Podcast
Episode Summary
In this episode, Mike Handler sits down with Sam Luce to challenge a default assumption in children’s ministry: that a kids or youth pastor’s primary job is to disciple the kids in the room. Sam argues the more faithful and sustainable calling is to disciple the people who disciple kids, namely volunteer leaders and parents. Drawing on his years at Redeemer Church, where his kids ministry tripled in size with no added staff budget, he explains how he treated volunteers as staff, wrote job descriptions that gave them a clear picture of what winning looked like, and used the short windows before and after service to train and encourage leaders instead of scheduling separate meetings nobody would attend.
The conversation then turns to parents, where Sam pushes past the familiar “parents are primary” line to unpack the second half of Deuteronomy 6, the stones of remembrance set up outside the home as a communal witness to God’s rescue. He argues discipleship was never meant to be a solo home responsibility handed off with a curriculum; it’s a partnership, and ministry leaders are called to actively disciple parents through small groups, prayer gatherings, or a simple text photo of their child worshiping. Sam and Mike close by urging listeners not to be paralyzed by the size of the task: one job description, one conversation, one parent connection at a time.
Show Notes
- Sam’s reframe: your primary job as a children’s or youth ministry leader is not to disciple kids, it’s to disciple the people who disciple kids.
- Two groups to disciple: the volunteer leaders on your team, and the parents in your congregation.
- How Sam led through explosive growth at Redeemer with no staff budget by treating volunteers as staff and writing job descriptions for them.
- Using the natural windows before, between, and after services to train and encourage leaders instead of adding a separate meeting.
- Why job descriptions matter: clear expectations, a realistic picture of what to expect, and one sentence that defines what winning looks like.
- The practice of praying for one person a week rather than trying to reach everyone at once.
- A story about texting a mom a photo of her son worshiping, and why that small gesture is discipleship.
- Giving up what you like (teaching the Bible story yourself) for what you love (multiplying disciple-makers).
- Deuteronomy 6 revisited: the well-known “parents are primary” passage, and the often-skipped second half about the stones of remembrance and the role of the community.
- Practical on-ramps for discipling parents: men’s groups, moms’ groups, prayer gatherings, coffee, or a simple play date.
- Elizabeth Elliot’s line on doing the next thing God puts in front of you, and why starting small beats staying paralyzed.
