The Making of Ignite Youth Gathering
INITIAL EVENT IDEAS…
A. There are a few things about this event that I’d like to stress from the beginning. I’ve been involved in a number of different events, some successful, others not, and I believe the most important thing we can do is also the most obvious. Namely, don’t try to create something of our own merit and our own agenda but instead, concede to the Spirit to lead all of us, AND help us come to consensus on important decisions. I believe then and only then will we find the ultimate result of a stronger bond between us as leaders and a closer vision to what God has laid out and wants to accomplish.
To sum it up… let’s listen to God on this gathering most of all!
B. It does seem that everyone has a different take on why we should have this but we all agree on the reasons behind it. I’m thinking we use this intermingled passion to create a multi-pronged approach to the event. Something that allows us all to agree on a common purpose but also highlights goals that are perhaps unique to each group but that could help and inspire the other groups. An example to me is the passion Jake has for the high-schools as a battle ground and mission field. This is great and to be honest we’ve just been trying to get our kids on a path toward God first but this is equally important. I really like this idea and think it could really benefit our group. I also think that I have good ideas for outreach and also “inreach” that could possibly benefit the other groups. Let’s use this “melting pot” to let the best ideas rise to the surface, while at the same time making sure that everyone gets heard.
To sum it up… get everyone involved and go with the great ideas!
C. In my opinion the one thing that is going to immobilize us is trying to over-complicate the ideas we have or get too fancy with the curriculum or agenda of events. This isn’t a multi-thousand dollar event planned with well budgeted staff and dedicated volunteers. We’re all busy guys and we have to believe the reality that if this gets hairy and complicated things are going to go wrong, people are going to get frustrated and we’re all going to lose site of the purpose of the event in the first place. To love God, to love others and to bring the this message to others.
To sum it up… let’s keep is as simple as possible while having an excellent event!
D. Another problem I’ve found with single day events where the kids don’t have very much time to get to know each other is that there is a disconnect with the MAJOR point of the event (like this). People stay in their comfortable and known groups of friends, and why wouldn’t they. On average most people aren’t going to inteject themselves in a strange group unless forced. I think we’ll need to be clever about how we handle this so it doesn’t seem so “forced”.
To sum it up… the kids absolutely need to connect with kids from other groups or we miss the point of getting together!
3. WHAT IS IT ABOUT…
A. I really do like the idea of keeping the message clean and simple. Love God, love others and share this with others. I believe, however, that there are many important and powerful tangents that we can and should go down in order to be effective in this task. A good example is the thoughts Chris had about breaking down the lies we are so quick to believe about the world around us. These mis-truths pollute our perspective on what it means to love God, others and even ourselves.
B. I like the idea Jake mentioned, and Brian concurred on, regarding our main purpose as youth pastors. We are called to equip the next generation of warriors. It’s a HUGE task but I really do think it’s critical that we look at ourselves this way and it also helps when making decisions on how to approach youth ministry in general.
C. In addition to equipping, I believe we are also in the role of empowering and overseeing. It’s just as important to keep the kids going, because from my experience, teenagers don’t have a great track record of reliability when it comes to sticking with things for long periods of time. (not being cynical here but simply openly truthful…)
D. Here’s a few words to describe the event we’re wanting to do in no particular order… connect, powerful, gathering, momentum, equip, empower, prepare, encourage, big picture, oversee, high-school mission field, challenge, breaking down lies, leadership, breaking new ground, unity, united, keeping it simple.
4. DURING THE EVENT…
A. I believe kinetic energy of youth is infectious in a positive way. I think we use this momentum through games, mixers and upfront activities with the most outgoing from each group to create a common bond between the kids. I think team building activities are a little cliche but they work and even if every kid has done a specific team building activity, everyone loves a challenge especially if they’re competing and there are “prizes”.
B. The music has to rock! I lead worship at my church but I’m generally not ROCKING out so much. However, I know we could pick a very common worship set list (e.g. open the eyes of my heart, lord i lift your name on high, etc…) and just straight say … we want you to think about worship different. Here we are all gathered together with a group of strangers yet everyone is singing the same song. Everyone knows the same words and everyone is worshiping the same God. I think if done right it could be very powerful. I’ll be happy to concede this responsibility to a real rock band but until then consider this an area where I can give my abilities (and our kids) in full use…
C. I believe the first event should really feature a few things. Namely the kids themselves. This might require a lot of work on our part but I think it could be powerful if executed correctly. Whether it’s kids being the MC for the night. Kids leading prayer at certain points in the night, kids giving testimonials, announcements, introductions, offering prayer, organizing the events, helping with food, you name it. Get the kids involved. They might grown but at the end of the night if we plan right they’ll talk about the event forever to come.
D. Secondly, I think we should make sure that all youth pastors get a chance to introduce themselves. I don’t think this needs to be a full life testimony, but I think the more creative we are the better. We could all come up and just lamely introduce ourselves or we could have some really cool but simple (and hopefully VERY funny) skit that introduces us. Perhaps, finding all the things about each youth pastor that their respective kids know is annoying but funny and really blowing it out of proportion. Like I’m terrible at answering my phone or I never update the youth web site. Something that you know your kids and others might connect and laugh at. It personalizes all of us to our kids and the other kids. Just an idea… 
E. What about names. I’m not really sure so I thought I would just throw a few out there. Tminus6 (shuttle rocket ignition). United (obvious). Austin United (i like the idea that if this takes off there could be one for every city!!!). Cornerstone. The Bridge. Revolution. Relentless. Unshakable. Lift. Rise. Rock Austin. Elevation. Core. Basic (becoming a soldier in christ). Ignite. Ablaze. Ascend. Stand. Unite. I have favorites but I’ll withhold until I hear from you guys so as to not taint the judgement…
F. Lastly, some message or whatever that connects all the above ideas and ties it to Jesus Christ. If we do ONE thing right it would be to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ. Then lift up His name and make sure the kids know that everything this is about is by, because of and for Jesus. All our ideas of campus ministry, equipping kids and empowering them will fall flat if our kids are not on fire for God themselves. So this is where we will need to come together and think about what we want to do.
5. AN ACTUAL AGENDA…
This is the most loose of all my ideas because I want to work with everyones ideas on how they want to execute the event. Perhaps I might be a little predictable but since it’s new and they are going to be in a strange environment it might be good to have a little familiarity. So here it goes…
Date: Sunday, October 26
Event Time: 6pm – 9pm
Location: River in the Hills Church (Lakeway Plaza)
Suggested Event Agenda (VERY Preliminary):
SETUP:
3:00-4:00 Prayer (all adult and student leaders)
4:00-6:00 Preparation & Setup
FUN STUFF:
6:00-6:30 Food & Fellowship (great pizza and maybe fun intra-group personal information scavenger hunt)
6:30-6:45 Games & Mixer (super fun and challenging contests…)
GETTING IN THE ZONE:
6:45-7:00 Brief introduction of event (will take a bit to gather kids)
7:00-7:10 Prayer from Kids
7:15-7:45 Worship (open with 3-4 well known songs)
TO THE POINT:
7:45-8:00 Introduction of Youth Pastors
8:00-8:15 Message From Kids (coordinated on point of this meeting)
8:15-8:45 Message From Leadership (coordinated on point of meeting)
FINISHING UP:
8:45-9:00 Worship (close with 2-3 songs)
9:00-??? Fellowship & Prayer
6. YOUR FEEDBACK…
I know that Chris is currently using his vast intellect to coalesce all the information from us into one BLOB of a cohesive, inclusive and all things “sive” document so we can look at it in all it’s glory this thursday and say, “yes, that’s it, let’s just make THIS happen”. But if you’d like to respond to anything I’ve mentioned please don’t hesitate. Just copy everyone else so that we can all share in the feedback love.
I can truthfully say that although I don’t know, Jake and Brian that well, that I love you guys for your passion for young people. What a joy to spend our effort and time on this earth helping the next generation do the same. Jesus is amazing and I’ll be praying for you guys, this event and our “coming together” that it be a success and a whopping achievement for unpaid youth pastors everywhere!!!
PRAISE GOD!!!
