Helpful Links and Apps for YL Leaders

Here are ten links and apps that I have found helpful recently:

1. The Young Life Leader Blog – Wow! I can’t say enough good things about this blog. My friend Drew is posting great resources and ideas. Every YL leader should check it out.
2. YL Playbook – These guys keep updating the games, skits and club ideas. I’ve mentioned it before, but I use it often. I use the search feature a lot when I’m looking for an idea about a certain theme (i.e. balloons, or bananas), or for an explanation of a game I already know. Little known fact: one of the guys on this team can clean your teeth and fill a cavity on your teeth.
3. Youth Leader Stash – Chad is a blogging machine. This is where he posts his best stuff. Inventive games, solid ministry recommendations, great graphics, and lots more.
4. Poll Everywhere – A site I featured in one the clubs we did. This allows you to post questions and have people text their answer to a number and it will show the results live on the screen. I used the free version.
5. iMovie – No surprise here but this is a great app to make a movie. I have videoed parts of our club, edited, and then posted a great video before kids get home from club. Also can be a great tool to show parents and donors a quick snapshot of an event or club.
6. Camera+ – Another iPhone app, but this does a great job to quickly clean up a photo and make it look nice. I know there are other good ones too, but I like that this one allows me to go back and edit photos after I take them.
7. Guitar Toolkit – Another iPhone app. OK, this one is expensive ($10 when I bought it), but I think it is worth it. I’ve played guitar at club, church, camps, etc. for over 15 years. I know pretty much every chord, lots of scales, I can almost tune perfectly by ear… so in my pride I didn’t think I needed this, but it has been a huge help. It also helped me learn to play the mandolin and the ukulele (since it has the chords for those too)!
8. Ultimate Guitar Tabs – If you have ever used this website, you know that it has everything you need to learn a song. One of the interesting features is the “tab pack”. This includes a group of songs such as “worship music” and “chart busters”, which are good resources for songs you might need. Just a reminder if you play music in club, you need to be aware of the copyright requirements
9. Simply Postcards – With this app you can take a picture on your iPhone and then choose a contact from your address book (or type one in), write a note and this company will send it for you. They print it, put postage on it and send it. Great with kids and donors. The first one is free so I suggest you give it a try. One minor tip, choose the small font for your note so it matches the address they print.
10. V1 Golf App – This has nothing to do with YL, but it really helped my golf game!

What have you found helpful?

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