Jeff ThompsonMore PostsWe’re at SYMC!We’re hangin’ with our friends and partners Simply Youth Ministry and Group Magazine at Simply Youth Ministry Conference. Last night everything started off really fun. Tornado warnings. Francis Chan. Shane and Shane. and 3,000 youth leaders doing the robot…
If you’re here in Louisville this weekend. Please stop by and say “hi”!
Jeff ThompsonMore PostsGrowing up too fast and staying young too longKurt Johnston, over at juniorhighministry.com, had a really interesting post earlier this week about youth ministry and students and societal pressures.
As Kurt admitted, this is an issue that we all know about but we aren’t sure what to do about. It’s becoming a personal issue for me. My oldest son turned 13 a couple weeks ago. Something about that age has made me take notice of things. What he watches. What he listens to. What he and his best friend talk about as I drive them to school each morning. What words does he use? How does he dress? It’s evident to me that he’s feeling some kids of “pressure” to be too old, too soon.
But… how do I prepare him for adulthood without stretching him beyond just being a kid? How do any of us in our ministries safely do that? That’s a great topic to discuss with your ministry team. How do you keep kids form growing up too fast and prepare them to be adult followers of Jesus?
Kurt mentioned these ideas are going to be part of his Junior High Ministry workshop at Simply Youth Ministry Conference. If you’re going to be at SYMC take advantage of this opportunity to dig deeper.
Jeff ThompsonMore PostsWe Love Our Youth WorkerWe’re partnering with an awesome new ministry – We Love Our Youth Worker. WLOYW is dedicated to helping churches better serve and love their youth leader(s). They believe that “encouraged, inspired, enthusiastic and spiritually-alive youth workers do better youth work. And young people need as much of that as possible!” I love that!
This idea/ministry started in England in 2007. You can check out their story here. The idea had spread to the US and now launching across the country. Please check it out and encourage your church leadership to look at some of the info also.
Here are some important details about the launch of We Love Our Youth Worker in the US:
1. You can find WLOYW on Twitter @wloyw_us, Facebook @weloveoutyouthworkerus and on our website www.weloveouryouthworker.us.
3. There are a large group of youth ministry folks that have endorsed this new ministry. Check them out here.
4. There is also a great group of other youth ministry organizations (including Group Mission Trips) that are partnering with WLOYW to spread the word. That group can be seen here.
5. The booklet of information that covers all the details, including how your church can become a We Love Our Youth Worker church, is ready and can be downloaded here. They’ll be ready to accept applications from church in little over a month.
I hope you take the time to check out this important new ministry.
Jeff ThompsonMore PostsNYWC 2011 – AtlantaJust attended the National Youth Workers Convention in Atlanta. What a great time with great youth workers from all over the country. Also had an awesome time connecting with good friends in the youth missions and youth ministry world. These are people I love and respect in ministry. Folks like Eric Iverson from Youthworks/Youth Specialties, Doug Franklin from LeaderTreks, Mark Orr from NNYM, Jake Kircher from We Love Our Youth Worker. These folks are simply some of the best people supporting youth leaders out there. Each with their own gifts and roles to play. Some are national and some very specific. Some of these guys work directly in the youth mission world and some just love youth leaders and try to support you in your ministry. What a great couple days…
These events are awesome for this kind of interaction. I love how many ministries are represented here. Showing how much support a youth leader truly has. Just look at the names of the ministries represented above. Youthworks/Youth Specialties – dedicated to getting students serving and supporting youth workers with a convention and resources. LeaderTreks – completely about helping youth leaders develop leadership skills in students. National Network of Youth Ministry (NNYM) – they just want to network youth workers so they know that are not alone. We Love Our Youth Worker – a brand new ministry that helps churches better serve and support their youth leader. How cool is that. 4 different ministries. 4 different purposes. All about youth ministry. I love these relationships. I love these four people. And there were dozens of other ministries there that I don’t even know.
I hope you know that if you serve the students of your church. You are loved and supported. And if you ever get a chance to attend a conference like NWYC or Simply Youth Ministry Conference, please go. You are not alone… You need to know that.
Jeff ThompsonMore PostsSome great stuff from Simply Youth Ministry!Our friends and partners at Simply Youth Ministry have 2 great things for you to check out! A super great deal on some resources and an early-bird deadline for Simply Youth Ministry Conference.
The Spooky Awesome Bundle is an amazing deal on some resources you’ll love to have in your library. And they’ll help you work with your teenagers. Check it out!
I love Simply Youth Ministry Conference! I know you will too. It’s a youth conference “by and for” youth workers. The early-bird deadline is next Monday – October 31. If you register by Monday, you save $40!
We love working with these guys! SYM is a great ministry that exists to help you with what matters most.
Jeff ThompsonMore PostsAttention: Middle School & Jr Hi Youth WorkersCheck out this post at SimplyInsider.
Mark Oestreicher and some friends are organizing this event just for you – if you work with Middle School students. It’s gonna be a great time. Let’s be honest about this: it’s not every adult who wakes up thinking, “How can I spend some time with 13 year-olds today, and influence them for Jesus?”
That calling, that wiring, is extremely unique and wonderful. And our wise and wonderful God, who cares so passionately about the young teens in your church, chose YOU! You are truly one of the few, one of the unique; and you are God’s plan for showing love to middle schoolers.
But this ministry is difficult, and sometimes lonely. You need to be surrounded by others who understand you, who share your calling. That’s why we created the Middle School Ministry Campference.
Check here for more info. Toby and I will be there as well…
If you work with junior high or middle school students, you owe it to your self to at least check out this event.
http://middleschoolministrycampference.com/
Jeff ThompsonMore PostsSYMC Day ThreeGreat last full day at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference. We had many, many good conversations with youth leaders who want to get their kids serving.
It’s very refreshing to discuss service with people that already know & believe how important it is. It’s exhausting when you need to convince a person that youth missions are an important part of a student’s faith development. I love talking with a youth pastor who loves kids and loves seeing them serve others.
The last day is tomorrow. We get to do one more seminar. It’s basically Missions 101…all you need to know to plan your next mission trip.
Jeff ThompsonMore PostsSYMC Day OneWow, what a day! The first day and night of Simply Youth Ministry Conference was amazing.
We led a discussion on The State of Youth Missions. It was a great time discussing the amazingly good things that are youth mission trips. And we talked openly about where we still need to improve. Thanks to all who attended.
And then…
Doug Fields helped us launch 1 By Youth from the main stage at the opening General Session. What an honor to have Doug involved with this new ministry. He set the vision… 1 Million Serving! After the General Session, we hosted a Kick-Off meeting for anyone interested (we were “competing” against a screening of To Save A Life, a performance by The Skit Guys, denomination receptions, etc.) and over 100 people came to find out how to take this new idea to a movement. Awesome!
Check out www.1ByYouth.com and let me know what you think…
TobyMore PostsOff to SYMCOur building (the top-secret underground Group headquarters) is buzzing with people getting ready to take off for SYMC . We head out to Chicago in waves – the early contingent on Wednesday, then more on both Thursday and Friday. Maybe the bigger buzz is happening all around the country, as more than 2300 youth workers are getting ready to go to the Windy City. (OK – lots of youth workers haven’t even started packing yet – but we know they will – at least 30 minutes before they have to leave for the airport.
And if you’re in a hurry – don’t be like this guy.
Besides the fact that the conference is a blast, and that we’ll get to eat some great Chicago food, we are super-pumped in the Workcamps world. Three out of the four of on this blog, Jeff, Tim, and I are going. We’ll be doing a heart to heart discussion panel about the state of youth missions, two workshops on youth missions planning and fundraising, and having a lot of conversations with youth workers from all over the country and the world. That’s the kind of stuff that gets us excited.
One more thing we’re excited about is being launched at the conference. 1byYouth – a one-day service project that’s launching in Indianapolis, IN and Manassas, VA in the spring, and then nationwide in the fall. Entire neighborhoods will be transformed through youth groups coming together to make a huge impact. Check it out.
OK – enough self-advertising. If you’re going, come say hi to us. And if you’re not… maybe next year?
Anyway
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February 23, 2010
Jeff ThompsonMore PostsCrazy hats….Cool tradition. Youth trade these crazy hats all weekend at this national youth conference. What fun!
Jeff Thompson, a veteran of youth ministry, serves as the Director of Youth Missions for Group Mission Trips - Workcamps, Week of Hope and The Big Day of Serving.
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