Posts by Young Life Leader
Tips On Leading Young Life From A High School Principal
While this Guest Post was not written by Mr. Belding, it 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 YL team as you begin the new school year. (Originally…
Read MoreMy Commitment by Bill Goans
I can’t think of anything better to read as we kick off a new school year in Young Life. My Commitment by Bill Goans (Former YL staff and now pastor in my hometown of Greensboro, NC) As long as high school kids mill around at ball games looking for love in all the wrong places… As long…
Read MoreThe Most Important Phone Call You’ll Make This August
Many of our friends recently graduated high school and are starting college this month. What happens during those first few weeks of college will significantly influence, not only their next four years, but the very direction of their lives. Pastor Andy Stanley says “Direction, not intention, determines destination.” He illustrates, “If you’re going north on…
Read MoreHow To Be An Ineffective Young Life Leader
Originally posted July 2012. Don’t remember kids’ names. Teach your Campaigner group spiritual disciplines you don’t personally practice. Always send mass text messages. Never call kids individually. Depend on your own ability to win kids to Christ. Retweet all tweets by your high school friends that could get them grounded if seen by their parents. …
Read MoreOur Club Schedule For Fall 2013
(Most of) the Northwest Guilford High School Young Life Team We had our first YL team pow-wow of the semester last week. Business item number one was making an Insta-video of our team’s interpretation of Drake’s ‘Started From The Bottom.’ I’d link to the video, but there are some things better left to the imagination. …
Read More121 Theme Club Ideas
New club ideas to consider for the fall: -Bacon club -Catching Fire club -Cat-Dynasty club (cats instead of Ducks) -#tbt club -#ManCrushMonday club -Insta-club Please share any club ideas you’d like to add in the comments below oremail us here. All-City Club Anti-Valentine’s Club Baby Club Bachelor/Bachelorette Club Backwards Club Bacon Club Banana Club Battle…
Read MoreCatching Fire Club: The Young Life Hunger Games
Our YL team got together last night to plan clubs for the semester. We realized the second part of The Hunger Games triology, Catching Fire, hits the big screen on November 22nd. Since it’s always better to be ahead of the game, instead of ‘so last week,’ we’re scheduling our ‘Catching Fire Club’ for November…
Read MoreThe Most Helpful Posts You May Have Missed This Summer
Summer has flown by as usual. If you were ‘outta-pocket’ for a few months, here are some of the most read posts on YoungLifeLeaders.org from this summer: A Brand New Content Song For Your YL Club The Best Thing You Can Do With Your Campaigners Group Before School Starts Tips On Designing Awesome YL Shirts Tim…
Read MoreSolving The Problem Of Scheduling Team Times
Our Young Life team is getting together this week to begin planning for the fall semester. It’s so important to spend time together as a team, yet it seems almost impossible to find a time that works for everyone’s schedule. To help you find a time for that upcoming fall planning retreat or just a…
Read MoreHow To Recruit, Train, Equip, & Sustain Leaders
If you’re looking for helpful resources on recruiting, training, equipping, and sustaining leaders, check out The Western Great Lakes Young Life Region website. Sample leader development plans from: Birmingham, Michgan St. Louis Kane County, Illinois Southwest Twin Cities Cheyenne, Wyoming Visit the Great Lakes Region staff resources page for other leader development plans and additional Campaigners…
Read MoreThe Winners of Chris Lassiter's New Book Are…
Thanks to all of you who entered last week’s contest to win the new book, ‘You’re Grounded,’ by Chris Lassiter. We randomly selected five winners, and they are… Margaret Murphy, Dulles South, VA Michelle Finn, YoungLives Hillsboro Scott SanGeorge, Greensboro, NC CT, Cleveland County, NC (@pondwater06) Ruthiey Greene (@RuthTruths) In order to receive your book,…
Read MoreHow To Recruit New Young Life Leaders
If you’re looking for more leaders to join your Young Life team this fall, here are ten ways to find them. Ask your high school friends if they have any older siblings or friends or teachers or coaches they think would make good YL leaders. Ask the parents of your high school friends if they…
Read MoreHappy Birthday Jim Rayburn
Today is the birthday of the founder of Young Life, Jim Rayburn. If he was still living today, he’d be 104. Jim Rayburn Jr. was born in Iowa on July 21, 1909. He lived a short 61 years in which God used him to start the incredible movement of Young Life. The lives he touched…
Read MoreThe Newest iPhone App To Help Young Life Leaders: Timely
I don’t do things like this often, but I have to tell you about a new app my brother just created for iOS. It’s called Timely and just launched last night. Go download it now and then come back to finish reading so I can tell you how it’s going to make you a better Young Life leader. …
Read More7 Creative Ways To Hang With Your Middle/High School Friends This Summer
Do you need some creative summer contact work ideas? Here are seven you might not have pulled out of your bag yet. Leisure Dive All you need is a camera and a pool/lake. Create some great memories and photos. Here are some great examples. Driving Range/1 on 1 Golf Even if you’re terrible at golf, the…
Read MoreWin A New Book By Chris Lassiter: You’re Grounded
They know “Yeezus” pretty well. Jesus on the other hand? Maybe not so much. My name is Chris Lassiter. And I have the great privilege of doing exactly what you do, which is introducing kids to Jesus Christ through the ministry of Young Life. For the last 11 years, I’ve walked through life with the guys…
Read MoreFree Slurpees This Thursday July 11th At 7-Eleven Gas Stations
Not only can you get free Chick-fil-a this Friday, you can also get FREE SLURPEES tomorrow, on Thursday! Nothing like free food on back-2-back days! Every July 11th (7/11) 7-Eleven gas stations offer free Slurpees nationwide on the unofficial birthday of the Slurpee. They used to be tiny, but this year they’re giving away 12-ounce…
Read MoreThe Best Thing You Can Do With Your Campaigners Group This Summer
Last summer I grabbed two of my high school friends with great leadership potential. We went on a car ride and listened to these talks below. I’m convinced that car ride changed the direction of their lives and deeply impacted an entire school for Christ. In my opinion, the most valuable thing you can do…
Read MoreFree Chick-Fil-A This Friday July 12th: Cow Appreciation Day
Grab your high school friends and head to Chick-fil-A this Friday, July 12th, for Cow Appreciation Day. If you partially dress like a cow, you get a free entree. If you dress in full cow gear, you get a free combo. The Hill family: Cow Appreciation Day 2012 Some ideas for dressing up from CowAppreciationDay.com …
Read MoreA Letter To Young Life Leaders Who Helped Your Friends Raise Money For Camp
Originally posted summer 2012. Dear Young Life leader who helped me fund raise for camp, Thank you. More than you’ll ever know. I know you have better things to do than to sell popcorn door to door with me. I know you’re tired of washing cars and waking up at 4am for yard sales. I know you’re…
Read MoreCapernaum Young Life Video From Southwind
Here’s a beautiful video filmed during the first week of Capernaum camp at Southwind June 15-19. Thanks to @ktallmanmusic for passing it along. Capernaum at Southwind June 15-19, 2013 from Peter Philip Von Kahle on Vimeo. To find a Capernaum Young Life ministry near you, click here.
Read MoreThe Greatest Fears Of Teenage Boys
A few weeks ago I took my Campaigners group on The ManTrip: a wilderness experience in the NC mountains. We measured our chest hair before and after the trip and had an average increase of .4 cm per guy. I attribute the incredible growth rate to the insane amount of manly things that were accomplished…
Read MoreWhat To Pack For Young Life Camp
Originally posted in 2011. We’re almost halfway into the summer camping season…which means half of us still have to pack for camp! Here are a few things I’ve forgotten in the past, but want to make sure I don’t forget next time. 15 Camp Packing List Essentials Headlamp You know you look rad wearing it…
Read MoreI Lost Control: A True Camp Story
Originally posted Summer 2011 Three weeks ago I had a lot of control. I worked hard to get my high school friends on that bus to camp. With enough persuasion and nagging, I could control who went, to some extent. I busted my tail to help them raise thousands of dollars. With enough begging, weed-pulling, and carwashing I…
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