The Kidmin Tribe Podcast

Today we welcome Sean Silverii on the podcast. Sean has served as a youth pastor as well as other pastoral roles in the church. Sean now serves the Oregon Ministry Network as the Gen Now leader focused on children and youth ministry. Sean will share some great insight on how to transition our kids and build a birth to adulthood game plan. Sean has 3 kids and lives in Albany, OR.  

The truth is we have to get transitions right when it comes to our children and youth ministries. There is a movement towards looking at birth to student ministries as one whole, instead of having silos in our kids and youth ministries. This movement has been coined “Gen Now Ministries." One of the most important aspects of next gen ministries is smooth and intentional transitions. These transitions happen at key points in a child’s life and it’s important that we strategically walk alongside our kids as they transition. These transitions include: when a child moves from children’s ministry to youth ministry, and when a student moves from youth ministry into adulthood. 

Join the conversation in this episode.

Today on the show we are going to be talking about how we can extend Bible engagement with kids beyond Sunday. In Kids ministry how do we make the Bible something that kids are engaging with Monday-Saturday? 

One of the greatest needs our communities have is ministries to families with children who have special needs. What should a church be doing to reach this great need? 

Keeping a child’s attention into today’s world is so challenging. Don’t miss this edition of the Kidmin tribe podcast where we give you some practical tips and ideas one how to keep the attention of the kids in your ministry. 

We're excited to welcome David Laflin. David and Teesha Laflin are internationally recognized illusionists. They have entertained and inspired audiences all over the world through their unique blend of both classic and cutting edge illusions. Their programs have been featured at the NCAA Final Four, on TV, at Indofest in Indonesia, and at conferences and conventions all over the world. The Laflins have performed at a wide range of venues, from churches with a regular attendance of 25,000+ to churches of under 100. David has also shared his expertise in illusions on the TEDx stage. 

David is a great friend and we've asked him to speak to us and give us some very practical ways that we can keep our kids attention during our Sunday morning services. 

Who knows maybe he will make something disappear today? 

Today’s podcast will give you some great tips and insight on making sure we’re getting it right in our kids ministries. 

What do we need to be focused on to elevate the experiences that our kids are having in our Kids Ministry? What do we need to be doing to “get things right?” We only have a finite amount of time with each child in our ministry and it’s so important that we make every moment we have a child count. 

We’re excited to welcome our good friend Yancy on the podcast today to talk to us about what it looks like to get it right in Kids Ministry. Yancy will give us some great thoughts and ideas that we can use to evaluate how we are doing ministry and how we can do it better. 

Yancy has been in Children’s ministries since she was born! She has been writing, producing, and leading kids in worship for many years. Before she started Kids music she wrote music for some of Christian Music’s most well loved artists. In 2021 she won a dove for “Ready, Set, Go” one of her newest Little Praise Party projects.  Her music is being used in churches in 167 countries. Yancy is also an author! 

Don’t miss a single moment of today’s podcast and be sure to share it with all your KidMin friends. 

Today's podcast will give you some great tips and insight into reaching pre-teens effectively. Pre-teen ministry is one of the most important ministries to have in our churches. We're excited to welcome on the show a good friend and someone who is a passionate advocate for pre-teens: Sean Sweet. Sean is a 25-year passionate advocate for preteens who serves dual roles as Preteen Pastor at Destiny Church in Rocklin, CA, and Community Director at FourFiveSix.org which educates, trains and resources preteen ministry leaders around the world. We're introducing you to a friend who will challenge you to rethink how you are ministering to pre-teens in your church and community.

One of the biggest responsibilities and challenges that a kids ministry leader has is building a strong team. We're excited today to have the one and only Jim Wideman on the podcast again to give us 5 secrets to building an incredible team. You won’t want to miss today’s episode! 

Jim is one of the veterans of kids ministry and has encouraged and trained kids ministries leaders for decades. Jim Wideman has the unique ability to help build the local church by strengthening the family, empowering leaders, and building great teams. He is a pastor, speaker, author, and ministry coach with more than 45 years of experience serving in all areas of the local church, including 17 years leading one of the largest children’s ministries in the United States. Jim has trained thousands of children’s ministry leaders in the US and around the world. He has worked with six different thriving churches in the span of almost five decades, and he has published over 15 books. 

Jim currently serves as the Executive Operations Pastor at Conduit church in Franklin, Tennessee. Jim and his wife Julie have been married for 43 years and have two wonderful daughters and have three of the cutest grandsons ever!

This episode will give you some great tips and tools to evaluate your curriculum and make wise decisions on the resources you are going to use in your ministry. 

Ministry comes at us fast and it can be difficult and challenging to stay organized and handle all of the administrative tasks in addition to ministry demands. Getting organized is an important topic to talk about as kidmin leaders.  Especially if administration is not one of your main gifts. 

One of the biggest challenges we face in our country and in our local communities is fatherlessness. In our next podcast we dive into this topic and talk about how the local church can help tackle this issue and reach fatherless families.

We’re excited to have Sean Tiess. Since 2008, Sean, Jackie, and their family have been evangelizing & discipling fatherless families through speaking, creating unique resources, and partnering with local churches through Life Factors Fatherless Ministries. They have authored six books for fatherless families and similar situations. They have also developed GodismyDad.com for fatherless families, which also includes a mobile app. Sean has spoken on fatherlessness at a variety of events including conferences, colleges, and in 200+ churches throughout the United States. Recently they did a Hope for Fatherless America National Tour for three years ministering to the fatherless and teaching on fatherlessness in churches and other various events across the United States!

Sean grew up fatherless, he had a single mom, and his grandparents helped raise him. Despite his situation he became an ordained minister and has given his life to help other fatherless families succeed! Sean is a national speaker, an author, and he has held various ministry roles but all with a continual focus on fatherless family ministry. Sean is also an ordained minister and has served on staff and volunteered at various churches throughout the country.

You definitely don’t want to miss this podcast. It will give you some great resources to help and great ideas on how to reach fatherless families in your church and community.

New episode is out and we will be talking with Dave Almgren on the show. Dave worked together with our host Jason Nobleon on many of the films that you love. He is also a children’s pastor who has served in many roles including: large church settings, sidewalk Sunday school, church plants, junior high ministry and more. With more than 15 years of ministry experience Dave brings good insight to the table with some great lessons that he has learned along the way in ministry.

He is also an experienced project manager with a broad background in Christian film marketing and audience engagement (including working with Affirm, Provident Films, Sony Pictures Animation, Fox and Lionsgate). The depth of his experience also covers fifteen years in retail sales and twenty plus years as a pastor in multiple churches. He has worked on over 50 theatrical campaigns providing strategic implementation and execution of church ministry engagement strategies.

You definitely don’t want to miss this podcast. Dave will challenge you and encourage you to keep you to take time out to learn all that God is teaching you along the journey.

We’re going to be talking today about making sure we keep our families top priority in the middle of the business of ministry. With all the craziness that sometimes in ministry, we can’t lose the importance of our number one calling.

Today on the show we have a very special guest who’s a mom, a very busy lady and one of the best balancers of keeping a good schedule and family as a priority, Karen Kingsbury. Karen is a New York Times Best selling author and is launching her fifth children’s book “Being Baxters.” She’s also launching a brand new show on Pureflix called “A Thousand Tomorrows.” As a novelist, she is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than twenty-five million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists and many of her novels are under development with Hallmark Films and as major motion pictures. Her Baxter Family books are being developed into a TV series slated for major network viewing sometime in the next year. Karen is also an adjunct professor of writing at Liberty University.

In 2001 she and her husband, Don, adopted three boys from Haiti, doubling their family in a matter of months. Today the couple has joined the ranks of empty-nesters, living in Tennessee near five of their adult children. You definitely don’t want to miss this podcast. Karen will challenge you and encourage you to keep your family #1 priority while walking out the calling God has given you.

Today on the podcast we have as a guest Christie Penner Worden who is the North American Director for RaiseUP Faith. With a focus on equipping and coaching, resourcing and training, Christie is a strategic leader who is passionate about discipling children, empowering leaders and providing effective support to those who love and serve today’s kids. Christie is a credentialed pastor with the BIC denomination, has the Engage Certificate in Children’s Ministry through Bethel Seminary, and is a certified coach with The International Network of Children’s Ministry (INCM). 

Christie is an international speaker and writer, sharing her wonder and what-ifs with dreamers and doers alike, with organizations including David C. Cook, Ministry Spark, INCM, New Wine, KidzMatter, KidBuilders, Awesome KidMin Community, Lead Volunteers, Collide Kids Podcast, Bible Talk, Jesus Collective, and local churches across Canada. 

From writing articles to hosting weekend-long workshops, Christie can generally be found somewhere in the future where the Church is thriving and the contribution of every generation is the very definition of unity in One Body. It is as a wife, mama bear to three (mostly) delightful cubs, and part-time unicorn that Christie found her own voice as an advocate for the silent Church: the grand vision shared by children everywhere for a world where all are welcome, included, loved, and celebrated.

Volunteer recruitment is one of the most talked about issues in kids ministry. One of the greatest untapped resources in your kids ministry today is your youth. Youth are looking for a place to serve and a place where they can be given opportunity. They need leaders who will mentor them and pour into their lives. It’s amazing to see how raising up youth to serve today will prepare them for their future in the kingdom.   

Our guest on today’s podcast is Kelly Presson. Kelly Presson is a great friend and a great leader in our space. Kelly Presson is the Assemblies of God National KidMin Director. Previously Kelly served as the National KidMin Director of Leadership Development where he developed and released a digital training platform for children’s ministry leaders entitled Hydrate.  

Kelly has a long and rich history of involvement in childrens ministry birthed in his heart at the age of seven and has a passion to help children’s ministry leaders be more intentional and spiritually effective. Kelly is gifted in methods of preparing children to be Spirit-filled leaders among their friends and in their communities. Hundreds of children, through his unique course have become "Special Forces” servant leaders in their church body and beyond. Kelly continues to build upon his reputation as a mentor for Kidmin leaders, a kid!s camp evangelist, school assembly presenter and high energy performer.

Hey Kidmin Tribe, today, we have an expert in the house that is going to be giving us some great tips and ideas on how to use Pro-Presenter in our kids ministry more effectively. 

Our guest on today’s podcast is Steve Dirks. A pro-presenter guru! Steve is the Executive Director for  [twelve:thirty]media. He has spent over 10 years serving in different churches serving in lyric presentation, audio, and visual content creation, and helping lead teams of volunteers. Steve lives in Pittsburgh where is part of a local church plant. He loves being a father to Mercy & Caleb and a husband to Rebekah his amazing wife. He is a huge fan of any sports team in Pittsburgh and of course his hometown South Carolina Gamecocks.  

This podcast would be a great one to invite your kids ministry team to. Especially your team that handles your Sunday morning presentation.

Here on the Kidmin Tribe podcast we are all about transforming kids worship experiences. And an important aspect of that is how we can creatively teach kids the Word of God. And we're not talking about just memorizing and reciting it, but how can they apply it to their lives. It's one of the keys to raising strong disciples.

On today’s episode we are going to talk about one of the most important topics in kids ministry: safety.

We'll address questions like:

• How do we protect the kids of our church?
• What kind of policies do we need to have in place?
• How do we keep those policies up to date?

We have an expert and consultant who helps churches make sure that their children are safe.

Curt Hale is a Safety Specialist with over twenty years of experience in family ministry. During that time he has served in small, large, and multi-site churches. He's also spoken and led worship for thousands of kids and adults as a camp and event leader. He's married to Noël and has four children: Monroe, Abram, Sophie, and Lottie.

Curt knows how to build safety systems in a variety of contexts and he's excited to help you protect those entrusted to your care.

Today we have Esther Moreno on as we talk about Trends in KidMin in 2023. Things we can have a jump on, things she is seeing as she travels and leads in Kids Ministry.

Esther has dedicated her life to reaching the next generation, and their families, for Christ. She has over 15yrs of Kid's Ministry experience across various churches and denominations. She's the host of Children's Ministry Today on the Fishbowl Radio Network. In addition to hosting monthly live webinars on social media, she leads virtual trainings for kids ministry departments all over the country.

We're excited to kick off 2023 right with one of the most encouraging guests that we know. We are welcoming good friend Ryan Frank to the Kidmin Tribe podcast. He’s going to share 5 Ways to Win in 2023!

You are not going to want to miss it.

This week on the show we're excited to welcome a mom who has a passion to help families and churches raise kids with a Biblical worldview. We'll be talking with Lee Ann Manicini. You are going to love Lee Ann.

This week on the show we are excited to welcome an incredible guy who has a great perspective on what it takes to disciple children in the world we are living in today.

This week on the show we're excited to welcome our good friend Matt McKay. Pastor Matt McKay is the Director of Kid’s Ministry at Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, TX with over 20 years of experience. As keynote speaker at children’s conferences worldwide, he has motivated hundreds of leaders and parents raising the next generation of Christ-followers.

This week on the show we're excited to welcome Stacia Mckeever from Answers in Genesis.

We think you are going to love this interview.

This week on the show we welcome our new friend Esther Moreno. Esther Moreno has dedicated her life to reaching the next generation for Christ. She has over 15 years of Children’s Ministry experience across various churches and denominations. She is one of the hosts of Children’s Ministry Today on Fishbowl Radio Network. In addition to hosting monthly live webinars on social media, she leads virtual trainings for Children’s Ministry departments all over the country.

Esther is a gifted speaker, teacher, and author. She holds a Masters in Christian Education from Ashland Theological Seminary. She currently lives in Huntsville, Alabama with her husband Guylando and their two beautiful children, Grace and Gideon.

You are not going to want to miss this interview! You will love Esther and her heart to reach leaders and raise up the next generation.

This week on the show we're excited to welcome one of our favorite people, Jean Thomason, also known as Miss Patti Cake!!

Jean Thomason has more than 35 years of experience as a musical performer, worship leader, songwriter, author, and conference speaker to women, parents, teachers and children’s ministers. She is the living embodiment of the joyful children’s musical character, “Miss PattyCake.”

This week on the show we're excited to welcome the one and only Jim Wideman. You are not going to want to miss this incredible interview. Jim is one of the veterans of kids ministry and has encouraged and trained kids ministries leaders for decades. Jim Wideman has the unique ability to help build the local church by strengthening the family, empowering leaders, and building great teams.   

He is a pastor, speaker, author, and ministry coach with more than 45 years of experience serving in all areas of the local church, including 17 years leading one of the largest children’s ministries in the United States. Jim has trained thousands of children’s ministry leaders in the US and around the world. He has worked with six different thriving churches in the span of almost five decades, and he has published over 15 books.   

Jim currently serves as the Executive Operations Pastor at The Belonging church in Nashville, Tennessee. Jim and his wife Julie have been married for 43 years and have two wonderful daughters and have three of the cutest grandsons ever!  

This week on the show we're excited to welcome Amber Pike.   

Amber serves as a Director of Family Ministry, and is the executive editor and operations director for Kidzmatter. She’s been a contract writer for Answers in Genesis’ VBS, a curriculum writer, conference speaker, and has just published her first book, Exploring the Bible through History.   

This week on the show we welcome Hunter Williams. We will be talking about the power of discipleship and really taking a look at what discipleship means and how it plays out in the local church.

Hunter serves as a missionary with Awana and sees himself as a child discipleship advocate. His calling is to elevate the view of children and the quality of discipleship they receive in the church and in the home.

Hunter graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a B.A. in Biblical and Theological studies and is currently working on his MDiv through Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He loves connecting with people, trying new things, reading, and going on adventures with his family.

We will be talking about the importance discipling children and give you some very practical ideas on how to do it.

This week on the show we welcome SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt from Godwinks. We will be talking about the importance of keeping things simple.

SQuire is a popular speaker and the New York Times Bestselling author who introduced the word “Godwink” into the language and dictionaries—“A coincidence that's not coincidence but an astonishing event from divine origin.” SQuire has more than one-and-one half million books in print and his monthly Godwinks on NBC Today Show has been one of the most streamed for five seasons.

Louise DuArt is known as “One of The World's Best Comedic/Impressionists," Louise DuArt co-starred with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman for fifteen seasons. Clean and funny, Louise dazzles audiences with fast-paced conversations between Bart Simpson, Judge Judy, Barbra Streisand, Barbara Walters, and dozens more.

Louise has co-authored six books with her husband SQuire. She is also Executive Producer on the Hallmark's Godwink Movie Series and a Netflix film for 2022.

This couple has a huge heart for the local church and children’s ministry specifically.

Welcome back for another episode!

We've got a great episode this week with The Skit Guys!   

Thats Tommy Woodard and Eddie James who have been best friends since high school. They fell in love with acting through the school theater production and found out they have a knack for making people laugh.   

Through guidance from their youth pastor, they started creating skits for their youth group. They then continued to make meaningful skits, and even videos for the church and through their website. Tom and Eddie have preformed live at conferences and church events, and all of their content, skits, scripts and short films, can be found online.   

Today they will with us about their story, as well as their new movie, Family Camp, which release everywhere on June 28th. They'll give us some behind the scenes into the movie as well as remind us how we can encourage the children in our ministries to start to live into their God given potentials.   

Thanks for joining in and being a part of the tribe.

This week on the show we have Brian Dollar!

Brian is the founder of High Voltage Kids and has been in Ministry as a children’s pastor and now an associate pastor at the same church for 23 years. He has a heart to equip kidmin leaders with great resources and curriculum.

On this episode he is going to be challenging us with the topic of Creativity Killers. Prepare to be challenged, encouraged, equipped and resourced.

We pray this conversation could reawaken creativity in you. Brian will also help us identify what might be killing creativity in you as a leader. Buckle your seatbelts and get ready. Don’t miss a single moment! And don't forget to share this podcast with any KidMin Leaders you know!