednesday night or a Sunday night or whatever night you choose to meet, so you have more time in the office.

00:11:27:10 - 00:11:48:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So lean harder into social media, which is linked down below. The freebie tease at the beginning of the video. A hundred different topic ideas for you, for different concepts that, you can use on social media. So for us, I have a four part social media, strategy and social challenge guide, a whole playlist detailed for free, listed down below in the description.

00:11:48:25 - 00:12:08:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Go check that out one episode per video, but this freebie gives you 100 different topic ideas to help you lean into some of the creativity and some of the social media, ideas. And then you can continue to kind of show up where your students are, even if you choose not to meet. And then the third and final idea is just simply this it's summer, man.

00:12:08:15 - 00:12:26:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Have fun. Like if you do choose to meet, have fun while you do. If you don't have fun, do it on social media. Have a blast with your students creating content both for them and also consider doing it with them. And the thing about summer that's so fun. And one of the things that we do is we try to kind of ride the National Day trend.

00:12:26:10 - 00:12:46:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you didn't know there is a National day every single day, multiple national days. So this summer, for example, we're choosing like, beautiful Grandparent Day where we're going to play Extreme Bingo, and National Cheesecake Day is going to round out our summer, you know, programing. And and Leon Day, which is, June 25th. It is the, backwards.

00:12:46:24 - 00:13:08:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, Leon spelled backwards is Noel. So June 25th is when crafters start getting their Christmas supplies out. Last summer we did like National Avocado Day, and we celebrated some holidays like that. And so there's always an option of a thing that you can just kind of trend. So if we don't, we don't female our midweek throughout the, the the regular school year.

00:13:08:00 - 00:13:26:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But during the summer we do we kind of have fun with it. It also is a fun way to kind of create some social media content around it. We'll go around, interview people and ask them, you know, things about each of those topics or whatever, and kind of do a man on the street style video and again, some of that is detailed in that line down below in that 100 free thing.

00:13:26:15 - 00:13:47:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So go ahead and and grab that freebie so that you don't neglect in that you don't avoid social media this summer. Hey, everyone. Coming up in the next episode is the fourth and final installment of this versus playlist, where we're going to be looking at digital ministry versus in-person ministry. And if you're watching this, after its release, it's going to be linked right here on the screen.

00:13:47:29 - 00:13:54:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're watching this live, it'll be releasing next Thursday. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget stay hybrid.

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