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Is Your Youth Ministry Welcoming or Confusing?!? Here's How to Tell... · Ministry Coach: Youth Ministry Tips & Resources

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Most youth pastors think that their youth group is super welcoming for new students, but is it really?
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we're talking about today on the Ministry Coach podcast.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Ministry Coach Podcast, where every week we give you actionable and practical tips to help you grow a healthy youth ministry.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: My name is Jeff Lascola, and this is Kristen Lascola.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: And today we are talking about a question I'm so glad you brought up, Jeff, because I have been thinking a lot about this lately.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: And the question is, is your ministry welcoming or confusing to a new student?
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to unpack that today.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'm pretty excited about it because I think there's a lot of strategy here that maybe you haven't been thinking of that I've been really challenged by, especially a weekend service.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where I'm going to focus a lot of this today because it's a lot of content.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: But we just had church yesterday and I was looking around our room.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: And during the message, I didn't speak.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: I was like messaging my admin, like, we need a sign for this.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: This is very confusing.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: We need something that says this.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: She's an art major.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, put your art skills to work and make something cool that like explains what this is.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think new students don't understand this.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: So when the topic came out, I was like, yes, this is 100%.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of youth pastors will say things like, We want to grow.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you don't say that.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's like saying, I want to be rich.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, nobody can say that.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: I can say it.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: I want to be rich.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: There I did it.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Now that I have that off my chest, continue.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: I feel so free.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you aren't supposed to say that.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now we don't.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're judging you.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that I can like give to others abundantly.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Abundantly.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: False.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: You're a liar.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, it's like one of those things that it's you're not supposed to say out loud in the youth ministry world, like, I want to grow.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then if you do say it, you have to say something like, because every number is a soul.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: You have to give it context.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that's true.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's true.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: But also, one reason youth pastors want to grow is because there could be a lot of wrong reasons in there.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: But you probably receive some type of pressure for your numbers.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: You do have to answer for that to and that might be internal.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: It might not even be an external pressure.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you might be in in yourself.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like, if I don't grow this ministry, it looks bad on me.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: So, all I mean, that's not what this episode is about.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: That was kind of a tangent, but you say things like that.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you want to grow.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: You tell kids things like invite your friends.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: But have we ever stopped and considered like what the experience for a new person is like?
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the tragic things I've noticed through my coaching is sometimes youth pastors and youth ministries are really good at attracting new kids and really, really bad at keeping them.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's like people are willing to come and see, they're willing to try, they're willing to, and that's probably a whole other episode, but you can't keep them.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so your numbers actually never go up because it's like a revolving door.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: The yeah, a revolving door.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I picture it as the front door and the back door wide open and they walk through and they walk out.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, like I said, there's a million reasons why that could be.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: But today we're gonna talk about well, what is the experience like for that new person when they come through the door, when they do give it a shot, when they're like, okay, I'm gonna, my parents made me, or my friends at school have been talking about this, or I got invited by someone, and now what?
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: And the visitor experience is especially difficult for someone who's not coming with someone.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: So when you come with someone, you can rely on their expertise.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, they know what to do, they know what this is, they can be my personal guide.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: But I see families all the time come with a terrified middle schooler who won't even come in the door and they're just kind of standing out in the hallway and their parents are kind of giving them the pep talk.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I try hard to like intercept that and welcome them.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: But also, like, I don't want to freak them out.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like sometimes kids are just so highly introverted or scared that they're just like, ah, and there is something to be said for the human touch, right?
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we need to be welcoming.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: We need to, hey, what's your name?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: What school do you go to?
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: So glad you're here.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Kristen, blah, blah, blah.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, however, there is something to be said for a little bit of autonomy because a lot of times kids don't want to stand out as the new one who doesn't know what to do and they're an idiot and they're trying to figure things out.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's how they perceive themselves.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone can see that I'm dumb and I don't know what to do, and I'm standing out, and everyone's comfortable except for me.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to alleviate some of that for them.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: And also, I don't want their mental energy to be going toward how do I do this?
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: What do I do?
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: I want their mental energy to go to embracing the experience and wanting relationship rather than like, oh my gosh, I just don't even know how I'm supposed to do this thing.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, how can we change that?
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: So here's here's kind of how I categorize things.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself this what do I need them to do or know?
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: And what do I want them to do?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: So the need for us, like on a weekend service, is I need them number one to find the correct classroom.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: I need them to check in correctly on our computer system.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: And this isn't really a need, but we have this fun little thing right by our attendance called the lottery.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Those are the three things I need students to do.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Find us, check in, enter the lottery.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Those three things.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there's a list of things I want them to do.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna talk about how we can get them to do these things.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, what I what do I want them to do?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: What do I think would make them have a good experience to play a game before service and not necessarily just that, but when I say play a game, I mean have some activity of connectivity, right?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Something that's gonna be like it wasn't just like I walked in the door, sat in a chair, and looked, you know, it was you did something that those walls kind of coming down because that's the need to belong.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: I want them to get a treat.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: I really do.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's a comfort thing, that's a hospitality thing.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: I want them to meet a new friend or two, you know, whether that's student leaders or whatever, or my adult leaders, but that addresses their need for inclusion and relationship.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then lastly, I want them to participate in the church experience to receive something from God that day.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that obviously addresses a spiritual need.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, how?
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: How can I make sure that they get the needs and the wants all in one thing without me holding their hand the entire time and go, now we're checking in.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're getting a donut.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're gonna play Foursquare.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're gonna sit down and you're gonna close your eyes and worship, you know.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yes, they might need a host, but also can have you set them up for success to navigate on their own.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because truthfully, here's what I've noticed about some kids, they really don't want you to host them.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: No, they want to be left alone and blend in, and they don't want to be a spectacle of like bop bop, there's an ill person, bah bah, bop.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like they just want to be like, chill out, let me figure it out.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to be a spectacle.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I've met that kid a million times.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: And some kids are like, I am here, love me, be my best friend.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: You just have to know the difference, right?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you try to relationally smother a kid who's like, I want to figure this out, leave me alone.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: I don't need you to babysit me.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like they are just cringing inside.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, anyways, so let's go back to that list and address how we can do each one of these things and make it very easy for a visitor to navigate.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, the first thing we talked about was the needs, the needs to actually find your room.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds obvious, but a kid shows up on campus with or without parents or a family or whatever.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, sometimes I have kids just e-bike there or they hear about our church on the app or someone at school and it's like, here's our church, you should come.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: They walk in the door.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: What do they do now?
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to make sure, no matter what entrance they come in, because obviously your church probably has a few different entrances outside to inside that there is signage telling them where to go.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Middle school, high school, and children's this way.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: If they are with a family, then a welcome center would be a great idea.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: A student will probably not go to a welcome center by themselves to get their free coffee mug.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, fellow church goer.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: I am new today.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so they I would say a welcome center needs to have wording something along these lines, not like, are you new?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: Come here.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: We will help you.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: Something like new or have a question, start here because that way it's like, oh, this isn't the like all eyes on me new person.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is well, maybe I'm not new and I have a question, right?
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, what I'm saying is visitors already feel like a spectacle.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Don't create more of that unnecessarily.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: The worst thing you can do is put a spotlight on them of like, everyone, everyone, announcement.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like, they don't want that.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want that anywhere you go, maybe you do.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Youth pastors like a lot of attention.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: But your your spouse probably doesn't, unless they're a youth pastor, too.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: So start here signage so that if they don't want to talk to a person, because I've I've been in so many meetings where people are always like, we need more welcome people.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: We need people with badges so people can go up to them and be like, where do I go?
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: What do I do?
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: And there's always an introvert in the meeting that's like, or they don't want to talk to anyone, and they need to be able to figure this out without a conversation.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh yes, I forgot.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me again, what is an introvert?
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's true.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: They don't, they're not, they're gonna avoid people with the name tags, avoid badges, avoid welcome center, where a lot of people in ministry are extroverts, so they're like more friendly, more people.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: And there could be someone who's like, How do I get from point A to point B without getting noticed?
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's me.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: 100%.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: I used to play a game when we go into like the furniture stores, and the and those are big stores, and like the sales associate would see you, and like you be, it's like playing Pac-Man, and they're like the ghost.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, how far in this maze can I go until they finally intercept?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: What are you looking for today?
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm looking for you to go away.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: I just I know where the couches are, I can see them, I'm good.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Why are you in the billiard section then, sir?
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: I noticed you shifted over to the kitchen tables.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I'm just looking, I swear.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: I don't, yeah, I'm always like army crawling through the furniture store.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: My goal is to figure it out on my own.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Worst case scenario, I find somebody.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when if it is labeled, then great.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: I know who I can go to, but I'd rather do it on my own first.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: And you are not alone, Jeff.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to know that.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: You are not alone.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of people like that and a lot of students.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: So there's all I'm saying, it's not like so no greeters.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: There's we have two types of people walking through the door, and I think we just need to know that ministry people always assume everyone wants you to be all over them and friendly and love bomb them.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: No, not the case.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: So can they navigate if I came through the door?
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: What what now?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Where do I go?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: Signs, arrows, a few of them, different entrances, all of that kind of thing.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: So then let's say they make it to your room.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now what?
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been cooking up with my admin.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we need a sign that says something like start here.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Not like, are you new?
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Start here.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Just start here.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody starts here.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Where does everyone start?
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: At check-in.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: So start here.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, check in with instructions.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: I told her we have to have instructions on how to do it.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because I see kids over there like beep, boop, beeping, and nothing's happening because A, some of them forget how to check themselves in, even though they're regulars.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: I helped a student who's been coming for like six months regularly check himself in yesterday.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, it's not working.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: He can't find me.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not in the system.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, let's do this together, Ethan, step by step.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: And we did it.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: So instructions.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then new here with a QR code that they can scan that will register themselves.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now, not every kid has a phone.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: You can have it a paper version as well.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Not in the system or first time, fill out this form and put it in this white mailbox, you know, making it very easy for them so they're not bumbling around.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the first thing we want.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Check in with a sign, start here, instructions on how to do it.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: Then I said the third thing, and this is very silly, but they feel left out if they don't do it, and that's the lottery.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Because all of a sudden they'll be looking around, like, why is everyone standing up?
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: What uh what a name is being called.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: We do this thing where they write their name on a raffle ticket, they put it in this little popcorn container.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: A bowl.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's like it says popcorn on it.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: Looks like it's a popcorn thing.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a bowl.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: Well, no, like so here's the thing.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's a container that's rounded up in the bottom.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's square.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's square.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: To your right, it's just a popcorn.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: See, and that's why bowl really threw me off.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: You just don't understand my world.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: You just can't get inside this mind.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's too vast.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: I can totally see why randomly you have a bowl of not a bowl of popcorn, a container of popcorn to put that in there.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: When none of your bowl, okay?
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: When nothing else in your room screams movies.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: Have a popcorn container.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: Used.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's not used with remnants.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's not used.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's from Dollar Tree.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's brand new.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: Jeez.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Jeff.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: My world is too complicated for you to understand.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: For the layperson, fine.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's a bowl.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: Moving on.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: So the lottery.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Silence from you.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so they write their name on it.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then they put it in a popcorn square container.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then one of the first things we do is uh like, hey, how was your weekend?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Blah, blah, blah.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: We pick a name out, but we do like a little process of elimination.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: So all the students Why is everything going through?
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: All the students stand up, you they draw a name out, and then through a process of elimination, they'd be like, if you're wearing a sweatshirt, sit down.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: If you have a black shirt, stay standing.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Goes until there's finally one person, you win, come up and get a piece of candy.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: And they love it.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a tradition.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: There's there used to be a purpose behind it.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: There is no purpose behind it anymore.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: But we just kept doing it.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: The purpose used to be we did attendance cards.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: And in order to motivate them to fill out their attendance card, we say put it in the bucket, and then we pick a winner.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was an incentive to enter.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: Well, now we went digital, but they loved the lottery, and now it's a time-honored tradition.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: So don't feel like you have to do a lottery.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: But it is fun.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just one little icebreaker fun game.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: And they love the elimination side of it and all of that.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: So those are the things.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: So there could be a little sign that says, Wanna have some fun?
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Enter the lottery here, Sal.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Write your name on a ticket and drop it in the popcorn square container.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then asterisk, it's not a bowl, kid.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: Dummy.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: So don't call it that.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: New here, it's not a bowl.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: True story, it used to be a bowl.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, buckle up.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's very interesting story.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: It used to be a bowl, Jeff.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: And we played garage sale bingo once, and that's where we play bingo, and kids get to pick prizes of just random stuff we have that we need to get rid of.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: And some kids said, Can I have the lottery bowl?
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I guess.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: And he still has it to this day.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: His brother just told me.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: Your story has grown tiresome.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Moving on.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know what is not a bad idea though.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: So if you go into any like elementary school classroom, probably even junior high, there is something posted on the whiteboard called a schedule.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I've thought about this in youth ministry because a lot of times kids will come in, especially new or even parents, and they'll be like, What do you guys do?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like, especially if they're new at church.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, What do you do?
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Oh, well, first we do this, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: But I thought, wouldn't it be worth posting a little schedule so kids know what is coming next and what time is what, especially if you're new, kind of like what to expect.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like from 9.05 to 9:15, announcements and games, 9:15 to 9:30, worship and Bible drills, and then 9:30 to 9:50, the message.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like that could kind of be a cool thing to help people navigate, or especially like certain personalities don't like the unknown, like abrupt change too.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: Huh?
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: Abrupt change too.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: Or just like that.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm along for the ride.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: What do I do here?
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: What's coming next?
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: But being able to see, like, oh, we're gonna have this, this, and this, and now how will it actually be executed?
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, they're gonna have to wait and see, but I think it brings a level of comfort to have some knowledge of here's what to expect.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, because if you're a visitor and church started like at nine and people are still playing basketball in Foursquare, you're like, is this what we do forever?
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like how long do we do this?
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: How long do we do that?
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just a level of comfort.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's optional.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't done that, so I can't speak from experience how that works or plays out, but I would like to experiment with it.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think it would be helpful on a youth group night as well.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: We get a lot of new students, just kind of like order of events.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: And if you change it up one week, like, well, we don't always do things all the time the way, but just a general idea of like you're gonna play a game, you're gonna have worship, you're gonna have a message, you're gonna have small groups, and then you're going to pick up out at the gate or stay inside for pickup or whatever.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: You just take some of the guesswork out for people.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so what do I want them to do?
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: Let's move on to that.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: I said I want them to play a game or have some kind of connection activity so that the walls can come down.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, how can we have them do that?
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, that's probably going for a highly extroverted kid, they're gonna find their way to the video games, they're gonna find their way to basketball or forescar or whatever you have in your room.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: For an introverted kid, once they kind of do the need to's, now they're kind of left in this limbo of what you want them to do.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where you really should leverage your student leaders.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: You should have leaders and student leaders in the room that are ready to help plug kids in.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: Some kids want to just sit on a couch and talk, or they would like to join a quieter game.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like uh, we have cards against humanity for kids, but be warned, you still have to take out about 25% of the cards, which I did.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: I went through them all.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: I missed a couple.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: I learned that the hard way.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: But they're not so egregious that you're gonna get fired, they're just mildly inappropriate.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: Or uh taco cat goat cheese pizza, or spot it, or something like that, and they want to gain.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: That they can very easily just sit and kind of join.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: They don't want to get up and move around.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: So have that as an option.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: Some kids, you might be able to tell by their energy, they want to play Foursquare.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you can say, Hey, we're playing Foursquare.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: You want to jump in line with me and you know get to know them in line.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: Video games, I've noticed brand new kids, that is kind of a hard thing for them because you have to have like a one-on-one or one-on-three partner.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that feels a little weird to be always watch, which is good.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: That it's a great spectator thing.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: And you just need to strategize hangout time being enough for people to loosen up, but not so long that it's a daunting experience for a new person.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because the worst thing is when you just see a kid sitting on their phone waiting for church to start because they can't quite find their in.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: So enough time for it to be fun, but not so much that it's a drain, right?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: So then we talked about we want them to get a treat if they want one.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: So we have a table where we like on Saturday night service, we'll have a variety of cookies.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I have random snacks that I need to get rid of.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: I put them on there.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Or Sunday morning is donuts.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: And it's so funny because for the longest time I just assumed kids knew those were for them.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: Well, my regular students do, but my new students, the look on their face when I tell them they can have it is like wild.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll be like, hey, Oliver, like, do you want a donut?
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, those are for us.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: We can have those.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: I could just take one.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: These are just display treats.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm doing a social experiment, Oliver.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: Would you like to be a part of it?
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a true story.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: That just happened this summer.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like his mind was blown.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, I can have a donut.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, well, yeah, Oliver, why would I have them here if you couldn't have them?
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: These are mine.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: For when I feel like one later.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Don't breathe on them.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: Don't look at them.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: But uh having a little sign, again says, treats with airlow for you.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: There, you did it.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: With a little marquee with lights pointing down.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_01: You can have one.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: And only one.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: Half a one.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: We cut ours in half, Jeff.
• 24:28
  unknown: Okay.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: We need them to really go around.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: We have two.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's about all you can stand, anyways.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh a junior hero with bag to different free.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: They have about six halves.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: They'll eat until they barf.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: I actually had a parent once tell me, can you please cut my kid off at three donuts?
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I'm I'm no promises.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: No promises, guys.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: Not paying attention.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then another thing I mentioned on the want list, I want them to meet a friend or two.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I would love that, that they could go home that day and when their parents said, How was church?
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: They could say, Oh, I met and be able to say their names.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: I met Annika and Kenley.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how awesome would that be to be able to say that?
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, again, this is really where you're gonna leverage student leaders.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: So, our daughter is on leadership, and this weekend there was a new girl, and she was sitting all by herself, and I had chatted with her, and I thought I don't want you to be the only kid, like she was sitting by herself, and I didn't want it to be like me and you, kid.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I wanted her to be able to blend in with peers.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I was trying to think, like, okay, worship is about to end, and then the kids are gonna go get Bibles if they don't have one.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: So then I'm like, that would be a perfect transition time.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: So on the last worship song, I whispered in our daughter's ear, I'm like, hey, a girl behind you is sitting all by herself.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: When she gets up to get a Bible, you should say, Hey, would you like to sit with us?
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: And she was like, Okay.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: And she did, and that girl sat with them.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes student leaders will invite students and the student will decline and will say, No, that's okay.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: I always tell them that's not the goal.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is the invitation and let it fall wherever it needs to fall.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: That person will accept if they're wanting and if they're not ready, then they'll just say no, it's not personal.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: How could it be?
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: They don't know you.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: So just you've done your job, and that's that.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think having student leaders who know that expectation that you could call on them anytime to be like, it's time for you to leave your comfort zone, it's time for you to look out for somebody else, I think is a very, it should be very much an expectation that you talk about at your student leadership meetings.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then lastly, I said, I want them to be able to participate in church and receive something for the from the Lord.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason I put this one last and not first, because people will be like, well, that's the most important.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: However, sometimes until these other needs are met, you aren't open to what the Lord has because you are obsessing about how you feel alone.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: You're obsessing about how you're uncomfortable, you're obsessing about how nobody talked to you, you're obsessing about how you looked stupid because you didn't know what to do when all the other kids did.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want you to obsess about those kinds of things.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: I want to take all that mental weight and energy off of you so that when it's time to worship, when it's time to pray, when it's time for you to listen to the message, you can receive it with a heart that's open, not closed.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: So all of these things help to open a student's heart because they've had a good experience up until now.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: They they aren't like 10 minutes ago obsessing how they didn't know how to check in and they were embarrassed.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, maybe I'm being overly dramatic and you're like, nobody would do that.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's really hard for insiders to understand this because we swim in this water and we're comfortable.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: And when you're comfortable, it's really impossible for you to imagine how anyone else wouldn't be because you're like, but we're nice, but we're friendly, but we're this.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't matter.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: You being friendly is only part of the equation.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't account for the user experience and how they felt about navigating the space, right?
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: So make it easy for them to participate.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: So one way we do that is like we make a big deal about kids bringing their Bible.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: We should.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Students should bring their Bibles to church.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: They get rewarded by that with a chaos book and they can spend that at a store and buy things.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's the incentive.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: But what if you're new and you're the only kid without a Bible?
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's super important to have loner Bibles in the room so that they can go pick one up and they just like everyone else have a Bible in their lap.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's really, really, really important.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I always make that announcement.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, if you brought your Bible from home, go ahead and line up and get a Bible book.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: If not, grab a Bible off the shelf.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone meet back in.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_01: So you're kind of I like that because you're kind of doing the movement.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's not just if you don't have a Bible, like it's just me.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_01: Do do do do do everyone watching you go over, but you're saying stand up, come up here.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: And if not, you can kind of slink over to the back.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: Okay and it's all the same direction.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: So it wouldn't be very obvious and nobody's paying attention.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I have plenty of students who come every week and go get a loner Bible.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: And because I won't start the message till every single person's holding a Bible.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I think you know, they know that by now.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I let it go if I can tell this kid is red and mortified.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: And if I hand them a Bible, they will crumble and die.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like I let that kind of stuff go.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: I have more EQ than that.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, you bring up a good point.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: People are getting up.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: So get up to get a Bible book.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't pass them out.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: You have to get up, you get up to get a Bible.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: We all sit back down after 60 seconds and start what we're gonna do.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then helping them to participate by explaining everything you're doing and why.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: Not ad nauseum, like not some big dissertation that's gonna take forever, but little things like when we take offering, I explain it every single time.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: Not just like the church wants your money, so put it here.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what I say: our junior high offering goes to support a child from Compassion International.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think that was important for me that kids didn't just think, and the money goes to where we just put it.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, no, you see the face of the child in Uganda that this money is going toward.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: And every time I get up there, I give a little thing on giving and why we give and why generosity is important to God and how everything we have is from him, anyways.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: And we're showing our thanks to him by blessing others.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: He's blessed us, so we are a blessing, and that's what the Bible says.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, this whole thing, so it's not just like, oh yeah, churches ask for your money.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: I for yeah, that's a weird thing.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, well, let me explain it.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then when I pick a verse in the Bible, or we're teaching on a verse in the Bible, I explain where it is.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, hey, we're in the book of Matthew.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: Matthew's in the New Testament.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: The New Testament is the second half of your Bible.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the second, like third, actually.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then you're gonna find four guys' names at the beginning: Matthew, Mark.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: Which would imply three thirds.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: What the last third of the Bible?
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: Not the second third.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: Agreed it is.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_01: So you have a bowl, see?
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: So you have a bowl and you divide it into thirds.
• 31:59
  unknown: Yeah.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: In my mind it made sense, but I see why in yours it didn't.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_01: So basically, though, so when you're doing it every single time, it also doesn't draw attention to the fact that we have one new student, and all of a sudden you're going through this spiel about why we're giving, and they're like just turning and staring at the new person.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: Are you getting this?
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: Because we all know, and this is just for you.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: But like if you do it every single time, yeah, kids that have been there a billion times will tune out, but they know what the reason is.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: But you can also tune in when you're not sure what exactly is happening or why.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: You still thinking about the third thing?
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: I get it now.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: I get it.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but I was thinking the second part is the third.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: Anyways, uh yeah, and then like the message, you might even want to explain that.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, now we're gonna open God's word and we're gonna study it because we want to know Jesus more, or God's word is living and active, and every time we read it, like God's spirit moves, and the Bible says it doesn't return void, meaning that every time God's word is spoken, like God does a work, and we hope that work is in us today.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, let's go ahead and pray because we want to give this time to the Lord.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_00: We want him to show up, we want him to align our hearts with his before you do worship, you know.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, that to me, this is the biggest one because I feel like a new kid is like, what are we actually doing right now?
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I have like a lot of patience with them when they have their phones out or talking during worship because I'm like, you're I'm right now, I'm asking you to sing to a god you don't have a relationship with.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: I can't have you be a distraction.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: So what I will say is sometimes I go to them privately and just be like, hey, you don't have to sing, but just right now you can't talk.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to just read the lyrics, that's fine.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, sorry.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: But all that to say, before you do worship, even a little explanation of your worship leader wants to do it, if you want to do it, hey, right now we're gonna go into a time of worship because we're gonna recognize God for who he is in this moment.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna put the focus and attention not on ourselves, but on God.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna give him glory.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to express our love to him through song.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: So if you feel led to sing, go for it.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: If you just feel led to pray quietly to him in your heart, go for it.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you just want to reflect on these words and, you know, kind of pray through their meaning, go for it.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like this is a space that is for you to connect with God and then you can start.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that just helps again give cues of not like, well, now we're worshiping.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the new kid's like, worshiping?
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_00: What do you mean?
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's a very churchy word that they might be like, so we sing a song.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I just gave you a little spiel about the heart behind it, and now I'm helping you navigate what we're doing so that you're able to get something, even just if they left understanding what worship is, or if they just left understanding that God loves us, and you know, you don't know like what part they're gonna grab onto.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: But the point of today is just making sure church serves its purpose.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_00: So we always say church is it's not a country club, it's a hospital, right?
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: So, what is a hospital for?
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: The sick.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just a little insider's club that we can all high-five each other, you know, on a Sunday.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, fellowship with other Christians, but also a place that makes sense for someone who's seeking God, right?
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: We want to always have an experience for a longtime Christian, but an experience for a new person.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_00: And those two things can go together really easily.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I think when people overcomplicate it, I think it's almost to serve their own religious ego of like, you know, we want it this way.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, when they're not very sensitive to a visitor, I think they're saying, get on board with us and figure it out if you're really serious about this thing.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of us in humility and the posture of a servant's heart, meeting the visitor where they're at and saying, I'm gonna find you and I'm gonna bring you along.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna expect you.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what Jesus did for us.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he set the bar that we couldn't meet.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then he said, Well, you can't do it.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna kind of carry you over the bar.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_00: Not like, well, if you really loved me, you'd find a way to cleanse yourself of your sins, you know, just one more lamb, one more goat, and this could have been going on forever and ever and ever.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_00: But sending Jesus was what carried us over the bar.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: But our pastor, Larry, he always says, Once you're inside, you want the bar to be high for everyone else on the outside.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like that goes for like an organization, leadership, churches, whatever.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's like you were able to clear the bar or perceived, anyways.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so, well, we're here, and now we'd like to make the bar high for anyone else, subsequently trying to get in.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, ah, I see what you did there.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's not Jesus, though.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: So take a look around your room, your church, maybe bigger than just your youth room, like the halls.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_00: What is it like for a visitor navigating?
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_00: Try to see it through those eyes if you can, because you've been swimming in this water, no doubt, for a while, and you probably aren't picking up on those subtle things that might be making it uncomfortable, difficult, or just not possible for a brand new person.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_01: I would even recommend because you know, it's it's hard to read the label when you're inside the bottle.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_01: So it's always good to have a new set of eyes, someone that is first time, you know, seeing things or you know, what have you.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I've done that actually.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: Funny you bring that up.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: I've done that for churches before.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like we call it a church audit, and I'll go in with my fresh eyes, like never been here before.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe I know the people, but maybe I don't.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_00: And you just start to look at everything.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: You look at how they do drop off, you look uh how they do check-in, how they do safety, how they do worship, how they communicate.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I write a billion notes and then kind of formulate it into something like a report.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I talk to the pastor about that.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, here's uh some really awesome things I observed, but we both know that's not why I'm here to tell you why you're awesome.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: Here's some areas that would be concerning, and that might be a barrier to your growth and your health because I can really usually observe and boil it down to a few common denominators.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_00: I might talk to the staff, I might talk to a couple students, talk to, you know, and see like what is actually going on.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: So that if you're curious and interested in having a church audit done by me, uh, you can reach out to ministrycoachpodcast at gmail.com.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: And is that the right email address?
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh ministrycoachpodcast at gmail.com.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_01: What about people who are not local to the area?
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_01: Can you do a live stream with them to have them show you their stuff or no?
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_00: Depending on what the question is.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've had them live stream their space before.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_01: Not their service.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't mean like that, but yeah, like their space, like Yeah, they said, Hey, here's my youth room, here's our building, I'm looking to do something different, what would you do?
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: And they've like kind of given me a virtual tour through their building.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: So that's for like simple kind of questions.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I mean, if you want me to come to your church and do a church audit, you can contact us.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you're in the a driving radius for the San Diego area, awesome.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: If not, figure it out.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_00: We can we can figure it out.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_01: You figure it out, it can be figured out together.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's kind of cool.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I really enjoy doing those.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like part part of my gifting or interest, maybe, I don't know the difference, is investigation.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I really love forensics, figuring things out, like asking questions, finding what's like because if a youth pastor is like, hey, here's a problem.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know why, and I don't know where the problem's coming from.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: I like helping them investigate that.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, the that church audit thing is or you know, youth group audit or whatever, it's pretty interesting to say, like, have you ever noticed that?
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_00: And they'll be like, Oh my gosh.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that fresh set of eyes can see it too.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, like little things.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I remember telling one of them, like, you need to prop your bathroom doors open.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, well, yeah, you keep saying kids are going in there and vaping and tagging the walls and stuff like trust me, an open bathroom door will deter a lot of bad behavior.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, Yeah, okay.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: So it's sometimes it's just you never saw that, but it's a little easy tweak, you know.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, anyways, so that tip is for free, you know, if your bathroom doors aren't propped open.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think we talked about that in the safety episode.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: You should.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I even like to have a leader kind of hanging in the hallway where the bathrooms are so that they can see.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_00: No shenanigans.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because the bathrooms are the place where the shenanigans happen.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_00: Too much privacy.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_00: Students, and too much privacy sometimes is not conducive to I always say, like, toddlers will find every part of your home that is not safe.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_01: And you don't realize it until just let a two-year-old who can, you know, walk around.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_01: They'll find every danger.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_00: Every sharp corner for my eyeball.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_01: And and middle schoolers, uh, Indian high schoolers are they'll they'll find every nook and cranny where they can hide and get away from you know whatever.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_00: From adult eyes.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_00: Dun dun dun.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there you go.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: This episode has gone a little long, so we're not gonna do a community comment of the day.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_01: But we thank you so much for watching and listening.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: If you do want an audit, make sure you email us at ministrycoachpodcast at gmail.com, and we will see you next time.
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Ministry Coach Podcast, where every week we give you actionable and practical tips to help you grow a sizable youth.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_01: Sizable buttery, flaky.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_00: Most youth pastors think that they're yeah, like help yourself to something sweet.