You’ve heard me say it before, but I love the conVERGE conference. The 2012 conference video is out and it features the music of Tim Timmons (who led music that week) and many scenes from the weekend. Held at Gull Lake Conference Center in Michigan, the 250 or so student leaders who attended experienced a high-tech and content-intensive weekend. I still hear comments from youth workers that it was the best event they’ve EVER taken their students to attend. So, while I’m looking forward to seeing what conVERGE looks like next year, I thought I’d post their highlight video so you can catch a glimpse of the spirit of the weekend.
Posts Tagged ‘Converge’
Scene from conVERGE 2011
Last year I was invited to speak on student leadership at conVERGE 2011 at Huntington University. I was blown away by the conference’s tech-savvy highly-interactive format and its Christ-centered worship (having Tim Timmons as your worship leader certainly helps). When I came back I blogged that conVERGE broke the mold for regional conferences. Students who attended came away even more impressed.
Ok, first, I’m hopeful that my colloquialism title translates well to different languages. But, in all of my global travels, one constant remains: We all like our sweets/desserts! And usually with a nice cup of tea or coffee.
So, this weekend I will participate in conVERGE 2012 as a ‘live presenter.’ This high-tech, high-touch savvy conference at Gull Lake Center in Michigan is one of my favorites and I look forward to it every year.
I was fortunate to be asked to speak at conVERGE 2011 this past February, a small student leadership conference that I said “broke the mold” and set a new high-tech cool and savvy standard for how to communicate, connect with, and motivate teenagers. I was super impressed. Here, you can check out the highlights video:
I recently had the chance to stop by the RemedyLive.com studios to appear on the Converge show with host Derry Prenkert. If you aren’t familiar with RemedyLive, you need to be. They are a 24/7 resource for teens with caring and qualified Christian adults ready to help via chat. The also provide relevant youth ministry content, producing The Youth Ministry Garage with Doug Fields, Josh Griffin, Matt McGill, and Katie Edwards. In fact, if you plan to attend the Atlanta National Youth Workers Conference this November, you may spot Remedy’s Seth Bartlette and Joe Baughman running around assisting Chris Davis and the YS team. Thanks to Clinton Faupel, Seth, Joe, Jason, Ben, and of course Derry Prenkert, for having me share a bit and for being supportive of youth who want to change the world!
I must confess: I love programming. No, I don’t mean computers. I mean I love creating the upfront program for a conference, a Wednesday night youth program, or even a retreat for adults. In college, I had the motto “Wherever there is a stage, I will be there” and I think that probably rings true at some level still today. In an age where ‘relational’ ministry gets all of the love and attention, I think it’s time to revisit excellence when it comes to programming in youth ministry.
Before ‘worship music’ took over as the almost singular way we do the pre-teaching of youth ministry programs, diverse elements pushed youth ministry leaders to think through what teens would do and learn through various activities. Now, many youth ministry nights look like a session from a retreat, which looks like a conference program, which looks like summer camp session: All use a set of worship songs and then a talk.
Every now and then along comes an event, movie, book, or music group that breaks out of past conventions and patterns. A difficult feat. In January 2011, I had the privilege to be one of the live presenters at conVERGE 2011, the first edition of a stylish techno-savvy conference for student leaders in youth ministry. The other live presenters (Carrie Badertscher, Derry Prenkert, and Clinton Faupel) and I coordinated with digital presenters to create an interactive environment for the main sessions where students could respond to polls, text in questions, and participate in various active learning segments. Oh, and the digital presenters for this conference were a youth ministry ‘who’s who’ – Zach Hunter, Austin Gutwein, Bo Boshers, Josh Griffin, David Crowder, Dan Merchant, Tony Campolo, and Kara Powell. Wow.
Here’s a video from the conference:
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