Multi Multi Podcast: Recent Episodes
Multi Multi Podcast
Welcome to Multi Multi! A podcast where we talk about the multitude of multisite student ministry.
More and more churches are heading to a multi-site format and with that, there are a ton of questions to ask and lessons to learn as we look to make the most of the opportunities God has blessed us with to serve!
Join your Joe Crabb, Gina Abbas, Kim Schuler, and EJ Swanson, as they share about their multisite experience and answer the multitude of questions that come with it!
Join Gina Abbas as she talks with Chelsea Van Noord (Harbor Churches), Shanna Craig (Woodside), and Mary Reed (Woodside) about being a woman in multisite ministry. You will be encouraged by their insight and wisdom!
Join us for an incredible and encouraging conversation with Allison from Feed Youth Ministry Resources!
Feed constructs FREE resources centered on core biblical convictions that the majority of evangelical protestants from different denominational backgrounds would agree with. They aim to help young people think about how they are supposed to live in response to the biblical truths covered in our resources.
Give a listen to hear how you can utilize Feed in your multisite context to better equip your leaders and disciple your students!
https://feed.bible/about/ https://www.instagram.com/feedyouthministry/
Summer is here and it is shaping up to (yet again) be a summer like never before. Join Gina and Joe as they talk about camps, mission trips, getting rest, and stacking hands as a multisite team to leverage and build momentum this summer!
Gina is joined by a special guest host, Joe Graham, to discuss all things hiring and interviews. Tune in as they give practical tips, principles, and insight on best processes when it comes to either being interviewed of hiring on new staff within your multisite organization!
Joe interviews Gina to hear about all of the leadership lessons she has learned along the way as she's led in multisite ministry for over a decade. From staff culture to valuing volunteers to leading yourself well in difficult times, we hope you're encouraged by this conversation!
Meetings, meetings, and more meetings! Join Gina and Joe as they talk all about how to make meetings great, different meeting rhythms, and the one thing you should never do in a meeting!
Gina interviews Joe to hear about all of the leadership lessons he has learned along the way as he's led in multisite ministry for over a decade. From staff culture to valuing volunteers to leading yourself well in difficult times, we hope you're encouraged by this conversation!
A conversation with Gina and Joe on different approaches when it comes to implementing a teaching strategy across the campuses. Whether it be using an already created curriculum, writing from scratch, video teaching, live communicators…there is much to consider and care for when it comes to teaching.
Gina and Joe have a conversation with Kent Bjurstrom, the pastor of student ministries at Northview Church, a non-denominational church with 13 campuses throughout central Indiana, on equipping, empowering, and encouraging multisite staff, students, and family amid a COVID world.
Kent shares the shifting staff dynamics and ministry models that have emerged over the past six months as he and his team are making multiple on ramps for relationships to build and discipleship to occur.
Blog: http://www.pastor2youth.com Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastorkentb/ Personal Twitter: https://twitter.com/pastorkentb Church Site: https://www.northviewchurch.us/
Joe and Gina have an insightful and helpful conversation with Greg Ligon on the current state and future of multisite ministry.
Greg also shares with us a free eBook called "Multisite Reimagined". This eBook peeks behind the curtain at churches that are expanding on this new reality of online multisite ministry rather than simply getting back to “normal”, finding new ways to be one church in multiple locations.
You can check it out and download it here https://resources.generis.com/multisite-reimagined
Greg Ligon has served churches and leaders for over 30 years including both founding roles and executive roles in multiple organizations. He served with Leadership Network for 22 years completing his tenure there as Chief Operating Officer.
Greg and his wife, Susan founded Ligon Group, LLC dedicated to helping leaders and organizations “discover what’s next and create pathways to get there.” Their work in brand management and executive coaching includes authors Max Lucado and John Eldredge and the Jesus Calling brand.
https://generis.com/greg-ligon/ https://twitter.com/gregligon?lang=en https://www.instagram.com/gregligon/
Vince Parker, the Central Ministry Leader of Switch, the student ministries of Life Church, join Gina and special co-host, Joe Graham, and they leave no stone unturned as they talk about ministry in a season of great disruption.
From engaging students with online ministry to supporting a multisite staff to longtime shifts of ministry caused by COVID to leader recruitment to partnering with parents in a new way...this is an episode you're not gonna want to miss and you definitely need to share!
A conversation with Gina and Joe on some of the best principles & practices for having a presence at and partnering with schools.
Tune in as they share different ways that your multisite team can leverage their specific gifts in their unique campus contexts to empower students to further the reach of the ministry!
A conversation with Tyler Bryan of Hope Community Church in North Carolina on collaborating and compromising with your student ministry team across the campuses to create a ministry that empowers leaders.
https://www.instagram.com/hope.msm/ https://gethope.net/msm/
Joe and Gina are joined by Denzel Wright, Student Pastor of Woodside Bible Church - Pontiac campus, to discuss the opportunities and difficulties that arise when translating and contextualizing a suburban ministry model to urban campuses.
Tune in for an insightful conversation on how your multisite team can be better for each other as you look to share the Gospel to the communities that God has called your church to.
A conversation with Scott Pontier on creating healthy rhythms and disciplines for yourself and for your multisite staff. Scott also gives us some free consulting advice by sharing with us three things that your multisite team needs to be thinking about to become a healthier church.
Scott is the Lead Pastor of the Jamestown campus of Harbor churches and is also a senior consultant with Ministry Architects.
https://www.amazon.com/Sustainable-Young-Adult-Ministry-Making/dp/0830841520
https://ministryarchitects.com/
Gina and Joe give an unfiltered look into the conversations they’re having with their multisite team and leadership when it comes to making decisions for retreats and trips (hopefully) happening in 2021!
A conversation with Gina and Joe on best practices for following up with students whether it is following up with a student whose come to your ministry for the first time or engaging with a student who hasn't come in a while.
Tune in as Gina and Joe as they share tips, tricks, thoughts, and the troubles we face when it comes to assimilating students into the ministry!
Join the conversation as they talk about language to use, empowering leaders, and leveraging the multisite team to help create a greater sense of belonging for students.
Gina, EJ, and Joe sit down for an insightful conversation with Joe Graham about utilizing the enneagram to best lead your multisite student ministry team.
Joe Graham is an enneagram coach and currently leads as the Multisite Director of the Harbor Churches, a multisite church in the greater Grand Rapids area. You can find out more about Joe's work as an enneagram coach by clicking the link below!
https://www.joegraham.work/
Gina, Joe, & EJ are joined by student ministry and multisite veteran, Kevin Libick of Christ Chapel Bible Church in Texas. Tune in as they discuss best practices to encourage your multisite staff with regardless of what position you hold and share key principles to implement that you help create a greater culture of unity amongst your student ministry staff!
A conversation with Gina, Joe, and EJ on best practices for the age-old problem; how to recruit leaders...during a pandemic.
We are all thinking about it. We are all having conversations about it. We are all looking forward to it.
The it? RE-OPENING!!!
In this episode, we share a few questions you and your team should be considering as you look to re-open. As you hear our questions, we'd love to hear yours!
Kim, Gina, and Joe spend some time in this episode talking though celebrating the Class of 2020 and preparing for Summer ministry in this season marked by COVID-19.
Tune into the conversation as they share both principles to embrace and practical tips to utilize.
The Multi-Multi crew sits down and shares how their multisite churches are responding to best care for their people and their community.
Tune in as they talk about steps that have been taken, the impact on the lives of students, and the opportunities we have to share the Gospel in the face of the unprecedented, ever-changing ramifications of the spread of the coronavirus.
In this episode we pull questions off of the Multisite Student Ministry Facebook group (linked below) and talk all about metrics!
Join Gina, Kim, and Joe as they talk about why metrics matter, what exactly they measure across their campuses, the collaborative process that's utilized to determine/change metrics, and more!
Also, join the conversations taking place in the Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/multisitestudents
EPISODE 50!!!!! We can't thank you all enough for your support and encouragement throughout the first season of this podcast AND we are excited for what is to come!
Give a listen as Kim shares how God has been working in her and your husband Max’s life over this past year and as we introduce the newest member of the Multi Multi family, Gina Abbas from Harbor Church, a great multisite church on the other side of the state of Michigan! We're excited for the insight, leadership, and joy that Gina will bring as another voice in the multisite student ministry conversation!
https://jamestownharborchurch.org/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/099100504X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
Trying to keep you on track in this next Looking Forward episode; from Own the Nights to the milestone transitions that are to come as students move up grades.
Join us as we talk about all of the opportunities to come in March and what your team can start doing today to have a greater impact tomorrow!!
Tune into an incredible episode as we have an insightful conversation with Crystal Chiang, the Executive Director of Student Strategy at Orange.
Join us as Crystal shares about key things to be doing today to have a greater impact on the lives of students now and as they head off to college!
https://www.crystalcchiang.com/ http://orangebooks.com/tribe-students/starting-now/ http://rethinkingyouthministry.libsyn.com/
Developing staff is one of of the most important yet confusing topics when it comes to multisite student ministry.
Questions like; Who is in charge of developing? Who is creating the structure? Who is putting together the plan? Who is accountable to who?...Start to arise the moment this conversation begins and can often feel like the answers lead to nowhere.
Join us for this conversation as we look to tackle these tough questions, give practical tips for growing your staff, and discuss why a relational approach to development is greater than any other!
It's the next installment in our Looking Forward series! This time around we talk about what you need to be doing now to make February the best it can be.
Whether you're the leader or a part of the team, tune in to this episode to hear how you can make your team better now so you can have a bigger impact later.
Join us for an amazing and insightful conversation with Kristin Ivy as we talk about the power of partnering with parents and the importance of creating a culture of genuine care and trust that helps to make alignment happen!
Kristen is the Executive Director of Messaging at Orange (The reThink Group, Inc.) and the Co-Founder and Director of The Phase Project. Use the links below to hear more from Kristin or to check out the Phase Project, you won't regret it!
https://www.kristenivy.com/ http://justaphase.com/ https://www.instagram.com/_kristen_ivy/ https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-rethink-group-inc/the-think-orange-podcast/e/50098950?autoplay=true
Karl Romeus; multisite expert, student ministry coach, and enneagram hater, joins us to share some knowledge on what every central/global leader needs to ask the staff they oversee, to drop some truth about student ministry pastors being too busy, and brings some insight when it comes to how to operate best as a multisite student ministry team!
https://karlromeus.com/ https://www.instagram.com/tv/BxNc609nKQA/
Josh Griffin of THE Download Youth Ministry joins us to discuss the state of multisite student ministry, what makes great leaders great, and the one thing that every one of your small group leaders need to be effective with both students and parents!
https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/ https://www.instagram.com/joshuagriffin/ https://twitter.com/joshuagriffin
Greg Ligon from Leadership Network joins us on this episode to discuss the changes and trends happening in multisite churches across the nation.
Leadership Network is the premier leadership collaborative for pastors and churches. Over 200,000 church leaders around the world engage in Leadership Network to acquire innovative knowledge and drive local impact. By inspiring and equipping leaders, they seek to help the Church flourish and communities thrive.
The next installment of our Looking Forward series is here. We find ourselves in the New Year, January, talking all about what you need to do now to best prepare for what's coming.
Join us as we talk about evaluating the last few months to make the adjustments for the new year, the conversations you need to be having with your leaders, and what you need to start doing for the 5th graders, 8th graders, and 12th graders in your church!
Encouragement! It cannot be given enough and sadly too often it is in short supply. In this episode, we talk about a few practical ways to create a culture and build an intentional rhythm of encouragement!
Tom Shefchunas, aka Shef, joins us for an incredible and insightful conversation on multisite student ministry!
Join us as we talk about how to create a culture of buy-in, how to walk through tension as a team, and to hear about what we need to be thinking about when it comes to student ministries (that we're currently not thinking about)!
https://coachshef.com/ https://youthspecialties.com/ http://orangeblogs.org/xp3students/category/podcast/ http://ylcoaching.com/
Christmastime is (almost) here! That's right, our next Looking Forward episode is all about what you need to be doing now to make the most out of your December.
Tune in as we talk about being intentional over additional, building inter-departmental relational equity, and engaging the CrEaster crowd!
Chase Depew, the Director of Student Ministries at Crosspoint Church in Florida, joins us on the show to discuss what they are doing as a multisite church to leverage the giftings of their team so that everybody wins and so more & more students lives are changed by the Gospel.
Listen in as we talk about what to cut, what to champion, and what is changing in student ministry across the nation.
Vince Parker, the Central Ministry Leader of Life Church, joins us to talk about how he leads and serves his student ministry staff at 33 different locations over 10 different states.
Join us as we talk about how Life Church handles alignment, collaboration, and innovation across their campuses!
Wisdom come pouring forth as the conversation comes spilling out between Joe, Kim, and the beloved Marko (Mark Oestreicher).
Tune in as we talk about the relationship between leadership and the student ministry staff, the internal tension that comes with moving "up" in the organization, and the top two reasons why most student ministry staff lose their job!
We all know the importance of getting ahead, avoiding the "tyranny of the urgent, and being more proactive to opportunities instead of reactive to situations.
That is the heart behind our "Looking Forward" episodes; to help you get ahead as a team and a ministry!
This episode features a Multi-Multi All-Star, Mr. Ben HIxson! He joins Kim and Joe to talk all about what you need to be thinking about now to make the most of November!
Gina leads the Student Team at Harbor Church, a multisite in the greater Grand Rapids Area and is the author of the book, A Woman in Youth Ministry, has been hanging out with students since the year Mulan hit the movie theaters.
In this conversation we hear all about how their team has moved from being strangers to family, practical ways to create community, and how to address/fix the communication breakdown!
One of the topics most often brought up is "How do you get high school students to stay engaged?" There is so much fighting for their attention and filling their schedules, so how do you create and cultivate a culture that keeps high school students engaged and equips them for their next stage of life?
In this episode, we tackle this tough and important topic as we share from the mistakes we've made, lessons learned, and tangible things we've seen work, all by the grace of God! Tune in as you look to engage this generation of students with the life-changing truth of the Gospel!
The school year kick-off is less than a month away and before you know it you will find yourself in the midst of the fall with your next big event coming! Don't let what needs to happen now stop you from best preparing for the important things to come!
This Looking Forward episode will help you do just that, begin to plan and prepare for that next big, milestone event you have in the coming months. Whether it's a retreat, outreach event, D-Now....it's huge and it will be here soon!
Tune in as we talk about what we can begin to do today to get ahead of the game!
In this episode, we chat with Micah Marshall of the Refuge Youth Network. Micah and his team are doing an incredible work for the Kingdom in a creative, community-engaging way.
Do not miss out on this powerful and encouraging conversation!
Refuge Youth Network, an organization with the mission of creating a youth culture based on the love of Jesus Christ. They provide students spiritual direction and social support through our after school and summer programming, and youth ministries at three campuses across Blair County, PA.
https://www.refugeyouthnetwork.org/
The Chapel is a multi-site church with seven locations all throughout the fine state of Illinois!
In this episode, we get to hear from several of the awesome people that make up The Chapel's student ministry team.
Tune in as they share they're insights, tensions, and where God is leading them as a multi-site student ministry.
The next installment of our Looking Forward episodes has us discussing what should be focused on as you approach fall kick-off!
Tune in as we talk about what really deserves hype, why Joe hates bubble soccer, and how to create sustainability that lasts beyond your first night and goes out beyond your four walls.
People come and people go!
This episode focuses on just that; what to do when a campus has no student ministry staff? Whether launching student ministries for the first time, filling a vacancy, or helping to find the right person during a time of staff transition; change is volatile and has the potential to bring about great growth for the specific campus and the team at large!
Tune in to as you look to multiply the unified and unify the multiplied.
In this episode we're joined by two of the Student Directors from Woodside Bible in Michigan, Shanna Craig and Katie Hankins. They join us to talk about being a woman in ministry, how to lead women well, and how to best find your role and voice with the greater team!
A great, insightful, and encouraging conversation for any leader to listen in on as you look to lead others well!
Tune in to as you look to multiply the unified and unify the multiplied.
Summer is upon us and with it, a ton of opportunity to create and leverage opportunities that will build momentum, change culture, and impact lives not just in this season but the one to come.
Tune in as we talk about key facets to leveraging summer, the freedom alignment mix across campuses, and challenge ways of thinking when it comes to summer ministry & fall kick-offs!
Your campus has launched and is still in orbit....now what?
Tune into this episode as we talk about what to do next after the first season/year of launching a new campus. Whether its trying to figure out what your gatherings look like as it grows, how you do small groups, when to hire a staff member...this season brings a lot of exciting opportunities and new territory to navigate!
Tune in to as you look to multiply the unified and unify the multiplied.
Adding on a new campus is an exciting time in which there is much to celebrate, much to work through, and much to figure out!!
Tune into this first of a two part series in which we talk through many of the ins-and-outs of launching a new campus. From mergers to plants, from what's priority to what's optional, to what to do when its a merger to what to do when it's a plant...Join us as we talk through the multitude of issues that arise as you grow as a multisite student ministry
Tune in to as you look to multiply the unified and unify the multiplied.
Rush Creek Church is a multi-site church in Texas that exists to help people far from God become contagious followers of Jesus.
Listen to this episode as we talk to John Simmons, the student pastor at their Miro Lagos campus (and fellow Multi-Summit presenter) as we talk about working through the different tensions, strengthening your staff, and improving social media strategy as your multi-site church grows in different contexts and in different ways!
Tune in to as you look to multiply the unified and unify the multiplied.
From your neighborhood to around the world, we have been called to go and make disciples! In this episode we talk about how we come together as a multi-site student ministry to do just that!
From a mission trip pathway to applications to deciding which staff gets to go on which trip AND everything in between...give this one a listen as you prepare to prepare students to go out and serve!
On this episode, Joe and Kim discuss the philosophy and execution of events from both campus specific events to multi-site events!
Tune in as they talk about the freedom campuses have in planning events, how we best work together on multi-site events, and the importance of a "non-compete" clause with your team!
Effective ministry and a healthy team can both be measured by how honest of an environment you have when you evaluate.
And what needs to be evaluated? Everything. In order to grow and be good stewards of the ministry what we've been asked to lead we need to take the time to evaluate everything.
Give a listen to this episode as EJ, Kim, and Joe discuss how to create a healthy, honest culture of evaluation among your multi-site team!
Roles and responsibilities are key to the growth of your multi-site team! They're not just about getting jobs done. They're about developing, equipping, and empowering your team to grow both individually and as a team.
Give this episode a listen as Joe, Kim, and EJ chat through what this looks like in their context and ways it can translate over to yours!
In this episode we talk with Taylor, the student ministry guy at a growing multi-site church in Alabama called Redemption Church.
Tune in as Taylor and Joe talk through some of the tensions of launching a new campus, what's non-negotiable at a launch, how do you train up new leaders to help staff & lead a new campus, and much more!
In this episode, we spend time with our friends, Misha Hulett and Josh Strickler! These two guys are a part of the student ministry team at 2|42, a dynamic, multi-site church in Michigan who is having an immense impact in their community by clearly living out and sharing the Gospel!
Tune in as we discuss multi-site, collaboration, leading teams, and the impact the church can (and should) have in its community!
Check out more on 2|42 by clicking the link below http://242community.com/
Join us as Joe and Kim talk about how messages are written, curriculum is formed, and series are created in a multi-site context.
We'll talk about why we look to write everything ourselves and how we come together as a multi-site team to collaborate, create, implement, and execute our series at a campus level.
Tune in as EJ, Kim, and Joe talk about some of the personal challenges they've faced in leadership and listen as they evaluate life & leadership in a multisite context!
Life at a campus has all sorts of different dynamics, tensions, and opportunities as you look to own the vision of multisite while ministering to those in your context.
Join us this week as we talk to one of our experience campus guys, Ben Hixson, as he talks about making the most of being a part of the team and how to make your voice heard as you lead & collaborate
We are joined by a very special guest, Justin Herman of Sandals Church & the Controlled Chaos Podcast, as we talk about how to best develop leaders and staff across the campuses.
Give it a listen and join the conversation as we talk about streamlining, alignment, and creating space for innovation!
Money talks....and it says a lot of things!
In this episode we talk about all of the ins and outs of budgeting as a campus and as a multisite team!
Facebook? Twitter? instagram? Spotify? Youtube? One account? Unique accounts? Memes? Hashtags?
Social media is a huge part of the lives of students and provides an incredible opportunity for us to engage with students, leaders, and families on a daily basis.
In this episode we discuss how we leverage those opportunities as an individual campus and across multisite student ministries!
Our four-part conversation on retreats wraps up as, EJ, Joe, Kim, and another special guest, Ben Hixson, family ministry pastor at Woodside Bible Church - White Lake, focus on what post-retreat follow up looks like with everyone from staff and leaders to parents and students!
Our conversation rolls on as we talk about how things unfold as the retreat weekend unfold!
Join Joe, Kim, and our producer, Trevor Callis, as we discuss how our multisite roles are executed throughout the weekend, how we communicate to leaders & parents throughout the retreat, and much more!
This week we sit down once again with CT Eldridge, a multisite student ministry staff member at one of Woodside Bible's campuses, as we answer some of the questions you have about how student ministry is aligned and contextualized across our campuses!
The weekend has come, retreat is here, and this episode is all about what the start of the biggest weekend(s) of the year look like for our students, leaders, and multi-site team.
Join Joe, EJ, Kim, and C.T., once again as we discuss the start of retreat, what the sessions look like, why we have our multisite team preach, and how we prepare them to do so!
For many of us, retreats are the biggest thing that we do in a school year! Listen as Joe, EJ, Kim, and C.T., one of our campus student ministry staff, discuss how we approach planning a retreat from a multisite perspective, how the entire team gets involved , and how it is a win both collectively and individually for a campus.
Join EJ, Kim, and Joe as they talk about how to best set up communication for success when you're team does not all work at one central location!
From part-time to full-time to volunteers. From bi-vocational to dual-roles to singularly focused
Our staff structure for student ministries is like a box of chocolates...it has variety!
Give a listen as we talk about the why & how when it comes to structuring our student ministry staff
Welcome to Multi Multi! A podcast in which we talk about the multitude of multi-site student ministry.
More and more churches are heading to a multisite format and with that, there are a ton of questions to ask and lessons to learn as we look to make the most of the opportunities God has blessed us with to serve!
Join your host, EJ Swanson, along with Joe Crabb & Kim Schuler, as they share about their multisite experience and answer the multitude of questions that come with it!