Southland Students Leaders Podcast

This week’s episode Scott is joined by Peter Sohn, guys groups pastor from NIC MS, and Nick Bernard, our Southland Students Worship & Programming Pastor serving all our campuses. Listen in as they talk about Gen Z, and how knowing a little bit more about them, may help us understand them and serve them a little bit better! Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  How many of the words that Peter and Nick talked about did you know, and are there any that you would add that would be important?  Out of the influencers that Peter mentioned, how many did you you know?  What is one thing you appreciate about Gen Z students? Resources: Meet Gen Z - James Emery White Axis Weekly Cultural Translator  High School Teacher Explains Gen Z Dictionary

This week’s episode is part two of Scott’s conversation with Rolland Blair and Ariea King. Listen in as they talk about anxiety, fear, and worry.   Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  How do you cope with stress in your personal life?  Do you feel like our students are more or less stressed than you were as a middle or high school student? What is something you can do repeatedly, or change in your life, to become a non-anxious presence during Southland Students?    Resources: Book Resource - Daring Greatly - Brené Brown

This week’s episode Scott is joined again by two long time Lexington Campus folks, Rolland Blair and Ariea King. Listen in as they talk about how anxiety is not just a student issue, but a people issue.    Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  Is anxiety, fear or worry something that has been a struggle for you personally?  How do you cope with the stress of life?  Do you feel like our students are more or less stressed than you were as a middle or high school student?

This week’s episode Scott is joined again by Ben MacGill, our NIC High School Guys Groups Pastor, and NIC Middle School Girls Groups Pastor. Listen in as they talk about the spiritual practice of confession.    Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  Coaches, if you have something, start off by sharing a time when confession was part of your story (either you confessed or someone confessed to you).  Has there ever been a time where you needed to confess something and you choice to share it?  What happened to your heart? How’d the person you shared with respond?  Close in praying for each other. Ask God specifically that trust would be built within both your coaches group and your small group, so if anything needs to be confessed there is an open place to share.    Resources: Celebration of Disciplines - link

This week’s episode Scott is joined again by Ben MacGill, our NIC High School Guys Groups Pastor, and Allison Antram, a High School Junior Girls Group leader at our Lexington Campus. Listen in as they talk about the spiritual practice of the Sabbath.    Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  When was the last time you participated in Sabbath?  When you think about taking a full 24 hour period of time to stop, rest, delight, and worship - what words come to mind?  What would be your biggest hesitation in trying to set aside one day this week to truly rest in who God is?   Resources: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry - link Emotionally Healthy Spirituality - link

On this week’s episode, Scott is joined by Ben MacGill our High School Guys Group Pastor at Nicholasville, and Allison Antram, a high school junior girls leader at our Lexington Campus. Listen in as they talk about the spiritual practice of prayer.    Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  Does anyone have a cool story of an answered prayer?  How’s it working in 2020?  What do you think your greatest challenge is with this practice?  What is your current practice of prayer? Any questions or prayers that you’re wrestling with?   Resources: How to Pray: A simple guide - link The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry - link Emotionally Healthy Spirituality - link Lectio 365 App - link How to Pray the Examen 24/7 Prayer - link

Show Notes:  Welcome to Season 2!  In this week’s episode, Scott is joined by Kate Grounds, our NIC Middle School Girls Groups Pastor, and Ben MacGill our High School Guys Group Pastor at Nicholasville. Listen in as they talk about the spiritual practice of reading scripture.    Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  What does your practice of scripture reading look like right now? How did you get to that point?  How’s it working in 2020?  What difficulties do you face when it comes to the Bible (fear, confusion, boredom, skepticism, etc.)?  How do you think your engagement with Scripture impacts your small group?    Resources: Core 52 - https://amzn.com/0525653252 The YouVersion Bible App - https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/ Southland Teaching Series - https://southland.church/watch/meat-potatoes The Bible Project - https://thebibleproject.com/ NLT Application Study Bible - link

Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  For those folks who have participated in one of our winter events, share about the weekend and how it impacted your group.  Have you registered for winter retreat or winter weekend? If not, please go to southland.church/students/trips and register - it’s free for leaders but it helps us as we order things like food and supplies.

In this week’s episode, Scott is joined by our Georgetown Student Pastor, Ian Schweitzer to celebrate what’s happened in Southland Students this year and discuss how our small group leaders can capitalize on Winter Break.   Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  Give one win from this semester with your group. Share an idea you have for Christmas break for your few. What would you like to hear on the podcast that we could discuss here in coach’s time?

In this week’s episode, Scott is joined by our high school girls groups pastors at our Nicholasville Campus, Kelly Hill, and Beth Gillock, a high school girls small group leader to discuss what it means to create a safe place by respecting the process. Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  What’re the craziest questions you’ve gotten from your group?  Do your students ask questions about their faith in small group? If so what kinds of questions do they ask? Where do you feel like your group is at with their faith? How can you challenge them to grow with where they are now? We are shaping next semester’s content for the Leader Podcast and would love to answer your questions.  If you have any thoughts on things you would like to have covered or questions you would like answers to, please send those to students@southland.church and we will do our best to answer those!

This week we have a bonus episode of the Southland Students Leader’s Podcast. We don’t have programming as we celebrate Thanksgiving with our families, but we wanted to give you a little bonus material you could listen to if you’re driving or maybe on the treadmill after eating way too much turkey! We hope you enjoy this conversation with Southland’s Lead Follower, Jon Weece.

In this week’s episode, Scott is joined by our two Middle School Groups pastors at our Nicholasville Campus, Kate Grounds and Peter Sohn, to discuss what it means to create a safe place by guarding the heart.   Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  Based on all your other commitments and limits in your life, what are some realistic expectations you have for pouring into your few? When you think about where you are with your few, one side being a friend the other being a mentor, where do you fall on that scale?  If a student shares something tonight that is over your level of expertise, what is the first thing you would say?    Coaches, this week remind your small group leaders that you’re available for them, just like they are for their few.   We are shaping next semester’s content for the Leader Podcast and would love to answer your questions.  If you have any thoughts on things you would like to have covered or questions you would like answers to, please send those to students@southland.church and we will do our best to answer those! 

In this week’s episode, Scott is joined by Jeremy Congdon (Danville Student Pastor) & Dusty Bailey (Nicholasville High School Pastor) to discuss what it means to make it personal by being real.   Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  What’s your community outside of Southland Students consist of?  How has being real with your few impacted your small group over time?  Did you time to do the challenge from Jeremy to answer the question, “Who has God made me to be?”  If so, what was revealed to you? If not, when could you schedule a time to make that happen?    We are shaping next semester’s content for the Leader Podcast and would love to answer your questions.  If you have any thoughts on things you would like to have covered or questions you would like answers to, please send those to students@southland.church and we will do our best to answer those! 

In this week’s episode, Scott is joined by Nathaniel Frank (High School Senior - Nicholasville)  & Nick Bernard (Local Impact Pastor - Nicholasville) to discuss what it means to Move them to Be The Church.   Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  How have you been challenged you to live On Mission?  Who was the person who pushed you to serve?  Nathaniel talked from a specific student perspective - who in your group models living On Mission really well, and how are they serving?  When you look at your group, what is one way that you could challenge them to live On Mission as a group this week?    We are shaping next semester’s content for the Leader Podcast and would love to answer your questions.  If you have any thoughts on things you would like to have covered or questions you would like answers to, please send those to students@southland.church and we will do our best to answer those!

On this week’s episode Scott is joined by Drew Metcalfe (7th Grade Middle School Guys SGL - Lexington)  & Marcus Schaeffer (Middle School Pastor - Lexington) to discuss what it means to Be Present by showing up mentally. Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  What tend to be the things that keep you from showing up mentally to Southland Students? Students will be less likely to be present mentally if we aren’t. Can you think of some times where you’ve seen this happen? Or, what has it looked like when you’ve had nights where you’re completely engaged? Can you notice a difference? How can you prepare yourself before Southland Students to make sure you’re totally present with your few? We are currently shaping next semester’s content for the Leader Podcast and would love to have your help.  If you have any thoughts on things you would like to have covered or questions you would like answers to, please send those to students@southland.church and we will do our best to answer those! 

On this week’s episode, Scott is joined by Sam King (HS Guys SGL)  & Jeremy Congdon (Student Pastor - Danville) to discuss what it means to Be Present by showing up randomly.   Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  When was a time somebody “randomly” showed up for you? What did it mean to you?  Think of your “few”, what activities are they involved in that you could show up at?  Challenge: Plan a time to show up randomly this coming week. Include co-leaders, other students and parents, if you want! 

On this week’s episode, Scott is joined by Sunday Rose (10th-grade girls SGL)  & Ian Schweitzer (Student Pastor - Georgetown) to discuss what it means to Make it Personal by living in community.   Resources: southland.church/groups   Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  How do you “make it personal” for each student in your group?  Where are you finding community outside of Wednesday/Sunday night?  Which part of the Southland Triangle (With Jesus, In Community, and On Mission) do you feel that you need to focus on personally, and which area do you need to focus your group on? 

In this week's special episode, Jeremy Congdon (Student Pastor - Danville) and Ian Schweitzer (Student Pastor - Georgetown) talk about questions specifically for guys small groups.   Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  What is your group of guys like? Are they crazy? Is there anything from this podcast you could try to get them more focused? Who is a student you would like to connect with? What is something you could do to reach out to him? Have you had any students ask for your help with lust or pornography? What has been helpful in that process of working with them?

On this week’s episode Kate Grounds (Nicholasville Middle School Girls Groups Pastor) & Kelly Hammock (Nicholasville High School Girls Groups Pastor) discuss the joys and some of the challenges related to girls' small groups specifically.    Discussion Questions for Coaches Time: Out of the five ways to make your girls small group less crazy, which ones do you feel like most related to your group? Why? The 5 ways were: Teach them to work through conflict, squash gossip, show them you care outside of Wednesday nights, celebrate milestones, create unity Do the girls in your group go to the same school or different schools? How has that dynamic affected your group? Take some time to brainstorm some ideas to show your girls you care outside of Wednesday nights.

On this week’s episode, Scott is joined again by Michelle Frank (mom of two Southland Students) to discuss what it means to Partner with Parents by honoring the parent.   Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:  Think back to middle or high school and dealing with your own parents/guardians. How do you see their side of rules/discipline now that you couldn’t back then?  How can you get to know the parents of your few better? What are some ways you have seen work?  What are some situations where it is tough to honor the parent? How can you lead through that the parent is a partner, not an adversary? 

On this week’s episode, Scott is joined by Michelle Frank (mom of two Southland Students) and Rex Gillim (8th grade boys SGL) to discuss what it means to Partner with Parents by cueing the parent.   Resources mentioned: Parent Cue Group Me   Discussion Questions for Coaches Time:   What are some different ways to connect with the parents of your few? For those who have led before, which ways have seemed most effective? Why is partnering with parents so important? What wins have you seen by including parents? Challenge: SGLs are expected to contact parents three times a semester. Have you made the first contact yet? If not, make plans to contact them in the next 24 hours.

On this week’s episode Scott is joined by Kate Grounds (middle school girls pastor at NIC) and Dusty Bailey (high school pastor at NIC) to discuss what it means to be present by showing up predictably.     Discussion Questions for Coaches Time: What is (or will be) the biggest hindrance for you showing up weekly at Southland Students?  Do you have students in your small group who need you to show up predictably because of things that happen outside of Southland?  Share who they are, and why showing up predictably matters for them.  Who showed up predictably in your world?  How did their investment influence you? 

This is a combined episode where we look at some of the “why” and “how” of small groups, but we also dive into our big event nights throughout the year like “My Birthday Party.”

Everything we do sets up our small group leaders to win, so we want to start off the year talking about the role Small Groups play in our ministry!

Southland Students exists to create environments where students in Kentucky find belonging; so they can live with Jesus, in community, and on mission!  Our hope is that every student that walks through our doors experiences Jesus and finds a place that loves them and cares - take a listen to how Daniel and Scott believe this can happen at Southland.