CE National Hosts National Youth Ministries Conference

Tim Algrim (left) and Mel Walker are with Vision For Youth, an organization that helps youth workers be more effective in local churches. Recently they met with Jesse DeBoest and Ed Lewis at CE National to plan for the National Youth Ministries Conference January 14-18, 2008. About 200 are expected to attend this conference, which includes main sessions, seminars, discussion groups, exhibits, and fellowship.

Last year a number of YouthNet members and National Institute students attended this conference in Sandusky, Ohio. We encourage Grace Brethren youth workers to come to Winona Lake in January to attend.

CE National is working closely with the leaders of Vision For Youth because our philosophies are very similar. In fact, Ed Lewis has announced that Tim, Mel and Cheryl Fawcett, have been invited to participate in Momentum 2007, serving as seminar leaders and resource people for both youth and youth workers. Cheryl Fawcett has served as the director of Christian Education at both Cedarville University and Christian Heritage College and is now a youth ministry educator working primarily in training overseas youth workers.

Pray For Operation Barnabas

Nearly 100 teens and 16 leaders will converge at Grace Church in Lititz, Pennsylvania, to begin the Operation Barnabas experience. You can have a major part in the summer-long experience by praying for the teams. Here are ways you can pray specifically.

Thursday, June 7th, leaders will begin arriving in Lititz, Pennsylvania, to prepare for the start of orientation June 12th.

NAC and Bible Quizzing--Think Outside the Box

Ever thought of inviting non-FGBC churches to become involved in your district NAC and Quizzing? Some churches in your area may not have an organized way for students to enhance their ministry skills. By inviting evangelical, Bible-teaching churches to participate in your district rallies, you give these churches the opportunity to help their students in ministry while increasing the attendance at your events. The CE National Board believes this will bring added excitement at your NAC and Quizzing rallies and strengthen our local and national programs.

Hmmm... Ready-Made Church Policies

Policies are a necessary evil in a church, but they are difficult to create from scratch. www.BuildingChurchLeaders.com has an article that contains links to sample policies that can be purchased.

This article features Best Church Practices on Nursery and Childcare Ministries. There are 16 documents that cover the array of issues children's ministries need to prepare for and the policies that need to be in place. The documents can be modified for the specific age group or room that needs resources.

Sponge Sessions at Momentum--Soak Up the Truth

Every year the Momentum Committee looks for new and exciting ways to teach students the Word of God. Often we bring in special speakers for training tracks throughout the week or plan breakout groups for more in-depth discussions.

YouthNet Comes to Winona Lake