Hybrid Ministry - Episodes Tagged with “Hybrid Ministry”

Episode 197: Custom vs Done-For-You Social Media for Churches

Nick Clason — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0500

Social Media is like the beast that never sleeps.
In this episode, I have two experts to argue both social media philosophies.
Should you use a pack that's done for you, so you can set it and forget it?
Or should you focus on more custom content for your church instagram feeds?

Find out, listen to the debate, and you decide!

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🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Social Media for Youth Ministry
00:39 The Guest Today?
01:53 Custom Social Intro
02:52 Done For You Intro
03:52 Why Done For You Social Media?
05:54 Why Custom Social Media is most effective
07:55 How Long Do You Spend on Social Media?
10:26 Have You Raised up Volunteers?
12:07 Done For You Closing Remarks
13:07 Custom Social Media Closing Argument

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TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:000 - 00:00:02:065
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Youth ministry debates. Welcome to the

00:00:02:065 - 00:00:02:112
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
fourth

00:00:03:002 - 00:00:03:076
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and

00:00:03:086 - 00:00:04:075
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
debate

00:00:04:085 - 00:00:05:008
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
episode.

00:00:05:033 - 00:00:05:050
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And

00:00:05:050 - 00:00:07:110
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
in this one we are talking all things

00:00:08:013 - 00:00:10:077
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
social media, and I'm debating none

00:00:10:096 - 00:00:11:103
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
other than

00:00:11:113 - 00:00:27:037
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
myself. And I'm going to be taking two different stances. Stance number one is going to be on social media. That is done for you. You download it out of a pack and you just set it and forget it versus social media.

00:00:27:037 - 00:00:39:053
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That is custom social media that has your own voice and your own face. And we're going to be going head to head. Myself versus myself. Welcome, everybody to the Hybrid Ministry show.

00:00:39:063 - 00:00:49:065
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, hey everybody, welcome to the Hybrid Minister's show. If you've not been following along, we are currently at the tail end of a playlist where we've been exploring big youth ministry

00:00:49:075 - 00:01:05:022
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
debates. And in this one, the debate is specifically centered around social media. And rather than trying to find another opposition or another person on the other side, I figured I would genuinely argue this position from each side of the social media aisle.

00:01:05:032 - 00:01:09:020
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Done for you versus custom for you. And so when I'm wearing a

00:01:09:033 - 00:01:10:111
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
black shirt, I'm going to be arguing

00:01:10:119 - 00:01:14:051
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
packs that are done for you, that are set it and forget it. Think

00:01:14:061 - 00:01:15:080
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Sunday social, think

00:01:15:080 - 00:01:19:015
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
nuclear social, think doing membership post.

00:01:19:025 - 00:01:22:111
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then when I'm wearing a white shirt.

00:01:23:000 - 00:01:38:028
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to be arguing social media. That's custom, social media that has your own flair, social media that has your own voice in your own face. And so, just like we've programed every single one of these other debate style episodes, that's how we are going to

00:01:38:028 - 00:01:40:080
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
do this with a minute introduction and

00:01:40:080 - 00:01:46:013
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
then two minutes of an argument, then a back and forth Q&A, followed by one minute of closing.

00:01:46:042 - 00:01:53:030
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And welcome to the podcast to argue social media myself. Nicholas.

00:01:53:040 - 00:02:09:105
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. So minute on the clock. So I've been in youth ministry for 15.5 years. Started out small churches in Ohio. Always seen the value and need for social media, digital ministry. In fact, I read a book, or listen to a podcast about exiles in Babylon.

00:02:09:115 - 00:02:18:045
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It was a Barna book and talked about the value of YouTube and how the next generation is going to be asking some of the heaviest and most theologically based questions on YouTube.

00:02:18:055 - 00:02:40:084
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So to kind of get my gears turning around YouTube, I started a little like YouTube through my church podcast, moved to a church in Chicago the first day Covid hit. And while we were there, obviously we had to come up with a digital and an innovative and innovative digital solution. And while we were doing that, it really like sparked my love, my continued love for social media, YouTube, and just digital ministry.

00:02:40:084 - 00:02:54:060
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so kind of ever since then, I've seen the value of it. I've seen the power behind doing a good job on social media. And then then I moved to Texas. Which next guy can take it away?

00:02:54:069 - 00:03:13:053
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. That's great. So I moved here to Texas in 2022. I came to be, one of my really good friends. His name is Darren. I came to be kind of like his right hand man and, learned a lot of stuff about digital and kind of poured into it and really, like, brought it to life here.

00:03:13:062 - 00:03:28:021
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In where the in the current setting that I'm serving in, last summer. So about eight months ago, at this point, he stepped away to another role, at another church, and I took over and assumed his role, which is a lot more management, and it's a lot more meetings

00:03:28:021 - 00:03:34:114
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and a lot more oversight of people. And so my schedule looks like this on screen here.

00:03:34:117 - 00:03:51:098
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is a screenshot of my schedule. I actually sent it to him last week complaining. And I'm actually getting ready to hand social media over to a resident because I'm running out of time, no matter how well I'm mapping out and blocking my time. Social media is great, but there are other things that are also taking my attention.

00:03:51:098 - 00:03:56:060
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, excited to be with you today.

00:03:56:070 - 00:04:22:029
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. Okay, so two minutes on the clock. So, I would say our goal as youth pastors is not to be content creators, not to be social media managers. But our goal as youth pastors and pastors in general, working in the church, our goal is to be disciple makers, and we should be implementing and facilitating, a system and a program that helps move students more meaningfully and significantly towards Jesus.

00:04:22:029 - 00:04:26:038
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I know and I believe that social media

00:04:26:053 - 00:05:00:036
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
obviously is still important, and I believe that it has a role within the life of the local church. But I also believe that we should be primarily focusing on making disciples. And my argument for why you should consider done for you. Pax is it just while it's important, while social media can be a mechanism for life change and for disseminating the hope and the message of the gospel, I also know that as my calendar gets more and more full, as my plate gets more and more stacked up, and as I have more and more of those proverbial plates spinning, so to speak, that social media

00:05:00:058 - 00:05:14:000
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
is one of the first things to kind of like fall off my radar and so, yeah, so I believe in social media, but I also believe in delegation. And so if you can delegate that either through a team or through a,

00:05:14:011 - 00:05:20:101
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
just downloading a pack of especially like if you're a member, you're already paying for it like it's included.

00:05:20:110 - 00:05:45:009
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You should go ahead and check something like that out because, while the while like, I believe that we're busy, I believe that social media is important. I also believe that our ultimate goal is to raise up leaders and to help point people towards Jesus. And so if social media is taking that away from me, I don't want to, become less effective as a disciple maker because of social media.

00:05:45:009 - 00:05:57:084
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so because of that, I would recommend that you grab something that's done for you, that's taken care of, and you don't even have to worry about it. And it frees up your time to be the best version. And pastor of you that you can be.

00:05:57:094 - 00:06:23:016
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. So I would say two minutes on the clock. I would say my argument is that in social media, the goal is not to just get your announcements or your information pushed through. It's it's a very, very small part of it. In fact, the goal on social media is engagement, which my argument would be as youth pastors, as ministry leaders in churches, our goal should be engagement across the board.

00:06:23:038 - 00:06:47:118
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We would want people to engage not just with our church for the sake of engaging with our church. We would hope that they would engage with our church, and that's going to be helping to move and promote them towards and for life change. And so the same thing is true on social media. And just like every single time you're hanging out with a student at Starbucks, you're not only ever posting announcements in the same way that you're, or like you're hanging out at Starbucks.

00:06:47:118 - 00:07:03:107
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're not only ever talking about spiritual, so if you're talking about life, you're talking about fun stuff, you're talking about interesting things. And you see, you know, the latest neighbor gets a stand up routine, like whatever that might be. And I think the same thing should be true on social media. And I think you should have a custom fingerprint of our own church.

00:07:03:107 - 00:07:26:012
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. And so because of that, I think that helps drive engagement and so people respond to people, people like some of our best performing posts on social media, our faces, not graphics that we cooked up in Canva. And so the more we can get faces, my face, my leaders faces, my senior pastor's face and other students faces, that's the goal on social media.

00:07:26:012 - 00:07:52:046
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so in the same way, like announcements are good, graphics are good, done for you. Stuff is good. But Dunphy can only take you so far because if it's done for you, it means it's also done for many. And if you're just posting something that someone else has already made, that can be done at any given church in any given context across America, only you have been called to be the youth pastor and the shepherd of your church and the students that God has entrusted to you.

00:07:52:057 - 00:07:59:032
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So lean into the customization of that and use it to spread the message of good news and hope of Jesus.

00:07:59:041 - 00:08:09:022
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. Okay. So I have a question for you. Nick. White shirt. Nick, how much time do you spend on social media per week?

00:08:09:032 - 00:08:26:099
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah, so let's see. Good question. I used to spend a lot of time on social media when I was editing our teaching videos. Probably took me ten hours a week between that, and then our other social media content, like our short form content, we finally built up our budget in such a way to be able to pay an editor, which I get.

00:08:26:099 - 00:08:46:069
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's a luxury. Not everybody has that. I would also say, like, if you have the potential to just, like, film yourself in the back of the room with a camera. Cameras have come a long way even since I started at this church in Texas. And so you could probably get a decent camera, a decent lens, and a decent like, just, what am I looking for?

00:08:46:069 - 00:09:01:017
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
An adapter into your soundboard? You can probably get that for a thousand $2,000. And again, you might have to work your way up for it. You might find a donor for it. If there is some money for it. But you can put a camera in the back of the room and you can film your messages, and you can use those for clips and stuff like that.

00:09:01:017 - 00:09:14:094
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then I also come a long way. So to answer your question and spend a lot of time when I've done a lot of the work myself, but do things like opus clip link down below if you want to check that out. If you have some sort of long form version of your message without lower thirds is going to crop it out.

00:09:14:094 - 00:09:39:097
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Opus clip is an amazing solution that will give you clips and chunks of your teaching, and of your messages that you can sprinkle on all throughout social and listen. Maybe video is not even an option for you. Maybe just like record your sermons through soundboard and post to audio. Have an audio sermon like that's still a version of hybrid Ministry of Digital Ministry might not be the most effective just on social media, but there's even ways to do that where you have like the sound wave bar, right?

00:09:39:097 - 00:09:59:056
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And like you can do overlays and B-roll and, and you can do your slides and stuff like that as you clip up some of the things. So like, you don't have to be hamstrung by the equipment side of your, of your life. And then that being said, I built out a whole strategy. I owned it, but then as I've owned it, I've handed it off.

00:09:59:056 - 00:10:17:018
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So on the capturing and creation side, I have a whole team of students who are building that out every single Wednesday night. And then on the editing side, I have a whole team of students, and even some leaders and other staff members who are helping, do some of that. But I don't manage much of it anymore.

00:10:17:018 - 00:10:29:052
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I would say in an honest assessment, I spend less than an hour per week and have a fully customizable social media, YouTube channel, Instagram, all those things.

00:10:29:062 - 00:10:33:003
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. I mean, my question to you, black shirted Nick would be like,

00:10:33:003 - 00:10:45:034
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I get that you were all about done for you, but have you considered raising up volunteers to give you a hand on some of these things as you've, you know, gotten busier and lost some of your time that you used to have?

00:10:45:044 - 00:11:21:066
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah, actually, yes. I have raised up volunteers in in my space. And that's one of the reasons why, the done for youth stuff. I mean, I'm not so far down the done for you path. It's because of my own prep of raising up volunteers. So I have a couple of students, who I've raised up in who have taught how to run and do social media for themselves, and how they, can, come in at edit off of our computers, our machines, our software that we spend the money for that we've invested in.

00:11:21:075 - 00:11:43:079
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And they have my help, my troubleshooting ability. But if I didn't have them at this current juncture, I'm not sure that I would have as much time to devote towards, you know, five, five, days a week, two posts per day, ten, ten different pieces of content. Like, I don't know that I would have that amount of time to get something like that off the ground.

00:11:43:079 - 00:12:10:093
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So something that's a little more done for you, something that's just a little bit more turnkey. In my current role, with the amount of direct reports I have, with the amount of people that and meetings that I've found myself in. Had I not raised up those volunteers to continue to keep doing what I'm doing as I've stepped into this new leadership role and I'm not I'm not 100% sure how well I would be at launching a brand new hybrid in social media, like kind of ministry and campaign, like right now.

00:12:10:102 - 00:12:21:095
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. So final minute on the clock. My final closing argument is honestly my own social media pack. I don't mean for this to be like self-promotion and like a plug, but the fact of the matter is this is that I

00:12:21:111 - 00:12:32:100
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
have a pack that has a whole done for youth section. In fact, I was just on social media not ten minutes ago, and one of the members from my cohort, I follow their youth ministry.

00:12:32:109 - 00:12:55:086
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I ran across a takes 60s to pray post. I ran across one that I had made and I had created myself. And so I saw another youth ministry. I saw another youth pastor use my content for their own students. And that's why I would recommend this, because sometimes you have the bandwidth, sometimes you have the margin, and sometimes you have the creative energy, but other times you simply don't.

00:12:55:086 - 00:13:09:101
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you need something that's still good, that's still effective, and that's still going to push the mission of Jesus forward in your space, in your context, in your church. And you can do all that through social media and on your social channels.

00:13:09:111 - 00:13:30:062
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah, right. So my argument is that social media is best when it's custom. People respond best to faces. And you, if you're the youth pastor, you've been called to shepherd your people, which also includes putting your face on your Instagram, on your YouTube, on your TikTok, and, shameless plug my done for you and custom for you social media pack.

00:13:30:062 - 00:13:54:048
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I have four different seasons summer, fall, winter, spring, $17.99. Or you can become a Patreon member, which gives you access to our weekly bonus podcast. And then as a part of that $4 per month membership cost, the $17.99 social media pack will coach you through how to have a custom and hybrid social media ministry. It will give you scripts.

00:13:54:048 - 00:14:10:089
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It will tell you, it'll give you filming prompts. It will give you man on the street questions with the graphics and the overlays so that your social media can be custom, but it doesn't have to break the bank financially or from a time standpoint. Check it out. Link down below in the description.

00:14:10:099 - 00:14:33:044
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, hey, thanks everybody for hanging out on this episode. And I think, and I hope that you're able to tell that my genuine answer is that, yes, it should be custom social media and that yes, it should be done for you. Social media. And I have the perfect tech to blend those two things together. There is information and a link down below in the show notes.

00:14:33:044 - 00:14:53:059
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or if you just have questions, bro, reach out to me. Shoot me a DM. If you found this episode helpful, interesting, or at least just something comical to laugh at because I was literally debating myself just with a different outfit, then hey, go ahead and give us a like or subscribe. That would be the greatest form of payment, especially if you choose not to go check out the social media pack.

00:14:53:068 - 00:14:57:009
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But until next time my friends. And as always, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 195: Young Leaders vs Older Leaders: Who Connects Better?

Nick Clason — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0500

Volunteer Leaders are so crucial to a healthy youth ministry.
But as you recruit, should you focus more on older leaders?
Or younger leaders?

In this debate style episode we have two leaders make their case on both sides of the aisle!
Let's dive in, together!

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SHOW NOTES
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Do older or younger leaders connect better with students?
01:32 Meet the Older Leaders vs Younger Leader Debate Contestants
04:38 Older People are Better Youth Ministry Volunteers
07:09 Younger People are Better Youth Ministry Volunteers
09:43 Can you clarify the emotional stability for older volunteers?
10:52 How should a busy youth pastor respond to social media?
12:54 Do younger people ever prove to be less reliable?
17:08 Closing Arguments

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TRANSCRIPT
Nick Clason (00:01.062)
What's up everybody? Here we are. I am with Jacob and Tyler. Gentlemen, how we doing this morning?

Jacob (00:07.712)
Doing good. It's good.

Tyler Johnson (00:08.579)
Doing so good.

Nick Clason (00:09.93)
Have we both already had coffee or is that after this is over?

Jacob (00:15.057)
I just finished my cup, so I'm all set.

Nick Clason (00:17.18)
Okay.

Tyler Johnson (00:17.454)
I had tea because I'm a tea guy.

Nick Clason (00:19.708)
Hey, there you go. Who knew? The more you know. Comment down below your favorite brand of tea for Tyler. But we're going to let each of you have a moment. I don't want to get too far into this without you guys letting us know who you are. So by random draw that happened off camera and you're just going to have to trust me because I'm a pastor and I get paid to tell the truth. Jacob, you get to go first and introduce yourself one minute on the clock. Are you ready, sir?

Jacob (00:19.826)
Yeah.

Jacob (00:48.273)
Yeah, yeah, I can do a lot in a minute, let's do it. All right, yeah, my name is Jacob Hayes. I'm a student pastor for the chapel in Wisconsin. So I work with our three campuses in Wisconsin and our main campuses in Whitewater, which is UW College Town. So I get a lot of college students and it's fun to work with them. And yeah, it's just been great. See, I did it in under a minute.

Nick Clason (00:50.218)
All right, let's go.

Tyler Johnson (01:08.02)
you

Nick Clason (01:11.85)
19 seconds what a right I don't think any youth pastor has ever come in that short on their time, but my friend Impressive stuff right there Tyler the bars been set bro

Jacob (01:19.858)
There you go.

Nick Clason (01:27.56)
Alright, are you ready Tyler? Let's go!

Tyler Johnson (01:28.974)
I'm so ready. I will take more than 19 seconds because I read that in debate it matters to take your full time. So my name is Tyler 2 Wall Johnson. The rest of that context doesn't need to be known because I don't think I can tell it in the remaining 40 seconds that I have. I am currently in Fort Wayne at Christ Hope Ministries and Church.

I have only been here for about a year. was at my previous church for about eight years and I have had a fair balance of both young and old volunteers in the ministries. And so as I come today, ready to bear the fight and the voice of the older people, as there was another person in our retreat that the three of us had had recently who strives to be an older person.

Jacob (01:54.899)
Okay. Okay.

Tyler Johnson (02:20.556)
I cannot wait and so I am ready to defend the old today. Done.

Nick Clason (02:27.41)
Nice, great work. wait, I got distracted. There we go. I almost didn't give you credit for that because I laid the remote down.

Tyler Johnson (02:37.101)
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, let it be known that it was about 56 seconds.

Nick Clason (02:40.714)
Strong work, man, both of you strong work. All right, well, now that we thoroughly know everything and we know the bare minimum of Jacob's life, let's get this show on the road. So once again, by random draw, Jacob, since you went first on the last one, that means Tyler, your position that you're getting two minutes to argue is that older people are better youth ministry volunteers.

Jacob (02:51.398)
Okay. Okay.

Nick Clason (03:10.282)
and you're about to have two minutes on the clock. Are you ready?

Jacob (03:11.346)
Okay. Okay.

Tyler Johnson (03:14.54)
I will take one minute and 59 seconds.

Nick Clason (03:16.99)
Alright, well then my friend, take it away.

Tyler Johnson (03:20.522)
Yes, I am here to debate that for older volunteers, here's number one. They bring long-term faithfulness and not just energy. They model a future version of faith. They're often more emotionally stable. I do say that as a once young person, kind of middle-aged. What is 30? Am I young middle-aged or am I old young? I don't know. That's for later. I'm in my debate time.

Jacob (03:42.345)
. Thank

Tyler Johnson (03:50.955)
Here's one of the probably the biggest that I have seen more personally outside of just reading from my notes and it's this. There is more ownership with the maturity, not just ownership of the ministry, but there's ownership of the tasks that they have. Not only do they see the ministry as their own or maybe their small group as their own and the ability to without asking permission or even sometimes without asking how.

Nick Clason (04:01.514)
Hmm.

Jacob (04:13.129)
.

Tyler Johnson (04:18.508)
They're going to go in and say, like, you know, they're going to grab the lunches. They're going to grab the coffees. I don't have to hold their hand for some of that. At the same time in ministry, if they are teaching a lesson, if they are preparing small group questions, it is theirs. They want to own it. And they might want feedback over some of that, but they're going to have ownership of it. In the same way, finally, there's a lot of ownership of their faith. As a young adult, even a young

Jacob (04:36.369)
Okay.

Tyler Johnson (04:47.052)
volunteer. I do believe someone is supposed to have a Paul and a Timothy at all times, even into their older years. But there's a lot of times that that those 20 somethings, they are still looking very heavily towards their Paul. And so with the the 40s, I would say arguably older ministry volunteers is probably 50 up. They they have experienced that mentorship role and are more willing to be the Paul than needing to be the Timothy. Done.

Nick Clason (05:18.782)
Fantastic, strong work. Jacob, the bar has been set, my friend. He brought in the Bible and everything, so it's now time for you.

Jacob (05:19.344)
There you go. That was good.

Jacob (05:25.413)
Here we go.

Tyler Johnson (05:28.446)
shoot, I should have used the Bible.

Nick Clason (05:33.5)
It's that time for you to argue your side of the aisle, though you guys are friends. You once were friends. Will you still be friends after this, Jacob? Two minutes on the clock. Take it away.

Jacob (05:35.44)
Here we go.

Jacob (05:45.85)
Go for it. Yeah, so I want to clarify before I offend anybody that's 35 or older, that I'm 29, so 30 and above is still in the older mark for me. But I think there's something that younger volunteers provide that can't be replicated anywhere else. And that first thing mainly is just proximity. Proximity to culture, life stage, proximity to what students are actually experiencing right now.

You know, they remember what it was like to sit in the cafeteria awkward wondering about what they're going to do with their lives. Not 25 years ago with a completely different generation, but just a couple years ago. I think the other thing that it provides is you get you get volunteers. Students look to those younger volunteers and they see a hope, not just a hope that's like, man, 45, 50 years from now, this is where I can be. But there's a hope of OK, faith can actually survive past high school like.

faith can actually thrive in a college setting because I'm seeing college-age young adult students or young adult leaders actually engaging and figuring it out. And they don't have all of the answers completely. But I also think that that provides a comfortability of freedom to the students that go like, hey, it's okay if I'm not hitting college-age and I have all of the answers because they're still trying to figure out what they're gonna do. And that's okay, it's a process. And they can kind of have hope in that. And then the younger leaders can speak into that a little bit for them and give them a sense of,

going be okay, you've got time to process some of these things and they can do that together. I think the other thing is that it builds a leadership pipeline. know, for all the pros that Tyler's talking about, for the older volunteers, you don't get there without some of the without starting at some point. And so you got to start as a young leader, use the skills that you have at the time and then work your way up to a place where you can be a a Paul instead of just a Timothy. But also remember that

Tyler Johnson (07:31.562)
you

Jacob (07:34.745)
Paul called Timothy when he was super young into a step of ministry. It wasn't that, let's get you to a certain age, but it was right there in that moment. Done.

Nick Clason (07:45.086)
Great. So each person, each member of the defense, I don't know, this isn't court, has presented their side. Does anyone have a clarifying question for the other person to try and understand their side of the argument maybe a little bit better?

Tyler Johnson (07:56.747)
you

Jacob (08:10.063)
Yeah, I'll go. Clarify a little bit on the emotional stability of older volunteers. I'm not saying I disagree. I just want to hear the specific strength that comes from as an older volunteer, because I think it's possible the younger volunteers can be in a place where they're emotionally stable. But maybe I'm missing the angle that you're coming from.

Tyler Johnson (08:21.194)
Yeah, I think that older volunteers can react less dramatically to maybe sometimes it's student behavior or something like that, as well as even when there are storms in their personal life, I think you'll see someone who's

Jacob (08:40.374)
Here you go.

Jacob (08:46.447)
Yeah, that's

Tyler Johnson (08:50.249)
keep a more calm sense in them more than when the storms of life are hitting a young person.

Nick Clason (09:00.648)
Tyler, you got one for Jacob?

Tyler Johnson (09:02.845)
I'm gonna come up with one, but I really liked Jacob's take. No, no, no, no, no, I didn't admit guilty, I'm just saying, it was a good point. Talk to me some about, obviously with the older crowd, took the stance of there's some high reliability.

Nick Clason (09:05.608)
Yeah.

Jacob (09:10.84)
Did he just admit on here that I won or we live over?

Nick Clason (09:16.126)
Ahem.

Tyler Johnson (09:29.917)
Talk to me about the lows of reliability in young people and if that has been an experience that you've experienced.

Jacob (09:36.093)
I mean 100 % although I would also argue that I've that I've worked with older volunteers who are sometimes just as as unreliable as as younger volunteers and so it's a little bit of a balance I think One of the things that all that I'll say and I'll push a little bit on the younger volunteers compared to older volunteers if I'm doing a and I'm hoping that all of us are in agreement that this is a horrible idea if I'm doing an overnight event right, I'm getting the young guys who can

pound two red bulls and eat Taco Bell and go run with the kids then get the older volunteers to go, hey, I need you to go run around for a whole night and interact. And so there's a little bit of an energy there that they can provide. And I totally agree. think there's the emotional stability thing is super important. I do agree. think older volunteers are a lot more calm, especially in situations where like we need calmness and direction in terms of crisis, both in our lives and then also just in the craziness of Wednesday nights, we need a little bit of calm.

Nick Clason (10:05.866)
Yeah.

Tyler Johnson (10:29.225)
you

Jacob (10:30.03)
But I think at some point you're not going to be able to, they're not going to be able to learn that, the young leaders, unless they're in it first and see the older people do it. And so they have to experience that so that way they can also learn how to get there.

Tyler Johnson (10:41.503)
I do, so what's really fun is talking about the overnight, right? Because we've all been there. Sometimes it's not about just the evening, it's about the recovery. I've known some young people who pounded those two Red Bulls and then afterwards, like the next day, they are a frail Victorian child on their couch.

Jacob (10:45.549)
Yeah.

Jacob (10:53.095)
Yeah, that's right.

Jacob (11:03.021)
True.

Tyler Johnson (11:03.857)
And some older people who are like, I got my coffee and I'm going to work today. And I'm like, you're insane.

Jacob (11:11.511)
Fair enough.

Nick Clason (11:12.522)
Well, and younger people have like sometimes their life lends itself better for recovery. They're like, I will be sleeping all day Saturday and it doesn't matter. And older people are like, I have a family and we have an upward basketball game that we have to be at at 9 a.m. You know what I'm saying? And so there's definitely like there's some of the availability piece of maybe like a younger person, but there's maybe some of the wisdom piece of the older person.

Tyler Johnson (11:30.407)
Absolutely.

Nick Clason (11:41.726)
Which is probably why this is a terrible argument to have a either or stance on, right? Like that's probably why it's helpful and beneficial to have a good blend of both, right? And so that doesn't make for a strong YouTube title, but it does make probably for good youth ministry to have a good blend of older volunteers and younger volunteers because you can certainly see the pros of both sides. And let's be honest, you can also see the cons.

Jacob (11:48.783)
Yeah.

Jacob (12:05.888)
For sure.

Nick Clason (12:11.89)
of both stances of the argument.

Tyler Johnson (12:14.44)
Yeah, and to be honest, I figured that was the point anyway, right, is to have the balance. even for the older people, the idea is not they are not just mentoring the students, they're mentoring the younger leaders. There's so much wrapped up. Jacob said it, there's a pipeline. You don't get to be the older volunteer without at one point probably being also the younger volunteer. And realistically, as the younger volunteer, as I was a younger volunteer,

Jacob (12:16.813)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (12:18.023)
You

Nick Clason (12:27.114)
Hmm.

Nick Clason (12:39.241)
Yeah.

Tyler Johnson (12:44.155)
There were volunteers that I looked up to that said, man, I want to do discipleship that way. want to do, man, I want to have their presence when my life looks like their life.

Jacob (12:44.301)
Sounds like I'm I'm winning now this thing

Nick Clason (12:54.652)
I was gonna say objection to the pipeline because like what's the point of a pipeline? You don't actually want them past 30. So like just burn them out bro and then.

Tyler Johnson (13:03.848)
Are you? I'm sorry, Mr. Host, are you taking a stance? I don't feel good about this.

Nick Clason (13:07.816)
No, I was just, I was just.

I was just playing a counterpoint. All right.

Jacob (13:15.353)
You

Nick Clason (13:18.014)
Final arguments, are we ready? So I believe since Jacob went first on the last one, Tyler, is that right?

Jacob (13:24.204)
That's right.

Tyler Johnson (13:30.001)
I went first on the last one.

Nick Clason (13:31.484)
since Tyler went first on the last one by random draw that you'll have to trust. Yeah, I'm pastor. Jacob, one minute on the clock to defend your younglings. Are you ready? All right, take it away.

Tyler Johnson (13:37.148)
You're a pastor.

Jacob (13:45.366)
Yeah, I'm ready.

Yeah, think, yeah, close that out. I think it's also like you see the students that get to see the younger leaders engage, that gives them a hopeful passion and you can plug those guys in when they graduate into your middle school programming, right? And then that's where they can learn even more. And so it's not just you have these students from...

It would be great. It would be a great world to live in if they if every single one of them came in in sixth grade and stayed until senior year, right? But we know that that some of them come in in their in their senior year or junior year or anywhere in that spectrum and you think well only have a certain amount of time right? Well these younger leaders can pour into these people and help them figure out their gifts. So maybe it's being called into ministry. Maybe it's being called into something else or jumping into serving in student ministry to see where they feel like where their spiritual gifts are right? And those can happen at a young age rather than going well I'll just figure it out when I'm 30 and go from there.

Tyler Johnson (14:44.966)
Thank you.

Nick Clason (14:45.256)
All right, well done. Let's round it out, Mr. Tyler. Older people are better than younger people as youth ministry volunteers because...

Tyler Johnson (14:51.174)
I'm ready.

Tyler Johnson (14:57.201)
The last point I want to make for older volunteers is the vision casting as well as the decisions they make are generational. There are times that think with younger people they planned sometimes as little as like they're ready for next summer, they're ready for the next summer conference, they're ready for the next big event. When a lot of the decisions in ministry that is done from some of the older volunteers is they are thinking the long term, they are thinking about the students when they're getting to their

late 30s, 40s, 50s, and how they can pour into them. They have that vision of the five-year plan and not the one-year plan. And I have found that incredibly valuable, especially when establishing a ministry for even me to go to them and have those long-term vision casting conversations about the ministry. Done.

Nick Clason (15:53.61)
Well done, there you have it folks. Old volunteers versus young volunteers. Let us know down below who won and whose side you're on. We should probably put like an old person emoji for one person and a child emoji. Yeah, yeah, then you, yeah.

Jacob (16:08.121)
And then put me

Tyler Johnson (16:09.657)
I just assumed that there was a filter you're gonna do in post that like I'm 90 right now.

Nick Clason (16:17.13)
Oh, I'm good, but I might not be that good, I mean. Yeah.

Tyler Johnson (16:21.336)
Okay, I'm just like, well, one, I kind of wanted to see it. I wanted to see like the really greys, like my grandfather had a very good head of hair even in his 90s. So like, I'm hoping that sticks. Yeah.

Jacob (16:24.142)
You

Jacob (16:32.978)
That sounds nice, that sounds really nice,

Nick Clason (16:34.154)
Way to rub salt in the wounds there,

Jacob (16:39.946)
That's right.

Episode 194: Same Small Group Leader for 7 Years vs Changing Every Year

Nick Clason — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0500

Small Group Leaders are the life-blood of any good student ministry.

But what is our most effective strategy to deploy them? Is it to saddle a great leader with students for their entire careeer? Or is it rather to introduce students to great leaders along their journey?

In this first debate style episode we have two amazing youth pastors, on two different sides of the argument, and they're going head to head, and you get to be the voter!

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SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/194

//LINKS
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 The Same or Different Small Group Leaders
02:33 Meet Stephen
04:25 Meet Isaac
05:25 Students should keep the same leaders
08:02 Students should change to different leaders
10:08 What if a student doesn’t like their leader?
11:56 What about Social Media?
13:05 How do you discern when to move a student?
16:21 How many leaders in each group?
20:08 The Ultimate Small Group Win
22:28 New Leader Every So Often Closing Statement
23:22 Same Leader Every So Often Closing Statement

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
Nick Clason (00:00.103)
All right, well here we are. I mean, this is about to get really, really like real now because we have two amazing youth pastors with two completely different points of view on what's best for small group student leadership. And so again, by random draw that you'll have to trust because I'm a youth pastor, so I get paid to tell the truth. Isaac was randomly drawn to give his first two minute argument. So.

Isaac (00:04.782)
Hmm.

Stephen Rose (00:12.276)
You

Nick Clason (00:29.009)
We're about to put two minutes on the clock. are you ready?

Isaac (00:33.026)
Yeah, and just just clarifying because I want to make sure we are talking about leaders walking with students like. Are is it better? Is it better for them to go each year with them or every year? Let's recycle. That's the main question.

Nick Clason (00:41.915)
during

Nick Clason (00:50.235)
That's the question at hand. Yeah, I mean, we won't get into like the pizza lock-in, like social media debate. Those are, you know, those are meaningful ones in youth ministry as well, but this one in particular, yes, that's what I'd like you to argue. I hope that you came prepared for that and not like your pro lock-in debate, cause it might not fit. Real quick here at chat GPT, real quick, give me new notes. All right, are we ready?

Isaac (00:52.526)
Let's go.

Isaac (00:58.254)
Hmm.

Stephen Rose (01:10.656)
Thank

Isaac (01:11.534)
I have to change all my notes right now.

Stephen Rose (01:17.876)
Thank

Isaac (01:18.178)
Yeah, yeah, give me new notes. All right, yep, let's go.

Nick Clason (01:21.776)
Two minutes on the clock, take it away.

Isaac (01:24.654)
All right, two minutes, here we go. The key word that I'm looking at is discipleship and what does discipleship really look like? And so, and this is something that I've been kind of studying and learning about in my 17 years of youth ministry. And so I've changed and I've morphed, but I keep leaning more towards, man, let's really walk alongside these students. Here's some examples from the Bible. Jesus, he's come down, he's like, let me really pray over who I'm really going to invest in.

because he had other people that were interested in following him, but he said, no, I'm really going to invest in these 12. And he did that for three years. And then you have Paul and his relationship with Timothy, and he's being able to say things like, hey, Timothy, your grandmother, and he's naming family members and stuff, which I just don't think that you can do that in a year's time of knowing someone that you really want to get into that. So discipleship really means relationship and knowing.

How does someone come in and they're fully known and fully loved? So when you're with them longer, you know the students, you know their parents, you know the deaths that happened in their family, you know what sports they're involved in, you know the injury that set them back a few years prior. And so when they confess this thing, you go, I know the meaning behind that because I've had this relationship with you for a while.

I guess my main question that I would ask is why don't we go in and hire a new youth pastor every one year? You want a youth pastor to be there and and longevity breeds just this this trust that's that parents now have and I feel like as a youth pastor I'm trying to equip other leaders to come in and essentially be youth pastors And so I don't want to hire new youth pastors every year because I want that trust

and that relationship and that discipleship to happen. And that can only happen over a stretch of time and not hitting the reset button every single year.

Nick Clason (03:27.12)
Wow, did you rehearse that?

Isaac (03:31.49)
No.

Nick Clason (03:32.39)
Strong work, my man. Strong work. Alright, Steven. It's been laid down. Like, the challenge has been issued. Are you ready?

Stephen Rose (03:32.788)
Thank

Stephen Rose (03:42.404)
Yes, yes, I'm ready.

Nick Clason (03:43.354)
All right, and the microphone's working and the internet is streaming and yeah, yeah. All right, sweet. All right, bro, two minutes on the clock for you, Steven. Your side is you think that it's useful for students to have a variety of leaders year in, year out, or every so often. So, my friend, take it away.

Stephen Rose (03:46.548)
Internet's not crashing out right now.

Stephen Rose (04:07.504)
Awesome. Yeah, I love what you said about discipleship. Couldn't agree more. And for me, one of the things I think is so important and what we really focus on in my context is helping students own their faith by the time they graduate. And there's been like some studies done where the more, not like infinitely, but the more adults, specifically the number was around five. If you have five good relationships.

with adults who are like spiritual mentors or people that you know on at least a relatively deeper level, then you're much more likely to stick with a faith post-graduation. And I would argue that the reason for that is because their faith is hopefully being more grounded in Jesus than a specific leader. And they're rooted in Jesus. He is their firm foundation, not like an awesome leader or the youth pastor or something like that.

And so when you move, not necessarily every year, but every so often, you're just more likely to build relationships with more adults. And I view that as a huge win. And so what I like to see is them build relationships, be really intentional in the year or the two years span that they're with that leader, and then really focus on the transition so they can then build a new relationship.

with new leaders and the students stay together. So they're able to keep building those long-term relationships where they can grow alongside of each other. But the leaders can shift as far as small group goes. But the long-term relationships still stay the same. Just like a small group leader that I had when I was in eighth grade, I still got to talk to them later in later years and they still knew me and they still could pour into me and disciple me. And so the process

can keep happening even though we're still looking towards helping them meet more people and grow closer relationships with more people.

Nick Clason (06:13.38)
Right on time, my man, both of you. This might be the first time two youth pastors hit their time mark right when they're supposed to. That's crazy. All right, so what we'll do now, guess, I like this. I think we're gonna go to a more open forum, all right? So let's do two minutes, but here's the thing, just so you guys know.

Stephen Rose (06:20.041)
Hehehehehe

Nick Clason (06:40.804)
I don't need to include the clock. like if it's good and free flowing, like I'm just not going to interrupt it. Like don't, don't worry about it. I'm just trying to keep things moving and make it not be like a, you know, long and boring episode. so I'll put this on, but why don't you, why don't you guys ask some clarifying questions just like back and forth and just like answer, ask, answer, ask, answer. and then, when, when we feel satisfied with that, we'll, we'll move on to the like closing testimony or whatever, whatever they call it in the courtroom.

Stephen Rose (06:51.316)
Thank

Nick Clason (07:10.758)
I don't watch enough court TV. So, does anyone have like a question to start? Like to ask the other person? All right, great. You go first then.

Stephen Rose (07:11.092)
Sounds good.

Isaac (07:12.627)
Okay.

Stephen Rose (07:19.216)
Yeah, yeah I do.

Perfect. So Isaac, wonder in your context, if a student doesn't get, like we'll just say student doesn't get along great with a certain leader. What does that look like? Like do you go about that?

Isaac (07:40.396)
Yeah, man, that's great. Context, I think, matters a lot. So I've worked in a small church, a medium church, and a large church. So let's just talk about the numbers that I have here. It's weird to talk about that in church culture, but that helps context so much. So I have about 160 leaders. And in that, have, for sixth grade boys, we have five sixth grade boy groups.

Stephen Rose (07:45.246)
I agree.

Stephen Rose (07:55.732)
for sure.

Isaac (08:07.854)
And then each one of those groups has four leaders. And so I think that that helps so much for the person watching right now. They're like, well, this might make sense because of this. And the dynamics can shift because for you saying, hey, does a sixth grade boy, if he's if he's not enjoying this, then what? Well, he he can move to another group. He can go to one of the other four options. And that's easy. Now, when I was at a church for six and a half years and it was like

Stephen Rose (08:08.049)
Mm-hmm.

Stephen Rose (08:27.252)
Uh-huh.

Stephen Rose (08:30.675)
Right.

Isaac (08:37.59)
You have middle school boys, high school boys, middle school girls, high school girls. That's your option. Then it's like, well, what do we do when they don't like that person? And so for us in our context, it makes sense of if there's not someone getting along, there is another option in another group that they can go to.

Stephen Rose (08:44.444)
Right. I'm

Stephen Rose (08:58.772)
Sure. and

Nick Clason (09:00.39)
How do you guys, either of you, discern this is not a good fit and we need to quote unquote rescue the student from the fit? Or this is an opportunity to lean in and disciple the student to push through something more difficult and maybe getting along with their leader is like what God has for them in this season of their spiritual growth. Like how do you discern between those two? Because I feel like

Like a parent can come to you like they hate their leader and you want to like solve that so so that the kid doesn't get mad or the family doesn't leave the church or whatever. But I think sometimes it's like, dude, you need to stop being so entitled. You know what I mean? How do you how do know?

Stephen Rose (09:43.219)
Yeah, that's really good. For me, I tend toward having them stay either way because I don't want for students just to pick a leader based off of, I love this leader. I can't stand that leader, which by the way, my team is awesome. I have awesome leaders, all that. And so it's really a side point. But of course, if there was

if it was like coming to an unhealthy place, then I would say I'd be more willing to like figure it out. Especially if it was like a newer student, you know, who maybe isn't even a follower of Jesus yet. And okay, I'm trying to help them get comfortable first, help them feel accepted and have a good experience. And so that'd be a little different if it's someone I've been walking with for a while. And then, hey, it's time for you to grow up and, you know, and be...

be mature about this and grow in your maturity. I part of that is definitely not being in your favorite spot at all times.

Isaac (10:46.552)
Yeah, that's good. I think that, you know, scripture says if at all possible as far as it depends on you, live at peace with with everyone. And if there's some kind of disunity there, obviously that's what the enemy is trying to seek out and bring to light is some kind of disunity. So it's our jobs as the shepherds of that to say, well, what's causing this? And so it should start with a conversation with both student and leader and saying,

Nick Clason (10:46.587)
Good.

Stephen Rose (10:56.372)
Mm.

Isaac (11:14.926)
Why? Why is there a disunity and how can we go towards unity? What's the conversation? Maybe you just need to say some things. Let's get it out on the table. Truth is gonna be great. Let's get it out on the table. But if it becomes a thing where it's like, we're not coming here. My kid doesn't wanna show up. I'm even pro, well, there's also another church in town because...

Stephen Rose (11:29.78)
Yeah.

Isaac (11:42.742)
The gospel doesn't just happen at this address. It happens in lot of places in discipleship. And so hopefully I am then connecting with other youth pastors in the area where I can then give a trusted, hey, why don't you go over here to this church? Because this youth pastor is also going to teach the Bible. Discipleship is also happening. But I'm not nervous to, I don't want to say threatened. It's not threatened, but to give, go ahead. If you can't grow here.

Ultimately, what we are concerned about for you as a student is your growth. Go grow anywhere.

Stephen Rose (12:14.045)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (12:17.776)
Good.

Stephen Rose (12:18.238)
That's good.

Isaac (12:19.83)
Steven, got a question for you if I'm allowed to ask. Yeah, because I love what you said about having five good relationships with adults. Yes, man, let's try to, as youth pastors, bring in as many adults and as many leaders as possible in their time of being there. What does it look like in your context for how many leaders do you have in each group? Yeah, what does that look like for you?

Stephen Rose (12:21.982)
Sure.

Nick Clason (12:22.638)
Yes, yes, go.

Stephen Rose (12:39.718)
.

Stephen Rose (12:47.234)
Yeah, we have two leaders in each group. so, over time, would naturally develop relationships with multiple, I mean, hopefully, in prayerfully, you would develop relationships with your small group leaders in that time. And for us, we're, I guess, the medium church size. And so,

Like for high school, for example, we have two high school guys groups, underclassmen and upperclassmen currently. And so you would meet four of the people right then and there. And then hopefully, like even like myself and some other people, because certainly our youth ministry is not the only context which you can have a relationship with an adult. But as far as what we're trying to do, it fits that mold pretty well.

Isaac (13:30.51)
Sure, yeah.

Isaac (13:38.978)
Yeah, so when you say upperclassmen leader and, what is it called? Underclassmen? That just sounded weird. Underclassmen? That just sounds underwear. Anyhow, when you have both of the, so the upperclassmen, are you saying then that those two leaders are with them for two years?

Stephen Rose (13:46.608)
under underclassmen.

Stephen Rose (13:58.579)
Yes.

Isaac (13:59.648)
Okay, so it's kind of like a hybrid then of it's not, I'm not thinking every year it's I'm still kind of building this. I'm in this context. So it's still once because for me, I don't even know if I'm pro you should be with them for seven years. I do like the for me, three years of middle school, you get a new high school leader, because there's just a difference between high school and middle school.

Stephen Rose (14:16.923)
Mm-hmm, right.

Nick Clason (14:16.966)
Mm-hmm.

Stephen Rose (14:22.587)
Thank

Stephen Rose (14:27.586)
Right.

Isaac (14:27.84)
If there is someone that's committed for seven years, my hope is that they are bringing in dads, moms, and other people to it. Because I think that what you said is key. They need to have five adults in their life or more that where they can say, it's not just one person that believes this. It's not just their characteristics, but that in discipleship, they are inviting others to be a part of it as well. If you're going to do that seven year plan. Yeah.

Stephen Rose (14:32.35)
Thank you.

Stephen Rose (14:37.765)
So.

Right.

Stephen Rose (14:46.388)
you

Yes. Right.

Nick Clason (14:57.05)
Yeah, yeah. And I'll just say from a youth pastor logistical standpoint, you get someone to commit for seven years, that's amazing. Are they still committed to loop back down and start a sixth grade group? Going from being a 12th grade leader to a sixth grade leader is tough. And so I've been in situations where they're committed all the way through, but then I'm always having to recruit.

Stephen Rose (15:17.416)
Hey.

Nick Clason (15:24.462)
at the entry point because no one wants to loop back down. They feel like they've quote unquote done their time and they want to be involved in student ministry, but then they want to be involved in more of like a consulting role or a coaching role. And it's like, I love that for you, but I really could use a sixth grade leader, my friend. And so that's been, that's been my experience when they loop all the way through as we, we pool all the way down at the end of the quote unquote conveyor belt, if you will. And I got some really great leaders who aren't doing ministry anymore, but if you're doing

Stephen Rose (15:30.42)
That's how you do it. Okay.

Stephen Rose (15:53.716)
What am I? You just answered about the full seven years or if it's more of a middle school to high school, because I'm I agree. I'm a little less.

Nick Clason (15:54.694)
Like if you're like, yo, you're the underclassmen leader and you're just going to be an expert in ninth and 10th grade. Like, and then you'll see every kid's face, hopefully as they, as they loop through. Um, it's just, it's just the way I think about it.

Isaac (16:08.684)
Yeah, I love that. Steven, did you have any other questions?

Stephen Rose (16:23.832)
cause I can see there's definitely real positives in doing both ways. And, but the seven years is the one where I really, I don't want to say worry, but for lack of a better word, worry about like a students attaching to a certain leader and, that, is a good thing. but especially if they're, if they're not a part of the church at large, like the whole church body, and they're just attached to youth group and just attached to the leader. I just saw so many examples before I even got in youth ministry.

And then those kids, the leader's gone, they're done with youth ministry and they're they're toast. know, they just kind of walk away. And so I guess it was really just on my heart to like, I don't want to see like that happen. And I know there's other intentional ways of working against that too. But that was just really like on my heart.

Isaac (17:12.408)
Yeah, yeah, I would. Here's I mean, Nick, you kind of set us up. You're like, haha, caught you. You're in a trap coming debate this. And so I'm going to I'm going to, you know, share. The perspective of everyone wins, I guess, because here's what I would rather see if this is a would you rather question of would you rather have one leader who intentionally disciples a student for one year or have a leader that walks alongside?

Stephen Rose (17:20.83)
But.

Isaac (17:41.448)
and invest in a student for seven years, I would say give me the one year intentionally disciple. Because so often we recruit leaders that they won't say, I'm just a babysitter. They're not going to say that. We're not going to say that. But if you're like, we're just hanging out, I'm going to their games and they're doing some good things, but they're not intentionally discipling, we're still missing out. And so I would say that the key thing for me is find the leader that's going to disciple.

Stephen Rose (17:46.484)
Yeah.

Isaac (18:09.998)
Which means that they are really getting in and saying do you know Jesus? What is he teaching you? Are you opening up the Word of God? Are you praying? Are you building a community around you? Where are you serving? How's your evangelism life? And they're really working out all of these disciplines And it's more than just let me show up to your play Let me high-five and we'll go get coffee together because you can just hang out But you're not just being friends. You're intentionally discipling so

Nick Clason (18:25.51)
.

Stephen Rose (18:30.04)
Right.

Nick Clason (18:33.03)
you

Isaac (18:37.986)
Give me the one year intentional disciple.

Nick Clason (18:38.34)
Yeah.

Stephen Rose (18:39.572)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Nick Clason (18:42.166)
That's good. That's good for youth pastors. That's good for Like that's good for this whole conversation. Just like having like a well-rounded perspective of it. It's bad for Trying to elicit emotion and you guys like hating each other. So Way to be a Christian way to ruin YouTube, but no, I agree and

Isaac (19:03.661)
Yeah, yeah. And he's a Cavs fan. Yeah, this is great. We love each other. We're best friends now. Thank you, Nick.

Stephen Rose (19:07.704)
Hey, I know

Nick Clason (19:09.51)
Yeah, you're so welcome. Congratulations. Yeah. Well, let's do like your final statement, right? We'll just do a minute on the clock or less. Just give like your final word, kind of like put a bow on it. And then, yeah, then I guess we'll take it from there. So who went first last time? I think it was Isaac, right? So Steven, we'll have you minute on the clock, finalize your argument. You ready? All right, let's go.

Stephen Rose (19:36.663)
Yep.

All right, so I believe that transitioning through different small groups is best for students because they get to build multiple relationships with adults, which helps them own their faith, not just the youth's faith or my faith or their leader's faith, but their faith in Jesus. And so I think it's best to move them through. And then I also, as a side note, I think it can create a spot for leaders to star in their roles where, hey, if I'm always with freshmen girls,

then I'm gonna be able to really get good at welcoming them. Or if I'm always with the senior and junior guys, I'm gonna get really good at helping them through this transition as they get older, as their problems change. But they kinda are the same perpetually for new juniors, new seniors. And so they get to start starring in their roles as they get year after year of experience with them.

Nick Clason (20:36.282)
Nice, good job. All right, Isaac, one minute on the clock. Take it away.

Isaac (20:43.66)
Awesome. Quantity will produce quality. The more that you're hanging out with someone, the better the conversations. And so getting someone there for a length of time, it's just going to produce the quality that we're looking for. It avoids the six months, like, do I actually know this person? Can I make that inside joke? I accidentally said something about their parents or

Stephen Rose (21:07.284)
You you

Isaac (21:12.498)
Whatever all their life story the more opportunity that you have with their story the more that they can feel Fully known fully seen and fully loved which really I think just shows grace more discipleship more and and what Jesus was Really trying to aim for when he said this is what a disciple maker

Nick Clason (21:38.15)
Nice, strong work, both of you.

Episode 193: The Student Ministry Leadership Mistakes I Made My First 6 Months

Nick Clason — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0500

I just started in a new role at my job 6 months ago.
It's been much harder than I anticipated, and I wanted to share with you the leadership mistakes I made, so that you can avoid them for yourself!

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Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/193

Time Boss
https://www.timeboss.us/
Reach Out For a Potential Promo Code!

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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 6 Leadership Mistakes I've Made
02:29 Mistake #1
05:37 Mistake #2
08:57 Mistake #3

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;02;02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Six months into leading this

00;00;02;02 - 00;00;04;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
team, I realized

00;00;04;02 - 00;00;05;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
something uncomfortable.

00;00;05;25 - 00;00;11;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can be good at ministry, but that is not automatically mean you're good at leading people.

00;00;12;03 - 00;00;15;27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In this video, I want to share with you the mistakes I've made in my first

00;00;15;29 - 00;00;23;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
six months in leadership, in the new position that I have and some things that I would definitely be doing differently.

00;00;23;23 - 00;00;27;04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome, everybody, to the hybrid ministry show.

00;00;27;07 - 00;00;43;19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well hey everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. If you and I have had a chance to meet you. My name is Nick Clason and in this podcast exists primarily to talk about digital ministry and making discipleship online a little bit easier. But in this episode, I want to talk about a major shift that's actually happened in my life.

00;00;43;19 - 00;01;10;27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this might actually be one of the more emotional or even like real episodes because, I moved here three years ago to work for a guy who one of my great friends, his name is Darren, and he was an amazing boss, best boss I ever had. Now, listen, let's be honest. There's always times where I felt like I could do something better or different, but I had really learned to love and kind of settle into my role, getting things done and being a worker, for him.

00;01;10;27 - 00;01;26;25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, the one of the things I loved about Darren, too, is that he believed in me and he trusted me, and he gave me a lot of leash to make major student ministry decisions. And so I didn't feel like I was just his right. Him or his minion. But I really felt like I got a good opportunity at leadership.

00;01;26;27 - 00;01;51;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Fast forward to about six months ago. He chose to step away and move to a different church. And in that transition, church very like, honorably and lovingly came to me and said, you're our number one choice. You're our guy. You want his job. And it was like a no brainer. I was like, absolutely. And in the time, you know, you got to understand, he had been doing a second job at our church, as the pastor of staff development.

00;01;51;06 - 00;02;07;12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so during that season, I assumed and took on quite a bit of leadership opportunities. And so I figured this wouldn't be that big a deal. All that was really going to happen was I was going to move to his old office. And then I was just going to keep kind of doing what I was doing. But man, oh man, was I wrong.

00;02;07;12 - 00;02;30;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Man was there. So, so many changes and so many differences. Assuming that new leadership hat and that new leadership seat. And in this episode, I want to talk through three things that I've learned. What I thought, what happened, what I did, and what the actual, learning is out of that. So let's dive in to the first leadership mistake.

00;02;30;05 - 00;02;53;27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So mistake number one is that the time battle was lost. But in a lot of cases for me, the time battle was lost by someone else. Here's what I thought. I thought I'm the boss. I'm the supervisor. I'm the manager. Now I get to not only make the decisions, but I get to help oversee people and point them in the right direction and in some cases, in the ugliest parts of my heart, I get to tell them what to do.

00;02;53;29 - 00;03;14;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But here's what happened is that I was expecting to still do all of the same work that I was doing before, or all of the same work that was at least desired by me to do before. For example, continuing on this Side Hustle podcast that I don't get a lot of revenue or money from. But, you know, one way that you could really help hit that like or subscribe button down below that would really make a huge difference.

00;03;14;11 - 00;03;39;26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But well, then adding in anywhere from 5 to 8 new meetings per month. Let me just give you an example. Last week, I was expected to sit down with a future potential residency candidate. I had done that before. That wasn't that big a deal. Darren gave me a lot of opportunities to do stuff like that, and I was getting ready to leave town that day and so my day was mapped out.

00;03;39;26 - 00;04;01;25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I was doing some podcast stuff. I was doing some, social media stuff for our, our ministry. And I had a couple meetings to kind of in my day at like one, 1 to 2 and then 2 to 3. And then, someone said, hey, we have to have a recap meeting for this big winter retreat event that you just had.

00;04;01;28 - 00;04;18;02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We had already had a meeting. Me and the person in the meeting had already discussed it, but like, well, no, we have to have it in this way with these people. And so I was like, well, if we want to have it before I leave town, we got to do it now. So another meeting gets stacked on to the end of my day.

00;04;18;02 - 00;04;38;15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I'm not a big meeting guy like I don't, I don't mind them, but they don't bring me a lot of energy. I would rather do the work decided in the meeting, then have a meeting where we sit down and think and talk about work. And so what I've learned is that the promotion often just means that more people have certain demands on my time.

00;04;38;17 - 00;05;03;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so the advice I would give if you've never checked it out, check out Time boss. It was created by a guy named Andrew, and Andrew actually used to be on staff over at Download Youth Ministry, but now he stepped away from do. I am to go work on time boss full time? And I'm not joking when I tell you that when I implement and institute the principles that I've learned from time boss, I am an absolute master of my time.

00;05;03;03 - 00;05;30;02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Especially when you're in a situation like I'm in now, where other people are dictating my calendar and other people are telling me meetings that I have to go to, that I don't get to say to, avoid or not be part of. And so if you choose to manage your time, then when other people step in and give you, give you required meetings, you can either let them manage your time or you can manage your time before they come to you.

00;05;30;02 - 00;05;55;12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The choice is yours. But that's one of the things I've had to become a master and a boss of my time. Mistake number two is that you can't communicate without communicating. I feel like my wife right in this new season of life, because what I thought was that when I communicated something, people understood the full picture of what I was saying.

00;05;55;15 - 00;06;20;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But what I've learned is that people can't actually read my mind. I can communicate, but just because I've said words doesn't mean that they're understanding it. The exact same way that I'm thinking that they're understanding it. And so people did, in fact, not read my mind. Like, let me give you an example. I delegated a task where I required us to get three clips out of opus AI, which is an amazing tool for your social media.

00;06;20;05 - 00;06;45;09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can check out the link down below if you're interested in that. It literally saves me and our team hundreds of hours a week, but, I would save three opus clips per week out of each of our messages. Well, when I ask someone to do opus clips, they started saving two instead of three. Small miscommunication, but one that I then had a decision to make when I went and I noticed that there weren't enough.

00;06;45;11 - 00;07;04;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Do I say something or do I let it go right? Or hey, this is the what the expected, word count needs to be when you get in front of a camera and when they come in and there's more words than what were expected, I had to say, well, here's why the word count matters from time standpoint on YouTube and all these types of things.

00;07;04;06 - 00;07;24;13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or when I said, hey, I like all of these events to be planned during the day and I come back. And my team had made one event planned to be happening at night in the evening. Again, not a big deal, but we just had to come around and I had said something and they didn't think it was that big of a deal, or they didn't listen to it, or they chose to override it or whatever the reason might be.

00;07;24;15 - 00;07;42;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or when I said, hey, let's get some hot chocolate for this event. And I go to the back and I see, my resident, my intern making hot chocolate, using the hot water from a small tea kettle, trying to fill up in a five gallon, water jug, bucket. Like, that's just not going to cut it. It's not fast enough.

00;07;42;10 - 00;08;07;15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And there's a million other ways to get to it. But so when I said make hot chocolate, I thought this was the assumed path to make hot chocolate in our youth ministry, at our church, in our space, they heard make hot chocolate. And to their credit, they were resourceful to figure out a way to do it. But to their disadvantage, they were using some of those incredibly slow and the event had already started and they were stuck in the back, still making hot chocolate because the tea kettle wasn't keeping up.

00;08;07;21 - 00;08;28;07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What I've learned is that I have to over communicate, and when I think I've communicated 100% of it, I've maybe only effectively communicated 60% of it. I was talking to a friend of mine. He's, youth volunteer for me. He owns his own business. And I was talking to him about this, and he said, this happens to me all the time.

00;08;28;07 - 00;08;44;01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so it made me really frustrated, to be completely honest, because I would say things, I would communicate things. I'd write them down and put them in tasks. And only a certain percentage of the task was getting completed or adhered to or listened to. And he just said, this is a very normal thing with people who are working for you.

00;08;44;01 - 00;09;06;09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So my advice, especially to myself and to you, I'm a perfectionist. I'm an Enneagram one. Don't expect perfection. Be able to roll with the punches and continue to circle back and Overcommunicate and overcommunicate. Mistake number three and this one might be the toughest one, honestly, is that I feel like I lost some of my passion for youth ministry.

00;09;06;09 - 00;09;21;13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And here's what I thought. I thought, I'm going to step into this new role, and I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing. And while I'm doing what I'm doing, and now I get to be in charge, how great is that? What happened was I shifted from more of a doer of the ministry to more of a manager.

00;09;21;13 - 00;09;44;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So last fall, for example, I had fully handed off programing to one of my associates who's in charge of all programing, like service orders, all that type of stuff. And then another, couple people on our team were in charge of a Friendsgiving for, the community like, outreach event drive, like a canned food drive kind of thing that we're, pulling together in our student ministry.

00;09;44;05 - 00;10;11;04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then one person was in charge of the Friendsgiving event that we had, and they had two of them collaborate and work together. And then two other people were in charge of our costume party. And so I remember stepping back and thinking to myself, the only thing I'm doing here is managing these people. They're the ones that are like fully running, planning, executing and making these events all have traction getting off the ground.

00;10;11;07 - 00;10;31;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you know, everything that needed to happen in these event spaces. And I found myself like a little bit sitting around kind of like twiddling my thumbs, like, what am I supposed to do? Well, I learned is I and I already knew this about myself, but what I learned was I found myself in my working frustration. As Patrick Clancy only talks about it.

00;10;31;06 - 00;11;06;20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
He has a working widget with six different wheels, and I determined and discovered that my strength was invention and tenacity, and I knew that my frustration was enablement and galvanizing. So kind of rah rah and cheerleading. The team and helping make them, like, get excited around an idea. And so I had shifted out of my strength invention one like creating something out of wonder and tenacity, bringing that invention across the finish line, and then handing that over to my team and trying to encourage them to bring it across the finish line.

00;11;06;26 - 00;11;28;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And when they're having a tough time getting across the finish line, they're having a tough time articulating their ideas. I was also having an equally tough time because I couldn't. I was feeling like I wasn't successfully getting those things accomplished and across the finish line. So the advice I took something back that I loved. I took back programing.

00;11;28;08 - 00;11;46;15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I was like, I need to do something in this job where I get to invent and I get to take it across the finish line, because if not, I'm just going to sit here and I'm just going to watch all of you guys do it. Part of my job is development, and I don't mind it, but it does shift me away from a passion point into something that I don't get to do as much.

00;11;46;15 - 00;12;02;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I felt really bad and I felt really guilty for doing it. But, I mean, here's the thing. Like, I love programing and I love creating something. In fact, I love it so much. I have a podcast dedicated to creative programing. It's a weekly bonus podcast, and I just walk you through what our youth ministry does every single week.

00;12;02;21 - 00;12;22;18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'd love for you to take a look at it. There's a seven day free trial link down below. It's called Hybrid Heroes. It's part of Patreon membership tier and you get a weekly bonus podcast every single Monday morning that details, recaps, and outlines our last week of social media and our last week of creative programing. In addition to that, everything I put on my store, that costs money.

00;12;22;20 - 00;12;40;17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It costs money to other people, but it's free to hybrid here. So $4 a month is less than the cost of a cup of coffee. It's $48 per year. If you have like a professional, or personal development budget line. Like you can charge to that if you don't feel comfortable doing that. I don't have enough money for that.

00;12;40;19 - 00;13;00;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Get one cup of coffee from your office, from home, and then skip Starbucks for just one time, and it will cover the cost of that. But that's what I did. And I'm just going to be completely honest for you. This last season has been a really hard season for me. I was confused by it because I thought I knew what I was doing.

00;13;00;11 - 00;13;20;18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I've been in youth ministry for a long time already. But growth doesn't happen when you're coasting, right? And no matter what you're doing and no matter what area you're growing in and learning in, whether it's growing in management skills like I am or whether it's trying to grow in areas like social media, when you put yourself in uncomfortable situations, it can feel difficult, right?

00;13;20;18 - 00;13;32;04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the only way to get to the other side, the only way to truly experience growth, is to go through it. So stick with it. Rooting you on, encouraging you. Don't forget my friends and as always, stay hybrid.

Episode 192: Hybrid Ministry Masterclass- Tools, Systems, and Real Results for Youth Pastors

Nick Clason — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0500

This episode, quite literally, has it all!
Every strategy, every freebie, every way to implement hybrid into your ministry.

It's horrible for me, because I'm giving away anything and everything I've ever created!

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Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/192

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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Act 1 - The Problem
02:40 Act 2 - The Analytics - How it REALLY works
07:44 Act 3 - The Hybrid Framework
16:48 Act 4 - The Execution Layer
17:13 Microphones & Cameras
23:35 Software Recommendations
26:39 Social Team Construction
28:11 Act 5 - The Vision Layer
30:36 Act 6 - I Can Help!

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:13:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
As a person on church ministry, you have a slew of responsibility. You need to be a shepherd. You need to be an administrator. You need to be an evangelist. You need to be a disciple maker. And sometimes you need

00:00:13:14 - 00:00:15:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to be a social media strategist.

00:00:15:25 - 00:00:16:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Listen,

00:00:16:10 - 00:00:17:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you know this.

00:00:17:07 - 00:00:20:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Not everyone can be good at everything.

00:00:20:05 - 00:00:21:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
just recently,

00:00:21:04 - 00:00:22:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
someone in the DYM

00:00:22:16 - 00:00:27:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Facebook group asked like social media gurus, where are you at? I want to start up ticking my engagement

00:00:27:27 - 00:00:30:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I probably see that question

00:00:30:03 - 00:00:31:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
once a month

00:00:31:00 - 00:00:33:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
just like you get curriculum to help you teach, just like you get

00:00:33:29 - 00:00:36:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
calendar apps to help you stay organized, and you have

00:00:36:19 - 00:00:38:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
books to help you learn.

00:00:38:05 - 00:00:43:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
With so many different tools on the market, how do you know what you can actually trust? You know,

00:00:43:08 - 00:00:52:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I've been leading a youth ministry leader cohort, specifically down a deep dive topic of hybrid ministry, and at the beginning

00:00:52:29 - 00:01:04:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of the cohort, it's an eight week experience at the beginning. I have people map out the next month of social media content, and every week when we circle back, we evaluate how did the last week go?

00:01:05:00 - 00:01:11:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And without fail, they say I had my plans or the plans laid out, but I didn't do it because

00:01:11:25 - 00:01:27:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
a meeting came up. Because this thing happened, because I got busy, because the weather canceled our services and I was focused and forced to do other things responsibility wise. You see, whatever the reason is why social media falls by the wayside,

00:01:27:11 - 00:01:28:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
it's not a priority.

00:01:28:08 - 00:01:39:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Leadership doesn't see the value of it. You're not creative enough. You need something to help. You need a strategy. And that's what this episode is. This is the mega episode. I've done you a favor,

00:01:39:21 - 00:01:43:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
in the next several sections of this video, I'm going to share with you

00:01:43:07 - 00:01:53:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
the analytics behind my hybrid ministry strategy and my seasonal social Media pack, which is now available and active for the spring season over on Patreon.

00:01:53:04 - 00:01:56:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So make sure that you go take a look at that. If there's something that you're interested in.

00:01:56:13 - 00:02:07:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then in act number three, we're going to share with you the hybrid ministry framework. And act number four, I'm going to share with you the execution layer. How do you actually pull this thing together?

00:02:07:18 - 00:02:22:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What gear what software do you need. Act number five is going to be the vision layer. Where can this go if you really choose to double down on it. And then act number six, I'm just going to share with you different ways that I can help along the way. And here's the good news. I've actually shared all of this before.

00:02:22:11 - 00:02:44:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're new here, or if you don't want to go through all the various episodes I have, this is almost going to be like a clip show. I have done the hard work of combing through nearly 200 hybrid Ministry episodes to share with you each of these different sections. So we're going to dive in. Let's look first here at the analytics and what's going on behind the scenes.

00:02:44:13 - 00:03:00:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, when I released my winter season on Social Media pack, I did a vlog style video where I was at a conference that my my church was hosting. I was hosting it. I was like a stage host for the week, and I wanted to prove that I could post my pack in less than 16 minutes of total time.

00:03:00:29 - 00:03:22:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Over the course of the week, though, in my pack, I propose you post three times a week. I posted eight times during that week. Every single piece of content that I include in my seasonal social media pack. Spoiler I didn't meet the challenge, but I did learn something valuable and it's that my pack can actually stand up to some of the stressors of everyday life.

00:03:22:08 - 00:03:38:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
My pack was the schedule, and all I had to do was look at the schedule. It told me exactly what I was most post. I posted it and not less than 16 minutes, but however, I was able to do it in less than 20 minutes. And this right here is the analytic and the deep dive from that week of posting.

00:03:38:28 - 00:03:48:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now I have all different seasons and I just released spring, which means now we're also able to offer a full year of custom and DIY seasonal social media.

00:03:48:29 - 00:03:59:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you want to look at the four season bundle pack for the entire year of social media, go check it out. But what I'm trying to do in my pack is I'm trying to make you and your church the hero.

00:03:59:02 - 00:04:19:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Not just a bunch of standard graphics that every church, any church can post, but graphics that. Yeah, we'll have some of that, but also videos with you and your people, and I'll train you and give you scripts and, and give you video and graphic overlays that you can put on top of videos that you record. Because 90% of the internet's traffic is short form, vertical based video.

00:04:19:22 - 00:04:37:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I took that concept, the one that I sell to you and sell to all you pastors, church communications, people all around the world that I stand behind. And I put it to the test, and here were my results from the week. And and it's nothing crazy. We didn't go viral. We didn't get famous off of it.

00:04:37:01 - 00:04:54:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In some cases. We had some really low views. In other cases we had some really high views. So I want to share with you the highest view from the week. I want to share with you the lowest view from the week. I want to share with you a comment from a post that happened during that week, as well as the one the post that got the most amount of likes.

00:04:54:27 - 00:05:14:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I'm going to do that across three different platforms of TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. So if you're watching here on YouTube right now, you'll see this graph up here on screen. But the video with the highest views on TikTok was only 235 on our verse Bible verse video 235 views on TikTok. Our lowest one was our transition style video.

00:05:14:27 - 00:05:34:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It only had 38 views over there on TikTok. A comment we got zero comments during the week on TikTok when I did this. And see, that's the that's the the truth. That's the hard and crass reality. Sometimes that's what happens. We also did get 37 likes on our first video. So that video did did do the best on TikTok.

00:05:34:19 - 00:05:54:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now let's switch over to Instagram. I got 471 devotional views on our Devo video, the one that I, the script, I wrote the script, then I copied the script verbatim and I hadn't looked at it in like three months. So I was basically going in code, which is very similar to what you would also be doing if you were to grab my pack and implement it in your own context.

00:05:54:28 - 00:06:16:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We had, 243 views. I was the lowest on our verse post on Instagram. So interestingly, it was our lowest on Instagram was higher than our highest on TikTok. Comments on the Devo we had two different people that left a comment on our on my devotional thing, and I asked for some sort of, hey, leave a leave this emoji in the comments if you need this.

00:06:16:00 - 00:06:35:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And two people did that and then the highest likes was 17 on that same devotional video. And then over on YouTube, check this one out. We had 1081 views on the transition video. We had a comment, I'm sorry, we had 23, our lowest on the verse post on YouTube and then, on the Bible trivia post on YouTube.

00:06:35:05 - 00:06:47:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Someone said, I didn't know that, that I didn't know the answer to that last one. Not a chance. That was fun though. Good job. And then we had 28 likes on said Bible trivia. And here's just a couple of things I find interesting.

00:06:47:03 - 00:06:59:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The verse post did amazing on TikTok and it struggled on the other two, right? Each platform had a different, higher performer, the verse followed by the diva on Instagram, followed by the transition video on YouTube.

00:07:00:02 - 00:07:20:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. A couple of things. At one point I actually had to reedit and repost some of these because I had made mistakes. But somehow my posted man on the street video, I did it without even sound. The first time around, my Wi-Fi was lagging. It's slowed me down. And right when I was getting ready to hit record at one point, I had to run across the creek to grab my SD card.

00:07:20:06 - 00:07:40:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
See, even I, the creator of the seasonal social media pack, I ran into the same potential obstacles that you might, and my summary and all that is that that week was far from perfect. But what I did do is I showed up regularly, and when I got busy and I didn't have what I needed to do, I could look back at my calendar and my seasonal social media pack told me exactly what I should do.

00:07:40:14 - 00:07:41:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's the purpose

00:07:41:26 - 00:08:06:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of this thing. It is a seasonal social media pack that's more than just static graphics. That helps you develop a team, a volunteer social media, team students, whatever to hand something off to. And it's for the less than the cost of a couple cups of coffee for the month. So now let's move into act three, and this is where we're going to share some best of clips from the Hybrid Ministry show.

00:08:06:09 - 00:08:09:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to share with you the Hybrid Ministry Framework.

00:08:09:21 - 00:08:39:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There are kind of three core statistics. There's Gen Z, Gen Alpha. They use their mobile device more than they use any other device combined. Furthermore, 69% of students own a smartphone. But I get this the age of 12, 90%. According to Pew Research use YouTube. But there's a verse in Jeremiah chapter 29 Nov nine 2911. But right before that verse, Jeremiah is having a conversation with God.

00:08:39:04 - 00:09:08:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And here's what God says to Jeremiah. He says you should build homes, planned to stay, plant gardens, eat the foods that they produce, marry and have children, then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply. Do not dwindle away, but you gotta understand the context here, which we don't do for Jeremiah 2011 very often, is that the Israelites are stuck as captives in Babylon, and what God is telling Jeremiah to do is he's saying, stop complaining.

00:09:08:22 - 00:09:35:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Stop trying to find a way out. Stop trying to leave. Instead, invest in where you live and digital ministry is not going anywhere. You may not like it. You may not even think it's the most effective. But the majority of millennials, Gen Z, and we can assume Generation Alpha, say that a digital version of church is valuable to them and one that they would lean into, and it doesn't mean that their in-person attendance is going to go away.

00:09:35:13 - 00:09:54:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's a lot of the fears of us in church leadership is that if we offer a digital component, I'm just going to choose that instead of, coming to church in person, but far from it. We're also seeing in this generation, more than even older generations, that community is so much more important to them. So they don't want to forsake the in-person moments.

00:09:54:00 - 00:10:20:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so when we take the in-person moments and the best that it has to offer, when we take the digital things and the best it has to offer, and we find that sweet spot right in the middle, we find what I call hybrid ministry. A great example of it is honestly, Home Depot. And think about it like you throw on your new balances and you throw on your cargo shorts on on a Saturday morning, you got a project, and then you go on Home Depot and you don't really have like a agenda, right?

00:10:20:07 - 00:10:40:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're just walking around and you're just kind of like you're taking in the smell of lumber and you're just you're just kind of exploring what the hallways and the aisles of Home Depot have to offer. Other times. And then, like, you don't have time, right? You go online, you make an order so that it's delivered to your doorstep because you don't have time to just live out your full dad mode experience.

00:10:40:07 - 00:11:11:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But my favorite honestly version to experience Home Depot is while I'm in the store on their app because their app. If you haven't seen it yet, their app shows you where every single thing in their entire store is located. And so that's what I think we should be doing as youth pastors. Finding a way to intersect where teenagers already admitted they're spending their time, not forsaking the good elements of gathering together and community and accountability and all those things, but also leaning into this hybrid sort of moment.

00:11:12:00 - 00:11:35:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so what I want to do is I want to give you one of the easiest ways to kind of to kind of step foot into this hybrid space. And it's by up picking your social media engagement. Now, here's the thing. A lot of youth pastors, and if you've been following me along on this channel for a while, posts announcements on their feed, just assuming that social media is another announcement platform.

00:11:35:19 - 00:11:57:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the reality is that that's not what social media is best made for it. But what it does mean, and what we should be doing, is that we should be intersecting and invading the lives of students on the places that they spend their time, including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Remember, 90% teenagers say that they use YouTube in the way that they're consuming it.

00:11:57:12 - 00:12:19:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
for you and for me and for all of us. Like, my, like, general strategy is simply, walking down a funnel of posting short form content, silly content, as well as spiritual content, and hopefully gathering an audience with that and then pushing them to, like a long form version of some more serious content, which is what we do in our youth ministry.

00:12:19:24 - 00:12:48:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We pre film our messages and we adapt them and make them specific for YouTube. You know, we do that versus like a live stream type of thing. As Carrie New study said. This said the challenge is the future is to diversify what you offer online and distinguish it from what you offer in person. So not only is that going to create true options, new love continues on to say, but it will deepen engagement as your in-person and online ministries lean towards what each does best.

00:12:48:13 - 00:13:05:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then, beyond. Just like your message content, beyond your weekly sermon, so to speak, that are also going to live online, whether that's live stream, which I would argue is not as good as a pre filmed version, but it's still better than than nothing. You can also lean into things like courses and those types of things.

00:13:06:01 - 00:13:19:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Exactly. Should you be posting? I'm glad you guys have three steps for everyone and their social media is is, three steps. Social media checklist. Step number one is make sure that your website is up to date.

00:13:19:18 - 00:13:51:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When you take away social as an avenue for announcements, or when you reduce your amount of stage announcements. There still has to be a full bodied, one stop, robust shop for your church people to fall to. And that also makes what I'm going to recommend here on social, which is the second step here. The second step is you kind of want to become enamored with short reels, TikTok style videos, because when your website is good, you don't have to worry about the information.

00:13:51:27 - 00:14:24:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So now you can leave that behind and you can now move ahead towards the era that social is really made for and meant for. And according to video, 90% of the internet's traffic is found on short form vertical based video because every other platform then was trying to catch up and keep up with this brand new one called TikTok shorts, reels, Facebook has them, Instagram has, YouTube has them and even other like places like, Twitter.

00:14:24:11 - 00:14:50:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're even on there, it'll it'll be on a video, you'll be watching it again. It'll auto scroll to the next one. First of all, it's video based and it's short and it's quippy and it's fun. But secondly, like I said earlier, it's the discovery era. If you jump on Reels on Instagram, if you jump on your TikTok for you page more than I think 90% of the I believe that's the stat of the videos that you're served are from people that you've never actually even met.

00:14:50:22 - 00:15:17:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's good news for you and I. As churches and youth ministries, we can get on to other people's for you pages without buying their attention or without having them have to follow or subscribe or or know about our channel. The key is producing good content. And so step one website. Step two start focusing on good shorts, which is why I've created down below my hybrid strategy guide.

00:15:17:21 - 00:15:29:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It will not only lay out my plan and what I do in my student ministry, but it will also give you different ideas and types of content that you can use for your social media.

00:15:29:15 - 00:15:55:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hey, real fast. Don't click away. Listen, a couple of months ago, I was running a conference at my church, and I decided that I wanted to see if, while I was in the throes of the busiest week on my calendar to date in the year of 2025, if my seasonal social media pack could have what it takes to actually carry me through and not make it more labor intensive for me to actually keep social media running, but to make it easier on me.

00:15:55:14 - 00:16:26:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And here, here's what I found out. Imagine it's six minutes per week. Have your entire social media strategy done for you. I mean, think about it like three months of youth ministry content for just $0.23 a minute. Some weeks it takes me seven, other weeks it takes me five. But the point is, and especially at the end of this, as I was sitting in my youth ministry leader cohort, everyone said time management and scheduling was the issue with staying consistent on social.

00:16:26:20 - 00:16:43:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So my recommendation would be take my pack, let it be the the basics of what you do. And if you do get busy, if something else comes up, you have something to fall back. And then when you do have the creative energy to create something more custom and more elaborate, scrap one of mine and put one of your own in there.

00:16:43:22 - 00:16:47:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But mine will at least keep you moving in the right direction.

00:16:47:27 - 00:17:12:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So that's the big picture. That's the strategy. That's the philosophy. Now let's move in here to act four. This is how to do it. It's going to be gear guides and microphone guides and links. And this is going to get a little bit a little bit down in the weeds if you already know those things, softwares and gear and phones and what you need, I'll encourage you to skip past that over to act number five, which is where hybrid ministry can actually take you in the vision layer.

00:17:12:19 - 00:17:45:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you take my seasonal summer social media pack, which is less than $20, and you download it, you'll realize that as I'm hoping to help youth pastors create custom content that it's going to require at some points in time, a microphone. And what I want to do in this video is I want to show you all of the different array of options that you can use all the way from like budget microphones to the most expensive Cadillac style microphones to these mid tier podcast, but really cool and vibey looking microphones that your students are going to love.

00:17:45:16 - 00:18:08:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because in this episode, we're going to answer the question which mics you use for the content that you're creating in your youth ministry? Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry Show. What's up everybody? Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. You and I haven't had a chance to meet yet. My name is Nick Klassen, and we're gonna explore microphones and they're really important because actually, right now, this exact audio is coming.

00:18:08:27 - 00:18:37:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Me talking directly to my camera on the other side of the room. You can see that so far, of all the audios you heard is the worst style of audio. And we're going to go through budget options as well as all the way up to the most expensive style of options. And you'll notice if you follow my hybrid ministry social media recommendations, that it's going to require you filming some of your own custom content, and that's going to require you to want to have a microphone, because this audio right here is just not doing it.

00:18:37:16 - 00:19:06:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So first we're going to look at budget audio. This is my budget audio recommendation. It's one of these Bluetooth style microphones. They are really cheap. They clip on. They are wireless which is nice. And they plug directly in to your phone. You can get these for less than $10. And at a minimum, what this does is the requirement for decent microphone audio is you just want to isolate the audio source away from the video source.

00:19:06:10 - 00:19:33:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now this one records directly into the actual video files. So you you like your video and your audio will be immediately linked up, which is good news. But I would say this one here, we're going to call this like the student ministry volunteer microphones. So this one right here is actually one of my newest recommendations. It's the Rode Wireless go to not because I've been against it, but because it's just brand new.

00:19:33:24 - 00:19:59:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I just got it and so right now I'm actually talking direct into my cell phone camera. And right now I'm talking direct into my Sony ZV one camera, which that, camera is actually also linked down below in the link included in the description. I will call this one like the church intern of microphones, but it's a church intern that actually reads commentaries.

00:20:00:00 - 00:20:24:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This pro level microphone is the Sennheiser lavalier system. It is the senior pastor of microphones. It's buttoned up, it's expensive, it's intimidating, and it's very, very serious about what the job needs to be. It is wireless. So you see, I have a pack that I have right here in my pocket. And this wire that's just like clipped on.

00:20:24:12 - 00:20:48:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Then here through my shirt. And then I have a receiver over there on my focus. Right. So this one does require an audio interface and it's not recording directly onto any of the video. So you need to record this separately. You can use something like GarageBand or we use like Adobe Audition. But then you have to link this audio up with the audio from the camera.

00:20:48:07 - 00:21:13:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This microphone right here is the Sennheiser M-k 600. I would call this one if the last one was the senior pastor of microphones. This one is the executive pastor of microphones. It you know, it knows where to aim. And it's going to hit every single time. But you also better know what you're doing. So the pros and cons of this are you do not need pro as you don't need a wireless interface.

00:21:13:25 - 00:21:35:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I am plugged directly into my Sony camera. A can of course, is you will probably need some sort of adapter as this goes through an audio like one eighth cable inch headphone jack. And so you're going to need some sort of adapter, probably a microphone to usb-C or to lightning to go directly into your phone. The other con, of course, is it's wired okay.

00:21:35:18 - 00:21:53:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so like you're going to need, to have like an XLR cable. It's like what you would use for your worship, music or worship department. But you can see some of the pros of it. We'll use this a lot. We've used this almost exclusively, on our man on the Street videos. And so we've bought this, like, microphone flag with, like, our church branded logo in it.

00:21:53:22 - 00:22:14:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's also battery powered with just double A batteries. And so that's easier than trying to remember to plug in something that's like, usb-C or like rechargeable in that way. And here we are back where we started. And these right here are the, podcast style microphones. There's once again, a link down below in the show notes. You can check these out.

00:22:14:29 - 00:22:39:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
These microphones are kind of like the youth pastor of microphones. They are professional. They're paid. They're full time. Hopefully you're full time and they're cool looking or like try hard, cool looking. Maybe you're giving it too much. But the fact of the matter is, these much, much to the opposite of the shotgun microphones before I catch almost zero sound bleed.

00:22:39:02 - 00:22:58:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so for most of our like, we do drafts and we do seven questions here in this room for most of these videos, these microphones do a fantastic job of picking up the audio of the students that are talking directly into it. Not to mention it cuts out some of the exterior wall noise that we were talking about in the last section and in the last clip.

00:22:58:17 - 00:23:17:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The cons of these, however, are they once again, they're XLR, so you are going to need like a music microphone. And oftentimes we use two of these. So you're going to need at least a two channel audio interface. We use the focus rate. Scarlett. I et you can check that out once again. Link down below for that in the show notes.

00:23:17:16 - 00:23:34:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The con of that of course, is that is going to be an upgraded and an additional cost. And so you'll just have to figure out between this one or the Bluetooth wireless or the Rode Go Wireless two, or the condenser microphone or the lavalier microphone. What microphone is best for you?

00:23:35:00 - 00:23:54:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right. What about software? If everything that we're promoting you to do is short form, vertical based video, then, you know you're going to have to use and utilize some software. So this isn't a best of clip. This is actually brand new. And, as you're looking here on screen, you might be wondering where these came from.

00:23:54:21 - 00:24:28:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is from my youth ministry leader cohort, that I'm leading deep dive. These are my, suggestions. So the top tier of suggestions are the Adobe Creative Suite, which includes Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci resolve. And those are listed in order of probably, power as well as price. I will put all three of these on the same plane, though, like, you can pretty much do everything in Final Cut or Da Vinci that you would also do in the Adobe Creative Cloud.

00:24:28:21 - 00:24:51:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so depending on where you're at budget wise, these are the ones that I would recommend. If you have an appetite to learn something that's a little bit more professional and a little bit more powerful, but moving on to the next tier are three different options. I have cap cut, I have in-app editors, and then I have just, the run of the mill iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.

00:24:51:06 - 00:25:09:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So cap cut, of course, there's a web app and there's also an app for your phone. You can use either of them. And there is a pro version, so you can upgrade a little bit to pay if I'm doing something just quick and short. My favorite editor is either the Instagram Reels, but my real favorite editor is the TikTok editor and then TikTok.

00:25:09:15 - 00:25:28:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When you save it, it auto saves a copy of it to your camera roll unless you turn that off in the settings. And so if you're posting to, say, Instagram or YouTube, you go to TikTok first, you edit whatever you want to edit, put whatever captions on you want to put on, and then you post it. And then if you go to the other apps after that, it'll be sitting there in your camera roll.

00:25:29:01 - 00:25:47:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then, iMovie or Windows Movie Maker is probably the bottom of the barrel, but it's also probably free for whatever machine you have, whether you're a mac or windows user. Let me also say another thing. If you have some sort of long form version of your clip, a live stream, or you sit down ahead of time, film, direct camera, opus clip.

00:25:47:20 - 00:26:10:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you look here, you'll see on my feed all of these ones that are circle, this is my student ministries feed. All of these ones that are circled were all edited by opus clip. I post three of them per week. And so in the seasonal social media pack I recommend a devotional clip. But if you have some sort of long form version of your message that you can upload into a service like opus clip, and if you just scan this QR code that you see here on screen, you can go check out Opus Clip.

00:26:10:20 - 00:26:25:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's free for a while, and then you have a certain number of credits, and when it runs out, then it's an upgrade for about 100 and something dollars per year. And, I've never run out of credits in opus clip and we even share it with another ministry in our church, and we still have enough credits for opus clip.

00:26:25:29 - 00:26:38:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, that's something that really can help. If you have a long form version of something. If not, then I just recommend you doing a devotional, on your phone, editing it in something like Cap Cut or TikTok and then posting it everywhere.

00:26:38:16 - 00:26:56:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
man, on the street transition style videos, drafts, seven questions. Any given night you come into our youth ministry, we're doing one of those four things. Let me just tell you, like once we started walking around with the camera, especially for like man on the street or like transition style videos, the kids came out of the woodwork in their interest level for it.

00:26:56:23 - 00:27:21:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We have seven, I want to say different like serving teams for students. We have welcome team. We have cafe, we have tech team. We have social team, we have photography. We have worship. Maybe that's it. Oh, no. And then we have our table leaders. That's probably like our highest, spiritual bar of of role. The team that people want to be on the most is the social team.

00:27:21:10 - 00:27:44:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we have, like, increased our engagement around student serving because the social team exists. But the real, in my opinion, this role right here, this next role, this is really like the role that has changed everything for me. It's the student editor. So I post ten pieces of content per week. And this is a genuine, real, true, authentic statement.

00:27:44:27 - 00:28:09:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I don't edit any of it. I'm going to include a checklist for you of roles, of things to do, of what to film all of that. That's over on my Patreon. Once again, that will come with a nominal fee because Patreon doesn't let me give it away for free. However, if you are a hybrid hero, you get that checklist that cost you $0 included in your $4 per month membership Hybrid Heroes tier.

00:28:09:22 - 00:28:30:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right. Now we're going to jump into the vision layer. So you start kind of dialing in social media. Where can this go. Maybe it's pre-recording your messages and creating a library of content on YouTube. Maybe it's creating YouTube playlist courses, maybe it's a weekly podcast and you're using things like Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube. What could this take you?

00:28:30:23 - 00:28:38:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What vision do you have for some of this? Let's dive in and check out some of this vision piece. Content.

00:28:38:07 - 00:29:14:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
From the most conservative parents in your church who would never even imagine letting their kids enter the World Wide Web to all the way to the least restrictive parents who gave their kids a phone and let them have wild access to the internet. YouTube is a great strategy and a great platform for students and school ministry. But if you're anything like me and you work at a church, you look around your youth and you compare it to the auditorium or the main church home that the rest of us or the rest of your, you know, big church is using where your pastor's preaching on Sunday morning and you probably look and think, man, I don't

00:29:14:02 - 00:29:55:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
have the gear to capture my services and post them on YouTube. And the answer to that is probably unequivocally, 100% accurate. You'll plan your curriculum and then you'll write out your teaching, and then you'll sit down and you'll deliver the message direct to camera, all because you told your time what was going to happen to it. And I'm not saying that you shouldn't counsel students and meet with the senior pastor and plan for your Wednesday night, but if pre filming your messages, if getting the message of Jesus and the message of hope out on the internet, on YouTube is important to you, then you need to determine when you're going to place that, that

00:29:55:19 - 00:30:20:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
thing on your calendar to do. Does teaching is it required in mandated to be in person? So anything that you might be tempted to turn into a class or a meeting or a workshop or a meet up or an after church, like pizza with the pastor sort of thing. Any one of those that isn't like, relationally charged, I believe.

00:30:20:13 - 00:30:34:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And even if they are relationally church, we can pivot and reposition the way that we're doing it so that it can be included in a YouTube playlist. However, playlists are basically like free courses on YouTube's platform.

00:30:35:01 - 00:30:55:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Listen, are you overwhelmed yet? Because it can be overwhelming. It's deep. And just like you have to be, organizational person and administrator, an executive pastor, a shepherd. Now, you're also being asked to be a social media manager. And that's the thing. That's why I have four different tiers of ways that I can help you. Number one, just grab my free e-book.

00:30:55:05 - 00:31:21:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can also check out the seasonal social media pack, for the the three months. Or you can do for the whole year or coaching where I help walk you through it and how to implement some of these things. Or you can just reach out to me directly for coaching and communications done for you. But without any further ado, let's check out the last little bit here of the final, what this could look like and where this could take you in your church and in your ministry.

00:31:21:19 - 00:31:40:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Can grab my free e-book, but if you get in there and you're like, I don't know what's best for us, and we'll let you know about some custom coaching that I have to offer. My custom coaching is four sessions long. $50 per session will be $200 out of your overall budget, which is absolutely pennies in the in the drop in the bucket in an overall church size budget.

00:31:41:00 - 00:32:02:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if you know, even that is too much, reach out. We can make something work. But the reason that custom coaching is important is because every context is different. I can tell you what I'm doing here in DFW, Dallas-Fort worth area, to reach, in my context, Gen Z or young, you know, basically almost done with Gen Z to Gen Alpha.

00:32:02:07 - 00:32:29:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But and that might be helpful because if you're managing church social media for an overall church, like, well, we're doing is very going to be very cutting edge for, you know, like older Gen Z and even like millennials. But every church and every context and every geographical area is a little bit different. I was recently, coaching another guy and, my typical like strategy, I changed it and tweaked it a little bit for him because he was doing things just a little bit differently.

00:32:29:04 - 00:32:46:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
His context was a little bit different, and his role was a little bit unique compared to what I typically would tell people to do. And so even I was, you know, thinking through and adjusting my model. And so it's important because everyone in every place is different. And then the final piece is this is like, as I say, all of this.

00:32:46:12 - 00:33:01:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And there's, you know, maybe a minute ago you gave me that sub because you were like, dude, there's just too much to do. And even with some custom coaching, there's still going to be a lot on your plate. You're 100% right. There is are still a lot of work to do, which is what I want to offer to, to some of you.

00:33:01:22 - 00:33:25:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Might be worth it. Budget wise, communications done for you. It's a service that I offer, and I will run your website. Or I will do graphics and video, or I will run your YouTube and social media. Each of those different buckets and categories is a different price point. Or you can bundle them all together for a different price point link down below to inquire about that.

00:33:25:09 - 00:33:45:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But let me just tell you that it is a 10th of the cost of a full time staff person. If you were to hire me and contract me to do communications for you and for your church and for your ministry, because there's so much on your plate and you just you, you want it, but you don't have the time or bandwidth or desire maybe even to learn it.

00:33:45:19 - 00:34:01:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I understand that. And at some point it's just worth it, you know, to just get it off of your plate. And if that you're in that zone and you don't want the coaching, you don't want to learn via the e-book, then great. Then check out what I have to offer communications for you. I will do things like inspect your website.

00:34:01:10 - 00:34:41:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I will optimize your search engine optimization. I will make your website as visitor friendly as possible. If you want to go in the graphics route, I can do graphic design for you. I can do series and events and pre screen and print graphics and all those types of things. Get those pesky jobs off of your plate. And if you want to optimize your church social media, live stream or YouTube prefilled messages, we can, do thumbnails, we can title the video, we can optimize the tags for search engine optimization, create chapters so that people can jump around in your videos, create playlists and online courses, and also create post shorts for your social media.

00:34:41:27 - 00:35:02:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Whatever works best and whatever you want done for you. All of it is linked down below in the description or in the show notes. I'd love to have you check those things out, but again, I appreciate you being here. And listen. It is the future of the church is online. It's not only online, but are you. A wide portion of it is.

00:35:02:22 - 00:35:26:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the fact is, the more capacity and bandwidth that you have to take it there, the more effective I believe you will be to maximize your reach and your influence to continue to pursue reaching people for Jesus, continue to pursue the call and the assignment in which God has placed you, particularly right now in this season. And don't forget, and as always, stay hybrid.

Episode 182: I tried every youth ministry social media pack that exists.

Nick Clason — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0600

I tried and evaluated every "Youth Ministry Social Media" Pack I could find on the internet.
I evaluated on 4 criteria, and the verdict is in!
I discovered the pack you should be using at your church in 2026 and beyond!

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/182

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

Mic’d Kid Reel
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGtLVQOxLw8/

LIFE CHURCH
https://open.life.church/resources/5220-youth-social-media-graphics

DYM MONTHLY SOCIAL MEDIA PACK
January Pack: https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/dym-january-2026-social-media-pack/social-media/instagram-10658.html

Membership: https://www.dymmembership.com/

YOUTH MINISTRY DROP
https://youthministrydrop.com/

SUNDAY SOCIAL
https://sundaysocial.tv/social/

NUCLEUS
Video: https://youtu.be/onqh7dHLwKs?si=XFtY-4Lcv32XMoH8
Nucleus Social: https://www.nucleus.church/media

SERMON MULTIPLIER
https://sermonmultiplier.com/

DYM Membership: https://www.dymmembership.com/

HYBRID HERO SOCIAL PACK
https://www.patreon.com/posts/winter-seasonal-144943791?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Hybrid Heroes get this pack for $4/mo
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.patreon.com/posts/9-amazing-dym-142425755

//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 The 4 Part Grading Scale
00:41 Pack 1 - Life.Church
02:14 Pack 2 - Pack 2 - DYM Monthly Member Pack
05:23 Pack 3 - Youth Ministry Drop
07:03 Pack 4 - Sunday Social
08:59 Pack 5 - Brady Shearer & Nucleus
12:22 Pack 6 - Sermon Multiplier
14:44 Pack 7 - Seasonal Social Media

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:05 - 00:00:26:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I tried every youth ministry social media pack that exists or or at least that I could find through a quick Google search. And this is what I found out. Now, here's the thing. I'm going to be evaluating based on these personalization reels and shorts and cost. And we're going to see who goes and takes the cake. So I have seven different social media packs.

00:00:26:28 - 00:00:49:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I want you to stick around to the end because I do believe I have uncovered and I've found the best social media pack for youth ministries in the world. Let's go. Okay, so this first one here that I found again, just remember a quick, simple Google search. I found a life church, which is, their open platform.

00:00:49:07 - 00:01:12:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It is free, which is amazing. But one of the things I noticed when I actually clicked in on it was that it just very simply was a, a standard quick graphic pack. So this isn't even really a social media pack as much as it is some social media images to post to your social media. So is it's a ten like it's free and you can grab it.

00:01:12:20 - 00:01:34:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if you want to edit it, like if you want to put your actual student ministry like students and pictures on there, like it's maybe like a one because it's just JPEGs. Like there's not even a Photoshop file or a Canva graphic that you can swap out their pictures with your own pictures. So, let's if you want to just post what they have, we'll give it a ten.

00:01:34:13 - 00:01:52:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But like, let's just put it out of five and then, the personalization touch because you can't edit it. It's, it's a one like you can't it's not your youth ministry at all. Unless maybe you put your like youth ministry logo just in the corner somewhere. So we're just going to stick that one. Reels and shorts. It's a zero.

00:01:52:08 - 00:02:16:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's there's no reels and shorts. Here is, it's, graphic. It's, picture. And then finally cost, we're going to give it a ten on cost, which means it's cheap. So, high on the cost meter, which means that it was free. So the total score for Life Church is 15 out of 40. The next one is the dim monthly pack.

00:02:16:15 - 00:02:37:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so kind of the story of how I found this is I've been a dim member now for probably going on ten years. And dim, like, I actually just yesterday was on a video called Four Different People, who all essentially said something along the lines of the DIY membership is the best thing that you the best youth ministry, value that exists on the internet.

00:02:37:15 - 00:03:02:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you know what? There. Right? Gold. Gold plus and platinum. They are all incredible deals. I myself am a platinum member and a part of the do I am monthly pack is, a social media pack that they give out every single month. And so from an EAS standpoint, I'm going to give it like an eight. It gives you, a post for every single day of, of the month and it gives you a monthly posting calendar.

00:03:02:16 - 00:03:21:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you just follow their posting calendar, it's easy to go. Now you do have to schedule it yourself or post it yourself. So that's why it's not a ten on ease, because you do have to have at least a little bit of infrastructure and tools to be able to post it. Personalization. I'm going to give it a three and here's why.

00:03:21:21 - 00:03:42:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Any of the just like kind of like standard graphics, like they there's not really personalized. However, they do include some story graphics where you can post like stickers with, polls or questions or comments or multiple choice. And so therefore you are at least able to do a little bit of interaction and engagement. So there is a personalization.

00:03:43:02 - 00:04:09:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It did go to zero though on reels and shorts because it's it's not a reels and shorts base package. It is a graphics based package. And this this is really important. And out of the four this might be one of the most important ones from a social media standpoint, not from a youth pastor standpoint. Maybe ease or maybe cost is the most important, but reels and shorts videos, that is really, really important on social media in 2026 and then also cost.

00:04:09:05 - 00:04:32:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to give it like a six. And and it's a complicated one because you can't actually get this pack standalone. You have to be a member. So the membership is expensive and I wouldn't get the membership. If you're only goal is to get this social media like, but I would get the membership because there's a million other amazing opportunities and a million other amazing resources found in there.

00:04:32:06 - 00:04:56:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So it's behind the gold, gold plus or platinum paywall. So to be completely fair, that is, like I said, the best deal in the history of youth ministry. It's 24, 70 for a month. If you pay on the annualized version of gold or it's 2999 if you pay monthly, platinum is 8325 a month, or $1,000 a year, and again thousand dollars a year for this social media pack.

00:04:56:08 - 00:05:17:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Not the best deal in youth ministry, but when you throw in national day events, youth ministry training, free ticket to doing 100 roundtables, a whole year of co-leader and their annual curriculum like bro. Yes, games, store credit, mystery items, parent resources. Now we're talking. It really is the best year in the history of youth ministry. So total score for the youth ministry doing, monthly social pack.

00:05:17:26 - 00:05:37:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to give it like a 17 out of 40, the youth ministry job. This is a new one. And shout out to the youth ministry drop. You're CEO is cooking. Your email like I'm getting emails from you. Like, that is amazing. Here's what I noticed, though. This is, this this is behind a paywall.

00:05:37:00 - 00:05:54:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right. So, I'm going to give it the cost. I'm going to give it an eight. It's $15 a month. You get more than just a social media pack. The ease I'm going to give it an eight as well. It's got ready to go graphics and videos. The personalization, is like a two.

00:05:54:15 - 00:06:11:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can probably add some, like, stickers and stuff like that, just like the DUI impact to, like, stories. But I am this is the first one now that I am going to give a five. So more than zero on reels and shorts, because if you look in the description here, it offers not just graphics but also videos.

00:06:11:07 - 00:06:30:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this is the first pack that does include some videos so far that we've looked at. And so $15 a month is a great deal. Also you get more, like I said in this than just the social media pack. And so I didn't pay for it because I don't have any money for these videos. And so you can subscribe to this video for me.

00:06:30:25 - 00:06:51:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that will actually help a lot or give it a like, or, show some love down in the comments. Or better yet, head on over to my Patreon where I give a, weekly bonus podcast episode recapping my night in youth ministry. So I can't be like Ryan Trahan and pay for all the bits in my video, but hopefully soon I can.

00:06:51:16 - 00:07:10:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, go ahead, do those things. Subscribe, head over to Patreon. That'd be amazing. Total score for this. I'm going to give it a 23 out of 40. Moving on to the fourth one, we have the Sunday Social. Now here's how I found it. Because when I Google Search Sunday Social didn't come up. This is a church wide platform.

00:07:10:00 - 00:07:27:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's not just built for student ministry. The last ones were all just kind of built for student ministry. But this one, this one is a little bit different. This is made kind of for the rest of the church. And so therefore, I knew about it and I went and I found it, it didn't find me on my search.

00:07:27:05 - 00:07:43:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But here's what I notice. Like ease. I'm going to give it a nine. It looks like it has more powerful tools than the other ones that we've used so far. The other ones, like here is a graphic. And then this has like a scheduler and like an editable, template and like it's all kind of like web based.

00:07:43:25 - 00:08:01:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so this looks like it's got like some real, some real meat, some real, effort behind some of these tools. The personalization I'm going to give it like a three. If you look here like there are three different kind of tiers. So there's just the standard pack. Then there's the editable, add on. And so that's going to be a little bit more expensive.

00:08:01:25 - 00:08:18:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So it exists but it's not in at the base package. And then same thing with the reels and shorts. I'm going to go ahead and give it a five. It does have an option there to add in the reels and shorts add on. But again now with the personalization plus the reels and shorts. Now, we've added on quite a bit.

00:08:18:24 - 00:08:42:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That ends up getting it to be I'm going to give it a six on cost because it's about $50 a month. And so if you are a church, church wide, social media manager, $50 a month might be within your wheelhouse in a youth ministry context where it's just social media and it's just these graphics and still the personalization doesn't necessarily mean your face, your voice, your people and your pictures.

00:08:42:11 - 00:09:00:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It only if you're able to do that in an editable software like Canva or Photoshop. But it's not your actual like, pastor, you know, coming on and doing devotionals and stuff like that. So we're going to go ahead and give this a 23 out of 40. The next one I noticed were some videos here, which, oh, hey, look at that one.

00:09:00:29 - 00:09:25:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I know that guy. But Brady Shear and, Alexander Mills on their Pro Church Tools podcast and also nucleus, which is their, their brand for like websites and media. They have, social media and, options. And then we're going to get into that in just a minute. But I found Brady back in 2016, back when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the, Warriors in the NBA finals.

00:09:25:08 - 00:09:47:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I just remember that year because my son was born, and apparently when I found Brady. But what I notice is that Brady is he's goaded on this stuff like he is the man, and I trust everything he says. And to be completely fair, I really started this podcast because I believe so much in what Brady said, and I wanted to make that clear and available for youth ministries, who he talks about youth ministries.

00:09:47:10 - 00:10:06:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, this video right here that I discovered, is a video that he talks about how to do social media for youth ministry, but he does it like once a year, and I talk about it every single week. And so the I've listened to this podcast before and there's a bunch of different chapters, and he had a few, a couple philosophies behind what to do.

00:10:06:02 - 00:10:27:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So the first thing is he wants it to be student driven, which, by the way, I actually have an entire checklist and episode link down below about how you can have a student driven and student run social media where you don't actually have to lift much of a finger. And the second is, show, don't tell. Right. So, like, get on there and actually show them what it's like to be in your youth ministry.

00:10:27:18 - 00:11:00:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Don't just tell them what it's like to be a part of your youth ministry. And then these were all ideas that he had. So, make up a kid, which, by the way, he gave this idea and I went ahead and stole it. And so you can see the video of we when we mocked up a kid in our youth ministry, talked about, using disposable cameras and kind of that vintage look, creating broadcast channels for communication and just community and conversation, doing like a live performance, using like, the live feature, natively woven into some of these social media platforms and then finally Bible trivia, which sneak peek my winter season social

00:11:00:00 - 00:11:24:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
media pack has a Bible Trivia one, but then you got to know that he has. Like I said, he has a a platform, called Nucleus Social. So this is what I'm going to be though. That was just his video. Like here's some ideas how to run it. But his actual social media pack, once again similar to Sunday Social made for big church, like social media is not just youth ministry, social medias ease.

00:11:24:15 - 00:11:41:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to give it a nine. It has some more powerful tools and some of the other ones that we've looked at. Personalization. I'm going to go ahead and give it a five. There's some edited, edited ability. And some of these is especially if you know how to use things like, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Reels and Shorts.

00:11:41:11 - 00:12:01:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to give this a seven. This is the highest, this is a higher score than the Sunday social one because it's baked into the cost, not just an add on. However, you'll notice that it's about the same cost as Sunday socials. So this is Brady's like, base package. It's just it is 49. Where Sunday social. It's like it jumps up on you as you add it on.

00:12:01:08 - 00:12:20:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we're gonna go ahead and give the cost factor about a six which brings his out to 2740 which is this is probably and this one is Sunday social are probably the most beautiful like of all the packs. Like they just have professional designers on their team and they just do an amazing, amazing job with their stuff.

00:12:20:29 - 00:12:49:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This one's a new one that I just came across. I got an email from Download Youth Ministry as a part of my platinum membership that a service called The Seer. The sermon multiplier, is giving platinum members a free trial for three months, some different credits to use their platform. And so this is got a lot of some social media, components woven into it, but it's also got some other, things like AI devotionals that it can, it can create and develop for us.

00:12:49:08 - 00:13:10:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so this is the most personalized option so far. What you do is you upload a video of yourself teaching, and then it creates and spits out for you devotionals, graphics and real. So is I'm going to give it a six on these like the actual platforms. Easy. You click upload, it uploads. But here's why I didn't make it a ten.

00:13:10:22 - 00:13:30:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
On ease is because you must have a video of yourself, and not every youth pastor has a video of themselves teaching. And so I happen to that's part of our strategy. We we post all of our long form videos, to YouTube. So I had one that I could use as a test that was clean and didn't have any lower thirds that were going to get chopped off on the sides if I uploaded it.

00:13:30:22 - 00:13:45:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I also it needed to be under five megabytes, which one of my videos is like 5.8. And so that was kind of a bummer because I was like, well, I have to compress this in order to get it. And like, that's a whole nother like step. And there was no option to to do that. Woven into the dashboard, there.

00:13:45:25 - 00:14:11:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The personalization factor, I'm giving this one a ten. Like my face, my voice, my sermon clipped into social media, my quotes, that it spits out for you. Like you can't get more personalized in that reusing shorts. They do it. They give you four custom ones based off and clipped up from that video and then finally cost, I'm going to give it a seven because, if you're a platinum member, it's like a one.

00:14:11:00 - 00:14:38:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if it's just a little random added perk to it, like you weren't getting the platinum membership for this. Fantastic. But if not, it's it is a little bit expensive because it's sitting there behind the platinum membership. Now, you realize this is another feature from Download Youth Ministry. So you can pair this with the graphics pack. And now now we might be talking melding kind of these two scores together because it's a couple of different angles of social media.

00:14:38:01 - 00:15:00:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So just something to consider there. That ends up being 33 out of 40. And then the final one is the winter seasonal social media pack. Here's how I found it I actually made this one. But I do need a better SEO engineer. It. Listen, it's me. I'm the SEO engineer, which means it's not that good, but I actually got this text yesterday from a friend who said that I showed up in a ChatGPT search, so maybe something I'm doing is working.

00:15:01:04 - 00:15:20:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But here's what I noticed. Mine did pretty well versus some of these professionals. Reminder I'm not a professional. I'm a professional and paid youth pastor. But that's it. Like this whole social media thing, this is a side gig. This is my guest bedroom, before a dentist appointment that I have on a Friday on my day off. So, like, that's, you know, this is the back of my phone I'm talking into.

00:15:20:25 - 00:15:40:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But here's the thing. Here's my score. I'm going to give it a nine for ease. And I'm not just saying that because it's mine. Like I give you everything. I give you the videos and you take them and you post them, okay? However, I'm going to give it a nine because you still have to get your camera out and film yourself at some points, because I care about the personalization side of it.

00:15:40:09 - 00:15:58:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I can't just give you the graphics. If I were doing just a graphics pack, I would make it as easy as all the other ones, but I I'm asking you and your your voice as a youth pastor or your students or your volunteers to become some of the faces and some of the personalities on your social media. But that's what makes it a ten, personalization.

00:15:58:19 - 00:16:19:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like you look at my pack across my grid and my feed here, like it's not just a bunch of, like, unfazed and unnamed graphics like it is my self, my people, our student ministry. The reels and shorts. It's a ten. It is based on reels and shorts. There are more reels and static graphics. There's only one post type that is a graphic or a carousel post type.

00:16:19:17 - 00:16:50:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The rest are all based on short form vertical video, TikTok reels, YouTube shorts, and then finally the cost. I'm going to say a nine, bro. It's only $4 per month. Like we had $15. We had completely free. But all it was is like one like set of graphics, but with $4 per month, for three months of social media or you get this pack, if you don't want to become a hybrid hero member at $4 per month, this pack standalone is 1799 and $18 for three months once again.

00:16:50:17 - 00:17:11:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So my total score is 38 out of 40. And so this is how I rank the social media packs for student ministries. These are the four things that matter to me. And the ease and personalization reels and shorts and cost. And these are the four things that I tried to lean in on my pack and so if you found this video helpful, a like a subscribe, a comment, a share would be amazing.

00:17:11:24 - 00:17:25:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you think that the Winter season social media pack would help be a game changer for you and your social media and your church's student ministry, encourage you to go check it out and grab it right now. But until next time my friends. And as always, don't forget stay hybrid.

Episode 181: How I Ran Social Media While at a Conference - - DYM 100 Challenge Pt 3

Nick Clason — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0600

A Christmas miracle for youth pastors everywhere!
A few months ago I went to the DYM 100 Roundtables, and without lifting a finger, or distracting my entire experience, this is how I regularly posted on my church's social media, while in attendance for the conference!

BECOME A HYBRID HERO
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

❄️ WINTER SOCIAL MEDIA PACK
https://www.patreon.com/posts/winter-seasonal-144943791?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/181

FREE E-BOOK
https://www.patreon.com/posts/complete-guide-142500019

HYBRID HERO LINK
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

WINTER PACK VLOG
https://youtu.be/RkHc0cTTr6c?si=zBPsd9-JWVo2mXIn

2x GROWTH EPISODE
https://youtu.be/ogDlkTHDxew?si=gfcM6cpX6McI0zxs

EXCLUSIVE JOSH BOLDMAN INTERVIEW
https://www.patreon.com/posts/exclusive-josh-144080714?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

SOCIAL TEAM CHECKLIST
https://www.patreon.com/posts/social-media-138081327?source=storefront

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.patreon.com/posts/9-amazing-dym-142425755

//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 DYM 100 & Social Media
00:17 Every Youth Ministry Needs a Strong Digital Presence
01:00 Your 2026 Social Media Framework
02:40 Two Things I've recently learned
04:38 Why Membership is Worth it
05:47 The Winter Pack
06:36 The Patreon Challenge

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:05 - 00:00:23:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Our social media did this while I was sitting at the do I am 100 conference. I barely had to work and I want to show you how, which is an incredible gift to give you on this Christmas morning. Merry Christmas everyone, and welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. Merry Christmas Eve. Pastors. My name is Nicholas. And if you and I have not had a chance to meet,

00:00:23:17 - 00:00:45:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or if you're not listening to this on the day it drops, which is Christmas, I drop every single Thursday. I haven't missed a Thursday in over three years. And it just so happens to be Christmas morning when this one drops, I want to give you one of the best gifts that I think I can give youth pastors. Most youth pastors know and see and understand the need for a strong social media and digital presence.

00:00:45:18 - 00:01:08:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If not, you should check out my completely free e-book, which is link down below and that will hopefully convince you about why you need a strong social media presence. But the gift that I can give you pastors. And then I want to give you pastors, is a plan and a framework for consistency. I was over at the DUI 100 conference and social media basically ran itself.

00:01:08:25 - 00:01:28:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, full disclosure I still grab my phone, I still download it out of our Google Drive, and I still uploaded it to TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. However, those things were sitting there for me, ready to post. I didn't need anything new. I didn't need to do any extra work. When I was out there. They got the job done for me.

00:01:28:26 - 00:01:56:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the baseline and the basis for all of that is my winter seasonal social media pack, which I want you to have now. I'll be honest, it does come with a little bit of a cost because frankly, it's a lot of work to put together. But here's how I've set the pricing structure. The pack costs $17.99, but if you become a $4 per month hybrid Hero Patreon member, you get that pack included.

00:01:56:13 - 00:02:22:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if the pack is meant to last a run of three months, $4 per month for you for three months is $12, and you get a $5 off on that pack as well. As we are trying to hit a goal this month only where we make by next week's episode. As this drops that we make 25 new members in the Hybrid Heroes Patreon tier, and if we hit that to everyone involved in the community.

00:02:22:26 - 00:02:44:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you help, or if you know someone and you share a link we will offer, I will offer a free coaching call on social media to everyone who is a part of my Hybrid Heroes paid tier member. I will help map out your strategy for you. But here's the truth I've been leading a youth ministry leader cohort.

00:02:44:14 - 00:03:05:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hybrid heroes. Deep dive kind of on why hybrid ministry, why it's important, how to keep it going. And what I realize is that this is all about behavior modification. It's not about tips and tactics. Like, you guys know what you need to know, right? And there may be some areas and some tools that I can tell you about that will help you.

00:03:05:05 - 00:03:26:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But at the end of the day, it comes down to time management and prioritization. And those are boring. Those aren't as sexy as viral reels and viral memes. I mean, the fact is, like one of the girls in our hybrid hero deep dive cohort, she had a real that had 21.2 thousand views not too long ago. Like she clearly knows what she's doing.

00:03:26:29 - 00:03:56:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
She doesn't need me. What we all realize we need is that when life gets busy, when the calendar gets overwhelming, social media is the first thing to drop. And so my pack will help you not drop it. If you have something that is done for you or mapped out for you. And as I displayed in my Winter Seasonal Social Media Pack Vlog Style Challenge eight post challenge video that is linked right here.

00:03:56:15 - 00:04:17:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Top screen. You can get it done in less than 20 minutes per week if you post all eight types. And I'm only asking you to post 3 to 5 times. So actually you can get it done in anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes per week done for you. It's also custom. It's got everything that you need and it's got a calendar that will last you December, January and February.

00:04:17:20 - 00:04:43:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then if you're a $4 a month member in March, that when that, spring pack will drop and boom, you got three more months of seasonal social media and you're just following my hybrid strategy, which also link down. Below is my episode on how following this strategy helped us to x our growth. In addition to that, you'll get all of the freebies and all the things over on my Patreon and my Patreon store.

00:04:43:09 - 00:05:06:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
My exclusive interview where I sat down with Jim, and Collider's Josh Bullman talking about the value of allowing students to disagree. That dropped a couple of weeks ago. So, you know you're going to get access to that, as well as, checklists and parent, communication guides and all sorts of things. Like I went in to doing 100, hoping to just vlog it out and map it out.

00:05:06:03 - 00:05:35:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what I realized was I got sucked into the vortex and we all get sucked into where things get busy. And I saw old friends and I didn't have time to create content. But my pack back home from my youth ministry, my pack helped carry through the types of posts and gave me something to continue to post while I was able to soak in all of the info and all of the goodies from the do I am 100 conference, and I also got this shirt out of it.

00:05:35:24 - 00:06:03:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Actually, this one didn't come from the conference. This one came from Gold Member week. Hey, speaking of that, vlog style video, check this out. Here's what I learned. During that week. Imagine it's six minutes per week. Have your entire social media strategy done for you. I mean, think about it like three months of youth ministry content for just $0.23 a then some weeks it takes me seven, other weeks it takes me five.

00:06:04:03 - 00:06:25:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the point is, and especially at the end of this, as I was sitting in my youth ministry leader cohort, everyone said time management and scheduling was the issue with staying consistent on social. So my recommendation would be take my pack, let it be the the basics of what you do. And if you do get busy, if something else comes up, you have something to fall back on.

00:06:26:01 - 00:06:45:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then when you do have the creative energy to create something more custom and more elaborate, scrap one of mine and put one of your own in there. But mine will at least keep you moving in. So if you want to let your weeks be like that, where when it gets busy, you still have something that's running on autopilot for you.

00:06:45:07 - 00:07:07:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
For social media, my winter seasonal social media pack is the key to that, and it's a great gift for you on Christmas morning. And if you consider joining, you can help get us to the finish line. Progress bar is here on screen so that you can see how many paid Hybrid Hero members we've gotten over this last month as we push towards January to that 25 goal.

00:07:07:23 - 00:07:23:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So that you can unlock that free coaching opportunity. But hey my friends, hope you've had a great episode. I thank you for being here with us. And until next time. And as always, don't forget stay hybrid. Merry Christmas and we'll see you in 2026.

Episode 180: Josh Boldman Taught Me THIS About Small Groups… - DYM 100 Challenge Pt 2

Nick Clason — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0600

I didn't think this breakout session would have such an influence on me, but it surprisingly did!
And I even got an exclusive interview with the workshop teacher to deep-dive into it!

Plus, free coaching is still on the line for those who join Patreon before the month ends!

BECOME A HYBRID HERO
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

❄️ WINTER SOCIAL MEDIA PACK
https://www.patreon.com/posts/winter-seasonal-144943791?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/180

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

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
https://www.patreon.com/posts/exclusive-josh-144080714?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.patreon.com/posts/9-amazing-dym-142425755

//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 DYM100 Thing 1
00:28 DYM100 is the Best!
01:42 Programming Shift
05:46 The Key to Social Media in 2026
06:35 December Patreon Challenge

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:40:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Regardless of where each individual question takes them. It's this bigger picture of having students being able to ask questions is actually really, really, really healthy. That line alone, plus this llama t shirt was worth the cost of the entire trip. Welcome, everybody to the Hybrid Ministry show. What's up everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the Hybrid Ministry shown in this episode, I'm detailing and outlining the three takeaways that I had from the do I am 100 conference in the last episode linked right here, we talked about programing and adding sounds and sound effects and just making our introduction a little bit more lively.

00:00:40:10 - 00:01:07:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what I saw and learned and took away from the D and 100 conference. And in this one, I'm gonna talk about a surprise breakout session that I did not expect. Now, here's the thing. Full disclosure, right? Like when I choose breakouts at a conference, more often than not, I'm choosing it based on the person. And so me and my friend Josh Bowman, like, I saw he was on the thing on the docket to lead a breakout.

00:01:07:14 - 00:01:30:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I just thought to myself, I just like this guy. I know what he's going to do is going to be good. I'm going to go support him. I would not say that the topic listed on the breakout was what interested me. What interested me was the author of the breakout, not the actual content of the breakout. Now, to be clear, I didn't disagree with the content of the breakout.

00:01:30:13 - 00:02:00:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It was essentially like how to make space for students to be able to disagree in your youth ministry. And I was like, okay, great. Like I love that. Like I'm here for that. And I think that that's a great topic. But his breakout was absolutely game changing. And like, I was shocked at not only how much I did agree, but some of the stuff he did that made me really think and wrestle with, oh man, like I'm not doing some of these things.

00:02:00:02 - 00:02:22:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I came back from the conference and I was debriefing, and I was downloading, and I thought to myself, like, that might be my biggest takeaway from the entire conference is how to do a better job of creating space for students to disagree. And now, as this episode drops middle of December, most of us have wrapped up our our fall semester of programing.

00:02:22:23 - 00:02:48:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We got Christmas services on the horizon and, then maybe a week off after Christmas and then we're back for the New year. And this is the perfect time to break something and to add something in. And so I actually got the chance to sit down and have an exclusive conversation with Josh, who, gave the premise for his breakout of why students need to be able to have the space to disagree.

00:02:48:14 - 00:03:07:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then I ask some of the how questions, like, how do you go about instituting this change? How do you handle senior pastors? How do you handle leaders? Go ahead, take a listen in this clip. At first they were really skeptical. And we we, you know, we started like, preparing them like weeks out that this was this was coming.

00:03:07:26 - 00:03:35:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And always, you know, the small group leader is the one that has the questions. So like, really worst case scenario, they can skip it. It was kind of like, you know, like, so that's always like, how did it go? It was great. How did I because we didn't we didn't but we would always like we we started I mean, even in like some, some leader meetings or stuff, doing some kind of, some role playing type stuff where it was like, okay, hey, last week, you know, you all, we're here for last week's teaching.

00:03:35:02 - 00:04:13:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let's imagine this was the question and somebody throw me, you throw out a couple things that maybe you think a student might have said. And it was really funny because, at first, even they were like, skittish with because they were in that moment, they were like, you want you want me to point out something you think a student would disagree with that you said, so we're going to try and figure out how to institute this better in our space to help give leaders, the comfort and the confidence to lean in and start asking some of these questions about what students might disagree with and hopefully stop trying to give students the quote, right

00:04:13:21 - 00:04:44:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
answer and start giving students the space to genuinely question and think and maybe even in some cases, disagree. You know, a couple weeks before I went to the do I am 100 conference, my church hosted a thing called the Cross Creek Collective, and I was actually on stage for it. And during that week, while I was in the middle of the busiest week of probably my year on staff, I decided I wanted to put my seasonal social media pack to the test.

00:04:44:28 - 00:05:17:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And at the end of the week, this is what I discovered. Imagine it's six minutes per week. Have your entire social media strategy done for you. I mean, think about it like three months of youth ministry content for just $0.23 a minute. Some weeks it takes me seven, other weeks it takes me five. But the point is, and especially at the end of this, as I was sitting in my youth ministry leader cohort, everyone said time management and scheduling was the issue with staying consistent on social.

00:05:17:18 - 00:05:34:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So my recommendation would be take my pack, let it be the the basics of what you do. And if you do get busy, if something else comes up, you have something to fall back on. And then when you do have the creative energy to create something more custom and more elaborate, scrap one of mine and put one of your own in there.

00:05:34:21 - 00:05:59:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But mine will at least keep you moving in the right direction. So the entire conversation with Josh Pullman is now over on my Patreon, as well as my winter seasonal social media pack. You can jump in for a week free trial to listen to the Boardman episode and to maybe, explore what the winter seasonal social media pack, how it could serve you in your ministry.

00:05:59:11 - 00:06:38:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But here's the fact you can't ignore social media any longer, and you need something that you can rely on when you get busy. And that's exactly what my pack is going to do. And we are moving towards trying to add 25 new free hybrid Hero members progress bars right here on the screen as of the editing date. And if we hit 25 members by the end of December, the beginning of January, then every single person who has a $4 per month Hybrid Hero member, they're going to get an exclusive free coaching call from me, included as a part of their $4 per month.

00:06:38:16 - 00:07:02:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It is such a great deal. $4 per month gets you a bonus episode, gets you all the freebies on my store, gives you all the paid things on my store, and now gets you a free coaching call $4 a month. That's all it is. It's less genuinely than a cup of coffee. And next week this episode is going to drop on Christmas Day.

00:07:02:02 - 00:07:13:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you're listening live, you'll see it in your feed on Christmas Day. If not, it's going to be linked right here on screen so you can watch that one. But until next time, and as always my friends, don't forget stay hybrid.

Episode 179: FREE Christmas Party Surprise! - DYM 100 Challenge Pt 1

Nick Clason — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0600

SHOCKING!
In this episode I explore an area of adjustment I did NOT anticipate!

In this series, "The DYM100 Roundtables Summary" Series I explore the 3 areas that challenged me from the DYM100 Roundtables!

Plus, welcome to the December Patreon Challenge!
Become a Hybrid Hero ($4/month), help us get to 25 new members, and get a FREE Coaching call in 2026!

🦸 BECOME A HYBRID HERO
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

❄️ WINTER SOCIAL MEDIA PACK
https://www.patreon.com/posts/winter-seasonal-144943791?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/179

FREE CHRISTMAS PARTY!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/free-christmas-143594518?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

FREE SOUNDBOARD
https://crowdcontrolgames.com/products/gameshow-soundboard?_pos=1&_psq=sound&_ss=e&_v=1.0

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.patreon.com/posts/9-amazing-dym-142425755

//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 DYM100 Thing 1
00:28 DYM100 is the Best!
01:42 Programming Shift
05:46 The Key to Social Media in 2026
06:35 December Patreon Challenge

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:26:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I went to the DYM 100 round tables with this goal to find three things to work on and fix in my youth ministry. And today I am sharing with you the first one. Spoiler alert is not the one that I expected. Plus, stick around to the end of the episode because I am giving away a free Christmas party run sheet, complete with the resources and everything you need so you can grab that down bel

00:00:26:29 - 00:00:33:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Link in the description, which will go into detail and explain at the end of this episode. Welcome everybody to the Hybrid Ministry show.

00:00:33:19 - 00:00:44:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I went to the do I am 100 conference where I got this notebook and of course this llama t shirt, which, you know what? When else are you going to need to get a llama t shirt?

00:00:44:10 - 00:01:16:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're wearing it after the Darwin 100 conference, with the goal of coming away with three takeaways, and I was going to vlog it and take videos and explain my process. But man, if you've ever been to one of these events like you know that like you just get sucked into the vortex of friendship and community and conversations. And so I only took like 20 videos and like half of them are like receipt uploads or like videos of the van rental to make sure that they weren't going to scam me afterwards.

00:01:16:26 - 00:01:40:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But in these next three episodes, I'm going to talk about not only things that you can use and learn and take away for, like your December Christmas parties, but also things that I and our youth ministry team are going to be thinking about on into the future of 2026 and how we do youth ministry. I also have some freebies and some stuff, going along and that I'm going to be giving away.

00:01:40:18 - 00:02:02:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So pay attention to the link down in the description for all of these next couple episodes. But in this episode we're going to be looking at, and the thing that I took away was programing. Okay. And like in the room, if you've ever been to a do I am 100 event, it is hosted by Doug Fields and Josh Griffin, who are both the masters at programing.

00:02:02:09 - 00:02:21:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like to the point that like I think we had we had one session with worship and it was like a special kind of like unplug, more like chapel and like spiritually charged, focused, kind of like session, but otherwise every other kind of like element within the room was done without any sort of worship or without any sort of band.

00:02:21:16 - 00:02:46:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But you never felt like something was missing. Like it was an amazingly programed event. And like, I have taken pride in my own programing to the point that I have my own Patreon show every single week detailing our youth ministry programing, detailing the creativity that we're trying to do. And in a lot of ways, my 9 to 10 different damn conferences that I've been to over the years have helped shape this.

00:02:46:06 - 00:03:05:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, I've taken a lot of my programing strategy and like things that matter to me from my experience at and under a do, I am conference. But in this event, I brought the rest of my team and one of my guys, his name is Ben. Ben is in charge of programing at our church and he took things that I have.

00:03:05:06 - 00:03:38:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Seen and noticed at conferences before in the past. But he's like, we need to implement that to the point he's like, we're going to make that happen. And those things were like the sound effects included and the music that were both happening simultaneous while any event was happening. Well, announcements. Well, funny bits. While different games like all these things all happening, all with different sound effects or different, music tracks being done in the background, like the sound effects, the booth and the, the stage, the, the, the energy that was happening between the two.

00:03:38:25 - 00:03:55:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
He was like, we need to find a way to do that. And that's that's the takeaway that surprised me because I've seen this before and I thought, there's no way our booth can pull it off or it's going to be too distracting. Or maybe we're trying too hard, but Ben, Ben's like, no, we can do this and we're going to pull this off.

00:03:55:19 - 00:04:13:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you didn't know, I found a link down below, from Crowd Control Games. They have a free, like, audio interface. So all you got to do is load in sound effects or sound bites. You can get them off of, like, YouTube or like a website, like Motion Array, and you can upload those different sound effects.

00:04:13:13 - 00:04:31:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we're going to try those things. And if you head down below, link down below is a completely free Christmas guide. It's actually from an episode linked right here, the top screen, with my friend Eric with the K, who also fun fact was a roommate and a table member at my table that I was leading the, church foyer.

00:04:31:22 - 00:04:51:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Carpet stains. But we did this episode years ago, and, I, I'm putting a little bit of a 2025 spin and refresh on it. And so there's a brand new, completely new game. That should be on the game either now or in the near future. But that's completely for free for you. Those of you that are either free or paid members over on my Patreon.

00:04:51:25 - 00:05:17:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you can, become a free paid member and get that complete Christmas run sheet. If you haven't already had your Christmas party yet, but you can now include. And I'm going to challenge myself in our ministry to include more sound effects and really like part of what made the conference so engaging and so entertaining was the synchronicity between the upfront people, Griffin and Doug Fields, and the booth.

00:05:17:21 - 00:05:38:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. And so shout out to to them. And so my friend, my coworker Ben was back there and he was asking all the questions and stuff like that. And then sitting in the the Airbnb with my friend Eric later, he's like, look, you can use this thing from crowd control games, with sound effects. And so we're going to download these and we're going to start using them.

00:05:38:08 - 00:06:05:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I think it can just bring about another layer of liveliness and fun and creativity, which is already something that we're trying to do over on our Patreon. So that free Christmas party is linked down below in the show. Imagine it's six minutes per week. Have your entire social media strategy done for you. I mean, think about it like three months of youth ministry content for just $0.23 a minute.

00:06:05:26 - 00:06:26:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Some weeks it takes me seven, other weeks it takes me five. But the point is, and especially at the end of this, as I was sitting in my youth ministry leader cohort, everyone said time management and scheduling was the issue with staying consistent on social. So my recommendation would be take my pack, let it be the the basics of what you do.

00:06:26:14 - 00:06:44:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you do get busy, if something else comes up, you have something to fall back on. And then when you do have the creative energy to create something more custom and more elaborate, scrap one of mine and put one of your own in there. But mine will at least keep you moving in. And hey, we're trying to welcome 25

00:06:44:12 - 00:06:49:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
new paid hybrid heroes before January begins.

00:06:49:15 - 00:07:15:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if we hit that goal, if you help me accomplish that goal. So right now we are, like a handful of of those away, where you want to get 25 by the time January starts. If we hit that, I will offer free 30 minute social media audit and coaching session for every single person who has jumped in at the $4 per month membership tier.

00:07:15:11 - 00:07:41:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Listen, if you put that on your church's like professional or continuing development expense account, it's $48 for the year. It will help you with creativity and programing and all the freebies that I offer through my Patreon at any given time. Or if you don't have the church budget for it, it is, less than the cost of a Starbucks latte only one time a month if it comes out of your own personal budget.

00:07:41:10 - 00:08:11:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Either way is incredibly accessible. And the good news is my seasonal social media pack, which is available for everybody at the cost of $17.99, is available for those of you who are $4 a month, Hybrid Hero members is available to you included in the cost. And if we hit this 25, member benchmark, by the time January hits, I will extend a free coaching call to every single person who is in the Hybrid Heroes coaching level tier.

00:08:11:17 - 00:08:28:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so hopefully that is something that is, helpful to you. And so we're going to try and infuse some of our programing now with some of these things I learned from from the denim conference, just observing the programing and some of the games that they put together and some of the chaos and some of the fun.

00:08:28:25 - 00:08:52:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But all of it was was changed with the audio and the sound effects and the playlists and the music choices. It was it was amazing. It was crazy. It was fun. And I want to try your hand at it and, hand the keys over to some of our students in the booth doing that. But in the next episode, I'm actually going to talk about a small group shift that I learned that, I'm passionate about.

00:08:52:03 - 00:09:12:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the way that Josh Bulman in a workshop presented it absolutely changed the game. And I am sitting down with him for an exclusive interview that you are not going to want to miss. That episode is linked right here on screen. So my friends, go ahead and check that out. But until next time. And as always, don't forget stay hybrid.

Episode 178: I secretly tried the 8 post challenge while hosting a conference

Nick Clason — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0600

There's always something more urgent than social media!
Well, in this week's "vlog" style episode (check out youtube to see it!), I'm here to prove that you can post every piece of content out of my "Social Media Pack" in under 16 minutes!

Oh- And did I mention that our church is hosting a conference while this is going on?
Can it be done? Let's dive in and see, together!

❄️ WINTER SOCIAL MEDIA PACK
https://www.patreon.com/posts/winter-seasonal-144943791?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

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

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/178

Youth Ministry Leader Cohort (it's free!)
https://www.ymlcohort.com/

//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 What is the 8 post challenge?
01:48 Post #1 - The Coffee Challenge
03:49 Post #2 - The On the Way to Run Thru
04:50 Post #3 - The Bathroom Challenge
05:24 Post #4 - The Recruit on The Fly Challenge
06:27 Post #5 - The One Take, No Retakes Challenge
08:40 - Post #6 The Multiple Students Challenge
10:31 Post #7 The Before Getting out of my Car Challenge
11:50 Post #8 - The Secret Cohort Post Challenge
12:12 How I Did, overall
12:55 6 Minutes Per Week?

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;01 - 00;00;18;24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
People always say that social media takes too much time. So I kind of want to put that theory to the test. This week I'm testing my seasonal social media pack while here at work in live time. All eight posts one week. And oh, by the way, we're hosting a conference this week, so I'm as busy as I've ever been.

00;00;18;33 - 00;00;23;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Stopwatch starts now. Let's do this thing.

00;00;23;26 - 00;00;56;17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Good morning. It is before 7 a.m.. The week of November 3rd. As I mentioned in the hook, I have a we are hosting as a church a massive conference called the Cross Creek Collective, where I'm actually slotted to be on stage multiple times. So what I wanted to try to do was prove to myself and you, and issue a little bit of a challenge that I could post all pieces of my social media pack in less than 16 minutes worth of collective time over the course of a week.

00;00;56;17 - 00;01;14;59
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I'm going to go two posts per day, and that will give me a glimpse into every single piece of content in my social media pack. The Winter Seasonal Social Media Pack is currently available. Link down below in Patreon if you want to check it out, but I'm going to be posting week of November 3rd from the fall seasonal social media pack.

00;01;14;59 - 00;01;32;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There are two categories. There's the done for you category and those are so plug and play. I'm going to say those are only going to take me a minute to post each. And then there's the custom for you category. And I'm going to film a custom brand new piece of social media content across all three social channels. YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

00;01;32;22 - 00;01;51;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But three minutes for each of those 16 total minutes. And we're going to be tracking my progress all throughout the week. And every single one of these is going to also be paired with some sort of time challenge. So why don't we hop into Monday morning? I'm going to use one that requires a little bit more time of me this morning.

00;01;51;00 - 00;02;13;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we're going to go ahead and we're going to do the Bible Trivia one. Now full disclosure I have not taken a look at this Bible trivia since the day I wrote it. And this is the full social pack, which means at some point in the summer is when I made these trivia questions. So, I don't have them memorized.

00;02;13;10 - 00;02;32;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I want to simulate what it would be like if you also downloaded this pack and used it. So all right here that the water's done. So we're going to pour that in over there. And then I'm going to film on my camera right here. And I got the questions pulled up on my computer screen right in front of me.

00;02;32;06 - 00;02;37;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So just a second.

00;02;37;10 - 00;03;10;18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
One minute to shoot, one minute to edit, one minute to post to all three of the platforms that I use TikTok, Instagram, YouTube. So go. Use overlay. There we go. All right, so there's that. Now I'm going to caption it. Let's pick a style. Let's do this style. I'm going to add some quick music sound sound add sound.

00;03;10;23 - 00;03;45;47
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
How did you do. Select all copy post done. What we're going to do is we're going to allow this time and let's check on the status of our coffee. I still don't even have half a cup in here yet. So, I did beat the challenge. We got it before the coffee. I went 32 seconds long, but we're going to make up for that because we have eight posts, so we have to do all of this in 16 minutes.

00;03;45;52 - 00;03;48;52
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Coffee time.

00;03;48;57 - 00;04;11;19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right, so like I said, I'm heading across, conference. I have run through, at 1:00. It's like 1230. So I am heading across the creek and I'm just going to post this as I go. So copy paste, caption copy. And it's still uploading. Worst thing is I'm just out of range of Wi-Fi. Oh, there we go.

00;04;11;19 - 00;04;37;31
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I got it posted on YouTube, on Instagram, and then like as you can see, literally the longest thing that this has taken me to do is switch between accounts like this. Downloaded. This is from the Dunphy. So this one's only supposed to take a minute. The minute is just taking as it's loading and I always gotta make sure that the song is appropriate to Holy forever post.

00;04;37;34 - 00;04;55;28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What is this done? And about a minute and 30 over time. So I don't know if maybe I'll get this done in 16 total minutes, especially with men on the street and transition videos. But then we're going to try. We're gonna try and make it some time tomorrow. So yesterday was full planning day today Tuesday is day one of the conference.

00;04;55;28 - 00;05;17;16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we're gonna have other church leaders and planters here. I gotta shave some time. I'm going to make a cup of coffee. We're going to get our day started. But this challenge this time challenge is actually going to be the bathroom time challenge. So, I'm going to take this in with me. I'm going to post the time of how long it takes me, but for obvious reasons, the camera's going to stay right here.

00;05;17;21 - 00;05;23;12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
A few moments later.

00;05;23;17 - 00;05;46;15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I'm at the conference now. Backstage. You can see the right on here. My challenge now is I have not recruited anyone for this transition. Videos. Shoot, edit, post three minutes. I'm hoping to make up some time on it. It's, one of our students shows up for the conference. I can hopefully just recruit them in to do it, so we'll see.

00;05;46;20 - 00;05;50;55
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'll let you know.

00;05;51;00 - 00;06;07;39
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I like doing TikTok because it auto saves it. Got to make sure when we're putting it in here that we take the sound off. And that way we have sound in the full video for both. It doesn't like auto edit it a little effect so that there's like a little jump thing because that's what the video does.

00;06;07;39 - 00;06;38;16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So add some captions, let it auto transcribe it, upload boom. 228 we bought back 30s. That was huge. I'm hoping that we can get some quicker ones tomorrow as well. Tune in for Wednesday's post. Let's see. We yesterday are 228. Really helped us out. We're 72 seconds over right now. So this morning the challenge is to do a one take, no retakes.

00;06;38;16 - 00;06;57;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I have not looked at this yet. And I am going to be filming it right here, selfie style, just using my laptop as my screen. And then I'm going to pull my script up. And so if you download my social pack, I have this script, and you find one that works. So I'm going to do, when it gets cold.

00;06;57;06 - 00;07;17;51
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is from the fall pack. We got five of these in the winter pack as well that you can use one take no retakes. So minute to shoot, minute to edit, a minute to post. I'm hoping to gain some time in this three minute thing. It's 832. I like to get this done here. So that I can get back over to this morning's main session.

00;07;17;56 - 00;07;23;40
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Fall means colder days.

00;07;23;45 - 00;07;47;13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right, so my stopwatch is at 37 seconds, so I'm going to go to TikTok once again. TikTok auto saves. It means colder days. All right. I'm going to add this text on screen here. Pole I like pairing like a big font with like a handwritten like script D type font. Cat. And then the captions on TikTok are actually amazing because, you might have seen the ad.

00;07;47;18 - 00;08;10;33
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They'll give you this style option here. And you can add some like, emojis and stuff like that, which are pretty good. And then I'm just going to add some sound instrumental and then I gotta turn this sucker down or it'll be way too loud. All right. So I am right now I'm at 252, so sadly I'm not going to get under three minutes.

00;08;10;37 - 00;08;37;47
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I'm just now finally at the, posting phase. So 345 we're behind and, it's it's not looking good, people. It's not looking good. It's looking like we're we're not going to hit our challenge. But nonetheless, I did the entire thing in three minutes and 45 seconds, an entire devotional from start to finish. It's 837. I got time to now hop over to the rest of the conference.

00;08;37;47 - 00;08;57;39
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I might even go to the bathroom. First I was in the challenge was man on the street. I chose Wednesday night because we invited all of our students to join us at this conference, and so I figured I would be able to find students. And so, full disclosure, I forgot the connection to put these microphones on my camera phone.

00;08;57;44 - 00;09;17;53
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I used this camera, which I have been recording all the other videos all week, instead, which was no big deal. So now I just have a student, creating and caption is B-roll on my phone for this one. Found a couple students. I also forgot my SD card all the way across the creek on the other side.

00;09;17;53 - 00;09;38;15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So here's a video of me running back to the other side of the building to grab my SD card to capture it, because I was doing a little bit of editing first, I did accomplish and capture two students in this moment, and I did it quick, and, it was like 38 or something seconds between the two of them.

00;09;38;19 - 00;10;00;55
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I totally could have done that video, but I chose to add a couple other students into the video. And so that, of course, took a while. And then backstage mean the Wi-Fi was taking forever. And so I gave myself a break because it took five minutes and 34 second total from capture, edit and post, and the majority of that time was on post on the Wi-Fi going bad.

00;10;00;55 - 00;10;26;56
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I said, okay, you know what? I did it. I'm going to give myself doing it in four. But sadly, that moment was when I had passed the 16 minute mark, and probably worse than passing the 16 minute mark was the fact that somehow I had successfully uploaded this video to YouTube and TikTok and gotten a fair amount of views, but it posted to Instagram with no sound question mark.

00;10;26;56 - 00;10;49;41
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And one of my students roasted me for that. Thursday was the last day of the conference, and it only went until noon. I have been hosting also on Thursday afternoons, a youth ministry leader cohort in cooperation with my friend Dairy Prescot. When I originally planned the time, I planned it to hopefully avoid issue with the collective.

00;10;49;41 - 00;11;09;01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So the first challenge was the post before you get out of your car challenge, which was not a problem. We're in the done for you section, rounding out the last couple of posts here on our challenge. And even though we're past the 16 minute mark, I still want to see what our total amount will end up being when it's all said and done.

00;11;09;01 - 00;11;30;20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I did post this before I got out of the car. A very simple Bible verse. No big deal. Super easy. However, run through started seven minutes ago so I'm already late. Well, it's not a big deal to post for. I get out of my car normally I was holding up run through because I was late, but I'm committed to this video and I'm committed to you guys.

00;11;30;20 - 00;11;47;26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the conference happened and it ended and we said our goodbyes to all of our friends. And then I ran over back across the creek, and I had to jump onto my youth ministry leader cohort at 1230, at which point I did reveal to them that they were a part of a challenge. But only after I did it.

00;11;47;26 - 00;12;06;54
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I tried to secretly post the Spiritual practice video on while I was sitting on my cohort without anybody noticing. And I do think I was successful in that. I was able to get both of those posted, the morning one a minute. So I did complete that challenge in a minute, one of the only few I did in my time allotment.

00;12;06;54 - 00;12;38;51
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the cohort was a minute and 19. And so in total, we ended with 19 minutes and 16 seconds. And so if you look at the financial breakdown, where you get basically 40 posts for an entire three months, you're looking at less than $0.50 per post, not to mention included in here in bonus ideas are the 100 plus draft and seven questions content, which is even more ideas, so it's even a better deal than $0.46 per post.

00;12;38;51 - 00;13;05;32
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm asking you not to do eight posts per week, but to do three posts per week. Sometimes you do two dozen for you one custom, other times you do two custom one done for you. So it's either 5 minutes or 7 minutes. Imagine it's six minutes per week. Have your entire social media strategy done for you. I mean, think about it like three months of youth ministry content for just $0.23 a minute.

00;13;05;32 - 00;13;26;07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Some weeks it takes me seven, other weeks it takes me five. But the point is, and especially at the end of this, as I was sitting in my youth ministry leader cohort, everyone said time management and scheduling was the issue with staying consistent on social. So my recommendation would be take my pack, let it be the the basics of what you do.

00;13;26;07 - 00;13;45;14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you do get busy, if something else comes up, you have something to fall back on. And then when you do have the creative energy to create something more custom and more elaborate, scrap one of mine and put one of your own in there. But mine will at least keep you moving in the right direction. Hey everyone, I hope you found this episode helpful.

00;13;45;14 - 00;14;11;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Don't forget the winter pack is now live! Head over to Patreon 1799 to grab it. Or better yet, become a member for just $4 per month. And the 1799 actually. Then converts down to $12. For the three months of being a Patreon member and having access to the winter seasonal social media pack, I just proved that it can be done in less than 20 minutes for all eight post types.

00;14;11;10 - 00;14;16;32
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I hope that you found this episode helpful. But until next time my friends. And as always, don't forget. Stay hybrid.

Episode 177: After the Turkey... Watch This👀

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

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

//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 176: Youth Leader Resource Room | 5 Components to a Great one!

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

Ever wondered what’s inside a great youth ministry volunteer room? In this episode, Nick walks through his own space—showing you everything from the snack and coffee setup to the leader resource area, check-in station, and supply closet. You’ll leave with practical ideas (and links!) to create a welcoming, well-equipped hub that keeps your leaders fueled, prepped, and connected every week.

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

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

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

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/176

ITEMS FOUND IN LEADER ROOM

//Leader Resource Area
Decks of Cards
https://walmrt.us/4hs9d0u

Foam Dice
https://walmrt.us/4ot5h1M

Playdough
https://walmrt.us/3Jc5LdJ

Ice Breaker Cards
https://walmrt.us/47DJz5n

Find & Seek Scavenger Hunt
https://walmrt.us/47GrZ0I

//Other Items
Mini Fridge
https://walmrt.us/3JmGai3

Keurig
https://walmrt.us/4hKuByh

Microwave
https://walmrt.us/3JmG223

Personal Sized Whiteboards
https://walmrt.us/475rDk6

Markers
https://walmrt.us/47Gs84g

First Aid Kit
https://walmrt.us/4oDM25D

Ultimate Guest Box Template
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/ultimate-first-time-guest-box-579557?source=storefront

Volunteer Onboarding Process Explained
https://youtu.be/s8HNzfZoiX0?si=A322a3wihRACq8ZM

//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 Show me your volunteer rooms question!
00:23 Snacks & Coffee Area
01:01 Office Supply Area
01:34 Fall Social Pack
02:48 Supply Closet
04:14 Leader Check-in Area
05:42 Leader Group Resource Tools

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:22:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In this episode, we are going to show you my church's youth ministry volunteer room as we're answering this question. Show me your volunteer rooms. We are looking to make a new volunteer headquarters and are looking for inspiration. We're talking snacks, decorations, and things leaders love. So let's go on a little field trip and I'm going to show you my church's leader workroom.

00:00:22:14 - 00:00:50:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let's go. So this right here, just some basic, you know, and, like, common snacks, a leader fridge, which is also a spot where a lot of our people, store leftovers and food and then, of course, gotta have coffee. So this whole section here is filled with different, like, K-Cups, which I personally hate. Which is why I have pour over in my office in the next room over.

00:00:50:03 - 00:01:09:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But, this is something for our leaders, you know, Wednesday nights, Sunday morning, they come on in here, they grab a cup of coffee, they make it happen. This are here was actually paid for about one of our students, so that's pretty cool. Here's a printer. And this is where most of our, basic easy printer, printing needs can be done here.

00:01:09:23 - 00:01:34:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There is a bigger one, in another part of the office, but we just use this one as much as we can, a microwave in case we need it. And then just some very basic, paper supplies and cards and, cutters and stapler. Hole punch, in fact, that the cutters are here. This right here is where we keep, radio for, our security and safety team when they need it, when they're looking for it.

00:01:34:12 - 00:01:51:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hey. Quick break. Let me ask you a question. Are you still waking up every day? Is youth pastor scrambling to figure out what you need to post on your social media? Blurry dodgeball. Pick a video that your leader sent you that's a little bit pixelated, because iPhone still hasn't updated fully to RCS yet. You see, you don't need that kind of stress this fall.

00:01:51:16 - 00:02:14:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's why I created this, the fall seasonal social media pack for youth pastors. It is three months worth of done for you content done for you, paired with some customization so that you and your leaders and your students are the faces and the personalities on your student ministry Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube shorts feed. So here's the thing. You can grab my pack right now over on Patreon.

00:02:14:28 - 00:02:35:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And did you know that monthly hybrid. Here are Patreon members who only pay $4 per month and get a bonus podcast. They get this pack completely for free, so if you do the math for three months worth of social media content, it's only $12 where the pack is 1799. Either way, it is a steal for you and it will take away the stress of posting.

00:02:35:09 - 00:03:00:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can grab that pack right now and start becoming a master at social media and hybrid ministry. In your youth ministry context, rooting for you as you are crushing it this fall in your student ministry, right here is meant to sort of be our like, supply closet, right? So like, a leader can theoretically come in here anytime they need it and then get anything that they might be looking for.

00:03:00:14 - 00:03:22:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So of course, we got markers and then we got some branded pens. And these are here are actually one of our favorite things. Like we use these like little personalized whiteboards all the time. They're really like good for games and stuff like that. These are here are like just labels, for, for check in and for printing and then down here and we just got to order.

00:03:22:14 - 00:03:40:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So don't be like, holy crap, those people are all about snacks. But this is, we just got a big Sam's order. These are our snacks. So these are what we include. Back over here. And this is, like, just the back up stock of it. This right here. I've gone over this before. This is our leader.

00:03:40:17 - 00:03:59:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They're not a leader. This is our our newcomer welcome box. And so, this is where we store a bunch of them, and then our check in team, they know to come and stock this for actually link right up here. Top left of the screen. I'll link to video where I detail an outline, our entire welcome box process.

00:03:59:12 - 00:04:16:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So this is like a leaders like go to spot everything that they could use, everything that they can need. Plus some just like backup stuff, you know, along with like first aid and, you know, necessary things. Like a kid gets an injury, we can go straight here, we can get all we need out of there. Turning the corner here.

00:04:16:02 - 00:04:35:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is our, leader check in station. So leaders are not allowed to check in until they've gone through our entire volunteer process, which I'll also link down below our volunteer process. And this vets them. Make sure that they went through all of our training and that they went through, all of the, the legal ministry safe things that they need to do.

00:04:35:22 - 00:04:51:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then they can go ahead and they can check in here. Well, we say is if it comes out of this printer here, you'll notice, manually, I'm going to print this here. We say that that green means screened. And so that means if someone in our ministry has on, like, a green lanyard, they're good to go.

00:04:51:20 - 00:05:16:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This board right here, you can see, different, this is like our weekly lessons, bottom lines. We'll also have the, like, connect group sheet right here, for our leaders as they come in on, like, a, Sunday to grab it. And then we have a monthly leader, a weekly I'm sorry leader podcast. And so, our leaders that win stuff, this is, our beginning of our cycle.

00:05:16:02 - 00:05:40:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So all these leaders are new to our team, and then this is where they can grab, their leader gift, their leader mug, all that type of stuff. This right here is our, Wednesday evening safety, safety laminated sheet, assignments. So we'll post this right here on the board. And then we'll also throw it into our leader group chat so that everyone knows where they should be and where they need to be.

00:05:40:27 - 00:06:06:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then right around here, just a couple more shelves and zoom out a little bit. A couple more shelves right here. This is just some more leader, resources. So this is like some, throw Intel, some yay or nay. We got Play-Doh in case we need it. We got some dice, we got some, break the ice games are all look down, and, I'll link a bunch of this stuff.

00:06:06:09 - 00:06:26:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Financing scavenger hunt, card game. I'll link some of these things so that you can, find them. You can buy them. You can, supply them for, for your own area if there's some that you want. And then the last thing we have here is just, a stack of cards so that if any of our leaders need to write cards to any of their students, they can go about doing that right here.

00:06:26:19 - 00:06:43:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then finally, this is new. Someone added this, in a little bit, unbeknownst to us. We kind of like it. So it says prayers and then, you can we can put some, like, individual, prayer requests right there, there on the screen. And so that's been something that we just added, which is pretty cool.

00:06:43:28 - 00:07:08:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, just one more time as a, take a big someone's prayer and something right now zoom out. This is our leader workroom, and, no students are that. Well, everyone, thank you so much for hanging here for this entire episode. As a reminder, link down below in the description, there are different, links for different things and resources and stuff that we have, linking to different episodes describing our volunteer process.

00:07:08:04 - 00:07:25:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
A free episode like this, hopefully is incredibly helpful to you, but a payment in the form of a like or a subscribe would really make all the difference in the world. And thank you for being here for this questions playlist. The next episode is linked right here on screen. But until next time. And as always my friends, don't forget stay habits.

Episode 175: The Calendar that Rules Them All! [Most Skip Step 1!]

Nick Clason — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0600

Struggling with youth ministry planning, church communications, or ministry calendars? In this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Podcast, learn the 5 levels to create the ultimate Youth Ministry Calendar that rules them all! Most skip Level 1—but stick around for the one strategy that fixes all your communication issues and grabs parents’ attention with tips, visuals, and free downloadable designs.

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

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

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

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/175

Custom Curated Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaK80OxdNPbfrvTH_6cML8VB

Nucleus
https://www.nucleus.church

//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 At a Glance Calendars
00:44 Level 1 - Most Miss!
02:51 Level 2 - FREE Download
05:27 Level 3
06:58 Level 4 - An All Time Idea!
08:10 Level 5 - THIS RULES THEM ALL

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:07 - 00:00:24:17
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:34:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Have you been doing your planning and creation of your youth ministry calendars all wrong this whole time? Well, in today's episode, I'm going to share with you the five levels to create a solid youth ministry calendar, the one that will rule them all. While most don't make it past level one, you should stick around to the end of the video and see the whole thing because I reveal at the end the one trick that I've started adding to all of my calendars that it solves the communication problem once and for all.

00:00:34:16 - 00:01:06:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Oh, and plus there's a free calendar link down below in the YouTube video or the podcast description. Welcome everyone to the Hybrid Ministry show. Well, hey everybody, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. I am your host, Nicolas, and excited to be with you. As we're talking through the five levels of a youth ministry calendar creation. And the reason we're doing this because we're actually, and we actually are and have been in a playlist where we've been discussing different questions that I have come across on different youth pastor Facebook groups.

00:01:06:25 - 00:01:30:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And today, this one, I have, a question that says, hey everyone, I'm looking for examples of an at a glance calendar that highlight your major annual events. Pictures, please. You don't need to include spontaneous or smaller events, just the main ones that plan each year. And so we're going to be looking at what I have been passing out historically, and how we've tried to not only solve the communication problem, but it also helps with our, our visitors and all that sort of thing.

00:01:30:17 - 00:01:51:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So actually, there's a carefully curated playlist with all of those elements, calendar discussions and a welcome box that we have and communication issues linked right here. Tap the video. Go ahead and check it out on YouTube. But step number one is you need to have and this is the one that most skipped. But you need to have a reputable website okay.

00:01:51:28 - 00:02:17:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because if you want a quote as this question says an at a glance calendar, then you need to have a website that is actually up to date that when people don't have the information that they need from your calendar, they know where they can go and what they should do. In fact, everyone in our student ministry knows and understands that like the calendar doesn't exist with this this piece of literature that they're bringing home.

00:02:17:08 - 00:02:43:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is, again, as the question as this is high level, this is simply highlights. This isn't every single thing. I've seen calendars designed with every single thing, the entire calendar for the year. But like that, that is not what we pass out. And I'm going to share multiple different reasons why. But one of the reasons is because our website handles a lot of the rest of the stuff that is going to be needed in order to communicate that.

00:02:43:05 - 00:03:04:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you need to make sure that you have a website that's actually like navigate. Well, that's decent. It's a decent guest experience and it's up to date. The second thing is you want something that's designed well. If you look at the one here on screen, this is one that we, are giving away. Link down below. The templated, the blank version.

00:03:05:01 - 00:03:29:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is within our church's approved brand color palette and guides. So like, these are the student ministry colors within our church's color palette. So that's the first step of it. The second thing is like when I'm designing it, I typically choose a font or two that are like our fonts for the year. And then I'm just gonna be honest, like, icons are fun, but like, emojis are great.

00:03:29:13 - 00:03:50:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I try to just like link an emoji to some of the different events that we have. And that does a great job for it. The other thing is, like you see off to the side, here's like I also try to create some sort of icon that goes with like this season. So for fall we've done like coffee cups or we've done football helmets for the summer, we've done suns.

00:03:50:09 - 00:04:11:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we, you know, in the spring we've done flowers. And so it gets tricky, especially if you're trying to do different ones and you're like doing them year over year. But you'll see the one linked right here. And you can go ahead and get the templated version link down below in the description. But you want your design to be something that, like, feels a little bit familiar but doesn't feel identical because you don't want them to think I've already got this.

00:04:11:18 - 00:04:28:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like they need to understand, like, no, this is a new one. Hey, quick break. Let me ask you a question. Are you still waking up every day? Is youth pastor scrambling to figure out what you need to post on your social media? Blurry dodgeball. Pick a video that your leader sent you that's a little bit pixelated, because iPhone still hasn't updated fully to RCS yet.

00:04:28:15 - 00:04:50:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You see, you don't need that kind of stress this fall. That's why I created these the fall seasonal social media pack for youth pastors. It is three months worth of done for you content done for you, paired with some customization so that you and your leaders and your students are the faces and the personalities on your student ministry Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube shorts feed.

00:04:50:29 - 00:05:10:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So here's the thing. You can grab my pack right now over on Patreon. And did you know that monthly hybrid here? A Patreon members who only pay $4 per month and get a bonus podcast? They get this pack completely for free. So if you do the math for three months worth of social media content, it's only $12 where the pack is 1799.

00:05:10:25 - 00:05:37:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Either way, it is a steal for you and it will take away the stress of posting. And you can grab that pack right now and start becoming a master at social media and hybrid ministry. In your youth ministry context, rooting for you as you are crushing it this fall in your student ministry. And another major thing that you're going to want to do here, which is level three, is you only want to include events that you, particularly and specifically choose.

00:05:37:27 - 00:06:00:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And want to highlight. You don't want to put every single thing on your calendar. No, no, you want things that you only want at a high level. And so the way to make it visually appealing, in my opinion, and in my book, and to make it small and concise, is to not overwhelm it with information, but to only make it things that are noteworthy for families to know.

00:06:00:21 - 00:06:23:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
For example, we a lot of times say we meet every single Sunday. We meet every single Wednesday. However, these are ones you want to know about, and these are also ones that you want to know that we're not meeting because we meet every single week. But these in particular take note. We are not meeting. Additionally, and especially as it pertains to our spring calendar, we will post things about our, about our like winter weekend.

00:06:23:26 - 00:06:44:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we'll also post, say, the dates for our summer camp communications already gone out for that. By the time this calendar gets in the hands of our students mid-year and like December. But this one is important that it just, you know, it gets on there because it's actually going to happen during this cycle, which I should say, for context, we produce three calendars per year.

00:06:44:09 - 00:07:05:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We produce a fall one, we produce a spring one, and then we also produce a summer one. And so in light of that, we're pumping out calendars three different times per year to get into the hands of students. The fourth level, and this I think, is, one of them, the most impressive, like, decisions that I ever stumbled into.

00:07:05:20 - 00:07:24:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I honestly can't even tell you how I stumbled into it. And I would say that this is the key. However, level five, is a new one that we've recently unlocked, and I think it's even better. But number four is we make this design and then we print this using like sticker mule. We print this on a magnet.

00:07:24:25 - 00:07:43:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Here's the psychology. Here's my thought behind it. Right. Everyone passes out a calendar for the year. There's the sports calendar. There's the academic calendar. And in a lot of cases, there's the youth group calendar. But what I want and maybe this is just my competitiveness, but like I want my calendar to be the thing holding on other calendars.

00:07:43:07 - 00:08:05:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. Like if you got your sports calendar, I want the youth calendar to be the thing that is keeping the sports calendar affixed to the fridge. That puts us on top of it. And they're probably going to choose sports over student ministry. But I just like to think in my own head, like, think about all of these calendars that are on magnets, that are on people's fridges, that are at the top of line, top of sight.

00:08:05:03 - 00:08:33:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And hopefully they're seeing, and remembering and keeping us again, top of mind. The fifth and final level, which I think is like the ultimate is, you'll see here. And you've probably noticed that we actually and this is helpful because of our website, we build our website and our calendar on our website, on the provider of, of nucleus, and on nucleus, what you can do is you can link in a dot ICS, which is an iCal calendar extension.

00:08:33:21 - 00:08:48:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So it's all you put in like your phone. But it's also like a shareable option out of like even a Google calendar. So we create just like a Google Calendar, we keep the Google Calendar up to date. That auto populates to our website, right? Which is like again, and I said, like, you want to make sure that your, your website is up to date.

00:08:48:27 - 00:09:09:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if people land on your website, that's information is not on your your big calendar, your highlight calendar, your magnet calendar that they do end up on your website, they're able to obtain the information that they need and that they're looking for. But then we've created a QR code where they can simply subscribe to the calendar in their phones.

00:09:09:07 - 00:09:32:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so this is, in my opinion, the penultimate, because this makes these, at a glance calendars great, but not the most crucial thing. I think a lot of youth pastors treat this calendars the most crucial thing. But what happens when students don't have access to it? What happens when they lose it? What happens when you give it to them and they accidentally set it down before they get it into the hands of their parents?

00:09:32:18 - 00:09:56:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If a parent can subscribe to our calendar, then they will never miss an event. They'll never miss an update. It will be populated onto the very device and onto the very app that they use to manage and control their entire life. Their calendar app. And what a better place than for your youth ministry and your church calendar to be on parents phones and on students phones.

00:09:56:22 - 00:10:18:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so put a QR code, put some sort of link where they can go and they can subscribe to the events. And so all of the events are exactly where they're supposed to be and where you ultimately want them to be at the end of the day, remember, the goal of this is communication so that people know what's going on and that they then also hopefully choose to attend your church and your event in your youth group.

00:10:18:04 - 00:10:39:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The the goal and this is not a beautiful calendar. Hopefully we can help you create one. And once again link down below free in the in the podcast or YouTube description. But the goal is communication at its core. And so that fifth and final layer adding adding a QR code so that people and parents can, subscribe to your church and your youth ministry calendar.

00:10:40:01 - 00:10:54:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Such a game changer. Well, hey everyone, the next episode is linked right here on the screen as well as the subscribe button. If you found this episode helpful, a payment for this free calendar would be amazing. A like a subscribe and share it with a friend. But until next time. And as always, don't forget. Stay hybrid.

Episode 174: 5 LEVELS OF TAMING A WILD YOUTH ROOM

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

There's nothing worse than speaking to an out of control room full of students.
In this episode, I explain my 5 levels, escalating to most effective, way to control a wild room with your teaching content and approach. Be sure to stick around to hear how Marvel has cracked the attention span conundrum.

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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 How to Teach a Wild Room
00:48 I’m a glutton for chaos
01:56 Level 1: Tell Them
03:50 Level 2: Know Them
07:40 Level 3: Include Them
08:59 Level 4: Engage Them
10:44 Level 5: Teach Them

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:07 - 00:00:24:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, that moment that you're trying to teach, and two kids start whispering to each other, someone's throwing a sock, and somehow some how slime is involved. You know, early on in my youth ministry days, I knew that the students were the problem. But over my last 15 years, I began to wonder what if part of the chaos is actually my fault?

00:00:24:19 - 00:00:45:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Today, I'm going to be breaking down the five levels of taming a wild youth through and at the end of the show, make sure that you stick around, because I am going to share with you the shift that Marvel understands that I saw, that I began to start to see students truly lean in without needing to raise my voice.

00:00:45:16 - 00:01:11:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome, everybody, to the Hybrid Ministry show. Well, hey everybody, welcome to another episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show. Today we're addressing this question. How do you handle disruptions during teaching time? I'm tired of stopping my lessons to redirect a few, and in this episode, I want to detail and outline my five levels of taming a wild room. And here's what you got to understand is that I actually invite and embrace chaos.

00:01:11:09 - 00:01:32:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like in our space. We could very easily, and let's be honest, probably even more, I probably even make a little bit more sense for us to do it in rows, but instead we're a middle school heavy on Wednesday night, midweek, type of context. And we put them around round tables. And last year we increased our chair intake around the tables from 8 to 10.

00:01:32:08 - 00:01:52:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we're inviting even more chaos to sit around each of those tables. That being said, it's a calculated risk that I try to facilitate and operate with the idea of community, worth and willing to take that risk so that we can get the better. And on the other side, however, that does mean that sometimes we do face a wild room.

00:01:52:21 - 00:02:12:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So with that being said, let's dive into my five different levels. Level number one is this tell them. All right. Tell them to stop talking and I get it. And that and that question you're saying like I'm tired of doing that. Now, if you are doing that on a regular basis, then maybe some of these other levels are going to be worth your while.

00:02:12:13 - 00:02:31:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But to start it off, if you have a wild room, you just need to very simply like be firm. And actually it's interesting because I asked a group of, table leaders that I have in my youth ministry, that try to actually help keep some of my students on track and keep some of our, our, lessons, like on the rails, so to speak.

00:02:31:10 - 00:02:48:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And they were asking me the other day, like, how do you do that? How do you lean in to kind of that with, with students? And I ask you guys, do you guys think that I mean, like, do you consider me personally mean? And they're like, no, not at all. And I was like, but am I able and willing to be firm when I need to know?

00:02:48:26 - 00:03:12:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, oh yeah, definitely. And so you have to understand that if you're the youth pastor, maybe you're young, maybe you're afraid of like, people thinking you mean students not liking you. Like you can still be firm and they can still like you? Those two things are allowed to be the same thing at the same time. Right? And another thing that I've actually even done is like, I've gone directly up to some of the bigger tables, in the last couple of weeks.

00:03:12:24 - 00:03:26:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I said, hey, listen, do you guys want me to split you into two tables? Like, no, no, no, please don't do that. Please don't do that. And I'm like, great, I will not. But I'm also going to expect you to act like adults, which means I am not going to ask you guys multiple times to be quiet.

00:03:26:27 - 00:03:40:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if I do have to ask you to be quiet, then I will begin to split the tables. But if I can trust you, and if you can lock in, if you can engage, then I'll let you stay together. And that that has actually really worked really well for some of our tables. Because you know how it is.

00:03:41:00 - 00:04:16:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You got a big table. You look over there, this is what you get. It wasn't me, it was them. It was their zoom. It was then. It wasn't me. So the second level is know them, right? No. These students know how they learn. Right. And one of the things that we have leaned into consistently is I cannot tell you in youth ministry, the last time that I spoke my entire message without any sort of gap or without any sort of break, like youth pastor, if you're trying to teach for 30 minutes straight, like, what are you doing?

00:04:16:14 - 00:04:53:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, you know that your students don't learn that way. In fact, if you look here at the Pyramid of learning, auditory lecture style based learning is the least effective of all the styles of learning. So why are you trying to keep their attention with a lecture style message for 30 or greater minutes? In fact, there's like the whole theory that, Gen Z and Gen Alpha's attention span is less than seven seconds, and we get that data from click through rates and like, bounce off rates from websites like people spend only on average seven seconds or less on a website.

00:04:53:28 - 00:05:14:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so the theory is that they have a shorter attention span than a goldfish. But the reality is, is that they know within seven seconds or less if this thing is going to be worth their time. Take for example, on the other hand, the flip side, the highest grossing movie movies of all time are all greater than 2 to 3 hours.

00:05:14:04 - 00:05:37:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Avengers endgame is an over three hour movie, and when it came out, it became the highest grossing movie of all time. Why can't a movie that's greater than 3.5 hour or greater than three hours, at least keep a student's attention because it knows how to keep things moving and students, if they're interested, they will lean in. So know them and break your message up with a gap in the middle.

00:05:37:10 - 00:05:59:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yet for some reason, you continue to drone on and this is what you get. The inside of a middle school boy's brain. Did I eat dinner? Is his shirt inside out? When is this? Over six. Seven? Is it actually why? I have a Patreon devoted to this. Every single week I share with you how I'm breaking up my message.

00:05:59:20 - 00:06:25:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in the past, when I was younger, listening to the way other youth pastors that are a little bit further along than me were planning and programing their services, help get my creative juices going. So for just $4 a month, $48 for a year, not only will you get my weekly breakdown of what we're doing in our youth ministry, but you'll also get access to my full seasonal social media pack in all the seasonal social media packs as the seasons rotate through.

00:06:25:29 - 00:06:43:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hey quick break, let me ask you a question. Are you still waking up every day? Is youth pastor scrambling to figure out what you need to post on your social media? Blurry dodgeball. Pick a video that your leader sent you that's a little bit pixelated, because iPhone still hasn't updated fully to RCS yet. You see, you don't need that kind of stress this fall.

00:06:43:03 - 00:07:06:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's why I created this the fast seasonal social media pack for youth pastors. It is three months worth of done for you content done for you, paired with some customization so that you and your leaders and your students are the faces and the personalities on your student ministry. Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube shorts. See? See? Here's the thing. You can grab my pack right now over on Patreon.

00:07:06:14 - 00:07:26:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And did you know that monthly Hybrid hero Patreon members who only pay $4 per month and get a bonus podcast? They get this pack completely for free. So if you do the math for three months worth of social media content, it's only $12. Where the pack is 1799. Either way, it is a steal for you and it will take away the stress of posting.

00:07:26:25 - 00:07:55:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can grab that pack right now and start becoming a master at social media and hybrid ministry. In your youth ministry context, rooting for you as you are crushing it this fall in your student ministry. The third thing I want to, challenge you to do is to include them, right? Like include the students. And so one of the things that we do is in addition to the breaks is while we're in the gaps of our teaching, we'll also include moments that we call table talks.

00:07:55:08 - 00:08:16:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you don't have the ability to set tables, you can also call it a turn and talk. And you still get the alliteration, which is exactly what all of us Baptists want to do. But we have to somehow try and move our students from a passive consumer to an active contributor. And I get it. Like most churches in America, especially like big church where you're senior pastors, preaching is a passive consumer setting.

00:08:16:08 - 00:08:36:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But we say you need to get involved in serve. You need to get involved in the community. You need to get involved in the life of our church. And yet then the way to get involved is just make sure that you come and sit here and listen to us talk instead. What if you gave them an opportunity to, think through this, to analyze, to evaluate, to discuss, to wrestle with the truth that's coming at them from God's Word.

00:08:36:27 - 00:08:47:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And when I'm teaching, teaching, teaching. And then all of a sudden I throw a table, talk. They're not allowed to just sit there like this anymore.

00:08:47:28 - 00:09:12:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I don't, I will, I wasn't listening. Well, what do you say to when I throw a table talk? I say, hey, listen out loud with words. Go. The fourth level is to engage them. So give breaks, create table talk. So these are both natural rhythms and breaks and pattern interrupts that are going to help with the kind of Marvel theory, the keep it moving.

00:09:12:08 - 00:09:34:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Keep it going. Don't get stale, don't get stagnant seven second thing but now when you're actually teaching, use creativity. And once again, this is why I have my Patreon, because I want to help you lean into your creativity. You can make your illustrations better, right? Like we're using Collider. And one of the lessons, was talking about a dog pooping on the lawn.

00:09:34:22 - 00:10:06:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, that's a great illustration of a self collider. Best curriculum on the planet. Use hybrid ministry. 1001 word to get 10% off your first year of it. But I punched it up a little bit. How I, I took their dog pooping illustration, and I added a photo of a cute dog. All right. And then after adding the photo of the cute dog, I decided, hey, let's name this cute dog to the point that as I'm making this illustration about forgiveness of a dog pooping on your front lawn, I had a student all the way leaned in, eventually.

00:10:06:21 - 00:10:38:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Say we named the dog Buttercup based off the sidekick voting feature. I said, hey, Buttercup, is cooked, okay? And you got to be using sidekick on the regular because you can add in things. And I added this one on the fly. In fact, on the episode, I just recorded five minutes ago, the breakdown episode, I explained to you how I came up with this and how I instituted it, and link down below in the show notes will help you know how you can run sidekick and pro presenter at the exact same time, but you need to engage their creativity.

00:10:39:05 - 00:11:00:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You need to make your your lessons and your illustrations more creative and help them lean in. And then the fifth and final, level here of, teaching a wild room is to actually teach them, like, actually teach them God's Word. In fact, in an episode link down below, I talk about a couple students who came up to me afterward and they said, you need to do that more.

00:11:00:25 - 00:11:28:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I was like, what is that? And they said, you, you actually like, taught us, like you gave us like a sheet of paper or our Bible, and you were underlining and circling and drawing arrows and, and helping, create like parallels between different like things in the text, like, do that more like actually leaning in to teach them, not just give them a motivational message, not just give them creativity, not just break up our programing, but actually teach them something valuable and meaningful found in God's Word.

00:11:28:22 - 00:11:50:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's the fifth level of helping tame a wild room and doing all five of these things on a regular and consistent basis for us has really helped lean in and created value and opportunity within our youth ministry. Well, hey everyone, I hope you found this episode helpful. Tap the next episode. Subscribe here on screen. But until next time and as always, don't forget stay hybrid.

Episode 172: The Cellphone Problem in Youth Groups

Nick Clason — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500

In this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show, we tackle the cellphone problem in youth groups and reveal a 3-step phone prevention strategy for youth ministry that actually works. Instead of fighting students for their phones, you’ll learn how youth pastors can use a variety of tools to their benefit, including how to turn phones from a distraction to an actual asset. If you’re looking for practical youth ministry tips, phone management strategies, and digital discipleship tools to keep students engaged, this episode is for you.

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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Phones in Youth Group
00:23 How Do you Keep Kids off Phones?
00:38 Step #1
01:24 Step #2
02:15 Step #3
04:09 Idea #1
06:09 Fall Social Media Plan
07:22 Idea #2

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:08:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In this episode, we're going to talk about my three step phone prevention strategy for youth ministry.

00:00:08:05 - 00:00:17:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But what I also want to show you is how I've turned phones from a distraction to an asset in our youth ministry. And frankly, it's

00:00:17:01 - 00:00:24:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
a lot easier than fighting kids to get rid of their phones. Welcome everyone to the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:00:24:10 - 00:00:29:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, hey, everybody, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. In this episode, we are answering this question.

00:00:29:05 - 00:00:34:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What are the ways that you have been able to keep students from being on phones during lessons and smog?

00:00:34:17 - 00:00:34:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Glad you

00:00:34:26 - 00:00:51:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
asked. Here's my three step strategy. Step number one is a central parking location. Like you read the comments of this post and just about everyone has either like some charging stations solution a little like hanging basket,

00:00:51:02 - 00:00:54:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
place for them to just like, leave their phones in the middle.

00:00:54:23 - 00:01:11:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Some different pictures, some different links to different things. We even had at our church at one point in time, we had like cell phone lockers. So this is like lockers with temporary codes where you go, you put your phone in, you create your own code, and then you come back and you get it. At the end of the night, we no longer have them.

00:01:11:12 - 00:01:30:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I tell you why in a minute, but, that's an option that was like the most, like next level solution. But basically everybody does it. Like, you just make that the thing. Hey, everyone, put your phones here before we go on into the room for youth group. The other option, let's be honest, like one of the good things that they could be using on their phone is like the Bible app.

00:01:30:26 - 00:01:49:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you're teaching from the Bible, you're going to give them some sort of like scripture lesson, and they're going to pull their Bibles out on their phone to read it. But then you know how phones work. That's because distraction there, over there, then playing clash clans in a minute, and they're no longer reading the Bible because you stopped reading the Bible in your lesson.

00:01:49:19 - 00:02:15:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, the solution set in two is just very simply like, provide paper Bibles, like if you want kids not on their phones and you want kids in the Bible, provide paper Bibles everywhere, all throughout your space so that there's no excuse for it and or also encourage, and even like potentially bribe and reward students who do bring their paper, Bibles to youth group to engage with Scripture in that way.

00:02:15:23 - 00:02:16:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The third

00:02:16:13 - 00:02:20:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and most effective way, in my opinion, this is more of like in a small group setting.

00:02:20:04 - 00:02:25:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you're in like a large group, room, this doesn't quite work. But in a small group setting,

00:02:25:04 - 00:02:35:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm a huge fan of the idea of a thing called a group covenant. Okay. And a group covenant is essentially something that you do at the beginning of a small group term or cycle.

00:02:36:09 - 00:02:55:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you got to think about this. If you have like groups that never break for any sort of rhythm or any sort of reason, then you got to create natural kind of like start points. So, you know, beginning of the school year, maybe like beginning of the calendar year, something like that. Or in certain contexts I've worked in, we've, we had three distinct small groups cycles.

00:02:55:12 - 00:03:15:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we had the fall, the winter and then the summer. And so and then each of those ran for 12 weeks at a time or whatever. And so, during the beginning section of those, you, you have a small group covenant. So you talk about rules and expectations. What's the expectation in this group for treating one another and all those types of things?

00:03:15:21 - 00:03:20:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, in that the other thing that I recommend,

00:03:20:13 - 00:03:41:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
is you ask, what are we going to do about phones? And you let the students decide, and that's more powerful than you having temporary cell phone lockers. That's more powerful than you having paper Bibles. When you let the student say, decide and dictate what's going to happen with phones, that's where the wind is found.

00:03:41:10 - 00:04:07:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you just simply ask, what are we going to do about phones? They come up with it. And I've always found that students in a group covenant setting actually make stricter rules than rules that you would probably want to make for them. And so let them decide through the avenue of a group covenant, which, by the way, is one of the things I did not see in the comments of the description, however, of that of that question.

00:04:07:11 - 00:04:24:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, this is the hybrid ministry show, and so I would be remiss to not talk about the ways in which I have actually tried to use phones as an asset. And so in our student ministry, when I started here and this episode links right

00:04:24:00 - 00:04:31:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
here, I detailed and discussed how our hybrid ministry strategy has to our growth over the last three years.

00:04:31:29 - 00:04:55:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so when I got here, one of the moves we made was we went from rows to tables. That was a major decision and quite frankly, a thing that people had. Some issue with that at first. But now we do tables pretty much consistently. And whenever we take them away, people like you don't like rows anymore. So it's just funny to watch how people kind of change and transform over time.

00:04:55:18 - 00:05:21:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But one of the things that we're leaning into is sidekick. And so we have a poll, a QR based poll, which is one of the features of the new beta sidekick, which, by the way, if you didn't know, you can jump into co-leader or co-leader Premium plus, with code Hybrid Ministry 1001 word. They'll give you 10% off co-leader, which also gives you access to all of the sidekick stuff.

00:05:21:08 - 00:05:41:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so one of the benefits and they're still kind of working out some of the kinks, about sidekick and its relationship with the legacy version. But one of the kinks or but one of the best parts about the new version, the beta version of sidekick is, the, the poll voting. And so we use that all the time.

00:05:41:20 - 00:05:59:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so poll voting kids get their phone out their skin and they can vote. They can use it for games. They can use it for messages. We even use it sometimes in the pre-roll. I tell you what, I'm going to do that I'm going to link down below our sidekick set up because, it's still not all the way full proof yet.

00:05:59:12 - 00:06:09:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so sometimes pro presenter is a better option. And so we actually run both on two different machines, and show you how we set that up. Link down below.

00:06:09:06 - 00:06:16:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hey, quick break. Let me ask you a question. Are you still waking up every day? Is youth pastor scrambling to figure out what you need to post on your social media?

00:06:16:11 - 00:06:45:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Blurry dodgeball. Pick a video that your leader sent you that's a little bit pixelated, because iPhone still hasn't updated fully to RCS yet. You see, you don't need that kind of stress this fall. That's why I created this the fall seasonal social media pack for youth pastors. It is three months worth of done for you content done for you, paired with some customization so that you and your leaders and your students are the faces and the personalities on your student ministry Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube shorts feed.

00:06:45:27 - 00:07:05:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So here's the thing. You can grab my pack right now over on Patreon. And did you know that monthly hybrid. Here are Patreon members who only pay $4 per month and get a bonus podcast. They get this pack completely for free, so if you do the math for three months worth of social media content, it's only $12 where the pack is 1799.

00:07:05:24 - 00:07:22:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Either way, it is a steal for you and it will take away the stress of posting. And you can grab that pack right now and start becoming a master at social media and hybrid ministry. In your youth ministry context, rooting for you as you are crushing it this fall in your student ministry.

00:07:22:24 - 00:07:37:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The other thing that we use is a feature called Digital Notes, which is just a US leaning into the resource and the platform of the YouVersion Bible app, live event section that, YouVersion includes.

00:07:37:06 - 00:07:59:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we set up a YouVersion live events, reading plan. Or it's not even a reading plan necessarily, but a YouVersion live events to follow along with the notes every single week. And like I said, we sit at tables and so we have like a little placard, plastic about this big. It sits in the middle of the table and it says, follow along with this week's digital notes, and it's got a QR code.

00:07:59:28 - 00:08:27:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so the QR code stays the same. But then on our QR code service generator, we turn around and we change the link to that every single week. So we change the link to the newest, iteration of the digital notes of the YouVersion, events plan. And so, they can also, you know, navigate into it and find it on the YouVersion live, section of the YouVersion events, and they can follow along.

00:08:27:10 - 00:08:49:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
As you know, we're very like, video centric and hybrid ministry centric youth ministry. So we create thumbnails for all of our talks. And so all of our in-room talks also have the thumbnails that go at the top of the YouVersion live events plan. But the, other beautiful thing, frankly, about the YouVersion live events plan is you can link to things external.

00:08:49:16 - 00:09:10:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So once they're on there, you got them hooked in and you can help them follow along. You can ask them questions and they're things that they can interact with. They can highlight scripture, they can take notes. But then you can also include external links. So we have a next step like form on our website that we use. And so at the end of every single lesson we say are you ready to take a next step?

00:09:10:12 - 00:09:30:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Click here to let us know and it'll navigate them off to our website. And then the final piece in the YouVersion events is we include a Bible reading plan that relates to the topic of sorts. And so any single given week a student on the YouVersion live event plan, they are encouraged or asked at least if they want to take some sort of spiritual next step.

00:09:30:13 - 00:09:37:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And they're also fed some sort of Bible reading plan. And so I want to point that out as a way to say we have

00:09:37:13 - 00:09:55:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
use phones and sidekick gives us a sliver of that. But our digital notes really opens up a wide avenue of ways that we can help students take next steps and be more intentional and meaningful during the lesson, so that they're using their phones to follow along with what's going on.

00:09:55:15 - 00:10:15:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, I told you I made a calculated risk with tables. I also want to let you know that phones is another calculated risk. And in fact, like one of the one of the comments on this post of the question that I'm reading said, man, just let kids have their phones, stop making it a fight. And like I tend to actually agree with that guy, but I will let you know.

00:10:15:00 - 00:10:37:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like phones are still a fight and they are still a distraction. Just last week, two nights ago in our youth group, one of our leaders, one of our table leaders. So we have students that are in, senior high that are leading groups in discussions. He was playing a game on his phone, and one of our staff one up, and they said, our table leaders are allowed to play games on their phones.

00:10:37:01 - 00:10:54:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And he knew the answer to that was like, no. And so he had to go to that kid and say, hey, put your phone down. So if that's coming from one of our leaders, it's there's that much even trickle down to the rest of students. So, well, hear me say, what we do is not foolproof, all right. But it's a calculated risk that I'm willing to take.

00:10:54:01 - 00:11:12:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And one that when a student brings their friend for the first time and a mom and dad. Imagine this. Your parent, you send your kid to imagine you send your kid to a completely different denomination or different religion to go with one of their friends, and then they don't have their phones for an hour. How would you feel if you couldn't get in contact with them?

00:11:12:17 - 00:11:32:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, we're the millennial generation of of parents. We want to have contact with our children, especially if we've paid for and given them a phone. And so we try not to make that an obstacle for people to be able to come into our ministry. But again, it's a calculated risk and one that we are, used to, fighting and using.

00:11:32:11 - 00:11:48:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So let us know down below in the comments what you do in your youth ministry as it pertains to cell phones. And go ahead and subscribe what you see right here on the screen and check out the next question. Video. There's also here on screen. But until next time. And as always my friends, don't forget stay happy.

Episode 171: Grow Your Youth Group: EXPLOSIVE Attendance Secrets

Nick Clason — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500

These 5 Shifts in my approach to volunteers revolutionized by youth ministry.
These aren’t quick hacks — they’re the foundational principles that changed my thinking but they led to real, measurable growth.

The best news of all, not for me in the moment, but you is that each of these shifts were like levels in a video game that come with the big bad boss of a failure story that I had to defeat, from one of my 15 years in youth ministry, each boss becoming more and more epic, the final one left me questioning not only my job, but my career in ministry.

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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 5 Levels of Volunteer Shifts
01:14 FAQ Playlist
02:04 Level 1: Chaos
04:21 Level 2: Lone Ranger
07:38 Level 3: Event
11:08 Level 4: Desperation
15:03 Level 5: Arrogance

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:08 - 00:00:25:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
For years, I thought the formula to youth ministry growth were better sermons and bigger events and flashier games. But I'm just going to be honest, none of that, none of it moved the needle. It wasn't until I learned not only that volunteer leaders matter, but it's when I unlocked these five shifts. It directly impacted the size in the health in the reach of my youth ministry.

00:00:25:04 - 00:00:46:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
These aren't just some quick hacks. No, they're foundational principles that have revolutionized my thinking and led to real, measurable growth. But the best news of all for you? Not necessarily me. In each of these moments is that each one of these shifts, similar to like levels in a video game, come with a big bad boss of a failure story.

00:00:46:23 - 00:01:08:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I'm going to share each and every one of those failure stories with you until I had to defeat a different boss in one of my different 15 years of youth ministry, each boss becoming worse and the failure stories becoming more and more epic until we get to the final one, which left me not only questioning my job in that church, but also my youth ministry career.

00:01:08:27 - 00:01:29:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We're going to share these together in the hybrid ministry. So welcome everyone. Glad to have you. Well what's up everybody. Welcome to the Hybrid Minister Show. If you didn't know, we've been in a playlist here, talking and answering some different questions that I stumbled across in youth pastor Facebook groups. And this one today says I have officially crossed the line of 50 small group leaders.

00:01:29:00 - 00:01:47:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And for those of you who have 50 plus volunteers that are deeply invested in a week, how is you? How is your leadership of that team different than maybe a smaller team or so those of you who've crossed that line, how did you shift your leadership? So we're going to talk about the five levels of leadership, shifts that I've made.

00:01:47:02 - 00:02:07:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, frankly, I'm sitting right now at a position with greater than 50 leaders, and I would attribute, some of these shifts to be, what, some of those kind of, like, main things are. So with kind of that context out of the way, let's look through and chat through the five different levels. So the first level was the chaos level okay.

00:02:07:13 - 00:02:22:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So like in this chaos level I would constantly be frantically getting things set up. And I don't know about you, but I'm a little bit of a time optimist. And so what that means is like if I was like, okay, youth group starts at six, that means I need to get there at five to start getting things ready.

00:02:22:20 - 00:02:40:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I quickly learned I had to start moving that time back more and more because, you know, one of the things that would happen is I'm getting ready when students start showing up and I think they're going to show up at like 550, but instead students show up at like 530, and I am running out of time to get things set up.

00:02:40:18 - 00:03:02:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I feel chaotic in my spirit as they're there. And I'm also not able to give them any sort of attention or any sort of like relational equity, because I'm getting set up. So the next week I bump it back to five to maybe say 430, so I get a little bit more time. But then as I grow and as things in the ministry get more and more elaborate, and as we add more and more elements, I need more and more time.

00:03:02:05 - 00:03:21:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So the shift I had to make was the shift from the chaos to the control. Right? And so I could be in control. I could make that a moment that I actually owned that thing. And that was honestly a very like level one, very rookie mistake. And so the main shift I had to do is I had to start getting ready earlier.

00:03:21:08 - 00:03:36:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I had to start planning before Wednesday. I had to start planning on Tuesday, I had to start setting up earlier in the day. Whatever I needed to do. And the feel is this is that, early on, kids would walk in while I'm getting ready and I would be annoyed that a kid is there and like, I shouldn't be that way.

00:03:36:25 - 00:03:53:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, I'm a youth pastor, right? And so the shift, the very simple shift I had to make was if I just get set up earlier, then when a kid walks in, I'm done. They're not taking away something that I feel like I need to do, and I can devote and give my full attention to that kid who shows up early, which is a great thing for that kid.

00:03:53:27 - 00:04:14:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And with just that small, subtle shift, I started to see, more and more kind of like growth. I was more prepared for my leaders. I wasn't scrambling to get them things like printed out and handouts and service orders and all those types of things like those are all ready to go. When I started to do that, when I was more in control, when I was in less of a chaotic vibe, that all started to help.

00:04:14:23 - 00:04:35:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, there wasn't much right in that first level, as it pertains with volunteer leaders, because the second level here is the lone Ranger level. And for many, many years in youth ministry, I felt like it was my job because frankly, I'm getting paid by the church to do the youth ministry. But it wasn't until I started to learn this idea of delegation.

00:04:36:01 - 00:04:57:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right? And, the only real moments where I was able to get to a spot where I realized I had to go from Lone Ranger to delegation was when I had to defeat this big, bad boss. One Thursday. I was sitting in my office and I had, like, 20 to 25 new student, welcome. Like postcards that I had to write.

00:04:57:12 - 00:05:21:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It was just something that we had to do. Every time we had a new student, we had to write out a card. And every single week at this church, I was getting more and more new students, like 20, 25, like I was at a multi-site megachurch, and I was getting more than 20 new students every single week. And so I was, I had just started, taking over that position full time, independently.

00:05:21:04 - 00:05:37:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I had worked with, a coworker for, several months, and it was my first week without her, as kind of my counterpart in my my boss walks in, who's my campus pastor who didn't know anything about these cards or anything like that. It wasn't him who assigned those to me. And so he's like, hey, you got a minute?

00:05:37:28 - 00:06:02:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I was like, literally, no. And I didn't look up. And I kept frantically writing while he's at my door and I'm trying to talk within. I'm trying to have conversation with them. I can't even remember what it was about, but. And I knew that that was rude. I knew I should have put my pin down. I looked at him, but what that was going to mean was I wasn't going to get to leave work on time when I needed to leave work, and that was also a value of mine.

00:06:02:07 - 00:06:25:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so in that moment, I was like, I never want to get to the spot again. Like, I need to delegate some of this off. I need to do what only I can do. And there are plenty of volunteers and there are plenty of people. I had an amazing check in team that could have very easily at the end of check in when you know, it's like, let's say the event starts at six and it's 610 and most of the students have checked in.

00:06:25:06 - 00:06:46:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They're there for the next hour and 20 minutes like they had plenty of time to write 25 notes between five of them, you know what I'm saying? But I didn't delegate it to them. So therefore the fail was that it ended up on my desk the very next day. And I had, instead of five cards to write, which is what five different volunteers with 25 cards would have, written.

00:06:46:15 - 00:07:06:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I wrote all 25 of them, and so I had to learn to start delegating. And it took a minute. And that's part of the the, the fail in this is that it takes a minute to get up over that initial hurdle of creating a system of delegation, like getting the postcards down there, telling them where they are, telling them how to check on who the first time guests are.

00:07:06:20 - 00:07:27:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know how we're going to handle that, because they might not know in the moment, like when a kid checks in. But once we get past all of that, then, I start to experience a little bit more, success. And I beat that level. Of delegation. We all know that there's only a certain amount of capacity that any one person has, and you might be a person with an extraordinarily high capacity.

00:07:27:25 - 00:07:47:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But as your church and as your youth ministry grows, you're going to reach a breaking point where you definitely need to move on and defeat that big bad boss to delegation. Which led me then to my third level, where I had to shift my mindset, from the event is this is the event level. I had to move from event to hybrid.

00:07:47:03 - 00:08:06:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the fail is that early on in some of my early on days, every single event was crucial, and every single attendance marker in that event was even more crucial. So if we had a big event, the first thing I was doing was I was checking guest cards and I was checking our, check in kiosks because I wanted to see how many kids we had.

00:08:06:21 - 00:08:24:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I thought to myself, you know, like, if we have this event and last event we had, say 50 kids, I wanted to get to 55, or I wanted to get to 60, or I wanted to get to 65. And I started to put all my effort and my worth honestly into that bottom line number. And I started making it all about events.

00:08:24:26 - 00:08:46:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then Covid happened and what I realized during Covid, was that we had and I actually share this entire story right here at this video linked up, here at the top of the screen in my 100th episode, I made a little documentary style, like, kind of how and where this hybrid thing all came from. But what I realized was that there were multiple avenues of touch points.

00:08:46:02 - 00:09:09:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, my very first day, on a job at a church was the first day of Covid. And in that I realized, out of sheer like constraints, like we didn't have in-person, I couldn't speak to the students live in a room. So all of the normal touchpoints were gone. And so I had to get creative about how we can still connect with students through writing things like postcards, which probably were some of that started.

00:09:09:17 - 00:09:27:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I wasn't delegating quite yet. Right. Or, social media or all those types of things. And that's really where a lot of this hybrid stuff came from, realizing that we can still do pastoral care even when we're not in the room. Now, I wouldn't recommend, like, Covid going back to that where we we're never in the room and that's never a possibility.

00:09:27:29 - 00:09:45:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But there's some both and right there's there's the both of being able to be in the room and also some of the pastoral care that can happen when we're not in the room and we can lean in to some of that sort of hybrid thing. And so the fail was when I would ride or die based off of some of those event numbers.

00:09:45:25 - 00:10:02:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I had to get over and realize that Covid allows me to have more touch points with it, which is honestly the entire reason why this podcast exists. Hey quick break, let me ask you a question. Are you still waking up every day? Is youth pastor scrambling to figure out what you need to post on your social media?

00:10:02:15 - 00:10:31:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Blurry dodgeball. Pick a video that your leader sent you that's a little bit pixelated, because iPhone still hasn't updated fully to RCS yet. You see, you don't need that kind of stress this fall. That's why I created this, the fall seasonal social media pack for youth pastors. It is three months worth of done for you content done for you, paired with some customization so that you and your leaders and your students are the faces and the personalities on your student ministry Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube shorts feed.

00:10:32:02 - 00:10:51:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So here's the thing. You can grab my pack right now over on Patreon. And did you know that monthly Hybrid hero Patreon members who only pay $4 per month and get a bonus podcast? They get this pack completely for free. So if you do the math for three months worth of social media content, it's only $12 where the pack is 1799.

00:10:51:27 - 00:11:11:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Either way, it is a steal for you and it will take away the stress of posting. And you can grab that pack right now and start becoming a master at social media and hybrid ministry. In your youth ministry context, rooting for you as you are crushing it this fall in your student ministry. The fourth level is to move.

00:11:11:11 - 00:11:35:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is called the desperation level. I don't know if you've ever been there before, but you look at a spreadsheet and you just realize, like, man, I have so many gaps. I have so many holes in our, volunteer schedule and so you're desperate and you're recruiting people that, might not even be the best fit. You're recruiting people that you don't even really want to recruit, but you are desperate.

00:11:35:16 - 00:11:55:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, the shift I had to make was I had to move from desperation to confidence. And the confidence comes from this. Right. And I don't know how to tell you to to move from this aside from prayer, and just a mindset shift. But the confidence should come from the fact that this is not your student ministry.

00:11:55:06 - 00:12:12:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And while, yes, you're being paid to run and manage this student ministry, this is God's church. And Jesus told Peter that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church, that he is going to set up like you have the ability. And so therefore, you should have the confidence to lean on that promise. This is God's church.

00:12:12:20 - 00:12:31:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is God's student ministry. And so you don't have to be desperate. He cares more about it than you do. And so I will tell you one year, this is the boss that I had to defeat. This is the fail story that I had to overcome. One year I was, rolling hard. Like the weeks were just going by me to do.

00:12:31:10 - 00:12:49:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And all of a sudden, like, the the drop dead deadline for me where I needed to have all my leaders in place for small groups and new students and promotion week, we did it at the end of the summer. And so it was like early to mid August, which meant by like Labor Day or maybe even a little bit before that was going to be back to school.

00:12:49:14 - 00:13:04:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We were going to be having new students roll on up into our student ministry, and this particular class of students had a couple of kids in it that were, known throughout the entire church that like, they were tough ones. Right. And so I was having a really hard time because no one really wanted to be their leader.

00:13:04:23 - 00:13:27:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, I was I was trying in that moment to practice the confidence. And I remember, low key inside freaking out. But I was sitting in church, okay. And I just, I remember exactly where I was sitting, and I looked across the auditorium a little bit of the ways, and I laid eyes on just this dude.

00:13:27:06 - 00:13:45:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I knew, that he worked with, the homeless shelter in town. I knew that he had kind of like a, history of volunteering in sort of that arena and and he worked with a demographics that were maybe a little bit, above and beyond what our normal volunteers were used to working with, let's just say.

00:13:45:08 - 00:14:06:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I looked at him and I felt the Spirit of God say, go ask him. And so I went straight over to him and I said, hey, I got an idea for you, and I got a proposition. And we hadn't even really met. Right? Like his, his step kids were in my ministry, so like, we had that relationship like him, and I hadn't really talked very much, and he jumped in, and it was a beautiful pairing.

00:14:06:16 - 00:14:24:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It was a beautiful like decision. Like he was exactly the right guy for that moment. And I just remember I look back at that story a lot of times and that's a success story, frankly. But it was almost a fail story because I almost didn't have enough volunteers to start the year. But God reminded me, this is my student ministry.

00:14:24:21 - 00:14:43:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is not yours. And so, you should still put the work in. You should still make the asks, you should still do the recruiting. But at the end of the day, you can operate out of a position of confidence. And quite frankly, this is something that I'm always working on because even in my current setting right now, we're still short a few volunteers.

00:14:43:23 - 00:15:03:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I'm not trying to be desperate. I'm trying to come from a position of strength, and I'm trying to come from a position of confidence. And when I did that in my spirit, well, maybe not all the holes got plugged from a pragmatic standpoint in my spirit, I was able to rest and relax and just lean on God and realizing this is his student ministry.

00:15:03:25 - 00:15:20:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Which leads me to my fifth level. And it was the arrogance level, right? Very similar to level two, which is the Lone Ranger level behind the Lone Ranger level is this idea that, like, I can do it and I want people to know that I can do it, that I can do an amazing job in the Lone Ranger level.

00:15:20:03 - 00:15:43:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's I'm just bad at delegating. But in this level, not only was I bad at delegating, I refused to delegate because I wanted the glory. I wanted the accolades, I wanted the credit and the the massive fail story. And this is, I was brand new in a church, and I changed what they did for camp. So the first year I went, it was my actual very first week on the job.

00:15:43:09 - 00:16:04:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I went to camp the very next year. I knew in my spirit I wanted to run my own camp. I wanted, all of the the glory, all the accolades that went along with that. And I could have gotten my leaders on board, but I was a being a lone Ranger and b being arrogant because I wanted to prove that I could do it, and I wanted them to be impressed with what I could do and what I could pull off.

00:16:04:12 - 00:16:21:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And frankly, what we pulled off was great. And we had a lot of like, God still used it, right? It's like that verse where where Paul says, like, I don't care why people are preaching. Like the fact that, Jesus is being preached like that's still the wind, but like, in that, like I lost a lot of equity.

00:16:21:12 - 00:16:42:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I lost a lot of track record. I lost a lot of trust with my leaders. And one night I was sitting out outside on, like a bank at the camp, kind of in a private spot, fielding a phone call from my senior pastor who said, hey, listen, if you wouldn't have handled this conversation a little bit better, we might be talking about your job.

00:16:42:06 - 00:17:03:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I was I was in that moment was one of my deepest, darkest, worst kind of moments in all of ministry. And simply, it was because I needed to make the shift from arrogance to humility and realized that the the leaders that God had put around me got to put around them, put them around me, to help maybe overcome some of the weaknesses that he knew that that I had.

00:17:03:15 - 00:17:28:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I could lean on them and I could trust them. And they were willing participants and willing people there that wanted to help me. I had to defeat that big, bad boss of arrogance. So these five leadership shifts have absolutely revolutionized my thinking. From chaos to control, from Lone Ranger to delegation, from event based to a hybrid ministry strategy, from desperation to confidence, and finally from arrogance to humility.

00:17:28:26 - 00:17:38:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I pray, and I hope that you can make those five shifts in your youth ministry and in your volunteer leadership delegation rooting you on. And don't forget, my friends, to stay hybrid.

Episode 169: Don't Try These... Until you Hear My Mistakes!

Nick Clason — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Youth ministry theme nights are some of the BEST ways to get students inviting friends and to build momentum in your group.
But here’s the thing nobody tells you—every single one of my theme nights has come with a mistake. Sometimes it was funny, sometimes it was painful… and one time I thought I was getting fired…

Before you try these for yourself, let me give you my five best theme nights from 15 years in youth ministry—and the one mistake I made in each, so you don’t have to learn the hard way.

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Fall Masterclass
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Duct Tape Trivia
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/duct-tape-trivia/kids-ministry/games-1029.html

Loot & Lunacy
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/loot-and-lunacy/games/video-enhanced-9909.html

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https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/the-ultimate-christmas-movie-showdown/christmas/christmas-games-9784.html

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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Youth Ministry Theme Nights
00:42 Theme Night #1
04:37 Theme Night #2
08:52 Theme Night #3
10:35 Theme Night #4
12:25 Theme Night #5

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:03:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Youth ministry theme nights are some of the best ways to get your students

00:00:03:13 - 00:00:09:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
inviting their friends to your group, as well as build momentum for the overall team. But here's

00:00:09:13 - 00:00:20:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
something that someone might not tell you about some of these theme nights is that in every single one, there is an opportunity for a huge mistake. Sometimes it was funny, sometimes it was painful.

00:00:20:21 - 00:00:21:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And one time I

00:00:21:14 - 00:00:23:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
even thought I might be getting fired.

00:00:23:19 - 00:00:37:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so before you try this for yourself, in this episode, I'm going to share with you my five favorite theme nights from my last 15 years in youth ministry. And the one mistake I learned from each of those, so that you don't have

00:00:37:02 - 00:00:39:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to learn it the hard way for yourself.

00:00:39:12 - 00:00:54:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry show. Well, hey my friends, welcome back to the Hybrid Ministry Show. I am your host, Nick Claussen, and I have been in this recent playlist asking and answering different questions found in different youth ministry

00:00:54:00 - 00:00:55:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Facebook groups. And this

00:00:55:19 - 00:00:55:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
one

00:00:55:27 - 00:00:59:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
says, hey, what are some theme nights you've done with your group that your kids have really enjoyed?

00:00:59:20 - 00:01:03:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like Jersey night? Crazy hair. Looking forward to some ideas.

00:01:03:16 - 00:01:03:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And

00:01:03:22 - 00:01:03:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
so

00:01:03:28 - 00:01:23:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I figured, hey, I want to share some of my best theme nights. And I've discussed this before in some recent episodes. In fact, we did kind of like a fall playlist master class thing where I talked about my strategy for youth ministry. And oftentimes I'll make a theme night, a cultivate night, which is a bring your friends and invite style night.

00:01:23:22 - 00:01:36:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so one of the very first, invite style nights that I did as a youth pastor was one that I grew up as a teenager doing my youth pastor shout out to Pastor Tim Blow. He did an event

00:01:36:16 - 00:01:42:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
called Duct Tape Night. And, then I went several years later to intern for him, and he also did it.

00:01:42:06 - 00:02:02:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so then when it was my turn to be a youth pastor, it was time to do duct tape night. And so we do all kinds of different duct tape. We buy a bunch. We encourage students to, you know, bring like, bring something made out of duct tape that they made, will play, you know, games with duct tape or I even have a game I download youth ministry, called duct tape Trivia.

00:02:02:28 - 00:02:23:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's one of my very, very first vivid early on games. And then we'll even play, like, steal the bacon. But in the middle, we'll we'll play, like, steal the duct tape instead. But one probably like the star of the show. Like the thing that kids and students and even leaders look the most forward to is the duct tape a student to the wall challenge.

00:02:23:00 - 00:02:41:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, like, I was, like I said, within my first couple, months, even weeks of of taking this new job and got a couple kids and decided to duct tape them to the wall. And that's all well and good. No one got hurt. I mean, if you get enough duct tape, they literally can stick to the wall and they're not going to fall down.

00:02:41:20 - 00:02:42:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That wasn't the problem.

00:02:42:27 - 00:03:00:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What was the problem was as soon as, they started to fall off the wall, we started to take them down off the wall. It took the paint with them. Mind you, I'm in week, like, three and a half of this job. And so, you know, it's Wednesday night. The entire church is their kids ministry, youth ministry, adult ministry.

00:03:00:12 - 00:03:01:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so at the end of the night,

00:03:01:18 - 00:03:14:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
all the adults like how duct tape night go because, like, they knew about it, heard about it, but had never, like, seen an event like this before. And we're like, oh, good, good, good. And I was talking to my, my senior pastor, my boss. Right. And I was like, oh, it's awesome.

00:03:14:25 - 00:03:31:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We had this, we had this, we had this many new kids, whatever. Oh, also, I had, kid, pull some of the tape off the, some of the paint off the wall with the duct tape. So just, you know, tell me, like what color paint that was, and, I'll. I'll repaint it. No big deal.

00:03:31:29 - 00:03:53:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. And he goes that we had to have that, like, specially painted with it in a very special way with, like, a sponge and like a finish. And the person who did that doesn't even live here anymore. They live in Georgia. And like my eyes, I'm just, like, wide eyed. Like what have I done? So I have to somehow get this wall repainted.

00:03:53:26 - 00:04:14:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But reach out to this person who doesn't go to the church anymore. And so within my first couple weeks of ever having a job, I took paint off the precious youth room walls that had been done in a very special and particular way, and so I've learned when you do that duct tape thing, don't put it on paint.

00:04:14:05 - 00:04:34:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I did put it on a brick wall, but it was a painted brick wall. So then in future years, I, stopped putting it on paint because it definitely was always taking the paint in the finish and the drywall off, but it is still an amazing and great event that you can theme, around duct tape. And it's it's a little bit niche and it's a little bit off the beaten track.

00:04:34:06 - 00:04:51:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So it's not your typical style of night. This one right here is one that we just did three weeks ago, and we called it our Back to School night. But in front of the, night, we spelled it with a k parentheses with the K. Back to school night, and we went medieval

00:04:51:21 - 00:04:53:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
themed. And, if you're due, I am member.

00:04:53:27 - 00:04:57:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Back in January, they dropped a, game called

00:04:57:02 - 00:05:04:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Loot and Lunacy, and we were going to play Loot and Lunacy at some point in January. But I remember we were in

00:05:04:13 - 00:05:14:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
our run through in our Q to Q and the game. It's just like long, like there are ten sides, ten questions, and they're each like a minute and 30s or so long.

00:05:14:09 - 00:05:32:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you needed to carve out a good 15, maybe even 20 minutes to the whole game. And so that night, right on the moment, right on a dime, I actually decided to switch to another game. So I held loot and lunacy just in my back pocket, knowing I wanted to go back to at some point in the future.

00:05:32:11 - 00:05:50:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so when our back to school came around, I was like, let's, let's build a night around loot and lunacy. And in the meantime, we built up all of these sort of like ren fair ideas around it. And so, you know, we talked about, you know, the importance or not, the importance of we it was an invite.

00:05:50:04 - 00:06:08:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we didn't have like a message or anything, but, we had all sorts of different, like, medieval themed games. We did the impossible shot with the bow and arrow. We did like, a giant scavenger hunt. We got a joust. We even looked into getting turkey legs, but that was either a impossible or B cost prohibitive.

00:06:08:01 - 00:06:29:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I can't remember exactly the reason why, but either way we didn't come up with it. But then in and around it, we played Loot and Lunacy and we broke it up into two chunks. We played some at the beginning and we played some at the end. And, you know, here's the fact is, I actually, because this is recent, I detailed an outline this entire episode over on a recent bonus Patreon podcast episode.

00:06:29:16 - 00:06:40:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I get on and I talk every single week. Actually, as soon as this episode hits stop, I'm gonna turn around and a record and recap last night's, last night's Youth Mystery, which was we had an

00:06:40:20 - 00:06:50:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
amazing, like, custom game that came out of like one of our, team members just heads like, it was fantastic. And I can't wait to share it with you.

00:06:50:03 - 00:07:11:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So click the link down below. And guess what? You also get access to the seasonal summer social media pack. Hey quick break. Let me ask you a question. Are you still waking up every day? Is youth pastor scrambling to figure out what you need to post on your social media? Blurry dodgeball. Pick a video that your leader sent you that's a little bit pixelated, because iPhone still hasn't updated fully to RCS yet.

00:07:11:03 - 00:07:30:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You see, you don't need that kind of stress this fall. That's why I created this the fast seasonal social media pack for youth pastors. It is three months worth of done for you content done for you, paired with some customization so that you and your leaders and your students are the faces and the personalities on your student ministry.

00:07:30:17 - 00:07:50:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Instagram, TikTok and YouTube shorts feed. So here's the thing. You can grab my pack right now over on Patreon. And did you know that monthly hybrid? Here are Patreon members who only pay $4 per month and get a bonus podcast. They get this pack completely for free, so if you do the math for three months worth of social media content, it's only $12.

00:07:51:03 - 00:08:11:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Where the pack is 1799. Either way, it is a steal for you and it will take away the stress of posting. And you can grab that pack right now and start becoming a master at social media and hybrid ministry. In your youth ministry context, rooting for you as you are crushing it this fall in your student ministry. Moving on.

00:08:11:27 - 00:08:31:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Talking about back to school bashes. That was a like back to school night, medieval themed back school bash. The mistake I made in that is that. Do you know how to spell medieval? I spelled it wrong so many times. And emails out to parents. The whole thing. And I

00:08:31:02 - 00:08:33:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
still don't even know if I know how to spell it.

00:08:33:05 - 00:08:40:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Grammarly tells me it's medieval, but I was spelling it MLG. Easy io.

00:08:40:18 - 00:08:45:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But then I had to spell it mega. I even I like it, I messed it up

00:08:45:24 - 00:09:06:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
so many times. So don't be like me and look up how to spell medieval before you send out emails to parents. But, typically a back to school bash for me, growing up in youth ministry and this is like a big event, a party and a bunch of, like, those giant inflatables and like, you know, obstacle courses, not bounce houses.

00:09:06:16 - 00:09:29:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Exactly, but like, obstacle courses, jousts, Velcro wall, like the hanging wrecking ball, the bucking bronco, like stuff like that. And so one year I had, created a special events team, and there's a guy at our church who's super awesome, super willing to help, but, like, didn't want to be, like, necessarily like a youth leader. But he was like, I'll be on like the events team, which was great.

00:09:29:24 - 00:09:50:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I had our students helpline the night and like what they wanted for food. And they said they wanted Buffalo Wild Wings, which was great and so called ahead place to order. And you know, all the inflatables, all the things are going, kids are showing up, but the food's not there. And I had sent this guy and his name was Tim to go out and grab the Buffalo Wild Wings.

00:09:50:12 - 00:10:09:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Order. And I had placed it ready to be picked up at, you know, let's say 615. Well, he told me that when he got there that they didn't start preparing the order of nearly 250 wings until he arrived at 615, and it was supposed to be ready to pick up at 615. And I said, no, it was supposed to be pick up.

00:10:09:07 - 00:10:33:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
He said, that's what I told them. And they even said, oh yeah, but we want your wings to be fresh. And so he was like 45 minutes late and all the kids are like, where's the wings? So when you're doing catering and when you're doing a big giant pickup order like that, like just make sure the restaurants don't do harebrained stuff like wait until you get there to start preparing it, which is going to then make it like an hour late.

00:10:33:01 - 00:10:52:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Good grief. Event idea number four is last year actually linked right here? I discussed our Christmas movie bracket. And what we did out of that. And again, this is another good plug for my Patreon as I discussed in detail and outlined all of this in my Patreon as well. But we did a bracket which is movies go head to head.

00:10:52:05 - 00:11:09:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, this was the member resource back in, youth ministry back in December of 2024. So if you remember, you might even have access to this for free. Otherwise, I'll put the link down in the show notes. You can go grab it for just a few bucks, but kids vote head to head on different Christmas movies.

00:11:09:18 - 00:11:33:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then what we did was that was just running in the background. In the month of November. But then what we did was the winner was what became our Christmas movie night. And then my boss shout out to Darren, he did a, he added a flavor of bring your own chair to the Christmas movie night. And so kids are coming in and in shopping carts and in camping chairs, and one group even brought a full air mattress to sit on.

00:11:33:18 - 00:11:54:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we took all the chairs out of our auditorium and we played the movie, up on the screen. And the kids brought all their own chairs. Now, the mistake that I made in this event was trusting that ChatGPT would know where all of the homeland Swearwords were, because I actually edited, I was going to edit out any cuss words from the Home Alone movie.

00:11:54:16 - 00:12:22:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so ChatGPT told me. And then what happened was, by the grace of God himself, I was thinking about a certain part of the movie, and I remember, oh, there's a swear word there. And I didn't edit that out, so I had to go back in and reedit it, a reedit another edit that after one I had already made, because the first one I made was I was trusting ChatGPT to give me accurate information, and alas, it gave me some accurate information, but not entirely accurate information.

00:12:22:09 - 00:12:41:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So check your AI chat bots people. And then finally, the fifth idea that I have is a Super Bowl party. If you are a youth group that meets on Sunday nights, you're obligated to do something with the Super Bowl. Now, what I would recommend from a philosophical standpoint is if you're ones in a group, don't add a Super Bowl party to it.

00:12:41:23 - 00:12:55:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if you're sending a group, you've got to figure out what you're going to do. And so I remember the first year that I was at a church that had converted from Wednesday to Sunday. And so in comes along the Super Bowl and all of a sudden people were like, oh yeah, we got church and don't we? And they're like, where are we going to meet?

00:12:55:29 - 00:13:13:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we had a Super Bowl party at my house and it was averagely attended. It wasn't great. And so, the and everyone was like, well, we got a party with these people every year and we do this this time of year. And so I was like, I'm not doing that. I'm not competing with the Super Bowl anymore.

00:13:13:07 - 00:13:31:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Not to mention, I like sports. I want to watch the Super Bowl. And if I'm running a party, I don't get to watch. I don't get to lock in. I don't get to pay attention to the Super Bowl. And so the mistake, I would say, of, doing the Super Bowl party is actually having one. However, if you're a Sunday night meeting youth ministry, what do you do instead?

00:13:31:28 - 00:14:03:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, I, I moved up our party, in the next couple of years, and we started doing, like, a pre-game or like a tailgating party. And I know those have negative connotations, but just like a before the Super Bowl party of the Super Bowl party. But we're done by the time Super Bowl parties are so big obstacle course in the middle of our, our space and, some football trivia and, I think we did, like, Nerf wars in a room, actually, and I ended up hiring a DJ, which, another mistake was that deejay was awesome.

00:14:03:17 - 00:14:35:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, he wasn't like some, like, low level DJ. He was so good. And the music was so loud, and the kids, complained. They're like, I couldn't hear myself think. And so I had to go ask him to turn the music down a little bit. That was another mistake. But all in all, super fun. I encourage kids wear jerseys and whatever, but we did it on Super Bowl Sunday, just a few hours before the game started, and then if you are like me and you like sports and you like football, you wrap your event up and you're home in your recliner by 6 p.m. and you're watching the game, you don't have to

00:14:35:19 - 00:14:52:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
worry about commercials. You don't have to worry about halftime shows except for your own stuff. You just get to enjoy the game for itself. So those are five of my favorite theme nights. Comment down below what your favorite youth ministry theme night is, and tab this video here on screen so that you can check out the next one and be sure to give us a subscribe.

00:14:52:29 - 00:14:56:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But until next time, and as always, my friends, don't forget, say habit.

🚨BIG ANNOUNCEMENT🚨 - The Future of Hybrid Ministry!

Nick Clason — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Hop into this EMERGENCY POD! Big News on the horizon!

I've got a special guest here, my former boss, and more importantly, friend, Darren Sutton, to explain all there is about the future of the Hybrid Ministry Show! And what this Deep-Dive Cohort is all about.

Deep-dive cohort link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfvUGUy6e3NDPK_DQNsRettn2mhT2Pedyn8ccl8WSlSTGvAwA/viewform

Episode 167: Top 5 Youth Ministry Books Every New Youth Pastor Must Read

Nick Clason — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Nick Clason Theological Seminary—or as my new resident called it, NCTS. I’m not actually starting a seminary, but if you’re brand new to youth ministry and wondering, "What books should I read?" You’re in the right place. Today I’m breaking down 5 must-read youth ministry books and 3 video courses that will give you a solid foundation for preaching, programming, and discipling students in today’s world.

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/167

Fall Masterclass Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLfP12NPWmpBzXoCcEsAyBF

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

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

Communicating for a Change
https://walmrt.us/4fPAYze

Lead Small
https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Small-Ideas-Every-Leader/dp/0985411627

Sticky Church:
https://walmrt.us/4mZu252

4 Chair Discipling
https://walmrt.us/4lHUgbc

//📽️ VIDEO COURSES
Access to Youth Ministry University:
https://www.ymuniversity.com/

-Programming Like a Pro
-Purpose Driven Youth Ministry
-Family Ministry

Or go Platinum:
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/platinum-membership---annual/membership-shop-10009.html

USE CODE HYBRIDMINISTRY10 FOR COLEADER:
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//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Nick Clason Theological Seminary
01:12 Brunch & Learn
04:25 Knowing Him
06:47 Communicating for a Change
08:09 VIDEO: Programming Like a Pro
10:24 Lead Small
12:18 VIDEO: Family Ministry
12:59 Sticky Church
14:19 VIDEO: PDYM - Purpose Driven Youth Ministry
15:24 4 Chair Discipling
15:51 HONORABLE MENTION: Your First 2 Years in Youth Ministry
16:09 Biblical Ministry is Timeless

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:03 - 00:00:27:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome to the Nicholas's Theological Seminary, or as my new resident recently called it, the n c t s. Now, listen, I'm not actually starting to sing you, but if you are brand new to youth ministry and you're wondering, like this person and this youth pastor Facebook group who said, hey, I am new to youth ministry and I've been out of the youth ministry position for 11 years.

00:00:27:26 - 00:00:59:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So anyone have any new books or resources that will help me with today's youth, ages 9 to 18 at this new position? They've had trouble the last year with getting volunteers, kids showing up and committing to events. If anyone has any advice on these things that would help. Thank you and good luck with your ministry. If that's you, or if you're asking a question like that, well then today you're in the right place because what I'm actually going to be doing is I'm going to be breaking down five must-read youth ministry books paired with three video courses.

00:00:59:07 - 00:01:30:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And those two things paired together are going to give you a solid foundation for preaching, programing, and discipling students in today's world. Welcome, everyone to the hybrid ministry Show. What's up everyone? Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. For a quick bit of context. Just as a reminder, there are always chapters listed down below. In this episode, I'm breaking down what you should be reading and what you can be using as prep as a new or, building a foundation in youth ministry.

00:01:30:18 - 00:01:54:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this really came to light in, recent days. My boss, Darren, who was, a and still is a 30 plus year youth ministry veteran, moved on to a different role, and I stepped into his seat and I inherited a team, with a combined less than one year of paid professional, full time youth ministry experience.

00:01:54:22 - 00:02:16:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There are four of them, but every single one of them has less than a year, and in some cases, less than six months of paid professional, full time youth ministry experience. They're eager. They're awesome. I love our team. But they're all very young. And so I started kind of thinking through, like, what are some of the things that we should be, that they should know?

00:02:16:08 - 00:02:41:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what are some of the things that have been foundational to me that I have known? And so, in previous, years when, you know, Dan was on the team and I was his right hand man, him and I kind of in tandem led these, lunch and learn kind of like workshops. And so I went back through and I looked at what we did last year, and then I looked ahead and, I started, like, thinking, like, what was some of the most core or, like, foundational things for me growing up.

00:02:41:24 - 00:03:02:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so this is essentially like my, like, must have go to like types of things, for youth pastors and frankly, for people in ministry because some of these things are not actually only like ministry specific. So, there are going to be links to every single one of these listed down below in the description. Make sure that you go check those out.

00:03:02:10 - 00:03:21:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There may be a small affiliate commission. Won't change the price for you. Some might not have it. Like, I don't know exactly. Which ones are which, but you can go ahead and check those out. But the first thing and so like in our what I'll do is I'll share, here on screen, if you're watching on YouTube, I'll share are like brunch and learn schedule.

00:03:21:13 - 00:03:51:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we meet once a month, for discussion around some of these topics. And now, I'm, I'm building it and setting it up in this particular way, to try and space out some of the obligation and some of the reading that I'm requiring of them. However. So, like, you need to understand, like I'm putting, like, shorter books, after longer books, and then I'm doing a video class in between some books and stuff like that so that it's not only reading and there's like videos in there.

00:03:51:14 - 00:04:07:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's why I'm breaking it up, kind of the way that I'm breaking it up. But like, you can kind of go in any, any direction and like, depending on the appetite that you may or may not have for learning, that may or may not be better for you. So go ahead and try and kind of like take, take this with a grain of salt.

00:04:07:29 - 00:04:31:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm not saying you have to go in any particular order. I may recommend like a particular order, but you can go in, in whatever or you want. And I'll explain what each of the books kind of focus on. And so depending on your context, you can kind of, grab it, in that way. But for us, starting off, we're doing a 50 day devotional study from Sun Life called Knowing Him.

00:04:31:07 - 00:05:01:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And now what is awesome about this book is a it's a devotional, so you can, like, add it and make it a part of just like your daily morning, like quiet time reading. And what it is, is it's an exploration through the life of Christ in 50 days, in chronological order. My senior pastor and then also like the founder of Sun Life, Dan Spader, and many of the guys kind of in that arena have sort of found the value in looking at the harmony of the Gospels in the chronological order life of Jesus.

00:05:01:23 - 00:05:31:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's what this 50 day study is, kind of built around. And I kid you not like, I'm not saying this hyperbolically this is perhaps the most beneficial, like devotional study that I have ever been through in my life. It's so impactful. So several videos back linked right up here talked about my, event strategy, the, the spiritual CPR and that kind of came, from the roots in the foundation of like, a sun life kind of strategy.

00:05:31:23 - 00:05:49:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this knowing him, is really like the core, kind of like foundation. Or like the, the chronological ness of, of it all. And so was really been cool is, my team right now they're working through this. And, one of the guys, he goes, you know, I just kind of assumed, like, I've been through a million Bible studies.

00:05:49:05 - 00:06:12:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I just kind of assumed the questions would be kind of lame and kind of basic. He's like, the study's fantastic. And the questions are really, really making me think so it's really, really good. And, we at a as our church, we try to position our church and thus our ministry after the chronological nature of Jesus and, and follow his blueprint and disciple making pathway for making leaders.

00:06:12:15 - 00:06:32:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, this devotional really helps, get our, our team into that headspace of, doing ministry like Jesus and exploring it through kind of a chronological lens. There's not a great way to buy this, honestly. They have kind of like a print on demand sort of deal, and our church, doesn't, want to pay tax because we're tax exempt.

00:06:32:14 - 00:06:47:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And there wasn't a very easy way for me to figure out how to not do tax. But they do have a completely free e-book version of it. And so if you don't mind the e-book version and then maybe write down your answers in, like, a journal, then you can totally go that way and it's completely free.

00:06:47:26 - 00:07:09:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The next book that I recommend to all of our team as they're communicating is, in my opinion, the best communication resource out there from one Andy Stanley. Now, listen, I know that recently some of his, comments and some of his thinking have become a little bit polarizing in the church subculture. But you can't argue that he's not one of the best communicators out there.

00:07:09:20 - 00:07:42:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so he has a book on communicating for a change that I absolutely love. And so, some of our team has already been through that. And so for this, for our brunch and learn, I'm taking through, two people who have not yet been through that. And we're not only going to read it and discuss it, but we're also going to workshop like a future message for them, in this sort of way that Andy, builds out his, his messages, which is in his, his kind of famed and patented outline of me, then we, then God, then you, then we, and the the sort of thesis for his whole book is drive towards

00:07:42:16 - 00:07:59:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
one main point and then tell a story you know about you, that's the me. And then broaden it so that it includes everyone. And, you know, create this tension like, this is not only a new problem, but it's a we problem. But here's how God solves it. And here's one thing that you can do as a result of that.

00:07:59:23 - 00:08:20:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then finally, if we all did this, imagine how the world could be different or the world could change to really, really good framework. And I basically use it every single time I preach. Next. After that, we are moving into our youth ministry university, which we are platinum members at our church. If you're not, you should go check it out on Download Youth Ministry.

00:08:20:06 - 00:08:42:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
At least check out Collider, which is an amazing, you know, scope and sequence curriculum. You can use code Hybrid Ministry ten, if you want to get 10% off co-leader for the year. But we're using a, we're using the programing like a pro, which is Justin Knowles and Josh Griffin, and they're sort of like a programing course that they have on WAMU.

00:08:42:06 - 00:09:02:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, I wanted to get our, our team thinking and talking about creative programing and, you know, that's actually a really, really high value for me, something that I care a lot about. In fact, that's one of the things that I talk about on my bonus, Patreon hybrid heroes podcast every single week. Hey, quick break.

00:09:02:22 - 00:09:19:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let me ask you a question. Are you still waking up every day as a youth pastor, scrambling to figure out what you need to post on your social media? Blurry dodgeball. Pick a video that your leader sent you that's a little bit pixelated, because iPhone still hasn't updated fully to RCS yet. You see, you don't need that kind of stress this fall.

00:09:19:06 - 00:09:42:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's why I created this the fall seasonal social media pack for youth pastors. It is three months worth of done for you content done for you, paired with some customization so that you and your leaders and your students are the faces and the personalities on your student ministry Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube shorts feed. So here's the thing you can grab my pack right now over on Patreon.

00:09:42:16 - 00:10:02:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And did you know that monthly hybrid? Here are Patreon members who only pay $4 per month and get a bonus podcast. They get this pack completely for free, so if you do the math for three months worth of social media content, it's only $12 where the pack is 1799. Either way, it is a steal for you and it will take away the stress of posting.

00:10:02:28 - 00:10:22:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can grab that pack right now and start becoming a master at social media and hybrid ministry. In your youth ministry context, rooting for you as you are crushing it this fall in your student ministry. So in addition to social media, in addition to programing like a pro, that is one of the things we're taking our team through.

00:10:23:01 - 00:10:46:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We are also then, after that, we're going to take them through the book Lead Small, which lead Small is actually sort of like written as a job description for small group leaders. It's kind of meant to hand to small group leaders. It's a really quick and fun read. And so, in the middle of sort of like our year, I dropped lead Small on them because I think it's probably going to be the quickest of all the reads that they're going to have to do.

00:10:46:22 - 00:11:10:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we'll have a discussion and that'll be, really us thinking and strategizing as staff about how we can equip our small group leaders to continue to lean into some of the core, kind of like five lead small principles. My friend Carrie Rae, who's, over on staff at y, AM3 60, he's famous for saying, like, any youth pastor could have written this book.

00:11:10:18 - 00:11:50:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Orange just went ahead and did it. And once again, I know that there's some, you know, stuff going on around with orange, but the core principles of Lead Small, which are taken from Scripture, are also, not, you know, they haven't, ceased to, to be relevant. And so they're still very useful to creating a good culture of relationships and connection and small group and most youth ministries, I would argue that are greater than 25 to 30, which is probably most of us are going to need to have a pretty strong lead, small culture, because, you as a youth pastor can't provide care for greater than 30 students.

00:11:50:01 - 00:12:16:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you need to, enlist small group leaders to help continue on in that care. It's a biblical principle. We see, Jethro challenged Moses to do that when Moses doing too much. And Jethro says you need to delegate. And and that's what we as youth pastors also need to do. Not because we don't care about students, not because we don't want to be in students lives, but because we want to equip our small group leaders to be kind of the torch bearers for some of that shepherding and pastoral care.

00:12:16:19 - 00:12:38:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's what the lead small principle is all about. The next thing we're going back to, why I'm university and we're looking at family ministry, just basically thinking like, how do we partner with parents? That's a core kind of like principle that all of us in youth ministry, should care about. That's what orange is kind of built off of, you know, like, the church and the churches.

00:12:38:07 - 00:12:56:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What is I think the church is red. No, the family is red because it's their heart and their love, and the church is yellow because like the light of God. But together they should make orange. Right? And so it's partnering with families in your student and in your youth ministry. And so, youth minister University has a whole family ministry course.

00:12:56:27 - 00:13:19:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we're going to watch that and then we're going to discuss that as a team. This book right here is essentially my, small group, curriculum strategy guide. It is Sticky Church, written by Larry Osborne. And I read this book all the way back when I was an intern myself. And his whole premise is your church will grow when you're small.

00:13:19:15 - 00:13:43:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Groups are sticky. So it's but it's more than just lead small culture. It's what's the curriculum and what's the driving force within your small groups. And his premise is essentially you should do a sermon or whatever your main messages, sermon based small groups. And some of you, totally agree, which, you know, if if you are like a subscriber to co-leader, you understand that that's exactly like what it is like.

00:13:43:19 - 00:14:06:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You listen to the message and then you break into small groups to discuss it. In our context. We teach on one night and then our small group curriculum is taught on a whole nother day and a whole nother calendar time of the week. Which is similar to like a big church model where if you go to church and then you have small groups that meet decentralized host homes throughout the community, and they're discussing the pastor's sermon.

00:14:06:12 - 00:14:25:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's a similar sort of mindset. So this comes from, I'm sure other people have this this idea in this mindset. But, I remember at first from Larry Osborne and I found this book to be incredibly helpful and incredibly impactful. Towards the end of the year, we're finally going to get into the why I'm university purpose driven youth ministry discussion.

00:14:25:09 - 00:14:45:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The only reason that this isn't higher, and the only reason that I don't recommend this sooner, is because, we kind of did like the knowing him, which is going to be a, a ministry philosophy and a ministry purpose, conversation and discussion. And so what I'm doing is I'm bringing this back around, bookending it at the end of the year.

00:14:45:07 - 00:15:04:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the book dug this book. Phenomenal. I love this book. I was just trying to cut down on the reading, and I saw that there was a video course. And so we're going to go ahead and have take our team through the video course and just kind of explore the five different purposes of the church, which again, we are already kind of like our team.

00:15:04:24 - 00:15:23:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Our team has a good understanding of that as it pertains to like Jesus's disciple making pathway, like those sections on the pathway often are tied to different purposes of the church. So this will, be reiterating it and meshing into that way of thinking just from like a slightly different angle. So I'm really excited to bring this one back around.

00:15:23:28 - 00:15:47:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then finally, the ultimate bookend for church discipling by Dan Spader, one of my all time favorite books as well. It's he's the founder of Sun Life. And so just like we have four steps on our church's pathway, he has four chairs. And that it's going to pair really well with that knowing him and then that purpose driven youth ministry discussion I will give and I will give a nod.

00:15:47:26 - 00:16:06:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the only other reason I didn't include this book for all youth pastors is, this is like the goat of all youth ministry books. Is your first two years in youth ministry? The only reason I didn't include it for our team is because, as interns, they've already gone through it and read it. And so, I recommend that one as well.

00:16:06:18 - 00:16:24:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Written by Doug Fields as well. Phenomenal and fantastic book. And so if you're in youth ministry and if you're wondering, like, what do I do? How do I connect? Now, listen, you might be thinking, if you wrote that question like, how do I connect with teens in like this new world that you're like, these aren't that new of resources?

00:16:24:24 - 00:16:48:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you're right. And maybe it's because I'm an old fuddy duddy. Or I think that some of these things are tied to the Great Commission and are key to like some, some youth ministry like purpose, which, you know, purpose driven youth ministry for church discipling and knowing him are all like youth ministry strategy and church ministry strategy, doing and running church and making disciples like Jesus.

00:16:48:18 - 00:17:08:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then within that you got teaching and programing. So those are in there. And then finally, leading small group. So you got lead small and you got sticky church. And then the last piece is how do we partner with parents? And that's why we included that family ministry piece. All these things really help hopefully give a good holistic view of of good youth ministry.

00:17:08:05 - 00:17:25:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, you know, I've been youth ministry for 15 years. These are some of the core things that have helped shape my thinking and some of what I do as well. And let me just say kind of one final piece, like, if you're not a platinum member, you should become one because they give you a conference registration ticket and some of those do.

00:17:25:22 - 00:17:47:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I am 100 roundtables conferences, have been some of the most formative things to my youth ministry thinking and, my, my honestly, my health and my longevity in being a youth pastor for more than 15 years. So, hey, hope you found this episode helpful. We're going to be answering some questions in the subsequent episodes. It'll be linked in a playlist, or you can tap the video that you see right here on screen.

00:17:47:29 - 00:17:56:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hey, subscribe or like or a share would really mean the world to us if you found this episode helpful. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget stay hybrid.

Episode 166: How Our Youth Group Doubled in 3 Years

Nick Clason — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0500

In this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Podcast, I share how our youth group doubled in just 3 years using simple hybrid ministry strategies that any youth pastor can apply. You’ll learn practical tips for increasing youth group attendance, retaining volunteers, engaging parents, and building a student ministry that makes more and better disciples of Jesus. Whether you’re leading a small church youth group or looking for big youth ministry ideas on a budget, these proven hybrid ministry strategies for youth pastors will help your ministry grow.

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/166

//STUDIO TOUR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVT1xvh9-5k

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

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

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

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

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

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

//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 We Experienced 2x Growth using this!
02:01 How we got here - The Hybrid History
07:00 The Intern Budget Option
08:12 The Youth Pastor Budget Option
10:57 The Senior Pastor Budget Option

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I posted this way and

00:00:01:23 - 00:00:03:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
this often for the last

00:00:03:06 - 00:00:04:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
three years. And here's

00:00:04:13 - 00:00:34:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
what happened on YouTube alone. We've had over 6000 views, 4000 plus hours of watch time, and over 900 subscribers. That's awesome success online. However, it doesn't just stop there. We've experienced 100.6% growth in our youth ministry in that exact same amount of time while we've been posting like, okay, here's a good news I am real life boots on the ground youth pastor.

00:00:34:01 - 00:01:02:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I also have to do things just like you like write a message, recruit volunteers, meet with my senior pastor as well as dream up, create, and post on social media regularly. Now if you do this, I will say that you'll experience 100.6% growth. But there are many additional benefits to this strategy. Things like attendance obviously being one of them.

00:01:02:22 - 00:01:23:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But you'll also see an uptick in student ministry volunteers, an uptick in your parent ministry. It can increase your leader, retention, and you'll have the ability to lean into your true calling as a pastor, where you get the opportunity to equip the saints for the works and acts of service, which actually we talked about in my last video linked right here.

00:01:23:18 - 00:01:44:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And here's the thing. I can help you do it. I have three different tiers of help available. Like if you're on the intern budget, I can give you completely free rundown version. If you're on the youth pastor budget for less than $6 a month, I have an option for you there as well. Or if you have the Senior Pastor Cadillac option, I'll do it for you.

00:01:44:08 - 00:02:08:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is where the parent and the leader piece really comes into play in that final option. Don't forget there are some chapters listed down below so that you can jump ahead to the part of this episode that makes the most sense to you. Welcome my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry show. So I've been on staff here at this church exactly three years and in the exact same amount of time.

00:02:08:23 - 00:02:31:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Just like I said in the intro, we've been posting with this rhythm. In fact, when we started, we were posting all of our long form messages to YouTube and we were doing so with just a cell phone camera. In fact, as soon as I moved here, I bought the brand new Google Pixel nine Plus Pro so that I could use it for social media and for its its camera purposes.

00:02:31:15 - 00:02:59:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They were telling me at the time that it was the best phone on the market, and so we were using it. And that was our that was our primary avenue. Bought a couple of different like microphone options to pair with the camera. And that was it. That's all we had and that's all we used. And so we would post not only long form YouTube messages, but also all of our short form content, which, speaking of short form content, we were posting three times per day on social media.

00:02:59:03 - 00:03:34:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
My goal at the time was aggressive growth, and I had just moved here from Chicago. And I had just, you know, for the previous about six months or so, been kind of dabbling in the tick tock Instagram Reels realm and was learning that three times a day was aggressive. But it also, you had more bites at the apple for an opportunity to be seen, you know, at the time, the kind of go on on those platforms TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube shorts was get as many bites at the apple so that you have more chances to be discovered, to be seen, and then to go viral.

00:03:35:00 - 00:03:54:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This my strategy has since shifted a little bit. And, you know, of course we'll get into that. But then we were filming any of these pieces of content just in and around our space. So in offices or in like the lobby or like even just main on the street, like anywhere we found any of our other, like, staff.

00:03:54:21 - 00:04:18:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But eventually we built a full studio, which is actually the room I am sitting in right now. And over time, we've progressively spent more on gear and on set design and budget for it. But to start, it was a pretty basic studio build. We spent a little bit on paint and, you know, some wall treatment type options and some tchotchkes for shelves.

00:04:18:19 - 00:04:38:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that was it. I will actually post full, tour studio link down below if you're interested in that, along with much of the gear that we use for that. But I would say one of the key shifts was once we had our studio built out, I had a resident shout out to my good friend Caleb Flywheel.

00:04:38:00 - 00:05:01:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Maita, who had this idea, because we were posting long form pieces of content, for all of our messages on YouTube. So that was myself and any, anyone else on staff that was, that was delivering a message that was being posted to YouTube. He wanted to see more students in long form on YouTube. So he created this idea this weekly social challenge.

00:05:01:23 - 00:05:22:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
He would film it on Wednesday night, in long form, in horizontal mode, and then he would edit all day Thursday and post a social challenge by the end of the day Thursday. It was a great idea. It's a great concept, but it was cooking his Thursdays like he never got anything else done except for just working on, you know, social challenge stuff.

00:05:22:20 - 00:05:41:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we eventually, adapted and shifted that strategy to be where we captured the majority and the lion's share of our student based short form content. We would do it in the studio any single time that we met on Wednesday nights. And I've detailed an outline that in previous episodes. So make sure that you subscribe and go back and listen to some of those.

00:05:41:12 - 00:05:59:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But here's the thing that you might be thinking as you hear this, you might be thinking, this sounds both overwhelming and hard, and I just want to let you know that I have, recently yesterday, a guy on my team came to me and he said, I am over budgeting my time. And as a what do you mean by that?

00:05:59:04 - 00:06:20:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
He said, I'm giving myself like two hour blocks of time and it's not taking quite that long. And right now he is owning the majority of our social media content. I've shifted into a little bit of a new role. I've given him a lot more to do with with editing and posting and what he is saying in his own words, and I would I would echo this to be true.

00:06:20:01 - 00:06:38:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What I've learned is once you learn how to use some of these platforms and some of these programs, it's not as time consuming as you might think it is. The learning curve on the front side might feel steep, but once you get up over that hump, the actual maintenance mode of some of these things isn't as difficult as you think.

00:06:38:17 - 00:06:58:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And as I as I outlined in my last episode, you can hand over as much of that as you feel comfortable to your students. So let me share with you the three different tiers of options and solutions I have that you can lean into this hybrid strategy, which for us gave us two growth in a three year period of time.

00:06:58:12 - 00:07:25:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let's chat. Let's check it out okay, so you have the intern budget. How do you get started? Well, I would recommend hopping down in the description to grab my 100% completely free e-book. In my original iteration, you heard me say, if you're listening to the contact section of this that I posted three times per day, I've scaled that back, but it's still two times per day, which is still an aggressive growth strategy and mindset.

00:07:25:09 - 00:08:00:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I'll just be honest, one of the main reasons that I post that aggressively is because we film enough content that I have enough things to keep my feed going and being posted, but it's a lot of students and it's a lot of leaders, and so a lot of custom content for our student ministry. But I even recommend now, and I've done it and I've seen it in some coaching relationships that I've had that if you post three times a week, if you're starting completely from scratch, it's still a good strategy to lean into from a hybrid ministry standpoint.

00:08:00:08 - 00:08:21:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so link down below is my 100% completely free e-book. And if you want the start from scratch version, if you want the hey only post three times per week, then I recommend this next one, which is the youth pastor budget. And I can get this all for you via my Patreon account and my four seasonal social media pack.

00:08:21:23 - 00:08:39:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hey quick break, let me ask you a question. Are you still waking up every day as a youth pastor, scrambling to figure out what you need to post on your social media? Blurry dodgeball. Pick a video that your leader sent you that's a little bit pixelated, because iPhone still hasn't updated fully to RCS yet. You see, you don't need that kind of stress this fall.

00:08:39:03 - 00:09:02:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's why I created this, the fall seasonal social media pack for youth pastors. It is three months worth of done for you content done for you, paired with some customization so that you and your leaders and your students are the faces and the personalities on your student ministry. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube shorts. See? See? Here's the thing. You can grab my pack right now over on Patreon.

00:09:02:11 - 00:09:22:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And did you know that monthly hybrid hero Patreon members who only pay $4 per month and get a bonus podcast? They get this pack completely for free. So if you do the math for three months worth of social media content, it's only $12. Where the pack is 1799. Either way, it is a steal for you and it will take away the stress of posting.

00:09:22:20 - 00:09:44:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can grab that pack right now and start becoming a master at social media and hybrid ministry. In your youth ministry context, rooting for you as you are crushing it this fall in your student ministry. So as you just heard, the fall season of Social Media Pack is here. Go grab it. Go download it. It is the youth pastor version of this budget 1799.

00:09:45:03 - 00:10:07:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, in and on top of that, if you head over to my Patreon and you become a $4 a month member, you will not only receive that pack for free as a part of that membership, but you'll also then be subscribed to a weekly bonus podcast where I sit down on a microphone every single week and I explain and I outline and I flesh out all that we did.

00:10:07:16 - 00:10:32:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I basically go through our service order, and I talk about one things we could have done to be more creative and things that hit really well, and what we're doing on social media and how we're capturing certain things and all these different things. And so if you pair my bonus podcast with the social media pack, which again, reminder is free if you're a hybrid hero member, all of those things can be used to your advantage.

00:10:32:23 - 00:10:58:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
To get you started in this track of hybrid ministry. Listen, it's not here to help me get rich. It's really just here to help resource you and give you the foundation and the building blocks for what it takes to really, truly lean into a hybrid strategy, which again, as a reminder to our growth in the course of a three year period of time.

00:10:58:11 - 00:11:21:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, in both of those options, they're going to talk to you a lot about the value of your social media platforms. However, the real ultimate goal, I would say, is to find a way to post your weekly messages to YouTube. Now, if you have live streaming capabilities or at least live captioning capabilities, then that's a fantastic strategy. It gets the job done.

00:11:21:22 - 00:11:43:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We, both prefer. And also due to the constraints of not having, you know, camera capabilities in our main meeting room, we film our messages very similar to this direct to camera. We'll use a teleprompter at times and we will post those directly to YouTube. And at this point now we've built up our budget in order to be able to pay for editors to do that.

00:11:43:02 - 00:12:13:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But in the very early iterations, I was the editor. And you can use something like, you know, Adobe Premiere Pro Final Cut Pro, DaVinci resolve, or even something like Cap Cut to get the job done. But once you get a long form, like, posted version to YouTube, this is the senior pastor budget. If you need an editor or if you need someone to do it for you, I can either offer coaching, which is like a, an agreement for a set of time or I can do it for you in my communications.

00:12:13:21 - 00:12:30:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Done for you pack in my free time. Off to the side of me being a real life youth pastor, getting those long form clips is really helpful because then you can use an AI service like Opus Stock Pro to clip them up for you. They're not as good as if a human does them. But again, you're busy.

00:12:30:16 - 00:12:46:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You got things going on and, open Stop Pro is a really reasonable rate to kind of offer to do that. And it really does help flesh out and fill out your strategy, because if your strategy's all bunch of fun and games that you're doing with your students, that's great. Hopefully that's going to hook some viewers in your audience.

00:12:46:06 - 00:13:22:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But then you also want to win, or at least, have the algorithm feed them some of your spiritual content as well. And that's where this really comes into play. And you can add the Patreon pack right on top of what this is, where, like, I'll be doing this for you. You can add in that Patreon pack, which will help help give you the, the coaching and the framework and the resources to hand this off to someone if you don't want to go all into this senior pastor budget option, if you just need to stick with your main youth ministry budget, here's what I would recommend.

00:13:22:05 - 00:13:47:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Of all of these things, lean in to the youth ministry budget option because it is $4 a month for the Hybrid Heroes bonus podcast tier, and that nets out to only $48 a year. Four times per year. You're going to get the social pack for free included in your membership. So for $48, you will have a fully locked and loaded social media hybrid strategy.

00:13:47:02 - 00:14:11:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And just as a reminder, that strategy is what led us to to growth in our student ministry. Now, once you start filming and posting your long form, messages to YouTube, that's really where you can start to see the parent rewards and the leader rewards and all of this, as I teased at the beginning, because you're posting your messages to YouTube and so parents can go watch it and see what their kids are learning.

00:14:11:08 - 00:14:36:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's a great tool and resource in that regard. And also, leaders like we teach our message on Wednesday, but we also post the film YouTube adaptation to it as well. And so far, our leaders who lead a discussion based off the topic on Sunday morning, they have access to that teaching as well. And both of those are ways in which we've both, found incredible amounts of, like, help and resources to both our parents and our leaders.

00:14:36:11 - 00:15:00:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Not no matter which of those options you choose. I want you to know this going hybrid is not the end goal. You know this. The end goal is to make more and better disciples of Jesus. Whatever your mission statement is, I hope it's rooted and tied to the great commission of Jesus. And this hybrid strategy is simply a strategy that sits inside this great commission from Jesus.

00:15:00:06 - 00:15:12:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so keep doing great youth ministry. Keep doing what you're doing, and if this can help you, I hope that it does. And I want you to know I'm rooting for you. So don't forget my friends. And as always, stay hybrid.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 163: Event Evaluation that WORKS! How to Actually Improve Your Youth Ministry

Nick Clason — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0500

In this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show, we’re unpacking a proven event evaluation strategy for youth ministry that will help you actually improve your events instead of just surviving them. Learn how to run a productive post-event debrief using a 3-question framework that works for digital and in-person debrief meetings alike. Plus, get access to a sample evaluation form, hear a big announcement, and upgrade your fall youth ministry strategy with intentional feedback tools.

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/163

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Post Event Debriefs
00:25 Your Complete Fall Strategy Session
01:33 Proven Debrief Strategy
04:02 This Strategy was GENIUS!!
07:22 Your Fall Social Media Strategy is HERE!

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:06:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Post-event debriefs can feel like a roast session if we're not careful. That's why I recommend this

00:00:06:12 - 00:00:19:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
proven three part strategy for evaluating and making sure that your events not only get the proper evaluation that they deserve, but are even better on into the future

00:00:19:29 - 00:00:26:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
for your next year's event. Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Minister show.

00:00:26:00 - 00:00:29:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, hey everybody, welcome to the Hybrid Minister Show.

00:00:29:07 - 00:00:57:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I am your host, Nicolas. And in this episode, episode 163. If you want to head to the show notes with transcripts. Hybrid Ministry dot xyzzy slash 163. That would be incredible. And a subscribe while you there would also just do us wonders. But if you have been following along here on YouTube, we are in a playlist for your complete fall like strategy guide and strategy session for, not only your upcoming fall outreach event.

00:00:57:12 - 00:01:22:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
How we run outreach events. And it's all kind of been centered around like some principles for like, fall outreach and fall launches. But if you're looking for one, and one of my favorite kind of strategies is a, month long, ongoing, like, bracket style event, and I'm giving one away or I'm giving away an event guide, to one of my products over on download this ministry called the World's Greatest Donut Bracket Event.

00:01:23:01 - 00:01:42:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We've been walking through what those nights look like, how to include and incorporate free time, how to welcome your new guests. But now that all the dust has settled, now that all of the donut madness is over, you're ready to evaluate your event. So whether you're evaluating this particular event or just any of your fall events, this is my proven three part strategy and framework.

00:01:42:05 - 00:02:06:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I mean, I'm just going to be honest, like you've maybe heard this before. It's not unique or original to me. I've I've used it in a couple of last churches that I've worked in. But there's a few kind of like tweaks and adaptations to it. And so you might have heard this, but the first, you know, the first question worth asking in an event evaluation debrief is what went right, like, let's celebrate the wins straight out of the gate.

00:02:06:12 - 00:02:26:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, what were the wins? What were the good things? And kind of go that route. The next question that I like to do and, you know, one of the church that I worked at, we call these questions the for hopefuls, but I like to combine these next two. And so that's why it's only three, three questions because I think these two, are cousins of one another.

00:02:26:05 - 00:02:46:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. And so, I like this one of, like the broken what was broken slash confusing. So, broken and confusing can kind of get, like I said, close to one another when you're kind of passing them out, you're like, oh, is this one broken? I'm not sure if that thing, that QR code was broken or if it was just confusing.

00:02:46:15 - 00:03:04:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. And and maybe the Q QR code was actually broken, or maybe students just don't know what they're doing, and it made it confusing. And that's kind of how I found that question to kind of land. And so just sticking those two together really like will help you in this question right here. Here's the thing I want to encourage you, don't make this personal.

00:03:04:09 - 00:03:35:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Don't take these things personal, but really like lean into these right here because this is how and this is where, and this is when and how and why you can make this event even better next year when you pull this thing together. Right. Like, this event becomes so much better when you take care of the broken and the confusing parts and you can really turn around, you can optimize, your next event or your next year's event or, some elements of this event that you're going to bring to, like the next Wednesday night, whatever the case might be like, but this is your chance to optimize it.

00:03:35:01 - 00:03:53:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Perfect. It really kind of like hone it in. And then finally, this last question, what was missing? And so it could be like, you know, while we were in the middle of the event, I thought it would have been great if we had this. We didn't think of it ahead of time. But let's next year, let's let's kind of plan to make this happen now a couple different ways that you can handle debriefs.

00:03:53:11 - 00:04:11:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I think probably the most common is just like an in person. Right. Like you get together, you talk about it with your team and you, you know, take notes and you go off to the next one. And for major events like big events like this ones you spend maybe a lot of budget money on, I would recommend doing some sort of like in-person debrief.

00:04:11:00 - 00:04:30:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, if you're debriefing every single event, you're never not debriefing because let's just be honest, like, if you meet once a week in youth ministry, there's always one time a week we got to get together and get a debrief. And then if you're meeting twice a week, say Wednesday night and Sunday morning, you're also getting together another time to kind of look back at Sunday morning.

00:04:30:28 - 00:04:54:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what if you're meeting Sunday night then now you're meeting three different times for three different evaluations. And so it can become a lot and it can become a lot of meetings. And sometimes it's just like, man, we just got work to do. Right. And so, one of the things that my boss, has instituted is we use base camp, and he instituted this idea, and he just cause, our debriefs sometimes, we keep them all digital.

00:04:54:21 - 00:05:19:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So it's a digital debrief. We go into base camp, into the the message board there, and he'll ask three different questions. Sometimes he'll ask, right, right. Wrong, broken, confused. Like all that. But other times he'll throw in, like a curveball or, you know, like, and I think like this question, for example, is a good example of like, missing, you know, but he'll be like, what's one thing that we could have done to really take this event over the top?

00:05:19:19 - 00:05:35:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so it just get your brain thinking in a little bit of a different category, though, it is probably like an answer to the missing question. But it's framed really well. That makes you like, think in a different kind of way, you know what I'm saying? So but what we'll do then is everyone on the team has to complete that digital debrief comment done when they're done.

00:05:35:22 - 00:05:51:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then, he'll take those and he'll, he'll archive the, the plan. So it's out of our, like, base camp. But then next year, as we're getting ready to pull that back together, he'll, he'll go grab those archive notes. Because who in the world can remember what we did a year ago, let alone a month ago?

00:05:51:17 - 00:06:16:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right, take those archive notes and add them to the upcoming plan. So then, when the upcoming plan is coming, we look back and say, what did we say last year? And like a great example of this is like at summer camp, people said like last, like not the most recent summer camp we did, but the one from the summer last summer, people said something small like, hey, we should have a lost and found, or we should have more trash cans.

00:06:16:16 - 00:06:33:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, you know, a week or two before we went, really? Hey, let's let's look back at that. Those debrief notes were like, oh, yeah, that's right. The lost and found in the trash cans. We pull those together quick. There are small things we were going to completely forget to do them, because we were so focused on all the other kind of like things and elements of camp.

00:06:33:14 - 00:06:51:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But we looked back at our debrief notes and those two little small things like, really help. Like I said, kind of like May made the difference, right? And so however you choose to do it, one of the words that my boss always kind of used was, we need a place to memorialize these thoughts, right? So like we say them, write them down for us.

00:06:51:26 - 00:07:21:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's base camp. You can use whatever kind of project management tool or software that you want to do and go ahead and take that to the races, but you should use these right? Broken slash confusing and missing. Use them in your next event evaluation. And here's the thing. If you go ahead and download my donate, event guide, come back to this episode or check this episode out right after your event is over so that you can really, truly lean in to, these questions and make your event as good as it can be, on and off into the future.

00:07:21:06 - 00:07:38:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, here's the thing. All of this has been ramping up. This is a this has been focused on one night, right? One night of like a big event, one night of like bring your friends. And you know, we talked about in the first episode, but the the spiritual CPR strategy. So cultivate and then plant and then reap. That's a cultivate event.

00:07:38:22 - 00:08:06:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's a cultivate night. How do you then carry on that momentum on into the next coming weeks? One of the elements, one of the small slivers component, but one that I really think has been super huge in our student ministry around, reaching, frankly, reaching more students, and reaching more lost students in an effort to be, both like planting seeds of like, spirituality as well as just like having fun is, is through using, the means of social media.

00:08:06:18 - 00:08:26:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so obviously, here I am. It's a hybrid ministry podcast. You probably saw that one coming, but that's been a hugely beneficial and hugely big piece in our overall strategy. And it's become one of our primary evangelism mechanisms. And next week I am dropping the fall seasonal social media pack. Now here's how this is going to work next Thursday.

00:08:26:08 - 00:08:47:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're subscribed, you're going to get it as soon as it drops. It's over on my Patreon. So is Patreon.com slash hybrid ministry. And over there there is a tier of podcast, a bonus weekly podcast where I'm just detailing an outline, all of my events, and all of our Wednesday nights, our programing, what's going well, what we're doing on social media, moves are making changes that we got going on.

00:08:47:29 - 00:09:03:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Here's the thing. This week at time of of filming that one, this episode drops. So at time of filming, my boss actually just submitted his resignation. So I'm actually stepping into a new role and I'm stepping into a new seat. And so I'm going to have the opportunity to share some of that with you. And I'm really excited.

00:09:03:13 - 00:09:34:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But that podcast that patrons hear is $4 per month. Now, here's the thing. The seasonal social media pack is like 1799, and it is meant to last for three months. So if you do the math, you actually come out ahead on the, on the tier. And so what I would recommend right now, if you're listening to this week leading into launch, go over to Patreon, give me the $4 per month, getting in on that tier, and then you will get everything in the store, not just this upcoming seasonal pack, but you can grab the summer pack.

00:09:34:13 - 00:10:02:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then, on Thursday, you can grab the fall pack, and there's actually a free week trial there, for you to check it out. So click the link down below. Become what we call a hybrid hero at that $4 per month tier. So excited to do that. And we're going to be dropping not only that pack next week and kind of walking through what that is, but then we're also going to start looking at how can you build and create a social media team within the the gathering in your in your context as is, that's fully and completely run by teenagers?

00:10:02:02 - 00:10:19:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to walk you how we did it and how you can do it in your youth ministry to reach students, but also create momentum for your students that are attending your church in person as well. So once again, thank you guys so much for being here. I hope you found this episode helpful. If you did like it, subscribe, share with the friend.

00:10:19:10 - 00:10:23:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But until next time and as always, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 162: 10 Free Time Stations for Youth Ministry - Fun, Easy & FREE!

Nick Clason — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Looking for fun, easy, and totally free youth ministry ideas that actually engage students? In this episode of The Hybrid Ministry Show, Nick Clason shares 10 high-energy, low-prep free time station ideas—from donut decorating to Mario Kart tournaments, 9 Square, Gaga Ball, social challenges, and more—all designed to boost student engagement and connection. If you're a youth pastor craving creative youth group games, fall event strategy, or hybrid ministry tips that work, this episode is packed with stealable ideas and a bonus resource you don’t want to miss!

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/162

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

USE CODE: “HYBRIDMINISTRY” FOR 10% OFF
COLEADER.CO

GAGA BALL vs 9 SQUARE RECOMMENDATIONS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZuiyBdjX6c
SOCIAL CHALLENGE 4-PART FRAMEWORK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B6Qeaa_hPA&list=PLngXlSr64YaKLwZqOkQe7NzOqSVR0-P1s

✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
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📊 [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

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

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

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

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

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 This Strategy Make Him say what?!
00:36 The Freetime Strategy Explained
06:25 Donut Tattoos
06:39 Scavenger Hunt - Hybridized!
09:19 Board Games
09:36 Decorating
09:52 Steal The (Fill in the Blank)
10:29 Kajabi Can Can
11:14 Big Screen Mario Kart Tourney
11:37 9-Square
11:44 Gaga Ball
12:09 The Social Challenge

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

00:00:00:03 - 00:00:19:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Your students don't want to sit through another 90 minute program. Can we be honest? Do you? In this episode, I'm going to break down my outreach event strategy, which when I shared it with my friend Eric with the kids, he had this to say about it. I love that thank you notes. That's something I'm gonna steal for future videos.

00:00:19:27 - 00:00:52:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In this episode, I'm going to hit you with ten ideas that you are definitely going to want to head over to my YouTube channel so that you can screenshot these and use them for your upcoming fall outreach event. Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry Show! Well, hey everyone, welcome to episode 162 of the Hybrid Ministry Show. I am your host, Nick Claussen, and I'm going to be talking about one of the, strategies that we have for our outreach events that we've sort of stumbled into, and it's a little bit unique.

00:00:52:26 - 00:01:14:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, you heard what my friend Eric had to say about it, but essentially what it is, is it's creating moments of free time for your students. And so what I mean by that is we're not taking the full 90 minute block, or we're not taking the full 120 minute block of programing time that you have for your youth ministry and scheduling every single minute and making every single student do every single thing the entire time.

00:01:15:00 - 00:01:35:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But instead, what we're doing is we're opening up a window of time within our night, within our program to allow your students to kind of, like, choose their own adventure and do what they want to do. Now, if you're going to be using linked right here, the, download from the World's Greatest Donut Event Guide that we've been talking about, like, that's what, we've done before.

00:01:35:19 - 00:01:54:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I want, you know, if you're looking for something to do, I want you to consider maybe doing that event and you can incorporate these ideas, this strategy, into your upcoming fall outreach event. And so, go ahead and go grab that download. It's completely free. It's going to point you to a resource over On demand that you can use and implement.

00:01:54:07 - 00:02:22:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And these ideas are things that you can use, borrow, steal, and include in your upcoming fall outreach event. But the the philosophy behind it is, as we talked about a couple episodes ago, this is a cultivate in the spiritual CPR. This is a cultivate night. We're we're inviting friends were hanging out. We're just, kind of letting our hair down, kicking our feet up and hanging out with students and helping them see that church doesn't have to be confusing.

00:02:22:00 - 00:02:44:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Church doesn't have to be weird. But the other reason that this is advantageous is very simply, when you have a message included in your night, you don't have as much time to program. When you don't include your message, you have more time to program. And here's what we do. Oftentimes, we're still like plugging through our scope and sequence like we use Collider.

00:02:44:04 - 00:03:07:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, if you use Code hybrid ministry, I'll give you 10% off Collider for a year. So go check that out. They just dropped roadmaps. The first part of roadmaps year three. Really excited about the the judges series included in that. But, we'll just kind of keep plugging along in what we, you know, for a message that we should have taught on the night our outreach event is Worcester, upload it to YouTube.

00:03:08:01 - 00:03:30:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then our Sunday morning curriculum is derived off of our Wednesday night curriculum. And so we'll still have that conversation on Sunday morning, even though we didn't have the message on Wednesday night. And it's just on YouTube. And so at the end of the night, a lot of times we'll just show a little teaser clip and say, hey, this is over on YouTube, go check it out, scan this QR code if you want to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

00:03:30:08 - 00:03:55:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And they're off to the races. And I mean the whole the whole good news right about these, this donut event is that it's getting students onto your social media, which at the end of this completely free fall masterclass playlist, I'm going to teach you how to build a social media team run completely by students that helps them create content not only for other students in your ministry, but create content with other students in your ministry.

00:03:55:28 - 00:04:15:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so having this free time event opens up all of these things, opens up more options. And, you know, one of the things that we'll do is we'll, offer anywhere from like four or 5 or 6 different, like, things, little stations. And they have anywhere from 30 to maybe 45 minutes on the longer end to do whatever them that they want.

00:04:15:18 - 00:04:36:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But one of the things that we've done to kind of encourage them or highlight what's available is we'll create a little passport or like a punch card, or if they go to a station and complete it, they'll get a little sticker for it. And what that does is it just helps them. First of all, give gives your students, and anyone who's new like a little map of your area, what's included where what's going on?

00:04:36:06 - 00:04:53:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What can we do right now? And then we'll say, hey, if you, complete if you go to all six stations, come and submit this card back in and we will give you a candy bar. And then we'll also put your, you know, name or your passport in, a drawing for the grand prize at the end of the night or something like that.

00:04:53:27 - 00:05:11:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, you know, if students are maybe not interested in all six of the things, and that's one of the reasons why we do it is because we know, like, not every single student is going to want to do every single type of game that you do. And so we'll include like some artsy and crafty type things. But then we'll also include some really, really active type things.

00:05:11:27 - 00:05:30:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so some students may be like, I'm more artsy. I don't want to do that active thing at all. And they're going to opt out of doing every single thing on the passport. But other kids, they might want to try to do all of it. And so they're going to try to run to every single station. So it just it it communicates what's available and it gives students an option to just win something.

00:05:30:13 - 00:05:47:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's just a fun way to kind of program it. I try to program the amount of time, like if we got 5 or 6 stations, I want to give them 30 to 35 minutes. I want there to be nearly not enough time for them to do everything, because when they leave, I want them to have in their mind like, oh my word, that event was so fun.

00:05:47:14 - 00:06:03:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I didn't even get to everything. And that's kind of like the vibe I want them to get in the car with with their parents, right? And when they're parents, like, how was it there? Like it was awesome. There is so much to do, you know what I'm saying? Like, that's kind of the vibe that we're going for. So if you're here on YouTube, these are going to flash up here on the screen.

00:06:04:01 - 00:06:24:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
These are free time stations that are high fun, but they're low prep. And some of these we've done before, others of them are ideas that I have for future ones. And if you're doing the World's Greatest Donut Event launch guide, you can use some of these. These are ones that we actually have pulled together, for the donut event starting with.

00:06:24:29 - 00:06:50:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The first one is we had a donut temporary tattoo parlor. And so we can have students come in and just get a temporary donut tattoo. Right. And it's like you're doing the scavenger hunt. Like, one of the things I've done is, a future idea is like, we've done a scavenger hunt is one of the clues on the scavenger hunt was to have to go and prove that you got a donut tattoo, so it's like you kind of kill two birds with one stone.

00:06:50:00 - 00:07:10:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They come to the scavenger hunt, which is a second idea, by the way. Come to the scavenger hunt. One of the one of the clues is you know, go to the donut tattoo thing and they prove that they've done it. And so in addition to it, we like I try to hybridize my scavenger hunt, which, if you didn't know by the way, I have a weekly bonus podcast over on Patreon.

00:07:10:00 - 00:07:36:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's only $4 a month, and I want you to think about that. Investment of $4 is like your creative programing assistant. Like, here's my question is $50 per year worth it for you to have? Almost like a programing and social media consultant and coach? Because that's essentially what this $4 tier would do. It's going to give you, for $48 for you, 12 times four.

00:07:36:07 - 00:07:57:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's going to give you, someone who's just doing this on the front lines and is evaluating everything that I'm doing and boots on the ground. I'm not just like some, you know, youth ministry content guy. Like, these are things I'm actually doing. And I'll, I'll coach you through just by the evaluation of my own strategy, how it's going, what's going well, what's not going as well.

00:07:57:00 - 00:08:15:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can just steal all that I'm doing and bonus points, at the end of this episode, I'm going to be dropping a product that's $17. That's going to be incredibly valuable to you as you continue to lean in on social media. That's going to be free if you're already a $4 tier member of the Hybrid Heroes podcast.

00:08:15:27 - 00:08:33:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I try to hybridize, and this is an example of thing I'll talk about on my podcast, The Scavenger Hunt. So, for example, we say, hey, prove to us that you voted on the first round of the donuts, because remember, at this event we're launching the bracket. And so we're doing donuts, seed number one versus donuts. Seed number 16.

00:08:33:28 - 00:08:53:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Donuts number eight versus donut seed number nine. Prove to us that you voted. And so, they can either vote with paper printouts which is the most boring, or they go on Instagram or YouTube and cast a poll style vote. Another one I'll do is I'll say, like in our most recent uploaded YouTube video, what was on so-and-so's shirt?

00:08:53:10 - 00:09:15:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What color was so-and-so's hat, who's teaching like or whatever? And so that'll also encourage them to pull their phones out. If they don't have a phone, go find someone who does have a phone and look at our YouTube channel. And then, you know, bonus points if you subscribe, like all those types of things, like, I'm trying to kind of lean into not only the other stations like the donut tattoo station, but also some of our hybrid ideas.

00:09:15:26 - 00:09:32:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so Scavenger Hunt is one of my all time favorite stations. Another one is just simple, right? Like create a board game station. Like we already have a bunch of board games in our cafe. In our game room. We'll just lay those on a table and say, you can go do board games. And here's the thing so low prep on your part.

00:09:32:22 - 00:09:53:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You don't have to do anything with it. We in this donut event, we've done donut decorating for like a couple nights ago in our youth ministry, it was National Sugar Cookie Day. We did sugar cookie decorating like you could do some sort of food decorating or craft decorating of sorts. One of the one of my all time favorite active games is steal the Bacon.

00:09:53:19 - 00:10:10:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so in this event, we just do steal the donut. You can buy a big donut plush on Amazon, or you can just very simply like throw anything out there, like a piece of, like we've done, like I've done like a duck tape night before. And I took a piece of cardboard and I duct taped all around the cardboard, and we played steal the duct Tape.

00:10:11:03 - 00:10:27:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, whatever theme event you're doing, like, steal that thing for, like, a steal the bacon style game where you have ten people on one side, ten people on the other, or however many. Right. And you can number them off. So this is one, this is one, this is two. This is two. When you call that number, they run on into the middle.

00:10:27:22 - 00:10:45:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Another one of our all time favorite active games is we call it One of our volunteers labeled it here called poison, but I've grown up calling it Kajabi can can just with the big trash can in the middle. And you try to not touch the trash can by holding someone's, you know, hands and dragging them into the trash can.

00:10:45:14 - 00:11:08:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You want to be the last person standing. Here's a pro tip grab dog rope. Chew toys so that you're not holding someone's like, wrist and like, crushing their knuckles because inevitably you're going to have like a senior guy football player next to like, a seventh grade girl. And he's going to destroy her hand. So give them both, like, dog rope, chew toys to hang onto with, like the ropes on the end.

00:11:08:23 - 00:11:29:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
She's got a rope here. He's got rope here. And of course, if you break the chain, you're also out. Another thing that we've done before, and I'm just going to be honest, I don't know how well it worked, but we did like, big screen Mario Kart video game, tournament video games, and Mario Kart always a hit. The part that I'm not sure that worked was the tournament aspect.

00:11:29:24 - 00:11:45:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like it was kind of chaotic and didn't really know who's next and who's in line and, you know, whatever. But it was still fun. Overall, we have in our space, we have like a nine square, so we'll just say eight. You can you know, play nine square if you want. So that's an option. Gaga ball. That's an option.

00:11:45:17 - 00:12:04:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you don't know like I recommend two portable versions. And so maybe you're in like a shared space. But for an event like this, you can drag those out and set them up. Link down. Below is my, recommended nine square option and my recommended Gaga ball option. So those are things you make a little financial investment here on the front side, but then you can use this whenever you have a big event like this.

00:12:04:29 - 00:12:23:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And those can be a part of your station, some of the things that you offer. And then finally the social challenge. So social challenge I'm going to teach you how to do that here in a couple episodes. So make sure that you're subscribed. But the social challenge is we some social media content with our students, by our students every single Wednesday night.

00:12:24:01 - 00:12:43:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in the link below, I am going to share with you exactly how you can, build your own social media team and the exact strategy that we use. And like I said in a couple episodes, I'm going to flesh out a full class on how to build out a social media team based on student ministry volunteers and what that does.

00:12:43:13 - 00:13:03:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That just helps kind of continue to create those hybrid connections. You're doing it via social media. And like I said on August 28th, we're dropping something big that is going to help you get that social media team up and off the ground. So you're definitely going to want to make sure that you're subscribed. But for the next video here, we are going to now talk about we've done this donut event.

00:13:03:09 - 00:13:25:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We've welcome new students. We've included free time stations. Now let's look at event evaluation. How do we know whether or not we hit the mark? How do we know whether or not this event was successful? How do we know whether or not the budget money that we spent with, whether the juice there was worth the squeeze? We're going to answer all of those questions on the video that's linked right here on screen.

00:13:25:05 - 00:13:31:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So make sure that you tap into that and until next time, and as always my friends, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 161: How to Welcome New Students in Youth Ministry Without Overwhelming Them

Nick Clason — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Welcoming new students to your youth ministry shouldn’t feel like a firehose of information—this episode unpacks how to create an intentional, low-pressure first-time guest follow-up system. We’ll explore the psychology behind making guests feel valued, how to use a youth group welcome box, and why timing your church guest process matters. Plus, get a walkthrough of our youth ministry calendar, a peek at our welcome video strategy, and how to keep student connections alive on social media all fall long!

🗓️NEW CALENDAR + The Ultimate Guest Box
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/ultimate-first-time-guest-box-579557?source=storefront

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/161

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

WELCOME BOX VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzUQ-DwS32g&t=27s

WELCOME VIDEO
https://youtu.be/RRKGELKuJsc?si=Yb5RyayhDa-cQsQj

✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
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📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
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//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

//OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
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//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 How to Wow New Students
00:26 The psychology of the Welcome Guest Box
02:12 Why We Mail a Box
04:21 The Hybrid Part of the Box

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:17 - 00:00:23:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You got new students showing up to your youth ministry, to your fall kickoff events. Are you ready to wow them or just hand them a stale pizza coupon? In this episode, we are going to detail an outline my full guest Strategy Newcomers Welcome box. It is linked down below if you want to check it out. And of course, as always, there are chapters listed down below.

00:00:23:25 - 00:00:47:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry Show. Well, hey everybody, welcome to the Hybrid Minister Show. If you not haven't had a chance to meet yet. My name is Nick. In a 15 year youth ministry veteran, and in recent years I've stumbled into this idea of a welcome guest box. In fact, we detailed and outlined it in this episode, linked right here on screen or down below if you want to go check that out.

00:00:47:17 - 00:01:11:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the fact of the matter is that we have discovered that the psychology behind creating an intentional follow up box is threefold. First of all, you want the students who come to your youth ministry for the very first time. You want them to feel like a million bucks. You want to roll out the red carpet for them, and you want them to feel like you have thought about them and that you have, you know, you've planned to have them there.

00:01:11:01 - 00:01:30:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, like in recent years, we've discovered more and more with this generation that it's an overwhelming experience to walk into a youth ministry for the very first time. And so imagine walking into a place it's completely foreign, completely new, completely wild and completely crazy. And then you're like, here, here's this, and here's this, and here's this. And here's this.

00:01:30:18 - 00:01:52:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you're like, swag ING them out. And like, that's a great notion. However, in the moment they're just figuring out like, where's the bathroom? Meanwhile, they have to hold and track and keep all this stuff that you're just like loading them up with. And they're awkward because they're holding it, but like nobody else has it. And like, if you want them to truly get involved in your youth ministry, you want them like jumping into things like Gaga Ball and Nine square.

00:01:52:29 - 00:02:08:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But like, they have things that they have to keep track of and like they don't know where's a safe place to actually lay it down. And so therefore, that's why we've pivoted to recently in our student ministry, sending a guest welcome box. And so they come, we gather all their information. We say, hey, thank you so much. So glad you're here.

00:02:08:27 - 00:02:26:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We pair them up with someone new and then we treat them just like any other normal student. Meanwhile, a few days later, they'll get on their doorstep a welcome box branded all the things, helping welcome them to our student ministry. And in that moment, they're then able to be completely swagged out and have all of the things that they need.

00:02:26:22 - 00:02:57:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But they're able to do it in a less threatening environment. They're able to do it at home. And so we love this strategy. And again, as I said in the previous episode, I've given a full breakdown of it. You can go check that out. And I also include some artwork for it. But in this episode, I'm going to include the artwork for my 2025 FA calendars so that you can include and you can start using that to start laying out and dishing out your full 2025 calendar.

00:02:57:08 - 00:03:20:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because again, if you're in this masterclass, which you are, this is video part two of the Fall Masterclass for Youth Ministry. Last week we talked about the world's Greatest Donut Kickoff event. And if you if that event did its job and new students came, then those students came to your youth ministry. And then now you're going to use today's episode, this welcome box to send out and welcome the new students to your ministry.

00:03:20:10 - 00:03:55:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, this first time or this, this calendar that's included in the welcome box, it is free for all members of my Patreon. If not, you can jump on and you can grab it for just a few bucks. I think it's like 3 or $4 over there on Patreon. But if you become a member, which is only $4 per month, not only do you get access to every single thing on my store, including like my seasonal social media packs, the welcome box from that past episode, and this fall calendar, but you also get a weekly bonus podcast where I go through what we do in our youth ministry and in our kickoff events,

00:03:55:12 - 00:04:16:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and it's basically like your weekly debrief meeting. Even if you don't have a team around you, it's always helpful to have someone else's voice and to just hear those things, to kind of get those ideas going in your in your brain and like in your creative juices. And so that's the value of, again, $4 per month is the, bonus podcast.

00:04:16:25 - 00:04:35:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But here's the other reason that I love this welcome box idea is because as soon as you open it up, we have a gigantic QR code, right when they open it up and at the top it says Welcome video and they scan it and it takes him to our YouTube channel. And so it's a welcome video from me and other people on our team.

00:04:35:07 - 00:04:56:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, if you're following this fall playlist last week, you also got them on your social media. So they hopefully went and checked out your social media last week because voting for the donuts was on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, whatever you have. And then this video also takes them to YouTube. So now it's the second social media touchpoint for them in as many days.

00:04:56:20 - 00:05:15:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if they're going to continue on, with this donut thing, if they're going to continue on to see this thing through, if they're going to keep coming back, they're going to interact with your social media more and more. And as we talked about in the previous video over the summer, the key to social media in youth ministry is not like a one time amazing viral video.

00:05:15:09 - 00:05:35:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The key is many micro connections over time so that they get used to and they get familiar with your brand and your social media, which is why it's so important to not only stay custom on social media, but also to stay, regular and consistent on social media, which is what my seasonal social media pack was meant to do over the summer.

00:05:35:18 - 00:05:58:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And big news in four episodes. The final episode of this fall, when we are launching our fall seasonal social media pack, we want to help you when creating not only custom content, but also creating serving opportunities for your students to to level up and lead these social media teams. And so now you might be thinking like, okay, so we got the world's greatest donut event, and now we got this welcome box.

00:05:58:20 - 00:06:21:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
How do I know if any of these things are actually hitting, if we're actually making any discernible difference in the life of our student? I'm glad you asked, because in the next episode, we're going to talk about one of the key components of this, fall kickoff event. And it's the fact that we include we alluded to a little bit in last episode, but we include this moment of like 45 minutes of free time for students to do whatever they want.

00:06:21:14 - 00:06:33:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That video is going to be linked here on screen. Make sure that you're subscribed. If you're watching this live, so that you don't miss when that episode drops next Thursday. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget to stay hydrated.

Episode 160: My #1 Fall Outreach Event for Youth Ministry + Free Donut Game Download!

Nick Clason — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500

The ultimate fall youth ministry outreach event that actually gets students to show up—plus grab a free donut event download to boost your next youth group outreach. Whether you're planning fall events, student ministry games, or looking for fresh youth group outreach ideas, this episode breaks down how to win students with Sonlife's classic CPR strategy: Win, Build, Equip. Don’t miss this youth pastor resource that combines social media, donuts, and brackets into one unforgettable church outreach event!

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

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/160

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Best Event Ever?
00:20 Youth Ministry CPR?
05:16 Why I use this Event Type Constantly!

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:07 - 00:00:26:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Planning a fall youth ministry kickoff event. Don't get lost in the pumpkin patch. Instead, plan an event that students actually show up for and one that returns dividends down the road. How? Glad you asked. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. Well, hey, everybody, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. If you and I haven't had a chance to meet yet.

00:00:26:15 - 00:00:50:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
My name is Nick Klassen, a 15 year youth ministry veteran. And in this episode, I want to share with you my all time favorite event archetype for youth ministry fall kickoffs. In fact, included in the link down below is everything that you're going to need, including shopping lists, graphics, and, the rundown in order to execute and pull this entire event off.

00:00:50:06 - 00:01:11:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But before we dive into that, I do want to talk just a little bit of youth ministry, philosophy and strategy. So if you're only here for the event guide, hit the chapter mark down below and jump to that part of the episode. But for the rest of us, like I want to ask this question like, is doing an event like, what is the purpose of doing an event in youth ministry?

00:01:11:14 - 00:01:32:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, I grew up under the tutelage of a ministry philosophy called Sun Life. Shout out to Sun Life. And they're still around. But, they are not as predominant or as prevalent as I remember them being when I was in middle school or high school. You know, my dad was a youth pastor, and he was closely associated and affiliated with them.

00:01:32:24 - 00:02:10:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so thus I went to like student based trainings and conferences. And they have a ministry philosophy called, spiritual CPR. And each of the letters in that are like an acronym for different things. So the C in spiritual CPR is like cultivate this idea of building and investing in a relationship. Like think about a friendship. And probably one of the things I remember the most from this was like, if you had a neighbor and like every single time you're outside, like gardening or getting the mail and you like bumped into your neighbor, and you're trying to, like, share your faith with them and share the gospel with them, like you probably wouldn't every

00:02:10:24 - 00:02:28:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
single time you talk to them, like, hey, if you died tonight, would you know exactly where you're going to be? And the sun life kind of strategy then implemented that back over into student ministry and is like, hey, every time you have an event, every time you especially have like an outreach event, like you don't have to necessarily share the gospel.

00:02:28:16 - 00:02:46:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Part of it is trust building and cultivating that ongoing relationship. And that might be a polarizing opinion, but that's sort of like the strategy and the philosophy that I've, you know, seen my youth ministries kind of thrive under and that I've sort of like adopted as a youth pastor, and also one that I grew up in as like a teenager.

00:02:46:11 - 00:03:09:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, like, this event is a cultivate style event. It's one where the goal is to like, cultivate and build relationships. Meanwhile, the P then stands for plant and that's like a regular like youth night. That's one where like you will, you know, obviously like teach a Bible lesson from Scripture and you're going to kind of be planting the seeds of like faith in about Jesus and like about what people understand.

00:03:09:04 - 00:03:25:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then finally, the R stands for reap. And so CPR, cultivate, plant reap. It's going to kind of have that like gardening kind of metaphor. But the reap right is like a farmer when it's time to harvest like they go out and they actually like take the dividends, take the yield from the harvest of what they cultivated the soil with.

00:03:26:00 - 00:03:53:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Of what, like they planted and then how that grew and then what was officially time for them to take that. And so this style of event that I'm about to share with you is a like a classic cultivate type of event, an event where the goal is to like just build a relationship and earn trust. And I especially think like a lot of times, I don't know about you, a lot of times I feel like youth pastors think the goal is to like earn trust with like the first time guest and like, well, we want to do that.

00:03:53:22 - 00:04:23:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I think more than that, the goal is to build trust with the student who's bringing their friend who already calls your church home. It's like that student wants to know, like, can I bring my friend to something at the church? And it not be weird and it not backfire on me and my church, not do something that makes me or my friend feel a little bit uncomfortable or like, because what you're asking someone a student to do is you're asking them to lay down a pretty amazing amount of social capital in order to bring their friend to this event.

00:04:23:10 - 00:04:40:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we say it all the time as youth pastors, right? Bring your friends, bring your friends, bring your friends. It's like a common youth ministry sort of moniker. And so one of the things I like to do, and I only do these probably 3 or 4 times per year, is a strictly cultivate event. And now you might be thinking like you don't have curriculum, you don't have content.

00:04:40:13 - 00:05:04:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's one of the reasons why I link down below my hybrid strategy. Like recommends filming your messages. And so we've done before where like we didn't have the message, but we still had like a message for that week. It's still tied to our Sunday morning curriculum. And so like as students were leaving, we'd share like just a little clip and say, hey, this is on YouTube, scan this QR code, just go subscribe to our YouTube.

00:05:04:07 - 00:05:28:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's a great way to kind of accomplish both of the things that you're looking for. So with all that being said, with that philosophy sort of late as a groundwork, what's the best fall outreach event idea for youth ministries? Let's check it out. So some of my favorite Cultivate Event style of outreach events are centered around and, predicated on this idea of a bracket.

00:05:28:13 - 00:05:46:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, if you've, you know, been new to my channel at any length of time, you can go back and look at some of these former episodes linked here on screen or down in the show notes. But I've detailed an outline these bracket ideas several different times. In fact, I have an episode strictly dedicated to this exact event that I'm going to kind of like rehash here.

00:05:46:29 - 00:06:10:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Again, it's this, world's greatest donut bracket. In fact, there's an entire a product centered around this on Download Youth Ministry. And here's a couple of the reasons why I like this style of of that. First and foremost, when I feel like when youth ministries get larger than 30 to 40, you basically have to just create like a themed gathering or a themed party of sorts.

00:06:10:09 - 00:06:29:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, like, whatever that party is like, you just kind of like chop that check in and like rehash it and like reuse it in different ways. But like, we do all sorts of different things. And actually this is the start of a master class like fall, fall youth Ministry Masterclass playlist. This is episode number one here on YouTube.

00:06:29:00 - 00:06:47:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to be giving you a A completely for free. But like step number one is having an a, an amazing kickoff event. And so at these kickoff events, this particular one is going to be donut themed. And so as we take this donut themed event, what are the ways that we utilize it and use it throughout this this night.

00:06:47:11 - 00:07:02:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now here's again, here's the reasons I like these bracket style events. Number one, it's a voting style event. And so, it's like a winner advances and the loser is out. But you can use it for multiple weeks in a row. I love things that like, can carry on throughout. So like this might be a great like launch night.

00:07:02:29 - 00:07:22:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're going to launch all 16 of the different like donut options. But in the coming weeks you're going to vote them out. And so that has and promotes a carryover effect for students who may want to like bring their friends to this event. But then the friends come back and then again in the weeks that follow. Those events are those nights, I'm sorry are going to be more like standard youth ministry night.

00:07:22:02 - 00:07:49:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're going to be teaching a message, you're going to be having a small group. You're going to be having discussion around what the Bible has to say. Meanwhile, this kind of donut themed thing is going on in the background. The other reason I like it is because it promotes social media. And again, you're going to want to subscribe because at the end of this five part masterclass, we are going to be talking about how to continue not only with this spark of social media, but how to then carry that on into a more regular rhythm, and one that you as a youth pastor, you may have to get up off the ground, but then you

00:07:49:28 - 00:08:11:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
fully hand it off to students because, you see, this world's greatest donut event is all meant to and aimed at pushing students to go check out your social channels, whether it's YouTube, TikTok, or over there on Instagram. So in the event guide, you're going to get a full service order. So we have a five minute countdown timer. It's a world's greatest donut themed countdown timer.

00:08:11:15 - 00:08:30:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It is available in the Download Youth Ministry link, again included in the show. Notes down below. And then at the beginning we like welcomed people. We told them that it was time to like, start voting, and we gave away some door prizes and some giveaways. We did some worship songs, and then we played a game called Guess That Donut.

00:08:30:19 - 00:08:48:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then we gave the winner like a big box of, like a dozen of, like, custom craft, like, you know, special curated donuts. And then we played the donut on a string game. That's where, like, you have a friend up above, like on a chair or on the stage with, like, a donut on a string.

00:08:48:02 - 00:09:09:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the person down below has to be the first one to eat it. That's a super fun game. And then we and we're going to detail this fully in a future episode. Again, make sure you're subscribed. But we give our students like open kind of like rec free time in the middle of our event. So we have all sorts of different things in there like donut decorating, find the donut, steal the donut, donut tattoo stations again.

00:09:09:07 - 00:09:30:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Subscribe. We're going to go over that in the future episode. Then we called everybody back in and we gave away a grand prize of sorts. And so as you're looking ahead and as you're thinking about planning, I have like links, I have downloads, I have what you need in order to take this event to the next level that is downloaded and available for you completely for free.

00:09:30:12 - 00:09:54:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Go check out my free donut event guide. Go grab the World's Greatest Donut Guide, over on Download Youth Ministry and start planning your fall kickoff and your fall calendar, so that you have an event that is going to not only be amazing and fun and sweet, obviously, because donuts are amazing, but also you're going to start creating and building the groundwork for a strong hybrid and a strong social media presence.

00:09:54:24 - 00:10:10:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this is the perfect way to kick off your school year with this. And again, reminder at the end of this playlist, I'm going to be dropping something huge that you are not going to want to miss out on. So make sure that you're subscribed. And until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 159: Which Mic Should Youth Pastors Use? Pro vs Budget Options

Nick Clason — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500

In this video, Nick Clason breaks down Which Microphone Youth Pastors Should Use—comparing budget phone mics, mid-tier gear like the Rode Wireless Go II, and pro options like the Sennheiser G4 and MKE 600. Whether you're filming TikTok devos, sermon recaps, or launching a youth ministry podcast, Nick gives real-world demos and witty insights so your church content sounds clear, not cringey.

If you're investing in custom content through tools like Nick's Seasonal Social Media Pack, this mic guide ensures your message lands with excellence and clarity—not broom closet vibes.

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

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/159

CELLPHONE MICS [Budget]

//Microphones For Android: USB-C
BLUETOOTH WIRELESS MICROPHONE:
https://walmrt.us/4neBo5g

SHOTGUN MICROPHONE:
https://walmrt.us/3SDIbZ3

//Microphones For iPhones: Lightning
BLUETOOTH WIRELESS 2 MICROPHONES:
https://walmrt.us/4bm7DJV

MID TIER MICS

Rode Wirelss GoII
https://walmrt.us/3T669vA

PRO LEVEL MICS

(Require Audio Interface Equipment - see below!)
Sennheiser EW 112P G4 Portable Wireless Lavalier Microphone System Band G
https://walmrt.us/4b8jhr3

Sennheiser MKE 600 Shotgun Mic with XLR Plug to Jack 18’ Cable
https://walmrt.us/44eGCFh

PODCAST STYLE MICS

(Require Audio Interface Equipment - see below!)
FIFINE XLR/USB Dynamic Microphone for PC Computer, Studio Recording Mic
https://walmrt.us/4e2Or53

Microphone Arm
https://walmrt.us/3Zqkvex

XLR Cables
https://walmrt.us/3zgmEPr

AUDIO INTERFACE

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB Audio Interface 3rd Gen
https://walmrt.us/3WivDZD

Focusrite Scarlett 18i8-in-8-Out USB Audio Interface, 3rd Generation
https://walmrt.us/3Qgznqs

Sennheiser HD 569 Closed Back Wired Headphones
https://walmrt.us/3w5AgLI

CAMERA

Small Rig Video Trippod CT210, 75” Video Camera Tripod
https://walmrt.us/4b7iaIe

ILOKNZI 12in Liftable Teleprompter with Remote Control and APP
https://walmrt.us/4a6ZJU1

Sony ZV-E10 New Mirrorless Camera
https://walmrt.us/3JvVSE8

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

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

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

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

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

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

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Which Mic is Best for You?
01:10 Budget Mic - Bluetooth Mic
03:01 Mid Tier - Rode Wireless GoII
04:28 Pro Level - Sennheiser Portable Wireless Lavalier
05:37 BONUS - Sennheiser MKE 600 Shotgun Mic
07:39 BONUS #2 - Podcast Mics

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:03 - 00:00:06:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This microphone right here is less than $10. And I'm talking directly into my cell phone,

00:00:06:06 - 00:00:09:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
camera video and is being recorded to that audio track.

00:00:09:21 - 00:00:22:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Meanwhile, if you switch to this lapel style microphone you see on news anchor host weatherman Stephen Smith on ESPN, this microphone is nearly $700, and it requires an audio recording interface.

00:00:22:10 - 00:00:27:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then we also have this middle of the road microphone here, podcast style microphone.

00:00:27:04 - 00:00:48:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you take my seasonal summer social media pack, which is less than $20, and you download it, you realize that as I'm hoping to help youth pastors create custom content that it's going to require at some points in time, a microphone. And what I want to do in this video is I want to show you all of the different array of options that you can use.

00:00:48:18 - 00:00:49:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All the way from like

00:00:49:20 - 00:00:50:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
budget microphones

00:00:50:25 - 00:00:51:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to the most

00:00:51:25 - 00:00:54:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
expensive Cadillac style microphones

00:00:54:00 - 00:01:09:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to these mid tier podcast, but really cool and vibey looking microphones that your students are going to love. Because in this episode, we're going to answer the question, which mic should you use for the content that you're creating in your youth ministry? Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:01:10:21 - 00:01:31:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What's up everybody? Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. You and I haven't had a chance to meet yet. My name is Nick Klassen, and we're going to explore microphone. And they're really important because actually, right now, this exact audio is coming. Me talking directly to my camera on the other side of the room. You can see that so far of all the audios you heard is the worst style of audio.

00:01:32:00 - 00:01:51:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we're going to go through budget options as well as all the way up to the most expensive style of options. And you'll notice if you follow my hybrid ministry social media recommendations, that it's going to require you filming some of your own custom content, and that's going to require you to want to have a microphone, because this audio right here is just not doing it.

00:01:52:03 - 00:01:53:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So first we're going to look at budget

00:01:53:28 - 00:02:20:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Audio. This is my budget audio recommendation. It's one of these Bluetooth style microphones. They are really cheap. They clip on. They are wireless, which is nice. And they plug directly in to your phone. You can get these for less than $10. And at a minimum, what this does is the requirement for decent microphone audio is you just want to isolate the audio source away from the video source.

00:02:20:27 - 00:02:45:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now this one records directly into the actual video file. So you you like your video and your audio will be immediately linked up, which is good news. But I would say this one here, we're going to call this like the student ministry volunteer microphone. Like it's helpful. It gets the job done. But there's certainly like a lot more potential in your microphones.

00:02:45:04 - 00:03:01:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But this is the run of the mill, the most basic. And if you are on a tight budget, you should definitely consider grabbing something like this. This is usb-C direct into Android or into the newer iPhones, or you can find the lightning connections. Both are available at the links down below in the show notes.

00:03:02:12 - 00:03:18:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So this one right here is actually one of my newest recommendations. It's the road wireless go to. Not because I've been against it, but because it's just brand new. I just got it. And so right now I'm actually talking direct into my cell phone camera.

00:03:18:24 - 00:03:41:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And right now I'm talking direct into my Sony ZV one camera, which that, camera is actually also linked down below in the link included in the description. I would call this one like the church in terms of microphones, but it's the church intern that actually reads commentaries and has maybe gone to at least a couple like Bible College or seminary classes.

00:03:41:15 - 00:03:58:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, like, they know a little bit more what they're talking about. You can tell the quality on this microphone is quite a bit better than the quality of the last microphone. The pro, of course, is once again it's wireless. It's easy. And it can go direct into your cell phone. And so you don't need like a whole nother camera or anything to do that.

00:03:58:06 - 00:04:17:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It also doesn't need any sort of audio interface. The downside is that, you know, it's going to run out of battery, and the quality just it might not be up to, you know, full like, professional grade level of quality. But once again, these are for social media. So maybe that's totally not that that needed, you know.

00:04:17:07 - 00:04:27:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There are two of these actually in the pack. And so like you and then like, another person could each have one clip of mine or even use them for like a podcast, or something like that, if you really, you know, want it to go that route as well.

00:04:28:22 - 00:04:55:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This pro-level microphone is the Sennheiser lavalier system. It is the senior pastor of microphones. It's buttoned up, it's expensive, it's intimidating, and it's very, very serious about what the job needs to be and about getting the job done. This one is probably the most overkill. It is more broadcast quality. It's great for live, it's great for studio stuff.

00:04:55:29 - 00:05:14:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It is wireless. So you see, I have a pack that I have right here in my pocket. And this wire that's just like clipped on. Then here through my shirt. And then I have a receiver over there on my focus. Right. So this one does require an audio interface and it's not recording directly onto any of the video.

00:05:14:07 - 00:05:36:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you need to record this separately. You can use something like GarageBand or we use like Adobe Audition. But then you have to link this audio up with the audio from the camera. Now, I do have a couple other bonus options that might be worth considering, and I think I can add a little bit of punch to your studio, and we're going to check those out in the next section.

00:05:37:29 - 00:06:03:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This microphone right here is the Sennheiser M-k 600. I would call this one if the last one was the senior pastor of microphones. This one is the executive pastor of microphones. It you know, it knows where to aim. And it's going to hit every single time. But you also better know what you're doing. So the pros and cons of this are you do not need pro as you don't need a wireless interface.

00:06:03:19 - 00:06:25:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I am plugged directly into my Sony camera a can of course, is you will probably need some sort of adapter as this goes through an audio like one eighth cable inch headphone jack. And so you're going to need some sort of adapter, probably a microphone to usb-C or to lightning to go directly into your phone. The other con, of course, is it's wired okay.

00:06:25:11 - 00:06:43:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so like you're going to need, to have like an XLR cable. It's like what you would use for your worship, music or worship department. But you can see some of the pros of it. We use this a lot. We've used this almost exclusively, on our man on the Street videos. And so we've bought this, like, microphone flag with, like, our church branded logo in it.

00:06:43:16 - 00:07:02:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's also battery powered with just double A batteries. And so that's easier than trying to remember to plug in something that's like, usb-C or like rechargeable in that way. And so, this is a really good microphone. It is cheaper than the lavalier. And so this may be something that you want to do, when you buy it again, once again, link down below.

00:07:02:20 - 00:07:24:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There is an option to mount it directly on to your camera. And you can mount it there and then it's like a shotgun style. The downside of that is if there's any distance between the camera and the person, it's going to pick up everything in between. So, like this entire episode, I've been moving around to different corners of our youth ministry, social media studio.

00:07:24:25 - 00:07:39:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, we have had incredibly bad sound bleed through these walls, which go and lead to our auditorium, which is why we ended up going for this next bonus item that you're going to see here. In the next section of this video.

00:07:40:12 - 00:08:04:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And here we are. Back where we started. And these right here are the, podcast style microphones. There's once again a link down below in the show notes. You can check these out. These microphones are kind of like the youth pastor of microphones. They are professional. They're paid, they're full time. Hopefully you're full time and they're cool looking or like try hard, cool looking.

00:08:04:01 - 00:08:27:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Maybe you're giving it too much. But the fact of the matter is these much, much to the opposite of the shotgun microphones before I catch almost zero sound bleed. And so for most of our like, we do drafts and we do seven questions here in this room for most of these videos, these microphones do a fantastic job of picking up the audio of the students that are talking directly into it.

00:08:27:18 - 00:08:47:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Not to mention it cuts out some of the exterior wall noise that we were talking about in the last section and in the last clip. The cons of these, however, are they once again, they're XLR, so you are going to need like a music microphone. And oftentimes we use two of these. So you're going to need at least a two channel audio interface.

00:08:47:10 - 00:09:08:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We use the focus rate Scarlett. Air you can check that out once again. Link down below for that in the show notes. The con of that, of course, is that is going to be an upgraded and an additional cost. And so you'll just have to figure out between this one or the Bluetooth wireless or the Rode Go Wireless two, or the condenser microphone or the lavalier microphone.

00:09:09:03 - 00:09:32:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What microphone is best for you? Now here's what I'm going to tell you. I recorded all of this audio in its raw and rarest form. And so you're going to hear it. And you can now make the decision, based on listening to this podcast episode, which one you prefer and which one you like best, and which one sets in and makes the vibe for your student ministry and your social media.

00:09:32:24 - 00:09:53:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the good news is, this is no matter what you decide, my content, regardless of the quality of your microphone, whether you go budget or whether you go pro level, my content works for all of it. The 1799 summer seasonal Social Media Pack, which will allow you to not only get some done for your content, but it will also help encourage you to create some custom content.

00:09:53:23 - 00:10:18:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And why you want custom is because you want your students, your face, your leaders, and you want your social media to feel real, and you want it to feel like you. And these microphones will help enhance that experience. And I want you to have an amazing and popping off social media. Hey, members of my Patreon who get a bonus weekly podcast also get that downloadable social media pack which is going to drop four times per year.

00:10:18:20 - 00:10:33:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Every new season, they get it completely for free and as an included part of their membership tier, and it's actually cheaper to become a member than it is to download the pack outright. So consider doing that. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 158: This Changes Everything - Train Up Teenagers!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

📊 [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
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📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 155: The Secret Sauce to Consistent Summer Engagement

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 154: Summer Social Media Mistakes (And How I’m Avoiding Them)

Nick Clason — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Here’s what usually tanks your social media engagement every summer—and what I’m doing instead. Because posting a blurry pic of your youth group playing dodgeball again is not a strategy.
I’ve made all the summer mistakes—so you don’t have to!

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

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/154

✅ 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
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📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
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BEST DYM RESOURCES
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OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
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//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 What is your Social Media Strategy?
00:25 Mistake #1
02:49 Mistake #2
04:18 Mistake #3
05:30 Mistake #4
06:32 The Summer Social Media Pack

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:09 - 00:00:22:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Here's what's probably tanking your engagement on social media this summer, and here's what I'm doing to try and combat that, because posting a blurry dodgeball pic is not really a strategy on social media. In this video, we're going to look at some common social mistakes at youth pastors just like you and just like me tend to make as well as I offer a solution for each and every one of those mistakes.

00:00:22:26 - 00:00:48:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry Show. Well, hey everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. I've been in youth ministry for 15 years, and I have made all of these mistakes. And I want to help you avoid stepping in those pitfalls. So let's hop in to these common social media mistakes. And mistake number one that most youth pastors make in the summer is they go radio silent.

00:00:48:24 - 00:01:12:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
No, the video is not. Pause. I'm just showing you what your social feed might look like, because I know if you're anything like me, you get busy, you got VBS, you got camp, you got missions trips, you got events. One summer I did a kickball event, and I sprained my ankle in front of all of the kids, and I had to literally crawl my way back to the pavilion because I was so hurt.

00:01:12:07 - 00:01:29:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I was out doing ministry, and I thought to myself, I can't do social media like I'm these are the important things. This is social and this is this is real ministry, social media that can go on the back burner and you need to show up on social media. And here's why. Because our students are showing up on social media.

00:01:29:08 - 00:01:55:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we two in an effort to try and be where they are, we want to show up where they are. And guess what? You don't have to just pull away in your office and create a bunch of content quietly void of interaction with students. No, you can actually create content with students. And if you grab my summer social media pack, it's actually designed to be three posts per week, some of which are just plug and play like you're at the park playing kickball.

00:01:55:25 - 00:02:12:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're like, oh, I need to post something. Boom. You drop it when the kids get home, they see it. But there's also content that you can create and film with your students, and not just for your students, but since it's with your students, it also ends up being for your students. So mistake number one is go radio silent.

00:02:12:10 - 00:02:46:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The fixes. In my social media pack, I've baked in three posts per week at a minimum. And then if you are downloading anything else, say like you're a dying member and they give you the social pack monthly. You can filter those things in every other week, and you can actually show up every single day, not only with some custom, content, which is what I offer for you, where you or your students are the actual voices and faces on your social media, but you also then have some of this other kind of like done for you content, which will just still kind of give proof of life to everybody else on your social feed.

00:02:46:14 - 00:03:10:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let's hop in here to mistake number two. So mistake number two is using static done for you posts. Now listen, I get it. I just actually said to do that. But I say do that in compliment to what I'm offering. But actually my my package here allows you to, to use like half done for you. You need these where you don't have to think about it.

00:03:10:22 - 00:03:37:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You forgot. Oh no I'm supposed to post. You pull it open, you post it, maybe you're on the toilet and you get it done. Okay. But other times I actually give you and carve out for you an opportunity to engage with your students, your leaders, for you and your students and your leaders to be the heroes on your social media packs and so like it allows you to to lean into those inside jokes and, and the the culture that exists within your student ministry.

00:03:37:07 - 00:03:56:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I do it all for you. I tell you exactly how to do it. I tell you exactly what to do. So link down below. Go grab it. Go check it out so that you don't just become a random, generic boring like no context for your ministry social media feed, but you actually become one that is, relevant.

00:03:56:00 - 00:04:18:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's popping and it's it's leaning into what's popular on social media now, which is short form, vertical based video. I'm gonna help you, film some stuff. Reels, TikToks, YouTube shorts, whatever works in your context. But you can use it in your context. You can use what I've created, but then you and your student ministry can actually be the heroes in these, on your feed.

00:04:18:22 - 00:04:37:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Which leads me to mistake number three. Not thinking ahead like, you know, you got camp, you know, you got VBS, you know, you got that mission trip. What are you going to post? You don't have a plan? Then that's what causes you to do. Mistake number one, which is go radio silent or you just part of my French fart.

00:04:37:07 - 00:05:01:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Something out. That's no good, because you're like, I ran out of time. I just got to do something. My pack will help you think ahead. I literally scripted it out. June and then July and then August. Away is mid-June already. No problem. Bump it down. July, August, September. Some of them, like emoji phrases like those are summer guess, themed.

00:05:01:12 - 00:05:20:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But like a lot of the other stuff, like it does not tied directly to a season. Grab it and then hey, guess what? Best news of all coming in the fall. I'm going to be offering a fall social media pack. The same archetypes, the same concepts, but fall themed and fall, base and fall topics for you to lean in.

00:05:20:08 - 00:05:41:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I will help you plan ahead on social media so that you can spend time on the parts of ministry that mean and matter the most to you and your group. Which leads me to my fourth and final mistake that youth pastors tend to make and is forgetting the hybrid strategy we think it's all about in person, and we're all we're fully present.

00:05:41:03 - 00:06:00:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And by the way, you should be fully present. You definitely don't want to get fired, but you also want to show up digitally. You want to show where students are spending most of their time. You know, Pew Research did a study that said 90% of teenagers spend time, meaningful time on YouTube. Why are we not there? Why are we not there?

00:06:00:10 - 00:06:27:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Showing up as youth pastors, as student ministries, answering some of life's hard questions, and I will show you how to do all of that, not only in the summer pack, but hey, guess what? Maybe you don't want to spend any money. Grab my hybrid strategy. God, it is completely free. And it's also linked down below for your convenience, all you gotta do is pop in your name and your email and, hey, maybe, you know, if you want to give some sort of payment to this podcast, a subscribe would be fantastic.

00:06:27:02 - 00:06:44:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It literally costs you nothing, but it does actually help us out quite a bit. Listen, I know this all feels like a big sales pitch, but the fact of the matter is that the key to social media is consistency. And that's what my pack is going to help you do. Maybe by the end of it you don't need me to be consistent on social media.

00:06:44:18 - 00:07:02:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's great. That's the goal. I want you to graduate from this. Maybe you're the type of person that's never going to really lean in hard on social media. That's fine too. Keep coming back. These packs are going to continue to recycle with new content every single season, which is going to be three months worth for you to be able to take and make your own.

00:07:02:22 - 00:07:23:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I want you to win because I want you to take these packs and make your social media come to life with your smiling faces and your students. So like I said, link down below, grab it. And guess what? If you are, interested in this, the best deal, the best value. Honestly, take my money is to become a member.

00:07:23:06 - 00:07:43:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
$4 per month. You get this pack at the, the Hybrid Heroes tier, completely included, as well as a weekly bonus podcast. You know, we just got back from summer camp. I've been talking to my students and talking to all my hybrid. Here's about everything we did at camp. All of the creative elements that we woven to what we're doing.

00:07:43:26 - 00:08:03:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you get that completely for free drops every single Monday. What we're doing in our context, what we're doing in our ministry, a real youth pastor with real boots on the ground experience, helping you lean into the creativity and the hybrid ministry that students so crave. I want to help you, win on social media and win in creativity in your student ministry.

00:08:03:10 - 00:08:09:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Check out the pack or become a member so good that you're here. Don't forget, my friends, as always, to stay hybrid.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 I didn't make anything new this week!
00:29 Post #1
01:13 Post #2
02:18 Post #3
03:05 When a post doesn't perform…
04:34 Easy Summer Social Media Strategy
06:06 Post #4
07:16 Bonus Post: 7 Questions
07:55 Bonus Post #2: Drafts
08:37 The Power of Variety

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 152: This Social Media Post is dead in 2025 - What to do instead

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

The “done-for-you” social media strategy is dead in 2025—and it might be quietly hurting your ministry. HubSpot’s latest report says real impact comes from micro-connections over time, not cookie-cutter content. If you want to win on social this summer without burning out, show up with authenticity, stay consistent, and use tools that amplify your voice—not replace it.

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

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/152

//HubSpot x Masters in Marketing - 2025 Global Social Media Trends Report
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/hubspot-blog-social-media-marketing-report

✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
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📊 [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
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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 Tomatoes & Youth Ministry?
00:46 Social Fluency & Micro-Connections
01:50 Social Fluency Real Time Example
02:14 Do All "Done For You" Products Suck?
03:06 Social Media for Busy Youth Pastors in 2025
05:27 Your Custom Summer Social Media Plan
07:00 Micro Connections - Consistency over Perfection
07:58 Social Media without the Burnout

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

00:00:00:10 - 00:00:24:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Buying a tomato is now an existential crisis. I was reading the recent Global Social Media Trends report put out by HubSpot. Link to that down below in the show notes if you're interested. What does that have to do with you and your youth ministry? It actually has a lot to do with you in your youth ministry, because today we're going to talk about social fluency.

00:00:24:25 - 00:00:50:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What is it? Why does it matter now more than ever, and how churches who are ignoring this are being left behind? Plus, I'm going to show you how you can win at that social media fluency through social media this summer. Even when you're slammed with VBS camps and mission trips. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry. Why is buying a tomato an existential crisis?

00:00:50:01 - 00:01:14:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because there are so many decisions to make. It used to be easy. You wanted a tomato. You walk to the grocery store, you bought the tomato. Now there are so many options. Amy Marino from HubSpot nailed it. She says social fluency is what drives results. This isn't about having the slickest reals or trendiest memes. It's about mastering a thing called micro Connections.

00:01:14:07 - 00:01:35:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We're going to dive into that a little bit later, but HubSpot says that every buyer's journey is made up of small connections over time. And I get it. You're thinking like, well, I'm not selling anything. And in a way, absolutely you are not. But in a way, absolutely you are. That does apply directly to you, your church and your ministry.

00:01:35:11 - 00:02:02:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so students and parents aren't checking your Instagram once and then deciding whether or not they're coming to your church or not. It's made up. This social fluency thing is made up of touch points and consistency and relevance. Okay, like for example, let's break this down. A parent sees your Bible verse post on your Instagram. Then later on that week they see your Wednesday night youth ministry recap and then a post from their kid.

00:02:02:18 - 00:02:32:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You see, that's trust built one scroll, one block at a time. That's what social fluency is. And so whether you're in the market for a tomato or a youth ministry, here's the kicker. These church ministry platforms and products that are, branded as done for you, they suck. Is that harsh? Well, maybe, but here's why. And I'm going to be honest with you, because I believe that it removes you, the youth pastor, from the equation.

00:02:32:26 - 00:02:58:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You are the connection. You are the relationship. And so when every single post looks the same, when every single post looks generic, when every post is downloaded in such a way that any youth ministry in the country in the world can use that product. It doesn't pack the punch that you want it to do. It doesn't build social fluency and you miss the nuances of your community.

00:02:58:22 - 00:03:21:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, I talked about it several episodes ago. I said, stop posting video announcements if you're here on YouTube, it's linked up at the top of the screen. But social is no longer about those slick ads. It's about being present and authentic, and it's about being human. But wait, you're busy. You have VBS this week. You have summer camp the week after that, and then you're taking a mission trip in the middle of the summer.

00:03:21:08 - 00:03:47:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I get it. Trust me, I'm a 15 year youth ministry veteran. Also trying to lean in to social media and hybrid ministry. In addition to that, on the weekly basis, you're leading games, you're preaching, you're planning summer trips. That is why I have built for you and for all youth ministries this summer. Social media kit. It is a 50% done for you like I was talking about, but it also has custom for you.

00:03:47:21 - 00:04:16:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So in the done for you category I have Bible verse reels. I have emoji phrase guesses, I have spiritual practice videos and I have what to do when you're facing blank carousel Bible based posts. I also have a full posting strategy that I recommend, and if you don't want to follow mine, then you can build your own. But then beyond that, then this is where I really believe it is the next level sort of pack because it's 50% custom done for you.

00:04:16:20 - 00:04:35:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I have devotionals where I'm telling you what to do, how to how to recap your most recent sermon. But if you don't have any ideas, I just give you a devotional script, read it, memorize it, go direct to camera and you are off to the races. I have interview style man on the street style questions with included graphics.

00:04:35:25 - 00:04:54:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So all you have to do is capture, put together and then overlay with the graphics that I have provided. I have transition hook style videos and I've included the first half of the videos. I've found them for you. All you have to do is shoot yourself, your leaders, your students, your pastor, whoever at the end of the video and invite someone to youth or to whatever event.

00:04:54:05 - 00:05:19:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then finally I have Bible trivia where I have included the graphics as well as the questions for you. So again, this is all very much the grunt work is handled the templates, the graphics, the prompts, and you can quickly swap yourself in to become the hero on your social media, to build that social fluency so that it'll be your voice, that it will be your photos, and that it'll be your vibe.

00:05:19:23 - 00:05:48:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You and your students and your leaders are still what is present on your social media content. Hey, youth pastors, church communications people, would you like to have your social media dialed in for the next 90 days? Especially with summer on the horizon? Listen, that's exactly what you're going to get with the summer and seasonal social media pack. It's a new product that I'm rolling exclusively on my Patreon.

00:05:48:16 - 00:06:09:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's three months of custom strategic content for less than $20, and this is built specifically for busy youth pastors like you who want to stay active on TikTok and Instagram Reels and YouTube without spending ten plus hours a month figuring out what to post. So here's what you're going to get. You're going to get 50% of the content completely done.

00:06:09:04 - 00:06:37:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's turnkey plug and play, post it and go. The other 50% is custom content for you to still shoot. However, I'm going to provide scripts and templates and frameworks so that your face, your students and your volunteers are who are seen on your social media feeds. This is not just pretty graphics. This is a full blown social media strategy for the next three months, designed by someone who knows both youth ministry and digital ministry.

00:06:37:20 - 00:07:01:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you're tired of scrambling for the cost of less than a pizza and frankly, more nourishing than a pizza, grab the seasonal social media pack today. Oh, and I almost forgot. Patreon members get it for free. You know this HubSpot, trends article? There's a quote that says A buyer's purchasing experience is made up of small connections over time.

00:07:01:24 - 00:07:23:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And quite frankly, that's the same thing that is true with students. A student's discipleship journey is built on these things called micro connections. And so in person that's youth group. That's high five, that's fist bumps, that's showing up at their football games. But we now have the advantage in a hybrid world to lean into the digital side of those relationships as well.

00:07:24:05 - 00:08:01:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Social posts, DMs, reels, stories. They're all digital handshakes. And so I encourage youth pastors to show up consistently, not perfectly, but just regularly and show up. And the way that you show up is by putting your voice, your face, and your ministry out there. And that is a way to build that social fluency. But with the summer social media pack, you're also not going to be burning out while you're still making those digital and in-person micro connections, because I've done it all for you.

00:08:01:07 - 00:08:25:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The fact of the matter is, social media in 2025, it's not optional. It's spiritual hospitality. And the thing is, the churches who get this social fluency, they will reach more people. They will reach more deeply. So do you want to crush it this summer without cloning somebody else's completely done for you scripted strategies and grab down below link in the description.

00:08:25:29 - 00:08:35:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The Summer kit, and you can take your social media to the next level. Well, don't forget my friends and as always to stay hybrid.

Episode 151: Gaga Ball vs 9-Square

Nick Clason — Thu, 29 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Two legendary youth ministry games. One epic showdown. Will Gaga Ball’s chaos reign supreme? Or will the high-flying strategy of 9 Square take the crown? Stick around as we settle the score once and for all — and help YOU pick the ultimate youth group game!

9-SQUARE
https://walmrt.us/4lFQtMq

GAGA BALL
https://walmrt.us/42T5weo

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

SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/151

🦸 BECOME A HYBRID HERO
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✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
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📊 [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
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📋 "PICK NICK'S BRAIN" Coaching Call
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BEST DYM RESOURCES
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OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
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//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Gaga Ball vs 9-Square
00:26 Pros & Cons of Gaga Ball in Youth Ministry
02:53 Pros & Cons of 9-Square
05:43 Making Your Decision

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Two legendary youth ministry games. One epic showdown. Will Gaga Ball’s chaos reign supreme? Or will the high-flying strategy of 9 Square take the crown? Stick around as we settle the score once and for all — and help YOU pick the ultimate youth group game

00:00:26:28 - 00:00:52:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hey, everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. Today we are going to be exploring Gaga ball versus nine square. And let's just imagine that you only have a limited number of budget. And you're making a decision between either Gaga Ball or nine square. What do you choose and why? And I got links listed down below for both of them so that you can make your purchase based on and after this video.

00:00:52:08 - 00:01:22:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So let's hop in. Gaga ball. What are the pros and the cons of Gaga Ball? I would say Gaga Ball is super fun. It's fast paced, it's upbeat. It's a good time for everyone who's involved. And one of the other pros in that is it's almost an unlimited capacity. I've seen it before in different youth ministry settings of run or like even camps where there's been what seems to be almost 50 kids all kind of flooded into the Gaga ball, center.

00:01:22:19 - 00:01:44:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They're like, you can get so many kids now. The game does kind of take forever, but you can facilitate a game with a high number of students. And so those are just a couple of the pros of Gaga ball. I would say a couple of the cons would be, it does take up quite a bit of like floor space, like the footprint of a Gaga ball pit is pretty massive.

00:01:44:13 - 00:02:06:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you have to commit a pretty large section of your space, a pretty large section of your floor to gaga ball in unless you get a, portable one. It's pretty permanent, and there's really nothing else you can do in that space. The other thing I'll say about Gaga Ball is, in my experience, it does tend to lean a little bit more middle school.

00:02:06:27 - 00:02:36:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It can get a little bit rowdy. And if kids aren't taking the game seriously or they're not getting out when they should, it can get a little bit chaotic kicking. It can get a little bit rowdy, and that's just something that you have to be aware of and something that you have to manage. If you look at the link that I posted down below though, however, I actually recommend an inflatable and deflate a bull Gaga ball pit because depending upon your space, especially if you have to tear it down, you can put it up every week with like just a blower.

00:02:36:13 - 00:02:54:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Think like, you know, moon bounce type style blower blows up and then it comes right back down. And what that also does is it gives you the flexibility to have it up when you want it, when you need it. But then you can also take it down when you don't want it or you don't need it there anymore.

00:02:54:13 - 00:03:22:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let's talk about nine Square. What are the pros? The pros. Same thing is gaga ball. It's a super fun game. Like, it really is. But the thing that I think, makes nine squares slightly different than Gaga Ball is, there is a little bit more. Not a ton, but a little bit more strategy involved. I think it's, it requires a little bit more, strategy, a little bit more thought, than Gaga ball, which can be a little like once you get down to the end and Gaga ball, there's some strategy.

00:03:22:12 - 00:03:40:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But at first it's just kind of like, just get people out. But yeah, nine square, I think does have a little bit more strategy. Not to mention it's not as space consuming on your footprint as Gaga ball. Now it still is. Like, don't get me wrong. Like they both take up a fair bit of space. But they're both great.

00:03:40:14 - 00:04:02:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like free time. Get to get the games out ahead of time before youth ministry starts. Style of games. The cons to Gaga ball or I'm sorry, the cons to nine square are that you can only play with nine people at a time. Now, you know, in our context right now, like, nine square is more popular than Gaga ball.

00:04:02:02 - 00:04:21:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, that line into the nine square, like arena, like it's always moving and that that doesn't seem to be much of a problem. And people will wait like several like, you know, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten people deep, to get in back into the game. But that is a con. Is that an Gaga ball?

00:04:21:04 - 00:04:40:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like up to like, 50 people, depending on the size of your pet. Can start in a game. Nine square. It's only nine at a time. The con, though, on the flip side, is that if you don't have nine to fill it on a regular basis, then it's also not quite the same. You're playing like four, you're playing like six, like, it's just it's not quite the same.

00:04:40:22 - 00:05:00:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like having the full nine, in my opinion, is really like the best way, to play nine square. And so if you're youth ministry was maybe struggle to fill nine on a regular basis or, you know, like there's just not nine kids on a constant basis on any given, you know, Wednesday night or Sunday that are actually going to happen in play, maybe it's not worth it for you.

00:05:00:10 - 00:05:24:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Maybe guy eyeballs more, you know, the way to go or something like that. Again, link down below for my nine square recommendation. And this is called Castle Squares. And the reason I like castle squares is just like the Gaga ball pit. It is portable and take down a ball as well. In our space we have a castle squares, and we have like a full nine square, like arena and the full nine square arena.

00:05:24:23 - 00:05:49:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's great. But we don't ever take it down. It's just it's too much of a pain to do that. But the castle squares instead of having, like, all the individual poles down, it only has the four on the corners. And then just up at the top, it uses straps to create your nine spaces. And so you know, I used to work at a church that I would set up the Gaga ball pit in the nine square pit every single week, set them up and then tear them down.

00:05:49:21 - 00:06:06:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I would I would set them up like middle of the day. We met on Wednesday nights, on Wednesdays, and then I would have our volunteers tear them down when it was over and put them back for me, at the end of the night. And so if you have the space and you have the budget, I would recommend, getting both of these there.

00:06:06:16 - 00:06:24:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They're both fantastic. And they're also both very, like, nimble and portable. You're not going to be committing this corner of your room for the rest of your life to either be nine square, either be the Gaga ball corner. You can take it, then you can move it. You can share space with the rest of the congregation.

00:06:24:21 - 00:06:42:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then if it just comes down to like, you only have budget for one or the other, every context is a little bit different. The current context that I'm in right now, they would vote nine square, but the context that came from, back in Chicago, they would vote Gaga ball. So you kind of got to know your students.

00:06:42:00 - 00:07:01:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You kind of got to know your audience. I would say if you have maybe more high school audience, or a more strategy based audience nine square. If you have a little bit rowdier audience, a little bit more chaotic of an audience, maybe lean Gaga ball, and just make the decision kind of based on your context and based on your students.

00:07:01:04 - 00:07:19:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But like I said, links to both of these down below. If you're on the fence, if you're thinking about it, these are both two products that I have used that I recommend, and that really are good for both setting up and being able to tear down and leaving your space flexible for other things throughout the week. Hey man, I hope that this episode was helpful.

00:07:19:10 - 00:07:27:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Give us a like, give us a subscribe, share it with a friend. And until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget to choose to stay hybrid.

Episode 150: 5 TIPS | Promotion like a Pro! Beginning vs End of Summer?

Nick Clason — Thu, 22 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500

When should you promote elementary students—right after school ends or just before the fall kickoff? In this video, we’re breaking down the pros and cons of beginning-of-summer vs end-of-summer promotions to help you make the best move for your ministry. Whether you promote from 5th to 6th or 6th to 7th, or just want to avoid the chaos of unclear grade promotions—this one’s for you!

☀️ 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/150

//10 TIPS TO PARTNERING WITH PARENTS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3MpS3RjO04&t=4s

//COMMUNICATION IN A NOISY WORLD
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaIUQ25aqwTI5__iga2uAe0c

✅ CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
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//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Grade Promotion like a Pro!
00:42 Pros: Beginning of Summer
02:14 Cons: Beginning of Summer
03:53 Pros: End of Summer
06:02 Cons: End of Summer
08:10 Become a Hybrid Hero (https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry)
09:40 Tip #1 - MOST IMPORTANT!
11:54 Tip #2
14:00 Tip #3
14:42 Tip #4
15:58 Tip #5

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:19 - 00:00:32:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When should you promote from elementary into your youth ministry? Whether you promote at the beginning of the summer or whether you wait until the end of summer and closer to the fall and start of your school year. Whether you're promoting from fifth to six or from 6 to 7. This video is for you. And make sure that you stick around to the very end of the video, because I'm going to then rattle off five tips to make your grade and event promotion fantastic, and ones that you can implement right now.

00:00:32:03 - 00:01:00:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Don't forget, as always, there are chapters listed down below so that you can jump ahead to the part of the video that matters the most to you. Welcome everyone to the Hybrid Ministry show. Well everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. When should you promote in your youth ministry from elementary into your student ministry? Let's talk about some pros and some cons from summer versus beginning of the school year, or summer versus end of summer.

00:01:00:14 - 00:01:20:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so two pros, two cons from each category. Pro number one from promoting at the beginning of the summer is it is just it is a clean and it is a fresh start for everyone. The school year is a immediately in the rearview mirror. And people, students especially, are ready to move on to what's next and what's ahead of them.

00:01:20:10 - 00:01:44:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so the beginning of summer provides an amazing opportunity, just mentally and from a vibes standpoint, of when it feels like the most natural time to promote from elementary and to youth ministry. If you also promote at the beginning of summer, you have the option. If it's something that you choose to take advantage of, to let your most recently incoming students be able to go with you to summer camp.

00:01:44:08 - 00:02:06:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, historically, I have allowed and loved having our incoming sixth graders, our incoming seventh graders be able to go with us to summer camp. And while they're still very young, it's an amazing opportunity to kind of introduce them. And, you know, a little bit. Baptism by fire, to our student ministry, to our leaders, to me, as the youth pastor.

00:02:06:13 - 00:02:28:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And but it does really help, in my mind, help solidify their involvement, and their excitement around student ministry. Now, what are the cons, however, of if you promote at the beginning of the summer, some of the cons I would say are that it is a weird programing time for a lot of youth ministries. Your school year, youth ministry programing is pretty down.

00:02:28:05 - 00:02:51:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's pretty locked in. Summer ends up being weird. You take a lot more breaks. You have a lot more. Maybe have a skeleton program. You maybe don't even meet, like, at all. And so to promote at the beginning of the summer and then introduce your sixth graders into, like, a little bit more of a weird and kind of nebulous time on the calendar, I think can be a little bit tricky, especially with solidifying their involvement and regularity.

00:02:51:05 - 00:03:14:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so maybe, yes, I did get to go to camp, but then they came back from camp. And what are you doing in your youth ministry that they can grab on to you and that they can attach on to in their first few weeks and first few months of being involved in youth ministry? And one of the reasons for that weird and kind of nebulous programing is this other common, is that it is a vacation time for a lot of families.

00:03:14:01 - 00:03:31:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so while it may be best and most advantageous for you to promote at the beginning of the summer, those students are promoted, but then they go on vacation with their families, and maybe they're not on vacation all summer. They're gone for a week, but they come back, and then their friend is also gone on vacation and, it's staggered.

00:03:31:28 - 00:03:53:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then that friend comes back, and then the third friend is on vacation, and then the first friend is that they're like, you know, horseback riding camp or whatever. And so students are all over the place in the summer. And so a kind of promoting in the summer is you lose the optionality for just regular kind of consistent attendance and regular and kind of consistent programing, you know, for your students.

00:03:53:20 - 00:04:12:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So then on the flip side, if you're like, okay, yeah, you're right. Those are some disadvantages for sure. Maybe we should consider promoting at the end of summer. Let's talk a little bit about what the pros and the cons are about promoting at the end of summer. So a pro would be is that students do enter into your programing now.

00:04:12:13 - 00:04:48:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what I would say is peak programing time for most youth ministries in the world. And so the important thing that we need to understand is that most student ministries have a solid, like, you know, post Labor Day to Memorial Day calendar of student ministry. And so if you want to give them your like best version of programing, put your best foot forward, it might be most advantageous for your students to step into your most well done, most fully hatched student ministry programing, which is going to take place at the end of summer rather than the beginning of summer.

00:04:48:02 - 00:05:13:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The other pro is that they are a few months older and they are now in middle school. You got to think if you promoted the beginning of summer, they've just been in elementary school and now they're stepping into middle school version of programing, but they've never actually been in middle school. And so you'll have them for three months with an elementary school mindset rather than a more middle school mindset.

00:05:13:21 - 00:05:35:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so those three months, you might not think they're big deal, but from a, just development and from a maturity standpoint, those three months do make a major difference. And you probably have heard this before, but a kid develops the most from the ages of 0 to 3. And then the second period of time where they develop the most is from sixth grade to eighth grade.

00:05:35:15 - 00:05:54:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so there's going to be a lot of development happening in your sixth graders. And then if you know, if you promote in seventh grade, also that seventh grade level as well, they're right square in the middle of that second most major developmental three year run that they're ever going to experience in their entire life. And so a pro could just be that maturity piece.

00:05:54:02 - 00:06:19:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They're able to sit a little bit longer in chairs. They're able to, experience more of a youth ministry setting rather than just simply an elementary setting. What are some of the cons of promoting maybe at the end of school year? You know, this is maybe one of my biggest cons in this entire list is that when you are done with school, the last day of school, whatever grade you're in, what do you tell everyone that very moment that you step out of the school into your parents car?

00:06:19:20 - 00:06:38:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or the very next time someone asks you what grade you're in, you don't say, if you left fifth grade, you don't say, I'm in fifth grade. No, you say you're in sixth grade. And so if that church you're not allowing them to move up when they're emotionally moving up. I think that's a tough sell for a lot of kids in that age group.

00:06:38:13 - 00:07:00:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They're ready to move on to what's next. And so to hold them back for all of June, all of July and all of August, that in my opinion, that can be a little bit tough. In the same way that there's a lot of kind of tough moments and tough decisions to make when making this decision. But I think one of the toughest ones for the actual student is going to be the fact that they're not able to move up when mentally they've graduated.

00:07:00:07 - 00:07:18:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right? We all the graduation has happened in May, and then to hold back on the church graduation until the end of summer, that just really doesn't fall into alignment with the way that their life, you know, is working at the time. And then the last con here about promoting at the end of summer is very simply, they can't come with to camp.

00:07:18:29 - 00:07:36:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you choose to hold them back, you do rule them out of that ability of being able to go with you to summer camp. And if that's a value of yours, if you want to help integrate new students, if you want to help give students, the the best week that your student ministry has to offer in most cases is a week of summer camp.

00:07:36:22 - 00:08:03:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They don't get to experience that until a full calendar year later. And maybe there's some value in waiting and, you know, looking ahead to, and being excited about camp, but maybe there's, a little bit of a loss there as well. And just the fact that, like, they're brand new customer, so to speak, of your student ministry and what you have to offer, and they're not allowed to go with to camp, that might just be a little bit of a bummer.

00:08:03:00 - 00:08:45:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you may miss an opportunity to kind of grab some momentum and ride it, into the school year. So everyone, 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 in 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.

00:08:45:17 - 00:09:09:26
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.

00:09:09:28 - 00:09:28:18
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.

00:09:28:18 - 00:09:47:20
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. With all those things being said, regardless of where you're promoting, regardless of if you're beginning of summer, regardless of if you're end of summer, I do have five amazing.

00:09:47:20 - 00:10:17:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
An incredible tips that you can implement right now. Because here's the fact when this video drops, you've probably made your be for summer or end of summer decision. But these five tips, they can be implemented by you right now regardless of what decisions have been made. So tip number one is, in light of all the pros and light of all the cons, regardless of where you land on that decision, if as we laid those out, you maybe were even swayed from like I was an end of summer guy, now I'm a beginning of summer guy, or vice versa.

00:10:17:26 - 00:10:36:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This tip is the most important tip of all the tips. Make sure that your grade promotion is in alignment with the rest of your church. And what I mean by that is you can't have your kids ministry promoting from kindergarten to first grade, from first grade to second grade and all the way through at like, say at the beginning of summer.

00:10:36:01 - 00:10:57:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then you hold until the end of summer, even if you personally are in a disagreeing state with the rest of the way, your church, especially your elementary maybe your college ministry is promoting your most important value in this is alignment with the church from top to bottom. And so, you need to make sure that you're on the same page with your kids ministry.

00:10:57:29 - 00:11:15:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You need to make sure you're on the same page with your collegiate minister so that you guys all together collectively have one big day where everyone promotes up. That's also going to make things that you might not, might not care about quite as much, like database. And like those types things all of those promote at the exact same time.

00:11:15:11 - 00:11:44:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it would be confusing if elementary and college promoted at one time and student ministry held back and promoted at another time. And so just make sure you're in alignment. And if you know your kids ministry makes a decision that you're not much of a fan of, I would I would argue that's important to either a, give in caved in to their decision, or b find a way to get on the same page so that you can collectively walk out arm's length as a church unified that says, hey, this is what we as a church are doing.

00:11:44:14 - 00:12:10:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That is, in my opinion, the most important thing in all of this, regardless of where you land, as far as a decision, that individual decision is made. Tip number two is that you should host a parent meeting and subsequent tours in said meeting. Now, you'll never you'll never have better attendance for a meeting than when you're bringing a fifth grader into sixth grade or a sixth grader into seventh grade.

00:12:10:16 - 00:12:37:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, in a recent episode that I had about ten tips with partnering with parents, which was a fantastic episode with my friend Josh Bowman linked right here at the top of the YouTube screen, we discussed how meetings are difficult for attendance for parents, and quite honestly, not the most effective use of your time. However, if you are going to have a meeting, if you are going to catch a wave, and if you are going to have a decent attendance for something, it is going to be during this transition.

00:12:37:01 - 00:13:06:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So host it, put your best foot forward, bring out all of the stops, give those parents a tour of your space so that they know exactly what there is to expect in student ministry, and that they'll feel comfortable handing their kid off from elementary. Which, you got to think about this parents have had their kids in the exact same ministry now for that kid's entire life, and now they're being asked to trust a completely new person, a stranger.

00:13:06:21 - 00:13:26:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's you and your ministry. And so make sure that you roll out the red carpet. You may not get 100% attendance, but just know this if you don't get 100% attendance, that means the people that don't attend, they probably trust you. And if they don't attend and they don't trust you, it probably just means they couldn't make it for one reason or another.

00:13:26:26 - 00:13:43:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so host that meeting and let me give you a little bonus. Pro tip from the hybrid Ministry show. Find a way to record it. Capture the audio out of your soundboard and send out the audio, podcast later. Throw a video in the back of the room so that you can link to audio in the video.

00:13:43:06 - 00:14:07:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or just like voice memo, your phone from where you're talking at the front of the room, and send that audio out later, even if it's rough and dirty. But get that in the hands of your parents, especially the ones who don't make it. Now, tip number three is find a way to celebrate those sixth graders or seventh graders arrival.

00:14:07:14 - 00:14:31:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Give them swag. Create a spirit tunnel. They're the VIPs for the day. And the fact is, in our culture and in our world, that's the exact opposite. When a new grade comes into middle school or junior high, they're not the VIPs. They're the low people on the totem pole. And while they are the lowest on the totem pole from a factual standpoint at church that should be flipped on its head.

00:14:31:28 - 00:14:55:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The last shall be first and the first shall be last. And so therefore, let's make our new incoming grade. Let's make them feel like a million bucks. Tip number four is make sure that your parent section on your website, your overall website, your social media, make sure all of that is up to date. You have a whole new crop of eyes looking at your website, looking at your social media, you know?

00:14:55:21 - 00:15:29:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Link down below. I have an entire four part playlist on the importance of communication in church, and especially the importance of an up dated website that is very simply the most basic step in all of hybrid ministry and all of social media ministry. Your website needs to be your backstop and your landing spot. That is what allows you to stop promoting on your social media, because your website can handle the information and the the the the disseminating of the actual data that the people are looking for.

00:15:29:09 - 00:15:57:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But it you can't do that on social media if your website is not up to date. And when you have a brand new wave of parents in a brand new wave of students, it's important, just like you're programing, to also online put your best foot forward, and that includes making sure that your website is up to date and your social media looks the way that you would want a brand new parent who might be freaked out about sending their kid from elementary into middle school to look at your website like, oh yeah, I can trust this person.

00:15:57:16 - 00:16:32:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the fifth and final tip is perhaps consider creating their own week for them. So in our current context, when our, VBS is going on church wide for all the elementary age kids, we are offering a very custom specific fifth grade into sixth grade only week. And it is basically their own version of VBS. And so because of that week, we don't actually let our sixth graders come with us to camp, which is a deviation from my strategy as a 14 year plus youth ministry veteran.

00:16:32:26 - 00:16:48:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But because we offer this week, it allows them to have that same momentum that a week of camp would allow them to do without bringing such a young kid on an overnight camp. And so it allows them to have a full year in our ministry before they do ever go to camp. But it's not that they get nothing.

00:16:48:09 - 00:17:07:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They get their very own week. They're the only grade in the entire church that gets their own specific custom, laser focused week. And so it's a week for fifth graders into sixth graders and our church is called Cross Creek Church. And so we call it Cross the Creek Week. And it's the week where those kids come across the creek.

00:17:07:00 - 00:17:36:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We have a creek, physical creek on our campus, and the kids building is on one side of the creek. And the student building is on the other side of the creek, and we deck it out. I mean, we go all in and it is a loud it is a space already week. I mean, those kids are wild and crazy, but it is an amazing week for them to connect with us as the only time that an entire grade gets an entire focus with the students, staff, student residents, student volunteers and we pull out all of the stops.

00:17:36:03 - 00:18:11:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you have the bandwidth, the capacity, the volunteer man hours, the space on your calendar in and around your camps and your mission trips to create a custom week, it's just, morning, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for fifth graders. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday during our our work week at church for those kids to experience everything that student ministry has to offer, it feels like VBS from a schedule standpoint, but it feels so student ministry from an actual programing standpoint.

00:18:11:08 - 00:18:39:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's a way to kind of marry those two weeks and create an amazing promote, time for those fifth graders. And so if you have the capacity or the bandwidth and you this one, I will say you may not be able to pull out this year, but but perhaps put it in the back of your mind and consider pulling it out next year as an opportunity to really enhance and uptake that, grade promotion for those, elementary students coming on in to your student ministry.

00:18:39:17 - 00:18:52:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, hey, friends, I hope you enjoyed this episode. As always, I would love a subscribe. It's free on your end and it really would make the world of difference on ours. But until next time. And as always, my friends, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 149: Youth Ministry in the Summer? Should You Shut It Down or Show Up Strong?

Nick Clason — Thu, 15 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500

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

🦸 HYBRID HEROS GET IT FOR FREE!
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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
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BEST DYM RESOURCES
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OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
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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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 147: From No Budget to Pro - Summer Camp 2025 Photography & Videography Setup Guide

Nick Clason — Thu, 01 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Want pro-level camp content without a pro-level budget? In this episode, Nick Clason, of Hybrid Ministry, breaks down the exact gear, tips, and hacks you need to capture incredible summer camp photos and videos—even if you’re starting from scratch. Whether you’re using a phone, DSLR, or just your creativity, we’ll help you level up your visual game to create that momentum back at your church that camp deserves!

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SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/147

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Hire me to run your church website, social media or communications!
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BEST DYM RESOURCES
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OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Why Summer Camps Matter
01:14 Why Camp Videography & Photography Matter
03:16 Step #1 No Matter What
04:37 Easy Camp Media Strategy
06:25 Medium [& FREE!] Camp Media Strategy
11:11 Most Difficult [But Best] Camp Media Strategy

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;22 - 00;00;28;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So when I first started in youth ministry, I was like a mission trip guy. All about mission trips. Took my students on their first mission trip, charge them around $1,000, travel, lodging, all the things that you need to do pretty cheap for a mission trip, honestly. And then I was getting ready doing my budget and calendaring process for the next year, and I started thinking, like in the current context in which I was in all the same students, we're going to go back on the same mission trip.

00;00;28;03 - 00;00;56;09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They're going to write support letters to all the same people. And I was like, it might be too soon. So decided to do a camp, stumbled into an amazing camp experience that we did and produced all by ourselves, trying to keep it dirt cheap and thus invented my love for summer camp at that point. Now, some of you have been all around summer camp, but what became so necessary was the need for amazing videography and amazing photography at summer camp.

00;00;56;09 - 00;01;21;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so in this episode, I want to tell you how I stumbled into it, and I want to give you three ideas of how you can have amazing camp content that is going to help, reinforce and help your church get on board with your summer camp experience. Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry Show. So the continuation of that story is I start going to camp, we start adding more and more students, and I'm at my business meeting.

00;01;21;05 - 00;01;42;01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Give me a like, if you've ever had to go to a congregational business meeting. And I had a few naysayers who were like, this is an astronomical amount to spend for camp. What I felt like they may not have been taking into consideration is the fact that, like, I had to get approval to spend the entire amount of money, including the money that students were going to be paying into it.

00;01;42;01 - 00;02;02;13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, like the total amount of money out of the budget was like five grand. But in totality, I was requesting something like $46,000 to be spent, but that included the $300 student registration, you know, or whatever it was. And so with those naysayers, I then was like, I need I need them to see why this is worth it.

00;02;02;13 - 00;02;23;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I need them to get on board. And I need I want the church to support what the student ministry is doing. And so I went to my friend who was my roommate in college and I knew had a degree in like digital media. And I was like, bro, what do I need to pay you to come to camp and create amazing recap videos that are going to make people cry.

00;02;23;06 - 00;02;47;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then, the very next Sunday, we were back at church and we shared like a testimony recap video that was like 12 minutes long. And some kids were like, I accepted Jesus at the altar the last night of camp. And I mean, I'm telling you, there was not a dry eye in the room. Camp media is an amazing tool to help your parents, your church, your pastor, your boss.

00;02;47;29 - 00;03;08;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
See what's going on at camp. And in this video, I want to share with you an easy way to do it for basically free. I want to share with you a medium, difficulty level of doing it. And then I want to share with you a higher level of difficulty and perhaps the most expensive, but probably, as always, as you know, the more you pay, the better the product.

00;03;08;07 - 00;03;35;19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let's hop in. Welcome to this edition of How Do I Do? Camp media on the Hybrid Ministry show. So first and foremost, you want to have some sort of text message or, channel back to parents. Okay. So you can send them links to your videos, links to albums, links to photos, whatever it is that you take. And so, like I said, we're going to do an easy a medium and a higher level of difficulty in this episode.

00;03;35;19 - 00;03;59;07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But first and foremost, philosophy, basically, no matter what level of difficulty you do, you need to have some sort of, channel back to parents. That's going to be your number one advocate, especially for the week while you're at camp. Now, once you return, if you have like a student take over Sunday or whatever, like you can you can implement some of these things that you've you've pulled together at camp and find a way to package them and show them to the rest of your congregation.

00;03;59;09 - 00;04;17;20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But while you're at camp, if you want to have a buzz amongst your parents, you need to get it back into them. So, you can do some sort of text message group. You can do some sort of Facebook group. You can even post some of this stuff on your YouTube channel and then send the links to those in your Facebook group or in your text message group, or your parent email chain.

00;04;17;20 - 00;04;32;12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Whatever it is, figure out what works best in your context, but have something easy and preferably something that you can use on your phone. So as soon as you get a link, you can copy the link, you can send it out and you do it all on your mobile device. You don't need to sit down at a computer and try and find a way to do it at camp.

00;04;32;12 - 00;05;00;20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, how do you do easy videos at camp? Let's hop in. So the first way that you can do it is you can walk around with your camera, vertical based video, and you can, very simply, you can, auto cut those videos in an app like TikTok or in your Instagram Reels editor, and you can send out daily, shorts, daily TikToks, daily real type videos.

00;05;00;22 - 00;05;19;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can send the links to those in text groups or, in some sort of Facebook became post posts in Facebook. That's super easy. You or leader walk around vertical based video and all you need is clips of anywhere from 5 to 8 seconds. You don't need any longer because you're just going to overlay it with music and maybe some captions on screen and off you go.

00;05;19;27 - 00;05;38;23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You want to keep those 60s or less. And so the quicker and shorter the videos. So if you have the wherewithal in your mind to walk around, play your camera out five seconds, eight seconds, seven seconds, nine seconds, three seconds and then stitch all those together in like an auto cut feature in TikTok. You're going to be going in and off to the races.

00;05;38;26 - 00;05;58;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now. How do you easily, source photos? You tell your students, hey, send pictures on this hashtag, or if they're not going to post on like, Instagram, like that, send photos in this text group and this DM thread, whatever you choose to use some sort of, function to get those photos back to you, create a shared Google Photos album, whatever.

00;05;58;25 - 00;06;15;02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Put all your pictures in here, and then you can crowdsource those, and you can create a slideshow at the end of the night. Or if you're at some sort of camp, like a, like a generate or a feud or a lift or something like that, where you don't have control over what ends up on screen, then you create albums and you send those out in Facebook groups to parents.

00;06;15;02 - 00;06;36;14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's the easiest, lowest hanging fruit. Okay, now what about medium? And this is honestly, this is a big step up and it's going to cost you next to nothing. Let's check it out. So genuinely I've done this before okay. And if you want to create daily recap videos again you have control of the screens. So daily recap videos that you can show in your sessions.

00;06;36;21 - 00;06;53;17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or if you don't have control of the screens at a minimum daily recap videos that you can post to YouTube. Let me show you how you can do it on Cap cut. All right, so if you're watching here on screen, this is what I did, a couple years ago, we didn't hire and have money, for a videographer.

00;06;53;17 - 00;07;13;23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I would do daily recap videos in the cabin at night, throw my headphones on, and kids are all sleeping. And so I'm here on cap cut out, hit new project. And let's just do these, videos of my dog, okay? And so I would click, all the videos I want to add and I'd click add three.

00;07;13;25 - 00;07;40;14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And here I am now and I can create some sort of video. So there's my dog and there's another video of my dog and there's another little video of my dog. Now, what you can do is you can add animations, and anything if you are doing like a free account, anything with like the little like pro features or things, there.

00;07;40;16 - 00;08;06;18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Those don't use those. But if you find any of the ones like this one right here, that is free, okay, it'll come right in. And there you go. Boom off you go. And if you want to like add a text that says, you know, like day one recap. Put it right there and hope I'm exporting. Don't want to export quit.

00;08;06;21 - 00;08;25;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So there it is. Day one recap. Now I can edit this text click style. And once again you want to make sure you don't add a pro feature. So see those little corners right there. So this one's this one's free. Day one recap. Change the font. Find one that's not a pro font. And off we go.

00;08;26;02 - 00;08;47;15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right right there. All of these are not pro fonts. And so the main thing if you want to keep it free is that you don't add anything. Pro font. All right. Right here I can add some sort of transition. So here's a transition that's not that is pro don't remind me again. I might not. Oh here's one pull in.

00;08;47;17 - 00;09;15;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay. And there we go. And I go all the way through at the end. I can also add things like, stickers. I can add text to audio, and I can add music. And that's what I do when I add some audio. And so if I want to go to some sounds and find something like this one here, that's not, that's not, pro.

00;09;15;24 - 00;09;41;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now I got a video and then I hit export. And we are off to the races. And you'll see here on screen, if you're watching, you can see the finalized video of my dog. It's beautiful. Who doesn't love it? This would take me about an hour after lights out, but I want to let you know that it is completely free, so after you've done your capture video, what if you want photos?

00;09;41;08 - 00;10;01;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, what if you took a leader, not someone who's have an elite? A small group would be a cabin leader, and they're just a dedicated photographer. You're only cost in that. Give them a cell phone. Have them take it on an iPhone. Google pixel, a nice phone. You're only cost in. That is your perhaps payment of their registration fee.

00;10;01;00 - 00;10;25;24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Unless, of course, you're charging your leaders to go, in which case you're good and you say, hey, listen, your only job is take photos and send these daily recaps back home to parents, and you give them that job. And so all week, their entire sole focus using just their cell phone is to take good photos. And so then with your daily recaps and your lidar photos, you can, bring those back and you can present those to your church.

00;10;25;24 - 00;10;42;23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, the last little bit in this is if you want and studio, link down below. You can grab some Bluetooth microphones. You can also take some video on your cell phone, just like I showed you. Stitch it together and cap cut. But you can take students testimonies and tell them, hey, what, what stood out to you?

00;10;42;23 - 00;11;00;17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
How to God move in your life this week? Like all that type of stuff? And you can create a recap testimony video and you can show that on screen the quality is great. You saw the export quality was like 1080p. You can export it even up to 4K, and you can shoot it in 4K on your camera if it if it's able to handle it.

00;11;00;20 - 00;11;20;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then you can show that on a screen. You can also post that to something like YouTube and then share it in your Facebook group. But what about the best and probably most expensive? Well, let's dive in. Your final your best is you want those daily recap videos. You want that final big testimony video. Your best bang.

00;11;20;07 - 00;11;38;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, not bang for your buck, right? This is going to cost you money, but you hire a videographer. Maybe you're church or something. Maybe you know someone, but you bring someone in, they bring all their own gear and they, follow students around. They capture footage, and their entire job is to create daily recap videos for you on the big screen at night.

00;11;38;22 - 00;11;59;02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you have control of that, or post them to YouTube and then create that testimony video. And if you can hire that same person, or maybe hire a second person to take photos on a good camera that they have, that's going to be your highest barrier to entry. You're probably going to have to a pay for them to go to camp, be pay for their lodging and all that stuff.

00;11;59;05 - 00;12;18;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So let's say that's anywhere from 3 to $400, and then you're going to pay them a fee, 800 bucks, 1500 bucks. It is expensive. But if you have the budget, I'm just telling you like it does end up being worth it and you end up with much higher quality footage. And what you can do on your phone and much higher caliber photos.

00;12;18;11 - 00;12;44;14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, if you're like, bro, I can't even get anywhere near that, then that medium range won't for you. As long as you're willing to put the work in. As long as you're willing to use cap cut, you can do it for very cheap and frankly, very free. And still get a very, very good result. Now, listen, your camp experience is very important, and students lives are often marked and changed at camp.

00;12;44;16 - 00;13;12;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what's also very important is that your people back home support you. Your parents know what's going on, and they can advocate and create a buzz around your student ministry. So don't fumble the bag. This summer on creating amazing camp media and amazing camp content. I'm rooting for you, have an amazing camp and crush it with a digital media this summer so that your church can get on board and support what your student ministry has going on.

00;13;12;29 - 00;13;16;25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Thanks for being here. We'll talk next time and don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 146: How I Produce a Weekly Leader Podcast

Nick Clason — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0500

You need to train your volunteer youth leaders, but how do you produce a podcast, which gives you the outlet to offer more trainings than you even know what to do with? And how do you not lose your life to it?
Here's how I produce a weekly leader podcast with only one hour per month of a time committment!
Yes, I'll show you everything I do from getting started, the gear, and maintaining it!
Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show!

We discuss all of this, and MORE on my weekly [BONUS] podcast, check it out here:

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https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

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SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/146

//DARREN’S EPISODE
https://youtu.be/XU9J2S4oJAU

//NATIONAL DAY TRAINING
https://www.trainmyvolunteers.com

//NEXT GEN COACHING PODCAST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVLuq7Wg_ds&t=510s

//GEAR RECS
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/studio

//SEE OUR PODCAST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQNSuUuvDIg&list=PL_FbsNmRvDjfJ1ehYNxtH10bhHrndhdV0

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

//CROSSCREEK LEADERS WEBSITE
https://www.crosscreekstudents.com/leader

//PODCAST HOSTS
https://libsyn.com/
https://www.podbean.com/
https://www.buzzsprout.com/
https://www.spreaker.com/
https://www.simplecast.com/
https://blubrry.com/
https://transistor.fm/
https://castos.com/
https://www.captivate.fm/
https://rss.com/
https://open.spotify.com/genre/podcasts-page
https://www.acast.com/
https://megaphone.spotify.com/
https://www.podomatic.com/
https://soundcloud.com/

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 How I Produce a Weekly Leader Podcast
01:17 Why you need a leader podcast
06:28 Getting Started: Gear & Platforms
12:28 Show Format & Topic Ideas
18:06 Launching Your New Podcast!

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:08 - 00:00:45:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Are you looking for and longing for? Youth ministry, leader development that is not dependent upon a leader's attendance to an individual meeting. You know, I even once heard Kurt Johnston, the, famous, like, youth ministry guru from Southern California. He said, you know, your trainings aren't as good as you think. And that was a gut punch, man. Do you want to be in a position where you've communicated to your leaders everything you could possibly ever think that you need to, and still be struggling to find more things to say at your next leader meeting?

00:00:45:02 - 00:01:09:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, let me tell you how I, as we are rounding out the final episode of this mini series that we've been doing, how I in an individual solo pod, how I produce a weekly leader podcast, and all of the things that I just teased are true of what we have going on in our student ministry and on our weekly leader podcast.

00:01:09:18 - 00:01:34:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And as always, there are chapters listed down below in a podcast catch or here on YouTube. Welcome my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry show. What's up everyone? Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show and the completion of our little mini series, how I. And in this episode, we will talk about how I produce a weekly leader podcast, which is a small sliver to a bigger leader culture strategy.

00:01:34:08 - 00:01:54:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you want, like all there is to know about youth ministry volunteers, youth ministry leaders, recruiting, retaining all of that, you need to check out the episode that I just most recently dropped with my boss and friend, Erin Sutton, linked right here at the top of the screen. You can go check that out, but this is a small segment of what we do to help create the leader culture that we want.

00:01:54:25 - 00:02:23:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
With our leaders. And so why a podcast? So let me just back up real quick philosophically and say this. Like, why are we determined and decided that we wanted a leader podcast was we had a monthly leader meeting in our context, and there felt to be so much pressure on that one meeting, for example, like at the August leader meeting or, you know, September leader meeting, we would be like, we need to make sure that we hit all of these onboarding things.

00:02:23:29 - 00:02:47:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We need to make sure that our leaders know about all of these resources that we have to offer. We need to like, make sure, make sure, make sure, make sure like give me a like or a subscribe. If you've ever been in a position like that where you just feel like there's so much pressure on your one time once a year, or maybe twice a year gathering of sorts, and then, you know, if you're doing anything which you should, by the way, lean into the download Youth Ministry, National Day of Volunteer Training.

00:02:47:23 - 00:03:09:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like those those pieces of content and those like events are fantastic momentum builders for you and your team. We're a part of it. We're a customer, so you should check it out. Getting zero kickback from promoting it, but link down below if you're interested in the National Day information. But like if you do those things, you also feel the pressure at those leader meetings like, oh, I got them all together.

00:03:09:08 - 00:03:32:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I got them all in the room. I gotta make sure I cover all the things that I need to cover. And because of that tension that we felt and we were experiencing, finally I proposed and pitched this idea to my bosses like, let's what if we came up with a weekly leader podcast and I was on an episode, of another podcast, the next Gen coaching Podcast with, Ryan Manning?

00:03:32:29 - 00:03:52:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'll link that episode down below. And I told him we had a weekly leader podcast and that it's video based, and he was like weekly, And you could tell his wheels are turning because he had a podcast, but it wasn't weekly. And the reason that I push so hard for weekly. And before you turn this off, like, remember the chapters down below if you wanna skip this part.

00:03:52:23 - 00:04:14:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the reason I push so hard for weekly is because that is your best chance to actually create a little bit of momentum and actually get your leaders to begin adopting the rhythm and the practice, if they can expect it weekly. Now, what we as churches often default into is we don't think we have the ability to produce it weekly because let's be honest, we're producing a lot of other things weekly.

00:04:14:00 - 00:04:29:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We've got a weekly program and a weekly sermon and a weekly worship service, like all those things. And so we're like, let's not let's start with what we know we can achieve. Not a bad strategy, but let me tell you how we do it and how we can achieve it with only one hour per month worth of work.

00:04:29:20 - 00:05:01:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay, so, I went in for the weekly, push and we wanted to make the podcast less than 15 minute weekly commitment for our leaders, and we wanted them to hit it. You know, we drop it every single Monday morning. They can consume it whenever they choose to, but the idea is if they are like avid listeners or they're listening regularly, they're getting it on their, you know, first 15 minutes on their way to work Monday morning, it drops super duper early, like 5:00 in the morning.

00:05:01:15 - 00:05:20:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So hopefully that catches any leader on their commute. You know, we live in the DFW area, so a fair bit of our leaders commute pretty far. And so we wanted them to be able to catch it in their car on their way to work. All right. And within that, within us doing it weekly, we were able to hit because of the frequency.

00:05:20:16 - 00:05:43:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We're able to hit so many different training topics, and we're able to cover so much more ground on the information or the communication or the announcement side of what we wanted our leaders to get with just simply choosing to do it weekly. And by doing that, it also has had some other side benefits, such as help reinforce and build the culture that we want within our youth ministry.

00:05:43:20 - 00:06:04:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's brought our group chat to life because there's a weekly piece of content being delivered directly to them that they interact with, and then they'll make fun of us and throw jokes and memes and all the things that serve to build and reinforce our leader culture. So that's the why. That's why we chose philosophically. Those were our goals, those were our desires with it.

00:06:04:24 - 00:06:22:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so because of that, if you're interested, if you're like, yeah, I got it, I'm in I my trainings aren't as good as I think they are. Thanks Kurt Johnston for that. But I want to offer some, some ongoing kind of training for my leaders on the go as you go. How do you do that? How do you do it in less than 15 minutes?

00:06:22:27 - 00:06:41:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
How do you do it in less than one hour per month? Let me tell you how. Let's happen. You ready to start a podcast? You need to determine a podcast host. And here, just down below, there's going to be links to all of these and a list of them. And then I'm going to tell you what we use in our context.

00:06:41:04 - 00:07:08:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you need to choose some sort of podcast host that's going to have some sort of monthly fee associated with it. Less than $20, $20 is probably the absolute cap. But you could look into, service like Libsyn, Podbean, Buzzsprout, Spreaker Simple cast blueberry transistor casters captivate rss.com, Spotify, a gas megaphone, paddle matic and SoundCloud. I don't use any of those.

00:07:08:04 - 00:07:34:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, we actually use is we use nucleus. And if you've been listening to any of my, things on communication, nucleus is our website builder. And nucleus has a built in podcast catcher and RSS feed creator. And now if you are using nucleus for your wider church podcast, they only give you one. So if you're already using your utilizing some sort of podcast RSS feed, then you're going to need to go and get another one.

00:07:34:28 - 00:07:58:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And nucleus doesn't offer the ability to have a second, podcast or a second RSS feed. However, if you are in a bigger church and they do have some sort of like podcast hosting thing, just think for like your past their sermons and let's say they're using something like a Libsyn go talk to your communications director or explore what, account features are available to you, and see if you can add on a second podcast on your podcast hosting feed.

00:07:59:03 - 00:08:20:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What you need from your podcast hosting feed is what's called the RSS feed. The RSS feed is how podcasts are distributed to their catchers. And so there's essentially three main podcasts, services out there. There's YouTube, which is honestly not very good, but YouTube is kind of taking over the world. So I'm just not I'm not ignoring it right now.

00:08:20:02 - 00:08:47:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you can use YouTube's RSS feed, but you're going to need to get that unique RSS feed from your podcast host. There's also Spotify, and then there's also Apple Podcasts. And those are really it. Now you might be thinking there's other podcast catchers out there like I used for something called Castbox. And yes, I do. However, Castbox uses the Apple RSS feed and converts it over so I can get it on an Android phone because I don't have access to the Apple Podcast catcher.

00:08:47:12 - 00:09:09:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So like I said, the main ones Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube. Okay, and so you're also going to need to create a show, create a podcast in those individual things, and then you're going to need to take your RSS feed from your host and import it into those things your Apple Podcasts, your Spotify, your YouTube. Now listen, you will hate your life the day that you choose to do that.

00:09:09:21 - 00:09:31:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You will hate your life. You're going to need emails and you're going to need two factor authentication. You're going to need phone numbers. Let me just give you a quick tidbit on that. Create something that is not dependent upon you. Don't use your personal email. Don't use your personal phone. If you need to set up like a Google Voice number that you can receive text messages from.

00:09:31:02 - 00:09:54:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
For the codes for your new Apple podcast, sign on things and off you go. All right. And then save those in a spreadsheet because heaven forbid, I know you're not thinking about leaving your church anytime soon, but one day you might. And you don't want those codes coming to your personal cell phone because the fact is, you're not going to need to log into these things are much of a regular basis.

00:09:54:00 - 00:10:12:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You need to get them started, kind of set it and forget it. But when you're setting it, just make sure you set it up in such a way that it can live beyond your tenure at your church. That's small hack. You'll thank me later. And then once you get those things set up, you're ready to get going. You're ready to make it happen.

00:10:12:14 - 00:10:31:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, if you want to do some sort of ramp up launch, I have, in just second chapter down below how to launch it. Well, and how we did it and how we got the word out and all those things you are going to need a show to be on your RSS feed. You are going to need some sort of show to to kind of trigger the beginning of your thing.

00:10:31:21 - 00:10:52:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So consider a trailer, consider some sort of like, teaser of sorts. You know, we I have my boss shoot like a selfie style video less than 60s. And that was our very first episode. But then we use that kind of as promo. And I also got the feeds for Spotify, for Apple Podcasts, and for YouTube kind of started so that we could start pointing people to those things.

00:10:52:29 - 00:11:13:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They could start subscribing and they could start bookmarking and all those things on their devices. All right. Now, what about gear? Well, you're in luck. I have, a blog and, former episode on my podcast listed down below in the show notes hybrid ministry that xyzzy slash articles slash studio. And in that you're going to want to scroll to the podcast Mike section.

00:11:13:24 - 00:11:41:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And those are the microphones that we use. We also use videos so you can see the the camera that we use there on that same blog. Or you can set up a cell phone camera, which, by the way, full disclosure. So what I'm using right now here on this episode, and you can set up, a camera if you do want to have video, we use, so we do use the YouTube RSS feed, like I said, but I also post individually in its own YouTube playlist, our videos.

00:11:41:06 - 00:12:00:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So our leaders have the option for audio. They also have the option for video. And there are some things that are fun for them to see on on video. Like one time every episode, me and my friend Darren, we cheers like 3 to 1 cheers. And then one one week we did like, we were like, let's break these mugs.

00:12:00:18 - 00:12:14:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we went cheers. Because they're almost always empty. Because we act like it's the morning. But we often film like in the afternoon or whatever. And so they're almost always empty. And so we'll like clink real hard and like, you can tell there's no coffee. And, you know, we'll joke about how there's no coffee and then we're faking it or whatever, all the things.

00:12:14:19 - 00:12:29:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the last time we crashed the mugs together, and then we'll just say something like, if you're not watching, you're definitely going to want to go back and watch that one, right? And so if you want a camera, get a camera. If you want the podcast mix, just check those links out down below and we'll get you taken care of for that.

00:12:29:13 - 00:12:47:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right. So what about the format. What do we do on our show? Like I said, our goal is 15 minutes or less. Honestly, we almost always, go ten or less. And so part of the way that we're able to do it is we don't sit down. We don't do a new half long form podcast, no Shade to carry.

00:12:47:01 - 00:13:09:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
He's the goat at what he does. But we our goal is 10 or 15 minutes or less with a nugget of training. Okay. And so here is our, format. So when we sit down to record, we batch record, we record for at a time essentially a month's worth of podcasts, and we sort of create little mini series within those four months.

00:13:09:05 - 00:13:29:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Here's the thing. You're a youth pastor, you're in on church communications. You are good at creating series. So create a series of training topics. Let me just give you a few of the ones that we've done in our context. So we've done a podcast called The Secret Stuff, like the Secret Sauce to having a great youth ministry small group.

00:13:29:25 - 00:13:47:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And there's like, you know, your quiet time and your prayer life and those types of things. We also did a let's envision a students experience from the parking lot to the front door to in our main room to in a small group. And so those are all four different little episodes, right? They all kind of build off each other.

00:13:47:21 - 00:14:05:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We did this little series on why certain stuff matters. So we do yearly debriefs with all of our leaders. So why debriefs matter? Why fun matters like camps or retreats matter. Why group covenants matter? This was sort of during the holidays. We did a bunch of one offs like five tips for caring for Hurting Teens. The ten Minute Rule Ministry.

00:14:05:21 - 00:14:30:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
During the holidays, we did a little four part series on on Generation Alpha and what makes them different. We talked about, some like group tips, like how to lean into the awkward silences, how to, when you're allowed to skip the lesson, this game changer that you won't want to miss? We have, like, a little, moniker in our student ministry where we say students are welcomed, wanted, needed and known.

00:14:30:27 - 00:14:54:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we did an episode on welcome to didn't episode on wanted. We did an episode on needed, and then we did an episode Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry. Right. So as you can see, those are just some ideas for content that you can use. And so we, we block them like that, we sit down, we record in a one hour block, we record all the audio, we record all the video, we don't break, we, we start recording.

00:14:54:17 - 00:15:10:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then when we're done, we're done. And we keep everything rolling. The video is still rolling, the audio is still rolling. And then we'll talk for a minute. We got a little, you know, a little table or sheet you can see down below. Our at all let you see like our videos and stuff like that. You can go check out what we do.

00:15:10:25 - 00:15:26:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We got a little sheet. So we'll talk for a minute. We'll, we'll make sure. Who are we? You know, shouting out all the stuff. We'll get to all that in a minute. But that's, that's how we block record. Then the format of our show is in three parts a shout out, the piece of content or the little nugget of training or whatever we want it to be.

00:15:27:05 - 00:15:49:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then finally we'll end with, some sort of story and we call it story time. And so those are our three segments. And so, any time we, we start in our four part series, the very first episode of that, our shout out is for anyone who's new to our team. And so, whenever someone would join our team, historically, we would want to like at the next leader lunch or whatever, say, hey, thanks so much for being here.

00:15:49:07 - 00:16:03:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is so and so. Here's a little leader gift for them. Welcome to the team. Right. Well we were forgetting that. Sort of like let's just add it to the podcast and then we take their little leader gift which is a mug, and we store it for them in our leader work room, we have a little whiteboard we write, welcome to the team.

00:16:03:16 - 00:16:23:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So and so we draw a little arrow, grab your mug okay. And we actually kind of create a little section in our, our leader room. Like our workroom which is all like podcast prizes. Okay. So after the first episode, then we do some sort of shout out, so what's a leader that's been crushing it? We shout them out and we'll often give something away.

00:16:23:20 - 00:16:42:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's, you know, around Christmas we'll give them, like, a silly mug. Recently we got some, like, free ice cream gift cards. We'll give away the ice cream gift cards, like, whatever we kind of have laying around. You don't have to do that, but we'll do some sort of giveaway. I use sidekick for that, put all of their names into the picture, and I just create some sort of criteria.

00:16:42:11 - 00:17:00:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So like, hey, if you came to the last leader lunch, your name is in the picture. If you've already, RSVP to the next leader lunch at time of recording, your name is in the picture. You get the drill and then sometimes, instead of creating shout outs and doing a giveaway, we will do leader Roulette. So we'll put their names in for some reason.

00:17:00:06 - 00:17:19:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
RSVP to the thing, right? And then, their name pops up. We don't know. We run it on sidekick. Whoever pops up will say, hey, you want ice cream? And, here's a shout out. And so we call it leader Shout out roulette. We tell them like, we don't know who's going to pop up. So we're going to be coming up with these shout outs kind of on the fly.

00:17:19:14 - 00:17:39:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's a fun little challenge. Then we hop into the content. You heard some of the content that we've done over the last year. And then finally we end with some sort of story. And that's a way for us to, you know, think youth group chronicles, like it's those, those types of stories that are happening within our youth ministry or a funny story that we have heard about or something that's even happened in our past.

00:17:39:22 - 00:18:05:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And those are, hard to to get at first. But once our leaders start listening, they start telling us stuff and we always blur and bleep out all of the students name. So if a student ever runs across this on our YouTube channel, they're not feeling like isolated or whatever, and we make the stories vague enough that they're not going to know, and, and, you know, we just kind of go from there and students don't really listen to these anyway, but if they do ever stumble across them, they're not going to be hopefully embarrassed.

00:18:05:20 - 00:18:23:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, last thing you've done all the work you've bought, all the gear, you've come up with, the format, you've started filming all those things. How then do you launch it? I'm glad you asked. Let's check it out. Last section. So this is what we did. We created a little stickers on Sticker Mule with a QR code that took them to our website.

00:18:24:00 - 00:18:43:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'll link the website down below, which pulled in a section of our playlist from our nucleus, sermons kind of database. And then, and the way that I schedule that is we schedule, like I said, a weekly message. And so the leader podcast drops at five on a Monday. And then the the message of the week drops at six.

00:18:43:05 - 00:19:03:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's our sermon that we're teaching that Wednesday night. But remember, we pre-filled those that drops at six. And so when you go on our main page, the most recent message is going to be there because it posted one hour after the Leader podcast. So the only time the Leader podcast is highlighted on the main section of our website is from 5:00 am to 6 a.m. Monday morning.

00:19:03:18 - 00:19:25:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, if you go to the leader page on our website, it's highlighting the leader podcast playlist. So we make sure whenever we post that it's leader podcast playlist and that that little, playlist is a featured section on the website there. But so we, created a QR code to that section of the website, to that playlist.

00:19:25:14 - 00:19:50:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then we also put a little piece of copy like, hey, make sure you subscribe, make sure you whatever. And we did a giveaway, right. The first round of podcasts I put in like our group chat screenshot that you are subscribed to our leader podcast, and anyone who screenshotted it and posted it in our group chat, they had an opportunity to win something, to put their names in sidekick and that honestly, that kind of started the whole giveaway thing and now it's just kind of a staple of what we did.

00:19:50:00 - 00:20:10:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We didn't go into it with that. The that being the intention, but that's kind of how it started. And then we did three weeks worth of like promotion around it. And what's funny is my boss was like, let's do this at our next leader launch. Let's launch it there. But when we recorded our first batch of episodes in July, I was like, are we really?

00:20:10:04 - 00:20:27:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Do we really want to sit on these pieces of content for that long? And he's like, no, not really. I was like, do we need an in-person event to launch it? He's like, dude, you're the hybrid guy. You tell me what we should do. And I was like, all right, so, one week, let's buy, like, you know, elevated breakfast.

00:20:27:15 - 00:20:46:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, we give donuts every Sunday morning. Let's do, like, breakfast burritos just for our leaders in the later work room. And let's have a little, like, sign in there. This is leader podcast is coming. And then the next week I can't remember what we did. We did something else food breakfast related. And then the final week we blew it up only for our leaders breakfast all the way around.

00:20:46:10 - 00:21:18:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we brought in like, espresso coffee cart. And on the sleeve of the coffee cups, we printed a sticker with a QR code that said Leader Podcast, you know, and so they could scan that so that they could subscribe and all that stuff. And then all those three weeks were doing, like, weekly giveaways. One of the things we did during that three weeks or month of ramp up of launching is I took the the pilot episode and, which is just, you know, my, my boss, selfie style video.

00:21:18:16 - 00:21:36:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I put that video on loop on a TV in our leader workspace. So they walked in and they saw it. And so for three weeks or a month, everything was leader podcast, so everybody knew about it. And then as we've gone as people win stuff and whatever, we'll shout them out. We'll say, hey man, great job. So and so.

00:21:36:20 - 00:21:53:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They got the shout out this week on the podcast that'll be in our leader group chat. And so if they're active in our leader group chat and like they're coming every Sunday to our leader workroom with the prizes on the on the wall, they're they're gonna know about our leader podcast. And so that's how we kind of keep it in front of them.

00:21:53:24 - 00:22:16:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And like I've said, it is is built an amazing amount of camaraderie around and among our leaders. And so that's why I think you should do a weekly leader podcast. It's a month out of our our schedule to film it. And then a little bit of time to edit it and then boom, off we go. So thank you so much for being here at the Hybrid Ministry Podcast.

00:22:16:14 - 00:22:23:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is how I do a weekly leader podcast. And till next time, as always my friends, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 145: 10 Simple & Effective Partnering with Parent Tips that REALLY work!

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

In this conversation, Nick Clason (Hybrid Ministry) and Josh Boldman (Download Youth Ministry) discuss the importance of partnering with parents in youth ministry. Josh gives 10 tips from the perspective of a parent NOT working at a church. Several tips are incredibly Hybrid, and best of all, it's not going to add anymore work to your plate!

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SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/145

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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Why Partnering with Parents?
02:52 Tip #1
4:34 Tip #2
05:22 Tip #3
06:04 Tip #4
08:55 Tip #5
10:18 Tip #6
13:02 Why does starting on time honor parents?
14:26 Tip #7
15:03 Tip #8
15:47 Tip #9
17:33 Tip #10

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
Nick Clason (00:00.93)
Well, so here we are. And Josh, you might be the most frequented guest now on the Hybrid Ministry podcast, which with all I would, I think I sent you one actually. So, so yeah. But today I've been asking people like, what do you feel like you're kind of like an expert on? So we're in this kind of mini series called How I, and so you said, let's talk about partnering with parents. And so.

Josh Boldman (00:06.494)
Yes Do I get a jacket like do I get a like there's like a that's true actually, you know, that's fair

Josh Boldman (00:29.991)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (00:31.124)
over all your different years of experience, what do you feel like uniquely positions you from a mindset or experience-wise or whatever about this idea of partnering with parents?

Josh Boldman (00:38.9)
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yeah. Yeah, so I mean, over the course of 20 years in youth ministry, I did the traditional route of before I had a kid, feeling like I knew everything more than any of the parents. Like I was way smarter than them. And then I had my own kid, and then I was able to actually have the blessing of having my own kid in my own ministry. And then recently have now,

Nick Clason (00:55.712)
yeah.

Nick Clason (01:03.937)
Mmm.

Josh Boldman (01:08.465)
like a life stage where my kid is a part of a ministry that I do not lead. And so it's like, there, that's what I should have. Okay, those are the questions that I now have that I should have been answering.

Nick Clason (01:13.358)
Hmm.

Nick Clason (01:19.904)
I do actually think that's a really, really fascinating perspective and one worth exploring. So what are a couple of principles or takeaways, especially in the lane of I'm a youth pastor veteran, I work for a youth ministry company, but as a parent, as a customer, so to speak, of this youth group, like what do you wish you were getting back from the youth ministry?

Josh Boldman (01:23.826)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Josh Boldman (01:35.303)
Mm-hmm.

Josh Boldman (01:42.291)
Yeah. Yeah. I think that's something that every youth minister needs to remember is that you are ministering to a family and not just to a student. Hands down, because like a student is a product, I mean, not entirely, but like they're a product of their family, right? Their parents. when you talk, you talk to a kid, half the things they say are things that they have either heard their parents say or they've

Nick Clason (01:53.965)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason (02:02.028)
Yeah.

Josh Boldman (02:11.835)
or are in like rebellion against something that their parents have said, right? So like, so like the better that you know the parents, the better you are going to know the student. And whether that that kid has a awesome relationship with their parents or a terrible relationship with their parents or no relationship with their parents, whoever it is at home that takes care of them, that makes them feel safe. You are on the same team with that person, whether you know them or not.

Nick Clason (02:15.598)
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Nick Clason (02:22.446)
Hmm.

Nick Clason (02:30.702)
Mm-hmm.

Josh Boldman (02:41.583)
And it, it, it, I will be as blunt as I can be in saying if, you're on the same team as that, of those people and you don't know them, that is dumb. Like it just don't, don't put yourself in a position of being on a team with someone you don't even know.

Nick Clason (02:50.563)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (02:56.28)
So you've worked in some larger contexts, let's say. How would you recommend someone who has a youth group of 50 students with, let's say, 50 unique family units? so probably more than 50 because siblings, whatever. How do they get to know parents? Because I would imagine the pushback from a youth pastor is like, well, I try. have a well, and we have meetings and they never come to the meetings and all this stuff like what. So.

Josh Boldman (03:00.646)
Yep.

Josh Boldman (03:08.23)
Yeah, yeah, Uh-huh.

Josh Boldman (03:17.757)
Yep, I can't know them all yet.

Josh Boldman (03:24.465)
Yeah. Yeah.

Nick Clason (03:24.812)
We've all been there, we've all experienced it. what, as a parent now on the other side, give us some tips.

Josh Boldman (03:30.418)
Yeah, yeah, I would say one, especially if you're talking about a middle school ministry, do check in at the beginning of the night and be at the check-in station. And I know that seems so like antithetical to like, I should be hanging out with the kids. you know, yes, that's great. Go play nine square, go play gaga ball, whatever, but spend some time at check-in because especially if they're in sixth, seventh, eighth grade, their parents are going to probably walk in with them.

Nick Clason (03:42.775)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason (03:51.938)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (03:56.471)
Right.

Josh Boldman (04:00.274)
Like, so that's a great opportunity. but even if it's not then like clock the times that, know, like, Hey, when are my best opportunities to meet this parent? And it's, it's almost always going to be a drop-off pickup. Um, we, know, sometimes we'll do like, uh, you know, depending on like the layout of your building and how close the room is to the actual parking lot. Like, um, we used to do a thing where we'd have somebody inside with a walkie talkie and somebody outside with a walkie talkie. So what a parent would pull up.

they would say, hey, I'm here to pick up Johnny. And so the person on the radio would be like, Johnny. And so then we'd call Johnny's name inside. I was like, why am I not the person outside with the walkie talkie? Like go be that person talking to the parent. you know, that, you know, and, plus one of the best things you can do in that situation is they're like, Hey, I'm here to pick up Johnny. You can be like, dude, Johnny's awesome. Like, let me tell you about Johnny. Johnny is so stinking cool. Yup. Yeah.

Nick Clason (04:30.774)
Hmm.

Nick Clason (04:40.906)
Yeah, that's so smart.

Nick Clason (04:50.902)
Yeah, and what parent doesn't want to hear that about their kid?

Josh Boldman (04:56.562)
Oh yeah, cause think of every time a parent gets called by a teacher, it's to tell them that their kid's not doing great. know, so like if you can be like the one time that you like, or I mean, if you're open enough to literally calling parents, like go call a parent and be like, Hey, I need to tell you something about Johnny. And they're like, what do you do now? They're like, he was amazing. Like, you know, and I mean, don't lie about Johnny. Like if Johnny's a little turd, like, know, you can be honest about it, but like, don't, but don't drag Johnny through.

Nick Clason (05:02.294)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason (05:14.924)
Yeah, yeah. That's cool, yeah.

Yeah.

Josh Boldman (05:26.62)
You know, go out of your way to tell them how awesome it is.

Nick Clason (05:26.872)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (05:30.284)
Yeah, that's so good. It's like the whole idea of positive reinforcement versus negative, so much more powerful. And we can just be strategic and intentional to position ourselves to do that. Even if you're like, I'll give myself 20 minutes on the calendar a week and I'll try to call as many parents and just say something nice about their kids. And if they're quick conversations or even, bro, leave a voicemail. Maybe they don't answer, whatever. It'll still be awesome. can be like, okay, no need to

Josh Boldman (05:33.859)
Mm-hmm. Totally, totally.

Josh Boldman (05:46.779)
Yeah. yeah.

Josh Boldman (05:56.422)
Yeah!

Nick Clason (05:59.67)
No need to call back, just wanted to let you know whatever, that'd be really good.

Josh Boldman (06:01.999)
Yeah. Yeah. And especially if you know, you have a kid who is, you know, mean, gosh, I don't know what it has been about the, you know, the 20 years I spent in ministry, but it was like, it was just like every kid with an attention deficit of something, something, something like they all just showed up at our ministry. Right. It was grabbing it, which is a lot of fun. I'm just like, I'll be the first to say like, it is a party, but yes. man. Until the broken arms, but

Nick Clason (06:16.854)
Mm-hmm

Nick Clason (06:26.348)
You had fun during the games.

haha

Josh Boldman (06:30.781)
you would, but the thing was, is you would see parents drop off their kids and those parents were exhausted, right? And they were just like exasperated. Like they are saying like, Hey, please help. And also please give me a break for a minute. And so like, if you can call and like, if they, you know that they're having trouble with their kid at school and you can then brag about something awesome about that kid, like I cannot tell you how that feels. you know, just to be able to know like, cause

Nick Clason (06:36.013)
Mmm.

Nick Clason (06:44.053)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason (06:49.464)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (06:56.216)
Yeah.

Josh Boldman (07:00.066)
And you know, let's call it what it is. Parents need to hear that not everybody hates their kid. Like, I mean, I know that sounds harsh, but like...

Nick Clason (07:05.15)
Mm-hmm. Well, no, you're always questioning, like, are our kids weird? are they? You're always asking that thing.

Josh Boldman (07:10.244)
Right? Yes. It's like, it's like my own kid. Like I love my kid, but I don't know how other people feel about him unless they tell me, you know? So yeah.

Nick Clason (07:17.634)
That's it, yeah, no, you're so right. Yeah, so, so far, you know, it's interesting. Like nothing you've said had anything to do with like the youth pastor's sermon or cue cards or so like, what else, man?

Josh Boldman (07:27.48)
Not even a little. yeah, yeah. It's not, it's not, yeah, it's not the, every year we do a message series where we talk about be nice to your parents. Like, no, that's not, that doesn't help. mean, can't, please do that. yeah, but some things that I have noticed, you know, in times, especially when I started in a ministry where I followed someone who left poorly.

Nick Clason (07:38.958)
Yeah, yeah, it sure can help,

Josh Boldman (07:54.064)
what I almost across the board saw was that that person, especially when it came to parents, was disorganized and did not communicate well. So like, and this may sound so minor, but like send an email every week. Like even if it is literally the same email, like it's the same template, just change two things, whatever. But that way when parents are trying to figure out what's going on, they can always look at the last email and see what it was.

Nick Clason (08:10.382)
It's not that hard.

Nick Clason (08:15.02)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason (08:20.92)
Yeah.

Josh Boldman (08:21.668)
Don't expect them to open it and read it right when you send it and be like, this email was great.

Nick Clason (08:26.05)
Well, and that's what I would say with our, even the little bit of hybrid strategies, make sure your website's up to date, because how annoying is it when you have a question about what time does that event start, and you go to the website, and it's not even there. And it's like, I send it in the email. It's like, do you know how many emails I've gotten? And so I recommend a do that, do both. Just keep both things, yeah, keep both things updated.

Josh Boldman (08:30.669)
Yeah! Mm-hmm.

Yes. Yup.

Josh Boldman (08:39.76)
huh. Yeah. Yeah.

Josh Boldman (08:47.184)
All of them.

Yeah, anything you can do. Yup, 100%.

Nick Clason (08:55.308)
because they may not be hanging, like you said, on your every word. like, give me your outline from your last 10 messages so that can go over them with my kid. But no, the parents, they do just want to be able to stay in the loop, and they got a lot going on, just like you do. so help them figure out where they can snag that info, for sure.

Josh Boldman (08:59.021)
Right.

Josh Boldman (09:08.898)
Yep. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Mm-hmm, yeah, totally. Another good one that we do, and this is literally every place that I started, this was something I instituted within the first month. And I got most pushback from volunteers, which is interesting, was we start and end on time, every week, period. And my gosh, mean, to tell you that, so I was at a place once where when I came in,

Nick Clason (09:25.441)
Yeah.

Interesting.

Nick Clason (09:32.915)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Josh Boldman (09:40.751)
We started youth group at seven, which really meant it was 7 15. And then youth or the small groups went and they started at like eight 30, which is too late. And that meant that they went until nine on a school night. And then the, the, the overall ministry philosophy was we don't start cleaning up until the last kid leaves because we don't want them to feel like we're like, we're pushing them out. And my thing

Nick Clason (09:44.642)
Right.

Nick Clason (09:51.35)
Yeah, on a school night. Yep.

Nick Clason (10:03.618)
Hmm.

Nick Clason (10:07.19)
Which like I get the sentiment.

Josh Boldman (10:08.846)
I totally get it. and it does, it makes so much sense. But at the end of the day, think, think this through. Like we would have students there till like 10 30 and 11 and then we would clean and I'm there with my own son. So I can't even go home with my own kid and get him to bed. And he's got to go to school the next morning. Right. And so, so now if I'm a parent and I notice a pattern that my kid keeps getting in trouble on Thursdays and

Nick Clason (10:23.806)
Mm-hmm. You're in prison. Yeah, you're locked up like.

Josh Boldman (10:38.221)
then I also piece it together that they're out late every Wednesday, I'm gonna start putting two and two together and I'm gonna start blaming somebody. And so like...

Nick Clason (10:41.762)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (10:46.2)
Bro, that's, I mean, we don't, we, so we homeschool our kids this year, first year. They couldn't go to like Wednesday night activities at the church, because it was too tough of a turnaround for their like first and second grade bodies. Like the alarm goes off at 6 a.m. after church on Wednesday night. was like, exactly, it was brutal. And so it's like now the nice thing is like, hey, we're homeschooled and you know what's cool? We can take our kids to church.

Josh Boldman (10:50.126)
Mm-hmm.

Josh Boldman (10:53.901)
Yeah!

Josh Boldman (10:57.645)
Yeah, dude!

so hard.

Which is crazy. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. And what it let us do is we said 8 45. That's when we start cleaning up whether students are there or not. And any student who's still there gets to help. And, and so one that actually taught the students that, okay, I'm going to go ahead and leave it at 30. But yeah. But, then when parents would show up and they'd see their kid helping, like even that was like, my gosh, this

Nick Clason (11:18.296)
Mm-hmm.

gets to help.

Nick Clason (11:26.734)
Or the good ones will, you know, how can it help?

Nick Clason (11:34.999)
Mm-hmm.

Josh Boldman (11:37.858)
what are you doing here and how is this magic and how can I do this at home? And so suddenly that just creates so many more opportunities for conversations with parents and for us to say, we're doing this and we're keeping a tight schedule so that you know what to expect and what your kid knows what to expect at school the next day.

Nick Clason (11:54.946)
Yeah, so good. When you say start, how would you see it being helpful? Maybe I understand the ending, the beginning. How is it helpful starting on time as opposed to like a delayed 15 minutes? I feel like that's a staple in youth ministry.

Josh Boldman (12:02.541)
Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Mm-hmm. Yep. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So like same thing. Like I know it's a hard turnaround. Like if you your kid gets home from school, you get home from work, you're trying to get dinner, all that. You rush, rush, rush, rush, and you rush to get them there at seven. And then you just see everybody just sitting around and you're like, why did I rush so hard to get here? And yeah. Right. Mm-hmm. Yep. Yeah. Yeah.

Nick Clason (12:27.906)
So it's like an honoring of the effort that it took to, yeah. So like you actually, yeah, it's good, it's good, I like it.

Josh Boldman (12:35.118)
You know, mean, it's never perfect, right? know, mean, you stuff's always gonna go sideways, but like, if you, if you can give them what to expect, then when it does go a little long or, you know, things don't quite work out the way that then it's like, it's not their, their internal monologue is like, again, you know, it's just like, oh, okay, yeah, get it. happens, you know, yeah.

Nick Clason (12:43.949)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason (12:54.678)
Hmm It happened yeah, you have the kind of credibility of like we always end on time Sorry tonight went five minutes late and that's I mean I'm with you like if you're gonna go like late like five minutes is your Absolute max like that's my that's my absolute max. I'm like and I'm sweating bullets in the back like Band we don't need you to play that interlude again. Just pray. Let's go get him out of here. Yeah

Josh Boldman (13:04.119)
Yep. Yep.

Josh Boldman (13:11.958)
Totally. yeah.

Josh Boldman (13:20.652)
Right, please actually don't. Please don't. Yeah.

Nick Clason (13:24.24)
alright, anything else?

Josh Boldman (13:26.413)
I would say, so something we did was we started a text chain where we would send parents discussion questions during the lesson. So that if they were picking their kid up later, they'd be like, instead of saying, how was youth group? They could be like, hey, I heard you were talking about Joshua chapter two. would you have? Yeah.

Nick Clason (13:35.456)
I like it.

Nick Clason (13:41.654)
Yeah, it's good. And it goes right to them. Being on the phone, that, as opposed to a cue card, you know, we posted on a Facebook group and I still don't even think that's the most effective place for it. And even, yeah, exactly, that's really good. That's good.

Josh Boldman (13:54.529)
Right, mm-hmm, yeah. And it lets them opt in. Man, mm-hmm. Two other kind of small things that we used to do is we created an observation deck where it was like a row where parents could come and sit and watch. But it was where, and we always had a volunteer assigned to them, so it was like, you know, we always said, if you're gonna be around kids, you gotta be background checked, yada, yada, and all that. like, but, but.

Nick Clason (14:11.186)
that's cool.

Nick Clason (14:20.63)
Yeah, all the things,

Josh Boldman (14:22.461)
If you're a parent, you're just like genuinely curious about what happens here. You don't have to go through that whole process, but we're going to stick a volunteer with you that has, and they're going to be with you the entire time. and, that at least let, let parents know that, this is not a secret. What we do here. We're not, you know, trying to like turn your kids against you or anything like that. yeah. And then, last bit of advice I would give is just when you are talking to parents,

Nick Clason (14:32.012)
Yeah, come hang out.

Nick Clason (14:36.622)
Hmm.

Nick Clason (14:41.836)
Yeah, that's just like a full transparency moment. So that's cool.

Josh Boldman (14:51.38)
Remember that they are adults and not students. And it's hard to turn that, know, you'd switch that, you know, flip that switch or whatever. Cause you can be really quick going from talking to a bunch of kids to then talking to parents and that same, that same demeanor, that same way, you know, you're addressing, like there's a, the parent that brought the kid and the parent that wants to take that kid home needs, needs respect. And you know, that

and it needs respect shown in a way that's different than the way you show respect to a student. So I say, just remember that, remember you're on the same team. It's not you versus them, it's you and them trying to help the kid.

Nick Clason (15:24.995)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (15:30.732)
Yeah. And I think the, as I listened to every single thing you said, right? I think the encouraging part is nothing really added anything to your workload. You're not creating some crazy parent seminar. You're not adding some big once a year conference. Like you are subtly shifting your positioning at the beginning and end of service. You're subtly shifting your mindset and your organization and

Josh Boldman (15:45.833)
Right, no.

Nick Clason (16:00.214)
you're adding maybe a text thread, right? Which like, it'll take you less than 10 minutes for your entire series to type out two questions per message. You know, like.

Josh Boldman (16:02.9)
Right. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Josh Boldman (16:10.503)
yeah, well, and what we do, we use questions that were small group questions anyway. Yeah, sure.

Nick Clason (16:15.596)
Yeah, yeah, and you can copy and paste or reframe slightly and you're right there. So that's so good. Josh, anything else that the people need to know about partnering with parents or anything else they need to know in general?

Josh Boldman (16:20.393)
Yeah, uh-huh, Yep. Totally.

It, I will say this, okay, and because this is the mistake I made and I think a mistake so many people make, if you don't have kids, do not assume that you know better than the parent. Assume that you are, you can help the parent, assume that you are, you are still a resource and you know, you know students. But just parenting is hard, dude. Like it's so hard. And by, you don't know what, what that parent,

Nick Clason (16:40.194)
Mm, that's good.

Nick Clason (16:53.32)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Josh Boldman (16:58.333)
is walking in with or what they're walking out with. You might think that that kid is just the golden child, but that might not be what is happening at home. Just don't assume. So go into any conversation with parents, I think, with a posture of learning and a posture of, want to support you, I think is good. Yeah.

Nick Clason (17:09.228)
Mm. Yeah.

Nick Clason (17:16.248)
Yeah, that's good.

Yeah, that's awesome. Hey, all Josh social media, all his stuff's linked down below. Go check him out. But for Josh, this is Nick. Thanks for being here, guys. We'll talk to you next time.

Josh Boldman (17:29.042)
Later. Bye.

Episode 141: How I Plan Events with Kaylen Adams

Nick Clason — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0500

This episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show kicks off the "How I..." playlist with a deep dive into event planning with guest Kaylen Adams, an expert in coordination and logistics. Kaylen shares her step-by-step approach to organizing youth ministry events, covering everything from volunteer recruitment and communication to detailed schedules and contingency planning. Whether you're a youth pastor who struggles with organization or looking to refine your event strategy, this conversation is packed with practical insights to help you run seamless, high-impact events.

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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 How I Plan Events like a Pro!
01:10 Kaylen, who are you?
05:06 What Lanes did you own?
07:03 How can you help someone think?
08:07 How did you communicate?
11:54 How did you determine call times?
16:30 How do you recruit for an event?
20:05 How many jobs do you give a leader?
21:24 How do you calculate for food?
24:21 What Else?
26:28 What if my church doesn't do all that?
28:34 Keep People's Personalities in Mind

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:25:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
For what is up everybody? Today I am going to introduce you and have you in for a treat, because I am going to be interviewing one of my friends and coworkers, Kaylen Adams, who's fantastic at event planning. This is going to be the start of a new little playlist series on my podcast, and here on YouTube, where I am going to introduce you to some of the people that I know who do things the best in youth ministry and particular lanes.

00:00:25:00 - 00:00:46:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And Kaylen is the queen of event coordination and event management. Not only is she like, really fun and have a really good mind, but she is fantastic at getting volunteers, recruiting them. And when a volunteer comes in just feeling like they know exactly what to do. And you will. If you implement these things, you will look like a rock star.

00:00:46:09 - 00:01:04:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you're a typical youth worker who's not very organized, this episode is for you because it will help you and if you think that all hope is lost on you, then this is a great, podcast to send to a volunteer or a high level admin who might step in and help you with some of the logistical things, but you are in for a treat regardless.

00:01:04:10 - 00:01:31:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
With my interview today with my friend and coworker Kaylen Adams. What's up everyone? Here we are. I am with Kaylen Adams. Which yes, you don't even find that on your name on here because that's how that's how new this is. So it is formerly known as Maltais, not hyphenated. Straight up Adams. Which means you just got married and,

00:01:31:08 - 00:01:52:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you might not know Kaylen, but I know Kaylen. I worked with Kaylen. Worked in the past tense. We are still on staff together, but she has switched departments, so now she's in the kids department. And the reason I ask Kaylen on here is, what was it last weekend? Two weekends ago, we had our high school weekend.

00:01:52:02 - 00:02:14:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you still worked with me then, and, oh, my gosh, Kaylen crushed it. Like, you guys don't have any idea. And as she was, like, literally crushing every, like, logistical and administrative detail of the weekend, in the back of my mind, I was like, we got to get Kaylen on so I can ask her, how do you plan for these big events?

00:02:14:01 - 00:02:38:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So why don't you give us just kind of a quick overview? Kaylen, first of all, like a 20 or 30 second like synopsis of who you are, how we ended up working together. But then, like, what did you oversee, at these events? Like what particular? Like lanes and areas and avenues. And then I just think what you did is such a helpful tool to many of the youth passers that I've ever seen or worked with. And so I just think this would be helpful to get out, you know, to people. Yeah. Yeah.

00:02:38:10 - 00:03:02:13
Kaylen Adams
So we've started working together because I, I went to college at the University of Wyoming and I got a degree in human resources management and entrepreneurship with minors in hospitality anthropology. There you go. So so that was. Yeah. Yeah. And so I did that.

00:03:02:13 - 00:03:29:13
Kaylen Adams
Fell in love with ministry there. And then around like my senior year, I learned the opportunity to do a residency in Texas, which I hate sweating. So my family was like, I was like, I think because I love Jesus, I don't know. So I applied and I ended up getting hired in January. And so after I graduated, I moved to Texas, and I did a residency at Cross Creek Church and guest services.

00:03:29:15 - 00:03:50:22
Kaylen Adams
But I love that, like ministerial aspect. And I still was kind of doing some of more of that support ministry with it. So needed and very, very special. Big shout out to everybody in support ministries. And so that's when I transitioned into students and I kind of brought a lot of my guest services and undergrad knowledge, which infuse that into what I was doing.

00:03:50:22 - 00:04:08:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And students. Yeah. So then like for the first little bit, I remember you're like, I don't really know exactly what you guys want me to do. And we were like, just keep doing like, I mean, like, you guys don't understand. Like, Kaylen was just she just knew what to do. Like, even if she didn't know what to do, she pretend like she knew what to do.

00:04:08:00 - 00:04:30:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it seemed like she's known what she she's doing. But it was this last high school weekend where, like, you were pulling out, like, spreadsheets and folders and instructions and, even, like, I remember distinctly I was talking with you about our t shirt order number, and, like, our student registration was, like, lower than anticipated. And you were like, no, we're going to need this many t shirts.

00:04:30:06 - 00:04:50:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I was like, why? And you're like, because of all of our volunteers. And I was like, do you really like, do you really think that? And your confidence, you're like, absolutely. And you were right, by the way. So what like lanes did you let's talk about specifically our high school weekend, which for those of you who don't know the context, it's like a D now without the spending the night element.

00:04:50:22 - 00:05:10:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So it's like two days on campus. Yeah. Like Friday night, Saturday until like 3:00. And so it's probably like our second biggest event next to, like, a thing like summer camp, right? So yeah, in that event, what particularly did you own, like, what were those areas? And I just want to ask you kind of pepper you questions.

00:05:10:02 - 00:05:33:02
Kaylen Adams
Yeah. In that in those arenas. Well so this was we originally had one winter we to middle school and high school. Was it split into middle school night high school. Well for middle school night Darren, the student pastor at Rush Creek pitched and I met my boss, so he. Yeah. So he did a lot of the the directional things for that division.

00:05:33:02 - 00:05:56:21
Kaylen Adams
And then programing. And I took everything else and like, did the logistics of the event planned it all. So by the time high school weekend came around, because I wasn't middle school night, so I didn't play a part at all, which is relevant because when we played high school night, we did a lot of the same stuff. We just like copy and paste a lot of the stuff that worked and made it a little more, for high school and that middle school.

00:05:56:23 - 00:06:20:20
Kaylen Adams
Oh yeah. And then we had known, like, what worked and what didn't. So we're check in by the time we got to high school again. Yeah, that's good. But yeah, by the time we got there, Nick you did programing. So like everything that you were sitting in a session and watching and experiencing. Nick was all in of planning and talking to the people, like worship people and yeah, yeah, I did everything outside of that.

00:06:20:22 - 00:06:44:20
Kaylen Adams
So and how we move through the timelines, you know, when were kids eating, where were they going to be, what activities were they going to be doing. And then we had food making sure we had enough food, making sure. Yeah, we had t shirts. And there they were out and that, you know, we gave away a little like pin to all of our students, like, you made sure that that was where it needed to get and left, you know, passing out our note sheets and pens.

00:06:44:20 - 00:07:08:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, I mean, you just you thought of like, every detail. So, like, I know your background helps you with that, but like, imagine you're talking to someone who's not as organized as you like. So you come by that naturally, which is what was just like a marvel to behold. But like what? What would you tell someone? Or how would you encourage someone to think if they're like planning something like that?

00:07:08:09 - 00:07:29:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like what? What's the way that you help us get inside your brain for some of the logistics?

Kaylen Adams
Well, when you're planning an event, yes, for a job, for ministry, ever. You write down all of your ideas like, no one is like, I'm just taking this all right here. I will accept it later. It's going to be there like you always write it down.

00:07:29:11 - 00:07:54:20
Kaylen Adams
You make it through for you. And I just thought, you know, would probably be really helpful for a volunteers to see that map. Like, I don't know why I would keep it from them. They should know, like how we got from point A to point B, because by the time we're at point B and we're doing the thing, they deeply understand what they're doing and not only do what I'm telling them to do, they can actually take initiative and do the things that I missed.

00:07:54:22 - 00:08:13:05
Kaylen Adams
Yeah. And so that's a huge part of it is just like, if I were a volunteer, what would I want to know? So I could do my job? Well, I feel good about it. Yeah. So then how how did you go about communicating? Like, did you have a meeting? Did you send them a text? Did you send them an email?

00:08:13:05 - 00:08:31:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like what? Because that's probably, I would imagine, a lot of stuff. And I think again, most youth pastors are like, I don't either have the time or be want to overwhelm my volunteers, or maybe see just another reason I didn't actually write it down. It is all in my head. So, I mean, I would say probably for all of us.

00:08:31:06 - 00:08:55:12
Kaylen Adams
Step one is get it out of your head onto paper somehow. And then two, how did you communicate it? Yeah. So I communicated a couple different ways. So the only time that I was texting volunteers instructions or anything was a, when I was recruiting them. Okay. I never sent them like, all the information they needed individually because I needed them all to be kind of in one part.

00:08:55:12 - 00:09:16:24
Kaylen Adams
So I knew who was getting one information and it always the same. Yeah. If I ever was giving instructions, it was in a group chat or a group of people that had a specialized role. Those came last minute. They weren't actually accounted for. Next time we did an event, I probably would account for them in advance. So I'm not texting information because for the smaller like you're saying, the.

00:09:17:01 - 00:09:51:02
Kaylen Adams
Yeah, the smaller, more specialized groups groupings of people. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I like to create an escape room. We had game masters and we didn't know about that until like pretty close to the event. I probably would have included them into all the mass event communication before that time. Got it as okay. Got it. Yeah. Okay. So and then and then putting together all this information, I'm kind of stockpiling it in a folder called Volunteer Prep, and I'm organizing it by like, this document, they need to know this document.

00:09:51:02 - 00:10:11:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They need to know if they don't really need to know that, I'll pull it back. What are those documents? Can you give us just a few examples, like pull back the curtain a little bit?

Kaylen Adams
Yeah, yeah. So I'll make a volunteer schedule that's like five position. And then I sang people to that position per day. So it's not by time blocks, it's by day and what they're doing okay.

00:10:11:16 - 00:10:28:21
Kaylen Adams
And then I have a document a volunteer job description. They need to know what they're doing, why they're doing how they do it. Yeah. And then I do a document. If we're doing anything outside or in a weird space, I'll do an aerial map and I'll make, like, different stations and positions of where they're going to be.

00:10:28:23 - 00:10:51:09
Kaylen Adams
I'll give them a service order so they can see just how we do, how the whole day is going to go through. They even see like how different session parts are going to work, like what sounds work. It's going to do all the stuff because they help with transitions, like really help because it's easier to be like, hey, after they do a million little miracles, I need you to come out here rather than at 737.

00:10:51:09 - 00:11:11:20
Kaylen Adams
I need you to. Yeah. The more like more like, big landmarks on a map. Yeah. Once you get this song, then this is your cue to come out and help set up for lunch, like, stuff like that. Yeah, yeah. That's why the service order is so important. And for them to see what's in Planning Center is for that.

00:11:11:20 - 00:11:34:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We updated everything for the whole event kind of revolves around that. And you're doing the same for your volunteers. And so because then I would imagine, correct me if I'm wrong, you're able to be like, hey, if you're in charge of lunch, like, these are your three areas or meals, I guess, like these are your three. So like Friday night dinner, Saturday morning breakfast and, you know, Saturday lunch.

00:11:34:07 - 00:11:56:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like at this time you need to be here for this. Because if we say lunch is at 12, let's say I'm imagining you're having your volunteer get there at 11:15 or 11:30 or something like that. So how do you real quick answer this question for me. How do you determine, what time to to call for them? Like, yeah.

00:11:56:10 - 00:12:18:11
Kaylen Adams
So when it comes to like food stuff because you're dealing with catering and vendors usually like I wouldn't have that start. So we had lunch at like, what was it this year? 12 I think it started and I don't remember the exact time. I just know we had it and it was ready. And that's why you're here. We had food dropped off at like 1115.

00:12:18:16 - 00:12:41:10
Kaylen Adams
Okay. So plenty of time. And most of that was not because I was worried about my volunteers because they knew what to do. And we're not in like the biggest space ever is to account for vendors being late or not knowing where to park and, stuff. Yeah. When it comes to other transitions, they're a lot tighter windows and they're a lot quicker usually it was like the song before something started.

00:12:41:10 - 00:13:04:10
Kaylen Adams
I would send them to go do something, but again, that's also because their space isn't really big and any materials they needed or resources. I set out in a central location, a table in the main space. We all were operating out of the auditorium, and I labeled everything with all the different times that it's going to be needed, and even put under, like during this song, you should take that, this place.

00:13:04:10 - 00:13:25:17
Kaylen Adams
So my volunteers knew to flock to that table when transition times are happening. Yeah, that was so good. So then are you. So you're just labeling those like yeah, color you label like for anything. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. You label like crazy. If you think like oh that'd be really obvious for someone to know it's now you should label.

00:13:25:23 - 00:13:45:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. That's good. Yeah. Because again, your brain versus reality. Right. Like it makes sense in your brain, our brain as we're planning the events. But it might not make sense to volunteer. Yeah, because they're just dropping in. Right. You know. Yeah. After work. Right. They've been at work all day and their mind is in a million other places.

00:13:45:10 - 00:14:06:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so like, they're, you know, giving up their time and they're willing and they're helpful and all those things. But like I like that. I like what you're saying, like, almost, almost dummy proof it. Right? Not that they're dumb, but, like, make it so simple. Okay. Yeah. Do it. Yeah. Well, my volunteers, they do best when they're confident.

00:14:06:24 - 00:14:24:06
Kaylen Adams
When they're confident, they are empowered to take initiative, make decisions, do something really well when they're not confident in whether or not they're in the right place, holding the right thing, putting it where it should be. Then you have a lot of lag and you have a lot of like question. And that's when things start to like frame fall apart.

00:14:24:09 - 00:14:59:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. So your job as an event coordinator is just to how can I give my volunteers the most confidence they need in this decision. That's good. Okay. So then anything else on what you tell volunteers? I want to maybe go a different direction if you feel like you've kind of got everything in that lack thing is leading up to the event, you want to send out the longest email of your life, and then is where all of the equipment I talked about keeping in that volunteer folder and you go through, you give an overview and you kind of describe how the event's going, and they need to read those attachments.

00:14:59:24 - 00:15:26:05
Kaylen Adams
I sent it all beforehand because that's our big meeting, and they can refer back to you and have in writing. And then by the time we are at the event, like 30 minutes an hour before the start, that meeting is a refresher or a question. That's not the entire meeting. Yeah, yeah. And then the other thing you did, which I thought was brilliant, was you, taped all those attachments to a wall of one of our leader workrooms.

00:15:26:07 - 00:15:47:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, yeah, if they didn't want to, you know, fight with their email to find it again, they could just go reference quickly off a printed copy. So again, you don't like you think about your dummy proofing it like, yes, you communicated it in the email. And this is one of the concepts I talk about in communication a lot is like, we live in like a Netflix culture, so people live it with like an on demand mindset.

00:15:47:10 - 00:16:05:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you sent it on like a Thursday at 3:30 p.m., but like, they were in the middle of like a business meeting. And so it wasn't in their mind then, but it will be in their mind when they show up on Friday at six. But like they've gotten 27 more emails since then and so. Oh yeah, where is that?

00:16:05:03 - 00:16:24:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I think it's brilliant to put it somewhere just quick and accessible and maybe even another hack that we didn't even do or think about, but like maybe even having like a static like landing page or like QR code that they could like scan and pull open, like in a, just a tab in their safari. And then that gives them access to everything, you know, that they need.

00:16:24:23 - 00:16:58:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But yeah, I think that was that was so smart. So then how do you go about, like, help us get in your brain because, you know, you had a couple volunteers there that I was like, oh, like, I wouldn't have thought that they would be here. Not because they did, like a bad job or they're just they weren't like as maybe like involved or like, maybe they're only serving like once a month or once every other, week, like in our student ministry and like, you had the, like, in charge of, like, food or like certain like, you know, snack type areas, like, how did you go through and think, who am

00:16:58:15 - 00:17:16:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I going to recruit? Because I thought that was one of the other really special things was like, you asked a very particular or like, dedicated ask for like just very, again, very specific volunteers. You didn't I didn't feel like you did like an all call, though. You maybe you did to kind of pick up anyone who might be interested.

00:17:16:22 - 00:17:39:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But then I think you went particularly after, like certain names or certain individuals. How did you how did you like, think about them to, to ask them and like what goes into you? You know, determining this person would be good for that. Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. Well, you definitely do an all call because, well, we are desperate for people to help.

00:17:39:13 - 00:18:06:02
Kaylen Adams
We're not gonna act like or not, but, honestly, I just kind of go with a philosophy of I'll never say no for somebody like, you know, I think sometimes we do that even if we say that we're not like, well, they only serve on Sundays and they're very particular about their job. And I'm like, yes. But they also probably like high school is I don't know, maybe the chances are, and so I just kind of like we always have conversations for like, oh, that person would be like, so good at this.

00:18:06:02 - 00:18:27:03
Kaylen Adams
Or if only they do it. And I usually take that person and then ask, yeah, like I make a list of all. Yeah. As I am planning events and I just keep people's personalities in mind like I, we see them work all Sunday and we see them work Wednesday. And you kind of see like what things kind of light them up and what things they're like, oh can I do anything else but that.

00:18:27:07 - 00:18:42:18
Kaylen Adams
Yeah. And so I just kind of catalog that and that way. And I do kind of mentally. But it wouldn't hurt to like make a list of people like I love reaching out to this person for this. This is this. And I've noticed that they've done events. We have volunteers that really get fired up for events like that.

00:18:42:18 - 00:19:02:24
Kaylen Adams
Just being a part of a big beast of a programing thing, like kind of lights them up and exciting. And so I have people that I regularly reach out with, like Kyra Allen Love. She's one of our checking people. I remember when I came in, she was on like some sort of kind of understanding that she was only going to volunteer a couple times because she had some things going on.

00:19:02:24 - 00:19:26:20
Kaylen Adams
And I just remember, like, she was so stoked to do this back to school bash experience. That was like a Wednesday night special because, like, I definitely would love to do events and she's been my event checking person every single time I day. Yeah, yeah that's good. Yeah. She loves it. So you have like a you're very in tune to to them like just ongoing right.

00:19:26:20 - 00:19:44:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like you're keeping an eye as you're doing your job. And so that makes it easier obviously. Then when you go to to think and yeah I like that it is not creepy but it is. No. Yeah. But I think that's part of the that again I when I saw some of those people that was like interesting but also awesome and like that was all kudos to you right.

00:19:44:20 - 00:20:01:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like I'll kudos you because like I wouldn't have thought to ask that person. Like I would have thrown a link in our leader group chat. Hey, you know, want to volunteer? They did it. And now I'm desperate, you know? And, so yeah, I was we were more than fully staffed, you know, for. Yeah. And so that was the other thing.

00:20:01:11 - 00:20:20:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like how, like how many jobs do you try to give a leader? Like how many are you trying to, like, let people do double duty? Or like, hey, you're in charge of like, food and like, that's your job the whole weekend. Like, how do you make those decisions?

Kaylen Adams
Yeah, some of our jobs, like, they feel very crucial and important because they are.

00:20:20:13 - 00:20:40:05
Kaylen Adams
But they're not crucial. Important in that they happen the entire time of the program. Like right there. Yeah. There are a window a very important window. But then and. Yeah, and you have to remember, when you're dealing with these volunteers, they're adults with full time jobs are like at the leaders, if they're they're at your event, they are high capacity.

00:20:40:07 - 00:21:01:24
Kaylen Adams
They don't do well, bored or sitting and doing nothing. They want to do something. And if they're doing something that morale is high and they'll probably do another event because they're like, that was awesome though. So yeah, it's good. Yeah. So I assign generally like 2 or 3 roles throughout the service order to people. So they're like constantly transitioning and moving to do so.

00:21:02:01 - 00:21:22:02
Kaylen Adams
Yeah. And that comes back to your like schedule your map. And you're like you're thinking that ahead. Like okay. Do they after this window closes they can go to this, but then they maybe can't do this next thing because they're going to be busy doing that. Like, again, that's the next level stuff, Kaylen, that you're like, you're very good at.

00:21:22:02 - 00:21:44:02
Kaylen Adams
So, okay, so then, let's talk a little bit about like, food. Okay. How do you determine, how much to order? Like, is it just as simple as, like, as many as there are registered. How do you account for, like, walk ins at an event like this where we do leave registration open all the way up until you know, it starts.

00:21:44:02 - 00:22:05:20
Kaylen Adams
And so theoretically, a kid could walk in and do you have enough food for them, like how do you how do you kind of try and manage that or think about that? Yeah. It all it does depend on how, big of an invite event. This is like I think high school weekend was an invite like, but we didn't like push super hard and say like my friends going for it.

00:22:05:22 - 00:22:25:12
Kaylen Adams
Yeah, yeah. So always keep that in mind. Yes. You keep the registration number, but you also want to account for all of the adults in the building. Don't forget yourself or your staff then volunteers. And if you're providing food for tech and worship or if they're doing their own thing so that all is in that number. Yeah.

00:22:25:14 - 00:22:49:00
Kaylen Adams
But registration, I just kind of. I don't want to have too big of a margin because then we're spending a lot of money on food. But things that I can give out is like door prizes, like pizza. I'm a little more willing to have extra of because we could have done or do to make their night, but like, same with, you know, because no one wants like a cold, soggy sandwich by the end of like 12 of them.

00:22:49:06 - 00:23:10:08
Kaylen Adams
Yeah. So I would be a little bit more tight on food like that. And also keep in mind that everyone's like, kids are so hungry they're going to eat three slices of pizza. You keep in mind the girls, because girls don't eat as much food as boys. And, like, I definitely like they're just there's camping retreat food.

00:23:10:08 - 00:23:32:14
Kaylen Adams
That is great because you're hungry, but it's not a lot of kids. First choice. Really like one of it. Yeah, they'll like maybe one and a half will split with a friend. Yeah. So just keep that in mind. Like the ratio is not as monstrous as you think. Yeah, I think the ratio I've tried to use for pizza is, two and a half times your number.

00:23:32:14 - 00:23:51:06
Kaylen Adams
So, like, think you're big number of all the people including tech and worship and check in and staff and everyone. And then you multiply it by two and a half. That'll give you the total number of slices that you need. And then you can divide that by eight, because that's how many slices of pizza are in, your pizza box.

00:23:51:06 - 00:24:06:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then that'll give you a number with a decimal. And you can either round up around whatever you, you know, feel. And what's really nice is like, you know, you do the random picker thing, like, with their name. And for those who don't know, you picked the names and then they just get a random prize for doing nothing.

00:24:06:03 - 00:24:22:03
Kaylen Adams
Yeah, that great. Pick that food leftovers too, because you don't want to bank on having extra if you're just kind of guessing because kids might be really hungry and you don't have it, and then you just lost a prize for a game. Yeah. So you want that to be like a random moment that if they don't get it, they have no idea.

00:24:22:05 - 00:24:48:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's good. All right. Let's see what else. What else do you what else do you think about for an event that I'm not thinking even to, like, ask you? Listen, you have to know if your church has any sort of, like, admin team, administrative volunteers that help put these things together with your operations at all, like your facilities and your finance people or whatever it might be.

00:24:48:04 - 00:25:09:00
Kaylen Adams
You need to meet with them, like way ahead of time. So I see way ahead of time. Yeah. So I start meeting with people. We've been cutting it kind of close and cutting it close to meeting two months in advance. Okay. So you need to some of us that might be like, oh, that's when I start thinking about it.

00:25:09:02 - 00:25:34:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. No. Especially if it's like a really big event. Which high school weekend is a really big event for us? We need to start planning that month in advance. And depending on, like, the capacity of your team, that could fluctuate a little bit. Like if it's just you and one other person, I would say probably start looking at that at like six months and having if you have a couple other people who can share that, you could maybe do a little bit less.

00:25:34:19 - 00:25:59:21
Kaylen Adams
But you definitely need to start meeting with administrative people on your church staff that are handling this, because their personalities are a lot different than yours. As a ministry person, you're used to pivoting and being creative and all the things and pulling it off at the last minute. Yeah, they are not. They love systems and processes and if you break their system, it's going to be really, really hard to get them to like be on the same wavelength with you.

00:26:00:01 - 00:26:22:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Good. Yeah, yeah. And like in our particular, you know, setting, we have like our facilities people like they set everything up for us, which is fantastic. But to your point, like, only if we're on top of it, if we slide in in the ninth hour and we're like, this is what we want, they're like, yo, we're already on to like, stuff for like later, next weekend.

00:26:22:11 - 00:26:43:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like we've already, you know, planned our day. So, you know, to her point like, and whether you know so like, here's the thing I do know if like you're listening, you're like, okay, I don't work at a church anywhere near that. Has any of that. Like, I am the operations, I am the admin. And what I would say is, lean into your volunteers if you're like that sounds fantastic.

00:26:43:23 - 00:27:15:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I would love that. But I don't have anyone that works for me with me on my team. Anything like that like that doesn't mean you can't do it, and it doesn't mean you still can't delegate and dish out. You just may have to do that more of like a volunteer capacity. So find a mother. Or like someone who, like, works in like an administrative like role that has a little bit of, bandwidth and margin and like, ask them, you know, like, I'm sure if I'm saying that many of you right now, as you're listening, you're like, oh, yeah, I could probably ask so and so, like that person's come into your mind like, let

00:27:15:12 - 00:27:33:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
that person be your Kaylen for your event. And like, yes, we had the luxury of like Kaylen being on our team payroll, but like, you know, it doesn't it doesn't, they don't have to be right. And like. Yeah, setting up you can. I mean, we employ teenagers, like, students to, like, come early and do stuff like that.

00:27:33:00 - 00:28:00:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, you know, we call them what we call them. Simps. Yet SMPs student is tone texting is for like, student oh my gosh. Okay. Do not disturb do that anyway. Ministry student minutes protege. Protege. Yeah yeah yeah. Protege. Yeah. And so anyway, we employ them, they, get free camp, and stuff like that, but they come early in, like, sets, set things up.

00:28:00:12 - 00:28:25:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, like, they can be like facilities team. So again, as we're saying it like, don't don't be like I had never be there like you for sure can like employ volunteers and people that'll do it for free. And they like to to Kaylen's point. Yeah they do. That might not be your gifting. And you're like, no one would ever want to run administrative or set chairs up like some people genuinely do.

00:28:25:02 - 00:28:47:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so don't rob other people of being able to serve your youth ministry, God's kingdom, whatever. By not asking them. What else Kaylen. Anything else or do we hit it all. I just would in mind people's personalities. You're going to have people who, when they're planning events, they just run just like that's just their personality and that's how they work best.

00:28:47:19 - 00:29:06:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so they're going to ask a lot of questions and they're going to want to meet with you last minute and their vibe might kind of like make you kind of thrown off because you're like, I thought we had all this plan. Why do you need to meet and double check? They've probably done a great job. They just want to make sure that they've done everything you need to help you.

00:29:06:14 - 00:29:25:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you have someone in your life who's like that, just remember, like, just have your questions kind of written out of what you know, that they text and have those input ready for them. And that's going to help those meetings a lot quicker. I had a at one churches I worked at, I had a volunteer like that.

00:29:25:20 - 00:29:47:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Her name was Sarah. And the way that I would think logistically when I was planning things because, like, I was a one man band, we had a church secretary 20 hours a week that served the entire church. Right. So, like, I could get some stuff, you know, to for her to do for the youth ministry, but not like she wasn't like, there to, like at my beck and call for everything.

00:29:48:00 - 00:30:12:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so as I was like dishing things off to volunteers and whatnot, like my, my filter in my head was always like, what would Sarah want to know? Right? It's I think that's a good like a good way to think about it is like, think about the volunteer who has the most questions for you. And then ask the question like, would the amount of information that I'm sending up, would it satisfy that person?

00:30:12:16 - 00:30:37:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if yes, then you're on the right track. If not, then you probably need more detail. So yeah. Yeah, I love that. Cool. Kaylen, is that it? Do we hit it? Yeah. There's our all events for future and for always going to be planned, do you think? I think I think so well, yeah probably. All right. Well hey, this was how I plan events with Kaylen.

00:30:37:14 - 00:30:57:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Not Morty's Kaylen Adams. And, she's awesome. So, Kaylen, I mean, like, can people, like, follow you, like, on social media or anything if they want to? Yeah. Yeah. Where, where where can they find you? It's funny. I have to, like, go double check. Well, I can't fake my name. Oh, wait. What is it? Now that I just had to change my social media handles?

00:30:57:18 - 00:31:22:13
Kaylen Adams
Because I just got mail? I know well, and Instagram is actually really hard to change your last name on, so it hasn't been changed yet. My handle, but my name on there stage so you can find me at K Maltese Underscore on Instagram. It's cmake lta s underscore on Instagram Facebook Palin Adams look me up. I think that's all in I'm on because I'm old and TikTok that's okay.

00:31:22:17 - 00:31:32:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's banned anyway. So actually it's back. I don't know if you heard but oh all right people. Well I'm signing off for Kayla and this is Nick. Talk to you next time. Stay hybrid guys.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 139: The Best Communication Method for Your Church

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 137: 3 Reasons Your Announcements Aren’t Working

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3) STEAL THIS ANNOUNCEMENT STRATEGY
[VIDEO LINK]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 136: 9 Easy & FREE Youth Group Game Ideas

Nick Clason — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600

⚡ 9 FREE DYM GAMES ⚡

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/9-best-dym-products

======================================
DESCRIPTION
🎮 Games & Youth Ministry
This is your ultimate "Oh Crap! I forgot the game" video!
Get all 9 of the games talked about in this video, from downloadyouthministry.com for COMPLETELY FREE!

All I ask for is a simple subscribe, it costs you nothing!

Ready to see my top 9 favorite games of all time?
Let's check it out!

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/136

9 HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR TOILET?
This hilarious game was my very first game in my DYM journey.
I was in a Jimmy John's bathroom and noticed a sign with funny toilet facts on the wall. I took a photo, immediately went back to the office, and created this game. It's not my best designed resource, in fact DYM did some graphical upgrades after I submitted it, but it's on this list because it was one of my first ones.

https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/toilet-trivia-game/games-738.html

8 MYSTERY SEARCH
This is a super fun game, where you're tasked to find the hidden item in a busy photo. Think "Where's Waldo" meets "Youth Ministry."

It's a tough contestant based game, I think, because it's fairly difficult, but there's also a social media version which I think is perfect to play on your church's social media

https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/mystery-search/games/sports-6938.html

7 VISUAL VARIANCE VOYAGE
A Simple Spot the Difference Game! Social and Widescreen versions available!

https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/visual-variance-voyage%3A-fall-edition/holiday-or-seasonal/fall-9043.html

6 FRIENDSGIVING
This game is a fun take on "This or That" Thanksgiving Food and Activities Edition.
One fun way is to play with "celebrities" like your senior pastor.
"Does your senior pastor prefer Ham or Turkey?"

https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/friendsgiving/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-games-8387.html

5 BACK TO SCHOOL BINGO
One of my favorite interactive games, where students play bingo based on how they spent their summer. There are categories such as

Church Summer Activities
Vacation
Miscellaneous
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/back2school-bingo/fall/back-to-school-8921.html

4 GIF FLASHBACK
Tests the memory of your students. Watch the GIF, then immediately answer a question related to it.
The questions get HARD!

https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/gif-flashback/games-6794.html

3 BRING ME
My All-Time-Go-To game in any moment, you don't need a screen, but we have one for this game.
The first student to "Bring Me ___" wins
That's it!!

https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/bring-me-10-game-bundle/games-bringmebundle.html

2 EMOJI PHRASEOLOGY
My best selling game series of all time, we have one for just about every holiday and instance in which you can possibly imagine. Guess the emoji phrase. Widescreen & Social versions included!

https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/emoji-phraseology/social-media/instagram-6801.html

1 DUCK DUCK TRIVIA
Duck, Duck Trivia is the first of it's kind. A game inside a game. My favorite Hybrid Game we've ever played!

https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/duck-duck-trivia/trivia-8705.html

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

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

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

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

⌚TIMECODES
00:00 "Oh Crap! I forgot a youth group game!"
01:33 Free Game #9
03:18 Free Game #8
05:22 Free Game #7
06:51 Free Game #6
08:35 Free Game #5
10:20 Free Game #4
11:39 Free Game #3
12:33 Free Game #2
13:20 Free Game #1

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:03:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome my fellow cat herders.

00:00:03:21 - 00:00:11:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome my fellow i.t. Specialists. Welcome my fellow pets. Math

00:00:11:19 - 00:00:17:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
gurus. Welcome. He's past you. In this video, I'm going to share with you

00:00:17:13 - 00:00:24:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
nine of my favorite games that I have played and created

00:00:24:16 - 00:00:34:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and have now published on the download Youth ministry.com website. You can go by any of them. There will be link down below and I would love a review

00:00:34:14 - 00:00:35:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
on any of them.

00:00:35:21 - 00:00:40:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But why go visit me on the website when I'm

00:00:40:08 - 00:00:54:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
just going to give you a link to download all nine of them for completely free? That's right, you've heard it completely correctly. So in this episode, not only am I going to share with you my nine favorite free games,

00:00:54:06 - 00:00:54:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
but

00:00:54:16 - 00:00:55:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
it is

00:00:55:02 - 00:00:55:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
your ultimate

00:00:55:23 - 00:00:59:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
in a pinch. Oh crap, I forgot about the game moment.

00:00:59:13 - 00:01:04:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Don't worry, my friend, I got you. Go grab that link. It will take you to drop

00:01:04:03 - 00:01:04:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
box

00:01:04:10 - 00:01:04:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and you

00:01:04:23 - 00:01:08:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
can get all nine of them for free. But you know would be awesome if as payment

00:01:08:21 - 00:01:09:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
for the nine,

00:01:09:10 - 00:01:09:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you

00:01:09:17 - 00:01:17:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
just simply hit the subscribe button. It cost you nothing. But truly it does benefit me and my channel greatly.

00:01:17:13 - 00:01:29:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That sounds like a deal. Okay, awesome. Let's go. I'm going to be counting down top ten style from episode or from episode? From game idea. Number nine. And so this first one

00:01:29:20 - 00:01:32:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
that I'm going to show you, if you're watching here on screen,

00:01:32:14 - 00:01:46:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you'll see it is called how well do you know your toilet? Now this game, the reason it's even on this list is because it was the very first game that I ever submitted.

00:01:46:10 - 00:02:10:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're looking at it, you can probably tell I think this game was probably submitted somewhere in the realm of like eight years ago. And at that time, I thought that the submission guidelines required all the fonts to be used as Calibri. I don't think I've ever even told anybody this, but in hindsight, the font requirement for Calibri was teaching or document based resources.

00:02:10:06 - 00:02:37:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so this game has the world's worst font for it. But the content is still great, and I even a year ago, Nick, when I had use these fonts. But here's how this here's how this game came into its inception. I was at a Jimmy John's eating lunch and I was in the bathroom washing my hands before I was heading back to work, and I found this, little like placard, this little infographic about toilets.

00:02:37:14 - 00:02:54:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I took a picture of it and I said, these are so funny. I'm going to go home and I'm going to make a game. And so here we go. You can grab this game for free, but it's some it's things like this. Most toilets are a public B flushing the key of flat C use one third of your house is water or D are green.

00:02:54:20 - 00:03:01:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What do you think it is coming? Your answer below. Of course the answer is B flush in the key of E

00:03:01:05 - 00:03:14:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
flat. There's ten other questions like this. And you know what? I've even put these, into like a video editing software and put a countdown timer on it and I've used this for bathroom break, slide, like a video or something.

00:03:14:18 - 00:03:30:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So that's something fun to do. The eighth game that I love in this game is actually incredibly hybrid, and I, think you guys might like some of this on this channel called Mystery Search. All right. And here's how Mystery Search works. It is, this one in particular is

00:03:30:05 - 00:03:36:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
mystery search Easter egg hunt addition. So what you do is you put a graphic on a screen, right.

00:03:36:22 - 00:03:54:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Here's an instruction slide. If you're watching, this egg right here, you have to find this egg on every slide. So here's the first, you know, the first slide. Where's the egg? Do you find it? Can you see it? Boom. There it is. And it's like this on every single slide. It gets harder, it gets more difficult.

00:03:54:14 - 00:03:58:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There's video. So that's the still version. There's video

00:03:58:04 - 00:04:13:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
versions. And so if you want to try and find out where this is with this guy here, he's, you know, looking at it, it's got music leading to, as you could hear just a second ago. But then you have, like, a contestant on stage, like, where's the, where's the, where is it?

00:04:13:10 - 00:04:23:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then boom, well, egg transition comes in and then this little magnifying glass moves around until it zooms in on where the egg is and boom, sound.

00:04:23:09 - 00:04:33:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay, now that is also an available option in, phone base graphic or phone based video. So what

00:04:33:22 - 00:04:34:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you could do

00:04:34:09 - 00:04:48:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
is you could post this on your Instagram story or on your TikTok and say, find the egg and then post the second one here or link it together and video and then the magnifying glass reducing, and it'll move to the spot where the egg is located.

00:04:48:01 - 00:04:58:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then someone will say, I found it. And if you want to make it interactive, you can poll, you know, poll options. Hey, did you find it? Yes or no beyond this sort of thing.

00:04:58:09 - 00:05:06:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So this is one of my favorite games. Like I said, for free. There is an Instagram or at least a social version in in the room version and

00:05:06:23 - 00:05:08:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
a countdown version.

00:05:08:15 - 00:05:09:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you just want to play

00:05:09:13 - 00:05:16:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
this with a five minute countdown clock overlaid on top of it and let people as the countdown is on, you see right here up top corner

00:05:16:09 - 00:05:30:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
as the countdown is on, let people go ahead and, play that game as it's going, game number seven, which is again for completely free, is my game called the Visual Variance Voyage.

00:05:30:04 - 00:05:39:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this is the full edition. So this one, similarly to the last one, also has a social media option. And this one, the way that you play

00:05:39:08 - 00:05:54:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
is very simply before this ten minute timer runs out, you need to identify the difference between the two photos. We've all done this in dentist's office. We've all done this in doctor's office, but now it is available to us in youth ministry.

00:05:54:11 - 00:06:12:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So here's an example. Here's question number one. 10s is on the screen. Can you tell and can you spot the difference between these two photos I don't know. It's difficult. There's also a countdown option for this one as well, which is a really fun thing to have on have it looping. So at the end of question ten, can you figure it out I don't know.

00:06:12:02 - 00:06:16:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Here's the answer side. Boom right there. Those leaves are different I'm telling

00:06:16:22 - 00:06:21:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you it's not super easy. And just like the last one, there's also

00:06:21:02 - 00:06:31:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
a social version as well. So here's what the social version looks like. You got these two catch fall edition. Can you tell the difference between these two photos? These are not broken up into different size.

00:06:31:18 - 00:06:44:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
These are actually the same slides. And so when the ten minute countdown is over all of a sudden boom it's away. And then it will circle and reveal the difference in the differences in the photo. And then the texture on screen changes to

00:06:44:05 - 00:06:52:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
did you get it in time. So that is option number seven. This is option number six is called Friends Giving.

00:06:52:18 - 00:07:09:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you know, truth be told I actually had some other iterations of this. Now I've changed the branding behind it a little bit is called pickle. So you can go to the download Youth Mystery Store and search for a couple of games called Pick Them. But this one in particular, this one is meant to be a Thanksgiving theme.

00:07:09:05 - 00:07:29:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So this is Friendsgiving. And so the instructions are very simple. You have to try and guess what the other person is going to do. So the question here at hand is is the friend we just call all of our contestants in this game friends. Is the friend going to stay at their house or going to travel elsewhere? Now I'm everything like, who's the friend?

00:07:30:01 - 00:07:50:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's where you can have like an opportunity to kind of implement your creativity. It could be your senior pastor and you go to his office to answer these ten Thanksgiving based questions ahead of time. Are you staying home this year or are you traveling? Are you you know, this next question here is, are you going to do a Turkey trot or are you just going to get fat and put on your stretchy pants?

00:07:50:16 - 00:08:06:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Question number three is, you know, are you going to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or are you going to watch NFL football? Spoiler alert you can actually do both, but we're just going to put them against each other. And so you can kind of go through that. If you don't want to use your senior pastor, you can bring contestants up on stage.

00:08:06:12 - 00:08:10:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you don't want to bring contestants up on stage, you can do volunteer leaders or

00:08:10:04 - 00:08:20:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
something like that. But I also have, like a worksheet here and so they can keep track of their answers. You can print this out and give it to everybody, and they can keep track of their answers. Did they get it? Did they not?

00:08:20:10 - 00:08:28:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like I said, there's this version, but and this is like a Thanksgiving version, you can play it like a Friendsgiving or something like that, or there's a pick

00:08:28:08 - 00:08:33:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
on version. You can go grab one of those over, on download using this website.

00:08:33:04 - 00:08:39:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The game option number five is called Back to School bingo. And I love this game because

00:08:39:12 - 00:08:43:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
every single player gets a bingo card that looks just like this.

00:08:43:12 - 00:09:02:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so instead of meeting a variety of bingo cards, there's all different numbers and all different letters. You can get the same static bingo card. And the goal is be the first one to fill three in your category or the first person to get a blackout. And so you know the categories you see here at church and youth group, school and extracurricular summer.

00:09:02:17 - 00:09:05:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then there's just rotating slides. So I have in ten church

00:09:05:18 - 00:09:21:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
sizes. So for example it's going to rotate through and it's random even though you know it's you know going to be question number one in the church category. Did you go to churches. Our church is youth camp this past summer. So remember this is a back to school timeline event.

00:09:21:17 - 00:09:39:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So it's kind of looking back over the summer. That was as it pertains to church and youth. So did you go to youth camp last summer? And if they did, then they put, a checkmark or whatever on the little bingo spot in the church kind of category. Did you go on a summer missions trip this past summer?

00:09:39:20 - 00:09:45:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So on and so forth. And so you put these in sort of a random order and like, these are obviously all in the church

00:09:45:14 - 00:09:49:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
category. But if you look here at the where the folders are set up, here's the school category.

00:09:49:19 - 00:09:59:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so this one's going to land on one of the school options here. And so, you know, it's did you already buy your school supplies for the upcoming school year.

00:09:59:15 - 00:10:18:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yes or no. And so it's a way to kind of do a, a recap kind of back to school kind of bingo style vibes sort of thing. So, there's these different rotating slides and if you don't want to use that, you can put it into something like a sidekick and using like people picker and just kind of copy and paste these different clues into that.

00:10:18:21 - 00:10:34:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Moving on to number four, this may be my favorite one on this entire list. I know I have it at four, but I'm I wrote this list a while ago. It's called GIF flashback, and it does have an Instagram version. And what it is is you simply have to watch

00:10:35:07 - 00:10:43:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
a classic GIF. So here's the Homer Simpson backs into the back of a bush, and then the multiple choice question pops up on the screen.

00:10:43:14 - 00:10:55:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
How many strands of hair on Homer's head did you get it? Let me know down in the comments if you did. The correct answer, of course, is here as it stops one two boom said to you got

00:10:55:03 - 00:10:58:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
it right? And so in the same way you can play that on Instagram Stories.

00:10:58:03 - 00:11:06:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Play the gif here. You let them watch it a little bit of time and then you post like the little poll question sticker right here.

00:11:06:18 - 00:11:27:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay. Instead of it having the multiple choice option listed on screen, you you post it either right here or you can post it here on the second one, right in this moment where they can answer it. Then after they answer it, they wait for this second in POV receipts 123456. Like keep going seven eight even more 910 different people in that gif.

00:11:27:15 - 00:11:29:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Did you get it right when

00:11:29:10 - 00:11:48:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you said if there are ten people in GIF flashback, that's all it is. It just shows people and how bad their memory is on something that they just did. Also, we have a very classic game called Bring Me and Bring me, a volume one, volume two, and volume three. And so what did I say?

00:11:48:23 - 00:11:49:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I said you were going

00:11:49:19 - 00:12:07:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to get nine games, but actually you're getting nine, ten, 11 games. And in this game you very simply have to bring and be the first person to bring this item to the person on stage. So bring me a piece of gum. Bonus points if it's straight out of your mouth, bring me some Tic Tacs.

00:12:07:10 - 00:12:22:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Bonus points for this exact flavor of Tic Tacs. Bring me some keys, glasses, a church bulletin, hand sanitizer, a hat. Bonus points if the hat looks just like this a pen, a ping pong ball, a cell phone, and bonus points for the oldest model

00:12:22:14 - 00:12:28:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
cell phone that you get. Three of those, again, is a one of my all time favorite resources.

00:12:28:02 - 00:12:32:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So quick, so simple. Just go ahead and use them. Another one of my

00:12:32:08 - 00:12:50:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
favorites may be my top selling category of games is emoji phraseology. And this one is, volume one. But I have all different hobbies that you can possibly think or imagine. I have a countdown version in this as well. I've Instagram version of this as well, but very simply,

00:12:50:18 - 00:12:53:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you look at the emoji phrase and you try and guess what it is.

00:12:53:12 - 00:13:07:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What's this looking at here on the screen? What do you think it is? X rocket Scientist of course it's not rocket science. Or this right here a clock and an airplane and a person celebrating is it? Time flies when you're having fun? Of course it is. You know

00:13:07:20 - 00:13:27:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
that you can do that on Instagram. You can do that on TikTok, or you can walk around even do men on the street style videos, where you ask people if they know them and try and roast them for how bad they do, but the number one favorite game, Drum Roll please, is actually kind of detailed and explained in my 100th episode.

00:13:27:04 - 00:13:42:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'll have that link right here if you want to go back and watch that from when me and the team I was at, at the church I was at during Covid did a full live, in-person YouTube show. But then we moved back to the campus and we were doing this sort of hybrid model, hence the name Hybrid Ministry show.

00:13:42:10 - 00:14:00:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, we were creating a duck, duck, goose style game that they could watch, video on the screen, but also play an interactive version of duck, duck, goose. While it was happening on the screen. And so I took that same kind of idea and that same kind of concept. And so how it works is you play a game of

00:14:00:22 - 00:14:02:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
rubber duck trivia, okay.

00:14:03:00 - 00:14:09:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then here's just like the questions in the Rubber Duck trivia. And you can play just rubber duck trivia if that's what you want

00:14:09:08 - 00:14:17:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to do. But what really makes this fun is this is a like for just version video. You just play. You see, here's

00:14:17:08 - 00:14:29:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
five minutes and 32 seconds long. What happens is someone starts ducking and whenever they hear a quack on screen, they.

00:14:29:10 - 00:14:48:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Go there it is. When they hear the quack boom. That's when you hear, you know, duck. That's when you hit goose, okay? And then you start running and you start playing. You start going all the while as that's happening. All right. Here in just a minute. If you're watching here on screen, a trivia game is happening and the trivia game stops for no people.

00:14:48:21 - 00:15:08:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so the question right here on screen is, rubber ducks were originally true, true toys. Is that true or false? The people who are playing duck, duck, goose right now, they are having to try and answer this question while playing duck, duck, goose. This is the most middle school game. This is the most like high energy. Just crazy insane.

00:15:08:09 - 00:15:14:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Get people up, get people moving. So put your people round tables, put them in rows or whatever the case might be,

00:15:14:08 - 00:15:33:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and send them going. There's a seven question version, there's a ten question version, and there is a countdown version. So you can go ahead and play this with your students in your next youth ministry or something like that is one of the funnest ways, I think, to kind of interact with the screen and what's happening live in the room.

00:15:33:08 - 00:15:53:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So there you have it. Those are my nine most favorite games that I've created and put on download. Yes, master. But because you are loyal listener to the Hybrid Master show, you get these for free. If you're listening and you're not a youth pastor, grab the link and share it with your youth pastor friend. Give it to them.

00:15:53:13 - 00:16:13:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Gift it to them because the next time they're in a pinch for games, boom! These are nine of my favorite. Actually, living, as we said, would bring me of my favorite screen time. Screen based games. And so excited to have you check those out. And you know what? Link right here on screen is actually going to be the start of our next little playlist series.

00:16:13:20 - 00:16:32:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we are going to be talking about communicating in a noisy world. And next episode is going to be the reasons why your youth ministry and church announcements don't really work. We're going to dive into that. So I hope you tap onto that video. But don't forget my friends and as always, to stay hybrid.

Episode 135: Rules for Teens - Building Real Relationships in a Digital Age

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

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DESCRIPTION
Social media has transformed how we connect, fueled by the rise of smartphones and evolving platforms. In this episode, we define social media’s roots, from its early pioneers like MySpace and Facebook to today’s dynamic apps like TikTok, and explore how to use technology as a tool to foster authentic relationships. Plus, we share practical tips for building deeper connections and introduce a Phone-Free Family Planning Guide to help balance digital and real-world interactions.

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/135

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//📲 PHONE FREE ACTIVITY GUIDE
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//ARTICLE
https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/complete-history-social-media

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⌚TIMECODES
00:00 Do Phones Ruin Friendships?
01:47 What is Social Media?
08:10 Idea #1
11:40 Idea #2
13:34 Idea #3

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Social

00:00:01:00 - 00:00:06:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
media usage has been growing. In fact, it's been growing since the beginning

00:00:06:20 - 00:00:19:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of time. I would probably attribute the majority of social media growth to the invention of, and the rising prevalence of access to smartphones.

00:00:19:03 - 00:00:19:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If

00:00:19:13 - 00:00:32:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you're watching this video here, go ahead and give me a like. If you remember the invention of the smartphone. And if you don't, then you owe me a subscribe because you're probably a teenager who has only ever had access to a smartphone.

00:00:32:18 - 00:00:56:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That juxtaposition right there is the inherent tension that exists between teenagers and parents who are navigating a brand new landscape. And so in this video, what I want to do, titled Building Real Relationships in the Digital Age, we're going to define what social media, even is. Everyone kind of carries in their own built in and baked in connotations of

00:00:56:21 - 00:00:58:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
but what is it really?

00:00:58:10 - 00:01:18:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm also going to share with you some real tips to building relationships in the digital age. And spoiler, some of those tips are actually going to be leaning into tech as a tool to enhance and build some of those relationships, and make sure that you stick around to the very end of the video, because I have for you a phone free activity guide.

00:01:18:23 - 00:01:38:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what this is going to do is not only give you ideas of, you know, phone free activities that you can do, but it's going to help you navigate some of those conversations, especially with getting some of your friends maybe on board, to do an event that is more phone free, even though they may be a little bit more drawn to an addicted to their phones.

00:01:38:19 - 00:02:02:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's also going to help give you a framework as a family, how to also implement some of those events. Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Minister show. Hey everybody, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. If you and I haven't had a chance to meet yet. My name is Nick Clayson. I've been a youth pastor and in youth ministry for 14, going on 14.5, soon to be 15 years.

00:02:02:23 - 00:02:05:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you're watching here on YouTube, you'll see a chart

00:02:05:04 - 00:02:27:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
that defines social media usage from the beginning of 2012 all the way through when this data was captured in 2023. And I just want to let you know that if you're not watching on YouTube or if you're in the podcast, catch wherever you're listening. There are chapters included so that you can kind of hopper and skip around to the parts of this video that kind of make the most sense to you.

00:02:27:01 - 00:02:50:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But as we're looking at this chart, whether you're watching on YouTube or you just listening to me, describe it via your audio podcast feed, you see that in January of 2012, there were just over, 1400 users of different social accounts. Fast forward to January of 2023, and as you can imagine, that number has ballooned up to 4760.

00:02:50:08 - 00:02:57:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's probably a surely greater than 5000 now at this point, as we have surpassed into 2025

00:02:57:03 - 00:02:57:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and

00:02:57:16 - 00:03:21:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
beyond. Well, what exactly is. I think this is important. Right. And so like if you're a chapter person, you move skip this one like the definition of social media. But I think it's important for us to take a quick step back, peel back the curtain a little bit, and really try and understand what social media not only is, but where it's coming from.

00:03:21:17 - 00:03:40:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's inherent like reason for even existing in the first place. And so I tried my best. I looked across some websites, I use some I, but at the end of the day, the definition that I sort of came to and use some different like articles for their link down below if you want to read them, is that social media is

00:03:40:04 - 00:03:53:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
online communication designed to create networks and communities where ideas, information, messages, photos, etc. can be freely shared.

00:03:53:08 - 00:04:17:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you think about what's baked into that definition, is the desire for a lot of different things communication, messages, photos, ideas, right? Like it is evolved to a spot where it's more than just a photo sharing avenue or a video sharing avenue. You can communicate ideas. You can communicate information, you can create networks, you can find people.

00:04:18:00 - 00:04:46:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But at the base of it all is social is what it's social, right? At least in its original iteration. And it's original. Inception. The idea and the purpose behind social media was creating community and networks and connections where you could keep up with people you know. Many of us would trace socials roots back to the invention of Facebook and what Zuckerberg did on Harvard's campus.

00:04:46:10 - 00:05:17:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But believe it or not, social existed even before that. And I would say you could kind of trace some of its ideas back to the 90s when blogs were invented, you know, blogs kind of planted this idea in the world's heads that people, individual people, people outside of the traditional news media outlets and news sources that they could post whatever and whenever they wanted and receive feedback in live time without having to go through that pesky use.

00:05:17:01 - 00:05:39:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like I said of like that third party. And so if you're watching here on YouTube, if you're not linked down below in the show notes hybrid ministry.xyz/135. I use this article from Broadband and Search. It's an article. What it did is it traced some of the very original social networks. So in 1997, some of you might not even know this if you don't give me a like.

00:05:39:09 - 00:06:07:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But six degrees was was what this, this article brought in search what they define as the very first social platform. And then following that in 2002, Friendster and Myspace and LinkedIn all were invented, and Twitter was in 2006. And then Facebook finally came and burst on the scene in, I believe this 2000 and, four, when we officially got the launch of Facebook.

00:06:07:08 - 00:06:33:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And as you know, it originally launched only as an exclusive opportunity on the Harvard campus, but it soon expanded beyond that. And by 2008, Facebook overtook Myspace as the most visited website in the world. 2010 is when Instagram launched, and that's actually when I dived in, dove in, to being a youth pastor. And so, I always say, I was an Instagram baby as a youth pastor.

00:06:33:03 - 00:07:01:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, I've been around as a youth pastor as long as Instagram has been around, and Instagram launched originally as sort of just a photo sharing app, is meant to be a little bit more artsy than that. Maybe what was going on over in Facebook. And then 2011, Snapchat came. And Snapchat has ushered in a lot of different features that different platforms, especially with the idea of like stories have kind of adopted and made a very like big staple on their platform especially I'm looking at you Instagram and Facebook.

00:07:01:17 - 00:07:13:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then in 2016, TikTok was invented. And in 2020, a few years after the invention of TikTok, it took the world by storm and frankly, ushered in a new social era.

00:07:13:12 - 00:07:24:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, give me a like if you know that as you've watched videos on TikTok recently, do you even recognize or know the people that have posted the videos that you're watching?

00:07:24:13 - 00:07:38:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's the new era, right? Social, in its original iteration, was meant to be about connections and networks, but now it's much more about maybe entertainment, sharing ideas, or even just like humor, right? And

00:07:38:11 - 00:07:38:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
laughing

00:07:38:21 - 00:07:39:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and sharing

00:07:39:07 - 00:07:52:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
things that cause people to laugh. And like I said, you can draw a thread all the way back, especially to the origin of some of these, to the idea behind friendship and community.

00:07:52:09 - 00:08:11:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And speaking of tracing a thread all the way back again, if you're watching here on YouTube, you've seen other chart from that broadband and search article, and it just, lays out the history of social, social platforms and social networks. Go ahead and take a screenshot of that and you can study that later on in your time. But what I want to move on to is I want to

00:08:11:01 - 00:08:19:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
kind of ask this question, how can we build relationships in a digitally based world?

00:08:19:01 - 00:08:36:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, there's, a video that I came across, during kind of like Christmas break, New Year's time, and it shows and I'll, I'll link it here on screen. You can go ahead and take a look at it, but it shows how humans have spent their time over the course of history. And like the 40s and 50s, is primarily family.

00:08:36:21 - 00:09:01:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then quickly friends took over that top spot on the kind of bar graph. But then as soon as the internet was existed, boom, it skyrocketed to the top. And what we know is that while in its original form, social was created for human ideas and connection, it has sort of supplanted what it was originally brought into. Meaningful right?

00:09:01:04 - 00:09:03:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It was meant for us to connect better. But while

00:09:03:23 - 00:09:38:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
there's still a possibility of that happening, you know just as well as AI that some of us can spend mindless amounts of time, energy, hours and effort on social media if we're not intentional. So how do we get back to the roots of what we want? Not throwing the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak, getting rid of phones and screens and social altogether, but using it in a way that's hygienic in a 2025, always on digitally focused world, I have three tips on how you can build relationships in a digital world.

00:09:38:23 - 00:09:45:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the first is so simple, right? It's just put the phone down, right.

00:09:45:14 - 00:10:01:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that might seem so obvious and that might seem so basic to you, but the reason why this is important is because you need to understand that the our phones and social and some of these apps are intentionally designed to release a chemical called dopamine.

00:10:01:01 - 00:10:10:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm sure you've heard this before. When you get a notification or when you doom scroll, they're built to be intentionally addictive.

00:10:10:10 - 00:10:25:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so while their art is good and while there can be value behind it, and as youth pastors and parents, we know we can use it even as a tool in our own lives, in our own ministries, in our own families, we also know that they're built to be intentionally addictive.

00:10:25:14 - 00:10:41:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So create a space where you can learn how to put the phone down. In fact, if you go back to the very first episode linked, in the playlist linked right here, the top of the screen, about detoxing in a always on tech filled world, I give some tips. There's even a worksheet

00:10:41:22 - 00:10:47:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
in that video about getting rid and creating kind of phone free environments.

00:10:47:09 - 00:10:51:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I believe if you, look at the worksheet in that one, I have linked like a phone

00:10:51:08 - 00:10:51:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
jail.

00:10:52:04 - 00:11:04:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What if you did something so dramatic in your own life or your own family, where you created, like a phone jail or a phone locker kind of speak so that you could put it down and you can force yourself to not go back and pick it up.

00:11:05:01 - 00:11:24:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, I made a New Year's resolution this year that when I got home from work, I want from the time I get home from work until bedtime with my kids, I want it to be phone free. Like I want to put my phone down. I want to live my life and I hope, listen. I host a podcast called The Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:11:24:10 - 00:11:39:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, I'm all about digital. I'm all about technology. But I also don't want technology to run me. I want it to be a part of my life that's useful and meaningful and that I use. But I don't want it to run me. And so I want to put my phone on, and I want to live my life

00:11:39:23 - 00:11:40:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
with my family.

00:11:40:20 - 00:11:55:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The second idea I have for you is that why you should put your phone down? I'm speaking to those of you who are kind of hard chargers, like, yeah, like get rid of it. The second piece is tech can enhance relationships. So while you

00:11:55:15 - 00:12:03:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
should put your phone down so that you can live your life so that you can enhance those relationships, which is what social was built on foundationally in the first place.

00:12:03:08 - 00:12:22:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Tech is a tool to be used like I just minutes ago. I am late at night, got done watching a basketball game. Shout out to the Oklahoma City Thunder 13 game win streak, longest in franchise history. I was texting my friend in Minnesota hours away, and we're texting about sports and basketball and life.

00:12:22:09 - 00:12:27:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like, I haven't seen him in person in months, but our relationship still exists.

00:12:27:17 - 00:12:51:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We send memes to each other in real, and we text each other and we'll call each other and we'll chat through life. And, you know, monumental moments like tech can still enhance and keep a relationship going, right? I think about group chats. I even think about silly things like sharing memes and reels. I think that's a way in today's day and age, in 2025 and beyond, that can be a love language, so to speak.

00:12:51:02 - 00:13:16:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, like I have a resident now who, was off social media because he was trying to, like, focus more time on his schoolwork. And I, would screenshot or screen record reels or memes of things. He's a big office guy, and we would kind of connect on those, and I'd send this to him in text and he'd be like, thank you for knowing and noticing that I'm not social and for sending this to me so that I can actually, like, see these things.

00:13:16:11 - 00:13:37:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. Like it's still a way to connect as a matter of the medium. Like it just is a way for us to kind of like share some things, ideas and laugh together. And so that's where this saw this whole idea of hybrid comes in responsible usage. Put it down, but understand that it can still be a tool. The third idea I have for you is create rules for yourselves.

00:13:37:19 - 00:13:43:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or perhaps if you're a parent, a teenager, if you're a youth pastor, this is where I want to encourage you to maybe

00:13:43:11 - 00:13:54:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
download and share this resource with some of your parents. But what are some of the rules that you can help your teenagers? And, you know, their parents like, create for themselves and create for their families?

00:13:54:23 - 00:13:58:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like I said, I want to try to challenge myself to go phone free from when I get

00:13:58:10 - 00:14:31:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
home from work until my kids go to bed. I don't know what those rules are, but let let break some of those in. You know what? Link down below in episode 131 hybrid Administrator Xyzzy slash 131, I interviewed my friend Ronald, who is, host of the Middle School Ministry podcast, but he also is dad to middle schoolers and he had some fantastic ideas and some fantastic tips about how you can implement this idea of digital to your children, to your kids in a meaningful way, but also in a way that is going to like, help,

00:14:31:20 - 00:14:49:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
help them kind of earn the responsibility of having tech and phones and digital. And so I can't give you like a one size fits all rule. I can, but I don't think that that's wise. I think you need to learn and lean in and kind of learn and discern what needs to go on in your family and with you in particular.

00:14:49:02 - 00:15:18:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so while you may be, I don't want a smartphone at all, I want a dumb phone. Only that can be your rule. But don't make that the rule for everybody. Others. It might be like, I just want to limit my usage. I want to put, you know, timers on my apps. I want whatever that's where. And, you know, episode 132 I laid out the digital detox kind of like ideas, and it comes with some just ideas of rules and maybe some things that you can like, create for yourself, or that you and your teenager can kind of work together and create for yourself.

00:15:18:18 - 00:15:24:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if the whole goal. Right, like if we set the whole goal of social and its original form

00:15:24:11 - 00:15:57:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
was connection to humans, maybe, just maybe, the the the phone usage, screen usage has gone a little bit out of balance, has become a little bit more than we ever sort of bargained for. And so that's why I created this screen free guide, a way to, encourage ways to have screen free or phone free, times with friends and helping kind of facilitate that for your middle school or your high school or and even encouraging and how to kind of go about that and even get that kind of conversation started.

00:15:57:11 - 00:16:19:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And also maybe not just for friends, but also for you as a family. Right. And and maybe while we might be frustrated as parents or as guardians or even as youth pastors with our teenage teenagers usage and maybe even dependance on technology, maybe we have to take a good hard look at ourselves, and maybe they're modeling their usage after us.

00:16:19:12 - 00:16:42:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or at least they're seeing us. Maybe not being as mindful about it as maybe we hope to be. So that's going to be linked down below. Again, if you're a parent, youth pastor or whatever, I hope that you grab it, use it, send it, share it with a friend. But I also want to encourage you to to help create more opportunities to build real relationships in this digital age and in this cell phone era.

00:16:43:00 - 00:16:55:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Thank you, as always, for being here. Don't forget to stick around. Subscribe. We'll have all kinds of other episodes like this throughout the rest of this year, but don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 134: Tech Talks: Equipping Parents to Guide Their Digital Natives

Nick Clason — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600

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

⚙️Tech Talks: For Parents and Teens
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/parent-tech-talks-817359?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=productshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

DESCRIPTION
🎙️ Tech Talks: Equipping Parents to Guide Their Digital Natives is your ultimate resource for navigating the wild world of screens and social media! Designed to spark meaningful conversations, this episode drops 5 practical questions to help parents and teens tackle digital habits together. Bonus: there's a downloadable worksheet, perfect for your next workshop or family night. 🚀

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/134

//DETOX WORKSHEET
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/digital-detox-family-worksheet-763860?source=storefront

//AUDIT WORKSHEET
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/social-feed-audit-activity-for-parents-789323?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=productshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

//3 MONITORING TOOLS
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/DWYvsn2Kglk?si=wayQHd1zQC09I6qg
TRY COVENANT EYES: https://covenanteyes.sjv.io/g1zVZA

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

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

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

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

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

⌚TIMECODES
00:00 Tech Talks: Equipping Parents to Talk to their Digital Natives
01:52 Parenting Teens Philosophy
04:10 Question #1
04:44 Question #2
05:34 Question #3
06:36 Question #4
07:16 Question #5
07:51 My Recommended Parenting Apps

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:17 - 00:00:26:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let me guess. If you're a parent trying to talk to your teens about tech and screens and social, you feel like when you're doing so, you're speaking a completely foreign language. If that's you, go ahead and subscribe to this channel. And let me guess, if you're a teenager, having a parent try to relate to you in that tech space and it feels totally cringe.

00:00:26:22 - 00:00:46:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Go ahead and give me a like on this video. And if you're a youth pastor, just simply trying to bring the two sides together, well then you're in the right spot. Go ahead and turn the bell on. Because here in this video on the Hybrid Ministry show, what we're going to do is we are going to share. I'm going to share with you my parent and tech philosophy.

00:00:46:25 - 00:01:10:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm also going to share with you five great questions that you can use to start with a family, to open up good discussion around technology. If you're a parent, I'm going to share with you my top three monitoring resources. And finally, stick around to the very end of the video because I'm going to share with you a worksheet that has not only those five good questions shared in this video, but some bonus questions that you can hop over and that you can download.

00:01:10:21 - 00:01:28:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
My patrons get it for free. If you're a youth pastor, it's only $4 per month. You'll get all the worksheets that are included in this current playlist that's linked right here that we're in. We're now in part three of four of this parent tech and screens worksheet and playlist, where I'm sharing a worksheet in every single video. The patron.

00:01:28:18 - 00:01:50:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The Patreon subscription is only $4 per month. And so that would cover all of these worksheets. And then some. Along with if you subscribe, you get a bonus podcast where I'm going to talk about what I'm doing weekly in my youth ministry, helping promote creativity, screen safety, hive and hybrid ministry. Welcome my friends to the show that's named after what I call it.

00:01:50:12 - 00:02:28:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. All right, so here's my philosophy around technology and screens, okay. The philosophy is very simply this. You just have to start having conversations around it, especially if you are concerned about your teens usage or you might be concerned down the road about it. Start the conversation earlier than you might want. Because here's the thing if you've downloaded either of my last two worksheets or the Digital Detox worksheet or the Feed Audit worksheet, well, you've got to come to understand is that both of those are set to help open up and promote a conversation between parents and between teenagers.

00:02:28:18 - 00:03:03:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if you're concerned about it, the way we as parents often handle it is we have some big, explosive sort of like come to Jesus reckoning moment where we think we did the job. But but the change often best happens, and the transformation takes place most naturally through ongoing conversations where the conversations feel less threatening, which is one of the reasons, especially in the last worksheet, where I encourage you as a parent to offer immunity because you may, as you're auditing some your son or daughter's feed, you may find things that you don't want, but because you're saying, hey, listen, it's going to be okay.

00:03:03:11 - 00:03:30:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We're going to work through this together. You're offering them the ability to actually open up and have that conversation, which is ultimately what you're hoping. You're hoping that the conversation will lead to heart and life change and transformation over time, as opposed to just like adjusting and changing the behavior. That's just simply behavior modification. That's white knuckling it as opposed to genuine true heart change.

00:03:30:26 - 00:03:58:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's the goal of all pastors of of should be of all churches is definitely the goal of Jesus. And so lead with grace and understanding versus annoyance and constant frustration. And when you start with that, it hopefully will start to crack open the door towards honest conversations. And so with that philosophy as the foundation, as the backdrop of all of this, let's walk in to these five questions.

00:03:58:03 - 00:04:19:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you're here in a workshop, I want to encourage you after each question to just pause it and stop and let parents and teens have these conversations in rows, around tables or wherever, whatever your setting looks like. So the first question is this how does technology make our life better? I want you to I want to encourage you to think about things like perhaps like 360, right?

00:04:19:06 - 00:04:45:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like G.P.S. type tracking things, or even just GPS navigation in general. Being able to get from point A to point B, especially if you're in an unfamiliar place, maybe things like banking or keeping a shared calendar or grocery list, like, all right, think those types of things. In what ways do those things make technology better? If you're watching here in a workshop, go ahead, pause this video and I'll let you have a chance to discuss.

00:04:45:15 - 00:05:03:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But for the rest of us here on YouTube, I want you to now think and ask through this second question, which goes like this. How well do you think I and if you're a parent, I want to encourage you to ask this question. Being willing to be vulnerable, being willing to to, you know, put yourself out there in such a way.

00:05:04:03 - 00:05:29:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
How well do you feel like I balance my screen time, right. And again, this is going to cause you and have to ask you to be a little bit vulnerable and maybe even during this section here, when you're having this discussion with your teen, I want to encourage you to maybe look up your current screen time reports. And if you're if you're not happy with or you're unsatisfied with what that says, I want to encourage you then to maybe set a goal for something new.

00:05:29:10 - 00:05:49:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you're watching this live, if you're having a discussion, go ahead, pause the video now. But for the rest of us, we're going to move on here to question number three, which is this. What is your most visited website or app and why? Right. And here's why. The and why part of this question helps you get a peek into their soul a little bit.

00:05:49:06 - 00:06:19:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right. Helps reveal their hobbies or their desires. Right. Like for me, what I would say one of the most like, visited things for me is, like Instagram. And the reason I like Instagram is because I have a heavy basketball algorithm and I'm a huge basketball fan. And so getting on there, I'm hoping that it will share with me, illuminate with me, give me interesting content around basketball and and doing that the and why part of that question right reveals to you that I enjoy watching basketball.

00:06:19:20 - 00:06:36:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so the and why part of that question hopefully will help reveal on both sides student and parent what it is that they're into, what it is that they're actually looking for, what it is that their phone is feeding them, that they are finding so interesting. So go ahead, pause the video and take a minute to discuss that.

00:06:36:13 - 00:06:56:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But for the rest of us, we're going to move on here to question number four, which is do you feel as a technology brings our family together or tears us apart? And again, I want to consider allowing this conversation to be a free flowing conversation. Let it have immunity, you know, don't get defensive regardless of what the answer is.

00:06:56:09 - 00:07:18:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Don't get defensive here. The other person side, right? I often use the phrase perception is reality. And so in this case allow their perception to be the reality. Don't argue it, don't fight it. But just let them say and speak their peace. So go ahead, take a minute. Have this discussion for the rest of us. We're going to move on here to question number five, which is this.

00:07:19:01 - 00:07:53:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Would you prefer more or less phone time personally? Would you prefer to have more or would you prefer to have less phone time again? Speak freely again. No judgment. Okay. But based on their answers, I want you to set a family goal to work on it together. Especially especially if you are saying you want to have less of it, then I want to encourage you to link down below my detox worksheet, which will give you five tips to work together better as a family to detox, you might have times that you're spending on screen, but once they're right now, link down.

00:07:53:25 - 00:08:16:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Below are the three tools is linked to a video. The three tools that I recommend you exploring for better screen usage, and perhaps even more restrictions on phones if that is something that you're looking to go towards. And so in that video, I debate between or a plus circle, I debate between the Bach, family of products, Bach phones and Bach monitoring.

00:08:16:20 - 00:08:40:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then I also share with you my recommended resource called Covenant Eyes. And why I prefer to use Covenant Eyes is because it has constant screen monitoring. It is analyzing screenshots on a constant basis of every single thing that is being viewed on your screen. Right? Because the difference is, if it's just you URL based, you can sort of find workarounds to that look.

00:08:40:16 - 00:09:00:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Look at your teenager right now. If you're still in this workshop, they know that they can find workarounds to that. But if they want and you want to have a more holistic and a more robust monitoring system, Covenant Eyes will do that. And best yet, if you have an Android, it will do it on every single thing that is seen and is visible on your screen at any given time.

00:09:01:00 - 00:09:22:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Where an apple, it's only showing you what you're using inside the Covenant Eyes browser that simply just said their technology and their API type settings. And so if your son does have an iPhone as much as, the social capital will go down because you have to get them away from the blue bubbles. And Android is better for their long term purity and for your, perhaps, peace of mind.

00:09:22:15 - 00:09:55:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so again, I want to thank you for watching this video. Listen, if you're a youth pastor, I want to encourage you to hop down the link on the show notes and grab this. This parent tech talks in this parent and teen tech talks worksheet and pass it out at a maybe a parent and tech workshop. Even go back and use this video to use it as a springboard for conversations where in this in this worksheet, it's going to allow both sides to kind of share their perspectives on technology usage, as well as offer a slew of other bonus questions.

00:09:55:11 - 00:10:14:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But linked right here in the fourth and final installment of this playlist is video. I'm titling from screen to scene, and we're going to talk about how to be more present in an always digital world. Thank you for sticking around for this entire video. And don't forget, my friends as always to stay hybrid.

Episode 133: Scroll with Purpose: Teaching Teens to Use Phones Wisely

Nick Clason — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600

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

📲Social Feed Audit Activity
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/social-feed-audit-activity-for-parents-789323?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=productshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

DESCRIPTION
In this episode of Hybrid Ministry, we tackle the challenge of helping teens navigate their phones with purpose and wisdom.

Discover three essential rules for using social media wisely
A powerful resource to protect your teens from harmful online content
and an interactive "Social Feed Audit" activity to spark meaningful conversations.

Don't miss the downloadable Social Feed Audit Activity—a practical tool for fostering healthier digital habits.

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/133

//Social Feed Audit Activity
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/social-feed-audit-activity-for-parents-789323?source=storefront

//📥 DIGITAL DETOX FAMILY WORKSHEET [Episode 132]
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/digital-detox-family-worksheet-763860?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=productshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

//3 MONITORING TOOLS
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/DWYvsn2Kglk?si=wayQHd1zQC09I6qg
TRY COVENANT EYES: https://covenanteyes.sjv.io/g1zVZA

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

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

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

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

⌚TIMECODES
00:00 How to Clean Up Your Social Feeds
01:27 Rule #1
03:12 Rule #2
06:13 Rule #3
06:59 My Recommended Accountability Tool
08:06 Social Feed Audit Activity

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:12 - 00:00:25:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Give me a like. If you've ever heard this argument about social media. Social media is just a bunch of people dancing. It's useless, right? You've probably heard that before. Parents. Pastors. Teachers. Teenagers. I once heard a pastor say, show me your bank account and it will reveal the desires of your heart. Well, I believe that in 2025 and beyond.

00:00:25:26 - 00:00:55:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Show me your algorithm and it will reveal the desires of your heart. You know the algorithms are so good. They're like, if that's what you see on your social media feed, that's probably what you are wanting to see. That's what you're hovering longer on this with the algorithm knows and is feeding you more of. And so in this video we're going to do is we're going to talk about how you can clean up your feed, how you can audit it, and how you can make it a type of feed that will honor God in the process.

00:00:55:23 - 00:01:14:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We're going to share three rules for social media wisdom. I'm going to give you one resource that's going to help protect you and your team from what you see on your screens, as well as a downloadable worksheet for you to snag at the end. Or hit this QR code here at the bottom so that you can use it.

00:01:14:13 - 00:01:43:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're a youth pastor. Download it. Share it with your parents. This is one of the best resources I think, that I have ever put together. Welcome my friends to the Hybrid Mr. Show. Hey everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. If you haven't had a chance to meet yet, my name is Nick Klassen. I've been youth ministry for 14 years and I have two boys, eight and six, who are squarely in Gen Alpha, and they are waving their way on up into this world of tech and screens and social.

00:01:43:29 - 00:02:04:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so in this video, I want to share with you three my three rules for social media. The first rule is this harmful social media, right? I think a lot of us have this understanding that social media is harmful, right? But I don't believe it's all harmful. I just believe that harmful social media is when you use it mindlessly, right?

00:02:04:29 - 00:02:28:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's equals when you have a mindless use of it. And so what I want to encourage you to do is I want to encourage you to put parameters and rules around your screen and social usage. You know, if you didn't watch the last video, which is going to be linked right here, we went through five different tips to have more of a screen detox type of life in a quote always on world.

00:02:28:10 - 00:02:50:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I don't you don't have to adopt those five rules. I just want to encourage you to have some rules, because when you use it mindlessly, when you use it without any barriers, without any parameters, that's where things get tricky. That's where things get dangerous. And that's where we start to see that addiction set in and people not able to make the right and smart type of choices that we're hoping that they can make in their life.

00:02:50:22 - 00:03:13:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because social and technology has this sort of like, addictive, way of interacting with the neural pathways in your brain. And so that's why there needs to be a set of parameters that you place on yourself, and then maybe even you agree with with some other members of your family. The second rule that I have for you is just simply a question.

00:03:13:23 - 00:03:45:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Is it you or is it a AI? Right? Like I said earlier, show me your algorithm and I'll show you the desires of your heart. Let me give you a positive example of this in my own world. Right? So YouTube, we pay for premium YouTube at our house because my boys like to watch Minecraft videos on YouTube. And once I realized that this was something that was not going to go away, was that they were always going to want and desire and find themselves wanting to explore some of those Minecraft type videos on YouTube.

00:03:45:08 - 00:04:09:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I realized I want to have a little bit more control over the ads or the or taking them away, right? So I pray I pay for premium YouTube. Now here's what's interesting on my account. This very account that you might even be watching this video on when when you log into YouTube on my TV, it's littered with Minecraft videos.

00:04:09:12 - 00:04:34:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like that's almost all that the For You algorithm is sharing and showing on my television YouTube account. Switch over though, when I pull open my cell phone on YouTube because I myself also watch and use YouTube. All almost all it feeds me there is basketball content, all right. Or the types of, podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis.

00:04:34:26 - 00:04:55:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So it's even interesting to me is that it will show me videos that I've of, of channels that I've never even subscribed to, but that I've interacted with, that I've watched before, way before. It shows me videos of things that I'm subscribed to. Right? Which is why, like, I would love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet, please do so.

00:04:55:23 - 00:05:22:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if you haven't, if you just watch my videos, the algorithm is going to show my videos to you next time you log in, as opposed to just showing it to you just because you are a sort of like mindless, nameless subscriber. And so I share that to say the algorithm, the accounts, these social platforms, they're really powerful and they're also really smart.

00:05:22:02 - 00:05:48:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you're not intentional with your use the AI, the algorithm is going to make decisions for you, right. And that YouTube example, that's a positive example. But let's just switch it to a negative example for a minute. If you're a boy, it's going to assume that you want to see girls on your social media. And if you're not careful, that I will continue to feed more and more and more of that.

00:05:48:24 - 00:06:08:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, listen, I know that that sounds hopeless, and especially if you're a parent, you're like, well, that's exactly what I'm trying to get away from. Not all hope is lost, and I believe that social can be redeemed for good. You can manipulate your algorithm both positively and negatively, and we're going to get in that in just a minute.

00:06:08:11 - 00:06:38:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because my third rule for social media is you need to have accountability. If you don't have an outlet to discuss, I want to encourage you to invite somebody into your life, especially if you are trending down that negative sort of algorithm pathway. Get yourself out of it. Ask somebody for help, throw for a lifeline, but then have a regular rhythm of conversation and a regular rhythm of accountability.

00:06:38:25 - 00:07:04:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Set some goals and then ask somebody, as Paul David Tripp says, ask somebody to be intentionally intrusive in your life. Now, parents, the resource that I use, I use personally and that I recommend we talked about in a previous video, I'll link it down below. We talked about aura. We talked about Bach, but also the one that I like the most.

00:07:04:12 - 00:07:31:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we that we talked about that. I also recommend is a service called Covenant Eyes. Okay. And what Covenant Eyes does is it installs on your phone. It's let's I'm just going to say some it might you might disagree with it. It's better on Android than it is on Apple. And the reason why is that it will run a constant screen monitoring in the background of your phone at every given moment on an Android.

00:07:31:17 - 00:07:59:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
On Apple, it only does it in the in the Covenant Eyes browser. But the nice thing about that, especially on Android, is that you know that if you can't watch every single thing on your kid's phone, you can log in as one of their allies is what they use the the language, the verbiage that they use. You can log in as one of their allies and view their screen activity and literally see snapshot after snapshot of what they're watching, of what they're viewing, of what is on their screen.

00:07:59:11 - 00:08:24:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's why I recommend that. And it's actually linked below in our social feed audit activity worksheet. And in this audit activity worksheet, what it's going to do is it's going to share with you 50 different social platforms to ask about right. Whether you have a great and wide open communication policy with your teenager, or whether it's a little bit more closed off, this will give you the resources.

00:08:24:29 - 00:08:50:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This will give you a list of resources to ask about, right to inquire whether they have one, even if they don't know that they haven't, even if they're not trying to hide it from you, or even if they maybe are trying to hide it from you, and then you can go through and I recommend that you, offer immunity during this audit process, especially if your boy or daughter, is having a lot of things on their algorithm that you wouldn't approve of.

00:08:50:08 - 00:09:15:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But as you go through, you can audit and you can ask this question, does this honor God? And the good news is that most social medias offer the ability for you to, click something that says, I'm not interested in this and ask the algorithm to feed it to you less often. And so if you go through that activity with your son or with your daughter, you can you can help manipulate their algorithm and then pair that with a tool like Covenant Eyes.

00:09:15:14 - 00:09:45:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can add back in some constant screen accountability. And maybe you become an accountability person. Or maybe you ask them to invite somebody else into their life a trusted friend, mentor, or adult that can ask them the hard questions of what they're trying to do and the goals that they're trying to set on social media. But in this new year, in 2025, as screen usage and social media usage is becoming more and more prevalent and more and more prominent, I want this tool to be a way for you.

00:09:45:21 - 00:10:09:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Whether you're a parent, whether you're a youth pastor dishing this out to some of your parents, I want you to be equipped with what it takes to start having this conversation about balancing, using what we use on social media so that you will scroll with purpose. And in the very next video, what I want to do is, I want to have you click here on screen, we are going to open up a conversation between parents and between students.

00:10:09:05 - 00:10:21:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we're just simply calling the video tech talks equipping parents to talk to their digital natives. I'll see you over there in that video. But until next time. And as always, my friends stay hybrid.

Episode 132: Digital Detox: Finding Balance in an Always-On World

Nick Clason — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600

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

📥Digital Detox Family Worksheet
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/digital-detox-family-worksheet-763860?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=productshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

DESCRIPTION
Life today feels like it’s always "on," and teenagers are growing up in a world where there’s no escape from the constant digital noise—even at home. Inspired by Winston Churchill’s midday naps to reset his mental balance, this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show explores how we can help teens—and ourselves—find moments of rest in an always-connected world. As a youth pastor with 14 years of experience, I’ve seen how the challenges of this generation differ from my own. In this video, I’ll share 5 practical tips for a healthier digital lifestyle, from screen-free meals to digital sabbaths. Plus, I’ll introduce the Digital Detox Family Challenge—a [free to Patrons] worksheet to help families reclaim their time and focus. Whether you’re a parent, teen, or youth pastor, join me for practical tools to build healthier habits.

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/132

//Churchill Article
https://fullfocus.co/naps/

//Bark & Aura+Disney vs. Covenant Eyes: An Honest Youth Pastor Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWYvsn2Kglk&t=160s

//Family Phone Lock Box
https://walmrt.us/3ZrChfI

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

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

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

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

⌚TIMECODES
00:00 Rest for the Soul in an "Always On" World
02:37 The Technology Tension
04:34 Tip #1
06:50 Tip #2
07:45 Tip #3
08:59 Tip #4
10:17 Tip #5
11:57 Digital Detox Worksheet

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:00:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Does

00:00:00:10 - 00:00:03:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
it feel like in life that you're just

00:00:03:08 - 00:00:07:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
always on? Like there's no break, there's no reprieve?

00:00:07:27 - 00:00:10:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Did you know, ironically,

00:00:10:06 - 00:00:21:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Winston Churchill, who was prime minister of Great Britain during World War One, fighting in at that time the world's greatest and biggest war, said this right. He regarded

00:00:21:19 - 00:00:33:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
his midday naps as, quote, essential for maintaining his mental balance, renewing his energy and reviving his

00:00:33:14 - 00:00:36:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
spirits as a youth pastor for 14 years.

00:00:36:26 - 00:00:44:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
One thing that I've found that's unique about this generation of teenagers is that the cell phone has ushered in an era

00:00:44:10 - 00:00:48:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
where they never are able to turn it off.

00:00:48:15 - 00:01:05:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The drama follows them home. Conversations with friends follows them home through group chats and Snapchat. And if they're not a part of it, then the tension or the fact that they're missing out might also be causing anxiety because while you as a parent may be taking their phone away from them, they

00:01:05:25 - 00:01:11:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
don't know what someone else might be saying about them or what other drama they are going to be missing out on.

00:01:12:03 - 00:01:25:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When I was a kid, that wasn't an option. I was. I was able to go home, and home was able to be my safe spot. And my guess is, if you're a parent just like me, is that you're trying to help your, house be a

00:01:25:23 - 00:01:29:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
safe spot. And if you're a youth pastor, my guess is you're trying to help teens

00:01:29:09 - 00:01:30:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
navigate this anxiety.

00:01:30:27 - 00:01:35:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if you didn't grow up in this phenomenon of technology and digital, where you're

00:01:35:24 - 00:01:54:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
always on, you might not really truly understand what teenagers are going to. That's why if you're a parent, youth pastor, or teenager, I want to toss out five potential tips to help you drive towards a healthier digital lifestyle, and this is specifically aimed towards teenagers.

00:01:54:07 - 00:01:55:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
At the end of this video, I'm going to share

00:01:55:22 - 00:02:15:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
with you my Digital Detox Family Challenge worksheet. The link is down below in the description. It is free for my Patreon community, so thank you if you are a part of that. If not just a few bucks. And in that resource there are two interactive family elements. So if you're a parent or a youth pastor, feel free to grab it and use it.

00:02:15:12 - 00:02:25:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And youth pastor share it with your parents as a resource to help them towards a healthier digital lifestyle for their teenagers. And as always in the hybrid Ministry show,

00:02:25:11 - 00:02:37:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
there are chapters down below at the bottom so that you can scrub ahead or back to whatever is most relevant to you. Welcome, my friends, to the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:02:37:25 - 00:02:40:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. If you and I

00:02:40:18 - 00:02:55:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
haven't had a chance to meet yet, my name is Nick Clayson, and as I said in the intro, I'm a 14 year youth ministry veteran, but I'm also a parent of kids six, and eight years old. So they're in, squarely in that generation Alpha sort of time frame.

00:02:55:25 - 00:02:59:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I see it on the horizon. I'm not quite there yet,

00:02:59:01 - 00:03:09:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
but I've also navigated it with teenagers and youth ministry, for 14 years, obviously still relevantly, and currently helping teenagers Wade

00:03:09:11 - 00:03:10:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
through and navigate

00:03:10:04 - 00:03:10:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
through this

00:03:10:25 - 00:03:30:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
digital sort of tension. And so I think that's the biggest thing, right? Is this tension between should we completely abdicate digital or should we teach them how to how to handle it with integrity and with a hygiene that makes sense, and that's going to actually help them as they enter into this world of adulthood and more responsibility.

00:03:30:10 - 00:03:48:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You see, as older generation like myself and even people older than us, a lot of times the mentality is like, your phone is the enemy, just get rid of it, throw it in the lake, throw it in the river and be that as it may, and that might even be the case. Like it might not even it might be something that's dangerous and bad and not helpful to you.

00:03:48:11 - 00:04:07:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. We they're not going anywhere. That's the hard thing is cell phones and technology. It's not going anywhere. The dial is only getting cranked up more and more and more. And so we're constantly living in this tension of what we want. Like, do we want to be Laura Ingalls Wilder and living out on the prairie versus like, being someone fully immersed in tech,

00:04:07:07 - 00:04:09:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
but knowing like, that's probably not good for us.

00:04:09:16 - 00:04:13:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we can also see and know the effects of it. And you got to remember, tech is

00:04:13:06 - 00:04:29:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
still in its infancy in a lot of ways. And so some of these long term effects brain and and anxiety and mental health, like we don't even know what or how much or if any of it affects us. And so here are five tips to help you and your family navigate through detoxing,

00:04:29:28 - 00:04:32:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
digital and finding balance in this quote.

00:04:32:14 - 00:04:34:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Always on world. Tip

00:04:34:18 - 00:04:34:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
one

00:04:34:28 - 00:04:42:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
is potentially consider setting app time limits. You know I've done this in the past. I don't currently have them set

00:04:42:28 - 00:04:58:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
on on my phone. And honestly, the reason behind that is because I'm I'm lazy, right? And I'm not practicing what I'm preaching. But in the past I have set app limitations for things like social media apps that I might scroll more endlessly on.

00:04:58:02 - 00:05:00:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And here's what you got to understand in my current role

00:05:00:12 - 00:05:20:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and job. Like one of my main and primary responsibilities is social media management, content creation and content posting. And so it's made it tricky for me because I can't just say I'm never going to be on Instagram, I'm never going to be on YouTube, or I'm never going to be on TikTok, because that's a key component of our youth ministry strategy.

00:05:20:07 - 00:05:24:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I'd put like a 15 minute or 30 minute time limit on those apps

00:05:24:29 - 00:05:39:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
so that I could get on. So that I could post so that I could engage with comments, with anyone who's maybe interacted with our content. But then when that 30 minute or 15 minute time limit came to an end on any one of those apps, that would be it for the

00:05:39:19 - 00:05:39:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
day.

00:05:39:29 - 00:05:57:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, of course, my phone offers me right, like more opportunities to, like add more time, add more time. And so like, I would just kind of do that mindlessly and until eventually to the point where I just like would turn it off because I was on vacation or something. And then of course, I haven't gone back, you know, to turn those things back on.

00:05:57:22 - 00:06:25:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But consider that potentially for your, your teen or your tween or, whoever in your house might be, trying to navigate this balance between work and life and social and digital and screens and all of these things. And, linked right here is actually my review of the best parenting apps for 2025 and beyond. And so it's, conversation between, the Bach phone or a plus Circle by Disney or Covenant Eyes.

00:06:25:21 - 00:06:50:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All three have very different kind of approaches to parental controls and stuff like that, but all three are useful and helpful and beneficial. I give my honest youth pastor take and review, but, feel free to go against my opinion on that. Do whatever works best for you and for your family, but maybe consider setting time limits as a way to help balance this always on world.

00:06:50:22 - 00:06:58:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Tip number two is what if you turned your phone on to grayscale mode, right? There's a feature. My wife and I

00:06:58:20 - 00:07:13:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
both did it. And we turned our phones onto grayscale mode, and it was honestly disorienting. And what it does is it's meant to sort of help reduce, sort of those brain chemicals that cause you to be more addicted to your screen.

00:07:14:01 - 00:07:16:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so when you're on it, it's like,

00:07:16:14 - 00:07:41:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you don't like it. Like I remember just absolutely hating it. And I hated looking at my phone. I hate doing all these things. But like, it was helpful because, time limits are force restrictions. Grayscale mode turns down the desire to just continue to be on my phone and continue to be on there mindlessly scrolling, mindlessly scrolling endlessly like it made me want to actually get off of it.

00:07:41:04 - 00:08:06:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So consider that as an option. Turn on grayscale mode on your phone. Tip number three as a family, what if you created screen free meals? What if once a day you as a family, committed to the discipline of having screen free meals? What if maybe maybe meals don't work? What if you chose, and reclaim some of your time as a family to have a one phone free time per day?

00:08:06:16 - 00:08:10:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Maybe that feels daunting and impossible. Then maybe just start at one phone

00:08:10:22 - 00:08:27:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
free time per week where everybody, including the parents, puts their phones away and you engage in one on 1 or 1 on many human discussion at the dinner table, or a family outing, or a family movie night or something like that, where you are phone free, free from distractions.

00:08:27:28 - 00:08:55:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're you're doing something together and reengaging relationally as a family. And you can even, you know, buy something linked down below, like a phone locker or a phone jail where everyone's phones go in, you know, for a set amount of time, and it doesn't open up until it's over and, you know, emergencies or whatnot. Like if you do it for an hour, even if there is an emergency within that hour, your phone will still tell you at the end of that hour and you'll be able to, you know, handle it as you need to.

00:08:55:14 - 00:08:59:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But it would be a good discipline for you and your family to try,

00:08:59:22 - 00:09:05:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
dialing it up even, a little bit more of a notch from screen free meals. What if you considered a

00:09:05:24 - 00:09:06:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
digital

00:09:06:15 - 00:09:14:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Sabbath? New Sabbath is an Old Testament term and word for taking a break, you know? So, like in the Rhythm of creation,

00:09:14:07 - 00:09:16:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you look at, the biblical account of creation.

00:09:16:19 - 00:09:35:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
God, created the earth in six days. But then on the seventh day, he rested. And you and I, like those of us who go to church like we know that God didn't need rest, right? Like God, God modeled that for Adam and Eve, and it's it's interesting if you think about it. God created man and woman on the sixth day, and then the seventh day he rested.

00:09:35:20 - 00:09:57:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so Adam and Eve's very first day of being created and being on this earth, they also two not only saw God rest, but they were experiencing that that version of Sabbath. And so what if with your phones, what if with technology, what if you created a quote, digital Sabbath of sorts, perhaps, like on a Saturday or Sunday or like a Friday night to a Saturday afternoon?

00:09:57:16 - 00:10:17:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like it doesn't have to be one full day. It could be like after work in school on, like a Friday. And then it goes to like a certain time on Saturday, where again, you as a family, maybe throw your phone in one of those boxes and you commit to not, you know, to not being on devices, not being on screens for a certain period of time.

00:10:17:26 - 00:10:35:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the fifth and final tip that I have for you here, to to engage in a healthier balance of an always on world is what if you just chose to charge your phone, not in your bedroom? I say charge your phone in your kitchen. First of all, you know, you need to know those emfs coming off your phone like they're

00:10:35:17 - 00:10:36:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
bad for you.

00:10:36:02 - 00:10:56:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It literally says it in the terms and conditions on your phone, so don't be right next to it while it's charging. Put it somewhere else, not only for your physical health, but also for your mental health, so that when you're in bed, you're in bed, maybe read, maybe, you know, actually go to sleep, but don't find yourself in there doomscrolling.

00:10:56:22 - 00:11:15:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But consider that as an option or discipline. Parents included kids as well, but keep those things out of rooms. Now just say again 14 year youth ministry veteran. Like, one of the things I've found, especially for teenagers, is gotta get those phones out of their rooms, behind closed doors, and in those privacy private moments. That's where a lot of like, bad decisions might happen.

00:11:15:29 - 00:11:32:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, like at summer camp for us, we collect everyone's phone and we charge it in a central spot in the room. They have access to it if their parents call whatever alarms. But we take them from them because we've found that it lights out when kids have phones. That's when shenanigans often happen. And so we take that away.

00:11:32:19 - 00:11:55:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's just that's just a rule, right? Like we don't confiscate phones for the whole week, but we do collect them and house them, so to speak, and like a cell phone collection location in order to help with behavior, to help with sleep, to help with a lot of different things. And so what if, as the fifth tip, that was something that you and your family committed to charging your phone away from the bedroom.

00:11:55:10 - 00:12:16:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you might be thinking like, well, now what do I do? Great. I'm glad you asked. Like I said at the beginning, I have, link down below the Digital Detox Family Challenge worksheet. You can go grab that. It's over on my Patreon is $3, but if you want to become a Patreon for $4 a month, you will not only get every one of these resources that I'm giving away over on that site, but you'll also

00:12:16:15 - 00:12:18:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
get a weekly bonus

00:12:18:10 - 00:12:18:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
podcast.

00:12:18:20 - 00:12:19:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you're in youth ministry,

00:12:19:29 - 00:12:29:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm just talking through what I do every week, and I'm giving creative ideas to help you lean into digital, but also handle it with care and integrity and dignity. And so

00:12:29:14 - 00:12:51:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
there's a couple of discussion prompts for families and a couple of action steps. And so I would say if you're in youth ministry, this would be a very well, spent $3 to share out in an email newsletter to parents to just encourage them, you know, to try, digital detox with their family, to work through and think through three or, I'm sorry, five different sort of tips to help them in their families.

00:12:51:26 - 00:12:56:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, link here on screen is the next video in this series, called

00:12:56:18 - 00:13:11:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
scroll with Purpose teaching teens to use phones wisely in this digital age and in this digital world. I'd love to have you check that out. If you're here on YouTube, give us a like a rating, a subscribe. All those things really, truly help us out to be found in search.

00:13:11:26 - 00:13:17:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But until next time. And as always, my friends, I just want to encourage you to stay hybrid.

Episode 131: Secrets Revealed for Middle School Phone Usage

Nick Clason — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 04:00:00 -0600

✏️Collaborative Worksheet
https://share.hsforms.com/1t_3g3O3XTBqI-vq1Orq7ngnumis

🎧 Ronald's Podcast
https://podcast.downloadyouthministry.com/category/middle-school-ministry/

DESCRIPTION
In this conversation, Nick Clason and Ronald Long discuss the challenges and opportunities of youth ministry in the digital age, particularly focusing on the role of technology and cell phones among middle schoolers. They explore the importance of engagement in content creation, the necessity of guidelines for responsible phone use, and the balance between digital and in-person ministry. The discussion emphasizes the need for open conversations between parents and children regarding technology, as well as collaborative resources for youth pastors to navigate these challenges effectively.

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/131

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

BEST DYM RESOURCES
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⌚TIMECODES
00:00 The Role of Technology in Middle School Ministry
04:50 Guidelines for Responsible Cell Phone Use
09:50 Balancing Digital and In-Person Youth Ministry
14:53 Encouraging Healthy Conversations About Technology
20:01 Collaborative Resources for Youth Pastors

TRANSCRIPT
Nick Clason (00:00)
What's up everybody? I'm Nick and this is.

Ronald (00:04)
Hey guys, I'm Ronald Long. How you doing?

Nick Clason (00:06)
We're excited to be here, Ronald. This is a weird thing. This is your show, this is my show, this is our show.

Ronald (00:08)
we are excited to be here.

Whose show is it really? That's a question.

Nick Clason (00:15)
That is the question that people want to know the answer to.

Ronald (00:19)
Did I just take over hybrid youth ministry? I think I did. I did. great. This is mine now. And yours? You get middle school ministry. Yeah, this is it. Tell Andrea. no.

Nick Clason (00:23)
You did, you did. Yeah. Welcome. Well, actually, yeah, and I'm taking over middle school. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you have exactly. Bye, Andrea. Bye. Anyway, you know, Ronald, it's interesting and I'm excited to have this conversation because probably the biggest, one of the biggest pushbacks I get when I'm pushing stuff like in my hybrid ministry, just idea and whatnot is what about middle schoolers?

especially like in our context, we don't get middle schoolers until like, or we get them at sixth grade, which there's an inflection point. And depending on the conservative nature of your church, there could be a lot of those students that have cell phones. And then a lot of students that don't, you know? And so like my main thing with hybrid ministry is trying to intersect people where they are. And I think the cell phone is just a great spot to try and aim for. Right. But what about those middle schoolers that are young and like don't have cell phones? And so.

Ronald (00:57)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Nick Clason (01:21)
I'm excited to have this conversation with you because you as a lifelong middle school youth pastor and host of podcasts, like you and a dad of daughters in that age age range, right? Like I want to hear your perspective because I'm it feels to me and you can correct me if I'm wrong, but it feels to me like middle schoolers kind of run the gamut. Some that don't even have access to any technology and then some that are just all in way too much. You're a little scared for their well-being, you know.

Ronald (01:29)
EW.

Yeah.

Absolutely, and you're right because their parents also run the gambit too. So for people listening who don't know, I have in my house four teenage daughters. I have 18 year old senior graduating this year, then I have a freshman, a seventh grader, and a fifth grader. So I've got everybody.

Nick Clason (01:54)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, you're right there.

Ronald (02:15)
And my elementary school kid who's in fifth grade, Ruth is telling me about like her friends who have cell phones and have had cell phones since like third and fourth grade. Like that's just been their reality. They have always had a phone. Think of the iPad kid who just like parents are like, yeah, whatever here, right? Here's just the next step up. Go ahead and have a phone. Don't care. Put whatever on it. And then like,

Nick Clason (02:42)
So

Ronald (02:45)
me and my family, this has become our rule, it was our rule with our first, you get your cell phone at the end of fifth grade. And so, and we'll talk a little bit more about this too because I have really appreciated what other parents like told me and helped me figure out. That cell phone only can do a couple things, right? And we stair-step eventually through it.

Nick Clason (02:54)
Okay.

Hmm. So as we like lean into this, first of all, everyone should know, no matter where you're listening, hit the link down below, because Ronald and I put together kind of like a collaborative hybrid ministry for middle schoolers kind of resource. So take it, download it, use it, share it with your parents, whatever you want to do. But especially like here we are post-Christmas, and isn't it so true that most middle schoolers

Ronald (03:30)
Use it.

Nick Clason (03:41)
there's a lot of technology that's given under the tree. And so this is just a very timely conversation, right? Like let's talk about technology use and middle schoolers. give us, like, why you start there where you did a little bit, like dive a little deeper into that. Fifth grader, that's your rule. Is that your recommendation? Do you take it, would you recommend parents take that on more of a case by case type basis? What's the wisdom principle in that, or is it?

Ronald (03:44)
100%.

yeah.

Nick Clason (04:08)
you know, hard and fast, like, yeah, as soon as they're done with fifth grade, they're mature enough to have a cell phone or like, what's your, how do you make that decision? I guess, or how would you coach parents to make that decision?

Ronald (04:17)
So what we went through and what was kind of like the deciding factor for us is, I live in San Antonio and so we have, once my kid was finished with elementary school, our oldest, she had friends who were splitting up into like the four winds, right? And we wanted to give her a way to stay connected to them and so we were like, okay, we're going to give you a phone, but.

Nick Clason (04:36)
Mm.

Yeah.

Ronald (04:46)
Big stipulations. We had it, it's an iPhone, so we locked it down pretty tight to where she couldn't download any apps without requesting permission, so that's a big deal. There's no browser on it. So in fact, my high schooler just got a browser this year for ninth grade. to put that in, yeah, no browser.

Nick Clason (04:51)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Okay, so that's like all of middle school. Yeah.

Ronald (05:16)
Specifically also, no social media. She actually also just got her first social media, which was Pinterest. you, stair steppin' man. That's a stair step. But that, okay, here's what I tell parents, and here's what I have told parents and what I am taking through. Imagine a cell phone like a car, right? You are, even for the visual.

Nick Clason (05:25)
Okay. Which, does that even count? know, like that's one of those fringe ones.

For sure.

Mm-hmm.

Ronald (05:46)
You're giving keys away to your kid. for the audio too. on. There we go. Little foley. Little foley for our audio listeners. You don't just give the Ferrari away to a 16 year old or a 15 year old and say, right, go figure that out. guess you know more about this than I do. Like, no, no.

Nick Clason (05:46)
There you go.

Those are car keys, people. Ronald's jingling them. We'll narrate this.

Yeah.

Ronald (06:15)
you start that kid backing in and out of your driveway in the beater, right? And so we took that principle and applied it to our kids having cell phones. So like, okay, you're going to get like a not great iPhones, not the brand new one. It's going to be like, the one with the one camera. Yeah. The one camera type deal. And we're going to stair step you through this. Well, that's just an Android, Nick. That's what you.

Nick Clason (06:30)
Mm-hmm. me down. Yeah.

Maybe some crack screens like my Android here.

The glass is apparently weaker.

Ronald (06:45)
That's fine. No, and so we've stair-stepped. so my seventh grader who has a phone, also has a phone in middle school, has a phone but doesn't have, again, social media doesn't have a browser. And we also put like a stipulation on where the phone can go. My girls, I live in a two-story house. All the bedrooms are upstairs. No phones upstairs. Like that's a rule for us. And so when ...

Nick Clason (07:11)
Great rule, by the way. I approve. Yeah.

Ronald (07:14)
When it's time to go to bed, the charger's downstairs and they have to charge their phone downstairs. No phones at the dinner table. In fact, even it's no phones after dinner. So we say, hey, get it done after dinner, no phones. Those are just like things that we have done as a family to be like, hey, here's the deal. We are going to give you permission that expands with responsibility. And then also cool thing as a parent, my kids don't have a cell phone after supper.

Nick Clason (07:18)
Yeah, good.

Mmm. It's good. It's good.

Mm-hmm.

Ronald (07:44)
So if I'm just scrolling on my cell phone after supper, they're like, hey dad, what are you doing? I'm like, yeah, you're right. I need to be off my phone. I need to pay attention to you.

Nick Clason (07:46)
They're calling you out.

That's so smart. That's just like built in accountability right there, for sure. Yeah. And you know, the thing that I, I try and tell parents as well in our context and other youth ministry avenues and whatever, honestly, just like a lot of times the question is what product or what resource do you use to like monitor like your kids screen usage and all those types of things. And rest assured, there are a million different like resources and things out there that you can use and you can lean into.

Ronald (07:57)
It's huge.

Absolutely.

Nick Clason (08:22)
But at the end of the day, the goal is for that thing not to become your kid's parent. The goal is for you to be the parent of it. Right. And so I love your rules because those guidelines are things that you've put in place. Like you can lock down an iPhone all you want, but you can still abuse it if it's in the room and they're on it until way after bedtime or you know, the no, no phones after dinner thing. Like there can be indiscriminate use or just like mindless use of it. And so.

Ronald (08:50)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason (08:51)
You're being proactive and in on top of it, you know, and that's, that's what I really like and appreciate because that's the tech. There's always a workaround in the technology. That's what I've found. Like there's no foolproof piece of technology. It's always a work.

Ronald (09:02)
Heck yeah.

No, I figured it out when I was dealing dial-up modem internet and my parents had the protective things when I was in high school. like, I can figure this out, you know? So no amount of blocking software or things like that will get around actual discipleship of your kids. Because you are a person who is imperfect, just like your kids. They're gonna make mistakes. So what do do?

Nick Clason (09:10)
Yeah.

Exactly. Yeah.

Yeah, for sure.

That's it. That's it. That's good. That's good. Let's shift gears a little bit then. Let's talk about your, how you've noticed technology, cell phones, whatever, within actual confines of youth ministry. Not just, you you parenting your kids with it, but like, what's it like navigating? Cause in a lot of cases, like we said, you got kids that don't even have it at all versus kids who are like using and fully on like all the social apps. So.

Ronald (09:36)
Like, how do you figure that out? Big deal.

Yeah.

Nick Clason (10:03)
What was your typical practice as a middle school pastor with technology?

Ronald (10:10)
Yeah, of it was just being open about that being a potential barrier between you and other people. And the other thing was not, because I was in a real conservative context, there was almost like some judgment to kids who did have a phone, which was really funny. And so I had to like stamp, yeah, I'm glad you get it. So.

Nick Clason (10:28)
Mm

Yeah, same here by the way, so I can relate to that.

Ronald (10:39)
On the one hand, whenever I had a parent being like, you know what, my kid just say that they don't connect very, they don't have any friends in youth ministry. And I'm looking at their kid, I so remember this one specific instance of girl, phone here, face down, and even her hair like covered the side of her face to where all it was, and she was in a corner on her phone looking down at it and not engaging with the room.

Nick Clason (10:59)
Yeah.

Ronald (11:07)
And then like I got a email three weeks later being like, my daughter is just not making any friends. I'm like, yeah, no joke. I've tried. And so trying to have a conversation with students where it's both not being judgmental, but also making sure they're aware of like, hey guys, if you feel lonely, one of the reasons in a list might be you're on your phone too much and you're missing what's going on right in front of you.

Nick Clason (11:13)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Ronald (11:36)
you care more about your online persona or the next funny video than you do your friend who's literally sitting three feet away from you. so trying to navigate that well was always the thing. And so that would just be like application. But on the other hand, you can do that in really great ways to be like, Hey guys, if you've got a phone, text a friend verse right now, someone who's not in this room, text an encouraging verse.

Nick Clason (11:52)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Ronald (12:03)
so that you can be a light in their life, right? It's both and, right? So I don't like telling a kid, hey, cell phones are the devil, you should never have one. And I don't like telling parents, just give your kid a phone and don't worry about it, because it's absolutely both and.

Nick Clason (12:08)
Yeah. Yeah.

Right.

Yeah, yeah. Well, and that's honestly, that's exactly like what I feel like my entire podcast is predicated on. what this started out of, I don't know, I guess like a moment of frustration and a little bit of like an inflection point. like we'd gone pretty hard in on like digital ministry during COVID. I was working in Chicago and so it was necessitated, like it had to happen.

But then we found some really fun and cool wins out of doing ministry in a digital sort of context and some opportunities that actually opened up for us that weren't available to us doing ministry pre-COVID. And so as we were all sort of coming back from, you know, restrictions and lockdown and all those types of things, we were then trying to navigate this like tension between like how much should we swing the pendulum, right? And so my whole, like my whole thing, like the whole name of this like hybrid ministry is like,

Ronald (13:08)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (13:13)
It's not just your digital, but it's not just your in-person. It's kind of that both and, and I think in all of life, it's easier for us. We like to draw hard and hard and fast lines and be like, cell phones are bad. So you should not, but I like your, you know, your Ferrari example because you have to work, you have to work up to it. You don't just earn it immediately. And so like my contention is as much as we, especially older generations want to lament cell phones and how difficult they are for

ministry and connection and they are like in some cases they definitely are, but like there's also a lot of good, you know, that comes out of them. your friend a verse or group chats. Like group chats are such a simple thing that didn't exist. Was it 10 years ago? 15 years ago? Like even if you have people with Android, like group chats are still a way to stay connected, you know, to one another. but you know, so like that's, that's kind of like my contention is like

Ronald (13:54)
Mm-hmm.

No, you can't connect with people with Androids over group chat. It doesn't happen.

Nick Clason (14:11)
we have to help students navigate this well and not just settle for the easy answer of just throw your cell phone in a river. It's terrible and it's the enemy. And if we think that, then why are we getting our kids these things for Christmas? It's like, I just need to call them at practice. Okay, but now you've opened Pandora's box and that's not necessarily a bad thing, not condemning any parent for doing that. I'm just saying now we have to help them navigate that well, both at the parent level and also while we're like...

Ronald (14:20)
Yeah. Yeah.

Absolutely.

Nick Clason (14:40)
navigating and managing that within like our student ministries.

Ronald (14:44)
Sure, and it's just as important as showing your kid what you version can do and be like, hey, you know what's really cool about you version? It's a Bible reading plan. Let's you and me do it together, parent and kid. Or, hey, as a ministry, we're gonna do this month long Bible reading plan. That's on your phone. Yeah, it's absolutely being able to use the tools that are available to us, because we could have said the same thing about lamenting the invention of the car, taking away our, aw man, we're not as

Nick Clason (14:50)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Course privileges.

Ronald (15:14)
connected. So yeah, and since this is the middle school ministry podcast too, it matters to a middle school student what you model to them. Because they take that to heart. so my whole thing was not trying to judge those who had a cell phone. But yeah, absolutely. If they're going to be on YouTube,

Nick Clason (15:22)
Mm-hmm.

Mm.

Mm-hmm.

Ronald (15:44)
watching you know Mr. Beast do whatever Mr. Beast does then I kind of also want them to hear from their youth pastor every now and then and so that's an easy thing to do like you pastor to take your phone spend five minutes making five reels and then or five shorts for YouTube and be like hey look my kids are gonna get some encouragement for me this week that's it's out there

Nick Clason (15:51)
Why not? Yeah, exactly.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I absolutely. And one thing I've noticed and I've seen in like studies and stuff here recently is like, you know, Gen X boomers even have all sort of like settled in on Facebook millennials. Are you millennial, Ronald? Yeah. All right. Me too. Me too. Instagram, right? It's kind of like millennials favorite platform. Gen Z sort of like made tick tock its thing. We're noticing

Ronald (16:22)
yes, and how dare you.

Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason (16:34)
Jen Alpha's making YouTube kind of their spot. And I, yeah. And I even read that it, for Jen Alpha, it's taking the place of Google as its preferred search engine. And so what an opportunity for us like to be on there, you know, and for middle school kids to see us, to see their youth pastor, to maybe even see themselves or their friends from youth group. You know, if you post shorts, reels, all that type of stuff on there, like

Ronald (16:36)
Yeah, it is YouTube.

Absolutely.

Nick Clason (17:01)
You're so right. Like it's such a fantastic opportunity. it really, just exactly what my whole goal with hybrid is like showing up where they are. Like if they're on YouTube, how cool is it? Like they can get on there and they can watch MrBeast who's all across the country and also their church.

Ronald (17:17)
Well, and to even use the platform like it's currently being used then, how cool would it be if your kid typed in how to study the Bible and they got an answer from their youth pastor immediately? Like you already had a five minute video on how to study the Bible that you had prepared for your kids and it was there, right? Because that's how they're using the platform.

Nick Clason (17:30)
Right? Yeah. Exactly.

Exactly. Yeah, it's not just like, it's not just there for you as a youth pastor to have another channel for announcements, though you can be, but I would, what I encourage people to do is use the platforms for their intended uses. And so if you're going to use it for a thing that you think is what your ministry needs, but it's not in alignment with the intended use of the platform, you're not going to see the same types of results than if you actually use it for what it's being used for, which is answering specific questions.

Ronald (17:46)
Mm-hmm.

Yep. Yep.

Nick Clason (18:09)
And frankly, entertainment, right? And maybe like a little bit of inspiration too. So that's good. So what would you say to a middle school youth pastor or any youth pastor out there, like who's got people in their church like you and like me who are a little leery about cell phone, cell phone usage, middle school. Like what's the, how would you coach them, you know, to either lean in and have that conversation or.

Ronald (18:26)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason (18:38)
with parents or how to like manage maybe some of that potential like turbulent waters of, you know, angry parents who think cell phones are evil and of the devil.

Ronald (18:48)
You know what's funny is when I first started in ministry, there was a big deal where we said, don't bring any cell phones to camp. And then there was a really turbulent season in between when we arrived to my kid as a parent saying, my kid will bring their phone to camp or they're not going.

Nick Clason (18:58)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

yeah.

Ronald (19:18)
And so navigating that in between, I think there are far fewer parents who are going to say that a cell phone is evil. They might be saying, my kid has to have one because I need to be connected and know what's up with my kid at all times.

Nick Clason (19:27)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Ronald (19:35)
which is a different type of unhealth, that's fine. We can go from there. To help a youth pastor navigate the cell phones. Cell phones are bad, right? A cell phone is the same, to use the car analogy. It's a tool. can take you someplace great. It can take you someplace awful. And if you want to be the youth pastor who's like, no cell phones in the youth room. They go in this box over here and we use paper Bible still. Like that's fine.

Nick Clason (19:45)
Yeah.

Yeah, you can do that. Yeah, yeah.

Ronald (20:04)
if you explain that, right? As long as you're saying, why we do this as a ministry, this is the vision, this is what we're trying to accomplish. Do that, but you're going to have parents who, when you go to camp, when you go to retreat, they're gonna push back on you and be like, hey, my kid is going to take their cell phone. I don't care what their rules are.

Nick Clason (20:28)
Yeah. Well, like when did you get a cell phone? Like how old were you when you got a cell phone? Yeah.

Ronald (20:31)
I was 16 and I got a cell phone because my parents were afraid that I was going to get lost when I started driving by myself. So I got my dad's secretary's old Nokia phone.

Nick Clason (20:45)
But so you're 16, right? And now you're the type of parent in that particular age bracket and demographic, you're sending your daughter's kids to camp. like that's all, know, cell phones from the age of 16 for you and on up. Like I was about the same, you know, so here in a couple of years when my kids are old enough to go to camp, I only, that's my like comfort zone, you know? And so like I get their scary stuff on it, but

Ronald (20:56)
Yeah. Yeah.

Nick Clason (21:14)
It's also gonna, it's not, you're not never gonna give your kid a cell phone. So how do we, and that's my thing, how do we help lean in and teach them the good things of it? Put good, good rules and guidelines and guardrails all around it so that you're hopefully protecting your kids and having conversations, you know, with it.

Ronald (21:25)
Yeah.

It's exactly that. It's continued conversations with kids. And even as a parent being okay to say, these are our non-cell phone times to where we're going to talk. I know parents who like to say no phones in the car because that 15 minute, 20 minute drive can be like, hey, we can actually have a conversation as we drive around. But just having conversations about your phone usage. Hey, who are you following? Hey.

Nick Clason (21:35)
That's it, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, so true.

Mm-hmm.

Ronald (22:00)
I or even telling like I will do this with my girls. I'll send them goofy videos and goofy memes Not because I think they're the funniest thing in the world But I'm trying to connect with them on their level like to my own kids and so like It's funny because they don't have social media what I'm doing is screen recording a funny reel I saw and then sending that to them as a message

Nick Clason (22:09)
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah dude. Yeah, for sure.

Bro, that's so committed, but I love it. Like that's, you you're like, we're not doing the social media thing, but I still want you to see this thing that I saw on social media and it's funny. So you'll like it. It's great.

Ronald (22:34)
Yeah, and I want you to know that I'm thinking of you throughout the day. I want you to laugh. This is a funny thing. And yeah, phones aren't the devil. Yeah, so it's trying to continually have a conversation with your kid. And even where you're saying, hopefully they're coming to you and being like, my friend is being dumb in the group chat. They go, okay, what did they say? Talking through what's good to text, what's not good to text, how...

Nick Clason (22:43)
That's great,

Ronald (23:02)
inflection matters and be like, Hey, I know you hate it, but this might be a FaceTime moment because it sounds like you guys are not seeing each other texting back and forth. Maybe you need to like actually talk.

Nick Clason (23:12)
Yeah. Yeah, man, that's so good. Well, anything else, Ronald, before we hang this sucker up?

Ronald (23:19)
I think the most important thing a parent can do with their kid and having a phone is have some guidelines and have lots of conversations. I think if you stick into those two places, like you're gonna be in a spot where maybe sometimes it's uncomfortable, maybe it's sometimes you're giving a little bit more, you're giving more unearned responsibility away than you're ready for, but like that's parenting as a whole. You don't want your 18 year old kid.

to get a cell phone and all social media all at once and be like, well, now I'm gonna learn everything. It's much, I think it's a much better experience for you and the kid if you walk them through the process together with you in the driver's seat sometimes and them in the driver's seat sometimes.

Nick Clason (24:04)
That's good. Yeah, actually, if anyone's listening to this, watching this like here live, like in the next several weeks, like that's what I'm doing on my podcast is I'm doing like some parent and kid kind of like tech talks. And so they're like aimed for youth pastors to like curate or have that conversation with like some downloadable worksheets and stuff like that that they can share. because I think that's, that's the key in all of this. Like it's, it's easier to draw a line in the sand and be like, no, this, like this is it. We're not doing that, but like we,

Ronald (24:16)
Mmm, yeah.

Nick Clason (24:34)
That's the phone has not allowed us to do that. It's not going away. So instead we got to figure out how do we lean into it into what's uncomfortable and maybe like uncertain waters, like lean into it to just open up that continued kind of conversation thing. So I think that's, that's so good. So, yo, if you're listening here for me on my channel, go follow everything Ronald's doing, middle school ministry podcast. It's dope. It's all about middle schoolers and he's got dope co-hosts.

Ronald (24:48)
Absolutely.

Yeah. I just want to thank everybody for listening to my podcast, the hybrid ministry podcast. Thank you so much. That's really great. No, and if you're, if you're listening to this from middle school ministry podcast, you should definitely go check out what Nick Clayson is doing over in hybrid ministry. Some really good stuff, some really helpful things to carry the conversation forward when it comes to the digital world and youth ministry.

Nick Clason (25:05)
that you've taken over.

Yeah, no, I love it. So good. And like I said, we both collabed on a little resource. It's free in both of our show notes, so go grab that. that's it, man. We'll talk to guys next time.

Ronald (25:34)
See you around.

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

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

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

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

//BONUS Pod!
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//Custom Coaching
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

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

//9 Best DYM Games
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//No Prep Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=melm8BS97es&list=PLngXlSr64YaLIJceFHg7w8vxlx5ARqXeg&index=6&t=164s

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

00;02;13;17 - 00;02;36;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're watching here on YouTube, you can see some of the clips being overlaid with B-roll. We also over this year we've had nine different playlists that we've worked through. And so in each of those playlists, there's a obviously a top performing video in each of those playlists. And so our very first playlist we had was the 2024 On Demand masterclass.

00;02;36;22 - 00;02;56;28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in that video, the five No Prep games was a part of the masterclass. And that video had to, 361 views. And so that was not only the number one video for the year, but obviously the number one in the masterclass playlist. We also dropped a bonus you might not notice we dropped a bonus playlist called the Friday Game Day Series.

00;02;56;28 - 00;03;28;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It released every Friday on YouTube, and, we covered nine of my favorite DRM games that I use. And so actually, if you had any of those or linked down below in this episode nine of my all time favorite do swim games, I'm giving them away to you completely for free. They are games that are on the, they're on the, they're on the website, the download Youth Ministry website, but I'm giving them away to you in this episode, 100% completely for free.

00;03;28;06 - 00;03;49;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the best performing video in that playlist was the GIF flashback episode. We also went through a playlist titled some of the Youth Pastor's Biggest Problems, and the number one episode in that was youth Ministry planning weekend services versus mid week programing. And actually in that episode we ranked youth ministry curriculum. Spoiler it's clear you should try it.

00;03;49;29 - 00;04;12;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, if you haven't yet, hit the link down below. Sidekick.tv/pricing if you've never signed up for anything with Diam or Calendar, use the code Hybrid Ministry ten. All one word for get 10% off your first order. We went through the YouTube for Youth Ministry Play lesson playlist in the best performing video, and that playlist was the flagship title episode YouTube for Youth Ministry.

00;04;12;22 - 00;04;33;07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I then took you through some of the hybrid ministry tools and gear that you needed and the the best episode, and that the highest performing episode was the best gear for Digital Ministry in 2024. Must have tech accessories. Then over the summer, we went through an interview series and that episode, the one that was best in that playlist, was the solution to distractions.

00;04;33;07 - 00;04;56;24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
At youth group, where I interviewed my good friend Josh Baldwin from Download Youth Ministry sidekick and co-leader. Then we went through Meat Generation Alpha, and in that playlist, the Ora and Bach versus Covenant Eyes. An honest youth pastor review was the highest performing video in that playlist. Finally, I went to my Social Challenge framework, which is the four things that I'm creating content with students and for students.

00;04;56;24 - 00;05;17;16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I can't tell you, I think that might be my most popular playlist to date cumulatively, and just word of mouth and things I've heard from youth pastors on the street. So thank you so much for that feedback. But the best episode and that one was the third one, how churches can use social media ideas and examples. And finally, the sidekick more engaging youth ministry.

00;05;17;16 - 00;05;39;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Again, the best episode on that one was the live sidekick demo at the day of recording. And again, don't forget Code Hybrid Ministry ten. If you're interested in sidekick or link down below for how we are using to computers to run Sidekick and Pro Presenter seamlessly. To switch between the two, grab that black magic video switcher, it will make your life so much easier.

00;05;39;10 - 00;06;05;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now listen on YouTube. In total, we had 84,569 views, including our shorts content with 522 hours of watch time and 151 new subscribers. And in the youth ministry space is a fantastic number and I'm so thrilled, with those stats and with those numbers, simply because here I am in my guest bedroom late at night, recording a podcast into the back of my cell phone.

00;06;05;23 - 00;06;26;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, I have a real job, and I'm just doing this on the side with my own. Sort of like, equipment at home. And so thank you so much for your support. You might also not know this, but we have an audio only podcast. It drops anywhere you get your podcasts, including Spotify or Apple Music, not Apple Music, Apple Podcasts.

00;06;26;12 - 00;06;51;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we had almost 5000 downloads. Our biggest month was by far August, with almost nearly 1000 downloads in that month alone. And the number one downloaded audio podcast was my interview with my brother himself. The, YouTube video is linked down below in the show notes. But here's my interview with my brother, Nate Clayson. We talked about social media and how he's doing it in his context and in his youth ministry.

00;06;51;11 - 00;07;13;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So shout out to all of you again, thank you for an amazing year. Thank you for cruising through the stats with me. But what I wanted to do now is I wanted to share some of the best comments that we've gotten so far this year, and so far today. So from Jesse Johnson, first of all, he disagreed with my take on coffee and saying that Duncan was terrible, which I'll give him that it's not great.

00;07;13;00 - 00;07;30;01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's a chain. But if I have to choose between that and Starbucks, that's what I'm stuck with. That's what I'm going to choose. But he said he said using polls in the welcome loop in sidekick is so easy, I can't believe I didn't think of it. Excited to try that one out. Claire said this in our best parenting app podcast.

00;07;30;01 - 00;07;49;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We use bark and it has been so wonderful for our family. We have an 11 year old, and it has been a lifesaver. We can monitor everything that she does online, block her from seeing certain websites, track her locations, etc. recently, she disabled the app because her and my husband, we both get notifications, so we went to our daughter immediately.

00;07;49;05 - 00;08;06;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It turns out she had disabled it because she wanted to watch South Park and Family Guy, as well as some other PG 13 movies. She said nope. Luckily, my husband and I got there before she could see anything inappropriate. We're grateful for bark to bark, for protecting our little girl from online dangers, and protecting her from innocence and inappropriate content.

00;08;06;29 - 00;08;26;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We love bark. Paul Turner said this about our, why youth ministry. Follow up isn't working. He said, this is great stuff. Lots of idea. I went and bought it. Talking about the box that I sold. I'll be sharing this with my newsletter. If you ever want to collab, let me know. Keep up the great work! And finally, a frequent guest here on this podcast.

00;08;26;05 - 00;08;59;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Over a year ago we did a Christmas episode together. He was also on one of my interview series over the summer, Eric with the K Williams. He said this is great. Anyone starting out needs to watch this and he's talking about my church social media from scratch episode in the hybrid ministry tools. Man, what an amazing year. But if I'm looking back and if I'm taking on some of my reflections and kind of key moments, I'd have to say it's two individuals, a guy by the name of Tim Kelly and Kendall Eaton, both, by the way, who happen to live in the state of Indiana.

00;08;59;05 - 00;09;21;14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I don't think that the collab done this, but both of them at two different times. Tim actually reached out to me for some custom coaching this year, and that was a super fun and super, just a honestly rewarding process to walk through. And it showed me the value of custom coaching, because what I would have recommended to you in my guest bedroom and to the back of my cell phone camera was a little bit different.

00;09;21;14 - 00;09;38;14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Once I started talking to Tim, which is why I believe custom coaching is valuable for anyone who's interested it. Link down below if you want to inquire about what that looks like. It is a very modest and a very cheap price for custom coaching. Or if you don't want like the one on one zoom type interaction and consider joining our Patreon page.

00;09;38;21 - 00;09;55;04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's a dollar per week for a bonus episode, $4 per month, and I'll just share, stream of consciousness ideas. And you might not need the actual, like, coaching to do this, to do this, but you'll get to glean ideas. And then I was at the I 100 conference, a month ago or so, and Kendall walked up to me.

00;09;55;04 - 00;10;20;02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
He said, man, thank you so much for your podcast is really helpful. It's really beneficial. I shared your playlist, your ideas with some of our social media people and is incredibly, incredibly helpful. And so it's just really rewarding for me to be able to do this and just put this content out into the world, out into the ether and get feedback from real, live human beings and real life people who've come to me, in different instances, in different cases.

00;10;20;02 - 00;10;39;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Tim, all virtually Kendall in person to say, man, thank you for what you're doing. It really is helpful to me to hear that. And so if if you know you have feedback or anything like that, I would obviously and always welcome that. Lines and channels of communication are completely open. You know, here on this podcast we have a couple of really cool benchmarks.

00;10;40;12 - 00;10;56;27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Just in the month of December, we launched a Patreon page, are selling a couple of products over there, as well as that monthly podcast that I'm talking about. And so that's a pretty fun kind of benchmark kind of new thing for us. And new endeavor. Would love to have you, check that out if that's something you're interested in.

00;10;56;27 - 00;11;19;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then also, back in August, I got the opportunity to start posting these podcasts to the Download a Youth Ministry blog. So if you're interested in that, you can go blog that download Youth ministry.com to check that out. And the link down below introduces my very first, post on there, actually, Josh Bowman, he introduced me and then I now am an author there on the doing blog.

00;11;19;06 - 00;11;48;07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So that's something that's really, really exciting. But speaking of Josh Bullman, as well as many of our other guests, I would like to thank my different guests that I had on this year. So Josh Boardman, of course, from down the youth ministry, we actually had him on twice. We talked once about sidekick and solutions to distractions and youth ministry and harnessing sidekick and utilizing and using cell phones, to not be a distraction, but instead to be something that you can use to help promote creativity and involvement engagement.

00;11;48;07 - 00;12;13;09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But then one episode, my all time, my favorite episode this entire year was there. Him and I sat down and he brought a service, a mock service order sheet that he put on, and then he said, hey, how can you hybridize this? How can you, make this, accessible to the people sitting online streaming at home? Man, both those episodes go to either one of them now, but that was one of my all time favorite episodes.

00;12;13;11 - 00;12;31;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I had, Eric with a K on when we talked about better event for promotion, and that was actually a collaborative episode. So the first part of that interview was on his channel, Practical Youth Ministry Tips, and the second part was over here on my channel. And so if you only listen to on my channel, you only heard really half of that conversation.

00;12;31;24 - 00;12;53;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Of course, I mentioned earlier, my brother, we had David Carpenter, youth pastor from Kentucky, my former resident, Caleb Fly mule, fly wheel, Miata, and again, Zeus take on what we've been doing. And youth ministry and student ministry. He worked with and for me for an entire year in this sort of hybrid, infrastructure. So if you want to hear an honest take here from him.

00;12;53;00 - 00;13;18;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then we had a really special episode dropped this year, our 100th episode. And so for our 100th episode, I went all the way back to the beginning, even before this podcast started. And I talked about, when I started at church in Covid. And so I interviewed my current boss now and my boss then, Darren Sutton, his son, who is our video editor for much of what we did, for our digital online presence, for a show that we created on YouTube called unscripted.

00;13;18;10 - 00;13;44;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So his son Isaac was on the show. And then I also interviewed Sam Voss, good friend of mine and host of the unscripted show and podcast Super Fun Time. But hey, listen, this year, like, I'm wondering if, as you know, I'm recapping and recounting 2024 if as you got your eyes set on 2025, what are you doing to have a more hybrid, more digital, more creative youth ministry?

00;13;44;03 - 00;14;14;16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because as my friend and boss Darren says, digital is no longer a luxury. It is now a necessity. And so that's what we're trying to accomplish again over on our Patreon page. If that's something that you're interested in, where I will talk about what we're doing on a week to week basis in our youth ministry over on Patreon, I would love to have you just come check out, listen in on what we're doing, and hopefully maybe just that $4 a month is an investment, enough to help kickstart and spur on your own creativity.

00;14;14;16 - 00;14;38;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We love to have you join us over there. It's super fun. Community. There's all sorts of perks as well. But hey, thank you so much for sticking around for this entire episode. And as promised, at the very top right here, we have an amazing, recap overlay. I went back through every single episode, and I pulled out some of my favorite snippets and clips from the last year.

00;14;38;16 - 00;15;00;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So enjoy this. And as always, my friends, don't forget to stay hybrid. Okay, so there are like three kind of core tenets philosophical things that you guys need to understand when it comes to time management. These aren't tips. These aren't tactics. These are things that you have to understand first. And these have to inform the tips and the tactics.

00;15;00;10 - 00;15;24;16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Know my tips. No amount of tactics will be helpful to you if you don't understand these things. So core tenet number one is that you are 100% responsible for your time. The reason this matters is because this is the difference between is that kid and kid in ministry or is that kid and youth ministry? And if we're talking about youth group numbers and youth group attendance, we need to understand Gen Alpha, but we also need to understand Gen Z.

00;15;24;19 - 00;15;47;01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The kicker on this is that Gen Z, really the youngest Gen Z that we have, is going to be freshmen and sophomores in high school. And now after that, they're waiting on up there in college already, and they are entering the workforce. What should you be? Gen one, number one, start posting longform to YouTube, get a DUI gym membership.

00;15;47;03 - 00;16;14;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it looks very different in 2024 and frankly, beyond because of generation Z and now Generation Alpha saving up Z into the adult ministry, conversation Alpha into the youth ministry conversation, it makes me wonder if the future is already here. I think it might be Megan and all her friends, and she brought a lot of her friends to youth group, so this, like kind of mattered because, like, she could bring two, 3 or 4 different friends with her.

00;16;14;00 - 00;16;35;17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The youth group, they had show choir and it met every single Wednesday night. And so that made Wednesday nights a really tricky night to do youth ministry. But Brandon, the only other boy in the youth ministry, had Tuesday night and Thursday night karate. And then of course, Friday nights are like the football game. Like for most towns USA.

00;16;35;23 - 00;16;58;18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's when the high school team is playing his football game. So that really left us with Monday night as an option, which but the pro of, of Wednesday night to me is probably the your most traditional youth night. It's been what, a lot of churches, a lot of youth groups have done for years. And like down here where I live in DFW, Dallas-Fort worth area, a lot of churches do.

00;16;58;18 - 00;17;22;13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Wednesday night, and I came from Chicago. Not many churches did did Wednesday night. And that's just kind of a cultural thing, right. But the pro to me is it's like a midweek kind of jolt of energy. Well. Hey, everyone, welcome to Friday Game Day. In this episode, link down below 100% completely for free. I have for you back to school.

00;17;22;15 - 00;18;04;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Bingo. And if you're like, I don't need back to school bingo, it's not back to school yet. Well, then head on over to download Youth ministry.com and you can grab my end of the school year. Bingo! Well, that idea of course, is go hybrid. And listen, I'm not saying to completely abandon your in-person meetings. In fact, that would go completely against the hybrid strategy because hybrid is melding together of your digital presence in your in-person presence and making it one in the same, but linked right here on screen and down in the description or wherever you're getting this or hybrid ministry X, y, Z/089 is my 100% completely free strategy guide, is my e-book on

00;18;04;03 - 00;18;32;07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
how I build out a full fledged digital strategy. It's mostly focusing on a done for you social media strategy, but it's anchored by the, long form teaching video, which takes place and is posted weekly every time we teach pre filmed messages on YouTube direct to Camera Pro. Number one, of course, is like develop mentally splitting middle school and high school seems to be appropriate.

00;18;32;09 - 00;19;07;16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In my over a year journey on this podcast, I have grown to love YouTube. When I started with social media and what I started trying to reach students on the internet, YouTube was a distant kind of far strategy that was on my radar. Like it was like, I'll post some videos over there. But in my time since that, which was probably five, six, seven years ago, I have come to love YouTube and I am more and more convinced that YouTube, in addition to all other digital and social mediums that we can effectively reach students with.

00;19;07;19 - 00;19;30;04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But YouTube is one of the best resources out there. You can always say down below in the description are links. And so for every single video that I post on my Student Ministries YouTube channel, we post two links. The first link is a Next Steps digital type Connect card, and I think about your own viewing habits on social media.

00;19;30;04 - 00;19;55;08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
When you're on there, you're not necessarily on there to just, be informed, right? Link down below is a complete log of every single piece of gear that I have built in the studio.

Isaac Sutton
All of the students in the room who are watching unscripted have bingo cards that coordinated to stuff that know yes, digital integration is not a luxury, it's a necessity.

00;19;55;10 - 00;20;19;09
Sam Vos
It was probably I probably felt God's hand more in like my career, my life in that moment than a lot of other moments.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Unscripted played a really major role in like the catalyst to especially my podcast and everything like that. I would say the reason for that is simply realizing and understand that students live online.

Darren Sutton
There's a lot I've messed up in my years of youth ministry, but that is one thing that I'm really proud of.

00;20;19;13 - 00;20;30;14
Darren Sutton
Like in the middle of the pandemic, there was not a blank ministry kept going. We're going to try something different.

00;20;30;17 - 00;20;53;12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you should use your cell phone to your advantage.

Caleb "Flywheel" Maeda
I think. I think the things that have been working the most has been getting students involved on the page, not even in terms of like on the page traction as much as like in-person traction.

David Carpenter
We speak to our students on Wednesday nights for about 18 to 22 minutes. Sunday morning there's a, you know, 28 to 32 minutes.

00;20;53;14 - 00;21;24;18
David Carpenter
And we think they probably remember everything we said, right? Like they they wrote the notes, they've got it and they've already applied every one of these points. You know, it was alliterative. And remember my great illustration. And one, you know, when when we're including things that are reflecting on the teachings, I think that reinforces and reminds those who were in the room.

Nate Clason
and seeing you, like, super passionate about it and watching your podcast really, honestly like, and your different videos and clips on like TikTok and stuff to sign it

Josh Boldman | Download Youth Ministry & The Greatest programming specialist in America
every single time you had to type in the password.

00;21;24;19 - 00;21;47;00
Josh Boldman | Download Youth Ministry & The Greatest programming specialist in America
It was a great and I, I got into trouble. One time I was in front of our I like our whole camp, like it was like a thousand kids, right? And sidekick was running and then it crashed and then they had to reopen it. And they're like, from the booth they yell out, what's the password? And in front of 1000 students, I had to say a password into the microphone.

00;21;47;00 - 00;22;09;14
Josh Boldman | Download Youth Ministry & The Greatest programming specialist in America
And here's the best part. You ready for this? It was the same password for everything. Like my my bank account and, all this stuff. So, like, we need to not be afraid of what our students want, and we need to not be afraid of them expressing their opinion. And we need to not be afraid of them disagreeing with each other or with us.

00;22;09;14 - 00;22;36;20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Better event promotion as well as a holistic digital and social media approach for your church and your youth ministry. And this is actually part two. Part one is linked right here at the top of the screen over on another channel, because we're doing a massive mashup collab. And I am joined today by my friend Eric with the K petition, because in just a minute, we're gonna look at the Bark vs Aura

00;22;36;20 - 00;23;01;20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But Aura has parental controls and they are now in partnership with circle. You might remember Circle by Disney, the first video idea that we do it's called Drafts challenge idea number two that we do in our church and in our student ministry is a game called name of the game is seven Questions. A man on the street named transition stab video is where it starts with the video of something else.

00;23;01;20 - 00;23;22;24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the most popular one I can think about is like a a bull, ramming a guy during the running of the bulls. And then all these people cutting right there to jumping into the back of some chairs and millennial churchgoers said this. They said hybrid church just as much as physical church will be a get this good fit for them.

00;23;22;26 - 00;23;44;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
One of the things about five minute countdowns that I actually hate, and I know that as talking to a guy who works for Download Youth Ministry, and that's where a lot of the money is made and a lot of five minute countdowns are sold. I actually prefer, which, by the way, talking to you right now, let this be an unofficial sidekick feature request.

00;23;44;24 - 00;24;11;13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. Because right now in sidekick, you can, you can loop your announcements, right? You can loop some, like, graphic slides. And I actually prefer that to be the five minute countdown with just the five minute countdown overlaid in the corner, so that all of the announcements that you're announcing and trying to let your students know about are happening, is being seen on the screen.

00;24;11;18 - 00;24;37;06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the very last piece of it, my favorite piece of it, the piece that I think makes it hybrid, is right. When you open the box, you see this QR code here and it just says welcome video. Scan me. And so we'll have students who are new to the open this up theoretically on their porch, on their patio or wherever they will scan it, and then it will take them to a video right here will be launching here during the course of this playlist, starting officially on December 2nd.

00;24;37;09 - 00;25;00;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
A brand new bonus podcast. I'm going to be releasing it one time per week. Going to be over on my Patreon page, but a student give them an opportunity to to be a part of this. Give them a seat at the table to let them know that that this church is about the next generation and that matters. Again, it's no longer the day where we can just hand this off to to an unpaid intern.

00;25;00;24 - 00;25;11;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hope that they keep our social media on life support. Like get after it. My friends, 2025 is going to be your year. We are here in the Hybrid Ministry show to help.

Episode 128: I made this podcast so you wouldn't have to hire me

Nick Clason — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600

🎧 Become a “Hybrid Hero”
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

✅Let me Run Your Church Social Media
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

DESCRIPTION
This episode of Hybrid Ministry is your ultimate DIY guide to building a thriving online presence—without hiring me or anyone else. From cracking the content schedule code to creating evergreen videos to simply understanding "hybrid," you’ll get practical tips, tools, and resources to dominate digital ministry in your church or youth ministry.

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/128

//Become a “Hybrid Hero”
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

//Hybrid Strategy Guide
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//VidIQ
https://www.vidiq.com/hybrid

//Easy and Effective Social Challenges
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaKLwZqOkQe7NzOqSVR0-P1s

//Studio Gear
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/studio

//Opus Clip
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YouTube for Youth Ministry
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLHMhNNfqmmmAsKRJ1VCBJl

//Custom Hybrid Coaching
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//Communications Done for You
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Church Social Media Explained
02:05 What is Hybrid Ministry?
05:55 Why Hybrid Ministry?
08:34 What is your content creation and capturing schedule?
14:04 How do you edit your videos?
15:17 If I consulted with you, how would you recommend I get started?

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Pastor, youth pastor, church

00:00:02:01 - 00:00:03:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
communications person. Are you struggling

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to figure out digital ministry?

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, here's the deal.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I created this video so that you can stop googling church social media tips.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in fact, I created this video so that you don't have to hire me or anybody else.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to show you and give you what it takes to be able to create a thriving online and digital hybrid presence.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, here's the thing. I've been doing this podcast for

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
over two years now, and in my over two year journey of this podcast and hybrid ministry, I am helping churches do online well. But I'm also helping churches maintain their in-person presence and find that intersection, which is always the goal as we're trying to create

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
a church so that it matches and mirrors people where they are.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that intersection is what I like to call hybrid right there in the middle. And so we're

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
going to dive into some of the frequently asked questions here on the Hybrid Ministry show as we round out 2024 and set our sights to 2025.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. If you not haven't had a chance to meet you.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
My name is Nicholas, and while I've been doing this podcast for two and a half years, I've been doing ministry for 14 years. And, my journey all along the way has led me towards this hybrid

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
sort of ministry. But in this episode, we are going to tackle some of the frequently asked questions that I've gotten from people all across the internet.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Different groups have been in cohorts. I've run workshops, so I've led asking questions like, what

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
is hybrid ministry? Why is it even important? What is your content schedule? What's your capturing schedule? How do you edit the videos? What is, what would you consult me to do if I was just getting started? And

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
we are going to walk through all of those things.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And as always, if you're here on YouTube, don't forget there are chapters down below at the bottom of the screen so that you can jump around to the question that means the most to you. Welcome to Hybrid Ministry show.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Question number one. We alluded to it in the intro, but what is hybrid ministry? My favorite analogy, and this is actually some of the stuff that we're exploring over on my brand new Patreon

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
page.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And some of these questions actually came from some of our brand new Patreon members. Shout out to Jesse. Johnson. Love having you over here. But, some of these questions, are like, what is hybrid ministry? Okay. So some of the questions are like, why? What's the purpose of this? What even is it? So it's important.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let's get a baseline okay. Again, chapters at the bottom. If you already know this, jump ahead. But hybrid ministry is intersecting your in-person and your digital, right. We all know in Covid we had digital church only. And we know that we hated it. Struggle with it, didn't know how to engage students. Well, we missed the in-person. And so when, restrictions are lifted, we all came back to in-person.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we miss it. We miss community. We miss friendship. We miss praying with one another. We missed sharing meals together,

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
but we did a lot of good ministry over here too. Digitally. Right. And so, we kind of got these two buckets here. You got online only and you got in-person only. Let's let's examine

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
what each of those are good for.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
My opinion online is a fantastic content delivery system. So emails, information announcements but also content sermons, podcasts, long form teaching courses, things like that. What is in-person good for

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
that? Online struggles with real, authentic community. Like you. You can have a version of community

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
because of in-person friendships through like a means like texting or even like chats and stuff like that.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I mean real in-person community, like, we all kind of hunger for it long for. And you, some people like, are in the metaverse and and that's satisfying that sort of age. They're friends with people from a distance. But but a lot of ways like real community life on life, sharing meals together, carrying one another's burdens, prayer requests, honestly, everything in like a shepherding, sort of like

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
small group space.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if we look at a typical Sunday morning sermon, most of it is what we can accomplish with online. And thus in lies the inherent tension. Because everything we can do on a Sunday morning can be easily replicable. And frankly, it's even a little bit more attractive, especially to people like Gen, Gen Z, millennials, even Gen Alpha to consume content, sermons and church services online.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But what younger generations are craving and the church has to figure out how to offer it in a way that, either takes the place of Sunday morning or as an attractive alternative to what's going on Sunday morning. Is that real, deep, authentic life on life, biblical community

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and that intersection of where you're online, which you should have online.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you if you're a mostly in-person church hybrid ministry for you is adding in online so that you can have a more robust experience of your church, if you're an online

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
only church, which are very few and far between, you should figure out how to add some more in-person type elements so that we can intersect between the two online, online, in-person intersects at that hybrid ministry spot.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I liken it to

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Home Depot. Okay, so I can go buy something on Home Depot website completely online experience, or I can go browse the aisles completely in-person experience. But that hybrid moment happens when I pull up my phone and I look on the app and it tells me exactly where I can find that boat, exactly what aisle and exactly what bay I'm in person, but I'm experiencing it through the app digitally, and thus it creates that sort of hybrid moment.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you're not, again, already over with us on Patreon, I would love to invite you because that's what we're doing. We're answering how I take my in-person services, and I'm sprinkling in hybrid, and I'm just literally walking you through what I'm doing on a week by week basis. Question number two

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
why? Like, why all this digital content?

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Why social media? Why YouTube? Why why why? Well, link down below is my 100% free

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
hybrid ministry strategy guide. I have been offering this now for over a year and it's gone

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
through a couple of rebrands, but the majority of what I've created in that has remained the same because social media, around the, pandemic time has actually shifted the way that it's been done.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right? We were previously in what was known

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
as the Social Graph era, and now we're in what's called the Discovery era. Okay, so here's just a couple of things that are really important to know.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
95% of teenagers say that they have been, will be, or plan to be on YouTube. Now, obviously some of those are power users, and others of those are just

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
dabbling in it and looking up videos and stuff for their science fair projects.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the fact of the matter is, 95% of teenagers are on YouTube.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Furthermore, according to a recent book by Mccrindle. And so it's called Meeting Gen Alpha. They say that Google number one search engine in the world is now being supplanted by Generation Alpha with, you guessed

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
it, YouTube. Also, here's the beautiful thing about YouTube.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I got to tell you, like, like I said, I've been creating content for this podcast for over two years and I will still sometimes get I also sometimes get comments I'll get referrals, I'll get people clicking links to

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
videos that I've made even over a year ago. Right. We don't have that luxury. Oftentimes in churches we create something for the moment, and then that thing dies on our hard drive and we continue on.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
YouTube is masterful at promoting and allowing content to live on forever. Content creation,

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
marketing specialists, they call it evergreen content. If you want to know the type of content that teenagers, Gen Alpha, Gen Z, young people in your church are searching, you can use a keyword tool like vid IQ. In fact, I have a link down below if you want to give it a shot and a trial on using it.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can do some research. Like what are teenagers asking? And then you go answer those questions. I'm just gonna be honest with you. Like like you should start there always. As you're planning a sermon series, right? Get some keyword research. What are people looking up online? What are the the big questions to life that they're asking. And then have that and then develop a sermon series.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And by the way, if you develop your sermon series based off that keyword research is also going to make a fantastic YouTube video and fantastic YouTube

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
playlist.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right. Question number three. What is your content schedule and what is your capturing of that content schedule?

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So according to a website video, 90% of the internet's traffic today and moving on is short form discovery based vertical video, TikTok style, real style YouTube short style videos.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, I have a playlist linked right here on the content that I am creating, not only for my students, but with my students. It's my easy and effective social media playlist. It is the four different

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
social media types that not only do I have students capturing, but also that I have students editing and helping create that final piece form of content.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So my schedule is I post two days a

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
week, I'm sorry, two times a day, five days a week. So ten different pieces of content. Let me walk through it with you. So in my playlist linked back up here that I said just a second ago my easy and effective playlist. We do four different game style videos, so we do drafts, we do seven questions, we do man on the Street and we do transition and invite style videos.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Go to that playlist to check out the full, detailed, in-depth thing along with some free templates and downloads. And then an additional piece that we do is a Stay or scroll devotional style video. So that's five different videos, one of each of those that I post every single week. Okay. And I just kind of sprinkle them throughout the pieces of my content calendar that are a little bit like stronger.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Again, short form vertical based video is three teaching clips, and those teaching clips come as clips off of our long form teaching content. Now I'm a youth pastor. We don't have live streaming capabilities, nor do we capture our videos live in our auditorium or in our worship space. So we actually sit down direct to camera and pre-filled. More messages made for YouTube with that vid IQ research indicator.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we make those videos hopefully answering teenagers questions, creating evergreen content, and also playlists and sermon series that kids are asking for. And then they can go back to in the future when they're struggling with or have big questions about life, faith, God, whatever the case may be. And so that just that piece of content, we drop a different video every single week.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It lines up just when we preach a sermon. Right? So if you're preaching a sermon this Wednesday night, you're preaching a sermon the Sunday night. Put that on video posted to YouTube. But off that YouTube video, three short form clips I use opus. I there's a link down below if you want to try out Opus Clip. It's a fantastic AI sermon short generator.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I use it every single week in my ministry, so that's five different pieces of, easy and effective content off that playlist through different pieces of social content, using opus to clip them up. And then I got two more other pieces of content. One is our, meme Monday style video. Not video. I'm sorry meme Monday style post.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's just about the only, non video post that I do. Not that I'm against non video post, but don't forget I'm a busy youth pastor and so I got this strategy sort of locked in. And so I don't have a lot of time to go back to the drawing board. And I got students and volunteers help them kind of keep it afloat.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we'll reiterate and rehydrate when we need to. But for right now, this has been working for us. And then the 10th final piece of content is, anytime we meet, I get my phone out. I create little like 5 to 8 second clips, vertical video. I take it

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
into something like a TikTok. I click that auto cut button and boom!

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I then have a recap video for anytime we meet Sunday morning. Wednesday night I typically do Wednesday night. Now, like I said, my capturing is during the week. Me and anyone else on our team is going

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to be preaching. We sit down, we pre film all of our series. Like if we do like a four part series, we film all four of those in one day.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
One shot off teleprompter. All the things link down below is my studio guide. It has all the links to all the gear that we use. If you want to use a teleprompter or if you want to use, get a tripod, different lighting, all that type of stuff, check that out. So that's when we do those. And then on Wednesday nights when our youth ministry is going on

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
before and after, we have a social challenge that's happening every single Wednesday night.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Students know about it. They seek it out. They want to know when and where is the social challenge happening. So two of those videos,

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Jason, seven questions. Those take place inside, behind a locked door.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I walked over a closed door of our studio to come up with soundproofing and all those things run by volunteers and very few leaders.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then, our other two videos are transition videos and man on the Street style videos. And so that's us being out and around in our building, in our space. So

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
it's a little bit more visible. And it also helps students sort of be gravitated towards and drawn to what we're doing here on social media. And as far as editing goes, opus II takes care of my editing for my message clips.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I do the auto cut one on one on, Wednesday nights. I do that, like right before I start my car and get in to go home. And then the last one I have students

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
come in early, like early, early on Wednesday night. They're homeschool students, which are two of them. Fantastic. And around 2:00, 3:00 or so, submissions start till about six.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so they're in there for 2 or 3 hours, editing videos and, you know, like we give them, you know,

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
some of them like free retreats or special incentives or we let them stay after and like eat at the leader lunch, you know, eat a leader lunch that we have or whatever. But, mostly they're just doing it because they like it.

00:14:00:14 - 00:14:03:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They're fun doing it, and it's a good time. All right. Next question.

00:14:03:28 - 00:14:14:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
How do you edit videos? Well, I just told you, like, I got students that are helping me, carry that load. I use some I but like the actual platform that I use is my preference is

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Adobe Premiere Pro. It is the most expensive of all the options.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Final Cut Pro is another option. You can check that out if you're interested, or

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
DaVinci resolve, both of which are cheaper than Adobe Premiere Pro, primarily because Adobe Premiere Pro has a monthly subscription cost associated with it. However, what I learned, churches have paid for it for me for now. And I mean, I, you know, wish I could do something new, do something cheaper, but I don't have the bandwidth to to learn something cheaper.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But there are cheaper options out there. You can of course you something like iMovie or Movie Maker on your windows and

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
cap cut actually has a fantastic editing platform. You can do quite a bit with it and you're going to look pretty professional. You can do that, obviously off of your film, but you can also do it off of like, just a

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
web editor.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, I believe that they're, like premium or pro feature fee is not too difficult to, figure out and or not to not not too expensive. Not too high barrier to entry. So if that's something you're interested, go ahead and check out cap cut. All right.

00:15:17:01 - 00:15:23:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Last question I have here from those of you, thank you so much for submitting them via our Patreon community members.

00:15:23:05 - 00:15:40:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Appreciate you guys. Love you guys. Again, if you're interested, check that out down below. Link in the show notes. Question is, if you are consulting me, what order would you start with? Doing something starting from nothing. We have all the in-person, nothing digital. Well, here's what I would do. First of all,

00:15:40:15 - 00:15:43:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
make sure your website is up to date.

00:15:43:06 - 00:16:07:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Second of all, then I would start creating this short form vertical, videos and I would start with three per week. Right. So some sort of recap video, if you can't do a clip of your message, just do a selfie style talking head recap style video of it, right. If you do have like the long form footage of it, drop it into opus clip and try, you know, get a clip spit out.

00:16:07:08 - 00:16:25:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Second video I would do is I would do some sort of educationally based, spirit promoting spiritual practice sort of video. Okay. What I mean by that is like, you can have, a video off your camera, literally any video. One time I filmed a video of a turtle walking across the street in my neighborhood. It can be that simple.

00:16:25:16 - 00:16:41:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can do text on screen. Three things the Bible says about prayer. 1 to 3. Right? That I'll. And you can do that in any editor. You can use it in the, YouTube shorts that are the TikTok editor, the reels editor. You can bring it into something like cap cut and create it, export it and post it all those different places.

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Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But start creating those different types of content. And the last one is how to do some sort of fun thing, some sort of social challenge esque thing. Dress seven questions. And if those are too heavy on the edit side, which they are a little bit heavier on the edit side, they don't have to be, but they can be do man on the street, man, get a microphone, buy a cheap one.

00:17:01:14 - 00:17:17:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Again. I got some links down on my studio. Episode link down below. Buy some cheap mics and walk around and interview students in your space. Right? Like if I was doing this next week. All right, let's pretend you're watching this live end of 2024 and you come back in January. I'd walk around with a microphone.

00:17:17:05 - 00:17:18:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You or a student.

00:17:18:12 - 00:17:37:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay. Off of any camera? Your camera, their camera doesn't matter. Get those two little USB microphones again, link down below, grab those and then walk around. Be like, hey, what's your New Year's resolution this year? And then ask them or give them a microphone and you can do something even funny with it. Like me and a former resident of mine, Caleb, shout out to Caleb Flywheel, my ETA.

00:17:38:09 - 00:17:45:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We put our little mikes, clipped them on to like, spoons, and then we just held spoons so you can walk around with spoons if you want to, like, have some sort

00:17:45:02 - 00:17:51:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of, like, handle thing to hold. Right. But, you know, like, what's your New Year's resolution? The other person's holding it and they answer and either they have one or they don't.

00:17:52:02 - 00:18:15:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or have you broken your New Year's resolution yet. And you ask them, and if you get like 8 or 10 of those people answering those questions, then you drop those in somewhere, either on your phone, you can edit something like capture or bring them in something even more powerful, like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci resolve. Whatever your editor of Choices and edit that down, post it, keep them less than 60s and you're off to the races

00:18:15:00 - 00:18:16:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and the eye on the prize.

00:18:16:25 - 00:18:35:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay, when I'm starting with you, the eye on the prize is to get long form videos up to YouTube. Okay, you don't have to do two times a day, five days a week like I do. You do you? I do want you to be regular, and I do want you to start getting your long form pieces of content to YouTube.

00:18:35:03 - 00:18:37:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's where I come in, because I can offer you

00:18:37:17 - 00:18:51:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
coaching where I'll teach you how to do it, or my communications done for you, or I'll actually do it for you. You film it, send it to me, I'll edit it. We can talk about price. We'll get to it. Both of those are linked down below in the description.

00:18:51:11 - 00:18:51:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But here on

00:18:51:23 - 00:19:10:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
screen is the definitive social media guide for churches and youth ministries in 2025. I love for you to check that video out. If you're watching here on YouTube, just go ahead and tap that screen. But for the rest of you, I hope you had a merry Christmas. If you're watching this live, no matter when you're watching it.

00:19:10:06 - 00:19:21:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Thank you to all my Patreon supporters. Appreciate you guys. It should be having some merch sent your way. Those of you who signed up before December 2nd, don't forget and as always my friends to stay hybrid.

Episode 127: More than a Random Name Generator

Nick Clason — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 04:00:00 -0600

🎧 BONUS WEEKLY PODCAST
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

🖥️ SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

DESCRIPTION
In this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show, discover how to create truly interactive sermons and programming using the Random Name Generator from Sidekick made by Download Youth Ministry to engage students like never before! We’ll explore practical ways to blend creativity with technology, making your youth ministry sermons more dynamic and memorable. Ideal for leaders aiming to elevate their hybrid ministry approach in their student ministry, this episode offers key strategies to transform your youth ministry programming!

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/127

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

//COLEADER PRICING
CODE: HYBRIDMINISTRY10
https://www.sidekick.tv/pricing

//[FREE] STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//CUSTOM HYBRID COACHING
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
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🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 The Most Personal Element of Sidekick to Date
01:34 #1 Creative Name Generator Idea
04:27 Operating "Pick Me"
06:04 #2 Creative Name Generator Idea
07:28 #3 Creative Name Generator Idea
08:19 Different Sound Effect Options
10:09 #4 Creative Name Generator Idea
11:26 #5 Creative Name Generator Idea

--------------

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:11:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
As we've been exploring more engaging sermons through your presentations and specifically your presentation software, we're talking about sidekick in the play, this link right

00:00:11:26 - 00:00:16:59
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
here. And this is the fourth and final video, but this feature is the feature that when I saw this

00:00:16:59 - 00:00:23:59
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
feature rolled out at the Orange Conference and I believe it was 2016 when they

00:00:23:59 - 00:00:28:47
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
showed it to me, I instantly said, and then sign me up.

00:00:28:51 - 00:00:50:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What does it take? How much does it cost? Actually, I don't care. It doesn't matter. This is what I want. And this is the feature that sidekick still has rolled out to this day, in my personal opinion. It is my necklaces favorite feature, and it is one that I believe that you can and you should be using in your presentations.

00:00:50:28 - 00:01:07:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Whether you're a youth pastor, whether you're a college minister, whether you're an adult pastor, or whether, frankly, you're a senior pastor, it is the random name picker and random name generator. And in this video and in this episode, I want to share five of my favorite ways

00:01:07:23 - 00:01:11:46
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to creatively use the name picker. I'm going to drill deep down

00:01:11:46 - 00:01:16:51
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
into all of the features of how you can use it and utilize it, and what it has to offer.

00:01:16:57 - 00:01:24:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you're watching here on YouTube, you're going to see a live demo and a live tutorial and a screen share of it. And don't forget, as always, there

00:01:24:01 - 00:01:35:31
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
are chapters down below at the bottom of this video so that you can skip around to the ones that make the most sense to you. Welcome everyone to the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:01:35:36 - 00:01:47:54
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So way. Number one, that I love to use the random name generator because as you know, when you're at church, you don't know which of your youth group kids are going to show up on any given week. And

00:01:47:54 - 00:02:04:52
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
so one of my favorite ways to use it is in our retreats or in our camps or within things that, that have a registration component to it, because, you know, every kid you're taking to camp, you should and you should definitely know that number because you better return with that many kids.

00:02:04:53 - 00:02:20:39
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Give me a like if you've ever worried that you lost a kid, a youth camp, and, either way, one of the things I like to do is when we have a big event and listen, what I'm about to explain is one of the things I'm going to start doing on my Patreon show. By the way, if you didn't know, we're launching a Patreon show.

00:02:20:39 - 00:02:45:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're watching here on screen, you can see the slide. We are going to be offering bonus content, and that bonus content is going to drop once per week. And I'm very simply going to talk through all of the different ways that we are using and utilizing hybrid in our ministry, and I hope that as you sit in and as you listen, it helps you to get the creative juices going a little bit in your own brain and in your own ministry.

00:02:45:03 - 00:03:06:34
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And as you pursue hybrid, not because it's cool and not because digital and all that stuff is important, but really we're taking our in-person and our digital and we're putting it together, intersecting in most cases, at students cell phones, which gives us an opportunity to impact and influence them beyond the one hour of programing that we have scheduled per week.

00:03:06:34 - 00:03:26:52
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that is what my Patreon is going to do, this bonus content. But when you have an event, if you have some sort of a check in system, which I know we do, I have our, church community builder, CBM, we have a, report that runs for anyone who's checked in within the last 24 hours.

00:03:26:57 - 00:03:29:54
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so what happens then is, basically

00:03:29:54 - 00:03:53:47
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
once an event has started, I can go into that report, I can download into an Excel sheet, so to speak, or like a dot CSV. I can know all the names of the students who are there. I don't have to guess about the kids who I think might be there, who I thought I saw, but I know for a fact they've checked in and then I can put their names into the random name generator, and then I can use that for raffle giveaways, prizes, and all sorts of things.

00:03:53:47 - 00:04:18:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so say that that spits out into an Excel sheet. You're looking here at an Excel sheet, and you can just highlight an entire cell. Copy. Copy that. Go over here to your name picker. Click edit. Click edit. Pick me. Go to your book editor Payson, and boom, just in case you also wanted their numbers as well. And so now we got all of the names in here.

00:04:18:32 - 00:04:42:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And and then when I go ahead and I get ready to roll this thing, you'll notice. Let me get this full screen here. If you're watching, pretend this is your projector, you're going to drag that window over to your projector. And then you are going to click present and you're good to go. And so now here I am, I want to play and I want to run this pick me game.

00:04:42:00 - 00:05:07:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, I'm going to turn it on to random. And we're going to get this thing rolling and I'm gonna see who's going to win. And it's Nikola to pitch the earbud. Believer himself. And so when you're running it right, you can do things like hide last item. So if I don't want to pitch to win, I can turn this on ahead of time so that it doesn't stop on him again, even though it did.

00:05:07:27 - 00:05:27:33
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But now he's gone and now I'm going to get a new winner. Jacob Jalen Williams himself. Right. Here's the beautiful thing. If you don't trust your tech person, you can do this from your phone. You can do this remotely from an iPad. Or you can do this remotely from even a whole different computer. And you don't even have to be on the same network as that computer.

00:05:27:37 - 00:05:28:42
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're logged into sidekick

00:05:28:42 - 00:05:44:50
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
on your in your tech booth, and if you're logged in to sidekick from your phone or whatever device, you can run it from both. We are all in on sidekick in fact. Link down below if you want to see our setup of how we do it. To jump back and forth between pro presenter and sidekick, we haven't made the shift to be

00:05:44:50 - 00:05:47:41
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
all in with worship because that's a whole different department.

00:05:47:46 - 00:06:02:42
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I don't call the shots. If I did, we would be all in on sidekick, but since we're not, we have a video switcher. And if you want to be able to bounce back and forth between the two so that you can have the elements of purpose that you like, but all the interactive features of sidekick that you like, check that out down below.

00:06:02:42 - 00:06:29:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, idea number two, one that I really like is rather than names. We've actually done this before in this presentation, and I'm going to show you how to set it up. I did like a series or a message on labels. And so I actually, what I did was, I think I have it in here. I brought in, like, a label, like a hello, my name is type of label, and I just got it loaded.

00:06:29:40 - 00:06:56:34
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And very simply, when it was sitting there on screen and I was teaching, I used that teaching moment sort of as an opportunity to, to to cycle through and filter through some of the different types of labels that we face or that we think we face or that we see or that we feel or that we might even struggle with sometimes, as, you know, people, as teenagers, as followers of Jesus.

00:06:56:39 - 00:07:22:56
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you don't have to just let this be like a random name picker thing. Like you can also use and utilize this as an opportunity, within your teaching, within your teaching components. And so as you see here on screen, I have the hello, my name is name Tag right here. And then they are just simply filtering through, different types of labels that you or that students might struggle with.

00:07:22:56 - 00:07:37:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's an opportunity then to go ahead and and use that as a part of your teaching point. Now my third favorite way to go ahead and use the random name generator is, to use a thing called a Volun told

00:07:37:08 - 00:07:50:43
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
generator. And we talked about this a little bit in the, we'll, video in the last video about how you can make a definitive or declarative statement, like the person with the tallest socks, that's only one person.

00:07:50:45 - 00:08:10:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So the person with the tallest socks in your room, they come up in place. So if you don't have a set up or if you don't have check in, but you still want to use this kind of Volun told generator sort of thing, you can put generic statements about students, and then you can use that to get people to come on up as contestants for games and stuff like that.

00:08:10:08 - 00:08:29:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And again, it's just a great way to not have to do the who wants to play? And you're like, how did I pick that kid or not? Like the the random name generator is king and the random name generator decides. And what's cool, even in its customization, right, is that you can create different sound effects, right? So like, there is like a thumbs up sound effect.

00:08:29:16 - 00:08:48:58
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There is a, kind of shrugging like middle of the road sound effect. And then there's like a party horn sound effect. So if you were playing this and you had the sort of like, like maybe a bad prize or something, you weren't so sure about that you didn't want, this is what the thumbs down sound effect sounds like.

00:08:49:02 - 00:09:06:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That. But, yeah, it's a bummer. No, no one wants is smudging. Like, that's how Thunder fans kind of feel right now anyway. But then you go ahead and you're like that. This guy's kind of mid tier. We're not not really sure if we have an, opinion yet of him or not. Really sure if winning this thing in our youth ministry, we really have an opinion of it.

00:09:06:04 - 00:09:27:42
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yet Dugas. Yeah, okay. Whatever. You know, but then, like, you win something great or like it's a grand prize or something that people really actually want. I mean, he's a front runner for MVP. Let's just be honest. He's outpacing Luke does is the Thunder are the number one seed in the West. And they are the juggernaut that everyone should be afraid of.

00:09:27:42 - 00:09:45:45
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's led by this guy. And so you should you should have that sound. Hey give me a like if you're a, Thunder fan and please don't unsubscribe if you, do you happen to be a mavericks fan? Because we are here trying to make this hybrid ministry thing. We're trying to make it helpful to you. In fact, right here on screen.

00:09:45:45 - 00:10:04:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Don't forget Code Hybrid Ministry ten. If you've never used you. I am. Or if you've never signed up for anything with do I am before for 10% off for a year of premium, Premium or Premium Plus? You can check out the pricing link down below. We also offer custom coaching. It's my free strategy guide. Go ahead and scan that QR code, check out our Patreon.

00:10:04:02 - 00:10:25:49
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And hey, while you're here, go ahead and vote on which coffee shop is the best. My fourth idiom that I really like to do is kind of like the kind of like the the name tag one that I showed you a minute ago. So instead of it, I mean, like a teaching point, a lot of times I will create a welcome slide, right?

00:10:25:49 - 00:10:41:58
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And these slides, just like all the other ones, they're, they're highly adaptable. So you can put any slides you want. You can, add an image, you can make a color, you can add a video background from something from YouTube. Even so like we've used this video before in

00:10:41:58 - 00:10:48:42
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
previous videos here, even on this playlist. And so if you wanted it to be a video one, you could embed this YouTube video right here.

00:10:48:47 - 00:11:09:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or you could add one of these videos from a bank of other videos that you have used before using the past. But whatever the case might be, I'll do this where like, we have like, a leader lunch. And so people have volun, or have RSVP ahead of time. And so I will, put all of their names into the generator and I will say, leader, lunch welcome.

00:11:09:10 - 00:11:27:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
With an arrow pointing to where their name is going to be here on People Picker and all the names are just filtering through. And then we may use that as a giveaway sort of feature in the, in the, you know, in the background or whatever, or not. We'll see. But those are sort of all just kind of different ways and different ideas that I like to use the name picker.

00:11:27:14 - 00:11:47:40
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then of course, number five, I'm going to share on my Patreon page. And don't forget, this is the last time that I'm going to do this. To those of you listening to the regular podcast or on YouTube, but I just, I, I'm so, so stoked and I'm so pumped about our Patreon because it is a dollar a week, $4 a month.

00:11:47:44 - 00:12:05:54
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I think it's less than the cost of a cup of coffee. But I want to get coffee with you. I want to sit down. I want to chat. Youth ministry. I want to chat. Creativity. I want to chat. How to make your programing more engaging? Because Gen Z and Gen Alpha, they want a more custom and personalized approach.

00:12:05:54 - 00:12:33:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I believe that sidekick not only in this beta version, but also in the future. Rolling out has the tools that it takes to do that. I'm challenging myself to use sidekick every single time we're in the room with our students, and I want to encourage you to try and lean into your creativity and do the same. And so I know when I hear a brainstorm that's helpful for me to just listen to someone else and then beg and borrow and steal and tweak and adapt and use different ideas.

00:12:33:14 - 00:12:56:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's why I want my Patreon to be is just a place for you guys to get that weekly sort of bonus content, along with, as you see here, on screen, exclusive merch and exclusive sticker for everyone who signs up before the month of December. December 2nd, they'll be yours. I'll mail it to you. You can help me choose some show and segment topics, and also some shout outs special for those over there on my Patreon page.

00:12:56:08 - 00:13:18:37
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But that number five idea that's over there going to be in this week's Patreon will drop on Monday of this week. So once again, my friends so excited that you here. Thank you for diving in deep with sidekick. The next episode we are going to be hopping into all things Christmas, Christmas parties, holiday planning, and everything that you need to know to round out the year.

00:13:18:37 - 00:13:29:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Amazingly, in your ministry. Finish strong. The Lord is equipped you for what he has you doing. But don't forget and as always my friends, to stay hybrid.

Episode 126: Youth Ministry Christmas Party Idea!

Nick Clason — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600

🦸‍ BECOME A HYBRID HERO
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

🎬 THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS MOVIE SHOWDOWN
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/the-ultimate-christmas-movie-showdown/christmas/christmas-games-9784.html

DESCRIPTION
🎄 It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Ready to throw the BEST Youth Ministry Christmas Party ever? 🎉 In this episode, Nick Clason of the Hybrid Ministry Podcast spills the peppermint-flavored tea on how to make your event unforgettable! 🏆 Whether it’s the Ultimate Christmas Movie Showdown, hilarious games, or social media outreach, this guide has it ALL.

🌟 Grab the downloadable Christmas party resource on Download Youth Ministry—complete with voting brackets, social media assets, and everything you need to pull off a high-energy, crowd-engaging event that doubles as a killer social media strategy. 🎅✨

👇 Grab the resource now: DownloadYouthMinistry.com

🎬 Watch till the end for tips on engaging Gen Alpha and crushing it on YouTube. And as always, my friends, stay hybrid! 🚀

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/126

//10% OFF CO-LEADER
CODE: HYBRIDMINISTRY10
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//CUSTOM COACHING
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//CHURCH COMMS DONE FOR YOU
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Make Your Christmas Event Pop This Year!
01:59 How to Use a Bracket?
03:56 The Ultimate Christmas Movie Showdown Explained
05:25 The 16 Movies
06:20 What's Included in the Download?
10:00 How do you Crown a Winner?
12:27 Our Hybrid December Plans
14:14 YouTube for your Youth Ministry

--------------
✍️ TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Student

00:00:01:16 - 00:00:06:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
ministry Christmas party. I mean, it is the preeminent

00:00:06:05 - 00:00:08:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
event of the year. You play

00:00:08:18 - 00:00:19:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
dozens of games, you eat even more sweets, and you serve hot chocolate. Maybe you play a Christmas movie. What if I told you that I had the

00:00:19:09 - 00:00:26:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
event that was going to make your Christmas party? Absolutely pop? Well,

00:00:26:09 - 00:00:26:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
here it is. It

00:00:26:29 - 00:00:31:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Oh.

00:00:36:02 - 00:00:40:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and incorporate this style of event, along with all of the other ways

00:00:40:29 - 00:00:50:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
that if you don't want to use it for your party, or it's a little bit too late to lead in to your party, that you can use this style of resource if you scrub ahead,

00:00:50:00 - 00:00:55:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I am going to go ahead and offer this resource to you so you can go ahead and check that out.

00:00:55:08 - 00:01:18:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're watching here on screen, you can see that timestamp. If not, just hit the link down below in the show notes or head to Hybridministry.xyz/127. But we are going to talk Christmas party. We're going to talk outreach and we're going to talk social media. And this event has all of those. And this product has all those wrapped into one single thing.

00:01:18:21 - 00:01:18:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you're

00:01:18:27 - 00:01:23:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Oh.

00:01:23:03 - 00:01:36:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
meetings and things you have to do. You got to come up with games and lessons and and manage parents and volunteers and senior pastors and oh yeah, social media and oh yeah, the Christmas event and. Oh yeah, and oh yeah. And oh

00:01:36:03 - 00:01:36:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
yeah.

00:01:36:19 - 00:01:48:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And oh yeah. But in this event guide, you will have the ability to crush, social media outreach and your Christmas party all in one fell swoop. It is going to be amazing.

00:01:48:01 - 00:01:52:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Oh.

00:01:54:25 - 00:01:56:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Ow ow ow! Oh!

00:01:56:21 - 00:01:58:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Tis the season. Let's hop in.

00:01:58:14 - 00:02:00:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So in

00:02:00:26 - 00:02:02:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Ow ow ow! Oh!

00:02:18:19 - 00:02:25:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
here at the top of the YouTube video, I did the ultimate event guide to the World's Greatest donut that,

00:02:25:10 - 00:02:42:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in that video you can download my event guide. It's complete with a shopping list and all those types of things. And also sends you to download Youth Ministry where you can buy this voting style event. But this has been something that has been a staple of my ministry and a staple of honestly, what I've done for years.

00:02:42:17 - 00:03:04:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And essentially I'm borrowing from the like, wave or the popularity of like a march madness bracket style voting. And so, like in our space, we have this big window that opens into like a small sort of like half court indoor gymnasium sort of deal. And we printed a custom size vinyl banner, for six, for a 16 team bracket.

00:03:04:04 - 00:03:22:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then we put, those things we just, you know, print them out on computer paper or whatever, cut them out. And we do these, like, style events 2 or 3 times throughout the year. So like I said in that video linked, just a second ago, we have done like the world's greatest donut. We have voted on the best.

00:03:22:26 - 00:03:34:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We did last March Madness. One year we have voted on the world's best, like, mascot. And then that mascot became our official student ministry mascot. Shout out to Pugsley

00:03:34:11 - 00:03:38:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
the platypus! We've done all sorts of different like voting

00:03:38:02 - 00:03:49:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and challenge based style things. It's just like a fun way to sort of like, create, competition and conversation around something for like several weeks in a row.

00:03:49:06 - 00:03:50:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in this particular instance, we're

00:03:50:29 - 00:03:56:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
doing the ultimate Christmas movie showdown. Now, by the time that this video drops, you're

00:03:56:04 - 00:03:57:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Ow ow ow! Oh!

00:03:57:24 - 00:04:13:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Christmas party or even slightly beyond your Christmas party. But if you have not made it yet to your Christmas party, then what you can do. And this is what we did. We did a Christmas movie watch party, but we're allowing the students to vote on the Christmas movie.

00:04:13:20 - 00:04:37:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's what's really cool, is we actually at our costume party on the 30th of October, we revealed that the Christmas bracket was now live, and then the students could vote on it. And the best thing about this is, again, if this is already past, your party's already past. You can do something like this just very simply on social media, during sort of the holiday lull, you can do, every week is a new round or you can do it.

00:04:37:14 - 00:04:42:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Every day is a new round. And that's the thing. Like so even if like you download this now

00:04:42:22 - 00:04:52:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and then you go and you play a movie at your Christmas event next week, you can do every day on social media as a round. And there's all sorts of different ways to capture

00:04:52:24 - 00:05:04:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Elf white Christmas elf faces off against White Christmas. That's the one seed versus the 16. They're not listed there. But you know, and once the students start voting, you can tell who the overall one seed is.

00:05:04:24 - 00:05:31:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Then in the eight nine matchup we have Frosty the Snowman versus the year without a Santa Claus. Then in the four I think 13 413 matchup, we have Christmas vacation pairing off against Christmas with the Kranks Muppet Christmas Carol versus Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer, Home Alone, which is the two seed versus It's a Wonderful Life A Christmas Story, which is a seven versus Polar Express, which is a ten, the Santa Claus, which is a three, versus Jingle All the Way, which is like a 14, I think.

00:05:25:00 - 00:05:26:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Ow ow ow! Oh!

00:05:31:25 - 00:05:42:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then Santa Claus is Coming to Town versus How the Grinch Stole Christmas in the six versus, I think, 11 match up there. And so this PowerPoint file, you can very simply edit the winners. Right? So if elf beats white Christmas in the voting, you can move it ahead. And you can use that in your space to write these in.

00:06:18:28 - 00:06:20:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Ow ow ow! Oh!

00:06:20:18 - 00:06:26:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right? So if elf beats white Christmas in the voting, you can move it ahead. And you can use that in your space to write these in.

00:06:26:25 - 00:06:35:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I have the winners sort of as like placeholders. In there that you can like, you know, make sure that you can move them on. But

00:06:35:13 - 00:06:43:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
here's the thing. Every single round in every single context is going to be different. Maybe you are a big white Christmas church, and all of your students are going to pick White Christmas.

00:06:43:25 - 00:06:52:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's great. Then go with it. Go for it. Okay. Additionally, you can, use and use this, like I said, on social media. So a couple of my

00:06:52:21 - 00:06:53:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
favorite ways to

00:06:53:12 - 00:07:03:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
do it are on Instagram Stories. And also now for Generation Alpha, who is, widely and widely adopting YouTube as one of their platforms of choice.

00:07:03:09 - 00:07:08:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can post on your YouTube posts page section, a voting poll option with images

00:07:08:29 - 00:07:22:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and stuff like that. And so I've included some social graphics that are still. And so it's your title to your overall bracket. You can write in the winners each round and then, round one graphic, an elite eight graphic, a Final Four graphic, and a championship round graphic.

00:07:22:19 - 00:07:43:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then you just very simply stick the question sticker on that graphic. I also have social media videos which, pair and look similar to the widescreen video. So there's a title graphic with, you know, some kind of like distance sleigh bells chime in like some Christmas like, chiming things and then like a round one graphic, elite eight graphic, a final four.

00:07:43:29 - 00:07:55:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All these are videos and championship. And then there are profile cards. And so these are really fun. Every single movie, there's 16 movies. Every single movie has four different

00:07:55:00 - 00:08:05:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
profile cards, both for social media and for, your widescreen in your room. And so, for example, in round one, you might put up the Elf profile card, the very

00:08:05:17 - 00:08:11:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
first Elf profile card versus this and next to the very first white Christmas profile card.

00:08:11:07 - 00:08:31:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So like right here, if you're watching on the screen, you'll see it says like elf, released in 2003, Will Ferrell shines as buddy, a human race, as an elf who travels to New York to meet his real father. But there, like I said, there are four different profile cards because in the next round of elf advances, you will use the second, fact.

00:08:31:02 - 00:08:49:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you're not just sharing the same fact every single week, week in, week out. So this next one is about who Jon Favreau, who, helped. The movie grossed over 220 million worldwide on a $33 million budget, became a Christmas favorite. The third one's about, Will Ferrell's improv skills, and the fourth one is a fun fact that

00:08:49:09 - 00:08:55:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
his iconic walk through New York was done candidly and is capturing real reactions from New Yorkers.

00:08:55:13 - 00:08:55:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now

00:08:55:28 - 00:09:17:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you're like, okay, that's great, but what if White Christmas wins? That's why there's four for White Christmas. Now, if White Christmas loses, you're obviously not going to be using fact two, fact 3 or 4, right. But in the event that upsets happen, in the event that that movies keep moving on, there are four because there's four rounds round one, Elite eight, Final Four, and then championship round for you to share those graphics.

00:09:17:10 - 00:09:37:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay. And so we have that for social media for still graphics. We have social video graphics. We also have widescreen graphics that you can use and put in your space. Along with those profile card kind of things that you can also put in your space video as well as stills. And then there's paper voting as an option.

00:09:37:18 - 00:09:52:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we'll get to the ways that you can do voting here in just a minute. There's Photoshop files. If you do happen to have Photoshop editing skills. And then finally there are some just like transparent, no background, assets like the logo and the round one, elite eight, all that type of stuff. So

00:09:52:00 - 00:09:55:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
all of that is included in this download, just a few bucks.

00:09:55:21 - 00:09:58:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And like I said, how can you go about

00:09:58:03 - 00:09:59:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Ow ow ow! Oh!

00:10:08:26 - 00:10:15:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of my podcast, Hybrid Ministry ten as a discount code, and you get 10% off your purchase of either Premium or Premium Plus.

00:10:16:01 - 00:10:32:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if you're using sidekick, you can use the phone connections and the voting option, and students can vote live right there directly in the room. And so you can do all of your matchups right there. And you can do that week in, week out. Now, what do you do about students who don't have phones? Well, that's one of the reasons why I included the

00:10:32:00 - 00:10:39:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
paper printable bracket so that those students aren't left out and so that they have an opportunity to also let their voice be heard.

00:10:39:12 - 00:10:57:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well, you might be thinking, well, what happens if, my Christmas party has already passed or I don't have a way to get this, done? In the amount of weeks we have leading up to our Christmas party, no problem. Download this and just post them on social media. And then when people show up to your Christmas party, you'd be like, hey, we're watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas because it was voted on by you.

00:10:57:29 - 00:11:15:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The people on social media. Congratulations to the Grinch. And so you could do this in just four days. Round one, Elite Eight, Final Four, and then the championship. And then you have your event. So if your Christmas party is in seven days, you can theoretically crush this and get this in any time of year if you want to launch it.

00:11:15:07 - 00:11:32:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, depending on when you're watching this, if you have enough time, you can launch it all through the month of December leading into your movie. Or like I said, you can do it all on social using either Instagram voting or the YouTube post. Now here's the good news about that is when you promote it in the room, like, hey, voting is live!

00:11:32:04 - 00:11:39:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
One of the things I've done, I'll show you a graphic of what we're using. It's not included in the download because it's it's custom to us. But just to give you an idea, I just

00:11:39:23 - 00:11:50:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
linked a QR code to our link tree, which has all of our different social handles. And so it says, hey, voting is still live and the winning movie will get, we'll get watch it.

00:11:50:16 - 00:11:55:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Our Christmas party on you know, December 4th or whatever. I've sent that out in our text list. We've sent it out to our parent

00:11:55:13 - 00:11:55:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Patreon. If you didn't know, we just launched a Patreon and it is going to be walking through my weekly lessons and it's, or a different bonus podcast every single week. It's $4 per month and you get a different bonus podcast per week. So essentially it nets out to a dollar or even slightly less than a dollar per podcast episode.

00:12:24:28 - 00:12:26:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Ow ow ow! Oh!

00:12:29:00 - 00:12:45:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you didn't know, we just launched a Patreon and it is going to be walking through my weekly lessons and it's, or a different bonus podcast every single week. It's $4 per month and you get a different bonus podcast per week. So essentially it nets

00:12:45:13 - 00:12:51:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
out to a dollar or even slightly less than a dollar per podcast episode.

00:12:51:02 - 00:13:08:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I think it's a very modest amount. I would love to encourage you to go over there and check it out. I think you can probably find four bucks a month in your budget, but even if you can't, I just want to let you know that, like we're going to use it to invest deeper into the podcast gear and all sorts of things like that.

00:13:08:17 - 00:13:27:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I'd love to encourage you to go check that out. But we're going to be walking through these lessons, and this is what we're going to be talking about over on that Patreon is what what are the Christmas at the movie lessons? And then, what are the we're also doing? Like we're avoiding the big announcement time before we break into small groups.

00:13:27:01 - 00:13:46:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so our students are going to go into our sort of like small group rooms directly at the end of the countdown. And each of our rooms has a TV on a cart, which is brand new. And so we're going to link that to a YouTube playlist, and there's going to be a small group activity. There's going to be an announcement corner filmed and put there on that playlist.

00:13:46:00 - 00:13:48:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the teaching where we may teach a

00:13:48:09 - 00:14:01:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
little bit, pause for questions, teach a little bit, pause for questions, teach a little bit, pause for some more questions. So we're really trying to lean in sort of to that kind of hybrid thing. And I'm going to detail and explain all of that what we're doing over on that Patreon.

00:14:01:27 - 00:14:10:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I would love to have you go check that out. There's also some other kind of bonus perks and stuff like that. And as I'm describing this, you might be hearing me talk about YouTube in

00:14:10:29 - 00:14:11:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
all

00:14:11:11 - 00:14:13:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Ow ow ow! Oh!

00:14:15:20 - 00:14:16:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
YouTube,

00:14:16:00 - 00:14:22:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
because I think it's important to put spiritual and evergreen content over there on YouTube for our students.

00:14:22:26 - 00:14:43:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, Generation Alpha is now saying that YouTube is now their preferred search engine, even over Google. And so there's value to that. And, I actually offer either some custom coaching to help you level it up or communications done for you, or I'll actually just do it for you if that's something that you're interested in, go ahead and check the show notes or the link down below in the YouTube description.

00:14:43:13 - 00:15:12:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The link to right here on screen is my complete and full strategy of how we launched and developed a YouTube for youth ministry. It's the free version of that coaching, and then the coaching will take you sort of into that. More customization, but I hope that you grab this product if you have an amazing Christmas event, I hope you can use it to knock outreach out of the park, to have an amazing event, and also crush social media, whether you're using it for the event or just during the lull of the holiday season.

00:15:12:26 - 00:15:18:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Don't forget my friends and as always, to stay hybrid.

Episode 125: Unlock the Customizable Wheel for your Programming

Nick Clason — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 04:00:00 -0600

🎧 BONUS WEEKLY PODCAST
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

🖥️ SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

DESCRIPTION
In this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show, discover how to create truly interactive sermons and programming using Sidekick made by Download Youth Ministry to engage students like never before! We’ll explore practical ways to blend creativity with technology, making your youth ministry sermons more dynamic and memorable. Ideal for leaders aiming to elevate their hybrid ministry approach in their student ministry, this episode offers key strategies to transform your youth ministry.

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/125

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

//COLEADER PRICING
CODE: HYBRIDMINISTRY10
https://www.sidekick.tv/pricing

//[FREE] STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//CUSTOM HYBRID COACHING
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

//ERIK W/A 'K'
https://www.youtube.com/@practicalyouthministrytips

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Random Spinning Wheel
01:39 Co-Leader Discount Code!
03:05 The Power of Creativity
5:00 Wheel Idea #1
08:15 Wheel Idea #2
09:22 Wheel Tech Booth Point of View
11:38 Wheel Idea #3
12:14 Customize your slide background
15:10 Wheel Idea #4

--------------

00;00;00;00 - 00;00;27;13
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
What if I told you that you could have access to a customizable spinning wheel that is actually woven in and built into the fabric of your presentation software? Not just like from free wheel spinner.com, because, you know, if you're presenting or preaching in church that you want that wheel to come in and you want it to be seamless, you don't want to drag an ugly browser window in across your screen.

00;00;27;16 - 00;00;48;16
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
And so what if that presentation ability was available in your PowerPoint, in your profit center, on your church projector screens? Well, what if I told you that it was, you know, download and Youth Ministry has had the customizable spinning wheel available to youth pastors, but it is now available to all

00;00;48;16 - 00;00;53;01
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
people. It is woven into the new beta version of

00;00;53;01 - 00;00;54;03
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
sidekick.

00;00;54;03 - 00;01;10;25
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
And in this episode, not only are we going to explore how it's a little bit different than the legacy version of the sidekick, but we're going to look at all of the features. And so if you are watching here on YouTube, first of all, go ahead and give me a like because if you don't know, that incredibly helps us out.

00;01;10;28 - 00;01;30;13
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
But second, I would love it if you, are listening to Hop Over and you can watch a live demo as I not only build the wheel, but I show you all the different features and I want to talk through in this episode for of my most favorite ways to use and integrate the wheel into our programing, into

00;01;30;13 - 00;01;32;25
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
my lessons, into my messages.

00;01;33;02 - 00;01;42;09
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
And so much more. Hey everyone! Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. Well, hey everyone, welcome to the Hybrid

00;01;42;09 - 00;02;10;01
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Ministry show. My name is Nicholas and I am a 14 year Youth ministry veteran. And welcome to our playlist where we explore the best features of sidekick. And as you see here on screen, rotating through on my pre-roll announcements for the Hybrid Ministry show, which you can replicate this by simply clicking the link right here at the top of the video to go back and watch some of the more miscellaneous features available here in this playlist.

00;02;10;03 - 00;02;43;04
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
But we are talking about sidekick, and in this particular episode, we're talking about the ways that you can use the wheel. But here's what you might not know is that if you've never jumped into anything dim or Co-Leader, which is our, curriculum software that does unlock access to sidekick, my listeners get an exclusive offer if you use the code hybrid Ministry ten, you'll get 10% off Premium or Premium plus of co-leader curriculum, which, like I said, is how you gain access to sidekick.

00;02;43;11 - 00;03;04;09
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
There is a way to get sidekick ala carte as well. But if you are in youth ministry and you're looking for curriculum, I'm just telling you, Collider is the way to go. You get so much I don't even know how to download. Youth ministry is making money. But again, in addition to that, you get 10% off, if you use my code hybrid ministry ten.

00;03;04;09 - 00;03;25;22
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
So, we're going to get out of these looping announcements, and I want to show you what it looks like to have the customizable spinning wheel. Now here is the preview in the window over here. This little window down here, we're going to pretend, like I said, in the first, video in this playlist, this, sidekick is browser based.

00;03;25;24 - 00;03;42;25
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
So it's going to create a new window. You're going to drag that ugly window onto your projector screen, but then from there you're going to click full screen. It's going to be seamless. Now, if you are still using both sidekick and also pro presenter, go ahead and check the link down below in the show notes for how we have set up.

00;03;42;25 - 00;03;47;04
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Because we are, we're all in on sidekick. And the reason that

00;03;47;04 - 00;04;10;02
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
I'm all in on sidekick is it forces me to be more creative in my programing, and I find that when I'm more creative, our students are more engaged and better engaged. And, I personally feel like that I'm doing a better job communicating and being a youth pastor and leaning in and showing up where students are, which that's one of the whole goals, is one viewer students are.

00;04;10;02 - 00;04;31;16
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
And that's what hybrid really affords us. The opportunity to do is to be where our people are. And so, if you didn't know this, we're actually starting a brand new Patreon page here on the Hybrid Ministry show, where I'm going to just rattle off what we did in youth group this week. And as I do, I'll explain all the ways we're using sidekick along with all the other things that we're doing in our youth ministry.

00;04;31;16 - 00;04;50;06
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
And so I want you to go ahead and check that out. If you haven't, you can click right here. The, the QR code that you see here on screen. I'll, I'll make that a little bit bigger for you. You can click that or you can simply head to a patreon.com/hybrid ministry and join for only $4 a month.

00;04;50;13 - 00;05;26;20
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
The bonus podcast I'm gonna release is a weekly podcast. So when you do $4 a month, that essentially nets out to $1 per week, which is crazy town. So I would love to invite you into that. But here's one of my favorite ways to use and utilize the wheel the random wheel. So in our student ministry not too long ago, we, used one of my friend Eric with a case games, and I'm not sure I don't think he got this game on to download youth ministry before the Halloween, but man, I loved the concept.

00;05;26;20 - 00;05;47;12
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
It was like a digital, like, sort of escape room sort of thing. And what Eric did, which was just like, so incredible, was like, it was like you work through rooms in your space and you had different contestants kind of do that, right now getting contestants, man, that is one of the most difficult things in youth ministry, right?

00;05;47;12 - 00;06;07;11
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Because you've been a real like, who wants to who wants to be a volunteer, who wants to be a volunteer? And so what we did was we created a wheel that would, basically volunteer certain people. So we had our, groups broken down by grade. And so we had like sixth grade, we had seventh and eighth grade, we had ninth and 10th grade, and then we had 11th and 12th grade.

00;06;07;11 - 00;06;33;02
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
So for total, sixth year, I was the only one that was standalone. And the other, you know, six remaining grades are grouped together seventh and eighth, ninth and 10th, 11th, 12th. You get the idea. But then we said we need the whatever the wheel says person from each of these grades. So again, this is something I would go over on my Patreon page and hopefully it might help you out helping me more creative and thus ultimately more engaging.

00;06;33;06 - 00;06;53;23
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
But what we did was we just added a wheel and we said, all right, I need the sixth grader who's the tallest, I need the seventh grader who's the shortest? I need the ninth 10th grader who has the tallest socks I need the 11th 12th grader has the lowest phone battery percentage. And so if you're watching here on screen, what you do is you simply click edit Slide and right at the top all you got to do is click wheel.

00;06;53;25 - 00;07;15;02
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
You want to add the wheel. And so in pops the wheel settings right here. And so this is where you can adjust the individual items in the wheel. So if you don't want cheese because it's not relevant to what you're doing you can say tallest. And if you want highest battery percentage you say highest battery percentage where's a percent.

00;07;15;02 - 00;07;37;26
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
So there it is. If you want to add another one, you simply click Add Item. Or better yet, you can do bulk add and you can just type them all in. And so you go, tallest socks, reddest hair, biggest mustache, or whatever your criteria are. There they are. You click add three items and boom, they are off and rolling.

00;07;37;26 - 00;07;56;10
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Now once your wheel is on the screen, you notice it's kind of covering my face here if you don't want that. So you can go up to this little corner and just simply shrink it and put it right where you want it, maybe right underneath that finger where I'm pointing. Maybe you want it huge, right? So you can make it even bigger.

00;07;56;14 - 00;08;24;23
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
You can make it even smaller. And, there's all sorts of different ways that you can kind of mess around with and use the wheel, but that's way number one. We kind of like to use the wheel as a, contestant sort of generator. All right. The other thing that I love about the wheel is, or another way, way number two that we use the wheel is we will use it sometimes as a prize wheel.

00;08;24;23 - 00;08;43;29
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
So we have a winner of a game, a standalone winner or a group of winners. And then we let that winner go ahead and, spin the wheel for an opportunity to win. So let's just say that they won pizza. And so here, I've already input my different types of pizza that I want to let them win.

00;08;44;03 - 00;09;07;00
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
And so when you go ahead and, get this thing launched, you will see that you can you have a lot of different access, right? You have a lot of different access once you get this thing up and rolling. So we're going to pretend this is our projector screen and your person, oh, your person back in your booth is going to be the one that sees this.

00;09;07;00 - 00;09;30;04
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Or again, don't forget that. Now they have phone integration so you can run it like a remote phone, which is a pretty cool feature. So here we are. We are on our wheel right here. And this is what it looks like for the person in the booth. They'll have this start spin option. And they'll be able to see down here that the next winner is cheese.

00;09;30;11 - 00;09;51;01
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
But if I don't want it to be cheese, it can reroll and it can reroll it randomly. Or you can choose a pre-selected option so you can see all of your options here. And you can say, I don't have Hawaiian pizza, I don't have deep dish, I only have sausage. And so we're going to make them think that they have the opportunity to get sausage.

00;09;51;02 - 00;10;13;06
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
But really they don't. And so we're not doing random. We're going to do pre-selected. The pre-selected winner here is sausage. And now when we spin the wheel you're seeing it. You're hearing it. The winner is sausage right. Like I said I can now clear that. Now let's say I gave away sausage and so I don't want that anymore.

00;10;13;09 - 00;10;33;01
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
This is where I can turn on this hide. Last item. And so now sausage, which was what I give away. Now I don't have it because I gave it to this group. And I need a new prize to give away to the next group. I can't give away sausage twice. It only had it once. If I click hide last item, it will go away and it won't be an option on the wheel anymore.

00;10;33;01 - 00;10;57;16
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
So now let's just simulate that again. So I did in fact go ahead. Giveaway sausage I'm hiding the last item. Consider the last item hidden. And then we're going to clear that it's gone. And now we're like oh it needs to be pepperoni. So here we go. Give a pepperoni to the winning group. Group number two. Congratulations you one pepperoni.

00;10;57;16 - 00;11;17;12
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Now if you're listening here on screen or you it was able to be picked up through my microphone, you will notice that they have different sound effects. So when you do the little, cheery sound effect, that's the one that pepperoni just made you. Little shrug sound effect. That's just a little kind of simple, like click sound, like, and so you can change that.

00;11;17;12 - 00;11;45;19
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Or if it's a negative consequence, you can also do the lose sound. And so cheese now has the lose sound. And so that sounds something like this. Now that no one wants cheese. All right. This is this is the bottom line. Okay. Here is another idea that I have is, we might, in our space, do something where, we have, like, rows.

00;11;45;23 - 00;12;03;14
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
We have 16 tables. So there's four, 4x4, four tables across, four tables down 16 total. So we might do something when we have a passage of Scripture, you know, that we want people to look up. And so then we might use the wheel and say, all right, row one. You're going to look up this. Row two, you're going to look up that.

00;12;03;16 - 00;12;22;06
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
And here's what's cool is you saw my picture here. So you can also make your background custom. So right here let's say I want this slide right here to be where I put my wheel. First I got to give it a background right. So I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to make it an image background.

00;12;22;09 - 00;12;48;13
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to upload a file. And I'm going to go navigate to these different verses of this slide that I have already made. And so boom, there's my verse slides. And so now I don't want that. I want the wheel now. And so I can say row one, row two, row three and row four. We're going to add those.

00;12;48;16 - 00;13;13;19
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
We're going to remove these. And now I can put this right here. Again don't forget Hybrid Ministry ten gets you 10% off of Premium or Premium Plus of Collider. But now I can put that right here. And I can say all right row one. You're going to go first. And then very simply right. Like as I am presenting this sucker, got to get down to it so I can show it to you.

00;13;13;19 - 00;13;42;15
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
But as I'm presenting it, I'll say, all right, row one. Here you go. Or not? Row one. Luke one goes to row one, in fact. Right. And once again, I should have selected hide winner because I can't actually have row one. That's a bummer, I missed out. What am I supposed to do? Well, your purpose in in person can actually hop back over here to edit and just very simply, either hide them and now they're going to be off my wheel or delete them and they're off my wheel either way.

00;13;42;18 - 00;14;01;14
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Now if I hide them right, I can add them back on very simply. If, I delete them, I do have to go back in here and I have to type it all back out and do all that stuff, which as you see, is not that difficult. But it it does take a little bit more of an additional step.

00;14;01;14 - 00;14;21;22
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Now here's the other cool thing. You might be thinking like, I don't I don't want like that background. I want like I want a video background. Great. Check this out. I don't want this background anymore. I go back in here to edit slide. I don't want it going to go over here to my slide settings. And instead of it being an image background, I can do a color background.

00;14;21;22 - 00;14;43;08
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
He's my color options right? Those are all the preloaded ones. Or I can say I want a video background. So I'm going to select video and I want it to be a YouTube embedded video, and I want it to be my video. So we're going to copy and paste that link here, paste embed that YouTube video and boom.

00;14;43;10 - 00;15;00;25
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
And I can put the wheel anywhere that I want. Now keep in mind that when it's a background, you saw it right here. Background videos will loop automatically and they do not play sounds. And so you can pull these directly off of the internet. And this is why I believe every single youth ministry should have a strong digital presence also.

00;15;00;25 - 00;15;21;25
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Hey, why you're here, why don't you go ahead and grab my hybrid strategy guide with a little bit of a different name from this episode that I dropped a little bit over a year ago. So that was idea number three. You can give out passages for the we'll idea number four, I'm actually going to share with those of you that are on my Patreon page.

00;15;21;25 - 00;15;44;13
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Now listen, don't forget that it's only about a dollar a week. And anyone who signs up before December 2nd, 2024 will get an exclusive free piece of merch. So you're going to get a piece of merch that's probably worth like $20. That's gonna like, pay for itself in the first five months. And I'm going to share my fourth favorite way that I

00;15;44;13 - 00;15;49;02
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
customize and use the wheel in my different teachings and in my different presentations.

00;15;49;09 - 00;16;06;08
Nick Clason| Hybrid Ministry
Hey, my friends, as always, don't forget if you want to know how to use the name picker that is going to be here in the next episode, if you're watching on YouTube, that'll be right here on screen. Go hop over to Patreon page. But until next time, and as always, my friends stay hybrid.

Episode 124: Truly Interactive Sermons | How I use Sidekick

Nick Clason — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600

🎧 BONUS WEEKLY PODCAST
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry

🖥️ SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

DESCRIPTION
In this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show, discover how to create truly interactive sermons using Sidekick made by Download Youth Ministry to engage students like never before! We’ll explore practical ways to blend creativity with technology, making your youth ministry sermons more dynamic and memorable. Ideal for leaders aiming to elevate their hybrid ministry approach in their student ministry, this episode offers key strategies to transform your youth ministry.

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/124

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

//COLEADER PRICING
CODE: HYBRIDMINISTRY10
https://www.sidekick.tv/pricing

//[FREE] STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//CUSTOM HYBRID COACHING
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

//FINISH THE DRAWING - HELP DERRY BUY PRESENTS!
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/finish-the-drawing/games/icebreakers-8666.html

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Phone Voting in Sidekick
01:53 The Creativity Challenge
02:36 BIG Announcement!!
04:06 Voting During Pre-Roll
07:13 #1 Game Style
09:39 #2 Game Style
12:10 #3 Game Style
15:56 Voting During Sermons
17:29 The Wheel

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:28:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Pastor. We all know the struggle that all of us in ministry face with online church and streaming and the tension between will people come and be a part of our church? Or will they just simply listen to us online? I mean, hey, listen, give me a like if anytime in the last week you have listened to another pastor sermon or any podcast of any sort, religion or otherwise, or if you've listened to a worship song on Spotify, Apple Music or on YouTube.

00:00:29:00 - 00:00:51:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You see, the fact is we live now in a digital world where, content and sermons and music and worship music and all those things are available for our consumption at the touch and at the click of a finger. So how can we utilize technology in your ministry to make your programing in your service a little bit more hybrid?

00:00:51:19 - 00:01:11:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, hybrid I talked about this. It's the intersection of your in-person and your digital right. It's not forsaking one for the other, but it's simply finding a way to intersect them and to meld them together in the two. And we're going to look at my favorite feature in sidekick, which I believe makes you as hybrid as it can get in today's world.

00:01:11:13 - 00:01:31:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you are new to this playlist, we have been simply talking in the playlist linked up right here about different features of sidekick, and in the last video I kind of introduced sidekick and I showed some of the miscellaneous features, but there are three kind of core pillars and core, feature principles about sidekick that are just simply fantastic.

00:01:31:15 - 00:01:51:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the first one is the feature of vote. And you can pull your phone out and you can vote via QR codes. So that is what we're going to talk about today and in this video. But don't forget, if you're over here on YouTube that we do have chapters down at the bottom so that you can skip around, jump around to different sections and elements that pertain the most to you.

00:01:51:13 - 00:02:10:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I was talking to a friend of mine at a conference of several years back, and who's leading a workshop, and it was so well done and it was so creative. And frankly, it was pre-COVID, but it was before, and I was thinking like, man, this is more than just him getting up and talking. This is him actually engaging and interacting with his audience and drawing them in.

00:02:10:25 - 00:02:31:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I asked him, like, how do you do it? And he said, honestly, I challenged myself to try and use at least once per message, a feature from sidekick that I couldn't use with something simple like a PowerPoint or Pro presenter presentation software. And in our student ministry we have gone all in on sidekick. And so I want to share that with you in this playlist.

00:02:31:05 - 00:02:52:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I also want to let you know that launching on December 2nd, I am going to be launching a bonus weekly podcast simply called like what have I Done this week? And talking about all the ways that our youth ministry is trying to go hybrid, utilize digital, utilize YouTube, utilize sidekick. And so that is linked down below. Or you can scan the QR code that you see here on screen.

00:02:52:27 - 00:03:16:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That is going to give you that bonus weekly podcast. But there's also going to be other perks for Patreon members. And the cost, my friends, it's only a dollar per episode per week. And so jump in on that if you find that helpful. If you're looking to, turn the dial up on your creativity, on your hybrid, on your digital, I just want to simply walk you through what we are doing on a week by week basis.

00:03:16:19 - 00:03:39:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And as you hear what I'm doing, hopefully that just gives you other creative ideas and listen. I would love if you then would also shoot back what you're doing, because anytime I hear what someone else is doing, it causes my brain and my juices to get going and get creative. But anyone who signs up before December 2nd, which is the official launch of the Patreon show, will get an exclusive free piece of merch.

00:03:39:04 - 00:03:58:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I will mail it to you and so that will be just my token of appreciation. So literally, that piece of merch will pay for itself for like six months worth of you being signed up for the, hybrid, Patreon experience. And so jump on and honestly, take my money. Can't wait to get you guys going on that.

00:03:58:16 - 00:04:18:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But in this video, I want to talk about the different areas that you can use the voting in side. So you can include the voting slides in your pre-roll. So for example here on screen you'll see I'm going to click present. And we got a full screen window. And boom we're in our pre-roll slides. And these will rotate if you are not with us.

00:04:18:25 - 00:04:35:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Last video is a rotate every few seconds. We set that up ahead of time. You can go check out how to do that there. Rotating here pretty quickly. You can slow those down, but if you wanted to add here, to that, first of all, you got to get out of your presentation window and you got to end your presentation to make your edit.

00:04:35:09 - 00:04:54:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But then right here, if I just wanted to be like, all right, let's include a voting thing here. All you got to do is just click this voting option. Boom. And it kind of overtakes the design of the screen. And while you're here, you could use this example. Which super power would you choose? Or you could say, which kind of coffee shop is best?

00:04:54:20 - 00:05:23:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can get people debating on the old Dunkin versus Starbucks versus, main, what else is out there? Whatever, whatever it is, like your local home town hipster coffee vibe. And then over here, it's, the checkmarks on the side. These are indicating correct answers. So if you don't want there to be a correct answer, even though Dunkin in this particular, case is probably the correct answer, there is no correct answer.

00:05:23:27 - 00:05:42:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then over here you can, you can offer this like, hey, do you want to show the QR code? So sometimes people can, scan it ahead of time and just have it on their phone, and their phone becomes like a game remote, or you can leave it being shown here on screen. You can indicate and show the live results.

00:05:42:04 - 00:05:59:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can also reorder the, the votes like, the as the votes are coming in, whichever one's highest, we'll, we'll kind of jump to the top. You can either leave that or not. And then down here in the advanced settings, if you do have a correct answer, this this text here will be displayed on screen about whether it was correct or whether it wasn't.

00:05:59:18 - 00:06:18:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so now if we look back over here at our pre-roll slides, if we get this presentation up and going, we're going to make it a little smaller. So you just pretend that this little, window here is like your, it's your it's your your your screen. Right. It's your, projector screen. You drag this over or whatever.

00:06:18:21 - 00:06:38:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So now it's rotating through. Rotating through. Boom. Here's a poll question. You can engage and hybridize and interact with your audience during your pre-roll session there. So that's one of my favorite ways to use it. I have a poll question of every single week during our pre-roll. The the hack to that is you do got to keep the slides.

00:06:38:11 - 00:06:44:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They can't be going this fast. I make mine a 14 second rotation that gives people enough

00:06:44:07 - 00:06:59:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
time to read the question, realize it, go scan it and vote and maybe get it in. Because once this q QR code is off the screen, voting is closed. And so once it goes to the next slide, they can't vote anymore. So they kind of got to wait for it to rotate back around.

00:06:59:15 - 00:07:22:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Sometimes if I noticed people trying to do it though, what I will do is I will pull my phone up and I will just go back using the the phone remote kind of feature. Right. So that's one way that you can utilize and use it in your ministry. The pre-roll, voting option. You can also use it probably most commonly, probably the ways that we think about the most is with your games.

00:07:22:29 - 00:07:38:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. And so, I told you in the last video of our playlist linked right up here, if I haven't already done that. I have already done that. If you're watching here on YouTube, when you buy a game, you can, bring it in. And so we bought this game, finished the drawing in our youth ministry by my friend Derek.

00:07:38:26 - 00:07:55:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Print it. I'll drop the link to that game down below in the show notes. Go buy it, hook his family up, give him some royalties. He needs Christmas presents. But, this is what it looks like when I import it in. And so in this particular game, what you would do is I'll go ahead and show it to you here on screen.

00:07:55:26 - 00:08:17:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What you would do is you would, put one of these slides up. And a student would then have to finish the the drawing of this bus. Okay. So the way that we utilize this in our ministry was we actually probably use random name generator, which is going to be coming up here in one of these future videos.

00:08:17:11 - 00:08:38:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Put some students up on stage. We got four different students. And so then, we gave them this picture. We gave them a minute countdown timer on the screen, and then they drew they finished the drawing. Now, then we used a camera. We just plugged it in via our stage, portal. We use our video switcher and we switch to the camera view.

00:08:38:09 - 00:08:58:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So that up on the screen, everyone could see the finished drawing. So all four contestants were holding their drawing up. And then we said, scan this QR code. And so students would scan the QR code. Once they scanned it, once it was on their phone for good and they could vote. Whoo hoo! One person, one person, two person to person four.

00:08:58:27 - 00:09:28:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Based on that, that was a winner. You can utilize this for anything that has a subjective winner, right? Like, who do you think won this person? This person. You draw something, you build a sculpture you like, who was the loudest. You can vote it right. And once you get that QR code shown on screen and there's another thing you know, it's showing right here, or you click this little button down here in the sidekick window, show QR code and look, it makes it full and big and so everyone can gain access to it, no matter how big or how far away they are from the screen.

00:09:28:15 - 00:09:53:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Sometimes you kind of got to zoom in with your phone and stuff like that. So we use that to then kind of declare a winner. All right. Another game option. I want to show you this one that is, sitting in here if you already, a member or a subscriber of sidekick, which if you're not, let me remind you that for my podcast listeners only, you can try out co-leader, which will be what gives you access to sidekick is a presentation software.

00:09:53:29 - 00:10:19:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you have never signed up for anything on game before by using the code Hybrid Ministry ten, and you can get an access to Premium or Premium Plus of Collider. I will put the link down below at sidekick.tv/pricing for you to compare the differences, but they'll give you either 260 Collider credits versus 520 Collider credits, along with either 25 or 75 sidekick phone voting connections.

00:10:19:13 - 00:10:36:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So go check that out if that's something that you want to do, that's something that you want to learn. But if you sign up and you are a member, then in your completely free section here, I'm going to end this thing so that I can edit again. Right? So you'll notice controls change a little bit, but it's free thing.

00:10:36:18 - 00:10:56:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There's a game, that Josh Griffin did over at Mariner's called Zombie Apocalypse. So I hit that and, I imported it. And so here's what it is. So this is the instructions given to us by the sidekick team. It says, hey, watch Josh play this game and how he use it. Here's the instructions. Here's his supply list here to do all this thing.

00:10:56:26 - 00:11:16:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But so if we just ran this, this is another way to utilize the voting and play game. Make this small so that we can we can see everything. But. So here we are. We're playing this zombie apocalypse apocalypse game. And, you got the the plot and all these things, and this is like super next level, right?

00:11:16:25 - 00:11:37:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So this question here is which weapon will you choose? You let the students decide if they want a hammer, a lightsaber, a rubber chicken or the impossible shot bow. Okay. And then here it is. Boom. Zombie approach is good news. Live separation and anxiety and will only go to one area at a time. And one big group of survivors should split up to have a better chance of survival.

00:11:37:14 - 00:11:59:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Each one has an either A, the baptismal, the tech booth, the playground, or the welcome booth. And then you let them vote, okay, crowd votes. And then, on one area, it kills the contestants who are there in that area. Then here's some more instructions. And they even incorporated the wheel. And so as you go through this is a a choose your own kind of adventure of a game.

00:11:59:02 - 00:12:17:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's another really fun, really creative way to use and utilize sidekick to your advantage. And then there's one last way that I want to show you. And I'll go ahead I'll get it presented once again. And this is with, another game that's free in the free section, if you sign up again, don't forget Hybrid Ministry ten.

00:12:17:05 - 00:12:32:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's called Where's the ball. And so in this particular game, this is the example of what I was kind of saying earlier about you can use your phone as a remote. And so this game is it got a right and wrong answer to it. Right. So like the the other ones were like more subjective. What do you think.

00:12:32:21 - 00:12:52:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What do you think this one is like? Here's a question. Here's the right answer. And so in this one your question that you must decide is is it a or is it be all right. And like I said in this particular case, you got to get that QR code live so that everyone can scan it on their phones, scans, skin scan, and then their phone becomes a remote.

00:12:52:18 - 00:13:12:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so now the question on their phone, A or B, their phone as they're holding it, it says is it A or is it B they vote I in the booth or your booth person clicks right here, this end voting thing. And then when you click reveal correct answer, it shows the slide with the correct answer. And then it also reveals it on everyone's phones at the same time.

00:13:12:19 - 00:13:28:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right. It's pretty cool. Here we go to the next one. This is which of these pickleball, balls is the correct answer? They would vote A, B, C, or D, you'd end the voting, you'd reveal the correct answer. And of course, the answer is a the phone would say correct. If they got it wrong, it would say incorrect or whatever.

00:13:28:26 - 00:13:46:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You said the advanced settings to be ahead of time. And I can show you how that works, because this one is a little bit more tricky to actually set up. You don't just simply click right like in this one right here. If I added a new slide and I wanted them to vote on who's the drawing, I simply click voting and then boom, I right I right to answer like who won?

00:13:46:27 - 00:14:02:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then I go down here and I do, you know, one, two three, four I unchecked the winner and we're off to the races and where's the ball. Like I said it's a little bit more intricate. So let me show you how it works. So you click edit Slide and this is voting right. So I clicked on that, I clicked Edit voting.

00:14:02:19 - 00:14:24:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if it weren't there I would turn into voting. And right here at the top you got this little toggle switch that says, is this an image based question when it's not now it went away. When I turn it back on, it's this image based question. So like I said, question side answer slide. And so if I remove this you'll see that I can upload the question slide.

00:14:24:05 - 00:14:42:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then I can upload the answer slide. Now if you're just getting this free where's the ball. It's already included in sidekick. Go get it. Go play it. It's super fun. But if you're creating it yourself, you'll have to upload this from somewhere just on your computer, right? And you also upload the answer and then you're going to correct or select which answer is truly correct.

00:14:43:03 - 00:14:58:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then down here in the advanced settings you can either say correct or you can say sorry, or you can flame them like you're an idiot. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that if you want to keep your job, but hey, go for it. It's up to you, right? You can also add right? So here's where you would add or subtract answers.

00:14:58:01 - 00:15:13:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if there's three multiple choice or four multiple choice, or if you need to take one away and make it three again, that's where you do that. And then you just simply click which of the answers is correct. This is one of my favorite ways. We did this one time and again. This is the type of stuff you get on the Patreon.

00:15:14:00 - 00:15:28:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like I'll share this idea and maybe you can use it. We did like a pet day. We were celebrating National Kitten Day, and we had people texting via our text groups to this picture of your pet, and then we put pictures of pets on screens. Then we said, who do you think? Whose pet do you think this is?

00:15:28:17 - 00:15:46:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Is it you know Jake's? Is it Brie's? Is it Adam's or is it, Gracie's? And then they would just vote, like, it was a fun way to use our students and to get them and let them be kind of the heroes and the superstars of our day and of our our game. And so that was a fun way.

00:15:46:09 - 00:16:15:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we used this image based question kind of voting option here on sidekick. The last way, of course, that you can use it is very obviously in your messages. And so once again, this is an example of what I'll be going on going on over in our Patreon. But in this particular week, actually tonight I'm preaching on, masks, and I got just a couple of different questions, on that, I'm talking about being judgmental.

00:16:15:22 - 00:16:33:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, in that I'm asking questions like, you know, are you ever judgmental? Yes or no? Scan it and let me know. Another one I'm using, like, hey, so, finish the phrase sticks and stones. What? And then I put a bunch of different ridiculous answers. And of course, the answer's six. And stones may break my bones.

00:16:33:04 - 00:16:48:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But words will never hurt. Give me a like if you knew that. Because, that means you're old, like me, and you're, in your 30s as a youth pastor. Give me a sub. If not, because that means that you're younger and that means that you're actually on YouTube. And so give me subs so that you will see some of these future videos.

00:16:48:02 - 00:17:08:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But the point is, previously before sidekick, I would just say raise your hand if you know what this phrase means. Sticks and stones may break my bones, and that's an engagement. But now, in a way, to go hybrid, taking my in-person and my digital and putting at the intersection of my students phones, I say, hey, scan this QR code and finish this phrase.

00:17:08:09 - 00:17:30:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And again, like my friend Anthony said back at that conference, I challenged myself to try and use sidekick in my message as I create at least one time per week. And so voting is a fantastic way to to utilize that and to use that. Now the another really fun custom way that sidekick, has to offer this was just voting.

00:17:30:13 - 00:17:48:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The last video was just some of its miscellaneous features. The next video, which is going to be linked right here on screen. You can see it if you're watching on YouTube. Go ahead and tap that and go check that out. Is the random wheel and how you can customize it and generate it with customized, sounds and punishments and all sorts of different things.

00:17:48:09 - 00:18:06:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I want to chat through different creative ways. You can use that, perhaps in pre-roll and games, in messages and announcements, all sorts of different ways. I can't wait for you to see that. I hope that this helps you and your youth. Minutes to become more engaging, more interactive. Don't forget that's all at the Patreon is going to be about.

00:18:06:17 - 00:18:10:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But as always, don't forget my friends to stay hybrid.

Episode 123: LIVE Sidekick Demo and Review! Youth Ministry Turned Interactive

Nick Clason — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600

🎧 BONUS WEEKLY PODCAST
https://patreon.com/hybridministry

🖥️ SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

DESCRIPTION
In this episode of the Hybrid Ministry Show, we’re diving into a live demo and review of Sidekick – a powerful tool for youth ministry and interactive programming! See how Sidekick can transform your youth group experience by adding a dynamic, creative edge to your student ministry. Sidekick from Download Youth Ministry is perfect for leaders looking to engage students in fresh ways, this episode is packed with insights to level up your student ministry service!

📓 SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/123

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

//COLEADER PRICING
CODE: HYBRIDMINISTRY10
https://www.sidekick.tv/pricing

//[FREE] STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//CUSTOM HYBRID COACHING
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//CHURCH COMMUNICATIONS DONE FOR YOU!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/comms

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

//SIDEKICK SETUP GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup

🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 More Engaging Services with Sidekick
02:26 New Patreon Show Starting!
04:08 Feature #1
06:48 Co-Leader Promo Code
08:23 Feature #2
11:39 Feature #3
12:12 Feature #4
13:44 Feature #5
14:07 Feature #6
14:40 Feature #7
15:35 Feature #8

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;04;17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Youth pastor. Collegiate minister. Senior pastor. What if I told you

00;00;04;17 - 00;00;12;28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
that there was a better presentation software out there than pro presenter PowerPoint, or whatever else you use?

00;00;12;28 - 00;00;30;19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It sounded too good to be true. Well, listen, it is made by youth pastors and is made for youth pastors. Give me a like if you think you already know what I'm talking about, because I am talking about my favorite presentation software and it's called sidekick.

00;00;30;19 - 00;01;01;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And here's why. This is great, regardless of if you're in youth ministry or not, because it is made for interaction and it is made for customization. But there is so much more. And in this video and in this upcoming playlist, I want to share with you what those features are. This video in particular, I'm going to drop my top eight different miscellaneous features because everyone knows that sidekick has things like the voting and the wheel picker and the name picker.

00;01;01;29 - 00;01;23;20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But in this video, I'm going to share the other things that sidekick has to offer besides those obvious kind of milestone landmark, features built in woven into the presentation software. And if you're here on YouTube, as always, don't forget that there are chapters listed down below at the bottom so that you can jump ahead to what matters most to you.

00;01;23;20 - 00;01;50;02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But here's the thing in the context in which I'm currently working, we are all in on sidekick. What we've done is we have two computers now, one for pro presenter and one for sidekick. Because if you know, if you've used sidekick in the new beta version at all, you know that it runs through Google Chrome and in the previous versions, what you could do with running a software like, pro presenters, you'd have pro presenter up and running and then back behind it.

00;01;50;02 - 00;02;19;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You could have the sidekick window and you could just toggle off the display. But now Chrome is actually more powerful than Pro Presenter. Most people I tell that they find that actually incredibly surprising. And so as a result of that, it makes switching between Chrome and Pro Presenter a little bit tricky. And so the way in which we have sort of circumvented or navigated that is we have just built two computers and we have a black magic video switcher where we can go from computer one to computer two.

00;02;19;09 - 00;02;44;24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And essentially we use Pro Presenter for just worship and lyrics, and then we use sidekick for every thing else. You know, I'm actually launching here during the course of this playlist, starting officially on December 2nd, a brand new bonus podcast. I'm going to be releasing it one time per week, going to be over on my Patreon page. And listen, Patreon, takes a little bit of a fee.

00;02;45;01 - 00;03;10;21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so the reason that I'm doing that is to just, invest back into the podcast. But I am only charging $4 per month. I think it is a small, modest fee. Essentially it is going to break down to $1 per week per additional bonus. Podcast. What I want to do with that podcast, I just simply want to share with you the creative ways that we are running our youth ministry programing and how we're making it hybrid.

00;03;10;21 - 00;03;35;24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you want more hybrid information, I would love to share that with you. This podcast and this YouTube video is meant to sort of like give a big broad strokes overview of what Hybrid Ministry is. But on my Patreon page, what I want to do is I just want to share an extra bonus podcast and simply chat through everything that I've done for the week and talk through the ways that we've tried to make it creative and talk through the ways in which we have tried to sort of hybridize our ministry.

00;03;35;24 - 00;04;01;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that podcast is starting December 2nd. And for everyone who signs up during now, if you're watching live through December 2nd, I am going to send and mail you an exclusive free piece of merch. For all who sign up between now and December 2nd. Like I said, and it basically breaks down to $1 a month. So, either scan the QR code that you see here on screen or hit the link down below in the description.

00;04;01;29 - 00;04;25;02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But let's dive in to my eight favorite features of sidekick. Let's check it out. So my first favorite feature of sidekick is its co-leader integration. And if you're watching here on screen, you might be surprised to know that you're not looking at sidekick. What you're actually going to look at when we're we're actually going to start is here on co-leader and so on.

00;04;25;02 - 00;04;50;07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Co-Leader. What you can do is, if you are a subscriber, a co-leader is a, curriculum roadmaps and, like, I guess almost, not pro presenter. What am I trying to say? Planning center replacement thing for youth pastors and for youth ministries. So here on co-leader, you can explore sort of all the different, series and topics and even, events that they have.

00;04;50;14 - 00;05;16;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Co-Leader has a roadmap series and so sort of like their proposed curriculum. And so you can explore their you're one of roadmaps and then you can also explore their your two here of roadmaps. And but essentially on co-leader what's so cool about it. And I like co-leader it is actually become it's new is only in year two of development but it's actually become my favorite curriculum resource, because it literally does everything for you.

00;05;16;11 - 00;05;33;27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you see here on our dashboard, these are series that we have redeemed our credits for. So Co-Leader works on sort of a credit system. And so we've redeemed, this credit series, this credit on this series here called masks. And so, for example, if you're in, session one of masks, you click view session here.

00;05;34;05 - 00;05;54;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you look right off to the side here, sidekick, you can open in sidekick. Boom. Click that little button and it will automatically import your entire sessions. So here's our session flow. They got your graphics and all that stuff. But starting here you got your countdown. You're welcome. Your icebreaker, your game, some songs, videos and then the teaching slides.

00;05;54;29 - 00;06;13;22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I want to show you what that looks like over here in sidekick. So if you're here in sidekick you'll see. Let's actually do a, side by side so that you can see them in comparison. Right. So from the top we have, countdown. There's your countdown. You got your, game right there. You got another game.

00;06;13;22 - 00;06;38;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Masked celebrity. And all of this is included in your co-leader subscription. You got your, bumper video for your masks, and then you got your masks. Chameleon is the title of the message. Chameleon teaching slides right there, and you can see how all of that works together. And so by a simple click of the button, your entire youth ministry night is planned.

00;06;38;29 - 00;07;03;19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it is absolutely crazy. Now if you're a download Youth Ministry member, the co-leader is slightly different than do you? I am, but if you've never done anything in with download youth ministry before or co-leader, then I want to let my podcast listeners know that exclusively here on this podcast. I'll give you 10% off, of co-leader, so you can use the code Hybrid Ministry ten.

00;07;03;19 - 00;07;26;03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what that includes is not only will that give you access to co-leader, but that also sort of will unlock access to this presentation software called sidekick. And so included is sidekick for a year. It allows you to do the one click presentations for everything that's in co-leader. Both year one and year two of the roadmaps, and you can get an access to co-leader premium or Premium Plus.

00;07;26;03 - 00;07;48;15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay. And so premium includes 260 co-leader credits. Like I said, it's kind of built off that credit system. And then you get 25 sidekick phone connections. That's for voting. We'll get to that in a minute. Or the premium class which is Premium Plus, which is 520 co-leader credits and 75 sidekick phone connections. So you can explore the differences between those two plans at this link here.

00;07;48;15 - 00;08;05;27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
On screen sidekick TV pricing don't forget, if you've never used or never done anything before with sidekick or with co-leader, then if you're signing up for the first time, Hybrid Ministry ten, I'll give you 10% off. Go ahead and check that out. And so I love that

00;08;05;27 - 00;08;10;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
about sidekick. I love that about, co-leader I love that, but it's integration.

00;08;10;01 - 00;08;10;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So boom.

00;08;10;11 - 00;08;22;28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right here. Here's my full like rundown, my full run sheet for everything going on here in this masks series. Now that's my first favorite thing about sidekick the co-leader integration.

00;08;22;28 - 00;08;37;19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So my second favorite feature about sidekick is the YouTube video integration. Now, the thing I like about the YouTube video integration is it takes a while in sidekicks to to upload videos.

00;08;37;19 - 00;09;02;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can drag and drop JPEGs easily, but when you go to upload a video, just it takes a minute and it's a little clunky to do, like a video, next video, next video, because you got to kind of do it one by one. So here's how it look like. So if I wanted to put a video on this slide, I'd click Edit Media videos, go browse, go find the video, upload it, wait for it to upload, and then it's it's in its spot as opposed to just a quick and easy drag and drop.

00;09;02;05 - 00;09;23;29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, if, I wanted to just embed a YouTube video, that's very simple, and I've actually already done that right here on this one, you'll notice here's one of my YouTube videos embedded. So if I go to present this thing, remember it's browser based. So just very simply,

00;09;24;01 - 00;09;46;10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So just very simply, opens up a new window and you started hearing even the, the, what's it called? The countdown right there. But here's this video that I embedded social media right there into sidekick. I have all this functionality over here. I can pause the video, I can mute the video, I can restart the video.

00;09;46;10 - 00;10;10;05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I can do all those sort of things. Let me get this smaller so that we can see both of them together. So this is my presentation window that will just go full screen. Right. But very simply, when I'm, when I'm wanting to include a video, I can embed a video. And this is embedded small, but I can also just, you know, very, very simply, very easily embed that video full screen.

00;10;10;05 - 00;10;44;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right, as well. Now, the other thing like that we use in our youth ministry as we go hybrid taking our our in-person and our digital, we teach live messages. But then we also prefilled them for multiple reasons, because we use that as a springboard for our Sunday morning small group content. And so every Sunday morning we play a clip off of one of our message clips, even though the message was delivered live, we play the filmed version, in our room, just like a 2 to 3 minute clip to remind everyone what was said.

00;10;44;02 - 00;11;03;11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Our our leaders can look at it ahead of time. Our students who missed on Wednesday can also look at it ahead of time on YouTube. It's evergreen content. It's meant to reach students who, might be asking questions about faith, God, whatever the case might be. And so we do that. And if you're interested in exploring more about what that might look like, link down.

00;11;03;11 - 00;11;38;27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Below is a link to some custom coaching. I would love to help kind of level that game up for you, or even get you started from scratch if that's something that you're interested in. But it has been a hugely beneficial piece to us and our student ministry, having the ability to just simply embed our YouTube videos. And so for things like countdowns or for things that are like bigger files, I will actually upload those to YouTube, host them there, put them on just like a private unlisted link, and then embed that video into my sidekick presentation, as opposed to have to upload it every single time.

00;11;39;00 - 00;11;57;26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now here's the other thing I love about sidekick. It's easy to build. So let me show you very quickly. Like, while, you know, while the videos might be a little more tricky to, to pull in or builder upload, they're easy to do. They're just a little bit time consuming. That's why it's easy to just drop a YouTube video in there.

00;11;57;26 - 00;12;09;26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. But if I just want to like, add one of these JPEGs in here, all I gotta do is drag it and drop it and boom, it's uploaded and is ready to go. There it is. Okay, super simple, super easy to

00;12;09;26 - 00;12;17;19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
build. I love things like, these looping announcements. So right here, here's a bunch of different looping announcements.

00;12;17;19 - 00;12;39;04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, don't forget that the, here's the here's the countdown video again. But, you know, as always, like, don't forget Hybrid Ministry ten. Don't forget about that. That's going to be used to your advantage. If you want to check out Collider, you want to check out sidekick. Don't forget we got custom social media coaching. Scan the QR code that you see here on screen here.

00;12;39;04 - 00;12;58;09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'll make it bigger so you can go and check out my completely free e-book about how to go hybrid. Or hey, don't forget about our Patreon. We got that going on $4 a month exclusive free merch along with all these other things that you see here. Listed out exclusive sticker help to show and segment topics, super chats and shout outs.

00;12;58;09 - 00;13;22;02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right? But you can turn this right here. You can turn these announcements to be looping announcements. We use those every single week in our ministry. So you'll see right over here. If you're watching here on screen, you see this little, loop icon. That means that this, this set of announcements in this little, pocket of, of slides here is set to, rotate.

00;13;22;05 - 00;13;41;14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This one right here is not. So let me show you how you do it. Click this little gear icon. You click loop slides. You say how long you want the slides to loop for seven seconds or 10s or however long you want it to. And then you simply click close and then boom. When you click present, those will then be on a looper, which is a fantastic resource.

00;13;41;14 - 00;14;03;16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We use that every single week in our student ministry. I also want to let you know just about a couple of other things that are awesome. You have the, free option up here. So if you're co-leader, sidekick, person, these are all free different resources that you can get just like and quickly and simply, you got countdowns and games and videos and all sorts of things.

00;14;03;18 - 00;14;21;28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can embed or import any of these into your presentation. The other thing that's really cool is when you buy something on demand, look, I've bought these things before, they will automatically upload them. So as I was saying, kind of the video thing was a little clunky to upload and maybe you don't want to upload every single one of these to a YouTube playlist and then embed those via YouTube.

00;14;22;00 - 00;14;55;19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
No sweat. No problem. Check it out. You can very simply buy something on gram and then boom, it'll be there in just a second and then you can quickly import it. Just like I did down here with this, finish the drawing game back to school. And there it is. Boom. Imported. All right, and then the other thing, man, the other thing that is so cool about, sidekick is that the you can control it from your phone simply by logging into app that sidekick.tv on your mobile device, and you can control it from anywhere in the room, including teaching.

00;14;55;24 - 00;15;19;28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can control it from any other device, including like our, sound booth, computer, maybe running sidekick. I can go into my office, and I can control sidekick from my office. And so my office actually sits where I can see in through some glass doors into our auditorium. And so if it's on the wrong side or whatever, I can pull open on my, on my laptop home from the app, that sidekick, that TV type in and change it.

00;15;20;04 - 00;15;45;15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I've had other like staff members and volunteers to be like, are you are you controlling that right now? And that part is so stinking cool. The last thing the eighth and final piece about sidekick that I love is the voting. The voting option is the the single greatest advent. This is what makes this presentation and software so unique and so customizable.

00;15;45;21 - 00;16;13;15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's what we're going to talk about. Additional creative ways to use it in your games, in your countdowns, in your teaching, in all sorts of different ways to deploy and use the voting feature in sidekick. You can't do this on any other presentation software. That video is going to be linked right here on screen. Go check out our Patreon as we'll talk about multiple creative ways to deploy voting and to deploy sidekick, and simply what I am doing to lean in and be more hybrid.

00;16;13;19 - 00;16;20;00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But check that video out on screen. And don't forget, and as always, my friends, to stay hybrid.

Episode 122: Why Your Youth Ministry Follow-Up Isn't Working

Nick Clason — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 07:00:00 -0600

THE ULTIMATE GUEST FOLLOW UP BOX
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/ultimate-first-time-guest-box-579557?source=storefront

DESCRIPTION
New Visitor to your Youth Group?
Yay!
Now what? How do you follow-up in a way that doesn't feel weird or creepy?
Good question! Let's explore it together!

SHOWNOTES
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/122

//THE ULTIMATE GUEST FOLLOW UP BOX
https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry/shop/ultimate-first-time-guest-box-579557?source=storefront

//OUR WELCOME VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neb34eYasCY

//EPISODE 100
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0L-Dxhs7cI

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 Better First Time Guest Followup
01:31 Guest Follow-Up Gone Hybrid
02:42 Where the Idea Began
05:08 Mailing Boxes Begins!
06:47 The Ultimate Welcome Box

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you have a

00:00:01:00 - 00:00:03:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
brand new student or

00:00:03:05 - 00:00:04:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
person to your church.

00:00:04:20 - 00:00:05:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hooray!

00:00:05:01 - 00:00:06:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Congratulations! That's

00:00:06:08 - 00:00:07:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
so exciting.

00:00:08:00 - 00:00:09:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now how do

00:00:09:24 - 00:00:14:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
we make sure that they return well, without seeming

00:00:14:29 - 00:00:20:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
weird or creepy or old and out of touch?

00:00:20:06 - 00:00:35:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So here's the thing. We all want our students to attend our church. We want them also to feel comfortable and then hopefully ultimately find a home at our church or in our group or with our student ministry.

00:00:35:23 - 00:01:01:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so a visitor is great, but a returning guest even better. See in this podcast, in this episode, what I want to do is I'm going to share with you our step by step guest follow up process and the physical and in-person product that we are using to turn our process hybrid. And I want to give you this box artwork.

00:01:01:17 - 00:01:02:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So go ahead and you

00:01:02:17 - 00:01:08:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
can scrub ahead. You can click the link down below in the description or go to I start talking about the box design

00:01:08:21 - 00:01:09:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
in

00:01:09:02 - 00:01:17:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
this YouTube playlist, and you can go ahead and grab that link from us and go check it out. If you're following along here on YouTube, just a reminder there are chapters

00:01:17:14 - 00:01:17:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
down

00:01:17:27 - 00:01:22:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
along at the bottom so that you can skip straight ahead to the parts of the video that make the most sense to you.

00:01:22:25 - 00:01:28:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But just as a reminder, hybrid is taking your in-person moment and your digital and finding a way to

00:01:28:10 - 00:01:31:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
intersect them together. So my

00:01:31:18 - 00:01:37:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
guess is give me a like, if you are the type of person who, when you have a student, you send them

00:01:37:00 - 00:01:37:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
a

00:01:37:10 - 00:01:40:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
postcard or go ahead and give me a

00:01:40:06 - 00:01:43:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
subscribe, if maybe not just a postcard, but

00:01:43:09 - 00:01:45:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you're also sending a text message, right?

00:01:45:14 - 00:02:05:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So early on I would I would send postcards. That was and I still do send postcards as, the way that I was kind of trained and I even like as a youth group student received postcards and, and I still do believe in the power of the personal touch. And I, I think that mail, does actually play an important role in youth ministry.

00:02:05:05 - 00:02:25:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I think students don't receive mail very often. So I think it's helpful and beneficial for them to get it. Text messages. I do also believe they're important, especially as we talk about hybrid and the intersection of that hybrid being where, it often lands in the hands and in the palms of a student's cell phone. But I don't know about you, but I send a postcard, and it's like

00:02:27:07 - 00:02:28:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
where I send a text.

00:02:28:18 - 00:02:40:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And one time, literally, I got I sent a text from my personal cell phone number, and I got the word stop like, no, no, this was not an automated text like, this is a human being, but okay.

00:02:40:04 - 00:02:47:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Got it. I'll stop. So enter Covid when Covid hit. For those of you watching

00:02:47:19 - 00:02:50:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Linked Up, here is our 100th episode

00:02:50:05 - 00:03:07:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
where I did a recap about where this all sort of hybrid thing started, but we created this full scale and full length digital expression of youth ministry like a full, almost like YouTube variety show, Think like Jimmy Fallon, but youth ministry and YouTube.

00:03:07:26 - 00:03:10:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so our Covid experience was so

00:03:10:22 - 00:03:11:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of our show. And so therefore we would drop a rubber duck and a postcard, but we would do a physical door drop at their, house and at their, their door. And so, I would then get students, or even parents come talk to me on the weekends and be like, thank you.

00:03:44:00 - 00:04:00:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
our show. And so therefore we would drop a rubber duck and a postcard, but we would do a physical door drop at their, house and at their, their door. And so, I would then get students, or even parents come talk to me on the weekends and be like, thank you.

00:04:00:14 - 00:04:31:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So much. I mean, long gone now were the days of the, unanswered texts or the postcards sent into a black hole. Like, now I'm getting students and parents who are actually acknowledging our efforts and acknowledging us, helping roll out the red carpet to help make them feel welcome. It was a great response, but unfortunately, due to like where I lived and how regionally drawn our churches our church was and how far students drove to to come and attend our campus, and the fact that they could do it online.

00:04:31:26 - 00:04:32:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Us they didn't have to

00:04:32:18 - 00:04:52:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
get in the car and come drive a certain distance to our church. It took me a whole day like I remember one Thursday. So our youth night was Wednesday, one Thursday I spent like 9 to 5 in the car just doing these, these door drops. And so, I was just, you know, I was like, I guess that's part of the job, right?

00:04:52:01 - 00:05:13:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I was talking to my boss and I was like, hey, like, I spent my whole Thursday driving around new, so great. And I saw him all the great things. And he's like, you spent your whole day driving. I was like, we can on. Yeah. And he's like, oh, let's, let's, let's change that. And so, what we started doing as opposed to like the physical, me getting in my car, taking it and putting it on their doorstep.

00:05:13:24 - 00:05:33:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We started, taking the same concept, getting it to their hands. But instead of me doing it, we started paying the post office to do it as if there were some sort of service that could take something from point A to point B, and that is woven all throughout the fabric of our country being it's the post office.

00:05:33:14 - 00:05:56:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we started shipping things and it was expensive. Don't get me wrong, we created like a branded box, and now it's like we had to include a little bit more than just a duck in a postcard, so that the box didn't seem boring and empty. But we started shipping it. And so, that that strategy, we kind of laid that over and carried that over, here where I work now.

00:05:56:04 - 00:06:00:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's I started for the first probably like two years of my, my tenure here at this church

00:06:00:29 - 00:06:17:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
with text message, follow up for first time guess. And I can count on one finger, the amount of times I got a response. And that response was in those two years, the word stop. And so I said, hey, listen, maybe I'm just too old for this.

00:06:17:20 - 00:06:37:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like I'm in my mid 30s and maybe students are like, I that's weird to text the guy in the in his 30s, or maybe text messages to students who they don't have the contact info from, especially from a phone number that it's not local. I live in DFW, Dallas-Fort worth, Texas. My phone number is from Dayton, Ohio. Like there is a massive difference in those two area codes.

00:06:37:01 - 00:06:52:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so they see someone down here with an 807 area code seeing a nine, three seven area code. They don't know what to do with it. So they ghosted as they do. And so I suggest and I propose what if we bring back the boxes. And so what I want to do is I want to share with you this right here.

00:06:52:14 - 00:07:10:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is our welcome box. It's branded. It's custom for us. And so if you look on all the sides, it's got a little, it's great to meet you. It's got, you know, yay! You're here. And then the top here, says welcome, along with a return address and a spot for us to put their address.

00:07:10:15 - 00:07:30:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then on the back, it's got our social handles. And what I want to do is I want to go through step by step, item by item, and, boxes here with you. And so, one of the things that we do is every single, every single semester, but three times a year, we do like a four, we do a winter, and then we do a summer calendar.

00:07:30:04 - 00:07:50:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what we do is we make our calendars into magnets. And so you look here, this is a magnet. It's about eight inches long. And so, truth be told, this box right here is about eight inches, and it's eight inches because the magnet is eight inches. I made the decision to make the box the same size as the magnet.

00:07:50:28 - 00:08:11:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so then I made sure that everything from the size of the magnet on down would be able to fit into the box. So, we put the magnet in there. The magnet has all of our events. And you'll also notice here's an opportunity to go hybrid. This right here is just a link to subscribe to the IX or the calendar type things.

00:08:11:14 - 00:08:29:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's a calendar, extension you can get it from, like creating, a Google calendar, a calendar, a Google calendar calendar. And then you can share that out. And so that's what we did. And so students can add this and subscribe to their calendar. We haven't gotten as many of those from students, but I know we've gotten some scans from parents.

00:08:29:13 - 00:08:48:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And also we give specific and particular leader magnet. And so our leaders also can go ahead and scan that. And so that is our magnet. We also have this sticker here, and these frankly, they're just laying around. We got these for free. So these didn't really cost the anything. So so far I want to point out these.

00:08:48:07 - 00:09:08:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We already print like we already pay for these for our students. And these are already laying around. So so far we're $0 into the box. Don't worry. It gets more expensive. This right here is just a little, promo, a nod to our social media. And so down the road, we will send them this postcard that simply says, life can be hard.

00:09:08:15 - 00:09:27:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You don't have to do it alone. This is a QR code to our link tree. And then here's just a little preview of our churches, YouTube handle right there. And, probably our most popular video, which is what is anxiety? What do I do about it if I have it? And we'll just, God have to say about anxiety.

00:09:27:16 - 00:09:44:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we will send this out a couple weeks after we send the box out. This is, this is a separate pieces doesn't go in the box that sent later. This is an additional kind of piece of merch. And again, once again, we have just some stuff kind of laying around that we inherited from the old regime.

00:09:44:19 - 00:10:07:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we try to, like, get rid of it. The little guest box checklist that we have this, and like an extra piece of merch from our merch cabinet. So here's a piece of merch from our merch cabinet. Right here. This one's kind of unique. Okay, we have a lanyard. And the reason that we have a lanyard branded and all the things is that right here, we do, we do pins right?

00:10:07:29 - 00:10:29:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Kind of like, think like Disney pin trading. So we'll create pins. And this right here is our little mascot guy. We call him Pugsley the platypus, because a baby platypus is a puggle. So one of our sixth graders one year recommended that we name them Pugsley. And so thus we did. And so we have this lanyard. And I actually have a lanyard for, like, my, staff nametag lanyard.

00:10:29:22 - 00:10:51:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this is full of pins. So like summer camp, Water wars, the Back to School bash, Space Jam night, like any, any event that we deem pin worthy. So coming up, we'll have our Christmas at the movies event. We'll. We've done costume parties. Any of those, they get designed. We just found a dude on Fiverr. He designed these for us.

00:10:51:01 - 00:11:12:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then we send these, after sticker mule and sticker mule creates the pins. And so then we stick this pin. This is the, like, og original. Pugsley pin. It's just a traditional guy. He's just wearing, like, our logo on his t shirt there. And, we put the original pin on the lanyard for the students, and then, right here, this has three for free.

00:11:12:29 - 00:11:32:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this is a, redeemable coupon at our student ministry cafe. They can turn this in and get three things for free. And then, we have these life books and these life books. We've gotten them, from the Gideons, the the Bible translator and the Bible, providers. And so you can actually get these for free.

00:11:32:23 - 00:11:51:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's just it's like the book of John with like some notes, and it's designed well and graphically. And so you've probably seen these before, and truth be told, I like these. I also like the life and Six words book, that comes from, dare to share. But these we had like three cases of these again from the old regime.

00:11:51:19 - 00:12:07:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we're like, let's go ahead and give these away. When these run out, we may reorder these. We may do a different sort of devotional, but but this is like the one sort of like devotional, sort of like spiritual peace. And then that's now the emptiness of the box and say, look down at the box there and you'll see, it's got this word right here.

00:12:07:26 - 00:12:24:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's got some copy and it simply says, hey there, we're so glad you joined us. Meet Pugsley, our platypus mascot, voted on and named by our students. We love it when students invest in student ministry. So in this box, you will find everything that you need to get started. And then it's a numbered list. You'll see one, two, three, four.

00:12:24:23 - 00:12:42:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Number one. This lanyard is a great spot to hold pins. Number two, we started you with your first one and there's more to come at our Pin events and milestones throughout the year. Number three, this life book is a great place to find out about what Jesus is all about. Number four, some other random stuff because we wanted you to know how glad we are that you joined us.

00:12:42:09 - 00:12:57:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We can't wait to get to know you. And then the very last piece of it, my favorite piece of it, the piece that I think makes it hybrid, is right. When you open the box, you see this QR code here and it just says welcome video, scan me. And so we'll have students who are new the open this up

00:12:57:25 - 00:13:01:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
theoretically on their porch, on their patio, wherever they will scan it.

00:13:01:26 - 00:13:24:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then we'll take them to a video right here. If you're watching on YouTube, you'll be able to see a preview of it, but linked right here, linked below is what I want to do is I want to offer you, the art for this box if you want to start creating your own. I'll also, give you like, a detailed tutorial, like where I ordered it from, as well as the copy for the welcome video.

00:13:24:02 - 00:13:49:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can feel free to film that, throw that on a teleprompter, memorize it however you want to film it, and you can start creating better welcome and better guest returns for your youth ministry and for your student ministry. And once again, here's the reason that I like this is because this, gets them connected to us. This at a very minimum, one of the sections on this video right here says, we're so glad that you came.

00:13:49:29 - 00:14:10:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And also welcome to our YouTube channel. And if you've been around this podcast or this YouTube playlist, any link or a YouTube channel, any length of time you know that 95% of teenagers are claiming to be and be active on YouTube. And so therefore, I think we as youth ministries should make that a priority. We and our student ministry have made it a priority.

00:14:10:21 - 00:14:27:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, I, I think that that's a fantastic way to expose, in a sort of like, non-threatening way, expose your students to your channel, then maybe next time to log in to the YouTube account. One of our video shows up because they've already watched one. Or maybe they like that video. Maybe they subscribe to that video.

00:14:27:23 - 00:14:52:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now we're in their subscriptions with all of our teachings and all of those types of things, which, by the way, I can explain and show to you how to start posting your teachings to YouTube so that they live beyond your Sunday or Wednesday services. That video is going to be linked right here on screen, and I can't wait for you to take a look at that, because we're trying to make digital discipleship here at the Hybrid Ministry Podcast easy, possible and accessible.

00:14:52:04 - 00:14:55:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So as always, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 121: The Student Ministry Debate: In-Person vs Digital

Nick Clason — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 04:00:00 -0500

Join Nick Clason and special guest, Josh Boldman, "The Best Programming Specialist" in America, on the Hybrid Ministry Podcast as they dive into "The Student Ministry Debate: In-Person vs Digital." Explore fresh youth ministry ideas and strategies for balancing hybrid ministry to effectively engage students in both student ministry settings.

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SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/122

Full Studio Tour Episode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVT1xvh9-5k&t=161s

4 Easy Social Media Ideas
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaKLwZqOkQe7NzOqSVR0-P1s

DYM 100
https://dymtraining.com/dym100-roundtable/

Complete Guide to Crush Social Media E-Book
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/complete-guide-to-crushing-youth-ministry-social-media/admin-tools/social-media-9537.html

CONNECT WITH JOSH ON SOCIAL
https://www.tiktok.com/@joshboldman
https://www.instagram.com/joshboldman/
https://www.facebook.com/joshboldman
https://x.com/joshboldman

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https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 The Great Debate
01:11 The Challenge: In Person vs. Digital
02:58 Clarifying "Hybrid"
04:42 5:00 Countdown
09:12 Opening Worship Song
16:35 Host Moment & Announcements
22:00 Game - Where's the Ball
30:35 Lesson: With a Killer Response Time
37:34 Online vs. In-Person: The Power of YouTube
41:54 Other Miscellaneous Hybrid Ideas

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:23:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What is up, everybody? Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. In this episode, I am going to be talking with my friend Josh Goldman. He works over at Download Youth Ministry. He does all the stuff with sidekick and he does, stuff with co-leader and Josh, honestly, I believe is one of, if not the greatest programing specialist for youth ministries in America.

00:00:23:19 - 00:00:43:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm really excited for you to hear it because some of his ideas are absolutely fantastic. But what we're gonna do is we're going to be debating between in-person and digital, and you're going to see me try to lean everything back towards hybrid. And what we're doing is he's bringing a youth ministry programing sheet and he's saying, this is what we're doing.

00:00:43:13 - 00:01:02:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
How do we make it digital? How do we, honor the people that might be watching online and more? I try to say, how can we make it hybrid? And so for those of you who are new here, hybrid is taking your in-person, taking your digital and finding a way to meet that intersection. And in most cases, I think that is at the intersection of students cell phones.

00:01:02:01 - 00:01:11:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you're going to see that this debate between digital versus in-person. So welcome to the show, the one and only Josh Boardman.

00:01:11:12 - 00:01:23:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Well what's up everybody. I'm here this morning with my good friend Josh Bullman. And we have a little bit of a unique idea. So Josh, tell the people what we're doing okay.

00:01:23:01 - 00:01:30:29
Josh Boldman
So as anyone watching slash listening knows, Nick Claussen is all about the hybrid ministry, right?

00:01:30:29 - 00:01:53:19
Josh Boldman
Making sure that the people that are at home are still connecting with what's happening in the room. Yeah. I spent most of my ministry, like, developing, and leading services in the room. And then, you know, Covid happened and things got crazy, and we we did a full pendulum swing to where, like, we did everything online. Yeah.

00:01:53:20 - 00:02:02:13
Josh Boldman
And then we came back and suddenly it was like, wait, are we still doing online or are we like, what are we doing? You know? And so it was the constant challenge of

00:02:02:13 - 00:02:11:27
Josh Boldman
trying to not just, create something in the room and just stream it, right, like, make it more interactive. So yeah. So today

00:02:11:27 - 00:02:12:18
Josh Boldman
what

00:02:12:18 - 00:02:19:29
Josh Boldman
we're doing is I have got a service that I've created for in the room, and I'm going to walk us through it.

00:02:20:02 - 00:02:26:26
Josh Boldman
And Nick is going to in real time because he has not seen it. Now you guys gotta know, I offered. I was like,

00:02:26:26 - 00:02:48:05
Josh Boldman
dude, do you want this ahead? And we could just fake it? And he's like, no, no, too much integrity. Way too much. Yeah. And so he's going to try like as we go to, we're going to think through each, each section and try and figure out what is it that we can do to make this something that people who are not in the room, you know, but the students at home.

00:02:48:07 - 00:03:08:03
Josh Boldman
And I'm curious, Nick, if this is, you know, maybe something we look at is, is it if they're watching live or even if they're watching later, like, how does that impact, well, your ability to participate.

00:03:08:03 - 00:03:11:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So yeah, and to be clear, like the way that I define hybrid is like it's the it's the two pieces.
So your in-person plus your digital and it's like them coming

00:03:11:17 - 00:03:11:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
together.

00:03:11:27 - 00:03:19:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so there may be elements I think a little more what I might try to do is like take, take what is going on in the room and find a way

00:03:19:22 - 00:03:44:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to allow it to exist beyond that moment. Yeah. Or find a way to intersect a student, like in a spot like their phone that will that will last beyond that, the time that you dismiss them to go home so they can take it home, like youth ministry, typically pre-digital, could only exist in the few hours that our church doors were open.

00:03:44:04 - 00:04:13:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so now we have the advantage of being able to access sometimes it's, you know, a curse versus a blessing, but we have the advantage of being able to access and have conversation with and disciple our students at a time that Wednesday night programing or Sunday morning or Sunday night programing isn't happening. And how can we take what we're doing in the room and offer it to students beyond that moment, or even in your place in what you were saying, maybe even as a replacement of it?

00:04:13:22 - 00:04:28:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, like Josh said, I haven't seen any of this. I am a little nervous right now. Like earlier I was like, I'm fine, but now I'm a little nervous as I like get together. I got to be totally honest. I'm like, there are parts of it. Or I was like, oh, I can totally see how this is going to work.

00:04:28:05 - 00:04:42:24
Josh Boldman
And then there are other parts where I'm like, I don't know what he's going to do, how this is going to. Yeah. So bear with me. Stream of consciousness. And it may not be perfect and polished, but that's okay. That's what we're here for. So all right, let's do it. What is the first part of your service?

00:04:42:24 - 00:04:44:09
Josh Boldman
The five minute countdown.

00:04:44:13 - 00:04:45:20
Josh Boldman
Right. Okay, so we've got

00:04:45:20 - 00:05:19:08
Josh Boldman
students are in the room, they're playing nine square, they're playing gaga ball. They've got they're not paying attention to the countdown. Nobody cares what like someone spent a lot of time creating a countdown. Yeah, but ultimately no one cares about until it, like, reaches 10s. But there's there's a lot of interaction happening. And so, like, trying to think through is there is there something where we're trying to connect with students that are not in the room, or is there something we can do in the room to help students know, hey, it's not just you here.

00:05:19:08 - 00:05:43:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There's yeah, there's more than that going on. Yeah. So one of the things about five minute countdowns that I actually hate, and I know that as talking to a guy who works for Download Youth Ministry, and that's where a lot of the money is made and a lot of five minute countdowns are sold. I actually prefer, which, by the way, talking to you right now, let this be an unofficial sidekick feature

00:05:43:09 - 00:05:44:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
request.

00:05:44:18 - 00:05:58:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. Because right now in sidekick, you can, you can loop your announcements, right? You can loop some, like, graphic slides. And I actually prefer that to be the five minute countdown with

00:05:58:07 - 00:06:11:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
just the five minute countdown overlaid in the corner, so that all of the announcements that you're announcing and trying to let your students know about are happening, is being seen on the screen.

00:06:11:03 - 00:06:22:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because if you think about it, if if the majority of people don't start paying attention to the screen until it's down to less than a minute, they missed all of the stuff that was looping ahead of time.

00:06:22:16 - 00:06:37:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the stuff that's looping ahead of time is the stuff that you want them to know about. And so whether it's hybrid, whether it's digital only or whether it's in person, like whatever you're announcing, I think you should leave that stuff on the screen as long as humanly possible.

00:06:37:20 - 00:06:56:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you're able to put a little five minute countdown in the corner or even across the middle, but I try to design my slides in such a way that I think, like, all right, I'm going to do the left corner of this time and keep stuff out of the left corner. And so then we may have like our current series graphic, we may have an upcoming events.

00:06:56:02 - 00:07:13:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like at the time of recording, we got our costume party coming up and Christmas is on the horizon. So those types of things are there. But woven in my announcements, I might try to do, well, I what we do right now is like, I advertise our online baptism

00:07:13:19 - 00:07:22:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
course, which is a YouTube playlist. And there are so many times, like almost all of my slides at this point, have a QR code to you.

00:07:22:24 - 00:07:42:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Do you remember when the QR code was dying? Like, yeah, no one used it. So lame. Like, I remember having this conversation in a church staff meeting where it was like we could put a QR code on it. And I remember some would be like, does anyone use those? And the answer was no. Yeah. And then but now

00:07:42:25 - 00:07:46:18
Josh Boldman
how else would we get the menu at restaurants like this?

00:07:46:20 - 00:08:14:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I think I had the same meeting because at during Covid the question was how do we communicate things without handing things to people and passing germs? Yeah. And I suggested a QR code and I quote from our communications team, we will never use a QR code. And I kid you not, not two weeks later, what was on the screen, because it was the only way to do it and it made a comeback.

00:08:14:00 - 00:08:35:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I actually I've always thought QR codes were brilliant. They didn't get adopted early on, but now they're back and they make so much sense. So yeah, we have a subscription to like a QR code builder. I get like 160 different like unique QR codes. And so I abuse that. And so oh yeah, our baptism course, our text list like all of these things.

00:08:35:11 - 00:09:05:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if a student during the five minute countdown, isn't playing nine square and they're kind of sitting already in the service or don't have anyone to talk to or something on the screen, does happen to sort of like catch their attention. They can pull their phone out. They can scan the QR code and they can get to it later, whether that be signing up for our text group, which will allow them access, or us access to them to send them encouraging messages or even just announcement type things, or even like discipleship related things like, hey, I'm ready to take a next step about baptism.

00:09:05:08 - 00:09:12:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let me explore more about that through the baptism playlist. So all right, so there you go. That's what I would do. All right.

00:09:12:18 - 00:09:17:19
Josh Boldman
So at zero, usually what we'll do is we'll, we'll jump right into

00:09:17:19 - 00:09:17:29
Josh Boldman
the first

00:09:17:29 - 00:09:31:12
Josh Boldman
song. Right. And so our, our group, we had a live band. So that was, I mean, I, you know, it's one of those things where every time you talk about having a student band, this could go one of two very different ways.

00:09:31:15 - 00:09:51:29
Josh Boldman
And I will say, like, I've been really blessed to be at churches where, we had a really good, like, solid student led band that, I mean, had a, a track record of what I would say is in the neighborhood of 82%, like, okay, this is going to be a four out of five that it's going to go, well, so like so it would, it would hit pretty well.

00:09:51:29 - 00:10:08:10
Josh Boldman
And that was kind of in the room that was like the, the oh, oh we're starting like you know, so everybody's like getting getting into their seats getting music hits. Yeah. Yeah. And so I mean obviously in the room you got lyrics on the screen, you got we got, you know, some cameras going and stuff like that.

00:10:08:11 - 00:10:31:02
Josh Boldman
So yeah, like for, for worship on the live stream for people after like, are you like, is there anything different that you feel like you can do to set up to help again, the room feel like they're a part of what's happening at home and vice versa. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of different ideas. Let me first say, Josh, you might find this surprising.

00:10:31:13 - 00:10:55:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I've been in youth ministry for 14 years, and the church I'm at now, I've been here two years. This is the first church in. You know, I guess by the time I moved here is, like, 12 years. So my first 12 years of ministry, I did not have a regular live worship band. Oh, yeah. Everywhere I've been prior, like, for one reason or another, the band didn't really, like, Take Root.

00:10:55:17 - 00:11:15:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I didn't try to kill it, but I also didn't have a massive like, that's not my bent. I'm not a worship guy. I can't play any instruments. And so I'm not trying to get that thing up and off the ground. And so for sure, I've had we've had worship at camps and retreats and at like one off worship nights and stuff like that, but not on like a regular, like rhythm.

00:11:15:09 - 00:11:38:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so let me just say to those of you out there in the majority of churches, right, like that, probably don't have a live stream, let's just be honest. And they may you might not even have quality like music means to pull off worship like I feel is. I mean, you know, you can be the judge of this, but I feel as though I did really good youth ministry for 12 years without a band.

00:11:38:19 - 00:12:02:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I and I don't even know, like in a, you know, in a typical youth service, it's what it's a little more like geared towards outsiders. Oftentimes I don't know that getting up there and singing about the blood of Jesus is often the most welcoming thing for an outsider. And so sometimes you may be shooting yourself in the foot, all in an effort to try and copy what you think youth ministries should be doing, which is worship.

00:12:02:24 - 00:12:22:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you can program around worship. It's going to require a lot more creativity, which is essentially the basis of this episode. Like finding ways to be a little bit more creative with your programing and whatnot. So I'll only say that as an encouragement. Don't feel like you have to jam a worship band into like a space if it's not working.

00:12:22:12 - 00:12:47:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Not fitting the context isn't right, whatever the case may be. Yeah, I've always felt like we we were at places where we tried doing the, you know, the lyric videos, you know, that kind of thing. And it would, it would work in like seasons. But there were times we were just like, okay, this feels like we're showing them a video that they are begrudgingly watching for.

00:12:47:07 - 00:13:04:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah, 5.5 minutes. And then they sit down and it's like, okay, well, if it doesn't work, doesn't work. Like don't, don't force that. Yeah, that I think that probably hurts more than it helps if it feels like you're forcing it. Yeah. So take back to answer your specific question about what to do

00:13:04:07 - 00:13:11:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
about worship. Like, I will say when I'm thinking about in-person versus online, online,

00:13:11:25 - 00:13:20:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
in my opinion, is a fantastic content delivery system like podcasts, sermons can be podcasts, sermons can be YouTube videos.

00:13:20:27 - 00:13:32:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like that is what the internet is made for, right? What in person is made for that the internet can't always overcome is certain things like community. And one of those things I think it has

00:13:32:02 - 00:13:37:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
a hard time overcoming is live, in-person worship, shoulder to shoulder like

00:13:37:23 - 00:13:47:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
they're watching during Covid, watching worship online, versus watching worship in the room was a completely different experience.

00:13:47:04 - 00:14:06:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I sat in my recliner. I did not stand. I did not sing. I maybe like sung under my breath. But you know, I'm not getting up in my living room and like, worshiping like I would at church. And so that is, you know, one of the, in my opinion, advantages of in-person, I will say a couple ideas.

00:14:06:16 - 00:14:29:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
One, during Covid, our church, I thought was fantastically innovative and our worship was not just like a band on a stage. It was like they were shot almost like a music video. And especially during Covid, all the individual musicians, like, they recorded all their parts and then they sent them back and then the editors, like, spliced it all together.

00:14:29:03 - 00:14:46:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Wow. It was so good. And of course, that wasn't sustainable. But when they pulled the plug on that, I was that that wasn't a youth ministry thing. But when they pulled the plug on that, I thought that was a big, big mistake because it was very good. And they went back to like an easier route. And I felt like it.

00:14:46:01 - 00:15:09:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It took away some of what made our online presence pretty, pretty good. Oh, yeah. But for the kids in the room for the hybrid, like, hey, how do we, like, let this, this attitude of worship live beyond, I mean, very simply, like, you can create a greatest hits like Spotify playlist of all the best worship songs that you and your students that they love.

00:15:09:15 - 00:15:28:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I especially like to do this for camps or retreats. I'll create the playlist even ahead of time, and I'll like float it out and I'll sneak it out via like our text lists, our social media so that people can grab Ahold of it. And so even if in the room, if you wanted to have one of those little Spotify, it's not a QR code, but it's similar to it.

00:15:28:01 - 00:15:38:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like you scan Spotify's version of it and you can join the playlist, and, you know, even be cool. I'm come with this idea on the fly. You could create like a collaborative

00:15:38:18 - 00:15:49:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
like playlist, like our church's favorite worship songs, and it's a public playlist. And anyone with a Spotify account can go in and they can add their favorite worship songs.

00:15:49:13 - 00:16:02:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then you just got to keep that kind of front and center, like, hey, throughout the week. Like, hey, don't forget we got this, you know, collaborative worship playlist. If you know you want to worship God throughout this week, take a listen. Nice I like that. Yeah.

00:16:02:14 - 00:16:16:19
Josh Boldman
Something something that we did, during Covid was we would ask at the end of the service to, say like, hey, if there are songs that really speak to you like we want to do, you know, we want to lead you in those songs.

00:16:16:19 - 00:16:29:26
Josh Boldman
So it was kind of like a, hey, this week, let us know what songs you'd like to do next week, like that kind of a thing. I mean, I, I don't know that that was like super, super well-received, but it was, it was something. Right? It was at least something that that allowed a little bit back and forth.

00:16:29:29 - 00:16:39:13
Josh Boldman
Yeah. So we, we, we usually do one song, ready to tap, and then we would go into our hosting time. So where we, we would have two

00:16:39:13 - 00:16:53:18
Josh Boldman
volunteers, usually an adult and a student. If not it would be two adults. And you know, the I will be the first to say it was always hit or miss like every time.

00:16:53:25 - 00:17:10:02
Josh Boldman
And you know, because you're always like, oh that person's personality, you know. Yeah. It's like because you get because like people who are super nervous on stage. I totally get it. But it would be like you'd sit down with them, be like, they would want to know what is the what is the content of the announcement? Right?

00:17:10:03 - 00:17:21:17
Josh Boldman
It's like, okay, well, I can tell you that, like, for sure, we'll make sure you got that. And for them it was like as long as I know the information, I'm good. And it's, you know, there is there is more to this game than that, friend. But yeah,

00:17:21:17 - 00:17:28:03
Josh Boldman
one of the ways that we found to kind of help that process was we started doing the wheel of announcements.

00:17:28:04 - 00:17:47:02
Josh Boldman
You I love that sidekick. And and and the the best part, right is you can you can game the system. Right? You can tell it which was so we would have like, say if there were four announcements. That's too many. You know, I'd say three max. Yeah. But like so whatever number of announcements there were, we would always have one more.

00:17:47:04 - 00:18:09:18
Josh Boldman
And that wheel wedge was always like, everyone gets $100, you know, whatever. And so like, you have to make sure that the person in your booth, oh, man, you have to trust that person or, that could cost you dearly. Yeah. Like, oh, man. But it was great because it really was random. Yeah, but it would.

00:18:09:18 - 00:18:29:15
Josh Boldman
But especially when it would get down to the last two wedges and it was like half the wheel is everyone gets $100. And the other was like, you know, church picnic or whatever, and you spin it and it just like slowly goes. It's like, oh, you know, and it was great. Like, but it kept, you know, because the students in the room, they don't care about half the announcements you're giving.

00:18:29:15 - 00:18:43:21
Josh Boldman
But it was kind of fun every time it would pass the $100 thing, you know, that they'd want to see it. And so we would just change it to a new thing every week. And sometimes it would be they'd win a prize or there would be like, you know, something embarrassing that the person on stage would have to do.

00:18:43:24 - 00:19:05:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But that's a different way to gamify it so that it's more interesting than I've episode that talked about, like, stop posting announcements to social media like, no one cares and no one is getting on social media to know what's going on in your youth ministry. They'll they you do want them to know like it's just you're using it's the wrong like medium for it.

00:19:05:17 - 00:19:30:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so a lot of times in the same way we do announcement times of this service in our church, like we do need to get these things across. Yeah. But I think that like, you know, this isn't a direct answer to the question, but like, how how do you hybridize your announcements or like, how do you get your announcements across in like a, a different way than just like the host moment or the announcement moment in your planning center service rundown?

00:19:30:00 - 00:19:49:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like you, you use the mediums all all throughout the rest of the like, all throughout the rest of your like repertoire that you have to your advantage so you can post those. I do say you can post announcements to social media. You just have to be creative with it. Like one of my favorites is. I'll follow the link down below.

00:19:49:28 - 00:20:07:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But like those transition style videos. Have you seen the one where the dudes getting speared in the back by like a bull, and then people are diving into like, their rows of chairs? Like, yep. Do those like, get your you can still tell people on social media about what's going on your church. Just make it actually creative.

00:20:07:19 - 00:20:25:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Don't just post your cooked up Canva graphic like no one. All right, you ready? You ready for some? I just thought like this. Like yes. Head right is right. So, so you could during your announcement time, you could record that video with your students, like. Yes. So that would be in the moment. You're like, hey, here's what we're gonna do.

00:20:25:24 - 00:20:43:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We got this thing coming up. We want to let everybody know about it. Here's, you know what it's going to be like, let's let's do this real quick. And yeah, just and you know what else? Like what else could you do? You could, random name generator. Your your contestant, you could, then get them up there and then what does that do.

00:20:43:01 - 00:20:44:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's a nod to your socials.

00:20:44:17 - 00:21:01:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so while you're announcing, you throw a graphic on screen that says we're social, it's guy QR codes, a link tree of all of your social handles. And the people in the room like, hey, go follow this because we're going to post this tomorrow. And that's been like, I'm going to, that's one of the things we've done in our youth ministry.

00:21:01:29 - 00:21:24:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We've created a social team and a social challenge component of every night of our youth ministry. And so students know they can go into our studio. We have a studio like it's bougie. All right, I get it. You can see the tour down below, but like, they know they can go in there and they can get on camera with their friends, and then eventually they're going to be the star on our social media.

00:21:25:02 - 00:21:50:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it helps create like a little more appetite for it than just the youth pastors being like the the talent on social media. No one wants that, right? Unless we're looking stupid. Are you saying we're not as cool as we think we are? Is that okay? It depends how you think of yourself as true. You know, if you have a, if you're like very self-aware, then you probably know you're not very cool.

00:21:50:03 - 00:21:58:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're in your 30s or 40, to be honest. Okay. So then we transition into a game.

00:21:58:02 - 00:21:59:13
Josh Boldman
And this was

00:21:59:13 - 00:22:17:10
Josh Boldman
always like, so we had two different things that we we've tried off and on. One is the winner of the game gets to spin a wheel for a prize and it's just numbers on a wheel. And then we had like shoeboxes and it was like, you know, you win box number seven and then you get the box, open it up.

00:22:17:10 - 00:22:34:02
Josh Boldman
And it's either a great prize or terrible prize, something like that. I love that, and I'm probably stealing that. Now that you just said that, is it. Honestly it was pretty cool. Like and that's like a YouTube video right there. That's like Ryan's world, you know. Yeah. And it wouldn't let you do is it let you not always have to keep buying awesome prizes?

Josh Boldman
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. Because oh man it was. And what you so like at the very beginning we would tell people like you know, so like we, we change them out every quarter or something like that and it would be like, hey, just so you know, in these 12 boxes, there are, a $10 Apple gift card. There's, you know, you know, just you tell them kind of, hey, here are a couple of the big things are in here.

00:22:55:16 - 00:23:13:12
Josh Boldman
Yeah. And then just as you get it, you know, one week, person rolls, number five. Great. They get box five. So then you just take that one off the list, and so you don't even have to, like, buy a new prize every week. You just have to have it all loaded upfront and you just put like, old crap that's laying around your church into those boxes, too.

00:23:13:13 - 00:23:34:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So good, so good. Right? It could be any. I mean, just honestly, anything, it's a mug, anything good. Right? It says you're voted most likely to need coffee. Like. Oh, yeah, that one that is, the other thing that we started doing was we do we did the impossible shot. Yeah. So yeah, the deal is like the traditional

00:23:34:15 - 00:23:41:04
Josh Boldman
impossible shot has always been like, if you are here for the first time or you were the person who invited that person for

00:23:41:04 - 00:23:44:12
Josh Boldman
the first time, you get to take a shot at this impossibly small target.

00:23:44:19 - 00:24:07:03
Josh Boldman
And if it goes through, you win a prize. But we, we started doing is the winner of the game, got to take the shot. And so it even made it, like, more, you know, your chance of winning the game was small. Yeah. And then that makes you even smaller. And we would add every week, we would add to the bucket of what do you win if you get the impossible shot.

00:24:07:03 - 00:24:23:13
Josh Boldman
And so like you started out with it's a bunch of candy. Okay. Then it's like one of every candy and then it's like, all right, gift card, you know, and so you just kind of slowly build it, until somebody wins it. It was one of the things we did. But I'm curious, like, so the possible shot rate is, agrees it.

00:24:23:13 - 00:24:42:19
Josh Boldman
So we would like. That's what I set up in this one was winner of the game. And the game would be like, where's the ball? We're doing doing 100. Probably by the time this is out, we will have already done it. So. Yeah. So, signed up for next year. But, one of the things that I made was a, a game called Where's the ball?

00:24:42:19 - 00:24:59:09
Josh Boldman
Obscure sports edition. Yeah. And so it's like link down below. Go give Josh goodness. Yeah. No, it'll be actually, you know, it'll be free in sidekick. So if you, if you have. Yeah. It'll be one of those like click on the little free button at the top and the little red dot pops up and you're like, oh my goodness me.

00:24:59:12 - 00:25:17:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But it's like I need to look at that more frequently than I do. Yeah you do, I don't. Yeah, it's there's some good stuff in there. So the sports I've got are curling, I've got ax throwing, I've got, Oh, have you ever heard of cycle ball? No. Basically like soccer. But you play on bicycles.

00:25:17:27 - 00:25:39:14
Josh Boldman
Okay. Who's the front wheel of the bike to kick the ball? It's sane. Sounds insane. And I feel as though I would die. Horribly dangerous. The other one is unicycle hockey, which is exactly what it sounds like. And it is magical. But but that is, you know, I mean, so one of the things like that, what we when I first started making the where's the ball games, right.

00:25:39:14 - 00:25:44:24
Josh Boldman
That was very much you had to be in the room to make it work. But then with sidekick, we've done where it's voting

00:25:44:24 - 00:25:52:00
Josh Boldman
now. And so we worked really hard, especially during Covid and after, to make it wear our, when we were live

00:25:52:00 - 00:25:59:00
Josh Boldman
streaming that it was as low lag as possible. So people at home really could also vote in.

00:25:59:06 - 00:26:16:02
Josh Boldman
And we got it, you know, down to like, I think you can without too much trouble. You can get the lag down to like three four seconds. Not too bad. Yeah. And so we would do that where you could see on the screen, you know, people voting, that kind of thing. Yeah. But yeah, so we did that, but then so impossible

00:26:16:02 - 00:26:16:13
Josh Boldman
shot.

00:26:16:15 - 00:26:16:26
Josh Boldman
That

00:26:16:26 - 00:26:18:01
Josh Boldman
is a in the room

00:26:18:01 - 00:26:40:16
Josh Boldman
phenomenon. Yep. Is there anything we could you can do to make that, something that someone at home feels like they're able to connect with? Or is it really just a show? The highlight. And and they get to celebrate if it happened? Yeah. I mean, like, if it's a true live stream, which again, like I said earlier, not a lot of youth ministries have like full live streaming capabilities.

00:26:40:18 - 00:27:01:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So even what we do, what I recommend to a lot of people is like most people are not interested in tuning in to your full youth service, like, so we pre-record all of our messages for YouTube into like a 12 minute, like teaching type of deal. So like that's what I would recommend. Like that's what people are getting on YouTube in the internet for.

00:27:02:01 - 00:27:12:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Is there a way to reclaim a live stream impossible shot type moment like there might be like a sort of like voting type thing. Like, do you think that they

00:27:12:07 - 00:27:21:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
can get it or not? You're going to need a moderator in your chat to like initiate that poll. So like let's say you won and it's like, congratulations to Josh.

00:27:21:10 - 00:27:40:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Will Josh hit the impossible shot yes or no? And they can vote there in the poll like in the chat or something like that. I think like YouTube or maybe Facebook has some of that like functionality built in. But what I might do like a as an alternative to the impossible shot or depending on your game.

00:27:40:27 - 00:27:50:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. Like, one of my favorite styles of games is creating like, you can do like those, like sculpture, building types of games or like, let

00:27:50:14 - 00:28:14:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
students in teams create something together. And then you can, like, take pictures of all of them and they can vote on them either. Oh, I like that on sidekick live in the room or what we've done in the past is we've said, hey, these are going to be on our Instagram Stories, go vote on them, and then we'll announce the winner on Sunday, which is like our next meeting time or what I like that I like.

00:28:14:27 - 00:28:29:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the winning group will get a pizza party next week. Yeah. And so, you know, like, those are different. Those are just different ideas, obviously. So to answer your question, I would try to just create like, a poll type of thing. I think that's. Yeah. That's the best idea. I got the top of my head right now.

00:28:29:29 - 00:28:32:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's, but some other, like, ideas

00:28:32:06 - 00:28:56:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and let me jump in and say, in the land of prizes, another great like, free to you prize is, so we are our set up is, round tables. And so you oftentimes your table is your team in whatever sort of thing you're competing in game trivia, whatever. And so a lot of times we'll, let the winning team go sit in what we call the best seats in the house.

00:28:57:00 - 00:29:14:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so we'll put some, like, couches in, like, nicer seats than, like, the tables there. And then we'll just stuff that area full of, like, snacks and drinks, and they get to sit there during like the teaching time. And oftentimes we have all the snacks and drinks on hand, and it's just couches that we have laying around, but they're nicer than tables.

00:29:14:07 - 00:29:32:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you can give students that opportunity. It's similar to like your your box of prizes type of thing. So it in the box are prizes. One of the things we learned was, I kept forgetting to refill the boxes and so, what we started putting in the boxes as as a prize was pizza party for your small group next week?

00:29:32:25 - 00:29:51:01
Josh Boldman
Yeah, yeah. Like, you know. So it's always like a hey, you want it right now, but you're going to get it next year. So it would get kids to come back next week. But also if like say that small group won and they had five kids that night, next week they're going to have 15. Like it's just it's crazy because they know like oh yeah we won the prizes.

00:29:51:01 - 00:30:09:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. So and then you didn't order enough pizza ever. It's just so, you know you know it's something you'll see in the Facebook group a lot is the do I on Facebook. Yeah. Yeah. How many pizzas should I order for a thing? I always order too much because then it's lunch for me for the rest of the week.

00:30:10:06 - 00:30:29:04
Josh Boldman
It's like, oh, they're good. That's how it. Yeah. The secret. I think that might be embezzlement. I'm not sure now that. Yeah, whatever. It's okay. We can cut that part out. Yeah. Whatever it, So there we go from there. We might, at that point do another song. But then we're going to go to a bumper video and you answer the lesson.

00:30:29:04 - 00:30:30:28
Josh Boldman
Now, the lesson that,

00:30:30:28 - 00:30:33:02
Josh Boldman
I'm doing this week is going to be,

00:30:33:02 - 00:30:39:01
Josh Boldman
on, Peter walking on water. Okay. And in the the idea is the big idea for it is

00:30:39:01 - 00:30:52:28
Josh Boldman
that your first step is meant to be followed by a second step. So it's like, the whole idea is like momentum, things like that. So the way that we would do this and we did this, and I can, I can send you pictures of how we did it.

00:30:53:01 - 00:31:16:29
Josh Boldman
We built this basically like this trough, and we covered it in plastic sheets. And then we put a tarp over that, and then we filled it with cornstarch and water, as you put it, at the right consistency. It's a it's a, it's a substance called oobleck or a non-Newtonian fluid. Okay. Which means if you just touch it it's liquid.

00:31:16:29 - 00:31:25:23
Josh Boldman
But if you hit it, it's solid, like it's crazy cool seeing it, right? Yeah. And so what that means is if you again, if you get the right

00:31:25:23 - 00:31:38:10
Josh Boldman
consistency, if you run on it, you can run completely on top of it. You will not see no way. But any point that you stop, you will sink right in like it's over.

00:31:38:12 - 00:31:58:28
Josh Boldman
And so what we would do is, is so yeah, that's the idea. Right? So Peter, Jesus calls him out on the water. He starts walking. It's working. But then as soon as he stops, he looks down. He starts to sink. And so Jesus gives him, you know, a bit of a, a talking to and, and so then, you know, then they he reaches out, pulls Peter back up, they climb back in the boat.

00:31:59:02 - 00:32:21:17
Josh Boldman
And so, what we're trying to tell the kids is like, hey, yeah, we want everybody to take a first step. You know? We all know what else we want. You. We want you to like. First step gives you momentum. Just keep taking steps like keep going. Yeah. And so, so the way we would end this service is in this is probably in the room going to be chaos.

00:32:21:19 - 00:32:40:10
Josh Boldman
And I'm I'm very comfortable with that especially like because it's so it's going to end with communion. Right. And so that which is not you know I've been in different groups where, where we've done communion every week. I've done groups where we do it like literally hardly ever. And, you know, and so this was one day where we did it every week.

00:32:40:13 - 00:33:05:07
Josh Boldman
And but what I would do is I would set that that, that trough up. So that students, in order to go and get the communion elements, get to run across the thing, to go get the cookie. So it's like, hey, that you're, you're chasing after Jesus, you're, you're taking this first step and you're not stopping. So like I said, you know, normally like communion is a fairly like somber time.

00:33:05:07 - 00:33:24:23
Josh Boldman
This would not be that because it would be a bit chaotic. But and they'd be taking their shoes off and they, you know, running across, but then, then they get the elements and they would take them right there, and then they then they go back to their seat. And so we would one we'd have to figure out stuff for the students to do when they're back in their seat.

00:33:24:25 - 00:33:59:26
Josh Boldman
Yeah. Because that, you know, it's going to take a minute. Yeah. They watching all that. But I mean, it wouldn't be like, you know, super, super engaging. But but the moment of running across, they absolutely loved it. Like, I mean, it was just the coolest thing ever. Yeah. So like but and then we would dismiss the small groups, but it's that that type of experience is, is really like a in the room thing, like because, because so one of the things I've always said about, like trying to be creative in your programing is like, you get to say yes to things that no one else ever says yes to.

00:34:00:02 - 00:34:10:06
Josh Boldman
And so like this. Like, in order to do this, we had to buy like 150 pounds of, of corn starch from like a food grade service company. Like it was just like they bring it in on a

00:34:10:06 - 00:34:16:17
Josh Boldman
pallet. It oh, it was crazy. Like it is absolutely insane. But no one is going to be able to do that at home.

00:34:16:24 - 00:34:34:16
Josh Boldman
I mean, they do it like, and so like one of the things is we would like walk them through, like, how did how to make it at home and at a very smaller scale. Yeah. I think it is one way to do that, but I don't know, like, I feel like in that moment that having an experience like that just like, creates a core memory, right?

00:34:34:16 - 00:34:34:26
Josh Boldman
It's like

00:34:34:26 - 00:34:54:15
Josh Boldman
the locks in there going to remember the teaching, if ever so slightly, because of the experience. It's just kind of like try and get your thoughts on yeah. What do you do to help someone who's either experiencing it later or experiencing at home? How do they how do they lock in that same that same idea? And any thoughts there?

00:34:54:15 - 00:34:57:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah for sure. So, once again, like I said,

00:34:57:23 - 00:35:15:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
there are certain things that in-person that digital can't do to like replace and frankly, vice versa. But this is a prime example. So here's the here's the shame. Josh. Like, this is why you're the best youth ministry

00:35:15:20 - 00:35:21:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
programmer in America. Because this what what a title, right?

00:35:21:08 - 00:35:46:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The fact is this, like if all your students are coming to in the room is a lecture style sermon, they can get they can 100% get that online. Right. And and it'll be better. Exactly. Let's call it what it is right there online. Somebody do it better if it's just lecture style. Yeah. And so again here's our strategy.

00:35:46:04 - 00:36:04:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If we were doing that I would totally do that in the room. We don't live stream. And so instead of trying to replicate a live stream moment, now if you were in a position where you had to do that, I think, you know, what Josh's point was, is I would I would try to get a camera on the actual like trough thing so that

00:36:04:20 - 00:36:07:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
people can watch that and then maybe encourage people

00:36:07:02 - 00:36:16:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
with like, text on screen to go get some element so that they too can take, you know, communion and then give them the opportunity if they want to build it.

00:36:16:08 - 00:36:34:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They're not going to probably be able to do that, like right in the moment. Like, do they have enough corn starch? Do they have a bowl? Like, you know what I mean? Probably that. So what we would do in our context now is we would film a talk about Peter walking on water for YouTube, direct to camera, 15 minutes or less.

00:36:34:04 - 00:37:02:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Really, really highly edited. And so if I wanted to use like B-roll or anything like that from like The Chosen as I'm illustrating this Peter point, like that's going to be on screen, it's not just going to be me talking. We're going to use the medium of video that we have to our advantage and do certain things like so this isn't in the same vein, but one time I was talking about how like, God knows the big picture and on screen I said, does anyone know what this is?

00:37:02:04 - 00:37:19:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Comment down below if you know it. And there's like a super zoomed in like grainy, pixelated something or other. And then in the next frame it like zoomed out and you can see this like beautiful painted canvas. And the point I made in that was like God's painting a picture and you can't see the outcome. He's in control.

00:37:19:07 - 00:37:27:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You're. And that's just an example. And you could do that in the room with like, a slide. But that's just an example of something that you can do with a

00:37:27:15 - 00:37:29:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
video. And so I

00:37:29:03 - 00:37:42:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
wouldn't try to recreate that moment because it's probably un replicating. Right. But I would create something that at the end of the day, your bottom line was the first steps, always

00:37:42:09 - 00:37:43:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
followed by a second step.

00:37:43:20 - 00:38:08:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I think you can teach that and deliver that online for anyone who's not there. And that's again, one of the reasons we don't do like a quote live stream is because a we don't have the equipment, but if you miss out on it, you sort of feel like it's over instead. Like, what is YouTube great for? Like, I get on YouTube, I don't know about you, but I get on there when like, I have a clog in my sink and I search how to fix, clog and sink.

00:38:09:00 - 00:38:32:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like in the same way. Water heater based on YouTube and a skylight. See, I, I think I broke the law. I've admitted to doing this now twice. Yeah. Don't worry, that's the power of editing. But I'll probably leave it in. But, a student might get on and be like, ask a question. Like a tough question. Like, is such and such a sin?

00:38:32:29 - 00:38:52:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
How do I grow my faith? How do I start making disciples? How do I whatever? And so that's what I'm trying to do on YouTube, is I'm trying to title and tag my videos in such a way that, like, they're going to be found in search from a teenager or anyone for that matter, but particularly a teenager who's asking big questions about life and about faith.

00:38:52:24 - 00:38:58:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you're doing one thing in the room. But online, they're both hopefully accomplishing

00:38:58:10 - 00:39:17:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
the same ultimate goal. And that's where I would say, like the the difference of hybrid hybrid is not just digital, right? It's both. And so a good in room experience is going to like be worth its weight in gold. We don't have to try to like replace it.

00:39:17:05 - 00:39:21:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What I will say a great hybrid experience for teaching.

00:39:21:03 - 00:39:29:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you haven't checked this out, one of my favorite resources, is like the YouVersion live events. And so in built

00:39:29:09 - 00:39:40:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
in woven into the YouVersion Bible app, there's a section called live. And so you can make it be, quote live when your service is live. And you can put your outline basically in there.

00:39:40:28 - 00:39:58:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what's great about it is you can also link Bible reading plan. So always link a Bible reading plan at the end of any message. So like in that one I would link something about taking next steps like a 4 or 5 day Bible reading plan for a student to jump into if they wanted. And we always have a next steps form.

00:39:58:14 - 00:40:00:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We have a digital next steps form that

00:40:00:04 - 00:40:14:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
just lives in perpetuity on our website. And so at the bottom second to bottom of my YouVersion live event, I put a link. So you ready to next step? Let us know. We want to take it with you. And then it's a link and it can go external. It can go external to anything.

00:40:14:04 - 00:40:36:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you can also link like camp sign ups or retreat sign ups or denial sign ups like you can you can link to anything. And that's a great way for a student hybrid to like take something and they can save that event and they can get back to it later. They can like take private notes on it. So it's something that they're in the room, but they're taking notes on their device.

00:40:36:01 - 00:40:43:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And now later, if they have a question or whatever they want to like continue on in their faith. Like, that's a fantastic we call it,

00:40:43:09 - 00:40:52:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
digital notes, like it's the YouVersion live events platform, but we like have branded it like digital notes. And as I said, it's QR code. So I just

00:40:52:04 - 00:41:01:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
swap the the same QR code and then our tables in our room we have a little like standing placard thing and it says follow along for the digital notes.

00:41:01:04 - 00:41:21:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Students can scan it and it'll pull open that week's YouVersion live event. So it changes every week based on that particular thing. So that would be a hybrid solution to like the content in the room. Your ending piece is fantastic, right? And so I don't think you want to try to like replicate that in someone's house necessarily.

00:41:21:10 - 00:41:36:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I think you could pre film that if kids don't make it or if a kid down the road comes to your youth minister that wasn't there that night or they weren't attending your church, you and they have a question about taking a next step. You can be like, hey, this is my favorite part about putting your stuff on YouTube.

00:41:36:03 - 00:41:48:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can like, hey, we actually have a fantastic teaching on it. I'll send you the link. It's right here. And you don't have to say, oh man, you should have been here last month. We did this really cool thing. Like they can still have access to it. So

00:41:48:27 - 00:41:57:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
some some that, I was thinking of with this particular type of thing is filming, like, a behind the scenes, like as you're making it, like.

00:41:57:05 - 00:42:12:25
Josh Boldman
Yes, it could be. It could be really power, even as students have run across it, like just catching them right at the end and be like, hey, can you would you? Yeah. How do you remember this or what? What what was this experience like? And just having like, you know, featuring a couple of them I think could could go a long way for sure.

00:42:12:25 - 00:42:36:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's one of my strategy. Like in my, like social media calendar, like Wednesday night, which is our youth night, I film just I post like a recap video of what we did. And so for that night, that's that might be what I do is just focus on the trough moment. Right. Or if you don't have anything that's as like unique or powerful as that, you can just get a little snippets of the whole night so you can get kids playing nine square.

00:42:36:22 - 00:42:55:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Kids worship in the band, worship being the the pastor teaching. And then you take, you know, 7 to 12 clips. You put them in something like TikTok, it'll auto cut it for you and boom, you got a post that takes you less than a minute. You know, I love it. So dude. So good. Look at us. Look at that.

00:42:55:13 - 00:43:20:09
Josh Boldman
We figured it out so good. This is really fun. Is that the end of your service? Yeah, well, I mean, we were dismissed as small groups. And there's something that we did there, that, you know, trying to engage outside of just the small group time was like we would send, discussion questions to parents, you know, like, or we and we had, like, a, like a reminder text sign up that was like, hey, here's what we're talking about tonight.

00:43:20:09 - 00:43:40:19
Josh Boldman
Here are three questions for the ride home or for the. Yeah. You know, and so whether a kid was there and on the ride home or if, you know, they missed that night, there's still you know, their parents still got a, you know, a conversation starter of some kind, I think was pretty good. And that's the advantage I've found in pre filming as well.

00:43:40:19 - 00:44:06:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
There's so many advantages. Like at first it was like so history for us like we did just Like you a full live like YouTube show during Covid. Like it was a youth group for YouTube. But eventually as restrictions lifted, that grew tired and people didn't wanna just get on sit behind a computer, a live stream, especially during the summer of 2020, they're like, I'm just going to go out where I can't catch Covid as long as I'm outside.

00:44:06:11 - 00:44:24:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's, you know, that started to engagement with that and the shininess of it. You know, initially it was like this really interesting thing. But by episode 28 it's like, yeah, kind of lost some of its luster. But there is still something really cool. It's like there was a teaching component, but it was all the way at the end of the video.

00:44:24:07 - 00:44:48:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so when I came here and readjusted my thought process a little bit, I was like, the teaching is so valuable. Like, I want kids to be able to hear about the truth of Jesus, and I want them to be able to have access to it online. How can we do that? And so if some or some of the other kind of components that we did during Covid, but make it maybe a little more adaptable to 2022 and then those 2023, 24.

00:44:48:18 - 00:45:10:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that's where we do our teaching longform on YouTube and everything else is shorts. I read something the other day, just like 90% of the internet's traffic now is shorts, TikToks or reels. And so that's what we film in our social challenges. We just film short content games or challenge style videos, and we let our students be the heroes in those stories.

00:45:10:18 - 00:45:33:23
Josh Boldman
And they love it. Like when they see one of their things posted, like the text meme, like, that was really good. And I'm like, yeah, it was. Nailed it. You know, my favorite. So I, our son is 16 and, and he has this thing that is a joke that he has started thinking is very funny. That he'll, he'll, like, start talking about something he saw online.

00:45:33:23 - 00:45:52:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And my wife would be like, well, like. And he's like, oh, don't worry, you'll see it on Instagram in three months. That's hilarious. You. And he's right. And, you know, he's 100% right. Because, you know, it's funny, yesterday I got a Facebook reel sent to me, and I had seen that on TikTok and then on Instagram and now.

00:45:52:16 - 00:46:15:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Oh, so that's even like, talk about lag, as you say. I'm just now finding out that Facebook has reels. That's right tastic. No. Yeah I no I knew that but no. But yeah, it's crazy. Well so then yeah small group like and I would encourage a small group leaders have group text and all of that is like ways the end of the day.

00:46:15:26 - 00:46:38:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The reason I'm so passionate about hybrid is not like, oh, it's cool and cutting edge in technology. It's more like this is an opportunity to reach students where they are and beyond your service moments, your service times. And so you can text them on a Thursday after school and ask them how that test went. You can text them on a Monday morning, even in a group and say, hey, I'm I'm praying for a great week for you guys.

00:46:38:29 - 00:47:02:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can send encouraging versus all things we just didn't have the ability to do before the invention of technology. And so I my challenge is just always encouraging churches and youth pastors to just not get stuck in the rut of only in-person. There's so much more that the world has to offer. And, and that the world, frankly, is already leaning into we as a church, churches has to find a way to catch up to it.

00:47:02:28 - 00:47:27:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So so good. Yeah. Sweet. Let's all we got. Anything else? Any final words, Josh? Drink your milk. You know, I feel like we've we've we've we've lost that one. You know, like, that was when, when I was little, they were like, drink your milk. You get strong bones. I don't know if that's true or not, but I don't feel like I've heard anyone tell me that in a long time, so I just want to share that.

00:47:27:27 - 00:47:34:18
Josh Boldman
Okay. Everyone else. All right. I will leave you with that wisdom. Until next time, everyone stay hybrid letter.

Episode 119: How Churches Can Use Social Media (Ideas & Examples) Part 4

Nick Clason — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 04:00:00 -0500

💡100 Topics Ideas & Templates💡
https://share.hsforms.com/1JOHqd4XOTbC5ZgfXB85BCwnumis

🔥 Transition & CapCut Template Suggestions🔥
https://share.hsforms.com/1UrHggOX1Q3mH_A3F3f8dWwnumis

=========
DESCRIPTION
My New Favorites (And Easy Way) to create a lot of social media content for your church and youth ministry without losing your life to editing and capturing!
In this 4 part series playlist I will share with you 4 different types of video content for your church and your social media and how to start creating content with your students, teenagers, youth group and church attenders.

//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/119
======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//Social Challenge 4 Part Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B6Qeaa_hPA&list=PLngXlSr64YaKLwZqOkQe7NzOqSVR0-P1s

//Custom Coaching
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

💡100 Topics Ideas & Templates💡
https://share.hsforms.com/1JOHqd4XOTbC5ZgfXB85BCwnumis

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

👉 STAY CONNECTED WITH NICK
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hybridministry/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clasonnick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HybridMinistry

Website: https://www.hybridministry.xyz

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
Level up your youth ministry game with these freebies!

🔗 https://linktr.ee/clasonnick

🛠️TOOLS
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products
VIDIQ
https://vidiq.com/hybrid

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Easy Social Media for Churches #4
03:38 Bonus Idea
05:09 My Social Calendar

TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:05:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Easy social media idea with examples. Part four. This is

00:00:05:21 - 00:00:13:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
the fourth and final installment of the playlist that we are currently in. Here on YouTube. Giving you

00:00:13:04 - 00:00:20:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
as a youth pastor the four easiest idea with a bonus tip.

00:00:20:09 - 00:00:31:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, what we've been doing is we've been tracking through all of the different, social media, frameworks that I use in our student ministry that I have set students off to do.

00:00:31:08 - 00:00:44:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's the part that's easy. You know, these these games with these challenges, they may not be easy, but now that I have students owning it and that I have students running it, it is making my life and my job

00:00:44:11 - 00:00:52:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
as a youth pastor incredibly easy. And so the fourth and final idea, the fourth and final piece of this installment is

00:00:52:24 - 00:00:58:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
transition videos paired with cap cut style memes.

00:00:58:09 - 00:01:11:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now link right here. At the top of the video is a, episode I had with one of my friends, Erik with a K, and we talked about events and better event promotion, and I said, this is the only,

00:01:11:07 - 00:01:22:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
way really to do event promotion on social media, because when you think about event promotion, more often than not you are thinking about, posting a graphic and letting people know about your event.

00:01:22:15 - 00:01:35:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But those don't do very well on social for the, you know, and for the for the first and second part, people go on social media to be entertained, to laugh, to whatever. And so these transition style videos where it starts with the

00:01:35:00 - 00:01:41:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
video of something else and the most popular one I can think about is like a, a bull, ramming a guy during the running of the bulls.

00:01:41:19 - 00:02:15:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then all these people cutting right there to jumping into the back of some chairs and jumping into the back of some furniture at your church and inviting people in your, following you on social media, whatever, inviting them to church. And so these style videos are, a great way to, again, just like the other three that we've been talking about, to send your students out to batch record to tell them, hey, when, you know, when I say, go do this, jump here, do this, this back flip, like, whatever, whatever the the video demands of it.

00:02:15:28 - 00:02:32:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. And if you start looking for those videos on social media, you'll be able to find those videos on social media. And so, those transition style videos paired with cap cut style videos and so link down below, is a link that will take

00:02:32:04 - 00:02:35:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you to my six favorite of each of those styles,

00:02:35:09 - 00:02:42:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
six of my favorite cap cut meme style videos, and six of my favorite transition based style videos.

00:02:42:09 - 00:03:06:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I also want to let you know that if you hop, down in the link in the description, you will get all of my topic ideas and all of my other templates that I've been talking about and teasing through the first three videos of this playlist. And so if you take each of those two free downloadable links, and then you go and you start filming content not just for your students, but with your students, that's really like the differentiate.

00:03:06:25 - 00:03:07:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's really

00:03:07:17 - 00:03:32:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
what we're trying to encourage youth pastors and people in there. And people like running church social media to do film content with people, in your church film content, especially with your students, especially with the next generation. You do that for a while. Then you can begin to start to build up enough team, enough volunteer base to start handing some of these things off so that it's being done for you.

00:03:32:03 - 00:03:50:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And all you're doing then is worrying about your posting schedule. Now for the bonus tip. The bonus idea that I have is one of my all time favorite videos, and this one is, you can do it with students, or you can do it with yourself as a youth pastor. And I think that sometimes that makes the most sense.

00:03:50:21 - 00:04:09:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But, it's a framework. And I saw it somewhere, somehow on a social media platform. But you're scrolling through and immediately when you get there, the person's just pointing like this, right? And they're pointing to a text on screen that says stay or scroll. And then underneath it, it says, why? Says stay your scroll, read Scripture with me.

00:04:09:18 - 00:04:41:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then what you do is you read, portion of Scripture for 60s or less. And if you get done reading the scripture, you also, you also then just kind of give them like a little devotional idea, a little devotional thought on like, why you like the verse wise, challenging how it encourages people. And it's a really great way to integrate spiritual practice and spiritual content because like, think about you're physically reading scripture with, the people on your feed, the people that are following you.

00:04:41:13 - 00:05:07:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you think about the idea of hybrid taking your in-person and taking your digital and melding them together with the two, it's taking what you do in-person, which is teaching the Bible and sharing Jesus. And, you know, sharing his word and his truth and his gospel, and you're telling, and you're you're bringing that into the everyday moments in the everyday life components of your students and your followers on social media.

00:05:07:17 - 00:05:09:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's a fantastic,

00:05:09:20 - 00:05:25:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
devotional tool. Now, now that I have given you not only the four that you can do with your students, but that bonus tip of stay or scroll if you look here on screen, if you're watching on YouTube, I post two times per day. And so if every time you're with your students, you're having them batch record.

00:05:25:26 - 00:05:37:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if they're doing, night where they're, you know, capturing a bunch of “Drafts,” if they get 5 or 6, if you go to, you know, “Seven Questions,” they get 5 or 6 the next week. If they do “Man on the Street,” they do 5 or 6.

00:05:37:02 - 00:05:39:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then if they do these transition style videos, they get 5 or 6.

00:05:39:28 - 00:05:42:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Cap cut memes you give a couple 5 or 6, whatever.

00:05:42:25 - 00:05:56:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you also, can sit down and do a bunch of these, “Stay or Scroll” videos, get, you know, as many as you can in one sitting with, four staff members. I was able to get like, 20, a couple weeks back. So you can get them pretty quick.

00:05:56:14 - 00:06:12:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you. So you just start batch recording them. If you think about it, for me, I post five days a week because I work five days a week. I don't post on my days off. It's just like a margin thing. You could. It's not that big of a deal if you do. But, you know, I like to be off and be all the way off from work.

00:06:12:22 - 00:06:32:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so, I post, three message clips per week, and then I post one of these other five things that we've talked about one draft, one seven questions, one transition video, one man on the street, and then one stay or scroll. So you add all those together. That's eight I post five days a week, twice a day.

00:06:32:24 - 00:07:00:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That leaves me with two additional spots. One thing that I also do is and it's not video based, but I do a meme Monday. All right. I'm just as I'm scrolling social media, I ask other people in our team also, as they're scrolling social media to screenshot memes and put them in a meme folder. And so I have a meme folder with probably over 200 memes, and I just go in there and I just pick my favorite ones, download them, you know, move them to a new folder that says posted or archived or whatever.

00:07:00:24 - 00:07:19:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I don't, you know, use the same ones and consecutive weeks. And then I add so that fills in that additional spot there. And then the last spot is, when we meet on Wednesday nights, I walk around with my camera and I film little, snippets and little clips, and then I just bring that into cap cut.

00:07:19:11 - 00:07:32:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
No. So no cap. I bring them to TikTok, add all those clips, click a little button, they're called auto cut. And then, TikTok will create for me a little recap style video based on the clips that I have provided. And that's just like a recap video

00:07:32:12 - 00:07:35:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of our Wednesday night programing. So you add all those together.

00:07:35:13 - 00:07:42:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The the four easy social media ideas run by my student ministry team who are both capturing it and now editing it, the

00:07:42:12 - 00:07:43:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
stay or scroll, which

00:07:43:11 - 00:07:47:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
they can also edit that one. It's a really easy one to edit. And then my three

00:07:47:05 - 00:07:48:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
message clips and then

00:07:48:23 - 00:07:52:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Meme Monday and then, the recap video, there's all

00:07:52:06 - 00:07:54:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
ten of my clips and then I interspersed throughout the week.

00:07:54:17 - 00:08:11:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I don't do it like, you know, Meme Monday, obviously I post on Monday, my message clips, I post about same days. I do a Thursday because we had just preached on on Wednesday. I do it on Sunday because that's the connect group topic for that day. And then I do it again on Tuesday as just a reminder like, hey, don't forget this what we had talked about.

00:08:11:20 - 00:08:32:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the following Thursday I post again the new one because we had a new message on any given Wednesday. But all those other ones, those stay or scroll draft, seven questions, man on the Street and transition videos. I move those all throughout my week like I have kind of my my standing pillars like every day. You know, like Sunday is a teaching, Monday is Meme Monday.

00:08:32:21 - 00:08:50:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Tuesday is another teaching clip. Wednesday is the recap, video and then Thursday is another teaching clip. So any of those five, I just sprinkle them throughout any of those other places. And so I try to post like one draft per week. I try to post like one seven questions per week. I try to post like one man on the street per week.

00:08:50:19 - 00:09:07:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if I've already posted one, then you know, on Sunday. Then when I get to Monday, I'm not going to do double duty and post another draft. I'll go get one of the other ones. And the beautiful thing is, I store all of that stuff in Google Drive, and I know I created just like an archive folder. And so when I've posted it, I move it into archive.

00:09:07:08 - 00:09:10:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so any of the ones that are an archive, I've already done, any

00:09:10:03 - 00:09:25:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of the ones that are not in archive, I I know I'm free to post and then I post it and I move it to archive and that's it. I don't use a scheduling tool. I still post to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and I do those all directly from my phone.

00:09:25:16 - 00:09:43:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I'll go on Google Drive on my phone, download the video, and then go post it in all three places. I may copy and paste the caption as I'm going and post it in all three places. And then and then I delete it off my phone, you know, to keep, keep phone storage clean so that is my easy idea for you.

00:09:43:21 - 00:10:05:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
These transition style videos are really fun. They're really like, kind of a, fun thing to do with your students and also fun to edit. They're just goofy and they're funny, and, students love it. So I hope this is helpful to you. I hope this playlist was helpful to you. But as you're moving on and as you're beginning to implement this strategy, I just I wonder if you are thinking like, okay, that's great.

00:10:05:29 - 00:10:30:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now how do I get more people here to my events? Well, I talked about it earlier. Me and my friend Erik sat down and we talked through a two part episode. It's going to be linked right here. His video on his channel about how to program, an outreach event for your student ministry, and then this video right here on my channel, which is how you use social media to promote, that said event in your student ministry.

00:10:30:25 - 00:10:40:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You go check both of those videos. If you haven't yet, give him a subscribe and go follow his channel. But until next time. And as always, don't forget my friends to stay hybrid.

Episode 118: How Churches Can Use Social Media (Ideas & Examples) Part 3

Nick Clason — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 04:00:00 -0500

💡100 Topics Ideas & Templates💡
https://share.hsforms.com/1JOHqd4XOTbC5ZgfXB85BCwnumis

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/117
======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//Social Challenge 4 Part Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B6Qeaa_hPA&list=PLngXlSr64YaKLwZqOkQe7NzOqSVR0-P1s

//Custom Coaching
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

💡100 Topics Ideas & Templates💡
https://share.hsforms.com/1JOHqd4XOTbC5ZgfXB85BCwnumis

//Giphy
https://giphy.com/

//Studio Tour & Gear Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVT1xvh9-5k&t=557s

Website: https://www.hybridministry.xyz

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
Level up your youth ministry game with these freebies!

🔗 https://linktr.ee/clasonnick

🛠️TOOLS
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products
VIDIQ
https://vidiq.com/hybrid

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Easy Social Media for Churches #3
01:41 How to Play
05:59 How to Add more Volunteers
07:10 1C
09:11 2C
10:45 3C
13:39 Easy Social Media Idea #4

TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Easy social media idea for

00:00:02:17 - 00:00:06:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
churches and youth ministries. Part three. In

00:00:06:11 - 00:00:15:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
this video, I'm going to share with you one of, if not the easiest way to start creating custom social media content for you and your

00:00:15:06 - 00:00:23:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
church, in your youth ministry, with you, with your leaders, with your students. This is a continuation of the video playlist which is linked right

00:00:23:01 - 00:00:23:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
here.

00:00:23:10 - 00:00:27:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is part three out of four of what I do in my four

00:00:27:20 - 00:00:31:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
part social media strategy. For me and my churches.

00:00:31:08 - 00:00:37:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know, I've been in youth ministry for 14 years, and this is easily the best

00:00:37:02 - 00:00:55:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
strategy and the one that we have seen the most traction with not only creating good custom social media content for our church and our student ministry, but also with adding people to our social media team so that I have less on my plate as a youth pastor to do, and there's more ministry being passed off and handed off to our students.

00:00:55:27 - 00:01:17:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I'm also going to share with you in this video my three part proven three C formula for adding student volunteers to our social media team. And as always, if you're here on YouTube, don't forget that there are chapters included at the bottom of this video so that you can go ahead and skip around. But my social challenge idea number three is called man on the Street.

00:01:17:21 - 00:01:41:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now you don't have to call it man on the street, but essentially you've seen these style videos. It's interview style videos where you have someone walking around with a microphone and they're interviewing someone and asking them any sort of question and the comedy in it, or the interesting part in it is really just in the person's answers and or in the interaction or in the banter that may or may or may not go on between the two people.

00:01:41:11 - 00:01:46:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
One of the wins that we've seen, how we do it in our student ministry, is we create 4

00:01:46:03 - 00:01:58:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
to 5 questions for any given night, in any given like season. So for example, a couple months back it was back to school. So we did a bunch of back to school sort of themed questions like, what's the worst cafeteria food you've ever had?

00:01:58:26 - 00:02:06:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What's the worst lunch food you've ever eaten? What's the what's your like number one thing on your back to school shopping list? And we ask

00:02:06:18 - 00:02:11:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
all five questions to like as many people in that night as we can three, four,

00:02:11:22 - 00:02:17:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
five, six, seven interviews. And then what you do is you just take one of those questions and you spice up all the answers.

00:02:17:27 - 00:02:33:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You may include them all. You may choose to leave some out if they're not as interesting or as good. And then you can also create like, just some interesting things in the edit. The power I believe on this is the power is done in the edit. And I have

00:02:33:07 - 00:02:37:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
found that this video in particular is one that students really enjoy editing.

00:02:37:20 - 00:02:53:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now it is a little bit more complicated because, if you're doing it in something like Adobe Premiere Pro, you may just end up with a lot of different layers. And if you're not a skilled editor or if you don't have experience in editing something like this, you may just get turned around. So this one is tougher to hand off to volunteers.

00:02:53:22 - 00:03:04:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Which is why in the last video, my seven questions video, is where I want to encourage students to start that one seems like, easy first kind of starting spot, but this one students can really let their creativity

00:03:04:24 - 00:03:15:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
run wild. And so what we do is we just do like five different questions seasonally based. And so as this video drops mid-October, you might do some Halloween, you might do some Thanksgiving videos.

00:03:15:22 - 00:03:16:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you might

00:03:16:21 - 00:03:39:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
do like what are what is the best Halloween candy? What is the worst Halloween? Cat candy or, like, thing you've ever gotten in your bucket as you've gone trick or treating? What is your, least favorite Thanksgiving food? You get to the Thanksgiving table and you see it on the table and you're like, oh man, I can't believe that that is being served right now.

00:03:39:04 - 00:03:46:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What are you going to be asking for for Christmas? And then what is the worst road trip you've ever taken around Christmas or

00:03:46:24 - 00:03:55:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
something like that? Right. There's five questions you ask all five of those, and then you ask as many people as you can. You can do this with the gear list link

00:03:55:17 - 00:03:57:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
down below in the template.

00:03:57:22 - 00:03:58:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's the one that's

00:03:58:16 - 00:04:13:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
been included in all of these videos. It's got my Photoshop template for the last two videos. It's got gear recommendations, it's got topic recommendations. And you can take those topics and you can use them for seven questions. You can take them and use them for drafts, or you can take them and curate and curtail them to be working for you.

00:04:13:23 - 00:04:35:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And this man on the street style video. Now, go ahead and give me a like if this video so far has provided value and go ahead and give me a subscribe if this is something that you might think that you might start implementing in your student ministry. But like I said, the power is in the edit. So the more like gifts, B-roll or sound effects that you can create as people are giving answers, you can zoom

00:04:35:02 - 00:04:37:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
in, you can zoom out, you can do like,

00:04:37:12 - 00:04:39:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
like one of my favorite resources.

00:04:39:25 - 00:05:01:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I'll link it down below in the description is Giphy g I p h y.com and we can search GIFs there. And I've just sent students there and they will find GIFs, to kind of add on screen as people are giving answers and sometimes so much so that there's like so many GIFs on the screen that we don't even see the people, like answering the questions.

00:05:01:10 - 00:05:17:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But this is, again, this is a great way for students to kind of let their creativity run wild. Now, here's the other thing that man on the street does. So if you're watching our last two videos, we talked about drafts and we talked about seven questions. Those are stationary videos. Those often they take place for us in our studio.

00:05:17:28 - 00:05:38:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you haven't seen our studio tour, go ahead, check out the link down below for that. But those happen in our studio. Those happen in a different section of the building. The good news about men on the street style videos is it forces us to get out of our studio, and it forces us to go be on the streets, go be all throughout the different spaces of our youth ministry.

00:05:38:19 - 00:06:06:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we have an outdoor sports basketball court, so they may be out there. We have an indoor rec room. They may be in there. We have a cafe, they may be in there in the lobby or whatever. And so, they're much more visible. And here's the good news about the visibility once they're visible and once they're doing it, we start to see a, a drastic uptick in people, and their interest level in joining our social media team.

00:06:06:08 - 00:06:27:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They're like, hey, can I do this? Can I help, can I join? And so one of the markers, one of the values in, for us and for our student ministry, you know, the apostle Paul says, you shouldn't be a youth pastor. You shouldn't be the only one doing ministry. You should be handing the work of ministry off to equip the saints for works and acts of service.

00:06:27:26 - 00:06:28:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so

00:06:28:06 - 00:06:47:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
that's our goal, not only just with the dots, but also with students as well. And so that needs to be our goal. That needs to be what we are aiming to do. And so, as we are growing and building these teams, less and less falls on your plate. You have to create the structure and the scaffolding, and you have to keep that train kind of moving down the tracks.

00:06:47:22 - 00:06:49:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But ultimately you can hand

00:06:49:11 - 00:07:07:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
some of these things off. And this area in particular, a student ministry is something that students actually are interested in doing. No shade, no offense to get services and holding doors open and greeting people, but students love the opportunity. Or at least in general, students love the opportunity to get on camera, be on camera, or run the camera.

00:07:07:29 - 00:07:33:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So with all that being said, here is my proven three C strategy for building a good student volunteer team. The first C is calendar. Actually calendar it out. And what I mean by that, I just use an Excel template and I, you know, have like week one, week two, week three, week four. Now most students get turned around by what any of that means.

00:07:33:14 - 00:07:48:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What is week one was week two, you know. So if you have typically any given like let's say your youth night is Wednesday night, any given month you have four Wednesdays in the month, but occasionally you'll have a fifth. And the fifth is what throws everybody off. Because

00:07:48:05 - 00:07:52:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
if you schedule people once a month, they think they serve every four.

00:07:52:09 - 00:08:12:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if there's a fifth actually is every five, or if they serve every other week, then they may serve every other week. But you throw a fifth in there. And now that messes up when they're landing. And so for clarity, I like to just call it, if you're doing, you know, every other, first and third, second and fourth.

00:08:12:13 - 00:08:26:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All right. And then you got figure out where your fifths are. So I like to do first, third and fifth. Okay. And I'll just explain to them, hey, if you're a fifth that means you'll do a first, a third, a fifth that'll feel like every other. But then when it rolls back around to the first, you're actually going to do two weeks in a row.

00:08:26:22 - 00:08:42:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Just brace for that. Just understand that, okay. And then like okay, they get it in theory. All right. I've even literally pulled up my Google calendar and I've showed them like this when it says August 7th. That's week one when it says August 14th, that's week two and it says 21st. That's week three, which is 28. That's week four.

00:08:42:03 - 00:09:00:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then we we go to September. And I'm like, now you try it in September. Which one are the weeks you're serving if you're on week one and three for example. And like once they get that understanding it makes sense. Also, I can recommend some sort of scheduling feature, you know, for my tech team, I use planning center services for the rest of our team.

00:09:00:14 - 00:09:30:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We use Church Community Builder, which is our church's database. Whatever you use, whatever you have, if you can send some sort of invitation for them to serve, that would be great. But that leads me to my second see in my building a strong volunteer team is contact. How are you going to contact them? See, here's what happens. A lot of times in churches is especially when serving with students, we want students to serve even in our greater teams on our church, like our tech team or worship team or our greeting team.

00:09:30:23 - 00:09:54:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But we treat them once again, those teams like adults, and we should and we should start working them towards that. However, in most cases when you're scheduling adults, you're scheduling them through email. Most students do. They have an email. It's not a regular discipline of them checking it very often, if at all. And so in Planning Center and it also church community builder, both of them have integration for text messages.

00:09:54:05 - 00:10:11:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And most students are receiving text messages at this point. And then if students are not, we have to get to their parents. Right? And we say, okay, well, you have a phone, so I'm going to send this to your parents and you're going to get notified via your parents mobile. Whatever. Now, I handle that on an individual basis with every single student.

00:10:11:25 - 00:10:31:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's much more than just fill out this form, I'll put you on and I'll show you like I have that conversation. Let them know your first and third, and then I'll. I get from them what I need in order to contact them effectively and in my mind to contact every student effectively, I need to text them. And in both cases, both planning center and church community builder.

00:10:31:03 - 00:10:49:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I need to know their cell phone carrier. It's a weird question. Most students know the answer to it. It's like, is it AT&T? Is it Verizon? Is it T-Mobile? Once I put that in, I'm able to schedule them and they're able to get text message notifications for when they're scheduled. And then the last piece of it, the third key is conflicts.

00:10:49:25 - 00:11:07:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What do you do when you can't come to church. Set the expectation now. So I say your schedule first and third I'm going to text you. You're going to get a notification. Either accept it or decline it. Coach them up, train them how you want them to do that, and then say, if you can't make it, I need you to find yourself a sub.

00:11:07:04 - 00:11:28:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's how I prefer to do it. You don't have to do it. That way. If you want them to tell you about conflicts and decline and you go find their sub, that's fine. It just adds work back straight to your play as opposed to them finding a sub on their own and then letting you know, hey, I'm not going to be there and I got so-and-so to fill in for me, then all your bases are covered.

00:11:28:26 - 00:11:42:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so when you're building a social media team, you kind of have two prongs to it. You have your capturing or your filming of it, and then you also have your editing of it. And so you can truly have like an infinite number of volunteers

00:11:42:19 - 00:11:47:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
we've found for like, seven questions, just our videos. It's good to have a camera operator.

00:11:47:22 - 00:12:12:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If we're doing separate microphones, it's good to have a microphone operator. We've also found it's good to have like a director, someone who's telling the people on, the talent, so to speak, what they're doing. We've even found it's good to have, TV, off, off camera that the people. So if I'm on camera playing the game, there's a TV right over there, and it's keeping track of the number of questions is even got the scripts like on a slide for them.

00:12:12:08 - 00:12:28:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So it's good to have a person running that. And then the last, like I said, we're in a studio. And so there are people in the hallway kind of waiting. It's good to have a host, a person out in the hallway, a person making sure that they're quiet so that when you're filming, you're not getting like the audio bleed over or whatever.

00:12:28:11 - 00:12:46:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So you can have up to five people on that week. All right. And then if you have five people that week and say five people on the week that you do drafts and you might not need as many when you're doing man on the Street or the other video that we're going to look at in my fourth and final installment of, church social media that is done easy for you.

00:12:46:21 - 00:13:05:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But you can theoretically see how you can get to ten, 12, 15 different people. And then you add editors on top of that. When are they coming into the office? Do they have the gear at home? Can they edit it on something like cap cut on their app, on their phone, and then deliver that content back to you so that you can post it?

00:13:05:18 - 00:13:21:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or can you even have them just in charge of the posting calendar and the posting schedule, and you can just hand those things off to it. So again, the point is the sky's the limit if you only have 2 or 3 students who are on your team, you just have them work every week, right? Or you do these every other week and that's when they serve.

00:13:21:14 - 00:13:38:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the athletes that you don't have anything for social media. But as you're building your team, you need to work through that three see framework, the calendar. How are you going to communicate it? Where are you going to print it? Where are they going to see it? How are you going to handle first, third, fifth Sundays? How are you going to contact them and how are you going to handle conflicts?

00:13:38:11 - 00:13:58:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now moving on to our fourth and final video in this playlist. In this strategy, we are going to link it right here on screen. So you can go ahead and take a look at that fourth and final easy social media idea for churches and for youth ministries. Don't forget, we had the Hybrid Ministry show are trying to make digital discipleship easy, possible and accessible.

00:13:58:12 - 00:14:02:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So as always, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 117: How Churches Can Use Social Media (Ideas & Examples) Part 2

Nick Clason — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500

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🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Easy Social Idea #2
02:14 Easy for Viewers to Play
03:43 How I use the Seven Questions Photoshop Template
10:56 How I use the Drafts Photoshop Template

TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Easy social

00:00:01:28 - 00:00:06:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
media ideas for churches and youth ministries. Idea number two,

00:00:06:10 - 00:00:14:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
which is a continuation of the video playlist, is linked right here at the top of the screen. I'm going to show you and tell you how I get

00:00:14:02 - 00:00:23:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
more done by doing less. You know, we explored, in the last video, the first part of my four part church social challenge framework.

00:00:23:16 - 00:00:31:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in this video, I am going to tell you exactly how we capture these videos with the results that you see here on screen, if you're watching on YouTube.

00:00:31:29 - 00:00:42:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then I'm also going to show you how I set up the Photoshop template for this game type along with the game type included in the last video, and it's going to be here all shown on screen.

00:00:42:18 - 00:01:00:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So if you're listening, you may want to hop over to the YouTube channel for this one. And as always, over here on YouTube, there are chapters included at the bottom of this video so that you can skip around to the parts that are most relevant to you. But social challenge idea number two, that we do in our church and in our student ministry is a game called

00:01:00:24 - 00:01:02:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
name of the game is seven questions.

00:01:02:20 - 00:01:23:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now here's the deal about seven questions. Seven questions is essentially a guessing game. So you have two contestants and they sit across from each other or next to each other on screen. And one contestant has something in their brain. Think honestly. Think like 20 questions. But we just reduced it down to seven. So contestant number one, they're going to have something in their brain.

00:01:23:18 - 00:01:25:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let's just pretend the thing in their brain

00:01:25:07 - 00:01:59:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
is, a green snowflake mug, as you see here on screen that I'm drinking my coffee out of this morning. And so they're going to say, I am thinking of a thing. And so then the next person has seven questions to try and guess what thing they are guessing. And so they'll ask them yes or no based questions as they ask them either a checkmark for yes answers will show up on the screen, or a x for wrong answers was a checkmark for yes answers and an X for no answers will show up on the screen because it's just going to be keeping track one, 2345,

00:01:59:22 - 00:02:14:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
six, seven on screen. Of how many questions have been asked by the seventh question, they need to submit their guess. And then at the very end of the video, the person will say, let us know down below in the comments how you did. Now, here's one of the reasons that I love

00:02:15:11 - 00:02:21:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
this game. If I'm thinking about hybrid, and if I'm thinking about, melding my in-person along with my digital together.

00:02:21:27 - 00:02:37:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I like this game because the way that we open it up and here's the script for it. Feel free to copy it. It goes like this. The name of the game is seven questions. If you want to play along, go ahead and close your eyes. The answer is going to be right here on screen. Category is thing. Here we go.

00:02:37:29 - 00:02:38:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the

00:02:38:09 - 00:02:42:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
other person will start asking them yes or no questions. And so in theory, if someone's scrolling through

00:02:42:24 - 00:02:49:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
social media and they're encouraged to play along, or at least given the option to play along in their set, and they're being told to close

00:02:49:10 - 00:02:56:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
their eyes. If they close their eyes, the, green mug will pop up on the screen with the eyes closed, and so you won't actually see it.

00:02:56:20 - 00:03:08:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'll add some sort of sound effect to let it know that it's gone, and then they can open their eyes again, and they can try and guess the item along with the other person on the in the game in real life, who is, trying to guess it

00:03:08:17 - 00:03:17:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
now, just like the draft style, videos that we do, these are a fantastic way to get students mingling together to invite them, to be a part

00:03:17:06 - 00:03:18:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of our social media.

00:03:18:15 - 00:03:19:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
All kinds of different

00:03:19:09 - 00:03:25:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
setups and gear recommendations are also included in the templated link that was in the last episode. It's also going to be included. Same

00:03:25:07 - 00:03:33:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
link in this episode. And so, viewers can, play along. The people in the room get to play along. People in the studio that we have are

00:03:33:28 - 00:03:40:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
getting a chance to kind of like, run the room and run audio and run video and edit all of these things.

00:03:40:10 - 00:03:43:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But what I want to do is I want to show you how I have

00:03:43:03 - 00:04:01:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
created a template. And so if you are watching, here on YouTube, you'll get an opportunity to see I'm going to be, sharing my screen and what you're going to be seeing, right here in just a couple seconds. Is my, screen with the Photoshop template.

00:04:01:07 - 00:04:03:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so right here, this is

00:04:03:07 - 00:04:21:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
the template that I use. And so the very first thing here in Photoshop is I have this layer right here. And it's just like a TikTok template layer. And so I use that for this as well as if you look right here on screen, this is our draft template. I just have that on screen so that I know where the elements for social media are.

00:04:21:28 - 00:04:41:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. I know that TikTok, Instagram, YouTube shorts, their menu options are right aligned. Right? So the follow button, the like button, the comment and all the stuff on the right side of the screen. So I try to stay on the left side of the screen. And I also know down here at the bottom is where the text or the captions or any of the other comments will kind of pop up along with the menu.

00:04:41:08 - 00:05:11:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So I try to kind of stay away from there. I just downloaded this this template off of Google. If you download this template for me, it'll be included right here in this Photoshop file as the, bottommost layer. I just have it title as layer one because I haven't changed it yet. But you, if you're not going to use this template that I have, or if you don't have Photoshop, you can just grab something off of Google to kind of put that in at the base of whatever editor you're using something on, and maybe Canva or something and something even on your phone.

00:05:11:03 - 00:05:29:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or if you are using your phone, you may not be able to import a layer like this, but if you are using your phone, just know to kind of stay away from the the left and the bottom right. Those are sort of like the danger zones, so to speak, of, of of social media, of Instagram Reels, of TikTok and all that type of stuff.

00:05:29:20 - 00:05:50:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So anyway, so this is what my template right here looks like. Like I said, it's for the game seven questions. And so, I'll have student A and student B and let me just give you a little hack. If you're recording these in bulk, which we typically do, I make the student say their name. And then I also make the student spell it because when the student comes back on, I do want their name to be on screen.

00:05:50:10 - 00:06:05:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
First name? Only. And when I do that, I want their name to be on screen and I want it to be spelled correctly. And so if I don't know any of their names, or if I didn't know exactly how to spell it, having them spell it helps me make sure that I get their name exactly right on the template.

00:06:05:19 - 00:06:40:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That's just a little hack for running the room. But I cut all that out. I don't include, like, my name is Nick. Nick, I take that part, I might say my name is Nick. Cut. And Nick, and then the next person, my name is Caleb. Caleb cut out the Caleb and then say name game seven questions or I may just cut all the name stuff out together and jump right there to where it says the name of the game is Seven questions, because my name and his name is going to be on the screen together and therefore we don't have to, you know, worry about getting that across the in kind of name tag

00:06:40:19 - 00:07:00:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
thing right here matters. Now you'll notice that they're behind some of these other layers. And that's okay because in Photoshop, what we're going to do when we jump over here into premiere, we get to adjust where they are and what like layer they're at. So in this particular one, you'll notice that the students names are beneath the layers.

00:07:00:09 - 00:07:21:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But all all I need to do if I want to, raise those up is I need to just grab these layers and I'm going to give myself just a little bit more, visual space on this. I can just elevate those all the way to the top. And so now those are on the top. Everything in Photoshop, everything in Adobe is kind of layers, dependent and layers based.

00:07:21:14 - 00:07:38:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And now as I go through, they are on top. I also just so you know, because they are sort of in the way I only keep them for the first little bit, and then once they start asking questions, I actually cut them. And so here's me cutting the names out of the, the thing that I'm editing. And so name name name name name.

00:07:38:27 - 00:08:01:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then they're gone. So anyway, all that to be said, I have just this template, these, 123456, seven numbers. If you're watching here on screen, off to the left side, out of the way of any, text or icons on screen. And then I also have, X's and I have them labeled over here in my panel.

00:08:01:12 - 00:08:22:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. X1, x2, x3 x4 x5 x6 x7. But right beneath them. Watch if I hide this layer just with the eyeball tool. Beneath it is a check mark tool. And so depending on what their answer is, I will then pull over either an X or a check when they ask the question. So here in the game they're asking a question.

00:08:22:14 - 00:08:49:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And all these are right ones. And so when they ask it, we just pull in, check one right here. From, from this, from this Photoshop layer, file over here on the left hand side. And so in order to get that in there, you finish editing your thing. So in this particular instance, in the seven questions, the thing that they're thinking of was a dog.

00:08:49:02 - 00:09:07:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so I put a picture of a dog here on screen. And you just swap that out for whatever, the item is in the person's brain. And so then I save this file, save as, and, I would go in here to, where my file is stored on my hard drive. So in this particular case, this is what you would see in your download.

00:09:07:21 - 00:09:27:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Look, something like that. Go over here into Adobe Premiere Pro, and I am going to drag this item into my, project bin over here. When I do, it gives me an import layer option in Adobe Premiere Pro. And if I hit this little drop down menu, I can do merge all layers, and that will just bring the whole thing in as an image all together.

00:09:27:13 - 00:09:49:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Merged layers, individual layers or sequence. You're going to want to hit individual layers, and it's going to break every single thing up into an individual layer. So now when I open it up, you'll see if I just preview these, here's my numbers, here's my checks. All the way down through here is layer one. There's my TikTok layer. I don't need that but just going to be in there.

00:09:49:17 - 00:10:07:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Questions seven. So I'm using that to kind of I'm going to animate those layers in. So right here you'll see they come in right here and we do some animations on those as they like fly in or flicker in paired with like a sound effect. Here's their, their names. And those are going to be in alphabetical order.

00:10:07:08 - 00:10:28:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So n would be for Nick would be in alphabetical order here. In this in this Adobe Premiere Pro thing, it would be wherever N would go in the alphabetical list. And then here's all my X's and again it's alphabetical order. And so X1X2X2X4X5X7 depending on if they get it right or wrong. You can add sound effects down here.

00:10:28:18 - 00:10:46:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can get them from three three places stuff like that. You can also, you want to keep it, like I said, under a minute. So I tend to cut out any of the thinking or if the thinking is funny in any way, I might put a sound effect or zoom in on their face, or put some sort of, like, funny thing on screen to kind of keep the video moving.

00:10:46:04 - 00:11:06:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But that's all you got to do, right? So if you are editing with, Adobe products, this is how simple it is. And you can just take and borrow this template and use it to edit your videos. Now, in the last video we talked about drafts, and this is my draft template, which is a little bit more intensive out of the simple in sheer fact, because there are ten things as opposed to only seven things.

00:11:06:23 - 00:11:25:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Same concept. So we're going to save all these things. The only thing that's different is I use circles here. So zoomed in on screen you'll see those. And this is apparently from a breakfast draft and also leftovers of a Bible hero's draft. But this person picked bacon. And so what you'll notice here is that this got this little arrow.

00:11:25:15 - 00:11:43:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
What that is, is that's called a clipping mask. And so what I've done is I just snagged this picture off of Google, or you can do a royalty free site like pexels.com or unsplash.com. Links to those down below in the show notes. But you just simply right click and you can create a clipping mask over this circle that's here.

00:11:43:00 - 00:12:06:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. And so in all of these cases, the circles are already in existence. And so if you go through and I hide these things, this is a numbers with a circle base, underneath all of them. And so I just copy and paste a picture. And so what I do just to kind of show you how it's done, I might do so for, doing coffee products.

00:12:06:24 - 00:12:27:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I might do a coffee mug. Find a coffee mug here. And choose this one. This one seems cool. Copy. And so if I'm replacing out this template, I don't want bacon anymore. I select that layer. It's not selected over here in the layer selection panel. If I delete it, I release and got rid of the clipping mask.

00:12:27:28 - 00:12:44:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And now ellipse one is the one that is highlighted. And so you're going to want to make sure that that happens. Otherwise there's just so many layers that you're going to kind of get lost I'll paste this in here. And now this layer is on top of my ellipse layer as I hit command T to transform and adjust the size.

00:12:44:01 - 00:13:01:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm just going to adjust to size right over top of the circles here. Zoom back in so I can get it where I want it to be. There it is. And and then, I'm going to accept the changes and now it's right here, but it's not in its clipped mask. So I'm going to right click on that.

00:13:01:05 - 00:13:20:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I'm going to click Create Clipping Mask. And I can then still adjust what is visible there on screen by hitting command and adjusting the size ever so slightly. And then one thing that you're going to want to do is label this really well. So this is the layer. Layer two is the layer that you're going to bring in on top of it over in premiere.

00:13:20:09 - 00:13:34:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So let's say I'm the first person. So I just label it in for Nick. And then one and so then that way I know that it's n one and that's my mug option. And as long as it stays in this template, when you bring it over in premiere, it's going to be exactly where you want it to stay.

00:13:35:05 - 00:13:57:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, if I wanted to change names, that's the beautiful thing about Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro is that, if I, have brought this over here, let's say back to our seven questions. If I brought these in with names, but I got the names wrong. All I got to do is go back here into my student A, student B, all I got to do is just change this.

00:13:57:17 - 00:14:20:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If I wanted to change this name to Caleb and then click File Save As and drop it here, replace. Now back over here and promote Premiere Pro. That name is going to update here in just a second. It may take a minute, but it'll update over to Caleb. And so that's something I think that's pretty cool.

00:14:20:27 - 00:14:41:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You know what? This is actually from an old this is from, a different layer. So let me so this student B was updated to Caleb. So let me pull that in. Look now it says Caleb. So or now this will actually work if you're watching, if I change it back to student B and then I click File Save as replacing that sucker.

00:14:42:01 - 00:15:06:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now over here. Watch. There went you might you might not have seen it because it happens so fast. That's the beautiful thing about Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Photoshop. So as I quit sharing my screen here, I just very simply want to say to all of you that these right here, especially seven questions, are really easy one, to get students who have absolutely no editing skills to get going on editing.

00:15:06:02 - 00:15:26:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They're quick. They're they're easy to edit because they're under a minute. Usually. And so I can hand one of these over to them, and I can show them how to drag and drop the layers and make sure that they're in the right spot, add some sound effects. And off we go to the races. Now moving on. We are in our four part, my Church's Social Challenge videos.

00:15:26:17 - 00:15:46:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
These are how I get more things done with students. We're going to move on to the third video type in our strategy. And that video is linked right here on screen. So go ahead and click that video and we'll see you over there. Don't forget that we are making digital discipleship easy possible. And accessible. So as always don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 116: How Churches Can Use Social Media (Ideas & Examples)

Nick Clason — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0500

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http://www.hybridministry.xyz/116
======================================
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//Custom Coaching
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//Caleb Interview
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🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 2024 Social Media Strategy
01:28 Create Content With Your Students
02:05 How it all began
06:00 Video #1
09:44 How to Edit
12:49 How to Capture the Videos

TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:06:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Easy social media ideas for churches and for youth ministries.

00:00:06:13 - 00:00:18:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Hey everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. I am your host, Nick place, and we are looking to make digital discipleship easy, possible and accessible. My strategy for social media in 2024,

00:00:18:14 - 00:00:24:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and it's looking like beyond if you didn't know this. Short form vertical based videos or reels?

00:00:24:13 - 00:00:32:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
TikToks YouTube shorts account for 90% of the internet's traffic, which is just a wildly high

00:00:32:05 - 00:00:51:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
statistic. And so people are getting on the internet to consume these styles of videos. And so we as churches, as communicators, as people who want to have an impact in our world, we need to be on these platforms. And so if you do want to be on social media, I recommend taking that strategic approach, posting those types of videos.

00:00:51:09 - 00:00:59:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I also recommend not just posting only spiritual content. So one of the funnest things to do is post content that is just fun,

00:00:59:24 - 00:01:04:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
interesting, funny, like a game of some sort, and then hook people kind

00:01:04:08 - 00:01:08:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of with that sort of piece of content and then hopefully drive them deeper down your funnel,

00:01:08:27 - 00:01:16:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
which you will eventually get them to more spiritual content and, and hopefully you'll get them to a long form version of your spiritual content, which from there you can hopefully,

00:01:16:28 - 00:01:21:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
just like you would live in the room, just like you would live with the sermon.

00:01:21:12 - 00:01:30:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Prompt them to take some sort of meaningful next step closer to Jesus. My new favorite phenomenon for churches and for youth ministries is to create content

00:01:30:06 - 00:01:32:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
with my students, not just content

00:01:32:29 - 00:01:34:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
for my students.

00:01:34:21 - 00:01:52:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Generation Z and subsequently Generation Alpha are looking for the personal touch. They've they've grown up under the rise of customization generation. Alpha is going to be growing up under the rise of personalization with algorithms and AI and things that can make life just very tailored to them.

00:01:52:19 - 00:01:55:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so they don't want to necessarily get on their social media and see a

00:01:55:26 - 00:02:00:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
bunch of stuff that I have done for them. They would rather get on social media and see a bunch of stuff

00:02:00:28 - 00:02:04:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
that they have had an opportunity to participate in.

00:02:04:02 - 00:02:09:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so a couple years ago, my resident Caleb, linked right here is my interview with him.

00:02:09:07 - 00:02:24:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in it, we actually talked for a little while about this concept called the social challenge. And so where this came birthed out of is in our student ministry, we have a very, very vibrant YouTube channel. It's probably the social media platform that

00:02:24:02 - 00:02:37:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I pour the most gas on. If you want to see our strategy link down below is my completely free e-book strategy guide, detailing and outline every single thing I do from silly posting videos, long form version, pieces of content.

00:02:37:13 - 00:02:43:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It will help you take an adapter and make that possible in your context. But we were talking through a

00:02:43:20 - 00:02:48:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
YouTube channel, which is mostly just teaching videos, and he wanted to include more students

00:02:48:08 - 00:02:56:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
on our longform, teaching videos section of YouTube. You know, YouTube is broken into different like containers. You got you got

00:02:56:02 - 00:02:59:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
posts and you got shorts and you got videos and you got lives.

00:02:59:18 - 00:03:01:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so he's like, I want more students. I

00:03:01:24 - 00:03:18:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
think it'd be good if there were more students on the video portion. And not just us staff, people with teaching videos. And I was like, okay, great. So he invented this thing called the social Challenge. And the social challenge became a huge win for us in our student ministry in multiple arenas.

00:03:18:25 - 00:03:31:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But early on, it would just be him or maybe him, and like another one of our students or him and another one of our interns filming some, some students doing some sort of challenge, just think like any sort of

00:03:31:02 - 00:03:36:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
youth group game. And then they would just capture it on camera. And so that was on a Wednesday night.

00:03:36:14 - 00:03:40:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Our team, we don't work on Fridays. And so he would come into the office

00:03:40:27 - 00:03:53:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
on Thursday and he would edit all day long to try and get that thing ready to go. And then from there, he would get that thing posted and off he would go, putting our students on, on the YouTube channel. Well,

00:03:53:14 - 00:04:01:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
over time, that just became hefty every single week with a Thursday all day edit like that was the only thing he had like really bandwidth for it to do.

00:04:01:17 - 00:04:08:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
On Thursday. And so we let that thing run for about a semester. And then we made an adjustment. And I said, what if we,

00:04:08:00 - 00:04:17:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because in the meantime, we were filming short form, vertical based video content with our staff, and we would film like once a month, and we would get together and we would do some of these ideas.

00:04:17:00 - 00:04:22:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And one of the ones I'm about to share with you here in just a minute, and we would, we were filming for us

00:04:22:20 - 00:04:35:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and I was like, what if we put students behind that camera? And so that's what we did. And so my favorite, we do in our studio. Mr.. Now we've honed it in where we do four different types of social challenges.

00:04:35:06 - 00:04:44:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so most months are made up of four different weeks and so on week one we'll do this week two do that, week three we'll do that. Link four we'll do that. Or we'll just do

00:04:44:17 - 00:04:49:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
whatever is running low. And so I have every single thing, every single piece of content stored

00:04:49:04 - 00:04:56:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
in a Google Drive. And I can see as I post daily, I can see which of these pieces of content I'm running

00:04:56:01 - 00:05:01:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
out of, and then thus which ones we need to film more of on the next Wednesday night.

00:05:01:02 - 00:05:04:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Some of the other advantages youth pastors that this has had

00:05:04:18 - 00:05:14:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
is this has created a space in our student ministry for students to come and let their voice be heard, and for them to actually get a chance to be on social media themselves. And then

00:05:14:14 - 00:05:18:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
they're actually looking for it later on down the road, like, when are you going to post my video?

00:05:19:02 - 00:05:23:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let me know. And it was funny, last week I actually pulled a kid aside and said, hey, I'm

00:05:23:10 - 00:05:35:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
posting yours tomorrow. And so then he texted me. I didn't send him the link or anything like that, but he texted me. He's like, that was good, you know, typical seventh grade boy. But, he he reached out of his own accord.

00:05:35:08 - 00:05:56:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. Once he saw his video had been posted online. And so it's had some major wins for us in the room. It's actually made like our in person, a little bit more, intimate, like it's made our students actually get to interact with and know each other a little bit more. And so that's our current adaptation. We just batch record our students any given Wednesday

00:05:56:13 - 00:06:03:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
night, with these different for social media ideas, I'm going to share with you in this video playlist.

00:06:03:20 - 00:06:22:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The first video idea that we do, it's called drafts. Now, you've probably seen or heard these before in if you've ever been on social media, all kinds of different people have done them. And I'm not, you know, claiming to be the the author of this idea, we have no doubt seen, we're taking

00:06:22:25 - 00:06:28:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
this, you know, from other people, we've seen it done elsewhere, and we've adapted it to our culture

00:06:28:07 - 00:06:29:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
and to our context.

00:06:29:23 - 00:06:31:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But essentially what it is is you choose, like

00:06:31:27 - 00:06:58:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
any topic, literally any topic in the world that has at least ten or more options. And the reason you need ten or more is because it's it's sort of treated like a, like sports or like a basketball type thing where you draft somebody, to your starting five. And so if you and if you and I were doing this, you might go first in any particular category, let's just say,

00:06:58:12 - 00:07:10:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
let's just say basketball players, you know, for example, by the way, link down below in the description I have shared with you, like over 100 different draft topic ideas

00:07:10:02 - 00:07:10:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
as well as a

00:07:10:25 - 00:07:19:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
gear resource list. So go ahead and click that link and go grab it. You can just have it and then you can take these and kind of copy and paste them and implement them into your church and into

00:07:19:17 - 00:07:27:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
your social media strategy. But if you're going first, maybe you're Michael Jordan guy. So you take Michael Jordan, but then you go to me and it'd be my pick.

00:07:27:15 - 00:07:45:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the only thing I couldn't take is Michael Jordan. I could take any other basketball player I wanted to. I could take LeBron James. I can also take Bronny James. It doesn't matter. I could take whoever I want. So I'll go LeBron. And then back to you. You might think that the third greatest player of all time is like Magic Johnson.

00:07:45:08 - 00:08:02:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's fair. I'll go ahead and give you like thumbs up on that. Come back to me. I'll probably take like Larry Bird or something like that. Back over to you. Let's say you take, maybe you're a big Bulls guy. Maybe you take Scottie Pippen. Great. That's fine. I don't agree with that necessarily. But I appreciate you trying back over to me.

00:08:02:23 - 00:08:18:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I probably go doctor J. Or Wilt Chamberlain maybe. I think, and as I'm doing this, I'm commentating it, right. I'm like, you know, I'm thinking this thing that, and so I'll go ahead. I'll take I'll take, I'll, I'll end up taking wilt. No no no no no no. What am I doing? I'll take Shaq I'll take Shaq back over to you.

00:08:18:17 - 00:08:33:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you're like, all right, fine, I'll take Kobe. Great. That's great. Back over to me now. I'll take wilt okay. And I'm not now like building a team to play with. And you can set those parameters because I can't have Will and Shaq playing on the same team that both centers. Right. Back over to you. Maybe you're going to take like a modern guy.

00:08:33:09 - 00:08:47:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Maybe you're going to go like Kevin Durant or something like that. And I think that would be fair. Back over to me if I wanted to take a modern guy. Though I don't think he's, top ten of all time, but I do think it's great. Shaq good. So Alexander represent Oklahoma City Thunder. That's my favorite basketball team.

00:08:48:00 - 00:09:11:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then what you do then is you'd say, hey, let us know. Comment down below who you think won okay. Now in that particular case, everyone watching would definitely say that I won. But maybe you got some big, Bulls fans, some some people from Chicago watching your content. Maybe they would say that you won, and they would say that you picked all the goats and Kobe Bryant and Scottie Pippen and all the other people, right?

00:09:11:15 - 00:09:11:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like,

00:09:11:24 - 00:09:18:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
whatever the case might be, but you just literally go back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. Another option you can do is you can snake it in

00:09:18:24 - 00:09:27:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
so if you don't know, it's like, first person, second person, second person, first person, first person, second person, second person. That's the concept of a snake draft.

00:09:27:23 - 00:09:28:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I don't

00:09:28:02 - 00:09:44:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I don't do that as much in like a two person draft because, it's just like 12X2X2X2X2, and then it ends with one. I'd rather just kind of do the bounce back, but either way, your choice, your decision, you figure out which you prefer. And then

00:09:44:11 - 00:09:51:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I need to edit that sucker. And so typically when I do it with anyone on my staff, those drafts end up being like, five minutes,

00:09:51:12 - 00:09:54:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
because there's a fair bit of banter.

00:09:54:07 - 00:10:00:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we're sort of like, gassing people for, like, what they said, or slamming them for how bad we thought the choices were.

00:10:00:26 - 00:10:08:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And either way, we're kind of going back and forth, making fun of each other. And so that you have you have some decisions to make

00:10:08:10 - 00:10:18:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
in the editing process, right? You got to get it down for me, I try to get every video under 60s because YouTube shorts is cap is 60s.

00:10:18:06 - 00:10:26:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if I can get it under 60, then that means I can post it on YouTube shorts, TikTok, Instagram Reels and Facebook Reels all four places.

00:10:26:05 - 00:10:39:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, if you don't want to use YouTube shorts though, if you're trying to reach teenagers, can I please implore you to consider using it? 95% of teenagers are on YouTube, and so if you are in youth ministry, you should definitely be using YouTube, and thus you should also

00:10:39:20 - 00:10:41:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
be using YouTube shorts.

00:10:41:10 - 00:10:49:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if you don't want to use YouTube, then you can make it longer because those other platforms allow for longer, time segments of videos. And you can

00:10:49:26 - 00:10:58:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
edit it directly on your phone. My edits, it look like this. If you're watching here on YouTube. I'll also share with you my Photoshop template in that,

00:10:58:08 - 00:11:07:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
free downloadable document where I am sharing, you know, all the different hundreds of ideas of draft, topics and content that you can use.

00:11:07:28 - 00:11:29:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But, if you don't have Photoshop, you can literally design this, in anything. You can design it on TikTok, in the TikTok editor. You can design it on an app like Cap Cut for the free version or the paid version. You can use it on Instagram Reels. Editor. Like it's literally the sky is the limit on where you can edit it.

00:11:29:03 - 00:11:30:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I like to edit in

00:11:30:08 - 00:11:43:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Adobe Premiere Pro, so I use Adobe Photoshop, and then I import those files into Adobe Premiere Pro and the good news in all of this is that for a while I started doing it. And then, homeschool kids are

00:11:43:09 - 00:11:50:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
the best in our student ministry because they obviously they they don't go to school for as long during the day when they do homeschool.

00:11:51:00 - 00:11:52:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I can have

00:11:52:03 - 00:12:04:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
them come in and they can use, one of our spare computers that has Adobe Premiere Pro loaded on it. And I've been just teaching them how to use Adobe Photoshop, how to use Adobe Premiere Pro.

00:12:04:16 - 00:12:12:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I had a student, I kid you not, who he took all of, one of our other, like, video tape adaptations.

00:12:12:03 - 00:12:13:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We had like, like 12

00:12:13:29 - 00:12:21:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
of them, and he edited every single one of them, like in one sitting. He he came in. It was like

00:12:21:04 - 00:12:27:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
his maybe fifth time in, And so he had to, like, learn and get up to speed on that fifth time. I mean, he just

00:12:27:27 - 00:12:31:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
crushed them to the point where he was loving editing.

00:12:31:00 - 00:12:36:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then he said to me, hey, can I come in tomorrow? And I was like, bro, you've done them all.

00:12:36:00 - 00:13:00:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And before I was getting students to come in and edit, I was editing them all myself, every single one. And so I was always behind. I never was caught up and he got me completely caught up. And now the other good news in all of this is that in addition to students editing it and getting them posted, I've also had students begin to take ownership and leadership in the room of where we're filming this thing.

00:13:00:00 - 00:13:17:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So we've actually built a full studio. You can see link down below, our studio tour and all the gear that we use, but sometimes we just use like a camera on the back of a cell phone and like external microphones. Other times we use like full podcast studio type microphones and run that into like a focus right camera.

00:13:17:22 - 00:13:38:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And we filmed it off our Sony ZV ten. Again, all of that is linked in that, studio tour episode. If you want to look at any of that purchase, any of that. And then if you do have your phone, you can just edit it directly off your phone. If you do it off of a camera, you got to take out the SD card and then download it and then go edit it in some sort of software on your computer.

00:13:38:06 - 00:14:02:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Again, either one of those strategies is fine. You decide what you want, you can do a really heavy edit, or you can do a really minimal edit like either of those. Either of those strategies works, and you can kind of do whatever works best for you and your, your time frame. Right. But once those students, edit those, I also have students capturing them or I have them running the room.

00:14:02:08 - 00:14:23:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I have them, getting students in place. I have them literally running, like, action and, like, clapping their hands. And, it was actually really helpful because one week when we were filming a bunch of, these draft style videos, the camera audio cut out, but I got all the mic audio, but I was like, how am I going to sync up empty words?

00:14:23:08 - 00:14:49:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
To real audio? And because of the claps, I was able to find the clap on the camera, link up that spike, and then they were able to be to be linked. And so, I at this point in time, like this, this strategy, this four part video strategy, students are running it on Wednesday nights capturing the videos, and then students are editing it and all I'm doing is overseeing it and posting it.

00:14:49:17 - 00:14:51:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so my guess would be, if you're in

00:14:51:05 - 00:15:15:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
youth ministry and you want to create content with your students, that this is what you're looking for because you may not feel equipped, you may not feel like you have, what it takes or even the knowledge behind social media in your students. They do, they do. And if you're willing to build the infrastructure enough to then be able to hand that over to them, I think that's a fantastic model and it takes more work off of your

00:15:15:02 - 00:15:16:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
plate.

00:15:16:04 - 00:15:38:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so if you're interested in exploring, how to do that or even just looking for maybe like some some next steps, I offer a coaching link down below. Reach out about that is really affordable, is really cheap, and I would love to help you get that up and running. Now on to easy social media video idea number two.

00:15:38:21 - 00:15:57:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm glad that you asked because I'm sure you were looking for it. It's actually going to be linked here on screen in the very next video, which I have here on my channel. So go ahead and tap that. Go check that one out. And without any further ado, we will see you over there because we are making digital discipleship easy and possible and accessible.

00:15:57:27 - 00:16:02:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so as always, don't ever forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 113: Teaching iPad Kids with Brainrot - Gen Alpha Unlocked

Nick Clason — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 04:00:00 -0500

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

💥[CUSTOM] Hybrid Coaching💥

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

======================================
DESCRIPTION
WHAT IS BRAINROT?!
How do we teach a generation sucked down the "Brainrot" wormhole?
What are the unique social challenges facing Gen Alpha?
And what is the ONE KEY to getting through to this Generation as a teacher, pastor or educator?
Finally, we'll explore the difference between traditional teaching models and more modern approaches to learning.

//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/113

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/113

//MEET GEN ALPHA
https://www.amazon.com/Generation-Alpha-Mark-McCrindle/dp/0733646301

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
Level up your youth ministry game with these freebies!
🔗 https://linktr.ee/clasonnick

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🛠️TOOLS
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products
VIDIQ
https://vidiq.com/hybrid

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 What is Brainrot?
01:30 Social Challenges Facing Gen Alpha
05:13 5 Keys to Actively Listening
07:42 Traditional vs. Modern Teaching Methods
--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:03
Nick Clason
In this episode,

00:00:01:08 - 00:00:06:17
Nick Clason
we're going to explore the different social challenges facing the iPad generation

00:00:06:17 - 00:00:14:08
Nick Clason
known as Generation Alpha. I'm also going to share with you the one key to getting through to this generation. And finally

00:00:14:08 - 00:00:18:16
Nick Clason
was what are the traditional teaching models versus modern methods of teaching? But

00:00:18:16 - 00:00:20:07
Nick Clason
first, what in the world

00:00:20:07 - 00:00:27:16
Nick Clason
is brain rot? I went to the world's foremost authority, which is Reddit, and you know that with this person, this user is, Sakai said.

00:00:27:16 - 00:00:29:18
Nick Clason
Brain rot is the idea that exposure to

00:00:29:18 - 00:00:33:00
Nick Clason
certain content can basically turn you into an idiot.

00:00:33:00 - 00:00:55:08
Nick Clason
Have you heard? Have you heard the term brain rot? Give me a like if you have and give me a subscribe if you haven't, because you probably need to hear some of this stuff. But according to Mccrindle and fell in the book that I am reading for some of this research on Generation Alpha, they said Gen Alpha seamlessly integrates technology and screens into their lives, and they can't imagine a world without it.

00:00:55:10 - 00:01:03:21
Nick Clason
Furthermore, they said Generation Alpha is using Texians before they could talk, and so we have yet to see the full impacts of their interactions with

00:01:03:21 - 00:01:08:23
Nick Clason
screens, which is why I believe some people say that Generation Alpha is doomed.

00:01:08:23 - 00:01:11:15
Nick Clason
They consume more and more content

00:01:11:15 - 00:01:18:24
Nick Clason
online. That is just silly and dumb and stupid. And I think that's where some people go ahead and dub it and classify it as brain rotten.

00:01:18:24 - 00:01:23:05
Nick Clason
So how can we as parents and educators, pastors and teachers who love them? How can we

00:01:23:05 - 00:01:30:24
Nick Clason
pull them up out of it? Well, to make matters worse, beyond just this brain rot thing, there are some social challenges that

00:01:30:24 - 00:01:40:05
Nick Clason
Generation Alpha is facing on a regular basis, according to parents. The top five things that Generation Alpha is facing is bullying.

00:01:40:08 - 00:02:02:22
Nick Clason
Online bullying through social networks, navigating their own mental wellbeing, social pressure to be a high achiever and then the pressure to grow up faster. The list is the same with educators, but it's in a little bit of a different order with a little bit of different percentages. Educators would say the number one thing that Generation Alpha is facing is online bullying through social networks, the pressure to grow up faster.

00:02:02:23 - 00:02:10:26
Nick Clason
Social pressure to be a high achiever, navigating their own mental wellbeing and then navigating loneliness and social isolation.

00:02:10:26 - 00:02:27:23
Nick Clason
Tony George, who's the headmaster at The King's School, says this is never before have we been so connected and yet so lonely at the same time. And so to be human is to be relational. Yet social media has now come to amplify the worst of humility the anti-social.

00:02:27:27 - 00:02:48:12
Nick Clason
Technology amplifies wellbeing issues like bullying, and we have to deal with that. Other issues facing Generation Alpha that are social challenges are things that we just have to be aware of and come to grips with. Up aging. We talked about up in the last video, which is linked right here. When we explored and introduced Generation Alpha for the first time.

00:02:48:15 - 00:02:51:16
Nick Clason
Another thing that kind of comes to the forefront, especially with

00:02:51:16 - 00:02:53:19
Nick Clason
education, is just sitting still. This

00:02:53:19 - 00:03:02:04
Nick Clason
generation is finding it harder and harder to stay still. And so in a traditional classroom setting, how do you manage something like that?

00:03:02:04 - 00:03:04:26
Nick Clason
You know my own context in student ministry.

00:03:04:26 - 00:03:16:19
Nick Clason
One of the things that I do to sort of overcome the sitting still conundrum is we try to integrate, turn and talks where I'll teach for a little bit, and then I'll let them turn and have an opportunity to talk.

00:03:16:21 - 00:03:17:08
Nick Clason
I use this

00:03:17:08 - 00:03:25:15
Nick Clason
feature on demand side gig presentation model that has different poll features so that they can use their phone. They can seamlessly,

00:03:25:15 - 00:03:30:13
Nick Clason
as we said earlier, seamlessly integrate into the technology that's in front of them

00:03:30:13 - 00:03:46:05
Nick Clason
and try to create moments of interaction amongst them, amongst myself as the communicator and the presenter. I try to break up my teaching methods so that I'm not like teaching for like a half an hour straight, but I'll teach for a little bit, and then we'll put a break in the middle and do some other stuff, and I'll teach

00:03:46:05 - 00:03:47:10
Nick Clason
a little bit more.

00:03:47:13 - 00:03:52:15
Nick Clason
We also like to put paper down on the tables that they're sitting at, so that they can doodle

00:03:52:15 - 00:03:57:24
Nick Clason
on it, or even just take notes to keep paying attention to what's going on in the

00:03:57:24 - 00:04:02:03
Nick Clason
room. Other things that they face online bullying,

00:04:02:03 - 00:04:13:05
Nick Clason
children, developing with technology is another thing that they face. Like, for example, kids who say, hey, Alexa, play like that's just a normal part of their vernacular, and we don't know what the implications are yet

00:04:13:05 - 00:04:17:23
Nick Clason
for kids who have been raised with this as a normal fabric and part of their life.

00:04:17:24 - 00:04:18:00
Nick Clason
I know

00:04:18:00 - 00:04:30:06
Nick Clason
I installed my very first Alexa when my, now eight year old, who is in Generation Alpha, was a baby, and so he's only ever had an Alexa device in his house.

00:04:30:06 - 00:04:42:06
Nick Clason
And YouTube is becoming the preferred source and piece of entertainment with Generation Alpha, with, people like PewDiePie. Dude. Perfect. MrBeast, Ryan's World, and the odd is out.

00:04:42:09 - 00:04:42:13
Nick Clason
And

00:04:42:13 - 00:04:49:11
Nick Clason
finally, how do we keep these kids safe? Parents especially are concerned about safety of Generation Alpha, especially with

00:04:49:11 - 00:04:57:10
Nick Clason
the rise of shows like Murder Next Door. And so how do we keep our children and Generation Alpha safe? Well, I'm glad that you asked,

00:04:57:10 - 00:05:09:23
Nick Clason
because I now do think that with those social challenges sort of in view, how do we with those social challenges with the idea of brain rot, what is the key to getting through to this generation?

00:05:10:00 - 00:05:18:14
Nick Clason
Let's check it out. one of the keys, I believe, to getting through to Generation Alpha is to be an active listener.

00:05:18:14 - 00:05:34:03
Nick Clason
Once again, from the book Generation Alphabet. Mccrindle and Phil, they give kind of five steps to active listening. And I want to share them with you because I thought that they're fantastic because we all the generation Alpha was grown up with, cell phones and technology.

00:05:34:04 - 00:05:44:13
Nick Clason
We all are victims to the cell phone, world. And we all are victims to screens. And so they're keys to kind of this active listening is, number one

00:05:44:13 - 00:05:47:08
Nick Clason
to squarely face the listener. When

00:05:47:08 - 00:05:48:29
Nick Clason
you squarely face the listener, you

00:05:48:29 - 00:05:52:04
Nick Clason
can demonstrate full attention and interest.

00:05:52:04 - 00:05:54:25
Nick Clason
Number two, open body language. So

00:05:54:25 - 00:05:57:27
Nick Clason
put down your screen, uncross your arms.

00:05:57:27 - 00:06:02:21
Nick Clason
And that indicates and communicates interest and attention.

00:06:02:21 - 00:06:06:29
Nick Clason
If you lean forward, lean towards them. Then that will help give

00:06:06:29 - 00:06:17:01
Nick Clason
the speaker, the idea that you are interested as opposed to leaning back, which, kind of helps demonstrate that you may be less interested in what they have to say.

00:06:17:01 - 00:06:21:09
Nick Clason
Finally, eye contact offer focus on the speaker, and we look them squarely

00:06:21:09 - 00:06:23:06
Nick Clason
in the eye and give them our full attention.

00:06:23:11 - 00:06:28:26
Nick Clason
That also communicates that they have value and that what they say matters and is interesting. And then finally

00:06:28:26 - 00:06:46:25
Nick Clason
give responsive gestures like nods and ahas and other affirming feedback. The speaker will share more as we, as a listener, display our empathy and our ability to engage with them. Now, here's the thing. You all know that you've all heard that that's just the key to active listening.

00:06:46:25 - 00:07:17:16
Nick Clason
But with screens as a hurdle in a lot of our lives, we need to practice putting those things down and practice active listening with Generation Alpha. And I believe that we will help them get off of their devices if we can show them and share with them a way to interact as human beings. 2018 The National Institute of Health reported that children who spend more than two hours on screens demonstrated lower language and thinking skills,

00:07:17:16 - 00:07:30:19
Nick Clason
and so it's important that we all help model four generation Alpha, who's grown up with screens, who's only ever known a model for them, what it's like to have healthy relationship with other human beings, and also how to get

00:07:30:19 - 00:07:59:12
Nick Clason
away from screens and really experience and unlock the fullness of life. So if we're teachers, pastors, educators, I'm a youth pastor. Like, how do we teach Generation Alpha more than 4 in 5, but 83% or more in seven and ten? About 71% of educators believe that schools today are doing much better at engaging students with their very different learning styles,

00:07:59:12 - 00:08:12:16
Nick Clason
but teach students today are experiencing a teacher facilitated, interactive, learning centric environment, and classroom layouts are now designed to help sort of reflect this.

00:08:12:16 - 00:08:40:00
Nick Clason
And so what are some of the keys and the differences between traditional teaching models and and more? classic and now new like learning styles. It's kind of like the difference between self-directed and some of the individualized styles of learning. And so unlike a traditional classroom setting, you may be more verbal and just talk more, but I think a more modern style of learning for Generation Alpha is they're more visual.

00:08:40:06 - 00:08:43:00
Nick Clason
So how can you bring about visual aid? How can you bring about

00:08:43:00 - 00:08:51:24
Nick Clason
object lessons and things that are going to allow them to see it with their eyes and let that come to life in a little bit of a different way? Traditional

00:08:51:24 - 00:08:58:28
Nick Clason
models might be, hey, sit and be quiet and listen. But now more modern methods of learning are try it and see.

00:08:59:02 - 00:09:19:02
Nick Clason
And, you know, I think that's a challenge for a lot of us in churches and in student ministry, because how do we help kids try and see what is there in the Bible? You know, last week I tried something. It was an experiment. I don't even know if I liked it yet or not, but I had students look up verses to help me describe the character of God.

00:09:19:02 - 00:09:20:07
Nick Clason
And then when they looked them

00:09:20:07 - 00:09:46:09
Nick Clason
up, they told them to me. And from the stage and from the platform, I had my TV or my my, computer, airplane, Bible gateway.com. And I looked at verse up live time and then it would show on the screen, and then everyone could read it together. That was just an example of me trying to let them kind of try to look up in the Bible for themselves and then see what they looked up and kind of add to the teaching method.

00:09:46:15 - 00:10:11:27
Nick Clason
Traditional. Other traditional methods of learning might be an authoritarian method of learning with the teacher who's in charge and who's the boss. But now more modern methods of learning are a participant per participatory right, letting generation Alpha actually participate in their learning and in the teaching style. Traditional models might be more curriculum centered, where now they're more learner

00:10:11:27 - 00:10:19:04
Nick Clason
centric and trying to get through to them and give them, what they need in order to learn, traditional might

00:10:19:04 - 00:10:24:13
Nick Clason
be more closed book exams, but we live in an open book world,

00:10:24:13 - 00:10:24:19
Nick Clason
right?

00:10:24:23 - 00:10:31:25
Nick Clason
You're never going to be faced to in a situation where you don't have access to find the answer to something, especially with a cell

00:10:31:25 - 00:10:38:28
Nick Clason
phone in your pocket. So how do we as educators, as teachers, as pastors, how do we navigate that for

00:10:38:28 - 00:10:42:05
Nick Clason
Generation Alpha in a way that makes sense?

00:10:42:05 - 00:10:46:23
Nick Clason
Traditional would be books and paper. But now we have glass and we have devices.

00:10:46:23 - 00:10:56:10
Nick Clason
We have cell phones. We have ways to look things up. Traditional would be theoretical thinking, but now there's more practical skills that need to be taught and conveyed and

00:10:56:10 - 00:11:07:26
Nick Clason
and given to the next generation. As we said in the last episode, that several of the jobs that they're going to be taking are going to be different than than jobs that even exist now.

00:11:08:00 - 00:11:09:13
Nick Clason
And finally, direct

00:11:09:13 - 00:11:13:21
Nick Clason
instruction versus inquiry based learning. So,

00:11:13:21 - 00:11:44:14
Nick Clason
so with all of this different kind of conflicting information, what do you think our approach to education as pastors and educators should be with Generation Alpha? What even further more should be should our approach with cell phones be should we embrace them and find a way to let generation Alpha use them, or should we push them away because they disrupt the traditional ways of teaching and educating?

00:11:44:14 - 00:12:01:12
Nick Clason
How do we navigate that? As youth pastors? How do we navigate that as parents? What do you do if you have a generation alpha kid, do you lean into a phone? Do you embrace it or do you hold off giving it to them? Well, I'm glad you asked because I want to explore that in the very next episode, which is linked right here on screen.

00:12:01:19 - 00:12:16:13
Nick Clason
So feel free to tap that. And I would love to talk to you even more about my findings in that, don't forget that we are making digital discipleship easy, possible, and accessible. So as always, stay hybrid.

Episode 111: Better Event Promotion: Without Promoting on Social

Nick Clason — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 04:00:00 -0500

🔥 Social Media templates for Churches🔥

https://share.hsforms.com/1UrHggOX1Q3mH_A3F3f8dWwnumis

💥Erik w/a "k" Channel [Practical Youth Ministry Tips]💥

www.youtube.com/@practicalyouthministrytips

======================================
DESCRIPTION
We all want more people at our events, but how do we get more people at our events without promoting things to Social?
In this episode Nick and Erik, fellow youth pastor and youtuber, sit down to discuss better event promotion as a part 2
(Check out Part 1: erikyoutubechannel.com) of this super mashup episode exploring the value of outreach events and how to get the word out.

In this episode we'll explore a better more wholistic social media strategy for 2024 and beyond, as well as how to write better emails and create a culture of invite amongst students in your youth ministry.

Finally, we'll explore how to build out a social media and hybrid strategy for your 2024 youth ministry school year.

Tap in to check it out!

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/111

//CRUSH SOCIAL MEDIA
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/complete-guide-to-crushing-youth-ministry-social-media/admin-tools/social-media-9537.html

//FREE EBOOK
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//CAPCUT PRO
https://commercepro.capcut.com/pricing

//START FROM SCRATCH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVKRhtlt_O0&t=11s

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
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🔗 https://linktr.ee/clasonnick

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 IDEA #1: Stop Promoting Events on Social Media
04:48 Two Types of Social Promotions
10:38 IDEA #2: Write Better Emails
14:00 IDEA #3: Create an Invite Culture
17:10 A Wholistic Hybrid Approach
--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;24;21
Nick Clason
Well. Hey, everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. And in this episode we're going to talk about better event promotion as well as a holistic digital and social media approach for your church and your youth ministry. And this is actually part two. Part one is linked right here at the top of the screen over on another channel, because we're doing a massive mash up collab.

00;00;24;28 - 00;00;49;07
Nick Clason
And I am joined today by my friend Erik with the K Erik.

Erik w/a "k" Williams
Good morning bro. How you doing? Good to see you Nick. So excited to be on your channel. Love what you're doing bro. So so good.

Yeah, well if you weren't listening or privy to the conversation that we just clicked stop and now rerecord on, we talked through an entire, like, outreach strategy, right?

00;00;49;08 - 00;01;08;17
Nick Clason
Yeah, well if you weren't listening or privy to the conversation that we just clicked stop and now rerecord on, we talked through an entire, like, outreach strategy, right?
You gave out a bunch of games. You gave out a full run sheet on, like how to do a great outreach style event at your church. And one major piece, right? In all of that, in churches and in youth ministry is promotion. We want people to come to our event. It's natural. It's a human nature, you know what I mean?

00;01;08;20 - 00;01;31;07
Nick Clason
And so one of the ways that we're always trying to get people to come to our event is through social media. Yeah. Is that not a normal like strategies and a normal thought process? Erik, for the average American youth pastor.

Erik w/a "k" Williams
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm totally I've totally used social media to promote events like for a long time. Yeah.

00;01;31;13 - 00;02;03;02
Nick Clason
And is it effective?

Erik w/a "k" Williams
I don't see a lot of likes on those posts. Yeah. And, I don't know, I'm not seeing, sharing and whatever. Yeah, I think I think it's just if, like if you look at in the past, a lot of my social media stuff for youth ministry, it tends to be mostly promotional. Okay. And watching your channel, one of the things I've learned is that's not a great idea because then it's just promotion.

00;02;03;02 - 00;02;25;00
Erik w/a "k" Williams
And it's not like, hey, because I looked at this, I'm going to get 20% off my next event, right? Right. It's just an announcement. Yeah, yeah. And that's what I am trying to steer youth pastors, church communicators away from, because if we're not careful, we're going to view social media as another announcement channel. And it's really not built for that.

00;02;25;00 - 00;02;46;06
Nick Clason
And if you treat it that way, it's not going to be incredibly successful. And so you should still get the word out and you can still use social media. But before you do, I want you to tweak and adjust your strategy on it. And so the first I have three ideas for better event promotion for your event, Erik, that we just talked through.

00;02;46;14 - 00;03;07;00
Nick Clason
The first one is don't post announcements announcing announcing it on social media. And what I mean by that in particular, because I'm going to get a little nuanced here, is I still think you can and should announce it, but don't just post your graphic that you cooked up on Canva or on Instagram Stories or wherever you cooked it up.

00;03;07;00 - 00;03;27;22
Nick Clason
Like, don't just post that because you will probably see as you see, as you said, two, three, six likes on it and likes aren't the only metric, you know, get the word across. Of course, like people will still see it. But you got to think about, our habits. Why do you, Erik, why do you get on social media?

00;03;27;24 - 00;03;48;25
Erik w/a "k" Williams
I want to be entertained, all right? I want to catch up with people, but I want to. I want to be entertained. That's. It's one of the things I love scrolling. Super. Particularly scrolling through videos. Right? Is I want it to be funny. Yeah, yeah. And, if you're watching this live, the month of August, your download youth ministry, I think it's like, God, an up or maybe silver and on up.

00;03;48;27 - 00;04;04;17
Nick Clason
I provided the mystery item for the members, and it was a let's go free e-book on how to crush your social media. And so one of the concepts in there, and if you know you're not a member or you missed the download perk, I'll drop a link in there. You can get it for just a few bucks, down below in the description.

00;04;04;17 - 00;04;27;05
Nick Clason
But one of the stats I included is that reels or short form vertical video TikTok style videos account for get this 90% of the internet's traffic. And so you're right, we get on social media to to be entertained or even to be inspired, maybe learn some stuff, but we don't get on there to catch up on our announcements, to catch up on what's the latest on our church.

00;04;27;05 - 00;04;52;20
Nick Clason
So stop posting static announcement graphics and start posting the types of content that people get on social media for i.e short form vertical based video. If you make it less than 60 seconds, you can post it on any of your social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and even YouTube shorts. And so if you are going to post about an event, I would recommend two styles of posts.

00;04;52;20 - 00;05;13;29
Erik w/a "k" Williams
So there's one. It's like the cap cut meme. Have you seen this before? The different cap cut style memes? absolutely. Lovely. I'm not. I haven't really gotten into using them yet much. Yeah, but I love I love using that like the, the the one where the guy who is The Mandalorian, I forget his name. Yeah. where he's laughing.

00;05;13;29 - 00;05;32;05
Nick Clason
Yep. Like really hard with that other guy. Like, I love that meme where you, you can put stuff in the background, right? Because it's kind of green screen concept. so, so good. Yeah. So find a way to, to catch the wave of a trending kind of like cap cut meme. And if you don't know, ask one of your teenagers, they'll help you.

00;05;32;08 - 00;05;53;15
Erik w/a "k" Williams
Speaking of speaking of cap cut, like, That's something. Now I use Final Cut to do most of my video editing. Yep. But when I'm doing, stuff with my phone, like, I do, like, screen like words on the screen, all that stuff, I use cap cut all the time. So last year I decided to invest in paying for it's a yearly fee.

00;05;53;18 - 00;06;19;17
Erik w/a "k" Williams
I think it's like 75 bucks. Typically. They almost always have some sort of save a certain percentage off. So I paid 50 bucks last year. I just got a reminder that my subscriptions almost out. So they're giving me a 36%, 34, 36% off of the yearly yearly fee. So grab those, grab those discounts when you can. But for me, it's been a totally worth it expense because I use it all the time.

00;06;19;20 - 00;06;39;27
Nick Clason
Yeah. And and I don't pay for it. My youth, ministry, doesn't pay for it. So I'm still using the free version, and you can still get a lot out of of cap cut, even if you don't want to go that paid for out. So the other one, the other idea I have, and these are like on the rise right now with in churches and stuff, are the like, transition videos.

00;06;39;29 - 00;07;00;07
Nick Clason
and I don't know the other way to, to describe them, but essentially it starts with, a video like, a popular video of some sort. And the one I've seen a lot recently is the guy running away from, like, a bull in the streets. It must be like a running of the bulls thing in Spain or whatever, and he gets speared in the back and so on screen.

00;07;00;07 - 00;07;22;07
Nick Clason
You see, this guy just gets speared right in the back and just fly forward, and then it cuts out to your church or another church and some dude or girl getting, I guess, jumping or thrown into like the row of chairs. And then they like, you know, get up all, like, hurt and then turn around, look at the camera and they invite, you know, invite to church.

00;07;22;07 - 00;07;40;23
Nick Clason
And so there are, you know, a bunch of different ones of those. And I discovered there's so many more than I even thought, because I got on one of my accounts and I started just kind of creating a library of them, sharing them over to my church account. And the more I shared them, the more the algorithm kept feeding me those.

00;07;40;25 - 00;08;04;07
Nick Clason
And so now I've gone around with students and stuff and I'm like, hey, film this, walk into this chair or dive into these. These couches, or, you know, we'll spill one of the other ones. There's like a baby puking on screen and you see all the puke come out and then it like it dive the the milk dumps into the cup and you hear the little splash, and then someone takes a drink of it and it's like there's always free coffee at church.

00;08;04;07 - 00;08;27;02
Erik w/a "k" Williams
Something like that. Like, oh, so gross, so gross, but so funny. And, really, really popular right now. And so that's another way to invite someone to your event, but again, in a way that leans into what social media is built for and made for. Yeah, I love the one where somebody is running and jumping does like a cannonball into into, a pool.

00;08;27;08 - 00;08;53;03
Erik w/a "k" Williams
Yeah. And then the next scene is like sugar cube dropping into a cup and it's like, yeah, like much smaller. Yeah. They're just funny. And again, you can still get the word out, but with like a little tweak. Right, a little adjustment. Don't just post your cooked up Canva graphic but include faces on social media include entertainment and entertainment style elements on social media.

00;08;53;03 - 00;09;10;27
Nick Clason
So that's that's my first kind of point. Do you have anything else to add there before we I just say,

Erik w/a "k" Williams
you know, you just said it in to include faces like students love to see themselves. Yep. I think that's brilliant. The more you can get students in there instead of just you same face over and over, talking head kind of thing all the time.

00;09;10;29 - 00;09;27;21
Erik w/a "k" Williams
I think that's brilliant. I love that dude. Yeah. And in addition to my doing my book, I got one here on my channel as well. It's free. It's down. The show notes. It will lay out this whole, this whole thing. So if you haven't grabbed it yet, go check that out. My site. I just want to support that, by the way, because that's I've downloaded that.

00;09;27;21 - 00;09;54;18
Erik w/a "k" Williams
That's been super, super helpful to me. You give so much inside of that e-book, bro. I absolutely love it. Well I appreciate that. Yeah, absolutely. And I'm sure help churches do better and get the word out that. What's up everyone Nicholas in here hopping into the middle of this episode to say that as I was ending it, I got this idea that I just wanted to give you my top six favorite transition videos and my top six favorite cap cut template.

00;09;54;18 - 00;10;14;10
Nick Clason
So if you hit up the link down below in the description and YouTube, it will give you a word document. it will just, the form will drop it into a drop box for download that word document, and it will give you six links to the Instagram videos, six links to the cap cut videos, as well as websites that you can use.

00;10;14;10 - 00;10;37;22
Nick Clason
Once you post those to either TikTok or to Instagram that you can download directly from that social channel, and then repost it without the tick tock or Instagram Reels watermark. out to Facebook or YouTube or wherever else you want to cross post things. I hope it's helpful to use these in your next event promotion. Without any further ado, back to the rest of them.

00;10;37;23 - 00;10;56;22
Nick Clason
So that's the whole goal of it. Yeah. Speaking. Getting better, getting the word out. write better emails. People like, if you're anything like me or any of the churches I've been in, we've done things like, you know, such and such church weekly student ministry update. And then in that, of course, you're like announcing your back to school event.

00;10;56;22 - 00;11;17;29
Nick Clason
You're announcing your costume party around Halloween time, you're announcing your Friendsgiving event. But nobody, who doesn't if they don't open the email, they don't read that content, they don't see it. And so it misses them. And so a new idea I had, and this is relevant because it just happened to me this week at our church, in our children's ministry.

00;11;18;02 - 00;11;39;00
Nick Clason
They were having an event I didn't know about. And the the subject is, you know, my church's kids ministry update, and I never read them. Guilty. All right, I work there. I'm a dad of kids in the ministry, but I never read them because I figure there's really nothing new in there. But there was something new, but I didn't open it.

00;11;39;02 - 00;11;54;09
Nick Clason
And you can look at it two ways. I'm I'm to blame or they're to blame. And most churches would be like, I'm to blame because they look back at open rates and they see that they're really low and they're like, well, you don't know what's going on because you don't open it. All of that is true. Guilty as charged.

00;11;54;12 - 00;12;30;06
Nick Clason
However, no, this most open rates, like a good open rate for like a business is like in the 20 to 30%. And so if you're a church, yeah, you're probably higher than that. But if you start putting some of what's going on, even in the subject of the email, even if people don't open it, then if their eyes ever glance through their inbox and they ignore your emails, but they still take a glance or a gander over at the subject, they'll at least be aware of what's going on in your in your youth ministry, and so you can prevent your outreach event to your parents and to any of the students who are subscribed to

00;12;30;06 - 00;12;51;22
Erik w/a "k" Williams
your email list with just better subjects and intake in inside of that when they open the email. Because, I mean, I've been guilty of this. I've seen I've been on emails from churches that it feels like I mean, you've got a template which I think is good to have a template. So you have to keep recreating something every single week.

00;12;51;24 - 00;13;15;06
Nick Clason
But it sometimes it can feel like I've seen all this information every single week. so I don't even bother opening. Yeah. Anything you could do to to kind of freshen inside of the email. Yeah. I mean, and you don't want to get clickbaity or sensational, right. But the more interesting your subject is, the the the more prone people are to open it.

00;13;15;09 - 00;13;33;08
Nick Clason
Keep in mind, too, that people want to people want to just like, social media. They want to interact with people. So if they're getting it from your ministry, like they they may be a bot in parent or student that wants to know what's going on in your ministry, but that's not enticing to them to correspond with the brand of your ministry.

00;13;33;11 - 00;13;52;19
Nick Clason
So send it from your name. Send it from your senior pastor's name. Like those types of things, you will see an uptick in engagement in that way. If it feels personal, like they're getting an email from a person as opposed to getting an email from an organization. So. Good. Yeah. the third thing, and I don't want to belabor it because we did we hit it in your episode.

00;13;52;19 - 00;14;15;24
Nick Clason
So go check that out. But really, I think the key to getting more people to your event, beyond just promoting it on social media, is really like creating a culture of invite, where students from your church will invite their friends to your church and you got to build that culture and over time it's going to take time. So if you're brand new, like just keep working it, keep working the soil, keep doing the thing.

00;14;15;27 - 00;14;36;05
Nick Clason
Create a safe space that your students know they can trust you. If they bring a friend to an event, you're not going to do something weird on them, and you got to do that a few times to prove it, to prove to your students that you're going to do that. But then eventually they'll start to realize that, like, oh, this is going to be a safe place and a safe event for me to bring my friend to.

00;14;36;07 - 00;14;57;26
Nick Clason
And they will start bringing students. And you know how it is like a word of mouth invite is so much more valuable than, static graphic that they scroll across on social media. Yeah, I think I think so. I mean, if you're if you run lame events, that word is going to get out to a. Right. So you want it's got to be a good event and that invite culture.

00;14;57;26 - 00;15;24;00
Erik w/a "k" Williams
I think is an interesting conversation. And I just want to say a real quick thing about it. Nick. Yeah, is I remember when I came to a church and, we had this annual event that had been happening for a long time, and, the high schoolers were coming because it's really, like, competitive. experience. So there was there was like, students were showing up no matter what.

00;15;24;03 - 00;15;58;19
Erik w/a "k" Williams
But the middle schoolers, we hardly had any middle schoolers that were showing up. And so we talked about that, like, why is that? But there wasn't a there wasn't a culture of invitation. So we at that, that meant we had to do groundwork within the youth ministry to go, okay, there's an importance for our students that come regularly to understand they they need to be inviting their friends, because this is an easy, open opportunity for them to be able to share their faith with their friends by letting somebody else kind of set the groundwork for it.

00;15;58;19 - 00;16;14;06
Erik w/a "k" Williams
They show up to something fun. Then they have this conversation, then in the car ride home or whatever. Hey, I know we had a lot of fun with some highlights, but but it was so fun. Were telling your parents whatever, but what was something that you heard the the youth pastor talk about this? What did you think about that.

00;16;14;09 - 00;16;39;09
Erik w/a "k" Williams
Yeah. And then having that conversation. So setting them up for success, if you will, rather than just show up and and do it and then don't ever talk about it again. Yeah. Yeah. 100%. And that's, that's just going to take time. And if students are not bringing their friends to events, then maybe ask them why they're not and be prepared for the gut check of their honesty.

00;16;39;11 - 00;16;57;16
Nick Clason
yeah. But they'll be if they're honest with you. That is just absolutely good information that you have to, like, grab Ahold of, take to the bank, and then try and figure out what you need to do to create more of a culture of invite. So, so good. Well, here's the thing, Erik. Right. So like, we just we promoted this event.

00;16;57;16 - 00;17;20;20
Nick Clason
We did a few like fun Instagram Reels. We did a few different like, emails. And we got students inviting students. But my my recommendation is more than just like a blitz. Like a marketing blitz on your social media for your upcoming Back to School bash, your upcoming Halloween party, your upcoming fill in the blank whatever event. Like you should be doing this on a holistic strategy, you know?

00;17;20;20 - 00;17;40;09
Nick Clason
And in the book that I referenced earlier, I lay out a very detailed and very like high level strategy, like it's it's a high bar and it's often and it's like a full time job. But recently episode 106, I'll link it down below in the show notes. I scaled it back and that's what I also put in, like my doing my book as well.

00;17;40;09 - 00;18;08;03
Erik w/a "k" Williams
And I said, hey, listen, if you're just getting going like focus on three times a week and I think three times a week is much more attainable for youth pastors. And I would guess, and I love you to speak into this. Like, I would guess that most youth pastors can look around and see other social media accounts are doing well and want to do that, but are just thinking, bro, I don't have the time.

00;18;08;06 - 00;18;24;04
Nick Clason
And I would imagine that that's the boat that most youth pastors are and would. Would you agree with that or disagree with. Absolutely. I, I think of that for just myself. Like if I'm going, man, five days a week, I mean, there's so much to do. Three days a week feels a little more a little more comfortable. Yeah.

00;18;24;05 - 00;18;44;27
Erik w/a "k" Williams
I'm a big fan of like batch recording where you just I'm just going to take an hour on Monday and I'm going to record these three videos. Yeah. And then take the time. I mean, it does take time, right? But like some of those cap cup meme videos, that's not that's not much time at all. You're just kind of putting that information in and taking something that's already been used.

00;18;44;27 - 00;19;06;24
Erik w/a "k" Williams
And on the green screen you drop your information and like that's that's more simple. But I love I mean, dude, you're crushing it with how you do it with your youth ministry. I love like the, the, drafting videos and the seven seven questions to try to figure out what is it? I'm thinking of those those kind of things I think are so brilliant.

00;19;06;26 - 00;19;28;21
Erik w/a "k" Williams
It takes some time, but if you batch it, record it, do it all in one day, like I know on Instagram you can schedule videos to, to, to, to, yeah to go at specific times and dates and all that stuff. Yeah. So it takes time. But I think it's important and there has to be a, a belief in the value of it, for you to actually do it.

00;19;28;24 - 00;19;52;20
Erik w/a "k" Williams
You're not going to see the return on your investment overnight. Yeah. That's a, that's again another time. Just like the invite culture. It's going to take time to build your channel and students getting on it. Yeah. But you get those students involved with it both on screen and owning the the shooting of the videos and editing. Because there's you're going to find students that are that like to do that even if they're decent.

00;19;52;22 - 00;20;17;27
Nick Clason
Yeah. You can do some training with them. Yep. Give somebody some responsibility and go, hey, I want you to take on one of these a week or whatever. Yeah, that's on it. That's exactly right. And that's exactly what we've done. So I got it up and going all by myself. Proof of concept, sustainability, all these things. But now I've started recruiting other students, you know, and to your point, we just batch record.

00;20;17;27 - 00;20;37;00
Nick Clason
So anytime it's a Wednesday night we'll we have a four week strategy now. So one week we'll do those draft style videos. If you're watching here on YouTube you can see some examples. and we'll film as many of those as we can with as many students as we can. So I like to walk out of the night with anywhere from 4 to 6 of these different style of videos.

00;20;37;03 - 00;20;55;12
Nick Clason
Then the next week we'll do our seven question style video and same kind of concept as many students as we can. As many as we have time for will knock them out and, you know, get 4 to 6 in the hopper to edit later. we'll do the next week. I do like a man on the street style of walking out the microphone, interviewing kids or whatever.

00;20;55;12 - 00;21;10;29
Nick Clason
And so that's getting out of our room that we film in and more like on the streets. You can kind of see what our youth ministry looks like and everything. And then the last one is we'll just walk around, we'll do this. Those transition style invite videos. So hey, this week we'll do the one where the kids getting rammed by a ball.

00;21;10;29 - 00;21;29;23
Nick Clason
Next week we'll do the one with the the baby puking or whatever. And you do a few of those. You get. We got, last night, two nights ago, we got six of them, you know, in the hopper. And so. And I'm not doing that like, I got it set up. I got all the infrastructure built, but now I've handed it off to one of my students.

00;21;29;23 - 00;21;50;17
Erik w/a "k" Williams
And so he's doing it while I'm running the youth ministry program out playing basketball on the courts. And he's somewhere else in the building filming these these videos and that. Then the night he hands me the camera, I pop out the SD card and we're off. We're off to the races. And the good news in all of that, right, is that you can train up students and they want to help with.

00;21;50;17 - 00;22;09;18
Nick Clason
And when we look at it like the growing Young Study and Fuller Institute and all these things like keychain leadership is the key to sustained faith. So it shouldn't just be you as a youth pastor, like cooking all these things up, like bring about your leaders, bring about your volunteers, and and bring about your students, man. Like they want to help.

00;22;09;18 - 00;22;28;25
Erik w/a "k" Williams
So let an A side side bonus on that. You start handing some of the stuff off to students. They some of them are going to get like an excitement for doing that. And it could build into something even more. I had a student who I taught him how to do some PowerPoint stuff this like early on, and then I showed him how to shoot and edit video.

00;22;28;26 - 00;22;53;02
Erik w/a "k" Williams
Yeah, he went into marketing as a business. Yeah. Like all because he learned that stuff in youth group in middle school. Yeah. And the principles transferable beyond just social media, right. Like you might get kids are not interested in that, but they're interested in other things and isn't our job, as the apostle Paul puts it, to train the saints and equip them for works and acts of service.

00;22;53;02 - 00;23;10;21
Nick Clason
It's not our job to do all the works and acts of service. And so in the same vein, while social media feels like this maybe foreign kind of concept punch fear in the face just get started. And like I said, link down below. Episode 106. I'll detail an outline how to do all of that and just get those steps taken.

00;23;10;25 - 00;23;32;22
Nick Clason
Love it. Anything else? Erik, before we wrap this week up,

Erik w/a "k" Williams
I just say on the social media world, just just make a decision to do it. Like John, John Acuff is a guy I love to read and listen to. He talks about the hardest part about running is putting your shoes on. Once you put your shoes on, you're committed.

00;23;32;25 - 00;23;53;11
Erik w/a "k" Williams
Actually, when he's going to run in the morning, he puts his whole running outfit on the floor the night before. And then when you put your shoes on, that means you're going to actually run. So I'd say pick up your phone and, you know, sketch a few ideas and then go actually do it. Yeah. And then you start getting into a rhythm and it becomes a lot easier once you get into a rhythm of it.

00;23;53;18 - 00;24;12;06
Nick Clason
Yeah, that's 100% right. Well hey everyone, so glad that you made it all the way to the end. if you haven't, go check out part one. Erik's got a bunch of freebies there. And youth ministry, you're definitely going to want those. Those are premium level freebies. But until next time, and as always, stay hybrid. See you.

Episode 110: Distractions During Youth Group: The Solution

Nick Clason — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 04:00:00 -0500

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======================================
DESCRIPTION
What in the world do we do about cellphone usage during youth group?!
It seems like it's getting worse and worse!

Well, Josh Boldman, of DYM (downloadyouthministry.com) is here to help reveal his thoughts, as well as a full-proof program to not only take care of the cell phone epidemic, but to unveil the future of youth ministry as we all know it!

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/110

//CO-LEADER CURRICULUM
https://www.coleader.co/

//SIDEKICK
https://sidekick.tv/

//JOSH ON DYM
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/featured-authors/josh-boldman/

//SIDEKICK FEATURE REQUEST
https://sidekick-tv.canny.io/feature-requests

//JOSH ON SOCIAL
https://www.tiktok.com/@joshboldman
https://www.instagram.com/joshboldman/
https://www.facebook.com/joshboldman
https://x.com/joshboldman

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
Level up your youth ministry game with these freebies!
🔗 https://linktr.ee/clasonnick

BEST DYM RESOURCES
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AUTO POD
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Intro - How your experience got you where you are now
04:15 Sidekick's Introduction into the Digital Realm of Youth Ministry
09:00 Sidekick's most user friendly features
13:50 What's next for Sidekick?
17:36 How Sidekick aids in showing up where students are
19:25 The Recipe to Engaging Students where they are
30:42 Final Thoughts on Hybrid Ministry
--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:15 - 00:00:23:04
Nick Clason
What is up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the Hybrid Ministry show. I, as always my host Nick Klassen. And I'm really excited. Today I got the one and only Josh Boldman who works at Diam now. He also has years of experience in youth ministry. And so we are going to interview Josh today. What's up everybody? I'm here with Josh Boldman. Josh how you doing this morning bro?

00:00:23:04 - 00:00:44:07
Josh Boldman
I am good man. How are you doing I'm great. I'm glad to have you on

Nick Clason
the long awaited Josh Boldman interview.

Josh Boldman
Most podcasts are still waiting. I just wanted to make it very clear.

Nick Clason
Oh man, I feel like I'm in an exclusive club. Yeah, or something.

Josh Boldman
So they just don't know. They don't know it yet, but they're still waiting.

00:00:44:07 - 00:01:10:12
Nick Clason
Yeah, they definitely are. But not me. Not us. Josh, like, tell the people, how did. Who are you and how did you get to where you are today?

Josh Boldman
Oh my gosh. Okay. That is it all started on a cold with. No. okay. So I have, right there. So I'll start with where I'm at. right now I am I am the team lead for co-leader, which is, a part of the download Youth Ministry family.

00:01:10:14 - 00:01:39:17
Josh Boldman
I also, run lead in the sidekick arena, which is our presentation software. We'll get to that. but that's only been for about the last year. before that, I spent, somewhere in the neighborhood of. Right at about 20 years in student ministry, as a youth pastor or youth minister or student pastor or student ministries director, or any of the other myriad ways that you can you can describe it.

00:01:39:19 - 00:02:03:18
Josh Boldman
but I did that. Gosh, from Florida, to Illinois, to, tiny, tiny little churches to big old churches to, single site to multi-site to we do youth ministry on Sunday morning to we do youth ministry on Wednesday nights like normal people do. all that, you know, so, you know, it's just kind of been all over the place.

00:02:03:24 - 00:02:27:24
Josh Boldman
Yeah. but for the last ten, I'll say ten. It's probably like six, but I'll say ten years. I pastor mother, with Dwight. Yeah. It's like, how many kids were there? The 400. I don't know, it was too many to count. but yeah. So I, I've been an author with Tim, putting resources like games and teaching content and countdowns and videos and stuff together for DYM.

00:02:27:27 - 00:02:47:11
Josh Boldman
And then about a year ago, they had somebody that was going on maternity leave and they're like, hey, you want to cover for that person? I was like, yeah, yeah, I do. And then I spent all 90 days of that maternity leave, trying to make it where there was literally no way they could let me go afterward.

00:02:47:11 - 00:03:08:12
Nick Clason
And it it worked nice.

Josh Boldman
Absolutely worked. I was it was dicey for about about 45 days. And then I was like, nah, I think I got I think, I think I got this. So she came back and I was not asked to pack up and leave. so that has worked out for everybody. Yeah. You didn't put her on the job either?

00:03:08:12 - 00:03:31:27
Josh Boldman
No, no, it's kind of great. Yeah. So, you know, it's been it's been a ride. this last year, co-leader has transitioned from a, a platform where you can plan ministry to a full blown annual curriculum. we've launched sidekick. sidekick, which is now in beta. we had Sidekick Legacy, which was a standalone app.

00:03:31:27 - 00:03:53:26
Josh Boldman
Now it's built in the browser. So you open it in Chrome and you can you can play. You know, play your presentation literally anywhere. we did that all with any I mean, it's like literally anything we could have done, we we decided we were like, hey, you know what? If we just take everything we ever want to do and we just jam it all into one calendar year, and we got this.

00:03:53:27 - 00:04:08:28
Nick Clason
Yeah, we got this guy now who's covering for this girl on maternity leave, and now we can. We had him go. So we're we need to get our money's worth out of him. That's there. Like, we have so many staff. We have so we have so many. And now, now we need to have them do things, so.

00:04:08:28 - 00:04:30:10
Nick Clason
Oh, man, I gotta say the like this, I don't there's no pitch. Like, no, like kickback. None of this. I love co-leader and I love sidekick. And, we, I made our church and I think I told you this, but we'll tell everyone I was like, I made our church by two computers so that we could run pro presenter.

00:04:30:10 - 00:04:52:19
Nick Clason
Because the musicians need the confidence monitor, like the not not what's on the screen mirror, but like what's coming. So like what? So that's valid.

Josh Boldman
So they don't practice is what you're telling me.

Nick Clason
Exactly. They're ill prepared. So I had to give them what they needed at the give the musicians you know, throw my bone. But I made them buy another computer and a like a black magic video switcher.

00:04:52:19 - 00:05:11:04
Josh Boldman
And we running everything else now. Yeah. Off of sidekick. And so, so, so what I'm hearing you say is because of the worship ministry, you guys have to rely on dark magic. Is that. What is that where he is? Oh, black. Matt. Oh, it's a black. It's a company that's different. Okay. All right. I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised either.

00:05:11:11 - 00:05:37:06
Nick Clason
Yeah, yeah, either way. But I love the like I love a lot of things about it. But my favorite part about it is the phone integration. Right. And, we played last week like a game like, multiple choice game. And they could literally play on their phones. And this was the first time I'd, I'd use that particular, like, setting there and sidekick, like the, the question with, with the quiz like type of.

00:05:37:08 - 00:06:02:05
Nick Clason
Yeah. Like what the correct answer. Yes. Yes. And I loved that. That was super fun. so talk to me just a little bit about, like, you know, you jump in. Were there rumblings and plans about sidekick being revamped or did you see some of like those opportunities and be like, this is what I see in youth ministry as a youth pastor, 20 plus years and now, yeah, I want to help kind of evolve it to the next stage, like give us that kind of background.

00:06:02:08 - 00:06:26:01
Josh Boldman
Yeah. So something that, I it's really funny because I don't know that many youth workers realize, although I feel like we should is that, software development takes billions of dollars and lots and lots of time. and so, so when I started at downloading Ministry, the plan had already been. We are revamping sidekick. I'm. You know, I'm just gonna peel back the curtain, you know?

00:06:26:01 - 00:06:50:24
Josh Boldman
You don't know. Yeah. Sorry. I took the original app. All right. Was written in a, in a programing environment that got depreciate. All right, so it is. It was built long, so it was built on something called chromium. and it it it is a like sidekick. Legacy is a work of art. Like it is a it was a game changer for me when I was in ministry.

00:06:50:24 - 00:07:14:13
Josh Boldman
The the spinning wheel boxes. Yeah. it was one of a kind. No one was. Oh, my gosh, nobody was doing it right. And then, what happened about two years ago, maybe three years ago now is chromium got depreciated. And we realized what that meant was there was now no way to update the legacy. I don't know at all, like, impossible, like literally impossible.

00:07:14:16 - 00:07:31:17
Josh Boldman
And and so it was like, okay, well, we can either rebuild a new one or we can take it in a different direction. And one of the really things that people that people hated was every time you open the legacy app, you have to sign in every single time you had to type in the password. It was a great time.

00:07:31:20 - 00:07:52:23
Josh Boldman
I got into trouble. One time I was in front of our, like our whole camp, like it was like a thousand kids, right? And sidekick was running, and then it crashed. And then they had to reopen it, and they're like, from the booth, they yell out, what's the password? No. And in front of 1000 students, I had to say a password into the microphone.

00:07:52:23 - 00:08:14:14
Josh Boldman
And here's the best part. You ready for this? It was the same password for everything. Like my my bank account and, all this stuff. So, like, so like, I immediately I started teaching, and then I get off stage and I'm like, I gotta change every password I mean, ever had. It was a nightmare. so we thought, okay, what is the best way to make this as portable as possible?

00:08:14:14 - 00:08:33:01
Josh Boldman
So we went with putting it in, in the browser. Yeah. which I'll be honest, I mean, it was basically like it was a trade off, right? It gave us a lot of, functionality as far as portability, as far as far as syncing. Yeah. but it there are trade offs, right? Like Google Chrome. both.

00:08:33:01 - 00:08:52:11
Josh Boldman
Google. Safari, Apple. you know, Firefox, they all have different rules about like window management. And so like you'll know like when you open sidekick and you go to present, you have to drag the window over to your other browser. Like that's not ideal right now. We that's why we have a video switcher now that's why. Right.

00:08:52:13 - 00:09:22:11
Josh Boldman
Yeah. That's why we that's why we as Christians rely on dark black magic. Black. It's that's what it is. and so, so, you know, so there are some trade offs for sure. For sure. But, but what we started realizing was, the, the pitch that we started telling people that when it, I think it really kind of clicked for people how how different was good is we would tell them, like, we would show them what we could do with, with voting, with spinning wheel, with, with pick me like the main ideas.

00:09:22:14 - 00:09:41:11
Josh Boldman
And I said, what's really cool is I can create this presentation. I can, immediately, as soon as I add an element to a slide, I can close the laptop, I can break it over my knee, I can set it on fire and throw it in the ocean. And then I can just go to church, open the computer, and it's it's there like it is there.

00:09:41:12 - 00:10:03:18
Josh Boldman
It does not miss a beat. you probably have to like on the computer at church, though, because yours is God's an ocean. Oh yeah. No no no no. Yeah. There's no recovering from it really at the point. Not sidekicks. Not that good yet. Yeah. No, I mean, yeah. but. Yeah. So so it's, Yeah, it's it's being able to sync and being able to to go remote.

00:10:03:25 - 00:10:28:19
Josh Boldman
That's awesome. But then when we started showing people, hey, all you have to do is the same thing you did to log in on your computer, do that on your phone. And what it does is it turns your phone into a remote for the exact same presentation that's running on your presentation computer. and I mean, just suddenly being able to when you're doing polls on your phone, you can see the results, before they're even shown on the screen.

00:10:28:22 - 00:10:57:09
Josh Boldman
you can go to next, go back. You can do slide notes. You can. I mean, it did really any of the functionality that's there except for editing on the computer. You can do that literally on your phone in real time because I don't know if you've ever I'm certainly you've never been in this situation where you have a sixth grader who is so well intentioned is like, I want to run the computer and you're like, yes, that is a that is a thing a sixth grader can do.

00:10:57:09 - 00:11:26:24
Josh Boldman
You can hit the spacebar. Yeah. And and then, and then they, and then they don't, they, they just don't hit the spacebar. And so like I would always use it as just like my, my phone was, I wasn't there. So I was running it, but it was my fallback. Like I was like, okay, that kid in the back, there was one time, I swear to you, right, at an unnamed church that I worked at for a while.

00:11:26:27 - 00:11:51:12
Josh Boldman
I remember once, so I would always try, so I was a student ministry director there, and so I always I would always try, like, I would. Yeah, I was either teaching or whatever, but I would always try to do anytime I wasn't teaching, I would try to do something else. So like anytime I wasn't teaching, I would be in the booth or the, you know, doing the game or, you know, but so there's one time I'm in the booth and, and the lyrics for the songs are not firing on time.

00:11:51:12 - 00:12:18:01
Josh Boldman
And I, so I'm like, leaning over and I'm looking. The kid is watching Star Wars the movie. Like, like an actual movie on his phone. Not a TikTok, not a YouTube. No. The two hour movie, two hour movie with subtitles. And he is holding his phone like screamed. Is it because the subtitles are so small? And I'm like, hey, I know, I know, you're looking at that because words are important.

00:12:18:03 - 00:12:38:25
Josh Boldman
However, everyone else in the room is looking up here because words are important. So maybe I don't know, I don't know, that's just jump up and just jump on that. That's a win right there. Yeah. So but being able to you know when you're on stage and things go wrong there are like a couple of options. And and one of them is to make the person in the booth feel really bad.

00:12:38:25 - 00:13:00:09
Nick Clason
And that is never the right option. Right. It's never to call attention to the person messed up. But we want to sometimes. Oh oh yes, yes, yes we do. But being able to just say, okay, I've got my phone here. Hey, Mr. Cube, don't worry, I'm just going to jump it like, yeah, was that was the game changer for me.

00:13:00:11 - 00:13:22:15
Josh Boldman
and so now we're just on this journey of trying to reach full parity between the legacy version and what is right now, the lovingly called the beta version of sidekick. until it until it has all the same features. yeah. But what we're finding is that is, like I said, the original The legacy is a work of art.

00:13:22:17 - 00:13:47:09
Josh Boldman
And, right now, we are working on boxes and that is in the browser proving to be a challenging. Yeah, it is, it's just, you know, it's one of those things like, you wouldn't think like even when we first, the first go around, we did, wheel and pick me. Right. Those were the first two things. And so with the wheel, you know, you think how this is, it's a spinning wheel.

00:13:47:10 - 00:14:04:24
Josh Boldman
Like there's no. Yeah, there's nothing complicated here. Oh, but there is, friend, because pixels are square. Yeah. I don't know if you knew that or not, but pixels was great. So when you try and rotate them around and center axis that's a. Yeah. It's just it's one of those things like, you know, you think you got it.

00:14:04:24 - 00:14:21:03
Josh Boldman
And then suddenly you're like, oh, that looks really bad. And so then it just it's like you have to go right back to the drawing board and, and so, so yeah. So right now we're working on boxes. It's, it's taking a little longer than we had hoped, but but you're working with square pixels now. So square pixels.

00:14:21:06 - 00:14:35:10
Josh Boldman
We know what we're doing. Yeah. Yes. Wouldn't it be funny if like, in the like when, when it was the wheel, we had a problem because it was squares. But then like we're like, alright, now we're going to move the boxes and like just the world, like was like, you know what we figured out round pixels are better.

00:14:35:12 - 00:14:57:21
Josh Boldman
And I was like, no, no. Yeah. But but yeah. So we're that. So we got boxes, in the pipeline. we're we, we here and I know anybody that knows sidekick already. Their first question that they have been asking is what about, survey says, which is our family feud builder. Right. And, that one is, it's coming.

00:14:57:21 - 00:15:19:27
Josh Boldman
It's like, but it's it is it all takes a yeah, it all takes time. And, so, best way anybody, anybody that, you know, can help me go to sidekick.TV. There's a link there where you can, you can submit ideas and requests and you can even vote on other people's. And and that always helps us know kind of what's next.

00:15:19:29 - 00:15:36:15
Josh Boldman
yeah. But yeah, we'll drop. That'll be. We're loving it, dude. I mean, and. Oh, I, I know the sound is starting to sound like a commercial and I apologize, but it's, it's it is. It's like it's just so fun is, when, when one of the most recent things we did was we connected everyone's dim accounts to the download youth ministry.

00:15:36:15 - 00:16:04:05
Josh Boldman
If you buy something, there, he just automatically shows up. And that is that was awesome. Sweet. Because, I mean, it used to be, I don't know. I mean, you you make games for GM that are video based, right. And and when you do that those those files are massive. Like, you know, I mean, it's not uncommon for a game to be three, four gigabytes, you know, but it's also 3 or 4GB of, you know, that's 20, 30 videos for the game.

00:16:04:05 - 00:16:21:05
Josh Boldman
And so then adding each of those in is kind of a nightmare. And so we figured out a way to do it is we do it on our end once and then it when you buy it, it just you can just it shows up in your library. You click on it and it's just in that is yeah, man, I'm telling you I will.

00:16:21:08 - 00:16:38:28
Josh Boldman
I never have to worry about losing a thumb drive ever again. Yeah, because I don't know if you know this or not, but I don't know where my thumb drive it is right now. I lost it in 1997. so. Sounds like there are some important things on there. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Knows it was, I don't know, something.

00:16:38:28 - 00:17:04:23
Josh Boldman
Call it bitcoin. Bitcoin I don't remember. You could have been rich. You wouldn't even have to be here right now. Well I'll tell you what. Of all the things like all the things you're talking about, there's like, there's phone usage on both sides, right? So if you're presenting, you can use your phone as a remote, but if you're, you're, watching your in the audience, there are like integrations where there's like voting and games and all that stuff.

00:17:04:23 - 00:17:25:07
Nick Clason
Yeah. And, I think that's my favorite part. Like as a youth pastor now for, over ten years, like I've always been trying to figure out how to get ourselves in youth ministry. Like relevant to our students are, as opposed to, like, when they're at church, make them do something that's so completely foreign to like their current culture.

00:17:25:07 - 00:17:56:28
Nick Clason
Right? Like youth culture, like they're all messaging one another through their phones. They're all like consuming news articles and social media through their phones. And then we get to church and like the church I was at, like when I started the previous regime, no shade. but they had, like, phone lockers, like they would take kids cellphones and lock them and like, and what we're do, in my opinion, is like, okay, so we're, we're just trying to modify their behavior, but we haven't actually like change their true authentic like desire to like be here and listen.

00:17:56:28 - 00:18:19:26
Nick Clason
We just want them quieter for us. And like that we should just be better. Like, yeah. And so y'all start rolling out all this stuff on sidekick. And I'm like, here's the opportunity for us to use what is native to them in our environment and in a way that doesn't, like, break the bank anymore, because to get some of these features through other third party like platforms, we just don't have the money.

00:18:19:26 - 00:18:45:09
Nick Clason
As a youth pastor, you know what I'm saying? In your budget, whatever the case might be. So yeah, so that's my favorite part. And so I would love it if you would talk about not just necessarily like the sidekick integration, but what has been your experience and your unique perspective as a youth pastor with how what we've done in youth culture and how like we've then asked them to come to church culture and how they don't all they're like oil and water sometimes.

00:18:45:09 - 00:19:07:04
Nick Clason
Like, how are we? How can we reach students better and to find ourselves where they are, which is online, on phones, all those things.

Josh Boldman
I mean, okay, so you remember, man, even I mean, when I was growing up and especially early in my ministry, you know, it was always the, the thing was, you were always fighting against like, like travel sports, right?

00:19:07:04 - 00:19:30:07
Josh Boldman
Like that was like the, the, the bane of youth ministry existence was like, oh, we still are really, by the way. Oh, to be cool. Yeah. Oh, no doubt. But it was like, I don't know, there was like a point where I think we just we got tired of seeing no results from shame, shaming those kids. Like, it's like you want to play travel ball.

00:19:30:11 - 00:19:47:28
Josh Boldman
We'll play travel ball. Yeah. With the devil. You know, it's like that. Doesn't like it doesn't help anybody. When? When all we're doing is. Or like. Like, oh, you have a phone, go lock it up because it's, you know, it's like that, doesn't it? Yeah. What does that do? All that does is like when you're locking up a kid's phone.

00:19:48:05 - 00:20:10:09
Josh Boldman
I feel like the way that you can know that it's not working is as soon as the the time, like the lockdown is over, was the very first thing they do. They run to go get it. Yeah. Which means that it was, it was on their mind still. So it's not like you really saved you know them any, any trouble or any like you didn't gain anything by pulling it away, you know, because their attention is still stuck on it.

00:20:10:11 - 00:20:36:16
Josh Boldman
so really what I think, I think is we're seeing right now in youth ministry as a whole, in, in what we're trying to do, a sidekick is really we're trying to figure out ways to engage students, literally where they are. And so, I guess, have you, did you ever do camps where the rule was the kids couldn't even bring their phone to camp?

00:20:36:18 - 00:20:59:04
Nick Clason
I never did. No, I could have, right. But I never I always I've always run my own camp, so I make the rules. So. Yeah. And I've always been in churches or youth ministries where the goal is to bring kids who don't go to our church to camp. And like, I'm not going to get a kid and their family who's never met me, send their kid like hours away without a lifeline back to them.

00:20:59:04 - 00:21:24:10
Josh Boldman
Oh yeah. Kids. Oh, no. So I've never tried to fight that battle, but it was fake because we used to almost use that, like as an advertisement. We were like, come to camp where you get away from your phone and kids are like, I don't want to do that, you know? And so, like, there was a point where I think maybe 20 years ago, you probably could do it, but even now, it's not even just the kid, it's the parents that are like, I'm not sending my kid without their phone.

00:21:24:10 - 00:21:58:02
Josh Boldman
What's wrong with you? You know? Yeah. So, like, so what we decided to do with with sidekick is like, okay, what if instead of constantly harping on, he put your phone away or go lock it up or don't even bring it, or, you know, trying to make it seem like the phone itself was the enemy. What if we decided to say like, hey, we understand that that phone, it's an extension of you now like that just, I mean, and that, I mean, you know, I mean, I think you can get really, like, dystopian, you know, like, like Blade Runner type type vibes from, like, the phone is an extension of you, but but it is

00:21:58:03 - 00:22:21:24
Josh Boldman
mine is an extension of me like, I mean, I literally if I, I don't know when the last time I walked out of my house without my phone was like, it's not just because I didn't forget it, it's because if it's not in my pocket, it feels like I'm missing something. I feel like I know I'm missing it, and you're gonna need it, you know, like, oh, sure, it's your calendar, it's your wallet, it's your navigation, it's your everything.

00:22:21:24 - 00:22:49:12
Nick Clason
Like it. So you can't so much. That's my argument is like this. It's not going anywhere. So we can try our hardest as youth pastors and churches to fight against culture. But it's a losing battle eventually. And it's not like, oh, let's give in to culture because it's evil, right? No, no, no. It's how do we take this thing that is not moral, it's not morally right or morally wrong, but how do we take this thing and just use it as a tool?

00:22:49:12 - 00:23:07:12
Josh Boldman
It's it's a tool, 100% tool that we we would have died for 15, 20 years ago, like, oh yeah, I was talking on the last episode like we didn't have group chats 15 years ago. If you want to talk to your student, you talk to them when they came to your building and that was it. But now you can do pastoral care.

00:23:07:12 - 00:23:39:02
Nick Clason
You can, and just do a basic thing like texting. When I'm talking about something like software development right now. Yeah. So one of the things, that has been really cool to experiment with, and we've seen a couple people do this really well is is using like polls like, okay, so there's a there are different ways you can use it, but the like, so say as you're teaching, if, if you're saying something that you know is going to fly right over their heads, right?

00:23:39:05 - 00:24:11:11
Josh Boldman
Pausing literally at that moment and asking the question, hey, did you catch that? And yes or no, like literally something super simple like, did you catch that? Yes or no? And then adjusting what you say next based on their response or, we've even seen people take their entire services in like a, choose your own adventure type approach where, I mean, it is it seems minor, but it's something like, hey, we've got the worship team has two songs that they prepared, but we're only going to do one.

00:24:11:13 - 00:24:29:15
Josh Boldman
Hey, you all, they're here. Yeah. Which one you want to do? You know, or, you know, I've, done a couple teaching times where, like, so, you know, every youth pastor has, like, their, like, bag of tricks, like the, the saw or the stories that they tell that it's like, okay, I can tell this story, like drop of a hat.

00:24:29:15 - 00:25:00:17
Josh Boldman
Yeah. you know, and so, like, I, I'll start with, like, right at the beginning of a message will say, hey, guys, I can tell you one of, three stories. You know, when when I got hit by a car, one when I accidentally killed my girlfriend's cat and one when I, when I stubbed my toe, you know, and so, like, you take your pick, you know, and just let them pick, and it doesn't change anything about where that message is going, but letting them have a moment where they can speak into it.

00:25:00:17 - 00:25:27:22
Josh Boldman
Like, I guarantee you, when the room picks the story, the room pays attention to the story more. Yeah. or or even at the end, you know, be a great way to, to really, especially if you're trying to reach students that are not familiar with church a lot, you know, like that aren't around a lot is, at the end of the message just saying, like, hey, on a scale of 1 to 5, how much do you agree with what you just heard?

00:25:27:25 - 00:25:46:26
Josh Boldman
can you met and live in live results on the screen like, hey, okay, so but can you imagine how much that might change your small group conversations that are going to happen right after the lesson? If if you suddenly see, like, oh, we just talked about this and 80% of the room says, I don't agree, okay, great.

00:25:47:03 - 00:26:10:20
Josh Boldman
Then let's go to our small groups and let's see this mess out. You know, or I think that there's, there's stuff like that or or you could even say if you're doing a series, you could, you could say, hey, here are the four weeks of the series. we did the intro this week. Which one you want to hear about next week and let them pick where you're going to go, and then you have a whole week to figure out how to get there.

00:26:10:22 - 00:26:29:11
Josh Boldman
yeah. But it but I guarantee you, those students that voted are going to be more likely to be there if they know what you're talking about. And they actually helped get to to choose what that was going to be. Yeah, I think I think there's a lot there. And we're working love to say like we're working like it's like in development, right, right now.

00:26:29:11 - 00:26:49:09
Josh Boldman
But it's like I mean, one of the things on the, on the docket is, is, you know, being able to have students from their seat ask questions, be able to give feedback, you know, in real time so that you, as you're standing there on the, you know, platform with your phone that you're able to see the questions as they come in.

00:26:49:11 - 00:27:06:03
Josh Boldman
we're trying to figure out things like how to moderate those things because I don't know about you, but if you ask open ended questions and just have the answers up on the screen without, you might get some filtering. Yeah. Inappropriate answer, I don't know, I don't know. I mean, my the students that I've ever worked with are always saints and so they would not do that.

00:27:06:03 - 00:27:30:01
Nick Clason
But I would imagine yours. Well you know it's crazy is like here's another like just interesting youth culture is like I was working at a church in Chicago and it was very like it, it prided itself on we reach people who are far from God. And so, you know, that's going to come with a certain like, oh, I student and now I'm in the Bible Belt in Dallas, Texas.

00:27:30:08 - 00:27:55:00
Nick Clason
And, it's like it prides itself on being like the church for Christians almost. And like the kids, the students, they're the same, like it's oh, no doubt. Right. That's the crazy thing is what the internet has done is it's leveled that like playing field of like, yeah, certain cultures, their youth culture is very consistent now and despite the demographic.

00:27:55:00 - 00:28:16:08
Nick Clason
And so the unique part is not our students. The unique part is helping our parents understand, that the students are still the same, you know, so, you know, something, we've seen is actually really cool that somebody was doing was they were using the live polls in their lobby for parents to answer as they were dropping their kids off.

00:28:16:08 - 00:28:40:12
Josh Boldman
That's cool. And, it was yeah, it was very cool. Was like, and it was, you know, some like, minor stuff that it was like, you know, what time is your middle schoolers? Bedtime. Like, you know. Yeah. Seven, eight, nine, ten, 11. You know, just pick one, you know, stuff like that. And it was minor. But again, it's, not just that you get individuals to engage, but the fact that everybody can see the responses as it as it goes.

00:28:40:14 - 00:29:09:00
Josh Boldman
There's, I think there's a lot of even still some untapped, untapped potential there. think about how to help people engage. Yeah. I think, we went to a conference a while back, and they're talking about the differences in generational ways of thinking. And like one of the things and I think this is true, despite like being an older, older generation of like all of us, but like Gen Z, Gen Alpha, like they're just looking to be known individually, like they don't want to be part of, like a sea of numbers.

00:29:09:00 - 00:29:32:20
Nick Clason
Right. And so when you are in a bigger context and you have 100,000 kids, like it's hard to it's hard for them to, to stand out and stuff like this helps them get to just yeah, speak their, their voice. Right. And they get to play a role. And even if they're voting for something and their choice doesn't get picked like they were heard and that's oh yeah, that's all it needs to be.

00:29:32:20 - 00:29:52:17
Nick Clason
It doesn't have to always go their way, you know? And there's probably some opportunity for them to learn some life lessons and stuff in there. But just like realizing like, hey, we're doing all this for you, but what what do you want? Like, that's I don't know. That's the key. So, Josh, as we wind this sucker down, like final thoughts.

00:29:52:17 - 00:30:16:09
Nick Clason
Final words. What what what if anything's, like burning on your soul to get out there?

Josh Boldman
Oh, man. All right, well, here. I'm glad you asked, Nick. no. okay, here's the thing is. Yeah, I think we need to not be afraid of what our students want. And we need to not be afraid of them expressing their opinion.

00:30:16:11 - 00:30:48:22
Josh Boldman
And we need to not be afraid of them disagreeing with each other or with us. I think that that is, you know, where where we are heading is a world that values, a diversity of opinion. And the value placed on each of those opinions, is crucial. And so, like, I mean, I think people really can very easily get confused into thinking that that means that every opinion is right or that every opinion carries the same weight.

00:30:48:22 - 00:31:09:12
Josh Boldman
And it's a that's not at all what it but it. I think there is a I think we we do ourselves and honestly the gospel and miss service when we, are a disservice. I don't think Miss Service is a word, a disservice when we, when we say, here is the correct answer, we don't even want to hear anything else.

00:31:09:15 - 00:31:42:02
Josh Boldman
because our students are coming into our, our, our environments with their own opinions and own presuppositions. And yes, they probably heard them all from the same TikTok channel. Like, that's fine, but they all still want it. They want to be heard. And so I think any time we can even begin to open the door to showing them that we value what they are walking in with, I think just builds, it builds credibility in their eyes.

00:31:42:05 - 00:32:07:01
Josh Boldman
I think in all honesty, I don't know, you know, I would argue that most students are they do not often find themselves in environments where their opinion is valued. so, I mean, whether that's school, I mean, and please don't hear me, teachers are awesome, but it is it is tough when especially when you have like a curriculum in a, in a school environment, you're like, hey, I need you to learn this thing.

00:32:07:07 - 00:32:31:22
Josh Boldman
Like, and there's not a lot of debate in biology, you know, like, it's just this is where we're at, you know? And so, but I think if we can create environments where it's, we're inviting students into a conversation where their voice matters, whether that's a, a deep theological conversation or whether that is a game that is literally, hey, I need you to pick A, B, or C because it's a trivia question.

00:32:31:22 - 00:32:57:01
Josh Boldman
Like it's it like, but but still valuing what they bring to the table. I think that that pays dividends in the long run in a, in a massive, massive way. I mean, whether that's later in the small group or whether that's ten years later or, you know, I'm at a point right now where kids, when I first started that were in sixth grade, now have their own sixth graders, and that is awful.

00:32:57:03 - 00:33:14:19
Josh Boldman
but but it's the same thing is those those kids are now in the place where they're deciding, am I going to bring my own kid to a youth group or not? And, you know, and I think that the way we treat our students now will influence how they raise their own families and what that looks like for them in the future.

00:33:14:19 - 00:33:34:17
Josh Boldman
So, never underestimate how important it is to for for a student's voice to be valued. Yeah. And what better spot in the world than for that to happen at church? Crazy, right? Who would've thought? Yeah, well, Josh, we're running out of time. But I appreciate you, man. Anywhere, anywhere else people can find, find the Josh Boldman, like.

00:33:34:19 - 00:34:00:20
Nick Clason
Oh, yeah, they want to, like, untap some of these other thoughts and deeper musings of the word is, oh, I don't know if deeper is going to be with the find, but, all the social media is, it's at Josh Boldman. I know, I'm so glad it wasn't taken. Yeah. You're lucky. all right, I know. Yeah. but then, again, you know, the download youth ministry store, you know, I mean, this is not to sell stuff, but like, a lot of the stuff I've written really does reflect where I'm at, you know?

00:34:00:20 - 00:34:09:15
Josh Boldman
And so, you know, check out any of that stuff there, but. Well, yeah. Love it. Man. Will appreciate you being on. And, everyone else, we'll talk next time. All right, bye friends.

Episode 109: Don't be scared of Social Media with Nate Clason

Nick Clason — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 04:00:00 -0500

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

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======================================
DESCRIPTION
In this video, youth pastor, Nate Clason shares his journey to posting on social media more regularly.
He also shares the one key secret that has brought his group more closely together.
And be sure to stick around to the very end, because live on the podcast, Nate and Nick discover one additional benefit to social media that will help youth pastors win with parents, pastors and even elders at your church!

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/109

//METRICOOL VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2_sNx3NKN0&t=558s

//10,000 HOURS
https://www.amazon.com/10-000-Hours-Become-Practice/dp/1475033621

//STUDENT'S VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GqzMZKfONok

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
https://linktr.ee/clasonnick

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
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AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Intro
00:51 How did you end up as a youth pastor?
02:29 What was your original relationship with digital?
04:45 What would you say to a "regular" youth pastor?
12:10 What wins have come from social media?
19:27 What in your context has been most effective?
23:20 Additional benefits of Social
--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:02
What is up everybody?

00:00:01:02 - 00:00:03:03
Welcome back to another episode

00:00:03:03 - 00:00:04:20
of the Hybrid Ministry Show

00:00:04:20 - 00:00:07:02
I am your host, Nick Clason

00:00:07:02 - 00:00:08:07
here with you as always

00:00:08:07 - 00:00:09:23
and if you’ve been here the last couple of weeks

00:00:09:23 - 00:00:11:12
you know that we’ve been doing some different interviews

00:00:20:22 - 00:00:24:00
It is with my brother, Nate Clason

00:00:24:00 - 00:00:26:03
Good morning, Nate, how you doing bro?

00:00:26:03 - 00:00:27:02
I'm doing pretty good.

00:00:27:02 - 00:00:28:03
Probably not better than

00:00:28:03 - 00:00:29:03
your wife, though, right?

00:00:29:03 - 00:00:30:05
Don't say that to

00:00:30:05 - 00:00:31:02
in front of anyone.

00:00:31:02 - 00:00:31:18
You know, True.

00:00:31:18 - 00:00:34:17
Well, I’ve known you longer

00:00:34:17 - 00:00:35:12
That is true.

00:00:35:12 - 00:00:36:11
But not too much longer, so.

00:00:36:11 - 00:00:38:05
That’s probably what I’m thinking

00:00:38:05 - 00:00:38:18
when I say that

00:00:38:18 - 00:00:39:02
Yeah.

00:00:39:02 - 00:00:41:05
Yeah.

00:00:41:05 - 00:00:43:14
Nate, give us all

00:00:43:14 - 00:00:44:15
a little bit of background

00:00:44:15 - 00:00:46:19
what’s been your church

00:00:46:19 - 00:00:49:16
youth ministry, student ministry

00:00:49:16 - 00:00:51:20
experience and story

00:00:51:20 - 00:00:54:09
kinda get that conversation

00:00:54:09 - 00:00:55:24
out of the way

00:00:55:24 - 00:00:57:07
set a little bit of a baseline

00:00:57:07 - 00:00:58:19
as we dive into this

00:00:58:19 - 00:01:00:04
social media discussion

00:01:00:04 - 00:01:00:14
Yeah.

00:01:00:14 - 00:01:01:21
So I felt called

00:01:01:21 - 00:01:05:00
to, ministry at a Mexico

00:01:05:00 - 00:01:06:02
missions trip.

00:01:06:02 - 00:01:07:19
when I was in high school,

00:01:07:19 - 00:01:09:08
a late high school,

00:01:09:08 - 00:01:11:01
and actually kind of fell off.

00:01:11:01 - 00:01:12:05
my journey a little bit.

00:01:12:05 - 00:01:13:07
my journey a little bit.

00:01:13:07 - 00:01:14:01
Kind of started

00:01:14:01 - 00:01:15:14
serving, working

00:01:15:14 - 00:01:16:13
in, like,

00:01:16:13 - 00:01:18:02
the public work, you know,

00:01:18:02 - 00:01:19:15
the secular work environment

00:01:19:15 - 00:01:20:21
and just kind of saw

00:01:20:21 - 00:01:21:13
I wasn't called

00:01:21:13 - 00:01:22:16
the ministry anymore

00:01:22:16 - 00:01:23:15
and got connected

00:01:23:15 - 00:01:25:13
one day at my custodian

00:01:25:13 - 00:01:26:18
job at a school

00:01:26:18 - 00:01:29:03
with, a pastor's wife

00:01:29:03 - 00:01:30:21
who was subbing at the school.

00:01:30:21 - 00:01:32:06
And I told her,

00:01:32:06 - 00:01:33:16
we were talking about music,

00:01:33:16 - 00:01:34:04
and she found out

00:01:34:04 - 00:01:34:21
that I could play

00:01:34:21 - 00:01:35:17
a little bit of guitar,

00:01:35:17 - 00:01:36:21
and she asked if I could

00:01:36:21 - 00:01:38:06
help with her church worship

00:01:38:06 - 00:01:40:03
and got connected that way.

00:01:40:03 - 00:01:41:06
And through that,

00:01:41:06 - 00:01:41:23
got connected

00:01:41:23 - 00:01:43:22
with a, leader

00:01:43:22 - 00:01:45:10
in that denomination

00:01:45:10 - 00:01:47:10
who eventually got me ordained

00:01:47:10 - 00:01:48:12
and got me connected

00:01:48:12 - 00:01:49:17
with other pastors.

00:01:49:17 - 00:01:50:04
Eventually,

00:01:50:04 - 00:01:51:14
where I became a youth pastor.

00:01:51:14 - 00:01:52:10
And now I'm

00:01:52:10 - 00:01:53:08
serving in a little bit

00:01:53:08 - 00:01:54:02
of a bigger church

00:01:54:02 - 00:01:55:15
in the Taylorville area

00:01:55:15 - 00:01:57:05
as the associate pastor

00:01:57:05 - 00:01:57:15
of student

00:01:57:15 - 00:01:59:11
ministry and worship ministry.

00:01:59:11 - 00:02:00:11
So it started

00:02:00:11 - 00:02:01:08
with worship ministry

00:02:01:08 - 00:02:01:18
and kind of

00:02:01:18 - 00:02:02:23
evolved into youth.

00:02:02:23 - 00:02:03:21
And I never kind of

00:02:03:21 - 00:02:04:18
saw that coming,

00:02:04:18 - 00:02:05:06
but praise

00:02:05:06 - 00:02:06:09
God that he got me to kind of

00:02:06:09 - 00:02:06:23
where I felt

00:02:06:23 - 00:02:08:11
called to years ago, you know?

00:02:08:11 - 00:02:10:01
So that's cool.

00:02:10:01 - 00:02:10:18
Yeah, so

00:02:10:18 - 00:02:11:22
the gateway drug

00:02:11:22 - 00:02:13:11
to your youth ministry

00:02:13:11 - 00:02:14:06
was worship

00:02:14:06 - 00:02:14:15
Yeah

00:02:14:15 - 00:02:16:04
That’s where you started

00:02:16:04 - 00:02:16:16
as you can tell

00:02:16:16 - 00:02:17:09
by the man bun.

00:02:17:09 - 00:02:18:13
Right?

00:02:18:13 - 00:02:19:18
Yeah

00:02:19:18 - 00:02:21:24
Or something about that manbun

00:02:21:24 - 00:02:23:14
We won’t talk about that

00:02:23:14 - 00:02:24:07
But

00:02:26:09 - 00:02:28:07
You started doing youth ministry

00:02:29:10 - 00:02:30:13
When you jumped into

00:02:30:13 - 00:02:31:12
youth ministry

00:02:31:12 - 00:02:32:18
What at that point

00:02:32:18 - 00:02:35:11
was your like understanding

00:02:35:11 - 00:02:36:17
or your relationship

00:02:36:17 - 00:02:38:10
with digital and social media

00:02:38:10 - 00:02:41:06
and all that type of stuff?

00:02:41:06 - 00:02:43:04
I've always kind of

00:02:43:04 - 00:02:45:00
been, like.

00:02:45:00 - 00:02:45:23
I've always been aware

00:02:45:23 - 00:02:46:13
of social media.

00:02:46:13 - 00:02:47:13
Never knew how important

00:02:47:13 - 00:02:48:19
it was to student ministry.

00:02:48:19 - 00:02:49:23
I didn't really,

00:02:49:23 - 00:02:51:24
it was actually post Covid

00:02:51:24 - 00:02:52:22
when I really.

00:02:52:22 - 00:02:53:13
Well,

00:02:53:13 - 00:02:54:08
in the middle of Covid

00:02:54:08 - 00:02:54:20
that I started

00:02:54:20 - 00:02:55:10
getting involved

00:02:55:10 - 00:02:56:05
in student ministry.

00:02:56:05 - 00:02:57:10
And,

00:02:57:10 - 00:02:59:06
I didn't have

00:02:59:06 - 00:03:01:10
too many platforms.

00:03:01:10 - 00:03:02:12
And my first church

00:03:02:12 - 00:03:03:10
was social media,

00:03:03:10 - 00:03:06:02
mostly through Facebook.

00:03:06:02 - 00:03:07:19
I had that's pretty

00:03:07:19 - 00:03:08:21
much it for my first church.

00:03:08:21 - 00:03:10:06
And I mostly connected

00:03:10:06 - 00:03:12:09
with parents on that platform.

00:03:12:09 - 00:03:14:06
and I realized

00:03:14:06 - 00:03:15:03
that probably wasn't

00:03:15:03 - 00:03:16:02
a strength.

00:03:16:02 - 00:03:18:23
so here, though,

00:03:18:23 - 00:03:20:08
I would say that I've,

00:03:20:08 - 00:03:22:08
I've kind of adapted, adopted,

00:03:22:08 - 00:03:25:09
Instagram, Facebook.

00:03:25:09 - 00:03:26:24
I created a TikTok.

00:03:26:24 - 00:03:27:13
And Nick,

00:03:27:13 - 00:03:28:16
I know you're so passionate

00:03:28:16 - 00:03:29:09
about YouTube,

00:03:29:09 - 00:03:30:04
me and Jessica have been

00:03:30:04 - 00:03:30:20
talking recently,

00:03:30:20 - 00:03:31:13
my wife,

00:03:31:13 - 00:03:32:13
about the idea

00:03:32:13 - 00:03:33:19
of getting on YouTube here

00:03:33:19 - 00:03:34:01
soon,

00:03:34:01 - 00:03:34:18
just because I feel like

00:03:34:18 - 00:03:35:24
that'd be a bigger,

00:03:35:24 - 00:03:37:02
overall

00:03:37:02 - 00:03:38:06
reach for our students

00:03:38:06 - 00:03:40:06
to, to have us on YouTube.

00:03:40:06 - 00:03:42:02
But I'm not super connect.

00:03:42:02 - 00:03:42:24
I wasn't super connected

00:03:42:24 - 00:03:44:08
initially to social media.

00:03:44:08 - 00:03:45:18
I would say that.

00:03:45:18 - 00:03:48:12
So what was the

00:03:48:12 - 00:03:49:09
What would you say was

00:03:49:09 - 00:03:49:22
the driving force

00:03:49:22 - 00:03:50:24
or the catalyst

00:03:50:24 - 00:03:52:11
to get you connected

00:03:52:11 - 00:03:53:12
to some of those things?

00:03:53:12 - 00:03:55:08
Like what was your “aha” moment?

00:03:55:08 - 00:03:57:09
If there was one?

00:03:57:09 - 00:03:58:19
well, I think seeing you,

00:03:58:19 - 00:03:59:09
like, super

00:03:59:09 - 00:04:00:02
passionate about it

00:04:00:02 - 00:04:01:08
and watching your podcast

00:04:01:08 - 00:04:02:11
really, honestly like,

00:04:02:11 - 00:04:03:11
and your

00:04:03:11 - 00:04:05:03
different videos and clips

00:04:05:03 - 00:04:05:23
on like TikTok and stuff

00:04:05:23 - 00:04:06:23
on like TikTok and stuff

00:04:06:23 - 00:04:07:20
of how important

00:04:07:20 - 00:04:09:04
social media is

00:04:09:04 - 00:04:10:11
kind of drives me

00:04:10:11 - 00:04:11:17
to make sure I have that.

00:04:11:17 - 00:04:12:21
And like really,

00:04:12:21 - 00:04:13:10
a lot of that

00:04:13:10 - 00:04:14:12
is truly

00:04:14:12 - 00:04:16:18
from like your passion for it.

00:04:16:18 - 00:04:18:05
And I'm seeing other leaders

00:04:18:05 - 00:04:19:04
saying, hey, you know, like,

00:04:19:04 - 00:04:20:02
this is a new era.

00:04:20:02 - 00:04:21:17
It's no longer like

00:04:21:17 - 00:04:22:03
you're not going

00:04:22:03 - 00:04:22:20
to meet in person

00:04:22:20 - 00:04:24:14
as naturally and as, as,

00:04:24:14 - 00:04:25:21
as often as you like.

00:04:25:21 - 00:04:26:15
And there's going to be kids

00:04:26:15 - 00:04:27:14
that don't make it every week.

00:04:27:14 - 00:04:28:07
So it's like

00:04:28:07 - 00:04:28:22
it's good for them

00:04:28:22 - 00:04:29:04
to have

00:04:29:04 - 00:04:30:05
some sort of

00:04:30:05 - 00:04:31:22
avenue of seeing,

00:04:31:22 - 00:04:33:18
some of the stuff

00:04:33:18 - 00:04:34:13
that we're talking about,

00:04:34:13 - 00:04:36:03
even if it's just like a recap

00:04:36:03 - 00:04:36:15
or whatever,

00:04:36:15 - 00:04:37:13
just to kind of give them

00:04:37:13 - 00:04:38:06
a basis of

00:04:38:06 - 00:04:39:21
what we're talking about. So.

00:04:39:21 - 00:04:40:22
Yeah, no doubt

00:04:40:22 - 00:04:42:08
I would agree

00:04:42:08 - 00:04:45:20
But that feels obvious, maybe

00:04:45:20 - 00:04:50:03
So tell people

00:04:50:03 - 00:04:51:14
I think it was helpful

00:04:51:14 - 00:04:52:12
Because you’re a guy

00:04:52:12 - 00:04:54:24
Who is like

00:04:54:24 - 00:04:57:04
What I would deem as

00:04:57:04 - 00:04:59:04
like a lot of other youth pastors in America

00:04:59:04 - 00:05:00:10
You’re just kinda like

00:05:00:10 - 00:05:02:23
jumping from week to week

00:05:02:23 - 00:05:03:24
program to program

00:05:03:24 - 00:05:05:18
like making sure you got a game

00:05:05:18 - 00:05:06:18
making sure you got a message

00:05:06:18 - 00:05:07:22
making sure you got a small group

00:05:07:22 - 00:05:08:09
making sure you got enough leaders

00:05:08:09 - 00:05:08:24
making sure you got enough leaders

00:05:08:24 - 00:05:09:24
like all the things

00:05:09:24 - 00:05:12:12
all the like whirlwind

00:05:12:12 - 00:05:15:14
elements of just being a youth pastor

00:05:15:14 - 00:05:17:11
and then

00:05:17:11 - 00:05:18:24
you got someone like me

00:05:18:24 - 00:05:20:17
who’s telling you

00:05:20:17 - 00:05:21:20
“you need to get on social media”

00:05:21:20 - 00:05:23:08
“you need to get on social media”

00:05:23:08 - 00:05:25:19
speak to somebody

00:05:25:19 - 00:05:27:22
who’s in the space that you were

00:05:27:22 - 00:05:29:17
a year, year and a half ago

00:05:29:17 - 00:05:30:23
that’s like

00:05:30:23 - 00:05:32:20
“Yeah that sounds awesome”

00:05:32:20 - 00:05:33:23
“I would love to”

00:05:33:23 - 00:05:35:24
“There’s no way I could ever do it!”

00:05:35:24 - 00:05:37:20
“It’s too hard”

00:05:37:20 - 00:05:38:18
“It’s too much”

00:05:38:18 - 00:05:39:11
It’s too...

00:05:39:11 - 00:05:40:19
Whatever. Fill in whatever

00:05:40:19 - 00:05:42:16
blank of why it’s

00:05:42:16 - 00:05:43:18
why it’s not

00:05:43:18 - 00:05:46:02
gonna be achievable or possible

00:05:46:02 - 00:05:48:02
talk to somebody who’s in that

00:05:48:02 - 00:05:49:03
in that sorta space

00:05:49:03 - 00:05:50:15
like you were not too long ago

00:05:50:15 - 00:05:50:21
Yeah.

00:05:50:21 - 00:05:52:16
Well, there is a way to

00:05:52:16 - 00:05:53:11
connect all your

00:05:53:11 - 00:05:54:14
social media platforms

00:05:54:14 - 00:05:56:01
so that when you post on

00:05:56:01 - 00:05:56:23
it, posts on all of them,

00:05:56:23 - 00:05:57:08
I think that's

00:05:57:08 - 00:05:58:08
a big part of it.

00:05:58:08 - 00:05:58:22
And honestly,

00:05:58:22 - 00:05:59:22
I don't even

00:05:59:22 - 00:06:00:23
like for some things.

00:06:00:23 - 00:06:02:01
Like for my pictures,

00:06:02:01 - 00:06:03:13
it goes from Instagram

00:06:03:13 - 00:06:04:00
to Facebook.

00:06:04:00 - 00:06:04:15
They're connected.

00:06:04:15 - 00:06:05:06
But for some reason

00:06:05:06 - 00:06:06:23
whenever I do a reel or video,

00:06:06:23 - 00:06:07:13
they're not.

00:06:07:13 - 00:06:08:06
So I have to go in

00:06:08:06 - 00:06:08:24
and do it myself.

00:06:08:24 - 00:06:09:07
Somehow.

00:06:09:07 - 00:06:09:23
I'll have to

00:06:09:23 - 00:06:10:21
figure all that stuff out.

00:06:10:21 - 00:06:12:02
But,

00:06:12:02 - 00:06:12:22
that's a part of

00:06:12:22 - 00:06:13:06
it is like,

00:06:13:06 - 00:06:14:06
if you haven't connected in

00:06:14:06 - 00:06:15:12
some way to the same email

00:06:15:12 - 00:06:16:16
and to the same connection,

00:06:16:16 - 00:06:17:24
like you can link it

00:06:17:24 - 00:06:19:12
so that when you post on one,

00:06:19:12 - 00:06:20:23
it goes to all of them.

00:06:20:23 - 00:06:21:11
And honestly,

00:06:21:11 - 00:06:22:01
like not

00:06:22:01 - 00:06:23:24
everyone sees each platform

00:06:23:24 - 00:06:24:18
and sometimes they do.

00:06:24:18 - 00:06:25:21
And that's okay.

00:06:25:21 - 00:06:26:10
But I think it's

00:06:26:10 - 00:06:28:06
just so important to know

00:06:28:06 - 00:06:30:08
that kids are on,

00:06:30:08 - 00:06:31:05
students are on

00:06:31:05 - 00:06:32:04
these platforms,

00:06:32:04 - 00:06:32:22
and they're

00:06:32:22 - 00:06:34:11
looking for inspiration,

00:06:34:11 - 00:06:35:20
they're looking for hope,

00:06:35:20 - 00:06:36:13
and it's our way

00:06:36:13 - 00:06:38:08
to kind of minister to people

00:06:38:08 - 00:06:39:05
through the social

00:06:39:05 - 00:06:40:03
media platforms

00:06:40:03 - 00:06:41:05
that God has

00:06:41:05 - 00:06:42:03
really entrusted us

00:06:42:03 - 00:06:43:04
with as youth pastors,

00:06:43:04 - 00:06:44:07
if we're on them,

00:06:44:07 - 00:06:44:24
to do

00:06:44:24 - 00:06:45:22
the right things on their

00:06:45:22 - 00:06:47:16
not just not just,

00:06:47:16 - 00:06:48:14
and it's

00:06:48:14 - 00:06:49:16
good to have fun things

00:06:49:16 - 00:06:50:20
and different activities

00:06:50:20 - 00:06:51:05
and different

00:06:51:05 - 00:06:52:05
like kind of goofy

00:06:52:05 - 00:06:53:19
things for kids to kind of,

00:06:53:19 - 00:06:55:17
you know, be by.

00:06:55:17 - 00:06:57:00
But it's also good to have,

00:06:57:00 - 00:06:57:17
you know,

00:06:57:17 - 00:06:58:19
content

00:06:58:19 - 00:06:59:21
that could inspire

00:06:59:21 - 00:07:01:03
and change lives.

00:07:01:03 - 00:07:02:04
and I, I've seen,

00:07:02:04 - 00:07:03:24
aspects of both,

00:07:03:24 - 00:07:05:00
you know, so it's good.

00:07:05:00 - 00:07:05:16
Yep.

00:07:05:16 - 00:07:07:09
So like that’s like the big

00:07:07:09 - 00:07:09:15
picture reason.

00:07:09:15 - 00:07:10:15
Students are on it...

00:07:10:15 - 00:07:11:24
We should be on there...

00:07:11:24 - 00:07:14:00
helping redeem those moments

00:07:14:00 - 00:07:15:19
I like to think about

00:07:15:19 - 00:07:17:21
in the Bible

00:07:17:21 - 00:07:19:16
the Apostle Paul was using like

00:07:19:16 - 00:07:20:13
pen and paper

00:07:20:13 - 00:07:22:07
and then like mail carriers

00:07:22:07 - 00:07:23:11
to like get his message across

00:07:23:11 - 00:07:26:09
today I would envision that

00:07:26:09 - 00:07:28:17
He would be using something like digital

00:07:28:17 - 00:07:29:14
Exactly.

00:07:29:14 - 00:07:30:22
Pretty vigorously

00:07:30:22 - 00:07:32:04
to get his message across

00:07:33:05 - 00:07:36:09
So that’s the big picture, “why”

00:07:36:09 - 00:07:36:22
Yeah, Yeah

00:07:36:22 - 00:07:38:08
Students are there, It’s important

00:07:38:08 - 00:07:40:03
Talk about like

00:07:40:03 - 00:07:42:23
What it took from just like time management

00:07:42:23 - 00:07:44:21
Talk about what it took from like

00:07:44:21 - 00:07:47:24
platform understanding

00:07:47:24 - 00:07:50:07
You, I feel like

00:07:50:07 - 00:07:51:02
correct me if I’m wrong, but

00:07:51:02 - 00:07:52:07
I feel like you had to

00:07:52:07 - 00:07:54:05
get to know how to use

00:07:54:05 - 00:07:55:11
a lot of these tools

00:07:55:11 - 00:07:57:14
talk to someone who may be

00:07:57:14 - 00:07:58:09
in the space

00:07:58:09 - 00:08:00:03
“I want to- I don’t even know what

00:08:00:03 - 00:08:01:07
to do. Or how to do it.”

00:08:01:07 - 00:08:02:16
Or like what’s even

00:08:02:16 - 00:08:03:07
possible

00:08:03:07 - 00:08:04:11
Or what ever I should do.

00:08:04:11 - 00:08:06:07
Like get real practical

00:08:06:07 - 00:08:06:18
You know,

00:08:06:18 - 00:08:08:12
I think

00:08:08:12 - 00:08:10:00
it doesn't take as much time

00:08:10:00 - 00:08:10:15
as you think.

00:08:10:15 - 00:08:11:09
I mean, yes,

00:08:11:09 - 00:08:12:05
creating the video.

00:08:12:05 - 00:08:13:05
I mean, you never,

00:08:13:05 - 00:08:14:14
I think, was like

00:08:14:14 - 00:08:15:16
creating a short

00:08:15:16 - 00:08:16:19
or like a reel.

00:08:16:19 - 00:08:18:05
You never want to make a reel

00:08:18:05 - 00:08:19:10
any longer than a minute

00:08:19:10 - 00:08:20:21
or so like that.

00:08:20:21 - 00:08:21:11
So you really

00:08:21:11 - 00:08:22:05
it doesn't take that long

00:08:22:05 - 00:08:22:23
to create that video.

00:08:22:23 - 00:08:23:12
If you could do it in

00:08:23:12 - 00:08:24:13
1 or 2 takes, like it's

00:08:24:13 - 00:08:25:22
not a big deal with that.

00:08:25:22 - 00:08:26:24
And then

00:08:26:24 - 00:08:28:11
that's a big part of,

00:08:28:11 - 00:08:29:10
what students look at.

00:08:29:10 - 00:08:29:24
They don't watch

00:08:29:24 - 00:08:31:00
like long videos.

00:08:31:00 - 00:08:31:16
They're not going to watch

00:08:31:16 - 00:08:32:20
a 20 minute video.

00:08:32:20 - 00:08:33:13
But if you can keep it

00:08:33:13 - 00:08:34:10
a minute, you know,

00:08:34:10 - 00:08:35:10
that's more realistic

00:08:35:10 - 00:08:36:19
for them to kind of,

00:08:36:19 - 00:08:37:19
you know, dive into it

00:08:37:19 - 00:08:39:15
and interact with it.

00:08:39:15 - 00:08:39:23
and I think

00:08:39:23 - 00:08:40:07
a lot of

00:08:40:07 - 00:08:42:00
it is like interaction,

00:08:42:00 - 00:08:43:08
like if you, you know,

00:08:43:08 - 00:08:44:00
what did you learn from

00:08:44:00 - 00:08:44:12
this video?

00:08:44:12 - 00:08:45:14
You know, make comment in the

00:08:45:14 - 00:08:47:03
in the comments, tell us who

00:08:47:03 - 00:08:49:04
who won this in this game or

00:08:49:04 - 00:08:49:22
and I don't think it's

00:08:49:22 - 00:08:51:01
I don't think it's,

00:08:51:01 - 00:08:54:20
it's as much it's not as time

00:08:54:20 - 00:08:55:19
consuming as you think.

00:08:55:19 - 00:08:56:22
It's I mean,

00:08:56:22 - 00:08:58:00
some people are

00:08:58:00 - 00:08:58:21
slower than others

00:08:58:21 - 00:08:59:08
and some people

00:08:59:08 - 00:09:00:04
are faster than others

00:09:00:04 - 00:09:01:00
at getting stuff done.

00:09:01:00 - 00:09:02:03
But once you kind of

00:09:02:03 - 00:09:02:24
get the bearings

00:09:02:24 - 00:09:04:08
and the grip

00:09:04:08 - 00:09:05:04
on, on different

00:09:05:04 - 00:09:06:05
like ways of doing things,

00:09:06:05 - 00:09:06:14
and you're in

00:09:06:14 - 00:09:08:06
kind of your groove on things,

00:09:08:06 - 00:09:09:12
it becomes pretty natural

00:09:09:12 - 00:09:10:09
and second nature

00:09:10:09 - 00:09:12:00
and pretty fast stuff done.

00:09:12:00 - 00:09:13:07
I do a kind of a good amount

00:09:13:07 - 00:09:14:05
of social media stuff,

00:09:14:05 - 00:09:15:10
with even both worship

00:09:15:10 - 00:09:17:01
and youth a little bit.

00:09:17:01 - 00:09:18:06
Not as much with worship,

00:09:18:06 - 00:09:19:10
but some.

00:09:19:10 - 00:09:20:03
And it's like

00:09:20:03 - 00:09:20:21
it's really

00:09:20:21 - 00:09:22:21
it doesn't take that much time

00:09:22:21 - 00:09:25:07
to, to post stuff, I think.

00:09:25:07 - 00:09:26:17
yeah, that's that's

00:09:26:17 - 00:09:28:03
an encouraging thing

00:09:28:03 - 00:09:28:17
to think about.

00:09:28:17 - 00:09:29:12
It's like

00:09:29:12 - 00:09:30:06
it's not going to take

00:09:30:06 - 00:09:30:22
you forever

00:09:30:22 - 00:09:32:01
to get a couple posts

00:09:32:01 - 00:09:33:14
out, a day

00:09:33:14 - 00:09:35:07
or maybe several week.

00:09:35:07 - 00:09:36:01
I think it's good to have

00:09:36:01 - 00:09:37:11
at least one a day or,

00:09:37:11 - 00:09:38:24
you know, multiple a week.

00:09:38:24 - 00:09:39:14
So you can kind of

00:09:39:14 - 00:09:40:16
get keep interacting

00:09:40:16 - 00:09:41:06
with your students.

00:09:41:06 - 00:09:43:02
So I don't know,

00:09:43:02 - 00:09:43:24
is that what kind of answering

00:09:43:24 - 00:09:45:19
your question? Okay.

00:09:45:19 - 00:09:46:08
Yeah, for sure.

00:09:46:08 - 00:09:48:09
I mean there’s like...

00:09:48:09 - 00:09:50:18
I can’t remember, exactly

00:09:50:18 - 00:09:52:19
I’m trying to look it up right now

00:09:52:19 - 00:09:54:04
But there’s a book, the concept

00:09:54:04 - 00:09:55:04
is called like “1,000 Hours”

00:09:55:04 - 00:09:57:05
Maybe it’s 100 hours

00:09:57:05 - 00:09:59:06
I’ll put the link in the

00:09:59:06 - 00:10:00:11
shownotes if you’re interested

00:10:00:11 - 00:10:01:06
I’ll figure it out

00:10:01:06 - 00:10:03:07
But the concept

00:10:03:07 - 00:10:04:09
is like

00:10:04:09 - 00:10:06:10
No one is gonna be good at anything

00:10:06:10 - 00:10:07:01
until they spend

00:10:07:01 - 00:10:08:01
some time on it.

00:10:08:01 - 00:10:09:22
And so if you feel intimidated

00:10:09:22 - 00:10:10:21
by something

00:10:10:21 - 00:10:11:15
of course you’re gonna

00:10:11:15 - 00:10:12:13
feel intimidated by something

00:10:12:13 - 00:10:13:07
new. It’s new!

00:10:13:07 - 00:10:15:16
That’s what new stuff does

00:10:15:16 - 00:10:16:16
None of us are good

00:10:16:16 - 00:10:18:17
at new stuff right away

00:10:18:17 - 00:10:20:12
And I think it’s really telling

00:10:20:12 - 00:10:23:17
to your point

00:10:23:17 - 00:10:24:15
You were in that boat

00:10:24:15 - 00:10:25:00
And you were like:

00:10:25:00 - 00:10:27:15
“I don’t know”

00:10:27:15 - 00:10:28:21
Just to shed a little bit of light

00:10:28:21 - 00:10:30:02
When I was telling you

00:10:30:02 - 00:10:31:04
you should

00:10:31:04 - 00:10:31:23
dive into some of this stuff

00:10:31:23 - 00:10:32:10
You were like:

00:10:32:10 - 00:10:33:22
“I don’t know man...”

00:10:33:22 - 00:10:35:10
“I don’t really do that type of st-”

00:10:35:10 - 00:10:36:22
“I don’t really do TikTok”

00:10:36:22 - 00:10:38:14
“I don’t really do any videos”

00:10:38:14 - 00:10:40:01
And I was just like:

00:10:40:01 - 00:10:41:18
“Hey just try it. It’s not that hard.”

00:10:41:18 - 00:10:42:11
Yeah.

00:10:42:11 - 00:10:43:05
And so to hear you say now

00:10:43:05 - 00:10:44:15
a year and something later

00:10:44:15 - 00:10:46:04
“It’s not

00:10:46:04 - 00:10:47:05
doesn’t take as much time.

00:10:47:05 - 00:10:48:05
as you might think.”

00:10:48:05 - 00:10:49:09
Yeah.

00:10:49:09 - 00:10:52:14
That’s a good word on that

00:10:52:14 - 00:10:53:12
The more time you

00:10:53:12 - 00:10:54:10
spend on something

00:10:54:10 - 00:10:55:19
the better you’re gonna get with it.

00:10:55:19 - 00:10:56:14
Yeah.

00:10:56:14 - 00:10:57:07
And so like

00:10:57:07 - 00:10:58:14
I had one of our

00:10:58:14 - 00:10:59:11
interns yesterday, say

00:10:59:11 - 00:11:00:04
something about

00:11:00:04 - 00:11:01:15
like video editing

00:11:01:15 - 00:11:01:24
She was like

00:11:01:24 - 00:11:04:11
“I wanna help you edit video”

00:11:04:11 - 00:11:06:23
“I wanna do more video editing.”

00:11:06:23 - 00:11:08:07
cuz she also wants to learn

00:11:08:07 - 00:11:09:15
And I just looked at her

00:11:09:15 - 00:11:10:01
I was like:

00:11:10:01 - 00:11:11:02
“You just gotta do it.”

00:11:11:02 - 00:11:11:15
Yeah.

00:11:11:15 - 00:11:13:00
Like doing it is the key

00:11:13:00 - 00:11:13:22
Sit down with it

00:11:13:22 - 00:11:14:19
And the more you like

00:11:14:19 - 00:11:16:05
sit down with it, spend time on it.

00:11:16:05 - 00:11:18:08
The more you can get it done

00:11:18:08 - 00:11:18:21
Yeah.

00:11:18:21 - 00:11:20:00
I've learned on my phone

00:11:20:00 - 00:11:20:15
cap cut.

00:11:20:15 - 00:11:21:08
The free version.

00:11:21:08 - 00:11:23:12
Even like it does wonders

00:11:23:12 - 00:11:24:11
for a lot of things.

00:11:24:11 - 00:11:25:15
Like there's

00:11:25:15 - 00:11:26:13
there's a pro version

00:11:26:13 - 00:11:27:06
that probably costs,

00:11:27:06 - 00:11:27:23
but, like,

00:11:27:23 - 00:11:29:05
even the free version

00:11:29:05 - 00:11:31:17
has given me, like, a lot of,

00:11:31:17 - 00:11:32:09
you know, help.

00:11:32:09 - 00:11:33:02
And there's not a lot

00:11:33:02 - 00:11:33:12
there's really

00:11:33:12 - 00:11:34:03
not a lot to it.

00:11:34:03 - 00:11:35:03
There's a lot of little things

00:11:35:03 - 00:11:35:21
you have to kind of figure out

00:11:35:21 - 00:11:36:14
what does what,

00:11:36:14 - 00:11:37:13
but once you do,

00:11:37:13 - 00:11:39:04
it's pretty easy to kind of

00:11:39:04 - 00:11:39:24
get the gist of it

00:11:39:24 - 00:11:40:22
pretty quickly.

00:11:40:22 - 00:11:41:24
So.

00:11:41:24 - 00:11:43:02
And ya know

00:11:43:02 - 00:11:43:18
what’s even fun

00:11:43:18 - 00:11:44:10
Yesterday, I had a

00:11:44:10 - 00:11:45:06
student

00:11:45:06 - 00:11:46:13
a 6th grader come in

00:11:46:13 - 00:11:48:07
and I taught him how to edit

00:11:48:07 - 00:11:49:19
videos for social media

00:11:49:19 - 00:11:50:12
Awesome,

00:11:50:12 - 00:11:50:24
And he edited two

00:11:50:24 - 00:11:51:11
cool.

00:11:51:11 - 00:11:51:23
In a 3 hour

00:11:51:23 - 00:11:52:13
period of time

00:11:52:13 - 00:11:53:19
He’d never used

00:11:53:19 - 00:11:54:11
Adobe Premiere Pro

00:11:54:11 - 00:11:55:08
It turned out pretty good?

00:11:55:08 - 00:11:56:03
The videos?

00:11:56:03 - 00:11:58:08
Yeah. I’ll post the link down below

00:11:58:08 - 00:12:00:00
You can see the student’s

00:12:00:00 - 00:12:00:11
edit

00:12:00:11 - 00:12:01:08
Awesome

00:12:01:08 - 00:12:02:06
Man, it was crispy

00:12:02:06 - 00:12:03:15
It was a crispy edit

00:12:03:15 - 00:12:04:01
Cool.

00:12:04:01 - 00:12:05:10
Shout out to him

00:12:05:10 - 00:12:07:03
Alright, so let’s...

00:12:07:03 - 00:12:09:05
Shift gears a little bit, Nate

00:12:09:05 - 00:12:10:15
And, umm

00:12:10:15 - 00:12:12:01
Talk about

00:12:12:01 - 00:12:13:01
what

00:12:13:01 - 00:12:14:12
Advantages

00:12:14:12 - 00:12:15:18
or what wins

00:12:15:18 - 00:12:16:10
you have seen

00:12:16:10 - 00:12:17:19
out of social media

00:12:17:19 - 00:12:19:07
in your group?

00:12:19:07 - 00:12:20:13
Right, what has

00:12:20:13 - 00:12:22:03
having a camera around

00:12:22:03 - 00:12:24:02
What has doing different like

00:12:24:02 - 00:12:25:06
Challenges

00:12:25:06 - 00:12:27:03
Your little like

00:12:27:03 - 00:12:28:01
devotional thoughts

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Take it any direction you want

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But what has

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having these

00:12:32:08 - 00:12:33:15
having just a presence

00:12:33:15 - 00:12:34:24
on social media

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what has it done in your mind

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to your youth group?

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you know, I'm

00:12:39:04 - 00:12:40:09
going to say something

00:12:40:09 - 00:12:41:20
that may be a little bit off

00:12:41:20 - 00:12:42:23
the track of this little bit,

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but it's related to this.

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I think I've noticed

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a lot more people

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outside of my ministry

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are being reached

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than just my students.

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There's people

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that see my videos

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that that are like,

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not from our ministry,

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that are like, inspired

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and like asking questions

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and like, where is CSM at?

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And all this stuff.

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And they

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may not

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even be from around the area,

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but they're like curious

00:13:01:06 - 00:13:02:16
and finding things.

00:13:02:16 - 00:13:03:03
And we're starting

00:13:03:03 - 00:13:04:02
to get more students now

00:13:04:02 - 00:13:05:06
and like seeing my videos

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and being in

00:13:05:16 - 00:13:06:07
and following things.

00:13:06:07 - 00:13:06:19
And actually,

00:13:06:19 - 00:13:07:10
we copied off

00:13:07:10 - 00:13:08:01
your guy's church

00:13:08:01 - 00:13:08:24
one time you did this thing

00:13:08:24 - 00:13:09:10
where you went up

00:13:09:10 - 00:13:10:19
to students and go,

00:13:10:19 - 00:13:12:08
hey, you know,

00:13:12:08 - 00:13:13:22
do you follow Cross Creek,

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your church?

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And I go, hey,

00:13:15:00 - 00:13:15:14
do you follow

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CSM on on TikTok

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or do you follow CSM

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on, you know, Instagram?

00:13:19:21 - 00:13:21:09
And they're always scrambling

00:13:21:09 - 00:13:22:20
and they show their phone

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and they either know

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who they do

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or because of that,

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they start following.

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You know,

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I think it's just

00:13:28:19 - 00:13:31:03
so important to be present

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there.

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and, give them an avenue

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where they can

00:13:36:10 - 00:13:37:19
if they missed a week

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and I, I don't always do it,

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but I try to do a recap video

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from the week before

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and talk

00:13:42:00 - 00:13:43:24
more about different messages.

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And, I think they need that

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to kind of

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if they're not there, like,

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hey, they can

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they can see what's going on.

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So that's, that's really good.

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Yeah.

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Well and it’s even like

00:13:54:15 - 00:13:55:16
Ya know

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you even said it

00:13:56:17 - 00:13:57:18
there, like

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just by doing like something

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some little like

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challenge thing

00:14:02:12 - 00:14:03:12
like it created like

00:14:03:12 - 00:14:04:01
a fun

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Yeah.

00:14:04:18 - 00:14:05:12
moment.

00:14:05:12 - 00:14:06:02
Yeah.

00:14:06:02 - 00:14:06:17
And then if

00:14:06:17 - 00:14:07:22
you do go around

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and you’re kinda like

00:14:08:13 - 00:14:10:17
doing man on the street-style videos

00:14:10:17 - 00:14:11:07
and you’re

00:14:11:07 - 00:14:12:18
interviewing people and tryina

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catch em not following you,

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or prove to

00:14:15:07 - 00:14:17:02
people that they are following you.

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Then later, they’re gonna look

00:14:18:24 - 00:14:20:02
for that online.

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Right? And then that’s gonna create

00:14:22:03 - 00:14:23:09
and organic moment

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an organic shareable moment

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that they might

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show their friends

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“Hey, check this video out!”

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or something like that, right?

00:14:30:04 - 00:14:31:09
like something that they could even

00:14:31:09 - 00:14:33:02
then be proud of

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Ya know, and so there’s

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I think, opportunity

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Not

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just with people who don’t go to your church

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But also,

00:14:40:18 - 00:14:42:12
with students that are

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Yeah.

00:14:43:03 - 00:14:43:17
in your youth ministry.

00:14:43:17 - 00:14:45:12
that can, ya know

00:14:45:12 - 00:14:46:14
help them feel

00:14:46:14 - 00:14:48:07
like some sort of sense of ownership

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and some sort of like, win

00:14:49:22 - 00:14:52:06
in and through your social media

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it’s in the

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it’s a really low

00:14:54:21 - 00:14:55:19
hanging fruit there, ya know?

00:14:55:19 - 00:14:56:05
Yeah.

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And I

00:14:56:11 - 00:14:57:20
feel like a lot of people.

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A lot of students,

00:14:58:14 - 00:14:59:18
specifically students

00:14:59:18 - 00:15:02:00
want to see other students.

00:15:02:00 - 00:15:02:09
Sorry.

00:15:02:09 - 00:15:03:13
On videos

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and, like, in things

00:15:04:13 - 00:15:05:12
instead of just me.

00:15:05:12 - 00:15:06:10
Just Jessica.

00:15:06:10 - 00:15:07:06
That's the leader.

00:15:07:06 - 00:15:08:07
They want to see students.

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And when they see students,

00:15:09:02 - 00:15:10:02
they're more attentive

00:15:10:02 - 00:15:10:17
to watch

00:15:10:17 - 00:15:11:07
and kind of

00:15:11:07 - 00:15:12:10
participate with it

00:15:12:10 - 00:15:13:16
when when they're there

00:15:13:16 - 00:15:14:02
instead of

00:15:14:02 - 00:15:14:21
just adults

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kind of sharing recaps

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or whatever

00:15:16:12 - 00:15:18:02
that may look like, you know?

00:15:18:02 - 00:15:18:17
So I've learned that

00:15:18:17 - 00:15:19:16
kind of the hard way

00:15:19:16 - 00:15:21:09
a little bit, you know, so.

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Yeah, for sure.

00:15:21:24 - 00:15:24:02
And we’re all just trying stuff, right?

00:15:24:02 - 00:15:26:04
Like what I did, when I moved here

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I guess just about two years ago, now

00:15:29:20 - 00:15:31:23
when I moved here like

00:15:31:23 - 00:15:33:15
my strategy that I brought in is

00:15:33:15 - 00:15:35:18
not the same strategy that I have today

00:15:35:18 - 00:15:38:04
So, as you get going

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and I think that’s a good encouragement too

00:15:40:02 - 00:15:41:07
back to the question a minute ago

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like just get started

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Yeah.

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and once you get started

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you’ll start to like uncover things

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that you didn’t know

00:15:46:08 - 00:15:46:23
Right? Like

00:15:46:23 - 00:15:47:23
a great example

00:15:47:23 - 00:15:50:14
in our context is

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we had a resident, Caleb

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two videos ago

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I’ll link it right here

00:15:53:05 - 00:15:54:02
Caleb

00:15:54:02 - 00:15:55:10
But he

00:15:55:10 - 00:15:56:18
had this idea

00:15:56:18 - 00:15:59:02
about this thing called the Social Challenge

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and we would do a film

00:16:00:10 - 00:16:02:08
a filming of it every single Wednesday night

00:16:02:08 - 00:16:04:01
and he wanted that to be like

00:16:04:01 - 00:16:05:21
a long form version of a YouTube video

00:16:05:21 - 00:16:06:21
and so

00:16:06:21 - 00:16:08:17
we did that for a semester

00:16:08:17 - 00:16:10:15
and I mean, that, that

00:16:10:15 - 00:16:12:01
project would eat his lunch

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cuz he would do it on a Wednesday night

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and then he would work all day

00:16:15:00 - 00:16:16:14
on a Thursday on it

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and he didn’t work on Fridays

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so like his whole Thursday

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was eaten up by getting this social challenge edited

00:16:22:08 - 00:16:23:05
posted

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up and live on YouTube

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and. But we, so we

00:16:27:03 - 00:16:29:03
killed the long-form version of it

00:16:29:03 - 00:16:30:10
because it was like the

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time factor. Like the immediacy of it

00:16:32:19 - 00:16:35:07
But we shifted it to more short style

00:16:35:07 - 00:16:36:07
more challenge style

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and what that’s done

00:16:38:03 - 00:16:39:12
is that has like

00:16:39:12 - 00:16:41:11
you said, that has put so many more

00:16:41:11 - 00:16:42:18
students on our

00:16:42:18 - 00:16:43:12
platform

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so we’ve taken the same block of time

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that we would have taken to shoot

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one big long video

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and we’ll just shoot like 5

00:16:49:21 - 00:16:50:06
Okay.

00:16:50:06 - 00:16:50:24
Five shorts.

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And then we can just bank them

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And so we got em

00:16:54:00 - 00:16:54:20
Like I got in my

00:16:54:20 - 00:16:56:19
folder right now, I got like

00:16:56:19 - 00:16:57:19
5 or 6

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of like a certain style of game

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we call them drafts

00:17:00:06 - 00:17:01:04
and then I got 5 or 6

00:17:01:04 - 00:17:02:10
of another certain style of game

00:17:02:10 - 00:17:03:15
we call it 7 Questions

00:17:03:15 - 00:17:04:10
Yeah.

00:17:04:10 - 00:17:05:09
And so like I have

00:17:05:09 - 00:17:07:17
Some pretty like set

00:17:07:17 - 00:17:09:06
what I post every day

00:17:09:06 - 00:17:11:00
and when I post certain things

00:17:11:00 - 00:17:11:23
but like

00:17:11:23 - 00:17:13:06
when I don’t have something

00:17:13:06 - 00:17:14:19
or when I need something to kinda

00:17:14:19 - 00:17:15:08
fill the gaps

00:17:15:08 - 00:17:16:03
like I got those

00:17:16:03 - 00:17:16:08
Yeah.

00:17:16:08 - 00:17:16:11
Yeah.

00:17:16:11 - 00:17:17:01
They’re just sitting

00:17:17:01 - 00:17:17:22
right there. And so

00:17:17:22 - 00:17:20:06
we stumbled into that

00:17:20:06 - 00:17:21:18
Right? Like what we started with

00:17:21:18 - 00:17:23:03
the idea of the social challenge

00:17:23:03 - 00:17:23:24
what we started with

00:17:23:24 - 00:17:25:12
is not what it is now

00:17:25:12 - 00:17:26:01
Yeah.

00:17:26:01 - 00:17:27:09
And what’s cool, is like

00:17:27:09 - 00:17:29:08
it, in the room

00:17:29:08 - 00:17:30:13
like in our programming

00:17:30:13 - 00:17:32:02
it’s still called the same thing

00:17:32:02 - 00:17:33:02
from when it started

00:17:33:02 - 00:17:34:15
to what it is today

00:17:34:15 - 00:17:36:14
we still call it the “Social Challenge”

00:17:36:14 - 00:17:37:20
so students know what it is

00:17:37:20 - 00:17:39:16
and students know there’s an opportunity

00:17:39:16 - 00:17:40:16
for them to compete

00:17:40:16 - 00:17:41:23
and get on camera

00:17:41:23 - 00:17:43:05
and they love that stuff

00:17:43:05 - 00:17:43:20
That's awesome.

00:17:43:20 - 00:17:45:12
And it’s opt-in-able

00:17:45:12 - 00:17:46:11
though, ya know?

00:17:46:11 - 00:17:47:19
and that’s the nice part

00:17:47:19 - 00:17:49:00
is like we say, “Hey”

00:17:49:00 - 00:17:50:18
“During free time, if anyone wants

00:17:50:18 - 00:17:52:01
to come do the Social Challenge

00:17:52:01 - 00:17:53:09
we’ll be back here in this room.”

00:17:53:09 - 00:17:56:10
And so it’s not forced

00:17:56:10 - 00:17:56:19
Yeah.

00:17:56:19 - 00:17:57:06
We’re not making anyone

00:17:57:06 - 00:17:58:12
who is shy or whatever

00:17:58:12 - 00:17:59:06
have to get on it

00:17:59:06 - 00:17:59:24
But then you know

00:17:59:24 - 00:18:01:19
there’s definitely kids who DO want to be on it

00:18:01:19 - 00:18:02:12
Yeah.

00:18:02:12 - 00:18:03:19
And they’re like banging down the door

00:18:03:19 - 00:18:04:07
to get in there

00:18:04:07 - 00:18:05:00
Do you have, like,

00:18:05:00 - 00:18:06:07
the same, like,

00:18:06:07 - 00:18:07:15
smaller, kind of smaller

00:18:07:15 - 00:18:08:03
group of students

00:18:08:03 - 00:18:08:12
that always

00:18:08:12 - 00:18:09:05
want to be on videos?

00:18:09:05 - 00:18:09:23
Or do you have a pretty good

00:18:09:23 - 00:18:10:17
variety of students?

00:18:10:17 - 00:18:11:13
I want to be on videos

00:18:11:13 - 00:18:12:12
because I feel like it's

00:18:12:12 - 00:18:13:07
kind of slim for me.

00:18:13:07 - 00:18:14:02
of kids that actually

00:18:14:02 - 00:18:16:12
want to be on video.

00:18:16:12 - 00:18:17:19
Yeah, I mean it’s

00:18:17:19 - 00:18:19:05
Yeah, I think it’s

00:18:19:05 - 00:18:20:12
the same kinda group

00:18:20:12 - 00:18:21:02
Yeah.

00:18:21:02 - 00:18:22:13
the same like middle school

00:18:22:13 - 00:18:23:02
boys

00:18:23:02 - 00:18:23:23
Yeah.

00:18:23:23 - 00:18:24:18
like the kid who edited

00:18:24:18 - 00:18:26:02
is the kid who’s always on ‘em, too.

00:18:26:03 - 00:18:26:18
Yeah yeah

00:18:26:18 - 00:18:27:08
yeah yeah.

00:18:27:08 - 00:18:28:07
Like he’s a

00:18:28:07 - 00:18:31:07
he’s very camera hungry

00:18:31:07 - 00:18:32:14
Yeah yeah.

00:18:32:14 - 00:18:33:12
And that’s ok

00:18:33:12 - 00:18:35:01
everyone’s gonna go through waves

00:18:35:01 - 00:18:35:22
this kid doesn’t

00:18:35:22 - 00:18:38:20
he’s a 6th grade-7th grade boy

00:18:38:20 - 00:18:41:03
he’s not insecure about anything

00:18:41:03 - 00:18:41:21
That's awesome

00:18:41:21 - 00:18:42:24
But like one day he will be

00:18:42:24 - 00:18:46:01
He probably won’t be that kid

00:18:46:01 - 00:18:48:10
for his entire youth ministry career

00:18:48:10 - 00:18:49:04
Right?

00:18:49:04 - 00:18:51:07
And so like, you just

00:18:51:07 - 00:18:53:13
that’s the nice part is you can offer that

00:18:53:13 - 00:18:55:00
and if you got kids

00:18:55:00 - 00:18:56:20
The other fun thing we’ve started to do

00:18:56:20 - 00:18:58:21
Beyond just

00:18:58:21 - 00:19:00:06
being on camera

00:19:00:06 - 00:19:01:17
is like helping run the camera

00:19:01:17 - 00:19:04:06
And so like maybe they don’t wanna be on the camera

00:19:04:06 - 00:19:06:04
but maybe they can be like behind the scenes

00:19:06:04 - 00:19:06:23
or edit

00:19:06:23 - 00:19:07:14
Yeah.

00:19:07:14 - 00:19:08:23
And that- students love

00:19:08:23 - 00:19:10:14
getting a chance to do that

00:19:10:14 - 00:19:12:10
And the more, I guess the older I’m getting

00:19:12:10 - 00:19:13:23
the more I’m trying to figure out, like “How can I

00:19:13:23 - 00:19:16:08
not just do student ministry

00:19:16:08 - 00:19:16:24
for students,

00:19:16:24 - 00:19:17:13
but how can I

00:19:17:13 - 00:19:19:03
let students do student ministry for students?”

00:19:19:03 - 00:19:19:23
That's good.

00:19:19:23 - 00:19:23:14
So that’s one of the things we’re trying to pursue

00:19:23:14 - 00:19:25:10
But Nate, tell me what

00:19:25:10 - 00:19:27:12
in your context has

00:19:27:12 - 00:19:30:13
been the most fun, or most effective thing?

00:19:30:13 - 00:19:31:08
that you’ve done

00:19:31:08 - 00:19:32:19
just with regard to digital

00:19:32:19 - 00:19:33:11
it doesn’t have to be

00:19:33:11 - 00:19:35:18
social media- anything, it can be anything

00:19:35:18 - 00:19:38:09
any sort of thing in the digital space

00:19:38:09 - 00:19:40:04
Well, I'll be honest.

00:19:40:04 - 00:19:41:16
I've really recently

00:19:41:16 - 00:19:43:10
kind of started a. And this.

00:19:43:10 - 00:19:43:22
I don't even know

00:19:43:22 - 00:19:44:18
if you consider this

00:19:44:18 - 00:19:45:11
what you're looking at,

00:19:45:11 - 00:19:47:17
but I started a Snapchat,

00:19:47:17 - 00:19:50:03
group with our students,

00:19:50:03 - 00:19:51:12
and I go, hey, invite.

00:19:51:12 - 00:19:53:00
And that's a it's

00:19:53:00 - 00:19:53:24
me social media

00:19:53:24 - 00:19:54:20
invite

00:19:54:20 - 00:19:56:00
anyone that is

00:19:56:00 - 00:19:57:19
that is not that

00:19:57:19 - 00:19:59:01
I don't have access to

00:19:59:01 - 00:20:00:16
into this group chat.

00:20:00:16 - 00:20:01:19
And people are just adding

00:20:01:19 - 00:20:02:15
people as we go.

00:20:02:15 - 00:20:03:12
And as soon as I add

00:20:03:12 - 00:20:03:24
someone else

00:20:03:24 - 00:20:04:16
and they have friends

00:20:04:16 - 00:20:06:06
that are from CSM, I'm them.

00:20:06:06 - 00:20:06:22
And it's like

00:20:06:22 - 00:20:08:00
the group is grown,

00:20:08:00 - 00:20:08:17
but the more people

00:20:08:17 - 00:20:09:02
that are in there,

00:20:09:02 - 00:20:10:04
the more it gets blown up.

00:20:10:04 - 00:20:10:22
It's been fun to

00:20:10:22 - 00:20:11:13
just kind of see it

00:20:11:13 - 00:20:12:18
expand slowly

00:20:12:18 - 00:20:13:08
throughout

00:20:13:08 - 00:20:14:15
the last couple weeks.

00:20:14:15 - 00:20:14:21
That's

00:20:14:21 - 00:20:15:04
something that

00:20:15:04 - 00:20:16:01
I'm excited about

00:20:16:01 - 00:20:17:06
because it's like it's

00:20:17:06 - 00:20:18:08
a different way of connecting.

00:20:18:08 - 00:20:19:04
We have GroupMe

00:20:19:04 - 00:20:19:19
and we connect through

00:20:19:19 - 00:20:20:24
GroupMe mainly,

00:20:20:24 - 00:20:22:00
but I think Snapchat

00:20:22:00 - 00:20:22:23
should have a funner,

00:20:22:23 - 00:20:25:07
like fun, fun way to like

00:20:25:07 - 00:20:26:12
send funny pictures

00:20:26:12 - 00:20:27:15
and whatever.

00:20:27:15 - 00:20:28:16
Like you can best group

00:20:28:16 - 00:20:29:10
like this

00:20:29:10 - 00:20:30:23
kid was blown it up

00:20:30:23 - 00:20:32:11
with with like

00:20:32:11 - 00:20:33:24
filters of people's faces

00:20:33:24 - 00:20:35:09
being all distorted and stuff.

00:20:35:09 - 00:20:36:23
And just as he's being goofy

00:20:36:23 - 00:20:37:19
and I don't know

00:20:37:19 - 00:20:38:13
if that answers your question

00:20:38:13 - 00:20:39:08
the way you wanted me to,

00:20:39:08 - 00:20:40:14
but it's just, you know.

00:20:40:14 - 00:20:41:03
Yeah, no, it’s great!

00:20:41:03 - 00:20:42:02
I mean it’s

00:20:42:02 - 00:20:43:01
that’s the thing, like

00:20:43:01 - 00:20:44:09
every church is different, right?

00:20:44:09 - 00:20:45:17
So I’m not going into this with any sorta

00:20:45:17 - 00:20:46:19
like agenda

00:20:46:19 - 00:20:47:09
I’m just tryina get

00:20:47:09 - 00:20:50:04
to know what real youth pastors

00:20:50:04 - 00:20:51:14
and real churches are doing

00:20:51:14 - 00:20:53:12
like to connect with students

00:20:53:12 - 00:20:55:00
and that’s a great example, because

00:20:55:00 - 00:20:57:10
youth ministry 15 years ago

00:20:57:10 - 00:20:58:06
like you don’t have that

00:20:58:06 - 00:20:58:16
opportunity

00:20:58:16 - 00:20:59:10
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:20:59:10 - 00:21:01:02
Whether

00:21:01:02 - 00:21:02:09
Cuz like our church

00:21:02:09 - 00:21:03:18
doesn’t let us use Snapchat

00:21:03:18 - 00:21:04:10
Oh, really?

00:21:04:10 - 00:21:06:01
Whether it’s Snapchat

00:21:06:01 - 00:21:07:10
or whether it’s GroupMe

00:21:07:10 - 00:21:08:16
or whether it’s a Group Message

00:21:08:16 - 00:21:11:09
or whether it’s an Instagram DM Group

00:21:12:15 - 00:21:13:18
The concept

00:21:13:18 - 00:21:14:22
is a group message

00:21:14:22 - 00:21:15:14
Yeah.

00:21:15:14 - 00:21:17:15
You and I, if we were youth pastors

00:21:17:15 - 00:21:18:14
fifteen years ago

00:21:18:14 - 00:21:20:12
we don’t have that opportunity

00:21:20:12 - 00:21:21:01
Yeah.

00:21:21:01 - 00:21:22:11
That doesn’t exist

00:21:22:11 - 00:21:24:19
And so, that’s why I say

00:21:24:19 - 00:21:26:19
it’s so important for youth pastors to just

00:21:26:19 - 00:21:27:22
figure something out, because

00:21:27:22 - 00:21:29:19
look at that opportunity

00:21:29:19 - 00:21:31:06
like you have a chance to

00:21:31:06 - 00:21:32:23
message your students

00:21:32:23 - 00:21:34:22
on like a Tuesday morning

00:21:34:22 - 00:21:35:12
Yeah.

00:21:35:12 - 00:21:36:06
like otherwise you would have

00:21:36:06 - 00:21:37:03
had to wait for them to

00:21:37:03 - 00:21:37:17
Yeah.

00:21:37:17 - 00:21:38:17
come to you

00:21:38:17 - 00:21:40:01
to be a captive audience

00:21:40:01 - 00:21:40:12
Yeah.

00:21:40:12 - 00:21:42:03
But now we have the ability to

00:21:42:03 - 00:21:43:14
And there’s like

00:21:43:14 - 00:21:45:09
there’s checks and balances within that

00:21:45:09 - 00:21:47:01
and there’s times where that can get abused

00:21:47:01 - 00:21:48:11
but at the end of the day, like

00:21:48:11 - 00:21:50:00
The opportunity that we have is fantastic

00:21:50:00 - 00:21:50:09
Yeah.

00:21:50:09 - 00:21:51:20
So, it’s

00:21:51:20 - 00:21:53:19
Important I think to lean into that

00:21:53:19 - 00:21:54:21
We should ask our dad

00:21:54:21 - 00:21:55:13
how he did that

00:21:55:13 - 00:21:56:18
when he was a youth pastor.

00:21:56:18 - 00:21:58:05
You know, just to see for him.

00:21:58:05 - 00:21:59:02
Fifteen years ago?

00:21:59:02 - 00:21:59:08
What?

00:21:59:08 - 00:22:00:05
Because he was doing it. What?

00:22:00:05 - 00:22:01:05
It was like not many.

00:22:01:05 - 00:22:02:05
There wasn't cell phones,

00:22:02:05 - 00:22:02:12
you know.

00:22:02:12 - 00:22:03:08
So how do you.

00:22:03:08 - 00:22:04:16
Well yeah, you just didn’t

00:22:04:16 - 00:22:05:16
do a group chat

00:22:05:16 - 00:22:06:03
Yeah.

00:22:06:03 - 00:22:08:00
It was all about the in-person

00:22:08:00 - 00:22:08:12
It was.

00:22:08:12 - 00:22:09:01
Yeah.

00:22:09:01 - 00:22:11:08
And that’s the struggle

00:22:11:08 - 00:22:13:14
Right? Like the struggle now

00:22:13:14 - 00:22:14:22
sometimes when

00:22:14:22 - 00:22:16:07
you introduce an idea of digital

00:22:16:07 - 00:22:18:13
there may be an older

00:22:18:13 - 00:22:21:03
generation or demographic

00:22:21:03 - 00:22:24:00
that remembers it done a different way

00:22:24:00 - 00:22:26:19
And no shade on that or them

00:22:26:19 - 00:22:28:06
but the fact is we just

00:22:28:06 - 00:22:29:14
live in a different day

00:22:29:14 - 00:22:30:21
And so

00:22:30:21 - 00:22:33:02
and whatever

00:22:33:02 - 00:22:36:12
And so however they were doing things before

00:22:36:12 - 00:22:39:03
teenagers have zero concept of that today

00:22:39:03 - 00:22:39:08
Yeah.

00:22:39:08 - 00:22:39:21
Yeah, yeah.

00:22:39:21 - 00:22:41:09
They are digital natives

00:22:41:09 - 00:22:42:15
and digital dependents

00:22:42:15 - 00:22:44:07
And so to

00:22:44:07 - 00:22:45:12
not have something

00:22:45:12 - 00:22:48:04
Right? And that’s the thing when I hear arguments

00:22:48:04 - 00:22:49:11
from youth pastors who say:

00:22:49:11 - 00:22:50:20
“Well, I don’t use social”

00:22:50:20 - 00:22:52:08
“Well do you have a group chat?”

00:22:52:08 - 00:22:53:08
“Well yeah we have a group chat!”

00:22:53:08 - 00:22:54:22
“Well, you’re doing something!”

00:22:54:22 - 00:22:56:10
You’re not doing nothing

00:22:56:10 - 00:22:57:24
And so there’s

00:22:57:24 - 00:23:00:08
That’s the thing I love, I love that

00:23:00:08 - 00:23:02:17
the sky is legitimately the limit

00:23:02:17 - 00:23:05:06
Wherever your creativity will lead you

00:23:05:06 - 00:23:06:06
in today’s day-in-age

00:23:06:06 - 00:23:07:19
you can do

00:23:07:19 - 00:23:08:17
you can do anything

00:23:08:17 - 00:23:10:12
Right? And it can be

00:23:10:12 - 00:23:12:19
as robust of a strategy as you want

00:23:12:19 - 00:23:13:24
or it can be as like

00:23:13:24 - 00:23:16:14
paired down and focused on your kids

00:23:16:14 - 00:23:18:21
Both are great, I think

00:23:18:21 - 00:23:19:17
Yeah.

00:23:19:17 - 00:23:21:14
So last thing, Nate

00:23:21:14 - 00:23:23:03
How do you

00:23:23:03 - 00:23:24:15
know something’s working?

00:23:24:15 - 00:23:27:08
Like when you post something

00:23:27:08 - 00:23:29:07
Or- how do you know when like

00:23:29:07 - 00:23:31:11
that was good. That was a win?

00:23:31:11 - 00:23:33:13
What are some of the things that

00:23:33:13 - 00:23:34:24
you look for, whether it be

00:23:34:24 - 00:23:37:03
like metrics, like number type things

00:23:37:03 - 00:23:38:05
Or even just like

00:23:38:05 - 00:23:39:17
the word on the street

00:23:39:17 - 00:23:41:06
or the scuttlebutt that you might hear like

00:23:41:06 - 00:23:43:08
in the hallways of church

00:23:43:08 - 00:23:44:12
I think I see

00:23:44:12 - 00:23:45:18
people share things.

00:23:45:18 - 00:23:47:03
Even if it's not a lot of shares.

00:23:47:03 - 00:23:48:10
Like, there's, like, adult,

00:23:48:10 - 00:23:50:08
like adults that are in our

00:23:50:08 - 00:23:50:22
our ministry

00:23:50:22 - 00:23:52:01
that kind of see this stuff,

00:23:52:01 - 00:23:53:07
and they'll share it.

00:23:53:07 - 00:23:53:24
Or student

00:23:53:24 - 00:23:55:14
and multiple students like it.

00:23:55:14 - 00:23:56:14
We have a good amount of like

00:23:56:14 - 00:23:56:21
we have a good

00:23:56:21 - 00:23:57:21
amount of views.

00:23:57:21 - 00:23:58:10
If there's a good

00:23:58:10 - 00:23:59:00
amount of views,

00:23:59:00 - 00:23:59:14
it means that it's

00:23:59:14 - 00:24:00:13
kind of catching on.

00:24:00:13 - 00:24:00:24
Honestly,

00:24:00:24 - 00:24:02:09
I do a lot more reels,

00:24:02:09 - 00:24:03:15
even for like picture

00:24:03:15 - 00:24:05:04
on new picture reels.

00:24:05:04 - 00:24:06:14
And they they're,

00:24:06:14 - 00:24:07:03
they're ones

00:24:07:03 - 00:24:07:17
that kind of

00:24:07:17 - 00:24:08:11
just to kind of show

00:24:08:11 - 00:24:08:17
like what

00:24:08:17 - 00:24:09:02
we've done

00:24:09:02 - 00:24:10:08
in the night of CSM.

00:24:10:08 - 00:24:11:00
I like to do like

00:24:11:00 - 00:24:12:03
recap videos of

00:24:12:03 - 00:24:13:07
like what we did

00:24:13:07 - 00:24:14:06
that last night

00:24:14:06 - 00:24:16:01
at CSM or today or whatever,

00:24:16:01 - 00:24:17:10
just kind of show people

00:24:17:10 - 00:24:19:02
kind of quickly and pictures

00:24:19:02 - 00:24:20:10
of what we've been up to you.

00:24:20:10 - 00:24:21:19
And I think I don't

00:24:21:19 - 00:24:22:21
I think our adults

00:24:22:21 - 00:24:23:21
like parents and,

00:24:23:21 - 00:24:25:01
and the adults in the church

00:24:25:01 - 00:24:26:03
want to see what's going on

00:24:26:03 - 00:24:27:05
with the students.

00:24:27:05 - 00:24:27:23
And when the adults

00:24:27:23 - 00:24:28:17
are encouraged

00:24:28:17 - 00:24:30:00
and and feel

00:24:30:00 - 00:24:31:20
uplifted by students,

00:24:31:20 - 00:24:33:20
inspire inspiring others

00:24:33:20 - 00:24:35:19
to come and and lead

00:24:35:19 - 00:24:36:17
and leading their friends

00:24:36:17 - 00:24:37:20
to Christ and

00:24:37:20 - 00:24:39:17
and getting on stage on Sunday

00:24:39:17 - 00:24:40:01
morning

00:24:40:01 - 00:24:41:12
and leading worship and

00:24:41:12 - 00:24:42:20
and when they get on

00:24:42:20 - 00:24:44:03
stage on Sunday morning

00:24:44:03 - 00:24:45:15
and and share

00:24:45:15 - 00:24:46:14
the announcements

00:24:46:14 - 00:24:47:21
in front of the whole church.

00:24:47:21 - 00:24:48:18
that's just

00:24:48:18 - 00:24:49:00
I think

00:24:49:00 - 00:24:49:19
they're inspired by that

00:24:49:19 - 00:24:50:06
and all that.

00:24:50:06 - 00:24:50:19
You know, I,

00:24:50:19 - 00:24:52:20
I, I capture that stuff and,

00:24:52:20 - 00:24:53:12
and then I go on

00:24:53:12 - 00:24:53:24
and share it

00:24:53:24 - 00:24:54:14
with their friends.

00:24:54:14 - 00:24:55:20
Hey, this is something that

00:24:55:20 - 00:24:56:21
that happened in our church.

00:24:56:21 - 00:24:57:22
Our students are doing things.

00:24:57:22 - 00:24:59:03
So it's all related

00:24:59:03 - 00:24:59:21
in the social media

00:24:59:21 - 00:25:00:16
because you captured

00:25:00:16 - 00:25:02:03
the images and then

00:25:02:03 - 00:25:03:13
and then you,

00:25:03:13 - 00:25:04:01
share it on

00:25:04:01 - 00:25:04:23
like your platforms

00:25:04:23 - 00:25:05:18
to kind of show

00:25:05:18 - 00:25:06:20
the world and people

00:25:06:20 - 00:25:07:20
that God's up

00:25:07:20 - 00:25:08:06
to something

00:25:08:06 - 00:25:08:24
at Calvary Student

00:25:08:24 - 00:25:10:20
Ministries and, and just,

00:25:10:20 - 00:25:12:11
yeah, that's mainly it,

00:25:12:11 - 00:25:13:01
I think, is

00:25:13:01 - 00:25:14:22
just seeing people inspire

00:25:14:22 - 00:25:17:08
by what's going on. You know.

00:25:17:08 - 00:25:18:21
Well and think about it

00:25:18:21 - 00:25:20:24
if you didn’t have some sort of creative outlet

00:25:20:24 - 00:25:21:22
to share stuff like that

00:25:21:22 - 00:25:23:07
like how would people know?

00:25:23:07 - 00:25:24:03
cuz if they’re not

00:25:24:03 - 00:25:25:02
They would have no idea.

00:25:25:02 - 00:25:26:19
If they’re not in the room

00:25:26:19 - 00:25:28:13
they don’t know

00:25:28:13 - 00:25:29:08
Exactly.

00:25:29:08 - 00:25:30:02
There’s another

00:25:30:02 - 00:25:31:23
You just stepped in another benefit

00:25:31:23 - 00:25:32:24
Right, like?

00:25:32:24 - 00:25:35:22
People, adults, parents

00:25:35:22 - 00:25:38:18
Pastors, elders

00:25:38:18 - 00:25:40:22
who are not coming to youth group

00:25:40:22 - 00:25:42:08
on Wednesday nights or Sunday nights

00:25:42:08 - 00:25:44:09
Especially not frequently

00:25:44:09 - 00:25:45:14
You can help them

00:25:45:14 - 00:25:48:17
Ya know, that’s a win for you

00:25:48:17 - 00:25:49:23
Maybe as a youth pastor too

00:25:49:23 - 00:25:52:01
Just putting some of that stuff out there

00:25:52:01 - 00:25:53:02
Yeah.

00:25:53:02 - 00:25:54:13
Like Nate said

00:25:54:13 - 00:25:57:17
“It’s not as hard as you think it might be.”

00:25:57:17 - 00:25:59:01
Yeah.

00:25:59:01 - 00:25:59:18
So last word

00:25:59:18 - 00:26:01:13
last final bit of encouragement

00:26:01:13 - 00:26:03:14
What would you say to someone who

00:26:03:14 - 00:26:04:20
is on the fence

00:26:04:20 - 00:26:05:20
Who’s

00:26:05:20 - 00:26:08:00
maybe like you a year and a half ago, is like

00:26:08:00 - 00:26:09:14
“I’m not sure about all this stuff.”

00:26:09:14 - 00:26:11:05
What’s one thing

00:26:11:05 - 00:26:12:19
That you would say like, “Hey, do this”

00:26:12:19 - 00:26:15:18
Just. Just do this one thing

00:26:15:18 - 00:26:18:14
This week?

00:26:18:14 - 00:26:19:23
Yeah, that's a tough question.

00:26:19:23 - 00:26:22:23
I would say like.

00:26:23:02 - 00:26:23:19
Like kind of

00:26:23:19 - 00:26:24:16
like what you said.

00:26:24:16 - 00:26:25:18
Give it a shot

00:26:25:18 - 00:26:26:23
and see if it see

00:26:26:23 - 00:26:27:14
what happens.

00:26:27:14 - 00:26:28:02
I mean,

00:26:28:02 - 00:26:29:00
you're not going to get.

00:26:29:00 - 00:26:30:05
And don't be discouraged

00:26:30:05 - 00:26:30:20
if you don't get

00:26:30:20 - 00:26:31:23
a hundred followers

00:26:31:23 - 00:26:32:22
in the first,

00:26:32:22 - 00:26:34:07
you know,

00:26:34:07 - 00:26:35:09
couple days

00:26:35:09 - 00:26:36:15
or weeks or months even, like,

00:26:36:15 - 00:26:37:07
it takes some time

00:26:37:07 - 00:26:39:07
sometimes and sometimes slowly

00:26:39:07 - 00:26:40:16
growing thing.

00:26:40:16 - 00:26:42:01
But,

00:26:42:01 - 00:26:43:03
I say give it a shot

00:26:43:03 - 00:26:43:19
and just

00:26:43:19 - 00:26:45:08
try it out for a little bit.

00:26:45:08 - 00:26:46:20
And like I said, please

00:26:46:20 - 00:26:48:13
do not be afraid of the time.

00:26:48:13 - 00:26:50:03
Just like engaging it with it.

00:26:50:03 - 00:26:51:17
It's not as bad as you think.

00:26:51:17 - 00:26:52:22
And honestly, like,

00:26:52:22 - 00:26:54:02
I feel like youth

00:26:54:02 - 00:26:56:12
pastors are really called

00:26:56:12 - 00:26:58:00
to this generation

00:26:58:00 - 00:26:58:20
of reaching people

00:26:58:20 - 00:26:59:11
through social media.

00:26:59:11 - 00:27:00:09
That's just where we're at

00:27:00:09 - 00:27:01:06
and in society

00:27:01:06 - 00:27:02:16
where we need to be

00:27:02:16 - 00:27:04:16
on social media in some way.

00:27:04:16 - 00:27:05:10
And I don't even think

00:27:05:10 - 00:27:06:05
that Facebook's really

00:27:06:05 - 00:27:07:11
that platform for students.

00:27:07:11 - 00:27:08:09
It's more for adults

00:27:08:09 - 00:27:09:03
at this at,

00:27:09:03 - 00:27:10:04
you know, Facebook's

00:27:10:04 - 00:27:12:03
more of an adult thing.

00:27:12:03 - 00:27:14:00
And so just find that avenue

00:27:14:00 - 00:27:14:22
that you can,

00:27:14:22 - 00:27:15:24
get started

00:27:15:24 - 00:27:16:17
with and connect them

00:27:16:17 - 00:27:17:16
together, connect your

00:27:17:16 - 00:27:18:08
link, your,

00:27:18:08 - 00:27:18:22
you know, your

00:27:18:22 - 00:27:19:16
platforms together

00:27:19:16 - 00:27:20:11
so it's easier for you

00:27:20:11 - 00:27:21:17
to post multiple things.

00:27:21:17 - 00:27:23:03
You got this.

00:27:23:03 - 00:27:24:04
The church needs you.

00:27:24:04 - 00:27:24:19
You know.

00:27:24:19 - 00:27:25:08
Yeah

00:27:25:08 - 00:27:26:05
Love it

00:27:26:05 - 00:27:27:08
Love it, well hey

00:27:27:08 - 00:27:29:04
thanks for being on this morning

00:27:29:04 - 00:27:30:08
Thanks for getting up early

00:27:30:08 - 00:27:30:12
Yeah.

00:27:30:12 - 00:27:31:03
I mean, I.

00:27:31:03 - 00:27:34:06
And uh- and yeah

00:27:34:06 - 00:27:34:21
Love you, brother.

00:27:34:21 - 00:27:36:07
Hey, we'll stay in touch.

00:27:36:07 - 00:27:37:19
You too!

00:27:37:19 - 00:27:40:12
Hey! Stay Hybrid!

Episode 108: David Carpenter on Social Media for Youth Ministry

Nick Clason — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 04:00:00 -0500

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======================================
DESCRIPTION
Church Youth Pastor, David Carpenter, shares how he teaches the Bible to his teenagers and lays out his complete digital process.

The amazing thing about David's strategy is that it not only looks great online, but it's incredibly cost effective.

David is a digital discipleship genius, listen in!

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/108

//YOUTH PASTOR FACEBOOK GROUPS
https://www.facebook.com/groups/493666560814931
https://www.facebook.com/groups/youthpastorsonly

//DAVID'S CANNON M-100
(This link does create a small commission for our channel)
https://walmrt.us/3W0Fu4g

//FAST & AFFORDABLE GRAPHIC DESIGN
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaIdZ-RLm5uVVlHj46FKrMYw

//HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
Do it all on your phone!
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//DAVID'S CANNON 70D
(This link does create a small commission for our channel)
Camera: https://walmrt.us/3xGoMiN
Lens: https://walmrt.us/3LkIZxu

//NICK'S LINKTR.EE
https://linktr.ee/clasonnick

//BRADY SHEARER - PRO CHURCH TOOLS
https://prochurchtools.com/

//DAVID ON SOCIAL
[CHURCH ACCOUNTS]
https://www.youtube.com/@Harrodsburg.Students
https://www.instagram.com/harrodsburg.students/
https://www.tiktok.com/@harrodsburg.students
[PERSONAL ACCOUNTS]
https://www.facebook.com/dlcarpen140
https://www.instagram.com/davidleecarpenter/

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
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BEST DYM RESOURCES
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OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

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AUTO POD
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TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Who is David Carpenter?
02:59 What is your current youth ministry social media?
07:16 What exactly do you do?
14:19 Digital Discipleship for Cheap
16:48 The Easiest Content for Youth Pastors to Create
20:34 Don't Be Afraid!

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00:00:01:02 - 00:00:25:04
Nick Clason
What's going on, everybody? Hey, I got another interview style episode for you today. This time it is with David Carpenter. He's a youth pastor in Kentucky, and I came across David through social media, I think, in like a youth pastor, only or doing type style Facebook group. He was talking and answering a question about social media. And so his answer intrigued me.

00:00:25:04 - 00:00:45:21
David Carpenter
I clicked on his profile and I saw that David is very much leaning into a digital and hybrid ministry experience in his church and in his ministry. So I reached out and I scheduled an interview. And so, without any further ado, I have the exclusive David Carpenter interview for you to check out here on the Hybrid Ministry episode.

00:00:45:21 - 00:01:08:00
David Carpenter
If you find this helpful in any way, I would love it if you would subscribe, like, and share it with a friend, but without any further ado, check this interview out between myself and David Carpenter. I'm here with David. David, what is up, man? How are you doing this morning?

00:01:08:00 - 00:01:26:11
David Carpenter
I'm doing great. I am recovering. We're in the middle of a VBS week right now as we're recording this.
So some of I'm sure if some of you all know how that goes and, we're, you know, kind of making it through, but it's it's a good time and it's a good week. So now we're doing it. VBS at night, church or VBS in the morning. Church. Yeah, we're VBS at night. okay. And I'm, I'm crazy youth pastor David.

00:01:26:11 - 00:01:38:16
David Carpenter
So I, you know, get stuck up on the stage and then do crazy dances and jump around and, and the like. So that's kind of the kind of the rhythm, at least once a week in the summer, that, that we're in. But yeah, it's a good time.

00:01:38:11 - 00:01:45:16
Nick Clason
Yeah. We've all been there. We've all been. Yeah, we've all been there, just, you know, part as part of the gigs.
How goes. So, Well, that's awesome. I'm excited that you guys are having a good week. I hope that you're getting, at least some sleep. And I hope that your coffee this morning is strong so that you can recover. Well, it is VBS know, but I, I came across David, I think, in like a DYM or youth pastor's only or something like that Facebook group.
and someone had asked some sort of question about social media or something, and, you replied, I have no idea what you said, but I started creeping on you and your profile, and I just saw a lot of different, like, videos and like shorts and reels and stuff like that. and it was more than I was used to for, I guess I would say like the average or like or standard youth ministry, social media that I saw.
And so because of that caught my attention. and so I followed you and or became friends with you or something on Facebook. reached out to you and, and chatted a little bit. But I'm excited to have you on here today, because I'd love to know, you know, what is like your as it stands today, in your student ministry at your church.
Like what is your current sort of like social media or digital presence? What does it what does it look like? What do you what do you aim in for? And how's all that going?

00:02:51:04 - 00:03:16:19
David Carpenter
Yeah. well, I appreciate you asking and obviously honored to to be here. And we connected on, on that, question. And, you know, I started doing social media stuff when I was probably shoot 14 or 15.

00:03:16:21 - 00:03:46:04
David Carpenter
my dad was a pastor. And obviously, I'm sure lots of pastors kids out there know you get roped into doing things. And he was kind of an early innovator and had started doing a weekly YouTube show for our church. This was probably back in 2012, 2013, and I wanted to increase the views on it. So I created a Facebook page for it and kind of started to put together a logo for it and, and try to find ways to increase its, viewership and things like that.

00:03:46:04 - 00:04:15:09
David Carpenter
And kind of got my feet wet doing, you know, video editing and social media stuff at that point. But, instead of ministry, you know, we are looking at social media as an opportunity to disciple our students, but also as a, an outward opportunity to disciple, you know, literally people across the world, and, you know, practically that looks like a couple different things.

00:04:15:11 - 00:05:00:16
David Carpenter
platforms we use, we use, YouTube. We put our regular, weekly ministry teachings on podcast form. we use TikTok and we use Instagram, which is connected to a Facebook account. Our students don't engage there much, but, we, we share some of that stuff because I think it helps to keep parents connected, but, kind of a shift in the mindset going into it for us is, is that opportunity for discipleship that, you know, we are producing teachings and content that, man, it it's kind of already done and we have the opportunity to capture it and record it and then redisplay it, to potentially an audience that

00:05:00:16 - 00:05:21:21
David Carpenter
was missing on a Wednesday night or an audience that may, may never be able to come to our church. and so, you know, kind of, for you, probably about a year ago, we, we started thinking about ways for our church and our student ministry to really maximize, digital, you know, opportunities to reach people and, and disciple people.

00:05:21:23 - 00:05:41:03
David Carpenter
And over the last year, we've been kind of rolling that out and stepping into that over time. because we want to make sure that we can do it in sustainable and continuous ways. But, yeah, it's it's really just it's it's an opportunity for discipleship and for us to tell the story of our church, for us to tell the story of our state of ministry.

00:05:41:05 - 00:06:06:18
David Carpenter
people love stories. And, when, when we have the opportunity to share the stories of what Jesus is doing in the lives of our students or, or just even ways that our students are connecting and and enjoying their teenage years in a healthy Christian community. we feel like that's a win.

00:06:06:18 - 00:06:32:09
Nick Clason
So, yeah, no doubt, the most recent episodes, that I had, I had are like, year long resident on here.
And it was interesting because he mentioned the value that like, our social media sort of like presents and, and just philosophy and strategy, the value that it brought to like our attendance and our students are actually like in the room. Right. Because a lot of times, a lot of times I think it's like, we view it as like a replacement for the kids that were not at church or, for the kids that aren't even there yet.

00:06:32:09 - 00:06:57:17
Nick Clason
But he was like, no, it I thought it enhanced like the experience for the kids are already there, which was like an interesting like I'd seen it too, but I hadn't like, I hadn't come to that sort of like conclusion, like he had. So I because I do think the argument a lot of times that I feel like either we face as youth pastors or even just like me with this podcast, it's just that there's not enough time, and we need to focus on the kids that we have.

00:06:57:19 - 00:07:16:08
Nick Clason
And so to hear you say like, this is not this is an opportunity. This is a way for us to lean in with the kids that we have like that I agree with I would agree with that. And so get like get specific here, like help, help us out, help people out. Like what exactly do you do? Like what camera do you use?

00:07:16:08 - 00:07:38:00
Nick Clason
What like software are you using to edit. Like what's your because you're a real youth pastor with a real job, with real responsibilities, with real messages to write and programs to create, like, how are you, involving digital media into that? And like, what's your workflow with all that? Because it feels like it would probably be a steep learning curve or just a lot of extra work.
And maybe it is, but like, what are you doing? What's helping you out? What's what are some shortcuts? Maybe that might be out there.

00:07:38:00 - 00:07:55:02
David CarpenterYeah. Well, first, I think what you said is completely true, that it's it is an outward facing thing, but also one, I think sometimes where we as preachers assume that people come and listen to us.

00:07:55:03 - 00:08:27:07
David Carpenter
I speak to our students on Wednesday nights for about 18 to 22 minutes. Sunday morning there's a, you know, 28 to 32 minutes. And we think they probably remember everything we said, right. Like they they wrote the notes. They've got it in. They've already applied every one of these points. You know, it was all iterated. And I remember my great illustration and one, you know, when, when we're including things that are reflecting on the teachings, I think that reinforces and reminds those who were in the room and also, things like we did a post on our social that did really well a few months ago of, yeah, a picture of a student taking notes,

00:08:27:09 - 00:08:44:03
David Carpenter
and the post was all overlaid on the photo of the student was the notes from Wednesday night, some of the notes that we'd given them, and then in the caption was information. What? Why do we encourage students to take notes? Why do we give out handouts and and give an opportunity to teach culture in in those moments? So it definitely is for the kids in the room too.

00:08:44:03 - 00:09:06:21
David Carpenter
But yeah, practically speaking, we, from, September, August to May, we regularly gather for student nights. Our church takes the month of June off, and then we come back in July with some different programing on Monday nights. But for those student nights, we capture those, I capture those from our soundboard straight into GarageBand. It's nothing fancy.

00:09:06:21 - 00:09:27:24
David Carpenter
I think if you listen to podcasts, you're probably smart enough to go get a it's a I think it was an $8 adapter that is a board out to a usb-C in. And I just record the audio of the speaking. and we do podcast for the reason of one number one demographic for podcast listeners is like 12 to 22.

00:09:28:01 - 00:09:43:13
David Carpenter
I heard somewhere. And so our students and student aged people are listening to podcast. And also I use those as a resource for our parents always encourage our our parents to stay connected. If you listen to the podcast as a parent, hey, you can listen to what your student is learning and stay engaged and connected to our students in that way.

00:09:43:17 - 00:10:03:11
David Carpenter
So we have audio in that way. And then we as a message is beginning. Our church is not a very big church. We're in a more rural area. We're about an hour, 45 minutes an hour south of Lexington, Kentucky. and so we have a canon in 100, which is not a super nice camera. it's an outdated model.

00:10:03:11 - 00:10:27:06
David Carpenter
I think the 200 came out a couple of years ago. So this is a post post, you know, model camera. and we set it on a tripod high enough that it's pretty well over the students head, and we record those and, get a long form video of the message. and that goes on YouTube and that, that again, the primary purpose of that is for our parents to have a way to connect.

00:10:27:08 - 00:10:47:19
David Carpenter
I don't have any visions of, of those, you know, going viral or making me famous. it's, you know, those are we're getting 2 to 6, eight views on those videos. but, you know, it's it's so that we have a digital record of it. And then, those get split into my goal is always two short form clips that go on TikTok and Instagram.

00:10:47:19 - 00:11:10:15
David Carpenter
And if you can get them short enough YouTube shorts a week. as a way to reiterate, I reiterate, there's a word in there somewhere. I probably reiterate. There you go. That's the one. our teachings on Wednesday night, to connect back with those students and obviously to disciple people who, you know, they may be near to you, but are far from out or need encouragement in their faith.

00:11:10:17 - 00:11:32:20
David Carpenter
so that's pretty practical. I use Premiere Pro. I've always used Adobe products. it's but the what we do, I mean, you I feel you could get a YouTube video, of your teachings. You could use a phone and a, digital recorded mic, like a, phone in usb-C mic, especially if you've got a light, you know, new model phone.

00:11:32:22 - 00:11:53:09
David Carpenter
if you're not in a large space, this as your space gets larger, it's the lens being able to zoom in on the space that you're in. But it's not fancy technology. the church has invested $10 in an an adapter to record the audio, and now we just, we got better quality from the board straight into to a laptop.

00:11:53:10 - 00:12:16:05
David Carpenter
So, I mean, so that's that's kind of the we build out from there because, we can stay consistent with that, especially through the school year. the other things we're doing is, we show up with a camera to everything we do. I use a canon, I'm sitting here looking at it. I think it's a. Let me look, let me tell you, for I like to.

00:12:16:07 - 00:12:36:00
David Carpenter
It's a 70 day. I couldn't reference a 7080 or an 80, but with a 70 to 200 lens. I'm not a photographer. about two and a half years ago, I started taking pictures. And I've gotten better over time. You can put that thing in auto, and if you take enough pictures, you can get a couple good ones.

00:12:36:04 - 00:12:52:17
David Carpenter
Some. Some will look good, right? Yes. Exactly right. If you can get a couple good ones in focus, and we have leaders now that, you know, of course, like when I'm, when I'm speaking or on stage playing a game or something, I can't get those pictures. I tell them, hey, just this is how you focus it and do your best.

00:12:52:17 - 00:13:11:01
David Carpenter
And they always, you know, I've got multiple leaders who can come out with a couple good pictures. Those are great to have for your YouTube thumbnails and Instagram Reels covers. And then also just having a photo library, is helpful for for to stay consistent. That's one of the most important things I feel like with social and success in is consistency.

00:13:11:01 - 00:13:34:23
David Carpenter
And I think for people like us who work, you know, a full time job as a student, pastor, youth pastor, that's probably the greatest challenge. So building rhythms into your regular weekly life to prioritize social is important. And I think that's kind of what you are in doing what you're doing, trying to encourage people towards. And something I would definitely Amen.

00:13:34:23 - 00:14:00:06
David Carpenter
Yes and amen with what you're doing to say, hey, we are busy, but the five ten hours a week that it takes to, you know, record and and put a message on YouTube, cut it up into some clips, maybe find another way to to post on social once another week, once. Once a week. Twice. Like it's worth it because you are connecting to your kids where they already are.

00:14:00:06 - 00:14:20:17
David Carpenter
And it's an incredible mission field. It's an incredible opportunity. And, and I think it it's one of those things where sometimes we think, well, if I had time, I would, but it's like, no, this is something we need to make time for. Digital discipleship, should should be a priority, especially, for people reaching, you know, Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

00:14:20:19 - 00:14:40:05
Nick Clason
Yeah. Dude. I mean, I couldn't agree with you more. You said, like, so many things in there that, like, I like I feel like I've been saying, you know, so, like, the first thing of which is, like, you spent $10 to get better audio. And so because one of my arguments that I feel like a lot of youth pastors have is like, we're not the main room, we're not the main auditorium.

00:14:40:05 - 00:14:56:02
Nick Clason
So we don't have like the live stream gear. We don't have all that type of stuff. And like, you know, you just made the case, like, you don't have to have all that. Like, you can just put a camera up in the back of the room, like one of the strategies that we recommend, here on this podcast is like just sitting down like pre filming your messages.

00:14:56:02 - 00:15:25:05
Nick Clason
But if you don't even have the time to do that, like you can do it, David did. And just put a camera in the back of the room, capture your audio. And that's even one less like step of extra work, you know, and like you were saying, and it's interesting when you talk about like, having a digital library, like, that's a fantastic resource for down the road, because you might be counseling a kid, or kid might come to you with a particular issue and you're like, I've actually like studied that in Scripture.

00:15:25:05 - 00:15:45:09
Nick Clason
And like, I have that information and I've packaged it in like a sermon. It just was like two months ago. But like you have the YouTube link, let me send that to you. Because maybe they weren't there, maybe they weren't coming to your church yet, or maybe they whatever the reason, right, that were to your point, they just don't remember it because our teachings aren't as valuable as we hope and think that they they would be.

00:15:45:09 - 00:16:09:17
Nick Clason
And there's so there's really is so much like I agree, so much value in creating like a digital, a digital library far beyond what we can possibly think or imagine. I think. And you, if you start now, that begins to build and compound on itself, you know. So if let's say you're hearing this in the middle of this summer and this year, you're like, I'm going to start capturing my messages and posting them on YouTube.

00:16:09:19 - 00:16:27:19
Nick Clason
By the end of the school year, you have a full year library worth of content. So like David said, just you gotta find the time like it's it's we it's no longer an option anymore. I don't think I think you can keep doing it and you probably won't get fired, right. You can keep living life in your very like analog youth pastor way.

00:16:27:23 - 00:16:50:05
Nick Clason
And with all the irons in the fire like that is a way to keep doing the job. But I think we yeah, as youth pastors, can be more effective if we choose to invest in, engage and lean into what this digital space has to offer. For sure. David. What? if anything, is there anything that you're like, I would love it if we could get to this spot.

00:16:50:07 - 00:17:10:15
Nick Clason
Like, these are some of your, like, goals or dreams for your digital stuff, but your youth pastor and you haven't, you know, but legs all the way under it yet or, you know, it's it's a down the road sort of project that you'd like to see. Certainly. you know, obviously you want to continue to work to upgrade the quality of the, the content you're putting out.

00:17:10:17 - 00:17:35:00
David Carpenter
I would love to, lean into, more conversation, type content for YouTube and podcasts and even, you know, using those on social. We did a series, in the month of February. we call it All My Friends. And we sat and took three weeks. I interviewed, a couple different people, two of them. One week it was two of our students, two of our graduating seniors.

00:17:35:00 - 00:18:09:22
David Carpenter
And those videos are our best videos on YouTube. bar none, you know, and did so well. And and it's, you know, it's telling those stories. Yeah. I think people really like that. So content like that and, and more, student driven content, I think is the place we're going. And for your busy youth pastor, man, lean into, you know, your students, your students, our content creators, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are born into a world where they are all create content.

00:18:09:24 - 00:18:31:24
David Carpenter
I mean, go watch a seven year old kid. I go to the gym and my the my gym owner, his daughter, I think she's 7 or 8 and she walks around the gym with a digital camera and makes pictures and videos and, and edits and stories of, you know, her and all her, you know, people at the gym.

00:18:32:01 - 00:18:55:17
David Carpenter
They are all doing it. Yeah. Ask them, lean into them. And that's kind of a space that I would want to grow in. Is is including and and using our students, in that ministry, as, as a way to include them in the discipleship process online and also to, to tell their stories.

00:18:55:17 - 00:19:16:17
Nick Clason
And that's so good. And, you know, you use Premiere Pro, I use Premiere Pro.
So, like, you might hear a couple of guys on this podcast be like, man, it's like, I don't know that I'll have access to it. Like everything now is so accessible. Like I did a whole week's worth of daily recap videos off of my cell phone with cap cut a year ago. And like Canva, you know you can use Canva Pro and do tons of stuff on there.

00:19:16:17 - 00:19:34:24
Nick Clason
And because you're nonprofit, if you're church, it's free. You know, Canva, Canva for, nonprofits is completely free, but they'll give you like the pro, the pro version of it. And so like, you don't have to have all of these, like, higher level skills that you used to have to have, like the barrier to entry into this stuff is is so much lower.

00:19:34:24 - 00:19:53:11
Nick Clason
And you're so right. Like, our students absolutely eat this stuff up and probably want us to just get out of the way and let them do it anyway. So we should just we figure that out. All we gotta do is put a little infrastructure around it. Form.

00:19:53:11 - 00:20:18:13
David Carpenter
Yeah. I mean, what better thing could we do than like, really as student pastors?
What what better, greater opportunity we have then to empower students to step into ministry and to see their life as ministry? They're on social. They they're just like, we we want to encourage them to see their high school basketball team as a ministry. So we would we should do encourage them to see their digital life as a ministry.
Right. It's it's not that we put it in a compartment but that all of that we all of the things we do, our ministry and opportunities to share Jesus and and what better thing could we do than to teach our students that and to include them in that, that

00:20:18:15 - 00:20:55:23
Nick Clason
you're you're so right on that. Well, David, any other sort of like thoughts or words of encouragement that you would have, like, you have opportunity here to like, talk to some other youth pastors, people in church ministry like, you know, what what would you as you look out across the landscape of youth ministry and probably, if you're like me, the lack of digital integration that is existing like what? What would be your like final words or just, you know, final encouragement pieces to to other youth pastors?

00:20:55:23 - 00:21:20:05
David Carpenter
Yeah. You know, I was, I'm a great resource for, for anybody listening. of course, you know, these resources here. I looked at your Linktree the other day, and, I mean, gosh, some incredible resources you've got for for student pastors on there, for a digital resource.

00:21:20:05 - 00:21:45:20
David Carpenter
And also, I would encourage people to look into pro church tools. Brady here, I listened to his podcast every week. And and he is giving out, I mean, just free stuff. he did a, a poll on his Instagram, a couple months ago and asked, you know, these are church creatives. These are people like you and me who value church using digital, you know, marketing and digital opportunities to reach people.

00:21:45:20 - 00:22:18:05
David Carpenter
Jesus. And he asked those churches how many of them their church has a TikTok page. And of those people, 10% said yes. and I you know, you mentioned that group on Facebook of youth pastors only. and I think every time I see someone and it may have been even in that post that we connected on ask about TikTok, I see so many comments of, well, TikTok is just, you know, naked people or dancing people or, or or music that we wouldn't want our students to listen to or whatever.

00:22:18:07 - 00:22:56:23
David Carpenter
And, you know, my courage would be, don't be afraid to step into new things. as in terms of digital, you know, digital outreach, as a student pastor, as a student ministry. you know, when I came to, to this church, our, our ministry was very young, lots of middle schoolers, fewer high schoolers. And with that, fewer of our students had social media, like, a lot of our consistent students weren't on Instagram, they weren't on TikTok.

00:22:57:00 - 00:23:25:12
David Carpenter
And I think sometimes we could think, well, our students aren't even there. Why would I even invest into that? The one there's students in your community who are there, and two, you know, we're we're not affirming everything on something by putting our presence there. There's bad stuff everywhere. You know, our kids grow up and go to college.

00:23:25:14 - 00:23:42:08
David Carpenter
And guess what? I tell our kids all the time, hey, when you go to college, if you want to get into something, you can find it there, right? Your parents can only protect you for so long. And that's true in a lot of digital spaces. If you want to find, sinful things in on the internet, it's not really hard to do.

00:23:42:09 - 00:24:03:22
David Carpenter
All right? We're all mature and old enough to know that that's true. So our choice is either to be afraid and hide and say, well, if I'm not there, I'm not encouraging anybody to go there. Or we can say, hey, there's lost people there. There's people that are far from God there. And I mean, shoot, the way that TikTok's algorithm prioritizes locality.

00:24:03:24 - 00:24:27:24
David Carpenter
There are people in your community, students in your community who are there. And even if you would not encourage your students to go create an account, there, you can still go reach people there. And we have the greatest message that's ever been told. And we have the greatest means to take that message to the whole world. Why would we be afraid?

00:24:28:01 - 00:24:49:00
David Carpenter
And that would be my encouragement. Man is, hey, don't be afraid, try stuff. And guess what? I made a post. shoot. It was on our I was actually on our church page and it did did well on Instagram and did well on YouTube shorts and flopped on TikTok. I mean, like seven views, like horrible, awful. and guess what?

00:24:49:02 - 00:25:27:04
David Carpenter
The sun still came up the next day and not everything's going to work. But don't be afraid. Step into digital spaces because there is an incredible opportunity to minister to students and reach students in those spaces. And so I would just encourage you, don't be afraid. Yes, we have discernment from the Holy Spirit. Yes, there is wisdom. And no, we don't have to say yes to everything, but be wise and be willing to step out and trust that God can take your, a message that that someone is listening is is teaching maybe to a room of of 15 students.

00:25:27:06 - 00:25:44:06
David Carpenter
And there's something you could say in that, or a guest could say in that, or one of your students could encourage somebody with and millions of people could be encouraged with the love of Jesus. And I mean, what, what kind of incredible opportunity is that? And why would we not lean into that in any way we could? you're so right.

00:25:44:06 - 00:26:12:16
Nick Clason
And, you know, TikTok was just the new one, but everyone else has figured out how to compete with them. Now. So Facebook, Instagram have reels and YouTube shorts. And so if you're like, well, my kids aren't on TikTok, well, if they're on Instagram, you can still make the exact same type of content. If they're on YouTube, you can like my I, I crack up because like my hours, I have parents who are like, my kids aren't on TikTok, but they're on YouTube more like they're on than they're watching the same same things, same stuff.

00:26:12:20 - 00:26:32:04
Nick Clason
You haven't done anything. They're just on YouTube now. So, yeah. you know, it's it's all that's the thing. Like I work at what I say is one of the most conservative churches, and so we have just as much parents or whatever who might be a little freaked out by some of these things. And, but YouTube seems to be like the safe one.

00:26:32:08 - 00:26:50:05
Nick Clason
You know, I'm like, well, on YouTube and, like, oh, yeah, that's fine. Like, because parents watch YouTube and you can watch it on your TV in your house because there's like an app for it on your all your smart TVs and stuff like that. And so like our executive pastor, his daughter, she's not social media but do watch all of our like YouTube stuff on their TV in their house.

00:26:50:05 - 00:27:11:09
Nick Clason
Like even the silly stuff that we do. Even like the little shorts in the games and stuff that we do on there. And so it's like you said, it lean into it because if that's where our students are, I think there's a stat from Pew. Like 95% of teenagers say that they will use YouTube. So if that's where they are, like, you're right, why would we not be there to get there?

00:27:11:11 - 00:27:28:09
Nick Clason
So get there. Well, man, I appreciate your time. David, where would be like, if people want to see all this stuff, I'll drop some of these things in the show notes. Like, how can they get Ahold of you? How can they, check out what you're doing on your churches and youth ministry, social media? let us know where where they can find you.

00:27:28:11 - 00:27:47:20
David Carpenter
Yeah. Our, our church is, everywhere. It's it's Harrodsburg dot church. So our seed ministry is Harrodsburg dot students. That's YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook. You should be able to get to there. my Facebook and Instagram, our David Lee Carpenter. There's a lot of David Carpenters out there, so I put my middle name in there. You should be able to find me. and if I can help or encourage anybody along the way, I would love to do that. I'm thankful for you to to let me. Come on. And I hope it helps somebody bless somebody today.

00:27:47:22 - 00:28:44:24
Nick Clason
Absolutely. Hey, thanks for being on. Appreciate your time today. And we'll talk next time.

Episode 107: A Gen-Zer's Take on Hybrid Ministry

Nick Clason — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 04:00:00 -0500

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======================================
DESCRIPTION
In this video, a Gen-Zer shares their perspective on the future of ministry, specifically focusing on the concept of hybrid ministry. Exploring how technology and traditional practices can blend to create a more inclusive and engaging worship experience, this insightful discussion provides a fresh take on how ministries can adapt to meet the needs of the digital age. If you're curious about how the younger generation views the evolution of ministry, this video is a must-watch!

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/107

//STOP POSTING ANNOUNCEMENTS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slB0Rmf_X0c&t=20s

[THE PARKVIEW ONE]
//HOW IT ALL STARTED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0L-Dxhs7cI&t=232s

======================================

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BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 A Gen Zer's Take on Hybrid Ministry
01:30 What was your first impression of Hybrid Ministry?
03:01 Did it ever feel like we were trying too hard?
03:52 What has been your relationship with digital?
06:04 What did you think of all this hybrid?
07:08 After all this: Summarize your opinion
09:50 How Digital enhances in-person
12:56 What are the challenges of a Hybrid Space?
14:38 Does Editing Really Matter?
18:54 The Most Surprising Thing from the last year
20:42 The Final Word
--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT

00;00;00;00 - 00;00;23;54
Nick Clason
Hey, what is up, everybody? Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. This is a fun, actually interview episode. So for those of you who have been watching following along over the last year or so, I've mentioned my resident, his name is Caleb. now a nickname. Call him flywheel. because he was in his residence, group Learning project, and he needed to read, from good to great.

00;00;23;54 - 00;00;42;15
Nick Clason
And he knew to read the flywheel chapter. And so I called him flywheel. and he now calls me Thunder Dog because I'm a Oklahoma City Thunder fan. but anyway, he's been with us for a year now, and I actually, I wanted to get his take, today, we actually said goodbye to him. we had, like, a breakfast at our house with him, my family.

00;00;42;20 - 00;00;56;20
Nick Clason
and so he's heading back home, but I want to get his take on what it was like, to work in a hybrid ministry environment. Like, you know, as a resident, you really get a lot of choices on that. And so, since he didn't get a lot of choices, I want to be like, hey, what do you think?

00;00;56;32 - 00;01;16;03
Nick Clason
What are you going to keep? What are you going to get go away from? and so I'm excited to have you kind of sit in on this interview, just conversation informal, him and I and just kind of his experience in this sort of hybrid space. So. Hope you enjoy. if this is helpful to you or anyone else that you might think, give it a like, give it a share.

00;01;16;18 - 00;01;21;23
Nick Clason
give it a subscribe. All those things are incredibly helpful to us. So without any further ado, the exclusive

00;01;21;23 - 00;01;24;25
Nick Clason
one and only Flywheel Caleb Maeda interview.

00;01;26;03 - 00;01;48;33
Nick Clason
Well, I'm here with Flywheel Maeda.

Caleb Maeda
Hey.

so I don't know, like, I don't know. You came into my world, and I told you that hybrid ministry, digital ministry, all that stuff mattered. so. So take us back.

00;01;48;35 - 00;01;53;40
Nick Clason
Take me back to when you, like, started with me at, like back in Chicago. Yeah. Well,

00;01;53;40 - 00;01;57;55
Caleb Maeda
yeah. So back in Chicago is like my first church job. Like in general.

00;01;58;50 - 00;02;11;09
Caleb Maeda
so I wasn't really sure how anything worked. So I think that really started, like, my mind set on, like, hybrid ministry because, like, I didn't have any previous, like, things I was holding on to, like, I had. youth group that I grew up in, but it was pretty different. And also coming out of like the pandemic. yeah. Like it like made sense. And then when I saw it working and like I saw because like the model that you guys used with like the connect groups that like, met in the homes and then watched it and like, interact with it. I thought that was like super cool. And so then also getting to like work on that show and like helped produce a little bit and like run some of this stuff like I like immediately saw the value and also like, like just being a younger person. Like I grew up watching YouTube like like the people that I like, loved growing up or like YouTubers and so like the value of that platform with this generation. I think I also kind of related to and so like from the get go, I was kind of brought in, I was like, yeah, this is legit, I agree. I mean.

00;02;58;06 - 00;03;03;59
Nick Clason
Did you ever, did you ever feel like, oh, these guys are trying to be YouTubers and they're old?

00;03;08;22 - 00;03;23;42
Caleb Maeda
No, because I think at the time it was honestly like the stuff that I was working on at Parkview is like the search for Chuck the duck that summer. And so, like, it was not stupid enough, but it was it was stupid enough that it was like these guys, like, they're clearly not doing this for clout. Like, I don't know any 30 year old man who's like, you know, it'd be really cool searching for a fake rubber duck for an entire summer, you know? And so I never I never got that kind of vibe just because of the nature of what we were doing.

00;03;35;15 - 00;03;42;54
Nick Clason
Yeah. Okay, so then you, after your time with us in Chicago, you go and you work at your home church for a little bit, right? And just interning? Yeah, mostly in the arena of worship.

00;03;50;12 - 00;04;05;10
Caleb Maeda
No, I was is youth for the first school year, and then it was worship the second school year. What was their relationship with digital social media hybrid? I mean, so they're they're your typical like evangelical covenant, like multi-site church. So they're like they're with it, but they're not sure

00;04;05;19 - 00;04;24;37
Nick Clason
I wonder how many evangelical covenant multi-site churches or like you say, typical.

00;04;24;12 - 00;04;38;10
Caleb Maeda
I actually don't know. It's a thing in Minnesota, I guess, from where I grew up. But, so they do have a value of social media, but they're not quite as consistent like they don't have, I don't think. And granted, when I was there, their social media platform was we didn't have students over Christmas break. So like, let's make something fun. And like that was it other than like announcements for events and stuff. Yeah. And now these days it's a little bit more like, you know, the trends where like, you see a guy, like, fall off a stretcher and then it's someone rolling and say, like, you should get to like, you know, those classes.

00;04;38;13 - 00;04;54;21
Nick Clason
I think you need only do some of this.

00;04;38;13 - 00;04;54;21
Caleb Maeda
I saw one the other day. We should do. but so like, they've started doing some more of that stuff in the past year or so. And so I think it's, it's done an uptick, but it's not as fleshed out as, like what we're doing here of like two posts a day, you know, that kind of, yeah.

00;04;54;26 - 00;05;18;11
Caleb Maeda
And they don't like a good day. Yeah. And they don't they don't do, like, fun content, like drafts or like things like that. The students other than, like pictures for, like recaps of events and stuff, they're not super on the pages. It's mostly like announcement based stuff. Yeah, yeah. Which like is a is a pretty like standard operating procedure for like churches and social media.

00;05;18;12 - 00;05;24;09
Nick Clason
Yeah. have a whole video linked right here about, you should also be posting announcements.

00;05;24;09 - 00;05;33;40
Caleb Maeda
You Should link to Parkview one to like, I only saw one at a time.

00;05;24;09 - 00;05;33;40
Nick Clason
I can only do one. We have it. We did it. We did.

00;05;33;40 - 00;05;36;36
Caleb Maeda
Really? Yeah. I didn't know that.

00;05;33;40 - 00;05;36;36
Nick Clason
I know you didn't. That's why you link to, like, three times in your last teaching video.

00;05;36;40 - 00;05;51;29
Nick Clason
Don't worry about this link to it here. This link I thought you could. You get one. You get one card per video. There you go. I didn't know that YouTube. I didn't know that one. I'm getting exposed right now. I thought I'd never mind. It's like we can talk about that later, but, Okay, so then

00;05;51;29 - 00;05;55;43
Nick Clason
then you come here and we are.

00;05;55;47 - 00;05;57;55
Nick Clason
What we're doing is very different.

00;05;57;55 - 00;06;09;14
Nick Clason
the Parkview one, by the way. I'll link it down in the description. You can watch it. It's like the 100th episode. 100th episode. How it all started. It's pretty pog. Yeah, I think it was a good one. It was a good one. but anyway,

00;06;09;14 - 00;06;12;23
Nick Clason
you come down here and it's different.

00;06;12;28 - 00;06;26;51
Nick Clason
Put it, put aside your people pleasing nature. Like, just give me the raw, unfiltered, like, what do you think?

00;06;26;51 - 00;06;48;29
Caleb Maeda
I mean, again, like, I, I agreed with what we were doing because I think of my experience at Parkview. I think for me, once we started doing or like trying to make students on the page more of a priority, that was kind of the shift that I was more on board with just because like, yeah, like the the one I struggled with the most were those like the no, it or not dancing TikToks that we did, I freaking I like I'm not a dancer, so I hated them, but like, I hated them cause I

00;06;48;29 - 00;07;14;43
Nick Clason
was not a dancer. Not for like strategy reasons. but once we started getting students on the page, I think that was where I started feeling like, yeah, we're doing something that, like, is cool. so yeah, yeah, that was kind of my first. So, you are heading, like off on your own at some point. At some point we don't know what's next.

00;07;14;48 - 00;07;37;26
Nick Clason
Yeah. But like, what are your thoughts on, like. All right, I'm about to be my own youth pastor, and I just did a, summer internship and then a full year long residency, with, church and youth pastors who are fully bought into, like, digital, like. Yeah. First of all, summarize your opinion

00;07;37;26 - 00;07;40;47
Nick Clason
like, you just you gave a lot of different like examples of like summarize like, yeah.

00;07;40;51 - 00;07;44;10
Nick Clason
Do you think it's like worth it valuable.

00;07;44;10 - 00;07;50;41
Nick Clason
And then like how would you yeah. How would you tell people like here's how it's working on

00;07;50;41 - 00;07;57;25
Nick Clason
like the inside of it because like, you know, if anyone follows me or listen to my stuff like they hear me reference it, talk about what we do.

00;07;57;25 - 00;08;00;45
Nick Clason
But like, you got to see, like, firsthand and like, just be honest.

00;08;00;45 - 00;08;05;52
Nick Clason
Like, are you like, I don't know, I don't know if it's working or not. Yeah. I mean, I think, I think the

00;08;05;52 - 00;08;25;31
Caleb Maeda
things that have been working the most has been getting students involved on the page, not even in terms of like on the page traction as much as like in person traction, because I think I think like with the social challenge that we did with the Hot Wings thing that we did like, it was a lot of kids saying like, hey, how can I be on screen?

00;08;25;41 - 00;08;38;03
Caleb Maeda
You know, this is what it was. It was how can I what can I do? Yeah. And like, well, that shouldn't be your only motivation to like, do these things. I think it lended itself great to increasing like the desire to like, serve

00;08;38;03 - 00;08;56;03
Caleb Maeda
or like well and like there, like you said, like what's normal to them. Yeah. Like and the option to like be on social media or be on YouTube is like a little bit, well, because like, I remember growing up and like seeing all my favorite YouTubers and thinking like, man, I wish I could do that, but I don't know how to do this.

00;08;56;03 - 00;09;24;01
Caleb Maeda
I don't know how to do this. And so I think it's a really great way for students to even live that little piece of them who, like, they don't know how to set up a studio. They don't know what lights are. Yeah, I don't know what that is. that's Jake. Yeah it is. Jake. Shout out to Jake I love you, but, like they it's it's an experience for them to get to like, live that out a little bit and then also do it in like a safe context where like, it's like, I don't know, it's safe for the family content.

00;09;24;01 - 00;09;39;47
Caleb Maeda
Like I think also just like the opportunity, the whole family. Yeah. It is like the opportunity to just like replace one video, I think in a kids feed is like a win in my opinion, because of just like the nature of social media, you know, like we can get into the whole of like comparing our lives and stuff.

00;09;39;49 - 00;09;48;01
Caleb Maeda
Yeah. Or like we can watch stupid people draft like, pizza toppings and pick Palios number one. Yeah. You know, was the decision ever I agree,

00;09;48;01 - 00;10;03;43
Nick Clason
okay. So off you go. Yeah. What's your what's your well what's your like as of today. Date of recording all that stuff like. Yeah. What do you think your future relationship with like digital and hybrid is going to I obviously yeah.

00;10;03;45 - 00;10;23;16
Nick Clason
You you don't know where you're headed like I guess pie in the sky. Like what would be the hope. The hope would be to recreate this just in the north? yeah. Like I said, like, I, I think that what we're doing is working. I think, again, like, I don't think it's as much about the followers on the page.

00;10;23;16 - 00;10;44;22
Nick Clason
It's more about what we're seeing in the room, you know, like, even like just seeing some of the kids drafting against each other and like, the relationships that are getting built, like, even within that, like you're getting pairs of, like two students who, like, wouldn't typically talk to each other and now they're being forced to like, draft something and like, communicate and like that can make them walk away with some form of connection.

00;10;44;27 - 00;11;09;27
Caleb Maeda
And so I think those are the things that I like about what we're doing. and so I would definitely want to, to create something like that. That's like students on the page driven. Yeah. where it's all about like it's a tool to use that to build community at our, at our group. Yeah. I mean, I think like the way that I've laid out because like, what you're talking about, even two is like, your strategy is like coming at it from like a different even angle.

00;11;09;27 - 00;11;37;57
Nick Clason
Yeah. So like my strategy is like, do fun and silly and stupid content to like, just get on people's feeds and get their attention. Yeah. Maybe you guys have a follow, maybe like start showing up more and more in their algorithm. Yeah. Then sprinkle in teaching content things that like are meaningful and spiritual and whatever, but then have that push them then further down the funnel to like our long form video on YouTube, which then always has like a next step.

Caleb Maeda00;11;55;49
Nick Clason
Yeah. Well and then like also being able to use the YouTube kind of like we did literally like on Sunday where we took the QR code to the baptism series and like that's how we're pushing kids to baptism now as they can go through that class. Like I think having that as also like a resource page on top of the other benefits has been really cool.

00;11;55;54 - 00;12;32;18
Nick Clason
Yeah. But it's like, I guess what's interesting is like how you're saying, like, you see the value of digital and how it plays in the room even, you know, and like, yeah, that's a different benefit than I often even talk about. Yeah. On here. Right. Like I'm always just saying like online to like walk down the funnel, but like you're saying like even if that doesn't happen, like our current pool of students that exist, like we see them interacting and engaging with us because like, yeah, I think a lot of times digital is a process for like how to reach outsiders.

00;12;32;23 - 00;12;53;42
Caleb Maeda
And you're seeing it as like, yeah, but also it can yeah, increase the experience for insiders. Yeah for sure. And like also like I mean it's also a great like invite way because you can be like, hey, the friend from school that doesn't typically go to church. When I come to church to try to be in a YouTube video, like that's also like a it's like it's multifaceted.

00;12;53;42 - 00;13;13;01
Caleb Maeda
You can use it for a lot of different things. Yeah, yeah. What are some of the or have been some of the challenges of being on the or in the hybrid culture, like what has been asked of you? That has been I think it's just like the time it takes to edit videos takes away from other things that you can do.

00;13;13;05 - 00;13;39;12
Caleb Maeda
and like, like obviously having a team like once we got, you know, the interns kind of cooking on drafts and stuff that lighten the load. But I felt like the first half of my residency, I would come to who's who's. Yeah. So undrafted. But yeah, but I feel like my first chunk of my residency was I would show up and I would edit and like, that was what I did, which like, good because now I can edit and like it's a skill that I can market in the future for non-church related products hiring.

00;13;39;21 - 00;14;02;51
Caleb Maeda
But yeah, shout out, please help me. but so I think that phone number down in the appreciate it. Yeah, yeah. 13 of our viewers I'm poor please. My Venmo is somewhere. Yeah, yeah. But, I think that that was tough for me for a little bit just because also, like, I'm just a relationally driven person. And so like the moments like even in the office that like, Drive Me are like the conversations that I'm having with people.

00;14;02;51 - 00;14;18;38
Caleb Maeda
Yeah. And so I think that was a struggle or at least an adjustment period. But also it was interesting because I went to college for music, but since it was a liberal arts school, I took a couple film classes and I like Learn Premiere in those classes already and so on. I came down here and you're like, yeah, we're going to be editing in premiere.

00;14;18;38 - 00;14;42;48
Caleb Maeda
I was like, I know ripple, delete. I can kind of do that. And so teach people. It was a little bit of like a mixed bag of like adjustment, but also familiarity at the same time. and also just kind of like reprioritizing my schedule to see, like where things fit

00;14;18;38 - 00;14;42;48
Nick Clason
does, does editing matter in your opinion?

00;14;42;53 - 00;15;07;12
Caleb Maeda
yeah, I think it does. I think. Actually, I don't I'm not sure. I think it does. I think in, in terms of, like grabbing attention, like the fastest way to make your content more appealing without adjusting your content is just in the editing. Yeah, but you can you can make a highlight reel of, like, any NBA player and make them look good.

00;15;07;12 - 00;15;39;08
00;14;18;38 - 00;14;42;48
Caleb Maeda
Same with like a YouTube video. Like if you've done rumors of Patrick Williams of Thunder, I really I was watching like a highlight video. I was like, this guy is as good as. Yeah. And so like, I think I think from like, like the, the online perspective of it and also like engagement in the room. Like I think back to when I was a student, if you showed me this like super yellow grainy video with like the white noise in the background, that's like almost as loud as this being, like, I would disengage almost immediately just because like, oh, this is an old video, I don't care.

00;15;39;12 - 00;15;54;56
Caleb Maeda
And so I think that there's that kind of like the production value does serve a purpose, but I think that I think we can get in the weeds a little bit like for our person just because like where the yeah, where the people who are like are doing the editing. So we're like, I hate that I did this and no one would even notice.

00;15;55;09 - 00;16;10;52
Nick Clason
Well, what we're talking like yesterday on stage, like the video on the, photo back to. Yeah. Like you and I could see the, like. Yeah. That the edge was a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. On screen. But yeah, I don't know. But nobody noticed that before I pointed it out, I don't know, I wasn't paying. Oh not right.

00;16;10;55 - 00;16;27;02
Caleb Maeda
Probably not because you didn't spend very much time on that. Yeah at all. But then like I said look you noticed that. Then there's the little thing. And like, that's just part of, I think, being an artist because like, you're never going to be perfect at your craft and like, filmmaking and editing is like an art form. Yeah.

00;16;27;06 - 00;16;43;45
Caleb Maeda
Not to get all weird about it, but like, it is. And so, I think also just like not getting caught up in that, I think is important because there is a level of production value that is valuable. But I think, you know, any time we get so caught up in the production value that we're not thinking about the content, I think that's where we're going to fall into things.

00;16;43;45 - 00;17;01;32
Caleb Maeda
So at the end of the day, we should be delivering good content to our kids because that's what we're here for. Yeah, I agree, but reach out to either of us if you need anything. Yeah, please. Haha. Well, aim for real. Like how much? And our lives changing. Yeah, that's also true dude. Also like starry I'm going to talk about stars.

00;17;01;36 - 00;17;18;05
Caleb Maeda
Shout out to starry. I freaking love this dude and I've never even talked to him. I remember I started when I was doing the Hot Wings video. I started talking to him just like before the videos, just like, hey man, houses are gone. I love you bro. Yeah. And like, like just the ideas you need to build that connection with a dude in India is really cool.

00;17;18;05 - 00;17;31;13
Caleb Maeda
Yeah. And like, you would tell me some of the things that he would say back in like, I don't know, it was just really cool to like, build that with a dude I've never actually spoken to. And the only reason that happened was because we got to a point where, like, we need someone to help us edit and we found a dude on Fiverr.

00;17;31;13 - 00;18;02;09
Nick Clason
Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't don't tell Fiverr that we don't. I mean, to them we didn't we met him through the Google. We so so yeah. interesting. there's a lot, a lot more ministry opportunities, I think, from this than I thought there would be going into it because I thought, I thought that like, like on paper, it sounds like the ministry we're doing is we're doing it for online kids to get connected to church, to hopefully eventually come and then for our kids to have, like, content.

00;18;02;09 - 00;18;23;03
Caleb Maeda
Right. But then there's like the editor who's like discovering Christianity for the first time and like asking questions and stuff. There's like the community that's being built on, like the key kids who are like trying to do the drafts, like all of that extra stuff is stuff that I didn't personally like, think about. And then when I started seeing it like those ended up being the reasons that like, drove me to keep going rather than just the content.

00;18;23;08 - 00;18;46;56
Nick Clason
So what do you what do you think it will look like for you in the future, like because, you know, keeping going, whatever. Like you're quasi being forced to because you're like working and like this is what we're telling you, like, hey, you have to do. But like, yeah, soon you're going to be your own youth pastor working somewhere or for someone or whatever.

00;18;46;56 - 00;19;08;21
Caleb Maeda
Like what? What things do you see yourself? Just like taking most of all of it, honestly, like the the short form, I think that was the other thing. When I came in, I wasn't as big on short form videos as I was the long form videos, just because when I grew up watching YouTube, YouTube was long form videos.

00;19;08;25 - 00;19;28;49
Caleb Maeda
and so taking that and I just look at our, our Instagram reels, it's like, I know, dude, it's friggin nuts. But, yeah. And so I think I'll take a lot of that stuff, especially because, like, it's pretty easy to get a lot of content, like on a Wednesday night, just like sit down with ten kids and you can get like 5 or 6, you know.

00;19;28;54 - 00;20;02;03
Caleb Maeda
And so I think that and I also I think the, the teaching videos stuff, because the there have been a couple churches that I've been looking at, and like their social media is good, but like they just clip their live preachings, which I think is awesome and great and like, that's better than nothing. But I also think that there's something about, the way that we change it for In the Room versus the, the video that I think just makes the video work a little better because we're specifically crafting that part of our message for that medium.

00;20;02;08 - 00;20;31;21
Caleb Maeda
and so I think more work, it's more work, but I think that the payoff is great because also then, like, there's not like the room awkwardness, like there's not the like, con response. And then that frees us up for in the room to do things like table talk and all of that stuff. and also like, just like having your message written down in that form for the long form videos, helps you to say things that I think sometimes, like, I will drop in the room like there's if there's a little fun tidbit that, like, just isn't going to fit in the room, but I really liked it.

00;20;31;21 - 00;20;52;40
Caleb Maeda
Like, I have to say it in the the long form YouTube video. So I think that there's also that kind of added value. But anything else I can think of, probably like, honestly, I probably won't be on the student ministry page as much as I was at the beginning of this. But like, I'm trying to figure out how what does it look like to start this?

00;20;52;40 - 00;21;16;41
Caleb Maeda
Because like I can say on paper, I want all kids to be doing all the drafts all the time. Like if the kids are involved in like, how am I that, you know. Yeah. And so and sometimes it's helpful for them to like see examples. Yeah. And so it's kind of that like that I'm going to try to figure out how to balance that line of like setting the tone but like making sure it's, it's kid first.

00;21;16;46 - 00;21;34;25
Caleb Maeda
and then also like I think finding ways to like do like not only the teaching videos, but like the baptism videos, like courses like that. I think I would also want to pull just because like, I think that that's a great resource page for them that we can pull from. For anytime a kid has questions about baptisms, you can throw them to that.

00;21;34;30 - 00;21;53;32
Nick Clason
yeah. Yeah. And like, you know, you can also expand that. Like, you could even make the workshops that we've been doing into little video series, like, I don't know if there's like a lot of stuff that you can do with playlists and like with. Yeah, having the idea of it being like a course like. Yeah. And like you and I have talked about this a lot, but I think like content for content delivery.

00;21;53;32 - 00;22;09;26
Caleb Maeda
I think YouTube is a better way than live preaching just because like and like again, you've talked about this all the time, but like, I don't know anybody whose primary like learning style is sit down and listen to a lecture for 30 minutes even. You can have the best graphics as you want, like you can have great table talks.

00;22;09;26 - 00;22;27;14
Caleb Maeda
Like I'm not going to pull as much from that as I will from like a ten minute YouTube video with like graphics and like, I don't know, there's just something about the way our brains are wired with our shorter attention spans. I think YouTube is a great medium medium for content delivery in a way that like, we're not getting as much in the room.

00;22;27;16 - 00;22;50;28
Nick Clason
Yeah, I think these days. Yeah. And I mean the again, sky's the limit. Creativity like your, your creativity or lack of creativity is you're like lid on it. So like if you have like a system like we do now where it's like you fill all your messages and everything, like you know, you can at any time play the video that, yeah, the live teaching doesn't work.

00;22;50;33 - 00;23;12;53
Nick Clason
You can play the clips or like, yeah, like we're going to be gone. We were gone for like a conference earlier this year so we could just throw the video up there. Well in like next week we're gone for camp. Yeah on a Sunday. And so your video is broken up into four parts. Yeah. Questions thrown in like so that I can literally hand it off to any volunteer pastor that's back here on staff.

00;23;12;53 - 00;23;34;58
Caleb Maeda
And they can do it pretty seamlessly. Like, yeah, like, yeah, the sky. And that's the thing, if you say learning happens better in like a medium like that, like almost makes you wonder and ask yourself like, how do I, how do I create a hybrid moment between the two? Like I live in the room and like a video.

00;23;35;02 - 00;24;08;05
Caleb Maeda
Yeah. Where like, intersects and is like used strategically for, like a students most optimal way of learning. Yeah. So yeah, I don't know, I think it's, I think it's something that like we haven't tapped into more from like tradition and anything. And I think that school is starting to go this way a little bit like you've heard of like the flipped classroom where they like get a video and then they watch the video at home, and then they do their homework in the classroom, and then they, like, talk to the teacher and work it out in the classroom.

00;24;08;05 - 00;24;38;27
Caleb Maeda
But all of the teaching is done at home through videos. Yeah. And so I think that, like, we're starting to see that shift in like the school realm. And so I think that church should be the next step. just because I think they like I've, we've been saying like, I think it's a much more effective way to deliver content to this generation, because also, like when I think about it, like I can list, you know, a couple topics from like sermons that I've listened to, but like fallout YouTube videos right now that I've been watching, like, I can pull a lot more purely from just like the amount that I can consume in a

00;24;38;27 - 00;25;00;26
Caleb Maeda
sitting. Yeah. You know, like I can consume 30 minutes. Yeah, I can consume 30 minutes of YouTube content more effectively than in the room for, you know, all of those reasons. Yeah. Yeah. So all right well that's it man POG signing out. Score Vikings. Thanks for hanging some video. I'll probably be here on the screen. Yeah. Click it watch it.

00;25;00;26 - 00;25;04;35
Nick Clason
Do the thing. See you next time. Love you stay hybrid. Yeah. Nice.

00;25;05;36 - 00;25;08;28
Nick Clason
I gotta pee. Okay,

00;25;09;49 - 00;25;13;02
Caleb Maeda
Oh.

00;25;13;24 - 00;25;18;35
Nick Clason
I can't wait to hear that. Nice.

Episode 106: Start Your Church Social Media From Scratch

Nick Clason — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 04:00:00 -0500

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

💥[CUSTOM] Hybrid Coaching💥

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Church Social Media and Digital Communication complete starting from scratch guide.
How do you start posting online and to digital if you don't have anything set up yet?
No infrastructure?
No plan?
No video equipment?

This 4th and final episode of the "Hybrid Tools" series will not only show you how to deploy the tools we've discussed in the previous 3 episodes, but will tell you exactly what to start posting to get things going!
PREVIOUS EPISODES:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLPfgGH9Nbunic_FErarFIx

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/106

Step #1 Website Builder: Nucleus
//Nucleus Website Builder
https://www.nucleus.church

Step #2 Determine Your Platform
//VidIQ
https://vidiq.com/hybrid

//YouTube for Churches
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLHMhNNfqmmmAsKRJ1VCBJl

Step #3 What to Start Posting this Week
//Complete Hybrid Guide
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

Step #4 Work Up to More and Better Content
//Metricool

https://metricool.com/

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
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https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Church Social Media
01:25 Step #1 Website
03:01 Step #2 Determine Your platform
07:31 Step #3 What to Post This week
13:47 Step #4 Work Up to More and Better Content

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:14:00
Nick Clason
Church and youth ministry. Social media. Marketing and communications. As we've been exploring in this playlist linked right here at the top of the screen, we have looked at how important having the right

00:00:14:00 - 00:00:31:19
Nick Clason
tool is. I talked about like different softwares that I'm using every single day. I've talked about different pieces of hardware that I'm using every single day as it pertains to cameras and microphones and lighting and then like putting it all together in the platforms that you use.

00:00:31:19 - 00:00:33:17
Nick Clason
But like, if you're watching this and you're like,

00:00:33:17 - 00:00:55:22
Nick Clason
what do I do for my church, social media, for my church marketing? Like, what is the first step if I'm just getting started, if I'm just starting from scratch, where do I go? What do I do? How do I do this? Here's how I would recommend getting started if you have nothing going for you.

00:00:55:22 - 00:00:57:01
Nick Clason
So first and foremost,

00:00:57:01 - 00:01:11:14
Nick Clason
determine the platforms that you want to be on. Okay? Like you got to know where you want to go. If you don't want a TikTok, then don't create a TikTok account. If you don't want YouTube, don't create a YouTube account.

00:01:11:14 - 00:01:16:08
Nick Clason
But if you call me and you're like, hey dude, I'm starting from scratch, what do you recommend?

00:01:16:08 - 00:01:41:11
Nick Clason
So for scalability and sustainability, what I would aim for, first and foremost, let's check this off. The box. Let's make sure you have a church website. If you're in youth ministry, that conversation might not begin with you. You might have a church communications person or something like that that they're doing the website. But if you're in youth ministry, make sure your youth ministry website is actually up to date.

00:01:41:11 - 00:02:08:18
Nick Clason
I can't tell you how many youth pastor websites I go to, and what's on there is like events that have already expired, like events from October and it's like November already or something like that. So get in, make sure and keep your website 100% completely up to date. maybe even send a visitor to it or somebody that doesn't go to your church and ask them, like, does this website look good and makes sense?

00:02:08:18 - 00:02:25:06
Nick Clason
And probably the most important question in that is, does this make sense? Because the fact of the matter is like, if you're in youth ministry and someone else is building your website, you don't have a lot of control over like the look and the feel of it. And then last than the last episode of our playlist, I talked about nucleus, right?

00:02:25:07 - 00:02:45:22
Nick Clason
I talked about, the nucleus website builder. So if you don't have one and you're in the market for one, check them out. They are affordable, their sales team is fantastic. And it's it's a church website, builder for churches. It's not like a WordPress site or something like that. It's like four churches. So check it out, make sure that your website is up to date.

00:02:45:25 - 00:03:08:12
Nick Clason
But then from there, if and when, like people land on your website, they know where to go. They know what to do. It makes sense. It's not confusing. They're not getting turned around. So if your website is good to go, that is like the very, very, very baseline of it. Okay. From there, you need to then determine, like we've talked about, you need you need to determine which platforms you're going to be on.

00:03:08:14 - 00:03:30:04
Nick Clason
Now, for me, because of the virality like potential of short form vertical video, I want to be on them off. And because we're going to be creating, at least I'm going to be creating a lot of short form, vertical based video. And all of the major platforms support short form, vertical based video. Then I'm just going to be on all four of them.

00:03:30:04 - 00:03:58:06
Nick Clason
But if you like have a theological or like preferential stance against one of the social networks for one reason or another, then make your determinations and choose what you want to do. But I would implore you to consider and not overlook the platform of YouTube 95% of teenagers say that they're on YouTube. That is also a corresponding statistic for adults as well.

00:03:58:06 - 00:04:32:28
Nick Clason
Like the majority of people are on YouTube. Now, if you think about what most people's just typical habits are on YouTube, aside from getting on there for entertainment, they're getting on there to ask specific questions. And so if you yourself are also answering specific questions, namely about God and faith and matters of salvation and things that that people might be looking for and and if you don't know the the answers to those things, like you can check out a resource like vid IQ linked down below.

00:04:33:00 - 00:04:56:28
Nick Clason
to kind of give you an idea for what people are searching on YouTube and what keywords are ranked really high. But if you don't want to use a platform like that, use your intuition. I mean pastors and church ministry leaders. Like that's actually what we're doing every single day and every single week when we're coming up with different sermon series that we think people need to and want to hear and explore and learn from.

00:04:56:28 - 00:05:14:25
Nick Clason
Like the whole idea of what YouTubers are trying to do is they're trying to get into people's heads and figure out, like, what are they? What are they asking? So that I can answer so that they'll click my video and so that they'll watch it? Pastors are doing the same thing, right? We're thinking like, what does my congregation need to hear?

00:05:14:25 - 00:05:19:03
Nick Clason
What is my student interested in? What do we look? What are they looking for?

00:05:19:03 - 00:05:36:12
Nick Clason
what do they need? Even though maybe they don't like, want it, you know? And so you're doing the same type of thing. And that's why I recommend in our, YouTube for Youth Ministry playlist, I recommend pre filming your messages. So, so so

00:05:36:12 - 00:05:38:12
Nick Clason
establish a YouTube account.

00:05:38:14 - 00:06:00:00
Nick Clason
And that's going to be like your home base right? Your website, home base, your YouTube is probably your home base for social media. Your longest form, your most like substantial pieces of content are going to live on YouTube. You're going to do long form, videos. And if you have the ability to do teaching videos, we're going to work up to that at one point in time.

00:06:00:00 - 00:06:20:27
Nick Clason
But if you don't have the infrastructure or bandwidth or editing, first and foremost, let me just say I'm available to reach out for coaching. link down below is a link if you are interested in you. You are starting to kind of build this from scratch, but you're getting hung up somewhere or stuck on something, or you just you just want to pick an outsider's brain.

00:06:21:04 - 00:06:52:27
Nick Clason
Click that link, reach out to me, start a conversation. First session is free, and let's just figure this thing out together. But that being said, you're going to work yourself up to full, long form YouTube based videos like that's where you're going to hope to end up. However, if you're just getting started and you want to like, start kind of like dipping your toe in the digital waters, you need to I would recommend that you have all the platforms that you're going to want to start using.

00:06:52:27 - 00:07:11:23
Nick Clason
Now, I don't know what other platforms might kind of burst on the scene here in just a little bit, but as of today, as of right now, what I think is useful and recommended for churches is YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. And I would probably rank them in that order.

00:07:11:23 - 00:07:19:20
Nick Clason
that being said, like I said, make your determination like what is going to work for you and your ministry in your context.

00:07:19:20 - 00:07:38:15
Nick Clason
But if you're going to work yourself up to full time YouTube long form accounts, in the meantime, we can start posting things on your shorts feed on YouTube. Okay, so we're going to work ourselves up to it and then to just get started, at a bare minimum, right. Like I have detailed

00:07:38:15 - 00:07:41:12
Nick Clason
an outline here in my 100% completely free e-book.

00:07:41:12 - 00:08:10:12
Nick Clason
You see it here on screen. If you are watching on YouTube, all kinds of different ideas and strategies and things to get you started. But to scale all that back because like, that's my full strategy to post per day, all those things long form video once per week, like all that stuff. But to scale that back to a more manageable, more bite sized and more like, helping someone like you who's starting from scratch with no other, like prior experience and no other infrastructure to get stuff like this done.

00:08:10:14 - 00:08:33:01
Nick Clason
Here's how I would recommend getting started. First of all, on Monday morning, if you have a service on Sunday with a sermon of some sorts on Monday morning, what I would do is I would post a like selfie style less than one minute, because YouTube shorts is a maximum of one minute long. And so if you make all of your short form vertical based videos less than one minute

00:08:33:01 - 00:08:33:20
Nick Clason
they will go.

00:08:33:20 - 00:08:55:08
Nick Clason
You will be able to use that singular piece of content across all platforms YouTube shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok and Facebook. But on Monday I would do some sort of recap post, and all you're doing is a selfie style video and you are rehashing the sermon. If you're the pastor, this is great because you know your main points.

00:08:55:10 - 00:09:22:17
Nick Clason
You know your takeaway, you know your best illustration. Like just kind of riff on it for 60s like, you know, let's say, let's say yesterday your topic was, you know, living in let living life and community and how to love other sacrificially like Jesus did from first, or not from first, from John chapter 15. So you might hold your phone up and be like, you know, Jesus taught us the idea about living and giving our lives for other people.

00:09:22:23 - 00:09:43:22
Nick Clason
And you just kind of like you can riff on that for 60s. And if you're holding your phone, you can see the little timer, like how long it's taking, right? one thing that I think is good practice is this you're going to be posting this on reels. Okay? Or TikTok or YouTube shorts. And so people may not find it in a quote unquote timely manner.

00:09:43:29 - 00:10:10:28
Nick Clason
And so don't say something like yesterday at church, we talked about like drop that language, just dive straight into what the topic is, because if you want someone to find you, they're not finding you based on your like, calendar of events or the fact that you had church yesterday. So just just go straight to the content plus that like it's the first two seconds of a video or a reel that matters most.

00:10:10:28 - 00:10:31:03
Nick Clason
Getting people right to like, actually hook, pay attention and not leave. And so don't do this. Hey, this is pastor Bill here from, Calvary Church. And don't forget that yesterday we talked about life and community and not forget about the church picnic potluck. But I want to remind you that we, like, drop all that, right? Living life in communities hard.

00:10:31:06 - 00:10:55:13
Nick Clason
How do we do it? Well, Jesus actually gives us a roadmap. You see the difference between those two? Like one dropped the five second intro and the five second fluff, and it helps you, like, then be able to cram more content into your 62nd time limit. And also someone comes across this video three months later. It's okay because the content is still relevant and it's not timestamped in any sort of way.

00:10:55:14 - 00:11:19:07
Nick Clason
Now, if you are long form, filming your videos or posting a live stream, somewhere posted to YouTube, because what you can do then on YouTube is you can link a related video, right? And so if you have a short form video about the topic, you can link a long form video and then you get that person over to that section and that part of your channel, right?

00:11:19:07 - 00:11:47:21
Nick Clason
If YouTube is the the, the home base of your social media, then everything you're doing, you're going to want to get them over there to that thing. And if you create a little end card or a watermark that you put on your videos, it can also point them from other platforms over to YouTube. It can follow like a link in bio, on TikTok or on Instagram, or on Facebook and, and actually in Facebook, you can post a legitimately live, link that can take them to that platform.

00:11:47:21 - 00:12:26:01
Nick Clason
But then on on, let's say Wednesday, what I would do is I, would you like some sort of like devotional type thought? Similar, right. But different and unrelated to the sermon or like, you know, if if we're doing like the life and community and living sacrificially, then on Wednesday, I might just do a quick 62nd blurb video about love and the importance of love and, or or you could do a like a video, with no talking and just some, like some backing track and like some text on it.

00:12:26:01 - 00:12:48:25
Nick Clason
Right. And it's kind of like a how to video. And so you could title it like How to Love Someone and then like are three, three steps to loving Someone who's unlovable. Step one step two, step three. You can post something like that. So again it's it's adjacent or semi tied to your content. But again it it has the the purpose of being evergreen to be found later on down the road.

00:12:48:25 - 00:13:07:15
Nick Clason
And then Friday do something fun, post a bunch of memes post like something that shows your personality. and this is where I would. Even if you're in a church and you're not in youth ministry, this is where I would grab my book and I would start doing some of the things that I recommend. Blind ranking filters on TikTok.

00:13:07:22 - 00:13:25:17
Nick Clason
No, it or not, go to one side of the room of the other with yourself, your volunteers, your staff. you can do like, one of my favorite things is called drafts. And it's like talking about, ranking different, like things in different categories. Seven questions. telepathy. Like, all kinds of different, like, game styles that we've done.

00:13:25:17 - 00:13:43:25
Nick Clason
Again, all of those are listed in my e-book and you can just do like drafts Friday and every single Friday you post a draft, or you can sprinkle in a variety of those different pieces of content. But once you start doing these things on some sort of regular rhythm, some sort of regular clip, then you want to start working yourself

00:13:43:25 - 00:13:46:08
Nick Clason
up to be able to post once a day.

00:13:46:12 - 00:14:13:01
Nick Clason
Right? And my goal, what I do is I post once a day for every day that I work. So if you're in ministry, you probably are off like Friday and Saturday. So I post two months. right now I post two on Sunday, two on 1I2 on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, two on Thursday. but if you know so like if that's your schedule like post on the days that you're on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday or something like that, like figure out a rhythm within your calendar that you work, don't post on days that you don't work.

00:14:13:01 - 00:14:34:25
Nick Clason
Now, if you want to do some sort of scheduler, you can you can check out, scheduler that I've used in the past called Metro. Cool. it will get the videos on the thing, unlike the platforms, but just being honest like it, I don't think the algorithms really enjoyed it coming from a third party. So it took down a lot of my reach and a lot of my places, especially YouTube.

00:14:35:03 - 00:15:07:26
Nick Clason
And YouTube is, the platform that I'm actually, like, most interested in as a youth pastor in 2024 and beyond. And so I didn't like that my, my reach and my, my views were all down on YouTube and I, I blame that on the third party posting service. But, sometimes it's useful, sometimes it's helpful. if you're only using like, Facebook and Instagram, I do think you can use the meta business suite, to post things, and there is no issue with, throttle down reach because it's not third party, it's from meta directly.

00:15:07:26 - 00:15:27:15
Nick Clason
And so that is that is a worthwhile one. But getting on like TikTok in those type of things, that's that's trickier. and so then all throughout the rest of your week, like what else do you post? Well, you can post some, some photos, like photo dump type things, on your Instagram feed, in Facebook groups, Facebook pages.

00:15:27:17 - 00:15:56:18
Nick Clason
you can also post some a couple of like static graphics and one announcement, one announcement per week. No more than one announcement per week. and then if you have a Facebook group, try to drum up and build up some good community in there, maybe consider giving some giveaways and stuff like that to like kickstart and spark some conversation and community, so that it actually, can kind of carry on without you having to be the primary initiator of all of that content.

00:15:56:18 - 00:16:02:27
Nick Clason
But then you're gonna eventually work yourself up to two posts per day, right?

00:16:02:27 - 00:16:21:15
Nick Clason
and right now we're just at three a week, one every other day. And so to go beyond that, then start sprinkling in one on a, on the off days. Right. And so then your one every day and then start sprinkling in two on maybe two of the days out of the, out of the five total or whatever that might look like.

00:16:21:15 - 00:16:57:08
Nick Clason
And but then eventually to like, the biggest priority for me would be find a way to get your long form content down to a 15 minute type thing. That's why I recommend pre filming your messages, because a live stream is typically 30 to 35 minutes. But if you can get your long form down to to 15 minutes or so and that can be clipping your live or that can be, filming direct to camera, there's multiple different ways to kind of attack that, but start posting those videos to YouTube, work on your titles, work on your descriptions, work on your tags, and work on your thumbnails.

00:16:57:15 - 00:17:18:15
Nick Clason
Add those things to playlists on YouTube. All those things are helpful and you getting seen, found, and indexed in your community. and so that will also be an avenue to not only serve your church. People who weren't there live for the sermon, want to watch it again, whatever the case may be. and also potentially reaching new people.

00:17:18:21 - 00:17:39:00
Nick Clason
So that's how I would take all the different tools that we've talked about and how I would package them and make them hybrid. Now, the next episode, I actually do a sit down interview with my resident and he's been working with me now for, the last year at the church now. And he was an intern with me previously in a different context.

00:17:39:00 - 00:17:55:24
Nick Clason
And so I ask him his opinion of what it's been like to work in a hybrid ministry environment, what he learned from it, his thoughts, his takeaways, and, what he's going to take with him on into his next endeavor. So that video is going to be linked right here on screen. Tap that. We'd love to have you go check that out.

00:17:55:24 - 00:18:03:22
Nick Clason
But don't forget, as always, we're making digital discipleship easy, possible and accessible. So as always, stay hybrid.

Episode 102: Is Instagram Dead?

Nick Clason — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 04:00:00 -0500

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

💥[CUSTOM] Hybrid Coaching💥

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

======================================
DESCRIPTION
The Usage of Instagram among teenagers is reducing.
According to some recent studies the adoptiong and usage rate of Instagram among teenagers is shrinking.

Additionally, in my recent anecdotal experience, I've noticed that Instagram in both of my last two church stints, Instagram served college and former youth group graduates really well.

And not as well, at least from engagement, of our current youth ministry students.

Which leads me to ask: "Is Instagram Dead?"

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/102

//Tiktok Vs Instagram Vs YouTube?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r73ceADGZxQ&t=3s

//100th Episode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0L-Dxhs7cI

//YouTube for Youth Ministry
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLHMhNNfqmmmAsKRJ1VCBJl

//Research Sources
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/01/31/americans-social-media-use/

https://www.sentiment.io/how-many-teens-use-social-media/#:~:text=TikTok%2C%20Snapchat%2C%20and%20Instagram%20remain,about%20seven%2Din%2Dten

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Instagram's Usage in Youth Ministry
00:50 Hybrid Ministry During COVID
03:25 Two Weeks to Flatten the Curve
07:01 The Most Fun Memories of Unscripted
09:27 What this means going forward for churches in 2024 and beyond

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:05:05
Nick Clason
Is Instagram on its deathbed

00:00:05:05 - 00:00:13:03
Nick Clason
for youth ministry? Instagram actually started October 6th, 2010.

00:00:13:03 - 00:00:35:07
Nick Clason
I became a youth pastor in January of 2011, and so I became a youth pastor. Since within, 2 or 3 months of Instagram beginning. and so years ago, when I started in youth ministry, Instagram was a platform that I was implementing and bringing into the fold and framework.

00:00:35:07 - 00:01:02:22
Nick Clason
Right? Coming off of kind of the Facebook era into the now Instagram era and that became a platform that I really doubled down and leaned in on Instagram versus TikTok versus YouTube is actually a topic that we've explored. Isn't right here on screen or down in the show notes. If you are listening in a podcast catchup. But slowly, over time, the key social network my students were using was Instagram.

00:01:02:25 - 00:01:21:27
Nick Clason
And so I remember in first couple churches I worked in, I launched and started an Instagram program program, Instagram social media account and gained a following. but then as it does and as it always seems to happen, and grew in more and more popularity, which is a good thing for the app and the creators of the app.

00:01:21:29 - 00:01:57:06
Nick Clason
slowly, that meant more and more adults began to infiltrate and adopt the app, which then made it less and less interesting to teenagers because it wasn't the new thing on the streets that their parents were not a part of. And so, just like the meteoric rise of TikTok during the pandemic, which was once an app for teenagers, in order for them to to lip sync and to dance has now become an all out news source, complete with ads and sports analysis and anything else that you might possibly want to find on TikTok.

00:01:57:06 - 00:02:29:19
Nick Clason
And this Instagram thing. Now it's no longer this undercover app. It's a mainstream app. It was purchased by Facebook and owned now under the meta umbrella. And so it's it doesn't carry the same cachet that it once did. When I first started as a youth pastor, one of the reasons I'm even asking this question is I, as a youth pastor in my last two stints in student ministry, have recently noticed that when I started, one church I started in 2020 and then the other one where I'm currently serving, I started in 2022.

00:02:29:26 - 00:02:31:23
Nick Clason
My anecdotal experience has

00:02:31:23 - 00:02:43:17
Nick Clason
led me to ask this question because in each of these contexts, Instagram has best served the young adult and former youth group students who have graduated out of our

00:02:43:17 - 00:02:59:26
Nick Clason
programs. Again, this is anecdotal and this is just my experience, but I went back several months ago and I did a deep dive analysis, and I realized that about 25% or less of our posts were being engaged with current students in our youth ministry.

00:02:59:29 - 00:03:20:26
Nick Clason
So there are still students in our youth ministry using it. And your percentages may be different and may be varied, but I was noticing that it was a lot of leaders and it was a lot of parents. Which led me to this question is Instagram for youth ministry dead? Well, let's explore it. Well hey everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:03:20:26 - 00:03:54:23
Nick Clason
If you and I haven't had a chance to meet yet, my name is Nick Clayton. I am a youth pastor currently serving in the DFW Dallas Fort Worth area, and in addition to the typically youth ministry duties that I have such as preaching and writing, small group guides and onboarding leaders, and all the youth ministry things. One of the major things that I was tasked with and also had a passion to get started on once I began at this church here was to create a digital or a hybrid experience, as we talked about kind of the origins of that hybrid experience in episode 102 episodes ago.

00:03:54:29 - 00:04:28:00
Nick Clason
Go back and check that out or head to Hybrid Ministry. Dot xyzzy slash 100. But we are talking about is Instagram dead? So I'd be curious a little bit of like, do data and research here. Give me a like if you use Instagram exclusively in your social media and then if not, give me a subscribe. If you use any other social media platform, including Instagram, but also beyond Instagram and hit, you hit the bell because we have some really cool things in store on this channel.

00:04:28:00 - 00:05:02:00
Nick Clason
And coming up ahead on YouTube and on this podcast. But according to Pew Research, Instagram was in 20 2014, Instagram was up to about 52% of a usage rate among teenagers. Fast forward to 2022, that usage rate went from 52% all the way up to 62% and then down in 2020 4th January of this year, we saw that that usage rate ticked down only slightly from 62% to 59%.

00:05:02:04 - 00:05:18:16
Nick Clason
So, tick tock. Snapchat and Instagram, respectively, ages 13 to 17, are being reported to being used, 63% with TikTok, 60% with Snapchat, and 59% again with Instagram. One of the

00:05:18:16 - 00:05:34:08
Nick Clason
things that According to sentiment I o linked to this and the Pew Research study down below in the show notes shared, was that, the uptick of usage would you would see to, be increased when the ages got older.

00:05:34:08 - 00:05:47:25
Nick Clason
So it studied 13 to 17, but when they shaved off 13, 14 and just made it 15 to 17, they saw these, increase about 7 to 10, in usage. And so what's interesting

00:05:47:25 - 00:06:01:10
Nick Clason
is that in my completely free e-book, which is linked right here on screen or down below in the show notes, if you are listening, is I recommend that we use digital and social media to our advantage.

00:06:01:10 - 00:06:12:03
Nick Clason
And one of the good things about it is that regardless of which platform you're on, all four of the main social media platforms right now by forming Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube

00:06:12:03 - 00:06:21:15
Nick Clason
offer the same type of content. When I started in 2011 and beyond, posts for different Facebook had like a wide screen base post. Instagram had

00:06:21:15 - 00:06:24:01
Nick Clason
a square base post, YouTube was only for videos.

00:06:24:02 - 00:06:43:16
Nick Clason
TikTok didn't even exist. But then in 2021, TikTok burst onto the scene it implemented and ushered in this new type of medium, which is short form vertical video we saw quickly after that that reels was adopted in both Instagram and Facebook, and YouTube also brought along shorts. And so now all of those platforms are

00:06:43:16 - 00:06:53:28
Nick Clason
using those mediums. And so if you have a camera, which by the way, you do, because it is in your pocket on your cell phone, you can create short form vertical based video.

00:06:54:00 - 00:07:15:02
Nick Clason
I recommend that you start with pre filming your messages in a long form widescreen version, and you cut those up for social media. And then I also recommend that you supplement some of your content with some fun and engaging social media content with your students and or leaders. I mean, just look right here on screen. If you're watching on YouTube, some of these most recent performing YouTube shorts are incredible, and they are just with our students.

00:07:15:02 - 00:07:36:21
Nick Clason
We filmed them before or after youth group, and we just do silly, fun challenges with them and they get incredible amounts of views. And so the good news is, is that what is being used and what is best available in your context is that you can do your context and you can do what works. If all of your students are on Instagram, then by all means continue to use Instagram.

00:07:36:21 - 00:08:04:13
Nick Clason
But if you are starting fresh, I may offer an I may recommend something slightly different based on at least the national study and some of the national trends. But here's the good news is that every single church, every single context, is different. What I do know that's not different is that teenagers are speaking a digital language, whether they have unfettered and unfiltered social media access on their cell phones or whether they are just used to seeing things done via video.

00:08:04:16 - 00:08:23:23
Nick Clason
Which is why right now I am offering three slots of free coaching. If you're interested in taking me up on that, hit the link in the e-book or the link down below in the show notes, and I would be happy to begin a discussion with you about what that looks like and how we can get you up, and to begin hybridizing your ministry.

00:08:23:25 - 00:08:46:24
Nick Clason
Okay, so let's look ahead. If you're completely brand new and you don't already have some sort of, established Instagram following, and you're looking to start right now, well, then here's what I recommend, which we outlined and explained all in our most recent playlist, YouTube for Youth Ministry, which is linked, down below in the show notes. But I recommend YouTube.

00:08:46:26 - 00:09:16:27
Nick Clason
All right. Check out what Pew Research said. This is a survey done by adults and for adults. But it said YouTube, by and large, is the most widely used online platform measured in our survey. It. Roughly 8 in 10 U.S. adults report ever using the video based platform. Look at this chart right here on screen. You'll see that YouTube is at 93% a wide margin above the second most, which is TikTok only, which is only at 63%.

00:09:16:27 - 00:09:47:19
Nick Clason
By comparison. And so you might be asking like, what's ahead? Or how do I get started? What do I do? I have all of that detailed and outlined for you in a nine part playlist titled YouTube for Youth Ministry. It's actually it's actually linked to right here on screen. So if you're interested in that and information about YouTube for youth ministry, how to get started, what you're going to need a crash course for YouTube shorts and beyond, tap that video on screen and we will be happy to see you over there.

00:09:47:19 - 00:09:54:23
Nick Clason
But until next time, and as always, don't forget to stay hybrid.

Episode 100: 💯 HybridMinistry - How it all Started

Nick Clason — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 04:00:00 -0500

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Episode 100 I decided to sit down with some friends that have all had a hand in the creation of the Full YouTube show we all had a hand in creating during the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020.

While Digital and Social Ministry were top of mind for me prior to 2020, the COVID shutdown thrust it into the forefront for me personally and I decided to dive fully into it.

When I started on the very first day of COVID, I had to get creative on how I introduced myself to students, parents and leaders without using the easy in person tools we'd all grown accustomed to using.

That being said, I'm grateful we still have access to those tools, today.

But I realized just how important Hybrid Ministry is to the next generation of teenagers.

This episode chronicles my first day, and I chat with friends who were instrumental in producing and creating the YouTube show we had crafted during those COVID days.

I hope you enjoy this 100th episode special!

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/100

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Intro
00:50 Hybrid Ministry During COVID
03:25 Two Weeks to Flatten the Curve
07:01 The Most Fun Memories of Unscripted
09:27 What this means going forward for churches in 2024 and beyond

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:01
Isaac Sutton
all of the students in the room,
who were watching unscripted,
had bingo
cards
that coordinated to stuff that
was.

Nick Clason
Yes.

00:00:08:19 - 00:00:09:23
Darren Sutton
digital integration is not a luxury. It's a necessity.

00:00:12:09 - 00:00:18:24
Sam Vos
it was probably I probably felt God's hand more in like my career, my life in that moment than a lot of other moments.

00:00:18:24 - 00:00:25:04
Nick Clason
unscripted played a really major role in like the catalyst to especially my podcast and everything like that.

00:00:25:04 - 00:00:31:04
Nick Clason
I would say the reason for that is simply realizing and understanding that students live online.

00:00:31:04 - 00:00:39:22
Darren Sutton
there's a lot I've messed up in my years of youth ministry, but that is one thing that I'm really proud of. Like in the middle of the pandemic, there was not a blank ministry kept going.

00:00:39:22 - 00:00:41:06
Sam Vos
we're going to try something different

00:00:50:00 - 00:00:55:02
ABC News
president's words come after the World Health Organization today declared the coronavirus a global pandemic,

00:00:55:02 - 00:00:57:19
Darren Sutton
I remember this very clearly.

00:00:57:19 - 00:01:01:24
Sam Vos
I mean, obviously, I came down to Parkview in February of 2020

00:01:01:24 - 00:01:06:06
Darren Sutton
the Thursday before we went home, we're like, yeah, there's something happening in the world that's not going to affect us. On Friday it became clear that

00:01:07:24 - 00:01:10:05
Nick Clason
which for context I started on Monday.

00:01:10:05 - 00:01:13:06
Darren Sutton
that maybe we'd miss a couple of weeks of meeting together. Yeah. And I have been toying around for a while with, like, a YouTube show. like, in my mind, that there was like, we were just not speaking a digital language at all.

00:01:24:06 - 00:01:25:12
Sam Vos
going there, Darren had a very kind of a new perspective on what he thought ministry would be. Right. So he was already kind of starting to talk about like, how do we take digital and kind of infuse that with what, you know, historically, youth ministry has been.

00:01:38:21 - 00:01:41:22
Darren Sutton
you know, in the grand scheme of the engine of ministry, there is no time to dream a dream,
right?
Well, Covid forced us to do that.
I kind of laid out this idea for, basically a variety show, some kind of YouTuber And I said, you know, if we decided to do this, I think we probably need to do a week or two and a big a beta test.
So could we, could we film a show? Yeah, right.
And over the weekend we came up with a whole concept for the for the YouTube show and shot it on Monday.

00:02:04:22 - 00:02:07:23
Sam Vos
Well, I'd only been there for like 3 or 4 weeks, right. Yeah.
Which I'm fine with. So then obviously it
happens. You'd only been there 3 to 4 hours is kind of like, hey, we need somebody to be the guy. And obviously I was like.
the same day we started filming was the same day that they were like, "hey, everybody's got to go home" and

00:02:20:04 - 00:02:31:04
Isaac Sutton
everybody was packed in tightly into a room and they had a like,

Nick Clason
as we're in this like, hey, don't go by people time, like and then cram all these people into a room.

00:02:31:04 - 00:02:33:11
Nick Clason
remember, like, everyone was like on vacation?

00:02:33:11 - 00:02:34:10
Nick Clason
getting married.

00:02:34:13 - 00:02:35:20
Nick Clason
had was took PTO

00:02:35:20 - 00:02:37:06
Nick Clason
I was the new guy.

00:02:37:06 - 00:02:40:02
Nick Clason
Right. You were like the longest tenured person in the room.

00:02:40:02 - 00:02:46:15
Sam Vos
it was probably I probably felt God's hand more in like my career, my life in that moment than a lot of other moments.

00:02:46:15 - 00:02:47:07
Darren Sutton
And that was your first day in the office? Yep. We all came and I was like, hey, Nick, no time to onboard you. We're filming the show

00:02:52:21 - 00:03:00:20
Sam Vos
then on our first day of filming this digital piece of it where there was, worship element in kind of this hosting element and stuff like that, filmed the first episode of unscripted at the church.

00:03:03:12 - 00:03:05:24
Nick Clason
not socially distanced whatsoever

00:03:05:24 - 00:03:07:06
Isaac Sutton
was a choice.

00:03:07:06 - 00:03:09:19
Darren Sutton
and the whole student ministry team got in there. We filmed the show, and at 11:30, we got a message from the, executive pastor saying, bye, everybody. We'll see. You

00:03:18:21 - 00:03:22:20
Sam Vos
that was this the same day we started filming was the same day that they were like, hey, everybody's got to go home and just for two weeks

00:03:25:14 - 00:03:27:21
Darren Sutton
Everybody thought at that point, probably till Easter,

00:03:27:21 - 00:03:35:03
Isaac Sutton
but nobody really knew how crazy it was going to get. Everybody was just in the. It was the rumor phase of Covid.

00:03:35:03 - 00:03:40:08
Nick Clason
but making fun of it. Basically.

Darren Sutton
Yeah. For sure. Like, this is so stupid and and so much so that like, things were changing so quickly that we filmed that thing not socially distant. On Monday by the time it aired on Wednesday, we had to put out a statement that said "this was filmed before socially distancing was a requirement."

00:03:56:03 - 00:03:56:19
Sam Vos
You know, time goes by. Maybe 3 or 4 days. Three people show up to my house with equipment being like cameras, microphones, a table, chairs, Now all this planning vision is starting to happen. Like, we're doing this right now on a zoom call

00:04:10:10 - 00:04:15:14
Darren Sutton
how much we had to pivot in that time is I still just a little bit crazy when I think about it?

00:04:15:14 - 00:04:17:24
Sam Vos
and then my wife and I looked at each other and we go, we don't have we don't have room in this spot.
Right? Because we're live in downtown Chicago in a high rise,

00:04:22:04 - 00:04:25:13
Darren Sutton
700 square foot apartment with his kid and his wife.

00:04:25:13 - 00:04:27:19
Sam Vos
every single week. When we would film, we would have to move the couch out, move that, move the chairs out. Right. We'd have to bring everything kind of stacking on top of each other by the kitchen, do the set, do the show,

00:04:36:09 - 00:04:46:18
Darren Sutton
you know, we were filming group stuff on zoom calls and trying to figure out where is the most appropriate place to set up a studio where only one person can press play.

00:04:46:18 - 00:04:46:23
Sam Vos
And, then put it all back together and send it. So then I'm running over to the camera, right. I'm getting out. I'm looking at the screen. Right. Because I turn the screen around, I'm looking at it. I'm like, okay, it looks good. And I'm running back to the camera, clicking record that I'm running back to the chair and starting.

00:04:59:06 - 00:05:10:00
Isaac Sutton
heart of Covid era for unscripted, which I didn't even like, start working. Working on unscripted until episode like 22. Yeah, something like that. I was kind of, later after some of the kinks had been fleshed out, I guess.

00:05:14:00 - 00:05:23:04
Nick Clason
yes, it went through the completely remote, like everyone from their houses, every bit via a, like cell phone camera. But I remember, Darren sent us all, like, desktop tripods so that we could like via Amazon so that we could have stable, you know, pictures and not like this

00:05:35:08 - 00:05:38:12
Sam Vos
I mean, the hashtag, the world's greatest drink kind of happened out of nowhere, What happened was I was also like, I'm just going to have to just pull everything out that I can think of and hopefully something sticks. It's kind of like when you're just, like throwing everything you can at something. You're like, one of these things works great,

00:05:51:12 - 00:05:57:05
Darren Sutton
So students were tuning in because that was the only connection with humans. They had

00:05:57:05 - 00:05:59:15
Nick Clason
which I think was like the only live anything.

00:05:59:15 - 00:06:05:06
Darren Sutton
Yes. Was gone. Like, yeah, everything was gone. Everything was gone. But we were still having church and we were one of the few. And I will tell you, like, there's a lot I've messed up in my years of youth ministry, but that is one thing that I'm really proud of. Like in the middle of the pandemic, there was not a blank ministry kept going. And that wasn't just me. That was a large team that made that happen. I could have never done that by myself.

00:06:20:19 - 00:06:21:10
Nick Clason
Yeah.

00:06:21:10 - 00:06:26:11
Isaac Sutton
And I remember that being a big part of me joining unscripted was like, we want to we're making this the thing. It went from being the Covid strategy to being, the way they were going to move forward with youth ministry.

00:06:37:03 - 00:06:41:10
Sam Vos
Now I will say in, during Covid and when I was filming at my house, right, there were some there were some moments there too, where I was like, oh, this, this feels like God's doing something. Covid and unscripted allowed us to say, hey, what? Maybe this is what church youth ministry could look like. Maybe it's it could be more progressive thinking. Yeah, sure, sure. I think it also be

00:07:00:16 - 00:07:03:12
Darren Sutton
what I remember most was just innovative thinking,

00:07:03:12 - 00:07:06:01
Sam Vos
I think there needs I think churches need to make a shift. And I felt like unscripted was a vision of what that shift could look like.

00:07:09:19 - 00:07:27:03
Darren Sutton
then it was so successful and also super a lot of fun. And also it became very clear that we had not been speaking the language of our constituency, that it became something that we permanently added to what we do

00:07:27:03 - 00:07:28:12
Isaac Sutton
was a really cool thing to do. It was something that got into people's houses. it was something that engaged students with, students on a level that they were already familiar with. I mean, students know about YouTube, YouTube shows.

00:07:41:02 - 00:07:42:10
Sam Vos
Lacroix is all I got. So I guess hashtag world's greatest drink. I don't even really like Lacroix.

00:07:47:12 - 00:07:51:03
Sam Vos
my favorite drink, Lacroix. I am one of those guys. So, it's just so it's so refreshing every time.

00:07:54:23 - 00:07:59:19
Darren Sutton
But then we started like building that into the nomenclature of what we did. And

00:08:00:07 - 00:08:03:12
Sam Vos
world's greatest people, but this is actually hashtag the world's greatest drink.

00:08:04:00 - 00:08:10:15
Darren Sutton
every semester, we would do a hashtag world's greatest drink bracket, and kids would get to vote on what that season's drink we're going to be like.

00:08:11:01 - 00:08:15:17
Nick Clason
Where when we hit the duck squeak, they had to play duck, duck, goose to it.

00:08:15:17 - 00:08:16:24
Sam Vos
hashtag world's Greatest drink. And then all sudden we would start hiding Lacroix in spots and stuff like that.

00:08:20:17 - 00:08:24:04
Darren Sutton
did an episode on pets, which is why I'm wearing this shirt. and I loved it because kids were so engaged with sending in pictures of their pets, we couldn't be in person yet.

00:08:30:13 - 00:08:33:23
Sam Vos
I think another very absurd thing that we did was that whole duck thing.

00:08:34:24 - 00:08:37:10
Nick Clason
the search for Chuck, the search for Chuck.

00:08:37:10 - 00:08:44:23
Darren Sutton
Chuck, is he in there? He's not here.

00:08:44:23 - 00:08:49:02
Darren Sutton
have a mascot also something that came accidentally. Chuck the duck,

00:08:49:02 - 00:08:53:19
Isaac Sutton
sci fi saga was was a blast. I know that was going so fun. So, Minecraft server was a tragic affair. I spent probably like so long. It's trying to set up a minecraft server for

00:09:09:03 - 00:09:16:15
Darren Sutton
So Chuck got lost or kidnaped or. I don't even remember now what the exact story was, except we just spent all summer looking for him, right?

00:09:16:15 - 00:09:25:22
Isaac Sutton
We if you found the duck and text it into a certain number in a certain amount of time, you would win a prize that coordinated to a theme, because each week was themed

00:09:28:00 - 00:09:40:10
Sam Vos
all sudden Covid happened and it kind of felt like, okay, this is the reason that I'm supposed to be here. so for me, it was a very fulfilling time. Covid was, I would say, where I think for a lot of people it was not that. However, when we got students in there filming and students in there doing audio, I think when these students all sudden like kind of took, you know, they grabbed on to this idea of unscripted and they felt like they owned it and belonged to it. That's the thing that was actually worth everything that we did.

00:09:57:16 - 00:10:02:05
Isaac Sutton
yes, there was a lot of trial and error with unscripted, especially in, in, in all areas of unscripted. There was tons of trial and error. Right. I don't think we ever fully came out of unscripted with like this was the best format and we kept it the whole way through.

00:10:15:07 - 00:10:28:15
Darren Sutton
you know, the interesting thing, which I don't think is actually that interesting, but really kind of blew people away, was how much more open kids were on zoom than they were in person. Yeah, because they're in their room. They're in their natural environment. They may or may not have to be on camera. but there was not the intimidation factor of sitting in a room and wondering what you're thinking about me. There was some kind of invisible protection for them being on camera, which worked pretty well.

00:10:44:07 - 00:11:00:15
Nick Clason
But as we look ahead to this next wave of generation, like we have to find a way to find ourselves online with with Gen Z, definitely with Gen Alpha, like, it's all they know, right? And they, they can shift between in-person and online into that hybrid space back and forth as if it's nothing.

00:11:00:15 - 00:11:06:17
Isaac Sutton
the ones that we filmed in a bunch of different locations, yeah, that was that. They were great. They were so well done. And it was a series over the course of four weeks about the impacts you can make on the world. Yeah.

00:11:21:00
Nick Clason
and we were like on location and like, that was that was so fun. I thought

00:11:23:06 - 00:11:25:06
Darren Sutton
in that I would end up carrying into the future was pre filming talks. And, you know, even when we ended up in a context where that wasn't necessary anymore, it really helps you frame exactly what you want to say the way you want to say it, in a medium that's going to live in perpetuity beyond you.

00:11:45:08 - 00:12:09:10
Isaac Sutton
Yeah. I think the other benefit to this is that whole part of it. Right. was that it democratize like the week, the day that you come from as well like that I was able to serve, like I was able to work as the guy who produced unscripted and made sure everything was running on Wednesdays. And then I could still also volunteer on Thursdays as a small group leader.

00:12:15:06 - 00:12:39:04
Nick Clason
after three years or however many years of us doing it, once restrictions started lifting, once people started coming back in the room and frankly wanting to be back in the room like we needed to find a way to to pivot and adjust. And I still think we did. But again, like I was telling you before we started hitting record was we we started at that point then with the baseline of online. And so then we were like, how much do we sprinkle in in person because of how good online is? We're like a church. Where I'm at now is like, we started with in person. And so now we have to try to like add the hybrid moment, the digital pieces to it to help create that good. Like intersection between both in-person and online.

00:12:58:10 - 00:13:10:14
Sam Vos
relationships start in person and then they can transition to digital. Meaning you live in the same state as me or friends and then you move away. But we still continue being friends,

00:13:10:14 - 00:13:23:02
Isaac Sutton
even if, your hybrid experience doesn't, kick off in the room like you want to, it might reach 1 or 2 people that wouldn't, that you wouldn't have reached otherwise.

00:13:23:02 - 00:13:30:24
Nick Clason
Yeah. And like, now my like, the adaptation, like, we have a fully in-person model, essentially. Right. Yeah. However, I still see the value in the content, the teaching content in particular, like having a home beyond just when it when it's preached. Right. And we don't have the live streaming capabilities, which is why we do the, the pre film. But that can also that, that that anchors our social media strategy.

00:13:52:17 - 00:13:57:02
Darren Sutton
we learned that social media is for interaction, not for advertising. I think that we learned that, digital, what we call in our context, digital integration is not a luxury. It's a necessity. You have to figure it out. Our students are not just digital natives, they're digital dependents. And if we are not harnessed in whatever level of digital medium we can harness, then we're missing. We're missing an opportunity to speak the language of the people that we're working with. so I don't view everything through the lens of how does this translate digitally, but I definitely view our ministry through the lens of where is the digital expression of what we're trying to communicate to, to kids long term. Yeah. So,

00:14:44:10 - 00:14:50:05
Nick Clason
the argument I felt at the time was should we do in-person or should we do online? And I was like, how about both right. And the tension in all of that is both takes resources.

00:15:02:01 - 00:15:17:15
Nick Clason
my learnings right. For the in the room side of things was like it probably needed the show, probably needed a refresh and a rebrand to, distance it from Covid and not make it the Covid thing anymore. because while it was still good, it's still carried all those connotations. And then on the, the YouTube side of things, we just needed to double down on some like titling keyword and research like artistic thumbnail renders

00:15:31:09 - 00:15:32:21
Sam Vos
means that churches exist

00:15:32:21 - 00:15:37:14
Sam Vos
for two groups of people, correct?

00:15:37:14 - 00:15:38:16
Nick Clason
Insiders and outsiders. There we go.

00:15:37:14 - 00:15:38:16
Sam Vos
I wonder if those those things being digital and in-person. Interact with those two groups differently.

00:15:45:18 - 00:16:05:22
Nick Clason
like, it's more accessible than I thought it was to create a digital like moment, like, you know, once we shifted away from the show into a new church and we were here, like, we did an entire, like, six months worth of content off of a cell phone.

00:16:05:24 - 00:16:07:11
Darren Sutton
Yeah, yeah,

00:16:07:11 - 00:16:12:04
Nick Clason
The church exists to change the world. and to be a family and to create a place for people to find meaning and belonging. Okay. I think that there can be entertaining elements within church. I encourage youth pastors and youth ministries to create entertaining elements on their social media. That's why most people get on social media nowadays is to be entertained in some form or fashion.

00:16:32:18 - 00:16:35:20
Darren Sutton
So some kind of message or whatever on the regular? I think it's super important to post regularly, whether you know how to do it or not, you play dumb for a student because there is a student who definitely knows how to do it. investing in that. And I wouldn't know what these are. But this guy well investing in some subscription services or whatnot that can help you do this easier.

00:16:58:13 - 00:17:10:14
Nick Clason
servicing millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, by the way, middle schoolers and on down. And so the church has to figure out how to speak their language because they're the next generation.

00:17:10:14 - 00:17:13:18
Darren Sutton
I subscribe to your TikTok and your YouTube. He didn't pay me for that. I really would, and I am, so you should be too.

Episode 099: YouTube for the Long Haul

Nick Clason — Thu, 30 May 2024 04:00:00 -0500

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======================================
DESCRIPTION
How do you keep the momentum rolling?
I want to share with you my full-proof Time Management Principle and system
Two Hacks for not dropping the ball with YouTube
The Number one Killer, the thing that slows youth pastors down most often
Stick around to hear the best piece of advice I've ever gotten.

FULL PLAYLIST
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLHMhNNfqmmmAsKRJ1VCBJl
======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/099

//TIME MANAGEMENT FOR YOUTH PASTORS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlS1kWcQBS8&t=183s

//ALL THE GEAR YOU'LL EVER NEED TO GET STARTED!
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/studio

//HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

💥 [LIMITED TIME OFFER] Custom Social Coaching for Youth Pastors💥
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

======================================

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TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 You Work too Hard for your Message to Die on your Hard Drive
02:05 Time Management for Youth Pastors
05:37 Hack #1: Bulk Film
07:19 Hack #2: Delegate
09:58 What Is the Hardest Part of keeping this going?
11:37 The Best Advice I've ever gotten

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:29:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That kid. He has travel ball again, like he can't make it to youth coupe. And you agonized over the message that you've written and you actually particularly had him in mind. And so you're sad and you're frustrated and you're a little bit hurt that he's not going to hear this message that you crafted in a lot of ways for many of your students, but in some ways also very much just for him.

00:00:29:18 - 00:01:00:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you work too hard to let your message just die on your hard drive after delivering it one time at youth group. Which is why if you're here and you've been following us over any of our last 8 or 9 episodes, we've been talking about YouTube for youth ministry, pre filming your messages, how to edit, how to post, how to use them for social media, how to lean into playlists, the community tab shorts, and maybe even build out your very own studio in your church and in your space.

00:01:00:23 - 00:01:24:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But how? How do you start these things to reach these kids who are missing and and to lean in and create messages that will live beyond just your one time delivering it at church? How do you keep the momentum rolling? Because maybe, maybe this idea of hybrid ministry, maybe this idea of YouTube for youth ministry is intriguing to you.

00:01:24:20 - 00:01:46:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you muster up the energy and the courage to kind of like, get going and get started. But then you know how this goes, right? Like you will fizzle out down the road. And so in this episode, I want to talk about some key time management principles. I want to talk through two hacks that I believe can help you continue going and not lose sight of the finish line.

00:01:46:07 - 00:02:08:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I want to give you what I believe is the number one killer for YouTube, for youth ministry, and the thing that trips most youth pastors up. And then finally, I want you to stick around to hear the best piece of advice I've ever been given in my entire life. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. Well, hey everyone, if you and I have not had a chance to meet yet.

00:02:08:28 - 00:02:35:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
My name is Nick Clason. I am a youth pastor. I've been serving in youth ministry for 13.5 long student ministry years, and I am excited to talk with you today about the last piece of our YouTube for Youth Ministry playlist. And it's very simply, how do you maintain and how do you keep the momentum going? If you've gotten started, how do you keep it up?

00:02:35:20 - 00:03:08:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the first thing that I just want to talk about is it's actually linked right here at the very top of this video, I discussed a foolproof time management system, and like the full proof ness of it, it all comes down to this core understanding. And it's this that you, my friend, are 100% responsible for your time. If you want to lean in and make this YouTube for youth ministry thing happen and stick, then you have to come to the realization and understanding that it is up to you.

00:03:08:11 - 00:03:35:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's not the amount of, meetings that you have with your church staff or your senior pastor. Like if this is a priority to you, then you need to make it a priority. You have to choose to happen to it and not let your calendar happen to you. And so if you want to start pre filming your messages, it is going to take some energy and some effort and some scheduling on your part.

00:03:35:03 - 00:04:02:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Yeah. Does this matter. Is it important like can you continue to get away with the lazy like showing up a youth group and delivering your message and giving it to the students? Like, of course you can do that. And for the record, it's not lazy, right? Like but I mean, what I mean by lazy is like, this is going to take another gear to get ahead to pre film, to sit down in front of camera, to edit, to post, to put the planning in.

00:04:03:04 - 00:04:28:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like it's important because you and your message and what God has laid in your heart to share with your students. It is important. And when that kid has travel ball, he just doesn't hear it because he doesn't have any other way to access it. Currently. Right now, most youth ministries are operating under the assumption that they are in a, cable TV type of schedule.

00:04:28:18 - 00:04:50:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you want to hear this message, then you have to come to youth group at a particular time. And if you don't come to youth group at that particular time, well, then you're not going to hear it. And so I believe that we can begin to adapt to culture and create more of an on demand moment, because that kid and his travel ball schedule is just it's probably not going to let up.

00:04:50:22 - 00:05:19:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And while most of us as youth pastors are hoping will happen, is that he will just see and prioritize youth group the way that we want him to see and prioritize youth group and start coming to our things. And that would be great. But but if that doesn't happen, what is the plan and what is the strategy to still get the message of hope of the gospel, the one that you've worked so hard on, for them to be able to still hear it and learn it and hear your heart.

00:05:19:26 - 00:05:45:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you are 100% responsible for the time in your time management. So what are you going to do about it? If you haven't yet, head to that link that I pointed out just a second ago, and check out my foolproof time management system so that you can start blocking your time ahead of time. So here one of the hacks, one of two, hack number one, when it comes down to all of this is book film your messages.

00:05:45:06 - 00:06:09:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So for example, if you are in a series, you're in a four part series on Kings and you're going to talk about King David, King Joash, King or boom. And of course, everyone's favorite king, King Hezekiah. And you've got all those messages built out. Then sit down one day for probably 2 or 3 hours and film all of those messages in one sitting, right?

00:06:09:28 - 00:06:35:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Maybe bring some wardrobe changes so you're not wearing the same clothes, maybe a couple hats, so that you can swap those things out and then capture all four of those messages in sequence in a row. And then if you do that and you're far enough in advance, you will then have probably another month or six weeks before you have to turn around and film your next book crop of series messages.

00:06:35:28 - 00:07:03:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that is that's hack number one. But again, back to the time management piece. You're going to have to put that on a calendar. And you're also going to have to put on a calendar the need to create and craft in and put together your manuscript. So if you haven't checked out in the very last episode of episode 098, hybridministry.xyz/098, we have linked on there teleprompters and tripod so that you can actually just type out your entire message and put it on a teleprompter.

00:07:04:00 - 00:07:34:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Sit down. Even if you do it, still direct to your phone and, capture your message direct to camera and into your students and help them understand this message of hope and Jesus and, have the the cure for travel ball. The other hack that I have is delegate as much as you can. You know, one of the things that we do, beyond just capturing our long form messages, is that we do a weekly social media challenge, and so we get our students to come together.

00:07:34:02 - 00:07:53:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And thankfully, we have our studio space, which I showed you in last week's episode as well. And we, let our students kind of create content for our social media channels. And so we capture them and, and have a fun time watching them, kind of like, you know, do challenges and work together and work with each other.

00:07:53:11 - 00:08:19:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But what I've done is I've actually handed the entire planning of that shooting of that, capturing of that, and then uploading of all of that content into our Google Drive, all those things off to an intern. And it's taken some time and we've had to get him up to speed on it. But now every single Wednesday night, he knows that one of his primary duties and responsibilities is to figure out the social challenge from start to finish.

00:08:19:06 - 00:08:41:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then on Thursday morning, I pull up in Google Drive and I edit whatever he has created for me. Sometimes I edit it using Adobe Premiere Pro, but other times I'm actually able to just edit it completely on my cell phone. And so if you're able to hand off and delegate some of those things that listen, it's an intern, so you can get yourself an intern, you can do a high level volunteer hack.

00:08:41:15 - 00:09:15:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can even use a high level student. And so all of this does not have to fall to you fall on your plate. Right. And so if you have the ability to hand some of these things off, to create some checklist, to, to have some gear that you could use, that you can hand to other people to help create and lean into some of the social ability, which, by the way, if you don't have the chance to sit down direct to camera and and book, film your messages like I get it, but you can capture students on social media every single time you meet, like there's nothing stopping you from doing at least that

00:09:15:18 - 00:09:50:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
level. And that measure of social media, which, by the way, all of this is laid out, detailed and outlined for you in my 100% completely free hybrid strategy guide is right here, linked on screen, also linked down below in the show notes. If you want some help getting going on all of this with some links to some some gear, some basic getting started gear and some ideas for how to lean in and use the social challenge and capture content with you, your staff, your the rest of your church staff, your leaders like all of that is laid out for you completely in this complete hybrid strategy guide.

00:09:50:21 - 00:10:11:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I would love to have you check that out. It would be an honor if you downloaded it and used it and checked it out. But the last piece here is what is the thing that kills you? What is the thing that kills most youth pastors? What is the thing that kills most content creators when it comes to capturing messages or capturing videos and then posting them?

00:10:11:08 - 00:10:31:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And it's this it's it's editing. Like editing. It's hard. Takes a lot of work. I actually had a guy last night reach out. I had done, like a slideshow for a memorial service and he said, hey, that was beautiful. Like, what did you use? And a lot of times people, they're just looking for shortcuts and and the best things like there are no shortcuts, right?

00:10:31:07 - 00:10:57:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like I use Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects and like that's not always the most accessible thing. And so here's the good news. Like editing is tricky and you can do as much editing or as little editing as you want. Just get the message out there. However, if you are looking for some advice, if you are looking for some custom coaching for someone to come in and help you where you are, I would love to do that with you and for you.

00:10:57:12 - 00:11:17:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In fact, you Check out the link down in the description below. You can see some of the pricing on that typically, but right now I'm actually offering a couple more spots completely for free. all I ask is that you use my service and that you give, a good review if you believe that what I have offered is actually worth a good review.

00:11:17:14 - 00:11:39:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But I would love to help you. Like, if you're feeling stuck and you're not exactly sure where to turn, reach out. We would love to have conversation with you and figure out what hybrid ministry can look like in your church and in your youth ministry strategy. My friend Matt Johnson, he was on the very first couple of episodes of this podcast.

00:11:39:03 - 00:11:57:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
He was actually a co-host for a while before he moved and kind of was unable to logistically, continue being on the podcast. But I asked him, I said, hey, man, I'm thinking about starting a podcast. What do you think? And I was like, what do I need to know? What do I need to do? And he gave me some, you know, some basic gear advice and some basic other advice.

00:11:57:23 - 00:12:12:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And he said, but you know, my my number one piece of advice. And I was like, yeah, of course. He said, just get started. Like, you can sit and you can plan and you can do all this stuff. He's like, but you will learn so much more if you just get started. And we've gone through it. All right.

00:12:12:09 - 00:12:37:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
We've talked about YouTube for youth ministry, the philosophy of pre filming versus live streaming, how to edit, how to post, how to create social, how do you use other features on YouTube, maybe even building out a full studio in your space. But at the end of the day, just get started. You know? Speaking of Matt, he was with me at the very beginning of this podcast, and next episode is my 100 episode.

00:12:37:23 - 00:12:59:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
It's a little bit more of like an interview and documentary style. We're going to lean and actually talk about, the, the show that the church I was at that we created during Covid and talk about many of the hybrid ministry principles that have sort of come out of it. So that video and that episode is next. If you're watching on YouTube, it'll be links right here on this end card on screen.

00:12:59:29 - 00:13:11:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I would love for you to check that out. Don't forget, and as always, as we're making digital discipleship easy, possible and accessible, I want you to stay hybrid.

Episode 098: Ultimate Guide: Audio, Lighting, Camera and Set Design for Church YouTube

Nick Clason — Thu, 23 May 2024 04:00:00 -0500

🎙️ Church YouTube Studio Guide🎙️

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/studio

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Check out our ultimate guide for setting up your church youth ministry YouTube studio with the best audio, lighting, camera, and set design recommendations! Enhance the quality of your online services and reach more viewers with professional tips and recommendations. Whether you're a beginner or looking to upgrade your current setup, this video has everything you need to create an engaging and impactful virtual church experience. Watch now and take your church's online presence to the next level!

//YOUTUBE VIDEO
https://youtu.be/yVT1xvh9-5k

//CHURCH YOUTUBE STUDIO GUIDE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/studio

//[FREE] HYBRID MINISTRY STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//YOUTUBE COACHING [FREE!]
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Are you ready for another level?
01:56 Optimizing Space for a YouTube Set and Decoration Recommendations
05:32 Best Camera Gear for Churches
07:35 Lighting for Youth Ministry YouTube Channels
08:43 Audio for Church YouTube Channels
12:18 Which to start with if you can't afford them all at once?

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:06
Nick Clason
YouTube for

00:00:02:06 - 00:00:07:07
Nick Clason
youth ministry. We're actually in the eighth and now second to last

00:00:07:07 - 00:00:22:29
Nick Clason
episode of our playlist titled YouTube for Youth Ministry linked right here on screen. If you're watching on YouTube and in this playlist, I've explained to you the value of pre filming your messages, how to edit your videos, and exploring the other features available to you

00:00:22:29 - 00:00:23:27
Nick Clason
in YouTube.

00:00:23:29 - 00:00:43:18
Nick Clason
What if you've started doing those things and now you're ready to take it to the next level? You see, in my 100% completely free guide to Hybrid Ministry links right here on screen and down below in the show notes, I tell you how you can get started filming content on YouTube for under $100. But what if? What if you have a little bit of budget?

00:00:43:21 - 00:00:48:21
Nick Clason
Like what if you see the ultimate value in all of this and you're ready to take it to the next level?

00:00:48:21 - 00:01:01:23
Nick Clason
Well, in this episode, I want to take you on a tour of the set that we have built in our student ministry. You ready to invest? You ready to spend a little bit of money? I can get you all up and going for less than $5,000.

00:01:01:24 - 00:01:24:19
Nick Clason
Don't freak out on the sticker shock if you're interested in some of these things, because if you do want something cheap, I can actually offer you some coaching right now at a 100% completely free rate for just the first few people. So if you're interested, click down below, inquire to see if that is still available so I can help you begin to hybridize your ministry and reach more students with the effort that you're putting in.

00:01:24:19 - 00:01:25:28
Nick Clason
As a youth pastor

00:01:25:28 - 00:01:39:19
Nick Clason
with the message of hope and with the message of Jesus. But this studio thing, it's it's a next level type of thing. So I'm going to give you a tour, share with you some examples and some videos, and walk through every single piece of gear in every single element. And

00:01:39:19 - 00:01:43:12
Nick Clason
then finally I'm going to rank those different elements because we're going to be talking about the set.

00:01:43:12 - 00:01:57:01
Nick Clason
We're going to be talking about the camera, we're going to be talking about audio, and we're going to be talking about lighting. What's most important, if you can't spend it all right now, how should you prioritize? We're going to dive into it. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show.

00:01:57:01 - 00:02:04:26
Nick Clason
And in this episode linked down below is a complete blog of every single piece of gear that I have built in the studio.

00:02:04:28 - 00:02:26:11
Nick Clason
And we're just going to walk through it. and so first we're going to talk and work through just the set, like just what's going on, where it is like what things look like. And so what I did, like I said, link down below in the blog. I did, some blackout curtains. We had two big windows in the room that we converted into a studio space.

00:02:26:11 - 00:02:29:12
Nick Clason
So I got blackout curtains, which would help me kind of

00:02:29:12 - 00:02:48:16
Nick Clason
control the lighting. And so I had to buy some curtain rod. So, we have a gold curtain rod, and then also got some white, thermal insulated curtains. You can see both of those links in the blog. also, I got a peel and stick wallpaper, brick wall paper, which was absolutely meticulous to hang.

00:02:48:16 - 00:03:16:21
Nick Clason
And then it didn't stay hung on the wall. So I actually ended up just going to Home Depot and buying a panel of, brick there. And we just did that as well instead of the the peeling stick wallpaper, but whatever you might want. And so what that did was that created for us sort of like a brick in the corner of one of the the living or in one of the, corners of one of the rooms created a brick kind of vibe, like, we also did some, like, neon signs and stuff like that, and then I don't have those linked.

00:03:16:28 - 00:03:35:20
Nick Clason
but if that's something you're interested in, you can go shopping. We got a custom one made. then I created another section of our room, another section of our space with, like, a kind of like a photo background. And so I got the the ten by ten photo backdrop stand, and then the photo kind of, studio fabric that just rolls down.

00:03:35:20 - 00:04:01:07
Nick Clason
And we use that for a lot of, like, standing sets and a lot of, teaching videos, especially where we want to have a lot of text off to the side or, or behind us. And so I really, really like that one for, for those types of like educational or informational videos. And then the other like corner the corner that's kind of opposite the brick so that you if you're counting, we got brick and then we got the photo backdrop and then the white, we got a white wall as like a corner.

00:04:01:09 - 00:04:20:01
Nick Clason
and I'm not going to link any of this below, but we just used white paint. So go to Home Depot, get some white paint, and then create whatever sort of decor you want. And again, I'm not going to link every single thing because I didn't buy all of this stuff. Like we repurposed some furniture and we repurposed some shelving and we repurposed some decor.

00:04:20:05 - 00:04:40:25
Nick Clason
We bought some decor. but like one fun thing we did is we, we have like, mugs. And so we'll use a different mug every single one of our teaching videos. This is a little kind of like Easter egg type of thing, but but we had a student who, like, brought a bunch in as, like a donation. or I've just found random things like on, on Amazon or Walmart.com.

00:04:40:25 - 00:05:02:09
Nick Clason
And if I'm looking, I just might search something like, you know, teenage boy room or teenage girl room decor. I don't know, you know what? What's in these days? And so I'm a 34 year old youth pastor, but but searching that type of stuff, we've come up with these like Spiderman, kind of like neon lights and, just, you know, some other, like, kitschy, kind of like, tchotchke type of things.

00:05:02:12 - 00:05:18:01
Nick Clason
so you'll see, like prior to this, you know, if you're watching here on YouTube, prior to this, we would just kind of film anywhere we could find usually, like in one of our offices. and because our offices are already decorated, it sort of created a little bit of a set. But now we have our own set.

00:05:18:01 - 00:05:39:18
Nick Clason
Like, we've been able to create sets that look a little bit more like this or like this, and looks just a little bit more meaningful, a little bit more purposeful. And of course, the nice part, right, is that you don't supplant someone from their office when you're getting ready to film. next we'll talk about camera. And I've been mentioning mentioning it here, in this playlist, the Sony ZVE-10.

00:05:39:20 - 00:05:59:01
Nick Clason
we use it. It's phenomenal. It's a fantastic, valued $699. It's linked in the blog down below. and then we also got a, tripod for about a little over $100. So $111 is what this one I found here. Walmart is comparable. And then we got a teleprompter. you're also going to need like an iPad.

00:05:59:04 - 00:06:15:08
Nick Clason
if you want to do the teleprompter type of thing. and then I just use a free app, out of the App store, where we can, like, script out all of our messages, type them out and put them on a teleprompter, and then, walk them through. And just a little hack, at about 11 or 12 speed.

00:06:15:08 - 00:06:36:25
Nick Clason
And every teleprompter is going to be different. But the particular app we're on 11 or 12 speed and then like two, a 2000 to 2400 word seems to be the sweet spot for length of video for YouTube. I try to keep our YouTube videos, that we pre film anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes at the absolute maximum.

00:06:36:27 - 00:06:46:03
Nick Clason
and you'll notice like this is a difference between one being shot on a cell phone, his cell phone. And here's one. Once we started using the, the Sony ZVE-10

00:06:46:03 - 00:06:53:20
Nick Clason
also, I'm going to cut you to a clip in just second. this is one without me scripting it. Some kind of just, like, ad libbing it and talking to the camera.

00:06:53:23 - 00:07:02:16
Nick Clason
and then the next one right behind it is going to be one of me actually using, a teleprompter. How do you find

00:07:02:16 - 00:07:20:08
Nick Clason
true friends who believe what you believe and allow you to enter into a community of, like minded people who think the way you think, leave the way you believe, and like the things you like.

00:07:20:10 - 00:07:46:02
Nick Clason
God won't give you more than you can handle. Have you ever heard that before? Well, spoiler it's actually 100% inaccurate. All right, now let's talk about lighting. So, we bought some different like lighting boxes. So I got the apurture light box. 30120 12 by 48 at $69 value. And then also the apurture light octa dome 120.

00:07:46:02 - 00:08:12:16
Nick Clason
That's $129, as well as some different stands. So we got the show Maven ten foot light C stand. That's 119.99 And then the newer professional photography studio stand for light reflectors that, I think there's two of those for $40.99. Those are kind of the, the things to go with the lighting. But then we got apurture, Amaran, and apurture, Amaran 100 x bicolor, and then 200 x.

00:08:12:18 - 00:08:30:20
Nick Clason
The 200 x was $349, and the $249 was was of the one. And so, this is example like you'll see here on screen of us doing it without the lighting, we would just use either natural lighting or like a ring light. and in some cases it was pretty bad. but then this right here is

00:08:30:20 - 00:08:39:18
Nick Clason
once we started using these lights and this is one of the most important things that that we did, to really, I think, level up some of our quality and production.

00:08:40:12 - 00:09:03:14
Nick Clason
but the last and perhaps, well, not perhaps definite, the, the most expensive, is what we did for the audio rig. so we got to focus, right, Scarlett? Two eye, two USB audio interface, third gen. actually, we didn't get that one. This is, a two channel, one. So if you have two people on camera, and you need two audio inputs, this one is $189.99.

00:09:03:16 - 00:09:26:29
Nick Clason
the one that we got, though is the focus, right? Scarlett? 18i8 In-n-out USB audio interface, third gen that has four audio inputs and that one a little bit more expensive at $359.99. and then we used, the Sennheiser EW 112P G4 portable wireless lavalier microphone. those that's where the expense comes in, right.

00:09:26:29 - 00:09:34:15
Nick Clason
Like and you'll see this this is like Stephen A Smith wears this on ESPN on TV. But $699.95 we bought

00:09:34:15 - 00:09:51:06
Nick Clason
three of them. so we have three different people on camera and on microphone at any given time. but honestly, we typically only use it for like one sometimes maybe two for do, some social media type filming where we do some sort of banter back and forth.

00:09:51:11 - 00:10:09:23
Nick Clason
so depending on however many you want of those, if you want one, it's, you know, $699, but if you want 2 or 3, obviously it's going to make that more expensive. And then we also did get a shotgun microphone. my friend who is an audio engineer said, I like to put a shotgun microphone there too, just in case something happens with the wireless packs.

00:10:09:26 - 00:10:33:13
Nick Clason
you still got something. And so the shotgun mic, the Sennheiser MKE 600 shotgun mic with an XLR plug into a jack of 18 18 inch cable is $329. And we do use that a lot, especially with students, because the, lavalier microphones, while they are portable, they do need to be plugged into the focus, right? Which does need to be plugged into a wall.

00:10:33:15 - 00:10:47:11
Nick Clason
Meanwhile, the Sennheiser shotgun microphone is battery powered, so we can take that kind of like out on the street and do a little bit more, quote unquote, like man on the street type of stuff. and then of course, the last thing you're going to need is you're going to need some good headphones. And so here's what I recommend.

00:10:47:11 - 00:11:06:03
Nick Clason
Sennheiser HD 569, a closed back wired headphones at 199 95. Now, listen, I get it. It's expensive. And you're looking at this know does this really make a difference? Well here let me show you what the audio, if you're listening, is you're going to be out here. This is what the audio sounded like with just a little bit of an elevated upgrade.

00:11:06:03 - 00:11:25:28
Nick Clason
This out of my iBook, less than $100 microphone, filming direct camera. This is what it sounded like. And then directly following it is going to be. Once we started using the focus, right. And some of the other microphones and stuff that I just recommend. So check it out. Like what do you want to do when you grow up?

00:11:26:00 - 00:11:51:23
Nick Clason
Like, have you ever really thought about what you're going to do with your life? In this video, we're going to explore the value of the final word. So as you can see, it definitely does make a difference. Now here's the thing, right? Keep in mind if you're like, dude, that's a lot, I understand, I get it, okay? And you may not be in a spot where you want to level your gear up to the spot.

00:11:51:25 - 00:12:11:17
Nick Clason
Let's just be honest, most of the videos that you're going to be showing to students, like they're going to be probably watching them on their cell phones, and so does the 4K quality matter. Like probably not. You know, in some cases, does audio quality really matter? I, I, I think audio really matters. And so that's, that's why I want to rank this.

00:12:11:17 - 00:12:24:25
Nick Clason
Right. I want to chat through and rank. Like if you were to start with one of these for lighting, set audio camera. What's most important thing to start with. And of course, this is

00:12:24:25 - 00:12:38:04
Nick Clason
my ranking. This is Nick Clausen's custom hybrid ranking of of elements to level up your gear beyond just $100 mark. to go a little bit more premium, for a youth ministry budget.

00:12:38:06 - 00:13:02:04
Nick Clason
but you can figure out what you want and what is most valuable and meaningful to you in your context. But for me, I would start with lighting, like leveling up the lighting and getting away from just like ring lights only, or natural lights only like having some good quality lights are powerful that are customizable. You can even buy some gels to like, throw flash color on to there and stuff like that.

00:13:02:04 - 00:13:06:23
Nick Clason
If you want. lighting really, really makes a difference. And you can see that

00:13:06:23 - 00:13:13:02
Nick Clason
in these examples here before and after. the second thing for me that I would do is I would do

00:13:13:02 - 00:13:26:13
Nick Clason
audio and, the only reason that audio is not more, not ranked higher than lighting is probably because of the cost. The cost is quite a bit more, and the learning curve is also a little bit more.

00:13:26:13 - 00:13:46:22
Nick Clason
I thought, man, I tell you what, I don't know anything about audio engineering. I'm just I'm kind of hacking it. but the Sennheiser, the portable lavalier microphones like those gave me a run for my money the first time that I was getting them up and running. now, now we got it all figured out. But like, that first time, I was like, dang, I was, you know, I was watching YouTube videos and trying to figure those things out.

00:13:46:24 - 00:14:13:11
Nick Clason
The third for me is the camera. Like, I still think that, comparably, like side by side, my cell phone camera, has a pretty comparable picture to what the Sony ZV ten does. And I mean, and maybe it should, right? Like, my cell phone actually costs more than the Sony ZV ten. But the fact is, my cell phone also has a lot of other functionality on it that the Sony doesn't.

00:14:13:11 - 00:14:25:05
Nick Clason
And so, I think you can get by longer, even if you wanted to go with like the tripod, and the teleprompter rig, you can, you can teleprompter to a cell phone. And so, that would be my third

00:14:25:05 - 00:14:34:23
Nick Clason
one. And then fourth and final is just to set like it's I'm in a very fortunate situation where I was able and afforded to take a room and really make it a priority.

00:14:34:23 - 00:14:52:03
Nick Clason
Like we have said, hybrid ministry and digital integration. It's it's not an option anymore, like it's a necessity. We are reaching students, generation Z, Generation Alpha, who are no longer just digital natives, like their digital dependents. And so to have a studio or we could pull students

00:14:52:03 - 00:14:57:29
Nick Clason
in after Wednesday night and film with them and have a space is completely crafted and curated in any moment.

00:14:57:29 - 00:15:09:13
Nick Clason
We're we're like, you know, a couple weeks ago, we wanted to film some videos for our incoming fifth graders, and I just pulled our team mates together and said, hey, we're going to film this. We walked in the studio and popped the lights

00:15:09:13 - 00:15:13:14
Nick Clason
on and clicked record, and off we went. And then we were done. And then I took that, and I.

00:15:13:19 - 00:15:40:27
Nick Clason
I went and edited it like, it's nice to have that. It's nice to have that space. and honestly, it's also become a space that other people have wanted to use, for different like video projects and stuff like that throughout the year and different divisions of ministries within our church as well. And so if you have the space and if you have the buy in from leadership to allow you to to convert a space, I would recommend it because digital and hybrid ministry, they're just they're not going anywhere.

00:15:41:03 - 00:16:00:08
Nick Clason
And advice from my very first co-host on this podcast. His name is Matt Johnson. Shout out to Matt episode one through seven. Co-host on this podcast. He told me when I said, bro, I'm thinking about certain podcasts. His advice was, you know, he gave me some tactical things and some gear like recommendations. And he said, but do you want my real advice?

00:16:00:12 - 00:16:17:10
Nick Clason
And I said, of course. He said, just start like, just do it. And that's what you got to do with this YouTube thing. Like just start. We've talked about it now. You know what it takes. You know, like all the gear you use, you've seen my studio, but you gotta do it and then you gotta do it again for the next series after that.

00:16:17:14 - 00:16:41:09
Nick Clason
And then you got to do it again for the next series after that. And you might be wondering, like how do you maintain and how do you not grow weary of this? Because it's you put a lot of energy behind getting up and off the ground, but how do you how do you maintain this creating over and over, sort of momentum to continue to continually show up in a hybrid space and hybrid ministry on YouTube, on social media?

00:16:41:09 - 00:16:59:00
Nick Clason
Well, I'm actually glad you asked because we're going to be talking about that in the next and last final video, episode 99 linked right here on screen as we are trying to make digital discipleship easy, possible and accessible. So as always, stay hybrid.

Episode 097: 📈 Exponential YouTube Growth Hacks: YouTube Shorts Crash Course

Nick Clason — Thu, 16 May 2024 04:00:00 -0500

💥 [LIMITED TIME OFFER] Custom Social Coaching for Youth Pastors💥

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

======================================
DESCRIPTION
YouTube has more to offer than just posting videos!
It has some social media components in it!

We explore the best 3 non video elements
As well as all the things you need to know about YouTube Shorts.
How to Post
What to Post
How Often to Post

//YOUTUBE VIDEO
https://youtu.be/I_6AF8qOPVg

//OPUS.PRO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf600kbri2Q

//WORLDS GREATEST DONUT EPISODE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ryhkIRyDb4&t=25s

//BRADY SHEARER
https://www.instagram.com/bradyshearer/

//EMOJIPEDIA
https://emojipedia.org/

//YOUTUBE COACHING [FREE!]
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//YOUTUBE EDITING [FREE!]
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/editing

//HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Exponential YouTube Growth
01:32 3 Amazing YouTube Features
07:03 How to Use YouTube Shorts

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:01 - 00:00:26:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I grew a YouTube channel for $0 of paid promotion in just a little over a year to almost 600 subscribers today, as the day of recording, it has 573 subscribers, and probably by the time that this video actually drops, it will probably be close to 600. Now, you might be wondering how or how did I go about doing that, especially for free, because it seems like everything today is all about paid promotion and paid ads.

00:00:26:09 - 00:00:52:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in a lot of ways it is. But the way that we did it completely organically in our church and our student ministry was through the avenue of YouTube. Shorts. Shorts are an absolutely fantastic tool to growing your YouTube channel and your followers. And in this video today we are in a playlist. This is a continuing continuation of the playlist YouTube for Youth Ministry.

00:00:52:13 - 00:01:23:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so along with shorts, it also YouTube has the offering of a thing called the community tab and some other fun features. So we're going to explore two of my favorite features in the community tab. And a third feature that I really like, the podcast feed. I'll talk to you all about that. And then we are going to dive in a full crash course on how to shoot, film and upload YouTube shorts, how to post, what to post, how often you should post, and finally, make sure you stick around all the way to the very end of the video.

00:01:23:04 - 00:01:48:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because my all time favorite feature, especially for youth ministries, I'm going to share with you all the way at the end. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. Well, hey everyone, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. If you and I haven't had chance to meet yet, my name is Nick Clason and I am a youth pastor currently serving in the DFW Dallas Fort Worth area, and I started a YouTube channel for my church in January of 2023.

00:01:48:22 - 00:02:15:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And today when this thing posts, today at the day of filming, we have 573 subscribers. You might be wondering, like, how did that happen? And in a lot of ways, it was due to YouTube shorts and some of the other features embedded in YouTube. Now, one of the knocks on YouTube is that it doesn't act and operate like some of the other social networks, but the fact of the matter is, like Instagram is almost completely overwhelmed by millennials

00:02:15:17 - 00:02:37:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Those who have settled in as Instagram as their platform of choice. And so generation Z over on TikTok and now Generation Alpha coming up behind and 95% of your students on YouTube, there may be some features that things like Facebook and Instagram and TikTok have to offer that we didn't think YouTube does, but now they do. And so three of those features that I really like.

00:02:37:23 - 00:03:06:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The first one is the community tab. And one of the ways in which I utilize the community tab is through posting things similar, like you might see on Instagram called Carousel posts, which, by the way, if you grab my completely free e-book, which is linked right here on screen or down in the show notes, wherever you're listening to this, you'll notice that my weekly schedule is encapsulated by almost 100% vertical short form videos, and I really only make 1 or 2 graphic style posts.

00:03:06:05 - 00:03:24:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Let me say that in the new wave and in 2024 and beyond, I would like to increase my offerings of graphic post education based posts. Honestly, the Goat right now is Brady Shear over at Pro Tools. His Instagram is phenom and also you need to go check out what he's doing there. I'd love to start posting more things like that in our student ministry.

00:03:25:02 - 00:03:52:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And the good news is that YouTube offers that functionality and it's called the community tab. Right? Like TikTok might let you post just some photos on their thing, and they're starting to do that as well. But YouTube has added the community tab, and the community tab can get a little bit tricky. I have manually, started pointing our students towards it, because it's, it is a little bit of like the least known feature on YouTube, but you can offer things like carousel posts.

00:03:52:03 - 00:04:12:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You can also offer things like polls. And we use that in some of our voting, which linked right here at the top of the screen is one of my all time favorite events, called the World's Greatest Donut. And it's a voting event. So students are voting for this donut versus that donut. And so if you want a full breakdown on how to use that and all the assets that go with it, check that video out, link down below.

00:04:12:04 - 00:04:30:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that video is all the things that you're going to need in order to grab the world's greatest donut. It's also linked down below in the show notes as well, but you can post polls on YouTube, you can post polls on the community tab, and I just point students towards it. And as long as they have the app and are subscribed to us, they can, rifle on over to the community tab.

00:04:31:06 - 00:04:58:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if they start engaging with the community tab from our channel on a regular basis, then it'll begin to show in their YouTube home screen, on their feed, on their algorithm. And so the ones the accounts that I interact with on the community tab, I see more and more often. And so you might think like, oh, we can't use YouTube only because it doesn't have some of the features like votes and polls and posts and links like Facebook and Instagram do.

00:04:58:11 - 00:05:32:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And that's just false. Like YouTube does offer a lot of these same functionalities. And so I love those things to lean into, to create more of a community than just me blasting videos out on YouTube or, or viewing YouTube as my video holding container. It is now a much more robust social media platform. The third idea YouTube has recently introduced is podcasts, and it looks when you're posting it, it'll show up in the playlist dropdown option as this another like thing, another playlist option.

00:05:32:06 - 00:05:54:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you select the podcast option. And then it dumps every single video that's checked in your, video containers, all of your videos, any ones that are checked as a podcast, it'll drop it into what looks like a playlist. And so it's called a podcast and it is a little bit new. And so there is there are still some kinks, I believe, being worked out by YouTube.

00:05:54:16 - 00:06:13:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But a couple of different ideas is if you want to have like a podcast with some students, like that could be an option. You could post some videos to YouTube. And so people who follow you or subscribe to you or have interacted with your videos, they will see them, but they can no to go and navigate directly to the podcast feature on your YouTube channel and go ahead and check that out.

00:06:13:14 - 00:06:33:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Also, an idea that we have, I'm toying around with doing this and I'm thinking about offering it is putting our leader a leader, podcast over there on YouTube as well. So it will be included on our full YouTube channel, but particularly in the podcast, feed, which, like I said, looks and acts and seems a lot like a playlist.

00:06:33:05 - 00:06:48:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But we're going to start doing some stories and some wins and celebrate some of our leaders, as well as offer some training. We're looking to do like a weekly one under 20 minutes and just kind of like an on the go training for our leaders. And I think the YouTube podcast feed is a phenomenal place to do it.

00:06:48:12 - 00:07:12:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now we are going to offer probably an audio only version as well using like RSS, and they can get it through their Apple iTunes, or Apple podcast feed catcher as well. But YouTube does allow us to have like a place to put those things as well. Not so YouTube shorts, right? When I started posting early on the days of our YouTube channel, my YouTube shorts got tons and tons of traction.

00:07:12:21 - 00:07:32:00
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And I think that the algorithm, because we were new, because we were trying it out, I think the algorithm was rewarding us a little bit. But if you open your you up your YouTube app and right here you just select this plus button, you'll notice it does give you a few options. So that's where you might, you know, put a post, might put a poll or some other like options to your community people.

00:07:32:02 - 00:07:46:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But this option right here, if you click shorts, will give you the option now to film or upload a short. And so of course if you want to film it, it's got this camera functionality. You just hit the camera button and get going, do a selfie style video or turn it around and film whatever's out in front of you.

00:07:46:29 - 00:08:04:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if you are following my playlist here and you have prerecorded your messages and you've used Open Stop Pro, which is linked down below in the show notes, and you want to, upload a video that you've already downloaded from your phone or from like a Google Drive or Dropbox link. This would be where you would select it.

00:08:04:18 - 00:08:32:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then from this point forward, it's now included. Now you'll notice that YouTube shorts only allows 60 second clips, and so YouTube shorts, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook Reels, similar pieces of content. Those other three, not YouTube allow longer than a minute. So any video uploaded on to YouTube that is vertically based, either on desktop or on mobile will be automatically converted into shorts, and then we'll be put in the shorts feed kind of container on YouTube.

00:08:32:06 - 00:08:54:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so you can create longer than a minute ones that will also upload to Instagram or, you know, TikTok. But because of YouTube's length limit at 60s, every single video that I produce personally, I keep under 60 seconds. That way I can post across all 3 or 4 platforms all at the same time, all at the same video, all the same type of content.

00:08:54:14 - 00:09:13:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so it's uploaded. If it goes beyond 60s, it's going to clip it or shave it. And so you're going to just want to make sure that you keep whatever you are posting at that 60 second limit. And then here off to the side, this is where you might add like text or, you know, add some other features. And then right up here at the top, this is where you might add some music as well.

00:09:13:10 - 00:09:34:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so it's similar. If you've ever used Instagram Reels or TikTok it's similar interface. They're all a little bit different. But once you've kind of done all the editing here, you'll go to the next screen. And this is where you post it. And YouTube only offers like 100 to 160 characters here on the title. and you could go back in after you upload it onto desktop.

00:09:34:23 - 00:09:52:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I have not found a way to do it on mobile yet. I guess unless you go into the YouTube studio app, which is a whole separate app to add things like tags and longer descriptions, but essentially you're just adding the title. Now what this looks like on the home screen is you get three to 4 to 5 words of visibility, depending on the number of characters.

00:09:52:22 - 00:10:20:15
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And in my opinion, that actually tends to be what draws me to click a YouTube short. And so you might consider putting an emoji. Here you go to like emojipedia emoji. emojipedia.org or whatever to copy and paste in emoji. or just use one from your phone. Obviously if you're posting on mobile, and from there then you'll be able right to, to type maybe eye catching or hook inducing kind of title.

00:10:20:18 - 00:10:36:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, the question you might be asking is like, what do I post? Right? Well, if you've been following this playlist again, I recommend using Opus.Pro to get your long form teaching videos, which you have done by sitting down direct camera in front of a cell phone. You've upload that to opus. It's giving you however many clips.

00:10:36:10 - 00:10:54:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I personally use three opus clips per week that are sermon based, and then the rest. I'm doing fun stuff, right? I might do some educational or spiritual based content that's not message related. I might do some spiritual practice videos, but I'm also going to do a lot of fun stuff. And I view my social media and again linked down below in my e-book.

00:10:54:01 - 00:11:08:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Grab that if you want my full strategy on what you should be posting on your social media. But I give you ideas and I give instructions on how to do it, what to post, ideas and things to use, how to include your students, how to include your volunteers, how to include your other staff, how to just include yourself.

00:11:08:10 - 00:11:36:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But creating content that is based I and and optimized for social media because social media is much more than just an announcement platform, social media is a chance for us to produce entertaining and fun and relevant content that people actually get on social media to consume. And so post some sermon clips and post some fun clips so you have a good variety of both, and that you're giving a good picture of what you and your church is all about.

00:11:36:18 - 00:12:02:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But then, I recommend what I do right now is I post two times per day, five days per week. I take weekends off, and whatever rhythm works best for you. And I was in a heavy, heavy growth mode. I did three times a day. I've backed it down to two times a day. but also, if you can only post one time a day or one time every other day, so that you're like 3 to 4 times a week, whatever you do, just show up regularly.

00:12:02:26 - 00:12:29:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if you are sitting down and taking the time to pre film your messages, you have that content to then help supplement what you post on social media. So if you do a long form video and you're just getting started and you want to do a sermon clip, do one sermon clip and then do two other types of clips, one fun, one with your students and then one other selfie style video where you're just giving, a continuation or devotional thought from the message of that week.

00:12:29:06 - 00:12:50:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And boom, there's three posts, one every other day, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and you're good to go. Another thing that we as youth pastors have in our back pocket at any given time is recap videos like ten, 3 to 5 second clips that you put into like a cap cut template or something like that. And you can create a Wednesday night or Sunday night or whatever night your youth night is.

00:12:50:04 - 00:13:08:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Recap very, very easily, without a lot of work, without a lot of editing. And those things perform really well on social media because not only are students looking for themselves, but parents also are looking to see if they're students having a good time at youth group. But once you're ready to post over here, back on the post screen for the YouTube shorts.

00:13:08:11 - 00:13:42:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
This is my favorite feature and it's unique to YouTube because we are posting our messages, our long form messages to YouTube. And so when you post short, you can link it to a featured video. And so when I post a sermon clip, I link it to my long form sermon video. So if someone stumbles across our video on the YouTube shorts feed and they're just scrolling through and they're stopped because of the hook or the text on screen or whatever the case might be, and it it in a it captures their imagination and it makes them start thinking and they start wondering, and they want to explore more.

00:13:42:25 - 00:14:04:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Boom. Right here at the bottom of the video is a full featured video, and it will take them over to that. And that's one fantastic way to grow on social media. And it especially works well for those of us in youth ministry who are pre filming our messages, and are then also growing and posting via the community tab and on YouTube shorts.

00:14:04:27 - 00:14:21:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Listen, I know it's been a lot of work. I know we've been like adjusting our time management. But in the next video I want to take you to is I want to show you our full church studio. We took one room in our church and we completely revamped it for a studio. I'm going to give you the tour.

00:14:21:12 - 00:14:36:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm going to go through all the gear. I'm going to talk through all the equipment. I'm also going to share with you some of the different concepts and how we utilize and use it. All of that is going to be here in the very next video, which is linked right here directly on screen. I hope to see you over in that video.

00:14:36:27 - 00:14:41:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And don't forget and as always, to stay hybrid.

Episode 096: 🔀 YouTube Playlists: Rethinking Teaching in the Church

Nick Clason — Thu, 09 May 2024 04:00:00 -0500

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DESCRIPTION
YouTube Playists are a fantastic way to offer courses and learnings for your church.
And when we lean into them, you can start to get time back for your family during the evenings.

Anything that you might be tempted to turn into a meeting can become a playlist.
We'll show you everything you need from philosophy behind online teaching as well as how to get started posted playlists on YouTube.

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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Teaching and the Local Church
02:12 In-Person vs. Online Teaching
08:05 YouTube Playlists for Churches
10:53 How to Get more Time at Home

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:27:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The Great Commission of Jesus tells us to make disciples, to then baptize people. And then thirdly, and finally to teach. Teaching is one of the primary functions that all of us accomplish as members of the local church, as churches and pastors and leaders. Teaching Disciples of Christ is one of the primary ways in which we raise them up to become more and more in the image of Christ.

00:00:27:05 - 00:00:52:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So teaching takes all kinds of different forms, but one of the main forms is through a sermon. And so if you've ever sat through a sermon, then go ahead and like this video because we're going to talk about rethinking teaching a little bit in this video. If you've ever delivered a sermon of your own, then give us a subscribe because we're going to help you craft that in a way that can live in exist on YouTube in a hybrid manner.

00:00:52:01 - 00:01:16:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And, well, regardless of whether you're in either of those camps, turn the bell on. Because in this playlist, we want to help you navigate teaching in YouTube and in a playlist like right here at the very top of this video. We are in a series in the video playlist called YouTube for Youth Ministry. Whether you're in youth ministry or in church ministry, this playlist is all aimed at helping you and your church become relevant.

00:01:16:23 - 00:01:43:16
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And postings on YouTube that can live beyond just a one time meeting. And so one question that I've been grappling with in this entire playlist is does teaching is it required and mandated to be in person? Obviously, all of us like when things are in person and it feels more comfortable. But in today's video, we'll unpack that question and we'll explore these three things.

00:01:43:16 - 00:02:08:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Number one, in person versus online based teaching. Number two, the best teaching component that I believe is already embedded in included in the YouTube algorithm and is a huge and strategic advantage for most churches. And finally, how do you reduce your nightly commitments of being out of the house and in church? Meeting, and how do you how you reduce that by half?

00:02:08:17 - 00:02:41:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show, Well, hey everyone and welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. And we are on the downhill slope of YouTube for youth ministry. We're on episode 96 here, which means we're only four away from the 100th episode. And I have a really special and very different interview style, hundredth episode coming up. It is going to be awesome, but we are in this playlist, here now talking about YouTube for youth ministry and one of the kind of key grapplings is does teaching have to be in-person versus online?

00:02:41:08 - 00:03:04:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And little spoiler. The second point of this video is talking about the best component included in YouTube, and that is playlists. And that's what we're going to be looking into today, is creating playlists for YouTube and youth ministry, and how you can go about, like adding your teachings to YouTube. But the first question, I think, probably demands a little bit more of a philosophical response.

00:03:04:22 - 00:03:49:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right? Does teaching is it required to be together in person? And so, let's just be honest. Let's talk about a couple of things. First of all, online and the internet is phenomenal, right? For a couple of different things. And in-person is phenomenal for a couple of different things. And they are uniquely different. And so one of the reasons why we we can't just only like live stream our videos to the internet and leave it at that without coming back behind it and optimizing it for the internet is because that's created for an in-person moment and, like a YouTube video or a podcast.

00:03:49:06 - 00:04:20:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Those are created for like online types of learnings or conversations. And so I think that online is actually a fantastic content delivery source. And I think in some cases, raise your hand. Give me a like comment below. If you've ever been in a PTA meeting or if you've ever sat through like a government presentation that is like PowerPoint heavy, or if you've ever been to like something from your kid's school that you're like, man, I could have done this better, right?

00:04:20:26 - 00:04:41:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Because it's boring. And they're just they're like kind of droning on like the Charlie Brown teacher. But the internet is actually strategically, uniquely positioned to be really good for content delivery. We have things like podcasts, we have things like online courses, we have things like YouTube videos just like this. In fact, what I would love to do is offer.

00:04:41:23 - 00:05:05:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right now I'm offering three slots and I have one of them already filled, but three slots of 100% free, online hybrid and or YouTube coaching. And so if you're looking to go from ground zero to actually doing something on the internet, I'm offering four sessions of coaching 100% completely free to you. All I ask is that you actually use my service and that you give me a killer review.

00:05:05:26 - 00:05:25:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
If you believe that my services demand that. But I want to help you get up and off the ground because there are a lot of opportunities on the internet now. But that being said, you and I are like, well, bro, listen, we did this. We lived during Covid. We know how much it stunk to be forced to be only online.

00:05:25:21 - 00:05:52:18
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And and we all missed in-person. And that is 100% true because in-person ministry and in-person moments are best for things like community and things like relationships. Just like you can teach a message while you're in-person, you can deliver content while you're in-person. Online offers a unique opportunity for that. And in the same way, you can experience community online things like discord channels.

00:05:52:18 - 00:06:12:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I'm a big Oklahoma City Thunder fan. I actually means a lot of community through things like Twitter. during Thunder games, or people who play online video games. So community is also possible online, but we all know it's best nearly eye to eye, shoulder to shoulder. That's what things like small groups and discipleship often happen best in in-person settings.

00:06:12:23 - 00:06:35:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, you know, there are also moments where, an in-person group, we meet together, but we have a group chat that stays pretty active throughout the week. And that's one of the ways that we stay connected to one another. That's the power of hybrid. And so in most cases, most churches I've ever been to or seen are using in utilizing in-person trainings in their teachings.

00:06:35:14 - 00:07:09:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That element of the Great Commission as, must see-TV. “Hey parents, we have a screen time workshop and it is on Saturday at 11 a.m. hope to see you there.” As if that content can't be captured and recorded and disseminated otherwise. And afterwards. Because what's our goal? Do we want parents to be equipped and learn the information that we're presenting, or do we want their butts in the seats to cover our attendance numbers?

00:07:09:24 - 00:07:40:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. And so while it's necessary, I'm not proposing giving away and and doing away with in-person teachings. Right, I do I do want you to understand that it doesn't always have to be an in-person experience. And YouTube gives us a really amazing opportunity to do that. And I'll actually help you get started in this for free. Link down below is my 100% completely free hybrid strategy guide going from zero to actually starting to do something.

00:07:40:11 - 00:08:04:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And one of those elements is recording videos and posting them to YouTube. I have a gear list in that e-book for under $100 to get you going, with cell phones and tripods and microphones to get up and running and start recording some videos and posting them to YouTube. Next, we're going to look at what YouTube already has, which is this component called playlists.

00:08:04:23 - 00:08:26:20
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So anything that you might be tempted to turn into a class or a meeting or a workshop or a meetup or an after church, like pizza with the pastor sort of thing, any one of those that isn't like relationally charged, I believe. And even if they are relationally charged, we can pivot and reposition the way that we're doing it so that it can be included in a YouTube playlist.

00:08:26:20 - 00:08:52:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, playlists are basically like free courses on YouTube's platform. So like, here's just a few examples and ideas of things that you could use in a playlist setting, but it's not limited to these things. You. The sky is truly the limit, and anything that you feel like you could use or might need down the road in the future, like you can take these and use them.

00:08:52:03 - 00:09:11:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So like we this is one we have done. We created a like baptism class. Like what is the theology behind it? Why do we do it? what are the biblical implications for it? And so we just filmed a little videos explaining those things. You can also do one on like the Lord's Supper or you know why we take it, the symbolism behind it.

00:09:12:00 - 00:09:37:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
You could do like an Old Testament survey, a New Testament style survey. You could do a playlist on like spiritual gifts and volunteering in the church. And so first like figuring out what your spiritual gifts are, and then second, like how to discover where the opportunities are. You could do one on lust, and purity and battling like addiction. And that way you could do ones for parents on like screens and technology.

00:09:37:08 - 00:10:07:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
you could also do one on like the problem of evil. Why do bad things happen? People are always asking that question. It's a really relevant topic. Leader trainings, parent workshops. Like, you know, in the video link down below, we talked about the importance of asking and answering specific questions for students. And so while a good strategy is answering specific questions for teenagers in the land of this playlist conversation, you're doing that with your sermon series as well.

00:10:08:04 - 00:10:26:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But what's like a question? You know that, like you have to answer on a pretty frequent basis that you could capture and post to YouTube? And I get it. You're like, well, I've done the the work, the content. I've sat in front of a camera and delivered it. But now, like, I want to make sure it looks like good for YouTube.

00:10:26:12 - 00:10:49:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And hey, I also, in addition to free coaching, I'm also offering a limited time offer for some free video editing. And so if you want 4 or 5 professionally done videos that you can include into a playlist type format, I would love to help you do that same stipulation as the coaching. Just use it and just leave me a review and you can get more information for that down below.

00:10:49:27 - 00:11:13:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In the show notes. And all of this leaning into hybrid, leaning into digital. Right. Let's be honest, it's going to help you default into being able to spend more time at home because whenever we're like, “oh man, we need to host this parent meeting.” And we already got Wednesday nights, we already got Sunday night. So I need to figure out another night of the week that parents are available to host an informational meeting.

00:11:13:13 - 00:11:37:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so that has to be like a Monday night or a Tuesday night or a Thursday night or whatever the case may be. Right? We we default into hosting those things in in-person meetings. And so start asking yourself this question is, “Can this content be covered in a digital format?” Can this content go on a YouTube playlist?” It's great for sermon series.

00:11:37:10 - 00:11:57:04
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
By the way, if you start, pre filming your messages like any message is a playlist. Any course can be a playlist. And now I get it. You're like, well, “I really want to be like in-person and like working this out with the students,” then yes, by all means, you should be doing those types of things in person.

00:11:57:11 - 00:12:17:14
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But if it's strictly an information style, transfer of things like that can very easily be recorded and sent out and you get to do the recording and the sending out in the editing and all the components that go along with it in your office hours, and you get to do that and then be home at night with your family.

00:12:17:17 - 00:12:46:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so when should a meeting be in person? When do we we make the decision that this one, this one needs to be in person? Well, often we default to having it in person for things like accountability. I want to I want to be sure that they're watching this, that they're consuming this information. But if you've ever seen, like the learning, the learning triangle pyramid, like only 5% of people retain information from auditory lecture style based teachings.

00:12:46:05 - 00:13:14:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And so often the thing we're saying when we say, I want to ensure that they get this content is we want to force them to be there because we don't actually trust them to consume the information on their own time. And in some cases, that might be valid, right? But rarely is the content delivery in the style actually more captivating than setting them up with some good content and some good editing in a YouTube or a podcast style environment.

00:13:15:00 - 00:13:38:06
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So here's a fact regardless, like as you as you're measuring these things out like why in-person, when in person should it be in person? YouTube has a ton to offer, one of which is what we just talked about here playlists. We're actually going to explore a couple other really cool features in the YouTube platform called, the shorts feature and the community tab.

00:13:38:12 - 00:13:57:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
That video is going to be linked right here on the screen. So if you're ready to jump into episode 97, hit that on screen. Catch us over there on the next one. Don't forget. And as always, we are making digital discipleship easy, possible, and accessible. So stay hybrid.

Episode 095: 💻 Posting Your Teaching Message to YouTube

Nick Clason — Thu, 02 May 2024 04:00:00 -0500

💥 [LIMITED TIME OFFER] Video Editing for Youth Pastors💥

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/editing

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Whether you think it or not, if you're a youth pastor, you're in the content creation business!

In this episode we'll walk you through how to create
•Epic Titles
•SEO Infused Tags
•Meaningful Descriptions
•Links that get clicks
•Helpful Chapters
•Eye-Popping Thumbnails
•YouTube Cards & End Screens

This step-by-step guide is your way to get started growing on YouTube, today!

//YOUTUBE VIDEO

TITLES
"The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//SONY ZVE-10
https://walmrt.us/3IyaDWv

TAGS
//VIDIQ
https://vidiq.com/hybrid

DESCRIPTIONS & LINKS
//ONLINE MESSAGE EXAMPLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVc2Ij_Wo9w

//DIGITAL NOTES (YOUVERSION EVENTS)
https://my.bible.com/events

CHAPTERS

THUMBNAILS
//ADOBE TUTORIALS
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaKVpQBDSQV6Q9hFeXCptHSu

//CANVA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0FQWvKjP_E&list=PLngXlSr64YaIdZ-RLm5uVVlHj46FKrMYw&index=2

CARDS
💥 [LIMITED TIME OFFER] Video Editing for Youth Pastors💥
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/editing

💥 [LIMITED TIME OFFER] Social Coaching for Youth Pastors💥
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

//TELEPROMPTER
https://walmrt.us/4a6ZJU1

END SCREENS
//MOTION ARRAY
http://www.motionarray.com

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

📹 "Adobe Premiere Pro Presets for Animating Layers"
https://share.hsforms.com/1VL1oWwWwQ82PLwsPFkPITgnumis

======================================
🛠️TOOLS
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Youth Pastors are Content Creators
01:48 Creating Captivating Titles on YouTube
04:57 Adding Relevant Tags
07:07 Creating Descriptions that Matter
11:00 Create Chapter and Timecodes
11:55 Eye-Popping Thumbnails
13:14 What are YouTube Cards?
15:44 End Screens on YouTube

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:38:18
Nick Clason
Mr. Beast, Dave Ramsey, Sean Cannell and you? What do all four of these people have in common? Well, all four of them, including you, by the way, are a content creator. And if you're a youth pastor, you are in the content creation business and maybe not yet creating online content, but you have the skill set necessary because we right now are in a playlist linked right here at the top of the screen where we are talking about YouTube for youth ministry.

00:00:38:18 - 00:01:07:10
Nick Clason
And if you've done the things that we've talked about in this playlist so far, while you start pre-recording your messages and you start scoping them out ahead of time, and you start with the idea of posting them to YouTube, which, by the way, right now I'm offering a very limited time free editing offer. So if you pre film your messages and you want to send them to me, once you get to the whole kind of editing part, which tends to be what trips people up on YouTube, I would be happy to do that.

00:01:07:10 - 00:01:28:24
Nick Clason
Click the link down below in the show notes and reach out and let me know and inquire if those spaces are still available. But you know, content is one thing, right? Like creating the content, shooting the content, even posting the content, right? But when you post it, there are actually some pretty incredibly important things that you need to make sure that you are doing.

00:01:29:00 - 00:02:00:16
Nick Clason
And we are going to talk through all of those things today in this video where we are talking about your titling, your tags, your description, the links that you include in your description, how to make chapters, thumbnails, cards and end screens. I know it seems overwhelming, but let's hang out and let's dive into that today. So if you head on over to YouTube, once you've created an account and you click create and you click upload video, you will get a screen just like this and you will click select file.

00:02:00:16 - 00:02:20:11
Nick Clason
And then you will begin uploading it. And once it begins to upload on YouTube it will look like this. So this is from episode 93 on video editing. And so I've already input all the details. But if you are watching, on YouTube right now, you'll see this. If you're on a podcast catcher, head to the link in the show notes and scrub ahead to this section.

00:02:20:11 - 00:02:41:23
Nick Clason
But you will see right up here at the top your title. Now, this is what most people do in churches. This is certainly what we did in church, especially when we started in the middle of the pandemic. We had a show, it was called unscripted and we would, have them classify by seasons, which I thought was pretty cool and pretty innovative.

00:02:41:23 - 00:03:16:01
Nick Clason
So we would say like unscripted season two episode four, which was great for us as far as indexing and titling and categorizing. However, think about this. If we had a lesson on unscripted that week and unscripted was every single thing in the, show. So that included like the game and the worship and all the thing. But like, if we had a message on suffering, let's say, like it would just say season two, episode four, there was no titling there that, you know, indicated, what the actual topic was of the message.

00:03:16:01 - 00:03:38:00
Nick Clason
So your title, just like your thumbnail, both are really important as far as communicating to your audience what your video is going to be talking about. And so if you're in church, a lot of times we do this in churches where in the middle of like a series and we're like, David series, sermon three. Right. Which like, that's great.

00:03:38:00 - 00:04:00:27
Nick Clason
And you can actually on YouTube really easily include your series into a thing called a playlist. And so they can all be included. David, you know, can be included into a playlist, but talk about what you're talking about, you know. So if you're talking about David and Bathsheba, maybe your title is like coming back from Giant Mistakes or leaning in to God's grace.

00:04:00:27 - 00:04:25:14
Nick Clason
Right. And I'm going to talk to you in just a minute about ways that you can figure out the best words and the ways to title these things. But very simply, if you make this small shift from just creating it for your church people, where you're explaining, like David, you know, message three and instead shifting it to like what the actual topic is like, that is going to be one major and massive shift.

00:04:25:14 - 00:04:50:10
Nick Clason
And in my completely free e-book, which is linked right here on screen with a little bit of a rebrand, new new title, we are now switching the name if you've already downloaded it. Still the same content. I just changed the title to The Complete Hybrid Strategy Guide. and we actually talked to you, in this e-book in detail for you how to start pre filming your messages and how to get going on YouTube.

00:04:50:10 - 00:05:08:10
Nick Clason
So maybe you've been watching this playlist, but if you download this e-book it will be kind of your step by step guide to starting to create content on YouTube. Once you get past your titling, there's another really important part. And it's all the way down here at the bottom. it's passed you a little description box. It's pass it thumbnail thing.

00:05:08:12 - 00:05:28:26
Nick Clason
It's pass your playlist selector and it's in this area here called tags. Okay. Now you'll see right here on mine I have these little like, ranking things and that's from a service called vid IQ which link down below is a vid IQ link if you're interested in grabbing that for a free trial or for a period of time.

00:05:28:28 - 00:05:48:25
Nick Clason
But this will help rank what some of your tags are. So if you are talking about David and Bathsheba, you might write in David and you might write in Overcoming Sin, and you might write in God's restorative grace. And just these tags, these are ways in which people, that search for things on YouTube. Because, remember, YouTube is owned by Google.

00:05:48:25 - 00:06:12:24
Nick Clason
And so people are going to YouTube and they are searching things like they went on Google, for example, how do I come back from a massive mistake that I've made and maybe your video on David will actually help communicate that. Or maybe someone's looking for some research on David and they're saying, hey, I want to know, like, when were David and Bathsheba like, you know, what year did David and Bathsheba take place or something like that?

00:06:12:24 - 00:06:32:05
Nick Clason
I don't know, but just begin to think like the people that are searching on YouTube. And so you may answer certain things like, you know, how to overcome sin, but you may also answer David and Bathsheba, you know, whatever year it was or something like that. And so you can put some of those things in. And this little plug in here is from vid IQ.

00:06:32:05 - 00:06:54:24
Nick Clason
And so I have that plugged in right here at the top, watch some of my stats and gives me kind of some, some analytic type stuff. And so it also can give me you know, some, some suggestions for tags and stuff like that. And so if you are interested in that, something like that, you can get that for a pretty nominal, pretty minimal fee and also a trial to go ahead and get the ball rolling on that.

00:06:54:24 - 00:07:14:24
Nick Clason
You should definitely check that out. But tags are pretty important. And you'll see that it has, 500 potential characters. So whatever you do, try your hardest to, get your tags filled all the way out to as close to 500 tags as possible. after that, I want to talk here for just a minute about the, description section.

00:07:14:24 - 00:07:33:13
Nick Clason
So the description section, this is where I include a lot of, like, relevant links. And so if you're watching on YouTube and you're watching my video right here, this is my, you know, hey, I'm offering free editing right now, so click that link. And since that's one of my main kind of call to actions out of this message, out of this video, like, I want you to click that.

00:07:33:13 - 00:07:50:29
Nick Clason
I'm putting it right up at the top. I also have my strategy guide right here. and you can also grab that as well. then right here, this is like just a description. So just think like think like a little mini, you know, paragraph two paragraphs, three paragraphs, kind of blog post. So same kind of idea as the tags.

00:07:50:29 - 00:08:19:13
Nick Clason
But this one is you're typing it out. You're typing it out, for the audience that may find it because YouTube and the algorithm, they're always crawling every single piece of text and every single piece of content from the video. So all the captions that you have, all the words that you say, all the things you write, all the tags you have, all the title that you have, all those things go into account as people are searching and looking for different videos on YouTube.

00:08:19:13 - 00:08:37:26
Nick Clason
And so, just fill this thing out and I'll show you an example. if you are watching on YouTube, you can see me navigating over to it live time right now. But our student ministry YouTube account, and you'll see that we have every single one. We have, a next step. So this just takes us to we use, Church Community builder.

00:08:37:26 - 00:08:58:27
Nick Clason
So this is our digital Next step card that's included in every single description. And we have a thing called digital notes, which students can use to follow along, both live in the room and also here on YouTube. And so, this is free a free service from the YouVersion Bible app. It's just a way to continually make things more hybrid in your space.

00:08:58:29 - 00:09:18:28
Nick Clason
and so look, you look we're talking about David this week as well on this episode. and so this is just an example of a couple of links that you can include. And I like to try to include every single, next step, every single link into here, into the digital notes. And so, you know, right here it says Ready to surrender Control.

00:09:18:28 - 00:09:40:27
Nick Clason
Let us know by taking a next step. This is the exact same link as the one I just showed you, right. It takes it out to that next steps form as well. And so we're all this is like our final last step. And so in my sort of like ultimate strategy guide I'm posting fun shorts that people will find as I'm posting spiritual shorts so that people will be inspired, that then push to our long form content.

00:09:40:29 - 00:09:55:26
Nick Clason
So then they go watch a long form version of our video, and then that drives them to a next step, and then they take the next step here. And that's how we capture and gather their information. That's how it is in a pie in the sky type of world. It doesn't always work that way. You know that as a youth pastor as well.

00:09:55:28 - 00:10:14:06
Nick Clason
But this is how I can reconcile and say like, this is why we post fun content. This is why we post short inspirational shorts, because we're driving to this long form version of our video, which is then driving toward a next step which allows us to capture information from students, gather their their info and follow up with them, and ultimately disciple them.

00:10:14:06 - 00:10:36:04
Nick Clason
Right. And so that's that description. Place is also where you can include, the links like, you know, digital notes. If you want to do that, feel free to borrow that, steal that. You use that in your own space, or in next steps form or whatever the case may be, if you are not, you know, like if you're, not a youth pastor and you're also just looking to post videos on YouTube, that would be where you might post things like affiliate links and whatever.

00:10:36:04 - 00:10:55:02
Nick Clason
And so you'll see that for me as well. Like right here, these are my show notes. And so these are different things like you know this it takes you to the show notes on my podcast page. This is you know we talked about Cap Cut, DaVinci resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, some other links about growing as an editor, tutorials, limited time offer.

00:10:55:04 - 00:11:17:11
Nick Clason
Here's all my socials. Here's some other freebies. Here's some affiliate links, like so. All that stuff is kind of chock full in there. But then this is another really important thing. This is really, key thing to do. I think when you're posting videos to YouTube is create chapter and time codes, and all you got to do is just add them right here in the description.

00:11:17:11 - 00:11:39:21
Nick Clason
If you're watching live on YouTube, you can see that. And I just go back through the video and I watch it manually, and I type out when I started talking about each of these things. And if you are watching on YouTube, you'll see down below. I'm also now starting to highlight that on screen with some text right? So that whenever anyone's watching, they can scrub ahead and see what I'm actually talking about in each section of the video.

00:11:39:21 - 00:12:00:15
Nick Clason
Because I don't know about you, but there are some times where I don't want all the fluff at the beginning, I just want the direct answer. So YouTube helps index better when you include chapters, and just by putting them in there, YouTube will auto break that up and it will, create chapters and create divisions within your video for the people in your in your space that are watching it.

00:12:00:17 - 00:12:27:20
Nick Clason
beyond chapters. the other thing that is really important, probably just as important I would say, is the title is your thumbnail. And so your thumbnail is very simply your, your, your like first impression, right, of what's going on. And so, a lot of experts say you want anywhere from, 2 to 6 words on the thumbnail, as little as possible.

00:12:27:21 - 00:12:51:07
Nick Clason
Because think about if someone's scrolling through on their phone. They're just getting a small image of it. So you want it to be enough to incite curiosity that will cause someone to click on it and then get started on your video. And so rather than David, invest Sheba week three of the David series, your church name in your, you know, date that you preach it or whatever.

00:12:51:10 - 00:13:14:20
Nick Clason
Like just simply post like, you know, returning to God. Something like that. Right. And you can put, like a screenshot of yourself or a screenshot of whoever's speaking and do some graphic editing. With that, you can use things like Adobe Photoshop. You can use things like Canva, links to those all down in the description of this podcast episode.

00:13:14:22 - 00:13:20:01
Nick Clason
but you can use some of those things so that you can create a good first impression.

00:13:20:01 - 00:13:35:08
Nick Clason
One other, couple other kind of like next level sections. And you'll see here, here's my vidiq optimize score. there are a couple of things here that I have not, you know, like, they don't they don't think my titles very easy to understand.

00:13:35:10 - 00:13:53:06
Nick Clason
but one of the things that can help increase your score is adding things like cards. And so you get one card per playlist. And if you're watching this video, I did it right, the very top. Right. So we're in a playlist called YouTube for Youth Ministry. In this video I did it as well. I did it at 45 seconds.

00:13:53:13 - 00:14:09:28
Nick Clason
And so I'm just highlighting like, hey, you're in the middle of a playlist. If you want to go back to the beginning, catch up, or you may reference another video from another time. Maybe somebody, doesn't want this video that you're talking about, but you can help point them out to another type of thing that they may be interested in.

00:14:10:01 - 00:14:33:04
Nick Clason
It'll show up on screen, similar to something like this. Someone can click on it while they're on YouTube and take them to another video on YouTube. Sean Cannell has, a Ten Commandments for YouTube. And one of the things is keep people on YouTube's platform as long as possible. At least that's YouTube's cool, right? And so, all these things help help you rank better.

00:14:33:04 - 00:14:54:19
Nick Clason
So that's an example of a card. You get one of those per video. And when you're pre filming you can write that in. And if you're using a teleprompter like we had talked about in a previous episode, linked to a teleprompter down below in the show notes. Grab that. But you can write that in so that you make sure that you include the card in your video, but you can, you know, kind of point to it.

00:14:54:21 - 00:15:12:28
Nick Clason
and here's like a little hack, like if you are filming direct camera, if you point with your left finger, it'll pop up right here on top of your screen. A lot of times I'll add a sound effect and maybe like the thumbnail of the playlist or the video I'm talking about, and pop it right in right where my finger comes in, and also have it come across right above it as well.

00:15:13:00 - 00:15:33:11
Nick Clason
That's just a little editing thing. And again, if you're interested in editing, reach out to me down below in the show notes. but finally the last piece. And, you know, also, by the way, hey, listen, here's the thing. Maybe you don't have a budget for editing and you're like, I want to do this. and I'm going to learn editing, but, like, I just I need someone to help me walk through this.

00:15:33:11 - 00:15:53:19
Nick Clason
Like, I'm also offering some coaching right now at a smaller rate. for sessions of coaching, just a few. Just a few bucks. If that's something that you're interested in, I can help you go from wherever you are and start making progress on your hybrid strategy today. And then the final piece that you want to include is your end screens.

00:15:53:19 - 00:16:17:29
Nick Clason
And it's the same concept as the card where you want to keep people on the YouTube platform. As long as possible. You'll notice on, this video here, I included, four different end screens. I have, and this is, this is a little hack. I often, dovetail onto the next video on my on my playlist, but this is the most recent video I've uploaded.

00:16:18:03 - 00:16:36:27
Nick Clason
And so right now I don't actually have the next video on my playlist. all the way edited and all the way uploaded to YouTube. And so right here, this is just a placeholder once I upload, video 94, this is video 93. Once I upload video 94, I'll go back into here and I'll replace this video right here, which is called video, which is best for viewer.

00:16:36:27 - 00:17:03:04
Nick Clason
That's YouTube's algorithm doing its thing. And I'll add video 94. Now you might be thinking, Nick, aren't if I post it and I say next videos on screen and it's not uploaded yet, won't that be a problem? And yes, for that like one week or so it won't be there. Okay. But from that moment on, once you upload or the the second video on the playlist goes live, it will live there on for the rest of eternity and time.

00:17:03:04 - 00:17:29:12
Nick Clason
And so one of the things we got to start getting, getting used to as youth pastors and people using the internet is that YouTube will live on in perpetuity forever, as long as you keep it up there and so. Well, the people that watch your video now, for your church, maybe in the series with David and Bathsheba, when you move on to the next section of the The Playlist and you're talking about David at the end of his life, and that's video number four.

00:17:29:15 - 00:17:51:09
Nick Clason
If people discover this a year down the road, two years down the road, ten years down the road, they will have access to that next video. And you can serve the people on YouTube forever. And that's one of the beautiful things about you and I as youth pastors, becoming content creators is that we can, effectively reach more people than just the people in our direct physical care.

00:17:51:09 - 00:18:10:14
Nick Clason
And that's one of the reasons I think going hybrid as at least one of the other benefits and I don't even think it should be the main or primary benefit of what we're doing, but it is at least something that we can use and utilize to our advantage. I also oftentimes include the playlist on here and the subscribe thing as well.

00:18:10:14 - 00:18:26:14
Nick Clason
And so you can add those to the end of your video as well. You can create a little Endor screen like I do, which has like little placeholders. And you just pop the video right in there. You can use something like a motion or a.com to find a thing like that. Speaking event screens. You will see right here on screen.

00:18:26:14 - 00:18:45:19
Nick Clason
If you're watching on YouTube our next video, which is the importance of playlists and courses. And so we're going to talk in depth about those. How do you utilize them and the advantage that you and I as youth pastors have, and how playlists are the perfect solution for us in our churches, in our youth ministries. So go ahead and check that video out.

00:18:45:19 - 00:18:49:08
Nick Clason
And don't forget, and as always, to stay hybrid.

Episode 093: 📹 LiveStream vs. Pre-Filming: Editing for Youth Ministries

Nick Clason — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 04:00:00 -0500

💥 [LIMITED TIME OFFER] Video Editing for Youth Pastors💥

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/editing

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Should Churches Quit Live-Streaming their videos to YouTube?
If YouTube is as relevant and powerful of a platform, it seems as though we should be making it a top priority
How can youth pastors grow as video editors and make the maximum impact on their students and teenagers?
Follow along as we unpack how to grow on YouTube for Youth Ministries
FULL PLAYLIST
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLHMhNNfqmmmAsKRJ1VCBJl
======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/093

//YOUTUBE VIDEO
https://youtu.be/6w8RQWFioJM

//SONY ZVE-10
https://walmrt.us/3IyaDWv

VIDEO EDITING OPTIONS
//CAPCUT
https://capcut.com

//DAVINCI RESOLVE
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/event/davinciresolvedownload

//ADOBE PREMIERE PRO
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud.html

//FINAL CUT PRO
https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/
https://www.finalcutforwindows.com/

GROWING AS A VIDEO EDITOR
//TIME MANAGEMENT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlS1kWcQBS8&t=190s

//ADOBE TUTORIALS
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaKVpQBDSQV6Q9hFeXCptHSu

//LIMITED TIME OFFER
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/editing

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

📹 "Adobe Premiere Pro Presets for Animating Layers"
https://share.hsforms.com/1VL1oWwWwQ82PLwsPFkPITgnumis

======================================
🛠️TOOLS
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 How to Show Up Digitally for your Students
01:40 Livestream or Pre-Film: The Power of Editing
07:43 Video Editing Platforms
10:28 Growing as a Video Editor

--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:30:01
Nick Clason
Youth pastors My guess is that you would like to be there for hurting and struggling teenagers and be able to ultimately point them to Jesus. What if I told you that you could show up in a place where 95% of them have been will go or plan to go? You would probably do whatever it took to find your way there and help point those kids

00:00:30:04 - 00:00:55:19
Nick Clason
to Jesus, what if I also told you that that place was YouTube? Well, it's true. According to Pew Research, 95% of teens are on or have been on YouTube. Here's the good news. We are currently in the middle of a playlist linked right here at the top of the video about YouTube for Youth Ministries, Everything you need to know from the philosophy to the tactile, getting it done and getting it posted.

00:00:55:19 - 00:01:26:04
Nick Clason
And today we're talking about the dreaded editing, editing of videos like Subscribe and Turn On the Bell, because I want to help you show up where 95% of your teenagers are. And I'm doing it on YouTube 100% completely for free in this video. I want to explore the debate of livestream versus pre shooting and pre filming. Your messages how you as a youth pastor can grow as a video editor and designer.

00:01:26:06 - 00:01:53:15
Nick Clason
We're also going to talk about how you can get professional YouTube videos edited for completely free by somebody else. Sound too good to be true? Stick around to find out. So should we livestream our services and post them online or should we pre film our messages? Well, for me, as a youth pastor, that was a debate that I had when I started at the church that I'm working at right now.

00:01:53:17 - 00:02:16:22
Nick Clason
Started here in September of 2022. And I wanted because we were a in-person church, I wanted to livestream our messages. I wanted to livestream our messages mostly so that I could take the livestream long form video, clip it up into shorts and post it on social media throughout the week. I didn't want to do double work, and pre filming feels a little bit like double work.

00:02:16:22 - 00:02:46:20
Nick Clason
And so eventually I landed on pre filming our messages. Not from a strategy standpoint, but honestly from a needs standpoint. We weren't going to retrofit or make the the room have the accommodations to livestream. We weren't going to put the budget resources behind livestreaming our services. And frankly, I didn't even want to livestream as much as I just wanted to live capture the message via video more than just a cell phone on a tripod in the back of the room, on the sound booth.

00:02:46:21 - 00:03:09:20
Nick Clason
And so we started pre filming our messages out of necessity. But one of the things that I noticed and have discovered and come to now, so that was out of necessity, but now out of preference, I would say I will probably forever and always pre film my messages because think about it when you're on YouTube, this is often what us as churches are going up against this on screen.

00:03:09:20 - 00:03:47:29
Nick Clason
If you're not watching, if you're just listening, you can head to the link in the show notes, watch the YouTube video. Mr. Beast and his thumbnail and his 15 minute YouTube video is a type of content that most people are going on to YouTube to watch in an entertaining sort of manner, entertaining sort of fashion. Meanwhile, churches are an hour and 37 minute service with all of the pre-roll announcements and all of their worship services and songs and pastor and announcement and everything is dropped on YouTube without any sort of custom work on a thumbnail or titling or description.

00:03:48:00 - 00:04:20:08
Nick Clason
So all the the, the livestream with the way that we're approaching livestream on the back end, setting it up uploading, and we're going to get into all of that in this playlist as well. So make sure that you are subscribed, but all of that type of stuff matters as well, because as I mentioned in our most recent video, when a student is hurting, you want to be able for them to you want to be able to send them content and videos and resources and things that can help them make sense of the pain that they're experiencing.

00:04:20:11 - 00:04:39:09
Nick Clason
But you also want people to find it. So maybe a student you don't know or student doesn't feel comfortable, whatever the case might be coming to you and asking you that they need help, but you want them to stumble on your YouTube channel and you want them to be able to make sense of the pain and the suffering that they're that they're facing.

00:04:39:09 - 00:05:05:16
Nick Clason
And they're not going to be able to find that. If you have, like your youth group. March 13th, 2024 service. Like they don't know that the topic was on, you know, the problem of evil and how to attach yourself to Jesus when you're going through hard times. So actually, let me do this. This is if you're watching and you're going to probably want to watch this part or at least go back and check it out.

00:05:05:19 - 00:05:20:01
Nick Clason
If you're watching this, right here is a video that I have shot and have done no editing to, now, you can do that and you could post that to YouTube. And so let me just show you what the first like 10 seconds of this video look like.

00:05:20:01 - 00:05:30:13
Nick Clason
this video, we're going to explore the value of the final word. Final words are meaningful, right? Whether they're good or whether they're bad. Think about it.

00:05:30:13 - 00:05:36:26
Nick Clason
All right. And then let me show you what an edited version of this video looks like.

00:05:36:27 - 00:05:42:03
Nick Clason
Same video, same content, but now there's editing on top of it. Let's check it out.

00:05:42:03 - 00:05:49:21
Nick Clason
video, we're going to explore the value of the final word. Final words are meaningful, right? Whether they're good or

00:05:49:21 - 00:05:51:13
Nick Clason
whether they're bad. Think about it. If you've

00:05:51:13 - 00:06:08:19
Nick Clason
You see. And when we simply just drop our our non edited, unfiltered teaching on YouTube, the content can still be delivered and it can still get to the end user. Correct. Is it optimized and is it optimal?

00:06:08:19 - 00:06:17:19
Nick Clason
Right. Like like you wouldn't show up to an expensive White House gala dressed as if you're going to a football game?

00:06:17:26 - 00:06:42:14
Nick Clason
Right. And a lot of times that's what we as churches are doing on YouTube. And and YouTube is a great platform to capture and even post videos. But a lot of times we don't play the part where we don't go into it with the expectation or ability of of attaching ourselves to the appropriate, culturally appropriate kind of moment out there.

00:06:42:14 - 00:07:05:02
Nick Clason
And that's what's going on when we're just simply livestreaming and just dropping the live stream without any sort of other work or editing or titling or tags or a thumbnail or anything on to YouTube. And so you wouldn't go to a gala dressed like you're going to a football game. So don't just drop your on edited unfiltered services on YouTube, right?

00:07:05:03 - 00:07:24:15
Nick Clason
Because once you pre film your message once you capture your teaching somehow, someway on phone on a on a more expensive camera linked down below Sony ZVE-10 the camera that I recommend if you do want to go to the next level or if you want to start using your phone on YouTube, all of that is laid out 100% completely free e-book.

00:07:24:22 - 00:07:58:05
Nick Clason
But once you start posting those things, right, once you start crafting and capturing your messages, you can then off of that dovetail into more of a robust and holistic social media strategy for youth ministries and for churches, one that has your voice and your face and your messaging woven all throughout your social media and your leaders and your students on camera.

00:07:58:07 - 00:08:23:28
Nick Clason
So what platforms can you use to edit? I mean, very simply, if you are looking for a budget or more value engineered experience, there are two platforms that I recommend that are Free CapCut is a web based editor, and if as long as TikTok doesn't get banned, hopefully CapCut will be safe. CapCut and TikTok

00:08:23:29 - 00:08:45:20
Nick Clason
are partners or CapCut was even created by TikTok.. And so it's definitely optimized for short form vertical based video which by the way, side note is good for your short form, vertical based video, but you can also drop in a full length teaching and you can do and have edits and animations and lower thirds and text on screen.

00:08:45:23 - 00:09:02:21
Nick Clason
And so it's web based and so you don't have to download anything like new to your device or your computer or your program. So that might work. Well, if you have a really basic computer and don't have a lot of hard drive space, memory or RAM available to you, the next kind of layer up, I guess I would say, is Da Vinci Resolve.

00:09:02:21 - 00:09:29:15
Nick Clason
They do have a free version of it as well as, of course, as most things do, a paid sort of tier. Beyond that, full disclosure, I have never edited a full length video in cap cut, nor have I ever even opened Da Vinci Resolve because what I use and I'm not trying to sound boujee or anything like that, but I do use Adobe Premiere Pro out of the Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Suite.

00:09:29:18 - 00:09:55:09
Nick Clason
It is probably one of the more expensive options, but the good news is that our church has a creative cloud license and so I'm able to be added in to that. And so you may check and see if as a youth pastor, your church is willing to to dig deep and spring for a more powerful program. And and all I'll say is this is while CapCut is a great free editing tool and DaVinci Resolve, I've heard amazing things.

00:09:55:11 - 00:10:16:24
Nick Clason
You often get what you pay for or are willing to pay for. And so I can do just about anything. I have a vision for in Adobe Premiere Pro. And sometimes when you're using value or free software, you're really only going to get what you know, what you pay for an honorable mention. Of course, I also don't want to leave out Final Cut Pro.

00:10:16:26 - 00:10:40:21
Nick Clason
It's a favorite of many people. Again, I've never used it, but these are just different options, suggestions and things that you can check out. Now. The the thing right. The question at hand is if you're a youth pastor and you have no design, no editing skills, how do you grow as an editor? Is that even necessary? Well, let's talk about it.

00:10:40:24 - 00:11:06:12
Nick Clason
So how did you learn to ride a bike? Hopefully you learned how to ride a bike dropdown in the comments below when you learned how to ride a bike. But probably my guess is that you just did it a bunch. You practiced and in a lot of the same ways. Linked down below is my time management strategy. If you want to grow as an editor, create time time block for yourself.

00:11:06:12 - 00:11:32:00
Nick Clason
Tell yourself when you're going to learn this and then go learn it. I also have a link to below three different Adobe Photoshop in Adobe Premiere Pro. So if there is a platform that you do decide to go with editing videos, how to edit long form video, long form teaching videos, short form teaching videos and create graphics for them using Adobe Photoshop, all of that is available for you, but you simply just got to put in the work.

00:11:32:03 - 00:11:51:11
Nick Clason
Like we live in a microwave culture where we want a quick fix, quick answer, immediate results. Right now that looks great and is professional, but the God honest truth in all of this is like if we want to get better at something, we have to start investing in it. And so

00:11:51:11 - 00:11:55:22
Nick Clason
if editing your videos is important, then you should put the time in.

00:11:55:22 - 00:12:31:17
Nick Clason
Now, here's another little thing, and I have a limited time offer, very, very limited time offer. I have currently opened up three free spaces for you or anyone as a youth pastor to get a series edited by me completely for free. That info is going to be linked on the screen or down below, but I will do your video for free as I am trying to grow in my ability for editing as well as my offerings for youth pastors.

00:12:31:17 - 00:13:01:28
Nick Clason
And so if it's something that you're interested in, reach out to see if it's still available. If not, I do have a budget version of it as well. If those three free spaces are not available, but reach out to me because you might not be an editor and you may not have the time to learn it, but I would be more than willing and more than happy to help you take your editing to the next level and not not in like a coaching type of thing.

00:13:01:28 - 00:13:39:17
Nick Clason
Like, I'll just I'll do it for you. Like, I will take your videos, I will edit them, I will make them look professional, and then I will post them on YouTube for you, or at least show you how to post them. Because once you have edited long form videos, that is going to help you lay out, dish out and flesh out a full social media strategy where everything on your social media is focused on the message that you're teaching live in youth group that week, which is actually what we're going to talk about in the next video in this YouTube playlist linked right here on screen.

00:13:39:19 - 00:13:51:30
Nick Clason
I hope you watch that. I hope you check it out. And I hope that you continue to make digital discipleship easy, possible and accessible. As always, stay hybrid.

Episode 092: 🖐️ 5 Secret Benefits of Filming YouTube Videos for Youth Ministries

Nick Clason — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 04:00:00 -0500

💥 [LIMITED TIME OFFER] Video Editing for Youth Pastors💥

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/editing

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

======================================
DESCRIPTION
📹YouTube is the perfect platform for youth pastors and youth ministries.
Why?

95% of youth group teenagers are on YouTube
YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine, powered by Google
YouTube plays to the skillset of all youth pastors

In this video, let's help you start sitting down in front of the camera and filming messages and content for your youth group!
Follow along as we unpack the best practices guide of YouTube for Youth Pastors:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLHMhNNfqmmmAsKRJ1VCBJl
======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/092

//YOUTUBE VIDEO
https://youtu.be/3bq5CGstZmE

//GET STARTED FOR UNDER $100
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

//SONY ZVE-10
https://walmrt.us/3IyaDWv

//SEAN CANNEL & THINK MEDIA
https://www.youtube.com/@seanTHiNKs

//FULL-PROOF TIME MANAGEMENT GUIDE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlS1kWcQBS8&t=189s

//YOUVERSION LIVE EVENTS
https://my.bible.com/events

//TELEPROMPTER
https://walmrt.us/4a6ZJU1

//TOP 5 YOUTH CURRICULUMS: RANKED!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTQXsananwI

//WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN
[Link Placeholder]

//SIDEKICK
http://www.sidekick.tv

FREE VIDEO EDITING OPTIONS
//CAPCUT
https://www.capcut.com

//DAVINCI RESOLVE

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/event/davinciresolvedownload

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

📹 "Adobe Premiere Pro Presets for Animating Layers"
https://share.hsforms.com/1VL1oWwWwQ82PLwsPFkPITgnumis

======================================
🛠️TOOLS
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products

SONY ZVE-10
https://walmrt.us/3IyaDWv

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Why Youth Pastors should Pre-Film their Messages
02:10 Leveling Up Your YouTube Gear
06:54 Adding Shownotes to your YouTube Videos
10:31 Top 5 Benefits of Pre-Filming Your Messages to YouTube

TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:31:03
Nick Clason
Youth Pastor, Let me guess, you have a desire for the students that you have been entrusted to in your care to come, to learn, know, love and follow Jesus. And let me guess, part of that strategy, part of that way that you hope students do that is to show up for them and to be there when they have difficult and tough questions to help them answer and make sense of life which is around them.

00:00:31:04 - 00:00:57:13
Nick Clason
Well, according to Pew Research, 95% of teenagers have used will use or plan to use the platform of YouTube. And so from the most conservative parents in your church who would never even imagine letting their kids enter the World Wide Web to all the way to the least restrictive parents who gave their kids a phone and let them have wild access to the Internet.

00:00:57:15 - 00:01:21:28
Nick Clason
YouTube is a great strategy and a great platform for students and student ministry. Like if in your youth ministry context, you're using YouTube, subscribe if you're not and hey, either way, hit the bell because we're in a playlist called YouTube for Youth Ministries. But how do we start posting content to YouTube? Like you might know these stats, You might know it's important.

00:01:21:28 - 00:01:44:06
Nick Clason
You might know students are on the you might know it's a really accessible platform, but how do you actually begin filming editing, recording and posting videos to YouTube? Well, this is the perfect video because in it I want to share with you what gear you can use to start leveling up your YouTube game with simply just shooting on your cell phone.

00:01:44:06 - 00:02:07:27
Nick Clason
I also want to talk about how you can manage your time to fit in the process of filming YouTube videos and posting it. I'm also going to give you some next steps directly out of this video so that you can start doing some side benefits for you. And then finally, how to actually edit your video so that it looks good and professional and fits the vibe that's going on YouTube.

00:02:08:03 - 00:02:33:28
Nick Clason
Welcome to the Hybrid ministry show. So if you're anything like me and you work at church, you look around your youth room and you compare it to the auditorium or the main church room that the rest of the or the rest of your, you know, big church is using where your pastors preaching on Sunday morning and you probably look and think, man, I don't have the gear to capture my services and post them on YouTube.

00:02:34:00 - 00:03:05:24
Nick Clason
And the answer to that is probably unequivocally 100% accurate. You probably don't. Right. But I actually have linked right here on screen my 100% completely free e-book, which is called 40 done for you posting tools, which really, honestly maybe needs a new title because what it ultimately is, is my complete philosophy as well as strategy guide for leveling up your YouTube and your social media game.

00:03:05:24 - 00:03:32:00
Nick Clason
It's all about creating custom content for YouTube. And so one of the elements in that e-book, if you click it and if you download it, is a link to a blog that I have created called YouTube Gear on a Budget. And simply what it is is it will help you level up your YouTube gear if you choose to shoot video on your phone that is of course the most expensive piece is that camera piece.

00:03:32:03 - 00:04:04:25
Nick Clason
But you can level up your game for less than $100 by adding in some external microphones. I have linked on in the e-book. Bluetooth wireless microphones, a shotgun style microphone for Android. The same thing's for for iPhones as well. Also, just like a phone based tripod, you can get a tabletop one that's a little shorter or you can get a full, full length standing tripod as well as a basic ring light that so, you know, your videos look decent with lighting.

00:04:05:01 - 00:04:27:25
Nick Clason
You can also take care of most of that by just filming in a space that has some good lighting. And then if you do want to go the next layer beyond just $100 or less, if you want to stop shooting on your phone and you want to start shooting on a good camera, the one that I recommend that was recommended to me by Sean Cannell via his YouTube channel, check out and Think Media.

00:04:27:27 - 00:04:50:29
Nick Clason
If you haven't had a chance. He is a YouTube guru, but the Sony ZVE-10. It’s a Great camera. We bought it along with the lens for about $700 in our student ministry space one time purchase. But now we're using it and we're using it for everything. We're using it for long form videos as well as vertically shot and vertically based videos.

00:04:51:04 - 00:05:15:19
Nick Clason
But one of the pieces, one of the challenges for most youth pastors is that we're running from fire to fire to fire to fire and meeting to meeting to me and to meeting this kid, kid who needs counseling, counseling, counseling, counseling, all the different things, all the different demands of our space and our time. We're linked right here at the top of this video is my 100% completely free, foolproof strategy for good time management.

00:05:15:19 - 00:05:38:26
Nick Clason
And here's the honest truth that frankly, like there are always going to be issues, are always going to be struggles, are always going to be fires and things that pop up on your calendar. But if you manage your time and just a little sneak peek like you are 100% completely in charge of your time and your time management.

00:05:38:26 - 00:06:02:17
Nick Clason
And so if you don't make a priority and a space in your calendar to sit down and pre film your messages, just like we're talking about here, like you are not going to be able to to start posting content to YouTube, you have to make it a priority just like you make sitting down and crafting a Wednesday night program a priority.

00:06:02:23 - 00:06:25:04
Nick Clason
You also have to make sitting down and pre filming your messages a priority. So you're probably going to have to get several weeks in advance on this, both on your teaching scope and curriculum, which link down below. I have link to my five favorite teaching curriculum, so go check that out. And in a video that we've dropped not too long ago, you can check that out if you're interested in something like that.

00:06:25:06 - 00:06:58:24
Nick Clason
But your plan, your curriculum, and then you'll write out your teaching and then you'll sit down and you'll deliver the message direct to camera, all because you told your time what was going to happen to it. And I'm not saying that you shouldn't counsel students and mute their senior pastor and plan for your Wednesday night, but if pre filming your message is if getting the message of Jesus and the message of hope out on the Internet, on YouTube is important to you, then you need to determine when you're going to place that that thing on your calendar to do it.

00:06:58:26 - 00:07:21:11
Nick Clason
Now, just like this YouTube video, all YouTube videos have a description section. And so when you are preaching or teaching or delivering some piece of content direct to camera on screen, you can always say down below in the description are links. And so for every single video that I post on my student Ministry's YouTube channel, we post two links.

00:07:21:11 - 00:07:45:00
Nick Clason
The first link is a next steps digital type connect card. And I think about if you live in the room and you want to challenge students to take the next step of getting baptized, or if you're alive in the room and they prayed to receive Christ or they just need some sort of prayer, you might point them to a physical connect card in the seatback in front of them, or at the middle of like a table or something like that.

00:07:45:00 - 00:08:07:07
Nick Clason
If you're sitting around tables in your space on the same way, you can offer a digital version. And I mean, let's be honest, if they fill out a physical connect card, probably you are taking that caption that information digitally somehow, whether that be in your church management system, in software, or if it's just by tracking that information via something more basic like Excel.

00:08:07:08 - 00:08:31:29
Nick Clason
Nonetheless, you take it from a physical moment to digital. And so if you can offer a digital based connect card, then you know that you are going to be getting that information and you're going to be cutting out that middleman portion. The other thing that I offer in our digital are link in our description in most of our YouTube videos is what we call our digital Notes platform.

00:08:31:29 - 00:08:53:20
Nick Clason
And our digital notes is simply using the free, by the way, free YouVersion live events. And so if you've ever used that before, it's a thing that you can create. And on the back end on you version of the Bible app, you create a live service. And so I set our digital notes to go quote unquote live.

00:08:53:20 - 00:09:24:27
Nick Clason
So it's discovered in the live kind of panel of your you you version Bible app. It's when you discover when your church is live. And so I set that for when we're teaching our message live same day same time. However it does at the end give you a small URL. And so then the play, the digital notes plan, the live event can be clicked on and accessed at any time, regardless of if it is quote unquote live in the version Bible app.

00:09:24:29 - 00:09:45:16
Nick Clason
And so you can put text, you can put images, you can put Bible passages, and then they, the followers along, they can create private notes based off of all of those things. They can save them so that they can kind of archive them and come back later. But one of my favorite pieces to the digital notes is that you can create an external link.

00:09:45:16 - 00:10:09:01
Nick Clason
And so again, if a student is following along, live in the room or on YouTube at the end, they can they can have a live link to go out to Digital Connect card. They can have a live link to go out to camp signups. They can have a live link to go out to whatever you want it to be, whatever sort of call to action, whatever sort of next step your message may be pointing students toward.

00:10:09:03 - 00:10:38:21
Nick Clason
The other thing is, of course, it is on you version. And so you can also link Bible reading plans directly in there as well. And so think about it. What if you had a whole message on the importance of reading the Bible and getting in God's Word? And then what if you actually had a Bible reading plan that they could start reading that night or the next morning that they could start enjoying and begin reading to help them follow through on what you were talking about?

00:10:38:23 - 00:11:04:15
Nick Clason
So obviously, in addition, right, like in addition to posting videos to YouTube to reach more students for 95% of teenagers have or will plan to spend some of their time or at least use the app in some way, shape or form. There are, I think, five additional like benefits to sitting down and pre filming your talks direct to camera benefit number one is more practice.

00:11:04:15 - 00:11:22:23
Nick Clason
It gives you an opportunity to engage with your content more frequently than just getting up and teaching it live on a Wednesday night or Sunday morning or whenever that might be. And so by the time you do actually get around on Wednesday night or Sunday morning to deliver your content, direct camera, you've already delivered it at least once.

00:11:22:23 - 00:11:56:02
Nick Clason
And if you need more takes, maybe two or three, and so you're much more familiar with the content and the concepts that you were teaching. Benefit number two is, of course, you're going to be forced to get ahead. You're going to be forced to to be working ahead in your delivery of of this content and preparation. So my workflow goes, I sit down and I write it all out and not linked in my $100 or less leveling up guide.

00:11:56:05 - 00:12:17:19
Nick Clason
But one that is recommended potentially you may have to get a beefier tripod is using a using a teleprompter holder. And so you can get a teleprompter and you can use an iPad with the free teleprompter app. But so I sit down, I prep my message and I script it out and I may script it word for word.

00:12:17:22 - 00:12:48:25
Nick Clason
2000 or 2500 words is usually a good length for YouTube. It helps me hopefully shoot in under the 15 minute mark. That's always my goal on time. Write it all out and then deliver it Direct camera. That's where I include things like subscribe and cards linked up at the top and end screens like I write and spell every single thing out word for word, so that then the teleprompter will just kind of do its thing and flow right in front of me and I just read it directly there.

00:12:48:28 - 00:13:17:08
Nick Clason
It does take a little bit of work to get used to it. It is a skill that's not exactly natural. You can do it. But, you know, I'm just letting you know, get get used to it. Then also I have I then take the the manuscript, the full YouTube manuscript, and I use Google Drive. And so I create a new copy of that an in a different folder, and I rename it live talk notes.

00:13:17:12 - 00:13:50:08
Nick Clason
And so then I go back through that and I add highlights and I add all of those types of things, like, you know, yellow is, is like on screen or slide. Green is like any scripture or whatever, any video clips because like I may not actually like show a video clip on when I'm filming it to YouTube. If I do, it might just be some B-roll over top of the background as opposed to like showing a full on like video clip, like stop, pause the room, watch screen, come back type of thing, video clips and interactive elements.

00:13:50:08 - 00:14:09:00
Nick Clason
I add all those things, but I do it in a completely different document. I adapt it from the manuscript to more of like an outline type style. And then as I'm doing that, I'm also building slides and putting it into a thing like Sidekick, where I can use integrated tools like the wheel and name Picker and the live voting elements and all those types of things.

00:14:09:00 - 00:14:34:10
Nick Clason
More info link down below on Sidekick Sidekick.tv And so my workflow is my head. I write it, I deliver it, direct camera, and then I also readapt it to be taught in the room in between. When I shoot it and readapt it is when we're editing it or posting it, we're adding thumbnails or adding time codes, all the YouTube type things that need to take place.

00:14:34:10 - 00:15:05:04
Nick Clason
So that is live. Usually the Monday before what we we posted on Monday and then deliver it live in the room on Wednesday. And then our students discuss it again on the following Sunday morning. So that whole week on social, our focus is, you know, Monday it drops, Wednesdays are live teaching and then Sunday they discuss it and then woven all throughout there are you know several different like kind of teaching videos social media type clips.

00:15:05:06 - 00:15:32:29
Nick Clason
Benefit number three is it will help you create evergreen type content. Evergreen content is just a marketing word for content that is always relevant. In fact, last night I had a student from a former ministry and a former church that's going through a difficult and tough time. So hey, like I'm having a hard time. Like things are rough, you know, and some have had some some bad news and some kind of tragedy hit their family.

00:15:32:29 - 00:16:07:10
Nick Clason
And so we don't even have this live yet. Like we're getting these back right now from our editor. But we are about to launch into a series called When Bad Things Happen. I have a link actually down below if you're interested in that series that is available on ym360 curriculum site. But we taught it as a student ministry team and like I said, it's not live on YouTube yet, but I was sending her the links to our direct drop box like videos so or Google Drive videos so that she could watch it.

00:16:07:12 - 00:16:32:07
Nick Clason
And that's again like that's one of the benefits of filming your content is that when someone's going through a hard time who lives a thousand miles away, you can send them stuff like this that might be able to help them get through it and navigate through life. You see, this isn't just a vanity thing. Like you can help students, you can help care for students, shepherds, students, disciple students, teach students.

00:16:32:07 - 00:16:55:16
Nick Clason
When you film, you're content. That's what you want to do. Live in the room, right? The difference is church is often built like a organization that's trying to capture people through a cable TV style of of marketing as opposed to an OnDemand style of marketing. And when you preach from your messages, you can start to wade into that quote unquote, on demand type of messaging.

00:16:55:16 - 00:17:13:11
Nick Clason
So when someone's going through a hard time or when someone needs a guide to how to use the Bible or whatever it is that you have taught that you know is valuable, you can send them to your YouTube channel for a link to evergreen content, to content that matters. And so benefit number four, of course, is it's the antidote.

00:17:13:11 - 00:17:37:02
Nick Clason
It is the cure to travel sports. Not entirely like that. Kids still traveling to baseball, but if you film your messages while they're still going to be traveling to baseball, would you rather them travel to baseball, miss out on church altogether, or would you rather them travel to baseball and still have the opportunity to catch up on the series, to hear the message to learn the thing?

00:17:37:02 - 00:18:03:04
Nick Clason
Like I think we would all take option two. I mean, maybe we all like option three, which is like nuking travel baseball so that it never happens again. But since that's probably not going to be an option, we'll settle for option number two and options are an option. But side benefit number five of pre filming your messages is Sean Cannell the guru of YouTube, has a strategy called Ask specific questions.

00:18:03:04 - 00:18:32:06
Nick Clason
ASQ or actually not ask answer specific questions. So think about it, right? You can answer your students specific questions. For example, how do I respond when bad things happen? Boom, That's a teaching series. Answer that question posted to YouTube. The goal is not necessarily to go viral and be caught and seen by other students in other states and other student ministries, though that can be something that happens.

00:18:32:06 - 00:18:54:22
Nick Clason
But that's not the goal, right? The goal is to create content that is going to be helpful and beneficial to answer specific questions about God, about faith, about theology to the students that God has entrusted into you and into your care. Once you've shot the content, you now move into the hardest space of all of this process, probably, which is editing.

00:18:54:25 - 00:19:19:10
Nick Clason
And there are some three different ways that you can do it. Cap Cut, DaVinci Resolve. Those are linked down below in the description, but also linked right here on screen is the best editing tools in the best editing apps, how to edit, how to level up your editing and why editing on videos does actually matter. So go ahead.

00:19:19:10 - 00:19:35:04
Nick Clason
Take a look at that video. We love to catch you over there as we're continuing on our YouTube for Youth Ministry playlist. But don't forget and as always, stay hybrid.

Episode 091: 📹 YouTube for Youth Ministries

Nick Clason — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 04:00:00 -0500

💥 [LIMITED TIME OFFER] Video Editing for Youth Pastors💥

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/editing

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

======================================
DESCRIPTION
📹 YouTube is an incredible platform for reaching teenagers with the message and hope of the gospel.

🖥️ It's Clear that YouTube is (or should be) the most used platform for Youth Ministries

🎤As a Youth Pastor, you already have natural YouTube skills

💥We'll also unpack some of the other features that YouTube has to offer, beyond long-form video

📹 Follow along as we unpack YouTube for Youth Groups on our FREE Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLngXlSr64YaLHMhNNfqmmmAsKRJ1VCBJl
======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/091

//YOUTUBE VIDEO
https://youtu.be/ucvXfaVRJ6E

//YOUTH MINISTRY LEADER COHORT
https://www.derryprenkert.com/ymlcohort/

//DYM FACEBOOK GROUP
https://www.facebook.com/groups/493666560814931

THE REASONS TO USE YOUTUBE
//INSTAGRAM VS TIKTOK VS YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r73ceADGZxQ&t=1063

YOUTH PASTORS ARE YOUTUBERS
//STATISTICS FROM 4 PLATFORMS ADDED UP
https://youtu.be/slB0Rmf_X0c?t=489

EXCLUSIVE FREE OFFER!
//INQUIRE TO SEE IF THERE'S SPACE
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/editing

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

📹 "Adobe Premiere Pro Presets for Animating Layers"
https://share.hsforms.com/1VL1oWwWwQ82PLwsPFkPITgnumis

======================================
🛠️TOOLS
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
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TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 You Want to Reach More Students, Right?
01:15 The Statistics that Prove YouTube is a Perfect Strategy to Reaching Teenagers
04:22 The Reasons to Use YouTube
07:14 Youth Pastors are YouTubers
09:30 Exclusive Free Offer!
10:05 Answer Student's Questions
11:20 Other Features of YouTube that I Love!
14:35 It's time to make content on YouTube that's made for YouTube

TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:02 - 00:00:28:05
Nick Clason
Youth pastor. Let me guess. You want to reach more students and Youth Pastor, let me also guess that you care about pastoring and developing the students that God has already entrusted to you. Let me guess. You pour a lot of time, energy and effort into your teaching messages because you care about the students that God has given you and you want them to grasp the truth that's found in God's Word.

00:00:28:07 - 00:00:56:14
Nick Clason
Listen, I agree with you, and I think that you work too hard to craft and pour over and study and pray and agonize over your messages only for them to die on your hard drive the moment that they're delivered. And so I think that we and all youth ministries should be leaning into the digital presence. That's why I've built this podcast, Hybrid Ministry.

00:00:56:14 - 00:01:24:26
Nick Clason
So in this episode, we are going to talk about why youth ministries need to be on YouTube, why you should be on YouTube, and how you can get started and yeah, maybe even not add more work to your plate. Welcome to the hybrid ministry show. My name is Nick Clason and I'm absolutely pumped and fired up to talk to you about this because in my over a year journey on this podcast, I have grown to love YouTube.

00:01:25:02 - 00:01:54:22
Nick Clason
When I started with social media and when I started trying to reach students on the Internet, YouTube was a distant kind of far strategy that was on my radar. Like it was like, I'll post some videos over there, but in my time since that, which was probably five, six, seven years ago, I have come to love YouTube and I am more and more convinced that YouTube in addition to all other digital and social mediums that we can effectively reach students with.

00:01:54:24 - 00:02:16:21
Nick Clason
But YouTube is one of the best resources out there, and Gen Z, right? Gen Z, I'm not Gen Z, but the students are. We as youth pastors trying to reach they use their mobile device more than any other device combined. I've actually posted a clip that said that exact stat on my Tik tok, all my socials link down below in the description.

00:02:16:21 - 00:02:34:17
Nick Clason
If you're interested in that, if you are watching via a podcast catcher I am and have some graphs and charts on screen via YouTube. The YouTube link is down below in the description as well, but they use their mobile device. Any other device combined. And one of the comments that I got was like, Well, no duh, what do you want us to do?

00:02:34:17 - 00:02:53:16
Nick Clason
Use a portable DVD player? And I thought it was a hilarious comment because while they were sort of coming at me, it's an it's a fair question, like, yeah, what do we want Gen Z to do? Like use the archaic technology that we as millennials and Gen Xers and and older had to and were forced to use before the invention of the cell phone.

00:02:53:19 - 00:03:21:07
Nick Clason
The cell phone is amazing. Additionally, 45% of teenagers claim to be online get this almost constantly and finally people say that they are two times double as likely to share video based content rather than text based posts. I am in a youth ministry leader cohort is based on Zoom. It's a national thing all across country. More information if you're interested in that down below in the show notes.

00:03:21:07 - 00:03:38:25
Nick Clason
But I recently got tapped and asked in my cohort if I would be willing to workshop this idea of social media, and I was thrilled and honored with the opportunity. And so part of what I'm going to share with you today is actually from that presentation, but I'm going to expound upon it a little bit more because I think about like this.

00:03:38:25 - 00:04:09:21
Nick Clason
If an alien were to come down and were to see these statistics that Gen Z uses their mobile device more than any phone, and 45% of teenagers, 45, almost half claimed to be online constantly and video based content is two times more likely to be shared. Then an alien would come down and be like, Dang, if you people are trying to actively reach young people with the most important message, the message that you have has been laid on your heart and that God has placed on you and said, Go preach the Gospel to all nations.

00:04:09:22 - 00:04:34:09
Nick Clason
And by all means that part of our nations mean that must mean that youth ministries are crushing social media. Well, in the famous words of Lee Corso, Not so fast, my friend. And here's why I actually posted back in July 2019 the download Youth Ministry Facebook Community group linked to that. If you're not in that already on Facebook, it's a great community of ideas and questions and answers.

00:04:34:09 - 00:04:56:24
Nick Clason
It's a really great place. But I my question was this and I think I have like 100 to 200 responses. So not a massive sample size, but also not small either. And I said, Hey, how would you rate your web and social presence right now? And many people said, okay, 49% said okay and 48% said really, really bad.

00:04:56:26 - 00:05:16:23
Nick Clason
And only 3% said it was good, which I don't get how that math adds up, but feel free to double check me on that. Hey, if you are in the okay category, get going. Give me like like we're glad you're here. If you're in the bad category, then you probably only subscribe because this next playlist that we're in, I mean, honestly, it's for you.

00:05:16:23 - 00:05:47:25
Nick Clason
And even if you're in the great category, turn the bell on because I want to help. Level up your YouTube game in this playlist that we are finding ourselves in. Talking about the importance and value of YouTube and why YouTube, right? Pew Research actually have some statistics. Again, if you're listening, you may want to scrub over to the YouTube section of this video where 20 in 2022, 95% of teenagers say that they have used the following apps or sites, the app that 95% of them said they use was YouTube.

00:05:47:28 - 00:06:12:11
Nick Clason
The next highest was Tik Tok at 67%, a massive drop, Instagram at 62 and Snapchat 59 and Facebook at 32, which is down from 71% in this comparative study from 2014. And so actually we debated the topic Instagram versus Tik Tok versus YouTube right here. The video that you'll see if you're on YouTube right now, you can click on that and go watch that video.

00:06:12:11 - 00:06:50:19
Nick Clason
As we explored the pros and cons of each of those categories. And then actually left a final verdict about which of those platforms you should be using. Hint Side note Spoiler alert it was YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world behind Google. Some may classify it as third, but even if you do buy into that third largest search engine in the world, think it's behind Google, Google images and then YouTube, which so Google and Google images kind of are one and the same, which is I think why people debate between second and third, nonetheless, is the only platform backed by the power of Google and the Google search engine.

00:06:50:24 - 00:07:12:27
Nick Clason
So think about it. Why do you use YouTube? You jump on there to ask questions, how to change your oil and how to rewire a ceiling fan into your house and and how to, you know, get fastpass is that Disney, which unfortunately they don't have them anymore. But if you or anyone has connections down in Orlando and you want to give me a ticket, my family or come in in September, so send that on my way.

00:07:12:27 - 00:07:47:00
Nick Clason
But nonetheless, we get on YouTube to get answers to questions. Guess what? What do we do As youth pastors? We answer students questions. YouTube and youth ministry are a match made in absolute heaven. Think about it. You're actually already doing this. Your series that you have planned for next month. You are planning it in response to answering a student's question, or you are planning it because you think that your students need this particular message or this particular topic or this particular book study.

00:07:47:00 - 00:08:15:27
Nick Clason
Right. And the good news is all four social networks Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, all of them have a short form, vertical based video component right now that is taking the social media landscape by fire. So what that means for you and what that means for me is we can create one type of content, short form, vertical based video, which by the way, remember video posts two times more likely to be shared, and then we can post them across all of the platforms.

00:08:15:29 - 00:08:45:19
Nick Clason
We no longer have to create content that's specifically curated for each platform. We can create one piece, one type of content to get that message out and spread it across all four of the social networks. I've done this before. A link down below some of my statistics to the particular section in the video where I did it, but I pulled like just four pieces of social media content across all four platforms and I added it up and you know, none of them were like amazingly high in their view rate.

00:08:45:19 - 00:09:21:04
Nick Clason
But when you strung all four of them together, we reached over 500 students on a really badly performing post. And so my question to you and all youth pastors, like I said back at the beginning, is do you want to reach more students? Social media may in fact be the door in which you can reach more students, not because you're looking for vanity metrics, not because you want to become a famous influencer, but because you believe as a youth pastor that you have been given the burden to help carry out the Great Commission from Jesus Christ himself, to reach the world with the message of the Gospel and the message of hope.

00:09:21:07 - 00:09:49:28
Nick Clason
And you can look directly into a camera and share that message with your students. And you, like I said, you're already answering their questions. What if you just started capturing those answers via video? I'm actually opening up a limited amount of spots, three in particular. In fact, they may already be filled up from some of my cohort friends where I am going to offer done for you editing you film your teaching message, you send me the footage, I will send it back to you edited.

00:09:50:05 - 00:10:09:24
Nick Clason
I'll give you three short form, vertical based videos that you can post on whatever platforms you have, and I'll create a YouTube thumbnail for you to go ahead and get that thing started if you're interested. More information link down below in the show notes, in the description or in the podcast catcher wherever you are. But I love what Sean Cannell actually says.

00:10:09:24 - 00:10:30:01
Nick Clason
He says what you should do on YouTube is answer specific questions. He calls it his ASQ strategy. And like I said, you're doing that when you're creating your teaching series. So like for example, in our student ministry, we just got done answering the specific question, How do you use the Bible? How do you use the Bible? Right?

00:10:30:03 - 00:10:43:26
Nick Clason
Answer that question for your students and then when you have a student who comes to you two or three months later that says, Hey, can you help me get started on how to use my Bible? You don't have to be like, dog, we just did a series on that. Three months ago. I wish you would have been here.

00:10:43:28 - 00:11:06:02
Nick Clason
You can give them the link to that content, right? And even your most strict homeschool best parents, which by the way, that's me. I have an eight year old, the five year old. We're probably going to homeschool our kids next year. They love YouTube and they watch YouTube, but they only are allowed to watch it. When we my wife and I are in the room with them on the big screen in our main living room.

00:11:06:04 - 00:11:27:10
Nick Clason
And so you can you can deliver your content via YouTube to even the strictest parents and you can, you know, wave all the way up to the kids with absolutely no parental supervision on the Internet because all students, 95%, are on YouTube. Now, they may not be hungry for your content, and that's why you have to help kind of build and grow that audience.

00:11:27:10 - 00:11:53:11
Nick Clason
And that's why I love that YouTube offers the shorts section. They have the kind of TikTok, discovery based algorithm stuff. We've gained a lot of subscribers just organically, both on this personal channel here and also on my student ministry channel, far more on my student ministry channel, by the way, because we're shooting and producing content with our students and we're also shooting and producing content with our student staff, that's fun, engaging and entertaining.

00:11:53:11 - 00:12:17:21
Nick Clason
And then hopefully they follow us there and then maybe they get a little sneak peek of one of our short teaching reels or videos or whatever, and then that will link to a longer form, more elaborated, fleshed out answer to something that we're answering their specific question. I also love on YouTube. They have now the community tab with like polls and you can ask questions and you can post pictures and all kinds of stuff.

00:12:17:21 - 00:12:45:23
Nick Clason
It mirrors a more traditional sort of social media experience that wasn't there before for YouTube. I also love, love, Love their playlist feature. It is both a great place to dump any and all of your series You can any like three, four, five, six, seven week series can be a three, four, five, six, seven video playlist. And additionally, we're going to get deeper into this in this particular how to use YouTube playlist on this channel.

00:12:45:23 - 00:13:04:03
Nick Clason
It's very meta if you think about it. My playlist helping you create playlists on YouTube for your student ministry. But nonetheless, like you can also offer free courses to things that are necessary and need to be answered by your students. For example, we did one on baptism, but whenever you get up and preach on baptism, think about it.

00:13:04:03 - 00:13:27:24
Nick Clason
A wide and vast majority of those students have already been baptized. And so in a lot of ways, what's a good message and a good reminder? It's also not always like pressing more relevant to every single student in your room. However, if you have a playlist, you can send that information to students and links and descriptions, subscribes, likes, all those types of things where you can help them move on into that next step.

00:13:27:24 - 00:13:53:19
Nick Clason
You can meld the in-person and the digital and use it to work together, just like we all do in our own lives. We're using technology to to weave into an intersect, into the main and real parts of our lives. And also it's got the live kind of portion of the of YouTube that you can put a camera in the room and and livestream and you may be thinking, Dude, I can't livestream.

00:13:53:19 - 00:14:18:18
Nick Clason
I don't have that capability in my youth room. Truth be told, neither do I. And that's actually why I propose that we as youth pastor should film videos very much like I'm doing right now on a camera and so on. This right here on screen is my e-book. It's 100% completely free, and in there is a link to my buyer's guide on getting YouTube gear set up for under $100.

00:14:18:25 - 00:14:52:18
Nick Clason
You buy things like a tripod, a microphone and some lighting. You can do all that for under $100 and then use the cell phone that you already own that's in your pocket. And if you don't have a smartphone, find somebody in your life who does. You probably know someone would be my guess and then start filming pre filming your messages and we can get you started for under $100 and like I said, a limited run right now where I'm offering three people into my kind of beta trial course of I will edit your videos for you on social media, but live streaming is probably what most of us do.

00:14:52:18 - 00:15:19:14
Nick Clason
It's probably how most of us post our church's content onto the internet, but that's not made for YouTube, that's made for church, which is why I actually, you know, I recommend pre filming the messages because you don't have live streaming capabilities, but I also recommend pre filling messages because it's what's made and optimized for YouTube. Would you rather watch a video that's made for YouTube or would you rather watch a video that's made for another experience?

00:15:19:14 - 00:15:44:15
Nick Clason
Or are you sort of just in the back of the room and you're not the focal point? And the speaker, the presenter, they're not focused on you. They're focused on what's in front of them and they should be right. That's why I recommend pre filming your messages. It's not going to be that much more work. All you have to do is find time to sit down for 20 to 30 minutes per week, deliver your message, direct to camera, and potentially send it on to me to edit.

00:15:44:15 - 00:16:14:23
Nick Clason
If not, you can do some basic editing. We're going to get into that in this playlist, but that's why I recommend pre filming because the most dynamic content, if you go to the YouTube home screen on your YouTube account, probably the content that is being delivered to you and fed to you through the algorithm is content that is made for the medium of YouTube and you can create content like that by pre filming your messages that you're already doing the study and work to produce and make.

00:16:14:23 - 00:16:45:18
Nick Clason
And with a few small tweaks, we can get you up and running and launch a YouTube channel where you can reach students with the hope and the message of the gospel with a content that is made for the medium in which you're posting and we're going to get into all of that linked right here on the screen. Make sure that you subscribe so that you don't miss a single other video here in this playlist we here at the hybrid ministry show want to make digital discipleship easy, possible and accessible for you.

00:16:45:21 - 00:16:48:04
Nick Clason
So as always, stay hybrid.

Episode 090: 🐿️ When to Split High School and Middle School Youth Group

Nick Clason — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 04:00:00 -0500

⚡ [FREE] Hybrid Reach More Students Strategy Guide⚡

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

======================================
DESCRIPTION
🐿️ Middle School and High School Students
What are the factors that need to be considered when deciding whether or not you’re ready to split them?
And what are some creative hacks to getting around it, if you’re not ready or able yet?
======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/090

//YOUTUBE VIDEO

📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

⚡ OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
📅 "The Full Hybrid Ministry Strategy"
https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

🖥️ "My 9 Favorite DYM Resources"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

📨 Full Proof Recruiting Email
EMAIL: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/recruiting-email

🍩 "FREE World's Greatest Donut Event Guide"
GUIDE: https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/worlds-greatest-donut

😨 "Have I already Ruined my TikTok Account?"
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/ebook

📹 "Adobe Premiere Pro Presets for Animating Layers"
https://share.hsforms.com/1VL1oWwWwQ82PLwsPFkPITgnumis

======================================
🛠️TOOLS
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products

//BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

TRY REV.COM FOR TRANSCRIBING
https://rev.pxf.io/R5nDOa

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Sharing Youth Rooms with Outside Groups
01:08 3 Factors to Consider Before Splitting Middle and High School
03:54 The Pros to Making the Split
05:23 The Cons of Making the Split
06:59 Four Creative Hacks to Reimagining the Split

TRANSCRIPT
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;01;28
Nick Clason
Youth pastors.

00;00;01;28 - 00;00;28;59
Nick Clason
Have you ever had a high school student say to you, “I don't want to come to youth group with that middle schooler!” Give us a like if you know, a high school student who has done that and maybe subscribe if you've actually never heard that. And then the rest of us who have liked the video because we've had high school students do that will either know that you're lying or we're going to be super jealous because you and me all know that in the back of our heads, right?

00;00;29;00 - 00;00;56;35
Nick Clason
Like we may or may not have the bandwidth or the time to split up the middle school and the high school students. And so, in today's video. We're going to explore the best, most premium and optimal time and way to split up your middle school and your high school students. We’ll talk about the three factors to consider. We will ask two clarifying questions in each of the sections.

00;00;56;40 - 00;01;20;09
Nick Clason
The top two pros, the top two cons, and finally, some creative hacks to get around making the big switch. If you know you're not ready for or don't have the time for it, factor number one is your size. Like you have to consider how big is your group? What is your average group's critical mass. That’s question number one?

00;01;20;12 - 00;01;49;42
Nick Clason
Then number two in the sized question is what momentum will be lost by splitting up your students? The other factor you have to consider is your bandwidth. For example, like do you have the bandwidth to split middle school and high school? When I was working at church early on in my ministry, I determined that we had a big enough critical mass and that we could withstand this switch.

00;01;49;47 - 00;02;06;55
Nick Clason
But then we had to switch and I had to add to my calendar and my schedule another night to meet. And I ended up deciding to make that decision. In that season of life. It was the right move and it was the right call. So we did middle school on Wednesday night and we did high school on Sunday night.

00;02;06;56 - 00;02;30;02
Nick Clason
Prior to that, we did both of them together on Wednesday night. So Sunday night was a new addition. And looking back, I don't know actually, cause I only ended up running it for a year prior to then me moving on to a different church. I don't know if it was the right decision. You have to measure and know what your bandwidth is and if you have the bandwidth to split.

00;02;30;02 - 00;02;53;35
Nick Clason
And I would recommend right here the top of this video is a video where we talked about time management and go through that. And that little exercise might actually help give you some clarification on do you truly have the bandwidth. Also, the second question under bandwidth is do you potentially have a volunteer to help you own that other piece, the other split piece as you navigate?

00;02;53;35 - 00;03;19;25
Nick Clason
And then the third factor, of course, is space. Does your space in your church, does it accommodate it? And the second question is what constraints is this going to put on your space? So, for example, I worked at a church that didn't have a lot of space, even though it was a big church, big a big multi-site church in in Chicago area.

00;03;19;29 - 00;03;45;36
Nick Clason
But other ministries had other nights of the week that they had things going on, like our groups ministry met and our junior home ministry met and are like grief share. I can't remember all the different ones, but there's always a different ministry on a different night of the week. And so our decision to either have junior high and high school together or split up was going to either demand two nights a week for our space or just one.

00;03;45;36 - 00;04;10;57
Nick Clason
And then that that dictated how and when the other ministries in your space met. So a couple of pros for splitting up middle school and high school. Again, if if your size, if your bandwidth and if your space will all kind of accommodate it and if all those factors that you asked this question swirl around are working together, pro number one, of course, is like developmentally

00;04;11;51 - 00;04;28;39
Nick Clason
splitting middle school and high school seems to be appropriate. I mean, you just think about it. I think of that sixth grade boy in your group and then think of that 12th grade girl, like developmentally speaking. They're just in two different spots and this is no shade thrown on that sixth grade boy or that 12th grade girl.

00;04;28;44 - 00;05;13;44
Nick Clason
But, you know, they each need different things, their need. They need to be challenged in a different way. And so splitting them up will help you as a youth pastor, be able to navigate that well, to be able to really, truly give and provide for each of those people individually what they need and what they're looking for. Pro Number two is that probably the high school students preference, it may not be the middle school students preference on the top, but underneath that it may actually be the best thing for a middle school student to give them their own space, to just simply be a middle schooler and not have high schoolers looking over frustratedly

00;05;13;45 - 00;05;37;36
Nick Clason
or condemningly or even just being annoyed. And the high school students may want their own space to kind of lean into and be uniquely high school students. But the cons, of course, are it is more taxing on you as the individual or on you in your time or on you and your space. And so you may be in a context that has multiple staff and so that may be the solution.

00;05;37;36 - 00;06;03;36
Nick Clason
One of you runs one night and run one of you runs another night. But if you are your own person and if you do not have the staff to accommodate something like this, then it is going to be more taxing and another con I honestly would say is that it's not necessarily it doesn't necessarily give students a realistic view and or picture of the rest of life in the rest of the world.

00;06;03;36 - 00;06;27;24
Nick Clason
Like right now, I am a 34 year old youth pastor at a church and there is not one other 34 year old on my staff. As far as I know, I could be wrong and I might not be thinking about a certain person, but the fact of the matter is like I interact with Boomers and Xers and us another Millennials that is now my exact age and also some people that are Gen Z and so on.

00;06;27;24 - 00;06;57;17
Nick Clason
Our staff, we have an age range all the way from 20 up to like 60, 65 ish, right? Like we have a big span of age. And so sometimes like segmenting down our ministries, while they may be developmentally good or they may also be like preferences of certain ages at the high school students and middle school students, it may not be what is best for them, and it may not give them the most realistic picture of what their future life is going to be.

00;06;57;22 - 00;07;27;11
Nick Clason
Which leads me to my third idea three creative hacks to kind of get around this. If you don't have the bandwidth and if you're not quite yet ready to split middle school and high school, the first one is stagger your programing. So maybe you have your students meet all within the same time block Which I would probably recommend for like parent’s sake, If they have a middle school student and a high school student, they don't have to drop off and pick up at different time.

00;07;27;11 - 00;07;54;21
Nick Clason
So if it's like 6 to 8, they drop off both students. But then inside the building, middle schoolers are in this element of your service and high schoolers are in this element of the service, and then they switch and then high school switch to this element while middle schoolers then switch to that element. That is a way for you to lean into a good volunteer, to be able to run the additional space so that you can be teaching or running the game or wherever you need to be in those moments.

00;07;54;26 - 00;08;17;15
Nick Clason
But it will also give middle school and high school students their own unique difference set up and their own unique, different space. Another creative hack answer that I have is consider the idea of going hybrid and you're like, Wait a minute, that doesn't do anything for the space. And in some ways you're 100% right, but leaves right here in mind 100% completely free e-book.

00;08;17;15 - 00;08;41;53
Nick Clason
I will lead you through how to develop out a hybrid strategy and the bedrock. The baseline for my hybrid strategy is begin pre filming your talks ahead of time, pre film talks, and then post them to YouTube. And then from there, as you maybe clip up a few of those using a service link down below like Opus.Pro to give you AI generated shorts, reels and TikToks

00;08;42;07 - 00;09;03;08
Nick Clason
You can sprinkle those in throughout your week. And then the last piece of it is you can then add in and then use an element of fun into your social media and you can use your students to do that. And so perhaps an element of your creative staggered programing is creating a space for your students. Come together and get on video and make content with you.

00;09;03;08 - 00;09;29;31
Nick Clason
And you might be thinking like, Wait a minute, do they want to do that? And the answer to those yes, Generation Z and Generation Alpha, they live in a a publisher type of generation with a publisher type of mindset. And most of us have been raised in an industrial age where we create content and or we create an environment that we then sit down and we produce it and or deliver it to people.

00;09;29;31 - 00;09;52;08
Nick Clason
And then we assume that they want to just sit and consume it. And the tables are turned in that day and age. And so the advantage is, while digital is the language of teenagers, you can include them in your strategy. Another hack I have for you is that you can make your small groups like more age and more gender graded.

00;09;52;08 - 00;10;14;09
Nick Clason
And so if you don't have the bandwidth yet to split apart your big middle school and high school group, when you break them down into small groups, whether that be on a different night of the week or even the same night that they're all together. When you do that, you then give them that space. And so maybe you teach to a large room and you do have to sort of hit the middle somewhere between that sixth grade and that 12th grader.

00;10;14;14 - 00;10;52;16
Nick Clason
But when they break down into their small groups, they're more age appropriate and they're more age and grade and gender graded. And then finally, an idea could be simply to just lean in to the age discrepancy. You know, there's an age discrepancy. You know, it may not be ideal and or it may not be everyone's preference, but if you lean into it and if you let the middle schoolers have the high schoolers have a little bit more fun, and then if you lean into the high schoolers and allow them to see that they have an opportunity to step up and be leaders to these middle school students, it can be a win win for you

00;10;52;16 - 00;11;15;30
Nick Clason
and for your youth ministry, which is why I have linked right here on the screen youth group Growth. How do we reach Generation Alpha and Generation Z in this new world that we find our selves in? So go ahead. Take a look at that video. And don't forget that we trying to make digital discipleship easy, possible and accessible.

00;11;15;42 - 00;11;19;04
Nick Clason
So as always, stay hybrid.