Recently I had a chance to talk to Les Bradford and Andy Blanks from youthministry360. If you are not familiar with them or their ministry, we wanted to introduce them to you and share some of their story.
nnym: When did you start youthministry360?
ym360: We officially launched youthministry360 on August 2, 2010, but we began working on the formation in March of 2010.
nnym: How did you both agree to work together?
ym360: We spent 11 combined years at a great youth ministry organization, Student Life. While there, we led the development and distribution of multiple lines of Bible Study Resources, both print and electronic. Through this work, God led us to see what we felt was a deep need in the youth ministry "landscape" for Bible Study Resources that created meaningful life change for students, while at the same time delivering incredible resources for teachers in an easy-to-teach format (and at a great value). God very clearly called us to launch a new ministry dedicated solely to this endeavor. We began discussing this calling with one another and realized God was working simultaneously in our lives. With this shared mission, working together becomes really easy!
nnym: What has been the biggest struggle each of you have faced in this transition to start youthministry360?
ym360: On a personal level it's undoubtedly tough to leave the comforts of full time jobs into the "unknown". At the time of writing this we are 10 months removed from those comforts and looking back I believe we both could say this season of our faith has been covered in God's grace, and protection for us and our families.
nnym: Why are you stepping out and starting youthministry360?
ym360: I think it's fair to say that first and foremost it's what God has prepared us to do. As mentioned above, we've spent the last 11 combined years producing Bible Study Resources (at Student Life). We've devoted our lives to equipping youth workers as they teach teenagers the Bible. We realize the tremendous ministry youth workers are leading in churches all over and what a tremendous calling this is on their lives — paid youth workers, bi-vocational or volunteer. We simply want to be a resource to them when it comes to teaching Scripture and we believe with the experience we have been blessed to gain over the years we can do just that.
nnym: What excites you about youth ministry?
ym360: Do we have enough time to answer that question? No. So, we'll be simple. In a word: transformation. We are passionate about youth ministry because we get to play a very small part part in seeing teenagers transformed by the overwhelming love of Christ. When it clicks, when students get it, there is simply nothing better. And we believe that the youth worker in the local church is in an extremely unique and invaluable position to help shepherd this transformation. That is why we are so passionate about equipping these ministers. Today's youth workers have the capacity to facilitate life-change in students by helping them know and live out God's Word. But these youth workers also play the role of encourager, motivator, and equipper to parents of students. Our passion is to help these workers be more effective ministers through providing excellent Bible Study Resources as well as training opportunities.
nnym: What do you see youthministry360 doing more of in 2011?
ym360: Man, tough question because we are excited about quite a few things. The one thing that comes to mind is probably a focus on releasing some incredible Discipleship resources.
nnym: How do you see youthministry360 being a resource to youth workers?
ym360: Love this question. Primarily, we serve youth workers through providing Bible Study Resources that are biblically solid, ultra creative, and culturally relevant. Additionally, we operate a blog, where we post daily articles covering Training, Trends and Culture, Bible Posts, Networking and Free Resources. These are very practical ways we think we can meet the needs all youth workers have (which is where the "360" aspect of ym360 comes in). Simply put, we are an equipping organization. Whether it be equipping a youth worker with a solid Bible Study or equipping them with a great "Trends and Culture" updates via the ym360 Blog, we are devoted to serving youth workers and their ministries.
Not only are we excited about who youthministry360 is, but we are also glad to partner with them and give you an entire lesson from their newest 4-lesson Bible Study, Live Different: What The Bible Says About Sex And Holiness.
Live Different is a brand new, 4-lesson study from youthministry360 that helps teenagers understand (and apply!) exactly what the Bible says about sex and holiness. It's a biblically solid, ultra-creative resource that will help you walk through a straightforward and in-depth discussion on exactly how 21st-century Christian teenagers should respond to the hyper-sexualized culture they find themselves in.
Live Different doesn't just tell your students what not to do. It makes the Bible's case for what they are called to do! Live Different makes the case for your students that living a holy life, a life that stands out against the backdrop of culture, is the goal for all Christ-followers. This is the key to meeting a sex-saturated culture head on.
What You'll Get In The Free Sample:
- The complete Leader's Guide with Bible Background for lesson
- A PowerPoint slideshow designed to help you craft a customized presentation
- A Student Guide for your in-class Bible Study time
- Guy/Girl Discussion Questions perfect for small group/break out
- The Lesson 1 Video Component
Click here to access the Live Different Lesson 1 sample
Click here to access the Live Different Lesson 1 video download