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101 Conference: Youth Ministry as Vibrant Reality May 28, 2007 By Jaime McGarvey
The Missouri District Youth Committee is known for producing high quality cutting-edge events. Their Youth Conventions and Camps are well attended and packed with excellent speakers, bands and multi-media action. It would make sense then that their first youth workers conference would be marked with the same excellence and attendance. So on May 18 and 19, 2007, 110 Missouri youth pastors and youth workers attended the free (that’s right, free!) 101 Conference held in Lebannon, MO at Harvest Tabernacle pastored by Chris Thorton.
The 101 Conference was the dream of the MO District Youth Committee, but also the dream of David Molina, Youth Pastor at Harvest Tabernacle. Molina had wanted to sponsor a youth workers conference to help get programs off the ground in Missouri by providing resources for them to take back and just run with. He didn’t want a pumped-up event that left the guy with five in his youth group feeling hopeless. On the other side of the state, Missouri Youth President Chuck Carr was casting a vision of an active youth service at least once a month in every church in Missouri. Molina presented the committee with his idea, and they loved it. This was the event needed to launch their vision. The committee gave him a budget, told him to appoint a staff (Mike Jackson, Jaime McGarvey and Tony Wyatt) and produce a conference. He did.
Take Off As they entered the conference, attendees were handed a resource notebook that detailed the conference and speakers. It also contained a free DVD from Bluefish.com with 10 sermon illustration clips and fun commercials for youth services and a copy of Group Magazine. Attached to the back of the notebook was the mother load; a resource CD packed with more than a year’s worth of sermons (many complete with power points and video clips); a calendar of activities; chord charts for the latest cool songs; countdowns to begin service; advice to youth pastors on how to handle various situations; fundraising ideas, and even more. As if that wasn’t enough, across from registration was a resource table piled with the latest books and DVD’s on leading youth ministry well. In reality, you could have walked out right then, never even stepping foot into the sanctuary and justified the gas money you spent to get to Lebannon. The lobby was worth the trip. But then you would have missed Todd Gaddy and Danny Rivers and Brandon Shanks and Mike Jackson and the cool lock-in with no students and Rick Morrow’s Revolution service.
Music videos and crazy commercials greeted youth workers as they moved into the Harvest auditorium. The stage set was decked out like a classroom, complete desks for the praise singers to sit when they weren’t in action, lockers filled with iPOD’s, gift certificates and resources to be used in the lucky winner’s youth program. There was even a chain link fence separating the drum set, a red leather couch in the “teacher’s lounge” and a chalk board hanging from the back wall of the stage.
The atmosphere was pumped as youth workers praised and worshipped without having to worry about who was texting who instead of singing or who was still in the bathroom or the lobby or who just blew chunks in the van. It was relaxed and fun and full of encouragement.
Birthing Stronger Youth Leaders The evening included sessions with Todd Gaddy on “Accountability,” Danny Rivers on “Passion for the Calling,” and Brandon Shanks on “Building an Above Average Team.” After the sessions everyone headed to the Lebanon Civic Center for a lock-in with no students. Youthworkers threw themselves against Velcro walls and hammered each other with padded jousting sticks in an inflatable ring, raced through an inflatable maze, played volleyball, basketball and Playstation games on giant TV screens until 2 a.m. (Luckily, the sessions didn’t begin until 10 a.m. on Saturday.)
During the morning sessions, Shanks covered creating an experiential youth service and Gaddy talked about how to maintain a dynamic youth ministry. During the general sessions Rivers encouraged the youth workers to identify the Y Generation and challenge them to get involved in a cause greater than themselves.
After a power lunch with Gaddy answering basic youth ministry questions, the whole conference hoofed it over to Rick Morrow’s Revolution Center for a rocking service. The Revolution is a monthly non-denominational community youth service in Lebanon. Morrow is the Youth Pastor at Lebanon Family Church and he and his staff are the lead sponsors of The Revolution. The 101 Conference-goers got a taste of what a first class youth service could offer and what it takes to make it happen. Rick spoke to the workers about the importance of making Jesus the center of service, not the hype and fun of activities. He also mentioned how absolutely imperative it is that youth ministries crown everything they do with excellence.
The conference ended with Mike Jackson’s session on “Reaching ‘em and Keeping ‘em” and optional one-on-one sessions with veteran youth workers on everything from help with your music program, creating a progressive youth ministry, what’s working with your program and what’s not, and many others.
Pumped with Wisdom The youth workers left on Saturday evening their pockets bulging with passion, countless tools, ideas and new contacts with other ministries in Missouri.
If you are interested in purchasing one of the resource CDs and notebooks or a full set of the conference CDs, contact Dave Molina at 417-322-4122 or at h8elpaso@hotmail.com.
ninetyandnine.com
© 2007, Jaime McGarvey
--------- Jaime McGarvey is busy juggling her career, her youth ministry, her MBA program, and planning a wedding for the end of the summer. She is hoping to retain her sanity and the joy of the Holy Ghost. Any and all prayers and offerings are welcome!
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