YOKE Talk

To wrap up our series on Understanding Middle Schoolers, we're joined this week by Tori Hardin, a former YOKE kid and YOKE Folk at Northwest Middle School. In this episode of the podcast, Tori shares her story and draws on her years of experience in YOKE, as well as her experience now as a social worker, to share what a college student might have to offer when investing in the life of a middle school student. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Continuing our series on Understanding Middle Schoolers, we're joined this week by Tatia Harris. Tatia is the Title VI Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the City of Knoxville, and in this episode she talks with Jonathan about mental health first aid in the context of middle school ministry. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Continuing our series on Understanding Middle Schoolers, we're joined this week by Cindy White, the Curriculum Principal at Austin-East High School. Cindy is a good friend of the YOKE community and has previously been a principal at Gibbs Middle School, Vine Middle School, and Karns Middle School. In this episode of the podcast, she draws on her years of experience working with middle school students to share what makes this age group unique. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Continuing our series on Understanding Middle Schoolers, we're joined this week by David Schilling, the Youth Minister at Hardin Valley Church of Christ and a former YOKE team leader at Hardin Valley Middle School. In this episode, David shares from a Youth Minister's perspective about the unique challenges that middle school students face in their daily lives. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Continuing our series on Understanding Middle Schoolers, we're joined this week by Dr. Keith Bailey from Harmony Family Center. Keith has served as the Training Director for Harmony Family Center since 2016 and has over 30 years of experience working with children and families. At YOKE's 2019 Leadership Summit, Keith led a training on trauma-responsive practices. In this episode of the podcast, he shares why this topic is so important for anyone working with middle school students. To learn more about Harmony Family Center, visit harmonyfamilycenter.org or call 865.982.5225. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

If you're familiar with YOKE, you probably know that the age group we focus on is middle school. In order to better understand where our students are coming from, we're kicking off a brand new series on the podcast called "Understanding Middle Schoolers". Over the course of this series we'll hear from lots of experts who will give us their perspective on the middle school experience, and there's no better place to start than with talking to some actual middle schoolers! So for this episode, we sat down to chat with three of our awesome YOKE kids: Chloe, Silas, and Gianna. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

This week we sat down with YOKE's two newest staff members, Madjoel Douglass and Andrew Hodge. Madjoel is YOKE's new Area Director for Knoxville City Schools, and Andrew is the Area Director for YOKE's East area, which includes Jefferson and Grainger counties. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

This week we sat down for a conversation with YOKE's program director Sarah Scheafnocker. Before joining the staff earlier this year, Sarah had previously served with YOKE as both a YOKE Folk and a board member, and she served on staff at First Baptist Concord for nearly 11 years. In this episode, she shares what she loves about her role as YOKE's program director and how she ended up here, as well as what she's excited about as we look forward to a new school year. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Our community has been shaken this year by violence. We want to be part of the solution, and we know that you do too. With that in mind, this month we are speaking with several friends and community partners who have devoted their lives to being a part of that solution. This week we spoke with Rev. Jesse Jones, the Student & Family Support Coach at Austin-East High School with Project GRAD Knoxville. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Our community has been shaken this year by violence. We want to be part of the solution, and we know that you do too. With that in mind, this month we are speaking with several friends and community partners who have devoted their lives to being a part of that solution. This week we spoke with Kara Finger, the executive director of the Wesley House. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Our community has been shaken this year by violence. We want to be part of the solution, and we know that you do too. With that in mind, this month we are speaking with several friends and community partners who have devoted their lives to being a part of that solution. This week we spoke with Matthew Best, the director of the Future of Hope Institute and the Director of Multicultural Student Affairs at Johnson University. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Our community has been shaken this year by violence. We want to be part of the solution, and we know that you do too. With that in mind, this month we are speaking with several friends and community partners who have devoted their lives to being a part of that solution. This week we spoke with Denise Neal, the Assistant Principal at Vine Middle Magnet School. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Our community has been shaken this year by violence. We want to be part of the solution, and we know that you do too. With that in mind, this month we are speaking with several friends and community partners who have devoted their lives to being a part of that solution. This week we spoke with Lawrence Williams, a lifelong East Knoxville resident and the founder of World United Ministries and Safe Haven. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

This month on the podcast, we're catching up with some historic figures who have been through YOKE to see what they're up to now. In this episode we talked with Steve Diggs, who served as a YOKE Folk at Christenberry Junior High School and later went on to found Emerald Youth Foundation in Knoxville. Steve shared with us about his ministry with Emerald Youth, how they have adapted to keep serving our community during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how he was impacted by his time serving with YOKE as a young adult.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

This month on the podcast, we're catching up with some historic figures who have been through YOKE to see what they're up to now. Andy Minton was a YOKE kid, a Future Folk, a YOKE Folk, and now he is a youth minister. He joins us on the podcast to discuss how his time in YOKE helped prepare him for his future ministry.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

This month on the podcast, we're catching up with some historic figures who have been through YOKE to see what they're up to now. This week we are reairing a conversation with Kim Cruse, a former YOKE Folk who served as a missionary in the Philippines and has embodied YOKE's value of community through the relationships she developed in her time serving with YOKE, many of which have continued to this day.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

This month on the podcast, we're catching up with some historic figures who have been through YOKE to see what they're up to now and what YOKE meant to them growing up. This week's guest, Gary Drinnen, was a YOKE kid a Northwest Middle School and went on to serve as a Future Folk, as a YOKE Folk, and now on YOKE's board of directors.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

As we wrap up our series on recruiting leaders, we are joined this week by Eagleton YOKE Folk Chaz Farmer. Chaz served at Eagleton Middle School during the 2019-2020 school year while interning at Broadway Baptist Church in Maryville, so he offers his perspective on local churches partnering with YOKE to serve their local middle schools, as well as what it looks like for current YOKE Folk to recruit new leaders.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

As we continue our series our series on recruiting, we are joined by Matthew Best and Brent Brewer from Johnson University to discuss the importance of mentorship, as well as Johnson's partnership with YOKE. Matthew is the director of the Future of Hope Institute and the Director of Multicultural Student Affairs at the university, and Brent is a professor of Intercultural Studies and Missions.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Dave McNeely joins us on this episode to talk about the unique opportunity college students have to impact a middle school student's life, as well as how YOKE and Carson Newman University have been able to partner together over the years. Dave is the Faith & Justice Scholars program coordinator and an Adjunct Professor of Religion at Carson Newman. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

One of YOKE’s major priorities at the start of each new school year is recruiting volunteer leaders to serve at a local middle school. Since many of these leaders come from local college campuses, we wanted to hear from some of our partners who help us find quality leaders. In this episode, we spoke with Rodney Norvell, the BCM Director at the University of Tennessee, about how YOKE and the BCM have been able to partner together over the years.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

For the final installment in our #YOKEis series, this week's conversation focuses on the most important element of YOKE's ministry: Kid Time. Two members of our Norris YOKE team, Ethan Stephens and Josh Kirk, joined us to help define kid time and share what it has looked like for their team.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries. 

As we continue our #YOKEis series, we're focusing on a YOKE favorite: camp. Rutledge YOKE Folk Abby Orrick—who has experienced camp as a middle school kid, as a Future Folk, and as a YOKE Folk—joins us to share her experience with camp. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

In the third installment of our #YOKEis series, we are answering an important question: What is Club? To help answer the question, we spoke with team leaders Nick and Bridget Beam about their experience leading the YOKE team at Holston Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

On this second installment of our #YOKEis series, we are discussing the importance of YOKE's ministry being school-based. We spoke with Knox County Schools District Ombudsman Tammi Campbell (who also serves on YOKE's board of directors) about what it means to be school-based and what that looks like in the YOKE context.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

This episode kicks off a brand new series on the podcast called #YOKEis, in which we are focusing on some of the key elements of YOKE’s ministry. This week we are talking to two of our volunteers, Jacob Adams and Haley Cloud, about what it means to be a YOKE Folk.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

In this fifth and final installment of our series on YOKE's core values, we are focusing on Fun and Adventure. We’re joined YOKE’s West Knoxville area director Leah Carter and YOKE Folk Colton Jacoby to discuss why we believe that following Jesus should be fun, and what that looks like in the context of YOKE.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

In this fourth installment of our five-part series on YOKE's core values, we are focusing on Stewardship. We are joined by YOKE’s office manager Cindy Carter (known to some as "Mama Cindy") and local Chick-fil-a owner/operator Marshall Wilkins, who is a financial supporter and longtime member of the YOKE family. Cindy and Marshall share about how this value of stewardship is applied to YOKE's finances, and afterwards Jonathan talks to Blount County area director Eli Smith about what stewardship looks like in other areas of YOKE's ministry.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

In this third installment of our five-part series on YOKE's core values, we are focusing on Leadership Development. We are joined by YOKE’s team leader at Rutledge Middle School, Andrew Hodge, as well as one of his former YOKE kids, Zach Cameron. Zach is now a senior at Grainger High School and will be serving as YOKE Folk on the Rutledge team for the first time this year. The two of them share how the Rutledge team has been a model for what it looks like to develop leaders while serving.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

In this second installment of our five-part series on YOKE's core values, we are focusing on collaboration. We are joined by Kendra Berry, who is the site coordinator for the Community Schools program at Vine Middle Schooll, as well as YOKE's Vine team leader Heather Story and urban schools area director Daniel Lee, to discuss how the Vine YOKE team has been able to collaborate with the school to achieve YOKE's mission.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

We're kicking off a brand new five-part series on YOKE's core values. In each episode we will focus on one core value and hear from someone in the YOKE family who has experienced the reality of that particular value. This week we are joined by Kim Cruse, a former YOKE Folk who has embodied YOKE's value of community through the relationships she developed in her time serving, many of which have continued to this day.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Astrid Martinez, YOKE team leader at Gresham Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Scott Sutton, YOKE Folk at Carter Middle School and former YOKE kid at Gresham Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Alvarez is a 7th grader at Carter Middle School who joined us along with his YOKE Folk Patrick Krogstie to talk about a special connection they discovered through spending time together at YOKE camp. Alvarez also shares how YOKE has inspired him to step up as a leader even during the school shutdown due to COVID-19.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Adam White is a former member of YOKE's board of directors, and his daughter Emma now serves as a YOKE Folk at Powell Middle School. This conversation with Adam and Emma was recorded via YOKE Live on YOKE's Instagram page.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Chaz Farmer, a YOKE Folk at Eagleton Middle School. This episode was recorded on YOKE's Instagram as an installment of YOKE Live. You can catch YOKE Live every night except Sunday at 7pm on the YOKE Instagram page: @yokeyouth.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

We had the opportunity to talk with our friend Eric Minton about mental health in the midst of isolation and uncertainty, and how we can best take care of ourselves and others. Eric is a therapist, a pastor, and a member of the YOKE family. Visit mintonfamilytherapy.com to contact Eric or learn more about his private practice.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Jessa Gaut, a YOKE Folk at Eagleton Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Eric and Ara Langford, YOKE Team Leaders at Karns Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Chastedy Johnson, YOKE Folk at Vine Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Abbie Robinson, YOKE Folk at West Valley Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Darius McClure, YOKE Folk at Heritage Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Rachel Clifft, YOKE Folk at Cedar Bluff Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Mackensi Crumley, YOKE Folk at Norris Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Jacob and Margaret Daniels, YOKE Team Leaders at Union Grove Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Laura Beeler, YOKE Folk at Halls Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Lalina "Lina" Thompson, YOKE Folk at Northwest Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with EA Durfee, YOKE Folk at Halls Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Jessie Williams, former YOKE kid and Future Folk, and current YOKE Folk at Alcoa Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with Kelly Chilcote, YOKE Folk at Jefferson Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

A conversation with brother-and-sister duo Ryan and Courtney Hudson, both YOKE Folk at Farragut Middle School.Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.