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Intro Episode: Why the Next Gen Matters podcast: The Purpose Behind the Podcast
78 Plays5 months ago
Welcome to the first episode to the NextGen Matters Podcast, where in this episode, Rich Brown introduces the NextGen Matters Podcast, a show created to support ministry leaders who are striving to lead with clarity, confidence, and consistency in the face of today’s cultural and ministry challenges. Rich shares his heart behind launching the podcast, the mission of Next Gen Matters, and the vision for future episodes that will engage, encourage, equip, and empower leaders serving the next generation. Drawing on over 40 years of ministry experience, Rich explains how this show will deliver biblical solutions, practical frameworks, and honest conversations for ministry leaders.
Resources Mentioned:
• Next Gen Matters - https://nextgenmatters.org/
• The Bible (2 Timothy 4:7 reference)
Timestamps:
• 00:02 – Welcome to the Next Gen Matters Podcast: A show for ministry leaders seeking clarity and confidence.
• 01:16 – Why start another ministry podcast? Rich shares the calling behind launching the show.
• 02:23 – The challenges of leading in today’s culture and the heart to impact the next generation.
• 04:09 – Beyond survival: Finding victory in ministry through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• 06:03 – Rich’s 40 years of ministry experience and the vision behind Next Gen Matters.
• 07:25 – The importance of spiritually healthy leaders creating spiritually strong ministries.
• 08:34 – The promise of every episode: biblical solutions, practical tools, and honest conversations.
• 09:59 – Common pain points in ministry and upcoming topics for the show.
• 11:40 – Closing encouragement: Your leadership matters because your ministry matters because the gospel matters.
Recommended
Transcript
Podcast Introduction & Purpose
00:00:01
NextGen Matters
Hey friend, welcome to the Next Gen Matters podcast, a show for ministry leaders seeking to move beyond overwhelm and move into leading with clarity, with confidence, and with consistency.
00:00:15
NextGen Matters
I'm Rich Brown, and I am so glad you are here. You know, when I'm looking for a new podcast to listen to, I ask myself some basic questions. One is, who's the host?
00:00:26
NextGen Matters
Do I know them? Do I not know them? If I don't know them, Can they help me? Do they get me? Do they, can I connect with them?
Rich Brown's Podcast Journey
00:00:35
NextGen Matters
The other thing I'm looking for is,
00:00:38
NextGen Matters
is the content. I mean, is this content going to be helping me, whether it's in my business with Next Gen Matters or whether it's in my ministry, whether it's in professional development or even like my love with history is going to help me learn more about those amazing lives and the battles that they went through back in the days of the Revolutionary War, that kind of thing.
00:00:59
NextGen Matters
So I'm looking for a podcast that's going to help me c grow. So when others were asking me, Rich, why don't you start a podcast? And I'm like, there's already so many podcasts out there. No, no, start a ministry podcast.
Supporting Ministry Leaders in Cultural Chaos
00:01:12
NextGen Matters
There's already so many ministry podcasts out there.
00:01:15
NextGen Matters
I mean, like youth ministry podcasts. I know there's so many student ministry podcasts out there and they're doing a great job. They got it. But the Lord opened up a door for me and he really put on my heart, you need to start a podcast.
00:01:30
NextGen Matters
So here i am, we're starting. So I asked myself, why would I start a podcast? Well, the show, the Next Gen Matters podcast, this show exists to support you.
00:01:43
NextGen Matters
see, I want to have a a show, the NGM or Next Gen Matters podcast, be designed to help you, ministry leader, and people like you who are navigating through but chaos of today's culture.
00:01:58
NextGen Matters
I mean, that's real. Navigating through the chaos of today's culture, you also are carrying the weight of ministry expectations. So you think about that.
00:02:09
NextGen Matters
You got the external, you got the culture throwing stuff at us. You have the internal, the local church or the parachurch organization where you serve in ministry throwing stuff at you.
00:02:21
NextGen Matters
And then you have the most, I think the deepest reason of what's going on and why I want to create this podcast is because you've got this longing in your heart. You've got this deep desire to make a lasting impact into the lives of this emerging generation.
00:02:40
NextGen Matters
And we make that lasting impact in the lives of this emerging generation for the purpose and the person of Jesus Christ. You see, my desire is to have this podcast be a resource, a resource for those of you who are professional in NextGen Ministries.
Empowering Leaders Beyond Survival
00:03:00
NextGen Matters
Or maybe you're a volunteer. I want to have a resource, this podcast, as a resource for volunteers. Something that a volunteer could be listening to on the way to work or are going around the house, doing chores, doing responsibilities.
00:03:16
NextGen Matters
Our volunteers don't have a lot of resources allotted to them. And I hope this can be a true encouragement and impact on their life as well. I also want this podcast to to be picked up by those who maybe aren't yet involved in Next Gen Ministries, but he or she has a heart for this next generation.
00:03:38
NextGen Matters
You know, we all know that the pressure that you face and I face in ministry is real. The pressure is real.
00:03:49
NextGen Matters
The battle over the lives of our students that we minister to is very real. But we also know in the midst of the pressure and in the midst of the battle that we believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is what is the solution.
00:04:07
NextGen Matters
Now, I think sometimes people see scriptures or even Jesus as, well, let's just help people survive. I want to go beyond just surviving in the battle. I want us to see that the gospel of Jesus, yes, can help you survive, but it's deeper than that.
00:04:23
NextGen Matters
The gospel of Jesus provides victory in our ministry efforts. I resonate with the Apostle Paul, especially one of my favorite books is 2 Timothy.
00:04:35
NextGen Matters
And in chapter 4, he's basically saying goodbye. He is and basically is saying goodbye to Timothy. He's tapping out, you know, and he's saying, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race.
00:04:47
NextGen Matters
I've kept the faith. and i want to I want to be that guy, you know? I've kept the faith. And then I think about the following.
00:04:58
NextGen Matters
I then, when I leave this world and enter into the presence of the Lord God, I want to hear the words from Jesus. Don't you?
00:05:09
NextGen Matters
Well done, good and faithful servant. Now, what does that have to do with a podcast? I say, yeah, a lot. See, because I want this to be a resource to help you Stay strong and be sustainable in your own ministry.
Rich's Ministry Experience & Insights
00:05:28
NextGen Matters
So our show, The Next Gen Matters Show, The Next Gen Matters Podcast, is going to be totally designed for next-gen ministry leaders to overcome the stress of ministry by covering the topics that matter for you, for leaders that matter.
00:05:46
NextGen Matters
Yeah, we're going to be covering the real topics that matter to you, for leaders that matter. So I think back, I've been doing this thing called youth work and student ministry for over 40 years.
00:06:01
NextGen Matters
Much of it as a student pastor myself, 20 plus years of serving as the point, as a lead in a ministry. Also, residentially teaching teaching youth ministry in the academic setting of teaching future youth workers. And then in 2019, God put on my heart to start NextGen Matters, which is a a ministry fully designed for the purpose of relationally equipping those who are in ministry.
00:06:29
NextGen Matters
So and even now I volunteer every Wednesday night with our students at our high school ministry. And I got the 12th grade guys, those dudes are my boys. I mean, I love those guys. See, so I have been doing this thing for 40 years. So it's kind of like a Liberty Mutual commercial.
00:06:43
NextGen Matters
I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two. So here's the deal. I understand the journey of where student ministry has been. i also am listening and hearing the challenges that you're facing today.
00:06:59
NextGen Matters
But I also know this, we have got to be totally on point and execute our ministries well because we have to prepare another generation for tomorrow.
00:07:11
NextGen Matters
So again, get the past, I live in the present, but I am working for the future. Does that make sense to you? I sure hope so. I kind of frame it up like this.
00:07:22
NextGen Matters
See, I want to have...
00:07:26
NextGen Matters
healthy students. You, you want to have healthy students, spiritually healthy students who love the Lord, the God, but all their heart, soul, mind, strength, and the neighbor as himself. I want to see us have healthy students, spiritually strong students.
00:07:43
NextGen Matters
But to have spiritually strong students, we have to have spiritually strong student ministries. And if we're going to have spiritually strong student ministries,
00:07:55
NextGen Matters
that can really come through and must come through a place of spiritually healthy student ministry leaders. And that's why this podcast exists.
00:08:07
NextGen Matters
Because I want to come alongside of you, to be engaging with you, to be encouraging you, to be equipping you, and to be empowering you to fulfill the God-given calling He has placed in on your ministry, and in your life to this current generation of adolescents.
Addressing Ministry Pain Points
00:08:29
NextGen Matters
Hey, every episode we're going to do, we're going to be dealing with real issues that you're facing with real solutions based on the timeless truth of God's Word.
00:08:41
NextGen Matters
And that is my promise. That is my promise. I want to base it all on Scripture. So each episode we're going to be bringing, to I see three bullet points taking place. Okay.
00:08:52
NextGen Matters
I just said one, biblical solutions to real next-gen challenges, biblical solutions to real next-gen challenges. Also practical frameworks that you can actually use.
00:09:04
NextGen Matters
Yes, in your ministry, but yes, also in your own personal life and honest conversations to refresh your soul. You know, i believe that NextGen ministry leaders are some of the most strategic, some of the most creative, and some of the most spiritually hungry and passionate people in the local church.
00:09:26
NextGen Matters
But unfortunately, and all too often,
00:09:29
NextGen Matters
we're running an empty. And that's why NextGen Matters exists. And that's why this podcast exists. Not to just merely cover tips and tricks. There's a place for that.
00:09:41
NextGen Matters
but to truly provide a place that's designed to be caring, to provide clarity and create community.
00:09:50
NextGen Matters
Last week, I was thinking through what are some of the pain points that ministry leaders are going through? I came up with 12 and I think, my goodness, wouldn't these be incredible topics to cover?
00:10:00
NextGen Matters
I'm planning on it. So here they are. Work-life balance. relationships, I don't mean like with your spouse, I mean relationships in your ministry setting, staff, parents, students, et cetera.
00:10:14
NextGen Matters
Burnout, student engagement, their attendance and their involvement or lack thereof. Staying creative, parent involvement, volunteers, misalignment or disconnection of ministries,
00:10:32
NextGen Matters
within your local church. We stay in our lane, they stay in their lane, we don't really connect, we're not on the same mission. Finances and resources, loneliness in ministry, ministry expectations, and the comparison trap.
00:10:49
NextGen Matters
Yeah, I put these on my phone last week, I sent them to different ministry leaders and I said, what do you think? And they were like, mm-hmm, that's what we want to hear so that's what want to hear about. I look at that and go, dude, that's like six months, if not more, of of of topics to be talking through at least six months, if not longer.
00:11:10
NextGen Matters
here's the deal.
00:11:11
NextGen Matters
What we're going doing with this whole podcast thing is going beyond just having a podcast. I want this to be a place where leaders can feel that they're they're being engaged with, they're being encouraged, they're being equipped,
00:11:28
NextGen Matters
and they're empowered because your
Conclusion & Encouragement
00:11:30
NextGen Matters
calling matters. Well, Well, this is a wrap. This is our very first episode, our introduction episode to the Next Gen Matters podcast.
00:11:39
NextGen Matters
I'm Rich Brown, and this is the Next Gen Matters podcast. Remember, your leadership matters because your ministry matters because the gospel matters.
00:11:53
NextGen Matters
God bless.