web01.fireside.fm Fri, 01 May 2026 21:56:35 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Hybrid Ministry - Episodes Tagged with “Student Engagement” https://www.hybridministry.xyz/tags/student%20engagement Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0500 Hybrid Ministry is complicated and hard. Or is it? How do pastors and youth pastors create a vibrant extension, not replacement, of what's already happening during their weekly church services? To cater in a digital ministry way to an online focused ministry audience. Reaching Millennials, Gen Z and even Gen Alpha is going to require us to rethink some of the ways we do church. Follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick en-us episodic Digital Discipleship made easy Nick Clason Hybrid Ministry is complicated and hard. Or is it? How do pastors and youth pastors create a vibrant extension, not replacement, of what's already happening during their weekly church services? To cater in a digital ministry way to an online focused ministry audience. Reaching Millennials, Gen Z and even Gen Alpha is going to require us to rethink some of the ways we do church. Follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick no Digital, Online Church, Hybrid Ministry, Church, Meta, Gen Z, Millennials, Digital Marketing, Church Marketing, Youth Ministry, Student Ministry, Nick Clason, Digital Ministry, Church Social Media, Youth Ministry Social Media, YouTube for Church, YouTube for Youth Ministry, TikTok for Churches, TikTok for Youth Ministry, Instagram for Churches, Instagram for Youth Ministry, Facebook for Church, Facebook for Youth Ministry, Cell Phone Usage at Church Nick Clason nickclason@hybridministry.xyz Episode 196: Lock-Ins: Ministry Gold or Total Disaster? https://www.hybridministry.xyz/196 f5e38c94-7322-4aa4-b0d6-311b9d51f619 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0500 Nick Clason 196 Lock-Ins: Ministry Gold or Total Disaster? full Nick Clason Lock-ins... is there a more polarizing youth ministry topic? Should you do them? Are they valuable? Or are they the worst idea ever? In this episode, two youth pastors go head to head, and you get to decide! 20:08 no Lock-ins... is there a more polarizing youth ministry topic? Should you do them? Are they valuable? Or are they the worst idea ever? In this episode, two youth pastors go head to head, and you get to decide! Take Advantage of Andrew's FREE Lock-in Planning Session: https://www.hybridministry.xyz/contact [FREE] HYBRID STRATEGY GUIDE https://www.patreon.com/posts/complete-guide-142500019?utmmedium=clipboardcopy&utmsource=copyLink&utmcampaign=postsharecreator&utmcontent=join_link 🌸 SPRING SEASONAL SOCIAL PACK https://www.patreon.com/posts/spring-seasonal-151263940?utmmedium=clipboardcopy&utmsource=copyLink&utmcampaign=postsharecreator&utmcontent=join_link SHOW NOTES Shownotes & Transcripts https://www.hybridministry.xyz/196 //Lock-In Survival Guide https://www.patreon.com/posts/10-year-veterans-146449370?utmmedium=clipboardcopy&utmsource=copyLink&utmcampaign=postsharecreator&utmcontent=join_link 👉 STAY CONNECTED WITH NICK YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hybridministry/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clasonnick Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HybridMinistry Website: https://www.hybridministry.xyz -------------- 🎉 FREE STUFF 🎉 We have all kinds of FREE Things that you can use in your context! The best way to pay us back is a review or a YouTube Subscribe! https://www.linktr.ee/clasonnick -------------- 🛠️TOOLS I USE THAT CAN HELP YOU! Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products //VIDIQ https://vidiq.com/hybrid //BEST DYM RESOURCES https://www.patreon.com/posts/9-amazing-dym-142425755 //OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361 //HYBRID MINISTRY MEGA GUIDE Everything I've ever learned in one blog post [FOR FREE!] https://www.patreon.com/posts/hybrid-ministry-151264417?utmmedium=clipboardcopy&utmsource=copyLink&utmcampaign=postsharecreator&utmcontent=join_link -------------- 🕰️TIMECODES 00:00 Pro or Anti Lock-in? 02:16 The Argument Against Lock-ins 05:14 The Busy Youth Worker’s Guide to Social Media 06:12 The Argument For Lock-ins 09:11 What Do You do if Kids don’t like boardgames? 10:56 Are Lock-ins only effective for Middle Schoolers? 12:16 What are the “risks” vs the “rewards” of a lock-in? 14:29 Do Lock-ins affect your Sunday morning attendance? 16:43 The Final Argument FOR Lock-ins 18:00 The Final Argument AGAINST Lock-ins 19:09 You decide - who won? -------------- TRANSCRIPT Nick Clason (00:01.102) Well, what is up everybody? Here I am this morning with Andrew and my new friend Ellen. Good morning everyone. How are we doing this morning? Ellen Partridge (00:10.995) Doing good. Nick Clason (00:12.802) Hey, are you guys, do you have coffee yet in your systems or is that long gone? All right, okay. They're doing pretty good, right, Michigan State? Andrew Jansen (00:12.964) Doing fantastic. Ellen Partridge (00:16.771) We're on the first cut. Go Spartans. Yeah, not as good as Michigan, which is a bummer, but... Andrew Jansen (00:23.46) They're doing good. Nick Clason (00:25.73) Mm, yeah. And this will drop after March Madness, so we'll all know. Comment down below, like how Michigan did. know, Michigan State, not Michigan. But I'm excited because today we are debating pro lock-in versus anti lock-in. And based on the two people that you see on your screen here, you can probably already tell who's pro lock-in. Andrew Jansen (00:33.591) it. Nick Clason (00:50.9) and who's anti-lock-in. And so I'm just so excited for you guys to get to, not only get to know these two amazing people, but also hear their positions on this. And so by random draw that happened off screen that you're gonna have to trust me because I'm a pastor and I get paid to tell the truth. Ellen, you get to go first. So one minute on the clock for you. Just introduce yourself, help the people understand your context, where you're at, how long you've been in ministry, all these types of things. Ellen, are you ready? Ellen Partridge (01:18.751) Absolutely. I'm ready. Nick Clason (01:21.58) Alright, take it away. Ellen Partridge (01:23.455) All right, everyone, my name is Ellen Partridge. I serve as the central pastor of students at Thornton Apple Valley Church. We are centralized out of Hastings at Michigan, southwest Michigan. And we are a multi-site church, but I've been in ministry for very close to two decades now. And we're in a rural context and a multi-site context. So things are a little bit different for us versus just the single site. And when I think about lock-ins, the thing that always comes to mind is the Halt analogy. If you're hungry, if you're angry, if you're tired, what are the things you shouldn't do, which is make decisions. And so we're gonna put students in a room where they are locked in together. You got the ones who, I have a kid in my youth ministry who at camp asked me if I could move our bedtime up to 9 p.m. I let him know that wasn't a thing, but you've got those kind of kids, and then you've got the kids who have snuck in. all their energy drinks and are going to be up till four in the morning. And those kids that are up are going to be picking on the kids that don't want to be up, that want to be sleeping. And then you've got a lot of that interpersonal conflict that is going on within that. And you're putting that all into a giant space where you're having to entertain them and or keep track of them as they are, you know, coming up with all of these grand ideas of how they're going to use their time. And I remember back to my youth group days, our youth ministry actually met in a old YMCA building, and for some reason, they did not lock the doors to the locker rooms, and then that locker room led to a empty pool. And I can't confirm or deny if there were children conceived in that pool, but there probably were. And it was coming from opportunities where we did lock-ins and they let us all throughout this building with lots of classrooms, lots of spaces that should have been locked that were not. And so from that perspective of hungry, angry, tired, lack of ability to, you know, keep an eye on all the students and all the places, I am very anti-lock-in. Nick Clason (03:43.896) Well, there you go. Andrew, she blew past introductions just straight into arguments. Brother, she's coming for you, right? Like she is coming in hot. So, Ellen, great argument. Man, I hope no students, babies were conceived in that pool. I don't ever want to swim there. Andrew. Andrew Jansen (03:49.24) yeah, just right past it. Yeah, she went right past it and that's okay. She's coming in hot, yeah, for sure. It's okay. Ellen Partridge (04:10.12) Me too. Andrew Jansen (04:12.365) Yeah, it's gross. Nick Clason (04:13.838) Tell us why Ellen's wrong and why lock-ins are a great idea. But first, give us a little bit of intro as you go. Are you ready, my friend? Let's go, take it away. Andrew Jansen (04:28.345) ready. Yeah, hit it. My name is Andrew Janssen. I am a middle school pastor in Manhattan, Kansas. Sorry, a couple years ago, we did play Michigan State and I know you probably knew that but we have nothing to talk about sports wise, hardly at all right now. So that's okay. But I love K State. I love serving in Manhattan. I am 36 years old. I've been a youth pastor for 10 years and I really love getting to be in Manhattan, getting to work with college students that invest in middle schoolers. That's kind of my passion. And man, I love lock-ins. just, it works within the context of our church is about 1900 people and we work with multi buildings on our campus, but not multi-site, but. It is just set up in a really easy way to execute and make lock-ins happen. And especially in our season right now where we have, and it changes, we have college students that graduate, but we have like 17, 18 youth coaches right now. And a lot of them enjoy staying up super late. And so it just really worked in this season to be able to have enough people there for a safe lock-in to happen. Middle schoolers are crazy and love staying up all night, love getting to be like, you can be at the church besides Sunday and Wednesday. And just, it was just really, really awesome. We did a New Year's Eve lock in and they just have so much fun. There's opportunities for fellowship, board games, long extended times that maybe you don't get that opportunity to play through an entire game of exploding kittens or taco cat. Mahomes cheese pizza, not taco cat goat cheese pizza. We all know Mahomes is the goat. But we play taco cat Mahomes cheese pizza and you get through two rounds and it's time for youth group to start. So we get to play through those games, have those conversations and invest in the students moving forward. Nick Clason (06:40.494) Great. All right, well there you have it. Like there's, each of you have laid down the gauntlet with your position, right? Andrews is based upon board games. Ellen's is based upon pools being present. And so with those two things in mind, plus everything else, do either of you have a question for the other that we can debate in a little bit more of an open forum? Andrew Jansen (06:55.097) You Ellen Partridge (07:10.974) All Andrea, I got one for you. So what do you do with the kids who are not your board game kids? What are your other activities that you're able to do? Because it sounds like you're pretty board game heavy. So how are you keeping the other kids occupied that are not interested in your board games? Andrew Jansen (07:27.929) Absolutely. I have, I try to make sure that every single second is accounted for at a lock-in. We have intentional time where it's like, they get to choose. We have our youth building has like carpet ball, foosball, ping pong. We have not a Nintendo switch too, but two Nintendo switches, which is kind of confusing, definitely. But so we have like Mario Kart and Smash Bros going. Nick Clason (07:49.902) That could be confusing, Andrew Jansen (07:56.882) I really try to get them away from screens as much as I can because we all know that battle. yeah, trying to have every single second with like some sort of activity, some sort of competition tournament. The last time I was on with Nick, we talked about the Assassin's like meta ongoing game that happens throughout the evening and having things like that where there isn't an opportunity to be bored. really, really is effective with middle schoolers. Because once you were right, once they're bored and exploring and they find a pool and we know what happens next, like there's just something about an empty pool. So, but with middle schoolers, that's not so much like the sneaking off and having that happen. I think that's more of a high school situation, but I just try to make sure every single second is accounted for. And that kind of helps with, you know, not having that boredom. board game time for the students that don't like board games. Ellen Partridge (08:57.362) And notice you keep saying middle school. You're not mentioning high school. So are you saying that lock-ins are only good for middle school or would you do one with high school? Nick Clason (09:06.072) Good question. Andrew Jansen (09:06.325) I would, that is a great question. I would do a, I would do a high school lock in for sure. I think that you do run that risk. They are a little bit more like, I can kind of put on the dad voice like the, Hey, what are you doing? And they'll just like freeze as a middle schooler. They still, you know, we'll listen to authority when it yells at them. So with high school, they're kind of a little bit more independent, a little bit more calloused and a little bit more. Like on their own I consider I always use this analogy of like middle schoolers are like dogs and high schoolers are like cats Like dogs are just happy that you're there and happy that you see them high schoolers. You kind of have to earn that relational like equity and I would say yes have a lock-in with high schoolers, but only do it if you have the resources and the adult volunteers and also if you're like this group is just like, this is a crazy group of high schoolers. It's not always a green light for that specific group of high schoolers if you just feel like that wouldn't be good. Does that make sense? Ellen Partridge (10:16.934) Yeah, it's good argument. Nick Clason (10:18.464) Andrew, you got a question for Ellen? Andrew Jansen (10:22.763) Yes, what do you feel is, like, I want you to tell me what is the, like, risk reward trade off where you feel like, hey, this is too risky to have a lock in for this type of reward. Ellen Partridge (10:35.422) Mmm. Ellen Partridge (10:45.35) Yeah, it's a great question. I would just say I'm a big fan of like doing late night activities, hanging out super late. The thing that gets me and where I feel like the risk comes in is once you hit that one, two, three, four a.m. that even, and you mentioned that you've got college leaders. I don't live in a college town and so I mostly have adult leaders. And so for me, I know my adult leaders are not gonna be on their A game coming into that situation. And so for me, the risk in my context is a lot higher that my leaders are gonna start maybe losing their minds or going stir crazy or sleep deprivation is gonna kick in. And it's gonna lead to students, because they're curious, ending up doing things that they don't need to do. And so for me, I would rather do a thing where it's like, hey, we're hanging out till midnight. Your parents are picking you up. and then maybe we do something again the next morning because then I know they're getting sleep, my leaders are getting sleep, and it also means that I'm not putting them at risk, I'm not putting my leaders at risk. And so for me, there doesn't seem to be necessarily, yes, there's the connection reward, but I wonder if that's always overshadowed by the sleep deprivation, the angry, hangry situations that can come up and also, I worry for my adult leaders that they're gonna say something out of their own sleep deprivation or frustration after telling the same kid eight times not to do something, that it may end up ultimately hurting a relationship that was good, and then they make a good relationship with someone that they had a bad relationship with, and so you're kind of at a net zero, is kind of how I look at Nick Clason (12:32.078) I just feel like the ultimate fact that like, I would rather sleep in my bed at two o'clock in the morning. Like that's my strongest argument for anti-lock-in. Just shooting straight. Plus I enjoy Saturdays and if I am doing a lock-in, I don't know. Also, Andrew, question for you. Do you ever notice that your Sunday morning attendance is affected post a lock-in weekend? Andrew Jansen (12:32.345) Definitely fair. Andrew Jansen (13:02.165) for sure. I mean, I tell my youth coaches, like, hey, you were just at church for 15 hours. It's OK for you to sleep in. I'll be there because I work there. And students, a lot of times parents will bring them and they might fall asleep or something during a message. Nick Clason (13:04.027) hahahaha Nick Clason (13:13.787) Yeah Yeah. Yeah. Nick Clason (13:28.622) Yeah. Andrew Jansen (13:29.079) Yeah, think it happens. There are definitely repercussions to having a lock-in, but I just think that there's just a lot of... I've seen so many good things and good conversations and relationships start at lock-ins, and it's just with a certain unchurched group of students, it's just an easy invite. It's just an easy win to get them there. Nick Clason (13:45.091) Yeah. Nick Clason (13:50.382) Yeah, which and I hear you like Sunday morning, it's like, okay, like, yeah, they didn't come on Sunday morning, which is like the senior pastor's goal. But like we had a lot more effective and fruitful time than like them sitting through a sermon or whatever, like through the lock-in and you know, the times I have done lock-ins, like it's almost always one of the number one most attended events from friends. Like we get, we would have some of our biggest. Ellen Partridge (14:12.242) Mm-hmm. Nick Clason (14:16.75) numbers and biggest reach, you know, as far as outreach is concerned. So I definitely do see like both sides for sure. So those of you listening, you're about to get your opportunity to vote. Ellen, you went first last time. Andrew, we're gonna put a minute on the clock now for you. Give us your final one minute strongest argument why Y lock-ins. Are you ready, my friend? Take it away. Ellen Partridge (14:30.173) All right. Andrew Jansen (14:42.008) I'm ready. Lock-ins are definitely the easiest first step in the door with a church. If you have the right resources, if you have the right volunteers, and you have a solid game plan going into it, you know your group of students. I think middle school or high school, it is an easy invite for the unchurched students. And that is kind of the lens in which I plan a lock-in. I don't have the whole bait and switch. Like we're going to talk to them about Jesus Christ, their Lord and savior first thing, and then just have the rest of the lock in. It is, hey, building connections, being intentional and teaching the students. That's why we're doing this. Like, Hey, we're doing this so you can bring that friend, start that relationship. And so that they associate church with fun, with safe, with They feel welcome and feel like they belong. There's something different happening here. And our hope is that continues on. Nick Clason (15:47.81) Great, almost a buzzer beater, but not quite. All right, Ellen, you get the final word, final say, anti-lock-in. Go ahead, take it away. Andrew Jansen (15:50.839) Almost. Ellen Partridge (16:00.572) All right, as fun as lock-ins can be in the memories that are made, the risk of students having bad memories, whether it's a leader who loses their cool, it's another student who says something they wouldn't have said because they're sleep deprived or because they're overtired, to me just doesn't equate to the reward. I am much more on the side of let's do a long. evening event where maybe we can start at six or seven and parents are picking up at midnight. So we're still getting that opportunity to connect with them, to have those great conversations, to have an opportunity for them to invite their friends. But at the same time, when it hits two, three in the morning, our leaders and our students are home in their beds, getting the sleep and the rest that they need. And hopefully, because they had a great time. We're gonna be able to see them on Sunday morning and they're able to stay plugged into that larger church community opposed from being just separate from the youth ministry. Nick Clason (17:05.023) Nice, nice. Another almost buzzer beater. Well, there you have it, my friends. You have your pro lock-in versus your anti lock-in debate. And so you guys get to be the decision makers. Those of you watching, let us know, comment down below. But without any further ado, we're gonna get out of here. For Andrew and for Ellen, I'm Nick. Thanks for watching everyone. See you next time. youth ministry, youth pastor, church leadership, student ministry, lock-in debate, church events, youth group games, ministry strategy, church growth, outreach ideas, student engagement, youth ministry podcast, church programming, middle school ministry, high school ministry, church safety, volunteer leadership, youth events, church culture, discipleship, student leadership, ministry burnout, church innovation, youth group ideas, Christian leadership, church community, ministry risks, church events planning, youth outreach, faith conversations Lock-ins... is there a more polarizing youth ministry topic?
Should you do them?
Are they valuable?
Or are they the worst idea ever?

In this episode, two youth pastors go head to head, and you get to decide!

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SHOW NOTES
Shownotes & Transcripts
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/196

//Lock-In Survival Guide
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🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Pro or Anti Lock-in?
02:16 The Argument Against Lock-ins
05:14 The Busy Youth Worker’s Guide to Social Media
06:12 The Argument For Lock-ins
09:11 What Do You do if Kids don’t like boardgames?
10:56 Are Lock-ins only effective for Middle Schoolers?
12:16 What are the “risks” vs the “rewards” of a lock-in?
14:29 Do Lock-ins affect your Sunday morning attendance?
16:43 The Final Argument FOR Lock-ins
18:00 The Final Argument AGAINST Lock-ins
19:09 You decide - who won?

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TRANSCRIPT
Nick Clason (00:01.102)
Well, what is up everybody? Here I am this morning with Andrew and my new friend Ellen. Good morning everyone. How are we doing this morning?

Ellen Partridge (00:10.995)
Doing good.

Nick Clason (00:12.802)
Hey, are you guys, do you have coffee yet in your systems or is that long gone? All right, okay. They're doing pretty good, right, Michigan State?

Andrew Jansen (00:12.964)
Doing fantastic.

Ellen Partridge (00:16.771)
We're on the first cut. Go Spartans.

Yeah, not as good as Michigan, which is a bummer, but...

Andrew Jansen (00:23.46)
They're doing good.

Nick Clason (00:25.73)
Mm, yeah. And this will drop after March Madness, so we'll all know. Comment down below, like how Michigan did. know, Michigan State, not Michigan. But I'm excited because today we are debating pro lock-in versus anti lock-in. And based on the two people that you see on your screen here, you can probably already tell who's pro lock-in.

Andrew Jansen (00:33.591)
it.

Nick Clason (00:50.9)
and who's anti-lock-in. And so I'm just so excited for you guys to get to, not only get to know these two amazing people, but also hear their positions on this. And so by random draw that happened off screen that you're gonna have to trust me because I'm a pastor and I get paid to tell the truth. Ellen, you get to go first. So one minute on the clock for you. Just introduce yourself, help the people understand your context, where you're at, how long you've been in ministry, all these types of things. Ellen, are you ready?

Ellen Partridge (01:18.751)
Absolutely. I'm ready.

Nick Clason (01:21.58)
Alright, take it away.

Ellen Partridge (01:23.455)
All right, everyone, my name is Ellen Partridge. I serve as the central pastor of students at Thornton Apple Valley Church. We are centralized out of Hastings at Michigan, southwest Michigan. And we are a multi-site church, but I've been in ministry for very close to two decades now. And we're in a rural context and a multi-site context. So things are a little bit different for us versus just the single site.

And when I think about lock-ins, the thing that always comes to mind is the Halt analogy. If you're hungry, if you're angry, if you're tired, what are the things you shouldn't do, which is make decisions. And so we're gonna put students in a room where they are locked in together. You got the ones who, I have a kid in my youth ministry who at camp asked me if I could move our bedtime up to 9 p.m. I let him know that wasn't a thing, but you've got those kind of kids, and then you've got the kids who have snuck in.

all their energy drinks and are going to be up till four in the morning. And those kids that are up are going to be picking on the kids that don't want to be up, that want to be sleeping. And then you've got a lot of that interpersonal conflict that is going on within that. And you're putting that all into a giant space where you're having to entertain them and or keep track of them as they are, you know,

coming up with all of these grand ideas of how they're going to use their time. And I remember back to my youth group days, our youth ministry actually met in a old YMCA building, and for some reason, they did not lock the doors to the locker rooms, and then that locker room led to a empty pool. And I can't confirm or deny if there were children conceived in that pool, but there probably were.

And it was coming from opportunities where we did lock-ins and they let us all throughout this building with lots of classrooms, lots of spaces that should have been locked that were not. And so from that perspective of hungry, angry, tired, lack of ability to, you know, keep an eye on all the students and all the places, I am very anti-lock-in.

Nick Clason (03:43.896)
Well, there you go. Andrew, she blew past introductions just straight into arguments. Brother, she's coming for you, right? Like she is coming in hot. So, Ellen, great argument. Man, I hope no students, babies were conceived in that pool. I don't ever want to swim there. Andrew.

Andrew Jansen (03:49.24)
yeah, just right past it. Yeah, she went right past it and that's okay.

She's coming in hot, yeah, for sure. It's okay.

Ellen Partridge (04:10.12)
Me too.

Andrew Jansen (04:12.365)
Yeah, it's gross.

Nick Clason (04:13.838)
Tell us why Ellen's wrong and why lock-ins are a great idea. But first, give us a little bit of intro as you go. Are you ready, my friend? Let's go, take it away.

Andrew Jansen (04:28.345)
ready. Yeah, hit it. My name is Andrew Janssen. I am a middle school pastor in Manhattan, Kansas. Sorry, a couple years ago, we did play Michigan State and I know you probably knew that but we have nothing to talk about sports wise, hardly at all right now. So that's okay. But I love K State. I love serving in Manhattan. I am 36 years old. I've been a youth pastor for 10 years and

I really love getting to be in Manhattan, getting to work with college students that invest in middle schoolers. That's kind of my passion. And man, I love lock-ins. just, it works within the context of our church is about 1900 people and we work with multi buildings on our campus, but not multi-site, but.

It is just set up in a really easy way to execute and make lock-ins happen. And especially in our season right now where we have, and it changes, we have college students that graduate, but we have like 17, 18 youth coaches right now. And a lot of them enjoy staying up super late. And so it just really worked in this season to be able to have enough people there for a safe lock-in to happen.

Middle schoolers are crazy and love staying up all night, love getting to be like, you can be at the church besides Sunday and Wednesday. And just, it was just really, really awesome. We did a New Year's Eve lock in and they just have so much fun. There's opportunities for fellowship, board games, long extended times that maybe you don't get that opportunity to play through an entire game of exploding kittens or taco cat.

Mahomes cheese pizza, not taco cat goat cheese pizza. We all know Mahomes is the goat. But we play taco cat Mahomes cheese pizza and you get through two rounds and it's time for youth group to start. So we get to play through those games, have those conversations and invest in the students moving forward.

Nick Clason (06:40.494)
Great. All right, well there you have it. Like there's, each of you have laid down the gauntlet with your position, right? Andrews is based upon board games. Ellen's is based upon pools being present. And so with those two things in mind, plus everything else, do either of you have a question for the other that we can debate in a little bit more of an open forum?

Andrew Jansen (06:55.097)
You

Ellen Partridge (07:10.974)
All Andrea, I got one for you. So what do you do with the kids who are not your board game kids? What are your other activities that you're able to do? Because it sounds like you're pretty board game heavy. So how are you keeping the other kids occupied that are not interested in your board games?

Andrew Jansen (07:27.929)
Absolutely. I have, I try to make sure that every single second is accounted for at a lock-in. We have intentional time where it's like, they get to choose. We have our youth building has like carpet ball, foosball, ping pong. We have not a Nintendo switch too, but two Nintendo switches, which is kind of confusing, definitely. But so we have like Mario Kart and Smash Bros going.

Nick Clason (07:49.902)
That could be confusing,

Andrew Jansen (07:56.882)
I really try to get them away from screens as much as I can because we all know that battle. yeah, trying to have every single second with like some sort of activity, some sort of competition tournament. The last time I was on with Nick, we talked about the Assassin's like meta ongoing game that happens throughout the evening and having things like that where there isn't an opportunity to be bored.

really, really is effective with middle schoolers. Because once you were right, once they're bored and exploring and they find a pool and we know what happens next, like there's just something about an empty pool. So, but with middle schoolers, that's not so much like the sneaking off and having that happen. I think that's more of a high school situation, but I just try to make sure every single second is accounted for. And that kind of helps with, you know, not having that boredom.

board game time for the students that don't like board games.

Ellen Partridge (08:57.362)
And notice you keep saying middle school. You're not mentioning high school. So are you saying that lock-ins are only good for middle school or would you do one with high school?

Nick Clason (09:06.072)
Good question.

Andrew Jansen (09:06.325)
I would, that is a great question. I would do a, I would do a high school lock in for sure. I think that you do run that risk. They are a little bit more like, I can kind of put on the dad voice like the, Hey, what are you doing? And they'll just like freeze as a middle schooler. They still, you know, we'll listen to authority when it yells at them. So with high school, they're kind of a little bit more independent, a little bit more calloused and a little bit more.

Like on their own I consider I always use this analogy of like middle schoolers are like dogs and high schoolers are like cats Like dogs are just happy that you're there and happy that you see them high schoolers. You kind of have to earn that relational like equity and I would say yes have a lock-in with high schoolers, but only do it if you have the resources and the adult volunteers and also if you're like

this group is just like, this is a crazy group of high schoolers. It's not always a green light for that specific group of high schoolers if you just feel like that wouldn't be good. Does that make sense?

Ellen Partridge (10:16.934)
Yeah, it's good argument.

Nick Clason (10:18.464)
Andrew, you got a question for Ellen?

Andrew Jansen (10:22.763)
Yes, what do you feel is, like, I want you to tell me what is the, like, risk reward trade off where you feel like, hey, this is too risky to have a lock in for this type of reward.

Ellen Partridge (10:35.422)
Mmm.

Ellen Partridge (10:45.35)
Yeah, it's a great question. I would just say I'm a big fan of like doing late night activities, hanging out super late. The thing that gets me and where I feel like the risk comes in is once you hit that one, two, three, four a.m. that even, and you mentioned that you've got college leaders. I don't live in a college town and so I mostly have adult leaders. And so for me,

I know my adult leaders are not gonna be on their A game coming into that situation. And so for me, the risk in my context is a lot higher that my leaders are gonna start maybe losing their minds or going stir crazy or sleep deprivation is gonna kick in. And it's gonna lead to students, because they're curious, ending up doing things that they don't need to do. And so for me, I would rather do a thing where it's like, hey, we're hanging out till midnight. Your parents are picking you up.

and then maybe we do something again the next morning because then I know they're getting sleep, my leaders are getting sleep, and it also means that I'm not putting them at risk, I'm not putting my leaders at risk. And so for me, there doesn't seem to be necessarily, yes, there's the connection reward, but I wonder if that's always overshadowed by the sleep deprivation, the angry, hangry situations that can come up and also,

I worry for my adult leaders that they're gonna say something out of their own sleep deprivation or frustration after telling the same kid eight times not to do something, that it may end up ultimately hurting a relationship that was good, and then they make a good relationship with someone that they had a bad relationship with, and so you're kind of at a net zero, is kind of how I look at

Nick Clason (12:32.078)
I just feel like the ultimate fact that like, I would rather sleep in my bed at two o'clock in the morning. Like that's my strongest argument for anti-lock-in. Just shooting straight. Plus I enjoy Saturdays and if I am doing a lock-in, I don't know. Also, Andrew, question for you. Do you ever notice that your Sunday morning attendance is affected post a lock-in weekend?

Andrew Jansen (12:32.345)
Definitely fair.

Andrew Jansen (13:02.165)
for sure. I mean, I tell my youth coaches, like, hey, you were just at church for 15 hours. It's OK for you to sleep in. I'll be there because I work there. And students, a lot of times parents will bring them and they might fall asleep or something during a message.

Nick Clason (13:04.027)
hahahaha

Nick Clason (13:13.787)
Yeah

Yeah.

Yeah.

Nick Clason (13:28.622)
Yeah.

Andrew Jansen (13:29.079)
Yeah, think it happens. There are definitely repercussions to having a lock-in, but I just think that there's just a lot of... I've seen so many good things and good conversations and relationships start at lock-ins, and it's just with a certain unchurched group of students, it's just an easy invite. It's just an easy win to get them there.

Nick Clason (13:45.091)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (13:50.382)
Yeah, which and I hear you like Sunday morning, it's like, okay, like, yeah, they didn't come on Sunday morning, which is like the senior pastor's goal. But like we had a lot more effective and fruitful time than like them sitting through a sermon or whatever, like through the lock-in and you know, the times I have done lock-ins, like it's almost always one of the number one most attended events from friends. Like we get, we would have some of our biggest.

Ellen Partridge (14:12.242)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason (14:16.75)
numbers and biggest reach, you know, as far as outreach is concerned. So I definitely do see like both sides for sure. So those of you listening, you're about to get your opportunity to vote. Ellen, you went first last time. Andrew, we're gonna put a minute on the clock now for you. Give us your final one minute strongest argument why Y lock-ins. Are you ready, my friend? Take it away.

Ellen Partridge (14:30.173)
All right.

Andrew Jansen (14:42.008)
I'm ready.

Lock-ins are definitely the easiest first step in the door with a church. If you have the right resources, if you have the right volunteers, and you have a solid game plan going into it, you know your group of students. I think middle school or high school, it is an easy invite for the unchurched students. And that is kind of the lens in which I plan a lock-in.

I don't have the whole bait and switch. Like we're going to talk to them about Jesus Christ, their Lord and savior first thing, and then just have the rest of the lock in. It is, hey, building connections, being intentional and teaching the students. That's why we're doing this. Like, Hey, we're doing this so you can bring that friend, start that relationship. And so that they associate church with fun, with safe, with

They feel welcome and feel like they belong. There's something different happening here. And our hope is that continues on.

Nick Clason (15:47.81)
Great, almost a buzzer beater, but not quite. All right, Ellen, you get the final word, final say, anti-lock-in. Go ahead, take it away.

Andrew Jansen (15:50.839)
Almost.

Ellen Partridge (16:00.572)
All right, as fun as lock-ins can be in the memories that are made, the risk of students having bad memories, whether it's a leader who loses their cool, it's another student who says something they wouldn't have said because they're sleep deprived or because they're overtired, to me just doesn't equate to the reward. I am much more on the side of let's do a long.

evening event where maybe we can start at six or seven and parents are picking up at midnight. So we're still getting that opportunity to connect with them, to have those great conversations, to have an opportunity for them to invite their friends. But at the same time, when it hits two, three in the morning, our leaders and our students are home in their beds, getting the sleep and the rest that they need. And hopefully, because they had a great time.

We're gonna be able to see them on Sunday morning and they're able to stay plugged into that larger church community opposed from being just separate from the youth ministry.

Nick Clason (17:05.023)
Nice, nice. Another almost buzzer beater. Well, there you have it, my friends. You have your pro lock-in versus your anti lock-in debate. And so you guys get to be the decision makers. Those of you watching, let us know, comment down below. But without any further ado, we're gonna get out of here. For Andrew and for Ellen, I'm Nick. Thanks for watching everyone. See you next time.

]]> Lock-ins... is there a more polarizing youth ministry topic?
Should you do them?
Are they valuable?
Or are they the worst idea ever?

In this episode, two youth pastors go head to head, and you get to decide!

Take Advantage of Andrew's FREE Lock-in Planning Session:
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--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Pro or Anti Lock-in?
02:16 The Argument Against Lock-ins
05:14 The Busy Youth Worker’s Guide to Social Media
06:12 The Argument For Lock-ins
09:11 What Do You do if Kids don’t like boardgames?
10:56 Are Lock-ins only effective for Middle Schoolers?
12:16 What are the “risks” vs the “rewards” of a lock-in?
14:29 Do Lock-ins affect your Sunday morning attendance?
16:43 The Final Argument FOR Lock-ins
18:00 The Final Argument AGAINST Lock-ins
19:09 You decide - who won?

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
Nick Clason (00:01.102)
Well, what is up everybody? Here I am this morning with Andrew and my new friend Ellen. Good morning everyone. How are we doing this morning?

Ellen Partridge (00:10.995)
Doing good.

Nick Clason (00:12.802)
Hey, are you guys, do you have coffee yet in your systems or is that long gone? All right, okay. They're doing pretty good, right, Michigan State?

Andrew Jansen (00:12.964)
Doing fantastic.

Ellen Partridge (00:16.771)
We're on the first cut. Go Spartans.

Yeah, not as good as Michigan, which is a bummer, but...

Andrew Jansen (00:23.46)
They're doing good.

Nick Clason (00:25.73)
Mm, yeah. And this will drop after March Madness, so we'll all know. Comment down below, like how Michigan did. know, Michigan State, not Michigan. But I'm excited because today we are debating pro lock-in versus anti lock-in. And based on the two people that you see on your screen here, you can probably already tell who's pro lock-in.

Andrew Jansen (00:33.591)
it.

Nick Clason (00:50.9)
and who's anti-lock-in. And so I'm just so excited for you guys to get to, not only get to know these two amazing people, but also hear their positions on this. And so by random draw that happened off screen that you're gonna have to trust me because I'm a pastor and I get paid to tell the truth. Ellen, you get to go first. So one minute on the clock for you. Just introduce yourself, help the people understand your context, where you're at, how long you've been in ministry, all these types of things. Ellen, are you ready?

Ellen Partridge (01:18.751)
Absolutely. I'm ready.

Nick Clason (01:21.58)
Alright, take it away.

Ellen Partridge (01:23.455)
All right, everyone, my name is Ellen Partridge. I serve as the central pastor of students at Thornton Apple Valley Church. We are centralized out of Hastings at Michigan, southwest Michigan. And we are a multi-site church, but I've been in ministry for very close to two decades now. And we're in a rural context and a multi-site context. So things are a little bit different for us versus just the single site.

And when I think about lock-ins, the thing that always comes to mind is the Halt analogy. If you're hungry, if you're angry, if you're tired, what are the things you shouldn't do, which is make decisions. And so we're gonna put students in a room where they are locked in together. You got the ones who, I have a kid in my youth ministry who at camp asked me if I could move our bedtime up to 9 p.m. I let him know that wasn't a thing, but you've got those kind of kids, and then you've got the kids who have snuck in.

all their energy drinks and are going to be up till four in the morning. And those kids that are up are going to be picking on the kids that don't want to be up, that want to be sleeping. And then you've got a lot of that interpersonal conflict that is going on within that. And you're putting that all into a giant space where you're having to entertain them and or keep track of them as they are, you know,

coming up with all of these grand ideas of how they're going to use their time. And I remember back to my youth group days, our youth ministry actually met in a old YMCA building, and for some reason, they did not lock the doors to the locker rooms, and then that locker room led to a empty pool. And I can't confirm or deny if there were children conceived in that pool, but there probably were.

And it was coming from opportunities where we did lock-ins and they let us all throughout this building with lots of classrooms, lots of spaces that should have been locked that were not. And so from that perspective of hungry, angry, tired, lack of ability to, you know, keep an eye on all the students and all the places, I am very anti-lock-in.

Nick Clason (03:43.896)
Well, there you go. Andrew, she blew past introductions just straight into arguments. Brother, she's coming for you, right? Like she is coming in hot. So, Ellen, great argument. Man, I hope no students, babies were conceived in that pool. I don't ever want to swim there. Andrew.

Andrew Jansen (03:49.24)
yeah, just right past it. Yeah, she went right past it and that's okay.

She's coming in hot, yeah, for sure. It's okay.

Ellen Partridge (04:10.12)
Me too.

Andrew Jansen (04:12.365)
Yeah, it's gross.

Nick Clason (04:13.838)
Tell us why Ellen's wrong and why lock-ins are a great idea. But first, give us a little bit of intro as you go. Are you ready, my friend? Let's go, take it away.

Andrew Jansen (04:28.345)
ready. Yeah, hit it. My name is Andrew Janssen. I am a middle school pastor in Manhattan, Kansas. Sorry, a couple years ago, we did play Michigan State and I know you probably knew that but we have nothing to talk about sports wise, hardly at all right now. So that's okay. But I love K State. I love serving in Manhattan. I am 36 years old. I've been a youth pastor for 10 years and

I really love getting to be in Manhattan, getting to work with college students that invest in middle schoolers. That's kind of my passion. And man, I love lock-ins. just, it works within the context of our church is about 1900 people and we work with multi buildings on our campus, but not multi-site, but.

It is just set up in a really easy way to execute and make lock-ins happen. And especially in our season right now where we have, and it changes, we have college students that graduate, but we have like 17, 18 youth coaches right now. And a lot of them enjoy staying up super late. And so it just really worked in this season to be able to have enough people there for a safe lock-in to happen.

Middle schoolers are crazy and love staying up all night, love getting to be like, you can be at the church besides Sunday and Wednesday. And just, it was just really, really awesome. We did a New Year's Eve lock in and they just have so much fun. There's opportunities for fellowship, board games, long extended times that maybe you don't get that opportunity to play through an entire game of exploding kittens or taco cat.

Mahomes cheese pizza, not taco cat goat cheese pizza. We all know Mahomes is the goat. But we play taco cat Mahomes cheese pizza and you get through two rounds and it's time for youth group to start. So we get to play through those games, have those conversations and invest in the students moving forward.

Nick Clason (06:40.494)
Great. All right, well there you have it. Like there's, each of you have laid down the gauntlet with your position, right? Andrews is based upon board games. Ellen's is based upon pools being present. And so with those two things in mind, plus everything else, do either of you have a question for the other that we can debate in a little bit more of an open forum?

Andrew Jansen (06:55.097)
You

Ellen Partridge (07:10.974)
All Andrea, I got one for you. So what do you do with the kids who are not your board game kids? What are your other activities that you're able to do? Because it sounds like you're pretty board game heavy. So how are you keeping the other kids occupied that are not interested in your board games?

Andrew Jansen (07:27.929)
Absolutely. I have, I try to make sure that every single second is accounted for at a lock-in. We have intentional time where it's like, they get to choose. We have our youth building has like carpet ball, foosball, ping pong. We have not a Nintendo switch too, but two Nintendo switches, which is kind of confusing, definitely. But so we have like Mario Kart and Smash Bros going.

Nick Clason (07:49.902)
That could be confusing,

Andrew Jansen (07:56.882)
I really try to get them away from screens as much as I can because we all know that battle. yeah, trying to have every single second with like some sort of activity, some sort of competition tournament. The last time I was on with Nick, we talked about the Assassin's like meta ongoing game that happens throughout the evening and having things like that where there isn't an opportunity to be bored.

really, really is effective with middle schoolers. Because once you were right, once they're bored and exploring and they find a pool and we know what happens next, like there's just something about an empty pool. So, but with middle schoolers, that's not so much like the sneaking off and having that happen. I think that's more of a high school situation, but I just try to make sure every single second is accounted for. And that kind of helps with, you know, not having that boredom.

board game time for the students that don't like board games.

Ellen Partridge (08:57.362)
And notice you keep saying middle school. You're not mentioning high school. So are you saying that lock-ins are only good for middle school or would you do one with high school?

Nick Clason (09:06.072)
Good question.

Andrew Jansen (09:06.325)
I would, that is a great question. I would do a, I would do a high school lock in for sure. I think that you do run that risk. They are a little bit more like, I can kind of put on the dad voice like the, Hey, what are you doing? And they'll just like freeze as a middle schooler. They still, you know, we'll listen to authority when it yells at them. So with high school, they're kind of a little bit more independent, a little bit more calloused and a little bit more.

Like on their own I consider I always use this analogy of like middle schoolers are like dogs and high schoolers are like cats Like dogs are just happy that you're there and happy that you see them high schoolers. You kind of have to earn that relational like equity and I would say yes have a lock-in with high schoolers, but only do it if you have the resources and the adult volunteers and also if you're like

this group is just like, this is a crazy group of high schoolers. It's not always a green light for that specific group of high schoolers if you just feel like that wouldn't be good. Does that make sense?

Ellen Partridge (10:16.934)
Yeah, it's good argument.

Nick Clason (10:18.464)
Andrew, you got a question for Ellen?

Andrew Jansen (10:22.763)
Yes, what do you feel is, like, I want you to tell me what is the, like, risk reward trade off where you feel like, hey, this is too risky to have a lock in for this type of reward.

Ellen Partridge (10:35.422)
Mmm.

Ellen Partridge (10:45.35)
Yeah, it's a great question. I would just say I'm a big fan of like doing late night activities, hanging out super late. The thing that gets me and where I feel like the risk comes in is once you hit that one, two, three, four a.m. that even, and you mentioned that you've got college leaders. I don't live in a college town and so I mostly have adult leaders. And so for me,

I know my adult leaders are not gonna be on their A game coming into that situation. And so for me, the risk in my context is a lot higher that my leaders are gonna start maybe losing their minds or going stir crazy or sleep deprivation is gonna kick in. And it's gonna lead to students, because they're curious, ending up doing things that they don't need to do. And so for me, I would rather do a thing where it's like, hey, we're hanging out till midnight. Your parents are picking you up.

and then maybe we do something again the next morning because then I know they're getting sleep, my leaders are getting sleep, and it also means that I'm not putting them at risk, I'm not putting my leaders at risk. And so for me, there doesn't seem to be necessarily, yes, there's the connection reward, but I wonder if that's always overshadowed by the sleep deprivation, the angry, hangry situations that can come up and also,

I worry for my adult leaders that they're gonna say something out of their own sleep deprivation or frustration after telling the same kid eight times not to do something, that it may end up ultimately hurting a relationship that was good, and then they make a good relationship with someone that they had a bad relationship with, and so you're kind of at a net zero, is kind of how I look at

Nick Clason (12:32.078)
I just feel like the ultimate fact that like, I would rather sleep in my bed at two o'clock in the morning. Like that's my strongest argument for anti-lock-in. Just shooting straight. Plus I enjoy Saturdays and if I am doing a lock-in, I don't know. Also, Andrew, question for you. Do you ever notice that your Sunday morning attendance is affected post a lock-in weekend?

Andrew Jansen (12:32.345)
Definitely fair.

Andrew Jansen (13:02.165)
for sure. I mean, I tell my youth coaches, like, hey, you were just at church for 15 hours. It's OK for you to sleep in. I'll be there because I work there. And students, a lot of times parents will bring them and they might fall asleep or something during a message.

Nick Clason (13:04.027)
hahahaha

Nick Clason (13:13.787)
Yeah

Yeah.

Yeah.

Nick Clason (13:28.622)
Yeah.

Andrew Jansen (13:29.079)
Yeah, think it happens. There are definitely repercussions to having a lock-in, but I just think that there's just a lot of... I've seen so many good things and good conversations and relationships start at lock-ins, and it's just with a certain unchurched group of students, it's just an easy invite. It's just an easy win to get them there.

Nick Clason (13:45.091)
Yeah.

Nick Clason (13:50.382)
Yeah, which and I hear you like Sunday morning, it's like, okay, like, yeah, they didn't come on Sunday morning, which is like the senior pastor's goal. But like we had a lot more effective and fruitful time than like them sitting through a sermon or whatever, like through the lock-in and you know, the times I have done lock-ins, like it's almost always one of the number one most attended events from friends. Like we get, we would have some of our biggest.

Ellen Partridge (14:12.242)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason (14:16.75)
numbers and biggest reach, you know, as far as outreach is concerned. So I definitely do see like both sides for sure. So those of you listening, you're about to get your opportunity to vote. Ellen, you went first last time. Andrew, we're gonna put a minute on the clock now for you. Give us your final one minute strongest argument why Y lock-ins. Are you ready, my friend? Take it away.

Ellen Partridge (14:30.173)
All right.

Andrew Jansen (14:42.008)
I'm ready.

Lock-ins are definitely the easiest first step in the door with a church. If you have the right resources, if you have the right volunteers, and you have a solid game plan going into it, you know your group of students. I think middle school or high school, it is an easy invite for the unchurched students. And that is kind of the lens in which I plan a lock-in.

I don't have the whole bait and switch. Like we're going to talk to them about Jesus Christ, their Lord and savior first thing, and then just have the rest of the lock in. It is, hey, building connections, being intentional and teaching the students. That's why we're doing this. Like, Hey, we're doing this so you can bring that friend, start that relationship. And so that they associate church with fun, with safe, with

They feel welcome and feel like they belong. There's something different happening here. And our hope is that continues on.

Nick Clason (15:47.81)
Great, almost a buzzer beater, but not quite. All right, Ellen, you get the final word, final say, anti-lock-in. Go ahead, take it away.

Andrew Jansen (15:50.839)
Almost.

Ellen Partridge (16:00.572)
All right, as fun as lock-ins can be in the memories that are made, the risk of students having bad memories, whether it's a leader who loses their cool, it's another student who says something they wouldn't have said because they're sleep deprived or because they're overtired, to me just doesn't equate to the reward. I am much more on the side of let's do a long.

evening event where maybe we can start at six or seven and parents are picking up at midnight. So we're still getting that opportunity to connect with them, to have those great conversations, to have an opportunity for them to invite their friends. But at the same time, when it hits two, three in the morning, our leaders and our students are home in their beds, getting the sleep and the rest that they need. And hopefully, because they had a great time.

We're gonna be able to see them on Sunday morning and they're able to stay plugged into that larger church community opposed from being just separate from the youth ministry.

Nick Clason (17:05.023)
Nice, nice. Another almost buzzer beater. Well, there you have it, my friends. You have your pro lock-in versus your anti lock-in debate. And so you guys get to be the decision makers. Those of you watching, let us know, comment down below. But without any further ado, we're gonna get out of here. For Andrew and for Ellen, I'm Nick. Thanks for watching everyone. See you next time.

]]> Episode 172: The Cellphone Problem in Youth Groups https://www.hybridministry.xyz/172 638ad9c0-ba4b-4a3f-99e7-f1127a82e225 Thu, 23 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500 Nick Clason 172 The Cellphone Problem in Youth Groups full Nick Clason 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. 11:51 no <p>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.</p> <p>🍂 FALL SOCIAL MEDIA PACK<br> <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/fall-seasonal-137477671?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&amp;utm_source=copyLink&amp;utm_campaign=postshare_creator&amp;utm_content=join_link" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.patreon.com/posts/fall-seasonal-137477671?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&amp;amp;utm_source=copyLink&amp;amp;utm_campaign=postshare_creator&amp;amp;utm_content=join_link</a></p> <p>🦸 HYBRID HEROES GET THE PACK FOR FREE! <br> <a href="https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry</a></p> <p><strong>SHOW NOTES</strong><br> Shownotes &amp; Transcripts<br> <a href="https://www.hybridministry.xyz/172" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.hybridministry.xyz/172</a></p> <p>LINKS<br> <a href="https://www.Coleader.co" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.Coleader.co</a><br> CODE: HybridMinistry10</p> <p>Sidekick + Pro Presenter Setup<br> <a href="https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/setup</a></p> <p>👉 STAY CONNECTED WITH NICK<br> YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick</a><br> Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hybridministry/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.instagram.com/hybridministry/</a><br> TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@clasonnick" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.tiktok.com/@clasonnick</a><br> Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HybridMinistry" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.facebook.com/HybridMinistry</a><br> Website: <a href="https://www.hybridministry.xyz" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.hybridministry.xyz</a></p> <p><strong>--------------</strong><br> <strong>🎉 FREE STUFF 🎉</strong><br> We have all kinds of FREE Things that you can use in your context!<br> The best way to pay us back is a review or a YouTube Subscribe!<br> <a href="https://www.linktr.ee/clasonnick" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.linktr.ee/clasonnick</a></p> <p><strong>--------------</strong><br> <strong>🛠️TOOLS I USE THAT CAN HELP YOU!</strong><br> <em><em>Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products</em></em><br> //VIDIQ<br> <a href="https://vidiq.com/hybrid" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://vidiq.com/hybrid</a></p> <p>//BEST DYM RESOURCES<br> <a href="https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym</a></p> <p>//OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS &amp; REELS<br> <a href="https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361</a></p> <p>//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100<br> <a href="https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit</a></p> <p><strong>--------------</strong><br> 🕰️<strong>TIMECODES</strong><br> 00:00 Phones in Youth Group<br> 00:23 How Do you Keep Kids off Phones?<br> 00:38 Step #1<br> 01:24 Step #2<br> 02:15 Step #3<br> 04:09 Idea #1<br> 06:09 Fall Social Media Plan<br> 07:22 Idea #2</p> <p><strong>--------------</strong><br> <strong>TRANSCRIPT</strong><br> 00:00:00:00 - 00:00:08:05<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> In this episode, we're going to talk about my three step phone prevention strategy for youth ministry.</p> <p>00:00:08:05 - 00:00:17:01<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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</p> <p>00:00:17:01 - 00:00:24:08<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> a lot easier than fighting kids to get rid of their phones. Welcome everyone to the Hybrid Ministry Show.</p> <p>00:00:24:10 - 00:00:29:05<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> Well, hey, everybody, welcome to the Hybrid Ministry show. In this episode, we are answering this question.</p> <p>00:00:29:05 - 00:00:34:17<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> What are the ways that you have been able to keep students from being on phones during lessons and smog?</p> <p>00:00:34:17 - 00:00:34:26<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> Glad you</p> <p>00:00:34:26 - 00:00:51:02<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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,</p> <p>00:00:51:02 - 00:00:54:20<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> place for them to just like, leave their phones in the middle.</p> <p>00:00:54:23 - 00:01:11:12<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:01:11:12 - 00:01:30:26<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:01:30:26 - 00:01:49:19<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:01:49:19 - 00:02:15:20<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:02:15:23 - 00:02:16:13<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> The third</p> <p>00:02:16:13 - 00:02:20:04<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> and most effective way, in my opinion, this is more of like in a small group setting.</p> <p>00:02:20:04 - 00:02:25:04<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> So if you're in like a large group, room, this doesn't quite work. But in a small group setting,</p> <p>00:02:25:04 - 00:02:35:27<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:02:36:09 - 00:02:55:12<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:02:55:12 - 00:03:15:21<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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?</p> <p>00:03:15:21 - 00:03:20:13<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> However, in that the other thing that I recommend,</p> <p>00:03:20:13 - 00:03:41:09<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:03:41:10 - 00:04:07:11<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:04:07:11 - 00:04:24:00<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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</p> <p>00:04:24:00 - 00:04:31:26<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> here, I detailed and discussed how our hybrid ministry strategy has to our growth over the last three years.</p> <p>00:04:31:29 - 00:04:55:16<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:04:55:18 - 00:05:21:08<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:05:21:08 - 00:05:41:20<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:05:41:20 - 00:05:59:10<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:05:59:12 - 00:06:09:06<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:06:09:06 - 00:06:16:08<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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?</p> <p>00:06:16:11 - 00:06:45:24<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:06:45:27 - 00:07:05:24<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:07:05:24 - 00:07:22:24<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:07:22:24 - 00:07:37:06<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:07:37:06 - 00:07:59:21<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:07:59:28 - 00:08:27:10<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:08:27:10 - 00:08:49:16<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:08:49:16 - 00:09:10:12<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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?</p> <p>00:09:10:12 - 00:09:30:13<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:09:30:13 - 00:09:37:13<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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</p> <p>00:09:37:13 - 00:09:55:15<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:09:55:15 - 00:10:15:00<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:10:15:00 - 00:10:37:01<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:10:37:01 - 00:10:54:01<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:10:54:01 - 00:11:12:15<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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?</p> <p>00:11:12:17 - 00:11:32:11<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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.</p> <p>00:11:32:11 - 00:11:48:02<br> Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry<br> 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. </p> youth ministry, youth group, youth pastor, hybrid ministry, student ministry, youth group ideas, youth group games, discipleship, phones in youth group, cellphone problem, youth ministry tips, youth pastor training, how to keep kids off phones, youth ministry strategy, youth group teaching, paper bibles, group covenants, sidekick, pro presenter, digital notes, fall social media plan, youth leaders, church leadership, youth group discipleship, student engagement, church tech, youth ministry growth 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.

]]> 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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https://www.hybridministry.xyz/172

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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 142: How I Got Started doing Youth Group Social Media from scratch with Andrew Ostrander https://www.hybridministry.xyz/142 2d14e0f2-e3de-4786-9659-03fa1c5f9531 Thu, 27 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0500 Nick Clason 142 How I Got Started doing Youth Group Social Media from scratch with Andrew Ostrander full Nick Clason In this episode, I interview Andrew Ostrander, who shares his journey from education to youth ministry, discussing the challenges and surprises he faced during the transition. He walks you through the importance of engaging social media content to connect with students, detailing his approach to creating interview-style videos that resonate with youth culture. Andrew also highlights the benefits of delegating tasks, the significance of personal connections in ministry, and his future plans for expanding social media efforts. The conversation concludes with encouragement for new youth pastors to embrace social media as a tool for building community and fostering relationships. 22:18 no In this episode, I interview Andrew Ostrander, who shares his journey from education to youth ministry, discussing the challenges and surprises he faced during the transition. He walks you through the importance of engaging social media content to connect with students, detailing his approach to creating interview-style videos that resonate with youth culture. Andrew also highlights the benefits of delegating tasks, the significance of personal connections in ministry, and his future plans for expanding social media efforts. The conversation concludes with encouragement for new youth pastors to embrace social media as a tool for building community and fostering relationships. 📊 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 SHOW NOTES Shownotes &amp; Transcripts https://www.hybridministry.xyz/142 //COHORT LINK [IT’S FREE!] https://www.ymlcohort.com/ //COHORT EPISODE https://youtu.be/ucvXfaVRJ6E?si=uh66yl3hNsu2TsGO //E-BOOK https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book //ANDREW’S YOUTH ACCOUNTS https://www.youtube.com/@WakarusaStudentMinistries https://www.instagram.com/wakymc_stumin/ 👉 STAY CONNECTED WITH NICK YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hybridministry/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clasonnick Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HybridMinistry Website: https://www.hybridministry.xyz -------------- 🎉 FREE STUFF 🎉 We have all kinds of FREE Things that you can use in your context! The best way to pay us back is a review or a YouTube Subscribe! https://www.linktr.ee/clasonnick -------------- 🛠️TOOLS I USE THAT CAN HELP YOU! Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products VIDIQ https://vidiq.com/hybrid BEST DYM RESOURCES https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS &amp; REELS https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361 //YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100 https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit -------------- 🕰️TIMECODES 00:00 How I Run My Youth Group Social Media 02:16 How did you end up here? 04:42 Tell us your social media journey 06:39 What Type of Content do you Make? 10:31 What Equipment do you use? 12:36 In-Person Benefits Have you Seen? 14:55 Do you have Future Plans? 17:20 What Would you Tell a Hesitant Youth Pastor? -------------- TRANSCRIPT Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (00:29.856) Well hey what is up everybody I am here with none other than Andrew Ostrander did I say that right? Yes! It doesn't feel like it's that difficult but it feels like it might trip some people up you know what saying? Andrew Ostrander (00:47.413) You nailed it. Thanks. I've gotten Ostrander more than I've ever gotten Ostrander. So you're in the right. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (00:57.918) Really? Yes, okay, nice, good. My gut, my intuition was right. So you and I, met through a youth ministry leader cohort and we were in that together on calls together and stuff like that. But I started just kind of noticing and paying attention to you and your social media, because that's really the only way to like... pay attention to some thing from someone who lives over a thousand miles away. And so, but I started noticing, I was like, I like what this guy's doing. And so that's why you're here. Talk to me, you know, we're gonna talk a little bit about your social media, but before we do, why don't you let like the people know like, who are you, where are you at, how long you've been in youth ministry, all that, you good stuff. Andrew Ostrander (01:29.518) the Andrew Ostrander (01:46.712) Yep, so you've already touched on it. I'm Andrew Ostrander and I'm currently the director of student ministries at Waukerusa Missionary Church in a super small town, Waukerusa, Indiana. This is month seven or eight of my role in youth ministry. I had volunteered for multiple years beforehand, but I actually came from the education world. So I was a fifth and sixth grade teacher for three years before this position opened up and Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (01:53.396) Nice. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (02:05.055) Yeah. Andrew Ostrander (02:13.206) was very clearly that God was shoving me through this doorway in youth ministry. And so that's how I ended up where I am. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (02:17.426) Nice. Yeah, so you didn't even go to like school for youth ministry or whatever. And so here you find yourself now kind of like thrust into it. Before we hop into like the particular social media stuff, tell me what's been like the biggest shift or the biggest surprise or the biggest just difference that you've noticed between your two kind of careers if you put them side by side. Andrew Ostrander (02:42.85) Yeah, I think there's a glaring amount of similarities that people wouldn't expect between education and ministry, but those are definitely there. I think the biggest difference or thing that we weren't fully prepared for, I was to the point where after God had clearly guided me here and I knew this is where I needed to be, I was ready to switch jobs. But then the act of switching churches is what really hit us hardest. I had grown up and attended one church for much of my, all of my upbringing. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (02:59.637) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:02.912) Mm. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:10.098) Yeah. Yeah. Andrew Ostrander (03:12.396) And then most of my adult life after college. And so that was just such a huge change of pace and where you're so used to being on Sundays, you're no longer there on Sundays. So I think that was the biggest. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:20.256) Mmm. Yeah. Yeah. One thing about it too, like, I mean, I've always said this, but like when you move and you're in ministry, like you don't just like move jobs, but like you move everything, like everything up roots, including your community and your, you know, your church, your, family, like your church family, all that type of stuff. So yeah, that's, that is so true and probably super relatable to, you know, most youth pastors. okay. But then go ahead. Andrew Ostrander (03:47.79) I know you've experienced that even way more than I have, so you can relate. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:53.2) Yeah, yeah, definitely can. But if you're not used to it or know it, right, you're like, whoa, it is a little culture shocky or whatever, for sure. So, okay, then tell me then what sort of spurred you, led you towards what you're doing with your student ministry social media? Maybe first of all, what shone a light to you that was like, I should do more than just post announcement graphics on my social media feed. Andrew Ostrander (04:21.868) Yeah, so I was never a super avid social media user. Twitter and sports Twitter was where I was at in college and after. But I had just always seen the church. Like you said, it's like a hey, Wednesday nights coming up tomorrow, that type of thing, or ice skating this Friday. Join us for week three of this series. even even I was like, wow, that's not not that that's dumb, but I was uninspired. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:30.665) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:37.844) Don't forget, yes, yeah. Yeah, no one cares about your series, yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:47.944) Yeah. Andrew Ostrander (04:50.986) And so when I started here, I was interested in social media. But then as you touched on the way that we met through that cohort, you had given a specific lesson and not to stroke your ego or build you up. But it's a lot of credit towards you and just how you guided that. It's really stuck with me when you said, we know that the students are there and it doesn't matter how we feel about it or if we like it. Why are we not meeting them where they're at? Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:51.026) Right. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:59.029) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (05:03.904) Hahaha Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (05:13.215) Yeah. Hmm. Hmm, yeah. Andrew Ostrander (05:18.722) And so that was just a huge challenge to me of making engaging social media of some sort and really just trying to get students to buy in. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (05:23.946) Yeah. Yeah, yeah, and you know, like the cohort was an interactive deal and you know, the kind of like lesson or whatever that I led on all that was made for exactly that. But I'll link down below an episode that's like really similar to like that conversation that we walked through on that. So if any of you are like, what was that? Like you can check that out down below. But so now you, that was your inspiration sort of. And everyone does things a little different, know, and I my like ebook and stuff like that I give tips and whatever like what exactly Did you like or what have you sort of like stumbled into like doing that's like been working really well For like you and like your particular like church student ministry social media Andrew Ostrander (06:13.944) Yeah, so when talking about the sports social media background that I've interacted with, I never ran anything as myself, but I've just interacted with that a ton. And so one of the podcasts I had previously listened to talked about the difference of short form and long form video. And so I had really, and you had touched on it as well, the importance and prevalence of short form video. So that's really where we started to focus in and without having any... Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:18.302) Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:23.402) Sure. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:30.665) Mm-hmm. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:37.568) Mm-hmm. Andrew Ostrander (06:42.964) studio or recording equipment. Yeah. We really appreciate and love the space that we have. It's not set up for having a quiet, conducive recording area for anything longer or even anything specifically for social media. And so we really went on the interview style, man on the street style videos. And so when I transferred over here, one of my former students also came along with me as a now volunteer. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:43.976) Right. Space. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:52.864) Right, right. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:58.73) Mm-hmm. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:03.017) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:09.733) cool. That's awesome. Andrew Ostrander (07:12.118) And so I knew that I wouldn't have the capacity on Wednesday nights to record and do all of these. And so I proposed to him of a weekly routine of when students are welcome into the doors, but we haven't started programming, that I give him a question of the week and he goes around and asks random, funny, sometimes not as funny questions just to hear what students say. And the results are pretty amusing. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:18.154) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:25.321) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:32.766) Sure. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:36.287) Oh, bro, there's so much good in that, right? So like a couple of principles I heard. Number one, like, cause this is one of the common pushbacks I feel like I hear is like, I don't have time and you acknowledge that, right? You, you knew your limits already, but you were like, that's okay. I'm going to hand this off to somebody else. So like in and of itself right there, genius, like get it off your plate. You're promoting it, facilitating an opportunity for it to happen. However, so like that's leadership, but you're getting out of the way and delegating and letting somebody else kind of like own it, which is just fantastic. And then the second is like you said, like you didn't let the constraints of what you felt like your space offered or maybe didn't offer like stop you. And that's again, another like thing that I think is so good because we oftentimes like, I don't have, you know, the best equipment or the, you know, bougie is set up or whatever and it's like, who cares? We all carry around a camera in our pockets and the ability to use that to make content that ends up where students are, like you said, so, good. So tell us a little bit of what are some of your favorite questions or what have been some of the things that have maybe taken root culturally within your student ministry that people are like, that video was hilarious because X, Y, and Z. What are some of the... The funniest ones you've had are the ones that have gotten the most talk about afterwards or just even been like, yeah, the most amusing. Andrew Ostrander (09:07.736) Yeah, the first one that we actually did, so I had wanted to do it after you talked about social media and I was just figuring out what I wanted to do. And then my wife and I were out to dinner with two of our volunteers, our sponsors, and we got into controversies or like conspiracy theories that this individual was bigly bought into. And so that actually stemmed our first question of, you believe in aliens? And so I think that question has provided the most like, Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:13.896) Yeah. Okay. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:20.156) Okay. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:25.728) You Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:33.248) that's so funny. Andrew Ostrander (09:38.2) people would pause and then they automatically had the answer that they believed in, but could not explain why or why not that they believed the way that they did. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:40.224) Right, so funny. Yeah. yeah, that's funny. So then how, like, what are you doing for that? Like, tell me what exactly, you know, your volunteer is doing. Is he using his camera? Is he using any gear? you know, get kind of nerdy on us. Like, what actual stuff are you doing to capture it, record it, and then maybe even like edit it? Andrew Ostrander (10:08.12) Yeah, so it's about to be like the lamest set of nerdy equipment that we use. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:12.468) That's okay. Here's the thing, before you answer, this is what the boat, almost everyone is in. And that's why I love it, is because you're not letting whatever constraints you have stop you, you're just going for it. And yeah, it might just be a cell phone camera or whatever, but that's okay. Just do it. So yeah, let us have it. Andrew Ostrander (10:33.015) so the compilation of questions that we've come up with is stored on my phone notes app. And then we, sat down and decide what question we're going to ask that night. And then it is just a cell phone camera. And so I had gone online and was looking out for mic options quickly realizing that most of them were super expensive. So we have, I think it was like a $10 pair of the, lav mics and it's so cheap and old that Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:38.857) Yep. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:45.077) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:50.174) Yeah. Andrew Ostrander (10:59.616) My phone is the only one that we can use because it has the lightning connector. And so he takes my phone and those $10, $20 lav mics. And that is how it gets recorded. We just figured out how to change video settings to try to increase the video quality a little bit, but that took a couple of months before we got to. then editing is something that I set aside time for every week. So I've been using Final Cut Pro on my Mac and that's, go through and edit and. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:02.464) nice. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:07.456) A $10 microphone, Okay. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:17.16) There you go. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:23.88) Yeah. Nice. Yeah. And so then are you doing, are you just sending him around all throughout the program? Like is he doing it ahead of time, after, both? Like what's sort of like his schedule as far as like the interview person? Andrew Ostrander (11:29.464) change scenes how I want to. Andrew Ostrander (11:42.318) Yep. So we have like a team volunteer huddle every Wednesday night. So we're there until 6.15, 6.20. And then by that time, a lot of the students are here after our doors open. So he goes out from 6.20 until we start programming at 6.35, 6.40. So he only really does it for 15 or 20 minutes. So some weeks it's pretty limited if it's a longer question. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:46.196) Mm-hmm. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:51.124) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:01.76) Okay. Yeah. Andrew Ostrander (12:08.11) but it just has that time where students are roaming and choosing what to do before programming starts to get those interviews in. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:08.117) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:13.192) Yeah, so okay, so now my question is, do you have students who seek him out now every week wanting to answer so that they can be on social? Andrew Ostrander (12:22.993) Yes, I have certain students that I see their video every single week after he records. I'm pushing like, hey, let's try to get some others. But there's clearly students that are super excited. And I see the students that run away from him as soon as they see the mic out. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:32.435) Yeah, yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:36.648) Sure, yeah, Yeah, that's been my experience too, right? Like we do a social challenge every single week and we try to like batch record as much as we can, kind of like you. And almost every week as I like look at the footage after I'm like that kid's always in there, you know? And that's fine, right? Like that's fine for them to want to do it because it's whatever, it's how they connect and how they want to connect. Have you noticed any like... in-person benefits to what you're doing on social? Like anything that has camaraderie, even just creating conversation because of a certain video or topic or whatever, or the, I don't know, even like the feel and the vibe because you're filming something to go online. Has there been any in-person benefits that you've noticed? Andrew Ostrander (13:23.16) Yeah, I think absolutely. think the specific content or question that gets talked about for that day and then after programming a little bit, but then that conversation dies down. And there are a lot of different factors that I think have played into this, but since adding it and rolling it out and how our ministry has adjusted the pre-service time a little bit, students are really excited to be there and excited to interact whether or not it's with a camera in front of them. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:27.156) Mm-hmm. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:31.602) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:45.758) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:52.794) Interesting. Yeah. Andrew Ostrander (13:52.812) And so there's just been that shift of that vibe of being willing to be open or just hanging out together. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:59.88) That's cool. like that's a really that not even when I started on this whole journey and podcast, whatever, that's not even a thing that was even like on my radar, you know, but I've noticed that too in our in our context. And it's it's really cool to hear that for sure. What would you say like is anything that you're maybe like thinking about for the future? Like this is kind of your current rhythm and iteration. Are you like content with it and you just want to keep doing this or what if you had the capacity would be something that's maybe on the horizon that you've been thinking about or maybe wanting to do. Andrew Ostrander (14:38.254) So there are multiple different things that where I'm wanting to take it. And so I've created a weekly posting schedule that I want to figure out either for the end of the school year or just really gear up to do it next school year. We're redesigning a little bit of our space to better meet our needs. And part of that, I'm really trying to push or find a spot to create a more studio like area so that we could do longer form or like five, 10 minute videos. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (14:43.199) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (14:51.518) Okay. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (14:54.952) Nice. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:02.814) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:07.401) Yeah. Andrew Ostrander (15:07.724) while the interviews are happening elsewhere. And so there are lots of different places that I'm wanting to take in it, just seeing whether or not any of them are possible. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:10.089) Nice. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:15.888) Yeah, cool. So cool. What do you mind? Like, are you able off top your head or pull it up? Like, what is your proposed posting schedule that you want to aim for, you know, start the next school year? Andrew Ostrander (15:29.1) Yeah. So it would just be the weekdays because I know like content limits and I try to set time aside to network. Monday, we want to be doing a message Monday. And so that's just a one, two minute Devo, primarily probably just adults. And then I have a student intern. And so just whatever word is laid on our hearts or minds for that day for Monday, Tuesday would be one of our interview style videos. So that's the ones that we're currently posting most frequently. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:33.353) Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's great. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:41.362) Okay. Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:47.689) Nice. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:51.796) great. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:58.463) Yeah. Andrew Ostrander (15:58.994) the Wednesday one would be dependent on having a space to record it, but I want to do like a Wednesday word from a student. there again, pretty similar to Monday minute or two, Devo reading scripture style video Thursday, my intern and I have been recording, what we think are funny videos when we have internships together. And so Thursday would be that type of video right now. We're asking chat GPT to create a video for us and we just. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:05.522) Nice. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:09.289) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:19.072) You Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:23.85) Yeah. Andrew Ostrander (16:28.106) acted out. So those will be Thursday and then Friday. My idea would be for the slightly longer form video like drafts or tier list type things if we have the capability of doing that. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:28.927) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:37.842) Nice. Nice, cool. Okay, so like last little thing here. What would you say to anybody who was like you, you know, you're not even a year yet into like student ministry and all the demands and all the things that like come with the job are there and you know, have to. manage it, schedules, manage relationships and personalities, and they just feel overwhelmed by even the thought of social. What would just be your encouragement to other youth pastors out there who are maybe on the fence or not sure if doubling down on creating social content is for them? Andrew Ostrander (17:18.626) Yeah, so I think a couple of things come to mind. The first one you kind of touched on, it's a mix of starting small and passing it off. So my church leadership, my bosses are huge on a leader doesn't have to do everything. Like we're to the point where it's better if you're training up other people to do it than doing it yourself. So start small or find someone to do it for you on your big programming nights. But then also find whatever part of social media sounds fun to you. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:25.382) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:33.119) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:37.812) Yeah, it's great. Yeah. Andrew Ostrander (17:48.288) start with that. Like I've loved editing so far up to this point because I'm amused by it. And so find whatever part of the process you enjoy and really just start and focus there learning how to do that so that it's more fun for you. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:49.151) Hmm. Nice. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:59.794) Yeah, yeah, that's so true. Okay, is there anything else about what you do social media-wise that I haven't really asked you, but you're like, this is important, I wanna make sure I share that too. Andrew Ostrander (18:14.382) I think we've touched a lot on it. It's been fun. The personal connections that I form through it. So my volunteer that does the Wednesday night, we get to talk and reflect and discuss it a lot. And then my relationship with my intern has taken a huge upswing because of we're just hanging out together and making stupid, fun youth videos together. so like you asked about the in-person effects, even just on Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:25.78) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:29.386) Sure. Mm. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:39.007) Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:42.654) Yeah. Andrew Ostrander (18:43.754) on my personal and my perspective. It's had a huge impact on relationships that I get to form because of these seemingly what a lot of people would view as pointless or menial impact videos. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:46.942) Hmm. Yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:53.64) Yeah. No, that's really, that's actually really like profound. And I really appreciate you saying that because I do think it's more than just, you know. satisfying social media algorithms or feeding the beast or you know, that's what I call it. Like you gotta keep feeding the beast. But I like that you're saying like, there's been some, you know, relational equity that kind of comes out of that. And that really is the ultimate goal. Like if you look at the inception of social, like it's social, right? In nature, like that's where it came from. And so if it's not at least, you know, playing a part in that within like the context of your local community, like you might be missing out on it, but it's, The fact that you're doing it is creating a good vibe and good energy. that's, I think, one of my main goals always in social is not like to go viral on our church account and have a bunch of views and all that stuff. Like really it's to serve our community like best, you know? And then if it goes viral or if it gets a lot of views or whatever, like that's great, but that's like a secondary. thing that I'm looking for. Primarily it's just like I want to serve the students that God has entrusted to me here and disciple them as best I can through the means and avenues of social. So it's great. Okay, so last thing, people want to know if they want to see what you're doing, they want to see some of the stuff you're doing, where do they go? What can they go follow and go check out online or whatever? Andrew Ostrander (20:23.042) Yeah, so right now I'm posting on two separate places, the YouTube channel, Walker's Student Ministries, and then the Instagram, which is either Walker's Student Ministries or Waukee with a Y Student Ministries. I would have to go shuffle check. I'm not sure that was created. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (20:35.936) We'll link them both down below. We'll get it locked in. So if you're like, I don't know how to WakaRusa, the type text down below will be spelled hopefully correctly and it'll take you where you need to go. Nice. Andrew, anything else before we cut you loose? Andrew Ostrander (20:47.438) You Andrew Ostrander (20:53.646) I think just obviously with the people that you have or the following you have, it's either of interest to them or could be something that they're already doing. I think it is really just super important to try one. The first video I made lasted me for three weeks because you just had enough to work with from it. And so it feels like huge undertaking. It's not as bad as what I initially went into it expecting. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:01.152) Mm. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:05.6) Mm. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:11.838) Yeah, yeah. Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:16.748) Yeah, no, that's a really good point. It's a new skill for a lot of people. So it is gonna feel a little bit overwhelming. But like you said, once you kind of get into it, you might learn something like, like editing, like you said, and you'll find a new skill or at least something else that you enjoy. So it's awesome. All right, guys, well, for Andrew, this is Nick. We're signing off and talk to you next time. See ya. youth ministry, social media, student engagement, content creation, church community, youth pastor, interview style videos, digital ministry, youth culture, leadership In this episode, I interview Andrew Ostrander, who shares his journey from education to youth ministry, discussing the challenges and surprises he faced during the transition. He walks you through the importance of engaging social media content to connect with students, detailing his approach to creating interview-style videos that resonate with youth culture. Andrew also highlights the benefits of delegating tasks, the significance of personal connections in ministry, and his future plans for expanding social media efforts. The conversation concludes with encouragement for new youth pastors to embrace social media as a tool for building community and fostering relationships.

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🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 How I Run My Youth Group Social Media
02:16 How did you end up here?
04:42 Tell us your social media journey
06:39 What Type of Content do you Make?
10:31 What Equipment do you use?
12:36 In-Person Benefits Have you Seen?
14:55 Do you have Future Plans?
17:20 What Would you Tell a Hesitant Youth Pastor?

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TRANSCRIPT
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (00:29.856)
Well hey what is up everybody I am here with none other than Andrew Ostrander did I say that right? Yes! It doesn't feel like it's that difficult but it feels like it might trip some people up you know what saying?

Andrew Ostrander (00:47.413)
You nailed it.

Thanks.

I've gotten Ostrander more than I've ever gotten Ostrander. So you're in the right.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (00:57.918)
Really? Yes, okay, nice, good. My gut, my intuition was right. So you and I, met through a youth ministry leader cohort and we were in that together on calls together and stuff like that. But I started just kind of noticing and paying attention to you and your social media, because that's really the only way to like...

pay attention to some thing from someone who lives over a thousand miles away. And so, but I started noticing, I was like, I like what this guy's doing. And so that's why you're here. Talk to me, you know, we're gonna talk a little bit about your social media, but before we do, why don't you let like the people know like, who are you, where are you at, how long you've been in youth ministry, all that, you good stuff.

Andrew Ostrander (01:29.518)
the

Andrew Ostrander (01:46.712)
Yep, so you've already touched on it. I'm Andrew Ostrander and I'm currently the director of student ministries at Waukerusa Missionary Church in a super small town, Waukerusa, Indiana. This is month seven or eight of my role in youth ministry. I had volunteered for multiple years beforehand, but I actually came from the education world. So I was a fifth and sixth grade teacher for three years before this position opened up and

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (01:53.396)
Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (02:05.055)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (02:13.206)
was very clearly that God was shoving me through this doorway in youth ministry. And so that's how I ended up where I am.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (02:17.426)
Nice. Yeah, so you didn't even go to like school for youth ministry or whatever. And so here you find yourself now kind of like thrust into it. Before we hop into like the particular social media stuff, tell me what's been like the biggest shift or the biggest surprise or the biggest just difference that you've noticed between your two kind of careers if you put them side by side.

Andrew Ostrander (02:42.85)
Yeah, I think there's a glaring amount of similarities that people wouldn't expect between education and ministry, but those are definitely there. I think the biggest difference or thing that we weren't fully prepared for, I was to the point where after God had clearly guided me here and I knew this is where I needed to be, I was ready to switch jobs. But then the act of switching churches is what really hit us hardest. I had grown up and attended one church for much of my, all of my upbringing.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (02:59.637)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:02.912)
Mm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:10.098)
Yeah. Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (03:12.396)
And then most of my adult life after college. And so that was just such a huge change of pace and where you're so used to being on Sundays, you're no longer there on Sundays. So I think that was the biggest.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:20.256)
Mmm.

Yeah. Yeah. One thing about it too, like, I mean, I've always said this, but like when you move and you're in ministry, like you don't just like move jobs, but like you move everything, like everything up roots, including your community and your, you know, your church, your, family, like your church family, all that type of stuff. So yeah, that's, that is so true and probably super relatable to, you know, most youth pastors. okay. But then go ahead.

Andrew Ostrander (03:47.79)
I know you've experienced that even way more than I have, so you can relate.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:53.2)
Yeah, yeah, definitely can. But if you're not used to it or know it, right, you're like, whoa, it is a little culture shocky or whatever, for sure. So, okay, then tell me then what sort of spurred you, led you towards what you're doing with your student ministry social media? Maybe first of all, what shone a light to you that was like, I should do more than just post announcement graphics on my social media feed.

Andrew Ostrander (04:21.868)
Yeah, so I was never a super avid social media user. Twitter and sports Twitter was where I was at in college and after. But I had just always seen the church. Like you said, it's like a hey, Wednesday nights coming up tomorrow, that type of thing, or ice skating this Friday. Join us for week three of this series. even even I was like, wow, that's not not that that's dumb, but I was uninspired.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:30.665)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:37.844)
Don't forget, yes, yeah. Yeah, no one cares about your series, yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:47.944)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (04:50.986)
And so when I started here, I was interested in social media. But then as you touched on the way that we met through that cohort, you had given a specific lesson and not to stroke your ego or build you up. But it's a lot of credit towards you and just how you guided that. It's really stuck with me when you said, we know that the students are there and it doesn't matter how we feel about it or if we like it. Why are we not meeting them where they're at?

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:51.026)
Right.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:59.029)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (05:03.904)
Hahaha

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (05:13.215)
Yeah.

Hmm. Hmm, yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (05:18.722)
And so that was just a huge challenge to me of making engaging social media of some sort and really just trying to get students to buy in.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (05:23.946)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, and you know, like the cohort was an interactive deal and you know, the kind of like lesson or whatever that I led on all that was made for exactly that. But I'll link down below an episode that's like really similar to like that conversation that we walked through on that. So if any of you are like, what was that? Like you can check that out down below. But so now you, that was your inspiration sort of.

And everyone does things a little different, know, and I my like ebook and stuff like that I give tips and whatever like what exactly Did you like or what have you sort of like stumbled into like doing that's like been working really well For like you and like your particular like church student ministry social media

Andrew Ostrander (06:13.944)
Yeah, so when talking about the sports social media background that I've interacted with, I never ran anything as myself, but I've just interacted with that a ton. And so one of the podcasts I had previously listened to talked about the difference of short form and long form video. And so I had really, and you had touched on it as well, the importance and prevalence of short form video. So that's really where we started to focus in and without having any...

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:18.302)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:23.402)
Sure.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:30.665)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:37.568)
Mm-hmm.

Andrew Ostrander (06:42.964)
studio or recording equipment. Yeah. We really appreciate and love the space that we have. It's not set up for having a quiet, conducive recording area for anything longer or even anything specifically for social media. And so we really went on the interview style, man on the street style videos. And so when I transferred over here, one of my former students also came along with me as a now volunteer.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:43.976)
Right. Space. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:52.864)
Right, right.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:58.73)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:03.017)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:09.733)
cool. That's awesome.

Andrew Ostrander (07:12.118)
And so I knew that I wouldn't have the capacity on Wednesday nights to record and do all of these. And so I proposed to him of a weekly routine of when students are welcome into the doors, but we haven't started programming, that I give him a question of the week and he goes around and asks random, funny, sometimes not as funny questions just to hear what students say. And the results are pretty amusing.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:18.154)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:25.321)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:32.766)
Sure.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:36.287)
Oh, bro, there's so much good in that, right? So like a couple of principles I heard. Number one, like, cause this is one of the common pushbacks I feel like I hear is like, I don't have time and you acknowledge that, right? You, you knew your limits already, but you were like, that's okay. I'm going to hand this off to somebody else. So like in and of itself right there, genius, like get it off your plate. You're

promoting it, facilitating an opportunity for it to happen. However, so like that's leadership, but you're getting out of the way and delegating and letting somebody else kind of like own it, which is just fantastic. And then the second is like you said, like you didn't let the constraints of what you felt like your space offered or maybe didn't offer like stop you. And that's again, another like thing that I think is so good because we oftentimes like, I don't have, you know, the best equipment or the, you know,

bougie is set up or whatever and it's like, who cares? We all carry around a camera in our pockets and the ability to use that to make content that ends up where students are, like you said, so, good. So tell us a little bit of what are some of your favorite questions or what have been some of the things that have maybe taken root culturally within your student ministry that people are like, that video was hilarious because X, Y, and Z. What are some of the...

The funniest ones you've had are the ones that have gotten the most talk about afterwards or just even been like, yeah, the most amusing.

Andrew Ostrander (09:07.736)
Yeah, the first one that we actually did, so I had wanted to do it after you talked about social media and I was just figuring out what I wanted to do. And then my wife and I were out to dinner with two of our volunteers, our sponsors, and we got into controversies or like conspiracy theories that this individual was bigly bought into. And so that actually stemmed our first question of, you believe in aliens? And so I think that question has provided the most like,

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:13.896)
Yeah. Okay.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:20.156)
Okay.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:25.728)
You

Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:33.248)
that's so funny.

Andrew Ostrander (09:38.2)
people would pause and then they automatically had the answer that they believed in, but could not explain why or why not that they believed the way that they did.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:40.224)
Right, so funny. Yeah. yeah, that's funny. So then how, like, what are you doing for that? Like, tell me what exactly, you know, your volunteer is doing. Is he using his camera? Is he using any gear? you know, get kind of nerdy on us. Like, what actual stuff are you doing to capture it, record it, and then maybe even like edit it?

Andrew Ostrander (10:08.12)
Yeah, so it's about to be like the lamest set of nerdy equipment that we use.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:12.468)
That's okay. Here's the thing, before you answer, this is what the boat, almost everyone is in. And that's why I love it, is because you're not letting whatever constraints you have stop you, you're just going for it. And yeah, it might just be a cell phone camera or whatever, but that's okay. Just do it. So yeah, let us have it.

Andrew Ostrander (10:33.015)
so the compilation of questions that we've come up with is stored on my phone notes app. And then we, sat down and decide what question we're going to ask that night. And then it is just a cell phone camera. And so I had gone online and was looking out for mic options quickly realizing that most of them were super expensive. So we have, I think it was like a $10 pair of the, lav mics and it's so cheap and old that

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:38.857)
Yep.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:45.077)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:50.174)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (10:59.616)
My phone is the only one that we can use because it has the lightning connector. And so he takes my phone and those $10, $20 lav mics. And that is how it gets recorded. We just figured out how to change video settings to try to increase the video quality a little bit, but that took a couple of months before we got to. then editing is something that I set aside time for every week. So I've been using Final Cut Pro on my Mac and that's, go through and edit and.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:02.464)
nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:07.456)
A $10 microphone,

Okay.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:17.16)
There you go.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:23.88)
Yeah. Nice.

Yeah. And so then are you doing, are you just sending him around all throughout the program? Like is he doing it ahead of time, after, both? Like what's sort of like his schedule as far as like the interview person?

Andrew Ostrander (11:29.464)
change scenes how I want to.

Andrew Ostrander (11:42.318)
Yep. So we have like a team volunteer huddle every Wednesday night. So we're there until 6.15, 6.20. And then by that time, a lot of the students are here after our doors open. So he goes out from 6.20 until we start programming at 6.35, 6.40. So he only really does it for 15 or 20 minutes. So some weeks it's pretty limited if it's a longer question.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:46.196)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:51.124)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:01.76)
Okay.

Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (12:08.11)
but it just has that time where students are roaming and choosing what to do before programming starts to get those interviews in.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:08.117)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:13.192)
Yeah, so okay, so now my question is, do you have students who seek him out now every week wanting to answer so that they can be on social?

Andrew Ostrander (12:22.993)
Yes, I have certain students that I see their video every single week after he records. I'm pushing like, hey, let's try to get some others. But there's clearly students that are super excited. And I see the students that run away from him as soon as they see the mic out.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:32.435)
Yeah, yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:36.648)
Sure, yeah, Yeah, that's been my experience too, right? Like we do a social challenge every single week and we try to like batch record as much as we can, kind of like you. And almost every week as I like look at the footage after I'm like that kid's always in there, you know? And that's fine, right? Like that's fine for them to want to do it because it's whatever, it's how they connect and how they want to connect. Have you noticed any like...

in-person benefits to what you're doing on social? Like anything that has camaraderie, even just creating conversation because of a certain video or topic or whatever, or the, I don't know, even like the feel and the vibe because you're filming something to go online. Has there been any in-person benefits that you've noticed?

Andrew Ostrander (13:23.16)
Yeah, I think absolutely. think the specific content or question that gets talked about for that day and then after programming a little bit, but then that conversation dies down. And there are a lot of different factors that I think have played into this, but since adding it and rolling it out and how our ministry has adjusted the pre-service time a little bit, students are really excited to be there and excited to interact whether or not it's with a camera in front of them.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:27.156)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:31.602)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:45.758)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:52.794)
Interesting. Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (13:52.812)
And so there's just been that shift of that vibe of being willing to be open or just hanging out together.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:59.88)
That's cool. like that's a really that not even when I started on this whole journey and podcast, whatever, that's not even a thing that was even like on my radar, you know, but I've noticed that too in our in our context. And it's it's really cool to hear that for sure. What would you say like is anything that you're maybe like thinking about for the future? Like this is kind of your current rhythm and iteration. Are you like

content with it and you just want to keep doing this or what if you had the capacity would be something that's maybe on the horizon that you've been thinking about or maybe wanting to do.

Andrew Ostrander (14:38.254)
So there are multiple different things that where I'm wanting to take it. And so I've created a weekly posting schedule that I want to figure out either for the end of the school year or just really gear up to do it next school year. We're redesigning a little bit of our space to better meet our needs. And part of that, I'm really trying to push or find a spot to create a more studio like area so that we could do longer form or like five, 10 minute videos.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (14:43.199)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (14:51.518)
Okay.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (14:54.952)
Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:02.814)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:07.401)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (15:07.724)
while the interviews are happening elsewhere. And so there are lots of different places that I'm wanting to take in it, just seeing whether or not any of them are possible.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:10.089)
Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:15.888)
Yeah, cool. So cool. What do you mind? Like, are you able off top your head or pull it up? Like, what is your proposed posting schedule that you want to aim for, you know, start the next school year?

Andrew Ostrander (15:29.1)
Yeah. So it would just be the weekdays because I know like content limits and I try to set time aside to network. Monday, we want to be doing a message Monday. And so that's just a one, two minute Devo, primarily probably just adults. And then I have a student intern. And so just whatever word is laid on our hearts or minds for that day for Monday, Tuesday would be one of our interview style videos. So that's the ones that we're currently posting most frequently.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:33.353)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, it's great.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:41.362)
Okay. Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:47.689)
Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:51.796)
great.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:58.463)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (15:58.994)
the Wednesday one would be dependent on having a space to record it, but I want to do like a Wednesday word from a student. there again, pretty similar to Monday minute or two, Devo reading scripture style video Thursday, my intern and I have been recording, what we think are funny videos when we have internships together. And so Thursday would be that type of video right now. We're asking chat GPT to create a video for us and we just.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:05.522)
Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:09.289)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:19.072)
You

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:23.85)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (16:28.106)
acted out. So those will be Thursday and then Friday. My idea would be for the slightly longer form video like drafts or tier list type things if we have the capability of doing that.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:28.927)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:37.842)
Nice. Nice, cool. Okay, so like last little thing here. What would you say to anybody who was like you, you know, you're not even a year yet into like student ministry and all the demands and all the things that like come with the job are there and you know, have to.

manage it, schedules, manage relationships and personalities, and they just feel overwhelmed by even the thought of social. What would just be your encouragement to other youth pastors out there who are maybe on the fence or not sure if doubling down on creating social content is for them?

Andrew Ostrander (17:18.626)
Yeah, so I think a couple of things come to mind. The first one you kind of touched on, it's a mix of starting small and passing it off. So my church leadership, my bosses are huge on a leader doesn't have to do everything. Like we're to the point where it's better if you're training up other people to do it than doing it yourself. So start small or find someone to do it for you on your big programming nights. But then also find whatever part of social media sounds fun to you.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:25.382)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:33.119)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:37.812)
Yeah, it's great. Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (17:48.288)
start with that. Like I've loved editing so far up to this point because I'm amused by it. And so find whatever part of the process you enjoy and really just start and focus there learning how to do that so that it's more fun for you.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:49.151)
Hmm.

Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:59.794)
Yeah, yeah, that's so true. Okay, is there anything else about what you do social media-wise that I haven't really asked you, but you're like, this is important, I wanna make sure I share that too.

Andrew Ostrander (18:14.382)
I think we've touched a lot on it. It's been fun. The personal connections that I form through it. So my volunteer that does the Wednesday night, we get to talk and reflect and discuss it a lot. And then my relationship with my intern has taken a huge upswing because of we're just hanging out together and making stupid, fun youth videos together. so like you asked about the in-person effects, even just on

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:25.78)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:29.386)
Sure.

Mm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:39.007)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:42.654)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (18:43.754)
on my personal and my perspective. It's had a huge impact on relationships that I get to form because of these seemingly what a lot of people would view as pointless or menial impact videos.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:46.942)
Hmm. Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:53.64)
Yeah. No, that's really, that's actually really like profound. And I really appreciate you saying that because I do think it's more than just, you know.

satisfying social media algorithms or feeding the beast or you know, that's what I call it. Like you gotta keep feeding the beast. But I like that you're saying like, there's been some, you know, relational equity that kind of comes out of that. And that really is the ultimate goal. Like if you look at the inception of social, like it's social, right? In nature, like that's where it came from. And so if it's not at least, you know, playing a part in that within like the context of your local community, like you might be missing out on it, but it's,

The fact that you're doing it is creating a good vibe and good energy. that's, I think, one of my main goals always in social is not like to go viral on our church account and have a bunch of views and all that stuff. Like really it's to serve our community like best, you know? And then if it goes viral or if it gets a lot of views or whatever, like that's great, but that's like a secondary.

thing that I'm looking for. Primarily it's just like I want to serve the students that God has entrusted to me here and disciple them as best I can through the means and avenues of social. So it's great. Okay, so last thing, people want to know if they want to see what you're doing, they want to see some of the stuff you're doing, where do they go? What can they go follow and go check out online or whatever?

Andrew Ostrander (20:23.042)
Yeah, so right now I'm posting on two separate places, the YouTube channel, Walker's Student Ministries, and then the Instagram, which is either Walker's Student Ministries or Waukee with a Y Student Ministries. I would have to go shuffle check. I'm not sure that was created.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (20:35.936)
We'll link them both down below. We'll get it locked in. So if you're like, I don't know how to WakaRusa, the type text down below will be spelled hopefully correctly and it'll take you where you need to go. Nice. Andrew, anything else before we cut you loose?

Andrew Ostrander (20:47.438)
You

Andrew Ostrander (20:53.646)
I think just obviously with the people that you have or the following you have, it's either of interest to them or could be something that they're already doing. I think it is really just super important to try one. The first video I made lasted me for three weeks because you just had enough to work with from it. And so it feels like huge undertaking. It's not as bad as what I initially went into it expecting.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:01.152)
Mm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:05.6)
Mm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:11.838)
Yeah, yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:16.748)
Yeah, no, that's a really good point. It's a new skill for a lot of people. So it is gonna feel a little bit overwhelming. But like you said, once you kind of get into it, you might learn something like, like editing, like you said, and you'll find a new skill or at least something else that you enjoy. So it's awesome. All right, guys, well, for Andrew, this is Nick. We're signing off and talk to you next time. See ya.

]]> In this episode, I interview Andrew Ostrander, who shares his journey from education to youth ministry, discussing the challenges and surprises he faced during the transition. He walks you through the importance of engaging social media content to connect with students, detailing his approach to creating interview-style videos that resonate with youth culture. Andrew also highlights the benefits of delegating tasks, the significance of personal connections in ministry, and his future plans for expanding social media efforts. The conversation concludes with encouragement for new youth pastors to embrace social media as a tool for building community and fostering relationships.

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🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 How I Run My Youth Group Social Media
02:16 How did you end up here?
04:42 Tell us your social media journey
06:39 What Type of Content do you Make?
10:31 What Equipment do you use?
12:36 In-Person Benefits Have you Seen?
14:55 Do you have Future Plans?
17:20 What Would you Tell a Hesitant Youth Pastor?

--------------
TRANSCRIPT
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (00:29.856)
Well hey what is up everybody I am here with none other than Andrew Ostrander did I say that right? Yes! It doesn't feel like it's that difficult but it feels like it might trip some people up you know what saying?

Andrew Ostrander (00:47.413)
You nailed it.

Thanks.

I've gotten Ostrander more than I've ever gotten Ostrander. So you're in the right.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (00:57.918)
Really? Yes, okay, nice, good. My gut, my intuition was right. So you and I, met through a youth ministry leader cohort and we were in that together on calls together and stuff like that. But I started just kind of noticing and paying attention to you and your social media, because that's really the only way to like...

pay attention to some thing from someone who lives over a thousand miles away. And so, but I started noticing, I was like, I like what this guy's doing. And so that's why you're here. Talk to me, you know, we're gonna talk a little bit about your social media, but before we do, why don't you let like the people know like, who are you, where are you at, how long you've been in youth ministry, all that, you good stuff.

Andrew Ostrander (01:29.518)
the

Andrew Ostrander (01:46.712)
Yep, so you've already touched on it. I'm Andrew Ostrander and I'm currently the director of student ministries at Waukerusa Missionary Church in a super small town, Waukerusa, Indiana. This is month seven or eight of my role in youth ministry. I had volunteered for multiple years beforehand, but I actually came from the education world. So I was a fifth and sixth grade teacher for three years before this position opened up and

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (01:53.396)
Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (02:05.055)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (02:13.206)
was very clearly that God was shoving me through this doorway in youth ministry. And so that's how I ended up where I am.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (02:17.426)
Nice. Yeah, so you didn't even go to like school for youth ministry or whatever. And so here you find yourself now kind of like thrust into it. Before we hop into like the particular social media stuff, tell me what's been like the biggest shift or the biggest surprise or the biggest just difference that you've noticed between your two kind of careers if you put them side by side.

Andrew Ostrander (02:42.85)
Yeah, I think there's a glaring amount of similarities that people wouldn't expect between education and ministry, but those are definitely there. I think the biggest difference or thing that we weren't fully prepared for, I was to the point where after God had clearly guided me here and I knew this is where I needed to be, I was ready to switch jobs. But then the act of switching churches is what really hit us hardest. I had grown up and attended one church for much of my, all of my upbringing.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (02:59.637)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:02.912)
Mm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:10.098)
Yeah. Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (03:12.396)
And then most of my adult life after college. And so that was just such a huge change of pace and where you're so used to being on Sundays, you're no longer there on Sundays. So I think that was the biggest.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:20.256)
Mmm.

Yeah. Yeah. One thing about it too, like, I mean, I've always said this, but like when you move and you're in ministry, like you don't just like move jobs, but like you move everything, like everything up roots, including your community and your, you know, your church, your, family, like your church family, all that type of stuff. So yeah, that's, that is so true and probably super relatable to, you know, most youth pastors. okay. But then go ahead.

Andrew Ostrander (03:47.79)
I know you've experienced that even way more than I have, so you can relate.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (03:53.2)
Yeah, yeah, definitely can. But if you're not used to it or know it, right, you're like, whoa, it is a little culture shocky or whatever, for sure. So, okay, then tell me then what sort of spurred you, led you towards what you're doing with your student ministry social media? Maybe first of all, what shone a light to you that was like, I should do more than just post announcement graphics on my social media feed.

Andrew Ostrander (04:21.868)
Yeah, so I was never a super avid social media user. Twitter and sports Twitter was where I was at in college and after. But I had just always seen the church. Like you said, it's like a hey, Wednesday nights coming up tomorrow, that type of thing, or ice skating this Friday. Join us for week three of this series. even even I was like, wow, that's not not that that's dumb, but I was uninspired.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:30.665)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:37.844)
Don't forget, yes, yeah. Yeah, no one cares about your series, yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:47.944)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (04:50.986)
And so when I started here, I was interested in social media. But then as you touched on the way that we met through that cohort, you had given a specific lesson and not to stroke your ego or build you up. But it's a lot of credit towards you and just how you guided that. It's really stuck with me when you said, we know that the students are there and it doesn't matter how we feel about it or if we like it. Why are we not meeting them where they're at?

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:51.026)
Right.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (04:59.029)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (05:03.904)
Hahaha

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (05:13.215)
Yeah.

Hmm. Hmm, yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (05:18.722)
And so that was just a huge challenge to me of making engaging social media of some sort and really just trying to get students to buy in.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (05:23.946)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, and you know, like the cohort was an interactive deal and you know, the kind of like lesson or whatever that I led on all that was made for exactly that. But I'll link down below an episode that's like really similar to like that conversation that we walked through on that. So if any of you are like, what was that? Like you can check that out down below. But so now you, that was your inspiration sort of.

And everyone does things a little different, know, and I my like ebook and stuff like that I give tips and whatever like what exactly Did you like or what have you sort of like stumbled into like doing that's like been working really well For like you and like your particular like church student ministry social media

Andrew Ostrander (06:13.944)
Yeah, so when talking about the sports social media background that I've interacted with, I never ran anything as myself, but I've just interacted with that a ton. And so one of the podcasts I had previously listened to talked about the difference of short form and long form video. And so I had really, and you had touched on it as well, the importance and prevalence of short form video. So that's really where we started to focus in and without having any...

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:18.302)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:23.402)
Sure.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:30.665)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:37.568)
Mm-hmm.

Andrew Ostrander (06:42.964)
studio or recording equipment. Yeah. We really appreciate and love the space that we have. It's not set up for having a quiet, conducive recording area for anything longer or even anything specifically for social media. And so we really went on the interview style, man on the street style videos. And so when I transferred over here, one of my former students also came along with me as a now volunteer.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:43.976)
Right. Space. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:52.864)
Right, right.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (06:58.73)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:03.017)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:09.733)
cool. That's awesome.

Andrew Ostrander (07:12.118)
And so I knew that I wouldn't have the capacity on Wednesday nights to record and do all of these. And so I proposed to him of a weekly routine of when students are welcome into the doors, but we haven't started programming, that I give him a question of the week and he goes around and asks random, funny, sometimes not as funny questions just to hear what students say. And the results are pretty amusing.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:18.154)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:25.321)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:32.766)
Sure.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (07:36.287)
Oh, bro, there's so much good in that, right? So like a couple of principles I heard. Number one, like, cause this is one of the common pushbacks I feel like I hear is like, I don't have time and you acknowledge that, right? You, you knew your limits already, but you were like, that's okay. I'm going to hand this off to somebody else. So like in and of itself right there, genius, like get it off your plate. You're

promoting it, facilitating an opportunity for it to happen. However, so like that's leadership, but you're getting out of the way and delegating and letting somebody else kind of like own it, which is just fantastic. And then the second is like you said, like you didn't let the constraints of what you felt like your space offered or maybe didn't offer like stop you. And that's again, another like thing that I think is so good because we oftentimes like, I don't have, you know, the best equipment or the, you know,

bougie is set up or whatever and it's like, who cares? We all carry around a camera in our pockets and the ability to use that to make content that ends up where students are, like you said, so, good. So tell us a little bit of what are some of your favorite questions or what have been some of the things that have maybe taken root culturally within your student ministry that people are like, that video was hilarious because X, Y, and Z. What are some of the...

The funniest ones you've had are the ones that have gotten the most talk about afterwards or just even been like, yeah, the most amusing.

Andrew Ostrander (09:07.736)
Yeah, the first one that we actually did, so I had wanted to do it after you talked about social media and I was just figuring out what I wanted to do. And then my wife and I were out to dinner with two of our volunteers, our sponsors, and we got into controversies or like conspiracy theories that this individual was bigly bought into. And so that actually stemmed our first question of, you believe in aliens? And so I think that question has provided the most like,

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:13.896)
Yeah. Okay.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:20.156)
Okay.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:25.728)
You

Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:33.248)
that's so funny.

Andrew Ostrander (09:38.2)
people would pause and then they automatically had the answer that they believed in, but could not explain why or why not that they believed the way that they did.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (09:40.224)
Right, so funny. Yeah. yeah, that's funny. So then how, like, what are you doing for that? Like, tell me what exactly, you know, your volunteer is doing. Is he using his camera? Is he using any gear? you know, get kind of nerdy on us. Like, what actual stuff are you doing to capture it, record it, and then maybe even like edit it?

Andrew Ostrander (10:08.12)
Yeah, so it's about to be like the lamest set of nerdy equipment that we use.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:12.468)
That's okay. Here's the thing, before you answer, this is what the boat, almost everyone is in. And that's why I love it, is because you're not letting whatever constraints you have stop you, you're just going for it. And yeah, it might just be a cell phone camera or whatever, but that's okay. Just do it. So yeah, let us have it.

Andrew Ostrander (10:33.015)
so the compilation of questions that we've come up with is stored on my phone notes app. And then we, sat down and decide what question we're going to ask that night. And then it is just a cell phone camera. And so I had gone online and was looking out for mic options quickly realizing that most of them were super expensive. So we have, I think it was like a $10 pair of the, lav mics and it's so cheap and old that

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:38.857)
Yep.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:45.077)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (10:50.174)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (10:59.616)
My phone is the only one that we can use because it has the lightning connector. And so he takes my phone and those $10, $20 lav mics. And that is how it gets recorded. We just figured out how to change video settings to try to increase the video quality a little bit, but that took a couple of months before we got to. then editing is something that I set aside time for every week. So I've been using Final Cut Pro on my Mac and that's, go through and edit and.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:02.464)
nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:07.456)
A $10 microphone,

Okay.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:17.16)
There you go.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:23.88)
Yeah. Nice.

Yeah. And so then are you doing, are you just sending him around all throughout the program? Like is he doing it ahead of time, after, both? Like what's sort of like his schedule as far as like the interview person?

Andrew Ostrander (11:29.464)
change scenes how I want to.

Andrew Ostrander (11:42.318)
Yep. So we have like a team volunteer huddle every Wednesday night. So we're there until 6.15, 6.20. And then by that time, a lot of the students are here after our doors open. So he goes out from 6.20 until we start programming at 6.35, 6.40. So he only really does it for 15 or 20 minutes. So some weeks it's pretty limited if it's a longer question.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:46.196)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (11:51.124)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:01.76)
Okay.

Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (12:08.11)
but it just has that time where students are roaming and choosing what to do before programming starts to get those interviews in.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:08.117)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:13.192)
Yeah, so okay, so now my question is, do you have students who seek him out now every week wanting to answer so that they can be on social?

Andrew Ostrander (12:22.993)
Yes, I have certain students that I see their video every single week after he records. I'm pushing like, hey, let's try to get some others. But there's clearly students that are super excited. And I see the students that run away from him as soon as they see the mic out.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:32.435)
Yeah, yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (12:36.648)
Sure, yeah, Yeah, that's been my experience too, right? Like we do a social challenge every single week and we try to like batch record as much as we can, kind of like you. And almost every week as I like look at the footage after I'm like that kid's always in there, you know? And that's fine, right? Like that's fine for them to want to do it because it's whatever, it's how they connect and how they want to connect. Have you noticed any like...

in-person benefits to what you're doing on social? Like anything that has camaraderie, even just creating conversation because of a certain video or topic or whatever, or the, I don't know, even like the feel and the vibe because you're filming something to go online. Has there been any in-person benefits that you've noticed?

Andrew Ostrander (13:23.16)
Yeah, I think absolutely. think the specific content or question that gets talked about for that day and then after programming a little bit, but then that conversation dies down. And there are a lot of different factors that I think have played into this, but since adding it and rolling it out and how our ministry has adjusted the pre-service time a little bit, students are really excited to be there and excited to interact whether or not it's with a camera in front of them.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:27.156)
Mm-hmm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:31.602)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:45.758)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:52.794)
Interesting. Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (13:52.812)
And so there's just been that shift of that vibe of being willing to be open or just hanging out together.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (13:59.88)
That's cool. like that's a really that not even when I started on this whole journey and podcast, whatever, that's not even a thing that was even like on my radar, you know, but I've noticed that too in our in our context. And it's it's really cool to hear that for sure. What would you say like is anything that you're maybe like thinking about for the future? Like this is kind of your current rhythm and iteration. Are you like

content with it and you just want to keep doing this or what if you had the capacity would be something that's maybe on the horizon that you've been thinking about or maybe wanting to do.

Andrew Ostrander (14:38.254)
So there are multiple different things that where I'm wanting to take it. And so I've created a weekly posting schedule that I want to figure out either for the end of the school year or just really gear up to do it next school year. We're redesigning a little bit of our space to better meet our needs. And part of that, I'm really trying to push or find a spot to create a more studio like area so that we could do longer form or like five, 10 minute videos.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (14:43.199)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (14:51.518)
Okay.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (14:54.952)
Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:02.814)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:07.401)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (15:07.724)
while the interviews are happening elsewhere. And so there are lots of different places that I'm wanting to take in it, just seeing whether or not any of them are possible.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:10.089)
Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:15.888)
Yeah, cool. So cool. What do you mind? Like, are you able off top your head or pull it up? Like, what is your proposed posting schedule that you want to aim for, you know, start the next school year?

Andrew Ostrander (15:29.1)
Yeah. So it would just be the weekdays because I know like content limits and I try to set time aside to network. Monday, we want to be doing a message Monday. And so that's just a one, two minute Devo, primarily probably just adults. And then I have a student intern. And so just whatever word is laid on our hearts or minds for that day for Monday, Tuesday would be one of our interview style videos. So that's the ones that we're currently posting most frequently.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:33.353)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, it's great.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:41.362)
Okay. Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:47.689)
Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:51.796)
great.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (15:58.463)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (15:58.994)
the Wednesday one would be dependent on having a space to record it, but I want to do like a Wednesday word from a student. there again, pretty similar to Monday minute or two, Devo reading scripture style video Thursday, my intern and I have been recording, what we think are funny videos when we have internships together. And so Thursday would be that type of video right now. We're asking chat GPT to create a video for us and we just.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:05.522)
Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:09.289)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:19.072)
You

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:23.85)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (16:28.106)
acted out. So those will be Thursday and then Friday. My idea would be for the slightly longer form video like drafts or tier list type things if we have the capability of doing that.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:28.927)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (16:37.842)
Nice. Nice, cool. Okay, so like last little thing here. What would you say to anybody who was like you, you know, you're not even a year yet into like student ministry and all the demands and all the things that like come with the job are there and you know, have to.

manage it, schedules, manage relationships and personalities, and they just feel overwhelmed by even the thought of social. What would just be your encouragement to other youth pastors out there who are maybe on the fence or not sure if doubling down on creating social content is for them?

Andrew Ostrander (17:18.626)
Yeah, so I think a couple of things come to mind. The first one you kind of touched on, it's a mix of starting small and passing it off. So my church leadership, my bosses are huge on a leader doesn't have to do everything. Like we're to the point where it's better if you're training up other people to do it than doing it yourself. So start small or find someone to do it for you on your big programming nights. But then also find whatever part of social media sounds fun to you.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:25.382)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:33.119)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:37.812)
Yeah, it's great. Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (17:48.288)
start with that. Like I've loved editing so far up to this point because I'm amused by it. And so find whatever part of the process you enjoy and really just start and focus there learning how to do that so that it's more fun for you.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:49.151)
Hmm.

Nice.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (17:59.794)
Yeah, yeah, that's so true. Okay, is there anything else about what you do social media-wise that I haven't really asked you, but you're like, this is important, I wanna make sure I share that too.

Andrew Ostrander (18:14.382)
I think we've touched a lot on it. It's been fun. The personal connections that I form through it. So my volunteer that does the Wednesday night, we get to talk and reflect and discuss it a lot. And then my relationship with my intern has taken a huge upswing because of we're just hanging out together and making stupid, fun youth videos together. so like you asked about the in-person effects, even just on

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:25.78)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:29.386)
Sure.

Mm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:39.007)
Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:42.654)
Yeah.

Andrew Ostrander (18:43.754)
on my personal and my perspective. It's had a huge impact on relationships that I get to form because of these seemingly what a lot of people would view as pointless or menial impact videos.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:46.942)
Hmm. Yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (18:53.64)
Yeah. No, that's really, that's actually really like profound. And I really appreciate you saying that because I do think it's more than just, you know.

satisfying social media algorithms or feeding the beast or you know, that's what I call it. Like you gotta keep feeding the beast. But I like that you're saying like, there's been some, you know, relational equity that kind of comes out of that. And that really is the ultimate goal. Like if you look at the inception of social, like it's social, right? In nature, like that's where it came from. And so if it's not at least, you know, playing a part in that within like the context of your local community, like you might be missing out on it, but it's,

The fact that you're doing it is creating a good vibe and good energy. that's, I think, one of my main goals always in social is not like to go viral on our church account and have a bunch of views and all that stuff. Like really it's to serve our community like best, you know? And then if it goes viral or if it gets a lot of views or whatever, like that's great, but that's like a secondary.

thing that I'm looking for. Primarily it's just like I want to serve the students that God has entrusted to me here and disciple them as best I can through the means and avenues of social. So it's great. Okay, so last thing, people want to know if they want to see what you're doing, they want to see some of the stuff you're doing, where do they go? What can they go follow and go check out online or whatever?

Andrew Ostrander (20:23.042)
Yeah, so right now I'm posting on two separate places, the YouTube channel, Walker's Student Ministries, and then the Instagram, which is either Walker's Student Ministries or Waukee with a Y Student Ministries. I would have to go shuffle check. I'm not sure that was created.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (20:35.936)
We'll link them both down below. We'll get it locked in. So if you're like, I don't know how to WakaRusa, the type text down below will be spelled hopefully correctly and it'll take you where you need to go. Nice. Andrew, anything else before we cut you loose?

Andrew Ostrander (20:47.438)
You

Andrew Ostrander (20:53.646)
I think just obviously with the people that you have or the following you have, it's either of interest to them or could be something that they're already doing. I think it is really just super important to try one. The first video I made lasted me for three weeks because you just had enough to work with from it. And so it feels like huge undertaking. It's not as bad as what I initially went into it expecting.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:01.152)
Mm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:05.6)
Mm.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:11.838)
Yeah, yeah.

Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry (21:16.748)
Yeah, no, that's a really good point. It's a new skill for a lot of people. So it is gonna feel a little bit overwhelming. But like you said, once you kind of get into it, you might learn something like, like editing, like you said, and you'll find a new skill or at least something else that you enjoy. So it's awesome. All right, guys, well, for Andrew, this is Nick. We're signing off and talk to you next time. See ya.

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