Intergenerational Mentoring in the Heartland

[00:00:02] Speaker A: Well, hello, everyone. This is Ron DeVries, back with you with Spark Dialogue. The podcast for Generation Spark with me today is not Anna, but we have Ryan joining me today, Ryan Feltman from the rca. Welcome, Ryan. [00:00:19] Speaker B: Thanks, Ryan. I'm very happy to be here with you. Thanks for the invite. [00:00:23] Speaker A: Ryan, you and I go back a little ways. We've connected intermittently over the years, but this is the first time we're doing a podcast together, and I'm really, really glad that we were able to make this happen. Yeah, just. We want to kind of begin with a conversation, a quick intro. We're going to get to know Ryan a little bit deeper later on. But, Ryan, what was your summer like? I mean, we're jumping right into fall right now. We've got leaves falling in my backyard and my front yard, and we're just moving from. From one season to another. How was your summer? [00:00:56] Speaker B: Yeah, for us, it's been busy, honestly. We've had a lot of transitions, personally and professionally. We've graduated a high school student that now has gone off to the military, serving in basic training. And then the last week has celebrated my oldest son going off and getting married. And so was able to officiate and do his wedding down in Tennessee down in Chattanooga last week. And then, of course, just the ministry side of it, a number of events and opportunities for us to pour into students, into leaders. And so it was a great summer, but also very excited to transition now, too, because there's a lot that's going on. And again, to be able to move into the fall season is always good, too. So we're excited for that. [00:01:37] Speaker A: You had a lot going on, man. A lot of kids stuff, family stuff, ministry stuff. I'm so excited about that. Wow. And to be able to officiate your son's wedding, that's always a what. What a gift that is. What an opportunity to be able to do things like that. [00:01:53] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. It was so good. And again, between my wife and I, we have seven boys, and so it's like constantly running and moving, and there's never a dull moment, that's for sure. So. But to be able to look at some of those highlights of life and again, some of those higher moments and milestones is. Yeah, it's exciting time for us. So. [00:02:12] Speaker A: Okay, this just came to me, and it sounds kind of strange, but, I mean, between you and your wife and your seven boys, you could feel the baseball team. We could. [00:02:19] Speaker B: Yeah. And here's. Here's a little fun. Fact is, we're actually expecting our Number eight. [00:02:23] Speaker A: So. [00:02:24] Speaker B: So we'll see if that's a boy as well. Or maybe we'll have a cheerleader on the side. We'll see. But we're super excited to add number eight in March. And so again, blended family and a lot of dynamics to it. But to be able to again see the celebrations that happen with family life is always good. Along with again, what I get to do professionally too, so. [00:02:46] Speaker A: That's so exciting. Ryan, congratulations. Oh man, that's so awesome. Well, then you've got a utility player too, on the bench. Ready to go. Yeah. Just in case. That's so good. My summer was good. We had a lot of different things going on personally, but also ministry wise between speaking on short term missions trips and traveling, you know, between the US and Canada. I would say though, one of the highlights for us this summer was being able to, to go to the Rocky Mountains for a little bit, get away from ministry life for just a little bit and be able to spend some time with friends who came from the eastern part of Canada who used to live out here. And we get to spend a few days with him in the Rocky Mountains. Just experiencing God's creation. It was just a joy. Oh my goodness. And the weather was so good and taking some hikes and do those kinds of things. It was, it was just amazing. Yeah. And I'm looking forward to the fall too. It's, you know, we've got a lot going on ministry wise, but, but even just personally, so, so looking forward to, to leaning into for us here in Canada. Of course, this, this very shortly we're going to Thanksgiving and so really, really thinking about all those things that we're grateful for that God's given us. [00:04:00] Speaker B: That's good. [00:04:01] Speaker A: Thanks for sharing. We just want to do a little bit of a shout out to a ministry that's dear to our hearts. Ryan, you and I talked a little bit before we started recording that. This is often a time where we bring to the forefront of ministry that we've been thinking about a lot lately. And I'd mentioned to you that we have in our province anyways of Alberta, we're in the middle of a teacher strike and we realize that there's complex issues at play here. But I was thinking about teachers. Right. I mean, you and I both have interactions with teachers in our ministries, but also personally in our world, you know, in terms of our own children and bringing them up and teaching them. So I just thought we would do a little bit of a shout out to teachers where they are and how they are called to this incredible ministry, supporting our children, teaching our children, and caring for them in so many powerful ways. [00:04:58] Speaker B: So good. Yeah. And I think that there's, along with that is just the impact that teachers can have on the students and parents that we get to work with as well. Like they have more hands on than what we do in a week. And so knowing the impact that teachers can have and again, the opportunity that they have to be light in what can be kind of a scary time for kids, depending on how they're going about their school year or just in their, just their daily lives of having a positive teacher that is making an impact in their life. And so whether it's the teachers that I know personally or again, teachers that are just constantly out there, and I would say even much more in the trenches than even youth pastors are, and to be able to see again the opportunity that they have to influence and to again point students to Jesus in it. [00:05:48] Speaker A: So, yeah, I'm a little older. I think I've got a few more gray hairs than you do. Ryan, did you ever have a teacher that just kind of stood out for you? [00:05:58] Speaker B: Yeah, multiple, actually. You know, I can look back at, you know, even my high school years and realizing that, you know, Mr. Hansen was both a counselor, but also, like, he was very active in the community, at his own photography business. But you always knew when you walked into his room how you're going to be treated and again, just the genuine care that he had for you. And so, you know, I look at those people that again, I, I was the beneficiary of, you know, loving adults that were willing to pour into me as somebody who wasn't the best student, wasn't the most popular, or, you know, had the brightest future in, in front of them. But yet I had people that cared and showed me that I had worth. And so they never treated me like I was taking up their time. Never anything like that. And so I'm grateful for those teachers that are there doing that on a daily basis and now are doing that for my kids. So. Yeah. Yeah. How about you? [00:06:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I've had a few. Quite frankly, I can't recall their names right now because it's been so long ago, but I am going to bring up that we have one teacher that my grandchild has right now, and I just, I want to really appreciate and thank her for doing just incredible work with, with our family and recognizing it's. It's not easy. It's very, very difficult work and caring for these children. In the ways that they do is just a gift that we can't overlook. So for Mary and for your teachers, and we just want to say thank you for all the work that you do pouring into our young people and being selfless in a lot of cases for. For them. Okay, folks, this is our reminder of why we do what we do here on this podcast. So if you're listening for the first time, or you. You've been a long time listener, meaning long time, this is episode 18. So that's. That's a long time. But if you're listening for the first time or you've been with us right from the beginning, I just want to remind you that our main focus was will always try to connect life. Like we just talked about ministry, which we're going to talk about the theorizer and the practitioner into intergenerational conversations. Because we realize this is important work and important conversations, and our focus in this ministry is to kind of lean into what. How do these work together for the kingdom? [00:08:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:08:26] Speaker A: Knowing that we're going to lean into our conversation today, we've got Ryan joining us, which you already heard a little bit from him, but you're going to hear a little bit more. More about him now. We're just going to begin with finding out who Ryan is. Ryan, tell us a little bit about yourself, the ministry that you're currently working in. Let's start there. Yeah. [00:08:45] Speaker B: So I get to be the director of youth ministry for what is called Cultivate Co Op. It used to be the Synod of the Heartland, part of the rca, and we are still under the umbrella of that, but we rebranded because all the changes that were taking place and we wanted to be able to represent the crowd, the community that we get to be a part of. And so as director, I get to put on a number of different events on a yearly basis. When I came into this role Back in 21, we had four events that were happening either on the yearly or on the tri. Yearly. We had one big event, Rocky Mountain High, that would take place every three years. This last year, we actually had nine events. And so we've kind of continued to grow and develop based off of the needs that we're hearing from the youth pastors we get to work with. So we do a number of different events. But then on the other side of it, I served as a local youth pastor for 28 years. And so coming out of the trenches, I get the opportunity now to work with those that are still in the trenches through coaching, through networking, through all the different stuff that happens within church ministry life, whether that's staff conflict or hiring and firing or, you know, any of those kind of things. And so, yeah, I get to work with the youth pastor as they walk alongside the students that they are entrusted with. And so that's a lot of it for us. I have one other staff member, Zoe, who is our event coordinator. And so between the two of us now, and then, of course, a slew of volunteers that make every event possible. You know, we get the opportunity to walk alongside some amazing people and to get to do the work that we get to do. And so everything from a middle school retreat that happens in April to, like I said, Rocky Mountain High, that happens at the YMCA of the Rockies every three years, it'll be happening next summer where we'll have, you know, just short of 3,000 high schoolers and leaders that will ascend on the mountains of the Rockies. And so the opportunity that we have there. But then again, we've added different events. We do a couple of different hands and feet missions, opportunities. One down in Knoxville, Tennessee area, right in the Smoky Mountains, one that takes place up in St. Paul, Minnesota area. And then we also have a couple of different student leadership opportunities. We do our own youth ministry conference just to be able to pour into the youth pastors within the region here. And so again, grateful for the opportunity that I get to serve as the director of Cultivate Co Op. And then on the side of that, we have other little things that we do, but one of those is our own Cultivate Co Op podcast. We get the privilege of having some amazing communicators speakers again, volunteers that we work with. And a lot of our students and youth pastors get to hear them from the stage. We get to have relationship with them beyond the stage and realize that they're filled with knowledge and wisdom. And we wanted to make sure that we had the opportunity for more people to hear from them. And so we started a podcast a while back just to be able to have those voices heard on a different platform. And so we do the Cultivate Co Op podcast, and again, just a different way for us to keep the ministry going beyond the events. And really that's been Zoe and I's hope since we kind of stepped into these roles, was to take the event beyond the event. And so it's not just the mountaintop experience of Rocky Mountain High or middle school retreat. It's what do we send the students home with, and how do we equip our leaders to truly be able to live it. Out because again, we get them for a short amount of time, but we have youth pastors, youth volunteers that are spending more time with them once they get back. And so we want to make sure that they're well equipped to be able to disciple and to walk alongside those students. And so creating content to be able to go along with that is again another thing that we get to do as cultivate co op. So that's really us right now changing, but again, always exciting ministry, I think always is. And again, going from being in the church and now working with a number of different churches. You know, right now I oversee about 150 churches that are, you know, kind of nationwide. And so to be able to see them in their context and be able to work with them because they're planted exactly where they're planted. And then I get to just come alongside and encourage and empower and resource however I can, what they can do it the best that they can. So I'm grateful for again, the ministry call that I have and the opportunity that I have through Puelta Baker, thanks for sharing that. [00:13:02] Speaker A: I, as I listened to you, I, I wondered, and I mean, feel free to, to offer that insight if you can. But I'm curious, why move from a local church setting to this, this larger oversight and yeah, I'd love to hear that story. [00:13:20] Speaker B: Yeah, I think honestly for me, you know, serving the local church, I served in a few different settings and each one of those settings came with new lessons for me, lessons through failure, obviously, but also through some successes as well. And when the time came where my predecessor, Bob Klaveringa, was ready to retire, he had kind of started talking to me about this position and saw some of the gifts that I brought to the table. And yeah, really, when it came time for him to announce his retirement, he asked me if I would consider this position. And to be honest with you, I wasn't ready to leave the local church. I wasn't ready to leave, you know, a hands on youth ministry, being able to spend time with students and leaders on a daily and weekly basis. And I knew that this was going to be a different step and a different role. But I also knew that everything that I had experienced in those 28 years had prepared me for this, to be able to step into this opportunity. Because now I get to be able to again walk alongside some youth pastors. They experience similar situations as what I experienced along the way. And so hopefully now I can use those lessons to maybe teach somebody else what to do or what not to do. [00:14:34] Speaker A: That's awesome. I love the connection between you and Bob in this. I know Bob a little bit and appreciate his heart for ministry and the relational connections between him and the leaders. And just the way in which he called you to consider something and then spoke into you, that, to me, is just a real, real gift. Yeah. How did that feel when you had that person walking with you and supporting you in that way? [00:15:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that there's always been something to having a mentor, and Bob was definitely one of those. For me, having somebody who cared about me as an individual, but also me as, you know, a local youth pastor and wanting to make sure that I succeeded in that. And so having somebody who is walking with me, who's there as a resource, who's there when things came up, whatever that could be, was definitely valuable to me. And so through that process, and again, having somebody who saw some of those gifts in me and was willing to call those out definitely made for the transition to go a little bit easier. And then also along the way, you know, he stayed on for a couple of weeks and helped with the transition that way, but then he kind of stepped back and he said, hey, this is yours. Like, don't feel like you have to do it the same way I did. I'm here if you need me, if you have questions or anything like that. And he made the decision that he wasn't going to volunteer at any of the events. He wasn't going to be physically present at anything. Just to make sure that it was clear that I was now the director. But in the process of that, it's been a couple years, and Bob is now on my board of advisors, still loves what we do. He still loves me as an individual, and again wants to see us succeed. And so I've now invited him back on as one of our board members, and again, just love him as a person, but again, love his heart for us and what we're trying to do. Oh, I love that. [00:16:31] Speaker A: Please pass on greetings from me, Bob. That is so awesome. I love that you've been doing this for a few years now, and because you've had your feet in the trenches. Right. Of ministry, both in the local church and now in directing and connecting with a number of churches. What are you learning? What are some of the things that are bubbling up to the surface when you think about ministry, particularly in youth ministry and maybe young adult ministry? What are you hearing? What are you learning right now that that's really sticking out to you? [00:17:07] Speaker B: I would say the biggest thing, and this is Something that came from our youth ministry conference that we just did a couple weeks ago at Northwestern College in Orange City is the deep need that students have today to find trust just overall. Again, Barna did a study on this. Gallup did a study on this. And right now, to realize that this generation has lost so much trust in the local church or organized religion, it's gone from like 65% in 1974 down to 32% now. And that's scary to realize that we have what we truly believe is truth, and yet we don't have the people that are willing to trust us with that truth. And so through just being able to dive into that and understand that, is putting so much back on us as leaders to make sure that we are people worth following. And that goes across the board, whether it's, again, a volunteer or local youth pastor, us as, you know, ministry leaders, and in different contexts, we have to get back to that place of building back that trust in the next generation if we want to see it actually stick. And so that's what I'm hearing. That's what I'm experiencing. That's, again, just trying to figure out then, how do we truly take that in a world where everyone has a voice, does our voice really matter, and are we using it for what it should? You know, it's scary when you look at social media and realize that anybody can be an influencer, anybody can have a voice, a platform, but rarely do people have the credentials to actually be worth following. And so what does that look like for us as ministry leaders or, again, volunteers in the local church to be able to be worth following? And it's going to take time, it's going to take effort, it's going to take consistency to build that trust back into the next generation. But I think we can do it. I think we can really get to that place where. And honestly, we're already seeing it. You know, we're seeing a wave of, if you want to call it, revival. I'm not sure if I'm ready to step into that yet. But there is a hunger, there's. There's a need that this generation is seeing, and they are starting to go back to the church even more so. And so that then puts it back on us. Okay, if they're coming and this is the bridge to get them the truth, then let's make sure that we are worth following. And so I think that's the. That's the heart of it right now for me. And so when I'm meeting with local Youth pastors, so many of them especially. This is not to knock the younger generation of ministry leaders, but we want everything so fast, and that's not the case. And we have to be able to move at the speed of trust, and that may take some time. And, And I think that's truly as. Are we willing to slowly invest and over time build that back in so that we can have the best impact that we can. [00:20:06] Speaker A: You made a comment about some of the research from Barna and others. And just for those who are listening, who may be in Canada, those are American stats which do seem to get reflected in the Canadian context and probably in other places as well as I've encountered, as I've traveled this. This world thinking about youth ministry. But that's really helpful to know, and I think that trust piece is significant. You know, there was some research that came out of Princeton back in 2010, and one of the. We were talking about young adult ministry, and I was attendee at these gatherings back in the day. And one of the things they talked about is the amount of time it takes to develop trust to. To, you know, try to find a way to build that trust between people. And at that time, they were saying it took between 10 to 12 hours of face time to start to develop a trust relationship. Yeah, they were saying now it's probably closer to 18 to 20 hours of connection time. And like you said, it takes a longer time. And relationally, we need to make that space available to. I mean, the word we use is show up. We, you know, just showing up in ministry is a big deal and then helps to lean into that development of trust with their younger and older folks. That's really interesting, though, that that's the one thing that seems to be jumping out to you right now is the need to make that bridge of trust not surprising, but really fascinating. [00:21:39] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think part of that, too, is coming back within conversations. And even I just had some time spent over at Grand Rapids meeting with people and through their local missions conference. And during one of my workshops that I was leading, you know, we talked about this generation. We talked about, like, some of the stereotypes of this generation, but then also, like, we talked about, like, okay, what does it truly define this generation as? And one of the things, and I would definitely put this on the negative side was almost like an ideology to their. To their calendar. Like, they, they. They idolize busyness and like, there's a pride that comes with that. And so, like, from that conversation really came back this whole idea of, okay, if they're so busy, then what is it that we need to do as the church to make sure that they find our time or the one hour a week or two hours a week that we have with them worth it? And a lot of that then comes back to trust. Like, they need to know that if they're going to invest in us as we try to invest in them, then we better have something worth investing in. [00:22:42] Speaker A: In. [00:22:42] Speaker B: And so again, from that was just the opportunity for us to really be able to say, okay, gone are the days of watered down theology or watered down Christianity. Like, we have to give them something worth it if they're going to take their time and show up to something that we plan for them. And so there's something to that of being able to say, okay, they need to trust that it's important to them and they need to trust us that what we have is worth it. [00:23:09] Speaker A: It already you've kind of highlighted three of the essential strategies that came out of growing young material, you know, just in, in that last comment. Right. Talking about the importance of taking the message of Jesus seriously, you know, authentic community, which is a big part of that. And of course, earlier on you touched on your own life around passing on the keys, teaching and leadership. Right. And those are hugely important. When we think about youth ministry and, and not just today, but going forward, I think is significant. [00:23:40] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think, you know, again, there's the opportunity for us to look to what we get to be a part of. And so I think, unfortunately, along with the biases of this next generation and along with some of the concerns we have with working with Gen Z and even now switching to Gen Alpha and we're not even going to talk about Gen Beta yet because. Yeah, yeah, more research. But again, like, there's so much potential and again, there's an eagerness to this generation. And so are we willing to position ourselves to make sure that we have what it takes to make it worth it as ministry leaders, we need to step it up. And I think as I meet with youth pastors and have conversations, it is really raising the bar of being able to say, okay, this generation's worth it and let's forget about the negative stereotypes and let's start looking at the positive things that they are wired with the fact that again, they're more social than any other generation, but they're also the most lonely. That's scary. But is it something that we can start shifting back and realize that, okay, they're social, they have, you know, technology at the palm of their Fingertips and you know, like, can we like, use that? Can we utilize that to help further the gospel and to again, be able to see the ministry grow and advance because of their giftedness and not use it as a detriment of their giftedness. And so we need to start looking at that and understanding and realize that their wiring and who they are as individuals has great potential for the future of the church. [00:25:19] Speaker A: So two things I want to ask you about, and I think maybe we're unraveling another layer of the onion in this. So when I think about the broken trust or building trust, Let me just throw this out. Why was the trust broken? [00:25:37] Speaker B: I think there's a lot of levels to that. Like you said, there's many, many layers to this onion. I think that over the course of the last 10, 15, maybe even 20 years, we've seen leadership failures. We've seen again on a grand scale of it. And, and I think again, maybe that comes back to the fact that everything's at our fingertips, that we receive news of things that are happening across the world that maybe we never knew of before. And maybe it was happening, but now it's being highlighted and again, it's bringing attention to something that is so broken within the church. Whether, again, that's been, you know, mega church pastors that have gone through moral failure or anything like that, but now it's so ingrained and in front of us all the time because of the news that's so readily available to us. But I also think that again, it comes back to that whole idea that everybody has a platform and therefore everyone's talking. It's just a matter of are they actually speaking truth or not? Because we're so quick to grab onto anything that has the most. Let's see, I'm trying to think how to word that maybe it's the most exciting, the most joy filled, the most compelling message, but maybe it's not the most truthful message. And so we can cling to people who are using their voice, but maybe they don't have it all together, but they present it really well, is so big that maybe it makes it that we cling to that. And so again, maybe that's part of it. And then we realized along the way that we lost it. We were listening to the wrong people. And so I think that's what we're doing. Broken along the way. [00:27:16] Speaker A: Do you think we've become a generation or a time? I don't want to bring in MCU language into this, but are we in this kind of Space and time right now, where we seem to be a people that seem to resonate with the bold headline without reading the details of the story. [00:27:40] Speaker B: Absolutely. And I think again, that's because everything's so readily available to us. We're constantly being bombarded with more and more data and we can't even consume it all. And therefore we're just taking little highlights, little quotes, you know, things that maybe somebody else even said. And there's no truth to it, but we take it at face value and we cling to it as truth. And therefore we've lost facts that there is actual truth. You know, we're just taking somebody else's word and clinging to that instead of actually seeking out and using critical thinking to actually dive in and see if it's legit. [00:28:19] Speaker A: So, and that in itself is, is really interesting because one of the things that I've noticed within the style social media world, of course, is that conversations, whether or not you want to call them that, through the digital space, through the interface, really don't seem to be generative in any way. They seem to be more toxic than it is encouraging or finding ways to have good conversations. And so I think that's part of where you're talking about this broken trust space. There doesn't seem to be this opportunity to be face to face those relationships that you've talked about, to build trust, because we're so divided because of the screen space that we currently have between one another. And that's just something that I've observed and I don't know if that resonates with you as well. [00:29:03] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely it does. Yeah. And again, then how do we take it and how do we best utilize it and start correcting course before it's, you know, too late? And I don't think it'll ever be too late. You know, I, you know, scripture is pretty clear that, okay, it's going to take a lot for the movement of the church to actually stop. Like, we've seen it over the course of, you know, a couple thousand years. And I don't think social media is going to be the thing that stops the church or the gospel from going forth. But again, how do we then use it? How do we make sure that we are being good stewards of the tool that it can be. [00:29:42] Speaker A: Yeah, 100% agree with that. So the second part of that, wondering for me, so the first one was the space about broken trust. The other part, now when I think about the connections with the young people and I 100% agree we need to give them a place that they can find trust and community. A lot of research today is pointing towards the fact that sometimes it's difficult in the home. So parents are not necessarily setting youth ministry or the church as a priority within their setting. And that affects the young people. And of course, that's the big challenge in front of us. And God is giving us the tools to be able to reach those young people, even when it seems difficult to do so. But there was some research that came out of Andrew root back in 2019, the book the End of Youth Ministry, where he talked on some of the interviews he did with parents and seeing some of their answers that youth ministry needs to fit their schedule, needs to fit their priorities, all those kinds of things. Are you seeing some of that as well? [00:30:45] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. And again, I think this was a conversation that we had at the local mission conference, too, of then understanding that, okay, if they're so busy, then what are we doing to make sure that there is a priority placed on it? And one of the things that I said to the group that was there is we need to give this generation a purpose. And so this generation wants that. They want to know that what they do, what they say matters. And so if we put it back on them and give them responsibility, give them a role, give them a purpose, their schedule all of a sudden clears up pretty quick. And so how do we then again, look for their gifts, their talents, and be able to use that as a reason for them to be more invested instead of it being an excuse of we're constantly busy, we have too much going on? You know, parents are saying the same thing, but all of a sudden, if a parent knows that their kid is serving on the worship team and they're on a stage, or they're using their voice or they're using their gifts, and parents get behind it pretty quick, too. So give students a role, give students purpose, give them a reason to be there. And, yeah, all of a sudden, things change pretty quick, I think. [00:31:48] Speaker A: Did you ever read the report by Dr. Richard Ross about the three spheres of ministry coexisting for a broader, bigger sense of ministry that blessed the entire congregation? It's really, really good. And one of the things they talk about is giving these young people both facetime and purpose within the congregation, Right? That. That blesses the congregation so that it can see this. This intergenerational space as a. As a blessing to the whole, that that gives an opportunity for the gospel to be presented to all ages. Hearing the voices and. And seeing the purpose for the younger and old to be participating in these places. Fascinating report. If you haven't seen it, I can. I can certainly send it to you. [00:32:29] Speaker B: Yeah, that'd be great. I'm always interested because, again, there's too many things that are saying what's wrong, but not enough things that were like, giving us a solution. And so, yeah, any kind of resource along that way. And again, how do we then put that into the hands of ministry leaders so that they can see the same thing and know that there's a way out? And if we can again, use this for the good, there's opportunity for us to really see it as a blessing instead of maybe the curse that we feel it is at the time. So, yeah, we'll be good. [00:32:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I'll send it to you. It's. It's. And maybe I'll even link it into this, this podcast episode. Ryan, you touched on the relationship Bob had with you and mentorship, and I love that. It's so, so good. And I pray that all our ministry leaders will experience something like that, whether they get called to a place like you, but certainly to name and call out those things that God has placed inside. Ryan, when you think about mentorship within the setting of ministry, within the local church, maybe in your setting now as well, how are you seeing that benefiting the church? Is it important to the ministry of the church? You know, spiritual mentoring? [00:33:36] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I think that. That, you know, again, go back to growing young, go back to sticky faith, you know, and for me, you know, as I work with youth pastors and, you know, mentoring is one of those things that comes to the top of the list quite a bit of they need more volunteers, but more than that, they need people who just care. And so how do we find ways for, you know, whether students that are going through a profession of faith, that they have a caring adult that's walking with them through that process, or again, is it small group leaders? Is it other volunteers that are in the ministry or coming back to teachers? Again, like, are there ways that we can find mentoring that impacts our students in such an amazing way, but yet we've somehow, again, whether it's the busyness side of it or whether it's, you know, what other excuse that we use, we've moved away from that. You know, me, myself, as a ministry leader, got away from having a mentor for a few years, and now I have somebody who's consistent and encouraging me and empowering me. But honestly, like, it was something that I didn't know I was missing. Until all of a sudden, I added it back into my life, and I'm so grateful for it. And so, you know, I kind of wonder about some of those ministry leaders that, again, youth ministry is so siloed. You can feel so alone in a. And so, like, when we do our networks on a monthly basis and gather a bunch of youth pastors together, it's nice to see that natural mentoring is happening, whether we call it that or not. But again, having other caring individuals pouring into you, and so we should be modeling it, and therefore, our students would hopefully want and replicate the same thing. But for me, as I'm working with youth pastors, you know, it's something that comes up all the time and trying to figure out how do we do this and do it well, to make sure that, again, we're finding the right people who are willing to take of their time to pour into the next person. And so, yeah, I think it's one of those areas that I think will always be on the table for us, one of those that we have to continue to highlight and make a priority because for whatever reason, it's quick to fall off the table pretty fast, too. So. [00:35:44] Speaker A: Well, it's hard work. Right. And to. To make the time and invest in people, but it's so, so important and such a blessing for both the. The mentor and the mentee. At least that's been in my experience, anyways. [00:35:55] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. [00:35:57] Speaker A: Ryan, I. I want to just give you a little bit of space to. To share a couple things, and something we do on this podcast is we. We don't want to. We want to talk about ministry, but. But we also look for what. What are the scriptural intersections for us as we think about ministry do, particularly around maybe a text that has been important to you when you think about your ministry or perhaps one that is. Is resonating with you today or within this. This time of life that you say, yeah, this has really been speaking to me because. So I'd love for you to share a little bit about that. [00:36:32] Speaker B: Yeah, honestly, like, so much lately, like I shared at the beginning personally, you know, blended family, all of that. And we've had a lot of very, very highs and some pretty extreme lows lately. And, you know, to be able to walk that line and to realize God's faithfulness in the midst of all of that and to be able to see what my role needs to be in response to that, you know, my obedience to that. You know, I just recently preached, you know, on the walls of Jericho and, you know, for me is one of those reminders, you know, such a familiar story and such, you know, it goes back to, you know, children singing and talking about it. But for me to be able to read it in a new light because of what I've experienced and realize that not only me personally, but a lot of the people that I now work with, it's so easy to see the walls in front of you. And even though we have an instruction on what it is to take place, some of us are stopping on lap six. And, you know, we're not seeing the walls come down because we didn't actually fulfill what God called us to do. And all we have to do is keep walking, that God shows up if we are just faithful on the next step. And for me, that reminder has been so strong. And as I'm working with youth pastors who are, you know, they're getting worn out, they're getting burnt out, they're getting fatigued by the day in and day out of ministry, and they're not seeing God move in such a way that they are expecting him to. My reminder to them of just keep walking, just keep going, because God's promise is still true. The fact that at the beginning of the story, it comes down to the fact that God said the walls would fall down like he already promised it before they even started moving. And so how many times in our lives has God made a promise and yet we forgot about it? We set it to the side and we think that he's not showing up, and yet his promise is still true. And so all we have to do is keep on walking. For me, again, going through a divorce, going through separation, but now being on the other side of it and being able to see God's faithfulness in it is that reminder to me that his promises are true. And for me to be able to cling to that, but then also to be able to speak that into the people that I get to walk alongside is no matter what it is that you're going through, just keep walking. He's faithful to it all. [00:39:00] Speaker A: So it's very clear to me that God has placed you where he has for a purpose, and then you are called and gifted to be there. So thank you for responding with a yes and doing this good work in your area. If you were to think of additional resources that churches or perhaps even just a listener might consider. When we think about this work that we're doing, and I say we because I think it's not just the youth pastor, it's not just the Pastor, it's everyone who are called to walk alongside and care for those to whom God has entrusted us. What other resources would you share with our listeners? [00:39:43] Speaker B: Honestly, this one might catch some people off guard because it's not like a ministry leader book. It's just a people book. There's a book that came out recently called Reconnected, written by Carlos Whitaker. Carlos used to be a worship leader, served at, I think it was North Point Church under Andy Stanley. Then all of a sudden just kind of became a speaker and very influential on Instagram. But he wrote this book last year after taking seven weeks off of being on any kind of screen. He actually had his brain scanned neurologically to see what it would be at the beginning of this time and what it would be at the end of this time. And he spent two weeks with monks at a monastery in California, and then two weeks with the Amish in Pennsylvania, and then the rest of the time back home in Nashville with his family, but still without a screen and with his findings within it. Again, this is where it's. Maybe for different people, it wouldn't be like, oh, that was so insightful. But for me, knowing how much I'm attached to my screen for work or for other reasons, that in the process of it, he saw that, you know, the solitude that comes from being at the monastery, but also like the two hours that Amish people take to sit and have a meal together because they don't have a screen in front of them. They don't, you know, their way of getting the news is talking with their friends and neighbors. And like, for me, it was the realization that I need to find ways to get reconnected. And maybe it comes from disconnecting a little bit more that people around while so valuable, and yet how many times do I catch myself having a conversation with my wife or friend, and as soon as my phone buzzes, I'm looking at it. You know, it immediately takes away their value in a process and, you know, makes it feel like my phone's more important and it's convicting to me. But I think as a ministry leader, how do we get back to this idea of living life together and really pouring into the people that matter the most around us? And so it's a spiritual book. It's a, you know, it's a Christian author, all of that. But it probably has wired me going ultimately for leading a ministry than any other ministry book has in quite some time. So. [00:42:05] Speaker A: That sounds so good. I. I want to pick that up now. It sounds like a Great, great resource for everybody. Thank you so much. Ryan, before we wrap up, any last words of encouragement for our listeners? Is there one that you have? If not, that's fine, I can wrap up. But I just, I want to give you an opportunity to share, you know, if God is still placing something in your heart you want to share with us listeners. [00:42:27] Speaker B: Yeah, I would say go back to this whole beginning of this, of being able to realize that we have an amazing opportunity to reach the next generation, whether it's again, as a local youth pastor, as a volunteer, you know, as a teacher, whatever that can be. And it's a high calling, but it's worth it. Again, I think God's promise of what he has placed before us is still going to be fulfilled in us. And so keep on walking, keep on doing what you're doing, because again, it's all worth it. So thanks for giving me the time to talk with you. And again, Ron, I'm grateful for you and the ministry that you lead and the opportunity that you have for people to hear and be challenged, but also to be equipped. So again, I appreciate you and all that's in front of you as well. So thank you for this time. [00:43:12] Speaker A: Thanks, Ryan. And so appreciate this conversation. If you have more questions about any of the work that we do, we, we're going to be putting some of these links, resources and things in the notes for the podcast. But I just want to say thank you listeners for being part of this again and continue to do the good work that God has called you to, as Ryan has said, and don't give up. You know, one of the things we are reminded of is God's not done yet and he's continuing to do his good, faithful work. And so for that we have our hope. Thank you all. Until next time, blessings. Bye bye.