See the above infographic in more detail on www.GenerationZ.com.au (an initiative of McCrindle Research). A great resource for those working with children and youth.
FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, I AM A SLAVE OF JESUS CHRIST // #NYMC 2013 SUMMARY
As a young man, Bill Bright, wrote down a commitment that he made to God.
“From this day forward, I am a slave of Jesus Christ.”
It was a pivotal moment in his Christian life. Bright was the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, commissioned the JESUS Film and many lives have been impacted through his lifetime of proclaiming Jesus.
On the final night of NYMC 2013 Andy Hawthorne spoke about Bright and urged everyone from Romans 12:1-2 to give ourselves wholeheartedly to the cause of Christ. Hawthorne gave a fantastic summary of Romans 1-11 and the gospel of free grace for sinners through faith in Christ Jesus. He then showed how this was the mercy described in Romans 12:1 “in view of God’s mercy”. It was my favourite talk of the conference and I am compelled to continue seeking to live out Romans 12:1-2 as a slave of Jesus.
#NYMC 2013 SUMMARY
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REDEEMING SOCIAL MEDIA // #NYMC
The following is a bunch of resources from my REDEEMING SOCIAL MEDIA Professional Development Seminar from NYMC 2013. It was a fruitful 3 hours with stimulating discussion and a resolve to think this stuff through theologically. I began the seminar by disagreeing with my underlying premise from a similar workshop at NYMC 2011 (see some of those resources here). Previously my foundational principle was that “all technology is neutral, what matters is that we avoid the harmful and unleash it for good”. I still believe we should avoid the harmful and unleash it for good, however I don’t think all technology is neutral. I shared with people my journey in changed thinking. One of the books mentioned below was pivotal in my thinking shift. Keep reading to find out more!
YOUTH MINISTRY IDEAS // RUNNING KILLER CAMPS #NYMC
YOUTH MINISTRY IDEAS is a series of short videos by Dave Miers. See more here.
“RUNNING KILLER CAMPS” was also a workshop I ran at the National Youth Ministry Convention 2013. There are downloadable resources below including the Keynote presentation; camp timetable x 2; one to one questions; some videos.
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MAKE SOME NOISE
This is part 10 of a 10-part blog series on HOW TO GET YOUR MINISTRY ONLINE. You can follow the DIGITAL SKATEPARK tag or go back to the intro post for links out to the rest of the series.
< See the previous post in the series
A TWO-WAY STREET
The Internet is no longer about simply receiving information. People go on line for connection and interaction. So it would be unwise to simply make lots of announcements via social media without actually being social. Aim to appropriately interact with the users in your youth community and likewise ask for interaction, feedback, votes, suggestions, submissions, likes and shares from them.
MAKE SOME NOISE!
One of the great things about social media is the opportunity to create noise. Lots of the noise created online is annoying or ungodly. But as the people of God, we have the opportunity to make noise about our gatherings. You can do that as a youth leader but likewise your youth can become champions for your ministry and Christ as they interact online. Teach them how to point their friends to the good things happening in your ministry and the good news of Jesus. They can do this as they share photos/quotes/excitement and as they check in to your youth group online.
The church is the most significant organisation on earth. It’s the only gathering that will go on into eternity. We have a reason to be excited and we have amazing tools to be able to share our excitement. So make some noise – both online and offline – for the One who has gathered us by his blood.
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This series forms the basis of a chapter I wrote in a forthcoming Youth Ministry book to be published by Anglican Youthworks. The rest of the book is written by Scott Petty (Youth Minister from Christ Church St Ives) and is published here with permission.
GROUP GAMES APP 2.0 // #YOUTHMINISTRY GOLD!
Calum Henderson is a saviour (not THE Saviour!) of youth pastors around the world! 18 months ago he launched an iPhone app jam-packed with games suitable for groups. I wrote about it then, and have been using it since! I love the range of activities, the easy navigation and the time that this app saves in programming for our youth community. Calum has just launched version 2.0 of the app. It’s now available with an iPad version; fits in with the iOS 7 look and has a handy new favourites option.
To coincide with two of my presentations for NYMC 2013, Calum is giving away 5 free downloads of this App. To win one of those 5 downloads, simply leave a comment below and I will use random.org to choose 5 winners. If you miss out, not to worry, it only costs $1.99! Find out more on the groups games app website or download it from iTunes. Check out Calum’s intro video:
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I’M AT #NYMC 2013!! #YIEW
Above is the sunset that greeted us as we arrived at Coolangatta. I’m here for the National Youth Ministry Convention 2013 with 500 other youth ministers.
I will be presenting 3.5 times over the next couple of days:
Redeeming Social Media
A ‘Digital Native’ is someone who has grown up in a digital and web-connected world. How do we effectively minister to ‘Digital Natives’? The Internet brings with it great dangers as well as incredible opportunities. How can we teach our young people to avoid the harmful while leveraging it for good? This seminar will not just raise the questions; it will give you an achievable strategy for developing an effective web presence for your youth ministry. This includes creating a website, using social media and protecting children online.