6 to seek out in 2017

It’s 2017 is here. And that means that this is another year for the 6 to seek out! Last year on the podcast I did my 1st ever 6 to seek out for the year. Those 6 were people or groups that I felt were really impactful to me and helped me grow as a leader and minister. To check out the 2016 list, feel free to because every single one of those 6 are still providing tons of great content regularly.

But with a  new year, comes a new list of people and/or groups that really inspired me. So, in NO particular order, here are the top 6 to seek out in 2017:

Orange Leaders – Every week day Orange Leaders pumps out great insights and encouragement for family, children and student ministry leaders. And what I love most about Orange Leaders is that they offer these insights from a variety of ministry leaders. It isn’t just 1 or 2 of them, there are plenty of writes contributing to the Orange Leaders blog so you get a variety of different opinions and thoughts.

ChurchMag  – ChurchMag is a digital community with the expressed mission to resource the Church with timely, relevant, practical, and exceptionally awesome content focused on technology and creativity. They have a variety of different bloggers writing about church tech and digital issues and do a weekly podcasts as well.

Jen Bradbury – Jen is someone I discovered just this year but it makes me wonder why it took me until now to reading her stuff. Why? Because she is everywhere! Her primary blog is YMJen.com, but you can see her writing in a variety of youth  ministry sites such as Download Youth Ministry. What I love about her writing is that speaks from the heart and her passion behind her writing is very evident. And, she came on the podcast once before (and hopefully more). She’s got a ton of wisdom and experience and I love reading what she writes.

Rachel Blom – Another lady that can be found on a variety of different sites. ChurchMag and Download Youth Ministry seem to be 2 of her primary ones other than her own personal blog post, Youth Leaders Academy. What I appreciate about her is that she has wonderful writing and she tends to write about things we all think about but no one else writes about haha. I really enjoy reading her posts wherever she turns up.

Stan Rodda – Stan has been a personal friend of mine and a Campus Pastor at New Life. He’s also appeared on my podcast multiple times. What I really enjoy about Stan and his blogs and podcast is that he speaks of them from first hand experience. He is in the trenches with tons of experience and loads of stories. He is passionate about people coming to know Christ and equipping leaders to be more effective. His focus is on leadership and one you should check out.

Time Management Ninja – As part of the 6, I always like to include a non-ministry specific one. Time Management Ninja shares a few times a week about time management strategies and I like reading from him because, let’s be honest, ministers aren’t exactly known for their time management skills. So these tips and strategies can come in very handy.

What do you think of the 6? Are there “go-to” blogs or podcasts you seek out regularly? Share below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick so we can search them out in 2017.

Tom Pounder

A father of 4, Tom is the Student Minister and Online Campus Pastor at New Life Christian Church in Chantilly, VA. He blogs, vlogs, and podcasts regularly about student and online ministry stuff.

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