Guess what? You’re about to get up close and personal with Pastor Matt Hart from Reclamation Church in Spring Lake, NC. Matt's journey is a fascinating one - from delivering sermons at the age of 12 in a bustling youth-centered church to spearheading student ministry and leadership. The heart of his message? Ministry is more than just a performance - it’s about the hard work and dedication that happens backstage.
Pastor Matt doesn't just talk about his journey, he also shares his secret sauce for building relationships and cultivating leadership among students. You'll hear about how a simple meal or a friendly conversation can create a warm and welcoming atmosphere, drawing students into the fold and allowing a ministry to thrive. But it's not all smooth sailing, right? Matt gives us an honest account of the challenges he faced when transitioning from a church with a large budget to one with less financial liberty. Yet, his story is testimonial to the fact that energy, passion and a keen understanding of today's youth culture can be more than enough to keep the students engaged.
Have you ever thought of church as a fun and interactive space? Well, Matt sure does! He throws light on some of his innovative ideas for student ministry, like the Circle Night, and unique events that his leadership team comes up with. So join us, as Pastor to Pastor journeys along with Pastor Matt Hart in this episode that promises to be an eye-opener for anyone involved in or considering student ministry.
Guess what? You’re about to get up close and personal with Pastor Matt Hart from Reclamation Church in Spring Lake, NC. Matt's journey is a fascinating one - from delivering sermons at the age of 12 in a bustling youth-centered church to spearheading student ministry and leadership. The heart of his message? Ministry is more than just a performance - it’s about the hard work and dedication that happens backstage.
Pastor Matt doesn't just talk about his journey, he also shares his secret sauce for building relationships and cultivating leadership among students. You'll hear about how a simple meal or a friendly conversation can create a warm and welcoming atmosphere, drawing students into the fold and allowing a ministry to thrive. But it's not all smooth sailing, right? Matt gives us an honest account of the challenges he faced when transitioning from a church with a large budget to one with less financial liberty. Yet, his story is testimonial to the fact that energy, passion and a keen understanding of today's youth culture can be more than enough to keep the students engaged.
Have you ever thought of church as a fun and interactive space? Well, Matt sure does! He throws light on some of his innovative ideas for student ministry, like the Circle Night, and unique events that his leadership team comes up with. So join us, as Pastor to Pastor journeys along with Pastor Matt Hart in this episode that promises to be an eye-opener for anyone involved in or considering student ministry.
Hey, what's up family? It's Pastor Seth. I got Pastor Jason right here beside me.
Speaker 1:Hey, what's up for another Pastor to Pastor podcast? We've got a treat for you We've got Pastor Matt Hart from Reclamation Church. We're so grateful that you're here at Matt's bed. Matt is in Spring Lake, north Carolina. He's been in student ministry for quite a bit. We want to bring him on here and just talk a little bit about student ministry and hopefully encourage some of our student ministers and pastors who are trying to find student ministries and really what to look for in student ministry and in their leaders. Let's just open this up and get to know you a little bit and then we'll dive into some of these deep questions. Let's hear a little bit about your ministry background, where you're from, what you've been taught, where you've been, where you've served at Stuff like that.
Speaker 3:I was born and raised in Goldsboro, North Carolina. It was a military town so I was used to a lot of military people. I grew up, I was saved in a free will Baptist church and it was right at the end of my dead end road. I used to put in tobacco growing up as a kid and would ride my bicycle to the church or somebody would come get me for Sunday school.
Speaker 3:That's where I gave my heart to the Lord and I was baptized. And then I started at a church that was right down the road that had more teenagers, because I was coming up to that age of being a teenager and my church I was going to had no teenagers. So I started going to a church with more teenagers and that's where I had my first youth pastor and I never knew there were such things as a youth pastor.
Speaker 3:But I had my first youth pastor and I just began to fill the tug of ministry and I started serving at that church when I was just 12 years old is when I preached my first sermon. That's awesome, man, I would do. I mean they would do youth services. Now, they didn't that. I don't even know if he was on staff as a youth pastor. We had Sunday school teachers. We have a second Sunday night youth service. I don't know if you remember back in the day like we have youth services and anybody could bring like a cassette tape and you could just put, put it in and anybody could sing.
Speaker 1:They didn't care if you could sing or not. Okay, let me ask you this real fast what you just said, did you say you preached your first sermon at 12? At 12 man, do you know what I was doing at 12 years old? It was not preaching service. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, they would do these youth services and they would give me a chance to open up and I would have my little Bible up there and I would sing. I don't know if you remember, carmen, I would do. I would do old school Carmen songs and do little devotions. And Carmen songs Carmen. You know who Carmen is? I don't know.
Speaker 1:You don't know, Carmen. See he's in the house. He ain't as sad as we thought he was. He was the dust the champion where Jesus boxes the devil. I mean, everybody has done that drama?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've seen that drama.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's Carmen All right, and so I would do that.
Speaker 2:I can't sing, so you can tell us go ahead and go ahead and sing. I can't sing, but you could talk those songs and rap them, and that would be great Wow. I'm highly disappointed with Pastor Jack, but now we have recently, actually some of our student ministries, student ministers have done that particular play. We did it at Easter. We've just like two years now. We've done it and so yeah. I know what you're talking about. Now I got you.
Speaker 3:I'm there with you All right Now, that's Carmen.
Speaker 1:Keep up, oh man.
Speaker 2:But anything, oh, but anything beyond that. Carmen, I can't help you. I don't like Do some research. Carmen, san Diego, like I got that, but I don't know about no other Carmen Well look into Carmen.
Speaker 3:God rest his soul. He's going to be with the Lord.
Speaker 2:But God rest his soul yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, I grew up in that church. I had a pastor. My senior pastor began to mentor me a lot and I would be there in middle school and high school. Every time the doors were open Friday nights, I would be there. If he was washing windows, I'd be there, and he just poured into me and eventually I became the pastor of the church I grew up in.
Speaker 1:I love it man.
Speaker 3:And then I volunteered at a couple of small country churches just trying to get, trying to get my feet wet in ministry and learn the ropes. And I went to Bible college. I went to heritage Bible college and done and so I went to Bible college, interned a little bit at a few churches, got my first position was a very part time position. I was still working third shift at Walmart and working in student ministry and children's ministry and that was at a small country church. And then I got another position as a children's pastor just straight children and that was entertaining, that was fun.
Speaker 1:And there, yeah, oh yeah, you have done that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, man, it was great, though it was so much fun.
Speaker 2:I want to back up just a minute, though. One thing that I caught you said was that you just showed up, and I think a lot of times in ministry, like, a lot of people want the position, they want the title, but they don't want to show up. They don't want to show up to clean the toilets, they don't want to show up to vacuum the floor, they don't want to show up to set the stage up, they don't want to show up for audio visual, they don't want to show up for anything except for just to show up and perform, and that's not what serving is about. And so if you can't show up in those hard times, if you can't show up to clean, you can't that's right and serve then you shouldn't really show up to minister either.
Speaker 1:Right, and also catch too is what I love about Matt's story is that he started so small. Like you notice, he keeps small country churches A lot of us unfortunately, the generations that are coming up now want everything handed to them, so they want to start with the large ministries, they want to start with all the accolades. So it's so important, especially for young ministers that may be listening today to you, understand that don't despise a day of small beginnings, man, and there's a lot of fruit a lot of fruit and just selling up and just serving yeah just show up, right, and it was years before I even knew big existed.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I didn't. I didn't grow up in a Christian family. My mom was a drug addict. I was. She was a single parent. She was a drug addict and I eventually had to go live with my grandma when I was nine years old, and that's where the tobacco farm and you know working hard came kind of came in there and I had to work for my school clothes or whatever like that. And when I got involved with these churches, I mean they were the big deal to me, just because sister such and such loved me in Sunday school, I mean it was that's beautiful it was.
Speaker 3:I didn't know, there were big churches, I just thought this was it. Well, it was big to you, it was big to me.
Speaker 2:Right, and that's all that matters. There you go being big to you Right, and in the background you feel like really kind of stands out.
Speaker 3:I did get a chance. You know, I was at a larger church, a larger church, and I started out part time and worked my way of my first full time position and that was a that was a eye opener. Once you, once you make that transition from volunteer part time to full time, that was, that was different.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 3:I enjoyed it and and and was able to learn how to raise up leaders and do different things like that and there are a transition happened between that church and where I'm at now and now I'm at reclamation church and it's it's another smaller church, but I believe that you know it's growing and it's a different kind of church than I've ever been a part of. It really is. It's it's a thriving church and not that other churches weren't thriving or healthy, but it almost has a church plant kind of feel to it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:It's small but coming up Gotcha.
Speaker 2:So how did? How did you know you were called to lead student ministries or to lead students?
Speaker 3:Like I said, I got.
Speaker 3:I I met my first youth pastor at my first church, the church that I grew up in, and when I began to get these opportunities to speak to teenagers, and you know, I had a testimony that that resonated with those students because I didn't have a dad, so I was able to talk to the kids that didn't have parents.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and you know, I always had the testimony of being able to say, hey, you can forgive, you can forgive. You don't have to be like who your parents are and if, if you grew up in a rough home, that doesn't mean you have to come up that way. And yeah, I had that testimony that always kind of resonated with students and I've always been kind of the one that went towards the broken, more broken ones, because I knew what it was like to be broken and just just, students just resonated to me and and just to see the lights come on when when you, when you talk to them, and I remember the first time that I did it, I knew the first time, and it's not just something that I ever wanted to do to step up to be something else.
Speaker 3:It's just something I knew that I was supposed to do now. If that calling happens one day to be something else, I'd be open to it. But I just knew student ministry was what gripped my heart.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. What is like one. If you could say this is my favorite thing about student ministry, it's the top tier of the list that you love about it. What would you say? It will be.
Speaker 3:I mean, it's just fun, the fun part of it. But the fun part where you build the relationships and then when you preach, you're not just preaching to strangers, you're preaching to kids that you know. And you see that when I said while ago, to see that light come on, that light come on, that student that has been giving you trouble for years, finally click, just clicks, and they come down, they pray, and now they're leading or doing something like that. That would be my favorite part.
Speaker 2:That's great, though it sounds like you create space for them to lead. Like was created for you and that opportunity for you to lead. That space was created for you and it sounds like now you're kind of creating space for other people to learn and grow and lead.
Speaker 3:Right, absolutely that's something that in building the student ministry that I'm building because I stepped into nothing they had students, they had leaders, but they didn't have a youth pastor, yeah, and so anything I do right now was new. So I got only way to go was up. So there you go. But I did try to incorporate like now we do Bible studies, like if you're a student you want to do a three minute devotion before any service, just let me know, that's awesome. And then I just go find them Like hey, I feel like you know, maybe God's got a word, have you been thinking of praying or anything? And as they say yeah, I said hey, why don't you just just take a couple minutes? Tell us?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And they'll get up and then they'll do that and I'm starting to train them to do, you know, lights and media and just anywhere else I can find for them to serve. They love it. That's what brings them. Yeah, I mean that's. They know they can't miss student ministry because they got a job, they got something to do Right.
Speaker 1:They feel a part connected to the church, not just another number, not just another kid, a kid in the church, but they can play a role into the overall vision. I love that. What are, what are some typical growth growth strategies that you have for student ministry? Maybe that someone who's listening, or pastor who's trying to help their student pastor grow their student ministry? Where are some things that you've seen that that's worked for you? Now, of course, let's preface this that not every growth strategy works for everybody.
Speaker 1:But you know, you never know. You might say something today that someone's never thought about trying. That could really turn their student ministry around.
Speaker 2:And I just also want to preface this by saying you need to pray. It's because you hear a good idea doesn't necessarily mean that it's for your ministry. You've got to pray, but I do believe we can learn from each other Absolutely, and I do believe some things that work in one places will work in some other places. Definitely got to pray, though. Definitely got to see God's face in every decision that you make in ministry, but but please yeah.
Speaker 1:Sal's armor was good, but it wasn't good for David Right.
Speaker 2:Somebody the same way with how we do ministry as well, absolutely Right.
Speaker 3:Um, honesty is a big thing. You need to know where you're at. You need to know your students. Okay, you need to know that when you're talking about growth, don't let growth be so at the forefront of your mind that you're not in love and satisfied with the people that you have.
Speaker 3:Yeah that's good, um, because students will know that students, if you go and talking about growing, growing, growing, growing, um, students will like, well, I'm here, what are you doing for me at this point? Yeah, so, so, so you got to learn how to love the ones that are in front of you. First, I understand that Jesus had 12 disciples and changed the world with them. So, um, my first church that I had a position at, I had two teenagers, two middle school girls that were cousins, and I walked in there and I painted the walls, I black lights, led lights. I just thought I was going to build this massive, massive student ministry.
Speaker 3:And those two girls walked in and looked at me like I was out of my mind. Yeah, and I began to think, well, how am I going to middle school girls? What would I do with two middle school girls, like, like if I was, like not in church, like if I was their parent or something? How would I get them to invite their friends? And so I just started thinking to the context. Well, teen teenagers like to invite each other to a party or like to invite each other out to eat. So we would start celebrating their birthdays, or we would start on Sunday nights we would go out and eat and I would say, hey, if you bring a guest, you know that person eats free.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:And so they started bringing their friends, and when?
Speaker 3:they would bring it for me they'd bring a friend and that friend would eat for free and they would bring a friend that friend. And before it grew from two to 25. Nice, because we were incorporating that kind of stuff. It's being honest with who you got. Understand that students value relationships. Yeah, they know real, they know authentic, they know when you truly love them. Yeah, my mentor, jeannie Mayo from the cadre ministry she's been doing student ministry for over 40 plus years and one of the things in her book that she wrote was if you failed the friendliness test, you failed the whole thing. Man, you got to pass the friendliness test. It doesn't matter how it, what speakers, what bands, what lights, what, what, what, what all the stuff is. We think that we need that to grow a student ministry. If you're not friendly, they're not coming.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that that expands even into into ministry as a whole, because if people come into your church, if people come into your ministry and they don't feel like you're genuine or they don't feel like you're you're honest about who you are, or or that you're faking it like they can pick up on it, and that's one thing that I can say. You know about our ministry that I truly am thankful for is that the people here are genuine, and so when you walk in off the street, it doesn't matter what your background is, doesn't matter what your social status is. Look, you know, christ died for all of us. Yeah, and that's the first thing we want you to know is that we love you, god loves you, and there's a place for you, and so, yeah, I think that that's a great initial thing. Right, you got to be genuine to begin with. Yeah, we were.
Speaker 1:You know, we understand this. Is that the same thing with with big church, as many people call it, but even with student ministry, is that they're not. They're not. They're not just the number.
Speaker 1:Yeah it's not just a number. We're trying to check and just see and do the statistics that we should have at least 10% of the church and student ministry like. It's been like six or seven, maybe eight years since I've been in student ministry and, if it's alright, I'd like to share a strategy that we had that we grew our student ministry from about 30 to a hundred hundred twenty and six Months. Now again, this strategy doesn't work for everybody, but we were at a church who for nine months had no student pastor and so they were volunteer based. They went nine months from when their student pastor left to a space there and we, me and my wife At the time we weren't married, but so it's been. Wow man, I'm getting old.
Speaker 1:It's been probably nine years now, and so we were in about 30 there, and what I decided to do is not necessarily take the focus off the students, but I started building relationships with parents and Begin to cast vision with parents.
Speaker 1:This is why your students need to be here on Wednesday night or Sunday night, whenever we did it, and because I Built a relationship with the parent and they trusted me and understood that if they, if they push a Relationship with me and their kids and their kids would come out better from it. And I'm telling you within six months, because of the value that I add On to the student, but also to the parent, both the investments that we've made, we grew and just blew it out of, you know, just off the wall. And I think that a lot of times we get so focused on just the students that we neglect the reality that they they have two parents who are covering them to, who really want to trust you, and if your parents will trust you, they'll trust me and they'll trust you, they'll get their kids to student ministry, right, right.
Speaker 2:Right. Yeah so is there anything else that you that you can think off right at top that has really you've seen Recently like help you grow your student ministry?
Speaker 3:and that's the student involvement. Yeah, just giving them ownership of the ministry. You know, the students that stand up and lead a Bible study, they're gonna invite their friends to come see them lead the Bible study. Yeah, it's good, If you put them on the worship band, they're gonna invite their friends to. If you give them ownership, they're gonna invite their people to come see it. Yeah, if you, if you treat them like they're just another product, they're just another number, they're just gonna come like that, if they come at all.
Speaker 3:But but if you start giving them ownership of what they're doing, the sky's the limit, they'll start bringing their friends and come see me when I do this. And yeah, hey, I got a friend that can see me too. Can she get on the stage and sing too? And I let them get up there and and sing or whatever. And and I've seen that work, it does work. Yeah, because you know I'm not everybody's supposed to come, believe it or not. They don't want to come up and stare at me, for 30 minutes, you know I mean that I'm not gonna be the popular one in their high school there they might be, though.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure.
Speaker 3:And you find those, those key core students. That's another thing. Find those core students and and bring them and talk to them. I think they call them Paul Revere meetings. But bring the ones together that that you know have influence, and say, hey, what kind of student ministry would you like? Yeah, like what are your ideas? And instead of just always telling them what to do, hey, what would you like to see them do? Like right now they're pushing for a lock-in hard. I'm like.
Speaker 2:I guess I'm having a lock-in.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was kind of the anti lock-in there for a little while, but don't miss them days. Oh, they're pushing for that lock-in, but I know, if I have the lock-in, those students that are trying to get me To have a lock-in, they're inviting all their people. Oh, yeah, they come to this lock-in and it's a huge opportunity.
Speaker 2:I think you know we we shared, we talked about this prior to starting the record. But it's not just babysitting like student ministry is not just babysitting kids until Services over or until the parents come get them like it's not babysitting and if you view, if you view it as babysitting, you're really missing out on time on true ministry and leading and shepherding these kids Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I'm thinking, like you got a house full of kids, man, that what a perfect opportunity to preach the gospel, oh you know, and share it with them. On top of you have fun games, food, things like that, but I mean, the at the heart of everything has got to be teaching them about Jesus.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely because that could be the only moment that they've been felt, they felt loved all week, they felt encouraged, they felt seen. Yeah, a lot of kids today feel invisible and student ministry is a great opportunity and I'd say, if you look at it as babysitting, maybe you need to change the ministry. Get that spot to somebody else big kid nursery.
Speaker 3:That's right yeah that's not me if this is a baby, I'm not a good babysitter, so that's right. Yeah, we're raising up. We say this at reclamation church we're not just babysitting your kids, we're raising up your, maybe your next pastor.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3:We're raising up your next worship leader your next, and not just for the church of tomorrow, but the church of today. Yeah, because the same ones that serve on Wednesday nights for me and student ministry have started serving on Sunday mornings now in church.
Speaker 3:We went a while, I think, in student ministry where they there's this whole separation, kind of like I have to have my own separate. If I'm, if I have a student ministry, it's got to have a separate logo with separate name at separate mission statement. It's separate air, all this kind of stuff because the church is over here and we're over here now.
Speaker 3:Now, when you graduate, we're going to kick you out to go over there. But yeah, we got you till 12th grade. I think our culture has to change on that and has changed. And in the churches that I've seen that are growing, they do change. You do see the younger people running the camera, younger people running media On the platform. You see that more that they're just not looked at as we're babysitting the church of tomorrow. Yeah but we're equipping the church of today.
Speaker 2:That's absolutely right and that's actually kind of one of the. One of the questions that we have for you is how do you balance, or Stuart, the vision of for students and the pastor's overall vision for the church?
Speaker 3:right, it shouldn't be different exactly. It shouldn't be different. You know, if the mission of reclamation church for us is is Break, bringing broken stories one step closer to Jesus. Yeah, my mission for students is bringing broken Students one step closer to Jesus.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:And it's written on our wall and it's the same wall that we have every ministry through. That pastor is the head of the church and he's still the shepherd and. I'm an under shepherd for the students but he's still their shepherd. Yeah, and there shouldn't be that separation, kind of a para church mentality, that we're separate and then you know. That's why it was so hard sometimes Growing up trying to kick students out of student ministry, like that's why you got you got.
Speaker 3:They're in college and still want to stay in Student ministry there. They're 24. Okay, you need, eventually you need to leave the industry, you know you're an adult now. Right, it's because we separated them. We pulled them out and we, from the time they were in, I mean, children's church, they would leave children's ministry and then go to student ministry, and and they were for all those years, from birth to 12th grade, they were separated from the church, and then you just expect us to throw them in there and.
Speaker 3:Explore, right, expect them to swim. Yeah, um. No, they can be incorporated. Yeah, yeah, it's one body one mission, one values, one, one set of values, one, one body.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. What do you think are some of your biggest obstacles in student?
Speaker 3:ministry Biggest obstacles I think students budgets.
Speaker 2:Budget is tough.
Speaker 3:That is. That is one of the biggest differences from where I came from to where I'm at now. I had a church credit card. From where I came from then not, not really. I didn't have to worry about anything. Yeah but now you know, we're in a church where I mean it's a growing church. But it's a growing church, yeah. And so the budget yeah, it's not where it was.
Speaker 2:We want to have elevation worship.
Speaker 3:Is what. We can play it off our phone.
Speaker 1:It's like, hey, can we afford little Caesar's tonight?
Speaker 3:Like I used to be on, you know little Caesar's was like at the bottom, like I at least wanted to get dominoes a pop.
Speaker 1:Now.
Speaker 3:I love that little Caesar's.
Speaker 3:Caesar's yeah, um called Dordache and tell him to bring it because, yeah, it's cheap. Oh, but yeah, just just the money in student ministry. But you know you, if you get creative, I mean that takes care of itself. Yeah, um, parents invest if they need to and they'll cook or whatever. But I Think students are pulled in so many different ways these days. It's something every single night for them. I you know you sit there and talk to a student and you just hear them tell them about, tell you about their life and you're like exhausted because they have, you know, baseball practice this day, they have dance this day, they have all these other things and you're trying to get them to come to church on Wednesdays or do something on Sundays. I'm like, when are you ever home, right? Like when are you ever with your parents? And just sitting there watching TV?
Speaker 3:You're sitting there, relaxed, they're not yeah and it just know that when you have a student, you have Um, they're. If they're giving you their time, they're giving you something valuable because they don't have that much good, that's good to think through, um, but but you're also battling stuff because it's easy for them just to say, you know, I got too much to do. And you know, sometimes I say I don't really blame you honestly, cuz yeah, I want you here, but you got to be exhausted. Yeah, um, it's that, so it's. They're pulled so many different ways. They're pulled so many ways as far as culture is concerned.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3:Um, there's something new, seems like every week. It's like we we are facing like national crisis, so a worldwide crisis about one a week now. Yeah you know, I think they they're living things. Like you know Me growing up, I never heard of some of the things, but it's like now they're experiencing like pandemics and wars and everything all in a very short time.
Speaker 3:So I think um, you deal with that. You would deal with attention spans. Um, you, you're dealing with a tick-tock generation. Yeah, that if it don't happen in 15 seconds they're swiping to the next. Yeah, um, so you got to stay, you got to stay energetic, you got to keep their attention.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I noticed that, even in the children's videos that they do this camera switch. And I don't know about camera switching, I used to film but they do this camera switch, like I do a perspective change every 10 to 15 seconds. They're changing the look to keep their interest from one thing to another, yeah, and and it's just move right on into students and and even into adults. I mean think about tick-tock or these little shorts that youtuber is doing or some of these other things. There's these things as constant pull for for their attention Visually, yeah, audibly, and in many different ways. So you're right, I mean you're combating that mentality, that that switch mentality over and over and unfortunately For not just student ministry, ministry as a whole.
Speaker 1:One of the first things that people choose to eliminate out their schedule is church.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, time with God, and so yeah, that's. That's definitely an obstacle when you find all the answers on how to keep people in church. Even the student you let me know Implemented that thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I remember we had a student she was a middle schooler who came to our student ministry at my last church, you know. Yeah, I was really excited her and her family were getting in church and we all went and ate pizza together after a volleyball game or whatever, and the dad just looked at me in straights because I'm telling him we're gonna like winter fest, we're gonna take them to, we do lock ins, and he's like, yeah, I'm just gonna let you know those. Spring time ball is life.
Speaker 3:Yeah he looked like dead in my eye.
Speaker 1:You're not gonna see her until Until all that's done until you need to call your student pass because they can't control their kid, and then right, it will see her, right.
Speaker 3:But but just look, ball is life and you're trying to get I mean, you're just trying to be a positive influence and you're trying to get them into good things and just have not. That ball is not good. Yeah but to say ball is life and they're gonna do travel ball in the summer and the competition, all that kind of stuff. You might see him again around Christmas time, yeah and so I'm like, wow, that that's, and I'll say you know, probably one of the Biggest things we do deal with as student ministry.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I have to say his parents parents, parents, that Parents have this idea of how their kids life should go right and they've got a string, a Strangle on their life and what they they will and won't do. And, like you said, ball is life. You know where that kid's gonna be, and it may not necessarily always be the kids decision, could be the parents decision. That ball is life.
Speaker 3:Right, exactly, yeah, and you know that and you know you just look at. You don't look at Facebook for the students because they're not there, but if you look at Facebook you see the parents. Yeah and you see the parents living as much drama as the kids are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, that a preach. We can go down, that thing you're seeing the parents.
Speaker 3:That that you know. You want me to get your kids life together, but but you're struggling to have your life together right.
Speaker 3:Well and you're, you're, you're fussing this person, complaining this person. I see all the stuff you put on, like you got a kid, that's right. They're looking at you, yeah, and seeing how you're handling this stuff. And then they're gonna come to student ministry and you're gonna, you know, you're gonna ask me, like, what can I do to help? I'm like, well, you know you can help, I have them. If they come to student ministry on Wednesday nights, I have them for an hour and a half. Yeah, a week, that's it. And if that is, if they come every Wednesday night and to say they come Sunday mornings to church, you know an hour and a half service. So that's what. Three hours a week of ministry. That your kids going through. What's going on with the rest of the time? Yeah, yeah, I mean there's some things that have to be implemented in the home as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's got to be a break in that cycle. But yeah, I mean that's, that's for everybody, though I mean you, you're right, you see, on social media, and then you, you want to bring me to fix them when it's got to start at home, and I think that's just in culture as a whole. Families used to sit around the table and eat dinner, like we still do, and and and we ask. I asked my kid hey, son, how was school today, or how was this or how was that? And we had these conversations. It's an opportunity for us to eat and for me to share wisdom and pick apart their day and to help guide them and lead them. The families don't do that much anymore now. It's because they're grabbing something between ball practice or they're. They're doing something and parents aren't leading by example. See, there's this, is this curse word now in in Christianity, and really in the world called accountability.
Speaker 2:Yeah, don't say that right. There's many, many of us who don't like accountability, and accountability I'm sorry for the Christian is important. It's a necessity. It's necessity we like. The word keeps us accountable. Our peers keep us accountable. Our pastor should be keeping us a pound, our bishops should be keeping us accountable. Yeah, and that accountability is kind of like help God's and direct us right, some people use that word church hurt.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean somebody just probably just try to keep you accountable right? Yeah, I try to, just to correct you and you didn't like it. Yeah and so you went somewhere else?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Yeah, that is the case a lot of times. It's been the whole podcast on that.
Speaker 1:Hey, I got one for you. This is a more practical question to kind of help some people who are young in ministry On. It's a two-part question is one what does a service look like for you? What is that structure? What are some some things that you've tried that did work, things that did work on as far as a flow of a service? And then the second question is this is how do you go about building your team? Do you handpick certain people? Do you go to them, ask them to join your leadership team as far as adult wise, or do you just have signups and ever signs up? You just cultivate them into a leader. So let's just start off with what's the flow of your service look like for people who are trying to determine what's the best way to interact with students, get the word in, get the fun in and have a healthy balance so they have a successful ministry right.
Speaker 3:To me, a service should look like about an hour an hour long and the way we have our structure right now is an hour and a half. But the half an hour at the beginning is when we have the fun stuff. Yeah, it's when we have the the games. It's when we have food.
Speaker 2:Get that energy get the energy out or get the energy in thinking.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we'll celebrate birthdays once a month. Everybody had a birthday that month. That's what we're gonna. So you, the party Just coming Wednesday we're gonna have our friends given, italian friends given, so cool that's when we have that. But then the countdown is gonna hit, like five minutes to seven, mm-hmm, and at seven o'clock the fun's gone.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I used to you want to talk about things that didn't work. I used to want to do like worship and then kind of go into a game, mm-hmm or something. Go or a game, then go into worship and I just found, like putting that game Right with worship sometimes can break it. You don't want to do that. I like to keep my games before countdown, my games, because they know when that countdown ends it is time for worship, it's time for to hear the word, it's time to get the silliness gone, and so what we do is we do that, that we opened up. We open up, I'll welcome everybody and do announcements and then I'll have a student come up and lead a devotion and if I need to, to kind of coach at the end of that devotion, kind of help him flow or help the kids understand what he was saying or she was saying, I'll do that, but if not, I'll go into worship, and I got you know I'm pastor Rob's daughter leads worship and so she'll do about two or three songs and then I'll come back up and I preach Now.
Speaker 3:Now, depending on what night or what my goal is, sometimes I'll have an altar call at the end of that. Sometimes I have small groups, so I do have small groups where I got it split up between Middle school boys, middle school girls, high school boys, high school girls. So if it's at the end of a service that I think the students would want more discussion, I Will split off to their small groups and in those small groups they're going to pray for them, they're going to discuss all the stuff.
Speaker 1:Are those student leaders?
Speaker 3:or is a leader lead, or days are those are leader led, okay, leader led. So, and sometimes we do circle night. Sometimes once a month we do something called circle night where we just circle up the chairs and it's doing, instead of doing like a service model, we do a circle model kind of. Or worship is done in the middle of the circle, the game is done in the middle of the circle, and I speak in the middle of the service and I let students talk to me in the circle. So they love that, so that flows for us and that's. You know, I haven't been at reclamation church that long, so I'm still. I'm still finding what flows, I'm still finding what works and what doesn't. You know, I've tried to take sometimes the engines from other churches and put it in this vehicle and it's not running.
Speaker 3:So I have to have to figure out what this culture is like and so but so far that's, that's been going really well at reclamation.
Speaker 1:I love the concept of adding, like what you call the circle night, because what it does is it gives students something Fresh to look forward to within the month instead of every every week being the same exact thing. It kind of switches them up. You talk about like the tick top reality, you know mindset that goes to the next thing so quickly and so I love. I love that if you're trying to build student ministry, that's something to really consider right.
Speaker 3:Well, I do once a month. We do first Wednesdays, and first Wednesdays is always a creative night, so it's something that has some element of creativity, some element of fun outside the box. We did the black light Easter egg hunt. That was our one of our first Wednesday nights.
Speaker 2:We did Tell me, tell me about the black, like like Easter egg hunt.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, we took like 600 Easter eggs and just spray painted them with fluorescent paint, okay, and then went to the sanctuary and brought in these massive black lights and just I don't want to say trashed the sanctuary. But we, we took like black light reactive toilet paper, put it all over the place, lights and like a VBS for Hunting Easter eggs and look, it looked like a laser tag place. Yeah, by the time we were done, and when we threw out all the 600 Easter eggs all over the church and then let the kids in or let the students in, like, and I told them, hey, if you got any reactives clothes, you should wear them that night. And so they'd come in and they did the black light Easter egg. They loved it They've never had.
Speaker 3:This year we're going to do a black light prom. Okay, black like prom. So they're going to dress up in prom clothes and make it reactive and then we'll have dances and Music and stuff like that. Sorry, that'll be an outreach. So so that's kind of what our first Wednesday nights are. It's not a creative outreach. Top night, what, where you know you, you want to invite your friends to this, like this is going to be something different.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Um, this is going to be whether it be, you know, in January. Our sermon is going to be rad about radical faith and so it's a throwback, so it's from the 80s and 90s. So on our first Wednesday night we're going to have a throwback night. That's cool, where you know dress as your favorite decade and do something like that. So that'll be our first Wednesday night in January. So they know that's on first Wednesday night. They know that we're going to celebrate birthdays on one Wednesday night. They know they were going to have circle night on one Wednesday night and they know that we'll do small groups at least one Wednesday night. So they know that, that there's going to be some, some element every Wednesday night. That's going to be different.
Speaker 1:Do you have a creator team that helps you with those first Wednesdays?
Speaker 3:We have my leadership team now. Some of those were inherited. When I got there it was a very leader run, leader run ministry and Great, great. I have an amazing group of leaders. They are so creative, they're young that that's something I'm used not used to right. Other places I've been, I've had older leaders, but there's nothing wrong with that. There's a wisdom there and they were sure, faithful, so faithful.
Speaker 3:But these younger college age lead leaders have so much creativity and energy and I've told them, you know, they don't have to. I mean, if they don't connect with me, it's okay, but if they connect with one of you I'm, you know that's even better.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they correct connect with one of the small group leaders and they're all the same people right now. I mean, it's not like we have a separate small group team, a separate creative team, a separate. They're all the same people. Yeah, um least for right now. Yeah, I mean for you know, we're we're we're running about 25 to 30 students at this point and so we're not huge, but but we have good leaders and, like I said, some of those when we're inherited. They answered the other part of your question.
Speaker 3:I guess that'll be a good segue.
Speaker 3:Yeah sure to answer that. Um, they were. Some of them were inherited, other ones, um, we actually have a process in our church. It's not growth track, but you come to belong is the class that we call it on Saturday. We'll go one Saturday a month, I think, and if you join the, if you want to join the church, if you want to, I'm no more about our church. You just go that whole morning. That's when they teach you the culture, the values, all that kind of stuff of the church, and you join the church. But when you join the church we find out about your spiritual gifts, we find out about your personality, we find out where would you like to serve?
Speaker 3:Yeah and by the end of that class you were placed into a ministry team. Wow, you or you were at least placed with the leader of that ministry team, and that's for the, the youth ministry team.
Speaker 2:Was that for the whole church? The whole church, yeah, the whole church.
Speaker 3:So so every key leader is in this class, so when you see somebody that is that is moving towards student ministry, I'll go over there and talk to them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you'll be trying to do like draft process. I really don't want you, okay, but I do want you.
Speaker 3:Have you heard a voice? If you hear a voice to say here I am Lord.
Speaker 1:Yeah, your servant is listening. He would be great with kid ministry.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's what we do and that's pretty simple. And when we get their names, then we do have leaders sometimes that'll sense in our names. Like this person signed up, they're interested in student ministry, and then then I reach out to them and there's a process get them background checked and then I kind of do a no commitment, try it. I mean, if you see it and you don't, you try it, you don't like it, you don't have to do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we used to call those test drives test drives ministry. I'd say, come test drive it. If you don't like it then fine, but you'll like it, at least try. Yeah, at least try it with them. But most of them like it, most of them.
Speaker 3:Once they get into it, they like it. Now, if I do see specific ones in the church that aren't doing anything and I think they would have a good groove with students and I see them either they have students or I've seen them hanging out with the students I'll go to them. I'm like, hey, have you ever thought about just coming hanging out with us on one Wednesday night? Or like that first Wednesday night that I told you about? That's always a good catalyst, that's always a good test drive place. Because I'm like, hey, this this Wednesday night, you know we're doing this super creative About bonfire or something outside, and I need somebody that'll help me come Grill or help me come roast marshmallows. And you know, I wonder, would you be willing to do that? And most time they'll say yeah, and they come in, they like it, this, they stay if they don't they don't come back, and if they say no, you know, hey, okay, this isn't for you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you just say no, you won't come help students.
Speaker 1:Yeah, eat marshmallows, you might want to go to the usher's or the graders, you know.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, Create a team or something, I don't know. I love it, man.
Speaker 1:I'm good. I don't think I have any more thoughts or questions.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I'm good man. I really appreciate the the fresh perspective Because I know, I know that just I've been around a few different ministries and I know that kids ministry, student ministry Almost like we got to do it or you know, but no, it is a ministry and here we even even our securities of ministry, like we're serious, yeah, about everything that we do be in ministry and be an opportunity for us to pour into people, to help them grow. And it's a part even like our security, like we do the next steps, like it secures a portion of you know, the next step, if that's where you feel called to serve a man, because I'm sure it is for most churches.
Speaker 3:But now I definitely appreciate the first, the fresh perspective, and what's another, an event you guys have coming up soon, oh Wow an event that we got coming up with, so we got the Italian Thanksgiving Coming up this Wednesday, for Christmas will probably do, and I think we're gonna do like an ugly sweater type thing. Okay, yeah, he's got a ton of those.
Speaker 1:You're Thinking about a floating Christmas party?
Speaker 3:a floating, I don't know if you ever seen a floating Christmas party. I have my where where you think of it, you got an appetizer main dish dessert. You find three houses, three people with good size, don't? I mean, don't send them some rinketing house, but so some good size, nice, I think. So some clean house, as you know they're gonna take care of them and I'm relatively close.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so you go to this family's house, but hey, you're gonna be hosting our students for their appetizer, okay, and the families will love it. I like, oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:So they're gonna get.
Speaker 3:Their students will show up, they'll have appetizers, they can sing songs, they can play games, whatever, but I let that family be in charge of it. Like, yeah, well, you host us, what would you, what would you like to do? And yeah, and especially they're like little senior adults or something. Sometimes they love that kind of stuff. Yeah, and so appetite. When they're done with appetizer, get back on the van, get back on the bus, go to the next house.
Speaker 1:That's where you're gonna have your main course, I love how he said the little senior adults as you get older, you begin to shrink, so you do. As you get older, you begin to shrink, so you do. Shots, fire, target hit.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, you're all right, you got more feelings like he's all right, and then you know, of course you end up at the dessert and a lot of times that's the big, a lot of times that might be like at my house or something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course, of course, you would do the dessert, or a church. Well, I mean.
Speaker 3:I got a house now that I can invite people to, so yeah. I finally lived to a minute down the road from my church, so I was commuting two hours so I wasn't able to do this.
Speaker 1:Dedication, so that's right.
Speaker 2:Hey, just show up, takes on a new meaning.
Speaker 3:Just showing up, yeah, yeah, and that's one thing I told my kids when I first got there. I'm like, hey, I just want you to know I want to show up for you and I want you to know I I'm driving two hours to be here for you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you're loved and I, now that I'm there, I still say I love them.
Speaker 1:But yeah, yeah, yeah what is the?
Speaker 2:what is the most used app on your phone?
Speaker 3:My most used Apple, my phone. Um, I would have to. I look at tick tock, tick tock tick tock that much. Well, my pastor sends me them.
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:I'll be.
Speaker 3:I'll be in. I see their Instagram or tick tock, because it's the Instagram reels. They'll just send me a funny, funny video at midnight and I saw ministry stuff right, yeah, sure. This is a church office, but yeah, just just funny stuff and I love my pastor man. He's the only pastor I've ever had that was younger than me.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah okay. That's a Rob Rob Miller. Shout him out.
Speaker 2:He's a fan.
Speaker 1:Stick, yeah, him and his wife, adrian man they're a great couple your, you guys gonna be successful. Church is a whole student ministry man. We love reclamation church. We love what you guys are doing and I've heard a lot of great things.
Speaker 1:Keep it up, man. God's moving move with him, absolutely with him. Thank you so much. You good, yeah, yeah, I come great. Thanks so much for for being with us, man.
Speaker 1:Hey, listen, if you have enjoyed this podcast, you feel like it's something that not Only can help you but can help someone you know. Share it on any platform the videos, the podcast. Give us a like, subscribe. Anyway, you can help us get this podcast out. We appreciate it and before we leave with it, we want to give you a blessing. It's in numbers chapter 6, verses 24 on down to 26. It's a priestly blessing and we want to bless you before we send you on the way. Then the Lord said to Moses, and he blessed him with this. He says may the Lord bless you and protect you, and may the Lord Smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. We're so honored and grateful that you took time to listen or to watch this podcast. Share it with someone. We'll see you here next time on pastor the pastor.
Speaker 2:That's it. Y'all have a good night.