Renew…Educate…Connect…
Every Extravaganza has a theme. A theme gives direction and guidance to the planing team. A theme gives context for participants. And a theme gives space for the Holy Spirit to work within us…to move us together. Because we can ...
The Extravaganza planning team leaders just completed their annual meeting to review and debrief from the 2023 Extravaganza, and to launch the planning process for Extravaganza 2024. The planning team is thankful for all of the people who chose to ...
In the movie “Jerry McGuire,” the title character, played by Tom Cruise, says at one point “We live in a cynical world.” It was a moment of deep truth in an otherwise funny but pretty forgettable movie. We live in ...
CHICAGO (Jan. 18, 2023) — The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), partnered with the ELCA Youth Ministry Network, has received a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the Formation Lab Project. The goal of the project ...
The Network is looking for someone who is willing to take on the role as a liaison to advertisers for the Connect Journal. This volunteer role is very important. Our approach to how we handle “business” mirrors our philosophy on ministry: We are relational. We believe in developing relationships with our friends have have resources ...
A brilliant TED Talk that is too good not to share. My killer line: “There are leaders and there are those who lead. Leaders are persons of authority. Those who lead are persons of passion.” Worth watching. Interesting implications for our ministry. I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on this below… Thanks to ...
Part of our call as adults who work with young people is to watch for those who we think might have gifts to serve in ministry, and then to assist them in discerning their call, and encouraging them to develop their gifts to serve. Having just experienced the ELCA Youth Gathering (more about that later), ...
I was talking with a friend who serves in a different congregation in a different state earlier in the week. He said that he was looking forward to the next couple of weeks with a sense of dread. “Why is that?” I asked. “Because it’s all going to be about the ELCA Youth Gathering. The ...
You might notice some transitions in the Network’s web site in the next couple of weeks. I just wanted to give you a quick update on what’s happening. We are switching to a new membership management software piece that I think is going to improve your online experience. In the past couple of years, we’ve started ...
I received a note today on Facebook that made me catch my breath. Lost and Foundis Michael and George. They travel the country, performing and leading music in congregations and at events. They are good friends of the Network. The notification I received was about a new Kickstarter project that they are starting to help ...
Occasionally someone will ask me the question “How do I help out with ____________ in the Network?” The blank space might be “the Extravaganza”, or “with 3rdTuesday Conversations” or with “the Board of Directors.” Whatever it is, it is a great question that I always really appreciate being able to answer. What I usually say ...
Network Leadership week is next week. Every spring, we link two of of our primary leadership teams together for back-to-back meetings. Beginning Sunday night, our Network Board will begin meeting in Chicago. They will finish up on Tuesday at noon. On Tuesday, our Regional Facilitators will begin meeting and will finish up on Thursday at ...
Please allow me to introduce Shannon Savage-Howie. Shannon is the youth minister at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks, California. She is awesome. She has served on the Extravaganza planning team in the last few years. Most importantly she is married to Robert, and is the mother of Declan, and housemate of Boomer, a ...
This past weekend, the Extravaganza team leaders met at the Hyatt in Anaheim, site of the 2013 Extravaganza, to process the evaluations from the New Orleans event, and to do the organizational planning for ’13. We spent quite a bit of time processing the evaluations, and I just wanted to share a couple of observations ...
Network is a Verb 