Archive for February, 2008
NYMC 08: Friday Night
Welcome to the National Youth Ministry Convention: Philly Edition. Since I am not in Cincinnati right now, I have decided to host my own convention right here in Room 513. I will be listening to older Simply Youth Ministry Podcast episodes, reading Speaking to Teenagers, and pretending like I am hearing Tony Dungy. Later tonight I will hopefully watch the Live SYM Podcast.
Some Things Stay the Same…
like canceled flights, same hotel, and no luggage.
As posted before, I was delayed in going to the National Youth Ministry Conference by hours, with a scheduled departure of 10 pm tonight. Well, that was canceled as well. My flight will now take off at 7:30 tomorrow morning, which means I am spending the night again up in Philly. This time, though, it will be sans luggage. Apparently taking away my whole day and my time at the conference was not enough, so US Airways decided to take my luggage as well. Luckily I have my car so later tonight I will be making a Target run.
I will eventually get to Cincinnati, and I will be blogging from there. I am still excited about the conference and to meet tons of people. Really though I am looking forward to doing something other than sit in an airport.
Any ideas of how I should fill up my time before tomorrow’s flight?
Delays are Inevitable
Woke up super early so I could get to the Airport super early so I could wait super long for a canceled flight. That is right, I check my bag, get my boarding pass, take the shuttle 2 terminals over to the “small as heck” airplane terminal, only to find out that the flight has been canceled all morning. Don’t worry, I am booked for a 2 pm flight. Lord willing, I will be in Cincinnati by the afternoon.
By the way, I did not know this but “Free Wifi” actually means “$7.99 plus tax for 24 hours Wifi”! I gave in to ATT/Philly Airport’s corporate hungriness. For the 5 hours I am chilling here, it is worth it.
UPDATE: It is now 10:30 a.m. (when my 1st flight was to leave) and the 2nd flight is now canceled. I am now booked on the 10 pm flight from here. Sorry Tony Dungy, but I can’t hear you speak tonight. Maybe if I walked I could get there in time. PS. paying for the Internet was worth it. I am getting caught up on 30 Rock.
NYMC 08: An Early Start
Due to the pending snowstorm that is gonna hit the Northeast, it was decided for me to go to the Philadelphia Airport area tonight (Thursday) instead of tomorrow morning (Friday). The storm is supposed to hit the Philly area around 3 am, which would have been miserable to drive through. Instead, I am typing this post from the Holiday Inn at the Philly airport.
They have a great package here for travelers: if you stay there the night before your flight, you can keep your car there for up to 10 days. They even have a free airport shuttle both ways. And it only cost $10 more! Either I don’t travel too much and this is the industry norm, or this is a great deal. You decide.
I am a little worried about the weather, hoping it will not affect or delay my flight. I am also very excited and looking forward to some fun-filled days.
New Mistakes
I stumbled upon Steven Furtick’s post “Make New Mistakes” yesterday and I thought it was great. Here is an excerpt:
I just want you to make new mistakes. Different mistakes than you made last time. Mistakes that reveal a new level of effort, or a new frontier of endeavor.
I liked how Steven encourages us to make new mistakes. This is contrary to how most people are wired. Most try to avoid mistakes. They are costly/time consuming/detrimental. Avoiding mistakes often means living with the status quo. Rarely do we embrace mistakes, especially in the ministry.
This reminded me of a great movie that came out last year: Meet the Robinsons. The Robinson family motto is Keep Moving Forward! They cheer when mistakes are made, and they encourage risk-taking and failure. It is only with experimenting and trying new things can you ever broaden your horizons.
Don’t be afraid of failure. Just be afraid of old mistakes. Embrace new ones and learn from them.
Donations to Youth Ministry
Someone recently donated an XBox to our youth ministry. It was a store display unit with an enclosed TV, game system, games, and integrated 2.1 sound system in one sleek structure (click here for image). I am very excited about this. Even though the system is a little dated, it will provide our students another outlet to have fun and participate in our ministry. Many youth ministries rely on donations, whether to decorate the Youth Room with secondhand couches, equip the youth worker’s office with technology, or trade bait for Bigger and Better.
Here are some tips on receiving donations for your ministry.
- Be sure to ask. There are many people in your church willing to donate. Present them with a need or even a “wish list”, and be amazed at the response you will receive.
- Know when to say “NO.” Because you are a ministry, people will try to pawn their damaged items to you rather than disposing of it themselves. Do not settle for unusable items or safety hazards. If you will never use it, say “No Thanks.”
- Don’t stockpile. I have seen ministries that say “Yes” to every donation, even when there is not a need. This bred a “packrat mentality” that not only hurt storage space but also did not benefit the ministry. Your donors are giving you items to be used, not stored away in a closet. If you cannot use it, say “No Thanks.”
- Give a receipt. For smaller items (book, Bible, CD), this may not be important. But for larger items (computer, game system, money), be sure to send the donor a receipt. This gives the person tax benefits, as well as an incentive for additional gifts.
- Say “Thank You”. Have your students write a letter to the person. Take photos of your students using the gift (on a couch, for example). Most importantly, write a letter yourself to the donor. Explain how the gift is benefiting the ministry. Express your appreciation for both the gift and the donor’s backing of the ministry. By thanking the donor, you are reminding them of their help and support of your ministry.
Look to opportunities for donations. Not only will it allow church members contribute to the ministry, but will help save your small youth budget for more important things (like resources!)
Pre NYMC 08: Part 4
Here is post #4 of 4 reasons I am excited about the National Youth Ministry Conference. Reasons One, Two, and Three were on previous days. The 4th reason may be the most obvious, or the least obvious. I am excited to Have Fun!
That is right, I am going to a training conference to have fun (and my work is paying!) But really, what else do you expect when you get 2000 youth workers together? I fully expect to see some hilarious videos (I just saw Hotel, Hotel from last year- HILARIOUS!), have some great times in the hotel (”Ain’t no party like a Scranton party!), and just have a great time! One of the hidden perks of being in youth ministry: you can still act like a teen at times!
There are only 2 more days before I leave for Cincinnati. I will be blogging multiple posts per day, so stay tuned for updates on my fun training. I will also be giving away a resource from YouthMinistry.com during the Conference, so be ready for that contest. Finally, be ready for posts about the random fun and excitement that will occur during the Conference. See you then!
Pre NYMC 08: Part 3
The 3rd reason I am excited about the National Youth Ministry Conference is directly related to the previous one. I am looking forward to strengthen my passion for youth ministry.
At times, ministry can be tiring and drawn out. It is especially draining if you are by yourself in the ministry. Luckily, I have some local youth pastors that have been encouraging and uplifting over the past year. I look forward to this conference to energize me even more. I look forward to hearing great speakers, meeting new people, and recharging my ministry batteries.
Pre NYMC 08: Part 2
The second reason I am excited about the National Youth Ministry Conference: To gain new ideas. While in ministry, it is rather easy to fall into a rut and to just keep the status quo. At the Conference, I look forward to hearing a ton of new and exciting ideas from people serving all over the nation. In fact, I look forward to learning so many ideas I cannot use/incorporate them all in my ministry. In that case, I look forward to bringing these ideas back to the other local youth ministers. That way, we can all work toward bringing more students to Christ.
Pre NYMC 08
This time next week I will be heading to Cincinnati for the National Youth Ministry Conference. While there, I will be blogging from the conference, so you can follow me here or a ton of other, more interesting people listed on Josh’s list. I know I will be following these blogs, and hopefully meeting some of these people. While preparing to go to the conference, I made a list of 4 reasons I am excited to go.
The first reason I am excited for this event: To meet new people. While the Jersey Shore is a great place to live and do ministry, I want to meet people from outside NJ. This conference is a great opportunity to interact with others and swap ideas that work/don’t work in our locales. I love hearing stories about youth groups, and love to tell them as well. Heading into this conference, I am fully expecting to meet some new people, gain some new perspectives, and pass on my experiences as well.
Stay tuned for the next 3 reasons this weekend! (Hey, I need something to write about)
