Posts by Young Life Leader
Running on Empty: Frustrated Desires
This is the 5th week in our Sunday series, “Running on Empty,” by Fil Anderson. If you missed the first four, catch up here: The Condition of Your Soul Hearing the Voice of God The Fear of Insignificance What’s True About God & You Part 5: Frustrated Desires Week after week, people come to me…
Read MoreTurkey Club: 10 Ideas for a YL Thanksgiving Celebration
Thanksgiving is next week! If you’re squeezing club in before the break, below are some ideas for Turkey Club. Serve Have kids bring canned goods to club to donate to needy families. You could also ask them to bring supplies for Operation Christmas Child and put together Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. Secret Tweets Have everyone…
Read MoreWatch & Wait: Reflections on Advent and Christmas by Jim Branch
Many of you are familiar with ‘The Blue Book‘ and have loved reading Jim Branch’s writings. Jim was on staff with YL for almost twenty years and now directs a ministry of spiritual nurture in Knoxville, TN. Last year we gave away copies of Jim’s book, “Being with Jesus.” He recently released a new book, “Watch…
Read MoreWyldLife Wednesday: Tips for Building Relationships With Parents
Written by Steph Raubenheimer, WyldLife Representative in the Greater New York Division When a parent drops a kid off at WyldLife club, do you ever wonder “Does this parent know I’m ____________.” Fill in your blank: Trained to be doing this. A full-time student. Grieving. A working professional. Out of a job. Volunteering my time…
Read MoreHello by Adele: Chords and Slides
The population of the United States is 320 million. In less than one month, Adele’s “Hello” has 400 million views on YouTube. Her new album comes out this week. If you’re looking for a ‘hot’ new song to sing in club, you found it. Odds are that someone in your club plays keys. Ask around, have someone…
Read MoreA Discipleship Series By Justin McRoberts: Along the Way
On Tuesdays this semester we’re running a series of posts on discipleship by Justin McRoberts. If you’ve missed the first 6 posts, click the links below to catch up. Discipleship Series Introduction Prayer, part 1 Prayer, part 2 Prayer, part 3 Prayer, part 4 Community, part 1 Community, part 2 Mission, part 1 Mission, part…
Read MoreHoedown Club Ideas
The fall is a perfect time of year to pull off 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. If you use a field, make sure…
Read MoreRunning on Empty: What’s True About God & You (Part 4)
This is the 4th week in our Sunday series, “Running on Empty,” by Fil Anderson. If you missed the first three, catch up here: The Condition of Your Soul Hearing the Voice of God The Fear of Insignificance Part 4: What’s True About God & You Walk into any Young Life club and you’re bound…
Read MoreRain for Roots: ‘Waiting Songs’ for Advent
Rain for Roots is a group of Nashville musicians made up of Sandra McCracken, Katy Bowser, and Flo Paris. They make wonderful music for children and partner with their local chapter of YoungLives. Rain for Roots gives music and Baby’s Hug-A-Bibles to each new mom to be. They also raised money for YoungLives campership at…
Read MoreWyldLife Wednesday: How To Maximize ‘The Raffle’
Written by Neal Eckerlin, WyldLife Representative of the Southwestern Division Sometimes we continue do things at club because we’ve always done them but we often forget the purpose and how to make certain club components effective. One example – the raffle! The raffle is fun and kids seem to like it, so we keep doing…
Read MoreA Discipleship Series By Justin McRoberts: Learning to Listen
On Tuesdays this semester we’re running a series of posts on discipleship by Justin McRoberts. If you’ve missed the first 6 posts, click the links below to catch up. Discipleship Series Introduction Prayer, part 1 Prayer, part 2 Prayer, part 3 Prayer, part 4 Community, part 1 Community, part 2 MISSION, Part 1: Listen Jesus is…
Read MoreThe 1000th Post: Win a YL Prize Pack
Today marks the 1000th post we’ve ever published on The Young Life Leader Blog and next month the site will turn 5 years old! Below is a 3 minute video to introduce you to some of the folks on the team along with a short survey we’d love for you to fill out (and you…
Read MoreRunning on Empty: The Fear of Insignificance
This is the third week in our Sunday series, “Running on Empty,” by Fil Anderson. If you missed the first two, catch up here: The Condition of Your Soul Hearing the Voice of God Part 3: The Fear of Insignificance I heard about a highly effective evangelical leader who said to his friends, as they…
Read MoreA Capernaum Testimony from Sarah Brintnall
This post first appeared on the YL Capernaum Everywhere blog. Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE When I was getting started with Capernaum in Baltimore, Sarah was the first friend I met. She, along with her parents, taught me so much about what it meant to do ministry alongside of my new friends…
Read MoreClub Talk Illustration: The Making Of A Miracle
A guest post written by Dan Voder Woude, Area Director in Monroe, LA. I realize my bias as a former Michigan State student influences this post, but I believe this video is a great set up to a Club talk whether you are blessed to be a Spartan or not. Michigan State’s defeat of Michigan…
Read MoreWyldLife Wednesday: What To Do On Your Non-Club Week
Written by Joe Nelson, WyldLife staff in Charlottesville, VA Many Wyldlife ministries do not have club every week. Like many Wyldlife leaders, my team is often faced with this question: “What should we do on our non-club week?” How can we make the most out of the weeks when we don’t have club? Putting on…
Read MoreA Discipleship Series by Justin McRoberts: Community (Part 2)
On Tuesdays this semester we’re running a series of posts on discipleship by Justin McRoberts. If you’ve missed the first 5 posts, click the links below to catch up. Discipleship Series Introduction Prayer, part 1 Prayer, part 2 Prayer, part 3 Prayer, part 4 Community (part 1) Community, part 2 Community Is Purposeful When Jesus invites…
Read MoreRunning on Empty: Hearing the Voice of God
Last Sunday we began a 10 week series by Fil Anderson called “Running on Empty.” If you’re tired and need encouragement, these posts are for you. If you missed part 1, read it here: The Condition of Your Soul Hearing the Voice of God Sometimes the only way to get a new life is by running…
Read MoreTOMORROW: $3 Booritos At Chipotle
Tomorrow for Halloween, Chipotle is discounting all entrees to $3 if you’re wearing a costume and add something unnecessary to your costume. It starts at 5pm nation-wide. The Perfect YL Leader Halloween Plan Pick up your middle or high school friends. Head to the YL office and raid the skit closet.* Dress up in costumes,…
Read MoreYL College: Leader Training Materials
We’ve been taking a look at Young Life College on Thursdays this fall. This week we asked YL College ministries around the country what they use to train leaders. Below are a variety of different answers from across the mission. We have developed a life skills curriculum called “Life and Leadership” that we go through…
Read MoreWyldLife Wednesday: Meet the Parents
Written by Meredith Reed, WyldLife staff in Dallas, TX Parent communication is key in so many facets of WyldLife and contact work is no exception. When we’re going to spend time with middle school kids, we have to communicate with their parents on the front end. Here are a couple of reasons why: Middle school…
Read MoreA Discipleship Series by Justin McRoberts: Community
On Tuesdays this semester we’re running a series of posts on discipleship. If you’ve missed the first 5 posts, click the links below to catch up. Discipleship Series Introduction Prayer, part 1 Prayer, part 2 Prayer, part 3 Prayer, part 4 Community by Justin McRoberts I have found that I can’t be a very good disciple…
Read MoreClub Game of the Week: Movie Trivia
If you’re looking for a club game this week, you can’t go wrong with movie trivia. Kids love movies and kids love competition. Special thanks to my friend Mikey Fissel for putting together these trivia questions for us. If you enjoy film and theology check out his website and podcast: Reel World Theology. How To…
Read MoreRunning On Empty: The Condition of Your Soul
Life is busy. Young Life is busy. If we’re not careful, we as leaders can easily find ourselves burnt out and exhausted. Few books have impacted my life like Fil Anderson’s ‘Running on Empty.’ I’ve asked Fil to write a series of posts specifically for Young Life leaders on this very topic. We’ll be posting…
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