Thought Factory Podcast

#911 || #1 Thing You Should Fight For Above All Else

If you were to evaluate the youth ministry you are a part of and how the Bible is used, would you view it as student-centric or Christo-centric?  Do we start with where the students are at and teach from there or start with God?  Hosts Jeff Eckart and Jayson Brewer discuss the transformational power in integrating this one habit into youth ministry.  We must stop teaching and reading the Bible as a self-help book and start helping our students understand it as a autobiography of God.

#910 || #1 Principle to Stay Healthy in Youth Ministry

We may know someone who became negative, jaded, cynical, and critical in ministry and eventually dropped out.  You may even be on the verge of becoming that person.  How do we avoid burnout in ministry and last the long-haul, through all the challenges?  The main question comes down to answering this question, "Who are you serving?"  How you answer that question will determine the strength and length of your time in ministry.

#909 || #1 Cultural Trait That Will Grow Your Ministry Spiritually

Great coaches can motivate their players to higher heights.  They possess a cultural trait that gets the most out of them doing this one thing.  In this episode, Jeff and Jayson discuss what it takes to get students to grow spiritually in your youth ministry.

#908 || #1 Cultural Trait That Will Grow Your Ministry Numerically

A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a private or rented automobile.  Driving instructors help their driving students in practically learning how to drive a car individually.  One has the customer in the back and the other has the customer in the driver's seat.  If you were to evaluate your youth ministry, would you be more considered as a chauffeur or a driving instructor, based on how involved and engaged your students were?  In this episode, hosts Jeff Eckart and Jayson Brewer discuss the cultural difference between student-led youth ministries and adult-driven youth ministries.

#907 || #1 Way You Can Build a Winning Culture

Culture is the beliefs and behaviors of a community.  Leaders have the ability to create culture in their environment, but they also have the ability to surrender to the surrounding culture.  So, how does a leader build a winning culture?  What is the one thing that a leader needs to create the culture that is desirable for others to be a part of? 

#906 || Covid Chaos | The Effects on Campus

The school campus has changed due to the pandemic.  From that first day in March when schools shut down and students were sent home to now, the new school year looks different.  To any parent who set their sails to navigate these new waters, it may have seemed chaotic and choppy.  The waters were uncharted - different options for your student, virtual vs hybrid vs full-time in person.  There were also the possible "psychological effects" that wearing a mask all day could have, the social distancing in small classrooms, the protocols for students testing positive.  As adults, we just wondered how our students would handle this.  In this episode, we hear from students about the changes on their school campus and their perspective on the decisions that had to be made.  

#905 || Covid Chaos | The Effects on Politics

We are in an election year, and America gets to choose their president as we close out the chaotic year of 2020.  Since we know and understand that you are sick of the political messages coming your way, let this episode separate itself from all of that noise, as we talk and listen to students on what they perceive in the political climate and what we can learn from their opinions.

#904 || Covid Chaos | The Effects on Ministry

The year 2020 has been an unforgettable year.  No doubt we all have been affected to varying degrees, but it has been a shared experience no matter where you live.  In this episode, we talk to pastors, youth pastors, and students from various parts of the America to discuss how the coronavirus pandemic has had an effect on their lives, their ministries, and their emotions.  

#903 || Re | They Don't Know Where to Start

Originally aired on October 20th, 2016

If we aren't doing this one thing in our youth ministry settings, then what are we doing?  We can spend an enormous amount of time in our week preparing for things that do not have a lasting impact on students or allowing their faith to develop in meaningful ways.  Students say the Bible is important, but are they actually reading and engaging it throughout the week to make a difference in their faith?  Are we missing this #1 thing as we work with students?

#902 || Jeff Prayer Walks the Potawatomi Trail of Death

The Potawatomi Trail of Death was the forced removal by militia in 1838 of some 859 members of Potawatomi nation from Indiana to reservation lands in what is now Kansas.  In this episode, host Jeff Eckart shares his 3-week journey of prayer walking the Potawatomi Trail of Death.  Going beyond the physical, emotional, and spiritual toll it took on him, he dives into why he felt led to do this walk, what he learned along the way, and the divine outcomes that have resulted since.