Life of a youth pastor .

#OC14 so far…

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oc14-sc-8-630x210                     Here are a few quick things I have learned and been processing thus far at #OC14:

  • God has a specific calling on my life and my ministry. Living out this calling should look different than everyone else. I should stop gauging success based my personal and ministry accomplishments compared to others. Success should be based on whether or not I have answered and stayed true to what God has asked me to do.
  • There are far more (in numbers and tenure) dedicated kids ministry volunteers and staff opposed to student ministry staff. C’mon student leaders! Step up your game, stay loyal to your church, raise up an army of great volunteers for students.
  • You need to know how to define a win for everything you do in your ministry. What does a win look like for the guest that attends camp? What does a win look like for my small group leader after a small group? What does a win look like after a staff meeting? Defining your wins will help you strive for excellence and celebrate what is most important.
  • Don’t let your budget determine your vision. Let your vision determine your budget.
  • Prayer. Not praying for your ministry/church on a regular basis is like trying to launch and navigate a rocket to the moon without NASA. Let’s stay closely in touch with our all-knowing Father.

JOIN FOR LIVE STREAMING THIS MORNING! 

 

Can I watch Orange Conference 2014 online?

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yes

Next week thousands, literally thousands, will assemble in Atlanta, Georgia for Orange Conference 2014. Perhaps you didn’t buy a ticket, you were skeptical or waited too late or took a year off, or maybe prefer a different conference?! Regardless of the reason, you are in for a treat, the folks at Orange are very considerate and are making the main sessions available for LIVE online viewing next week!

  • Can I really watch for free? YES.
  • Can I still buy a last minute ticket for the main sessions and attend in Atlanta? YES.
  • Will you be blogging your thoughts and ideas on things learned next week? YES.
  • If my team and I can’t make it to #OC14 should we watch main sessions together? YES.

Orange Conference will provide some great discussion and ideas for you, your staff, and leaders. Grab some popcorn, pen and paper, take some notes and chat it up!

Watch the main sessions LIVE stream for free or check out the Orange conference website.

Set reminders on your calendar/phone, main session times are as follows:

Wednesday, April 30
Session#1 7:30PM-10:30PM

Thursday, May 1
Session #2 9:00AM-10:45AM
Session #3 7:30PM-8:30PM

Friday, May 2
Session #4 9:00AM-10:30AM
Session #5 11:15AM-12:30PM
Session #6 2:00PM-3:15PM
Session #7 4:00PM-6:00PM

Yippeee!!! Can’t wait, see you all in Atlanta next week!

My Breakouts for OC 2014!

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oc14-sc-8-630x210

I’m super excited about Orange Conference this year! I always appreciate the main sessions but LOVE the breakouts. I like hearing about the niche things in ministry, but love seeing the dozens of others in ministry struggling through the same things. It’s places like this that a mere conversation can totally alter the state of your ministry or vision. I’m not completely sure what I will walk away with this year but ready to find out.

Here are the breakouts I have chosen to attend. Hope to see you there!

  • MEASURING WHAT’S IMPORTANT IN FAMILY MINISTRY (Next Gen)
  • UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON KIDS AND STUDENTS
  • LEADING THROUGH CRISIS, TRAGEDY AND TRAUMA (STUDENTS)
  • ORANGE STRATEGY TO BUILD AND ALIGN MULTI-SITE CAMPUSES
  • STARTING A CHURCH FOR UNCHURCHED FAMILIES
  • ORANGE INTERACTIVE: STUDENT MINISTRY

XP3 – Free 3 week series!

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xp3

One of the first questions I get when hanging out with another student pastor is, “What curriculum do you use?” I have gone a few different routes in the past, but have been using XP3 for about a year now. Here’s what I love most…they give you EVERYTHING you would ever need for a series and then some more. For every series you get small group questions, large group manuscript, access to bumper videos, logos, leader email templates, etc. The content seems to always be relevant, I take the manuscript and make it my own. XP3 gives both the young and well seasoned youth pastor a great platform to engage students with God’s word.

Take a quick look at this for your group, and try a free 3 week series!