Vitals for Youth Ministry
Welcome to the Vitals for Youth Ministry Podcast. Vitals for youth ministry is a biblical framework based out of Acts 2:42-46, developed by Lead The Generation that trains youth leaders to build a local church youth ministry focused on developing students into healthy disciples.
In this podcast we will focus on the topics and issues most relevant to leadership in Youth Ministry. The Vitals for Youth Ministry Podcast is hosted by Eran Holt, founder of Lead The Generation & Caleb Leake, Youth Pastor at Allison Park Church in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Vitals for Youth Ministry
Mobilizing Missional Leaders, Volunteer Recruitment Strategies, and Building Pipelines That Multiply
Joseph Kellogg shares his strategic approach to leadership development in youth ministry, focusing on how to mobilize leaders for a missional youth movement. His four-year strategy prioritizes multiplication at every level, creating systems that transform followers into commissioned leaders who can effectively reach Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
• Joseph has been in youth ministry for 24 years and recently returned to lead youth pastor role at Victory Church in Tulsa
• The key to reaching 30,000 teenagers in his area is building a robust leadership pipeline
• Added 50 new leaders in three months through "intense intentionality" in recruiting
• Created clear pathways for leadership from student leaders to adult team leads
• Leadership development meetings called "Heart and Soul" provide monthly training and connection
• Measures success by leadership multiplication metrics, not attendance numbers
• Uses Jesus' model of calling, championing, coaching, and commissioning leaders
• Recommends starting with a mindset of "refusing to do ministry alone"
• Encourages youth pastors to identify specific ministry roles and turn them into teams
• Connect people's passions to their purpose by offering various commitment levels
• Create regular leadership huddles before and after services to build team culture
Join Joseph at the Healthy Youth Ministry Conference on October 6-7 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Connect with him on Instagram @JosephKellogg for more youth ministry resources and coaching opportunities.
https://www.hymconference.com/national-conference
Jesus and the early followers. He called them, he championed them, he coached them, he commissioned them, and I just think that is our same responsibility. I just think missional mobilization really comes down to multiplication, and multiplying leaders must become the priority for us to accomplish the Great Commission.
Speaker 3:Hey everyone, welcome to Vitals for Youth Mission podcast. My name is Aaron, director of Lead the Generation. I got the one and only Caleb Leak in the studio here today. Yeah, happy to be a dad. We were just talking about this beforehand.
Speaker 2:Yeah, your kid's growing up. Yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 3:We got the cool fall weather here in Pittsburgh, where we're located at off of a stealer's win.
Speaker 2:Yes, so you know everything is good.
Speaker 3:And to make things even better, we got the one and only joseph kellogg as our guest today. Heck, yeah, what's up? My guy is good to see you it's always good to see you and, uh, glad that you're with us today.
Speaker 1:Thanks for joining us it's an honor, heck yeah bro.
Speaker 2:Well, it's so fun because, uh, I was one of your interns years ago. But for people who don't know you because me and aaron know you tell us a little bit about who you are, what you're doing. We're doing a ministry right now.
Speaker 1:Maybe how long you've been in ministry, that kind of thing yeah, man, caleb, always great to see you, and aaron's the goat, and uh, it's love, love, talking youth ministry and love all that god's doing with this resource and in and through Vitals as well. And just so much. I know that your audience already knows that. But yeah, man, I've been in youth ministry now for 24 years. August 1st 2001 is when I rolled onto the parking lot of a church in South Oklahoma City to become a youth pastor and I've had the privilege to work at a few amazing churches over these last 24 years, always had my foot in youth ministry. I've spent some time doing executive ministry and spent some time doing next gen, but even through that, through our ministry, healthy youth ministry I've still kind of been active in youth ministry. But now for the last three months I'm back in Oklahoma and Tulsa, oklahoma, at an amazing church called Victory Church and I am now the lead youth pastor. So I'm back in the seat of leading a local youth ministry and it has been an absolute blast these last three months.
Speaker 1:And so, yeah, a student of youth ministry, love youth ministry, been doing it for 24 years, been married for almost 23 to my bride Corbyn, has been married for almost 23 to my bride Corbyn, and we have four kids, two young adults that are in college at Southeastern University, and then I have two daughters there. And then I have a daughter that's a sophomore in high school who's very active in volleyball. And then I have a son who is in third grade, just as true, and he's playing third and fourth grade football, which that's a whole new. I've done mostly volleyball and soccer, and so now we're in a in football world, which is super fun. So yeah, that's a little bit about me.
Speaker 1:Dude that's your world, man. That's awesome. We love the local church and and it's been an honor and privilege to we love the local church and it's been an honor and privilege to get to walk alongside young leaders and help students know Jesus and make Him known.
Speaker 3:Hey, joseph, you also have an organization called Healthy Youth Ministry. You do a lot of coaching, leadership development. This is actually the way that you and I connected, because we're both running ministries, that kind of run in the same lane and so it's been cool to cheer one another on. I know that you have a big conference coming up here soon. Do it as like love for you to tell everyone about it and how people can get more information on it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, healthy Youth Ministry started in 2017. It started out as a one day conference and then we moved it to a two day conference and then, in 2023, I actually started doing coaching and consulting uh, again, a lot, a lot like what you do, aaron, and helping the local church in that way. And so, yeah, we've, this would be year number nine. Come on, we're actually, um, you know, I transitioned a few years ago and we kind of kept it in the same location but with me moving and being back kind of in the saddle the way I am now, we decided to move the conference with us here at Vickrey church in Tulsa. So, new location around the same year and it's actually October 6th and 7th, so six, seven, 7th, so 6-7 is so.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, it's, it's a conference, that it's a Monday and a Tuesday, monday night and Tuesday and really is a conference. That is we. We always kind of say it's less than a conference, more of a community just creating space. I just feel, now more than ever, you pastors and leaders, need space to just worship and not feel like they're in charge of the service. We have great practitioners and pioneers in youth ministry, some of the best of the best, investing through our breakouts and things like that, so you can go to hymconferencecom for more information about Healthy Ministry Conference and coaching.
Speaker 2:Thanks for that, yeah bro and I've been to HYM Conference.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you went last year I actually helped run it back when I was an intern. Yeah, and it's yeah. I'm so thankful for your ministry and how you pour into young leaders and how HYM Conference has really, yeah, changed me, because I left last year being like woo, I got a lot of things to work on, a lot of things to mess with. It was real, real, real, good for me. So I appreciate you, bro, it was awesome. And, yeah, every time we have this podcast, we love bringing people in youth ministry on because they always have a funny story of either them doing something stupid or a youth ministry story of them doing something stupid right, because it just follows all youth pastors like a plague that we can't escape it just seems that way.
Speaker 2:And so, joseph, you've been in ministry for a long time, which means you probably have many stories, some of you probably won't want to share, because this will live on online in perpetuity, so just know that some people don't know that, but yeah, go ahead, take the floor, bro. We'd love to hear your story.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it really is, and I'm sure all of us can share. I think why youth pastors have so many stories is because we work with teenagers. Yeah, if they're in the church or outside the church, they're gonna make some moments happen. And uh, yeah, it's funny um this, this the parents of this person actually knows this story. When I first got a youth ministry I'm in my early 20s uh, I had a. I had an intern named michael um that straight up, teen wolfed on like rode on top of the church van um. So some of the younger leaders have to reference teen wolf, but uh, so, yeah, that wasn't good caleb's looking it up on chat gpt right now I actually don't know what that is and do.
Speaker 1:We used to try to get air in our church van, like with speed bumps as well, kids just hitting the top of that ceiling in Jesus name. But one of my favorite stories I like sharing is in my it might've been my second year of youth ministry. We're doing a Christmas, you know game night type thing, and I had these kids. They were eating like fruitcake logs, which fruitcake in itself is disgusting. Sorry for all the fruitcake lovers out there, but this kid looks up at me. His name was Jacob, I still remember his name. He looks up at me and he's like I don't feel good and I'm like just go, just keep going.
Speaker 1:And he throws up and this is the service at the beginning. You know the games, the service. So he throws up on the carpet right and our stage was like only this tall. But he throws up and I'm just like no, and I didn't know, like we didn't have time to clean it up. We're about to go into worship. And so I take a missions banner off the wall and, big daddy style, adam Sandler, put the the the banner over the throw up and the service went on. And so I don't know if students were crying during worship because the Lord was moving or they just the smell was just just messing with them up there. You know, uh just try trying their best. So that's one of my favorite, uh favorite stories because it just it was just iconic the way it all went down and uh, the service went on uh. But also, I don't play uh any games with fruitcake uh anymore yeah, that was during, like the, the food game era bro it really was.
Speaker 2:I grew up in that kind of. That was a strong era. Right there I was a student who probably was well the food era plus fear factor era.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I did. I I did a series. Maybe in 2004, fall of 2004, I did a series called fear factor and we did all sorts of stuff. You know, yes, the early 2000s, late 90s. There's some games that we shouldn't play, and if you ever got Joy Carpenter's book, shout out those games, half of those games you shouldn't play either.
Speaker 2:Nope, you're done, they're done, we're done with that era oh, not having cameras around, not having video, like students being able to take video. It just opens a world of possibilities, of things that you could do and get away with back then I don't.
Speaker 3:I don't miss that era of youth ministry. I'm glad it's been retired and put in a grave, like I don't ever want to see it come back, you know, but we survived kids survived, you know.
Speaker 1:But I, I remember I I like thinking about no cell phones because now, like students, like they're paparazzi. You know, right, um, I, I, in harlem, on a mission trip in 2005, had a taxi come up beside me and this is again, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, caleb, you're gonna have to research some of this. This is like like we, we didn't even have you know, I didn't even have time to print out like a map quest. I'm just following the van in front of me. I'm in Harlem and there's about 30 students. I have my van and a taxi tries to cut in front of me but I didn't see it and I'm the last vehicle trying to hit all these lights in New York. And so I my, my tire, kind of like a NASCAR, goes all the way down the side of this taxi and this guy's yelling at me and I'm like if we would have had cameras, our students would have been filming the whole thing.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, but I ended up getting petty cash out and paying this taxi driver off. No way.
Speaker 3:Did you get a receipt so you could turn that in? Yeah, yeah no, no, we did not you couldn't swipe the divvy card on that take a picture of that real quick, I mean come on but I kind of wish my look back.
Speaker 1:I kind of wish that I wish students would have had cameras um in that moment, because it would have been funny to look back on.
Speaker 3:But yeah, no, no, no footage of that man, this is, this is fun, like anytime I get to hang out with you, joseph, just kind of like relive some of like, because we both started in youth ministry the same year you started 2001, that's me too, and so it's gonna, it's, it's a little reminiscent and I'm also really grateful.
Speaker 3:I'm like I'm I'm glad, I'm glad, I'm glad I survived. And then, and you know we're, we're better for it now. But, um, I love Joseph, I love this season that that you and your wife are, are in right now, stepping back into the lead youth pastor role at Victory. Um and uh, and again, we've been cheering you guys, each other on for years with you know healthy youth Ministry and Lead the Gen and everything. But this is cool.
Speaker 3:I'm excited about our conversation today because we want to talk specifically about leadership development, which is one of the five vitals. If you're a regular listener then you know the deal Vitals for Youth Ministry, five vitals found in Acts chapter 2, biblical truth, spiritual transformation, healthy community, missional living, leadership development. So you know all that. If you're new to lead the gen, fam or the podcast, go to our website, leadthegencom, check out vitals. We have built a framework for how you can do healthy youth ministry um, sorry, stealing your name there for a second. Uh, build a framework based out of acts chapter two. It's all free, go check it, it out.
Speaker 3:Okay, sales pitch is over, but we like to have youth ministry veterans like you, joseph, on just to talk about specific vitals. So let's dive into leadership development and specifically kind of talk about how do we recruit and build our leadership team, how do we mobilize leaders and get them on mission. I know that you're right in the middle of doing that, you know. So this will be great because we're not just going to get some, some theories from you or some here's how I used to do it. It's like, hey, here's how I'm doing it, right here, right now. Right.
Speaker 3:Yeah so just just jump in, take it, take it from there, and then we'll interrupt you and ask some questions.
Speaker 1:No, that's so good and I and I'm a champion of of everything you guys are doing with lead, the gin and the vitals man, what all the work cause. You and I have relationship, the work, the, the I'm talking a couple of years you took building that. So if you're not utilizing it, you should, if anyone's listening and watching. Um, yeah, it's been. It's been interesting because I think you and I can both take things from ministry that we learned 20 years ago, 15 years ago, and some of those principles still apply. But it has been fun for me to kind of parachute into a new culture and go, hey, we need to move this thing to the next level and I've even. There's just some little things that I've done practically. Like I bought a brand new Bible because I was like, hey, I don't want to live off of yesterday's highlights, I want to even as I'm preaching, I want to not just preach old stuff but fresh revelation and the same thing with, like, my computer, like I have all my old stuff on old hard drives. I can use some of that. But you kind of have to take an assessment, even use that word parachute. Think about World War II, parachuting into a new place and you're kind of familiarizing yourself. And then what is our action? Where are we moving from here? So it really has been fun to take my past experiences but also contextualize them to where I'm at today.
Speaker 1:And if there was a title of our conversation, I would maybe title this mobilizing leaders for a missional youth movement mobilizing leaders for a missional youth movement, a missional youth movement mobilizing leaders for a missional youth movement. And I'll tell you, aaron, I think, for me. I'm just, I don't want to lead your mama's youth group anymore, if that makes sense Like this. Ain't your mama's youth group, this is a movement. I would even say like there's youth group, youth ministry and youth movement. I grew up in rural towns in Oklahoma and Arkansas and we would have snack time in the middle of our youth service. It was very much a youth group.
Speaker 3:We did to bring that back.
Speaker 1:That's right, great value cookies. You know what I'm saying. And so, and it was a youth group and we were reaching students, but, dude, we were about matching shirts and we, you know, were reaching students. But, dude, we were about matching shirts and we, you know, with a great gathering, and then a youth ministry. I think a youth ministry becomes like it starts serving the local church, you're reaching some of the community, but a youth movement, to me, is about local and global impact. It's helping students have, um, a biblical worldview and a global worldview, and that's what I'm committed to, I think.
Speaker 1:Why am I back in youth ministry and in this context? Because I just believe in the next generation and I believe it's the epicenter of a life change in helping, um, you know, disciple students, uh, to know jesus and him known. So rewind that to that statement mobilizing leader for missional youth movement to really mobilize a generation of students of Gen Z and Gen Alpha. It takes leaders For us to have a crowd. It doesn't take a lot of leaders For us to do a big event. Know you, can, you just need, hey, we need some security, we need some safety. Um, I need someone to lead worship, but I could, I can have a massive group of students with a handful of leaders, but for us to disciple a generation yeah, that's it and and help them live missional lives, I need, I need, I, I need that. So I guess to kind of bring you into I will call it like our youth ministry locker room Um, man, I just think our, our responsibility is to champion, coach, um, uh, be a discipler, uh, to help, you know, turn followers into missional disciples. That that's what it's going to take from us. And really, let's look at that through the lens of how Jesus did it.
Speaker 1:1 John 2, 6 says if you claim to live in Him, you must walk as Jesus did. I believe he is the archetype, he is the model for us to follow when it comes to developing leaders, mobilizing leaders. There's even this insight that I've been sharing this year, that the Lord gave me, of even Jesus sending out the 72 beyond the 12. Like, how did he mobilize the 72 to live missional lives and so? But I think about Jesus asking the disciples to follow him. Matthew, chapter four, 18 through 20.
Speaker 1:But he's like Jesus has walked along, he sees Simon and Peter, or he sees Simon, also called Peter and Andrew, and he says follow me, I'll show you how to fish for people. They left their nets. They followed him a little further. We know the story. He asked James and John the same thing and there was an exchange that took place. They exchanged kind of common ground for new ground. They fish it says they fish for a living, this was their livelihood. But Jesus called them up and out. He called them, they saw something in them and pulled it out of them. And we see this not just in this moment but over and over throughout the Gospels. And I think about this exchange that they, they went from smelling fish every day to being around the fragrance of the father and I know that a preach, but but that's what they did. And they, they left old nets for a new message modern, like mundane living, like just every day, to missional living, just every day to missional living.
Speaker 1:And I think that's this invitation, is the same invitation Jesus is calling us to invite others into missional living. And as for leaders, we're inviting them into, to mobilize in a generation. And I really love this quote from Interstellar. He says we've forgotten who we are explorers, pioneers, not caretakers. And I just think you know Jesus. Like he brought them into something else. There was a moment of invitation, there's a moment of impartation so that they could live a life of impact. And so I just think our responsibility as youth pastors and leaders Jesus and the early followers, he called them, he championed them, he coached them, he commissioned them and I just think that is our same responsibility. We need to call greatness out of leaders and students. We need to champion them, we need to celebrate them. You know you celebrate what you want repeated. We, we need to champion them, we need to celebrate them. You know you celebrate what you want repeated. We also need to coach them. What you ignore, you accept. And so when we see something, a behavior, and we've got to coach them up to lead more effective lives and then commission them to lead the way. And so I just think missional mobilization really comes down to multiplication, and multiplying leaders must become the priority for us to accomplish the great commission. It has to become so vital, to use your word, that leadership development. And I'll just say this I know we can have some dialogue Me coming into a new, into a new setting, taking an assessment, new church I'm learning the history, I'm learning things and the beauty about this youth ministry I've.
Speaker 1:I've spoke at different events, camps, leadership events for the last 13 or 14 years of this church. So I actually came in with familiarity with the youth ministry. But the first thing I created as we prayed, I created a four year strategy and I and the last year is that we're going to be living like is towards a missional youth movement. I've already been sharing that language with students and leaders. Hey, this isn't your mama's youth ministry. I mean, this is different man, we're reaching a generation Tulsa to the nations, like, literally, we're starting a series called Lace Up your Boots, all about missional living and so even the way we're talking is all about that.
Speaker 1:But year one.
Speaker 1:So year one is make ready.
Speaker 1:We have to make our team ready for what God's calling us to do, and not just year one, but the first four months of year one has been developing our leadership pipeline. So my number one priority and jumping back into youth ministry. So for first time, youth pastors, youth pastors transitioning, or for everyone, like for me, that grew up with the Nintendo NES, you know, like the original, there was only two buttons power and reset, and sometimes we just got to push that reset button and you start the game over. So any youth pastor, any leader listening, you can push, reset and reprioritize. Hey, like we need to mobilize leaders so that we can have students live missional lives and that we have to prioritize multiplication, and so that's been our focus and we have been relentless in recruiting leaders, bringing them through our pipeline so that we can can really do all that God's calling us to do.
Speaker 1:Because the harvest is plentiful, the workers are few, yeah, and so the first thing I did a data assessment of this Tulsa area. 10 mile radius Aaron and Caleb, 10 mile radius there's about 30,000 teenagers. Wow, the harvest is plentiful, yeah, yeah. But when I got here they were averaging 15 liters. How do we reach that many students with 15 liters, right, can't do it.
Speaker 1:And so that's where. So I saw the harvest. But the biblical principle the harvest is plentiful, the laborers, the workers are few. So we need to pray for the harvest workers. But we also need to put a plan together to recruit, to train the harvest workers so that we can mobilize students to live missional lives. But that's going to take us multiplying the leaders.
Speaker 2:Right Dude. First off, you are such a strategic thinker and I've always been kind of like a coach when it comes to these things, which is why I think, like today, I'm really excited about this conversation, because I think it's just real, real practical, especially with you in the trenches. What is something this has been on my mind as you were talking? What are some of the differences when it comes to mobilizing leaders nowadays than it was when you first started?
Speaker 1:And how is?
Speaker 2:your strategy different now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think a couple things. I think I'm more intentional. Let's reframe it. I think we need to lead with what I would call intense intentionality. So Jesus was very passionate. I think that I've had moments that I've been a little passive, where I'm like hey, if you want to serve, you know we're doing great work and you don't want to, and we almost, like, say no for others. You're like I know you're busy, but instead I'm really saying join the movement, we're right, like. So there's like a little bit more intensity in how I'm communicating to the leaders and there's a lot more intentionality as well. So I think that has shifted.
Speaker 1:Also and you were a part of you know the church I served at. They had an internship. Sometimes we have a massive internship like that. You sometimes can, and we had a lot of leaders there as well but you can sometimes be like, oh we're, I don't have to feel that sense of urgency because I've always interned. And so I think, being back in a place yes, we do have a school of ministry Vickery College but it's not, it's not mobilized the same way, and so I'm feeling the pressure and the burden to reach students I think the difference would be my intentionality and my intensity with our team and I would say, because of all my years of experience, I value process way more than just like hey, what's up, you want to serve, like you have to go through growth track.
Speaker 1:Than just like hey, what's up, you want to serve, you have to go through growth track. You have to do some pretty intense training for ministry safe to understand what it looks like when it comes to keeping students safe, and then we do an onboarding night. It's like about six weeks to get you through our process. Now we are creating a fast track for growth track to help onboard leaders a little faster. But I would say the biggest difference is I'm probably a little bit more intense and and a little bit more intentional, and what I mean by intense is I'm I'm just not giving excuses, I'm we, we were. I'm looking at young leaders and being like hey, what are you doing, man, if you're not serving, where are you serving? We want you like man. This generation needs you. Gen alpha needs you on the front lines. They need leaders in their life and so I think we're back in the day. I probably led with more like hey, we'd love for you to be a part, and you know I don't want to be a burden, but now it's like no, my burden's for this generation. And so the way I'm communicating and I'm not communicating guilt. I understand season of life, but I also am not saying no for them. I'm calling them to a higher standard of man.
Speaker 1:Be a part of our team, and I'll say this and I've said this for years Some part of our team. And I'll say this, and I've said this for years some leaders sign in pencil, some in pen, some in blood, and I'm going to take all three. So there's certain leaders that are all in. And then there's certain leaders that, hey, you're going to show up and be a part of our safety team, or you're going to show up and be a greeter. I want you to you know what I'm saying. There's other leaders. Leaders are going to be a small group leader, they're going to be a team lead, and those are the ones that are. They're all in, no matter what. They're going to be at camp, they're going to be a retreat, and so I want all of them, and so I'm going to meet you where you're at there too. Great question. I gave a really long answer.
Speaker 2:No, and it you just have really clear vision too. It sounds like for your leaders. They know exactly what they're getting into and what the mission is, which is what's great and um, yeah. So I guess in that too, like I like that there's the different levels of commitment that someone can get into, yeah, where you don't have to jump all the way straight in if. If you're not there, um, but you just want a clear answer.
Speaker 3:So it's, it's not getting the like yeah, accidentally, by trying to be nice to the leader, like kind of being, like I understand if you can't be a part of it, like almost saying no, there's a lot of wisdom in that too, because a lot of your best leaders in youth ministry you have to grow them over time that you don't just inherit them and they're all already at that level of like, oh man, they can just, they can crush it for me. That level of like, oh man, they can just, they can crush it for me. And so giving them a smaller commitment upfront allows them time to grow with you. My best leaders in youth ministry always started as somebody who said I'll just come and run security or I'll just come and help you do this one event and then over the course of the next three or four years, yeah, they become some of my best small group leaders yeah, well, I would say, too is something I learned years ago is how do I connect someone's passion to their purpose?
Speaker 1:yeah, so I need to get to know where you're at. Yeah, and even tonight, when we're recording this, um, like, we have our heart and soul. We do this once a month and it's leadership training for our leaders, and tonight, because we've, we've, we've, um, counting people that are in our pipeline right now, uh, in the onboarding process which, like, like we have like here, it is like dream team process, we're, we're, walking you through like these different steps um, you know, approved background check, um, you know, training, uh, through ministry, safe, they have to interview with the staff member. They do shadowing, you know, and before their first serve, and so we've, in the last three months, well, at the end of September, have added 50 new leaders. Wow, and I can tell you that that's a freshman that's attending Oral Roberts University, to Johnny and Joy, who've been serving our church for years. Johnny's 65. Joy's a little older she won't tell you her age and they're here serving, and so I also don't see it as man.
Speaker 1:We're reaching all ages. We're reaching all ages. We're inviting the invitations for everyone to serve this generation, and I'm a big believer for teenagers to see different ages serving. They're like wait, I can live for Jesus at 18 or 25 or 65. Graduation's heaven. And so we're all growing together, and so I think that's something too is early on. I don't I think I was focused too much on like, oh, they have to be like this. No man, we're open, we want you to serve this generation, and so I'm going to lead with passion, I'm going to connect them with their purpose, but I'm also going to have a clear pipeline that's going to help establish.
Speaker 1:So tonight, again, when I'm recording this, our heart and soul, our first 30 minutes is I'm going to, I'm leading. I'm inviting some team leads, potential team leads, for them to oversee teams, and a team lead this is what allows us to scale. A team lead is overseeing that team and they're providing four things they're providing care, communication, celebration and coaching, and so that team lead that allows us to have more volunteers because they're getting cared for within their team. So I'm meeting with team leads tonight and kind of having like an exit row conversation. This is what we're asking you to do. Do you agree? Say yes, you know, are you entrusted to be in charge of the exit row. But even that, that process here I'll just show you Like and this.
Speaker 1:We have a newer one, but, like because I'm new, we created like a almost like like we got pictures of all of our leaders. We went to a whiteboard and we just as a team started talking who has the team lead potential now and then who are some people that are trending up? Because we have to create these layers of leadership. I remember a few years ago I had a former student that played football for the university of Michigan and so I got to go see him play my friend Robbie, kind of overseas spiritual formation there and so I got to be in coach Harbaugh's office when he was university of Michigan and they had a board and it had the starting left tackle, the second string left tackle, the third string left tackle, and then above that they had the high school who's the assistant team lead, who's the ministry lead that oversees that certain area, and so a lot of that kind of pipeline and process actually helps us have more leaders.
Speaker 1:I asked the question today what's going to be harder year one to go from, like you know, 15 to 50, or year two, which already we've exceeded our expectations. But I have a four-year goal that in four years that we'll have around 125 to 150 volunteers. And that goal is because and I have a student leader goal we started student leadership last week, which that's a part of your farm system. So we have 33 student leaders that just started with VY crew and so that's a part of our process. Student leaders will eventually be adult leaders and so that pathway. But I'm also pretty relentless in our goals for us to have more leaders. I'd have more places to serve and like youth pastors. I think that's where they struggle. It's like, well, all I got is 15. And I'm like, well, if you don't have other roles for them and responsibilities, they're not going to show up. So I have to keep being creative. And what are different ministry opportunities that we have within our youth ministry? I said a lot right there, but it's that kind of you know what's our strategy, what's our process, what's our pipeline look like and how are we building that out. And I'll even say this next thing Every week I have a meeting.
Speaker 1:It's called our build meeting. I literally bring a hammer to the meeting every Tuesday and it's a focus meeting. It's not our staff meeting, it's not our recap meeting. It's a focus meeting on one thing and right now, that one thing for three months has only been leadership development and this idea of mobilizing. So every week we're in that room, I'm talking, building, and I would even say this for everyone listening I've been very open with our leaders.
Speaker 1:We're not trying to act like we have it all together. We're being super honest with them and say, hey, you're coming onto a youth ministry that we're building this together. There's sawdust on the ground, there's things that are incomplete, but you're joining at this level. I'm not trying to be like, hey, we have it all figured out. You know, like here's our uh, like here's like our onboarding packet, and it's like, hey, this is, um, you know like we're still building this as we go and it gives us permission to kind of grow with them as well. So, anyway, that was a whole lot. But like, yeah, that's that's how we've been very intentional about recruiting and we have our pathway and process when it comes to what. What happens once they step into that, so that we can track them and know where they're at.
Speaker 1:And I'll tell you, there's pools to recruit. The lobby is a pool. You know, if you have college students. That's like this last week we went to our college service they have a call service and we had like a interest table out there and we connected to student and we had 20 people sign up. Let's go a part of that that. That's part of it too. We have these cards, like all these students say. It says right here join the movement victory union interested in impacting the next generation. So that's not like, hey, you want to be a volunteer? Do you want to be a chaperone?
Speaker 1:No, You've heard it said we want Sherpas, not chaperones. Sherpa is going to help you summit the peaks. You know your goals. A chaperone is like the random dude at the you know the your goals. A chaperone is like the, the random dude at the at the you know school dance. So, hey, what's up? Everybody? And so then the next side, boom, hit that QR code, interested in information. And when you hit this QR code, it's going to be like hey, do you want to be a part of this? We even started a youth pastor practical. I'm like interested in being a youth pastor every every Tuesday at three o'clock. I'm going to invest in you. We have 13 people that signed up for that.
Speaker 1:So I just kind of boldly, you know, thinking about Jesus, looking at, think about these disciples. Jesus goes hey guys, I know you've been fishing for a living. You want to go fish for men. They're like wait a second. I don't even know what you're talking about, but he called them to something greater than themselves. And that's what that's what we're mobilizing leaders um to to see a missional movement. It's immobilization is such a big part of that. And so I think you asked that question what's the difference between, like you know, uh, uh, 24 year old Joseph, or even 33 year old Joseph compared to now 44 year old Joseph, joseph compared to now 44 year old Joseph. The difference is the level of intensity and intentionality, um, that I'm inviting them into something bigger than themselves. We even put it right there join the movement. Um, you know we're not just saying come, come, be a part of a, a Wednesday gathering, um asking them for more.
Speaker 3:Right, joseph, you're so good at um, I can tell you're so good at the systems, processes, pipelines, all that stuff. Um, I'm asking them for more, joseph, you're so good at, I can tell you're so good at the systems, processes, pipelines, all that stuff. I'm going to assume you probably have seen the same trend that I have seen in the youth ministry world, with a lot of youth pastors related to building their leadership team. So here's the two extremes I see most often, either no leaders at all, or the leaders they have are all kids that just graduated from their youth ministry in the last year or two years, right? And the common denominator, then, that I see among all those is a lack of a process or a pipeline, right?
Speaker 3:So in the last couple of minutes we have, I want you to talk to the youth pastor that is in the average size church with the average size youth ministry, because your context is obviously unique to you, right?
Speaker 3:You're talking about 50 leaders, 150 leaders and things like that. And I know there's some youth pastors where I have like 30 kids in my entire youth ministry and it's literally just me and two kids who just graduated high school last year, and so they don't necessarily see the need, and this is how I want you to kind of coach them up a little bit. They don't see the need for developing a process and putting it on paper and saying here's the process we're going to take all of our leaders through to recruit and to train. So just like, put your coach's hat on for a second. Talk to me. Like I'm that youth pastor and I got 30, 40, 50 kids, but I'm not doing well with leadership recruitment and I really don't have a process Like I might. I might be able to fake it through in a conversation and act like I have a process, but I don't really have a written down like here's step-by-step what we do. So so talk to that youth pastor for a second. Coach him up on how to develop a process.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think, and again, because I've led in multiple contexts, I've been at the church of 300 on a Sunday and 30 students Like that's where I started youth ministry and realized pretty soon there that some of our best leaders were serving in other ministries. So I would say even to that leader invite students to the table as well. My, my first youth ministry, our leadership we used to do on Sunday because back in the day we had Sunday night church, so we'd always do like before Sunday night, like four o'clock on a Sunday once a month. But you know how I started inviting that meeting Our student leaders as well. We were like bringing them in, like that. That that was I just.
Speaker 1:I think the biggest thing is don't undervalue small. And I started student leadership when I first started in the youth ministry and like five, six students showed up but, dude, they got the best of me, and so I think I think that kind of concept is like don't values, don't undervalue small. The other thing is don't be the hero, you're the hero maker and so you're, you're a part of like getting others. You know, I I just even remember um aaron first, when I first got in youth ministry, we would go like back in the day listen to this caleb we would go like, like, at events, like a youth conventions. For lunch we'd go to the the mall.
Speaker 1:So because the food court, you know, you had all the different options, and so I remember early on in youth ministry I'm over there eating my what are that pizza?
Speaker 1:the pizza joint, you know that's right baby and so I'm eating my big old slice of pizza and early on in youth ministry, around my table was like all the students and I remember like fast forward 10 years and I'm at the mall at a church event, just eating pizza by myself and and all of our students are with other leaders and I actually that is success, yeah, is how do you? Because that's how you get more people serving and leading and and yes, we have to man, we have to do our due diligence to make sure that all those leaders are approved. All that stuff, that process is super important. So I just think, first off, it starts with a mindset hey, I'm going to refuse to do this alone and I had a mentor that helped me with that. So, even like youth camp, I could be the camp counselor. Or I can recruit someone to be the camp counselor and I get to help. Maybe the guy running the camp depending on denomination you're from, whatever scale that is looks like for you just refuse to do ministry alone. So that's a mindset.
Speaker 1:The model is now look at your ministry and go what roles do we have? Well, I have check-in, I have first-time guests. Maybe we have a concessions. I need some safety. So you might have like five or six, seven, ten roles and then from there you start turning those roles in the teams over time. And so I just think you look at your ministry and be like, hey, where do I need people? Um, and I'll just say this uh, shout out to all the kids pastors. Most churches, their kids ministries, get this, because kids ministry has to have to meet ratios, those leaders. I think it would be great for a youth pastor to go sit down with a kids pastor and be like, hey, help me process all your different leaders. I just think kids ministry, they can't do kids ministry without leaders. Youth ministry we can kind of survive with a handful, but you can't thrive with a handful. So to slow it down a little bit more, start with a mindset hey, I'm going to refuse to do ministry alone, I'm going to look for leaders, the way Jesus even. He saw something, he recognized something in disciples they didn't recognize in themselves. So, man, I'm going to help raise up some leaders. And then what's that process look like? And that process can be simple early on, hey, we're going to have a monthly meeting. I'll give you a snapshot of ours.
Speaker 1:We have a monthly development and kind of tonight's about development and I'll just say what we're doing again, our heart, and tonight's different because we've recruited all these leaders. We're going to go over every role and responsibility we're going to walk through here's all of our different roles and here's all of our different responsibilities and we want you to sign up for what area you feel most connected to. So we're going to slow down but then check this out. This is I'm not preaching tonight. I'm taking Luke 4, 18 through 19, and how Jesus says man, the spirit of the Lord is upon me to anoint me to bring good news. So our team tonight will anoint every leader in prayer and worship and just remind them. You're anointed to set the captive free and we need leaders to see a generation set free. You're anointed like again, laying on their hands and anointing leaders to be like you're commissioned to lead and love a generation and so that, like you can do that with 10 or 15. So that night's about development and connection.
Speaker 1:But then we do a huddle, pre and post service every single week. That pre-service huddle is just reminding them what we're doing and then the post service is celebrating what we did. So there are little things you can do. That just makes them feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves. Get a leadership linger, you know, do something. So I know we don't have time to get into the nuts and nuts and bolts of it, but really it's create what, what's our positions and what's their, what's their responsibilities. Um, even looking at this, it's like you know, first time guest team, like you know, greeters, uh, safety team, check-in team, you know all those things. It's just given a couple of bullet. This is what it means to serve in this area, and so I just think you have to start somewhere.
Speaker 1:If you're a youth pastor running 30 students, man, you should have five, 10, 15 leaders. Like, keep recruiting that way. And I always use it as like you're only as strong as that base, you know. And so for me that's why I'm so like this was crazy. I can look at it. I have a four-year goals how many dream team I want, how many student leaders and how many future youth pastors in our practicum. So I have that broken down over the next four years. I don't have anything that has anything to do with attendance. All my goals are based off of I need more leaders, I need more student leaders. Student leaders bring buy-in, um and so.
Speaker 1:And then the youth pastor practicum has to do with stewardship. For me, it's a stewardship responsibility I have, being this season to not invest in the next generation of future leaders, um and so that's. I'm spending time, um, to do that because I just believe in it. Um, so that's, I'm spending time to do that because I just believe in it. And I'm right across the street from Oral Roberts and we have, like I just have, I just I have to. But you can see it, I'm basing, you know, hey, 35 to 55 leaders. You know 15 to 30 student leaders, and then it goes up over the next four years because I'm, by faith, knowing, hey, if I build that infrastructure and more students, because students when they come, they want to feel seen, they want to feel known.
Speaker 1:I can't do that all by myself, and so I just think, for every youth pastor, refuse to do ministry alone. Bring someone with you, go to the game. Bring someone with you. You go to a hospital. Bring someone with you, go to the game. Bring someone with you. You go to a hospital. Bring someone with you. Just like most of the discipleship moments I've had with students and leaders have been in my car, like, bring someone with you. And we see that in the life of Jesus they were. They did ministry on their way, doing that together. And so I just said a whole lot again.
Speaker 1:But I just think, man, start somewhere, create those roles and responsibilities you know, create a defined where we're heading and then just be faithful and start building it. And some of you might be like, well, I'll have a staff to meet with. Dude, I used to meet every Monday at four o'clock. I invited students to come and they just helped me dream with the youth ministry, and mostly every one of those students are in full timetime ministry today. So I just think we have to create space for others to be even our student leadership. I'm like, hey, I get some leadership. And then I said, hey, what are some ways that you feel we can be more effective as a youth ministry? What ideas do you have? And then they feel buy-in, because our high schools are being ran by student council groups. Why don't we have like our own version of student council in our youth ministries? And so, and then thinking about that leadership responsibility.
Speaker 1:So anyway, I'm passionate about it, but I just think don't apologize, don't apologize, and I found myself going. You know what I need to be. We're trying to reach more students and I use those numbers. The two numbers I use is do a data analysis of how many students are in your area, which, to be honest, how I did that was just chat. Gpt ask how many students go to all these different schools, and it pulled the research for me and then, knowing that it's like, 85% of people that say yes to Jesus do so under the age of 18. So I can just look at a leader and be like, hey, we have this, many thousands of students. Most people give their life to Jesus before the age of 18. Guess what we need you to be on a team, uh, so that we can reach um, gen Z and Gen Alpha together.
Speaker 2:Right Dude, super practical and like, yeah, it's, it's, it's clear, your passion and it's I. And I feel like every sentence you were given there was just like some little nugget that so many youth pastors, no matter the context you're in, can take. So, youth pastor, if you're listening, no matter your context, I hope you feel inspired. It's good to take, after so much of this too, to take something and just go after that to grab something and head for it. And, Joseph, if they want to reach out to you specifically too, is there a way that a youth pastor could get, get in contact to you, ask, ask questions, something like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the best thing I'm saying, I'm on social on a regular basis. So at Joseph Kellogg on Instagram Bro.
Speaker 2:On a regular basis. So at Joseph Kellogg on Instagram Bro, you're the king of social dude. You are like better than anyone I know dude Hit me with a DM.
Speaker 1:Well, this is what I'll say about social. Caleb is Aaron and I did youth ministry without social, yeah, so I was sending mailers out to students. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:We were like so to me to be in the Caleb, have you ever sent a mailer out in your life? No, he doesn't even know what a mailer is.
Speaker 1:Put it this way First time guest got a letter from me, wow, a letter that I signed. Thanks for coming to our youth ministry, bro. We had to lick the stamps. Come on, man, that's right. We had to walk uphill both ways. It was crazy, but but I would say yeah, hit me up on social, but I, I am active on my social, I. You know, the verse says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. I believe, out of the abundance of the heart, the fingers post.
Speaker 1:And so I'm passionate about my family, I'm passionate about youth ministry, I'm passionate about my local church that I'm serving at, and I'm passionate about football, and so you'll see all those things on my social and so, yeah, hit me, hit me with a DM at Joseph Kellogg, and man, we can, we can do life together in that way.
Speaker 3:Man, and I would encourage you you're a youth pastor, you're listening to Joseph kind of break down all these processes. I would, I'd reach out to him and be like, hey bro, can you send me copies of that stuff, right, um, and then even take it a step further check out healthy youth ministry and consider bringing Joseph on as a coach, um, to get you get to sharpen you man, he's, he's incredible and, um, you'll get the chance to kind of one-on-one sit with him and kind of break down all this stuff and ask these questions. So, bro, we love you, man, just excited to have you on the podcast again, honored, really, and just excited for what you're doing in the youth ministry. World Healthy youth ministry conference is coming up here in just just about a month, under a month, and so this, this podcast, will air before that, and so it will still be time for you to just jump on the website and get yourself out to Oklahoma and check it out in person. It'll be awesome.
Speaker 3:So what a great episode, man. Joseph, thank you. Reach out to him, give him a shout out. Caleb, thank you, and if you're still rolling with us this deep into the podcast, we know you're part of the fam. So help us out, spread the word about Vitals for Youth Ministry Vitals for Youth Ministry podcast. Give us a share, give us a like, give us a review, all that good stuff. You know we've got to get the algorithm to work in our favor right.
Speaker 3:But man excited that you joined us and I can't wait to hang with you again on the next episode of Vitals for Youth Ministry podcast.
