Sparkhouse Youth Ministry Podcast

Informações:

Sinopsis

Veteran youth workers Bryan Bliss and Erik Ullestad have close to 30 years of youth ministry experience. They also work as product developers for Sparkhouse, giving them a unique perspective on youth ministry topics.

Episodios

  • Performance Reviews

    25/05/2018 Duración: 41min

    Nobody wants to hear about the things they’re doing wrong. For many youth workers, that’s exactly what a performance review sounds like—a chance to get dumped on. In this episode, Bryan, Erik, and special guest, Pr. Eric Carlson, discuss why performance reviews are critical to ministry success, how to get them started in your context, and who should be doing them (hint: everyone.) Eric Carlson is Assistant to the Bishop at Southeastern Iowa Synod, ELCA.

  • Summer Ministry

    18/05/2018 Duración: 38min

    Summer, summer, summertime! A time for water games, mission trips, and…well, pretty much anything you want to do, right? Well, maybe. Summer may be a time of decreased attendance, but that doesn’t mean it should lack the same quality and depth found during the program year. In this episode, Bryan and Erik discuss what makes a good summer ministry, how to plan it, how to mix fun and educational activities, and whether paintball should ever be on your calendar (it shouldn’t).

  • Ending the Program Year Well

    11/05/2018 Duración: 40min

    From graduating seniors to confirmands and the end of youth group, the final months of the youth ministry program year is full of opportunities to acknowledge and celebrate the kids in your ministry. But how do we differentiate a graduating high school senior from a kid who just finished confirmation? Can we use budget money to buy our volunteers a thank you gift? In this episode, Bryan and Erik talk about honoring students in worship, how graduation and confirmation Sunday sometimes deliver unintentional messages, and how to throw a really good end of the year party.

  • Youth Ministry Mailbag

    04/05/2018 Duración: 42min

    Bryan and Erik have heard your voices and they have responded! Yes, it’s another round of Youth Ministry Mailbag, the podcast format where we take your questions and answer them live on the Youth Ministry Podcast. What do you do about noise in worship? Should you have a job description? And is it appropriate to maintain contact with members of a church once you’ve left for a new position? In this episode, Bryan and Erik style, profile, and answer your questions to the best of their ability.

  • Going on a Mission: An Interview with Dave Scherer

    27/04/2018 Duración: 46min

    Dave Sherer is a hip-hop artist known to many as AGAPE*. In this episode of the podcast, Bryan and Erik talk with Dave about the theology of mission trips, ways to prepare your group for the experience, and how to avoid some of the common mission pitfalls. Learn more about Dave’s ministry at www.hiphopoutreach.com

  • When it’s Time to Leave

    20/04/2018 Duración: 39min

    Leaving a ministry position is never easy. Breaking the news to students, families, and other staff members is hard, as is the process of interviewing and starting at a new position. How we discern when it’s time to leave – what we’re being called to – is important for not only our health, but health of the congregations we’re leaving. So how do we know when it’s time to leave a church? How do we value and advocate for ourselves in the job search process? How do we sift through the various job advertisements to find one that will complement our gifts and experiences? In this episode, Bryan and Erik talk about changing roles, how to communicate openly and honestly, red flags in a job search, and one of them realizes people listen to this podcast.

  • Transitions in Ministry

    13/04/2018 Duración: 42min

    Rachel Kurtz is a Minneapolis-based songwriter, performer, and recording artist.  She shares personal testimonies of tragedy and triumph with a vulnerability that captivates her audience.  In this episode, Rachel sits down with Erik to discuss life as a single mom, the ups and downs of being a traveling musician, and what it’s like to change direction and expand her audience in the middle of her career. Check out her latest album, “Love, Rachel Kurtz” at rachelkurtz.com.

  • Discipleship in Youth Ministry

    05/04/2018 Duración: 43min

    Discipleship is a word that is often used in youth ministry circles. But what does it mean? How do we make it a part of our ministries? And how do we tap into a word that has such diversity of meaning and practice? In this episode, Bryan and Erik discuss how to get kids to take ownership of their faith, the risks involved with doing so, and what a theological tool kit looks like.

  • Jesus Christ Superstar

    30/03/2018 Duración: 01h02min

    Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera that has inspired and excited audiences for close to fifty years. Following the passion narrative, Jesus Christ Superstar gives us an opportunity to experience that story in a different way. But what does it say to students? How can we use it in youth ministry? Should we use it in youth ministry? In this episode, Bryan and Erik talk about how Jesus Christ Superstar impacted their lives, discuss where it goes wrong theologically, and try not to act like fanboys.

  • March Madness: Youth Ministry Cliches

    23/03/2018 Duración: 45min

    Youth ministry is full of clichés, some true, some more myth than fact, and others we maybe wish weren’t as personally convicting. From Youth Group Name Acronyms (C.H.A.O.S) to Side Hugs and the phrase, “No Purpling” we have a unique (and sometimes confounding) language to describe youth ministry. In this episode, Bryan Bliss, Erik Ullestad, and special guest, Jake Bouma, discuss the Final Four of Sparkhouse’s Best (or worst?) Youth Ministry Cliché bracket, how hard it is to keep up with church credit card receipts, and why kids should S.M.Y.L.E. more. To vote on the final four: http://youth-ministry-cliches.webflow.io

  • Holy Week and Youth Ministry

    16/03/2018 Duración: 36min

    Holy Week is coming. What are you going to do with your students? Whether it’s a passion play, stations of the cross, or even a 30 Hour Famine-like simulation, giving students an opportunity to understand and experience the highs and lows of the passion narrative is a fundamental part of youth ministry each year. In this episode, Bryan and Erik discuss six practical ways to help students engage with Holy Week and offer up a challenge to listeners. To submit your joke, go to: www.ympodcast.com/contact 

  • Competing with Sports

    09/03/2018 Duración: 35min

    Every youth worker has grumbled about basketball tournaments on Sunday mornings or show choir concerts on Wednesday nights. The culture no longer props up the church by encouraging people to attend worship and not scheduling anything that conflicts with church activities. As youth workers, how do we respond? Do we keep grumbling? Or do we innovate? And if we do change, does that mean basketball and church are equal? Has church become an extra-curricular activity? In this episode, Bryan and Erik talk about Gloria Lee’s article, “You Can’t Compete With Sports”, think about the practical and theological implications, and one of them gets a surprise phone call.

  • Listener Mailbag

    02/03/2018 Duración: 40min

    How do you deal with unruly students? What’s the difference between expectations and requirements? Does a kid need to go to confirmation in order to make a public declaration of faith? And what makes a youth worker, a youth worker? In this week’s special mailbag episode, Bryan and Erik answer listener questions, confront a quandary, and wonder how they survived having small children (one word: Doodlebops.)

  • Facing Tragedy in Youth Ministry

    23/02/2018 Duración: 37min

    The brokenness of the world is not hidden from our students. They see it in their communities, the schools, and in their daily lives. As youth workers, we have the opportunity to walk alongside students as they think about, talk through, and begin to understand tragedy and suffering. We offer not only an attentive ear, but also a reminder of God’s presence in the world—of the Kingdom of God. In this episode, Bryan and Erik discuss a youth worker’s role in navigating tragedy, offer tips on ways to think about that response both theologically and practically, and struggle to answer the big question: why?

  • Ministry Among Kids with Disabilities

    22/02/2018 Duración: 34min

    All are welcome! Really? Often times churches fall short in their ability to truly welcome people with disabilities. What barriers exist in youth ministry for kids with physical, intellectual, or emotional disabilities?  In this episode, Erik interviews Molly Beck Dean, veteran youth minister and current Director of the ELCA Youth Gathering, for an honest conversation about common misconceptions about relating to people with disabilities, offers some ideas for how congregations can be a safe and welcoming place for everyone, and discusses life as a parent of a child with Joubert Syndrome. 

  • Enneagram and Youth Ministry Part 2

    09/02/2018 Duración: 45min

    Every student who comes into your youth group is different and knowing these differences—knowing some of the background personality traits that may or may not affect behavior—can be an important part of youth ministry. In this episode, Bryan and Erik are joined by Carla Barnhill to discuss typical youth group kids, the higher calling of youth ministry, and who is Carla’s favorite.

  • Enneagram and Youth Ministry Part 1

    02/02/2018 Duración: 41min

    There are plenty of – ahem – personalities in your youth group. Quiet kids, sporty kids, and of course the “Ooh-ooh! I know the answer, please pick me!” kid. Each comes to youth group with their own set of aspirations, insecurities, and personality quirks. But how do we make sure this socially diverse group of kids all feel engaged, welcomed, and loved? How do we balance the “too cool for youth group” student with the “excited to be here” student?  In this episode, Bryan and Erik are joined by special guest Carla Barnhill to discuss the Enneagram personality inventory, why it is important for youth workers, and how Carla is the boss.

  • To Party or Not to Party, that is the Question

    26/01/2018 Duración: 40min

    The Super Bowl is not a part of the liturgical year, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have an impact on your youth ministry calendar. Each year, youth workers face a question: should we have a Super Bowl party or should we have youth group? And if we do have a Super Bowl party, what makes a good one? Where are the potential moments of tension for both students and parents? And how many pizzas should I order for 15 hungry teenagers? In this episode, Bryan and Erik discuss how to throw a meaningful party, whether you need to have a spiritual component, and realize they may have alienated a potentially important podcast sponsor.

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