Wow can't believe 2018 is nearly done and dusted! Thank you to all of you who have been in touch this year, we have loved getting to know you. You all play such important roles as you walk alongside the young people in your communities and we feel so blessed to be able to support you in this. We have heard many inspiring stories this year and can't wait to hear more! Make sure if you haven't caught up with your regional enabler that you book in a catch up! Plus keep praying that we find a youth enabler for Hawkes Bay!!!

I just wanted to let you all know of some key dates to pop in your diaries as you continue to plan for 2019.

Easter Camp Waikanae Fri 19th - Mon 22nd April (More info below)
Connect National PYM Youth Leaders Conference in Ohope Fri 19th - Sun 21st July 
(that's write book it in your diaries! We are going to our National Marae!!! There will be a few spots available to sleep at marae or book a local bach or a spot at the campsite next door. Start booking now!)
Keep up to date with details here.

We are excited to share with you a new podcast resource that has been created.  ‘Youth ministry in New Zealand’ is a podcast that we hope will leave you feeling equipped, inspired and uplifted. 

The podcast is hosted by myself: Jasmin Vanderwerff and my colleague Tim Duxfeild. I am a youth pastor in Marton and I’m also one of your youth enablers for Presbytery Central and Tim is the priest at the Anglican Church in Marton.  

When I started in my first time youth pastor role I searched for resources to help me feel like I wasn’t failing. I would listen to all the podcasts out there and it would keep me going. Unfortunately, all the ones I would find were from an American context which although similar has a lot of variation from how youth ministry can work here. So when I got the opportunity to start this podcast I jumped at the idea of being able to create a resource which fits our unique way of doing youth ministry in Aotearoa. 

I love that as someone still fairly new to the game I can sit down and have conversations with youth pastors and ministry experts around the country and ask them the questions we all want to ask. Then I get to share all those conversations with you! Our dream is that this is something that not just youth pastors will be able to get wisdom from but also ministry volunteers, parents, senior leadership and anyone else that wants to see young people thrive. 

We would love it if you would join us on the journey by following and interacting with our social media pages by searching ‘Youth Ministry in New Zealand’.

You can listen on ITunes, Spotify or our website at the links below:
 
iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/podcast/youth-ministry-in-new-zealand/id1439756211?mt=2
 
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/044a9l3f8aOalEyZsrKADl?si=Q7kd1hlXRM--Ubgy3EZ1UQ
 
Website:
Www.ymnewzealand.org

Friday 19th - Monday 22nd April

Lock these dates in your diary and spread the word! We are back at El Rancho in Waikanae for another fun weekend, learning about God and this extraordinary life of fullness He has called to.

More information will be out in the coming months, so keep an eye out for that, but in the meantime here are a few things we want you to know:

This Easter Camp we want to encourage more adults from your churches to attend. This is to help make camp more intergenerational, as well as create space to foster a culture of discipleship in our presbyterian churches.

We all know it takes a village to raise a child, and we believe Easter Camp is a great place to start equipping and empowering us to nurture those relationships.

Whether this be parents of young people, current leaders or volunteers of youth groups, elders, ministers or anyone with a heart for investing in the lives of the young people in your church. Invite them along and encourage them to prayerfully consider this opportunity to walk alongside our young people.

We are still waiting to hear back from funding sources that we have applied to for camp but we expect the long weekend will cost around $175, sorry that we can’t give you an exact price at this point. El Rancho have put their prices up this year and so we need to work to those.

Start fundraising and remember that fundraising is a great way for your group to bond, it’s an awesome for your church and local community to show their support, plus it’s a fantastic chance for young people to brainstorm, dream and get creative with their entrepreneurial skills - hear from them, listen to their ideas, give them ownership in this.