The GenSend Podcast

• The Handoff: How to Bridge the Gap Between Student and Collegiate Ministry

  Episode 8 of Season 5 is a recording of the recent GenSend Webinar, The Handoff. Hosts Shane Pruitt, Paul Worcester, and Lacey Villasenor are joined by respected ministry leaders, Josh Stephenson and Trace Hamiter as they discuss how essential it is to connect with college freshmen during their first months of college to ensure they remain solid in the faith. Josh shares his top 10 ways to close the gap between youth and college ministry, while Trace emphasizes the critical role of relationships and community even before day 1 of college for freshmen. Gain additional insights as the hosts answer questions from webinar participants.Also in this episode:Discover how youth and collegiate leaders can connect with one another to help their students quickly build relationships in collegeGain knowledge on how best to structure college/young adult ministry based on your local contextLearn new ways youth ministry can prepare graduating seniors for a successful launch into college lifeDevelop strategies to keep high school seniors from prematurely checking out of youth ministry before graduationLearn how church-based college ministries can partner well parachurch organizations that also serve college studentsHelpful Resources:The Oaks CollaborativeCampus Community Connect Appcollegeministry.com★     Find more resources to lead the next generation on mission at https://GenSend.org★     Subscribe to The GenSend Podcast on your favorite podcast platform.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shareable Quotes:“One of the most strategic moments in a person’s life is that first month of transitioning from high school to the college years.” — Paul Worcester“Ministry happens at the speed of relationships. We have to create deepening relationships quickly among college freshmen.” — Josh Stephenson “College fraternities spend their summers connecting with potential freshmen who could rush their fraternities. Why do secular organizations outpace churches and ministries when it comes to intentionality and recruiting?” — Paul Worcester“The main reason students fall away from their faith in college is actually social, it’s community. And so, how do we connect them to Christ-centered community quickly?” — Trace Hamiter, The Oaks Collaborative“The largest missing segment in any church is the 22–35 age range, but ironically, that’s the largest population segment. We need the Lord to raise up missionaries to be sent out among this people group.” — Shane Pruitt“People become who they will be for the rest of their lives in college. That’s why I’ve served college students my entire adult life.” — Trace Hamiter, The Oaks Collaborative

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• Leveraging Your Platform for the Gospel

  In Episode 7 of Season 5, hosts Shane Pruitt, Paul Worcester, and Lacey Villasenor are joined by guest Preston Perry, an apologist, evangelist, and poet. Tune in as they discuss the importance of evangelism for the growth of the Church and how to make it a natural part of daily life. Learn practical strategies and the spiritual disciplines needed to engage in more meaningful, Spirit-led gospel conversations. Find the courage to step out in evangelism with boldness and love even when you don’t have all the answers.Also in this episode:Discover the significance mentors play in training and modeling evangelism for the next generation Gain insights on why evangelism hasn’t been prioritized among believers in the Western Church and how to remedy these issuesLearn how the Holy Spirit equips and empowers believers to boldly speak the name of JesusBe reminded of how essential kindness is in evangelism since the gospel message is already offensive enough to the lostFind resources on how churches can create a culture of evangelism within the church and equip members to share the gospel   Helpful Resources:How to Tell the TruthEveryday EvangelismNAMB Evangelism KitConnect with Preston Perry:Instagram, YouTube, X, Facebook,preston-perry.com★     Find more resources to lead the next generation on mission athttps://GenSend.org★     Subscribe to “The GenSend Podcast” on your favorite podcast platform.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shareable Quotes:“Why am I doing evangelism? Am I doing this to look intelligent, like I’m better than the next man? Am I doing this to feel good about myself or because I have a savior complex? Or am I doing this to lead somebody to the Lord? Am I doing this to win a heart?”—Preston Perry“Let’s redefine the win. The win is not getting the person to pray to receive Christ on the spot. The win is just starting a spiritual conversation.”—Paul Worcester“Every heart has a cry. We must ask the right questions to hear it. A lot of times, we don't hear the cry because we’re so busy arguing. I try to ask the right questions so I can hear the cry. And then, once I hear the cry, I can serve.”—Preston Perry“Evangelism is not just going and telling people about your church. Telling people about your church is good marketing, but good evangelism is telling people about Jesus.”—Shane Pruitt“Trusting in the Holy Spirit and being led by the Lord will help us avoid arguments during spiritual conversations. I think we often get into arguments because we are trusting in our own knowledge.”—Preston Perry“We’re not talking about Jesus because we’re not excited about Him ourselves. The first step to evangelism is sitting at the feet of Jesus.”—Shane Pruitt

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• From a Student’s Perspective: Reaching the Next Generation

  In Episode 6 of Season 5, hosts Shane Pruitt, Paul Worcester, and Lacey Villasenor welcome very special guests: Paul’s son, Owen, and Shane’s daughter, Harper. Instead of discussing strategies about the next-gen, we hear from Gen Alpha themselves. Discover what today’s middle schoolers wish youth leaders and pastors knew from their perspective and hear what’s impacted them most in their walk with the Lord. Learn fresh ways to reach students who need the gospel and how to equip believing students with gospel-sharing tools.Also in this episode:How to encourage students as they stand out from the culture because of their faithHow to strategically leverage students’ hobbies and interests for greater gospel impactThe significant and influential role volunteer small group leaders play in students’ livesIdeas for equipping your students to reach their public-school peers with the gospelPastor and youth leader sermon-prep tips from the next-genHelpful Resources:S.O.A.P Bible Study MethodG.O.S.P.E.L. Tool for Sharing the GospelFellowship of Christian Athletes★     Find more resources to lead the next generation on mission at https://GenSend.org★     Subscribe to “The GenSend Podcast” on your favorite podcast platform.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shareable Quotes:“I didn’t expect anyone to show up at our first FCA meeting, but 150 students came, and we had to move out of the classroom to a hallway.”—Harper Pruitt“Using the S.O.A.P. method helped me read the Bible more consistently.”—Owen Worcester“Personal is most powerful when it comes to discipling the next generation.”—Paul Worcester“There are so many ways to live on mission; a lot of that is just taking the interests and passion God’s given you and using it for His glory. It’s cool to see young people doing that.”—Shane Pruitt“It’s hard to be a Christian on my school team. Some girls will make bad decisions, so it’s tempting to follow them, but I keep my faith in the Lord. It’s made me a better leader.”—Harper Pruitt“Living on mission is intentionally engaging people with the gospel where you live, work, and play. And so, pastors and leaders, encourage your students to leverage what they’re already doing to be a light and point people to Jesus.”—Lacey Villasenor“There is a hunger for truth with young people. They want to know the Bible. They want to know doctrine and theology. They want to understand truth. This is not us just saying this for a generation; it’s them saying it themselves: ‘Hey, teach us the text. Teach us the word. Teach us how to live this out.’”—Shane Pruitt

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• Leveraging College Life for the Gospel

  In Episode 5 of Season 5, hosts Shane Pruitt, Paul Worcester, and Lacey Villasenor welcome guest Ellington Crabtree to the show. Ellington is a junior at the University of Kentucky and discusses how she is leveraging her life as a college student for the glory of God. Be encouraged as she shares how God is actively moving to ignite students with a passion for sharing the gospel and following Him fully in every aspect of their lives, on and off campus. Also in this episode:How to strategically reach college freshmen during their first weeks on campus The impact of intentionally training and equipping the next generationWhy mentorship and church community are vital for college students to live on mission and thriveHow youth and college pastors can collaborate to bridge the gap for incoming freshmenThe role of the Holy Spirit to work in both large-scale revival as well as in the mundane moments of obedienceHelpful Resources:GenSend Webinar: The HandoffPersonal Ministry Impact WorksheetSpiritual Leadership, J. Oswald SandersReplicate, Robby GallatySacred Fire, Ronald RolheiserNot a Fan, Kyle Idleman★     Find more resources to lead the next generation on mission at GenSend.org★     Subscribe to The GenSend Podcast on your favorite podcast platform.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shareable Quotes:“The most important thing that the Lord has been teaching me is to include Him in everything that I do and getting to see college students join in on that. It expands, and you see the brokenness on the campus and want to see Jesus make change in that.” —Ellington Crabtree“Shout out to our college ministries that are focused on reaching freshmen. I want to double down on the reminder that this is such a pivotal moment, maybe one of the most pivotal moments in someone’s entire life.” —Paul Worcester“Life change is walking day by day, moment by moment, discipleship, walking in holiness, in righteousness, in the right direction. Ministry is not a sprint; it's a marathon.” —Shane Pruitt“This is a revival generation where we're seeing the resurgence of a new passion for evangelism and for discipleship.” —Lacey Villasenor“College pastors have the opportunity to strategically help students think through their personal ministry, their spheres of influence. They can consider that their mission field.” —Paul Worcester

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• Leveraging Post-Grad Life for the Gospel

  In Episode 4 of Season 5, hosts Shane Pruitt, Paul Worcester, and Lacey Villasenor welcome guests Everett and Olivia Sinclair, who discuss leveraging their post-grad years for the gospel. Hear insights from their journey as they participated in GenSend Summer during college and intentionally chose to live on mission in Boston after graduation. Discover the essential role of the local church in equipping and preparing college students to fulfill the Great Commission after college ministry and graduation.Also in this episode:The role of prayer in living on missionHow to leverage your non-ministry vocation for the gospelHow church leaders can best prepare students for post-grad missional living The impact of faith-filled, multigenerational church lifeHow to intentionally establish newlywed life for the gospel Helpful Resources:Every Good Endeavor by Tim KellerSpiritual Multiplication in the Real World by Bob McNabbMeet Generation Z by James Emery WhiteLoveology by John Mark ComerChurch Membership by Jonathan LeemanGenSend Summer★    Find more resources to lead the next generation on mission at https://GenSend.org★    Subscribe to The GenSend Podcast on your favorite podcast platform.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shareable Quotes:“Through college I saw the value of the local church, so I knew that I wanted to be invested in that post-grad as well. Our ministry gave us a solid foundation in the Word and taught us through example of how families and young adults live on mission.” —Olivia Sinclair“They're actually helping students think through what they're going to do post-grad, not just occupation-wise, but thinking through where they're going to go live and to let it be a place of impact, and then find a job in that city, find a place to live on mission in that city.” —Shane Pruitt “Through college I was wrestling with whether to go into ministry or the workplace. During my last summer of GenSend, I was a part of a Faith and Work cohort and caught a vision for God's view of work and different ways to leverage a secular job for the kingdom.” —Everett Sinclair “Pray for B.O.B. Pray for a Burden for the lost, an Opportunity to witness, and Boldness to proclaim Christ every morning.” —Paul Worcester“Especially today, as we become more and more digital, people crave that in-person connection, and it's so rare. We have an opportunity as believers to show some gospel hospitality and open up our tables, open up our homes to lost people.” —Lacey Villasenor

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About The GenSend Podcast

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