Youth ministry is Greg Martin’s mission in life. His side jobs help keep things interesting.
In South Carolina and Florida, these included stand up comedy. Back in the Clarkston area, one is a series of podcast interviews with local figures for the World Wide Web.
“I love youth ministry ? this (podcast) is a creative outlet,” said Martin of Independence Township, director of youth ministry at Clarkston United Methodist Church.
So far, podcast interviews on the website, www.ClarkstonUMC.com, feature Clarkston Mayor Sharron Catallo; the Rev. Richard Dake, senior pastor at Clarkston United Methodist Church; Dan Fife, Clarkston High School athletic director; and Phil Custodio, Clarkston News editor.
Listeners learn how Pastor Dake’s experience as a bouncer at Adrian College helps him manage his youth ministry, Fife’s major league baseball stats, and Martin’s efforts to form a political coalition with Mayor Catallo.
“The goal is to make the podcast entertaining, keep it on the light side, not in the 60 Minutes style,” he said. “Something you could get a chuckle from and learn something, too.”
He wants the podcast to increase traffic to the website so it’s a better alternative to mailing flyers.
“To mail flyers to the church’s 300-plus addresses costs more than $100 per event,” he said.
It also wastes paper, he said.
Martin moved back to the area last year to help care for his father, who was recovering from a stroke.
“I like it here,” he said. “It’s good to be back ? I’ve been reconnecting with people I grew up with.”
He worked with his church in Florida for about four years.
“One of my saddest days was when I had to sell my surfboard,” he said. “(But) I wanted to see a group of kids go all the way through high school to graduation ? I did that.”
The Sept. 21 podcast is scheduled to feature John Ziraldo, CEO and president of Lighthouse of Oakland County. Future interviews will feature members of the church and community, local professional athletes and other celebrities.