NYMC 08 - Highlight Reel

What a great weekend down in Sacramento for the National Youth Workers Convention. This wonderful event put on by Youth Specialties is one of the highlights of my year. Just about the only thing I didn't enjoy was not having my wife alongside.

I'll be blogging through what individual speakers shared as the weeks go on, but I wanted to tell a few of my favorite things.

The People: Although I went for the teaching, worship and soul care, connecting with people was one of the most encouraging elements this year. It was neat getting to know a few guys from my neck of the woods, as well as some from the online world. If you're in youth ministry, you should check out Tim Schmoyer site. He is a dedicated youth worker in Minnesota who provides countless resources and tips for those doing student ministries themselves. In fact, I'm listening to a video podcast of his as I type!

The Communicators: You can't go wrong when people like Tony Campolo, Mark Yaconelli, Shane Claiborne, and of course YS President, Marko bring their thoughts on life and serving God. But I loved the great variety of topics taught. It ranged from 2,000 plus years of church history and its effect on where we are now, to how we act justly today, how we think about the gay community, and those dark times in the wilderness in which all leaders pass.

The Bands: Hello...Starfield, Lincoln Brewster, Shane & Shane, Kendall Payne, and others! Great worship leaders and artists.

The Freebies: It's real nice coming home from the convention with a bag full of free ministry resources, and a few valuable purchased ones too. Above the Golden State, a local Portland band even made it into my freebie bag!

The Tech: For those of you Twitter people out there, my total tweets increased 47% while at the convention. It was fun tweeting and reading my fellow youth workers' tweets as we all learned different things.

Brian had the chance to Liveblog the event, which meant that during all the sessions and seminars, there were 4 laptop laden people typing their thoughts and experience for the world to see. It was fun to interact on the liveblog. If you want to check it out yourself, even see videos & pictures from the convention, check it out here.

The Passion: The convention provides a camp experience for 2,500 youth workers. There are a bunch of people heading back to ministries this week with new passion and vision. You can pray for them as they seek to excite those around them in the things they learned.

Well, for someone who hasn't typed that much in a while, I think I'll call it quits. Check back soon for my thoughts on the speakers.