Help for Young Life Leaders NOW

Over the summer I normally try to post a couple things that I learned over the previous school year. These are a little late, but I really wanted to pass them along anyway. Also if you have anything you learned from last year that you would like to tell me about, send it my way smcgever (at) pv dot younglife dot org

Usually when I need something that I don’t have I just Google it and start my search. I do this with things for club, things for my home, all kinds of stuff. I bet you do that too.

In my spare time I like to read Wired magazine and all kinds of other sources of technology information. One thing that tech journalists are always covering is the battle between Google and Facebook. Google has a monopoly on internet information. Facebook has a monopoly on information and access on your friends. So it dawned on me (and probably many of you too) one day, instead of looking to Google for information and stuff I need to get, why don’t I look on Facebook. For instance I wanted to sell my car and buy a different one. Instead of putting my car on Craigslist or Autotrader, I told all my friends on Facebook. The benefit is that they know me, for better or worse haha, but many of them know a lot about my car and probably have been in it before. So a few weeks later, my car was sold at a great price to someone who really needed it.

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This may be a little too late to use with pumpkins, but you can file this away for next October/November, or it might bring to mind a similar creative idea to do with kids.

Erin from Silicon Valley YL sent me this idea and said this… Read the rest of this entry »

Last Monday I gave the Resurrection talk. I always like to include a part about what it means to be a follower of Jesus in this talk.

I love the resurrection talk. It is often under-stated most times I see it at club or camp. The resurrection is the power for our new life in Christ! You can even see that last summer when I spoke at YL camp, I moved all the talks a day earlier just so I could do an entire talk about the resurrection. Read the rest of this entry »

My friend Hugh from North Carolina shared a great idea with me. Here is what he suggested…

Here’s a quick and dirty pre-club activity:  photo booth.  Set up a camera, leader, backdrop, and some nutty props (theme optional).  As kids arrive at club take pictures of them. Here is a sample from a wedding, but you get the drill.

He mentioned that is is easy, free, fun and you can use these pictures to promote club.

Thanks for the idea Hugh!

This is the fifth and final post in a series that is a review of the Original Young Life Leader Training Manual from 1942.

If you are interested, here is the link to the copy I made of the manual with a letter from Jim Rayburn.

4. The Young Life Club and Promotion

The last two sections are about club and promotion of club. From the very start, the manual says that there is no set procedure for the club meeting. The manual consistently reminds the reader that Young Life is done best when it is molded to the local context.

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This is the fourth post in a series that is a review of the Original Young Life Leader Training Manual from 1942.

If you are interested, here is the link to the copy I made of the manual with a letter from Jim Rayburn.

3. The Campaign Organization

The Young Life “Campaign” was organized under a national board of directors, much as it is today. Under this board sits a local committee. Then there are field staff. At the time of this manual there were only five Young Life staff! The manual mentions that they were paid a salary each month, if the money came in that month! The staff was expected to keep a file of all club members. Weekly reports of attendance were to be sent in to the office for their records.

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This is the third post in a series that is a review of the Original Young Life Leader Training Manual from 1942.

If you are interested, here is the link to the copy I made of the manual with a letter from Jim Rayburn.

2. The Campaign Leader

The manual starts this section on leadership with a bold phrase, “The leader is IT!” Young Life puts an incredible emphasis on the leader and on leadership. There is not only one kind of leadership, as the manual suggests, “Do not put yourself in someone else’s mold. Use the personality God gave you to its best advantages.” This is a good reminder as we often see leaders up-front who are funny or exceptional communicators. There is not one “mold” for the Young Life leader. The mold is the complete body of Christ and each person is just one part.

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This is the second post in a series that is a review of the Original Young Life Leader Training Manual from 1942.

If you are interested, here is the link to the copy I made of the manual with a letter from Jim Rayburn.

1. The Introduction

The introduction begins by asking a great question, “Why Young Life Campaign?” Basically why do we need something like Young Life today? It also asks, “What need is there for another organization?” The same questions are asked today. Sometimes this is asked by teenagers, “What is Young Life?” Sometimes this is asked by parents. Sometimes the question is asked by opponents in and out of the church, “Is there a need for another organization?”

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Here is the club we are doing tonight. We will have different kinds of cereal out when kids can arrive to make their own bowl of cereal. Kids are dressing up in PJs. We also might have on some cartoons. We’ll see how it goes!

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This is the first post in a series that is a review of the Original Young Life Leader Training Manual from 1942. This is a little change of pace from the typical content on this blog, but I trust it will be helpful for staff and volunteers.

If you are interested, here is the link to the copy I made of the manual with a letter from Jim Rayburn.

Intro and Background

I stumbled across a goldmine of Young Life history and philosophy. Let me tell you the story… While I was working on my M.Div I searched the country to find the best elective credit I could find. I found it at Wheaton. They have a Masters in Leadership and Evangelism program that is top notch. They study and teach the things I am most interested in at the highest level. I have since then graduated from seminary but I continue to travel back to Wheaton to take classes that I think will help my theology and ministry in Young Life. Read the rest of this entry »