We're back! At least, briefly. Summer has been full of opportunity, camps, VBS, and more. Dan and Jordan catch up in this week's episode.

This week, Dan and Jordan welcome Matt Swigart as a returning guest. Matt shares about Enhance (a para-church ministry he's started to help encourage and equip leaders). Matt also shares about a book he's recently published geared towards helping new adult Christians grow in their faith. If you'd like a copy of Matt's book, you can find it here on …

Dan and Jordan take this week to discuss ministry opportunities that are available to churches who are able to network together.

Can't wrap your mind around a week and a half mission trip? Why not take advantage of local opportunities? This week, Jordan and Dan discuss different ideas and options you might pursue as a ministry.

This week's episode goes a little longer than normal as Dan and Jordan discuss the focuses and perks of different types of trips. Here's a link to the Youth Ministry Management book Dan makes reference to: check it out here

People in your church have asked you to coordinate and facilitate a larger event for a particular ministry. That's great! Do you know where to start? What sort of things should you be looking at and aware of as you start down the route of planning a larger event? Jordan and Dan begin addressing these questions this month, on top of a significant am…

Jordan takes over once again, sharing about a breakout from Dr. Richard Ross about helping parents realign and prioritize faith formation in the lives of their children.

Dan shares about a breakout session hosted by Kevin Bump at the 2024 D6 ministry conference: approaching narcissistic leadership from a place of empathy.

Jordan and Dan are back in their respective homes after the trip to Orlando for D6 2024. This week, Jordan shares his takeaways from a breakout session led by Stephanie Cline, "No Place Like Home." Also, Dan makes an inside joke about "pocket cucumbers," referring to a point when Jordan pulled out a cucumber from his pocket in public during supper.…

Dan and Jordan are back at the D6 conference in Orlando! This month, they take some time and recap some of the highlights from the main sessions and breakout electives.

Jordan and Dan end this month's arc of episodes by talking about cultural trends and influences. How does what we see in culture contrast with who God declares us to be?

Dan and Jordan talk about different influences and sources that influence where students find and define their identity. Also, Jordan comes up with perhaps the worst food combo that Dan has ever heard.

Jordan and Dan continue their discussion this week, focusing on where our students find their own identity and how we as leaders can help point them to Jesus.

Dan and Jordan begin discussing the role of identity as leaders, especially focusing on the false and often flimsy metrics we use to determine if we're being effective in ministry.

Concluding the conversation, Jordan and Dan ask Dr. Wade Mobley some questions about his take on the state of Biblical literacy within congregations, especially amongst students.

Wade, Jordan, and Dan discuss the call to go to seminary. Denominational differences, online options, 2 week intensives, and additional training seminars enter the discussion as well.

Jordan and Dan continue their conversation with Dr. Wade Mobley about different options for those who are considering continuing on into higher education.

Dan and Jordan are joined this month by Dr. Wade Mobley (President of the Free Lutheran Bible College and Seminary) to discuss higher and ongoing education for ministry leaders. If you'd like to check out either (or both!) of the Free Lutheran Schools, you can find information here.

As January's episode arc wraps up, Dan and Jordan discuss the wonderful and difficult investment of community and fellowship with other Believers.

This week, Jordan and Dan discuss the role of service in congregation, instructions from Jesus, and what this looks like being lived out in the lives of students and families.

In a not-so-surprising episode, Jordan and Dan discuss the role of discipleship in one-on-one relationships and in the grander scope of the congregation. What are disciples? How do you do it? What do you work through together? Is there a formal "end" to the process? All this and more in this week's episode.…

Dan and Jordan discuss how leaders can evaluate the evangelistic tendencies and practices of their church members.

Jordan and Dan kick off the new year by talking about different components of ministry and how smaller churches can make the most of them. This week, worship.

In our 4th annual recap, Jordan and Dan take advantage of the extra time you may have during Christmas break to talk about resources, games, apps, and other ministry highlights they've found helpful in their ministries.

If everything goes well during a call process, a time will come when an official invitation to serve will come. So...do you take it? Or do you stay where you are? How do you address any fear, anxiety, and open uncertainty in this process? Dan and Jordan wrap up the conversation (for now) regarding the call process.…

So you've accepted the invitation to interview...now what? This is a fairly big decision that's in the process of being made, so who can you turn to talk to for advice? What's the threshold for bringing it up to other leaders in your church? Jordan and Dan discuss these things and share from their own experience of the call process.…

Ministry is a calling and it's hard and enjoyable work. So what do you do if you receive an invitation to consider doing the work you're doing at a different church? Dan and Jordan begin to discuss the call process, addressing some general questions and sharing personal experiences. And in case you missed it in the episode: this series arc is not u…

Dan and Jordan talk with Moriah Graham, a youth leader from Wheatland, IA. Moriah shares about the Free Lutheran Bible College, Parish Building in Maryland, and different areas of growth and encouragement she's seen with her students. If you're not, be sure to join our youth leader page on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/359996701447232 If you would …

Jordan and Dan wrap up talking about Unitarians by discussing strategies on how to engage with them.

Dan and Jordan discuss some fairly obvious differences that the Unitarians have with Christianity, focusing on Christian doctrine. Please note: we experienced some significant technical difficulties while recording this episode and mention it a few times.

This week, Jordan and Dan give a broad overview of the Unitarian Universalists. Spoiler Alert: it's all over the place.

Welcome back to "Cults in the Community"! This month, Jordan and Dan discuss the Unitarian Universalist Association. Following the same rough outline, they address the origins of the UUA. Also, Jordan makes a cultural reference.

Jordan and Dan close out the arc on partnering with parents by discussing building relationships with them as well as their students. Maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way.

In addition to written resources, Dan and Jordan discuss how to utilize parents/adults as a resource for other parents.

Returning to the topic of youth culture, Jordan and Dan discuss ways to help walk parents through the "cultural soup" students are in.

There's no way around it: if you're working with students, you need to be working with their parents/guardians. One way to show your willingness to help them make disciples at home is to provide training and resources. Dan and Jordan discuss what that looks like this week.

Wrapping up the month, Jordan and Dan discuss how we can celebrate ministry wins with the parents of our students.

Jordan and Dan continue to talk about how to find/define wins in ministry, focusing on what this looks like for students.

Moving on from personal ministry goals, what sort of goals should you set for your leaders? What's realistic? What's achievable? How might having goals help you in recruitment? Do people know they're helping achieve these goals? Dan and Jordan cover this and more this week.

Welcome to Season 4! This week, Jordan and Dan begin discussing how we can set goals for ourselves in ministry.

As Season 3 wraps up, Dan and Jordan discuss moving forward into a new school year/season of ministry from the successes and spiritual fruits of the summer.

Dan and Jordan talk about the slumps and valleys of ministry in this week's episode.

With FLY 2023 in the rear-view mirror, how can leaders help transition and translate their students from a spiritual (and literal) mountain top experience to everyday life? Jordan and Dan talk over some ideas and strategies.

Jordan is back! This week, he and Dan respond to last week's episode on more ways for students to be involved within the church.

Mid-week at FLY 2023, Dan asks students from Fosston, MN and Bethel Park, PA about leadership and responsibilities within their church. Their answers were enough to warrant its own episode, so...enjoy!

On the last day of FLY 2023, Dan asks students from California, South Dakota, and North Dakota about what they'll be taking back home with them from the youth convention.

Dodging rain storms and volleyballs, Dan continues to interview students and adults at FLY 2023 about when they feel appreciated at their church and how they'd like to be more involved.

Continuing live interviews at FLY 2023, Dan asks students about their favorite memories from youth group and how they see God at work in their church.

Jordan and Dan have talked a lot about small church ministry. They’ve even talked to a few leaders about small church ministry. This month, they talk to students and youth leaders at the 2023 FLY Convention.

Wrapping up June's arc of episodes, Dan and Jordan talk about the natural tendency of people to form cliques and how we can healthily interrupt and break them up as ministry leaders.