Posts by Drew Hill
He Cried for an Hour
He cried for an hour. Sixty straight minutes of weeping, head buried deep in a hoodie. Although my seventeen-year-old friend looks like a future Olympian, at that broken moment, he could hardly breathe. I couldn’t even understand the words he wailed between his gasps for air. Eventually, I put the pieces together. In the past…
Read MoreOne Thing I Wish I’d Done
This morning I was looking for some notes from a podcast I’d listened to last year. I wanted to use a specific illustration from the sermon in a talk I’m giving next week. I couldn’t remember all the details or where I’d first heard it, but I knew I’d written them down somewhere. They had…
Read MoreLeaving a Legacy: How to Run a Young Life Senior Meeting
Over the past few years we’ve kicked off the new semester of Young Life with a ‘Seniors Only’ meeting. Special thanks to Brian Summerall for sharing his wisdom with us and prompting this new rhythm. It has worked well for us to hold our ‘Senior Meeting’ on the evening of the first day of school. In addition to promoting…
Read MoreWe’re Giving Away 100 Books!
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Last summer we asked you what books you recommended to add to our summer reading list. This summer, we wanted to give some of those books away! Each of the authors below is generously donating 10 copies of their book! 1 PERSON WILL WIN COPIES OF ALL 10…
Read MoreSummer Contact Work with a Mission
Our hope as Young Life leaders is to bring kids face-to-face with Jesus. And as we look at Jesus, it’s pretty clear that his strategy for transforming the world involved a band of ragamuffins. After Jesus ascended into heaven, this community of disciples went on a mission together. Jesus gave them a vision for a…
Read MoreHow To Plan A Summer Adventure Trip
Teenagers have a natural instinct for adventure and the upcoming summer offers fantastic opportunities for spontaneity. For the past twenty years I’ve been taking high school guys on a summer adventure trip in the North Carolina mountains. We hike, camp, fish, jump off cliffs, and ride down waterfalls. We sleep in enos, build campfires and…
Read MoreWe Show Up
Written by Charlie Heritage, Greensboro, NC. One of my dearest former Young Life kid’s dad suddenly passed away last week. When I found out, I immediately went to be with Jack. We talked for over two hours. At the service on Saturday, Jack spoke. I imagine it’s a difficult thing to do at any funeral,…
Read More$10,000 for Young Life Capernaum: #PedalWithAPurpose
If you haven’t already been following, Matt Broshat is biking the perimeter of the United States and fundraising for Young Life Capernaum in Minneapolis, MN. He’s already raised close to $10,000!!! Over the past 104 days, Matt has already ridden over 7,000 miles of his 11,000 mile adventure. Along the route, he has been visiting Young…
Read MoreA New Spin On The Old “Dog Toss”
Here’s a new spin on an old club game. We used to duct tape solo cups to guys’ chests to catch hot dogs flying through the air. The brilliant minds of WVYL decided to take the dog toss to the next level. The Dog Toss Borrow “dog collar cone”or (buy on Amazon for $8.99) Put…
Read MoreTim Keller’s Advice For Helping Teenagers Grow In Their Faith
When Tim Keller was asked his best advice for helping teenagers grow in their faith, this was his answer: “Teenagers have more information about God than they have experience of him. Get them in places where they have to rely on God.” It got me thinking. Where are the places where my high school friends…
Read MoreHave You Ever Thought About Going on Young Life Staff?
Written by Alex Holroyde, Young Life Area Director in Northeast Columbia, SC. “Teenagers have a right to know who He is. They have a right to know what He’s done for them. They have a right to know how they relate to that. They have a right to know him personally. Furthermore, they have a right…
Read More50 Questions for New Year’s Eve
Each New Year’s Eve, Natalie and I have a tradition of going out to a long dinner, reflecting on the past and dreaming about the future. We use the questions below as a starting point for the conversation. Hopefully they can be helpful to you as well. -Drew DownloadQuestions For The New Year Questions From…
Read MoreCampaigners Songbook
Lou Chiccehitto, Young Life Staff in Fauquier County, sent us a songbook that he uses for leading worship at Campaigners. It has the lyrics to 40 worship songs and can save you from having to deal with PowerPoint slides each week. Just print out copies of the book and either staple them together or punch…
Read More“Head, Shoulders, Knees…CUPS,” A Fun & Easy Mixer for Club
Get enough cups for half of the group. If you have a club of 40, get 20 cups. Have everyone get a partner (be on the look for folks without partners and have leaders make sure no one feels left out.) Partners face one another with hands on knees. Have the skit character running the…
Read MoreClub Song Set Lists from Windy Gap, 3rd Session
Listen to this amazing Windy Gap choir singing No Longer Slaves! Give it up for 3rd session Work Crew and Summer Staff! Special thanks to John Jackson for sharing the club music sets from his month at Windy Gap! A few of the videos have links to YouTube. CLUB 1 Bananas I Got A Feeling Medley I Got…
Read MoreLet’s Change Pants
A number of years ago I was in the high school cafeteria with a few other Young Life leaders. We were visiting our friends as they ate lunch. We would typically meet there a couple of times a week and spread out all over the cafeteria hanging out with kids during their break. On…
Read MoreEverybody Give It Up for P….90….OWEN!
It can be hard to follow someone that you don’t know, even harder to follow someone that you are a little bit afraid of. We live in a culture that teaches us to be afraid of people that are different than us; so being led by one of these people can either be a bit of…
Read MoreLet’s Come Up with a Handshake
Intricate handshakes are awesome. If you don’t believe me, check out this video of NBA star, Dwayne Wade, and TV host, Kelly Ripa. If you want more proof, check out the most elaborate handshake ever courtesy of the Coastal Carolina baseball team. Normal 0 false false false false EN-US JA X-NONE 3 Ways to Use Elaborate…
Read MoreWhat I Learned at the Oakbridge Skate Park
Baldemar was a “no way” kid. He was someone I never thought would come to camp with us, but miracles still happen! He spent six days at Oakbridge, hanging out with his leader, Luis. Each day he heard the story of Jesus. At the end of the week, he prayed with Luis to give his life to Christ.…
Read More2 Ways to Get in Shape While Starting a Campaigners Group This Fall
If you’re hoping to start a Campaigners group this fall, below are two ideas that could help kickstart a group. For the Ladies This summer, one of our leaders got the brilliant idea to teach a free Zumba class on Tuesdays. We moved most of the furniture out of our basement and the girls…
Read MoreThe Water Bottle Flip Craze
About a month ago a high school student here in North Carolina became a legend in 31 seconds. Mike Senatore, from Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, flipped a water bottle during his school talent show and it landed upright. His buddy Scottie Finanger tweeted out this video and the rest is history. If you’re…
Read MoreHappy Leap Day!
The Balancing Act: College Student & Young Life Leader
One of my biggest pet peeves in college was people saying, “You have the most free time now you’re ever going to have in your life.” I didn’t like the comment because I sure felt like I had ZERO free time. Balancing leading Young Life and being a college student isn’t easy. Below are 4 thoughts on…
Read MoreCostume Club Ideas
Who doesn’t love a YL style Costume Party? Below are a few ideas to help make it YL’d and festive. Pre-Club Photo Booth It’s a great night to get some solid photos to throw up on Instagram throughout the week. Delegate to a high schooler to shoot the pics and post them on Instagram. Entry Music Here’s…
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