How to Equip Parents for Discipleship at Home I Matt Markins

How Technology Can Strengthen Your Kids Ministry I Rudy Rupert

In this episode of the Amazing Kids Ministry Podcast, we sit down with Rudy Rupert to talk about how kids pastors can use technology, curriculum, and simple systems to make Sunday ministry easier, more consistent, and more effective. Rudy shares from his own kids ministry experience, including leading in a church with multiple services, large screens, live teaching, video teaching, small groups, and volunteers who needed confidence. This conversation is not about replacing leaders with screens — it’s about using the right tools to support leaders, disciple kids well, and make sure every child hears the gospel in a way they can understand. If you’re a kids pastor, ministry leader, or volunteer trying to balance live teaching, media, curriculum, technology, and team development, this episode will help you see how simple systems can create more peace, more consistency, and more space for real ministry. Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools.  https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus [https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus]

Why Songwriting is a Discipleship Tool I Matthew Harris

In this episode of the Amazing Kids Ministry Podcast, worship leader and songwriter Matthew Harris shares his powerful journey into worship ministry — from growing up in a ministry family, walking away from faith, getting saved in college, and discovering that God was calling him into something he did not feel equipped to do. Matthew unpacks how a simple “yes” to God led him from college football and pre-law into worship, missions, songwriting, and next gen ministry. His story is a reminder for kids ministry leaders, youth pastors, worship leaders, and church volunteers that God does not always call the most prepared person — He forms the available one. For anyone serving in kids ministry, student ministry, next gen ministry, or worship ministry, this episode will encourage you to rethink how worship forms the next generation. You’ll learn why theology matters in the songs we sing, how to help young leaders fall in love with serving the church, and why private worship shapes the depth of public leadership. If you care about discipling kids, students, and families through worship, this conversation with Matthew Harris will challenge and encourage you. Subscribe for more conversations with ministry leaders, worship leaders, kids pastors, youth pastors, and next gen leaders who are helping the Church reach and disciple the next generation. Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools.  https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus

How to Build a Kids Ministry That Is Fun and Deep I Tyler Bates

In this solo episode, Tyler Bates tackles a tension many kids ministry leaders feel: Should kids ministry be fun, or should it focus on deep discipleship? His answer is clear — it should be both. Tyler challenges the idea that fun and faith formation are competing priorities, arguing that fun is the language kids speak, and when used intentionally, it can become the doorway to meaningful spiritual formation. Through stories, neuroscience, Scripture, and practical ministry insight, this episode helps kids pastors and leaders rethink how they create environments where children don’t just learn about God, but encounter Him in ways they will remember. If you’re a kids ministry leader trying to build a ministry that is both engaging and spiritually rich, this episode will help you find the middle of the road — not the ditch. Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools.  https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus

Why Kids Ministry Is More Strategic Than You Think I Andy Kirk

In this episode of the Amazing Kids Podcast, Andy Kirk shares the unexpected story of how he found his way into children’s ministry—not through a traditional church-kid background, but through a burden to help kids avoid the pain and brokenness he saw in his own friends growing up.   Andy talks about becoming a first-generation Christian, stepping into ministry through local schools and community kids clubs, and eventually helping connect and equip kids pastors around the world through OneHope and KidMin Collective. The conversation moves from Andy’s personal calling to a bigger challenge for every children’s ministry leader: you were never meant to do this alone. This episode is a powerful reminder that kids ministry is not a stepping stone. It is kingdom work, and the people leading it need community, coaching, encouragement, and practical support.   Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools.  https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus [https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus] www.kidmincollective.org [http://www.kidmincollective.org] #kidspastors #kidsmin  #amazinglife  #nextgenministry #discipleship #pastor #christianpodcast #volunteers #tools #leadership #ministrytips #community #kidmincollective

How to Equip Parents for Discipleship at Home I Matt Markins

We sit down with Matt Markins, President and CEO of Awana, for a rich conversation on children’s ministry, discipleship, church innovation, and what it really takes to form lasting faith in kids. A major focus of the episode is the tension between content and connection. Churches often tell parents they are the primary spiritual influence in their kids’ lives and give them resources, but many parents still feel insecure because no one has actually shown them how to disciple their children. Matt challenges church leaders to move beyond simply handing out resources and begin relationally training parents, shepherding children, and creating real capacity for discipleship. Matt shares his personal story of encountering the church as a child during a painful family season, and how loving, faithful adults helped disciple him into the person and leader he is today. From there, the conversation moves into how churches can honor the past while still leading necessary change, why research and data should serve biblical wisdom rather than replace it, and why the church must recover a relational model of discipleship. This conversation is for every kids pastor, family ministry leader, volunteer, parent, and church leader who wants to see faith formed deeply and lastingly in the next generation. Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools.  https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus [https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus]     Matt Markin's Books can be found on Amazon   Forming Faith: Discipling the Next Generation in a Post-Christian Culture https://l1nk.dev/zg3h3y5 [https://l1nk.dev/zg3h3y5]   The Faith of our Children: Eight Timely Research Insights for Disciplining the Next Generation https://l1nk.dev/x806ka2 [https://l1nk.dev/x806ka2]