Renew…Educate…Connect…
Over the last few years, one of the conversations that has come up again and again in youth ministry circles is about how we approach mission and service. Many of us grew up with a model that was driven by ...
Last week, I had the chance to spend a day with our friends in Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Network at their annual conference, and it was exactly the kind of experience that fills your tank in ways you didn’t know you ...
Hello friends, In the past few weeks, news broke that Group Publishing has been acquired by David C. Cook Publishing. Once upon a time, Group was a powerhouse in the world of children, youth, and family ministry. They produced books and ...
As ministry continues to evolve, the ELCA Youth Ministry Network is walking forward with intention. In response to feedback from our community and in the spirit of deep listening, we’ve launched a comprehensive strategic planning process to guide our future. ...
There is change happening in the church. Maybe it’s a new awareness…perhaps it’s a new reformation…I’m not sure what to call it. But something is different. There are new conversations taking place. There are new questions being asked. When I enter into conversations with those who do ministry alongside young people and their families, the ...
Extravaganza 2013 is in the history books! And, it was a great event. We’re in the process of collecting the evaluation forms now, and we’ll take a lot of time going through them. But overall, the immediate feedback we have received has been very positive, and we’re happy for how it all went. The ...
Text from Rev. Larry Wagner’s presentation: While tonight’s announcement regarding the recipient of the 2013 Tommy Award won’t be covered by any of the major networks, and it won’t likely be printed in the morning edition of the LA Times, it matters deeply to those of us who are gathered in this ballroom tonight. One ...
We’re really excited about this! Today, the Network introduces our new mobile app! For both the Android and Apple (iOS) platforms, this app is awesome! Features include! A “live” events calendar Direct feed of the Network blog A directory of Network leadership A media library Network News A “prayer wall.” Post prayer requests, and respond! ...
And today they come. Yesterday, about half of the Extravaganza planning team came in to the Hyatt in Anaheim, along with those leading the Practice Discipleship Initiative, to start the preparation. There were also a few random folks who came in early just to enjoy California. (And in the mid 70’s a beautiful, what’s not to ...
Q: “So what did you do at the Extravaganza this year?” A: “Learned a lot…experienced spiritual renewal…connected with peers…oh yeah, hung out with an academy award nominee.” I blogged a couple of months ago about the documentary called “Inocente,” which we will be screening on Sunday afternoon at the Extravaganza. It is the story of ...
Dear friends, I am grateful for your patience as we have worked out our housing crunch. As I’ve said, “it’s a great problem…but still a problem.” I’m sorry that we weren’t able to get you into the Hyatt Regency. We overflowed our original contracted number of rooms and because of a large, city wide convention ...
Dear friends, The Network’s Board of Directors has spent the last 12 months working together on assembling a new Strategic Plan to guide the Network in its growth in the next 3-5 years. We’re excited about the future, and on where God is leading the Network. We are grateful to Rev. Mike Ward of Lutheridge+Lutherock ...
It’s a great problem! But it’s still a little bit of a problem. We’re approaching “crunch-zone” for housing at the Hyatt in Anaheim for the Extravaganza. I’m hearing from some folks in the last day or two who are having difficulty booking rooms at the hotel. When we sign a contract with the hotel, they ...
In the last couple of weeks of November, we did a demographic survey of our Network members. We e-mailed our members, inviting them to take the online survey sometime over a period of two weeks. We had a good response to the invitation. Our response rate was 52%. There are two reasons we did the ...
Network is a Verb 