Not every hard boss is toxic, but not every hard boss is healthy either. In this episode of The Shaping Student Ministry Podcast, John and Ian dive into the complicated world of church leadership dynamics. What do you do when your pastor is hard to work with? How do you know if the issue is them… or you? From micromanagers and ghost leaders to trust issues and toxic patterns, this conversation is real, raw, and practical.

If you’re a student pastor or ministry leader trying to navigate difficult relationships on your church staff, this episode is for you.

What we cover:

• The difference between difficult and untrustworthy leaders

• Why many pastors struggle to disciple their teams

• How to build trust when it’s been broken

• The 6 types of trust every ministry needs

• Why some leaders become toxic—and how not to become one

Subscribe, share, and check out the full resources and behind-the-wall content at

👉 https://www.shapingstudentministry.com

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Welcome to Season 2 of the Shaping Student Ministry Podcast! We’re kicking things off with a game-changing conversation featuring Dave Coryell, President of Christian Endeavor and author of Less Like Hippos, More Like Honeybees. (WE ENCOUNTERED SOME RECORDING ISSUES... POWER THROUGH!)

In this episode, we dive deep into:

- Why your discipleship strategy needs more than just curriculum

- The danger of treating content as the end goal instead of a means to a greater mission

- How to move students from spiritual consumers to active contributors

- What hippos and honeybees can teach us about youth ministry

- The history and global vision of Christian Endeavor—and why we’re excited to partner

This isn’t about burning down what you’ve built. It’s about building better—on purpose, with purpose.

Links to Christian Endeavor, Dave’s books, and our brand-new partnership page are below!

CE WEBSITE: https://www.ceworks.faith/

DAVE'S BOOK: https://a.co/d/9yDnsc8

PARTNERSHIP: https://www.shapingstudentministry.com/ce

You poured time, energy, and resources into your big event… now what? In this episode, John and Ian unpack why what happens after the event may be more important than the event itself. Drawing from years of student ministry experience, they tackle questions like:

• How do you capture spiritual momentum without overloading the calendar?

• Why are relational follow-ups better than reactionary ones?

• What does it look like to follow up without fizzling out?

• How do you develop rhythms that lead students from a moment to maturity?

This isn’t a teardown of events—it’s a call to maximize their impact by being just as intentional after the final session as you were before the doors opened.

You’ll walk away with real follow-up strategies for your students, volunteers, and even yourself.

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