In this episode, I caught up with Taylor Baker to talk about being judgmental as a teenager, a crazy mission trip experience, and why it mattered so much to have a leader she could lean on. Taylor is married to Austin and they have a sweet 2-year-old boy named Haze. I had so much fun with this episode! Make sure to stick around for the end of the episode when we walk through our key takeaways (59:09). Find Mark on Facebook, Instagram, or send us an email to [email protected]. Take the survey here.

In this episode, we catch up with Scott Workman on why discipleship mattered in his life and how that set him up for where he is now. We spend a few minutes finding out what happened between high school graduation and now (00:50) before we dive into his survey results (28:38). Make sure to stick around for the end of the episode when we walk through our key takeaways (1:01:35). Find Mark on Facebook, Instagram, or send us an email to [email protected]. Take the survey here.

In this episode, I interview McKenzie Willey, who graduated in 2020 from our student ministry here in Houston! She tells the story about how she had a few things take her focus away from the church throughout her student ministry years, which led her to stop attending our youth ministry in her high school years. But just before she graduated, God got ahold of her through one student who refused to give up and one leader who gave her space to process her questions! McKenzie's story is a success story, but it's not without its bumps and bruises. We'll talk about all those and more (and how they can have a serious effect on a student's spiritual life, so make sure to stick around for the end of the episode when we walk through our key takeaways (53:48). Find Mark on Facebook, Instagram, or send us an email to [email protected]. Take our survey here.

In this episode, I interview Andy Alvarado, who graduated in 2021 from our student ministry here in Houston! My favorite part of the story is that he spent a gap year after high school and I can't wait for you to hear about it! One of the most important parts of the episode, though, is when Andy says that he feels like he wasn't fully equipped for life after high school. So make sure to stick around for the end of the episode when we walk through our key takeaways (46:29). Find Mark on Instagram or send us an email to [email protected]. Take our survey here.

In this episode, I interview Elaine Johnston, who graduated in 2013 and experienced church drama way too early. She talks about her experience with toxic leadership and a lack of church community and how she stays connected to God through it all! Stay tuned at the end for a key takeaway from this episode (1:03:42). Find Mark on Instagram or send us an email to [email protected]. Take our survey here.

Welcome to Season 2 of the Reconstructing Youth Ministry Podcast! Trey McClenahan joins me in this episode to talk about his experience in our student ministry in Arkansas. He had one major point to bring up: How can we be better at helping students grow in their relationship with God after salvation? Stay tuned at the end for a key takeaway from this episode (36:28). Find Mark on Instagram or send us an email to [email protected]. Take our survey here.

Following up on the previous episode, we're talking through the real-life example of Matt Chandler and The Village Church as it relates to deconstruction. While there are numerous reasons for the epidemic of deconstructing students, I've identified three main reasons for it, so I'm using The Village Church as a case study for how a church can demonstrate faithfulness to the Scriptures through a challenging scenario.  This is actually the last episode of the first season of this podcast (we made it)! If you'd like to give feedback, you can email us at [email protected]. You can follow Mark on Instagram at instagram.com/markhcox.

There are many potential answers to this question, but I submit three main reasons that students are walking away from Christianity at an alarming rate. The stats have always been bleak, but deconstruction has taken up a big portion of conversation among Millennial and Gen Z Christians. Stay with us through the end of the episode for an update on this conversation that I didn't see coming! If you'd like to give feedback, you can email us at [email protected]. You can follow Mark on Instagram at instagram.com/markhcox.

If we want to help our students who are deconstructing, we have to look at some of the reasons that they're walking away. One of the most common reasons is a growing cynicism around church leaders. Here, I talk to my friend, Jay Newman, about the things that have made him cynical toward the church, while holding onto his faith in Jesus (9:16). We also talk barbecue for a minute (56:00) You can find the Catacomb Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many other platforms.

The transition from 5th grade to 6th grade might just be the scariest transition a kid or parent can face. In this episode, we talk about that transition and how the church can help make it as smooth as possible. We also talk about our strategy for connecting kids with leaders who care in our ministry environments.  In this episode, we'll talk with Tyler Scott, Minister of Children's Ministry at Houston's First Baptist Church - Sienna Campus. You can follow Tyler on Instagram @tyrexmosis.