Podcasts about christian camp

Marriage takes intentionality—and in the middle of raising kids, balancing work, and keeping up with the daily grind, it's easy for couples to put their relationship on the back burner. In this episode, Amy and Marissa sit down with Genee Francis, Assistant Director of Content and Programming at WinShape Marriage, to talk about what it really looks like to invest in your marriage. From practical rhythms to heart-level encouragement, Genee shares wisdom for strengthening connection, building trust, and keeping Christ at the center—no matter your season. Whether you're newly married or years into the journey, this conversation is filled with hope, humor, and practical ways to grow stronger together.Explore WinShape Marriage Retreat OptionsExplore WinShape Marriage Free Resources-Question of the Week: What qualities are you going to look for in someone to marry one day? Why are those important to you? --Hosts: Amy Lowe & Marissa RayGuests: Genee FrancisProducers: Emily Alters & Cody Braun--Learn more about WinShape Camps at WinShapeCamps.org!Instagram: @WinShapeCampsTikTok: @WinShapeCampsFacebook: @WinShapeCamps 

Today's witnesses are from Matthew West's website, called popwe.org. If you don't know who Matthew West is, he is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller. This website is for the non-profit that he has with his father, a pastor. Matthew and his father encourage people to share their stories. They have various categories of stories. Today, I chose three testimonies from the God Stories Category. Often, we can hear our own story in someone else's story. When we listen to others tell their story, it helps us see that we are not alone. Hearing how God worked in their situation gives us hope that He will work in ours, too! I pray that when you hear this testimony, you get the faith and hope to believe that miracles can happen in your situation, too. I pray you know that God is there with you, and if you invite Him into your situation, He can help. I hope you enjoy these testimonies.First is Diane: I run a Christian camp for people who have developmental and physical disabilities, or as I like to say, “diversabilities.” Because isn't that who we all are? We experienced great tragedy in September of 2020 when we lost many of our physical buildings, including our activity spaces, bunkhouses, and gymnasium, in a fire. Many of which had been built in the 1940s.Our campers were devastated. Many have been coming to camp for over 40 years, but without indoor facilities and bunkhouses to serve and host our campers, the future looked bleak. That said, we dutifully signed up for FEMA support to rebuild and began the process of determining eligibility in early 2021.After much prayer and consideration, we made a commitment to continue serving campers someway, somehow. And we were overwhelmed by the blessing of grants, private donations and many volunteers. We cleared our 18-acre property of fire debris, established and activity meadow, purchased 18 beautiful bell tents and opened our gates to 10 campers a week for 6 weeks. We had only a few doors left after the fires and that first year, all activities and meals were outside. Before the fires and COVID we were serving 25 campers a week, but we promised we would do what we could, and God provided everything we needed!Fast forward 4 ½ years and here we are, still providing camp with temporary facilities. We continue to work with FEMA and have only just begun to receive money to begin the process of rebuilding.We were gifted a master plan through the assistance of the Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA) in 2021, and now we are working with an incredible architecture and design firm of which 90% is being paid for through FEMA funds. For us 10% is a significant funding gap, but we trust our Father in heaven to pave a way for us to continue moving forward with rebuilding. If all goes well, we anticipate breaking ground on our new buildings later this year.And finally, to the reason for this long explanation. Our campers love those VBS songs you mention in some of your devos, and I like to re-introduce a few of them every year, so when I read your post this morning, I knew it was time to bring this old chestnut back to our campfire songs, “This little light of mine.” As we rebuild Upward Bound Camp we stand on the firm foundation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, sharing and rejoicing in His love for all of us!Second is Heather: My story is about meeting my husband at the warehouse we where we worked, marrying him and then losing him to cancer after twelve life changing years of marriage and seven kids later.He came to me one day asking, “is this a pimple?” I said,” No love, you should get that checked.” He wasted no time, and the test came back as Melanoma. Within a year of that diagnosis, he went to be with Jesus.He fought really hard and had a heart of gold the whole way through. He said these words to me towards the end” I am at peace with this.”Those words will stay in my heart always. He loved Jesus so much and trusted him. I believed before I met Doug, but I honestly believe that he was put on this earth to prepare me and the kids spiritually for what was ahead. For things we did not know were going to happen.He served God in many ways, but if not for him I believe our lives would have taken a much different path. With him rooting me in the Catholic faith and me coming to truly believe it, allowed me to have the strength to carry on and keep the kids rooted in their faith.He was an amazing man. I thank you God for blessing us with him if even for a short time. We love you Daddy/ Douglas.Third is Roy: Last night, my family and I were at your concert here in Lincoln. What a beautiful evening of worship! Seeing my family laugh, sing, and worship together was a powerful reminder of God's faithfulness and goodness.Matthew, we met about 15 years ago at a Parenting Simulcast. I was the parenting manager running point that day. It was such a joy to work with you during that event, and I still treasure the memories of that experience.I'm reaching out to tell you how deeply your song, The God Who Stays, has impacted my life. It became an Ebenezer for me during one of the most broken seasons I've ever experienced.In 2014, I left that organization due to downsizing and took over a struggling Bible and youth camp in New England. After six difficult years of ministry, the camp had to close during COVID, and the board dissolved it. I was devastated.It felt like I had failed everyone—including God. After closing the doors and letting the staff go, my wife took our kids away for a weekend and told me, “You need to do business with God.”I went to a place we called “One Tree Hill,” a beautiful hillside at the base of Mount Monadnock, and I listened to The God Who Stays on repeat. I cried like I've never cried before. It was there, in my brokenness, that I encountered Christ in such a profound way.I felt His warmth and embrace, even in the midst of my pain and failure. I was ready to give up leadership entirely, but in that moment, Christ whispered to me: I am not done with you yet. I have been preparing you for what's next.Within 48 hours of that encounter, I connected with the ministry I serve today.  This January, I will celebrate four years stewarding this organization, which serves vulnerable families through foster care, family preservation, and ministry to families impacted by incarceration.These last four years have brought so much healing and restoration. Not only in my ministry but in my marriage and family. My wife and kids (25, 21, and 17) have endured so much over the past 15 years, through four major moves and countless challenges. But God has been faithful. To sit together last night in worship reminded me how far He has carried us. Thank you, Matthew, for allowing God to use your music to minister to so many, including me. The God Who Stays will forever be a reminder of His steadfast love and presence in my life.Thank you all so much for being brave enough to share your stories. I know these stories are going to touch the lives of so many people. www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

What makes summer camp such a meaningful and formative experience for kids—and why do so many keep coming back year after year? In this episode, Amy sits down with two leaders from the WinShape Camps team for a behind-the-scenes look at how camp is intentionally designed to help kids grow in faith, confidence, and resilience. From counselor influences to outdoor play and faith-filled moments that stick, you'll walk away with a deeper understanding of how camp can shape your kids in powerful ways. You'll also hear about what sets WinShape Camps apart, why camp remains valuable as kids get older, and how it creates a safe space for them to try new things, build relationships, and thrive.WinShape Camps WebsitePodcast: Are My Kids Ready for Overnight Camp?-- Question of the Week: What is a recent challenge that you have overcome?--Hosts: Amy LoweGuests: Keenan Riley & Emma Del SestoProducers: Emily Alters & Cody Braun--Learn more about WinShape Camps at WinShapeCamps.org!Instagram: @WinShapeCampsTikTok: @WinShapeCampsFacebook: @WinShapeCamps 

A Christian camp is challenging a Colorado law that forces them to adopt gender ideology. The Supreme Court refuses to hear the case of a Massachusetts student who was sent home for wearing a t-shirt with a traditional message. And what should you watch and what should you avoid?   Recommendations Fidelity Month Sara Groves Art House North Segment 1 - Christian Camp Sues Colorado ADF: Camp IdRaHaJe Association v. Roy ADF: XX-XY Athletics sues Colorado for violating right to speak truth that men and women are different ADF: US Supreme Court declines to hear ‘There are only two genders' T-shirt case ADF: School Settles Lawsuit After Forcing Third-Grader to Remove ‘Jesus Loves Me' Mask Segment 2 - Boundaries in Entertainment Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business Segment 3 - Recommendations Fidelity Month Sara Groves Art House North Submit a question to Breakpoint here! __________ Help the Church be the Church by giving before June 30 at colsoncenter.org/may. Attend a Colson Fellows Informational Webinar at colsonfellows.org/webinar.

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We cover the Colorado transgender nightmare and contemplate attempts to reverse Obergefell. But be encouraged. Bad ideologies don't last all that long — 60-70 years max. We include a little history lesson, to gain perspective here. The Darwinist Eugenics and Superior Race theories were smashed to smithereens in 1945. The witchcraft and seances of early 19th century America were tossed into hell by 1865. These movements were outrageously popular but they didn't last long. Jesus reigns. This program includes: 1. The World View in 5 Minutes with Adam McManus (Jake Tapper confessed: Conservative media was right about Biden's decline, Alaskan volcano could blow, Armenian Christian details abuses in Iranian prison) 2. Generations with Kevin Swanson

On this episode of the show, Billy Hallowell and Valerie Richardson begin with the strange case of a Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing, where a purportedly anti-pro-life man tried to inflict harm. Then, they explore a Christian summer camp in Colorado suing the state over a gender identity law they believe threatens their religious liberty. Finally, the story centers on an educator fighting back after purportedly being banned from keeping conservative kids' books in his workspace.You'll hear that and more on today's Higher Ground from The Washington Times. STORIES:https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/may/22/roderick-theis-oregon-educator-sues-told-stop-displaying-johnny/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/may/21/palm-springs-bombing-suspect-believed-driven-anti-birth-ideology/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/may/18/colorado-christian-summer-camp-sues-states-transgender-mandate/FOLLOW BILLY ON SOCIAL MEDIA:- Follow Billy on Twitter- Follow Billy on Instagram- Follow Billy on Facebook- Follow Billy on YouTube

A new MP3 sermon from Generations Radio is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Christian Camp Forced into Transgenderism - Worldview News in Review Speaker: Kevin Swanson Broadcaster: Generations Radio Event: Radio Broadcast Date: 5/26/2025 Length: 49 min.

Today in Current Events from a Christian Perspective:In the latest gender insanity, Christian Camp is threatened with shut down by the government if they don't allow boys in the girls bathroom. Yes, this is a real story and yes, this is why we MUST talk about these things. I often see the question, 'why do you care about LGBTQ$%^& so much, it doesn't affect you?' Well, it does. Reality is real and if you need to make imaginary things like boys can be girls, you will have to physically enforce it, because that is not real and cannot possibly be real. This whole, 'live and let live' mentality is just dumb. Your beliefs and actions have impact into the broader community. What you believe always becomes what you do. So if you really believe you are a girl in a boys body you have to force people to accept that. Because their eyes tell a different story. We can see reality so if you really want to change reality, you have to make people do it. And that is just what we have here today.Also, Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth gets in trouble for praying. Weird fake pastor lady has a bunch of unbiblical beliefs, andPacers basketball player starts with the Bible!All this and more today on Church Public!..---At Church Public we create compelling content to equip you to follow Jesus and engage in the public square including Current Events from a Christian Perspective.Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening!Support the Channel on Substackhttps://substack.com/@churchpublicListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/church-public/id1520119356Listen on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/3cWx1g4WfSOVs8MX05cSvH?si=8ajf5wFVSjakXiYS7HkmhgListen on GooglePodcastshttps://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xMTc2MjU0LnJzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiI_4eugrbwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgFind Me:www.churchpublic.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChurchPublic/Twitter: https://twitter.com/churchpublicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/churchpublic/Support:on PAYPALwww.churchpublic.com/supportToday is a great day to start your own podcast. Whether you're looking for a new marketing channel, have a message you want to share with the world, or just think it would be fun to have your own talk show...podcasting is an easy, inexpensive, and fun way to expand your reach online.Following the link in the show notes let's Buzzsprout know we sent you, gets you a $20 Amazon gift card if you sign up for a paid plan, and helps support our show.https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1132064Support the show

On today's Quick Start podcast: NEWS: A Christian summer camp in Colorado is suing the state over a gender identity rule it says could shut them down. Plus, a shocking jailbreak in New Orleans and deadly tornadoes rip through Kentucky. FOCUS STORY: The Colorado gender identity policy affecting childcare programs is facing legal challenge. Alliance Defending Freedom says the state's demands threaten the camp's biblical beliefs and ability to operate. MAIN THING: Shahriq Khan, a former Muslim turned Christian, shares his bold testimony and how his journey to Christ is drawing thousands on social media. Raj Nair speaks with him about the risks and the reward of following Jesus. LAST THING: 1 John 3:18 – “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” SHOW LINKS Heaven Meets Earth PODCAST: https://cbn.com/lp/heaven-meets-earth JESUS AND THE PROPHECIES OF CHRISTMAS : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jesus-and-the-prophecies-of-christmas/id1783607035 NEWSMAKERS POD: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/newsmakers/id1724061454 DC DEBRIEF POD: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/d-c-debrief/id1691121630 CBN News YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CBNnewsonline CBN News https://www2.cbn.com/news

It's Tuesday, May 20th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Kevin Swanson Fulani Muslim killed 15 unarmed Nigerian Christians On Saturday, May 17th, armed Fulani Muslim militia opened fire on Agatu Christians in Benue State, Nigeria, killing 15 unarmed men. Throughout that North Central region, the Fulani have also killed 159 Christian residents over the last 40 days, according to TruthNigeria.com.   Pray for Christians in Nigeria, suffering the most severe violence in the world today. Romania turns left after election interference On Sunday, Romania has taken the centrist-left position with the election of a new president named Nicușor Dan. Dan is supportive of Romania's participation in the European Union, and has made moves to approve the homosexual/transgender movement in his country. The more conservative candidate, George-Nicolae Simion, lost the election in a vote of 54% to 46%. Romania is the second largest Eastern European country by population.  The mainstream media is interpreting this election as an international rejection of the Trump agenda.  The back story is that Călin Georgescu, the conservative in the first round of the Romanian presidential election last December, garnered the most votes among the six presidential candidates at that time. After his opponents claimed that Russia had influenced the election through TikTok accounts, Romanian government officials detained Georgescu, canceled that election, and re-set it for May 18th.  Tens of thousands of Romanians protested in the streets back in March. At the time, Elon Musk said, “They just arrested the person who won the most votes in the Romanian presidential election. This is messed up.” Most and least benevolent countries According to this year's Gallup World Happiness Report, the most benevolent countries in the world, judged by donations and volunteer hours, are Indonesia, the United States, Kenya, Gambia, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Canada, and New Zealand. The least benevolent countries are Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco.  Biden announces advanced prostate cancer Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, reports CBS News. On Sunday, President Trump posted on social media that he and First Lady Melania Trump are "saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis." Appearing on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” on Monday, former Obama health advisor Dr. Zeke Emanuel said the cancer is so advanced, he has had it for many years. SCARBOROUGH: “Doesn't it take some time for prostate cancer to develop to a point where it would spread to the bones?” EMANUEL: “He's had this for many years, maybe even a decade, growing there and spreading.” Dr. Emanuel explained how serious Biden's prostate cancer truly is. EMANUEL: “That Gleason score, that score is from 2 up to 10, and he's at a 9. That means that the cancer doesn't look normal. It looks very abnormal.” Appearing on Fox News with Jesse Waters, talk show host Hugh Hewitt was incredulous. HEWITT: “This is the fourth time, in a little over 100 years, that a Democratic president -- Woodrow Wilson, FDR, John F. Kennedy and now Joe Biden, have hidden crucial details about their health as Commander-in-Chief from the American people. Ronald Reagan did not do that. “And it just astonishes me that in a free republic, we have to worry about our leaders telling us whether they're healthy or not.” Supremes allows Trump to revoke protection for thousands of illegal Venezuelans On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing the Trump administration to deport 350,000 Venezuelans who are presently living in the U.S. on what they call a “humanitarian parole,” reports NBC News. Christian camp sues over foolish transgender mandates The State of Colorado is threatening to shut down a Christian Camp called Idrahaje -- short for “I'd Rather Have Jesus.” The Colorado Department of Early Childhood has refused to grant the camp a religious exemption concerning its transgender policies. This would require the camp to allow boys, pretending to be girls, to sleep, shower, and dress with female campers. The camp has sued the state, with representation from Alliance Defending Freedom. The camp disciples 2,500 to 3,000 students each year with the mission to “win souls to Jesus Christ through the spreading of the Gospel.”  Camp Idrahaje has complied with all regulations until this year when the Colorado government officials released new gender identity rules that became effective on February 14, 2025. 96% of atheists embrace homosexual/transgender agenda The most likely group in America to support the homosexual/transgender agenda are atheists with 96% professing support.  By contrast, 70% of white Evangelical Protestants oppose the lifestyle. Psalm 14:1 describes the atheist this way: "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works.” Mother loses right to disciple daughter Liberty Counsel is defending a mother in the state of Maine who has lost the right to guide the religious upbringing of her 11-year-old girl in a custody case.  This includes taking her daughter to Calvary Chapel services on Sunday.   A state district judge has ruled against the mother, citing “The ‘fear mongering,' paranoia, and anxiety taught by Calvary Chapel has, more likely than not, already had an impact on [the daughter's] childhood development.”   Expert testimony concluded that Calvary Chapel is a cult, the church's pastor a “charismatic” speaker, who spoke “authoritatively” in his messages, and that he asserted his messages were objective truth.   Liberty Counsel is appealing the case to the Maine Supreme Court. They still persecute people who preach about Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 says, “For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.” Housing prices sag Since June 2022, housing prices are sagging in some metro areas around the U.S. — 22.8% in the Austin market, 9.9% in the Phoenix market, 9.2% in the San Francisco market, 9.1% in the San Antonio Market, 7.3% in the Denver market, and 6.7% in the Dallas Market. The Consumer Price Index has also risen about 10% over that period of time. Moody's downgraded America's financial rating And finally, in a year-over-year comparison, the U.S. government is still breaking records for fiscal expenditures running 10% over Fiscal Year 2024. Moody's has downgraded the U.S. as a long-term issuer of bonds by one notch, ending a perfect rating for America over the last 108 years.  No longer does the U.S, government get a Aaa rating, the highest level available. Now, it's an Aa1. Moody's noted that the downgrade "reflects the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.” The rating organization added that: “Successive U.S. administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs.”   Another independent rating service, named Fitch, downgraded the United States in 2023.  Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, May 20th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Tuesday's “What's Buggin' You” segment for 5-20-25

In the second hour of today's edition of The Dan Caplis Show, Dan talks with Ryan Tucker, from Alliance Defending Freedom, to discuss a Colorado Christian Camp's protest.Colorado Christian camp challenges policy that violates religious beliefs – Alliance Defending Freedom

Questions and Timestamps: 1. I'm looking at getting a tiny bible,would you recommend the KJV, NKJV or the NASB? 17:462. What does the Nicene Creed mean when it says the Spirit “proceeds” from the Father and the Son? 23:263. Have you EVER had a woman teacher at a church women's event do solid and deep teaching? 28:304. Can a Christian go to Disney World? 34:005. As an Amillenialist, how do you explain the "land promises" to ethnic Israel in the Old Testament? 41:156. How can an adult child honor an abusive parent and protect himself at the same time? 48:307. Should I return to a Christian Camp with female leaders? 55:458. Did Christ come to fulfill the whole law including the 10 Commandments? 1:05:009. If someone says “You do it, so I can too” is that heresy? 1:12:20Support the Show: http://www.buymeacoffee.com/YourcalvinistLove Coffee? Want the Best? Get a free bag of Squirrelly Joe's Coffee by clicking on this link: https://www.Squirrellyjoes.com/yourcalvinistor use coupon code "Keith" for 20% off anything in the storeDominion Wealth Strategies Visit them at https://www.dominionwealthstrategists...http://www.Reformed.Moneyand let them know we sent you! https://www.TinyBibles.comYou can get the smallest Bible available on the market, which can be used for all kinds of purposes, by visiting TinyBibles.com and when you buy, use the coupon code KEITH for a discount. Private Family BankingSend an email inquiry to banking@privatefamilybanking.comReceive a FREE e-book entitled "How to Build Multi-Generational Wealth Outside of Wall Street and Avoid the Coming Banking Meltdown", by going to https://www.protectyourmoneynow.net Set up a FREE Private Family Banking Discovery call using this link: https://calendly.com/familybankingnowGet the Book "What Do We Believe" from Striving for Eternity Ministrieshttp://www.whatdowebelievebook.com/Be sure to use the coupon code: Keithhttps://www.HighCallingFitness.comHealth, training, and nutrition coaching all delivered to you online by confessionally reformed bodybuilders and strength athletes.The official cigar of Your Calvinist Podcast:https://www.1689cigars.com Buy our podcast shirts and hats: https://yourcalvinist.creator-spring.comVisit us at https://www.KeithFoskey.comIf you need a great website, check out https://www.fellowshipstudios.com

How can we help our kids feel safe and secure in an uncertain world? In today's episode, Amy and Sara are joined by Alexis Basik, a Licensed Master Social Worker and trauma-focused care expert, to discuss how parents can help their kids build security and trust in today's uncertain world. Alexis walks us through key developmental stages for kids —unpacking the lies kids often believe about trust, their unique developmental needs, and practical ways parents can support them. As WinShape Camps prepares for this summer's theme, UNCHARTED, Alexis connects the dots between navigating life's uncertainties and trusting in a faithful God. Tune in for expert advice, encouragement, and a reflective question to spark meaningful conversations with your family.Resources:WinShape Camps Theme Preview - Uncharted--Questions of the Week: Has there ever been a moment when someone broke your trust? How did it feel/what did you do about it? --Hosts: Amy Lowe & Sara JonesGuest: Alexis BasikProducers: Emily Alters & Cody Braun

In this episode, Amy and Sara sit down with David Blanchard, Director of Fellows at Impact 360, to explore practical ways parents can help Generation Z develop a lasting faith. Drawing from over 15 years of experience in discipleship and drawing insights from the latest Barna research, David shares strategies for equipping kids to know God deeply, build strong character, and live out their faith with kingdom influence. He emphasizes the importance of moving from a consumer mindset to a multiplier mindset in discipleship and offers actionable tips for fostering meaningful faith conversations at home. Tune in for encouragement and actionable advice on raising faith-filled kids in today's world.Research: 5 Things You Need to Know About Gen Z in 2024 by Barna ResearchBook: Know. Be. Live. by John D. BasieImpact 360 Institution--Questions of the Week: How is your generation different from my generation?--Hosts: Amy Lowe & Sara JonesGuest: David BlanchardProducers: Emily Alters & Cody Braun--Learn more about WinShape Camps at WinShapeCamps.org!Instagram: @WinShapeCampsTikTok: @WinShapeCampsFacebook: @WinShapeCamps 

Navigating the teenage years can feel overwhelming, but it's also a crucial time to nurture your child's faith. In this episode, Amy and Sara sit down with Alecia Bryant, Brand Owner and Content Editor for The Gospel Project for Students at Lifeway, to uncover four practical ways parents can disciple their teens. Whether you're feeling lost or just looking for fresh ideas, this conversation is packed with encouragement and actionable insights to help you make a lasting impact on your teenager's faith journey. Tune in now! Blog: A Message for Moms Battling ExhaustionPodcast Episode: Surrounding Kids with Faith InfluencesResource: Lifeway's Parent PartnerResource: Lifeway's Bible Studies for GirlsResource: Axis Bible Newsletter--Questions of the Week: What is the hardest part of living out your faith as a teenager? Do you have someone in your life disciplining you right now?--Hosts: Amy Lowe & Sara JonesGuest: Alecia BryantProducers: Emily Alters & Cody Braun--Learn more about WinShape Camps at WinShapeCamps.org!Instagram: @WinShapeCampsTikTok: @WinShapeCampsFacebook: @WinShapeCamps

Sometimes we love to hang out in our camp bubble, don't we? Sometimes even so far as to, at least in part, shut out the outside world. It makes sense, because there's something special about camp being set apart. And yet, we're part of an ecosystem, a culture, a community.Last week, election day in the United States brought on emotions and actions and reactions across the spectrum. Many have been wrestling with where we stand, what we stand on, and who we stand for.On this episode, we explore some scripture-based truths around God's call on our lives and ministries, and explore how we lead a Christian camp after an election season like this one.Links Referenced:Article - Treat Camp Conference Like WeddingsRomans 12#StatoftheWeek DownloadCome help camp thrive with us on Facebook, Instagram, or at sacredplaygrounds.com.

Children are born curious, but they often hit a “curiosity cliff” around age 7, when their natural wonder begins to decline. In this episode, Amy and Sara sit down with Patrick Miles, Innovation Strategist at Chick-fil-A Corporate and a WinShape Homes foster parent, to explore how parents can nurture their kids' curiosity. Patrick shares why curiosity is essential for our children's future and how it equips them to solve the world's challenges. Together, they discuss practical tips for making our mundane daily rhythms into problem-solving, innovating moments our kids can build on. Patrick also explains how simple family activities can turn everyday moments into opportunities for innovation and growth. Join us to learn how to cultivate a creative mindset in your home and inspire the next generation of thinkers.Book: A More Beautiful Question - Warren BergerA Children's Library of Question BooksTed Talk: What should children learn in school?--Question of the Week: Who is the most creative person you know and why? In what ways are you creative?--Hosts: Amy Lowe & Sara JonesGuest: Patrick MilesProducers: Emily Alters & Cody Braun--Learn more about WinShape Camps at WinShapeCamps.org!Instagram: @WinShapeCampsTikTok: @WinShapeCampsFacebook: @WinShapeCamps

Dr. Matt Davis welcomes Jon Bladine, Director of Longview Camp in Arcade, New York, as his guest on this episode of On Mission. Jon discusses how the Lord guided him to camp ministry, the skills that have been beneficial, and those he had to acquire, as well as the challenge of revitalizing a struggling ministry. Out of college, Jon had plans to be a missionary pilot; his journey may resonate with those who have undergone training for a specific purpose only to be guided in a different direction by God. Dr. Davis and Jon swap memories of Northland in Dunbar, WI, where Jon grew up, and of various camp ministries Jon has been a part of. You will be encouraged by Jon's passion and testimony of God's hand in their lives through the camp ministry, and admonished to never second guess what God has done in a place where little fruit is visible. Ministry's value is eternal because it is about people.

Dudes Behind the Foods is sponsored by BetterHelp! Go to https://www.BetterHelp.com/FOODS today for 10% OFF your first month! Follow Tim on IG: @timchantarangsu Follow David on IG: @davidsocomedy Follow Robyn on IG: @robynlynncouch Check out Goodie Brand at https://www.GoodieBrand.com Check out Tim's Patreon for exclusive content at https://www.patreon.com/timchantarangsu If you want to support the show, and get all the episodes ad-free go to: https://dudesbehindthefoods.supercast.com/ To watch Dudes Behind the Foods podcast videos on YouTube: www.youtube.com/timothy Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: https://bit.ly/DudesBehindtheFoodsPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kids are constantly learning lessons, and most of the time it's not even in the classroom. As they grow, they learn through relationships, discovering new abilities, and quite often they learn through failure! As parents, we get to come alongside them and help them understand that taking risks, and failing is OK! It's hard to watch our kids take risks when our instincts are telling us to protect and to rescue. But it's also important to look for opportunities where our kids can feel the freedom to choose, to take risks, and to fail in a controlled setting. In today's episode we'll be talking about the "why" of allowing our kids to take controlled risks, and sharing some tips we've discovered for helping our kids learn through risk-taking and mistake-making.Book: Parenting with Love & Logic--Questions of the Week: What was the last risk you took or new thing you tried? How did it work out?--Hosts: Amy Lowe & Sara JonesProducers: Emily Alters & Cody Braun--Learn more about WinShape Camps at WinShapeCamps.org!Instagram: @WinShapeCampsTikTok: @WinShapeCampsFacebook: @WinShapeCamps

Did you know that, according to a recent Barna study, only 4% of those who call themselves Christians hold to a Biblical Worldview? This episode will help you teach kids to question what they are being told, so that when their faith collides with culture, they can grow in their faith, not out of it. Kori & Lee discuss faith & culture collisions such as evolution, gender ideology, moral relativism, victimhood and YOLO. You'll leave with some great conversation starters for your next kid convo!   Ready to teach kids to ask the next question when their faith collides with culture? Let's go! LEE NIENHUIS is a coffee drinker, friend maker, and loud laugher. She is an author, Bible teacher, podcaster and communications consultant. Lee has a heart for the global church, and has recently joined Live Global, a team who supports, trains and equips believers worldwide.  Lee lives with her handsome, hardworking husband, Mike, at Grace Adventures, a Christian Camp and Training Center in West Michigan. They have four great kids who make her need Jesus. And she says, “That's a good thing.” KORI PENNYPACKER has served with Bible2School since 2011. Kori oversees the mission of Bible2School and Engagement by speaking to businesses, churches, and community leaders on the topic of the importance of spiritual training for elementary age children in our communities, especially those who are not able to attend church. She loves inviting people into the Bible2School Team as valued Members, Volunteers, and Donors. Kori lives in Lititz with her husband, Blaine, and has three sons. She enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis, and volunteering with her husband to mentor engaged couples at her church. Resources Romans 12:2 - Don't be conformed, be transformed Ephesians 6:13-18 - Armor of God Genesis 1:27 & 31 - Made in God's image - it is good! Romans 3:23 - All have sinned Romans 3:10 - none are righteous, not one! 1 John 1:8 – If we say we haven't sinned, we are lying John 14:6 - Jesus is the way, truth & life Phil 2:4-9 – Love others more than yourself like Jesus who was obedient even to death Matthew 20:28 – serve others like Jesus who gave his life Matthew 6:19-21 – lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven    Next Steps Subscribe to this podcast Share this episode with a friend Join the Podcast Impact Team Follow Bible2School on FB & IG

This four-part series features a former staff member of The Wilds Christian camp in Brevard, NC. The camp is affiliated with Bob Jones University. The former staff sheds light on its inner workings. We'll delve into the camp's origins, organizational structure, daily routines, counseling methods, teachings, practices, and more. The series starts with the survivor's childhood experiences at Bethany Baptist in Brevard, an Independent Fundamental Baptist church/cult affiliated with The Wilds camp. She recalls the abuse endured at the church's Christian school and the church's controlling nature, describing the pervasive influence of The Wilds staff over the church and the cult-ure they fostered.In the second installment, the survivor unveils her experiences working at The Wilds. She outlines the staff hierarchy, roles, and training, revealing the organization's intricate inner workings and demanding schedules. She discloses the counseling techniques employed on campers, sharing haunting stories and instances of heavy indoctrination through sleep deprivation, substandard meals, fear tactics, information control, time management, intense physical activity, and more.In the third section, she shares more specific accounts and concerns about the camp and discusses her healing journey.In the final episode, she reviews a counseling booklet produced by The Wilds, detailing their counseling methods and their impacts. A big part of the counseling is The Tree Model which the survivor exposes and unpacks.- Coming August 2024Andrew Pledger's LinksFacebook Discussion Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1153866318625322/Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/4ndrewpledgerMy Substack: https://speakingupandrewpledger.substack.com/Social Media: https://andrewpledger.mypixieset.com/links-Music: https://www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a teen walks into a room, statistics show that there's an 80% chance she believes she doesn't belong there. She wonders, Am I okay? What are they thinking? How do I measure up? In our new book, Comparison Girl for Teens we're inviting teens to find new freedom, confidence and true influence in the middle of a world that compares.Guest: Lee NienhuisBible Passage: What Did Jesus Say about Comparison?Take the Teen Quizzes: ComparisonGirl.comMentioned ResourcesComparison Girl for Teens: Thriving Beyond Measure in a World That Compares by Lee Nienhuis and Shannon PopkinBrave Moms, Brave Kids by Lee NeinhuisCounter Cultural Parenting by Lee NienhuisMusic: Cade PopkinLee NienhuisLee is a passionate Bible teacher who invites girls of all ages to pray boldly and believe God for their own generation and the next. Lee's books include Brave Moms, Brave Kids and Countercultural Parenting and she cohosts several podcasts.Lee and her husband, Mike, have four great kids and live at a Christian Camp in West Michigan. When she isn't at sporting events or whipping up dinners, she loves hot cups of coffee, deep friendships and laughing till her sides ache.Connect with Lee:LeeNienhuis.comFacebookInstagramBooksBrave Moms, Brave KidsCountercultural ParentingComparison Girl for TeensShaped by God's Promises: Lessons from Sarah on Fear and Faith {buy now}Comparison Girl for Teens {buy now} Get our free "Pray God's Promises" prayer guide. Go to Shannonpopkin.com/PROMISES/ for more information on my neww Bible study, Shaped by God's Promises: Lessons from Sarah on Fear and Faith. Visit ResoundMedia.cc for the Live Leadership Podcast, along with other Gospel centered resources.

In this episode, Amy Lowe and Sara Jones are joined by Mike McGuire who works with WinShape Camps for Families and is a father of 2. Today we are talking about creating meaningful and memorable family experiences. Mike dives into the significance of creating memorable family experiences to help disciple and engage our kids, and point them to Jesus. And if you're interested in finding a Family Camp experience, we are going to give you a glimpse of what you can expect at a WinShape Camps for Families experience.Learn more about Family Camp!Blog: How Intentional Experiences Can Impact Your FamilyQuestion of the Week: What is a regular thing we do in our house that you are glad we do? And why?--Hosts: Amy Lowe & Sara JonesGuest: Mike McGuireProducers: Emily Alters & Cody Braun--Learn more about WinShape Camps at WinShapeCamps.org!Instagram: @WinShapeCampsTikTok: @WinShapeCampsFacebook: @WinShapeCamps

From the childhood trauma of living through a cult-like experience, to now being married with 2 kids and running her own successful Podcast Management Company...This week's guest is an inspiration for just how possible it is to get out, start out and eventually stand out in life and business!Today on The Karen Kenney Show, we're talking to my guest Alesia Galati owner and founder of Galati Media. Alesia's younger years were shaped by a Mom, who in her attempt of trying to overcome her struggles with addiction, depression and anxiety - took Alesia and her siblings down a path to living in a fundamentalist Christian cult. The restrictions and lack of control robbed them of their ability to feel empowered, build skills for life outside “the camp”, and also made it hard to leave.Although her journey has not been easy, every step has prepared and led her to be the remarkable human being and business owner that she is today!I'm so happy to connect with her in this episode and to share her powerful, insightful, and inspirational story with you.This is a longer episode, so you might want to listen all at once or enjoy it in smaller chunks or pieces!Whether you're trying to get out of a situation, or start out in a new relationship, or stand out in your business...I hope you walk away from this conversation with a golden nugget or two, that you can apply to create your own empowered life!KK's Takeaways• Personal Values, Childhood Experiences + Entrepreneurship (10:13)• Family Dynamics + Addiction (16:50)• Cult Experiences (27:08)• Cult-Like Program for Women + Their Children (32:24)• Childhood Experiences at a Christian “Camp” (37:45)• Lack of Empowerment (42:49)• Leaving a Cult + Gaining Independence (47:51)• Personal Growth + Rebellion in a Religious Context (51:58)• Career Transition (57:51)• Leadership Styles + Empowerment (1:09:37)• Personal Growth + Financial Stability (1:15:39)• Entrepreneurship + Personal Growth (1:25:51)• Starting a Podcast For small Businesses (1:30:28)• Serving Clients as a Podcast Producer (1:33:37)• Personal Branding + Trusting Your Intuition (1:38:53)• Managing Thoughts + Emotions (1:44:07)• Spirituality, Religion + Personal Growth (1:53:54)• Voice + Control (2:03:45)• Connecting with Audiences (2:07:36)• Systems for Success (2:13:48)• Strategies with a Focus On Empowerment + Healing (2:17:29)MEET ALESIA GALATI:Alesia Galati is the owner and founder of Galati Media. She's has been listening to podcasts since 2015 and knows what goes into creating a standout podcast that captures your audience's attention even before they press “play”. Alesia's helped coaches and thought leaders launch and maintain over 50 podcasts and has developed a signature, thorough system to launching and managing podcasts so you don't have to stress about anything falling through the cracks!  Alesia lives in sunny North Carolina with her two kiddos and husband. When not helping her clients, Alesia can be found reading over 200 books a year, hiking, and exploring the zoo with her boys.  Favorite podcast: Alesia's ears have been fine-tuned for high-quality audio and she can only tolerate impeccable podcasts. She enjoys listening to heavily produced storytelling podcasts like “Greeking Out” by National Geographics Kids when she takes long road trips with her kids. CONNECT WITH ALESIA: WEBSITE: https://galatimedia.com/ PODCAST: https://galatimedia.com/listeners-to-leads-podcast/...

Welcome to Christ's Church at Butler's Sunday service, March 24th, 2024. This live stream will include a time of praise and worship, communion, and a message from guest speaker Matt Love. Contact us at (260) 868-6924, or online at CCAB4Him.com. We'd love to connect with you!

As believers, we all know the first most important hour of our day is time with Jesus! Can you guess what the second most important hour is? It may sound simple, but it's mealtime with family! Kori & Lee provide some surprising stats on the benefits of eating together around the table, including ones that will induce laughter and others that will inspire you to action! The best news is that the advice given is Biblically based and practical. You'll leave the conversation with new ideas ready to be practiced at your next meal! Are you ready to learn some surprising benefits of eating meals together as a family? Let's go! LEE NIENHUIS is a coffee drinker, friend maker, and loud laugher. She is an author, Bible teacher, podcaster and communications consultant. Lee has a heart for the global church, and has recently joined Live Global, a team who supports, trains and equips believers worldwide.  Lee lives with her handsome, hardworking husband, Mike, at Grace Adventures, a Christian Camp and Training Center in West Michigan. They have four great kids who make her need Jesus. And she says, “That's a good thing.” KORI PENNYPACKER has served with Bible2School since 2011. Kori oversees the mission of Bible2School and Engagement by speaking to businesses, churches, and community leaders on the topic of the importance of spiritual training for elementary age children in our communities, especially those who are not able to attend church. She loves inviting people into the Bible2School Team as valued Members, Volunteers, and Donors. Kori lives in Lititz with her husband, Blaine, and has three sons. She enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis, and volunteering with her husband to mentor engaged couples at her church.   Resources Family Dinner Stats More Family Dinner Stats The Family Dinner Project Harvard Study - The Benefit of Family Mealtime Proverbs 4:10-11 Deuteronomy 6:4-7 Next Steps Subscribe to You CAN Tell The Children Share this episode with a friend Join our Podcast IMPACT TEAM Rate & Review us on your favorite podcast channel

When kids need to speak the truth in love, what should they do? Kid problems may start small, but eventually they become adult-sized! Filling them with God's truth daily and teaching them to handle conflict as Scripture instructs is critical if we want to see them grow in spiritual and emotional maturity. In this conversation between Kori & Lee, you'll learn some practical tips to create an action plan on how to speak the truth in love with the children in your life. They share relatable experiences that will lovingly address conflict while keeping in step with God's Word. When the world seeks to avoid conflict, we want to take the higher ground and confidently teach our children to boldly walk towards resolution.   Are you ready to hear practical examples of speaking the truth in love? Let's go! LEE NIENHUIS is a coffee drinker, friend maker, and loud laugher. She is an author, Bible teacher, podcaster and communications consultant. Lee has a heart for the global church, and has recently joined Live Global, a team who supports, trains and equips believers worldwide.  Lee lives with her handsome, hardworking husband, Mike, at Grace Adventures, a Christian Camp and Training Center in West Michigan. They have four great kids who make her need Jesus. And she says, “That's a good thing. KORI PENNYPACKER has served with Bible2School since 2011. Kori oversees the mission of Bible2School and Engagement by speaking to businesses, churches, and community leaders on the topic of the importance of spiritual training for elementary age children in our communities, especially those who are not able to attend church. She loves inviting people into the Bible2School Team as valued Members, Volunteers, and Donors. Kori lives in Lititz with her husband, Blaine, and has three sons. She enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis, and volunteering with her husband to mentor engaged couples at her church.   Resources John 14:6 - Jesus is the way, truth & life John 3:16 - God loved the world & gave His only son 1 Corinthians 13 - the love chapter Galatians 5 - The fruit of the Spirit   Next Steps Join our Podcast Impact Team Check out Bible2Shool Comment on this episode @ FB & IG Share this episode with your friends!

Hello!   It has been a full month already with activities and events we have had going on and with all of that, I have not got any baking done, my homemade gifts finished, or finished my list for the Grandkids, so I have to push pause on a few other things I have going on so that I can be present with my family and friends.  Yes, this means that the rough draft of my book won't be done by the end of the year, but I am ok with that knowing that I am putting my most important values ahead of everything else.   I don't want you to stress out if you need to do this as well.  I was having a hard time concentrating on writing the last few weeks because of all the things I still need to do as well as making this season as special as possible for my family and this may be you as well.  You might not be writing a book, but I'm sure you are doing things that you really don't need to do right now so that you can enjoy intentional time with family and friends.  Christmas only comes once a year, so I am giving you permission to say no to things that do not align with your values and bring you joy right now.   This last weekend we went to a Christian Camp that we do every year with kids and Grandkids that have all kinds of Christmas activities to do and it is only 3 hours long with so many things to do and because it is spread out and we do alot of walking, we have to really decide what is important to us to do in that 3 hours because you can't get to everything.  It got me thinking about how this is how we should look at this whole season as well and enjoy the moments that we truely enjoy and make sure we priorize because we truely can't do it all ~and certainly not without stress and overwhelm.  I will say, one thing that I don't enjoy is wrapping presents.  I love love love to give meaningful gifts or experiences, but wrapping is not my favorite and right now my teenagers enjoy it, so I will give them gifts to wrap so that I can focus on the things I love and it is a win win for all of us!  Funny thing is that I have put some of their gifts in boxes and they have even wrapped their own presents some years without even knowing it!!!!!  I'm so grateful my girls also like doing the baking, so we all do that together and then the grandkids decorate their own that they get to bring home~because there is alot of finger licking at their young ages when they decorate!!!!   I want you to think if there is something you have been doing that you could put off until the new year?  I promise….most things can wait and our time is so precious.   I did want to tell you that I will be doing the no spend challenge again this year in January!  This time I am going to try and spend even less money on groceries if possible and get creative with what I have.  I don't have quite as much canned food as we had previous years since we didn't have a garden this year because of the move, so this might be even more challenging, but on an exciting note, we are getting more eggs these last 2 weeks than we have gotten since july, so at least we should have eggs!  We will see how many different ways we can fix them with sourdough and pork because we have lots of that!!! I would love to have you join me if you are ready to cut spending and live more intentional!  Just send me an email to monica@claimingsimplicity.com and write no spend challenge in the subject line and I will add you to the group!!!!!!!!! I hope you are able to pause and enjoy celebrating the birth of Jesus and intentional living with family and friends this time of the year.   Website: Claimingsimplicity.com Join our Community of Christian Moms -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/ Email -> monica@claimingsimplicity.com Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/ You Tube -> https://www.youtube.com/@claimingsimplicity/    Chat soon! Monica  

Dr. Jeff Reason, Director of Forest Glen Bible Camp in Brookfield, Nova Scotia, has a passion for investing in people's lives. This led him to pastoral ministry early in his career and later to Forest Glen Bible Camp. Join Dr. Davis as he explores Dr. Reason's passion for souls and godliness. Forest Glen Bible Camp-----Follow @maranathaedu on Instagram, Facebook, and X.Subscribe to Maranatha On Mission on YouTube. Learn more about Maranatha mbu.edu.For more episodes, visit mbu.edu/podcast.

[00:00:00] John Ashmen: You need to be a board chair who understands the board role. So, intellect, respect, humility. Again, I think those are important. There are a lot of Board Chairs out there who really don't know the role of a Board Chair in a nonprofit. I've seen so many organizations that are in turmoil because the board chair has entered and sees himself or herself as the person who is in charge of the organization. And the Board Chair is only a spokesperson for the entire board. +++++++++++++++++ [00:00:37] Tommy Thomas: Today, we're continuing the conversation that we began last week with John Ashmen, Past President & CEO of Citygate Network. John was named President & CEO of Citygate Network in 2007 and served for 16-plus years. He stepped down as president on July 31st, 2023. When we recorded this conversation, John, the new Citygate CEO, and the board were in the final weeks of the transition to new leadership. From my perspective, the transition was well-planned and executed. John will share some of that with us. The Citygate Network has over 300 member organizations. So, you can imagine the number of leadership transitions John has observed. And the number of boards he's interacted with. Let's pick up on the conversation where we left off last week. If it's not too personal, what was going on in your heart? Obviously, you're going through a transition now. You told your board at some time. Can you give us a little bit of backdrop to how that happened and how it's gone? [00:01:48] John Ashmen: Yeah. So I've basically had three 15-year careers. I was 15 years as the CEO of Christian Camp and Conference Center in New Jersey. We've already talked about that. Then 15 years as the COO, Vice President, Director of Member Services at Christian Camp and Conference Association. Most of the time we called it Christian Camping International, and we were U.S. and did a lot of work and getting CCI Russia off the ground. And I was on the board of CCI Canada, Christian Camping International Canada. So that was my camping association career. And now 16 years as the President & CEO of Citygate Network, which used to be called the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions. And you just get to a point where you look at it, and think I'm turning the same pile over. We have conferences that are considered the best in the industry because we're creative and flexible. Our number of people coming to our events continues to increase. This past year we had the highest attendance we've ever had which is unusual in a world where most associations are seeing a membership decline. Ours is increasing and attendance is flat. Ours is increasing. And that's a good time to leave. You want to leave on a high note and be able to hand something positive to someone. And so I just looked at it and said, you have two questions. One of them is how much longer can I make this last?  I will be 71 on my last day on the job as president of Citygate Network, and I probably could make it last another five years. The board sure didn't want me to go. There was lamenting and concern because of all the progress we've made and where we are in so many areas. And I didn't want that question to be the one that drove me. How much longer can I make this last? The question you ask, is there somebody else who wants to take the wheel and chart a little bit different course or maintain the course we're on and can be fresh eyes, fresh perspectives, and a good foot for the pedal to keep us going? So, I let the board know two years prior that in the next year, we would want to start dusting off our succession plan. And it was basically 18 months early and I trusted it to the executive committee for the first six months and then one year prior just broke it out to the entire board and we had a plan already in place and I suggested people for the search committee. I gave my board a list of 12 organizations that we've worked with that were search firms and said, you can use a search firm, you don't have to use a search firm. And here's a variety of them that take different perspectives and I told him there are two things that I want to be involved in. One, I want to be involved in the approval of the job profile because I'm the only one who really knows what it takes to run this organization. The search firm they selected had a different idea and they started going that way until I pointed out the problems that already were being created and they said you were right. Let's go ahead and put you back into this process. So I gave the final approval and made some corrections and changes to the job profile and said the other thing I want to know is when you get down to your final candidate before you announce let me know who it is because the number of acquaintances I have and the places I've gone and spoken and the boards I'm on it's a good chance that I know this person and may know something about this person that you don't know. Like they're about to be indicted or something. And so they let me do that as well. And we've had a pretty good journey through this. We have a three-month overlap.  A transition is like a handoff in a relay race and it's done while both runners are running. So I am running force with the baton in my hand until that day of the handoff. And right now my successor is running and he's getting up to speed with where I am. And then I will slow my pace and be around as President Emeritus to help fill in some holes for the first month or two. The board wants me to remain as President Emeritus indefinitely, it sounds. I'm not sure how long that will be feasible. But that's the plan and it seems to be going well. [00:06:52] Tommy Thomas: Going back maybe a little bit earlier in your career. I'm always curious as to when people turn the corner and maybe they find their professional voice. They get comfortable in their leadership skin. Can you think back over your career to when you segued into that? [00:07:13] John Ashmen: I don't think there was a breakthrough, Tommy, at any point where it's okay, now I think I know what's going on. If you have people following you, you have probably found your leadership voice. I followed in my father's footsteps. He was certainly a leader and a hero well known in the Delaware Valley, which is South Jersey, Southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, Northeastern Maryland, that kind of area. And I just did what came natural and what I observed him doing. I think a lot of it comes with do you have people following you? And if that's the case, then I think you have found your voice. There was a camp teacher that I always thought was fun. It goes there they go. And I must catch them for, I am their leader. That's not what you want. And, because I had great responses to the things I started, and the ideas I had, and the initiatives I launched it just seemed to follow that what was happening was what was supposed to be happening.  I think at Christian Camping, I probably perfected those skills Christian Camping Conference Association, when I became the MC for all the conferences for about 15 years, and just realized that we were making progress, and the processes were all firing on all cylinders. And so there wasn't, like I said, one time, I think it just increased. And my confidence increased as the positive responses increased. [00:08:46] Tommy Thomas: If you were to invite me to a staff meeting next week of your senior leadership team and at some point, we excused you and I asked them these two questions. What's the most rewarding aspect of working for John? And what's the most difficult aspect of working for John? What kind of responses do you think I would get? [00:09:11] John Ashmen: We actually had some of those kinds of questions asked at one time. The one that they would say, probably what's the most enjoyable aspect is that we make work fun. There are no routines that are drudgery. We are always looking at something new and my director of meetings and events would say John is full of surprises. It's fun to do a conference because you have an idea of what's going to happen and all of a sudden, he springs something on you and you go, yeah, I think we can do that. And it so it just becomes fun to work and see where we're going. I think the other thing that was said when this question was asked to our staff was we are seeing results my vice president and director of member services said I've stayed here as long as I have because the things that we say we're going to do in our mission statement and our vision statement, we are actually doing, and we're seeing these things accomplished. My Vice President says you're the best boss I ever had. You're also the hardest boss I ever had because you expect everything to be done with excellence. So when you can have that kind of response, that's probably the most difficult thing is that we don't let up. We keep going and we keep moving forward. And I am, as I said, an expressive driver and my Vice President says you're the best boss I ever had. You're also the hardest boss I ever had because you expect everything to be done with excellence. And it comes back to the sign that my father had over his lathe in his machine shop. First Corinthians 14:40, let all things be done decently and in order. And so that is something that we look at. We send out every publication as if we're sending it to the EPA, Environmental Evangelical Press Association, not the Environmental EPA. Even though it's an association we've won awards for best in class for our publications. And the hardest thing again, just to reiterate, is the demand to have things done well and do them over until they're done right. ++++++++++++++++++ [00:11:20] Tommy Thomas: If you were a judge on a nonprofit version of the Shark Tank and they were asking for early-stage investments, what questions would you need solid answers to before you would open your purse strings? [00:11:30] John Ashmen: How much have you committed to this personally? There's a lot of charlatans who come around once you invest in something they think might work. Show me your success and how it's worked. And then show me the possibilities beyond what you are stating is the success rate in this. I just want to see that there's a door to an area that you have not even discovered or explored yet. And so that's important for me. [00:12:05] Tommy Thomas: What about if you were consulting and you were creating a dashboard to get at a nonprofit organization's overall health? What would some of your dials be? [00:12:16] John Ashmen: The temperature of the staff, you got to start with your personnel and is everybody there enjoying being there and is everybody there? Looking at the possibilities, do they believe in what's happening? When I was hired to take this position, it was the organization at its own admittance the board telling me was in bad shape. I didn't have a job description. I was handed something that was 25 mandates that came out of a survey that the consulting firm had done. The first was we need a new strategic mission and vision. The second one, we need a new business plan that's profitable. If you're going to start working for an organization and those are the number one and number two things you're basically building I would say, is there a vision for where this organization can go and do the people realize it? Do they embrace it? And can they tie everything that they're doing that particular day to that vision? We have KPAs and KRAs, Key Result Areas, KPIs, I should say, Key Result Areas, KP KKRAs, and these indicators that we look at and I can go around in my organization here and say what are you working on right now and where does this fit in our strategic map? And is this something that is in which line is this on? And I think once you're seeing the people understand their role in moving an organization forward, not just building widgets. I think that's critical. And then the finances are there. Are you financially viable? Is this something you'd go on to that? I just also look at, what is it we're doing? Are we selling the invisible or are we selling a product? It's much easier when you sell a product. There's a book, Harry Beckwith, I just mentioned, Selling the Invisible, at associations that I've been working at for the last 30 years, you really sell something that's invisible. If I were in tire manufacturing, you could come and you could run your fingers through the tread on the tires and you could see the wear and tear on used, and you know what you're buying. Here, you're buying a promise that we can assist you and be a resource to you. Programs, products and services. And so you have to agree that what you think you're going to get is what you will get before you sign up. And we've been able to deliver on those products. [00:15:09] Tommy Thomas: Let's go to board service for a minute. Obviously, you report to a board, and you serve on several boards. When you think of an ideal board chair what words and phrases come to your mind? [00:15:21] John Ashmen:  You need to be a board chair who understands the board role. So, intellect, respect, humility. Again, I think those are important. There are a lot of board chairs out there who really don't know the role of a board chair in a nonprofit. You may have a corporate model where they have a Board Chair and a CEO and a President and they all have different roles and a nonprofit, the Board Chair has to realize that they are not the boss. I've seen so many organizations that are in turmoil because the board chair has entered in and sees himself or herself as the person who is in charge of the organization. And I've seen so many organizations that are in turmoil because the board chair has entered in and sees himself or herself as the person who is in charge of the organization. And the board chair is only a spokesperson for the entire board. They also have to be a good collaborator and communicator. That's critical as well, because if they are going to move the organization forward, it has to be done in harmony and the board chair is again, not the person who's in charge. They're simply the spokesperson for the entire board. And once they understand that and can move on, they'll be successful. [00:16:41] Tommy Thomas:  What does your working relationship look like with you and your board chair? Since I've been here, I've probably had 10 different board chairs in 16 years. We change board chairs on a regular basis. And that has been very helpful. [00:16:48] John Ashmen: I've had let's see, since I've been here, probably I'm just going to ballpark it, 10 different board chairs in 16 years. We change board chairs on a regular basis. And that has been very helpful for the organization. There are some organizations that say, boy, we've been fortunate. We've had the same board chair for the last 20 years. And I see in those situations, you have great communication, and predictability, but also have a lot of great stagnation. And so the board chair has to be somebody who's communicative and understands where they're going. I've had some really good board chairs. The difficult ones are the ones who still took them a while to understand that they weren't in charge, but we got that settled pretty quickly, and then others who were just hard to get ahold of. I work in a national organization, actually international, we're the U.S., Canada, Caribbean. My Board Chair can be 2,000 miles away from me. And if I don't have somebody that will pick up the phone when I call, and realize that, hey, even though I've had a hard day's work in my own organization this is my opportunity, and I've signed up for this to be communicated here, so I think that's important as well somebody who's we're able to have good communications. [00:18:17] Tommy Thomas: So how often do you meet with your board chair, either formally or informally? [00:18:20] John Ashmen: I don't think this is a good sample right now because we're going through succession. And with the succession, there's a lot of stuff going on. But normally, before this time, I would probably talk to my board chair twice a month. And our board meetings for the longest time, were two times a year. And then we added and those two times were three-day meetings. So, we had two three-day meetings where everybody flew in from all over North America. And then we added, about four years ago, three years ago maybe, we added two more meetings via Zoom and that makes it four meetings per year. So, four meetings per year are when I talk to the board chair, and twice a month after that and they're usually not long conversations. They're maybe sometimes three or four minutes and then we're done. [00:19:20] Tommy Thomas: Who sets the agenda for your board meeting? [00:19:24] John Ashmen: I do. I set the agenda for the board meeting because I'm the one who knows what needs to be done and where we're going and what steps and processes have to be done. It's funny you asked that question because the last thing I did before I picked up the phone to call you here was send out the agenda for my July 25th board meeting to my executive committee and said, this is going to be the agenda. Let me know if you have any questions and if we want to talk about anything. Most of the items on the agenda will not be a surprise because there are things that were carryovers from previous meetings or things that they know have happened at this point. But yeah, I set the agenda. [00:20:04] Tommy Thomas: What about term limits for board members? What's been your experience or observations there on best practices? [00:20:13] John Ashmen: There are different kinds of boards where different kinds of situations work better. I don't run a local ministry. I don't run a local nonprofit where you want to have on your board, the local banker, the local head of the hospital, the local owner of the hardware store, or whatever it happens to be. I work at an international association, and it's a representative association. My board members are made up of practitioners in the industry. So, I have a board of 15, and all but three of them are rescue mission leaders. And so that's a little bit different. I don't have somebody who's coming in from the perspective of being an attorney, somebody who's coming in from the perspective of being in management, somebody else who's coming in who understands supply chain or whatever it is. And they're all bringing a different area of expertise. The lion's share of the people I work with all lead rescue missions, and they have one profession. And they're representative. They're not brought on for their expertise in an area. They're brought on to represent their peers. So, in my world, I've insisted that the board needed to be three years on and you're done. We don't even have the opportunity for a second three-year term, which most revolving boards have. You come on to our board and you're on for three years and then you're off. And we have others come in. When you have a representative board and there are 75 people in one particular district that are eligible for the board. Most of them would want to be on the board at some time, I would think, because they're leaders. And they get to know that, hey, there's another term coming up where maybe I could be on that board. If you are on for three years, and then you get to another three years you got six years, and if you had a couple of those, you only get two or three people from that whole district ever to be a representative. So that's how I work it. I like a revolving board with one term of three years and it works for me. ++++++++++++++++ [00:22:38] Tommy Thomas: Maybe this is a broader question or maybe a more high-level question. A lot of people talk about bringing younger people onto boards, people in their thirties and forties. When you think of boards, I guess in an American sense, it's usually a bunch of men and they're usually older. Maybe speak to that idea of diversification on a board in terms of wisdom and experience and what all that means. [00:23:05] John Ashmen:  If you're having a board that's overstaying a corporate fund or stock investments, you want the oldest, wisest people you can get. You don't want to bring a millennial in and say, hey, what kind of creative ideas do you have? We can play with this money. That's not what makes sense there. I think boards have to be a mosaic of their community and the people that they serve. And so that includes gender diversity, racial diversity, size of organization diversity, all of that kind of thing has to be included. Rescue mission Boards should be a mosaic of the community they serve.  That includes gender, racial, age – diversity of all kinds must be included. But I will also tell missions and my world rescue missions that your board needs to have on their people who have been through a program and understand what it's like to have been homeless or something like that. You don't want to make your whole board that way, but you want to have perspectives that represent that. And I also push for age diversity as well. You don't want to have people, all people who are baby boomers on a board. You're going to be shocked when all of a sudden you get your first millennial and find out that your positions don't line up anywhere near what the positions are that they would hold. And so, I think you need to gradually bring some of those folks on so you can adapt to perspectives that are changing every day in the world around us. That's certainly something that's important. I applaud those who bring somebody onto the board who is in their late twenties, early thirties, but not just somebody who has no idea what they want to do in life. Somebody who understands where they're going and has some goals of their own. And yeah, I push for that all the time. [00:24:58] Tommy Thomas: Somebody once said you need a director on the board who will be a pleasant irritant. Someone who will force people to think a little differently. That's what a good board does. Your thoughts on that philosophy? [00:25:11] John Ashmen: Yeah, I have been that person on my board but I'm the one who's asking the tough questions. I've got 15 board members and there certainly always is somebody like that. They learn to ask the question as long as they ask them in the right way looking for the right thing, not just to be disagreeable. I welcome it. And it challenges me to make sure I have the answers in place. Yeah, I will always take somebody like that. I'd rather have people like that than people who aren't really engaged and rarely talk at a meeting. Fortunately, I have a pretty good hand in helping to pick the board. I don't select them, but I make strong recommendations and so I get people who I know will be question-askers to begin with. [00:26:01] Tommy Thomas: This is maybe more on a local board than it would apply to your board, but any thoughts on the board and risk management? [00:26:07] John Ashmen: Risk management is certainly something we all have to keep in mind these days. There are risks at every corner. Going back to that idea of surrounding yourself with better people than you are, we have resource colleagues that we go to all the time when these risks come up. And as you can imagine, there are huge risks when it comes to running a rescue mission, or a street mission, or a city mission.  And we're always mindful of those things. [00:26:43] Tommy Thomas: You get a call next week from somebody who's been asked to join a nonprofit board. What questions are you telling them to make sure they have answered in their mind and heart? [00:26:57] John Ashmen: First thing is, why do they want you?  Have they told you why they want you? Have they been up front?  It used to be that people were asked for one of the three W's. Wealth, wisdom, or worth. Wealth, wisdom, or work. They want you because you have a construction team at your disposal, and you can work and build things or whatever it is. Or it's your wisdom, you're very wise on other boards and notice for that. Or it's you're going to support. Is there a reason why they're asking you? And then can you support the ministry long-term? Or the organization, whatever. If it's not a ministry of nonprofit, of sub-court, can you support this and would you support it after you're done, or is it just a temporary thing? And the other question I was asking would can you fire the CEO if things weren't going well? Do you have that ability, capacity? Or if, oh my, I don't know, he's a good friend, I'd hate to do that. If you can't fire the CEO, then you shouldn't be on the board. [00:28:08] Tommy Thomas: Wrap-up question.  Maybe two wrap-up questions. One, if you could tell a younger version of yourself something, what would that be? [00:28:18] John Ashmen: The first thing is listen to your son. Invest in Apple. Back when it was $7.92 a share. That's the first thing. My son works for Apple Corporate. They were paying him in stock, I think, initially. Listen as much as you speak.  Let others talk and hear them out.  Don't assume you know what their mindset is.  Make sure you give people the benefit of the doubt. Listen as much as you speak. That was probably one of the lessons that took a long while to learn but let others talk and hear them out, don't just assume you know what their mindset is, and always make sure that you're giving people the benefit of the doubt. [00:28:57] Tommy Thomas: If you had a do-over in life, what would it be? [00:29:03] John Ashmen: I really don't know. Maybe keep moving up in housing.  I've stayed in the same house for such a time and all of my peers have moved up three or four houses, for your long-term investment. I don't know, that's a personal thing, but as far as organizationally I don't think I have one. +++++++++++++++++++ [00:29:25] Tommy Thomas: You're in a good place. Thank you so much for your time today and for the insights you've shared with us. And I wish you the best as you make this transition. [00:29:36] John Ashmen: Thank you. I appreciate it. [00:29:38] Tommy Thomas: Thank you for joining us today. If you are a first-time listener, I hope you will subscribe and become a regular. You can find links to all the episodes on our website. www.JobfitMatters.com/podcast. If there are topics that you'd like for me to explore my email address is tthomas@jobfitmatters.com.   Word of mouth has been identified as the most valuable form of marketing. Surveys tell us that consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all other forms of advertising. If you've heard something today that's worth passing on, please share it with others. You're already helping me make something special for the next generation of nonprofit leaders. I'll be back next week with a new episode. Until then, stay the course on our journey to help make the nonprofit sector more effective and sustainable.   Links & Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas Citygate Network Website Invisible Neighbors – John Ashmen Selling the Invisible – Harry Beckwith   Connect tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Follow Tommy on LinkedIn Citygate Network Website Invisible Neighbors – John Ashmen Selling the Invisible – Harry Beckwith  

[00:00:00] John Ashmen: I think that's always important, that you have people that tell you the truth. And, we have different places where that happens. It's not just in the work environment, but also in small groups and fellowship groups and things like that. We have the opportunity to either take their advice or not take their advice. You can surround yourself with great people and they can tell you the truth. If you don't listen to it and take their advice, then you don't emerge any better than you were when you went in. +++++++++++++++++++++ [00:00:30] Tommy Thomas: Our guest today is John Ashman, the CEO at Citygate Network. Prior to Citygate, John was the Chief Operating Officer at the Christian Camp and Conference Association, giving him a total of almost 30 years in association leadership. John has led Citygate through a reassessment, a relocation, a restaffing, a refocusing, a rebranding, and then ultimately through the pandemic. John has led Citygate through a reassessment, a relocation, a restaffing, a refocusing, a rebranding, and then ultimately through the pandemic. Through all of this, the Citygate Network membership has grown by almost a third. In addition to his day job, John is a prolific writer, speaker, and board member of several nonprofit organizations. John, welcome to NextGen Nonprofit Leadership. [00:01:12] John Ashmen: Thank you, Tommy.  Good to be with you. [00:01:15] Tommy Thomas: Before I jump too deep in, is there a short story about how you got into association leadership? [00:01:23] John Ashmen: I was a camp director in New Jersey, a youth camp that was located halfway between Philadelphia and Atlantic City, had about 15,000 people a year come through on all of our programs. It's New Jersey, a very populated state, and the whole Delaware Valley is quite crowded. And we did camping programs up in Maine and over in Europe as well. And being in that camping world gave me visibility. And I went on the board of Christian Camp and Conference Association. At some point, one of the people who was also on the board at that time ended up taking the position of president of that association and gave me an invitation to come and also be on that team. So that's where I served those years as Vice President and Director of Member Services, which is essentially the COO position at Christian Conference Association. That was the launch. [00:02:20] Tommy Thomas:  What do you remember about your childhood that was formative? Were y'all big campers as kids? What stands out there? My father had a mantra that was pretty much built into his life philosophy and that was never let school stand in the way of your kid's education. [00:02:31] John Ashmen: My father had a mantra that was pretty much built into his life philosophy and that was never let school stand in the way of your kid's education. And so, we would take train trips across the U S and in the middle of September and October when some of my friends were in school and somehow, I always was able to do it and I never got in trouble and I guess he didn't, maybe he never told me, but I was always involved with something in adventure and activity with my family. Myy dad and mom for their honeymoon, for example, were married in Ohio and decided they would go out to Illinois and see his brother. They got to Northwestern where he was teaching and he convinced them that Yellowstone National Park was not that far down the road, so they put a case of Campbell's soup in their trunk and took off and found out it was a little bit further than they thought and so they got to Yellowstone and they said we'll never be this close to California, let's try that. That was the parents that I had and the upbringing that I had, so adventure was always on the horizon. [00:03:40] Tommy Thomas: What was high school like for you? [00:03:42] John Ashmen:  What was high school like? Boy, that's a question I don't get in many of the interviews that I do on a regular basis. High school was a great experience. I didn't have problems. I came from a rural part of New Jersey. They're hard to find them anymore. In fact, in my grammar school days, we had outhouses for the first two years.  I'm not all that old, but that's the status of the area where I grew up. But I went to a regional high school and probably was involved in the usual stuff.  A few sports teams, and in the band. I look back on high school with fond memories. [00:04:25] Tommy Thomas: When you went to college, how did you declare a major? What was involved in your decision? [00:04:28] John Ashmen: I was in a music group at the time. This was in southern New Jersey, South Jersey for the locals, that's how it's known. And I didn't want to go too far away to college because I didn't want to drop out of that group. And so, I went to the college where my parents had gone, where they met, which eventually became Cairn University. At the time, the school was called Philadelphia College of Bible, and it generally prepared people to go into a career in church music or go on to seminary, so I looked around at all those things that were preferred. I wasn't interested in going on to seminary, and even though I was musical, it wasn't going to be a career. I looked at education, that's where most of the people were, and the one that interested me the most was social work. And I declared social work as the major, actually, everybody majored in Bible and you had a minor, and so it was social work, and so I left college with a Bachelor of Science in Bible with an emphasis on social work and didn't use it right away. I did work part-time. Some of my fieldwork assignments were to be a chaplain at the Veterans Hospital and to be a parole officer, probation officer, in Philadelphia, but went into camp work, and that Christian camp that we mentioned was the one that when I spent the first 15 years, took over from my father and he was the person who started that camp, determined it was time to do something different. [00:06:14] Tommy Thomas:  What do you remember about the first time you had people reporting to you? [00:06:17] John Ashmen: It was at the camp. And I just remembered that the folks that were there were just fun to be with. And we made it as creative and unique as possible. We just had a lot of opportunities to really join together in a unique way in a camp setting. We did not run a traditional office setting or environment. Everybody was out and about, and we would meet in some of the most unusual places, out in the Pine Barrens. And we just made it like an adventure every day that we would get together. [00:07:01] Tommy Thomas: I think successful people are asked all the time, what makes you successful?  I'd like to frame the question this way, and that would be, what is a factor that's helped you succeed that most people on the outside probably wouldn't recognize? [00:07:17] John Ashmen: I'm told I'm creative and flexible. And so that is probably something that is a standout characteristic. In the strengths finder ideation is one of my strengths. But strategic is also a strength. As we are going through a leadership transition here, my leadership style has been talked about particularly by the board as they were looking to find my replacement. I am an expressive driver, which means I come into a situation, assess it pretty quickly, and then pick a direction and get people to follow me.  And that's worked for 30 years and 15 before that at the camp. That would be who I am. ++++++++++++++++++++ [00:08:00] Tommy Thomas: What's the most creative thing you think you and your team have ever done? [00:08:08] John Ashmen: 15 years in camping, 15 years with the Camping Association, and then 16 years with the Mission Association, and having had music in my background. 3 years ago now, 4 years, I guess, I talked to our friend, Amy Grant, from Nashville.  Most people know who Amy Grant is and we said, what if we bring together the rescue mission dynamics, the life transformation attributes that are kind of part of helping people change their life? And then also blend in the unique outdoor setting and the dynamics of creative outdoor initiatives. And then also music. And so, we started something called Hidden Trace Retreat. And we've got a couple more scheduled here in another month. Amy Grant worked with Citygate to establish Hidden Trace Retreat And they've just been wildly successful where we bring people from a rescue mission going through a life transformation program, people who have previously been on the streets to continue with some of that teaching, but also use the outdoor setting and group initiatives and farm chores and those kinds of things to change their environment and give them total new experiences and see themselves in a different way. We do What's My Name? We talk about what your name means and whether you're living up to those attributes. What's my story? Where did you come from? What's my style? We go over social styles. What's my plan?  What's my future? And when we get to that, what's my story, we bring in singers, songwriters, people like Amy Grant or others in Nashville. Cindy Morgan's been very involved with this, Mark Elliott and they listen to the stories of people who have been on the streets, go home, and craft these amazing songs so that when we all get together in the barn on the climax of the program, they hear songs about their life story sung by Nashville musicians. And that has been something that's gotten all kinds of accolades and awards for being a creative, unique program. That ranks up there. It's relatively current. [00:10:39] Tommy Thomas: What times in your life have really tested your mettle and how did you come out of those? [00:10:51] John Ashmen: Anytime there is a unique change in people's environment brings a lot of responses that you can expect more specific. When I came to Citygate Network, I was the first person in a hundred years, literally, to run this association of at the time, a couple of hundred rescue missions who never actually ran one. And I was never a mission superintendent as they called it. And so that put a pretty good target on my back. And when I came up with things that are presented to the board that were needed to be done to basically, save the association, that wasn't met with a lot of applause because they saw this as critical change.  And so that was probably one of the trying times. And I persevered and I told my board chair that you have to be my armor bearer. And I told my executive assistant, I don't want to read any of the comments that are coming in on email or social media about what people think of my decisions.   I'll just measure it by what we accomplish. [00:12:15] Tommy Thomas: Is there a point during that transition when you saw that y'all had turned the corner? [00:12:22] John Ashmen: Yeah, there was. One of the things that really helped, Tommy, was that I wrote a book on the whole idea of hunger, homelessness, abuse, and addiction called Invisible Neighbors. And that book actually went through three printings and sold very well. And when all of those members, now organizations, number over 300. When those people saw that I understood what they were about and could voice it even the way that they couldn't, there was much broader acceptance, and then when they saw the positive changes and the connections to federal governments and the links we were making there and the unique public relations initiatives and involved with movies like Odd Life of Timothy Green, Same, Different as Me, I think they also, they said, hey, this is going the right direction. And we want to be part of it. And so that's why our membership has grown 50% since I've come. [00:13:28] Tommy Thomas: What lesson do you think y'all brought out of the pandemic that you'll take forward? Collaboration is paramount.  I pushed collaboration from the very beginning of the pandemic.  Faith-based organizations, particularly in the nonprofit world, had become very siloed.  That was hurting us. [00:13:34] John Ashmen: Collaboration is paramount. That's an easy one for me. I pushed collaboration from the very beginning. Faith-based organizations, particularly in the nonprofit world, had become very siloed. This is our group. This is what we do. And even when I came to try to get people involved in government relations was, oh, we don't want to get involved with government. The camel gets its head under the tent and pretty soon the whole camel disappears and we'll get eaten up. My statement was, hey folks, if you're not at the table, you're on the menu. If you're not at the table, you're on the menu. And so let's see what we can do to build bridges. We have different philosophies about what's going on and we have different ideas of what the solution is, but let's at least talk to one another and see where we can work together. So we started not only building connections to the government but also we're encouraging members to reach out and see who around you is a partner in what they're doing.  And so a lot of our members became friends with those people running Dream Centers or Adult and Teen Challenge or Salvation Army, or whatever it happened to be in their city and started to have good relationships. Things like, hey, here's another mission nearby and they have a great women's program and we have a great men's program but their men's program isn't that good. And maybe we can be the men's program. Let them have the women's program. We'll send our women over there. And so the collaboration that started at that point was something that was already in place when COVID came. And when we determined that we needed to have a bubble, the safe place. And then we needed to have a place for rule-outs. And then we needed to have a place for quarantine. We had to have a place for isolation. We had different missions or ministry organizations sharing those responsibilities. Likewise, I was asked to be on the U.S. Interagency Council COVID 19 Task Force, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, USICH. And I was on there with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. People from Health and Human Services. The White House had a representative on the call. Department of Education, Department of Labor. A couple of other groups were on there. Of course, FEMA was on and the Center for Disease Control prevention was on and the only three non-government agencies on that call were the Red Cross, us, and the Salvation Army. And we were collaborating at the highest level through the entire COVID pandemic. [00:16:26] Tommy Thomas: Richard Paul Evans, the best-selling novelist, said that sometimes the greatest hope in our lives is just a second chance to do what we should have done right in the first place. When you think of a staff team and somebody that needs a second chance what's going through your heart and mind there? [00:16:47] John Ashmen: If we're talking about what I'm seeing at missions they are there. They're paramount in this area. Many of the people who staff missions were former clients. In fact, many of the CEOs are products of their own program. I've taken so many trips to rescue missions and touring with the CEO and, here's our kitchen and here's our men's long term recovery dorm. That was my bunk up there in the corner when I went through the program. And I just see that happening all over the place. I was within six different missions. Last week one of them called, Hope the Mission, used to be called Hope in the Valley in the Burbank area. They had something on their wall that said you can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. I tell people on both Christian networks and secular networks that the Bible says life comes with a reset button, a second chance button.  Any person being in Christ, they can be a new creation. And that's what so many of our members are doing, seeing these people who are having second chances, as you put it, Tommy, go and finish well.  I tell people on both Christian networks and secular networks that the Bible says life comes with a reset button, a second chance button. Any person being in Christ, they can be a new creation. Old things pass away, and everything can become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17. So that is part of what we're about and why Citygate Network has done the work it's done so well. ++++++++++++++++++++++ [00:18:17] Tommy Thomas: Maybe aside from your dad, have you had mentors in your life who made a significant contribution? [00:18:24] John Ashmen: One that I would immediately go to is someone who's passed away now. His name was Lloyd Mattson. And he was a mentor from afar. For most of my life he'd write books, and the books that he wrote, I would follow and just emulate the things that he was doing. The creative side came out. I started quite a few camping programs because of the work that he had done and the positions that he had taken on things. Lloyd Mattson certainly was one of them. I would say that the person I worked with at Christian Camp and Conference Association after I left directing the camp, his name was Bob Koblish.  He was a mentor as well. I learned a lot about association work from him and, interestingly, he says he learned a lot from me, but I think we learned from each other and that's noteworthy as well. [00:19:19] Tommy Thomas: Certainly, the Koblish family is good stock.  I mean you got a good family there that have made a great contribution to both the Christian world and society in general. [00:19:33] Tommy Thomas: I don't know of Rob Hoskins down at One Hope, but I saw a posting he said the other day, surround yourself with people who know you better than you know yourself and will tell you the truth out of love.  That's how we grow.  How do you resonate with that? [00:19:48] John Ashmen: Yeah, it's like the tombstone sometimes, credited to Andrew Carnegie, but I don't think it really is his. It says, here lies the body of the man who surrounded himself with better people than he was. I think that's always important that you have people that tell you the truth. And, we have different places where that happens. It's not just in the work environment, but also in small groups and fellowship groups and things like that. We have the opportunity to either take their advice or not take their advice. You can surround yourself with great people and they can tell you the truth. If you don't listen to it and take their advice, then you don't emerge any better than you were when you went in. You can surround yourself with great people and they can tell you the truth. If you don't listen to it and take their advice, then you don't emerge any better than you were when you went in. [00:20:28] Tommy Thomas: What's the most dangerous behavior that you've seen that derail leaders' careers? [00:20:34] John Ashmen: Some people don't like to be seen as making a mistake and if they do, they hide it. I think pride is there as well. I think the other thing is that for so many leaders, their self-worth is tied up in what they are doing and not who they are, particularly who they are in Christ as Christian leaders. And so, when it comes time to let go of an organization and hand it over to somebody else that those tentacles wrap around and you find that they're not really willing to let go and it starts destroying the organization unless there can be some quick chopping of those tentacles to move. This whole thing of succession is really critical. We did a survey of our 320-plus organizations back in the year 2020. And we asked hundreds of questions and we've got a lot of valuable information, but one of those was. I didn't know how long they expected to work and 39% of our CEOs said they would be leaving in the next four years. So that was COVID right at it's prime point. I think a lot of people were tired and we thought maybe that wouldn't be the case, but it doesn't seem to be inaccurate. We're seeing people come and go, quite a bit.  We probably have about 30 of our member organizations that are in transition right now. And that just comes back to this idea, we're seeing who's able to let go and who isn't. The future of those organizations depends on how well succession is handled. [00:22:22] Tommy Thomas: Stan, with succession, you've obviously seen a lot of it in both of your career tracks. How soon should a board and a CEO begin to think about that? [00:22:36] John Ashmen: I believe a succession plan should exist as soon as you hire someone. You don't decide, here's what we need to do because the CEO needs to leave right away. We have documents that we tell our members to put a succession plan together. Here's sample documents, what it looks like. You have a succession plan that is timed. Planned succession. You have one that's an unexpected succession. We even have documents that go to boards that say here's what not to do when you find yourself in the midst of an unexpected transition. And then once you have that plan, put it in a policy manual and put it on the shelf. I tell CEOs when they ask me that question, I get a lot of them asking me when should I mention it to the board? I said, when you are sure you are ready to leave and it's going to be within two years. Because if you start talking about that, even hinting at it to your board, their whole mindset changes and they look at you as somebody who's in the process of going. They aren't willing to take risks and you may be wanting to finish a project and they're not willing to put the extra effort or time or money into it because they sense that a change is coming. There are right ways to do succession and there are certainly wrong ways to do it. I like to think that I've rescued quite a few people from announcing things prematurely and helping them figure out how to end well. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++= [00:24:18] Tommy Thomas: Next week, we will continue this conversation with John Ashmen. During that time, we'll discuss succession planning, John's recent transition from leadership at Citygate, and how he and the board handled that transition. We'll talk at length about board governance. Then I asked John the question that seems to be getting a lot of traction lately. My shark tank question. If he were a panel member of a nonprofit version of Shark Tank, what would he have to be convinced of before providing startup capital to the nonprofit organization?   Links & Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas Citygate Network Website Invisible Neighbors – John Ashmen   Connect tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Follow Tommy on LinkedIn

What does trust have to do with intruder alert drills in schools? According to Kori & Lee, it has EVERYTHING to do with how well our children will be equipped for this type of an emergency - especially if it turns out to be real life and not just a drill. You'll hear how trust goes a long way in a crisis, and how to prepare the kids in your life to be spiritually and emotionally ready to face unthinkable events.   Ready to learn the 2 Things Your Kids Need to Know About Intruder Alert Drills? Let's go! KORI PENNYPACKER has served with Bible2School since 2011. Kori oversees the mission of Bible2School and Engagement by speaking to businesses, churches, and community leaders on the topic of the importance of spiritual training for elementary age children in our communities, especially those who are not able to attend church. She loves inviting people into the Bible2School Team as valued Members, Volunteers, and Donors. Kori lives in Lititz with her husband, Blaine, and has three sons. She enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis, and volunteering with her husband to mentor engaged couples at her church. LEE NIENHUIS is a coffee drinker, friend maker, and loud laugher. She is an author, Bible teacher, podcaster and communications consultant. Lee has a heart for the global church, and has recently joined Live Global, a team who supports, trains and equips believers worldwide. Lee lives with her handsome, hardworking husband, Mike, at Grace Adventures, a Christian Camp and Training Center in West Michigan. They have four great kids who make her need Jesus. And she says, “That's a good thing.   Resources Psalm 46 - He is our shield and our strength, an ever-present help in danger Romans 8:28 - God works all things together for good Matthew 28:20 Jesus said, I am with you always.  Ephesians 6: Put on the Full armor of God Columbine Episode #27; How to Have Hard Conversations with Kids Mom's In Prayer Episode #44; How God Is Working Through Praying Moms Momsinprayer.org A Powerful School Lockdown Godstory on YouTube John 1:5 - the darkness will not overcome the light   Next Steps Learn more about Bible2School Subscribe to our Podcast Share this Episode

We all want to encourage the kids in our lives so they feel equipped to handle their days with confidence – and we can do this through our words! Scripture talks a lot about the importance of what we say, and that we are to encourage and build one another up. We can intentionally speak to children in ways that will set the tone for their entire day! Listen in as Kori & Lee discuss 3 things you should say to your kids each day before they go out the door. KORI PENNYPACKER has served with Bible2School since 2011. Kori oversees the mission of Bible2School and Engagement by speaking to businesses, churches, and community leaders on the topic of the importance of spiritual training for elementary age children in our communities, especially those who are not able to attend church. She loves inviting people into the Bible2School Team as valued Members, Volunteers, and Donors. Kori lives in Lititz with her husband, Blaine, and has three sons. She enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis, and volunteering with her husband to mentor engaged couples at her church. LEE NIENHUIS is a coffee drinker, friend maker, and loud laugher. She is an author, Bible teacher, podcaster and communications consultant. Lee has a heart for the global church, and has recently joined Live Global, a team who supports, trains and equips believers worldwide. Lee lives with her handsome, hardworking husband, Mike, at Grace Adventures, a Christian Camp and Training Center in West Michigan. They have four great kids who make her need Jesus. And she says, “That's a good thing. Resources: Proverbs 16:24 - kind words are like honey 1 Thessalonians 5:11 - encourage one another Matthew 18:20 - where two are more are gathered Romans 8:28  - all things work together for good   Next Steps: Subscribe to this podcast Share You CAN Tell The Children with a friend Connect with us on our socials - FB & IG Rate and Review on Spotify , Apple, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts Bring Bible2School to your community

ason Perlak, The Wilderness Christian Camp

Dogface Dogfart Dogfan… whatever his name… he's our official Patron Saint of Spiritual Undirection Summertime. Hop on into our Christian Summer Camp experience and swim on land with us or walk on water with Jesus.    Discussion Starters: Kitchen Patrol, Hyundai, Patron Aint, swim on land or walk on water, swinging around the L word, How to be popular at Christian Camp, age of accountability, watching history from heaven, ghosts. 

Listen to the full episode HERE for only $3 monthly + access all bonus episodes. https://www.patreon.com/4ndrewpledger - I need your support to continue creating the podcast.In this Patreon bonus episode, I share stories of attending the Christian camp that my IFB church owned.Follow me on Social Media: https://andrewpledger.mypixieset.com/links Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do the kids in your life have a clear view of the world as God sees it, or do they need some gentle coaching to be shaped and molded into God's truth? This is where our conversation turns to sunglasses… Kori & Lee talk about three different types of sunglass lenses, and why it's so important for children to see the world through God's holy lens, brought into focus by the Bible! We want it to be second nature for our kids to process life through a Biblical worldview because this will guide them to truth which in turn guides them to hope - and  we know that Jesus is the hope of the world!  We aren't always going to be there to guide them, so we want to be sure they have on their Biblical worldview sunglasses… Ready to hear the 3 types of protective lenses kids need in order to see clearly? Let's go… KORI PENNYPACKER has served with Bible2School since 2011. Kori oversees the mission of Bible2School and Engagement by speaking to businesses, churches, and community leaders on the topic of the importance of spiritual training for elementary age children in our communities, especially those who are not able to attend church. She loves inviting people into the Bible2School Team as valued Members, Volunteers, and Donors. Kori lives in Lititz with her husband, Blaine, and has three sons. She enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis, and volunteering with her husband to mentor engaged couples at her church. LEE NIENHUIS is a coffee drinker, friend maker, and loud laugher. She is an author, Bible teacher, podcaster and communications consultant. Lee has a heart for the global church, and has recently joined Live Global, a team who supports, trains and equips believers worldwide. Lee lives with her handsome, hardworking husband, Mike, at Grace Adventures, a Christian Camp and Training Center in West Michigan. They have four great kids who make her need Jesus. And she says, “That's a good thing.   Resources: Similar Podcast Episodes: Mamabear Apologetics Teaching Kids To Think Like Christ Not Culture How Do You Know The Bible Is True?   Next Steps: Subscribe to this podcast Share You CAN Tell The Children with a friend Rate and Review on Spotify , Apple, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts Bring Bible2School to your community

From the Icebreakers Comedy Festival, Dylan Gott shares how he was fooled into attending Christian Camp. And from Hecklers in Victoria, Randee Neumeyer talks about her bed wetting. It went on longer than you think.

TAKEAWAYSEvery summer, the camp reserves 50 percent of their spots for low-income kids who need financial assistance A donation of just $250 provides a full scholarship for one child to go to camp for a weekSummer camp levels the playing field for kids with diverse backgrounds and helps them connect on a much deeper levelKids are assigned to “republics” that work together and function as a team for the duration of their camp experience

Ryan and Mike sit down with Joel and Winston to talk all about New Hope Christian Camp and how God was able to use an incredibly difficult situation and transform it for His Glory. 

YouthMin: Movie Review from the Ray Taylor ShowShow topic: Join Ray Taylor as he reviews the 2018 mockumentary “YouthMin”. YouthMin offers an honest perspective of youth group culture with Christian references, sex-talks, and camp nostalgia. Led by an out-of-date youth pastor with good intentions and a horrible soul patch, the movie examines the weird, hysterical, and deep moments that define Christian Camp. With a cast and crew of New England-based designers, improvisers, and storytellers, YouthMin is a low-budget indie film that is loosely inspired by the creators' own experiences growing up in a youth group. The film sheds light on one dysfunctional youth group's attempts to combat an obnoxious leader, and the unexpected challenges they face. YouthMin film produced by First Names FilmsJOIN Inspired Disorder +PLUS Today! InspiredDisorder.com/plus Membership Includes:Ray Taylor Show - Full Week Ad Free (Audio+Video)Live Painting ArchiveEarly Access to The Many FacesMember Only Discounts and DealsPodcast Back Catalogue (14 Shows - 618 Episodes)Ray Taylor's Personal BlogCreative WritingAsk Me AnythingDaily Podcast: Ray Taylor Show - InspiredDisorder.com/rts Daily Painting: The Many Faces - InspiredDisorder.com/tmf ALL links: InspiredDisorder.com/links Genres: Comedy

Does your child go to public school? If so, are you familiar with HOW their faith can be part of their school day? With phrases like “separation of church and state” constantly surfacing as a hot topic, it can be confusing to know what is truth and what is misconception.  In this episode, we want to kindly educate you so that your children can feel comfortable expressing their faith in public school. Ready to hear how our kids are free to exercise their religion before, during and after school? Let's go!  LEE NIENHUIS is a coffee drinker, friend maker, and loud laugher. She is an author, Bible teacher, podcaster and communications consultant. Lee has a heart for the global church, and has recently joined Live Global, a team who supports, trains and equips believers worldwide.  Lee lives with her handsome, hardworking husband, Mike, at Grace Adventures, a Christian Camp and Training Center in West Michigan. They have four great kids who make her need Jesus. And she says, “That's a good thing.” KORI PENNYPACKER has served with Bible2School since 2011. Kori oversees the mission of Bible2School and Engagement by speaking to businesses, churches, and community leaders on the topic of the importance of spiritual training for elementary age children in our communities, especially those who are not able to attend church. She loves inviting people into the Bible2School Team as valued Members, Volunteers, and Donors. Kori lives in Lititz with her husband, Blaine, and has three sons. She enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis, and volunteering with her husband to mentor engaged couples at her church.   Resources for you: Our Blog: Navigating Faith in Public Schools Episode #11,  Religious Freedom in our Public Schools w/Matt Sharp Alliance Defending Freedom Website Constitutionally protected prayer An example of our kids' right to pray during school Freedom to dance to Christian music in the school talent show Freedom to give faith based gifts in school (and here) Colossians 3:17 ESV   Next Steps: Contact us to start a Bible2School near you Connect with us on Facebook and Instagram Subscribe to You CAN Tell the Children   Share this episode with a friend!

Host, Ross Cochran, interviews president and CEO of Christian Camp & Conference Association, Gregg Hunter, on the cornucopia of benefits […] The post Gregg Hunter: The Camp Effect appeared first on Child Discipleship.

Kyle, Linda, and Matt welcome Greg Anderson, who is the President of Inspiration Point Christian Camp & Retreat Center. Together they discuss the important role that Christian camping can serve in the life of teens. Greg talks about the marriage of the outdoors and the Scriptures and how God can use the two together to make disciples. We also discuss how to find a Christian camp that is a great fit for your ministry. Greg also points us to research describing the 5 pillars that should be in place at a camp in order for it to be effective.

If you enjoy the My Crazy Family Podcast, PLEASE PRESS SUBSCRIBE! On Todays Episode: Crazy Family Story #1: Snow in the air, the sounds of sleigh bells jingle off in the distance, and a family heads out on the open road for a mountain Christmas vacation. Grandpa is at the wheel.  What could possibly go wrong?  A lot. Buckle up.  Crazy Family Story #2 A 24 year old female wants to know if she can finally cut her abusive mom out of her life after a lifetime of horrific abuse, including being locked in rooms, sent away to Christian Camp to fix her since she was overweight and had acne, and being told her epilepsy was caused by the devil.   Crazy Family Story #3 My mom makes horrible decisions in her life.  She's a great mom to me but she dates losers and is always in trouble or running from something. She finally has a decent boyfriend and I received a frantic call from him this morning. Here we go again… Share YOUR Crazy Family Story With Us Now!! Write in at http://www.crazyfampod.com  Or call in 24/7 and share your story at  1-833-CRAY-FAM (1-833-272-9326)

This episode is with Andy Dykhouse, the Executive Director for Camp Rivercrest in Nebraska. If you are not involved in the summer camp world, this episode is for YOU! Enjoy it, and then get your kids involved in something that will be absolutely life changing!Check out Camp Rivercrest below, or a great Christian Camp in your neck of the woods.Camp Rivercrest