The Amazing Kids Ministry Podcast

Can the church compete for the attention of kids and families without compromising spiritual depth?
In this episode, Tyler sits down with Malachi Boyuls, president of Amazing Life Foundation, to explore the conviction and strategy behind Amazing Life’s stewardship of Orange—and the groundbreaking partnership with Dude Perfect.
 
Malachi shares how his unexpected journey through theology, law, private equity, and venture capital prepared him to serve the local church in a completely different way. He explains why excellent kids ministry can influence entire families, why technology is only valuable when it gives pastors more capacity to shepherd people, and why churches should expect more from their curriculum, tools, and ministry partners.
 
The conversation also goes behind the scenes of the Dude Perfect VBS collaboration, addressing their personal involvement, theological commitment, and why this is far more than recycled YouTube content or a celebrity endorsement.
For kids pastors navigating change, limited capacity, and an increasingly digital culture, this episode offers a compelling vision for using excellence, technology, and strategic partnerships to serve families and make the local church the hero.
To contact Malachi Boyuls by email: info@joinamazing.com
Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools.
https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus
Explore more about VBS 2027
https://www.joinamazing.com/vbs27
 

In this episode of the Amazing Kids Ministry Podcast, we sit down with Rudy Rupert to talk about how kids pastors can use technology, curriculum, and simple systems to make Sunday ministry easier, more consistent, and more effective.
Rudy shares from his own kids ministry experience, including leading in a church with multiple services, large screens, live teaching, video teaching, small groups, and volunteers who needed confidence. This conversation is not about replacing leaders with screens — it’s about using the right tools to support leaders, disciple kids well, and make sure every child hears the gospel in a way they can understand.
If you’re a kids pastor, ministry leader, or volunteer trying to balance live teaching, media, curriculum, technology, and team development, this episode will help you see how simple systems can create more peace, more consistency, and more space for real ministry.
Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools. 
https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus
 

In this episode of the Amazing Kids Ministry Podcast, worship leader and songwriter Matthew Harris shares his powerful journey into worship ministry — from growing up in a ministry family, walking away from faith, getting saved in college, and discovering that God was calling him into something he did not feel equipped to do. Matthew unpacks how a simple “yes” to God led him from college football and pre-law into worship, missions, songwriting, and next gen ministry. His story is a reminder for kids ministry leaders, youth pastors, worship leaders, and church volunteers that God does not always call the most prepared person — He forms the available one.
For anyone serving in kids ministry, student ministry, next gen ministry, or worship ministry, this episode will encourage you to rethink how worship forms the next generation. You’ll learn why theology matters in the songs we sing, how to help young leaders fall in love with serving the church, and why private worship shapes the depth of public leadership.
If you care about discipling kids, students, and families through worship, this conversation with Matthew Harris will challenge and encourage you.
Subscribe for more conversations with ministry leaders, worship leaders, kids pastors, youth pastors, and next gen leaders who are helping the Church reach and disciple the next generation.
Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools. 
https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus
 
 

In this solo episode, Tyler Bates tackles a tension many kids ministry leaders feel: Should kids ministry be fun, or should it focus on deep discipleship? His answer is clear — it should be both.
Tyler challenges the idea that fun and faith formation are competing priorities, arguing that fun is the language kids speak, and when used intentionally, it can become the doorway to meaningful spiritual formation. Through stories, neuroscience, Scripture, and practical ministry insight, this episode helps kids pastors and leaders rethink how they create environments where children don’t just learn about God, but encounter Him in ways they will remember.
If you’re a kids ministry leader trying to build a ministry that is both engaging and spiritually rich, this episode will help you find the middle of the road — not the ditch.
Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools. 
https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus

In this episode of the Amazing Kids Podcast, Andy Kirk shares the unexpected story of how he found his way into children’s ministry—not through a traditional church-kid background, but through a burden to help kids avoid the pain and brokenness he saw in his own friends growing up.
 
Andy talks about becoming a first-generation Christian, stepping into ministry through local schools and community kids clubs, and eventually helping connect and equip kids pastors around the world through OneHope and KidMin Collective. The conversation moves from Andy’s personal calling to a bigger challenge for every children’s ministry leader: you were never meant to do this alone.
This episode is a powerful reminder that kids ministry is not a stepping stone. It is kingdom work, and the people leading it need community, coaching, encouragement, and practical support.
 
Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools. 
https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus
www.kidmincollective.org
#kidspastors #kidsmin  #amazinglife  #nextgenministry #discipleship #pastor #christianpodcast #volunteers #tools #leadership #ministrytips #community #kidmincollective

We sit down with Matt Markins, President and CEO of Awana, for a rich conversation on children’s ministry, discipleship, church innovation, and what it really takes to form lasting faith in kids.
A major focus of the episode is the tension between content and connection. Churches often tell parents they are the primary spiritual influence in their kids’ lives and give them resources, but many parents still feel insecure because no one has actually shown them how to disciple their children. Matt challenges church leaders to move beyond simply handing out resources and begin relationally training parents, shepherding children, and creating real capacity for discipleship.
Matt shares his personal story of encountering the church as a child during a painful family season, and how loving, faithful adults helped disciple him into the person and leader he is today. From there, the conversation moves into how churches can honor the past while still leading necessary change, why research and data should serve biblical wisdom rather than replace it, and why the church must recover a relational model of discipleship.
This conversation is for every kids pastor, family ministry leader, volunteer, parent, and church leader who wants to see faith formed deeply and lastingly in the next generation.
Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools. 
https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus
 
 
Matt Markin's Books can be found on Amazon
 
Forming Faith: Discipling the Next Generation in a Post-Christian Culture
https://l1nk.dev/zg3h3y5
 
The Faith of our Children: Eight Timely Research Insights for Disciplining the Next Generation
https://l1nk.dev/x806ka2

Kids ministry leaders are often carrying more than people realize: curriculum prep, crafts, volunteer care, family ministry, events, admin, budgets, teaching, discipleship, and everything in between. In this episode, Amanda Druffel joins the Kids Min Podcast to talk about why systems matter, not because ministry should become mechanical, but because the right systems create space for the work kids pastors actually got into ministry to do.
Amanda shares practical insight for leaders who feel tired, stretched, or stuck in weekly survival mode. The conversation explores how curriculum can quietly consume most of a kids pastor’s week, how simple rhythms can bring clarity, and how delegation can open new opportunities for volunteers to serve in meaningful ways. It also gets personal, touching on family, priorities, and learning how to protect the “glass plates” while letting some “plastic plates” wait.
This is an episode for any kids pastor who has ever thought, “I got into this to pastor kids and families, but I spend most of my time just getting Sunday ready.” Amanda offers encouragement, practical tools, and a reminder that you are not crazy—you can keep going.
Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools. 
https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus

In this episode, Tyler sits down with Pastor Larry Cramer from Christ’s Church of the Valley in Arizona to talk about his unexpected journey into kids ministry, leaving ministry, serving as a police officer, and eventually following God’s call back into church leadership. Larry shares practical wisdom on creating a kids ministry culture that is safe, clean, fun, and biblical — while reminding us that the real impact happens through relationships, small groups, and volunteers who understand the vision. This conversation also dives into recruiting the right leaders, empowering high school students to serve, building invite culture, and why kids pastors need mentorship and community instead of trying to lead alone. Whether you are a kids pastor, volunteer, church leader, or someone who cares deeply about the next generation, this episode will encourage you to keep building the Kingdom right where God has placed you. Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools. https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus Learn more about KidMin Collective: kidmincollective.org

What if kids worship is not just a song slot in your service, but a discipleship opportunity?
In this episode of the Amazing Kids Min Podcast, Tyler welcomes back Yancy for a conversation about kids worship, family worship experiences, and why churches need to be more intentional about helping children encounter God. Yancy shares what she has been seeing while leading live worship events across the country, including families driving hours just to attend Christian worship experiences for their kids. The conversation also explores how churches can involve kids in worship teams, production, creative arts, and ministry leadership without turning it into a free-for-all.
They also talk about:
-Why parents are hungry for Christian family worship events
-How kids can be trained, pastored, and discipled through worship
-Why some kids “don’t know how to worship”
-Practical ways kids pastors can teach worship every week
-The importance of making space for kids to experience the presence of God
-Yancy’s podcast, Stained Glass Kids
-How churches can use Little Praise Party songs in kids ministry environments
 
Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools. 
https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus
 
Listen to Stained Glass Kids: StainedGlassKids.com
Learn more about Yancy events: YancyMinistries.com/events

What if kids ministry was never your original plan, but exactly where God was leading you?
In this episode, we sit down with Justin Edge from Life.Church to talk about his unexpected journey into kids ministry, the leadership lessons he learned through both success and hurt, and why no kids pastor should lead alone.
 
This conversation is full of practical wisdom for kids pastors, ministry leaders, and anyone who wants to grow in leadership without losing sight of the one child, one family, and one leader God has placed in front of them.
 
We talk about:
How Justin Edge discovered his calling to kids ministry
Why church size should not stop leaders from learning from each other
The danger of leading in isolation
How to stay curious as a ministry leader
Why accountability and feedback matter
How systems can help local leaders thrive
The role of mentorship and ministry community
Why collaboration creates stronger ministry decisions
Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations with amazing people doing amazing things in the KidMin world.
Explore Amazing+, our comprehensive ministry strategy for 0-18 – Full access to curriculum, media, tech, training, and tools. 
https://www.joinamazing.com/amazingplus
www.kidmincollective.org
#kidspastors #kidsmin  #amazinglife  #nextgenministry #discipleship #pastor #christianpodcast #volunteers #tools #leadership #ministrytips