Ian Dunaway helps church teams grow with purpose through coaching, communication tools, and youth-focused leadership strategies. He also works to inspire church leaders to reach people creatively and effectively by building relationships to accomplish their goals through developing practical ministry tools. He and his wife Hannah have one child and currently serve at G6 Church & G6 Allies in Owasso, OK.

Ian joins Dale on today’s podcast in an honest conversation about some of the difficulties he has experienced serving in several churches over the years. His vulnerability in discussing the impact that difficult times have had on him will be very relatable to all of us.

Description

• Student pastor Ian shares hard‑won lessons from toxic church cultures, the power of counseling, and practical tools to build healthy, relational youth ministry.
• A candid conversation with Ian on pastoral health, church governance pitfalls, and scalable, low‑cost strategies for effective student ministry in small and midsize churches.
• From burnout to allies: Ian unpacks counseling, spouse care, and Shaping Student Ministry’s community, curriculum, and coaching for next‑gen leaders.

Key Points in Brief

• Ian (teaching and student pastor, ~20 years in NextGen) shares a candid journey through multiple toxic church environments and how counseling and healthy allies sustained ministry.
• Core diagnosis: many churches mis-hire, misrepresent culture, and function with unbiblical governance and middle-manager expectations for pastors, producing insecurity and staff churn.
• Healthy churches are the exception; growth in youth ministry can be perceived as a threat by insecure leaders.
• Student ministry philosophy: build relational ministry over events. “Every student matters. Every leader matters. Every school matters.”
• Pastoral health: normalize counseling for pastors and spouses; spouses carry hidden burdens and need community and care.
• G6 Allies mission: be burden-bearers for pastors and spouses (Galatians 6:2).
• Shaping Student Ministry (SSM): low-cost, practitioner-built tools, coaching, and community for student pastors, solo pastors, and volunteers.
• SSM offerings: all-access community, multi-year curriculum, touchpoint communications, leadership development, cohorts, “Lines” year-long Bible arc, and SSM Teams book-based training videos.
• Accessibility and price points designed for small and midsize churches.

Key Takeaways

• Prioritize pastoral and family health: counseling isn’t optional; trauma compounds without care.
• Address governance and culture: equip pastors as shepherd-leaders, not middle managers; resist preference-driven consumer models.
• Invest where evangelistic fruit is ripest: children and students. Pay living wages and develop leaders.
• Build relational, reproducible youth ministry: train and multiply leaders; focus on schools and small groups, not just events.
• Give volunteers real development: respect time, invest skills, and ensure they finish better than they started.
• Use sustainable systems: consistent curriculum structure prevents fatigue and buys back hours weekly.

Quotes

• “Every student matters. Every leader matters. Every school matters.”
• “Healthy churches are the exception.”
• “We pastors have not been good or healthy on the whole for generations.”
• “We’re creating the tools we wish we’d had 15 years ago.”
• “It doesn’t matter what people call you; it matters who calls you.”

Next Steps

• If you’re hurting: schedule counseling for yourself and your spouse.
• Audit culture and structure: clarify biblical governance and leadership development.
• Reinvest in NextGen: budget for a living-wage role or equip a strong volunteer team.
• Explore SSM tools and community: 2‑week trial at shaping studentministry.com and cohorts for deeper coaching.
• Contact Ian directly: [email protected].

Link To Podcast Audio: 95Podcast 308

 

Link To Podcast YouTube:

Q & A Transcript (Condensed)

• Q: Why did toxic churches keep showing up in your story?
  • A: Networked systems and misaligned cultures; many churches say who they want to be instead of who they are. Healthy churches remain the exception; insecurity treats growth as threat.
• Q: Did you pursue counseling? How did you heal?
  • A: Yes—multiple counselors, favoring CBT and results-focused therapy. Allies and honest voices were critical.
• Q: How did this impact your spouse?
  • A: Deeply. Spouses carry the fallout; counseling and community for spouses are essential. Hannah now serves pastors’ spouses alongside Whitney.
• Q: What is Shaping Student Ministry?
  • A: A division of G6 Allies offering community, coaching, and practical tools for student pastors, solo pastors, and volunteers, designed for limited budgets.
• Q: What do members get for $27/mo (All-Access)?
  • A: Private community, 2–3+ years of practitioner-written curriculum (growing to 5–6 years), short-term series, no‑prep games (Game Zoo), tools like a student new-believer guide, docs, and weekly Touchpoints (parent emails, student text prompts, leader emails).
• Q: Can volunteers or a raised-up leader use it?
  • A: Yes—ideal for solo pastors and lay leaders.
• Q: What about deeper development?
  • A: Year-long cohorts (~$1,200/yr) with coaching, curriculum built with you, and practical training. “Lines” 1‑year Genesis‑to‑Revelation curriculum (~$500/yr). SSM Teams leadership pathway with 4–5 minute book-based training videos and discussion prompts.
• Q: Why this pricing model?
  • A: To deliver excellence to the 95% of churches at sustainable costs.

More From Ian:

• Website: Shaping Student Ministry.com
• Website: G6 Allies.com