Last month I shared that the Youth Ministry Mentorship Program is taking its conversations to the next level by partnering with the Simply Youth Ministry Conference to bring mentoring face-to-face instead of just over the phone. Past mentees have mentioned how valuable the mentoring has been for themselves personally and their ministries and asked if there could be a way they could actually meet their mentor and talk face-to-face. While this has indeed happened in the past, it can happen for everyone now at the Simply Conference.

If you’ve been in youth ministry for 2 years or fewer and will be at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference from February 26 to March 1, 2010, there are still some available slots! In fact, if you’re accepted into the mentorship program, than Doug Field’s pre-conference seminar, “Your First Two Years In Youth Ministry,” is FREE for you, complements of Simply Youth Ministry!

However, if you’d like to be considered for the mentorship but are not planning to be at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference, we are now accepting your applications, as well! If you’ve been in youth ministry as a volunteer, part-time, or full-time worker, you can now read more about the Youth Ministry Mentorship and apply here.

VIDEO: This video explains a bit more about the mentorship, including a story from one of the past mentees who has gone through the program.

Whether you’ll be at the Simply Conference or not, check out the Youth Ministry Mentoring site, look through the expectations, goals, and other parts of the mentorship and decide if this is for you or not. If you’re up for the 10-week journey with a personal youth ministry mentor, fill out the application and if you’re selected by a mentor, I will be in touch with you via email.

[ Youth Ministry Mentorship ]

Almost two years ago I started doing some one-on-one youth ministry mentoring through this site and since then it’s grown into a full-blown team of mentors who have served over 100 brand new youth workers. We’ve taken a wholistic approach to mentoring by focusing on three main areas that all intertwine with each other: a mentee’s personal life, spiritual life, and ministry life. The response by new youth workers who have gone through the program has been extremely positive, so we’re glad we’re on the right track with this. We tend to do two 10-week one-on-one rounds each year, one in the spring and one in the fall, and this year will be no different.

However, this spring round of mentoring will be especially unique because we have the tremendous opportunity to partner with the Simply Youth Ministry Conference and start it face-to-face with you. Most of the mentors will be at the conference, myself included, and are pumped to take mentoring to the next level with a couple one-on-one lunch conversations. It’s advice and wisdom for your youth ministry, your personal walk with Christ, and your personal life that starts face-to-face and continues to weekly telephone conversations from there!

If you’ve been in youth ministry for 2 years or fewer and will be at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference from February 26 to March 1, 2010, then this youth ministry mentorship is for you! The video below explains a bit more about it, including a story from one of the past mentees who has gone through the program.

Traditionally the mentorship has been absolutely free, but because we want to start investing more into the mentors and into the program, the 10-week mentorship now costs $99 (books included). We realize that some youth workers who really need this mentoring can’t afford that, though, so there are some scholarship funds available.

If you have been in youth ministry for 2 years or fewer and you’re planning to be at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference next month, this is simply an opportunity I promise you cannot miss! Seriously. I don’t say that about many things. Check out the Youth Ministry Mentoring part of this site, look through the expectations, goals, and other parts of the mentorship and decide for yourself. If you’re up for the 10-week journey with a personal youth ministry mentor, fill out the application and if you’re selected by a mentor, I will be in touch with you via email to give you payment information and put you in touch with the mentor.

For those of you who want to be mentored but will not be at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference, you may also fill out the application to be considered for the mentorship. The mentors who are unable to attend the conference will be considering your applications.

I’m so pumped about this partnership! Seriously people, you new youth workers out there cannot believe how blessed you will be by both the conference and this mentorship, especially when they’re combined together like this. Check it out!

[ Youth Ministry Mentorship ]

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We’re gearing up for round four of the FREE Youth Ministry Mentorship! The last round was a blast with the amazing team of youth ministry mentors who did an outstanding job of working one-on-one with youth workers who have been in ministry for two years or fewer. For this next 10-week round, most of the mentors are back and ready to serve you, plus a couple new additions to the team.

If you have been in youth ministry for 2 years or fewer, we want to serve you with free one-on-one youth ministry mentoring for 10 weeks straight.

Apply!

If you’ve been in youth ministry for 2 years or fewer and would like to have a FREE one-on-one youth ministry mentor for 10 weeks, read the official Youth Ministry Mentorship page. The link to the application is there. It’s open to anyone who serves in youth ministry in any capacity, whether that be on a volunteer basis or as a full-time youth pastor.

The application period is open for only 7 days. After September 10, no further applications will be accepted for this round. Read an overview of the mentorship and apply there.

Unfortunately, no girls: It should be noted that the mentorship team’s only female, Janelle Painter, is unable to participate in this round. Thus, we will not be accepting any female applicants for this round. We are always working to add more competent ladies to the team, but we were unable to get a commitment from a female mentor in time for this round. Sorry!

As you can understand, we have a limited number of mentors, so you may not be one of the 20 chosen this time around, but keep your eye on this site because this is an on-going program. The next round will be in Spring 2010 sometime. Subscribe to the RSS feed or by email to stay up-to-date. Also, become a fan of our Facebook Page.

An online version of the mentorship

If you’re not paired with a mentor for this round, but would still like to receive some online mentoring, check out MinistryQuestions.com. It’s the perfect place to ask your ministry related questions and receive advice, ideas, support and input from a host of online ministry workers.

A past-mentee’s perspective

If you’d like to see an example of what you’re in for, check out Danny Eiler’s blog. Throughout his mentorship with Kevin Twombly, one of the mentors, Danny blogged about their conversations for all to see. You can expect amazing personalized youth ministry training just like what Danny writes about.

• Week One
• Week Two
• Week Three
• Week Five
• Week Six
• Week Seven
• Week Nine

We’re gearing up for round three of the FREE Youth Ministry Mentorship! The last round was a blast with the amazing team of youth ministry mentors who did an outstanding job of working one-on-one with youth workers who have been in ministry for two years or fewer. For this next 10-week round, all of the mentors are back and ready to serve you. Lifeway Students is joining us as the official sponsor so everything is completely free for you.

If you have been in youth ministry for 2 years or fewer, we want to serve you with free one-on-one youth ministry mentoring for 10 weeks straight.

What you get, all for FREE!

• One-on-one phone call with a youth ministry mentor every week for 10 weeks.
• Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry, by Doug Fields
• Ministry Mutiny: A Youth Leader Fable, by Greg Stier

In addition, Lifeway Students is sending mentors and mentees the following list of resources absolutely free, valued at $269, just because they appreciate that you invest so much of yourself into students — let them invest a bit back into you and your ministry.

Every mentee accepted into the program also receives the following youth ministry packages, absolutely free:

• Transforming Student Ministry
• Experiencing God: Student Edition
• Fuel: 2 Volume 1
• Insider DVD pack for teen girls
• Survival Kit
• Complete, A Life Of Purity

Apply!

If you’ve been in youth ministry for 2 years or fewer and would like to have a FREE one-on-one youth ministry mentor for 10 weeks, read the official Youth Ministry Mentorship page. The link to the application is there. It’s open to anyone who serves in youth ministry in any capacity, whether that be on a volunteer basis or as a full-time youth pastor.

The application period is open for only 11 days. After January 24, no further applications will be accepted for this round. Read an overview of the mentorship and apply there.

As you can understand, we have a limited number of mentors, so you may not be one of the 13 chosen this time around, but keep your eye on this site because this is an on-going program. The next round will be in August 2009 sometime. Subscribe to the RSS feed or by email to stay up-to-date.

An online version of the mentorship

I will soon be releasing an online version where you can get free advice from other youth ministry veterans. It still requires about $380 to get it launched, though. See more details here.

Lifeway Students makes it FREE!

Thanks to Lifeway Students’ sponsorship, this program is offered free of charge to everyone who participates! They’re covering the cost of purchasing and shipping all the necessary books and resources you get as an accepted participant of the mentorship. Check out Lifeway Students for tons of amazing resources and articles for youth ministry.

A past-mentee’s perspective

If you’d like to see an example of what you’re in for, check out Danny Eiler’s blog. Throughout his mentorship with Kevin Twombly, one of the mentors, Danny blogged about their conversations for all to see. You can expect amazing personalized youth ministry training just like what Danny writes about.

• Week One
• Week Two
• Week Three
• Week Five
• Week Six
• Week Seven
• Week Nine

Last March I explored the idea of developing a one-on-one mentorship program for those who have been in youth ministry for two years or fewer. The response was overwhelming! After sifting through over 200 applications, I choose two individuals and went through the one-on-one mentorship program with each of them. They were great guinea pigs because since then I’ve developed the program a bit further to create what I think is an incredible learning and growing experience for new youth workers.

The Mentor Team
The mentorship program is opening up once again starting right now! But this time I have a whole team of youth ministry veterans on board. I’m very excited about this Youth Ministry Mentor Team because most of them have been in youth ministry for over a decade and are passionate about teaching and training other youth workers like yourself. Their backgrounds range from volunteer to full-time paid youth pastors to even a sr. pastor.

Apply!
If you’ve been in youth ministry for 2 years or fewer and would like to have a FREE one-on-one youth ministry mentor for 10 weeks, read the official Youth Ministry Mentorship page. The link to the application is there. It’s open to anyone who serves in youth ministry in any capacity, whether that be on a volunteer basis or as a full-time youth pastor.

The application period is open for only 2 weeks. After Tuesday, September 9, no further applications will be accepted. Read an overview of the mentorship and apply there.

As you can understand, we have a limited number of mentors, so you may not be one of the 10 chosen this time around, but keep your eye on this site because we plan to make this an on-going program. The next round will be in January 2009 sometime. Subscribe to the RSS feed or by email to stay up-to-date.

The sponsor who makes this FREE!

Thanks to YouthBytes.org’s sponsorship, this program is offered free of charge to everyone who participates! They’re covering the cost of purchasing and shipping all the necessary books and resources you get as an accepted participant of the mentorship.

YouthBytes.org creates video curriculum for youth groups that contains some of the most outrageous stunts I’ve ever seen, all for the purpose of illustrating Biblical truth. Check out some of these crazy video clips to see what I mean.

Part of what I really enjoy doing through Life in Student Ministry is encouraging and resourcing youth workers in ways that other organizations aren’t. I have no desire to repeat the ideas that are successful for others — I want to do things that are unique and help you guys in ways no one else is. That’s why I offer weekly devotionals specifically for youth workers and why I don’t offer a youth ministry forum.

For a while now I’ve had the idea of developing a one-on-one mentorship program for new youth workers. Then I heard from some of you rookies asking for it, so I knew there was a need. I searched and couldn’t find anyone already doing it, which seemed kinda odd to me. Why don’t the people who are mentoring youth have mentors themselves? With all the Web 2.0 stuff that’s being developed, this should be easier now than ever before, especially over great distances.

I’ve talked with some people I know and have decided to put together a mentorship program for youth workers and offer it online. There’s a potential that some of the mentors who come on board will be youth ministry college and seminary professors along with some other life-long youth workers from a variety of backgrounds. I’m very excited about all the experience that will be on the mentorship team!

Right now I’m in the process of developing the program, which is very difficult since every mentoree will come with different needs, different values and different gifts in ministry. The trick is to make it flexible for each individual, yet still take each individual from goal A to goal B by whatever path is appropriate.

As I work on all this, I need two things from you all:

1. Leave your thoughts and ideas about a mentorship program for youth workers in the comments below. What would you like to see in this program? What outcomes would you expect from it? What specific issues should be addressed?
2. If you have been in youth ministry for two years or less, I’m looking for two people who would like to go through the mentorship program as “guinea pigs” to be mentored by me personally.