Volunteer leaders are the backbone of Young Life. Without a leader inviting us to coffee, or club, or camp - and ultimately into a relationship with Jesus - many of us would not be in ministry today.
The leaders we have in Young Life are incredible! They have busy lives, jobs, families, school- and yet they go above and beyond to do something that very few adults do - pursue relationships with kids.
What if we could make their jobs easier so they could actually spend even more time with kids?
What if we could create one single place, with our best resources and training – so they no longer have to go on internet scavenger hunts to find what they need?
Here’s a picture of what it currently looks like for a leader to try and find resources and training:
Google searches
Searching regional and area Dropbox folders
Checking the Young Life Leader Blog and YLhelp on Mondays at 5pm for last-minute club ideas
Logging in to Right Now Media and YL Access training
Listening to old Young Life podcast episodes
Signing up for Volunteer 101 training and a Brilliant at the Basics cohort
It’s a ton of voices spread across a lot of platforms…
But what if we could create a reliable one-stop-shop that brought together our best resources, innovation, training and encouragement for leaders? And what if we had a diverse team, representative of the global mission, that was laser-focused on SERVING THE VOLUNTEER?
That’s the vision of The Storehouse.
For decades, The Storehouse was a place at Frontier Ranch where leaders could go to get what they needed: t-shirts for kids, songbooks, Campaigner handbooks, or even sunscreen for the hike. Over the years, Storehouse became a camper cabin where kids and leaders had life-changing conversations.
We need a place in Young Life where leaders can come to get what they need.
A place where significant conversations can take place and ideas are exchanged.
A place not to stay, but that equips and sends our volunteers back into the world of kids.
I sensed this need in 2010 and it led me to start The Young Life Leader Blog. At the time I was a middle-aged, white, volunteer leader and youth pastor living smack in the middle of the Bible belt. Over the past decade, I’ve written 1500+ articles and used a dinosaur of a platform called Blogger.
Over the past six months, with the help of your donations and money raised through The Next Big Thing, we’ve rebuilt the site using WordPress. It’s far from done, but it’s a step closer to making the dream of The Storehouse become a reality.
Over the next year, our plan is to continue to gather the best of the best resources and training into a single one-stop-shop where you can quickly find what you need when you need it.
In order for this to happen, The Storehouse needs YOU! It can’t be a solo effort. It has to be a chorus of unified voices representing the breadth of the diversity of the mission.
If you’re willing to help, please fill out this quick 10-question form: The Storehouse Team.
Written by Drew Hill (yldrew@gmail.com)