Leveraging Summer

Season 2, Episode 5

In this episode, Students Pastors (Kristen, Charlie, Greg, and Zach) dive into how to make the most out of the summer with your group. As temperatures rise and schedules change, they explore the delicate balance between activity and rest, emphasizing the importance of taking time to recharge amidst the busyness of ministry. From summer camps to movie nights and dips in the pool, they share some pro tips for bringing your crew together and crafting unforgettable moments. Plus, don’t miss their insider tips on how to make this year at summer camp your best year yet.

Whether you’re a seasoned group leader or just starting, this episode offers invaluable wisdom and inspiration for leveraging the summer months to cultivate deeper connections, spiritual growth, and lasting memories within your group.

MARKERS

Intro [0:00] 

Tips for Summer Camps [9:56] 

The Value of Taking Time to Recharge [16:42]

Best Practices for Getting Your Group Together [22:27]

But Isn’t Summer My Break?? [33:02]

Filling Your Bucket [35:02]

I’m Too Busy To Rest [41:05]

Outro [46:23]

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Summer Group Gatherings Guide for Group Leaders

Looking for more? Check out the Students Team Website for more resources and the upcoming series at Students Groups.

Memorable Moments from a Graduate

Season 2, Episode 4

In this episode, Allysha Deleonibus joins the show to talk about some memorable moments from her experience in Mountain Students and provides some guidance and encouragement to Group Leaders about what students remember after they graduate.

MARKERS

Intro [0:00] 

Introduce Topic [6:57] 

Memory 1 [9:15]

Memory 2 [17:30]

Memory 3 [25:45]

More Than Students Groups [34:47]

That’s Cool and All, But I’m Not A Bible Scholar [38:34]

Is What I’m Doing Even Helping? [39:56]

Outro [51:01]

RESOURCES MENTIONED

It’s Personal by Reggie Joiner, Kristen Ivy, and Virginia Ward

Looking for more? Check out the Students Team Website for more resources and the upcoming series at Students Groups.

MARKERS (Bullet points of key topics + chapter markers)

Intro [0:00] 

What’s the big deal about difficult questions? [6:50] 

Does authenticity really matter? [12:30]

The importance of going on the journey [15:45]

My students are asking difficult questions…help! [19:00]

My my my poker face my my poker face [25:40]

So what happens if I just don’t know? [28:30]

What about THEIR journey? [34:00]

Giving hard truths [38:06]

Final thoughts [46:06]

Outro [49:12]

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman

Resource #2

Resource #3

Looking for more? Check out the Students Team Website for more resources and the upcoming series at Students Groups.

The Bible In 10 Frames

Season 2, Episode 2

In this episode, Luke Erickson joins the podcast to talk more about the overarching biblical story and introduces a tool called The Bible in 10 Frames. This tool is like a map to the biblical story that helps us put the Bible into the right context and also helps us help our students to find where they are at when studying the BIble.

MARKERS

Intro [0:00]

What is it? [5:11]

The Bible In 10 Frames [15:55]

Frame 1 [17:03]

Frame 2 [19:02]

Frame 3 [21:12]

Frame 4 [22:32]

Frame 5 [24:38]

Frame 6 [29:26]

Frame 7 [35:15]

Frame 8 [39:36]

Frame 9 [43:25]

Frame 10 [46:19]

Application - How can we use this in Students Groups and beyond? [50:45]

Outro [1:03:46]

RESOURCES MENTIONED

The Bible in 10 Frames Booklet

The Bible Guide

S2 E1 of Students Team Podcast

The Bible In 10 Frames Bookmark - See your Students Pastor!

Looking for more? Check out the Students Team Website for more resources and the upcoming series at Students Groups.

Strategy Around Students Groups Content

Season 2, Episode 1

In this episode, Chase Boyer discusses how content plays a key role in guiding conversations and emphasizes the importance of producing engaging content that speaks to the hearts of students. He shares insights into the content creation process at Mountain Students and highlights the significance of prayer and the Holy Spirit's leading in providing the best content. Chase also talks about the annual strategic planning process for content and mentions how important it is for group leaders to provide feedback to shape the material. He challenges group leaders to actively engage with the content provided and emphasizes the importance of preparation and engagement in fostering fruitful conversations with students.

MARKERS

1:45 - Shift to Two-Phase Content

5:30 - Conversations as Seed Planting

8:16 - Why Two-Phase Content?

10:38 - Content Creation Workflow

19:40 - Groups Guide Differences

22:15 - It Takes a Team

27:45 - Annual Content Planning Process (How Series Are Chosen)

30:38 - RESOURCE: Students Preaching Lectionary

32:56 - RESOURCE: Big Rocks for 2023-2024 School Year

36:24 - Feedback from Group Leaders (We want to hear from you!)

38:10 - CHALLENGE: Prep for Students Groups Conversations

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Students Preaching Lectionary

2023-2024 Big Rocks

1. Authentic Relationships
2. Fundamentals of the Faith
3. The Body as a Temple
4. Racial Reconciliation Conversations
5. Unstoppable Good (Giving Generously)

Looking for more? Check out the Students Team Website for more resources and the upcoming series at Students Groups.

BONUS: Grounding Meditation

Season 1, Episode 7

As Season 1 of the podcast wraps up, here’s a bonus episode of just the grounding meditation to use when you need to ground yourself to the present moment and become aware of what’s going on around and inside of us.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Evolve Wellness Website 

Looking for more? Check out the Students Team Website for more resources and the upcoming series at Students Groups.

Conversation with Evolve Wellness

Season 1, Episode 6

In this episode, Chase and Sean talk with Evolve Wellness, a evidence-based holistic health practice centered around realtionship, connection, and adaptability. Tyler, Joseph, and Charles share about how to practice self-care and our connection between the mind and body before leading us through a grounding meditation that we can use to help ground ourselves into the present moment and become aware of what’s going on around us.

MARKERS

9:05 - Why do we rest?

14:41 - Validating ourselves

21:53 - The benefits of community

26:40 - Carving out time for self-care

28:44 - Connection between the body and the mind

39:28 - Connection to our spiritual life

44:18 - So how do I do it?

51:12 - Battling perfectionism in self-care

54:06 - Introducing grounding meditation

58:29 - Grounding meditation

1:07:35 - Outro

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Evolve Wellness Website 

Mark 6

Luke 10:38-42 - Story of Mary and Martha

Looking for more? Check out the Students Team Website for more resources and the upcoming series at Students Groups.

Manual Car Illustration:

Gear 1: Casual Conversations

Gear 2: Meaningful Conversations

Gear 3: Spiritual Conversations

Gear 4: Choose Jesus

Gear 5: Maturing in Christ

Gear 6: Entering Leadership

Talking About Baptism

Season 1, Episode 4

In this episode, Sean and Kristen talk about baptism and how to have conversations around baptism with students. They provide some common language that our Mountain Students Team can use along with talking through some common scenarios and providing key next steps for following up well when a decision to be baptized is made.

MARKERS

1:27 - Baptism Stories

5:45 - What Is Baptism?

9:25 - Baptism + Trust

11:05 - Jesus as Lord & Savior

14:25 - Our Role as Leaders

19:40 - Common Language

39:23 - Roleplay with Practical Situations

55:40 - Next Steps

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Romans 6:4-11

Disciple Making Essentials Document

Disciple Making Essentials Video Playlist

Taking a Next Step | Leader Guide

Looking for more? Check out the Students Team Website for more resources and the upcoming series at Students Groups.

Finding God’s Voice in the Plurality of Culture

Season 1, Episode 3

It is easy to throw in the towel about today’s culture, and it might even sometimes feel righteous to want to get our students away from that culture. But the truth is: this culture is ours now, too! Instead of trying to erase today’s culture, let’s spend some time embracing it, allowing it to guide us to the best strategies to help our students discover the story God has been writing for all of time, the Truth in a sea of truths, and a legitimacy to our heritage as a people. In this conversation, we sat down with our Young Adults Pastor Gil and started scratching the surface of why our culture exists today, the historical significance of the shift to postmodern culture, and ways we can show students the way of Jesus in a plurality of truths.

MARKERS

5:00 - Postmodernism Introduction

7:00 - Culture in the last 100 years

13:00 - What does that mean for our students today?

16:00 - Christianity vs Culture

21:00 - Leading students in a postmodern culture

32:00 - Fostering a healthy faith in your few

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Christianity Surprise - renewing a sense of Christian hope today

Media Theory of Postmodernism - gives a good overview of postmodernism from a media perspective.

If you want to dive deeper, here are some philosophers you could take a dive into:

Jean-François Lyotard

Jean Baudrillard

Gilles Deleuze

Jacques Derrida

Looking for more? Check out the Students Team Website for more resources and the upcoming series at Students Groups.

Conversations Around Sexual Integrity

Season 1, Episode 2

In this episode, Chase and Sean talk with Luke Erickson about having conversations around sexual integrity with our students.

MARKERS

5:32 - How do we think about our sexuality?

13:36 - The Church and Conversations Around Sex

17:17 - Why sexual integrity?

22:32 - What does it look like to help guide people towards God’s standard, what God wants for us?

31:23 - What are some practical ways to walk with students? - Student wrestling with same-sex attraction

41:54 - What are some practical ways to walk with students? - Student who has parents not pursuing sexual integrity

43:30 - What are some practical ways to walk with students? - Student wrestling with gender identity

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Sexual Integrity Resources for Students Team

Guiding Values for Sexual Integrity Conversations

Sexual Integrity Resources for Parents

The Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender

Christian View of Marriage: Part 1 (Theology in the Raw with Preston Sprinkle)

Christian View of Marriage: Part 2 (Theology in the Raw with Preston Sprinkle)

Embodied by Preston Sprinkle

"The way you respond personally to the moment when they come out is the way that they will describe the way the church responded to them for the rest of their life." - Tom Shefchunas

Looking for more? Check out the Students Team Website for more resources and the upcoming series at Students Groups.

Leading GOOD Conversations

Season 1, Episode 1

In this episode, Sean talks with Chase Boyer about how to have good conversations with students through anticipating what you can anticipate, asking good questions, and listening.

MARKERS

04:15 - Strategies to Lead Better Conversations

07:00 - Anticipating What You Can Anticipate

11:00 - Asking Good Questions (Different Types of Question Hats)

29:27 - Creating Space for Your Group Conversations

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Asking Good Questions | Question Hats

Looking for more? Check out the Students Team Website for more resources and the upcoming series at Students Groups.