Don't let the headline mislead you! "The internet" didn't rescue the Caros; people who love them did. People in whom Stephanie has faithfully invested her time, talent and treasure. After Harvey, those she had given to had their chance to give back.

Stephanie Caro and Kami Gilmour were both active recent members of NNYM's national advisory group, the Ministry Council. Their story is a dramatic example of networking.

First, read their rescue account HERE in the Houston Chronicle online.

One week after the deviation, read Stephanie's Facebook update on her #lifeintheflood:

"About this time a week ago, Steve made his first call to 911. We were scared. I mean, we didn't know what to do; we've never flooded before! How do you train for something like this?

"One thing I can tell you: God is using this for good. He didn't cause it, but He is making sure we're blessed through it. If I had to claim today what God is teaching Casa Caro, it would be the definition of community. Real, abiding, "get your hands dirty" community.

"Steve and I worshipped with our church family this morning. It took some hoop-jumping to get there with humans, dogs, vehicles, etc. (Poor Steve was wearing the same clothes for the past 3 days!) We entered our church's welcome center and caught the wave of loving hugs. "How is your home?" and "Are you OK?" were the unofficial opening litany right next to the love feast of donuts and caffeine.

"But when we moved into the Sanctuary, that's when another flood started; voices raised up, tears flowing down. Through it all, the Holy Spirit roamed interceding to the Father with the words we couldn't express. The words, "When peace like a river attendeth my way; when sorrows like sea billows roll..." were the praises of hearts crying out to God in love, fear, sorrow, joy. Me? I sang/bawled through the whole song.

"There are SO many wonderful gifts to Steve and I today:
-A new friend, Brad, from IL, who tore out flooring/walls in one of our rooms
-St. Luke's UMC in Houston who delivered fans and a de-humidifier
-A daughter who convinced United it was the right thing to refund me full airfare amounts
-Former youth group students who contacted me to see how they can help
-Friends, friends, and more friends reaching out

"The greatest gift this Lord's Day? My pastors, John Davis and Mike Weider. They told me it was going to be OK and I needed to hear that. "It will be different; but it will be OK." They shepherded this lost little lamb. They reminded me my name is precious to God and He knows. I left the church with a reduced level of fear and a greater storehouse of peace.

"Keep praying, people. Homes are still flooded and more people need rescuing. But for me in our hotel room tonight: 'It is Well with My Soul."'

If you did not hear his message, here is a brief summery and his call to action.

1. All great leadership flows first from great dreams.
   1. But every day, fear goes to work trying to destroy the dreams. If you want your leadership dream to survive out there: You must arrange your life so that, on a routine basis, you can find that stillness of the interior to ask: What am I anxious about? In this difficult situation, what am I really afraid of?
   2. A second suggestion for keeping your dream alive out there. Switch from playing defense to playing offense. No great dream of love has ever, ever been built on a fear of what might go wrong – but only on the great and abundant hope of what might go right. So what does this mean for us as leaders? To switch from playing defense to playing offense is to accept God’s invitation to charge the darkness – to affirmatively advance into what is broken, hurting and wrong in the world – and bring his healing, justice, and redemption.
   3. Finally, let me say this, successful leaders of great dreams do one more, decisive thing. They forge a community of courage around them. Lone rangers do not make great dreams come true – ever! Jesus gathered around himself a band of men and women and forged a community of courage. He poured into them, invested in them, and loved them – for years. And then, on his last night with them – he calls them to courage. He commanded them: “Do not be afraid.”

At IJM, our dream is to end modern day slavery and sex trafficking. With over 45 million slaves in our world today, we can’t do it without God’s help through the church. And one way your church and youth group can join this dream is to participate in Freedom Sunday. Freedom Sunday is a tangible opportunity for your students to play offense against the evils of human trafficking and slavery. It all takes place on September 24, 2017 (or at another Sunday that fits better for you). Here is a link to sign up and receive resources for the whole church, youth groups and children too.

We really are better together… #noLoneRangers.

Brian Cress
International Justice Mission
Director of Denomination and Youth Mobilization
(A former youth pastor and member of the National Network of Youth Ministry since 1985)

As we prepare students for school, will we send them to school spiritually unprepared and unprotected? We can do something about it. We can teach them to pray, and pray for them. Please join us in covering our kids with a shield of prayer.

Here are some specific ideas and strategies you can use. Please read over these ideas prayerfully. Ask God if He might be asking you to pick one or more of them. Then, do it!

See You at the Pole...and More
Since See You at the Pole (SYATP.com) began in 1990, we've had the privilege of hearing stories of lives changed as students pray; both in the USA and around the world. This year, SYATP is on September 27.

Through SYATP, middle, high school and college students practice the first, best thing they can do to love their friends: pray for them. In this way, they grow in their identity as missionaries to their schools, preparing them for their role in taking the gospel to the nations.

You can play a role as you encourage a student to pray for their campus, and pray for them as they do.

But there is more we can do! God has inspired Christian leaders to create some simple, transferable ways ADULTS can help be part of the "prayer shield" that makes a vital difference in kids' lives.

Next Step for Student-led Prayer
See You at the Pole is one day. But it's intended to be a launch pad, not an end in itself. One strategy that has helped students pray every day is Claim Your Campus. The idea is to form a prayer team of students for each day of the week. Bam! There is a ton of support and training for the student leaders on the CYC website.

Unite your church in prayer for students and teachers
A growing coalition of national ministries are getting behind Pray for Schools Sunday, which is September 17 this year. The invitation is simple: take some time to recognize and pray for students, teachers and schools. Find a short video and learn more at prayforschools.com.

School Zone = Prayer Zone
Anyone with a car can do this. When you drive past a campus during school hours, a sign warns you to slow down. The idea behind "PrayerZone Partners" is to use that time to pray for that school. How simple is that?

Praying Moms
All over the world, groups of moms gather for an hour each week in one of their homes to pray for one school. The group Moms in Prayer, Int'l. coordinates this, and it's powerful.

Praying Teachers
Christian teachers need the same support and encouragement that students do as they represent Christ every day at school. Help them connect to others with the same mind and heart through Christian Educators Association, Intl. They need to know they aren't alone, even though it feels that way sometimes!

Pray with a Kid
Tony Souder, the long-time network coordinator in Chattanooga, launched an initiative that's gaining steam every week. It's called the "Pray for Me Campaign," and the cool thing about this is that it's intergenerational: an adult committing to regularly pray for a student.

At your church, adults walk past students every Sunday. Many of them love their church, but may not be sure anyone outside the youth department cares about them. What if the adult asked that young person to allow the adult to consistently pray for them? This simple expression of support could have an enormous impact.

Step up and Pray
Randy Davis (one of our NNYM staff) was reading Joshua 1:3. God told Joshua, "I will give you every place you set your foot..." He thought, "Why not step onto schools and ask God to establish His authority there?" Didn't Jesus teach us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"?

Randy coined the name "Footprints on Campus" and has invited others to join him. How about in your community?

Prayer isn't Rocket Science
The common denominator in all this? Keep it simple. Use one of these ideas, or create your own. But let's do it! Encourage students! Be consistent and follow up.

Wouldn't you like to join God in what He's doing in the lives of "Generation Z"?

We'd be encouraged to hear your story of how God leads you to pray, and what happens through it. Thanks for being part of a national commitment to form a prayer shield around students!

We are working with NNYM state coordinator, Mark Whittaker, as well as our Houston area coordinator, John Butler, to find ways that adult youth leaders (initially) and youth groups (later) might be involved in helping and compassionately representing the body of Christ to help people cope with the disaster, and recover their lives.

Some of the needs are immediate, while others will open up in the weeks and months to come.

Here are a few initial ideas about how to help.

1. Help as a volunteer in a shelter. Fleets of buses are waiting to shuttle people from Houston to shelters out of the storm area, as soon as roads are passable. We understand that adults in the Dallas area can volunteer to help with the shelter at through this website: www.dallashelpforharvey.net. You many want to explore this as a leader, and discern how to involved others from your church or ministry.
2. You can pre-register to be a volunteer in Dallas at the “mega-shelter” as needs arise by following the steps HERE.
3. Donate
   • There are specific items listed on the www.dallashelpforharvey.net website.
   • You can make a donation to the American Red Cross through that page.
   • Donate to the Salvation Army Houston relief effort.
   • Somebody Cares International is a Christian relief ministry that is headquartered in Houston and actively participating in helping, even during the storm. Consider getting involved through their website.
4. Above ALL - PRAY. Please pray for the needs you see on the news. Ask God to show you how your church or ministry can get involved.
5. Plan to get involved with families after the storm is passed. We will post opportunities as we become aware of them on our NNYM Facebook page. Coordinate with Mark Whittaker (mwhittaker@nnym.org) regarding future opportunities. Groups will be needed to serve as work teams and minister to families.

Better Together,

Doug Clark
National Field Director

Degrees of Partnership
As youth ministry culture has matured, it has become less common for a youth ministry leader to work exclusively "solo." Both locally and nationally, youth leaders believe in networking as vital to their personal health and the advancement of their ministry vision.

Today, doing life and ministry in community with other youth workers is more the norm than the exception. Yet in spite of this wonderful sense of interdependence, youth leaders approach networking with their own expectations, assumptions and motivations.

Take a look at look at the Partnering Continuum (graphic created by Brian O’Connell, president of REACT Services) and consider the various types of involvement from Connecting, Cooperating, Coordinating and Collaborating. All of these elements and degrees of commitment are typically present in a healthy local network, as well as in national initiatives (such as See You at the Pole) or coalitions (such as the Campus Alliance). You can click on the image HERE for a closer look.

Networks and Partnerships
All of us have our own networks, both formal and informal. Most ministry networks fall under the "connecting" column, defined as: A group of people who are linked informally and who communicate with one another to share ideas and information to meet their individual needs.

The key activities of a network are introductory relationships and communication. Of course, there are different types of networks, and they can vary greatly in character and complexity. But generally speaking, networks tend to focus on information sharing and relational connections.

In our Christian youth ministry context, networks have provided a place for youth leaders to connect with others who have a common interest, whether it's community-oriented, school- focused, or just to get to know and support each other as fellow workers.

And this brings us to the distinction of the meaning and use of the word "partnership," loosely defined as: A close working relationship between individuals and/or ministries, who agree to work together for a specific purpose because they can achieve more together than by themselves.

Some Networks engage in a fairly low level of partnering. Their members cooperate together, but have little interest in planning ongoing work in a comprehensive manner together. Others engage in a much higher level of partnering, where there is comprehensive planning together for much of their work, and where they pool their resources.

It may be helpful to emphasize that while a local network may not necessarily be a true "partnership," the relationships that are built may result in members of a network moving towards partnering together.
For instance, all the members of a local network may commit to work on a specific project that benefits everyone – where "the entire network" invests time, money and personnel to advance the kingdom of God in a specific area. Recent examples include large area-wide evangelism campaigns, city-wide training events or See You at the Pole rallies.

In other cases, a subset of the network may spin off to cooperate, coordinate or collaborate to accomplish a vision which they share a unique interest in pursuing. It's possible that only three or four youth leaders engage in the work, and thus accept the risk and the reward. Yet, the whole network is the source of their initial connection and stimulates the dreaming of "what could be…"

All or Nothing?
Occasionally youth leaders communicate frustration that their local network doesn't work together more effectively. But even in cases in which the entire network of area churches and youth pastors does not rally behind one project or event, there may still be advances being made through subsets or clusters of youth leaders teaming up for a special effort of common interest.

Even though all members of a network may not fully engage or participate in every event or project, this fact is compelling: Formalized networks are the incubator where partnerships are formed and kingdom efforts advanced.

If you ask enough questions of those involved in healthy collaborative efforts, you soon discover that ongoing partnerships that produce lasting spiritual fruit have typically been birthed and strengthened from within a formal ongoing network.

The bottom line: networks create an environment for community and communication, from which partners can roll up their sleeves and invest themselves in efforts where more is gained together than if each one worked alone. By the way, how many "partnerships" can you spot in the story from Netville USA? How would you describe your network? Where do you see it on the Partnership Continuum?

Make it Personal
You might find it helpful to gather some core leaders of your network (or prospective network) to discuss where your group is on the Partnership Continuum. It may well lead to ways you can collaborate for greater effectiveness.

Have your leaders read through this article online or print the PDF version. Then after reading it, come together to discuss these questions.

1. Ask them to consider the following questions, and then discuss it together:
2. Where would they put your network on the Continuum? Why?
3. What examples have you seen as you've worked together that have led to the "Collaboration" side of the line?
4. What impact did they have on kingdom growth in your community?
5. What barriers do you see that make greater cooperation difficult (e.g., history of conflict between ministries or key leaders, denominational or doctrinal issues, nobody has ever talked about it before, etc.)?
6. What are some measurable steps your group might take to advance a climate of cooperation, and possibly see collaboration happen more organically in your ministry community?

Doug Tegner is the Pastor of Discipleship and Mission at Redwood Chapel Community Church in Castro Valley, CA. Follow him on Twitter @dteg.

Embedded in every local network are snapshots of partnering that take place. In reality, various "micro-partnerships" happen under the relational umbrella of an area-wide network.

For a generation, youth ministries have networked together. In many settings, the lingo has morphed into "partnership language." Yet, language in our contemporary church culture can become neutered of its meaning – or so generic – that it can be misunderstood.

Making Partnerships Stick

What you hear in your mind when someone says, "Hey, let's network our efforts!" or "We want to partner with you" might be very different, depending on your experience. For example, it may mean one thing to a local church youth pastor, but something entirely different to a national organization's project leader calling about next year's area-wide event.

Next week, in part two of "Partnering in Netville," we'll take a closer look at four levels of partnership as churches and ministries work together to reach the students in their communities.

Doug Tegner is the Pastor of Discipleship and Mission at Redwood Chapel Community Church in Castro Valley, CA. Follow him on Twitter @dteg.

Thousands of youth leaders follow up See You at the Pole every year by encouraging students to add The Life Book to the mix. Last year, students handed out about 2 million free Life Books around SYATP. It's pretty powerful to pray for someone – and then follow up with the gift of the gospel.

Imagine your students putting the gospel in the hands of every teenager in your area this fall. Life Books contain the Gospel of Johnand are completely free to church youth leaders, church pastors and other church staff members. Students have handed out over 28 million Life Books since 2010.

SYATP is coming soon, so request your free Life Books now at thelifebook.com website.

Studies show that about 70% of teens going from youth group to college walk away from Christian fellowship, and that the peers they connect with with during the first 72 hours makes all the difference.

Connecting in advance, and finding colleges with great campus ministries and churches is now possible through Campus Ministry Link which is available nationally. Campus Renewal has pulled together a coalition of all the major US campus ministries, youth ministries, and a growing number of denominations whose goal is to reverse the 70% loss and more than double the number of believers at universities.

When high school Juniors select colleges with good ministries and churches, and Seniors relationally connect BEFORE they leave home with a game-plan of what to do the first days, they nearly all survive and thrive. They will return for Christmas to energize your youth group with stories of growth and leading others to faith! Check out this youth pastor's experience on our website.

Chelsea's Story

Chelsea saw many of her older friends fall away from their faith in college. She researched and was determined to not do the same. Chelsea was able to find the Navigators at the University of Nebraska and meet the leaders and other students involved in the ministry over the summer. Her first night on campus, four girls in her dorm invited Chelsea and her Christian friend to a party. Chelsea convinced them all to go to a Navigators hangout instead. Today, a couple of years later, all six are still in the Navigators and are strongly walking with Christ!

A Faith Growth Spurt

The best way for students to continue walking strongly with God in college is to be part of a vibrant community of believers. Because these students are there volitionally, new students sense the presence of God in new ways. Christian students finding good mentors, study partners, and friends from their ministry can lead to incredible growth in their spiritual maturity, which is vital during that first year of college.

Contagious Evangelism

It's important for students to realize how open non-believers are during the first few weeks of freshmen year. Everyone is trying to find a group of peers to belong to, so it is easy to invite freshmen to ministry hangouts, barbeques, or Bible studies. Through an InterVarsity chapter in Geneseo, NY, a student radically put his faith in Jesus during freshmen orientation. That impacted the InterVarsity freshmen so profoundly that they helped lead several dozens of other students to Christ in that dorm. Suddenly sharing the love of Christ went from theory to reality! They returned for Christmas to energize their youth groups!

What you can do now:

• Share CampusMinistryLink.org with all the parents and students in your church, using this post or this Media Kit for PowerPoint, Facebook, or church announcements
• Here is helpful information if you are a STUDENT, PARENT, or CHURCH LEADER.
• Show the videos in your youth group and have a lively discussion about college.
• If your church has a strong history of serving students from a local college each week, you can apply to be listed on the site for that university. This will allow parents and students from anywhere in the country to find you as a possible church home.
• Share Campus Ministry Link with all the pastors, Christian schools, and volunteers in your city so that no student is left behind. How to volunteer or mobilize your city.

In From Tablet to Table, author Len Sweet recounts the rivalry between basketball greats Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. From opponents in high school to their NBA days playing for rivals L.A. Lakers and Boston Celtics, they were not only competitors, but truly disliked each other.

Until one day, a table changed that.

Converse hired the two as co-stars in a shoe commercial. The shoot was scheduled for Bird’s family farm in Indiana. It was awkward until they broke for lunch, and everyone was invited to the table. Larry Bird later said, “It was at the table that I discovered Earvin Johnson. I never like Magic Johnson very much. But Earvin I like, a lot. And Earvin didn’t come out until I met him at Mom’s table.“

Len Sweet concluded: “That’s the power of the table. We lower our guard as we break bread together; we become ourselves, and we become open to one another. We cease being rivals, enemies; and we begin to experience companionship, friendship.”

The “table” can also be a flagpole. As See You at the Pole 2017 draws near (September 27), a million students will discover just how much they have in common with other Christ followers as they intercede for their shared burden: reaching their peers and community as believers.

At SYATP, “Magic” becomes “Earvin.” “Baptists” and “Pentecostals” find out they are really playing for the same team. Relationships eat Boundaries for breakfast.

Come September, it’s time for a season of cooperation. As a youth leader, connect with others in your community and come behind student leaders. Encourage them to reach out in a prayerful display of unity. Then, do it some more.

The basics: See You at the Pole is Wednesday, Sept. 27. Usually, right before school, at school flagpoles or other gathering points all over the world. SYATP is in the middle of the Global Day of Student Prayer, Sept. 23-30. Learn more at SYATP.com, where free resources are available. The theme for 2017 is “Fix Our Eyes,” based on Hebrews 12:2.

Gather your network at a table somewhere and see what God would have you do.

If this is you, then you are not alone. About 4,000 years ago a great spiritual leader was gently rebuked by his father-in-law as he wrestled with the same struggle. In Exodus 18, Moses is seen sitting from dawn until dusk, judging the exhaustingly wide range of grievances of his people. His father-in-law Jethro told him to stop doing it the way he was doing it and instead start multiplying leaders. Read the account in Exodus 18:13-27.

But how do we do this?

Visualize the Bigger Picture

Moses could only see all the problems of the people he was leading. But Jethro told him to take another look – a 30,000-foot view. Take some time to take a step back and see the bigger picture in your life and community. God may be calling you to a greater purpose and He wants you to listen to Him. Dare to wait on Him expectantly and ask Him to make you the leader He intends for you to be. Then allow him to transform your leadership of others.

Prioritize Leadership Development

Jethro told Moses, “The work is too heavy for you alone.” When I was in my first youth pastorate, my senior pastor gave me a helpful word picture when he shared with me the gardener’s dilemma: “Do I water all these plants, or do I build a sprinkler system?” Doing construction on a system ignores the urgent, but builds long-term capacity and fruitfulness. Prioritize by taking time to build the leadership of your staff, your students and yourself.

My friend, Travis Sybert, just celebrated 20 years as the junior high pastor at North Coast Church in Vista, California. He chose to develop leadership in junior highers and now he has one of the biggest volunteer staffs in the nation. Students from his ministry are now youth pastors at other churches across the country. He has a weekly program called “Salt and Light” where more than 80 middle school students grow in their character and develop leadership skills.

Individualize care for your flock.

The solution for Moses’ workload was to select capable leaders, who then could care for the needs of the people. It is the same advice that the Apostle Paul gave to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2, “Entrust the ministry to reliable people...”

Each of us has the capacity for going deep with only a few people. Even Jesus selected just 12 disciples.
Here’s a suggestion: Make a list of those in whom God is calling you to invest. Then determine what needs they have in order to thrive as leaders.

Getting Started

When you make leaders it will be like the words of Jethro in Exodus 18:23: “If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” Notice that the end game for Moses wasn’t feeling needed by or vital to the people, but meeting their needs. Spreading himself too thin was not meeting the most important need.

You may need help in getting this process going. When I need help in leadership development, I go to Randy Davis, the national leadership director/chief ministries officer for National Network of Youth Ministries. Randy recommends Leaders Made Here by Mark Miller. Check out this quote from the book, “A leadership culture exists when leaders are routinely and systematically developed and you have a surplus of leaders.”

May God give you the same surplus in your ministry as you follow His principles!

This week, let’s get really practical about listening!

Three Lights for Listening

Bill Gaultiere is a Christian psychotherapist and spiritual director who leads a ministry called Soul Shepherding with his wife Kristi in Southern California. In Bill's article, Hearing God's Voice Today, he says that God leads us using "The Three Lights" – like a GPS navigations system — to understand His will.

Gaultiere says, those "Three Lights" are:

• God's Word. "God uses the Bible to speak to us and everything He says to us is consistent with what He's said in the Bible."

• Providence. "God is the sovereign Lord and He uses circumstances in our lives to open and close doors for us."

• Spirit impressions (thoughts from God). "When God speaks directly to us it is usually by his Spirit giving us impressions in our minds and hearts."

But how does the "GPS" work, practically speaking, in the experience of Christian leaders? A second article, "Methods for Hearing God's Voice," looks into how the GPS worked in the lives of some contemporary leaders (including Dallas Willard and James Dobson) and historic leaders (such as Ignatius of Loyola). For Gaultiere, Willard's book Hearing God is a key source, from which he quotes, "'Hearing God as a reliable, day-to-day reality for people with good sense' is possible," writes Dallas Willard" (page 70).

These methods aren't formulas or cookie-cutter steps. They are a mix of principle, art, and spiritual discipline that offer a chance to risk, fail, and continue to grow and learn as believers. But since when are youth workers afraid of risk? Gaultiere cautions:

By speaking of "methods" for hearing God's voice I don't want you to misunderstand me. Hearing God is certainly not a mechanical sort of process in which we put our prayers into the vending machine and out comes the answer we want! It's not like if I do A then God will do B. No! We can't engineer our way into hearing God's voice. The Lord God is sovereign in all things and in any given situation he may choose to speak a message to us or not. God is the initiator in the spiritual life — always.

It's been said that if we want to catch the "wind" of God's Spirit, we can't summon it; but we can set our sails so that when He chooses to blow, we'll be ready to sail.

Imagine what can happen as ministry network leaders are passionate and intentional about tuning in to God's Spirit and finding out the exact DNA of the cooperative efforts the Lord wants for their community. It's not only possible; it's an adventure that God invites us into, giving ample promise and confidence that He WILL speak and reveal His will!

Listening Prayer: Interactive

The principles in this article should prove useful not only to you as you consider your ministry network, but in every area of life: career, family, your church and how you counsel others. As you read "Listening Prayer," you may also want to go deeper:

• Read through the online articles referenced in the article (Three Lights and Methods).

• Share them with your core leaders (or prospective leaders). Take some unhurried time to enter into God's presence together. Consider a prayer retreat. (We can recommend leaders who can help you or even lead this kind of experience.). Invite people you know as prayer intercessors to pray for you and share their insights.

• Ask godly people in your community, "What guidance, direction or impressions have you experienced when you've prayed for this community?" In other words, do a little Christian research to find out what God may have already revealed to other believers about His DNA for ministry where you live. Talk to veteran pastors, intercessors, and Christian community leaders for their insights.

• If you are ready to really "go to school" on this topic, read Dallas Willard's book Hearing God. You might also consider John Dawson's Taking Our Cities For God, which might open your eyes to spiritual realities about your community that you have never considered.

We come together in groups to plan events. We open in prayer, asking God to bless our planning, and then our tendency is to proceed full-speed ahead with our own ideas. What would it look like if "listening prayer" was the FORCE behind our meetings?

Try this:
Youth leaders gather together at their network meeting. We begin to pray and listen. "What is it You want to say to us, Lord, about You, about us, and about reaching more kids in our community?" We wait quietly for 30 minutes or so. Some journal. Some reflect with eyes closed. We listen. We wait. We keep listening for Jesus. Then we gather again to share our thoughts and impressions. We discuss them and see what plans begin to unfold.

The story of Neeta is a great illustration of the elephant's love for and intimacy with her trainer, her familiarity with his voice, and desire to obey his commands. In fact, it has a lot to teach us about our walk with Jesus, too

Listening to His Voice

Practically every Christian believes in prayer, but when we're honest, most of us would say that we're not very good at it.

But that can change! Most people practice their prayer as "talking to God." But God's Spirit longs to also teach us to listen as we pray. Whether you are alone, or leading a movement in your community, listening as you pray provides the opportunity to draw on the unique "DNA" God equipped you with when you became a Christian. And He wants to reveal to you His special plan for reaching and equipping teenagers where you live!

Jesus told His disciples that His sheep "hear His voice, and He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…He goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice." (John 10:3-4)

The kind of prayer that can make a network take off is pretty simple: listen to God, and follow His voice. If you do, it could be one of the deepest, most exciting adventures you've ever experienced.

Next week, come back to learn about how a simple principle, “Three Lights for Listening,” makes listening prayer intensely practical.

Doug Clark is the National Field Director for NNYM and is passionate about working together for the Kingdom of God.

But this change in schedule can offer some unique opportunities to engage students and other churchgoers to make a valuable investment in praying for the schools in your community. This can be done on the fly, with little organization and advance planning. And it's better than an X-Box coma.

Here are two simple ideas to get traction with making prayer count:

Footprints on Campus

Randy Davis, NNYM's Chief Ministries Officer, would love to have you join him in praying for schools. He started Footprints on Campus in 2016. He was impressed by God's words to Joshua in Joshua 1:3: "I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses." When he drove by Lord Botetourt High School in Daleville, Virginia, he obediently placed his feet on the school ground and prayed for the students, teachers and administrators.

When he got home to Indianapolis, he shared the concept with others, and started visiting schools near their homes. Within a couple of weeks, youth leaders prayed for more than 100 schools in four states.

The plan is simple, and the goal is enormous. Go alone or with some others (adults, students) and visit a school near you. Take your Slurpee or vanilla frap with you. Stand on the grounds in front of the school and pray. If you want to record your investment and encourage others, snap a "footie" and upload a photo to the Footprints Facebook page.

The burden for "footprints" prayer began with this conviction, Davis says: "We often say we want to see things change. We want to see teenagers of our world capture what God has for them. For this to happen, it must begin with prayer.

Randy asks, "What would happen if we would make our schools a priority of prayer? What if someone would plant their feet on every school and pray for the students, teachers and administrators?

What if, indeed?

Prayer Zone Partners

Youth Alive is a missionary youth outreach whose members have the same burden for prayer that Randy Davis expressed. They have a campaign called, "Our Schools Matter" that connects churches to serve schools and mobilize students to impact their campuses. And a key part of OSM is another simple challenge: be a Prayer Zone Partner.

Like Footprints, PZP is so simple that it's genius. A Partner is someone who prays for the school, community and church. They can sign up on the PZP website, but the action point is "Pray as you drive through a school zone." Every school has a yellow caution sign warning motorists to slow down. Why not use that prompt to pray for the school? Why not load up your SUV and make it a spontaneous prayer outing with kingdom purpose?

The PZP website has some great "ways to pray" and other resources to keep the prayer time fresh, varied, and powerful. The resources help you invite others until every school in your community is covered.

Whether you're putting your feet on the parking lot, or taking your foot off the gas, you can make a difference in your prayer life, provide a teachable moment for students or other adults, and make an impact where millions of students and teachers spent a lot of their lives.

Doug Clark is the National Field Director for NNYM and is passionate about working together for the Kingdom of God.

But what they shared next was the miracle.

These school faculty attributed the changes to student-led prayer. They thanked the students for their conviction to pray and their commitment to stick with it. They acknowledged that this school was changing because of student who are praying!

Hear one of the students share part of this story on this podcast episode.

What could God do if every campus across our country had students brave enough to meet weekly for prayer, asking God to change their schools? If just 15 students made this commitment at every middle school and high school campus in America, we would have one million students united in prayer! This is the mission of Claim Your Campus. CYC is currently active in 44 states and around 1,000 schools.

Download the free Claim Your Campus app and learn more at ClaimYourCampus.com.

Jeff Eckart is a Jesus follower, truth seeker, and motorcycle adventurer. In 2009, he founded Never The Same, a national youth ministry organization. Learn more about him at jeffeckart.com or neverthesame.org. He lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his wife and their three daughters. He is passionate about seeing new generations transformed in Christ to further the kingdom of God.

Our prayer is to have this one-of-a-kind event in 50+ locations from coast to coast on Saturday, September 23rd, 2017. Dare 2 Share Live will be unique for several reasons.

To begin with, it will truly be "live"... The Inspiration Segment will go from 9:30-12:30 am on the West coast while simultaneously being streamed from 12:30-3:30 pm on the East coast. The reason we are going without a delay is that we want social media to be in the moment as teens SnapChat, Instagram, Tweet and Facebook their thoughts, pictures and stories with a common hashtag. We want teenagers to experience the same thing at the same moment. Including the next segment of Dare 2 Share Live.

The Transformation Segment of this event will go for three hours in the afternoon and will include service projects and Gospel conversations. We are hoping to partner with rescue missons across the country to collect countless tons of canned food for the poor in every city the event is being streamed.

Our plan is to use a 3-2-1 Outreach Strategy. We want to provide social media based outreach vignettes so that participating teenagers can spark at least 3 online Gospel conversations. We are praying that everyone of the participants will be able to engage in two full Gospel conversations (using our Life in 6 Words app or other faith-sharing tools) during the service projects. In the final segment of the weekend we will challenge every teenager to text one friend and initiate a Gospel conversation with him or her over the phone!

If 50,000 teenagers attend Dare 2 Share Live and all of them engage in the 3-2-1 Outreach Strategy that means up to 300,000 Gospel conversations could unfold in a single day from coast to coast! Which will lead to the final segment of this power-packed Saturday...

The Celebration Segment will be a prayer and praise party held to celebrate all that God did that day! We will hear stories from teenagers, changed lives and Gospel advancement from all across the nation.

It will be a coast-to-coast party!

Because this event will be held the weekend before See You at The Pole, we will challenge every teenager not just to attend See You at The Pole, but to bring the friend they are engaging in a Gospel conversation with them!

In addition to all of this there will be live emcees and worship bands in every participating host church auditorium who will lead the way in worship and interaction. Our prayer is to keep the interaction between live stream and live-in-the-room moving so seamlessly back and forth that every site feels like its own live event (because it will be!).

Another thing we are diving into is how to use technology to enable teenagers to communicate with us and each other and the training during the live event. Stay tuned on this, but the possibilities are very exciting.

(Watch video below.)

Our ultimate goal is that this weekend is a "tip of the iceberg" event. As big as we are praying Dare 2 Share Live will be, we believe that the spiritual awakening that can flow out of it into communities across the country could be much bigger. Every emcee will be trained by us on not just how to lead an event, but how to lead a movement in their own communities! Their goal will be to continue to connect with participating churches in their region and enable them to lead Gospel Advancing ministries year round!

There's so much more I'd love to share with you about Dare 2 Share Live but this blog post is, hopefully, a good start. If you would like to join us in prayer for this event check out my #FastingFridays post to see how you can interecede on behalf of the event as well as this next generation. If you'd like to host an event or want updates about the event as they are available click here.

We are so pumped about Dare 2 Share Live! Please pray with me that God will do something unprecedented in the United States as a result! We need another Great Awakening and my prayer is that this event will play a key role in triggering one for the glory of God!

Greg Stier, CEO and Founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries. Learn more about Greg. This post was originally posted on Dare2Share's blog.

How do we navigate all the variables to develop a lasting partnership with a school campus in our area? Here are some principles we’ve learned.

It starts with a mental shift: If we take a moment and move from the short-term goal (“get on campus”) to the long-term possibilities, we’ve discovered that the idea of “just getting on campus” falls far short of what a real partnership can make possible. Taking the long view can result in a much greater cumulative impact on relationships with students, administration, and harmony between the community’s churches and schools.

Here are six core values that help a youth leader or network “go long” with schools:

• Whoever: Find a staff member on campus who is responsive to your communications. Build on it. It’s all about relationships!
• Whenever: Show up whenever that staff member has a need you can meet. The project may not fit your ministry dreams, but investing in that adult’s needs builds trust.
• Wherever: Sometimes this takes you in a direction you don’t expect. Roll with it; be patient.
• However: The more you connect and serve, the more you’ll be able to utilize your strengths. In the short term, serve however they will allow you to.
• Together: Find people in your church and community whom you trust, and bring them along with you on campus. This is bigger than you and your church. No one church has ever reached every student in their community.
• Forever: Schools don’t trust people with an agenda, and they don’t extend short-term trust. Be in this for the long haul and play the long game.

Being able to work with youth on campus requires gaining the trust of the gatekeepers in your community. We need to continue to remember we aren’t trying to bypass them to get to the students.

Our goal is to stand with the gatekeepers and lend our strength and skills in protection and care for the students. When we do that in the short term, we find ourselves seeing all sorts of doors and opportunities opened to us and our team.

• Spouse-friendly retreat!
• It’s affordable. $149 for NNYM members.
• YLE is highly relational and interactive.
• You can connect with other networking youth leaders.
• GREAT speakers (and I'm not saying that just because I'm one of them!)
• It’s a great environment to come as a network, then take it back home to keep growing together as a community.

Email me to get the NNYM member discount code to get this incredible rate! We’d love to see you in a few weeks!

Check out more at youthleaderexperience.com or click here to register!

It became a model of cooperation between the faith community and the school district, empowering thousands of parents to understand and respond to their kids’ world, offering solutions instead of blame. And it just might work in your community.

In 2012, after the tragic deaths of several teenagers in the Poway area of San Diego County related to drugs and alcohol, and the contentious meeting mentioned above, Daryl Nuss, CEO of NNYM and a long-time resident of Poway, was in that meeting.

The next day, moved by the relative absence of church leaders at the town hall, he initiated a conversation with Scott Fisher, principal at Poway High School at the time. They talked about how the faith community and the schools could work together to address the issues facing students in the community.

That initial conversation quickly grew to include another high school principal in the district. They reached out to include 85 other leaders from the faith community, as well as law enforcement, counselors and other community groups. As a result of the strong response, a steering committee was formed that includes a lead counselor at Poway HS, a mom and community leader, three principals, two senior pastors, a junior high dad/football coach, and Nuss.

First came assessment: what were the key issues? A survey was conducted by area youth leaders and within local high schools to hear from students on the issues they were facing. They narrowed it down to troubling issues such as academic pressure, depression, self-harm, substance abuse, and social media.

A parent forum, presented at least once per semester, is called What I Wish My Parents Knew: Empowering Parents to Support 21st Century Teens. It's a community conversation that includes large events with interactive break-out sessions addressing the issues facing the teenagers, as well as smaller group meetings around the community. The purpose has been to support parents, believing that healthy homes produce healthy teens which produces a healthy community.

Finger-pointing has evolved into a healthy conversation that is fully supported by all six district high school principals and many other leaders in the community. To date, more than 1,200 parents representing many cultures of origin have been helped to engage the culture.

The church and school are working together.

You are not alone. That is why National Network of Youth Ministries is partnering with Global Leadership Summit to help you increase your influence through learning from premier ministry and business leaders who have a Kingdom perspective.

The Global Leadership Summit 2017 is Thursday and Friday, August 10-11, 2017 and gives, "Fresh, actionable and inspiring leadership content from a world-class faculty at a convenient location near you."

Here are the highlights from the Global Leadership Summit of 2016 where key leaders come together to talk about how we can collaborate to build Kingdom impact worldwide.

This year the discounted price is $89, the lowest price, exclusively for youth leaders, volunteers and students who are subscribed to the National Network of Youth Ministries website. Just signup or update your membership at nnym.org. Then register at willowcreek.com/events/leadership and use the code: 17TGLSYOUTH.

This past year, this group of Southern California youth Leaders began a conversation about school adoptions. Our passion is to see Every School and Every Student reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I had prayed for the day when the major players in the SoCal youth ministry world would come together to internationally and strategically begin a conversation of how we could be ”better together” to answer the question, “What can we do together, that we could not do separately?”

Our passion for schools brought us together. Campus Alliance director Chuck Klein and I began to call these leaders to the table. We had leaders in the room who had never met together before.

The ministries represented included Youth for Christ, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Young Life, Urban Youth Workers Institute, Moms in Prayer, Gateways to Better Education, Christian Educators Association, California School Project, Camfel Productions, Urban Youth Collaborative, various denominational leaders and a number or churches. They represented “turf” from San Diego to Los Angeles.

As we continue to meet, we are developing new friendships and discovering the unique gifts that make us better together. We are intentionally being challenged by the opportunity to see schools in each county adopted by churches or ministries. “Adoption” is being defined as being PRAYED for, CARED for and SHARED with.

It’s been exciting to see relationships being developed between meetings. For many, it’s as simple as sharing a meal or a coffee with a partner. In fact, we feel relationships are what continue to fuel the movement as we move the ball down the field. Knowing each other and trusting each other is the key to being better together.

Mike Devito is the Southwest Regional Coordinator for NNYM and is passionate about working together for the Kingdom of God. Contact Mike here or follow him on Twitter @mk_devito

In April, Randy had a a heart attack and passed away shortly after writing this article. I had the true honor to get to know Randy.

Randy took the faith-filled risk of taking on a youth ministry position at retirement age. He had a relentless heart for the students in his church and community, along with an unabated desire to learn how to be a better youth ministry leader that made him a blessing not only in Loveland UMC and Loveland, but throughout Greater Cincinnati. It is a bittersweet moment.

I am truly going to miss my friend, but with a broken heart I rejoice at the same time because he is in the arms of Jesus, hearing Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” - Stan Elder - SW Ohio Coordinator for NNYM

Randy's Post:

The police cruiser’s blue flashing light in my review mirror was not the sign from God I had been hoping for.

It was a hot July afternoon in 2012. As a first-time volunteer for the youth’s mission trip, I was driving a rented van with seven teens from Loveland, Ohio to our mission site in a neighborhood of Somalian refugees in Lewiston, Maine. Delayed at a toll booth near Worcester, Massachusetts, we became separated from the other four vehicles in our caravan. In my haste to rejoin the others, I failed to notice that the speed limit had decreased. Although the stoic officer muttered some admiration of our zeal for doing the Lord’s work, it did not deter him from writing in his ticket book.

Recently retired from being a school district superintendent, I had been approached about putting my hat in the ring for the part-time position of Director of Youth Ministry at our small church. Somewhat offhandedly, I asked God for some sort of sign as to what I should do. I didn’t expect the sign to come on my first volunteer experience. “The Lord has spoken,” I thought as I placed the citation in my wallet. “The church probably won’t even let me volunteer with the youth again, let alone give me a job. “

Our forgiving God had a different plan. One night after an exhausting day at the mission sites and a powerful evening of worship, one of the younger boys, who I was just getting to know, approached me and said, “Hey, I heard you say you liked to teach people stuff. We need a new youth leader for next year. Why don’t you do it?” What may seem to some like an adolescent’s incidental remark represented to me a significant, emotional moment and a life-changing message. On that warm night in a dusty old chapel in Maine, I was suddenly filled with new energy, purpose, and peace. An invitation to serve youth - from a youth. This was the sign. I now wanted the job more than any career move I had ever made.

I will soon complete my fifth year as youth director. At age 63, this “encore career” has proven to be rewarding beyond words. I cling to a notion that I learned from a middle-aged youth pastor: although twenty-something, spirited leaders often relate so well to teens because they have so recently been one, older leaders can bring to the table the wisdom of life experience and a mature sense of calm that many youth need. I have been blessed with a talented young assistant, a supportive congregation, a loyal, dedicated team of volunteer leaders, and a steady stream of inspiring youth. Yes, I have learned to adapt, snapchat, and even rap! But my goal has never been to keep up with the latest teen trend. Rather it is to help young people hear the Truth that is so often obscured by the cacophony of pop culture and social media - to hear that quiet voice of Jesus revealing God’s plan for them, assuring them of forgiveness, hope, and unconditional love.

This isn’t to say that working with teens can’t “keep you young” - or, at least, keep you laughing. Late one evening during a mission trip while herding our group for prayer, a boy sent me text from a remote area in the huge church in which we were sleeping: “sorry for using phone… but this is emergency… stranded! … plz bring TP to men’s room on third floor - toss under door to second stall... ASAP... thx!”

Not that “all-things-bathroom” is a theme for our youth group, but several years ago I was surprised by the donation of a free-standing bathtub by a junior high girl. Inspired by a description of a game by Bob Goff in LOVE DOES, she and her friends played “Bigger and Better” in her neighborhood. The girls started with a paper clip, and ended the game by hauling home the unwieldy tub. Now painted and adorned with bright cushions, it remains the focal point of our youth room - prized seating for the lucky teen (or two or three) who arrive early on Wednesday nights. Random Dorito fragments left in the tub from previous weeks are a frequent bonus.

In addition to many laughs, I have shed my share of tears along with the teens. Several years ago while at youth group a high school girl received a call to go immediately to the local hospital. We learned an hour later that her father had died unexpectedly. The following week one of the youth suggested that the entire group form a prayer circle around her home. Each teen, even those who had never uttered a word during group time, offered a personal prayer of support and love for the girl and her mother. God is rarely nearer than when youth raise up one of their friends in prayer.

On another occasion God used us to help a high school senior whose life was in turmoil. His terminally ill widowed mother was in a nursing care facility, and they had been evicted from their apartment. Youth and adults pulled together to help buy clothes and supplies. A leader gave him driving lessons. Another youth’s family opened their home where the young man lived for several months until he was able to go into the military. Many of us wept the day he spoke before the congregation to express his gratitude, powerfully crediting God for pulling him through a dark period of his life.

Ten years ago I was absorbed 24/7 in the trenches of leading a school district - running frantically from board meetings to personnel hearings to tax levy campaign rallies. I was beginning to think about “retirement,” picturing greater serenity, and perhaps somewhat pretentiously thinking that I would find a way to use “my gifts” to help others. Well, I was called into youth ministry, and have found the job to be an unpredictable roller coaster of joys and challenges. Serenity was not to be, but gifts have certainly been shared - the greatest of which have been for me.

Soon that will change, as Campus Ministry Link launches this Spring. This is a tool that connects high juniors and seniors to college ministries and churches long before they arrive on campus. This is part of a coalition of all the major US campus ministries and a growing number of denominations whose goal is to reverse the 70% loss and double the number of believers at universities.

When high school Juniors select colleges with good ministries and churches, and Seniors relationally connect BEFORE they leave home with a game-plan of what to do the first days, they nearly all survive and thrive. They will return for Christmas to energize your youth group with stories of growth and leading others to faith! Check out a youth pastor’s experience on the website.

CHELSEA’S STORY

Chelsea saw many of her older friends fall away from their faith in college. She researched and was determined to not do the same. Through a website she, Chelsea was able to find the Navigators at the University of Nebraska and meet the leaders and other students involved in the ministry over the summer. Her first night on campus, four girls in her dorm invited Chelsea and her Christian friend to a party. Chelsea convinced them all to go to a Navigators hangout instead. Today, a couple of years later, all six are still in the Navigators and are strongly walking with Christ!

A FAITH GROWTH SPURT

The best way for students to continue walking strongly with God in college is to be part of a vibrant community of believers. Because these students are there volitionally, new students sense the presence of God in new ways. Christian students finding good mentors, study partners, and friends from their ministry can lead to incredible growth in their spiritual maturity, which is vital during that first year of college.

CONATAGIOUS EVANGELISM

It’s important for students to realize how open non-believers are during the first few weeks of the freshmen year. Everyone is trying to find a group of peers to belong to, so it is easy to invite freshmen to ministry hangouts, barbeques, or Bible studies. Through an InterVarsity chapter in Geneseo, NY, a student radically put his faith in Jesus during freshmen orientation. That impacted the Intervarsity freshmen so profoundly that they helped lead several dozens of other students to Christ in his dorm. Suddenly sharing the love of Christ went from theory to reality! They returned for Christmas to energize their youth groups.

WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW:

· Share CampusMinistryLink.org with all the parents and students in your church, and encourage them to sign up for an update on the full release of the connection database later in April.

· Show the videos in your youth group and have a lively discussion about college.

· If your church has a strong history of serving students from a local college each week, you can apply to be listed in the database. This will allow parents and students from anywhere in the country to find you as a possible church home.

· Share Campus Ministry Link with all the pastors and Christian schools in your city so that no student is left behind.

Campus Renewal would love to help you. Please contact john.decker@CampusRenewal.org for more information.

“I HATE this town!” I said aloud.

Then it hit me: the people I hated the most... were other Christians. You see, I graduated from a Christian high school, then a Christian college. The meeting went well, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was in “enemy territory.”

A little while later I was sitting in a communion service. I heard the directive:

“If you have any unconfessed sin in your life, take a moment right now and confess them to Him.”

I had heard this exact same directive hundreds of times and I know that I should have been thinking about my sins, but I started to wonder…

What SINS should I be confessing?

It was a simple question; then it became a burning question in my soul. I put down my communion and started to investigate… the people around me must have thought I was in some INCREDIBLE sin! I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t!

I went to 1 Corinthians 11 because it was quoted before EVERY communion service. 1 Corinthians 11:27-28 says:

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

So confessing SIN is legit, but does the passage randomly state “an unworthy manner” without defining it? I started to read the context. Paul begins “the communion passage” with an alarming statement that I had NEVER thought about. He pinpoints a specific sin to confess.

For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it... 1 Corinthians 11:18

Division.

Looking a little deeper, this word is only used eight times in the New Testament, and Paul uses it three times in 1 Corinthians. This word is used in the gospels in reference to the division in the religious community over what the Jewish leaders should do about the “Jesus problem!”

The first time Paul uses this word in 1 Corinthians is at the very beginning of his letter:

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. (1 Corinthians 1:10)

The last time Paul uses “division” is in 1 Corinthians 12:25. Maybe the 30,000-foot view of 1 Corinthians is that Paul was REALLY trying to unite a very divided church. The other reality that grasped me was that Paul was writing to the churches in Corinth. He didn’t write different letters to Corinth Community Church, First Presbyterian Church of Corinth, and Corinth Free Methodist Church, he wrote, “To the church of God that is in Corinth…”

Of course, there were some immediate things that I realized that I needed to fix. My secret sins were important to confess, but my divisive heart DESPERATELY needed to be addressed. Paul says in the verse, “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

Some division in the church occurs because of theological differences, but many of the divisions creep into our hearts unchecked because “they” belong to “another” organization. We need to stand guard against such assumptions. Maybe they aren't the enemy. Maybe they are on our side.
_________________

You will receive a price of $89 when you register and use the DISCOUNT CODE: 17TGLSYOUTH

Please note--this is a special offer for NNYM members and this discount code is only to be used by youth workers, youth ministry volunteers, and students.

So to get your discount:

1. Signup or update your membership at nnym.org

2. Register at willowcreek.com/events/leadership!

This blogpost has an urgent need. We’re asking for your help in updating your information on the NNYM website.

This fall, we are launching a revamped website that will provide:

• Easy interface to help you connect with a network near you, people with interests like yours, and trustworthy ministries you can use in your ministry
• Upgraded free platform for local networks to help youth leaders work together to reach their community
• Mobility so you can access and manage information from your phone or computer
• Faster connection to help you make connections.

Please help by checking your local information

The Network’s vision is to serve local networks. Our goal is a healthy network in every community, so that every teenager can know how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. We desire to serve local networks so they are healthy.

Networking at its best is very decentralized. So in order for our website to serve the youth ministry community, the information needs to be kept up to date at the local level. We are constantly contacted for local connections. An accurate listing of networks helps new people connect when they transfer communities. As you can imagine, we don’t want to launch the new site without accurate information.

Youth Pastor transition happens, but connecting with vital community contacts will increase longevity. NNYM is committed to helping make that connection.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Check your own personal listing. Update the information and renew your membership. That lets us know you’re up to date. Especially important is your contact information: a “work phone” is your only public phone number, but a valid email address and current ministry and “snail mail” are important too.
   
2. If you are no longer a coordinator, please write back and let us know, and change the information on your NNYM listing. You can also cancel your membership if you are no longer in a youth ministry role.
   
3. Make sure the information about the network(s) you’re connected to is current. If you’re not involved, you can remove your name.
   
4. If you are a coordinator of a local network, please edit and update the information listed for your network. If there are other leader(s), ask them to get registered on our website and affiliated with your network, then add them as a co-coordinator. If someone else has moved into that role, but you’re still listed, it would really be helpful to work with them to sign up, connect with the network, and then you can assign them the role before you remove yourself.
   
5. If your network is inactive, you can remove it. Please do that! We’ll be automatically notified.
   
6. If there is a network in your area that isn’t listed, please add it! We’d love to help in any way we can. We want to spread the word about what you are doing in your community!

This is a big request. We realize you’re busy. But we really appreciate your help! We look forward to serving you with the many improvements on our remodeled site this fall! Thank you.

If you have any questions, please contact me. I’ll do my best to help!

Doug Clark
National Field Director
dclark@nnym.org
Direct line: (858) 946-1410

5) It illustrates publicly something we desperately need

But why do kids have to stand outside the school around a flagpole? Why is a public display necessary? Well, we certainly can do a lot of praying privately behind closed doors. However, and I know I sound like an old man here, but I don't remember a time when people were more desperate for answers for the confusion, fear, and turmoil in our world today. Things in our country and around the world have gotten pretty crazy to say the least. I think that the public display of humble, quiet prayer gives people a glimpse of hope in the midst of the multiplicity of tragedies we've seen in recent years. What are people supposed to do in these times? I think teenagers in our country need to see with their own eyes people who have a source of hope that's bigger than the problems we face.

In years past we used to use phrases like "take a stand for Christ", "be bold about your faith", "set your school on fire" and so on when we talked about See You At The Pole. While these were helpful at that time, I think some better ways of saying expressing it now might be "show God's love to your school", "be a blessing because God has blessed you", "don't just tell, but BE good news in your school". However we encourage it, I believe that students who follow Jesus still need concrete, tangible ways to help them remember that following Jesus is an all-the-time, everywhere kind of thing. We take Him with us wherever we go, even to school. For that reason I'll keep encouraging students to go to See You At The Pole.

Travis is a member of the NNYM Ministry Council and is the Western PA Field Coordinator for NNYM. This article is originally posted on Travis' blog www.travisdeans.weebly.com you can also follow him on Twitter @tdeans

What's exciting is the project is nearly complete! Even more exciting is that you can see Lucas at this year's Catalyst conference in Atlanta on October 5-7. This year Catalyst's theme is unity. Lucas will open the Friday morning session sharing the unique metaphor of the Murmuration Effect as it relates to unity in the body of Christ.

Check out www.murmurationeffect.com. We covet your prayers for this unbelievable opportunity to share our vision and passion for being "Better Together."

PUBLICIZE

See You at the Pole™ Get the word out to friends! Students can create their own promotional materials (posters, flyers, etc.), or order online. Connect with See You At The Pole

• Facebook www.facebook.com/myseeyouatthepole
• Twitter @seeyouatthepole
• Instagram www.instagram.com/syatp

PLAN

Plan the event! Having a pre-pole planning meeting is a great idea to get everyone together. Many schools have multiple Christian student leaders. One of the strengths of this event is when youth workers connect their student leaders with other leaders!

Many groups sing worship songs, read Scripture, and give testimonies while forming a big circle. Then, they form smaller groups (three to five students) to pray. For additional help, there is a planning segment promotional video available online for FREE.

• Planning Checklist
• Planning Sheet

PREPARE

Although students are permitted to gather freely for prayer before school, it is best to let your school administration know about See You at the Pole™.

PRAY

Meet at the flagpole or other agreed-upon location on September 28 and execute those plans! If students are unable to meet or are unable to attend, remember that the focus of See You at the Pole™ is PRAYER, and pray wherever you are!

How to Bring I’m Not Ashamed to your Community

Other Important Information
Schedule a Micro-Screening (Network Coordinators only)
We have the film available to view for your community influencers. We can send them a viewing link directly or we can set up a micro-screening for you to show a small group of influencers. Contact Us for more information about a micro-screening.

Group Ticket Sales
If I'm Not Ashamed is already scheduled to be in your community of October 21st group ticket rates are available starting at 25 tickets.
Request group tickets at ImNotAshamedfilm.com/#group-tickets

Help spread the word on Social Media
Facebook - facebook.com/imnotashamedmovie
Twitter - twitter.com/imnotashamedrjs
Instagram - instagram.com/imnotashamedfilm

Some statistics suggest that up to 60% of the Christian high school students who head to college walk away from their faith within a year. Other studies remind us of the critical importance of a student's first 72 hours on campus.

As you help students transition to college, please share College Bound with them. The helpful videos and articles like how to grow in your faith at college, how to build friendships that will last and more. Check out the FAQ page for more info.

Parents, Churches and Youth Group leaders do a great job of building bridges out of the homes and local churches. College Bound is one great way to build a bridge from the campus to these incredible studentsto assist in this time of transition.

Together, we can help students experience the fullness of Christ in Christian community at college and continue to grow spiritually. Let’s work together so they receive a welcome in the name of the Lord Jesus before they even walk into their college bookstores.

Invite incoming college freshmen to complete this form in order to get them connected!

On July 16, 2016, the dream is for one million people to stand united for Jesus on the National Mall. Together 2016 will be a day of unified prayer, worship, and a call for catalytic change.

God is moving across this nation. He is stirring up His people. Now more than ever, we need to pray for this generation and this nation.

Can you imagine one million people praying together and asking Jesus to reset this generation?

We encourage all of you to start praying for Together 2016. Pray for a generation-defining moment that propels a massive culture shift from division to unity, hate to love, fear to hope, judgment to grace, apathy to action, and unbelief to faith. Sign up for Together 2016 updates at reset2016.com.

We want to help you promote Together 2016 at your gathering and have a few ways to go about doing so:

• We'd be happy to send an individual to make an announcement.
• We have a Together band & speaker that can participate in or host a night of ministry—encouraging your high school, college/young adult group, or congregation with a "reset" message.
• We can hold a prayer & worship night with your congregation.

Let's stand together in prayer!

Together 2016 isn’t about one person or one organization. It’s about the Church. It’s about ministries across the nation that exist to lift up the name of Jesus. It’s about artists, individuals, speakers, and athletes who all agree on one thing: Jesus.

We hope you'll join us and help us spread the word! Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

So how do you help others overcome disunity within their community?

Encourage the Encourager

Leading a network can be discouraging, especially when others are actively causing disunity. Network coordinators need to know someone is in their corner. As you coach another through unity issues help them know how much you care about who they are and what they are doing. Sometimes in these situations the youth leader is frayed and unraveling. As a result, they can lose perspective and as a leader, become part of the problem instead of the solution. When I meet with a coordinator, I love to ask, "How is your soul today?" and take time to pray for their personal needs. It also helps to prepare your own heart through prayer in advance so that you come from a place of sensitivity, security and confidence when encouraging other leaders.

Listen Actively
One challenge in coaching others is that we like to "fix it." However, as we are empowering others we need to allow them to own and solve their own problems. Sometimes the problem can be resolved solely by being a sounding board for the network coordinator. Active listening lets them know they have been heard. Reflect back emotion and content.

Clarifying questions can help you better assess what is at hand.

• “Tell me more about the situation.”
• “What is God saying in this situation?”
• “Could you give me more context to this problem?”
• “What other advice have you received regarding this?”
• “Tell me more about this.”
• “What I hear you saying is...”
• “What is at the heart of this unity issue?”

Identify the Issues

What is it that is bringing disunity to the network? Many times the leader does not know. We need to help them sift through the problems and identify important details. Some common culprits are:

• Lack of trust
• Pride
• Leadership immaturity
• Unclear vision
• Inconsistency in meetings
• Unfulfilled promises
• Being unbalanced in the network between relationships and strategy
• Not have a strong enough prayer base to overcome spiritual warfare
• Practical atheism - not allowing God to be the center of the network
• Allowing events to railroad relationships

You may have other good reasons to add to this list.

Guide them to find solutions

When it comes to actually solving the problem, give advice if asked. If not, then actively listen. A good lead in question may be, "How can I help you work through this problem?" Pray with them. Bring the situation to their heavenly Father who gives wisdom and power to overcome disunity. There are great resources to help encourage networkers in the InDepth section of the NNYM website.

Nobody understands youth ministry like fellow youth workers. There is something about planning ridiculous events, engaging the messiness of adolescence, eating too much pizza, sleeping on floors, laughing at middle school humor, crying over high school heart ache and pleading with Jesus through the challenges this generation is facing that makes youth workers really unique. Our uniqueness can make us feel isolated. The challenges of youth ministry can be overwhelming, the expectations suffocating and the demands all-consuming. Don’t get me wrong, I love youth ministry! Through the past 17 years I’ve felt this stress and I have spent enough time with other youth workers to know these feelings are prevalent!

Maybe you are like me and you struggle to find people who will understand me? How do we find places to be really honest, to share our struggles, fears, longings, hopes, excitement, and ideas? Whom do we go when we are not sure we can serve another day? WHERE CAN WE GO when we cannot hear God in the midst of our journey? I have watched far too many of my youth ministry friends fail out. In the bleakness of a desperate challenge they have compromised with choices and were taken out of the game. I firmly believe that if they would have had a place to just be. A place where they could be surrounded by a community of like-minded people committed to their spiritual health:

as a person,

a jesus-follwer,

a husband/wife,

a dad/mom,

a pastor,

... they might have stayed in the game. They may have been rescued from the choices they were contemplating, and they could have been restored through mentorship to healthier leadership. We desperately need THIS kind of a community in youth ministry!

A few years ago I heard about a community like this, but I was skeptical. I had seen how organizations come and go and the harsh truth was that leadership was lonely and safety/sanctuary was an unrealistic ideal of for pastors. Pastors have to be “on” all the time because there are very few places where we can be honest.

Seriously, when was the last time you were honest - I mean REALLY, show 100%, even the really ugly, honest? I couldn’t remember.

So I stumbled skeptically into coaching with LEAD222 Ministries. The coaching material was good, the intent of the organization seemed legit and I thought it’d be something neat to be involved with... and then I went to the Coaches Corner and my mind was blown! In one weekend my view of community radically shifted and my soul was encouraged beyond words. Youth pastors from all over the country gathered to sharpen each other spiritually as ministry coaches and I realized they meant business. The Coaches Corner unbelievably was a safe space: to be honest, to be vulnerable, to be encouraged, and to be prayed for to become healthy leaders. Here honesty led to tears, comfort, empathy, encouragement, prayer, accountability, and a beautiful image of the Body of Christ lifting each other another up for the sake of the Kingdom.

I have found a place of healing for the soul of a youth worker. A place where true community is available to youth workers and their families. A place where I can be sharpened to be a healthy leader. What’s awesome is that it is available to all youth workers, no matter the denomination, size of church, region - you ARE invited!

Everyone joins LEAD222 as a Coach in Training. Our hope is that after receiving a year of personal coaching, you’ll want to help pass it on. You’ll continue to receive coaching within the community as well. We want to invite as many people to join us as possible. Not only do youth pastors receive great coaching from veteran youth workers, you have access to resources within the community. LEAD’s commitment is to change the culture of youth ministry through mentoring and authentic community. Hearing the stories of how this community has impacted youth workers and youth ministries around the country is happening and it’s astounding. We are appreciative of networks like NNYM where we can partner to help youth workers find deeper community and care to be the best they can for the Kingdom.

We’d love to have you be a part of the LEAD222 community! Would you join us? If you’re interested, head to lead222.com/becomeacit to join us as a coach in training. Let’s do this together!

I wanted to make sure you've heard about our "NEXT Opportunity." On July 16, a challenge will be given from stage, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. asking those who feel called into a season of service through three categories:

• U.S. missions
• Global missions
• Internships

Our prayer is to see 10,000 young leaders step out in faith and commit to one of these areas!

We want to extend this invitation to be part of these NEXT 10,000 opportunities! Does your ministry offer programs in any of these three areas? Follow the link below for more information and to sign up!

Sign up for NEXT Opportunities

Find out more about Together 2016 by visiting www.reset2016.com

I have to admit; I never thought about Jesus being discouraged with His ministry. Jesus was not only the Son of God, but also a great leader and minister. Obviously He had the message and the life that was going to change the world. He got it done and made things happen. So I never thought of Jesus being discouraged in the midst of His ministry years.

If Jesus was never discouraged, and He is the example I need to follow; then what is my problem? The past several months have been, to say the least, discouraging. I’ve been trying to raise support for ministry in crazy economic times, seeing churches let go of their youth pastors or senior pastors, hearing that ministry organizations are reorganizing and letting people go, attending the funeral of a mentor and hero of youth ministry. More importantly, I’ve been hearing stories of students walking away from their faith in Christ, and others saying they never wanted it and will never return to it. Of course, there are good things happening. But in the midst of the good, there are these – and many more – disappointments and battles.

I was driving away from the funeral of my mentor and I turned off the radio and asked: “Jesus, were You ever discouraged during Your ministry?” As I drove, I sensed Jesus having a laugh and saying “Seriously?” My mind started walking through His ministry.

1. His Personal Ministry Preparation - 40 days of fasting and then the tempter shows up (Matthew 4:3). After the hard work of preparing for a short three years of ministry, Satan dangles in front of Jesus things that would have crushed me.
2. Building His Team - He called and they followed; that doesn’t sound so bad. But look at who He called. Not the team that most organizations or churches would want to hire. I am sure many watching this team come together thought “them…really?” The criticism of who He selected as His disciples had to be enormous.
3. Developing/Training His Team - Okay, how many times do we read where Jesus looked at His team and rebuked them? My paraphrase: “When are you going to get it? How many times do I have to tell you, show you, do with you, send you out to do it, and you still don’t get it?” Jesus did the ultimate five-step turnover plan and the disciples still didn’t get it. Discouraging? Frustrating?
4. Those He Served Didn’t Say Thanks - No matter what He did for others, some did not show any gratitude. A few did, but many did not. He gave all He was and many gave no evidence of being thankful. While on the cross, how many disciples showed up to be with Him at the end? They were afraid for themselves instead of being grateful to learn for three years, or for the opportunity to spend three years with the Son of God.
5. His Team Complaining About Resources - 5,000 and 4,000 needed to eat. The disciples looked for the resources to get it done, and they didn’t think they had enough. Just a thought: maybe what they had was enough to take care of themselves, but not the crowds. The disciples said, “Send them away!” (Matthew 14) and “Where do we get them food?” (Matthew 15) What did they have to see before they would realize that Jesus could take care of it?
6. His Own Team Questioned His Identity - Jesus walked on the water and Peter questioned, "Lord, if it's you…" (Matthew 14:28) With my sarcasm showing; my thought is: “Who else could it be?” Jesus had just preached, healed and fed 5,000; and Peter wondered if it was Jesus?
7. Overwhelming Ministry Responsibilities - How many people were brought to Him to be healed? How many challenged His authority? How many questioned His actions, His motives, and even His teaching? Time and again, His team didn’t get it, didn’t acknowledge who He was, in word and action showing more fear than faith. They gave up on Him in the garden when He asked them to pray. Jesus knew this ministry was going to cost Him His life.

Jesus had discouragements. The difference between how He handled the discouragement and how I do indicates that He knew the end of the story. Jesus knew He was the sacrifice for us. He knew His mission from the beginning of His ministry to His last earthly breath.

So why am I discouraged? Maybe it is because I make it all about me. The truth is this: ministry is about the mission that everyone should have a chance to know the life-changing message of Jesus.

The difference between the ministry of Jesus and mine (there are many; this is just one) His focus was on the God-given mission. When I get my eyes off the mission and onto my stuff, I wind up pushing God out. Jesus kept His eyes on the end goal, but I let my eyes stop at the discouragements. God help me look forward, beyond my discouragements, and see what this is all about: building His kingdom!

Question: Have you ever let discouragements cause you to take your eyes off of your God-given mission? Can you get your eyes back on your God-given mission?

Randy Davis is the Great Lakes Regional Coordinator for National Network of Youth Ministries. You can follow Randy on Twitter @RandyDavis317

God is moving across this nation. He is stirring up His people. Now more than ever, we need to pray for this generation and this nation.

We're calling a million people to join us on the National Mall this summer for Together 2016. On July 16, 2016, we'll stand together for one man: Jesus.

We believe Jesus can unite this nation. We believe he can turn us from division and hate to unity and love. We believe Jesus changes everything.

We want your church—your congregation—to join us on the mall. Learn more about being a church partner and find resources for launching a Together sermon in your church at reset2016.com/churches.

Believing with you,
The Together Team

We know you are always looking for great resources for youth ministry. Check out this new purity resource entitled Sex by Design.

Endorsed by Josh McDowell, Sex by Design is Biblical, practical and easy to implement.

Ways to incorporate this resource into your ministry:

1. Use the series Sex by Design to equip your youth to live a sexually pure lifestyle. click here
2. Launch the series with author Abby (Ludvigson) Schumacher as a guest speaker. click here
3. Book the author of the series and host a parent equipping session. Abby will present practical ways to maximize the sexual purity conversation at home. click here

To purchase this resource visit www.sexbydesign.com.

Call Abby directly at 612-961-5320.

The National Network of Youth Ministries continues to envision a day when every community will become a community for hope; where youth leaders and like-minded people come together with a commitment to share the good news of Jesus Christ with every young person in their area of influence.

The Network’s celebration occurred during their annual Ministry Council and staff conference in San Diego. The Ministry Council is a select group of youth leaders from all areas of the nation, and serves as an advisory group which helps the organization maintain the purity of its founding vision. They also give guidance for the implementation of the ministry’s objectives and help NNYM staff with greater resources to equip youth leaders to impact upward of 32 million students across the country.

The staff conference allowed the NNYM executive team and regional leadership to encourage and challenge each other, and discuss plans to advance the ministry by establishing new networks and providing support to those youth leaders already involved in the more than 850 local networks across the country.

In addition to celebrating the past 35 years, the NNYM team worked on how to advance the mission in the years to come. Among the topics:

• Developing a more robust website and branding.

• Enhancing national ministry partnerships.

• Engaging with strategic leaders from all streams of youth ministry.

• Creating a toolbox of resources for youth leaders.

• Determining how to add value for the local networks.

• Mobilizing prayer for youth across the country.

• Focusing attention on the organization’s fiscal vitality through support-raising priorities.

The mission of the National Network of Youth Ministries is to link youth workers for encouragement, spiritual growth, and sharing resources in order to expose every teenager to the gospel of Jesus Christ, establish those who respond in a local church, and disciple them to help reach the world.

For more information, contact Randy Davis at rdavis@nnym.org or 800-FOR-NNYM (367-6696).

The team at the National Network of Youth Ministries is 100% supported by donations from people who believe that the church works better together for the gospel. Help us continue advocating for Christian collaboration by giving today!

For more information on how to give or go to www.nnym.org/donate

Want to give to a specific staff member?

Look through our staff directory.

THANK YOU for your interest in Giving Tuesday and considering financial support of the ongoing work of the National Network of Youth Ministries!

Whether your gift is intended to financially support one of the NNYM staff, or whether your intent is to help underwrite the ongoing ministries of NNYM regionally, nationally or internationally, we greatly appreciate your gift.

Connections are super easy to make when you have the same passions. For many years, I drove a slammed VW. It’s so easy to make a friend who understands the fear of a pothole deeply as you! We start by sharing stories of driving and leave with a bond of friendship. Every conference has these types of connections. I share the crazy stories of ministry at first, and when it seems safe, I share what breaks my heart. Start with a story and end with a friend.

Conference resources are like going to a buffet. There is a little of everything available. I need to remember that I will be hungry later. Resources may be incredible and will fuel my passion and equip me for the next season... but my best resource is people.

I’ve got to do something with those friendships!

This year NNYM and Youth Specialties have teamed up to help youth workers take those resources back to your communities. We want to help give you the resources to create environments which foster connections. The Better Together Pre-Conference Intensive is designed to equip youth workers to lead their community in working together for the gospel.

Now I realize that the word “network” may sound really formal to you. Honestly, I don’t care what you call it as long as you are intentionally getting together! Once you’ve started a gathering of youth workers, LET PEOPLE KNOW! Post your group on YSNetworks.com and nnym.org. We want to help you see what makes your gatherings healthy and help your gathering get famous. We are also working hard to resource you along the way.

Perhaps you don't even like the idea of networking. I want to challenge you to come out and connect with networkers from all over the country. Hear what God is doing as communities are finding common purpose and walk away with a better understanding of spiritual unity.

San Diego in the books, but there is still time to get to the Louisville NYWC. You will have a great time, you will find some amazing resources, but most importantly you could leave with incredible friends who will keep you in ministry for the long-haul. And hopefully... take networking back to your town!

Read more about Better Together at NYWC - click here

"Build it, and they will come."

That may be a great movie tagline, but it doesn't necessarily work for building a healthy ministry network in your community.

If we want our networks to grow, it’s not enough to just open your doors once a month, invite a bunch of youth workers, set up chairs around a table, and expect that will result in more ministry to youth. We have got to give youth workers a good reason to leave their offices to share their lives and ministries, and to be part of a community-wide vision.

These 11 meetings are built on Prayer, Relationships, creative Resourcing and Strategic planning.

I'm confident that we can strategically plan meetings that will be of interest and will have a greater impact on youth workers and ultimately students.

I believe these meetings need to provide a safe place for youth workers to come and develop friendships where trust is being built.

What do these meetings look like?

1. These meetings must start and end on time.
2. Location, location, location! The location is crucial. Meeting in restaurants for the most part is too distracting, and moving from church to church has also presented challenges when people get lost. If you can find one location and stay there for six months, that seems to work best. What about the atmosphere?
   • Atmosphere is important.
   • Leaders need to be ready when youth workers arrive!
3. Do signs give direction to the location of the meeting and to also welcome them inside the meeting room?
4. Is the room arranged to optimize communication? For example, round tables facilitate better discussion and prayer.
5. Is there a table to display and share resources that the coordinator or others bring?
6. It's possible to provide a "free meal" for every meeting, getting someone to donate the meals, or having different churches provide funds. Youth workers can then come straight to the meeting and know that a meal is being provided.
7. Don't forget name tags. (Permanent ones that can be handed out and collected are the best.)

The Content:

1. Give minimal time for those who have come to make announcements about events that they are sponsoring. This has become the focus and sore spot for plenty of networks. Provide a resource table if possible.
2. Ask the group what kind of subjects they would find most helpful to be a resource to them, and whom they suggest for speakers. Only five to six speakers are needed if we provide other creative program ideas.
3. Creative ideas:
   • Panel discussion with youth workers’ spouses
   • Student panels
   • Senior pastor panels
   • Times of prayer and sharing only
4. It's time to have some fun!
   Local amusement facilities love to host youth workers. They want to show off their facilities, and frequently will provide a meal.

For topical discussions, we have found the Network Covenant can give a Network some real focus. These six guiding values can provide great meeting ideas and can be found here.

These have not only sparked great meetings, speakers, etc. but have also led to citywide events. For example, one month our local Bible bookstore hosted our meeting (Field Trip!). It was a perfect fit. They gave out a few freebies, a group discount, and a great tour.

Another effective focus is on campus ministries, thus linking the entire community together for greater impact.

I believe that with "11 Good Meetings:"

• Stronger relationships are built.
• Youth workers are equipped with resources.
• Specific citywide strategic planning takes place.

We must not settle for the ordinary; our students deserve better!

Then came a day when farmers across the country were told to narrow their focus to a smaller grouping of varieties that traveled well to the store and produced consistent coloring for the supermarkets’ displays. Unique varieties were sacrificed for presentation standardization. Certain flavors and people’s concept of apples shrunk to about five varieties offered on the store shelf. This narrowing-of-focus business philosophy changed how people think about and buy apples. And other areas of life have been sacrificed to this desire for standardization.

The church used to have a much wider variety of pastors at the helm. Varieties who were better suited to local climates and needs. Somewhere along the timeline, though, the church bought into the idea that only a few varieties sold the church, as a product – using polished speeches, volunteer or staff management, or great entertainment. These varieties look great on the display shelf of 59-minute scripted worship-ish rock concerts and motivational speaking engagements.

That's what we have in huge numbers across the country today, and this scenario is found not only in the mega church. We need to stop grafting little carbon copies of big personalities and seek the Spirit-led, shepherding pastor who is right for our congregation’s place and time in the Kingdom of God.

Dear Church, if we keep hiring professional speakers, entertainers and CEOs, we will keep getting the same results. We need Spirit-led pastors.

(For more info on apples I recommend this article as a starting point -http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/04/heritage-apples-john-bunker-maine).

Brad serves as “Michiana” Coordinator, which is northeast Indiana and southwest Michigan, and joied the NNYM team in November 2014. You can follow Brad on Twitter @bradterhune.

Our friends at Dare2Share wanted to share an amazing training opportunity for all NNYM networks and their adult leadership teams.

Dare 2 Share is hosting One Day training events in 10 cities this fall.

D2S One Day trainings are dynamic, inspirational and practical events for youth leaders and their adult teams; they are designed to help them capture a vision and provide a roadmap for ministry that has maximum kingdom impact.

At a D2S One Day, you'll come away with:

• Renewed Passion
• Practical Tools
• Bigger & Bolder Vision
• Refreshed Hearts

This year's training will address: "Gospel Advancing Ministry – What, Why, and How"

Dive deep into the values and ministry model found in the book of Acts that enabled the early believers to see the explosive growth of the church and the rapid spread of the gospel...all without phones, television and the Internet!

Click here to learn more: http://hubs.ly/H013lYL0

Special offer just for NNYM Members!

For a limited time only, NNYM members can get special group pricing of $40 per registration to the One Day events, even if registering fewer than 10 team members. Regular registration is $49, so you can save $9 per registration! This offer is good until the Early Bird Deadline for each city (30 days before the event).

This offer is only available over the phone, so call Dare 2 Share at 1-866-448-0272 to register! (Be sure to mention that you're a NNYM member when you call.)

It can be draining and isolating to dig in and try to help students walk through the minefield of adolescence. They need the support of their congregation to continue impacting the next generation for Christ.

You may ask ” what can I do?”. Plenty. Here are five ways that you can show appreciation and encouragement to your youthworkers:

1) Pray for them. I don’t mean wimpy, half hearted bedtime prayers. I mean banging down the door to the throne room, begging and pleading for God to protect them (and their families), to give them strength, and His supernatural wisdom. Daily.

2) Get together with a few other people and offer to watch the youthworkers children for an evening, so they can have a little time with their spouse. Do this consistently.

3) If they are considered a staff pastor, don’t ignore them during Pastor appreciation month. I’ve been there during my 15 years of youth ministry, and it is painful. There are many stories here that could be told by youthworkers all across the country…

4) Help your church leadership get involved with “We Love Our Youthworker“. It is a movement to help churches and youthworkers build supportive church systems. It’s designed to combat burnout, build healthy job descriptions and expectations for youthworkers.

5) Help your youthworkers get involved in a local network. Youthworkers that are part of a local network stay in ministry longer and at their local church longer. Your youthworkers need a group of people that understand the joys and pains of you ministry. As part of a local network, they can have a larger impact reaching students in the community than they would alone. To find the local network in your area, go to Youthworkers.Net

Your youthworkers need you. Don’t let them down.

Getting a crew of people excited to travel to an unreached people in a far away exotic location takes leadership, planning and execution. Anyone who has lead a trip knows the intentional effort necessary to make a missions trip happen. We lead in order to reach people who may not know Jesus, we plan to overcome potential obstacles, and the execution can only happen through intentional coaching.

The same can be said about reaching those who haven't heard about Jesus in our communities.

One man who is working hard to equip students to reach their schools is Travis Deans. He is the Western PA Coordinator for NNYM. Travis says, "We work in 10 counties around the Pittsburgh region. We have 250,000 students in that region that we consider our mission field. We have students leading campus ministries at around 50 schools.” They have named the initiative 9 Month Mission Trips.

The 9 Month Mission Trip is a great place to help give your students resources, but good resources aren’t enough. Here are a few things that your community will need to do for a successful outreach through the school year.

1. Training - every missions team needs to be taught how to act and what is culturally acceptable. Check out www.9monthmissiontrip.com for outreach ideas, step by step ideas to start a campus ministry and encouraging stories!
2. Regular Coaching - the students who are leading these clubs are going to experience spiritual battle. They have stepped onto the front lines and they need, not only one youth worker to cheer them on... they need a “GREAT cloud of witnesses” to help keep them going. If your network does encourage Christian clubs, designate someone to regularly connect with those leaders.
3. Telling their student’s stories - It’s no secret that students do not communicate well! Coaches need to help get the word out about the mission of the school.

Reaching our communities takes the same type of leadership, planning and execution of any out of town mission trip. And feel free to think as creatively as you would on a missions trip! If you find something that works, let us know! We’ll get the word out.

Connect with Travis Deans on Twitter @TDeans or go to 9monthmissiontrip.com for resources!

Imagine my shock when so many others gathered around the pole. And they began to lead and even had their own plan. I went along with it, but I couldn’t help feel a out of place. First, I didn’t know that they were even Christians until that moment (they were probably thinking the same thing about me). Second, they didn’t pray the same way I did. Third, I felt marginalized because they didn't know me.

Even though that happened over 20 years ago, I still remember how I felt. In spite of my first impressions, I am a strong believer in See You At The Pole. I participated as a student, coached students as a youth pastor, and held rallies as a network coordinator. You won’t find many bigger fans. But I also believe that youth pastors and leaders need to play a more pivotal role in preparing and equipping students for participation in the Christian community at school, at the flagpole and beyond.

See You At The Pole is about one big idea – the power of prayer. Not only does prayer unite us and change the circumstances around us; Prayer transforms us. That’s because SYATP is as much about identity as it is about prayer. It’s nearly impossible to pray in such a public place without being identified as religious, spiritual, or devout—a participating member of the Christian community at school. For many students, gathering around the flagpole carries more weight for the identity it infers upon them than for the power of prayer it is built around. I’ve heard some of my ministry friends decry this reality, but public identification with the Body of Christ was an important component of primitive Christianity, and it’s something we need to value equally today.

The challenge of my first SYATP was the issue of identity. I had no concept of my part in the larger Body of Christ; the community of churches in my area. So when I encountered my fellow believers at the flagpole, I wasn’t sure how to feel about them. They were different than me in beliefs and behaviors. It’s easy to see how discord can develop in the Body of Christ. and if we are not intentional as leaders, we will easily see discord among our students around the flagpole. Given the slate of political and social changes that our nation has undergone, and the wide array of opinions and reactions by various churches and organizations, this could be disastrous if we aren’t careful.

Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that are you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). As leaders we can intentionally help our students to create an environment of Christ-honoring love around the flagpole, a “No Hate Zone” that is centered on Biblical truths we can agree upon, rather than upon theological or political disagreements. Here are five tips to help your students plan and shape a successful and cooperative See You At The Pole:

1. Let your students know that other students will attend SYATP. They may even be surprised by who shows up. Tell them that many churches worship and connect with God in different ways, that this will be reflected at the flagpole, and that’s okay. We are all a part of the same Body (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). They probably have something you need, and you probably have something they need. Love and respect these differences in worship and prayer styles.
2. Have a conversation with other youth leaders in your area. I always worked hard to get our network conversing on SYATP. Some valuable questions for this discussion include: What youth leaders will be present at what schools? What student leaders are anticipated at each flagpole? What can we do to get these students together for discussion in advance? What does each of us need to communicate to our churches and youth groups for a smooth and collaborative day of prayer? Should we have a meeting or rally to help our students get together?
3. Teach students to focus on things we can agree upon during their prayers around the flagpole. Most of us can agree on several points, including that God is love (1 John 4:8), that Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), that God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), and everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). There are so many additional points of commonality, and this is where we must encourage and equip our students in their prayers and planning.
4. Get students together to pray, plan, and discuss SYATP before it happens. If you’re not having a rally as a network, think about how you can get students from the same schools together for a discussion in advance of SYATP. Time around the flagpole is short, and it’s best to have a settled plan in advance. Is this best accomplished over a cup of coffee, a Facebook discussion, or some other venue?
5. Be present at the flagpole, but let students lead. When an adult takes over and leads SYATP, it not only puts the event at risk from a legal point of view, it disenfranchises the students who have come to pray and to lead. Be present, or have another leader present, but in a coaching capacity only. Answer questions or give guidance when asked, but let the students do the praying and the talking.

I pray that with these simple steps that we can lead the way in preparing and equipping students to develop a healthy Christian community at schools!

Lee is the @TheLeeRogers on Twitter and is the Youth Alive Missionary for Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Our communities need help!

When networks are healthy, youth leaders implement God's vision and incredible things happen in their communities. Let me share with you about how the Harrison Community Youth Group encouraged their community to be healthier.

Widen the Net

Three years ago in Harrison, Ohio a youth leader, Emily Richardson, had a vision to make her city into "His (Christ’s) city." She reached out to churches, school employees and community members to come together to reach students for Christ through the Harrison Community Youth Group. Amazingly, Emily was able to bring together ALL the churches, the district superintendent, business leaders, community leaders and the high school principal!

Catching the Bigger Vision

They didn’t stop there. The network started a movement called THIS CITY HIS CITY. They worked together to bring resources into the community of Harrison. One of the pastors said, “There are enough lost and broken people to fill every church in this city. This can truly become something more like the ‘Church of Harrison’ rather than individual groups doing their own thing.”

You may be asking, “What is the outcome of this vision?”

Greater Influence

With the encouragement of the school administration, THIS CITY HIS CITY members came on the school campus for lunches, helped bus students to after-school programs, and served in any way asked. As a result, students started to thrive in school. Observers from across the whole state noticed. The superintendent of the Southwest School District, Chris Brown, was asked by the state of Ohio to share the reason for the positive changes in the students’ performances. He shared that this would not have happened without the help of THIS CITY HIS CITY. Ohio state representatives were so impressed that they asked Chris to share his story at the Ohio superintendents’ conference!

Hope over Heroin

The influence of the local network overflowed into the whole community. Harrison wrestles with a major issue: heroin trafficking across state lines. The network saw the need to confront the drug issue because of how greatly it affected teenagers. They founded a ministry called Hope Over Heroin, a collaborative effort by Ohio churches to reach those suffering from drug-related issues. The churches pooled their resources to host a two-day concert where real stories of deliverance were shared. More than 1,000 people attended, 40 people were baptized, and numerous people took advantage of rehab options so that they could be set free from addictions.

Healthy Networks Can Transform Communities

God never intended any individual or church to work alone. I like what the president emeritus of NNYM, Paul Fleischmann, said: “We need to check our logos and egos at the door.” Yes, individuals or single ministries can have a limited impact on the community. However, a healthy network rallies the body of Christ to help churches be more attentive, more powerful, and have a better, united vison for the community.

We need to ask ourselves, “How can our youth ministry network encourage health in our community?” If you want your network be more engaging and healthier, then connect with a network coach on www.youthworkers.net/training.

Here are some things I learned through cancer about my health:

Health can be defined as either living without symptom, or living at your highest potential. BOTH extremes can become idolatry. If you are living at the gym and cannot pollute your body with anything but organic grass-fed Arabian llamas, then you may need to evaluate Paul’s admonishment to his protégé in 1 Timothy 4:8. I remember joking in college about the King James Version that says, “exercise profiteth little.“ Paul isn’t saying to abstain from exercise, but some of us have taken this verse out of context to defend our living an undisciplined life. It’s impossible to live at your highest potential without embracing some amount of discipline to achieve that level.

My health moved from pie-in-the-sky to priority. “Some people get fat; you got cancer.” The conversation with my nutritionist came as complete shock. As the father of two young children living on a ministry salary, I had dismissed nutrition. Cutting Mtn. Dew out of my diet seemed to be RIDICULOUS! I was only getting three hours of sleep a night; how would I survive? And who needs money for a grocery budget when we can survive on $90 a week?! Without health, what do you have? We had to kill cable to buy more produce.

Health is NEVER accidental. We know this when it comes to our spiritual lives (that’s WHY youth ministry exists), but we take it for granted physically. We make a plan for teaching the Scriptures, but we don’t make a plan for proper hydration, exercise, and intentionally eating fresh produce.

Accountability is essential for health. A TREMENDOUS amount of self-discipline is necessary to stay healthy. I need people consistently reminding me to make the good choices, because living for health is a counter-cultural lifestyle (insert sermon here).

If you are going to make the decision to eat healthy, here's a word of warning: YOU WILL BE HARASSED! If you try to order a salad at a youth pastors' lunch, you better expect some looks! I’ve chosen to avoid this conversation on a number of occasions. It seems less offensive to tell someone that they need Jesus than it is to tell someone to change their diet. But seriously, do you think that nutrition doesn’t affect people? Then gorge your junior highers with Skittles before your next lesson and see how that works for ya!

Wayne Morgan is the Northeast regional coordinator for NNYM. He is a mostly healthy guy…except for his coffee intake; but he claims that it’s healthy. You can follow Wayne on Twitter @waykarmor.