Pizza & Side Hugs Julia Eckrich, Paul Sifuentes, & Jake Teitgen

Evaluating a Youth Ministry Year
Season 4, Episode 3
Intro (0:20) 
What is Feedback You’ve Received in YM That You’ll Never Forget? (1:45)
Big Picture: What’s the Purpose of Evaluating? (11:47)
Evaluation obviously seeks to make your ministry better, but it can feel tough to justify given everything else you have to do. Here’s why it’s important:
Creates accountability for leadersAdds intention to the full process of ministryGives others a chance to share their voice about a ministry they care forCreates metrics to measure success and data to advocate for your ministryHelps parish staff and parishioners understand the needs of the youth and youth ministryDetails: How Do You Evaluate Best? (18:15)
Who evaluates your ministry? How do you get feedback or thoughtfully think through your ministry with different constituents?When do you evaluate? What time of the year works best for this?How much evaluation is needed? What kind of data will you keep or follow-up will you have?What questions are asked? What are helpful questions to ask of others or within a ministry’s leadership?Google Drive Folder with Examples of Surveys you can use: https://shorturl.at/dksw5
Segment: Case by Case (40:33)
Isabel from Indianapolis:
I am a volunteer in a youth ministry and want to relate to students, but I feel like I don’t know what they’re going through and I definitely don’t know the slang for kids today. How do I relate to young people who have such different experiences than me?
Conclusion (48:00)
Let us know what you want us to discuss! Send us something 
pizzasidehugs@gmail.com
SUBSCRIBE!
Sign-off

Conference Rankings
Season 4, Episode 2.5 - A Slice

Why you should go to a Youth Minister Conference(0:35)

Our top 3 youth ministry conference or professional development opportunities:
(4:15)

Conference Links
Notre Dame Vision: http://mcgrath.nd.edu/vision
NFCYM Exchange: https://nfcym.org/featured-events/exchange/
Life Teen Conference: https://lifeteen.com/events/catholic-youth-ministry-convention/ Thriveanooga: https://www.thrive.rs/thriveanooga/2024
Orange: https://theorangeconference.com/
John Bosco Conference: https://steubenvilleconferences.com/events/sjb/
LA Congress: https://recongress.org/
National Catholic Network for Pastoral Juvenil Hispana (La Red): https://www.laredpjh.org/ 
Campference: https://archindyym.com/campference 
Conclusion (19:50)
 What’s one aspect of youth ministry that you dread? We’d love to address it. Let us know with an email! pizzasidehugs@gmail.com

Intro (0:47) 
Memorable Overnight Experiences (5:15)
Challenges in Ministry that Includes Overnight Stays (18:15)
NEW SEGMENT! Case by Case (33:41)
Pete from Plainfield:
I’m at a parish with a school, and there seems to be a big divide between middle school students from the school and from the parish. How do I encourage both groups to participate in youth ministry?
Conclusion (41:47)
Let us know what you want us to discuss! Send us something pizzasidehugs@gmail.comd

Sacred Scripture is the Word of God, one of the two major sources of the deposit of faith. Together with capital T Tradition, Scripture comprises the Truth of the Triune God, Jesus Christ, and the Catholic Church. But, upon graduation from youth ministry, are our students literate in Scripture? Do they know the basics of salvation history? Have they prayed with the Psalms or can they draw conclusions to big questions from Gospel parables? Can they even navigate the Bible?

What’s consistently tough about second semester in youth ministry?
Whether it is  waning attendance, losing enthusiasm, prepping for big summer trips while doing everything else, calendaring for next year,  or just plain burnout from a busy first semester, January- May can be often be difficult or feel overwhelming.  This episode we dive into why that is and what we can do about it.
Time Stamps
Intro (0:47)
What are some of the unique nicknames we've had (5:15)
Media Mentions - NEW SEGMENT!!! (11:06)
Jake- Instagram account: sbmowing
Paul- Book: Start Talking to Your Kids about Sex
Julia- Confirmation Program Pilot
Rachel- Book: Be Healed 
Second Semester Scaries (18:15)
Theories why this happens? (19:20)
Antidotes to the second semester scaries this year? (20:33)
Lessening the second semester scaries down the road? (31:00)
Pep talk for the second semester scaries? (35:00)
Conclusion (41:47)
Let us know what you want us to discuss! Send us something
pizzasidehugs@gmail.com

At the start of a new year of ministry, it’s easy to get caught up in, “What’s new in your ministry?” But the fundamentals of YM should excite us even more. This episode is all about Running it Back to why you want to do this in the first place!
Top 5 Fundamentals To Focus on At the Start of the Year
Seeing the Kids- (6:50)Putting Yourselves in Parent’s Shoes-(17:00)Being a Companion for First Year Leaders- (27:16)Getting Ahead in Order to Be Present- (34:58)Praying for Your Community- (42:45)
Links from the Show
iGen- Dr. Jean Twenge
Drawing from nationally representative surveys of 11 million young people as well as in-depth interviews, iGen is the first book to document the cultural changes shaping today’s teens and young adults, documenting how their changed world has impacted their attitudes, worldviews, and mental health.

From Christendom to Apostolic Mission: Pastoral Strategies for an Apostolic Age
Every human society possesses a moral and spiritual imaginative vision, a set of assumptions and ways of looking at things according to which life proceeds. This essay is an attempt to contribute effective strategies to engage our own time and culture once more with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and – for a weary world – to awaken the Catholic imaginative vision.