Hybrid Ministry

Episode 227: Digital Bible App Notes: Get Students Taking Notes on Their Phones at Youth Group

November 12th, 2026  |  10 mins 2 secs

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Almost half of teenagers say they're online "almost constantly." Not every day. Constantly. And that number has doubled in ten years. (Pew Research)

So here's my question: if a kid is going to be on their phone during your message anyway… why not have them in the Bible?

I'm Nick, I've been in youth ministry 16 years, and I'm showing you exactly how I get students taking sermon notes on the same phone they'd otherwise be scrolling.
Which app, how I set it up, and the one thing I do every week so they actually use it.

Episode 226: 8 Youth Group Games That Run Entirely on Students’ Phones

November 5th, 2026  |  12 mins 3 secs

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The average teenager picks up their phone over 100 times a day. A hundred. Ten of those are going to happen during your message on Wednesday night. You can fight that, or you can point every one of those pickups at your screen.
I just spent five weeks ranking every Sidekick Pro feature. Since then they've dropped eight more, I got this hoodie for beta testing it, and I ended up on the big screen at DYM100.

So today, no rankings. Just the 8 update straight up.
Plus one major favor from my loyal listeners!

Welcome everyone to the Hybrid Ministry Show

Episode 225: QR Codes for Youth Ministry: The 5-Minute Phone Hack

October 29th, 2026  |  9 mins 31 secs

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95% of teenagers have a smartphone in their pocket right now. So you can spend Youth Night fighting the phone… or you can use it.
I've been doing youth ministry for 16 years, (not a flex, I'm just old) and the simplest thing I've ever done to redeem the phone is a QR code.
I'm about to give you 9 ways I use them every single week — sign-ups, sermon notes, games, even guest followup.
Number 5 is the one my volunteers ask me about most. Let's go.

Episode 220: The Ultimate Sidekick Pro Feature according to DYM’s Josh Boldman - FREE for Gold Members

September 24th, 2026  |  55 mins 36 secs

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In this week's 5th & final Sidekick Pro episode, I sit down with DYM's own, Josh Boldman! The brains behind Sidekick Pro, and first I quiz him on all things Sidekick, see how he fares, then I give him an opportunity to push back against some of my scores, he adds one more "at large" feature to the final voting options, and then crowns the ultimate sidekick pro feature.

It's an amazing interview, full of fun, but also with a ton of behind the scenes information!
Including how to access sidekick pro for FREE for a month all the way at the end of the episode!

Jump in with us!

Episode 219: Pastoral Care in a Presentation Software?! Here's how! - Pt. 4 I TRIED EVERY SIDEKICK PRO FEATURE

September 17th, 2026  |  13 mins 18 secs

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Probably the most impressive feature of sidekick overall is in this final category. This is the feature that made me say: "Our Pastoral Care Increased 100-fold" after we began using it. Which one is it? Let's find out!

Episode 218: Easiest & Greatest Youth Ministry Game Innovation of All Time?! - Pt. 3 I TRIED EVERY SIDEKICK PRO FEATURE

September 10th, 2026  |  16 mins 25 secs

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Now that we're wrapped up "Returning Legends" and "Staples" it's time to explore the fun side of sidekick. Some of these features, I truly believe, are some of the greatest youth ministry game innovations that I've ever seen in my career as a youth pastor!

Episode 217: I TRIED EVERY SIDEKICK FEATURE - Pt. 2 “The Staples”

September 3rd, 2026  |  27 mins 1 sec

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In this episode we're ranking the staples of sidekick. Now, don't go to sleep on this, because these staples are what makes "sidekick" be able to be your full presentation software. It's no longer another software's little brother, this is able to function as your entire church software for an entire youth ministry program, and I'm giving you the honest breakdown!

Episode 216: I TRIED EVERY SIDEKICK FEATURE - PT. 1 “Returning Legends”

August 27th, 2026  |  22 mins 20 secs

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I tried every sidekick feature, and I’m giving you the honest low-down.
Each week we’ll be ranking and ultimately crowning a
favorite from 4 categories, and this week the category
is: “Returning Legends.”

Welcome everybody, to the Hybrid Ministry Show

Episode 212: Consistency Isn’t About Motivation (Here’s the Real Problem)

July 30th, 2026  |  9 mins 41 secs

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Summer camp was epic, but let me tell you, the lead up, the planning, the work on the front side, it did something tragic to our social media. Let me show you what I'm implementing to ensure this doesn't happen again!

Episode 209: We Made Youth Group Completely Unfair (On Purpose)

July 9th, 2026  |  2 mins 1 sec

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Christmas in July?!
Why not?
Let's celebrate "National Give Something Away Day" by having a [completely unfair?!] White Elephant exchange!
That's for next Wednesday, get your FREE graphic in the shownotes!