Posts by Young Life Leader
Hoedown Club Ideas
The fall has arrived and its a perfect time of year to plan a Young Life hoedown club! Location Borrow a barn! If you can’t find a barn, find a field. It’s better to do the field party earlier in October so it’s not dark as early or as cold. Daylight Savings Time ends on…
Read MoreWyldLife Wednesday: Weekend Camp Alternatives
Maybe your area isn’t ready for a WyldLife weekend camp. Maybe there isn’t a nearby camp or enough areas with WyldLife to fill a camp. Consider an alternative weekend event that still provides relationship-building time with kids and leaders, as well as a Gospel proclamation. Lock-In Host a lock-in at a team building center where…
Read MoreWonderwall/Cold Water Mashup
Thanks to Katie Woodham, Tiffany Buhls and the folks at Riverwood High School in NW Atlanta for passing on this mashup club song of Wonderwall and Cold Water. You also can enter to win the NEW CLUB SONG CONTEST, details here. Download Guitar Chords Download PowerPoint Slides
Read MoreNew Club Songs Contest
We need your help! And we’re willing to bribe you. How To Enter Identify new songs (released in 2016) that are working well in club. Leave a comment on Instagram with a new club song suggestion. (counts as 1 entry) Email us a good guitar chord sheet of a new club song (counts as 2 entries)…
Read More12 Commitments Of A Young Life Leader
I’ll never give up on a kid as “unreachable.” I won’t think my job is done when a kid has made a decision to follow Christ. I’ll help them realize how necessary it is to: Pray Read God’s Word daily Read helpful books Regularly unite with God’s people Serve others and do ministry I’ll help…
Read MoreThe Story of Chris McDaniel- by Cliff Wright
Riverbend Campaigner Diane Funes with Chris McDaniel at his first YL Club Written by Cliff Wright, Area Director, University City/Cabarrus County (Charlotte, NC) Football at Riverbend High School was always a big deal — until the first game of the season when the Bears would lose, and the student section would disappear. But man, before that…
Read MoreWyldLife Wednesday: Wyld Moms
Written by Mary Beth Witler, WyldLife staff, Argyle, TX. While having lunch with another Young Life staff person, we talked about how to get parents more involved in WyldLife. Parents are almost always willing to help, but identifying how they can help is the kicker. So we thought, “Let’s make a group and call them Wyld…
Read MoreQuestions To Ask In Your Post-Club Team Meeting
After club each week it’s helpful to gather as a team and review the night. We call it our “post-club team time.” Our club ends at 9 pm and our team usually meets from 9:15-10:15 pm after everyone has left. Other clubs in our area gather another night of the week because a post-club meeting…
Read MoreFree Krispy Kreme This Coming Monday: Talk Like A Pirate Day
This coming Monday, September 19, why not grab your whole YL team and hit up Krispy Kreme before school dressed as pirates? You would each get a free dozen! Then you could take the doughnuts out to your school to give away, still dressed as pirates. Probably want to check with your school administration first!…
Read MoreTaking Campaigners to the Deep End
I recently ran across an article about the “I Wish My Teacher Knew” index cards. A teacher in Denver, CO provided blank cards for her students to share anything they wanted her to know and it’s heartbreaking to read the things her students wrote. It reminded me of my favorite Campaigners question: Finish the sentence “If…
Read MoreHappy Birthday Jackson Davies
You may have already seen this video about Jackson Davies’ birthday. It recently went viral on social media and was shared with us by Patrick Lundberg. Patrick is the Area Director for Young Life in Otter Tail County, MN and a close friend with Jackson’s family. Tony Tripolli, a popular TV host, invited folks to…
Read MoreWyldLife Wednesday: In Your Face: Tic-Tac-Toe
I had the opportunity to take a group of eighth grade girls to Camp Buckner this summer, and my friends had an incredible week. Grant Zeller, Kurt Cotter and Jessica Sims did a great job creating a program that was just right for middle school kids – from large all-camp activities to club games, they…
Read MoreHow To Make Your “Run-On” The Talk Of The School
A favorite Young Life tradition is the “run-on skit.” A “run-on” (or “walk-on”) is simply a skit where the same characters appear every week. Find ideas for run-on skit characters here. There are two main options for how to run your run-on: No Storyline The skit characters appear weekly at Club with no storyline, simply…
Read MoreMaking Disciples Through Serving: YL Expeditions
Written by Mike Miller, YL Expeditions Regional Coordinator. “What you do has far greater impact than what you say.” ~ Stephen Covey As you plan for the upcoming year of Campaigners and look to make disciples, is service a part of your plan? There are many verses in the Bible about service: “just as the…
Read MoreCamp Musician of the Month: James Tutson
Our featured Camp Musician for the month of September is James Tutson. You may have heard his music on the new Young Life podcast, “On the Frontier.” James was featured as the first guest in episode one. He was first introduced to Young Life as a freshman in high school alongside his older brother. In…
Read MoreA Brilliant New Leader Placement Video
This leader placement video from Forsyth County, GA WyldLife is brilliant! Forsyth Wyldlife from Bridget O’Donnell on Vimeo. One of the trademarks of Young Life is celebrating well, especially in regards to rites of passage- like new leader placement. You can listen to more thoughts about rites of passages on this week’s episode of “On…
Read More8 Ways To Give Students Ownership At Club
One night after club our newest YL leader asked me how it compared with a typical club. “Was it better than normal, average, or not quite as good?” I turned to one of my high school friends and asked, “What do you think, Chris?” His response surprised me. “I think it was my favorite club…
Read More20 Ways Campaigners and Senior Leaders Can Help on Club Day
Pray! Wear a Young Life shirt to school. Invite friends who are disinterested in Jesus to club. Text all of your friends, reminding them about club. Post about club on Instagram and Twitter. Offer to give rides to club. Introduce the friends you brought to club to the YL leaders and others. Introduce yourself to…
Read MoreThe Best Time for Contact Work by Joe Boncha
Written by Joe Boncha. What is the best time to do contact work? 5:15pm. Really! Why 5:15 For the longest time we’d try and get volunteers to come right after school between 2pm and 3pm but SO many kids run for their bus, while others head to change for sports. It’s not a bad time…
Read MoreOn the Frontier: Heart First
If you haven’t yet started listening to the new podcast “On the Frontier,” don’t fret, you’re only 6 episodes behind! It’s a podcast about Young Life by Ben Battaglia and Justin Ryder. Find out more here. Last week I had the privilege of being on the show. Our family was driving home from the beach…
Read MoreCamp Musician Of The Month: Matthew Ruiz
Our featured camp musician this month is Matthew Ruiz. Matthew first got involved with Young Life in high school, when he met the Lord at Frontier Ranch. He played guitar in high school, but it wasn’t until leading worship for his Young Life College team at Texas State University did he realize he wanted to…
Read MoreDear Young Life Leader: A Letter from a High School Principal
This post was written by a real high school principal who wishes to remain anonymous. Special thanks to this friend of Young Life who took the time to share valuable insight with us leaders. Hopefully, it will help your Young Life team as you begin the new school year. As a long-time friend and former…
Read MoreOn The Frontier: A Young Life Podcast by Justin Ryder and Ben Battaglia
A guest post by Ben Battaglia (Area Director – Champaign County, Illinois) & Justin Ryder (Metro Director – Rutgers Metro, New Jersey) We’re excited to announce a brand new podcast about Young Life called “On The Frontier!” We’ll unpack the latest Young Life news, explore innovation & creativity around the mission, and learn from the stories of our…
Read MoreQuick and Easy Scattergories Game for Campaigners or Club
If you need a quick and easy game for Campaigners or club, download this Scattergories PDF I created and print off enough copies for each team. HOW TO PLAY Divide your group into smaller groups (around 4 people/team works best.) Pass out 1 pen and 1 game sheet (2 pages) per team. Set a timer for…
Read More