BOTTOM LINE... YOUR ZOOM CALL COULD BE BETTER

(Here Are 9 Zoom Upgrades)

Ask your attendees…

Q.  “Know how to download Zoom?”  ✅

Q.  “Watched the YL video tutorial to up your zoom game?”  (YL Zoom Tutorial) ✅

Q.  “Become a master of the Breakout room, reaction graphics, and polling questions?” ✅

Q.  “You can monitor the chat feature like a champ and can mute others at will?” ✅

So, you can send an invite and people attend (mostly) but the engagement seems to be...well...modest. If so, you may be ready to put some thought on how to add some Vroom to your Zoom call.  

The shear shift from attendance to participation may be harder to come by in recent weeks because of what has been commonly called ‘zoom fatigue.’  To go to the next level from participation to engagement may be even more challenging. The list below has come from over 25 Young Life US Regions as they have initiated zoom calls for their staff and volunteer Committee members. Although it is not exhaustive it may be a good place to start. Try a few of the ideas below and let us know how it goes.  

Going from...PARTICIPATION to ATTENDANCE to ENGAGEMENT

9 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR  ZOOM CALLS A ‘NOT TO BE MISSED’ EVENT

1. SET A STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE not PERFECTION:  Do the first things first and put in the work to make the call excellent. Make sure you have communicated clearly and timely. The call agenda is prepared, professional, and concise. Any necessary pre/post information/work has been communicated and subject matter experts and your team are ready to go. Your work is not in vain, because good preparation fosters healthy engagement.  Bottom line:  Do your best to think through every detail.

2. MODELING:  Enthusiasm around calls that we facilitate can wane because we aren’t that excited ourselves. No one needs to spend an hour on another conference call unless it is helpful, lifegiving, and serves its designed purpose. If you are truly excited about what you are discussing, then model that engagement in your preparation and delivery. Bottom line: Convince yourself of the value of the call first. 

3. IS THIS AN EXPECTATION?: Many things are optional in YL and that may be needed. However, as you choose the ‘hills to die on’ maybe these calls are part of an expectation of ‘on boarding’ of a role. Also, allow for attendees to assign a ‘proxy’ as their representative if possible. This will help broaden ownership and provide some flexibility. Bottom line:  Establish the understanding that attendance is an expectation for all participants. 

4. CONTACT WORK:  Simply, high engagement on a regular recurring zoom call will require contact work.  People may show up once or twice out of curiosity but will stay because of the relationship.  Do some contact work (in between calls) and watch the engagement shift. There are no shortcuts. Bottom line: The content of the call will be helpful but the relationships will win them over. 

5. BROAD OWNERSHIP:  Think strategically on how you can involve others on your team. Not all will facilitate, present, or get ‘air time’ but if the ownership is wider than yourself then the engagement will grow.  Ultimately the call will be better for it and will start  to be ‘our thing’ not ‘your thing’  Bottom line:  Do it as a team

6. MAKE A DECISION:  If your calls are significant gatherings where input is requested,  decisions are made, and initiatives  launched, then you will see a noticeable up-tick in engagement. Ownership can flourish through simple methods because if the opportunity to be heard presents itself- people come running. Bottom line:  Make 1 decision or provide an avenue for input on each call you host. 

7. INCENTIVISE:  Who doesn’t love FREE stuff?? Camp Scholarship, a dinner, a prize or recognition are not just tactics for engagement, they are a way of keeping the room's attention and having some fun while doing it. Bottom line, Surprise and Spoil your attendees. It will be well worth the cost! 

8. WE COMMIT TO WHAT WE CREATE:  Glean input on topics to discuss and involve others in big and small ways. If I helped create a discussion, then I am showing up invested and engaged.  Bottom line: If you can establish that those on the call will be asked to give their own thoughts and perspective then they will be more inclined to ‘lean in’ on each call.  

9. CULTURE TAKES TIME:  Celebrate small successes and incremental movements of the needle. Oftentimes change will take time and have some bumps along the way.  Attendance may ebb and flow and some of the participants on the call may not even be aware of this new expectation.  That is ok, stay the course and don’t give up.  Bottom Line: Keep working, engaging, and staying faithful to the principles you had regarding the need for this resource and win over hearts and minds over time.  Change is slow.

Written by: Ken Tankersley

THE FRIEND-RAISER

THE FRIEND-RAISER  OVERVIEW :  A Funding Option in lieu of a Large Group Banquet this Fall.  With many Large Group Gatherings being banned, let’s see this as opportunity. A Small Group Friend-Raiser may be exactly what our area needs right now. As we’ve been separated, this format will bring people together as well as be...more:

• RELATIONSHIP-CENTERED:  Guests are relaxed, and comfortable being in a friend’s home.

• ENGAGING:  Without the normal event fanfare, guests arrive with their hearts open to Young Life.

• CONVERSATIONAL:  There can be questions asked and clarity given.

• EFFECTIVE:  We have found more people are inclined to partner & gifts tend to be larger.

WHAT:

friend-rais-er /frend/räzer/

noun

an event that increases the amount, or strength, of friendships; i.e. individuals who act as supporters of a cause, by giving financial or other help.

WHY:  There are individuals in our communities who will never join us at a large group banquet  or as an adult guest at camp. Maybe it’s the size of the event, or misconceptions they have about Young Life, but the event may seem too big.

They may, however, agree to a small dinner party with friends, where they’ll experience Young Life in a new way. Imagine the potential leaders, committee members, donors and prayer warriors your area can develop by simply gathering around a table, sharing a meal while explaining your local vision for this mission. [See image below]

Large group meetings (e.g. camp or club) aren’t our only means of connecting with kids, so why are we okay with our Banquet being our one and only means of connecting with and sharing vision to adults?  Imagine - we wouldn’t dream of hosting Campaigners with 250 kids without breaking down into small groups and connecting kids with a leader.

We aren’t asking you to learn something new, simply we want you to see that what you do extremely well with kids, you can do extremely well with Adults. (… grown-up Kids)

Did you hear that? It’s the SECRET! We can do ministry with adults in the same way we do ministry with kids, all while multiplying our kid impact! From Inviting In to Sharing the Gospel to Celebrating Growth in Christ. It’s simply the same. So, perhaps, this fall will be the year when our Volunteer Teams grow, Committees grow.

HOW:  Begin with a host from your Committee and follow these simple steps:

1. Find a Date - identify a person or couple who will Host “Friendraiser Dinner Party” in their home. (You may wish to plan a Friendraiser every other month, or perhaps they will be quarterly, but start with one.)

2. Create a  List - Who should your host invite? How many? Your guest list should be friends of the host or your committee members who will be familiar with each other. *Note: you want to keep this dinner intimate, so invite no more than 8-12 people.

3. Personally Invite - Your host should invite, by phone, then followed with a text with pertinent information, and then a follow up phone call as the day approaches.

4. Order of Events - Partner with your Committee to create an order for the evening that includes good food, family time, storytelling, vision-casting, with an invitation to partner.

5. Follow Up - After sharing the Young Life story, sharing your vision, (& needs), and personally invite your guests to partner with you and your team! It is imperative to follow through with these relationships.

& (Another) WHY:  The reason we break down large groups of kids at camp (cabin time) or club (campaigners or small groups) into smaller groups, or even a one on one meeting is for relational investment as well as clarity in communication. We have seen, as we continue to develop Young Life’s Relational Centered Engagement [RCE], that the same is true with our work with adults in our community. The smaller the group, the more personal and relational the time is, has generally helped provide more Yes’s with greater impact.

This “Scale of Effectiveness in Asking” is from the Relationship Centered Engagement (RCE) training from Young Life’s Field Development team. It shows us that the more intimate the group, more people are saying yes with increased gift sizes.

The “Friendraiser” small group gathering may be exactly what your Area needs to add to your Financial Strategy to take your Area to the next level; especially in the aftermath of the recent pandemic.

Written by: Kent Williams

Global Volunteers July 2020

HAVING A VISION FOR OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCES- PEOPLE 

Outside of Christ’s presence in our lives and our calling to ministry, our people (staff and volunteers) may be the most important resource we have in Young Life. Leaders who learn to develop their people accomplish exponentially more and have a richer staff experience along the way. How can you develop the people entrusted to you? Here are eight ways…

Value “Who” before “What.” In her book Radical Candor, Kim Scott says the best leaders BOTH: Care Deeply and Challenge Directly. The staff who feel cared for by their supervisor are often the most motivated to follow a boss’s direction. Do your staff sense you care? How are you investing in them spiritually, emotionally, and personally?

Envision Who They are “Becoming.” “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you…plans to give you a hope and a future.”  Why does Jeremiah 29:11 inspire so many? One reason may be because it describes the sort of Shepherd we long for…one who has great plans for us, one who can prosper us and one who can lead us to a future we cannot even begin to envision ourselves. Throughout my career, God has blessed me with leaders who pointed me to who they could see me becoming. How would you fill in the blank for members of your staff…? “I could see you becoming ______________ one day?” Try things like: “a camp speaker, an area director, a great father.”

Teach to Swim…IN the Deep End.

Give Younger Staff a Voice from the Start. Have you ever noticed we have no Junior Varsity staff?  Everyone starts on the Varsity team and is a paid professional. While we have different roles, inviting each team member to weigh-in on objectives communicates value and helps achieve the best outcomes. Plus, if they weigh-in, they’ll be more likely to buy-in. 

Empower Staff with Great Responsibility BEFORE they think they are Ready.” This does three things:  shows tremendous faith in the person, calls something great out of him/her, and demonstrates the supervisor is not jealous for power or credit. It may scare them (and you) at first, but if you show that you’re in it with them, it won’t be long before the training wheels come off and they’re soaring.  

Train “Up” Leaders by Pushing “Down” Decision-making. While a supervisor is responsible for many decisions, it doesn’t mean she has to make them all. Pushing decision-making down the org chart, raises “up” other leaders by empowering them to help make big decisions.  

Give Honest and Clear Feedback in An Environment of Affirmation. If a team member knows how deeply you care, evaluations happen in a positive environment. Also, try to use the evaluation as a time to agree together on “next steps” in their development and identify new opportunities for them to grow.

Teach Your Staff to Depend on God – In EVERYTHING. Model dependence on God in how you pray, make decisions, structure meetings, and celebrate when He proves faithful. Teaching them it all depends on Him rescues from putting their identity in performance, comparison, talent or experience and challenges them to grow not just vocationally, but spiritually as well.

Remind Them What Matters Most – In a ministry filled with many responsibilities, teaching staff that Christ, kids and people matter most develops the best kind of people for our mission.

Written by: Scott Caldwell

A CAMP SPEAKER IN YOUR BACK POCKET

This summer is like none other, especially when it comes to the shared experience we all love, Young Life Camp. That said, Young Life Leaders across the mission are getting creative with how to design new experiences for their friends within local Covid-19 restrictions. Whether it is day camp, day hikes, a weekend at a cabin, or even nights around a backyard fire pit, leaders are creating their own summer shared experience. Wouldn’t it be great to have a camp speaker in your back pocket to leverage this summer with your kids? We have you covered! 

Young Life Camp, as I have thought about it with my team, I shared experience paired with excellent gospel proclamation. That gospel content is designed to set up the leader to have the deep and meaningful conversation we know and love called Cabin Time. We had a lightbulb moment and realized that this is something that can be created... even now!  

Introducing the 2020 Summer (although any season will do!)  Experience! This site has both discipleship and outreach speaker content available to areas and leaders to leverage in any restriction level. 

The Discipleship Experience offers two main speakers, topical seminars, recorded live discussions, and even a musical guest! This content can be used for Campaigners or a Campaigners getaway. There is simply content for you to use as you’d like.  

The Summer Experience brings together a diverse group of camp speakers sharing the gospel in our beloved camp style along with cabin time questions. We have Young Life and WyldLife focused speakers, along with additional resources around the mission for Capernaum and YoungLives, we even have a Spanish option! Each speaker is between 3 and 6 parts, you as a leader can choose what speaker best identifies with your kids.  

Guide To The Summer Experience

• Based on your kids, decide on an Outreach or Discipleship focus.

• If Discipleship:

  • Choose what main speaker most identifies with your kids or use both! 

    • Each speaker provides Cabin Time Questions for you to process with your kids.  

  • Choose what topical seminars your kids would benefit watching. 

• If Outreach:

  • Choose the camp speaker that best relates to your kids.

  • Each camp speaker offers a set of cabin time questions for you to use.

You are the shared experience professional in your kids’ lives, now you have content to leverage as you introduce kids to Christ and help them grow in their faith this summer.  

Pnwdiscipleship.younglife.org

Please let me know if I can help guide or brainstorm:

Andy Morman

Area Director

Sammamish/Issaquah Young Life

Andy@sammamish.younglife.org

Young Life Profile | Dolena

VIDEO NAME: Young Life Profile | Dolena
LENGTH: 1:57

Note from video services: We made this video as part of a series of videos we did for the Alaska region made possible by a donor in California. The donor gave video services some money to “buy gear.” After much prayer we believed God had other plans for that money so we approached the donor with the idea of “turning your money into more money” by making a video for a region that couldn’t afford a video. Together we selected Alaska. We made the first Alaska regional video and the day we released it publicly it helped raise 5 times what the donor had originally given…again, on the first day it was viewable. Our sweet donor friend couldn’t believe what God had done with his little gift. We did this profile from the footage that was shot for the regional video. It and the other Alaska regional videos represents God taking a donor by the hand and inviting them into the mess of kids lives and making a significant difference beyond what they ever imagined or thought possible.

Context:

• A Young Life kid in Alaska talks about darkness and light growing up where the sun goes away for months and what that does to a soul.

• Young Life’s methods of sharing the gospel are for every kid. Shows the need of a Young Life leader in the lives of adolescence.

• Illustrates how Young Life leaders are a light in the darkness

Setting for Viewing:

• Use to move the hearts of your volunteer leaders and facilitate a discussion. 

• Share with Committee to discuss the needs of kids in your area and how Young Life is uniquely suited to meet those needs.

• Send as a reminder to your larger mission community during this Season or as we seek to continue to find a way to reach the next kid. This video showcases the ‘why’ we need to keep going to the next kid and the next. 

• This video has been used in larger group gatherings easily and has been used as an ‘opening video’ for the start of a larger event. 

GROWTH IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

‘Made for….the HARDEST OF PLACES’

In Young Life, we believe that every kid deserves to hear about a God who loves them. In Kane County YoungLife, in addition to WyldLife and Capernaum, our committee is championing a vision which also means we are looking for ways to share the love of God with incarcerated teens at the local Illinois Youth Center (IYC).

While Young Life ministry at IYC has been going on for over two decades, it has really taken off in the past couple of years. It has grown from a single volunteer showing up once a week to have a Bible study with a small group of guys to over 20 men serving on teams multiple nights a week providing pizza, hanging out in cottages, hosting monthly birthday parties, working out in the gym, studying God’s Word and praying together. 

IYC – St. Charles, where we serve, is a Level 2 medium security facility. It houses juvenile males whose crimes include armed robbery, gang activity, drug offenses, school shootings, and murder. While some may have a bit of church background, most have little direction or hope in life. During a recent discussion one of the guys shared, “My life has no purpose. I am going to be locked up for the rest of my life.” 

However, change does happen. Earlier this year, we had the privilege of praying for one of the young men who was about to be released. He shared how his life had been dramatically changed while at IYC. He prays daily and has seen answered prayer. He knows he needs to make different decisions on the outside. He talked of getting involved in a church and being a good role model for his three younger siblings.

But not only are the kids being changed. Here is what some of our volunteers recently shared. 

- “A year ago, if you would have asked me could I see myself in a prison, helping with a ministry to felons, I would have said no chance. However, this has become the highlight of each week for me.”

- “Time just hanging with the kids is precious. They are really good kids who have made some bad decisions. Loving them with our time and resources and telling them about Jesus is a way to give back for the gift God has given us.”

- “Serving at IYC has been both a blessing and learning experience for me. Many of the incarcerated teens are just kids who have made some terribly poor life choices. And as kids, they need hope, encouragement and a belief that others care. If we can offer a small amount of that, then we are providing a glimpse of Jesus.”

There are about 50,000 incarcerated juveniles in the United States alone. They need to know that there is God who loves them more than they could imagine. Perhaps some of these incarcerated teens are near you.

For more information on lessons learned in Kane County Young Life, feel free to contact area director Dan Griebel (dangriebel@ylchicago.com) or committee chair Don Vanthournout (don.vanthournout@gmail.com).

THE VALUE OF PERSISTENCE

Starting an area from scratch is something that doesn’t happen overnight. There are three principles that many Area Developers uphold: Local Ownership, Staff Supervision, and Incarnational Ministry. To have a good start to brand new ministry, you need to make sure all are in a healthy spot before you make big steps (like hiring staff) to launching.

Halifax County is rural community of 35,000 people on the North Carolina border in southside Virginia. People there do not experience lots of change. Getting buy-in to build local ownership would take time. It took three years to grow a fully functioning committee who decided to pursue a full time Area Director. Growing a full-time budget, in a small, economically challenged community, full of late adopters, takes time.

It also takes time to raise up the right leader for the job. The area did not see club for three years while informational meetings were taking place and the committee and donor infrastructure was being built. Volunteers started a club in years three and four. Years five through seven saw one of these volunteers’ step into a Teacher Staff role.  That teacher staff expanded the volunteer team that led to one of them coming on full time staff in year eight.

An important objective in the development of this Area Director was to model and teach Incarnational Ministry. Some communities cling to traditional ministry models thinking that all ministry takes place in the church. Ideas like “going where kids are at” and “earning the right to be heard” are strange to some. It took time to grow one of their own who could take the reins and lead the charge in Halifax. After seven years we finally had the staff supervision needed to ensure quality ministry AND to grow new clubs and start neighboring areas. Was it worth it to pour so much time and energy into one county? For seven years?

There are about a dozen counties in southside Virginia that are just like Halifax County. Rural communities with about half of the population being people of color. And Young Life has never been in any of these places. The hope, desire, and vision that fueled the 7-year start-up in Halifax is to have Young Life in all these counties.

What is your long-range vision? What are you persevering at? Caleb saw and tasted the promised land, was denied entry, languished in the desert for 40 years then asked for some of the hardest territory in the promised land which was still full of those blasted Canaanites! Is it the rocky soil of a kid’s heart? A subset of the school you have been doing contact work with but have yet to see them at club? The school next door that does not seem to have any adult interest in Young Life?

Be encouraged and keep 1 Thessalonians 5:24 on your mind and in your heart; “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

Written by: Steve Schmitt

INCREASING THE AMPLITUDE, AND ADJUSTING THE FREQUENCY OF YOUR CLUB MINISTRY

INCREASING THE AMPLITUDE, AND ADJUSTING THE FREQUENCY OF YOUR CLUB MINISTRY 

Young Life’s mission statement is to introduce adolescents to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith. Too often we equate the motion of planning/prepping/running clubs with the achievement toward our ultimate goal of kids coming into a saving relationship with Jesus! There is freedom within this mission to modify the methods of ministry while still fulfilling the mission statement. 

AM/FM waves modulate their amplitude and frequency, and similarly we can modulate the AM/FM of our programmatic events. Modifying clubs in both their energetic feel (AM) and frequency (FM) can free leaders up to achieve our mission more effectively and broadly.

Amplitude Modulation:  Changing how amped up club feels. Three modulations can be Pep-Rally, Hang Out, and Service.

1. Pep-Rally - Traditional clubs feel like pep-rallies (lots of energy, loud, laughter, cheering) and they usually require a large crowd to feel right.  

2. Hang Out - This can be anything that best fits kids in your school (3-on-3 basketball tournament, fishing expedition, or a backyard bonfire with an unplugged guitar set). Any platform that offers a gospel proclamation can aid in reaching varying types of kids so that they can hear about Jesus in a more conducive setting.

3. Service - This has the least energetic feel but can work on occasion. Post-Christian European Young Life does this often and has had great success in their specific ministry field. This can also work for affluent highly entertained kids who are hard to impress, but service is universally agreed upon in culture as altruistic and good.

Frequency Modulation: Changing how often club occurs. Three modulations can be Weekly, Bi-Weekly, and Monthly.

1. Weekly - The traditional way in which most areas have run club. This works best when kids have easy access to transportation and the population is dense, so they can get to club in within 15-20 minutes. 

2. Bi-Weekly - This rhythm has benefits when transportation is a strain. In rural settings, kids face large geographical distances to get to a central club location.  Modulating the frequency of programmatic events might also help busy non-college volunteers. Areas can run a pattern of alternating weeks between Campaigners and Club to free volunteers to invest their time more wisely in the heartbeat of Young Life, incarnational evangelism.

3. Monthly - Once a month clubs become a don’t miss event. This might be longer than the typical club and can include food. This is for more extreme circumstances based on kids and leaders. For example, busy young professional leaders with families or kids in rural settings with huge distance obstacles.

This idea of modulating the amplitude and/or frequency of programmatic events can help achieve our mission better! Our goal is not to run the most pristine events, but it is to give kids a chance to hear the gospel and respond. 

Gospel proclamation should never be relegated solely to club talks and AM/FM modulation gives the power of evangelism to more of the one-on-one/small group settings between leaders and kids. By modifying the amplitude and frequency of clubs frees leaders to increase time to meet more kids and deepen already existing relationships. With this freedom to change the AM/FM of events the leaders can then intensify intentional gospel conversation in their contact work.   

Truly, the best Young Life is yet to be done!

-Mountain State Region

FROM ‘COME AND SEE’, TO ‘GO AND DO’ THIS SUMMER

During the summer of 2019 over 2,200 adults visited Young Life camps to better understand the mission of Young Life and experience changed lives.  They went back home saying things like this:

“Young Life gets the mission of introducing high school kids to Jesus Christ better than anyone!”

“Thank you so much for having us. It truly allowed us to get a bigger, clearer glimpse of Young Life and its impact. As an area committee volunteer I feel like I can talk even more confidently about Young Life and why it's so critical to engage other parents.”

“We were big supporters of Young Life before, but the camp experience really solidified our support!”

So what is it about the Adult Guest Program at camp that produces this type of transformation for adults? One word – EXPOSURE!  The Adult Guest Program provides an affordable tool to mission entities to invite guests to see, experience, and understand the Gospel and essence of the mission.  Quickly translated – it’s an invitation to “come and see” so that adults can “go and do.”  

And now to the question we’re asking about pretty much everything this summer – how do we have adult guests without camp? And WHY?

Let’s start with WHY. The health of a local area is a by-product of – you guessed it – the health of their adult ministry team. Committee, leaders, and donors serve as complementary partners and make it possible for staff to lead ministry. And yet, most areas would say that they need more adults involved in their mission community, and are constantly asking how to recruit more adults.

Let’s learn from the professional fundraisers of the world and turn to the Donor Engagement Cycle. Layman translation = turning potential donors from spectators of your work to participants. There are three crucial stages to execute before ever asking an individual for money (Shout out to Relationship Centered Engagement for more info).  

RECRUIT/INSPIRE LEARN ENGAGE

• RECRUIT/INSPIRE – This is your opportunity to excite folks! Provide a quick education, share stories, and communicate the importance of Young Life’s work in the local area.  

• LEARN – About the adult! What makes them tick; why are they interested in connecting with Young Life; what are they good at; how can they serve Young Life in a way that utilizes their gifts and brings them joy?  

• ENGAGE – let them serve! Engagement is the turning point in donor engagement.  It takes spectators and turns them into participants, which translates to years of committed service.  

Here are some ideas on HOW to implement this strategy this summer…

1. PRAY! For adults to join you, and with the adults who join you.

2. INVITE adults to be on your local camp assignment team. Let them make and serve food, set up events, hand out Bibles, etc. The #1 feedback we receive from adult guests at camp is that they wish they had been asked to DO MORE to make camp happen.  

3. COMMISSION a Committee member to serve as the Adult Guest Host and run a mini Adult Guest Program at your events. Invite, be intentional to teach/inspire while they’re there, and follow-up to learn more about them and how they can engage. 

4. DISCIPLE adults – have a Committee member run their own “cabin times” as your area walks through the summer, spending time in the Word, sharing the vision of the mission, and inviting them to participate.  

5. HOST a Friendraiser with other Committee members! Think of it as a cross between a mini-Banquet and Campaigners for adults. You’re pulling back the curtain on what/how you do ministry and inviting them to be Friends of Young Life.  

Then sit back and see what the Lord does. Because these are His people who He ordained to serve in this specific time. And in the same way that we think about students changing their schools, these adults were made to change their communities. We simply need to make the invitation.  

I can’t wait to see how we do this – Young Life is full of innovators who refuse to quit, so please share your stories of adult engagement here.  And email me (kclifford@sc.younglife.org) with questions or if you need a pep talk!  Finally, if you missed it, check out these 7 tips on how to turn adults in your area from spectators to participants.  

Adult Guest Host Bootcamp: Committee and Staff - join us for a Zoom Bootcamp to equip you to serve as an Adult Guest Host for your Area's 2020 camping experience, whatever that may be! July 1 or 7, 8:00pm EST. Email Kristy to register (kclifford@sc.younglife.org)

Young Life in Motion

Young Life is a forward thinking, moving, engaging mission  Our ‘presence’ in the lives of teenagers is active and it is evident in every context. We are always actively looking and ultimately reaching the next kids in our communities.

Context:

• Each shot in here is from a different place, with different people who all share the same goal of meeting adolescents where they are. 

• This video has a long ‘shelf life’ and a timeless feel

Uniqueness:

•  No spoken words in this entire video. We have let the pictures and settings say it all.

• Perfect length.  Just under 2 minutes.

• This video represents the broadness of the mission in context and geography

Setting For Viewing:

This is a perfect video for several settings.  

• Use to inspire your volunteer  leaders and facilitate a discussion. 

• Share with Committee to discuss the elements of a ministry of presence 

• Send as a reminder to your larger mission community during this Season or as we seek to continue to find a way to reach the next kid.  

• This video has been used in larger group gatherings easily and has been used as an ‘opening video’ for the start of a larger event.

GOING AFTER THE ONE

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” Luke 15:4-7

This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It’s one many if not all of us have read, given Young Life Club talks on and shared with kids one-on-one. But recently it’s begun to take on an even more practical meaning for me.

I get to lead a ministry for kids who are or have formerly been homeless. They all live far below the poverty line, which means technology is spotty, at best, so when our current pandemic hit, our ministry initially all but disappeared. I was at a loss. I’d watch friends post about their Zoom clubs or campaigners with tears in my eyes, feeling like we’d lost all of our kids, and truthfully I wanted to give up. 

And then one morning I came across these words again. I started asking myself what it would mean to look for us to look for our lost sheep. As a team, we started 

• Making countless calls and texts. 

• Driving around to the various locations that have served as ‘home’ for a night. 

• Buying food and other essential supplies. 

• Filling in the gaps that were missing when the aid that they previously depended on became over-burdened and under-resourced. 

One afternoon I got into my car and just started to drive. It felt a little rebellious as we sheltered in place, but my heart wouldn’t let me sit still. I went to a store and bought food, drove to the area that some of our kids stay and sent a text to the team I work with. “I’m in Lemon Grove,” I texted, “Who lives near here?” One of my leaders responded with a name and address and I went there.

I knocked on the door and was greeted by ten family members. I told them I was there to bring them a present, after awkwardly explaining to them who I was and how I knew Jeremiah. They responded by all filing outside, into the courtyard of the apartment complex and we sat on the grass and talked. It was a little uncomfortable. And so sweet.

I was reminded that while the circumstances are strikingly different.  We may all be lost sheep.  I know that I was that lost sheep. I went through years of being all over the dang map; struggling with faith, doubts in that faith, and deep-seated insecurities that led me to make some very poor and dangerous choices in my earlier years.

But God never gave up.

He never stopped coming after me, showing me His face when finding me curled up behind life’s dumpsters and ditches. He never said, “Well shoot, looks like I lost her—but whatever, look at all these other wonderful children I have!”

I don’t know if anyone would have blamed Him if He had.

But He didn’t.

He kept looking for His lost sheep until He found her. She was messy and dirty and full of shame, but He didn’t care, he was just happy she was coming home where she belonged.  And because of that, we too are called to keep going, we get to keep looking for the lost ones who need comfort and hope in the name of Jesus. 

And the amazing thing is, we get to do the same. With the strength of our sweet Shephard, we too are equipped to go out, find, and care for the lost ones. To those who have been shunned or forgotten by many. To bring them into our arms and show them the goodness and grace of our Father.

It’s not easy work, this journey we are called to, but it’s precious and holy. Keep going.

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Psalm 27:13-14

Written by Rachel Karman

Making the Most of Summer Campaigners

If you ask middle school or high school friends about their favorite part of camp, you will hear an array of things.  For my friend Ruby, it was “the actors who made everyone laugh.”  For my friend Allison, it was the fact that she “felt like an adult” and didn’t have her parents “breathing down [her] neck all the time.”  For my friend Peyton, it was the fact that “the food was all-you-can-eat at every meal.”  But for my friend Sienna, it was the fact that “[she] got to talk about real life stuff and hear about how Jesus really cares for what is going on in [her] world.”  

Gosh, isn’t that what Campaigners is all about? Long after we pull out of Young Life camp and the “actors,” feelings of adulthood, and all-you-can-eat food are memories, we get to continue talking about real life stuff and learning about how much Jesus really cares.

Most often, we do this through Campaigners (the “help them grow in their faith” part of our mission statement). And, after eight years as a leader in three different areas, I am here to say that there are about as many ways to do Campaigners as there are stars in the sky. (Young Life staff are a go-the-extra-mile, try-something-new bunch.) BUT! There are two things that are consistent throughout every Campaigners gathering I have ever been a part of:

1. We read the Bible together every time.

2. We talk about real stuff.

Now, maybe more than ever, we have the opportunity to link arms (figuratively, at this point) with our middle school, high school, and college friends and invite them to join us in the transformational and missional life Jesus directs us to live (2 Corinthians 3:18 and Matthew 28:19). 

How might we do that in the coming months?  What does that look like?  

Since we are innovative and fluent in our spheres of ministry, I’ll share a few ideas, but leave specific answers (some of the hows and whens) to us individually. However, I hope that these questions provide a helpful and encouraging lens through which we can plan for summer Campaigners this year.

• What can we do this summer (because of our current reality) that we have not been able to do before? Let’s face it.  Our current circumstances have provided both us and kids with more margin than we have had in years. What is possible now that was not possible before?

  
  Perhaps it’s meeting in a small group every day for one week. Walk through one of the five-day studies on the Bible app. (Young Life offers several.) If week one goes well, ask kids if they want to try a second week. Or, move to a weekly model, with kids doing a five-day study on their own, using the app to chat with each other about it throughout the week and then coming together once a week to talk about it. 

• How can we read the Bible with our friends in a NEW way?
  Give your friends different opportunities to engage with Scripture. Try letting kids read the story like a play – one person playing the narrator and others reading the words of specific people in the stories. Ask them to imagine the scene or draw pictures of it. You’ll find other ideas in “A Dozen Ways to Bible Dive” by Crystal Kirgiss, Vice President of Discipleship.

• How can we incorporate fun and laughter?
  It doesn’t take much for us to see ways in which the loneliness and sadness of the world have crept into our friends’ lives. How can we use fun and laughter to break through the walls of sadness?
  
  Yes, the focus of Campaigners should be the Bible and real stuff, but it can include more. If you’re working with middle schoolers, it will definitely need to be more because they don’t want to sit still and talk for long. Bake cookies, play basketball, take silly photos. That’s not “throw-away” time in Campaigners – it’s intentional time to build relationships and trust with your friends.

If there were ever a group of people to enter into the lives of kids in new and creative ways during unprecedented and uncertain times, it would be you.  Over the last few months, I know you have worked tirelessly to come up with ways to continue to get middle school, high school, and college friends in front of Jesus.

I can’t help but think about the paralyzed man’s friends in Luke 5. They were relentless in bringing their friend to the feet of Jesus because they knew that He was exactly what he needed. They knew that Jesus really cared about what was going on in their friend’s world and that He would find a way to heal him through His words. If reading God’s spoken word to us and talking about real stuff are the two most consistent pieces of Campaigners, I truly believe that we have so much to look forward to this summer.  

Written by: Emie Salem

THERE ARE PEOPLE BEHIND EVERY MAP, TREE, & LIST

I came across this picture a few months ago as I was preparing a presentation for Area Director School.  It was taken sometime in the early 1980s at Frontier Ranch. These young men all experienced significant ministry in their lives. That led me to reflect on some important questions:

How does ministry begin?

• Ministry begins with prayer. I am not talking about beginning a program but beginning ministry, which means people are changed in the way they feel, think, and act.

• This is what Scripture teaches, and it’s how Young Life began, with women praying before Jim Rayburn even began.    

• This commitment to prayer is typically guided by a list. We all know Matt 9:36-38. In this text, we see Jesus’ compassion (“He had compassion on them”) and the need of people (“they were like sheep without a shepherd”). When we are touched by Jesus’ love and  the needs of the world, the proper response is to pray for workers in the harvest.

How does ministry develop?

• As we pray, the Lord leads us into action based on the vision we have received from Him. This is focused on a specific target audience.

• The target audience may be a population, a school, or a community. And the vision is best shared when it is written, which enables others to join. It is essentially, a map.

• The map must be connected to our prayer life. If the vision doesn’t flow out of what God is doing in our heart in prayer, it becomes a burden to be carried rather than a joyful hope to be shared.

How does ministry grow?  

• What goes deepest to the heart goes widest to the world. At the heart of real transformation is discipleship; the slow, labor intensive work of pouring oneself into other lives.

• Paul talks about discipleship when he says “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” Discipleship is both an invitation to imitate and an invitation to serve Christ in the lives of others.

• We capture this process visually in the Tree.

In your own ministry-with your leadership team, your staff, or maybe with one other person, I encourage you to share, on an ongoing basis, your prayer list or map, or your tree.  Click on this link on Staff Resources for a tree template if needed.

This brings me back to the picture of that cabin of guys. They had all been on a prayer list. They were part of a map; a vision for ministry. And although, there was no written tree used with them, several were significantly involved in discipleship. One became a youth minister in the church for about 30 years.

As I was sharing this story and picture at Area Director School this past January, a woman from Indiana burst out, “He is my mentor!”

It turns out, the young man on the far left at the bottom, Rich, has been a Young Life committee member for years, and personally is a mentor to our AD in New Castle, Indiana.

Prayer. Vision. Discipleship.

List. Map. Tree.

By Ken Knipp

Proof of a changed life? TRANSFORMATION

Jesus bookended his mission with a charge to evangelize. He invited the early disciples to come be fishers of men in Luke 5, and then commissioned them at His departure to go and make disciples of all nations. From His teachings in between we can discern at least two motives for this call to mission. First, the Lord’s vision is to redeem the entire world, all his lost children, so he privileges us to be his hands and feet toward that end. Second, He wants us to walk in faith and He knows that we grow more when we are pushed out of our comfort zones and are forced to depend on Him. We can’t very well share the gospel unless we know the gospel, so the challenge to witness presses us to know Christ and our theology more fully. Once a young believer has seen their life make an eternal impact on someone else, they are hooked, as few things will ever seem as significant. 

Pastor Michelle Jones from Imago Dei in Portland, Oregon, is responsible for spiritual formation. She teaches that, “Sharing the grace we have been given is not only evidence of our transformation; it is itself transforming. Every opportunity to share our faith with others challenges us to live out what we say we believe (Reviving Evangelism, p.29).”

Thankfully, Young Life has historically embraced a passion for reaching not only the lost, but the “furthest out kids.” We are all about outreach; BUT, our mission statement reminds us that effective outreach only occurs when we disciple our converts and in turn invite them into this missional calling with us. That is why there should never be Young Life without Campaigners. Just as the Lord delegates to us the responsibility to reach the world, we entrust and equip kids with the vision to reach their inner circle. Even if we could do it without them, we wouldn’t, because it would deprive them of the opportunity to grow closer to Jesus as they put their faith on the line.

Witnessing is a multi-faceted gift from the Lord. I love the story in Luke 8 where the man for whom Jesus cast out the legion of demons begged Jesus to let him go with him. Instead of granting this request for sweet fellowship, Jesus tells him to “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” Jesus didn’t need this man to do His work for Him; rather, he offered him this role for the sake of his own faith development. 

Seminaries have gotten a bad rap through the decades for training men and women with head knowledge but too little application. Jesus doesn’t want fat little Christians who are content with fellowship alone – He wants world changers willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of establishing His Kingdom here on earth. Bill Gothard said, “We either send our kids to school as missionaries or they become mission fields themselves.”

Tried and true Young Life theologian, Darrel Guder, speaks fondly of YL as “a witnessing community,” where we are saved in order to be sent. It would be anathema to gather believers without giving them vision for their impact on others because of Christ in them. “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Written by Rick Beckwith

What I Wish I Knew…

When I came on as a Committee Chair, I was still learning what committee actually was. My husband and I had been leaders for a few years prior before coming on committee and the committee I joined was fairly small at first. Most of us had never been on committee, and honestly most of us had never experienced Young Life as a kid ourselves. We were all learning together! I think my learning curve could have been lower if I had known a few things and pursued them earlier on - especially when I moved into the Committee Chair role. 

IT’S A PARTNERSHIP

Sometimes it’s hard to see or experience, but I am convinced that Committee is meant to partner with the staff. As a Committee Chair, you are driving the committee ship to help foster this partnership. Often, you’re working not only to get committee to understand this, but for staff to embrace it as well. Depending on past experiences, personality, or just daily demands of the job, encouraging staff to partner in return needs to be an intentional focus. Staff are often trying to figure out what this should look like too. If you do it together, it tends to flow better. 

AGE DOESN’T MATTER

It can be intimidating to be on a committee with people of all ages, but then to step into the role of Committee Chair when others on the team are decades older? That can feel intimidating for anyone. What I’ve come to learn is that anyone is going to feel intimidated as they step into a leadership role like this. Most adults are excited to serve, but don’t want to necessarily head up the committee. Embrace the age differences in your group and continue to pursue a wide range of ages, personalities, and backgrounds. Your committee will be better for it. 

EVERYONE IS WILLING TO HELP

Literally everyone I’ve asked for insight and advice over the years. Regardless of the situation, I’ve been able to find other Area Directors, Regional Directors, and senior leaders who are not only willing to help, but EXCITED to help. I’ve done cold reach-outs to staff in other geographic areas and asked for their insights and they have all jumped at the opportunity to share. I found a great place to start is to do a quick search for “Young Life” on LinkedIn. You’ll quickly find thousands of people who are either on staff or are volunteers/committee.

YOUNG LIFE HAS RESOURCES FOR COMMITTEES

It can be hard when committees are ever-revolving and each has their own personality, but over the years, I’ve discovered a few great resources to help non-staff Young Lifers stay in the know. Many staff still forget that most committee don’t automatically get all the same info that they do internally. (Hint:  Staff, an easy thing you can do is to over-share news, updates, and resources with your committee!)

• Committee Manual:  Young Life’s breakdown of what a committee is, why it exists, and many of the foundational basics. Find it here. 

• YL Funding Help Podcast: Short podcast episodes from two Directors of Field Development who share some best practices for fundraising. See them all here.

• 5.4 Friday Monthly Emails: Written for anyone in Young Life, you can get some great encouragement, education, and ideas each month from great minds around the mission. Sign up here.

• Monday Morning Emails:  While written largely to staff, as a committee member these are a great simple way to stay up to date with some of the big things going on. Sign up here.

• Staff (And Volunteer) Resources (not just for staff):  Looking for logos and other basic info? Most committee may never need to go here, but if you need it, it’s great to check out.  Access it here.

THINK THE BEST OF PEOPLE

Inevitably, you’re going to run into awkward and hard situations. You’re a group of different personalities and many of us have opinions on how events or fundraising or leader care could look. We all have different strong points and just as obvious weak points. I’ve never seen this more clearly than in working with our committee. I’ve been humbled to learn and see people’s true heart toward ministry and realize why they operate the way they do.

One last thing-  What if we never had a Committee Chair  ‘wishing’ they had known something before enjoying the opportunity to serve in this important role. My YL Region (The Front Range Region, CO) has just drafted an ‘onboarding’ document for new Committee Chairs so they are equipped for the role and aware of the expectations. The link to the document is HERE.

Written By: Valerie Morris (valerie@tinterocreative.com)

IT’S TIME TO LEARN HOW TO LEAD FROM A DISTANCE!

William Wallace is ‘da man!!  You know, half his face painted blue, big ole stallion, Goliath sized sword in hand, riding back and forth in front of the troops, leading a scared rag-tag collection of misfits, yelling “give me one chance, just one chance,…to tell them, they may take our lives…but they will never take (say it with me…) our freedom!!!”

We all learned to do Young Life this way, on the ground, in the game, at the school, walking the barrio, building teams, having meals, Bible studies at a kids house, picking up kids, and driving them to club.  We all learned leadership the “incarnational” way, being with, living life together, on the front lines, shoulder to shoulder.

But what happens when you have to lead people you don’t live near?  What happens when a Global Pandemic ‘socially distances’ us from one another?  What kind of leadership adaptations must you make to lead from a distance, be it down the street or across the Pacific Ocean?  How can you learn Apostolic Leadership like the apostle Paul? 

When I took over as the SVP for Latin America, it became very clear, very quickly, that the Lord was going to need to teach me a new way to lead…from a distance.  The truth is, when I was the Regional Director for parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and El Paso, TX, living in Colorado Springs, I had to muddle my way through the early stages of Apostolic Leadership.  The challenge was, there was no RD school class on the necessity of morphing leadership for RD’s. I initially tried to lead the way I had always led, and soon became frustrated, confused and discouraged.  Can I get an “AMEN?!”

Think about it - Paul led differently than Jesus.  Jesus had the twelve with him 24/7 for three years, day in and day out, much like an excellent YL leader living in the community where they do YL.  But after Paul’s conversion, his home base was Antioch. From here he was deployed on at least three different journeys, walking, sailing, riding some 10,000 miles to lead the New Testament church spreading throughout Asia Minor and into Europe.  Some places he stayed a day or two, some like Corinthians and Ephesus he stayed longer. Sometimes Paul was in charge of his movement and sometimes a Roman prison controlled his schedule. The truth is, whether he was on the go, or locked in chains, Paul’s ministry was going forth in power and strength, with or without physical presence.

There is not much room to elaborate on this here, but I will give five basic principles of Apostolic Leadership to chew on…pre and post COVID 19.  

1.  Realize your calling.  If you are leading more than one ministry you must learn to lead in an Apostolic fashion.  If you are an RD, VP, SVP, GSVP, or the President, all you do is apostolic leadership, and it the Lord who has chosen you!!

2. Set clear expectations with your team.  Many are frustrated by their supervisor because they see them so little.  Perhaps your “sup” needs to get off their tail and spend some time with you in your turf!  Just sayin.’ Or, perhaps they need to align expectations so the team knows the realities of apostolic leadership.

3.  Be more organized and more intentional – set your travel and communication strategy and share it with your team.  This takes exceptional planning and execution, but is critical for fruit-bearing distance leadership.  Write letters…really, write them. Seemed to work for Paul.

4.  Take people with you.  The disciples and apostles rarely traveled alone.  Might be something to learn here. Not only are we better together, you will be equipping someone (or a bunch of people) to take your place one day.

5.  Find your joy.  Yes, this is a different way to lead.  If you can’t find joy in this type of leadership then take another job.  Oh that our RD’s, all the way up the chain, would be known for their joy and courage IN THEIR WORK.  This is a different way to lead, it’s a good way. Truth be known, the days of our being Braveheart are behind us.  We now are inspiring, equipping, motivating others to paint the face and get after the next kid, leader or staff!

Yes, apostolic leadership can be learned, can be joyful, can be fruitful, and is exactly what many of us in this mission have been called to.  I am fairly sure this is some of what the Apostle Paul was talking about in Eph 2:10!! 

For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Adelante!!

Dan Jessup

djessup@sc.younglife.org

GLOBAL OBSERVATIONS MARCH 2020

More comfortable online than out partying, post-Millennials are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But they’re on the brink of a mental-health crisis. (...) The biggest difference between the Millennials and their predecessors was in how they viewed the world; teens today differ from the Millennials not just in their views but in how they spend their time. The experiences they have every day are radically different from those of the generation that came of age just a few years before them.

Read the full article HERE

AREA DIRECTOR OR AREA DOER

 Am I an Area Director or an Area Doer?

Our business cards might say “Area Director,” but at the heart of the job is “doing,” “going,” and “engaging.”  Quite frankly, I believe whole-heartedly that we are “Doers” first, “Directors” second. But we are certainly both.

I am reminded of First Sergeant, Carwood Lipton, from Band of Brothers.  Serving with Easy Company, in the 101st Airborne Division, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Lipton was a favorite among his troops as First Sergeant. He had “boots” on the ground with his men from the moment of his parachute landing in France, through Holland, through the long and wintry Battle of the Bulge, and all the way to the Eagle’s Nest (Hitler’s mountaintop fortress in Austria). He kept them focused and kept them encouraged. He never sent his troops on ahead. He always showed them the way and courageously led them into battle, every step of the way.  Carwood Lipton was the embodiment of the “Doer.”  

  (a few scenes of graphic war time violence)

By the end of the war, he had received a battlefield commission to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.

While we are not in military combat with actual bullets flying, we most definitely have boots on the ground, fighting the most worthy and the most holy of battles. Our mission? To charge the hill and help take back the land for kids, so that they might clearly see, hear, and experience the beautiful story of Jesus and His message of hope, love, healing and forgiveness. There is a real and present enemy who “seeks to kill, steal and destroy” not only the hearts of teenagers, but our hearts as well, but we fight alongside and for the King of kings.

We must be the ones to lead the way for our volunteers and other staff…our great privilege and you’re up for the task! We must first be the ones to spend time in the cafeteria, in the stands, in the parking lots of the school campuses. And we must be effective in teaching our “troops” what relational excellence and efficiency looks like, along with the “why and the how” of the fight!

1st Lieutenant (US Army), Amber Thompson, one of our Young Life leaders, summed it up this way:

“1SG Lipton was promoted to Lieutenant because his vision was bigger and far reaching, making him more suitable to take command rather than to just follow orders. His vision needed to direct (2LT) came from his first ‘going and doing’ (1SG).”

The Area Director must have boots on the ground (we go and we do), all the while strategizing and seeing the bigger picture and view of not only the battle, but the war on the enemy and for the hearts of ALL kids. And before we “do” and “direct”, we pray fervently to the One who has already laid claim to victory!  There is no forward movement without Him.  

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.”  Matthew 24:6

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”  2nd Corinthians 10:4

Written by: Glenn Austell, Senior Area Director, Lubbock, Texas (ylhubcity@msn.com)

THE UPSIDE OF THE NEW NORMAL

“WOW!  What a couple of weeks!”   That is how most emails, texts, calls and virtual conversations start now.  

All of us have been affected by CV-19.  Our families, our schedule, our work, our finances, and health are all in flux.  We have even had to adjust to a new lexicon of words as well: ‘Contagion,’ ‘Pandemic,’ ‘Social Distance,’ ‘Shelter in Place,’ are a few.  Those words have disrupted our natural routine, made us pivot as a ministry, inclined us toward the Lord and given us fodder for animated ‘kitchen table’ conversations with family.  Some vocabulary that we have had to familiarize ourselves with are below. 

VOCABULARY SURROUNDING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC

• ASYMPTOMATIC (adjective): showing no symptoms of a particular disease 

• CARRIER (noun): a person  that transmits a disease to others, whether suffering from it themselves or not 

• COVID-19 (noun): official name for the novel coronavirus disease  COVID-19 = COronaVIrus Disease-2019 

• EPIDEMIC (noun): occurrence of a particular disease in a large number of people in a particular area

• INCUBATION PERIOD (noun): the time from  first exposure to a disease to the time when symptoms develop 

• INFECTIOUS (adjective): describing a disease that can be transmitted through the environment

• ISOLATION (noun): separation of infected people from healthy people for serious contagious diseases

• NOVEL (noun): the word novel means “new”

• OUTBREAK (noun): a sudden occurrence of a disease (or other unpleasant thing)

• QUARANTINE (noun): isolation of people exposed to an infectious disease to see if they develop symptoms 

• SHELTER IN PLACE (verb): isolate oneself; put oneself in quarantine, away from other people  

• SOCIAL DISTANCING (noun): practice of minimizing contact, by banning large or small groups/meetings 

• SYMPTOMATIC (adjective): showing symptoms of a particular disease

• VACCINE (noun): a substance used to protect humans and animals from a disease 

• VIRUS (noun): a living thing, too small to be seen without a microscope, that causes infectious disease

How does a relational ministry thrive in a social distancing world. All of us have pondered, “how will we reach more kids when we can’t even be in a room with them?” But maybe there is another perspective that we can embrace?  The phrase I have heard this week is “new normal.” I’ve been told we need to accept it, acknowledge it, get used to it, and adjust to it. The new normal could be a world with 6 feet of personal space, masks, essential travel, and governmental directives but here is the part of the new normal that I think could be helpful.  

• A new normal where our rhythm is slower

• A new normal where our families are closer 

• A new normal where rich conversations are daily                                           

• A new normal where relationships are deeper

• A new normal where hope and peace resurface

• A new normal where every day we are finding new ways to meet more kids    

• A new normal where a hunger for God’s will grows -- globally    

• A new normal where we are as comfortable being ‘together and with’ as ‘off and alone’          

You see, Social Distance by its definition is exclusively PHYSICAL, but YL’s  model of ministry is way more comprehensive.   There is a closeness that is physical but also, RELATIONAL, SPIRITUAL, AND EMOTIONAL.  Those connections can still happen with a potency and intentionality that hasn’t been experienced recently.  As we all are aware, if we take away one faculty, other capabilities have the opportunity to become more acute.  

The world has been forced to stop and it is not over. What if we saw our current situation  as an opportunity to stop, assess, talk, train, listen, and learn. In short-RESET. As we go forward in  slow motion, the adjustment in speed may give us a window to see in detail. With restrictions we face - we will find a way.  There is nothing more innovative and GOSPEL-centered than that! This global crisis could be one of the greatest opportunities for the  mission and for that hope to spring from this tragedy has precedent all throughout the Bible- let's not miss it. 

In the early days of COVID 19’s  growing presence in the US, Lynn Unger penned a simple poem about a virus that went viral on social media.  It catches the tension of socially distancing and relationally connecting.  Maybe we could adopt her words in our prayers. 

PANDEMIC

What if you thought of it

as the Jews consider the Sabbath —

the most sacred of times?


Cease from travel.


Cease from buying and selling.


Give up, just for now,

on trying to make the world


different than it is.

Sing. Pray. Touch only those


to whom you commit your life.


Center down.

.

And when your body has become still,


reach out with your heart.


Know that we are connected


in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.


(You could hardly deny it now.)


Know that our lives

are in one another’s hands.


(Surely, that has come clear.)


Do not reach out your hands.


Reach out your heart.


Reach out your words.


Reach out all the tendrils


of compassion that move, invisibly,


where we cannot touch.

.

Promise this world your love —


for better or for worse,


in sickness and in health,


so long as we all shall live.

— Lynn Ungar 3/11/20

As the YL mission has wrapped its collective heart around Psalm 91, it may be helpful to remember that in the back and forth rhythm of  “He will” and “You will” in the 16 verses of that passage, the Lord’s role is action and our role is to not fear and observe. We were made for this!  Let’s wash our hands and get to work if this is going to be THE NEW NORMAL!

Written by Ken Tankersley

Global Volunteers March 2020

SUMMER STAFF=SUMMER INTERNSHIP

“Sorry I have to do an internship this summer.”  

Have you ever been told this when you are talking to a college student about Summer Staff? Me too. It seems like unpaid internships (free labor for companies) have been increasing each year. These prevent more and more sharp students from serving on Summer Staff. Instead, they file papers, answer phones, and go get coffee when they could be growing in leadership and faith through Young Life Camp.

What if instead we could answer: “I’m so glad you said that. I have the perfect internship for you.”

More often than not, the Summer Staff experience has all the required components of an internship. And so much more! We know how special this experience is. It is unique and better than almost all other classic internships and offers discipleship, sacrificial service, leadership growth, supervisory skills, a front row seat to many kids deciding to follow Jesus, hard work, teamwork and team building, community, and much more.

Summer Staff can most likely count as an internship for an employer, university, program, etc. 

[Guide to describing Summer Staff as an internship]

We need to be flexible. Creative. Innovative. And take the initiative. So here’s the plan (special thanks to Tami Ostlund for her input):

STEP 1:  Have your potential student find out exactly what is required by your student’s internship. Requirements vary greatly from school to school, job to job, and program to program. Some have almost no requirements and some have stringent standards.

STEP 2:  Send your student this guide [link to guide—Build your own mini internship] and see if you (together with integrity) can craft the Summer Staff experience and description to fulfill the requirements of the internship.

STEP 3:  If there is a specific job that would help with the internship requirements, request that job for your student by calling the camp. (No promises or guarantees, but make sure that the camp knows that this is a factor)

STEP 4:  Look at this short Summer Staff recruiting best practices list and rally your best students.  [linked best practices doc]

Thank you for having a vision for who kids could be.  

Thank you for going the extra mile to help kids have the experience of a lifetime on Summer Staff.

Thank you for making that extra phone call, sending that extra text, and going after those “internship” kids.

Helpful Resources

1. Build your resume after doing summer staff

2. Best practices to recruit more students on summer staff

Written by Pete Hardesty (petehardesty@gmail.com)