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The Orange Leaders Audio Blog

The Orange Leaders Audio Blog helps family, youth and children’s ministry leaders influence the faith and character of kids and teenagers. Five days a week, Monday through, Friday, we will share the best strategies, tips and ideas from the Orange Leaders online blog. Each episode will cover relevant family ministry topics with posts from leaders like Reggie Joiner; Carey Nieuwhof; Kristen Ivy; Adam Duckworth; Sue Miller; Mike Clear; Jim Wideman; Dan Scott; Meaghan Wall; Frank Bealer; Dr. Jim Burns; Yancy Richmond; Nick Blevins; Brooklyn Lindsey; Geoff Surratt; and Kenny Conley. Each guest contributor is an Orange Leader – someone who passionately engages both the church and families to influence the next generation. If that’s you, you are part of an incredible, global community helping kids have a better future. We are for you and the development of your leadership in ministry. For additional resources and episode transcripts, visit www.OrangeLeaders.com.
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Now displaying: December, 2016
Dec 30, 2016

You make the most progress in your fitness when you push through the discomfort long enough to break through to a new level of strength. Growing in ministry works the same way. As a leader, the sooner you embrace the discomfort of growing and stretching yourself, the farther your leadership will grow. In this episode, Frank Bealer poses three questions you can ask to better prioritize a perspective of calling-over-comfort. By asking these questions, you’ll get to decide. What’s it going to be—comfort or or calling?

Dec 29, 2016

The adventure of listening and following Jesus’ calling in our lives sounds thrilling. However, as we go, there are moments of pain, heartbreak and uncertainty. These are the times that we question and seek Him with our whole hearts. And it's usually after one of these moments that we find ourselves in a time of transition. What do we need in these seasons? Today's episode uncovers the three things Leneita Fix suggests we need when God calls us to shift directions.

Dec 28, 2016

There is often tension between quality and quantity when it comes to recruiting volunteers. More people are willing to commit to roles that require a lower time commitment, but if a ministry leans toward quality, the more invested and dependable volunteers need to be. So how do you shift the tension to a high-quality structure? In this episode, Nick Blevins gives four steps to help you build a strong volunteer structure for your ministries.

Dec 27, 2016

We live in an information-rich world with messages coming at us from every direction. Casting your vision for a new strategy takes more than just a singular sermon or email. You have to decide what’s best based on your church’s DNA and cast the vision clearly and often. Listen in to learn Dan Scott’s four ideas for casting vision to parents. The more people are exposed to the vision you have for family ministries, the more they will come alongside you and partner to reach the next generation.

Dec 26, 2016

Questions make you think, questions make you evaluate and questions make you grow. Questions cause you to learn as well as being a first step to change! Jesus was a master at asking the right questions. It's important we do the same, but what questions should we ask? In this episode, Jim Wideman poses seven questions that need to be answered on a regular basis to lead a growing ministry. Keep asking questions and you'll keep growing.

Dec 23, 2016

While there are dozens of trends that are impacting the church, there are a few Carey Nieuwhof calls call “organizational sleepers” including wifi and smartphones, lack of guilt, declining trust in authority… we all see them. But many leaders are not talking about their impact. It might be because these trends have implications for the church that are clear cut or obvious. In this episode, Carey walks through 12 of these trends and the impact they can potentially have on your church or ministry.

Dec 22, 2016

Kids are an incredible gift, and hold unlimited potential to impact the world around them, and their parents are their primary influence. Parents don’t walk around over-encouraged. In fact, most parents feel like they aren’t doing a good job of raising their kids. In today's episode, Jeff Brodie challenges us with this notion: What if Small Group Leaders were trained to encourage parents and leverage their influence to reach the next generation?

Dec 21, 2016

Ministry is messy and change is constant. What worked once, may not find success in the future. What appealed to your congregation last year, won’t connect today. You’re one breath away from a new cultural phenomenon, a trend that will sweep the globe, a technological revolution, a political overhaul, a generation who not only accepts change, but expects it daily. In today’s episode, Jessica Bealer shares three questions to help you assess your willingness to change.

Dec 20, 2016

All children’s pastors want their ministries to grow, and we believe God wants them to grow as well! For this to happen, we must be willing to grow in our leadership abilities. The key to growth as a leader is evaluation. Change will never take place without constant evaluation. Today’s episode will look at four areas we, as leaders, should evaluate on a regular basis to further develop our leadership skills.

Dec 19, 2016

We are absolutely convinced that if every child had a place to belong and someone to believe in them, it could radically affect their faith and their future. With limited time and resources, it’s hard to do that for every child. Even though you may not be able to do it for many, you can do it for a few. You can lead small. In today’s episode, find out what it means to lead small with Mike Clear, the Director of Children’s Strategy at The reThink Group and a former founding pastor and Family Ministries Director of Discovery Church.

Dec 16, 2016

A lot of churches are looking for ways to scale back on their budgets; and with many churches already under-staffed, the need for volunteers is critical. And with so little time to train new people, those volunteers need to stick. So to make sure those volunteers stay committed, what should leadership do? In today’s episode, hear Christine Kreisher, author and family and connections pastor at Glad Tidings Church, describe what makes volunteers feel most appreciated.

Dec 15, 2016

We love talking to leaders across the country who get it. They’ve heard the vision of Orange and are ready to jump on board to start leading their church to “Think Orange”. But for volunteers, who haven’t heard about Orange, attended Orange Conference or Orange Tour, how do leaders cast vision for “Orange” to them? In today’s episode, Amy Fenton, Orange Specialist, lists four ways to help your volunteers understand Orange.

Dec 14, 2016

What does a healthy volunteer culture look like? Hear Adam Duckworth, author and lead communicator at Downtown Harbor Church, describe how to create a volunteer culture of people who are owners, not renters. Owners think differently about their homes. They invest more, care more, and go the extra mile. It’s hard to be passionate as a renter knowing it isn’t yours. In today’s episode, Adam relays his insight on what it means to ‘own’ what volunteers are doing and how it creates a healthy environment where people are united around a common vision.

Dec 13, 2016

You know the frustration. You put in a full day. You worked hard. But you didn’t even touch the important things on your to-do list. With numerous interruptions, new requests, and people vying for your attention, who guards your most important priorities? You do! In today’s episode, listen to Carey Nieuwhof, speaker, author, and founding pastor of Connexus Community Church, give insight to his best practices for carving out time for priorities, how it impacts your leadership, and why it’s important.

Dec 12, 2016

I think we all agree that our goal is to help kids own their faith. However, why is it that we think that “allowing” kids to figure it out on their own is the solution? Stepping back and letting kids figure it out often creates an unfortunate dynamic between students and their parents. Sometimes parents walk away from the church because they were only practicing their faith for their kids, or parents end up frustrated because it’s too hard to keep pushing their students to grow in their faith. In today’s episode, hear youth pastor JC Thompson share three reasons why you can’t let your kids figure out faith on their own.

Dec 9, 2016

There was this time in youth ministry where a youth group was made up of the kids from that particular church and their friends. It was important for the kids to be a part of youth group, and if it wasn’t important to the kids, it was at least important to the parents. In fact, much of my early years of student ministry was bemoaning the fact that so many church kids would be forced to come to youth group and cause trouble for me and my leaders. I didn’t know how good I had it. Now, students along with their parents see fellowship, gathered worship, church, and youth group as electives. So what happens now? Benjamin Kerns answer that exact question in today’s episode.

Dec 8, 2016

Finding volunteers is no simple task. Finding good volunteers? It’s like a treasure hunt. But finding good volunteers willing to serve in the summer? Now we’re talking about needles in a haystack! We’ve been there, and we know a ton of other people who have been there, too. What we’ve found is that the most important thing you can do with a good volunteer willing to serve in the summer is train them well. That’s why Holly Crawshaw has compiled a list of the four best tips for training VBS volunteers.

Dec 7, 2016

What good is it to have great kids worship if your student ministry worship is aimless? Why have great worship for your adults but yet not invest in that area as children and students? Just like we teach kids from an early age to love and serve others, to be obedient and know that Jesus loves them, we can teach them to be the worshipers that God created them to be. In this episode, Yancy Richmond suggest a few things to help you create a culture of worship in your church.

Dec 6, 2016

In today's episode, Misty Phillips pauses to share an open letter to incredible volunteer everywhere serving on the front lines of ministries each week.

Dec 5, 2016

When frustrated NextGen ministry leaders say, “Parents don’t get it!,” they’re often referring to the feeling that the parents in their church don’t see themselves as the primary spiritual leader in their children’s lives. They also mean that parents see youth or children’s ministry as a babysitting service or a game time. If parents would only see the importance of their role and the importance of the churches’ role, then the world would be a perfect place, right? Listen in as Joe McAlpine shares five reasons that parents in your church might not ‘get it.’

Dec 2, 2016

How many times have you heard a well-intentioned speaker, pastor or evangelist say “the public school is the greatest mission field in our community?” What if I were to tell you that the schools in our communities don’t need us to treat them like a mission field? Our schools are campaigning for a better tomorrow in our communities just like we are. Their mission to equip young minds and leave this world in better, brighter hands sounds familiar to our church staff meetings and strategic planning sessions. But somewhere along the way, the church saw the school as a church growth tool or a third world country lead by humanistic bobble-heads that teach our children not to pray, that God is dead and faith is too ancient to be relevant today. How did that happen? In today’s episode, pastor Chuck Allen shares how to really partner with schools.

Dec 1, 2016

How do our volunteers know we care? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself that very thing? I hope you realize that your volunteers are your ministry gold. They are who makes your ministry happen. In today’s episode, Amy Fenton explores great ideas to help you communicate how much you appreciate your volunteers.

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