YOKE Talk

To wrap up our series on Understanding Middle Schoolers, we're joined this week by Tori Hardin, a former YOKE kid and YOKE Folk at Northwest Middle School. In this episode of the podcast, Tori shares her story and draws on her years of experience in YOKE, as well as her experience now as a social worker, to share what a college student might have to offer when investing in the life of a middle school student. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Continuing our series on Understanding Middle Schoolers, we're joined this week by Tatia Harris. Tatia is the Title VI Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the City of Knoxville, and in this episode she talks with Jonathan about mental health first aid in the context of middle school ministry. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Continuing our series on Understanding Middle Schoolers, we're joined this week by Cindy White, the Curriculum Principal at Austin-East High School. Cindy is a good friend of the YOKE community and has previously been a principal at Gibbs Middle School, Vine Middle School, and Karns Middle School. In this episode of the podcast, she draws on her years of experience working with middle school students to share what makes this age group unique. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE...

Continuing our series on Understanding Middle Schoolers, we're joined this week by David Schilling, the Youth Minister at Hardin Valley Church of Christ and a former YOKE team leader at Hardin Valley Middle School. In this episode, David shares from a Youth Minister's perspective about the unique challenges that middle school students face in their daily lives. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Continuing our series on Understanding Middle Schoolers, we’re joined this week by Dr. Keith Bailey from Harmony Family Center. Keith has served as the Training Director for Harmony Family Center since 2016 and has over 30 years of experience working with children and families. At YOKE’s 2019 Leadership Summit, Keith led a training on trauma-responsive practices. In this episode of the podcast, he shares why this topic is so important for anyone working with middle school students. To learn...

If you're familiar with YOKE, you probably know that the age group we focus on is middle school. In order to better understand where our students are coming from, we're kicking off a brand new series on the podcast called "Understanding Middle Schoolers". Over the course of this series we'll hear from lots of experts who will give us their perspective on the middle school experience, and there's no better place to start than with talking to some actual middle schoolers! So for this episode,...

This week we sat down with YOKE’s two newest staff members, Madjoel Douglass and Andrew Hodge. Madjoel is YOKE’s new Area Director for Knoxville City Schools, and Andrew is the Area Director for YOKE’s East area, which includes Jefferson and Grainger counties. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

This week we sat down for a conversation with YOKE's program director Sarah Scheafnocker. Before joining the staff earlier this year, Sarah had previously served with YOKE as both a YOKE Folk and a board member, and she served on staff at First Baptist Concord for nearly 11 years. In this episode, she shares what she loves about her role as YOKE's program director and how she ended up here, as well as what she's excited about as we look forward to a new school year. Visit yokeyouth.com to...

Our community has been shaken this year by violence. We want to be part of the solution, and we know that you do too. With that in mind, this month we are speaking with several friends and community partners who have devoted their lives to being a part of that solution. This week we spoke with Rev. Jesse Jones, the Student & Family Support Coach at Austin-East High School with Project GRAD Knoxville. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Our community has been shaken this year by violence. We want to be part of the solution, and we know that you do too. With that in mind, this month we are speaking with several friends and community partners who have devoted their lives to being a part of that solution. This week we spoke with Kara Finger, the executive director of the Wesley House. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Our community has been shaken this year by violence. We want to be part of the solution, and we know that you do too. With that in mind, this month we are speaking with several friends and community partners who have devoted their lives to being a part of that solution. This week we spoke with Matthew Best, the director of the Future of Hope Institute and the Director of Multicultural Student Affairs at Johnson University. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Our community has been shaken this year by violence. We want to be part of the solution, and we know that you do too. With that in mind, this month we are speaking with several friends and community partners who have devoted their lives to being a part of that solution. This week we spoke with Denise Neal, the Assistant Principal at Vine Middle Magnet School. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Our community has been shaken this year by violence. We want to be part of the solution, and we know that you do too. With that in mind, this month we are speaking with several friends and community partners who have devoted their lives to being a part of that solution. This week we spoke with Lawrence Williams, a lifelong East Knoxville resident and the founder of World United Ministries and Safe Haven. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

This month on the podcast, we're catching up with some historic figures who have been through YOKE to see what they're up to now. In this episode we talked with Steve Diggs, who served as a YOKE Folk at Christenberry Junior High School and later went on to found Emerald Youth Foundation in Knoxville. Steve shared with us about his ministry with Emerald Youth, how they have adapted to keep serving our community during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how he was impacted by his time serving with...

This month on the podcast, we're catching up with some historic figures who have been through YOKE to see what they're up to now. Andy Minton was a YOKE kid, a Future Folk, a YOKE Folk, and now he is a youth minister. He joins us on the podcast to discuss how his time in YOKE helped prepare him for his future ministry. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

This month on the podcast, we're catching up with some historic figures who have been through YOKE to see what they're up to now. This week we are reairing a conversation with Kim Cruse, a former YOKE Folk who served as a missionary in the Philippines and has embodied YOKE's value of community through the relationships she developed in her time serving with YOKE, many of which have continued to this day. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

This month on the podcast, we're catching up with some historic figures who have been through YOKE to see what they're up to now and what YOKE meant to them growing up. This week's guest, Gary Drinnen, was a YOKE kid a Northwest Middle School and went on to serve as a Future Folk, as a YOKE Folk, and now on YOKE's board of directors. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

As we wrap up our series on recruiting leaders, we are joined this week by Eagleton YOKE Folk Chaz Farmer. Chaz served at Eagleton Middle School during the 2019-2020 school year while interning at Broadway Baptist Church in Maryville, so he offers his perspective on local churches partnering with YOKE to serve their local middle schools, as well as what it looks like for current YOKE Folk to recruit new leaders. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

As we continue our series our series on recruiting, we are joined by Matthew Best and Brent Brewer from Johnson University to discuss the importance of mentorship, as well as Johnson's partnership with YOKE. Matthew is the director of the Future of Hope Institute and the Director of Multicultural Student Affairs at the university, and Brent is a professor of Intercultural Studies and Missions. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.

Dave McNeely joins us on this episode to talk about the unique opportunity college students have to impact a middle school student's life, as well as how YOKE and Carson Newman University have been able to partner together over the years. Dave is the Faith & Justice Scholars program coordinator and an Adjunct Professor of Religion at Carson Newman. Visit yokeyouth.com to learn more about YOKE Youth Ministries.