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

A DOOR CLOSED - A WINDOW OPENED.

If you stand at a window, looking into a room, could you give an accurate description of what the room looked like? Of course you could! But let’s say you only look through that one window for five, ten, or even twenty years. Then one day, someone comes along and pulls you around the corner to look into the same room, but from a different angle. Would anything change?

You would still see an accurate depiction of the interior, but you might notice a new clock, a new table, or a new wastebasket. How much would you have been missing all those years?

With the coronavirus pandemic, we Young Life people are being pulled to a new window. It’s new, it’s potentially uncomfortable (“I really like my window!”), but it is absolutely necessary. And while the transition might be tough, I encourage everyone working in the world of kids to consider these words: “Fear sees a challenge, but faith sees an opportunity,” (shout out to my work crew bosses a decade ago).

Here is an example: the club that I volunteer with normally sees about 50-60 kids at our weekly meetings. When Newt handed down the announcement that club would need to be suspended in order to protect our high school friends, we made the quick move to host club on Instagram live.

The result? Nearly 90 kids showed up to watch me pie my co-leaders in the face (a sacrifice I was willing to make). That was bigger than any in-person club we had hosted all semester.

Here’s what I’m not saying- I’m not saying that virtual connection should replace the actual contact work of being in the world of kids. Once the world gets back to normal, we need to double-down on our commitment to being at ballgames, grabbing coffee, and hosting Bible study.

What I am saying is that the social-distancing regulations put in place as of late have given us a new window to reach the kids that don’t come around to our clubs and campaigners during “peacetime”. The virtual world we’ve been thrown into has given the “furthest-out kid” a new chance to interact with our community. Once the social-distancing protocols are lifted, why would we sacrifice that?

When Paul went to Athens in Acts 17, he had to look at ministry through a new window. He had to offer the same gospel in a new, relevant way. As we move our ministry online for a stint, we must do the same. In Paul’s case, “…when they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject,’” (v. 32). Is this not the response we get in Young Life?

So here is my call to action: as things go back to normal (and they will), let’s fight to keep those new, virtual connections alive. While we do the good work of getting to the schools and setting up clubs, let’s keep the virtual line open for the middle school, high school, and college-aged friends that may not be ready to jump into club, but are ready to watch me eat extremely hot wings and host an ask-me-anything. These connections, while virtual, can still set the stage for that 1:1 over coffee where we proclaim the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

Staying  hopeful,

Kyle Bush

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)

LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD

-Milestone Events-

“It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation. 

They will come and will declare His righteousness To a people who will be born,…” (Psalm 22:30-31)

Young Life is a forward looking, moving, and thinking ministry. That is part of our success and ability to flourish over the years. That being said, it can lead to a tendency to neglect the discipline of REMEMBER, reflect and oftentimes- CELEBRATE!  

All throughout scripture, when the people of Israel forgot to remember, they started to wander. Sometimes for 40 years. Because of that temptation, they were given the gift of seven Hebrew festivals in scripture. These celebrations  provided an opportunity to remember. For Christians, sacraments have provided the same opportunity. As a YL mission, we want to embrace the same discipline - to remember God’s power and presence in our lives and our ministry. 

Milestone events present that opportunity.  They are much more than a Banquet, Event, or Fundraiser. Over the ministry calendar, a YL Area utilizes key celebration markers to give their entire mission community a chance to look back and look forward. A chance to identify  God’s ripple effect in the Past and and acknowledge his provision in the future. 

Young Life in Greater Cincinnati just celebrated 50 Years of YL ministry. One of the guests exclaimed after the event, “Thank you for helping us experience a slice of heaven!” He had just experienced a wonderful evening of celebrating the Lord’s work in their local community and  hearing from kids, leaders and staff, and looking to the future as the vision was shared. Looking back and looking forward. Funds raised that day helped address ‘today’ needs as well as establish a financial base for the future. In addition Young Life Alumni & Friends partnered with the Young Life Foundation to secure commitments to the future financial well-being of Greater Cincinnati.  

The Lord did an amazing work through the efforts of field staff, YL Foundation staff, and Alumni & Friends staff. The connection of a milestone event with Legacy Giving is profound! The planning team for the Greater Cincy YL 50th felt that this event should be more than celebrating the past, and these expectations were greatly exceeded. The long-term impact OF LEGACY funding will grow, the ministry and its impact for decades! Additionally, the children and grandchildren of the donors will be informed of the impact of these gifts over years. Truly these gifts will ‘touch’ generations. 

It was an incredible evening reconnecting with old friends, meeting new friends, and hearing about the Young Life work. Including past, present, and future, the Legacy Giving Campaign established financial health as well as a funding plan for the future through strategic leveraged ‘match’ of $50,000 cash for every $1MM pledged.   Celebrate the past, but plan for the future! 
If you have a milestone event approaching and you’d like to learn more about connecting YL Legacy Funds to your event – OR – if you have questions about milestone events or Legacy Giving, contact Gordon Anaple, Advancement Coordinator, ganaple@sc.yougnlife.org  (513) 289-2133.  Click here to see Tom Dixon, Associate Regional Director in a follow up message to 50th Celebration attendees.

Dear Grownups... Sincerely, Gen Z

Kimber Lybbert is National Board-certified teacher at Moses Lake High school, and her students keep telling her to write a book or give a TED talk. This year, her students argumentative research projects answer the question: What is it like to be a member of the class of 2020? Topics range from the lack of mental health counseling to the emerging mercantile nature of teen sexuality. Their stories reach down inside your core, draw the contents of your chest up through your sinus cavity, and lodge the debris somewhere behind your prefrontal cortex. They are beautiful and powerful and broken and patched together in ways that allow the best light of humanity to shine through them. In her talk she urges everyone to see the strength and potential in our young people.

Global Committees February 2020

More than 330 million people live in the United States, but that doesn't mean the population is distributed evenly. Far from it.

Using the latest US Census data, we determined that just nine states — California, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia and Florida — account for half of the entire US population.

Read the full article HERE.

Global Innovation February 2020

HOW TO MAKE INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS

This sketch video gives a teaser and overview of the book Little Bets, which analyzes how innovative companies, like Pixar, do amazing new things. It’s an approach we can all take toward innovation, even in ministry. Are there “little bets” you could be making to help you reach the next kid?

Global Volunteers February 2020

Understanding Millennials & the Future of Work

Wherever the very latest neuroscience intersects with real-world challenges facing the workplace, classroom, homelife or healthcare, and our everyday lives, you’ll find energizing insights from brain scientist John Medina. His client-customized presentations, based on his own research and the findings of others share a common takeaway: How to optimize the performance of the performance of the human brain by improving practices, interactions and environments. Whether you’re looking to maximize productivity, enhance creativity and innovation, improve learning and engagement, design brain-healthy spaces, make better hiring choices, or understand teenage behavior, Dr. Medina unlocks solutions and explains the fascinating inner-workings of the human brain with his trademark humor and enthusiasm.

Global Training & Discipleship February 2020

In the Bible, the word “witness” is used to describe both a person and an action—someone who sees something and then talks about what they’ve seen. Similar to today, this word is used in both legal settings and to describe an experience with God. But what’s most interesting about the word witness is how it illuminates the story of Scripture, especially the role of the people of God. In this video, we explore how this word contributes to the overarching story of the Bible.

See what The Bible Project has put together:

YL2020 Resources

Whether you were live with the team in Orlando for YL2020 or you were watching from afar, we’ve gathered a few of the highlights here:

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF HAD $$$$$ TO REACH MORE KIDS?

Ok,  Made you ‘click!’  We may have gotten your attention with the Title but it’s going to be worth it…  

Now let’s give you the big vision. YOUNG LIFE, INNOVATION SHARK TANK! In a mission full of ENTREPRENEURS we are hoping to identify The next Big Thing.  A new ministry model, game changing idea, or training approach that will go viral across the mission.  In our close to 80 years of history as a mission the list of innovations is impressive: Young Life College, Young Lives, 15 minutes of silence , The Crud War, The Big Cookie, Capernaum, Oct-a-Ball,  YL Connect, Deaf YL, ...and the list just goes on and on. 

So, If you have an idea that could be a game-changer as we endeavor to reach more kids than ever- THIS IS YOUR CHANCE! If you can dream it, then we can help you build it! 

So here are the DETAILS: 

• INNOVATION SHARK TANK -  All across the mission, staff are submitting ideas that will help us reach more kids then ever and we will help the most compelling ideas scale across Contexts, Regions, and Divisions. Essentially a YL version of SHARK TANK! 

• GOAL? Identify some the next Innovations that could be a game changer in ‘reaching more kids” than ever before.

• WHO CAN WIN? Anyone! Just have a well thought through model in your local context that can be scaled. 

• WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO? The first step of the process is a simple email to TANK  and answer the following questions:  

  • 1.  Your Name, email and contact phone #.

  • 2.  Division, Region, Area name

  • 3.  Brief description of the idea. (2-3 Sentences)

• WHAT KIND OF IDEAS DO WE WANT? We want well thought out, compelling, scalable project… Something that you have been doing locally would be the best. If you win, you will get coaching, and design support as well as possible funding to help scale your project. Some SAMPLE IDEAS that others have suggested are: 

  • A new ministry model 

  • Student leadership initiative

  • A camping model, tweak or new design

  • Volunteer Team Leader training

  • A contact work initiative 

  • Creative club ministry (lunch, school, or community based etc.) 

  • Ministry cohort training for a Region or Division

  • A volunteer leader recruitment/training or development idea

  • Contact Work initiative within a Division or Region 

  • Campaigner vision initiative tied to evangelism and discipleship

  • Creative core ministry/specialized ministry growth initiative

  • Student Staff Pilot (new model or curriculum) 

  • Teacher/Coach volunteer initiative 

You get the idea?   What we know for sure is that... 

A good  IDEA, can become a MOVEMENT,  

MOVEMENTS  help design PILOTS,

PILOTS that work, become MODELS and,

MODELS can then become a MINISTRY,

And a good MINISTRY could be THE NEXT BIG THING! 

Find out more at YL2020!

Come with your best, game changing, exponential, leveraged effect idea! Help us reach the next kid through the next big thing and change the World! We will wait for your email! 

-Young Life, Global Innovation and Growth Office

November Survey Results

See the results of November’s One Question Survey HERE:

December 2019 Global Discipleship

90 Day Challenge

The Most Valuable Habit to Cultivate 

Following my introduction to Jesus Christ, my Young Life leader encouraged me to begin reading the Bible and introduced me to the concept of a “quiet time.” While I was motivated to get to know my newfound savior, the habit of a daily meeting with the Lord eluded me until I had the privilege to serve on the work crew at Young Lifes’s Saranac Village for a month. There, our bosses sent us out alone each morning armed with a Bible and notebook to meet with the Lord. These times were sweet, and the camaraderie of a group of peers all pursuing Christ together spurred me on!

When I joined the Young Life staff at age 24, my regional director, Chuck Reinhold, informed his staff that he wanted to give us a gift. We were thinking gift cards to a trendy restaurant would be nice, but no! The gift was a challenge to commit to beginning each of the next 90 days with an hour of scripture reading and prayer, and listening to the Lord for applications. If any one of us missed a day, we would all have to start the 90 days over again - so accountability was high! While it took our group more than 90 days to complete the challenge; we did it, and the most life-transforming habit ANYONE CAN ACQUIRE was established in me!

Would you like greater wisdom, discernment and assurance in your life?

If you could sit down and have an intimate conversation with anyone who has ever lived, who would you choose? An ex-president? A hall of fame athlete? A master artist? Mother Theresa? And, if your chosen hero offered to meet with you as a personal coach each morning, would you take them up on their offer? Incredibly, this is what the Creator of the Universe, the Author and Perfector of our Faith, the One who assigns purpose to our lives, made available to us when Jesus tore down the wall separating us from God. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me (Rev 3:20).” 

Consider the benefits afforded us by the Lord’s gracious invitation. We experience a personal touch of His love – not just for all mankind, but for us individually. We are assured of His forgiveness and favor. We glean from His eternal perspective. We gain vision, wisdom and discernment for the activities before us. And, we connect with His heart in prayer as we intercede for those in our sphere of influence. Why would we ever miss such a privileged encounter?

What better way to start the new year?? Here is my challenge to all of us:

1. Pick a friend or small group of friends to enter this challenge with. 

2. Commit to one hour a day with the Lord, every day! 

3. The hour is composed of Scripture reading, listening, prayer, and application. 

4. Encourage each other along the way and share what the Lord is doing and saying in your life. 

5. Do the hard work! If you miss a day- the whole group starts over. Accountability is not a bad thing. 

6. Celebrate what the Lord has done in your life after the 90 days and keep the habit going! 

Let’s do it together! I challenge you! 

Written by Rick Beckwith

December 2019 Global Innovation

MEET THE DISNEY CHURCH

Cast Member Church is an innovative church plant that is doing life together, with people from all walks of life, and sharing faith in a way we haven’t seen before. This church plant focuses on cast members at the Florida Walt Disney theme parks (but check out their vision for where they are planting more churches!). If it sounds fun…it is. If it sounds innovative…you’re sure right. If it excites you too, well, just read ahead!

“We are an innovative movement of Disney Cast Members---most having never been part of a church before---exploring what it means to know and follow Jesus. We are not about the mouse, the magic, or the make-believe. We are about those behind the mouse, the magic, and the make-believe, who, like you, ponder the issues of life, faith, purpose. We are a diverse family (multi-ethnic, multi-national, and multi-lingual), deeply committed to each other no matter what. We are agents, hidden in plain sight, on a mission to introduce a Kingdom influence (Jesus' love, truth, mercy, and grace) to the world around us.”

• Learn more about Cast Member Church.

• Read the recent Christianity Today article on Cast Member Church.

• Read the EFCA article on Cast Member Church.

• See a preview of Life Beyond Imagination - an innovative disciple making tool.