If you’re a communicator, maybe you sometimes feel stuck in a rut. Every week, you get up and talk and students half-heartedly listen (while simultaneously messaging friends on Snapchat). Then they walk out of the room and you’re left wondering, “Did that even matter?”
This week on the Think Orange Podcast, we’re joined by Jamey Dickens, Director of High School Ministry at Buckhead Church, and Ben Crawshaw, Creative Director of XP3 High School. They help us rethink how we engage with students, encourage us to show empathy to those who seem apathetic, and help us understand what a win might look like in our large group ministries.
Welcome to Episode 19 of the Think Orange Podcast.
Topic Timeline:
Jamey Dickens begins the conversation on speaking to students (5:42)
Sometimes what you think you communicated is not what students heard (7:26)
The tension of wanting to reach students, but not connecting in a way that sticks (8:30)
Communicating week after week after week is hard (11:20)
If we’re going to reach this generation, we have to become experts in bridging the Sunday to Monday gap. (11:55)
Joseph Sojourner interviews Ben Crawshaw (12:27)
Challenges that might keep students from being engaged in teaching (13:29)
Students aren’t necessarily apathetic—they’re distracted (16:18)
Don’t give up and continually self-evaluate (18:40)
Know who you want to be as a communicator (22:07)
Shifts in attention span across age groups (24:50)
Clear wins for communicating to students (26:00)
• Their eyes look up
• Scripture comes alive
• The bottom line spans from Sunday to Monday
Advice for communicators frustrated with students being on their phones (32:42)
Engaging apathetic students without creating conflict (34:51)
Leveraging social media and tech to engage students in new ways (41:40)
We have the opportunity to connect students with truth at a time when they’ll remember it the best (45:05)
Resources for speaking to students who don’t seem to care (47:23)
Dave and Ashley’s final thoughts (53:48)
