Celebrating Our First Year

Youth Ministry Institute Midwest August Newsletter

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In this edition of our August news:

• Celebrating our First Year
• Enrollment Update
• Opportunities from our Friends
• Closing Words from a Temp
• Our Mission Statement & About Us

Celebrating our First Year!

This month, we turned one! A year ago we formed our board and introduced ourselves to our region. Today, we’re ready for our first academic year. Would you celebrate with us?

That's me on the left, bucket in hand, with a birthday candle. Yes, I know it's ridiculous. I'll save you the challenge... this time!

You don’t have to pour a bucket of water on your head (although that’s been a lot of fun to watch!). All we ask is that you share a Tweet or Facebook post about Youth Ministry Institute Midwest. Share it with a friend, pastor, or youth minister. Help us spread the word and get others in our region talking about YMI, which has actually been around nationally for nine years. Isn’t that great?

Use the social media buttons below, or link to our website if you’d prefer. Thanks for celebrating with us!

Forward

Enrollment Update

We are preparing for our Foundational Retreat on September 22-23 at the beautiful Heartland Conference Center in Kansas City (pictured). Youth ministers from at least five churches will attend. And, a number of churches are still hiring youth ministers and haven’t completed the process. Some of these churches have indicated they will enroll in YMI once they hire.

We’ll continue to update our Twitter feed and Facebook page as we finalize partnership agreements with these congregations, and we’ll post the bios and pics of our first class next month. Feel free to contact our regional staff for more information, or apply online.

Opportunities From Our Friends

Making new friends is always one of the most important goals that I had at the beginning of the school year. Over time, the questions evolved from “who will I sit with at lunch?” to “who will be my lab partner this year?” to “who will I sit next to in the office at my new job?”

I’ve made a lot of great friends over the last year! I’d like to introduce you to some of our colleagues in ministry by inviting you to the following events.

Grow Your Ministry Workshop

September 6, 2014, 8:30–12:15pm
Registration Info: $10 per person or $50 per church

Open to church volunteers, staff, and pastors
Grace Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kansas

Includes two workshops taught by YMI faculty

Leadership Institute

September 24–26, 2014
Registration Info: $149 per person, discounted for young adults

Open to church volunteers, staff, and pastors
United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas

Partially sponsored by the United Methodist Church General Board of Discipleship, a YMI partner

Oasis Regional Christian Education Conference

October 19–21, 2014
Registration Info: $199 per person, with discounted daily rate

Open to church volunteers, staff, and pastors
Embassy Suites in Kansas City, Missouri

Includes two workshops taught by YMI faculty
Partially sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (USA) Synod of Mid-America, a YMI partner

Youth Ministry Academy

January 28-31, 2015
Registration Info: $195 per person until September 30

www.iloveyouthministry.com
Downtown Orlando, Florida

Keynote by Professor Kenda Creasy Dean
Includes workshops taught by nationally-known youth ministers
Sponsored by YMI and Ministry Architects, a YMI Partner

Closing Words From a Temp

If you’re in the workforce you’re just a temp – a “temporary employee.”

It’s true. Sooner or later, you’ll leave and somebody else will assume your job responsibilities. You might stay 2 years, 5, or 8 years, but you’re still a “temp.” It happens in all vocations, especially in youth ministry.

There’s no such thing as a “permanent hire.”

In fact, being a “temp” could actually increase the urgency for any of us to succeed, because the work that we do has permanence.

The question in this graphic is a common one for churches. Youth ministers don’t have a reputation for staying very long. The statistic that only 30% of youth ministers stay at their job for more than two years probably won’t surprise you.

Churches ask, “what happens if we develop our youth minister and then he/she leaves us?”

What happens if we don’t, and he/she stays?

The work of an effective youth minister has permanence.

This is why Youth Ministry Institute exists. We develop leaders that grow youth groups for many years. We’ve certified 36 youth ministers in nine years, and 80 percent have stayed at their church for longer than five years or are still at the church that hired them.

There are huge benefits from our program for churches and youth groups, even in the first year of partnering with YMI. Volunteers are engaged. New ideas are introduced to the congregation. Youth ministers are more motivated to succeed. Those benefits grow over time.

That’s why we ask the question, “what happens if we invest in developing leaders, and they stay?”

About Youth Ministry Institute Midwest

The Youth Ministry Institute (YMI) was founded in 2005 under the direction of Steve Schneeberger and First United Methodist Church of Orlando, Florida. In 2013, we expanded our mission to mainline churches in the Midwest with the support of several local partners. Matt Vaughan, the regional director, has twenty years of youth ministry experience at three churches with varied sizes of 350, 900, and 5,000 members.

Your prayers and support are appreciated, and gifts are crucial to our mission. Visit our online giving page to support Youth Ministry Institute Midwest with a one-time or recurring gift. By partnering with us, your gift helps us recruit students and faculty, refine our curriculum, and support our staff. We are a nonprofit 501c(3) organization. Thank you for your support!

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Copyright © 2014 Center for Youth Ministry Training, All rights reserved.
We are a 501c(3) nonprofit organization. Gifts are tax-deductible.

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