Episode 261: Communicating to Middle Schoolers with Ashley Bohinc

<div class="smart-track-player-container stp-color-ed702b-ed702b spp-stp-desktop" data-uid="22ef310f"></div><div class="spp-shsp-form spp-shsp-form-22ef310f"></div> <p>In this episode, Ashley Bohinc gives some practical and applicable practices to implement around communicating with middle schoolers. Ashley shares several key points from her new book which is focused on this topic and directs us toward some free resources to help leaders get better in this lane of ministry.</p> <h2>Ashley Bohinc</h2> <p>Connect with Ashley on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ashleymariebohinc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>  |  <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ashley.bohinc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a>  |  <a href="https://ashleybohinc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Website</a></p> <h2>Clearstream</h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Clearstream works with thousands of churches worldwide and integrates with tools your church already uses such as MailChimp, Church Community Builder, Rock RMS, Planning Center, and more. Find out more at <a href="https://clearstream.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clearstream.io</a>.</span></p> <h2>Episode Notes</h2> <p>What do people need to know and understand about middle schoolers before they begin communicating?</p> <ul> <li>Who we are talking to should change the way it's presented</li> <li>Know them developmentally AND culturally <ul> <li>Culturally &#8211; the way they communicate with one another, and what things capture their attention within culture</li> <li>Developmentally &#8211; they way they are changing physically, emotionally,</li> </ul> </li> <li>Surround yourself with people who are culturally in the trenches with middle schoolers</li> </ul> <p>How do you develop content for middle schoolers?</p> <ul> <li>Take time &#8211; organize your thoughts &#8211; see them play out before you present</li> <li>Develop the &#8220;pieces&#8221; <ul> <li>Connect the dots</li> <li>Make the clear transitions</li> <li>Scriptures: the breakdown of the words, explanation of the content/context, making abstract ideas more tangible</li> <li>Think about the sequence of learning (is that the next question they are thinking about)</li> <li>Do you need to read the entire passage? Can you summarize the content and only read key verses?</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p>When you communicate, how do you keep their attention?</p> <ul> <li>Expectation is everything</li> <li>It's a lot like bull-riding; when you fight the movement of the bull, you don't stay on as long, but if you surrender to the movement, you will last the full 8-seconds <ul> <li>It's more of an art than it is a science</li> <li>What works for someone else may not work for you</li> </ul> </li> <li>Plan for them to TALK at some point</li> <li>Keep their interest by keeping them involved</li> <li>Use &#8220;re-engaging&#8221; techniques</li> </ul> <p>How do you get others involved in the process?</p> <ul> <li>Build a teaching team and a feedback team</li> <li>Find people who are passionate about middle schoolers, not just passionate about &#8220;teaching&#8221;</li> <li>Recruit people with different learning/communicating styles</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li style="list-style-type: none;"></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h2>Action Items</h2> <ol> <li><span data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Read the book with a team&quot;}" data-sheets-userformat="{&quot;2&quot;:513,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;12&quot;:0}">Read the book with a team</span></li> <li><span data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Start message run through / debrief process&quot;}" data-sheets-userformat="{&quot;2&quot;:513,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;12&quot;:0}">Start message run through / debrief process</span></li> <li><span data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Train up student volunteers, especially girls, to teach&quot;}" data-sheets-userformat="{&quot;2&quot;:513,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;12&quot;:0}">Train up student volunteers, especially girls, to teach</span></li> </ol> <h2>Ministry Boost Coaching is back!</h2> <p><a href="https://ministryboost.org/coaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to check out the amazing benefits of coaching groups with Ministry Boost.</a></p> <h2>Multiply Ministry Conference &#8211; All-Access Pass</h2> <p><a href="https://ministryboost.mykajabi.com/offers/iemx5djn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to get the All-Access Pass</a> to get access to the Multiply Ministry Conference replays of every main session and breakout. Over 30 sessions of content about empowering volunteers.</p> <h2>Get Exclusive Content from this Week's Episode</h2> <p>Use the form below to subscribe to my email list where you’ll get an email each Tuesday when a new podcast comes out. That email will also include something exclusive related to the podcast that’s not found in the post or in the episode.<br /> <script src="https://f.convertkit.com/098382916a/cc3bebb0b6.js" async="" data-uid="098382916a"></script></p> <h2>Subscribe | Share | Rate | Comment</h2> <p>To make sure you never miss a post, hit the subscribe button in <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nick-blevins-family-ministry/id1114357026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/I5jepv5xvtrr4g5ehddm4usvy2y?t=Nick_Blevins_Family_Ministry_Podcast_Children__Youth__Students__NextGen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google Play</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=90266&refid=stpr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stitcher</a>, or <a href="http://tunein.com/radio/Nick-Blevins-Family-Ministry-Podcast-p877774/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tune In</a> radio. Keep your friends and co-workers up-to-date as well by sharing it with them via email or social media.</p> <h2>Special Sponsor: Clearstream</h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This episode is sponsored by Clearstream. <a href="https://clearstream.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clearstream.io</a> works with thousands of churches worldwide and integrates with tools your church already uses such as MailChimp, Church Community Builder, Rock RMS, Planning Center, and more. You can get started on a free-trial, and if you're with a new church plant under 1 year old can use Clearstream free for 12 months.</span></p>