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M3 - Merge Ministry Mostly

Daniel Cook

A behind-the-scenes look at camp and ministry leadership, told with humor and heart. This podcast offers honest conversations about Christian leadership in student and children’s ministry—sharing real wins, mistakes, growth moments, and the everyday joys and challenges of serving. With plenty of laughs and genuine passion, it’s where Christian leadership meets youth camp chaos—real, relatable, and rooted in purpose.



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  • 20 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 49 min
  • English
  • Tuesday · 56 min

    Marriage Material

    Send us Fan Mail Is Levi marriage material? We are joined once again by Levi Cook and talk marriage and dating. Is he right in what he expects from his future wife? Listen and you decide then email us at mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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  • October 13 · 49 min

    Hot Topics? Depends

    Send us Fan Mail Secular Music, Harry Potter, and Trash Talking...what could go wrong? Some responses may surprise you and others you may agree with. Listen to see if you stand with us or against us. Then of course, let us know at mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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  • October 6 · 51 min

    Trenton Tolbert on Worship, Lyrics, and Merge

    Send us Fan Mail The worship leader of Merge, but not Merge Worship (you will understand when you listen to the podcast)! It is always an exciting time when Trenton joins the podcast. Send us your thoughts, questions, and comments to mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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  • September 29 · 49 min

    Holiday Vibes

    Send us Fan Mail How do we feel about Halloween, Christmas, and Easter? This week we share our (Daniel and Luke) thoughts on the holidays and how we celebrate them. We continue with our football picks. Most importantly...it’s MERGE WEEK!!!

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  • September 22 · 57 min

    WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?

    Send us Fan Mail WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE? Why Getting Involved Might Change Your Life This week on the M3 Merge Ministry Podcast, we’re talking about something every church, ministry, and organization needs: people who are willing to show up and serve. From being “too busy” to supposedly being in the hospital, we share some of the funniest—and most ridiculous—excuses we’ve heard for avoiding involvement. We also talk about what volunteering at Merge is actually like, why you don’t have to be on stage to make an impact, and how the smallest jobs can play a huge part in reaching kids and students with the gospel. We dive into what people bring to Merge that they may not even realize they have to offer, how serving creates community, and why Merge has become much more than just a summer camp for so many families and volunteers. Plus, we talk about what’s ahead for Merge—including camp registration, our fall fundraising campaign, the possibility of future camps and resources, and even a potential marriage retreat. And, of course, we squeeze in our weekly college football picks, some friendly trash talk, and a story involving a very questionable “phone call.” Listen, laugh, and find out what might happen if you simply say yes.

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  • September 15 · 50 min

    We have issues!

    Send us Fan Mail We have so many issues it takes two weeks to cover them all. We continue with our expert level football picks then dive back into things that gets on our nerves. We also picked up some fan mail this week so we read that on air also. If you want your thoughts, comments, or questions read shoot us an email at mergeministries12@gmail.com

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  • September 8 · 54 min

    What bothers us?

    Send us Fan Mail Today we look at things that bother us that probably shouldn’t. Join and see if what bothers us, bothers you. You can always email in at mergeministries12@gmail.com to let us know what you agree with or disagree with. More than that let us know what bothers you!

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  • September 1 · 52 min

    Special Guest TO “Thomas Owens Toole"

    Send us Fan Mail This week we are joined by the one and only TO. We will jump into football pics, dad life, and end with TO’s story with Merge. Join in on the picks or send us messages with your questions or comments to mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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  • August 25 · 55 min

    College and High School Football Preview

    Send us Fan Mail This week we jump into all things sports. We give our thoughts on the upcoming seasons for Auburn, Alabama, Central, Smiths Station, and Glenwood. We also quickly hit the Little League World Series, Central and Smiths Station Flag football, and the Atlanta Braves. Let us know if you agree, disagree, or have questions at mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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  • August 18 · 53 min

    Youth Camp Rewind

    Send us Fan Mail This week we look back on the success, struggles, and crazy start to youth camp. The best part of camp: lives were changed, the worst part of camp: Alabama summer weather, and the crazy part: no powerful for 5 hours! If you have thoughts, stories, comments, or questions let us know at mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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  • August 11 · 50 min

    Kids Camp Rewind

    Send us Fan Mail This week we talk about the good, the struggles, and the stories from Kids Camp 2026. Things do not always go as planned but sometimes they do. Camp started off with no AC in a vehicle and ended with no oil in that same vehicle. Things were not all bad and camp was a huge success. If you have thoughts, comments, or camp stories to share we would love to hear them, email us at mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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  • August 4 · 43 min

    We are back!

    Send us Fan Mail We are back after a successful season of camps. This week things did not go as planned but we finally got another podcast recorded. This week we see camp from the perspective of a staff member for kids camp and a camper at youth camp. Two great camps with a large curve ball between them. As always, if you have comments, thoughts, or questions email us at mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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  • June 30 · 50 min

    Guest: Colby Cook

    Send us Fan Mail This week we are joined by another camper turned staffer, Colby Cook. She is part of the dancers at camp who led the Kids Camp in motions during services. She shares her thoughts on college, travel sports, and Merge. If you would like to contact us for any reason you can do so at mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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  • June 23 · 48 min

    Special Guest: Trenton Tolbert (Merge Worship Leader)

    Send us Fan Mail This week we are joined by Trenton Tolbert the worship leader for Merge Camps. This week you will laugh a lot and get to know the man behind the mic. You will get to hear his heart for worship and how he feels about water not being wet. As always, if you have something you want us to know about email us at mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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  • June 16 · 48 min

    Types of Students at Camp

    Send us Fan Mail We start this week with another email from a listener! A little insight into the email, “Luke is nasty!” This week we look at the different types of students you will see at a summer camp! It’s great when over 20 churches get together for a week of camp but you also get over 600 different types of students with that. These students range from the “I don’t wanna” kid to the “I’m broke on the first night of camp.” If you think of a type of student that we missed, let us know by emailing us at mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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  • June 9 · 42 min

    Guest: Levi Cook (the most athletic staff member *according to him*)

    Send us Fan Mail This week we are joined by Levi Cook. He attended Merge as a kid and now serving on staff. We talk about his roles at Merge, what he would rather win, and him singing in the shower. If you have questions, comments, or input please email us at mergeministries12@gmail.com and let us know about them.

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  • June 2 · 44 min

    Guest: Justin Williams (Board President)

    Send us Fan Mail This week we are joined by the Merge Board President Justin Williams. We dive into topics we have discussed before to get his thoughts, his email critic of the show, and a little of his story with Merge. As always if you have thoughts, questions, or input please send it in to mergeministries12@gmail.com

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  • May 26 · 45 min

    Types of Leaders at Camp

    Send us Fan Mail The true heroes of camp are the leaders who give of their time, vacation, and energy to keep their group together, on schedule, and safe. The thing is they each have their unique way of making that happen. Join us this week as we explore the types of leaders we have seen at camp over the years. If you know of some we missed email us at mergeministries12@gmail.com and let us know.

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  • May 19 · 49 min

    Abbreviations

    Send us Fan Mail This week you can play along as we see how many common abbreviations we know. Below you will find the list of ones discussed so you can see how many you know. Don’t cheat! Send in the number of abbreviations you know to see if you are smarter than us. mergeministreis12@gmail.com NASA 3M CVS WWF AT&T ESPN EPCOT (disney) WD- 40 LBJ JFK USPS UPS FEDEX FBI VHS ASAP RSVP FYI TBD NATO NERF PEZ Yahoo GEICO IKEA LASER TASER SEAL (navy seals) SCUBA

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  • May 12 · 45 min

    Socks, Clapping, and Nuggets

    Send us Fan Mail How do you put on your socks and shoes? Do you clap when movies end? Are boneless wings just chicken nuggets? We are back and solving all the world’s problems on this week’s episode of M3. If you have a topic idea, need help with something you are facing, or want to let us know if you agree or disagree with us then send us an email at mergeministries12@gmail.com.

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