A YouTube Strategy for Radical Mentoring
What if someone searching "how to find my purpose" landed on a Radical Mentoring video and discovered they weren't meant to figure it out alone?
People are searching for exactly what Radical Mentoring teaches. They just don't know Radical Mentoring exists yet.
4%
of churches prioritize men's ministry
Lifeway Research, 2025
25yr
high in male church attendance
Barna Group, 2025
8%
of pastors confident their discipleship works
Lifeway Research, 2026
The gap: Men are showing up to church at record rates, but almost no one is making content specifically for them about identity, purpose, and what it means to walk with Jesus. The supply is tiny. The demand is growing. Radical Mentoring already has the content and credibility to fill that gap.
Moving from videos organized around what Radical Mentoring needs to videos organized around what the searcher needs.
Current State
Great for people who already know Radical Mentoring.
Invisible to everyone else.
The Vision
Discoverable by anyone searching for answers.
Radical Mentoring becomes the guide they find.
Four playlists create the right foundation without empty shelves.
What Is Radical Mentoring?
This playlist goes first on the channel homepage because first impressions happen once. Someone who lands on your channel and immediately understands what Radical Mentoring is will keep exploring. Someone who doesn't will leave.
How Mentoring Changed Everything
Personal testimonies from men whose lives changed through the process. A pastor evaluating Radical Mentoring wants proof of transformation. A man considering mentoring wants to hear from someone who did it.
What Radical Mentoring Did for Our Church
Church leaders talking to other church leaders. When a pastor is deciding whether to bring Radical Mentoring into their church, they want to hear from a pastor who already did.
Everything You Need to Lead Well
Training videos serve a different purpose than testimonials. Someone searching 'how to lead your first mentoring group' should not have to scroll past 20 testimonials to find it.
Why these four? Every playlist has videos ready to upload on day one. No empty shelves. As the video library grows, new playlists (Mentor Stories, topic-based series) will be added when the footage is there to fill them.
Radical Mentoring already has 15 videos ready to go. Here is how they map to the four playlists.
The first thing someone sees when they land on the channel. This playlist answers one question: what is Radical Mentoring and why does it matter?
Ripples: How It All Started | Pete Loescher | Radical Mentoring
Pete’s journey from Regi’s dining room table to leading Radical Mentoring. One man’s obedience 25 years ago, nearly 30,000 people through the journey.
Identity, Community, Purpose | Men in Mentoring | Radical Mentoring
Seven men share what happened when they stopped hiding. Identity, community, healing, and what it means to be fully known.
Personal testimonies from men whose lives changed through the mentoring process. These are the proof that it works.
What Happens When You Stop Pretending | David Wright | Radical Mentoring
David was 35, married with three kids, and spiritually empty. A dead man walking behind a mask. The mentoring table was where he experienced being fully known and fully loved for the first time.
You Think You’re Not Worth It | The Hensleys | Radical Mentoring
After losing their son and then Dave’s father-in-law, he could barely get through the day. He almost didn’t stay in the room. Dave and his wife share what happened when he did.
The Lies I Believed About Myself | Mark Stewart | Radical Mentoring
Mark was driving through a fog he couldn’t see through, living on lies the world told him. Around the table, other men helped him battle back with truth. His last line: “God loves me more.”
Church leaders talking about what Radical Mentoring did for their church. When a pastor is evaluating Radical Mentoring, this is the playlist that closes the deal.
Why Mentoring Accelerates Discipleship | David Anderson, Pastor | Radical Mentoring
David Anderson, pastor of adult disciplemaking at Johnson Ferry, on how Radical Mentoring became the accelerator in their discipleship pathway.
How Mentoring Creates Ready Leaders | Pete Buhls, Men’s Pastor | Radical Mentoring
Pete Buhls, men’s pastor at Johnson Ferry, on how Radical Mentoring alumni are the first men he calls when the church needs leaders.
What 10 Years of Mentoring Did to Our Church | Whit Smith, Pastor | Radical Mentoring
Whit Smith started with two groups of 15 men. Ten years later, Radical Mentoring has infiltrated every part of Athens Church. It started with a wife stopping him in the hallway.
Practical videos for mentors who have signed up and need to know how to lead well. This is the deepest playlist from day one.
Everything You Need to Start Mentoring | Equipped to Lead | Radical Mentoring
Pete Loescher walks through the free equipping center: customizable playbook, resource library, digital tools, mentoring guides, and a national community. All free, paid forward by churches who’ve gone before.
How Mentoring Changes Your Church | Impact | Radical Mentoring
How mentoring groups create intergenerational community, produce ready leaders, and change church culture. “People don’t leave churches where they’re known and needed.”
Why You Shouldn’t Do This Alone | Partnership | Radical Mentoring
What partnering with Radical Mentoring looks like: ongoing training, mentor huddles, community, and personalized guidance. Tour guides, not travel agents.
How the Mentoring Season Works | Pete & Trey, Part 1 | Radical Mentoring
The three-legged stool of identity, belonging, and purpose. How the 10-12 month season is structured and why every piece is built on purpose.
How Each Meeting Works | Pete & Trey, Part 2 | Radical Mentoring
What mentors and mentees do each month. Prep guides, agendas, books, growth assignments, and why the scaffolding always comes second to the people in the room.
Why Story Changes Everything | Pete & Trey, Part 3 | Radical Mentoring
Story is woven through the entire season, and the story retreat is where it clicks. “We can’t belong until we’re known, and we’re not truly known until we’ve shared the truth about ourselves.”
How to Be a Good Mentor | Pete & Trey, Part 4 | Radical Mentoring
Listen, learn, then lead. Balancing grace and truth. How to keep growing after your first year, and how to tap into the Radical Mentoring mentor community.
Every playlist has videos from day one. Mentor Training is the deepest at 7. For Your Church and Mentee Stories give two different angles on the same question: does this actually work? Start Here anchors the channel with Pete's story and a testimonies compilation. As mentor interviews are filmed over the coming months, a Mentor Stories playlist will be the natural next addition.
YouTube is a search engine. The naming convention is built around that single reality.
The Formula
Searchable Hook | Person or Category | Radical Mentoring
Searchable Hook
What Happens When You Stop Pretending
The first 50 characters carry the most weight in YouTube's search index, and get truncated first on mobile. The topic goes first because that is what people are searching for.
Person or Category
David Wright / David Anderson, Pastor / Pete & Trey, Part 1
A name adds authenticity. For mentee stories, use the person's name. For church leaders, add a short title (Pastor, Men's Pastor) to lend credibility. For training content, use a category label.
Radical Mentoring
Radical Mentoring
Brand consistency across every video. Always there, never fighting the hook for attention.
Good Titles
Bad Titles
The test: Anyone on the team can title a video correctly by asking one question: "What would someone type into YouTube to find this video?" That answer goes first. Everything else follows.
The first 150 characters show up in YouTube search results. Everything after that gives the algorithm context. The bottom half is the same for every video.
The Template
First 2 Sentences (The Hook)
[What is this video about? Include the primary keyword naturally in the first 25 words. Write it like you're telling a friend what they're about to watch. Never open with "Welcome to Radical Mentoring" or "Don't forget to subscribe."]
2-3 More Sentences (The Context)
[Expand on the story or topic. What will the viewer gain? Why does this matter? For testimonials, name the transformation. For training, name the skill.]
Closing Line
[One sentence that tells the viewer who this video is for. "If you've ever felt..." or "If you're a pastor wondering..."]
Timestamps (Videos Over 3 Minutes)
0:00 - [Opening]
[Add chapter markers at each natural section break]
Same For Every Video (Copy-Paste)
== ABOUT RADICAL MENTORING == Radical Mentoring equips mentors with a discipling roadmap and guides them as they awaken mentees to their unique design, belonging, and purpose in Jesus. We believe discipleship belongs to everyone, not just pastors. Start a mentoring group: https://radicalmentoring.com/start Learn more: https://radicalmentoring.com Download the app: https://app.radicalmentoring.com == CONNECT == Instagram: https://instagram.com/radicalmentoring Facebook: https://facebook.com/radicalmentoring Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/radicalmentors #RadicalMentoring #ChristianMentoring #Discipleship
The rule: The first 150 characters are the only ones people see before they click. Put the topic and the keyword there. The boilerplate at the bottom handles brand consistency and links so the person writing the description only has to focus on the story.
Mentee Story
Sample 1 of 2
What Happens When You Stop Pretending | David Wright | Radical Mentoring
David Wright was 35, married with three kids, and spiritually empty. His inside didn't match his outside. In this video, David shares what happened when he stopped pretending and let a group of men see who he really was. David grew up in the church. His dad was a senior pastor. He knew all the Sunday school answers. But decades of living life on his own terms had led him and his family to a dark place. When a mentor invited him into a Radical Mentoring group, David was coming to the end of his rope. The turning point was sharing his story. Not the polished version, but the real one. David describes the moment he bridged the gap between who he'd convinced himself he was and who he actually was. It felt like death, he says. But on the other side of it was the first time he'd ever experienced being fully known and fully loved. That experience changed everything, including his marriage. His wife Kate told him there were things they could finally talk about that they couldn't before. David calls Radical Mentoring the catalyst that woke him up. If you've ever felt like your faith looks right on the outside but feels empty on the inside, this story is for you. == TIMESTAMPS == 0:00 - David's story begins 0:55 - "My inside does not match my outside" 1:48 - Sharing vulnerability with the group 2:07 - The fly fishing metaphor 2:59 - How it changed his marriage == ABOUT RADICAL MENTORING == Radical Mentoring equips mentors with a discipling roadmap and guides them as they awaken mentees to their unique design, belonging, and purpose in Jesus. We believe discipleship belongs to everyone, not just pastors. Start a mentoring group: https://radicalmentoring.com/start Learn more: https://radicalmentoring.com Download the app: https://app.radicalmentoring.com == CONNECT == Instagram: https://instagram.com/radicalmentoring Facebook: https://facebook.com/radicalmentoring Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/radicalmentors #RadicalMentoring #ChristianMentoring #Discipleship
For Your Church
Sample 2 of 2
What 10 Years of Mentoring Did to Our Church | Whit Smith, Pastor | Radical Mentoring
Whit Smith started Radical Mentoring at Athens Church with two groups and 15 men. Ten years later, it has infiltrated every part of the church. In this video, Whit shares how mentoring went from a beta test to a church-wide movement. Whit jumped into the first group himself. He remembers hearing Jim Purcell share his story and thinking, "I didn't know this was possible." When Whit shared his own story, he expected the shame he'd felt in every other context. Instead, the men just said, "Thanks for sharing." He calls it the first time he actually experienced grace, not just read about it. He took the results to his lead pastor, who came to the celebration and heard four or five men share how the experience had changed their lives. The next day at staff meeting, the pastor said, "We will always do this." Two years later, a wife stopped Whit in the hallway and said, "Whatever you're doing to my husband, I want." The next year, they started doing it with women. Now it's expanded into what Athens Church calls the Growth Trilogy Program. Over half the staff has gone through it. Elders have gone through it. People who came through these groups are serving and leading in every area of the church. If you're a church leader wondering whether mentoring can actually take root and grow in your congregation, this is the story you need to hear. == TIMESTAMPS == 0:00 - How it started at Athens Church 0:49 - "I didn't know this was possible" 1:15 - Experiencing grace for the first time 1:44 - The lead pastor's response 2:19 - The wife in the hallway 2:47 - Ten years of impact == ABOUT RADICAL MENTORING == Radical Mentoring equips mentors with a discipling roadmap and guides them as they awaken mentees to their unique design, belonging, and purpose in Jesus. We believe discipleship belongs to everyone, not just pastors. Start a mentoring group: https://radicalmentoring.com/start Learn more: https://radicalmentoring.com Download the app: https://app.radicalmentoring.com == CONNECT == Instagram: https://instagram.com/radicalmentoring Facebook: https://facebook.com/radicalmentoring Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/radicalmentors #RadicalMentoring #ChristianMentoring #Discipleship
Notice the pattern: The top half changes for every video. The bottom half (About, links, social, hashtags) is identical every time. Copy the boilerplate once, then focus your energy on the first five sentences.
Radical Mentoring is not leaving Vimeo. YouTube and Vimeo each do something the other cannot.
YouTube
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. When a church leader searches "how to start a mentoring group" or a man types "finding identity in Jesus," YouTube is where they will find Radical Mentoring.
Vimeo
The Impact app is where mentors go for training resources, and it embeds video directly into the platform. Vimeo is the right player for this because the experience stays clean and feels like Radical Mentoring.
Why not just YouTube everywhere? YouTube embeds show the YouTube logo (no way to remove it), recommend unrelated videos when a video ends, and do not allow custom player colors or domain restrictions. Inside the Impact app, that means a mentor watching a training video could get pulled into a rabbit hole of unrelated content. Vimeo keeps the experience clean.
The Workflow
Upload every video to both platforms. YouTube gets the public-facing, SEO-optimized version with searchable titles and descriptions. Vimeo gets the same video for embedding inside the Impact app with clean, branded playback. Same video, two jobs.
Recommendation confirmed by Duane Priddy at Impact.app, who builds and maintains the Radical Mentoring training platform.
This is a starting point, not a finished plan. Let's figure out what makes sense for Radical Mentoring and build from there.
Michael Wekall
Backyard Creative