Learning in Community

Changes big or small keep us on our toes, but those transitions God invites us to say "yes" or "no" to can be especially challenging. Listen as Josh and Rachel break down principles for transition with Danielle Bender's story of the challenging decision to say "yes" and "yes again" to God's call on her life even when it has meant saying goodbye. Danielle has served YFC for the last six years in a myriad of roles and we are all better for having served Jesus alongside her.

What would you do if God called you to the toughest most broken places for the rest of your life? This week Josh and Rachel are joined by Tacoma YFC Juvenile Justice Ministry Community Coordinator Amari Davis to answer just that. They discuss God's call on Amari's life to serve and love young people effected by the justice system and she does not disappoint as she comes to the table with a whole lot of wisdom and a whole lot of inspiration. You won't want to miss it!

When you are in close proximity to the journey and day to day needs of a young person, it can feel insensitive to respond to their needs by doing nothing. Doug, Josh, and Rachel talk about with it means to build healthy boundaries amidst chaos that can consume us while remembering what God actually calls us to do. ----------------------------------- Show Notes: Take out a piece of paper with two columns and try out Doug's exercise around God's Job Description and your own. See all the ways God is simply asking you to partner with him in a few things and not be all things. EXAMPLE My Job: Love, Present Truth, Pray God's Job: Protect, Provide, Love, Intercede, Be the Truth

When a kid sends a tough question your way it can be tempting to "give the right answer." But what if the right answer is no answer at all? Rachel, Doug, and Josh wrestle with how leading kids to the truth requires mental gymnastics, a good listening ear, and sometimes no answer at all.

With 2-3 times more students failing one or more classes coast to coast, we can all agree that our young people need support around virtual learning. Josh and Rachel discuss practical solutions to what continues to be one of the hardest challenges for young people in this season.

When expectations and realities don't align the holidays can feel like one big disappointment. Josh, Rachel, and Dani discuss some of their favorite holiday memories in ministry together and their experiences unpacking the hard questions about the character of God and disappointment with young people.

What does it take to have a successful parachurch/church partnership? What does it take for a youth worker to have successful partnerships throughout their neighborhood? Josh and Rachel tackle these questions and more with community connection and church partnership aficionado Jeremy Dawson.

In our season opener Josh and Rachel chat with Jeremy Dawson, Tacoma YFC Board Member, Thrivent Community Engagement Coordinator and Anchor Church Worship Director about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, choosing innovation over segregation and assimilation, and why youth workers should be engaged in the practice of turning soup into salad. Resources: "Tribes & Tongues Series" Jeremy Dawson & Bryan Halferty, Anchor Church Theme Music “Daydream” by Brian Silas Ki

It can feel challenging to prioritize our own physical, emotional and mental needs during a pandemic. It feels like we should be doing 200% more than we would normally with less than 40% of the energy and capacity we once had. If there was ever a time to slow down — it is in this moment. Listen as Josh and Rachel unpack what it looks like to care for ourselves well right now. Liberate App Calm App The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel A. van der Kolk

It can be weird as a youth worker to connect with new young people and build ministry in the virtual realm. With kids not going back to school, the social limitations on our ability to contact young people won't be changing anytime soon. On today's episode Josh and Rachel discuss their secret weapon for doing ministry in a pandemic: mobilizing young leaders. They break down what has worked over the last 7 months and their plans for ministry this Fall. Don't miss it! Resources: Building Cathedrals by Ted Travis

This is part 2 of our special interview with 15 year Seattle YFC Veteran Minta Buse. If you haven't checked out episode 9, listen to that first! In this episode Minta describes the difficulties of being a youth worker when the money isn't rolling in, what it has been like to have empathy for a culture she wasn't born into and how creativity is born out of diversity. You won't want to miss a second of this! To support her work and the work of her partners in South Seattle, Everett, Bellevue, and Monroe consider giving at https://seattleyfc.givingfuel.com/yfcgive.

This week Josh is back with Rachel to welcome Seattle Area YFC veteran and friend Minta Buse to the podcast. Their interview covers everything from building relationships across cultures, to working in immigrant communities, the way we value and pay youth workers, and how Minta grew up without a TV. Listen to Part 1 of their two episode interview with her right here. To support her work and the work of her partners in South Seattle, Everett, Bellevue, and Monroe consider giving at https://seattleyfc.givingfuel.com/yfcgive.

Right now amidst COVID-19, young people who have experienced severe traumas are still in need of love, support, and healing. We know that at the center of every practical need in these young people is a deep desire for relationship and that doesn't change even from a distance. Today on the Learning in Community podcast, we welcome back guest Erin Randle to wrestle with how to come alongside young people who have experienced trauma.

We've all heard the saying, “It takes a village,” but what does that look like practically? Today we discuss how we can ALL be connected to the mission of reaching young people everywhere with the message of hope.

When we look at the vast landscape of young people there are so many different cultures, personalities, interests, subgroups and they are all made in the image of God. A lot of these young people do not fit into the mainstream and they will never come looking for us -- they are on the margins. In the time of Jesus' ministry they were fisherman, tax collectors, the poor, the abused, the shamed and it was His strategy to go find them. Today we discuss what it looks like to seek out young people on the margins. Music: "Daydream" by Brian Silas Ki **We are recording under COVID-19 restraints and apologize for the additional background noise this episode. Thank you for your continued support!

Our families, communities, churches and young people are divided in so many ways and we as believers are somehow supposed to overcome all this tension and misunderstanding to be the bridge. Honestly, that sounds impossible in our current climate. Today Josh and Rachel are joined by producer and TYFC Volunteer Care and Training Manager Danielle Bender to unpack exactly how we can build unity on our teams, within our communities, families, and interpersonal relationships. **We are recording under COVID-19 restraints and apologize for the additional background noise this episode. Thank you for your continued support!

We are not in the business of transaction, we are in the business of relationship — and that includes relationships in our community. Listen as Josh and Rachel interview TYFC Development Officer and THE Tacoma Ministry Guy, Doug Jonson about his journey of building relationships with (basically) everyone in his city. Learn how community collaboration can transform your ministry from a program that burns you out to a movement that catalyzes your whole hood.

It can be hard to tell a young person the good news in a world that feels anything but GOOD. Today Josh & Rachel unpack how to come alongside young people as you connect scripture and the Gospel to the reality we're all living through. Resources: The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper

We don't love young people in a vacuum and neither did Jesus. The murder of George Floyd and movement for black lives in this season has sparked national outrage and will forever shape this generation of young people...and Jesus meets us in the middle of it all. Today we invite TYFC's Volunteer Care & Training Manager Danielle Bender to help us unpack how we are processing our grief and practicing lament in this moment as leaders and how we've created space to process grief and practice lament with young people. Resources: Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing by Chris Rice and Emmanuel Katongole

The coronavirus has no doubt had an impact on the ways we connect with young people, but as believers we know that Jesus left the 99 for the 1. Our first and last priority in reaching young people is relationship. Even in quarantine that doesn't change. Listen as Josh and Rachel unpack practicing deep ministry in a digital world that's stretching us thin.

Welcome to Learning in Community! This podcast is for the equipping of leaders who have been called by Christ to love and serve young people. In this episode you'll 1) learn a little about your hosts Josh and Rachel, 2) hear why we created this podcast, and 3) some key spiritual practices we'll be taking with us in the seasons following Covid-19 to care for our souls. Resources: Jackie Hill Perry Jude Study Knowing the Bible Series The Bible Project's Tim Mackie on "Fasting & Feasting"