65. Start a Kids Ministry Podcast with Nikki Ogden and Donnie Gordon

What if one of the most effective tools for discipling families and encouraging volunteers is something you can create yourself?

In this episode of Kids Ministry Calling, we're continuing our Summer Dreamin' series by exploring how podcasting can become a powerful extension of your kids ministry. Whether you've thought about starting a podcast or have no idea where to begin, this conversation will give you the confidence and practical steps to get started.

Jana is joined by Video and Sound Engineer Donnie Gordon and Podcast Producer Nikki, who share how podcasting can help you connect with parents throughout the week, equip volunteers beyond Sunday mornings, and strengthen communication across your ministry. They also tackle common fears, simplify the technology, and explain why you don't need a professional studio to make a meaningful impact.

If you're looking for a fresh way to reach families, encourage your team, and extend your ministry beyond the church walls, this episode will inspire you to dream bigger.

Take 30 minutes this week to dream about how your ministry could connect with families outside of Sunday mornings. Maybe a podcast is the next step. Start by brainstorming three topics your parents or volunteers would love to hear about.

Whether you're ready to hit record tomorrow or simply exploring what's possible, this episode will help you see that your voice can be a valuable resource for the families you serve!

Check out Lifeway Kids Curriculum

Connect with Lifeway Kids

Leave us a voice message here with any questions or feedback!

Join us at ETCH 2026

Transcript

Summer Dreaming And The Big Idea

SPEAKER_05 0:00

Are you dedicated to working with kids and families in the local church? Well, clearly that's more than a career, that's a calling. I'm Jayna Magruder and this is Kids Ministry Calling. You know, there's something about the summer that invites us to maybe dream a little bigger. To step back, rethink what's possible, and maybe even try something new that could deepen your connection with the family's user. In today's episode, I'm sitting down with our own sound engineer here at Lifeway, Donnie Gordon, and with Kids Ministry calling producer Nikki Ogden. And together, we challenge you with a new dream. Starting a podcast for your kids ministry. Now, it might sound intimidating at first, but what if it's actually one of the simplest and most effective ways to connect with parents and equip your volunteers through the week? With insights from Donnie and Nikki, we're gonna debunk the four myths, fears and insecurities that keep people from starting a podcast. We discuss how to get started, what you actually need, and how to use technology without feeling overwhelmed. We also talk about pushing past the fear, finding your voice, and taking small intentional steps toward making something that could make a lasting impact. Because this summer isn't just about maintaining what is, it's about dreaming of what could be. So if you've ever thought, maybe we could do something like that, this episode is your nudge to start. Here's my conversation with Donnie Gordon and Nikki Ogden. Hey everyone. Well, today is a fun day here in the studio because I am going to introduce you to the team behind Kids Ministry Calling. So every time you hear Kids Ministry Calling, it comes with effort from multiple people. And two of the main people are joining me on the episode today. One of them's in the studio. You know him as Producer Donnie. He is our sound engineer, Donnie Gordon, who usually sits over there in front of a bunch of monitors and has all the bells and whistles to help us capture the very best sound and video now as possible. And then also we have uh via Riverside joining us remotely is Nikki Ogden, who is the producer of Kids Ministry Calling. And so Nikki has um a lot to do with the content and the guests and um pulling all of those things together to create amazing episodes. Here's what I'm super excited about is that both Donnie and Nikki have a background in children's ministry. How cool is that? So um here's why we're here. Uh this season is called summer dreaming. Okay. Hang with me. Uh you have a full summer, there's no doubt. Uh, but perhaps there is a point in the summer after you are finished with VBS and you are finished with maybe camp or other summer events that maybe you have a little bit of downtime where you can do some summer dreaming.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

That's great.

SPEAKER_05 3:13

One of the things that we thought of, because we thought of all these different topics about what we could dream about for the future ministry season ahead. Um, even if that's a year from now, uh, is could we build, could you build your own podcast? We hear so much about podcasts. It's you can do it. Yes, and we're here to tell you. I've brought experts in to help you know that the answer is yes, you can. Let's go. So that's what we're gonna talk about today.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Let's do it.

SPEAKER_05 3:45

Thank you both for being here.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Man, I'm so excited about this conversation. Like it's I have spent hundreds of hours in this studio. I have never sat in one of these chairs until today, Jana.

SPEAKER_05 3:55

Which is so hard to believe. You have so you have so much to offer that you know it's it makes sense that you're in front of the microphones and able to contribute to happy to be the man behind the curtain pushing the buttons.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

But if you know, I can help tell the story of what's happening at Lifeway and what's helping your kids been. Yes. I'm happy to be a part of this conversation.

SPEAKER_05 4:14

Yes. And stay tuned till the end because this is Donnie's first time on uh on the show, and he is going to share his uh calling story with us.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Pressure is on.

SPEAKER_05 4:24

I'm so excited about. All right, Nikki, welcome. Hi, thank you. It's good to be back.

SPEAKER_04 4:30

This might be my well, we've did a whole series together actually last summer. It's been a minute. And so I'm excited to get to have this conversation with you because we're gonna tackle in a little bit um a lot of excuses that uh we've all heard and we may have even said ourselves. And I'm excited to be able to put everyone's uh mind and uh hearts to ease. And hopefully they'll feel very inspired and encouraged by the end of this episode. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 5:00

So we have two experts here to help walk us through what what would it look like to start a podcast for your ministry. Yep. Um, a a little bit of a personal story about podcasting in general. So I've been um in a co-host seat for kids ministry, our kids ministry podcast at LifeWay for I'm gonna say, I think we're coming up on 11 years, y'all.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Yeah, over a decade for sure.

SPEAKER_05 5:25

Yes. So uh Lifeway Kids started a podcast uh 11 years ago, and I've been kind of in and out of the co-host seat alongside Chuck Peters, and uh we have a little bit of a Mr.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Energy himself.

SPEAKER_05 5:37

That's right. And I loved I loved being a co-host because I could kind of coast next to Mr. Energy, who's basically I call him a disc jockey. Might as well be a DJ.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

There is an alternate universe where he is a news anchor.

SPEAKER_05 5:50

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

And he is absolutely just crushing it.

SPEAKER_05 5:53

Yes. So um, but I will say I'm I'm gonna share some of um some vulnerable moments of just being in the the host seat all by myself um has been a learning curve for me. And there's been some insecurities there. And so we want to address those because we know that they are there. Um, but when I was wanting to kind of grow as a podcaster a few years ago, I found out about a little course I could take. Now, this course is no longer available, but there's a story behind it. So um a podcast that I had been a longtime listener to that I absolutely loved, um, the producer of that show had a little course that you could take. And so I signed up. And uh it's one of those things where you could click through the videos and and get some best tips and tricks and things like that. And um, fast forward just one year later, after I took this course, and that producer, along with another producer at that same show, are now on our team. And one of those is Nikki Ogden.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

There you go.

SPEAKER_05 6:53

And our executive producer, Angie Elkins, is the other one. And so it's been a really neat thing to learn from them. And that's what I want to help come through to you as we're on this episode, is that you can get some insight from some of our experts who have been doing this for a long time. All

Myth One: Hating Your Voice

SPEAKER_05 7:10

right. Okay, so let's get started. The way that we have framed this up is we're gonna talk about four common myths or fears or what ifs that we all kind of think about when we um maybe when we're thinking about the possibility of starting a podcast. So Donnie and Nikki came up with these. I'm gonna set them up to talk about and address each one of them. The first one, are y'all ready? I hate the way I sound. That that is what we hear the most. And I have said that so many times about myself. Donnie, especially, has had to really coach me through.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

Jana, you sound like Jana. And we all know and love Jana.

SPEAKER_05 7:57

We all know what that sounds like, yeah. Yes, and so listen, uh, folks, you have to get over that. I've had to get over it. I mean, uh so talk about this myth.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Yeah, no, I think you really hit the nail on the head there because we all hate hearing ourselves, but you have to choose to believe that what everyone else is hearing, they love and appreciate you for who you are. The voice that you have is the one that God gave you. Yeah, and we all have this uncanny thing where it's like our bone conduction or something, and what we think our voice is and what everybody else is hearing is scientifically two different things.

SPEAKER_02 8:32

Really?

SPEAKER_01 8:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

So there is there is absolutely benefit in recording yourself and listening to it back.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Um, because your inner critic, which is another thing that God has given you, that inner critic, and sometimes he's your best friend, and sometimes he is warning you that trouble is coming, danger is coming. But sometimes that inner critic needs to go sit down and be quiet.

SPEAKER_05 8:54

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Um mentor early on at Life Way that really helps me get through some of that own my own insecurity.

SPEAKER_02 9:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Um, and just being comfortable in doing this and having conversations and knowing that the voice that you're delivering to your lower elementary on Sunday morning, your parents also hear that same voice. And being able to be comfortable with those two things is really going to help unlock that anxiety and that inner critic and tell him to be quiet because you have a good story to tell and you have an audience who needs to hear that. So, my best advice is record yourself. Don't share it with anyone, but go back and listen to it. Just practice it. You know, if it's a five-minute speech or something, just listen to it. And then get somebody else in your life that you trust that you know has your best interests at heart, allow them to listen to it and allow them to critique it too.

SPEAKER_05 9:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

And another thing, I'm probably doing it myself, is talking too fast. Sometimes you got to slow down too.

SPEAKER_04 9:50

Yeah. Go ahead, Nikki. Yeah. You might hear, okay, you need to slow down. You might hear your voice is so nice and calm, it almost put me to sleep. And you might need to add a little bit more energy for your audience. You know, it's okay. Take that feedback. Um, but nobody, I don't, I don't know anyone that has ever said, Oh my gosh, I love the way I sound the first time that they hurt themselves. Um, we're just not used to it. And that's okay. But it is crucial that you don't let it hold you back. Um, especially kids, ministry leaders, you need a direct line of communication to your parents and to your volunteers. You have very limited time with them. And emails get lost, um, handouts on Sunday mornings get thrown away or lost in the parking lot, you know, and even apps I have found get underused, you know. And so just a little 10-minute podcast that you can give directly to your parents to share hey, this is the life transformation that we're seeing in kids' ministry, or this is a question you can ask your kids from the series that we've been in, or some training tips each week, or uh curriculum summaries to your volunteers. Little 10-minute episodes is that direct line of communication to your parents, to your volunteers that I believe they will actually listen to and learn, or uh you're just equipping the parents, you know, with their kids, and it bridges the gap between you and the other adults present in the ministry. So it's it's crucial that you get over this myth. Yeah, you're not alone in it. Everyone feels this way. Um, but it's the work is definitely worth getting over this.

SPEAKER_05 11:30

Yeah. And back to your voice. Your voice is a a way of relationally connecting with someone that your words can't do. Words on paper, words in a text. How many times have we misread tone or voice in you know your emails or your text communication? And that's because it's impossible. I mean, maybe without I mean, maybe you could add some emojis or exclamation points or whatever to kind of, you know, but for the most part, it just comes off very but with your voice, yes, that's a way to relationally connect with your families that you're ministering to.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

Yeah, absolutely. And you're talking about just opportunities to connect. This is a great one because it also create provides familiarity for your parents with you to where they might know you even better because of just being able to hear your voice in that that auditory learning format that they don't get on every Sunday like your kids do.

SPEAKER_05 12:26

Right. So true. I can't tell you how many times that we have been um in a con at a conference or at in a church, and someone will say, I recognize your voice.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 12:37

And that's from the podcast. Um they may not even recognize me, but they recognize my voice. And how great would that be for your parents in your ministry to be able to say, I know that voice, I trust that voice because I hear it every week.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

That's great.

SPEAKER_04 12:53

That's exactly what I was about to say, that it builds a level of trust with your parents that then tell their friends about your kids' ministry and how great it is and how safe their kids are. And it, you know, you grow your ministry that way. Um, I think about if I had to sit down and I opened an email that took me 10 minutes to read, I wouldn't read it all.

SPEAKER_03 13:14

Right.

SPEAKER_04 13:15

I would likely skim it, but I would not read any email that had enough words in it that would take me 10 minutes to read it. But a 10-minute episode of, you know, what the curriculum is about that week, or questions I can ask my kids during the week, or a little family challenge, you know, during the week. 10-minute episode I can do on the way to school when I drop off my kids. You know, or on my 10-minute walk around the neighborhood with my dog. It goes so much further than any line of communication can, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

I love that.

SPEAKER_05 13:44

Is podcasting the new newsletter? I mean, we've all spent a lot of time making newsletters, and I'm starting to wonder if podcasting could take the place of that for all the reasons you just said, Nikki. Um okay. Do you have a a tip or two about um training up your voice? I mean, what what works best on a podcast that maybe we I didn't really know. Sometimes I think I just talked my my regular way. And I remember Nikki, you kind of being like a little more energy. And so maybe it feels like you're overdoing it, but through the podcast medium, it might be just right. Does that make sense?

unknown 14:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

I and I think whether it's a peer, a friend, colleague, somebody that's in your trusted circle that can give you that honest feedback. If there's somebody in your life like that, share those recordings with them and say, please give me the honest feedback, good, bad, and different. I know you are a person that has my best interest at heart.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

And whatever feedback you have for me, I'm here to receive.

SPEAKER_02 14:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

So you do have to have that posture.

SPEAKER_05 14:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

Uh putting yourself out there. It's a vulnerable position to be.

SPEAKER_05 14:51

It really is. It really is.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

But it's going to make you better at your craft.

SPEAKER_05 14:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

And as you continue to grow, your comfortability goes up. It's always hard to take that first step, but I promise you that first step is the hardest one.

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Because the second one's easier. It's like it's like when you're getting into like a any new habit.

SPEAKER_05 15:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

Once you get into the rhythm, it's so much easier moving forward. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 15:11

All right.

Myth Two: Finding Something To Say

SPEAKER_05 15:12

Are y'all ready for myth number two? Let's do it. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

All right.

SPEAKER_05 15:18

What would I even say? So, what what do we do about that? I mean, Nikki, you gave a few examples of what you could say, but let's talk about what is the content that that you would want to communicate that your listener would want to hear.

SPEAKER_04 15:35

Yeah. I yeah, I think that's good. Donnie's gonna get into this a little bit, but I think knowing who your listener is is the most important place to start. People listen to podcasts that inspire them. And so instead of just thinking logistically, what information do I share, this is an opportunity where you get to tell the story of what God is doing in your ministry to the volunteers. And so um, podcast is storytelling and it doesn't have to be elaborate, it doesn't have to be uh details. I certainly probably wouldn't encourage sharing personal names or anything like that. But oftentimes, we as the leaders are the only people that know um that, you know, Johnny Boyd decided to accept Jesus into their heart, you know. So, but it's like, you know, the the preschool leaders might not know what's happening in the elementary, you know, ministry and vice versa. And so storytelling in your podcast of just sharing what God is doing is inspiring and it's captivating. Um, and it you're not having to create new material, you're just telling what God is doing. Um, yeah. Yeah, what would you add to that, Donnie?

SPEAKER_01 16:45

Yeah, I think just having a solid plan going into it. Um, it's easy to have this big idea of I'm going to do a podcast and it's gonna be awesome, it's gonna be great. And then you do three episodes and you're like, I ran out of things to say.

SPEAKER_05 16:56

Yeah, right. Yeah, you know, believe me, it g it runs out quickly.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

Well, yeah, and you don't want it to fall stale. Yeah. You don't want to feel like I'm just repeating the same thing every week. So it is a good idea to have eight or ten episodes planned out in advance um so that you have some sort of a roadmap with which you're you're going. I mean, it's like a Wednesday night. I, you know, as a children's pastor, there were times where I was scrambling and it felt like I was week to week. And that's where you start heading towards burnout. And my word of caution here is with podcasts, go ahead and have that framework like you do with a good curriculum. Where it's almost like the the quarter, I've got the I've got the next quarter figured out in advance so that you you know that. And we do that here at LifeWay. Um, we have we follow a season format now, and Nikki and Angie have done a great job of really building out that discipline for us here at LifeWay.

SPEAKER_02 17:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

Um, to where you're also not putting pressure on like I have to do 52 weeks of a year. Right. But you also set expectations for your audience. Like we're gonna do a 10-week series about this, and then maybe in the fall we'll pick it up and do something a little bit different or towards Christmas or whatever that looks like for you.

SPEAKER_02 18:02

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

But go ahead and put that strategy out there now so that it doesn't fall stale and it was this great idea that fizzled out after three weeks.

SPEAKER_05 18:09

Yeah. So as you're doing some summer dreaming, this would be the perfect time to do some planning.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 18:16

So, you know, what would the framework look like for, you know, or the structure of each episode is like you said, are we gonna do, are we gonna cover what kids are learning that week, what the Bible verse is, what the, you know, if you're using gospel project, what the big picture question is, you know, a family activity. Always have those things. And then that that's a lot of the heavy lifting because then you can then you can just fill in that content as you go.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 18:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

It and Nikki, you might have a take on this, but it may be that you're just talking to a microphone yourself, or maybe you're doing interviews with people. I would say if you do go an interview path, don't make it too polished.

SPEAKER_03 18:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Because too polished then becomes a little bit inauthentic. Yeah. And that's something that I've learned here at Lifeway, because there was a season where our podcast, like, we got to cut out that that um or that that sniffle or that kind of stuff, and it almost becomes like too synthetic. Right.

SPEAKER_05 19:10

That's not really what the format was meant to do.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

Right.

SPEAKER_05 19:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

The the coughs and the ums are okay.

unknown 19:15

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 19:16

That's right. You some of my favorite podcasts are podcasts where I feel like I'm just in the living room with them and I'm laughing with them or I'm learning with them. So, yes, I agree with that. And if you are doing it solo, it's okay to script yourself and write it out, but read through it five or six times before you actually record it so you don't sound like you're reading. Because that is a sound you can tell when people are reading. And so script yourself to have a plan, but read through it five or six times so that um you have a clear understanding of what you're saying and where you're going. You might even remember transitions or keywords that help you remember the next thing that you're saying, but read through it several times so you don't have the sound of reading. So it doesn't sound super polished and it sounds more authentic, like you're truly just sharing with your listener.

unknown 20:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 20:06

That's great. That's really good. Okay, number three.

Myth Three: Feeling Not Tech Savvy

SPEAKER_05 20:09

This would be me if I was solo. Um okay.

SPEAKER_03 20:12

I also, this is me. I know it's funny that I'm in the podcast business, but this is me, and this is why I love having Donnie around.

SPEAKER_05 20:19

Okay, so here it is. Are y'all ready? I'm not tech savvy. This I think is what is a hang up for many of us. So notice we didn't talk about this first. It's not the first thought, it's the third thought. Um, so Donnie, let's start with you. I think you have the most expertise here, having been on our IT team and all kinds of stuff. All right, buckle up, everybody. Go ahead and grab your coffee.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

There is we all have different forms of calling, and there is a technical nerd in your church. And yes, I called him a nerd because that's a compliment.

SPEAKER_05 20:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

That is happy to help push those buttons for you and get that stuff figured out. So you do not need to be an expert on this. What I would say right here at the top is the instinct. Well, there's a couple of different kinds of podcasts. It was just audio for a long time. Now we're doing this video. Video is becoming more common because we do live in a very visual learning centric society.

SPEAKER_05 21:17

Right. And people have Zoom and things that they can record directly in that just looking at the website.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

We've got a webcam at the front of our laptop. I mean, we've got cameras everywhere. Right. These you you go anywhere and there's you're getting filmed by something.

SPEAKER_05 21:28

Exactly. No hiding.

SPEAKER_01 21:30

Big brother, watch out. Um, see, this is where it's in, it's authentic because we just got off the rails. We're gonna come back to the get back on the track. No, we're gonna keep it in. Um, but what I would say is oftentimes people worry first about what the visual is gonna look like. Yeah, and to me, that is secondary.

SPEAKER_05 21:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

A good microphone and a good audio quality will engage your audience and they will stay with you. And think about this. I don't I don't know how many of you guys like are really into YouTube and watching YouTube kind of stuff. Or kind of that talking format. Maybe it's you know a lecture or commentary about something, not even necessarily a podcast. But our brains are far more forgiving of poor video quality than they are audio quality.

SPEAKER_05 22:13

Interesting. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 22:15

Did not know that.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

And you can look at analytics on videos and see where things will drop off after 30 seconds if the audio quality is poor. But if the video is, our brains are far more forgiving.

SPEAKER_05 22:24

Okay. Good to know.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

If you don't invest in anything else, a good microphone is going to go a long way. And I can go into talking about brands. We don't have any sponsors. Yeah. We do not. But for those who are keen and are nerds like me, you're seeing like sure microphones in here. They're a good solid brand to go with. Um if you don't have a huge setup at your church, which most people don't, your PA system at your church is probably a great option for you. Okay. And the sound guy at church on Sunday that's back there pushing those dials and moving those faders up and down, you might want him to be your new best friend.

SPEAKER_05 22:57

Okay. Yeah. That's great.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

They get paid in pizza and ice cream and they will accept it and help.

unknown 23:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 23:03

Well, I mean, this category also includes like the software that you would use and all of that. That feels overwhelming.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

Yeah, it can. Um, and there are lots of ways you can go with that. Uh, we use Riverside. We mentioned that at the top here, which is really great, especially when you have people in multi-locations. Uh so like Nikki's joining us from Florida and we're in Brentwood, Tennessee right now.

SPEAKER_02 23:24

Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Um, but it's amazing that we have the technology and the tools to be able to do some of this stuff in real time. So Riverside's an option. Zoom is an option.

SPEAKER_02 23:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

Or Microsoft Teams or Google Meet. All of those things you can hit record on and you can record. And it does all the heavy lifting by you just pushing a button. So it's amazing the times that we live in. The pandemic really helped with a lot of this kind of stuff because it helped with the set and the necessity we had to do this kind of thing.

SPEAKER_05 23:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

Um, but it really does set people up for success without having to be an expert.

SPEAKER_05 23:54

And then what about editing?

SPEAKER_01 23:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 23:56

That's that's another layer, right?

SPEAKER_01 23:58

It it sure is. And and that's where it gets a little bit more into the weeds. There are different tools you can use. If you use a tool like Riverside, it actually does have some built-in stuff. Even like AI that it will do for you to like cut out some of those dramatic pauses and those kinds of things.

SPEAKER_02 24:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 24:14

But then, you know, at Lifeway, we use Adobe Creative Cloud, and there's a lot, there's a whole suite of tools that are inside of that that we use. And that's a little bit more advanced. Um, but there are tools that are out there that are free, like Audacity is another one that you can use that is completely free. Um, it's really basic, but it does the job and it helps cut down those things. Okay. So yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:34

Anything you would add, Nikki? Yeah, you don't have to do everything. Just remember that your role is the voice. And kids, ministry leaders are good at recruiting, and you can recruit someone and think outside of who's on your team. Think of someone that you don't know that might be sitting on a Sunday wondering where is my purpose in this? Because I'm more of a tech person, and it seems like the tech team might be all paid already, or maybe they don't really look like they need me. You just have no idea. So put feelers out there, make the ask. There is someone that can take care of this for you. You also don't, your first step doesn't have to be all the bells and whistles. Okay. You can start with um really a laptop and a good microphone. Okay. And um, like Donnie said, we don't have any sponsors or codes or anything like that. No, we don't, but we will link some suggestions. Um you are taking your next step. We'll link some suggestions of uh A, B, and C. This is where we would get started, and our show links. So if we've already inspired you, check out our our show links and uh, you know, make maybe your next step is just getting a good microphone and we'll link some some options there for you. Yeah. But just remember, you don't have to do it. I mean, that's like the the anthem of kids ministry. You don't have to do it all yourself, you know. Outsource what you can't do and what you don't have time to learn so that you can do what you're called to do.

SPEAKER_05 25:58

Right. And you will wear yourself out.

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Indeed.

SPEAKER_05 26:02

I mean, content. Um, you have to constantly feed the podcast. If you start it, you gotta keep it going. So just know that.

SPEAKER_01 26:11

Um well, and some of the the movie magic here at Lifeway, we oftentimes record episodes in batches.

SPEAKER_02 26:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

So in one day, we'll do multiple episodes that may take a month to release, but we film them all in one day.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

Um the word of caution there is sometimes you get exhausted. I think we have found really after about maybe three or four episodes, we probably need to stop.

SPEAKER_02 26:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

Just from a mental exhaustion. It's almost like you know, you have three if you're a servant, a church that has like three services on a Sunday morning, you're pretty much mentally spent for the rest of the day.

SPEAKER_05 26:44

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 26:44

So you you have to kind of pace yourself, but also maybe block off a day to accomplish multiple episodes.

SPEAKER_05 26:50

Yeah, that's good. All right.

Myth Four: Making Time That Lasts

SPEAKER_05 26:53

Number four, the last one. I don't have the time to do this. Yes, you do. Okay, Nikki, coach us in this.

SPEAKER_04 27:04

I mean, we always make time for the things that are important. And that may mean that you have to sideline something that you are currently doing to make some space and maybe just for a season. Um, but even with limited time, you can still just take the next step and they can be baby steps. Um, I know my husband and I uh were in uh church planning ministry, and someone came to us and they were like, we would love if you guys did a podcast um talking about things from the sermon the week before, you know, and ideally that sounds fun and it sounds amazing. And also like I work and he works, and so it's like that overwhelmed me, you know. We couldn't really do that. But something that we could do is after the sermon series, we could, you know, uh take in questions during the series and then have one episode after the series that was way more doable. And so right now, as Janice said earlier, you have to feed the podcast, but that might not be your starting point. You might decide I just want to record five episodes that I can release, one on each day of VBS, and you might just experiment with it like that. And so every day, um, maybe it's in the morning you drop them or in the afternoon, and they can listen to it on the ride home with their mom. And instead of a mom saying, Hey, how was VBS? And I'm saying, good, you get a little bit more content, you know, that way. Um, Advent. Advent's gonna, you know, be at the end of the year. Maybe you just record four episodes and it's like a family, family guide of how to observe the Advent season, and that's all you're having to commit to. You don't have to commit to around uh, you know, a daily, around the year show or weekly around. We don't even do that here at Lifeweight. We do 12 week seasons a couple times a year. And so um, that is the max of what I would suggest for rhythm purposes and um growth purposes. But the first baby step might just be, like I said, recording four episodes to release over a one-month period during a certain theme or series or whatever something special that your church is going through. Um, you have time to do that. Um, like Donnie said earlier, um, batch record, depending on the personality, is how much you're gonna get. I really don't suggest going more than four uh because you will just lose energy in your voice alone. Um, it's kind of like if you're in camp ministry, you know, on week 12 you've got to give them the same energy of week one. Like that's true for podcast episodes too, you know. Um another time saver is to tie it to something that you're already doing. Are you writing curriculum? Yeah. Well, after you're done writing the curriculum, hit record and summarize it for your volunteers. Yeah. Um, use a repeatable format. Maybe every week you want to send out um to the parents uh something that just has a format of a um, this is what we learned, this is our big idea, this is the key question, this is the family challenge for the week. You know, so you're not having to create new content every week. You already have a format that is easily repeatable. Um, and then the last baby step that does not take any time, uh, more than what you're already doing, I would just say, I've said it before, if you would email it, practice recording it and sending it that way and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

I love that. That's so cool.

SPEAKER_05 30:30

That really is. And I love the test. Like sometimes the the phrase um a bullet before a cannonball, could your bullet test be the VBS uh recordings or the advent recordings and just put it out there and see how it's received. And if you know, if parents are really responding well to it, um, you know, that could give you the fuel that you need to keep doing it on a weekly metric or quarterly, something like that.

SPEAKER_01 30:58

Low effort, high impact. Yeah. Yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_04 31:01

Johnny, I know for me, one of the things and thinking about recording podcasts is like trying to remember the right day and the right time to release it. Can you talk to us and share what are like some of the benefits that software's give to kind of take uh that off of us? Yeah. You know, if they're yeah, yeah, great call out.

SPEAKER_01 31:19

I mean, it depends on where you want to do this. You could send it to, I'm gonna throw out a couple of things just as examples, but like YouTube is free. If you wanted to post it to YouTube, you could even do private links for that that you just send out to your audience, but you can also schedule send things. It's it's like how like text messages like now. Do you know this about text messages? That you can schedule them. You can schedule them.

SPEAKER_04 31:40

Yeah, that was life changing. That was life changing because I'm a I'm a night owl and text messages the first thing.

SPEAKER_01 31:47

I'm thinking of things like for my team, and I hate I I am guilty of this, but sending that 8 p.m., 9 p.m. text message before for something like please don't do anything about this until the morning, but you have that unintended consequence of still putting pressure on somebody. So you could do the same thing with these. You can schedule release dates. Spotify for podcasters is another one that's completely free. Buzz Sprout is one that we use here at LifeWay that does have some cost to it. But again, you can set the schedules for these. And when you get them edited or into a place where you feel comfortable sharing it with the world, you can upload it and you can tell it to release three weeks from now on a Tuesday at three o'clock, and it happens.

SPEAKER_05 32:24

Magic.

SPEAKER_01 32:25

Magic. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 32:27

Yes, yes. We uh auto-schedule all of our podcasts. There's not one person that's sitting there hitting the publishing button live. So they are not. It's better that way.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

Indeed.

SPEAKER_05 32:38

I would also say be sure that you are advertising. If you do put a podcast out there, make sure you're pushing it out in your social media or your your church newsletter, you know, send those emails still, but have that little link to the podcast so that they can read and hear. And maybe they'll get maybe that will help them, you know, remember, you know, an easy one. Sign up for camp.

SPEAKER_04 33:05

As if your church, maybe your church plays uh like a loop of slides, you know, in between services or before the services. Create a QR code with a link to your podcast and just ask your, you know, pastor, can we just have this loop, you know, as a parent resource, and people can scan it and they're immediately uh, you know, connected to your podcast.

SPEAKER_01 33:24

Yes. I love that.

SPEAKER_05 33:25

That was a great idea for sure.

SPEAKER_01 33:27

There are two things that we always pray before we start.

SPEAKER_05 33:30

Yes. Tell them about our prayer.

SPEAKER_01 33:32

Johnny's prayer. There's there's two things I always pray before we hit record. Number one, that God gives us the words to say and an audience a heart to hear.

SPEAKER_02 33:39

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 33:40

And secondly, that there are no tech gremlins. Yes. In the name of Jesus, that he protects us from those tech gremlins. Yes. But I I would just encourage you to have that posture when you go into a project like this. Yeah. Because God has given you a story and he's giving an audience a heart that needs to hear that as well. So he's going to help you every step of the way. You are not alone. Um, and there's an audience that needs to hear something from God through you.

SPEAKER_05 34:04

That's right. That's right.

unknown 34:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 34:06

Yep. Anything else that we didn't say that we need to say about starting a podcast?

SPEAKER_04 34:12

I would just encourage you, if you're listening right now, just write down three to five uh people. Maybe it's other team members on your team, maybe it's volunteers, maybe it's a mix of all of those parents, volunteers, and team members, and say, how can our ministry benefit um from having a podcast? And just sitting there having a fun whiteboard session. I think that those are fun. I do. And literally just dream. Dream about um the seasons that you could really sit at, dream about uh the themes, dream about how it can impact and equip your parents to disciple their kids at home when they're not with you. Um, just just dream and have fun with it. And then while you're dreaming, also put yourself on the calendar of when you will take your next baby step into launching a podcast.

SPEAKER_01 34:59

That's it.

SPEAKER_05 35:00

That's so good. Thank you, Donnie and Nikki, so much. I know that you have benefited from hearing from experts that are behind the scenes. Usually, sometimes you guys are with me. I know I needed a lot of help. I still do. And um, I hope that this is giving you maybe the courage to take the next step and dream a little bit about what it would look like to hop on this bandwagon and start a podcast. It's where people are, and to meet them where they are, I think um has a lot of benefit to uh doing more ministry and to helping uh parents and families understand your ministry and what you're trying to do. So pray about it, dream about it, and um maybe share this with someone else who you know is thinking about starting a

Donnie’s Calling Story And Next Steps

SPEAKER_05 35:47

podcast. Now, before we go, I want Donnie Gordon for you to share your calling story. This is your first time to sit in this seat, at least. And um, you have you have some things to share. So I want you to do that.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Well, I I grew up in a Christian home. Um, I I trusted Christ as my Lord and Savior at the age of five. So when people say that's too young, I'm telling you, I vividly remember the entire experience. Um you know, it was it was still simple. It was, I need Jesus. I don't, I want to be with him in heaven. Like my dad was he was a deacon in our church, and they were going to a visitation for a person who had passed, and it had me thinking about, well, what would happen to me in that situation? And it's very real. And never underestimate a young child in that age range when they they say, I'm ready to to ask Jesus into my heart.

SPEAKER_02 36:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:39

Now, as you continue to grow, my faith had to become my own. And for me, you know, as I became a teenager, I dealt with things just like everybody else did peer pressure, the whole nine yards. Um, but I do remember at the age of 15 at a camp, and it was it was it was campfire service, but that's when I really told the Lord, I'll do whatever you'd have me do with my life. And that's where I said full-time ministry is where God's calling me to be. Um, so I have served um in a local church. Uh I served as a children's pastor for five years. Um I've I've lived where you are, y'all.

SPEAKER_05 37:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 37:13

Um, I was also uniquely positioned at the time, it was late 2000s at that point. I was the millennial on staff, which means by default, I was the tech guy.

SPEAKER_05 37:21

Right.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

So I learned how to set up a Wi-Fi at the church. I learned how to set up a server at the church. I helped with the media production side and getting a lot of stuff built out and figured out, and really learned through that season that God was kind of steering me in that more of that direction of kind of the technology and storytelling side of ministry. I mean, through a whole lot of circumstance through that season, um, there was some burnout and unhealth, and God moved me away from that specific ministry. I didn't leave until I had complete and total peace about that. But God took that season of me really having to depend on Him in ways that I'd never had to really bring me through working at a basically a prayer center where people call and they need prayer. I knew how to pray with people. Yeah, I didn't know anything about being on the phone.

SPEAKER_05 38:10

It has translated to us with your Donnie prayers for each episode. It sure has.

SPEAKER_01 38:15

But I mean, the long story short is I ended up at LifeWay in in 2013. I was the guy that did live chats on lifeway.com. Where is my package? I was the guy who told you your tracking information back then.

SPEAKER_05 38:26

Um but also industry too, you know.

SPEAKER_01 38:28

Yeah, and I knew I knew technical support of like what it took in a church to have a simulcast on your screen. So I helped with that kind of stuff with support.

SPEAKER_05 38:36

So good.

SPEAKER_01 38:36

And then I ended up serving in IT for about 10 years, and then the last couple of years I've had the opportunity to be a little closer to the storytelling side of life way. But the connective tissue through all of those seasons has been, and what God continues to teach me is that there's something that you're doing today that is new and is hard and doesn't make a lot of sense right now, but God is preparing you for another season that's coming. And I can look back now. The vision's always 2020 in hindsight, right? It is, but I can look back and say, God, you were faithful to me when um you gave me the piece to step away from an unhealthy situation to learn something new. And I knew how to pray, but I learned phone skills, and I needed phone skills at Lifeway, and then I learned all these systems and tools that made me a logical uh fit to be an IT. And then in IT you learn all this other stuff, and then you learn more about mentorship and leadership comes back around. And it's just amazing how God uses something that you're experiencing today to prepare you for something new in the future. So trust God because He's gonna continue to prepare you for whatever the next thing is. Maybe it's podcasts, maybe it's something else.

SPEAKER_05 39:43

Well, I love your obedience through that of saying yes to the next thing. And let's just take that all the way to our topic. So for you out there who are thinking, well, I can't do a pot, I don't know how to do that. Yeah, stretch yourself, challenge yourself. We can do hard things, and that helps us grow. And you never know what saying yes to that could mean for the next thing. So I love that. That's what I'm hearing in your story. Thank you so much for sharing that. And it is not lost on me that I get to have uh these two producers who are speaking into um our our show. And they both have kids' ministry experience, they both love the local church, and um, it's really neat to get to do this together. So thank you both. Thank you, Nikki, thank you, Donnie.

SPEAKER_01 40:27

It's been great. Appreciate y'all both so much.

SPEAKER_05 40:30

We'll we'll have to do this again. And um, yeah. So, hey, thank you. Thank you for uh joining us today. Thank you for dreaming with us this summer, and we want you to join us again on the next episode of Kids Ministry Calling.

Team Credits And Final Thanks

SPEAKER_05 41:01

This episode of Kids Ministry Calling Podcast was brought to you by our amazing team, including executive producer Andy Elkin, producer Nikki Ogden, edited by Trey Garza, and recorded in the Lifeweight Podcast Studio in Brentwood, Tennessee, with sound engineer Donnie Gordon, and artwork by Cameron Wilson. And I'm your host, Jana McGreater. Thanks for listening to Kids Ministry Calling.