According to Kyle:

I just turned 30! I don’t feel old, but I’m told “I’m over the the first hill.”  Whatever that means.

In this season of my ministry and time on the speaker team, I’m trying to spend more time with Jesus — listening to Jesus, following the Holy Spirit, and trust our Heavenly Father.  I want to listen to God and share what I hear.  In this season of ministry, I’m re-learning who my audience really is.

To learn more about Kyle Click here.

with Walt Mueller and Marv Penner

Cost: $40

Date: Thursday, May 23, 2013

Time: 1:00PM – 2:30PM EDT

Seminar Description:

Self-injury is no longer a rare psychological oddity touching a few fringe kids in somebody else’s community. It is an all too common expression of the intense emotions some kids are managing these days… and sadly, most of us don’t understand it, much less have a clue about what to do when we come across it. Join CPYU President, Walt Mueller as he hosts Marv Penner, an expert on crisis intervention and self-injury. Marv will take a frank, honest look at a problem that is increasingly evident in the lives of some of the teenagers we work with. Unfortunately, this will not be a “feel-good” session with a neat and tidy solution. The topic is graphic, the images are messy, the stories are heart-wrenching and the details are unsettling but we can no longer pretend it’s not an issue. We’ll hear the stories of real kids who use cutting, carving, burning and other self-injurious behaviors to cope with what’s going on inside. We’ll learn to understand what drives their unusual behaviors and we’ll explore some of the practical do’s and don’ts for people like us to keep in mind when kids choose to share their struggle with us. This webinar will be helpful for youth workers, teachers, counselors, parents and teenagers who have a friend who’s struggling with self injury.

If not, sign up by clicking this link, text 22828, or get your QR code reader out!

Tom Dierenfeld of LifeSpring Covenant Church serves as Director of Youth Ministry and is a valued member of an experienced team that is recognized for its diverse and complementary skills that provide quality speaking for conference retreats, leadership training, and gatherings of Covenant churches.

And now a word from Tom:

“The Covenant speaker team has been a blessing to many people, including myself, in many ways, and it is an honor and a privilege to serve in this capacity.

Perhaps the most rewarding part of the experience for me has been to meet people from around the country and realize that I’m serving those who are very similar to me, in similar ministry contexts, dealing with similar issues, even though we’re not all the same.  In our diversity, there is a great sense of unity because we’re all trying to follow Jesus.  There’s nothing really flashy about it.  I’m a youth pastor, just like the youth pastors I meet.  I’ve got some quiet, and some rowdy middle school students, just like the students I meet.  I’m trying to lead others and follow Jesus the best that I can, just like the communities of Jesus followers that I meet.  What a great gift it is, to know in times of loneliness, that I’m not alone!  It’s my hope that this is the same realization of every student and leader I meet; that our common bond is in Christ, the One who never leaves us or forsakes us, even when the retreat is over.”

To learn more about Tom Click here and listen to his sermons.

Discover the Art of Bible Storying…

For thousands of years, stories were the key means for people to learn and experience God. Echo desires to recapture this sacred art of biblical storytelling, inspiring new generations to find themselves in God’s Story.

Echo uses a process called Storying (short for Chronological Bible Storying) – a sequential telling of Bible stories followed by a time of review and dialogue. Derived from the ancient Hebrew way of learning through careful observation and discussion, Storying was rediscovered a few decades ago by missionaries who are now using this method extensively around the world. Recently, Storying is also proving to be effective with youth and adults in our media-literate, story-oriented North American context.

About Echo the Story

Echo the Story is a 12-week Bible overview for youth – it is almost complete and will be released on June 7th!

Founded by Michael Novelli, Echo the Story is an imaginative way to engage in the Bible using storytelling, observation, and dialogue.

Sign up for e-updates to be the first to learn more!

For more information, check it out here!

In 2013, Covenant camps will have the opportunity to help provide clean water and access to better sanitation and hygiene in Gemena, located in the Equateur Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

A recent study of more than 4,000 households in the community found that less than 6 percent had access to clean water and sanitation facilities were almost non-existent. The community themselves, confirmed by this study, has identified that solving the clean water situation has to be the first intervention in this new Area Development Program. To that end, the community is pursuing a multi-tiered approach.

The Ledia Water project is a new initiative to bring clean water to all residents of the Ledia community, where the Covenant Kids Congo program is located. The aim of this project is to save lives and improve health, particularly among children, by reducing the prevalence of waterborne and water related diseases such as cholera and dysentery. This project represents a tangible opportunity to dramatically improve the quality of life for people in the Ledia community.

Will you come alongside our brothers and sisters in the Congo to extend this life-giving help? For less than $20 per person you can help provide clean water access for life.

For more information, please visit the CKC Camp project website.

YouTube You Can Use is a free weekly youth ministry resource I publish every Monday at The Youth Cartel.

It includes a link to a YouTube video as well as a discussion starter, some related Bible verses, 3 ice breaker questions, and a thought question I call wrestle with this.

To give you some behind the scenes insight, here are my goals as I put it together:

• The video can’t be cheesy or predictable or boring.
• The video has to be 90 seconds or less.
• The tie-in has to lead students back to Scripture or an attribute of God.
• It has to be age-appropriate.
• It has to be something I’d use… because we use it in our ministry.

Here are 4 tips for using this free resource:

1. Play it as an intro in your Sunday morning or midweek youth ministry time. Just play the video and then have a slide with the 3 questions. Done.
2. Post it on your Facebook page. Just straight up snatch the video and the discussion guide and put it up there for your students to wrestle with. You’re probably not using that page enough, this is a weekly excuse. Takes 30 seconds.
3. Send it to parents as something they can use to talk to their kids. Copy/paste the content, drop in a link to the video, and now you have an excuse to send a weekly newsletter to parents. Drop your announcements for the week above there and I just made you look like a rock star.
4. Table talk with your own kids or small group. Just pull the video up on your smartphone, hand it to them, and then have a discussion based on the email. No prep time needed, just open the email and you’re done.

Are you getting this? How do you use it?   Want to subscribe? (It’s free!) Click here.

Check out this last week’s Topic: Teamwork (Vol. 3, Issue 11)

Video:

http://youtu.be/iGhcu_raUvM

Bible:

Romans 12:4-5

Discussion Starter:

Two quick thoughts.

1. Are there videos for the times they tried this and failed?

2. Wouldn’t that be cool to try while water skiing?

In all seriousness, a stunt like that is daring and likely took some planning and practice. It is a fantastic example of the amazing things you can do when you work as a team.

In Romans 12, Paul writes “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Just like the skiers, the church is supposed to be a team. We don’t all have the same job to do, but each of us is important.

3 Questions:

1. What’s one thing you’ve accomplished on a team?
2. How is your church like a team?
3. Do you feel needed in your ministry?

Chew on this:

If the body is made up of many parts, does age matter?

Journey to Mosaic Squared (J2M2): Is a three-week, multiethnic experience to shape and challenge the hearts and minds of 18-23 year old leaders. A diverse group living under one roof follow a rhythm of Scriptural study, hands-on experience, and group processing. They learn more about God, each other, and about the world (helping hurting people and helping stop the things that hurt people). They are
challenged to consider what it means to authentically follow Jesus as they begin to consider their studies, careers, relationships, and lifestyles.

Experience the opportunities and challenges of life and ministry in an urban context
Live together in a diverse community guided by two leaders
Explore God’s heart for compassion, mercy, and justice
Hear the stories of people who have chosen to live and minister in the inner city
Interact with civic and community leaders
Explore God’s will for your life
HAVE FUN!

For Journey to Mosaic Squared for 2013 we do not yet have exact dates, but it will be held in July. To view flyer for upcoming 2013 trip, click here and for registration for click here.

You may contact Nelly Bothi at the Pacific Southwest Conference office should you have questions or need further information, nelly.bothi@pswc.org or (925) 677-2140.

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