Hey Youth Workers,
It’s time to remind you about planning your summer. I hate to do this to you, especially since I know some of you are buried in snow right now, but summer will be here before you know it.
I have always tried to get my summer youth ministry calendar totally finalized at least by spring break. Key word tried. The idea was to help families plan their summer vacations and activities with youth ministry dates in mind.
So here’s to helping you plan for the summer!
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I hope you are considering adding Student Leadership Conference to your summer calendar. I could give you testimony after testimony about the impact student leaders can have on youth groups, churches, and communities. Not to mention the impact on the student himself who is there learning their leadership voice, defining their leadership style, and discovering their leadership abilities. Needless to say, I am a HUGE fan of student leaders.
One of the things people ask me most about Student Leadership Conference (SLC) is “What makes SLC different from other leadership conferences, camps or retreats? I thought it would be good idea to share three things that I think set SLC apart.
- SLC is not a camp (transportation and lodging are all on your own). While we will have a lot fun (the Skit Guys are joining for every session—so we will definitely laugh A LOT!) and we will make some great memories. SLC is not intended to entertain students, but rather, challenge them. We also think there is something special about coming as a small group and learning as part of a larger group. A sense of belonging to your group begins to develop and by the time you leave SLC it’s fun to see how your youth group has bonded because of a new mutual experience. By being part of a larger group, your students get a bigger perspective on what other students are doing in their own ministries, how they are serving in their church, and what they are contributing to the global Church.
- We Design SLC to be Experiential – Our hope is to create a supportive atmosphere where students are encouraged to participate and challenged to think differently. Some of this will come with teaching from the stage, some of it will come from engaging worksheets and reflective processing, some will even come from debriefing conversations. But we don’t want students to just sit and take notes, we want students to engage in the material through planned leadership scenarios and opportunities. These experiences are usually guided by adults, but driven by students.
- SLC is built on student involvement and leadership development. A lot of the people you will see on stage will be students and a lot of the details behind the scenes will be handled by students. Each year we invite a few students who have been to SLC to join our team. They travel with us and come alongside us as “interns” helping to pull off the many details, whether that be helping with worship, emceeing or serving behind the scenes—that is how committed we are to modeling student servant leadership.
Those are just a few of things that I think make SLC a unique leadership experience. I could keep going, but I know you have work to do.
Here is the deal, SLC is one of the most affordable investments you can make into your student leaders. (2.5 day conference, with a couple meals included, quality teaching—you can’t beat this price anywhere). If you have never been to SLC, I encourage you to give it a try. Grab a couple of students and check it out this summer. I guarantee you will want to bring more students the following summer.
For more info on SLC visit us at DYMSLC.com
Praying that January is bringing you a fresh energy for youth ministry!
Your friend,
Doug
P.S. We just released 6 new resources to help you win… check them out here!
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