The Sidekick Podcast

Emails are a part of everyday life. You send and receive tons of them. But how can your Church send an email that will be effective in reaching your Church with a greater open rate?  To talk about this with me is Jeanette Yates. She is the Communications Manager for Text in Church . Before she went on staff with Text in Church she had years of experience in Church Communication...

A new year is upon us and with the new year it is great to evaluate where we are in ministry as well as what lies ahead. What has been working well and what new tech trends are out there that we should be monitoring. To discuss what is happening with online ministry is Marcus Cylar. Marcus is an Online Ministry veteran and has been on the front line of helping people discover God online. In today'...

Since 2016 I have been highlighting 6 people you, as ministers, should follow on Social media. They are people/groups I've learned a lot from. You can find the previous years here: 2016 , 2017 2018 , 2019, 2020 , and 2021. While 2021 was challenging, the reality is, if you were following any of the digital ministers I have shared about in the past, you would have gotten a lot of great encouragemen...

Christmas is just 2 days away and for some of you Christmas services may have already started at your Church. With all that is happening it can be a very stressful time of year. So, what can you do to be encouraged as a minister and how can you, as a minister, encourage and support your team? To talk about is with me is Cory Sullivan. Cory has been on the podcast numerous times (the most of any gu...

Creating guest pathways in ministry is so important to keeping guests at your Church engaged and coming back. It's important for you to have a pathway from being a guest to a regular attender and member of your "in person" Church AND for your online ministry. The reality is that people will likely come to your Church first online before they come in person to your Church. So, how do you create an...

Youth Ministers are responsible for a lot. Over the past few years being social media savvy has become one of the most important things Youth Ministers need to be concerned about. After all, students are on social media all the time. Knowing what to say, how to say it and how to act is so vitally important. That is why Dan Istvanik is on the podcast today. Dan is a Student Ministry Veteran of...

People learn in a variety of different ways. They enjoy podcasts, lectures, videos and reading. Yes, reading. While lots of people learn from audio and video styles, reading is still a great way to learn.  To talk about this with me is Robert Carnes. He is the author of “ The Original Storyteller ” devotional book that will help you become a better storyteller in 30 days. Using everyday...

Before Covid hit there were very few Online Ministers. Sure, you had some Communication Directors and Social Media Managers, but not as many Online Ministers.  There are now more Online Ministers who are serving who used in traditional ministry roles. So how does one make the transition to becoming an online minister when they have served in traditional roles before? To talk about this with m...

Podcasting is not new. In 2004 Adam Curry and Dave Winer are credited with inventing the medium and by 2013 Apple announced that there were over 1 billion podcast subscribers. Today 50% of Americans say they listen to a podcast. Because of that, podcasting presents a great opportunity for Churches to reach their local community. To help discuss what those opportunities are Joe Radosevich joins me...

Can you post this for my ministry? Can you share about this event? Can you put this up on social media? Church Social Media Mangers are bombarded with a variety of social media requests from different ministries. That's not to mention all the stuff they need to share on their own to do list. So how do you determine what to share, when to share it and what it looks like? Adam McLaughlin joins me on...

We are now almost 2 years into COVID. And with that many Churches and ministries are now almost 2 years into Online Ministry. As more Churches are asking what is next for Online Ministry at their Churches, I have invited Ben Stapley on the podcast to talk about this with me. Ben Stapley is the Weekend Experience Director at Christ Fellowship in Miami, Florida. Ben shares with us  Church...

Covid has impacted us in a variety of ways. One of those ways that is impacting minsters is that it is affecting our faith and calling. Because we have been working so and creating a lot of unhealthy work happens, it has taken a toll on our calling and has cause us to question that calling to God and the Church. So what can you do to reclaim your personal faith and ministry calling? Ben Kerns come...

Recruiting and training volunteers has always been a challenging proposition for ministry leaders. Whether it is student ministry, Children’s ministry or hospitality, it can hard. Throw in a pandemic and it can become even more challenging. So how can you recruit and train volunteers during Covid? To discuss this with me is Steve Cullum. Steve has been on the podcast before discussing how he...

Websites are really important for your Church. And, over the years, we’ve talked a bit about website tips on the podcast. For instance… * Optimizing your Website for Next Steps * How you can Maximize these website trends . This week’s podcast focuses on more website tips that can help you and your Church. For this, Jeremy Zach joins the podcast for the first time in a long while....

There is a lot that goes into guest follow up. One thing you can do is to have great guest gifts . But there is more to it. In today’s podcast, Justin Nava shares about 3 very specific things you can do that will help you have great guest follow up at your Church. ACTION STEPS: * Share your thoughts! What do you think of the 3 tips? What else would you recommend to do to have great guest fol...

Covid isn't over but more and more churches are looking to reengage and reintroduce themselves to their community these days. After all, many people stopped attending Church during Covid. At first they were attending online but that got old after a while. So many people have stopped attending. So what can you d, as a minister or ministry leader, to help reengage and reintroduce your Church to your...

Twitter is an amazing social media network that Christians can use to be digital missionaries. But, in order for you to be effective, there are some things you can and cannot do on Twitter. So what are those Twitter best practices? To help me break it down on what that looks like is Rey De Armas. Rey is the former Church Online Pastor at Christ Fellowship in Miami, Florida but current PA stud...

Ministry events are great and very much needed throughout the year. Christmas events, Easter events, summer, spring, fall and winter time events are very important. The question is, what is the purpose for those events? And do you use those events to build community? In today’s world getting people connected and in community is so important. So how do you build community in your ministry events? T...

Ministry is a lot of programs and relationships. And that is very important. However, in order for those programs and relationships to be successful, there should be some systems in place. According to the Oxford Dictionary, systems are “a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized framework or method.” Having the right systems in place will help your m...

We are are coming out of the pandemic now. But what happened to us, as ministers, and our mental health during covid is still playing out today. We got in to a lot of bad habits and now, as we enter post-covid time, we need to start taking care of ourselves more. But how do we do that? What can we do to help our own mental health as we enter this new time. To talk about this with me is Christopher...

How do you start strong in a new ministry position? Stan and I have been friends in October of 2010 when I came on Staff at New Life Christian Church in Northern VA. However, just recently, Stan has accepted a Lead Pastor at another Church back near Kansas City. While it is going to be sad to see him go, it’s also an exciting time for him and his family. That is why he is looking to start strong a...

The coronavirus changed so much about how Ministers operate and actually do ministry. We know this and we have adapted well. But what about in a post-pandemic world. How do you best minister to teens and help support parents today. To talk about is with me is Cory Sullivan.  Cory has been working with students and parents for years and had been working specifically with students one-on-one a...

We are entering a whole new world of ministry. As Jeff Reed has said, the pandemic has pushed digital ministry forward 5 years. As we look into ministry in the future, creating a digital only Church is beginning to happen more and more. That is why I have Jeff Reed and Angela Craig on the podcast. Jeff works for Stadia and does the  Digital Church have partnered with Stadia to work more...

We all want to be heard. But how do you get heard more? Contrary to popular belief or what you see on social media, it is not by talking more our talking louder than the person next to you. It is actually by talking less. Actually, it is talking less, more strategically. How is that? Thankfully Mark MacDonald is joining me on the podcast today to talk about it. Mark is a Church Branding Strategist...

Everyone likes to get gifts. And Churches love to give them out. But what kinds of guest gifts can your Church give out that will leave a lasting impression? In today’s podcast, Justin Nava returns to talk about guest gifts. We go over what gifts work best, how to determine what works and the different forms of guest gifts you can give to those who are coming to your Church for the very first time...