March 2011

An Inside Look

Soon Anne Taylor will be our longest tenured member of the board of directors for the Youth Ministry Institute. She is our secretary, a small group leader, a core competency assessor, a coach and an instructor for three classes in YMI. Anne is gifted (obviously) and is not afraid to use her gifts to help God’s love to become real in this world.

I first met Anne in a pool hall nearly 17 years ago. She was hustlin’ some tables. No, seriously, Anne had just been hired to be the youth minister at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, an Episcopalian church in downtown Orlando. I was in my first year at my church in downtown Orlando. Anne reached out to me and invited me to lunch. We met at a place where I frequently lunched with one of the volunteers in my ministry. It was really the only place I knew of. I was that new to town. Every other week my friend and I would eat a sandwich and play a couple of games of pool before heading back to work.

My first lunch with Anne didn’t end in a game of pool. I’m too competitive and hate to lose. I wasn’t sure that my competitive side would place me in a favorable light no matter the outcome of the game.  I don’t remember the content of the conversation. She probably does. But, I remember coming away feeling pretty confident that I had made a new friend.

Over the years we served on a board at the YMCA that gave middle school kids a place to be on Friday nights. We shared interest in mission projects culminating in her service on the board for the Christian Service Center and IDignity. The latter organization is run by our mutual friend, Michael Dippy, who was recently named Central Florida’s Person of the Year. We even planned an annual beginning of the school year retreat with the leadership kids from each of our churches combining to plan and run it. Every interaction I had with Anne Taylor became fruitful. She is a doer, not just a talker.

In 1998 when I started dreaming of what would eventually become the Youth Ministry Institute, I talked with Anne about her experiences with the Institute for Professional Youth Ministry, which had its run from 1986-1996 in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida. Some of the systems we use are modeled off of that Institute. Since the YMI board of directors first met in 2005, Anne’s wise counsel continues to impact the decisions that we make. She influences me, the youth ministers in our program and, as a result, impacts all of the youth they serve.

Anne is still the youth minister at The Cathedral. She even has two teenagers of her own that she has an opportunity to influence daily. She tends to all of her many roles to the level of excellence. I’m still not sure about her pool game, though.

On a side note, Anne Taylor likes clothes, yet is not responsible for the clothing line that bears her name. And, believe it or not, she is married to Chuck Taylor, who, likewise, has no stock in Converse.

Most Recently

Traveling Continued

I am nearing the end of my heaviest dose of traveling around the state. Since it is near the opening of the baseball season (by the way, I just met Evan Longoria, Rays third baseman, in a Tampa Panera a few hours ago), I am going to use some baseball terms to sum up my travels.

I would say that my on-base percentage has increased dramatically.

I typically e-mail youth ministers and pastors two weeks before I am visiting their area asking for an appointment. I am trying to network here. I might meet someone who wants to be in YMI. But, just as importantly, I might meet someone who would be a good coach or instructor or who would refer me to someone else to be in YMI. However, the most important thing I do in visiting communicates that relationships and connection are incredibly valuable. I want people to feel connected and supported. It is so easy for youth ministers to isolate themselves.

I typically get responses from about 30% of those to whom I send an e-mail. The others don’t write back. I call and leave messages for these people a couple of days in advance of my visit to their area. Some actually answer the phone when I call. After e-mails and phone calls, my appointment list is almost complete (3-5 appointments on a good day).

Before this year, I would take the 50% who wouldn’t respond to my e-mails or phone calls and simply show up on their doorstep to fill the rest of my travel time. I wanted people to know that I was serious about getting in touch with him. Most of these calls didn’t work out so well. I got a few annoying looks. Most people were gracious and listened to what I had to say. None of them became a YMI partner church.

So, this year I convinced myself that cold calls weren’t worth the “persistent and diligent” tag for which I was hoping. Therefore, my on-base percentage skyrocketed. I have visited with fewer churches (40 as opposed to 50). Most of them, however, were receptive and asked for a follow up phone call.

I have 27 solid hits this year.

I don’t remember feeling this good about the churches I have visited in the past. Some of those 27 will be left on base. But, it looks as if at least two runs will score in the early innings. Yesterday, two youth ministers told me they were filling out the application and asked me where to send it with their deposit check. That feels more like 2007 when we had a record ten youth ministers enroll in YMI. I’m praying that we will match or exceed that output.

The other phenomenon that is encouraging is that people know about YMI. Recently at a conference in Chicago, I introduced myself to a stranger and told him that I am the executive director of the Youth Ministry Institute. He replied, “I have heard of that.” Not convinced I asked him what he knew. And, he responded in such a way that I really believed that he had heard of it! My experience in Florida has been more of the same. Our reputation is starting to get some traction.

It is still early in the game. Pray for some productive innings ahead.

The United Methodist Church has been a solid partner since the beginning of the Youth Ministry Institute. With a gift of $40,000 in its first year, the Florida Conference still holds the record for the largest single gift to YMI. It followed that with a $30,000 gift the second year. In retrospect, it is hard to imagine how YMI would have survived without this vote of confidence.

Now, three years removed from those gifts, the Florida Conference has made a strategic decision to fund YMI annually in exchange for a minimum number of church visits and consulting services. In addition, YMI agrees to supply the Florida Conference with the names of able instructors for training events for youth ministers. Quarterly meetings with their director reaffirms our strategy together and plans for the future.

YMI is looking to develop similar partnerships with networks of churches, presbyteries and dioceses. In addition, several networks of youth ministers may be able to benefit from the services rendered by YMI and vice versa. The Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church has provided a great model for how this can work well.

Coming Soon

April 9^th

1:00-2:00

Reformation Chapel

First Presbyterian Church

Orlando, FL

Come and witness the results of our two-year program. Celebrate with the following graduates:

Manu Bhatnagar – Plantation

Manu received his degree in Game Art and Design from The Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale. He has been the Director of Technology at Plantation UMC since 2008 where he also volunteered in the youth ministry. He was hired to be the Director of Youth Ministry in October 2009 while maintaining his technological duties. He is married to Kelli.

Justin Cox – Orlando

Justin serves Director of Youth Ministries at First UMC, where he grew up. Since graduating in 2005 from Florida State University with a business degree with an emphasis in entrepreneurship (religious minor) he has been employed by the church. In December 2010 he married Carla.

Juan Flores – Largo

Juan was born in Lima, Peru. He has lived in the United States his entire adult life, volunteering in the youth ministry at Anona UMC for seven years where he has been the Director of Student Ministries since July 2009. Juan’s most recent career was in banking. He has an AA in business administration and management from St. Petersburg College. He is married to Dina and has two sons, Gabe and Jack, and a daughter, Graciana.

Greg Johnson – Maitland

Greg spent 20 years in the restaurant business. He received his training from the Opryland Hotel Culinary Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. Before being hired as the Director of Student Ministries at his home church in 2009, Asbury UMC, he was the janitor and the interim director. Greg is married to Leia and has a son, Adison.

Jason Williams – Seminole

Jason received his BA in religion from Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina, in 2006. He has since lived in Australia and Wilmore, Kentucky, in various ministry capacities. He was given the chance to interview for the Youth and Young Adult Pastor position at Aldersgate UMC when he happened to meet the person who would become his senior pastor while serving him at a local coffee shop in Wilmore in 2009.

Final Word
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