Jeff ThompsonMore PostsSYMC Early Bird Registrations Ends Oct 31!
Simply Youth Ministry Conference is a great event for relaxing, recharging, reconnecting with your passion for ministry. It’s one of my favorite youth ministry events of the year.
To take advantage of the early bird pricing please Register Here. See you there!
Jeff ThompsonMore PostsTop 25 Youth Ministry Blogs
The Youth Cartel posted the Top 25 blogs on youth ministry. Thought you might enjoy the list. A lot of great ministry ideas are represented in these blogs.
Full Disclosure: We love The Youth Cartel. We’re one of the sponsors of their Middle School Ministry Campference.
Jeff ThompsonMore Posts2013 Simply Youth Ministry ConferenceThe 2013 SYMC website is live! Check it out and consider registering early for this amazing conference that’s planned for youth workers by youth workers.
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 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 PostsBiggest regrets… ParentsDuring Simply Youth Ministry Conference 2011 two weekends ago, I was part of a peer panal called “Epic Fail” – our biggest mistakes in youth ministry (I had my share of stories…). It was a good, funny, encouraging time of helping all of us that attended focus on what’s important in ministry. But there was one interaction that will stick with me for a while.
I shared that my biggest regret from my time in full-time church ministry was my attitude towards the parents of the students in my ministry. If I’m honest, I considered them a necessary evil. I basically was just glad they dropped their kids off so I could do “real” ministry with them. I was young and over-confident and dumb. I regret not involving parent more. Not engaging them more as part of the ministry.
After the panel, a young couple just into their first ministry found me and wanted to chat. They had the some concerns about parents. They’re young. They’re not parents themselves. They’re intimidated. All the things I remember feeling. I hope they felt like we had a good chat about how to work with parents. To bring them into the ministry. Communicate with them often. To engage them and support them. I pray that they listen to their own concerns and work with parents now and not have the same regrets I do…
The same ideas are true for parents of kids attending your mission trip. You need to engage them in conversations. Give them more than just what they are asking for when it comes to information about the trip. If the parents of the students going on your trip are excited and informed, your trip will be that much better than if you fail to keep them in the loop.
Jeff ThompsonMore PostsThe infamous 3-legged race!About a month ago, the Simply Youth Ministry team challenged members of the Group Workcamps team to a 3-legged race. Well, the SYM folks just didn’t do so great… The Workcamps team killed it! Guess we know who’s just… better…
You can see it all for yourself here.
Go Workcamps!
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.
Toby Rowe is the Mission Program Manager for Group Workcamps, Group Week of Hope, and The Big Day of Serving - which is fancy talk for overseeing the spiritual content and worship programming.
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