conversations from the couch

recap of the last 3 weeks…

-NYMC now has a Facebook Page! (and so do I…such a bad thing for my time management efforts)

-We’ve added 1 new track, 12 new workshops, 5 new affinity groups

-Ideas for a new and extremely cool late-night and pre-conference “facets” are rolling out

-hashing through a total revamp of the marketing campaign–we’re trying to capture “who we are” a little better

-hosted a youth ministry denominational summit at Group and explored how we can work together

-Making some friends with churches and networks in the Columbus area–I love meeting people who have a desire to serve and be a part of this dream

-2 babies born to our peeps on the NYMC web team this week (and 3 if you count Andy Brazelton’s baby) means the website won’t be updated for another week 

-and more new community conversations happening on the blog soon…stay tuned!

OK–for those of you who are new to the NYMC blog–this is the behind-the-scenes report on all conference happenings as they move from brainstorm to execution, plus breaking news, cool stuff, and the good, bad and ugly parts we’re probably not supposed to share. The year-long journey of planning a conference is a huge part of our team’s real-life ministry to youth workers, and we thought we’d share the the glimpses of holy grace that compensate for the gritty frustrations along the way. You’ll get inside the heads and hearts of the folks on the conference team who are thinking/planning/praying for youth workers needs. And, your comments and input on the blog give us the feedback that makes the conference great!

FYI for returning readers: the blog took a hibernation when I took a sabbatical of sanity. (the event team continued on with some exciting staff/company changes, but I (Kami, the self-appointed NYMC blogger among a variety of other conference roles, took a time out.) Since this blog is about the real truth behind our conference ministry–here’s the scoop: I returned from NYMC 2008/Cincinnati in February full from the experience, but ultimately broken by the long journey that took us there. Part of it was the sheer strain of the amount of work on a tiny staff, but it went beyond that. I had felt God’s call on my heart to serve youth workers so loudly that it drowned out the balance in my life for anything else. I totally neglected my role as a wife, mother and friend, and rationalized my workaholic ways all in the name of God. It became clear that my own prideful addiction to performance/achievement/affirmation overtook what began as authentic calling to ministry. Exhausted, disallusioned, broken and bitter I wrapped up some final projects, left my position at Group and limped home to heal my life.

It’s now been 5 months and I’ll share bits and pieces of that healing time in future posts. I’ve learned that committing to ministry of any kind means committing to continual personal and spiritual recovery and renewal along the way. My friend Megan Hutchinson from Saddleback and NYMC 2009 Track Leader for Helping Hurting Kids has said it best: just breathe.

So, with a great big breath I’m throwing a healthy leg back on this conference pony. I’m totally inspired when I watch the NYMC promo video, and reminded about healthy spiritual balance in the words of the accompanying song, Sweetly Broken, by Jeremy Riddle. I’ve been there. I’m grateful for the amazing team that continued planning NYMC 2009–I’ll re-introduce the whole crew (and new faces) soon. Thanks to Doug Fields for refusing to believe I could really walk away, and a huge thanks to Rick Lawrence for carrying this torch high and keeping it burning so brightly along with everything else on your plate: you are a true champion!

We love our new friends from IND duplication who recorded and duplicated the tracks and workshops at NYMC! Not only did they do this service–they pitched in and helped out with a few AV snarls at the convention center on Saturday morning–truly awesome folks to work with!

 Doug Fields’ and Greg Steir’s general session keynotes are also available…stay tuned for info on Tony Dungy’s speech (we can’t sell it per the NFL agreement, so we’re trying to get it into your hands for FREE!)

Until then, check out the stuff you missed, or things you want to share with your team! It’s all available on the IND/NYMC site!

One day to unpack and relax, and we’re already gearing up for next year! We’ll be reading the evaluations in the next week, and starting the list of track ideas, etc. Got some great feedback from the affinity group leaders who got some great time to listen to the needs and ideas of the youth workers in their groups–awesome insights!

Stay with us as we start this whole journey over again…and mark your calendars for Feb 27-March 2, 2009 in COLUMBUS OHIO! 

The first crew is here, and the rest of the staff arrives tomorrow. Tons to do, but so fun! Three important observations to pass along:

1. Parking is best in the 6th street parking garage, on the top covered floor. It attaches directly to the Duke Energy Center, totally convenient and is $8 per day vs. $20 per day in the hotel parking lots.

2.  Not all of the rooms in the Millennium Hotel have free wireless that’s strong enough to actually count, in my opinion. Bring your own Ethernet cord, and hook straight in. It’s free and works great.

3. Skyline Chili rocks, and we’re now heading over to the Montgomery Inn for the world’s best ribs…

Looks like our load-in time is 8 am this Thursday at the Duke Energy Center. We’ll be building the stage, and other stuff, and would love an additional 10-15 able-bodied people willing to commit the morning from at least 8 am-noon, and longer if you can. We’ve got some big trucks to get in and unloaded during a short zone…come sweat with us! The whole crew will be around…pizza break for all mid-day…

If you are interested, PLEASE email us before you show up so we can get you access badges…Mark Ewing, Volunteer Coordinator at mewing@group.com

There are a TON of new happenings springing up at the conference–lots of organizations and denominations are looking forward to meeting with their members for connection. Check out the info board at the conference for exact locations and daily updates, but here’s a running list:

2/22 Friday afternoon: Affinity Groups will be hanging out all afternoon in various locations for conversation

2/22 Friday Late night: around 9:30 or so…Group Magazine Reader & Author Reception with Rick Lawrence and Group Magazine Authors; the National Network of Youth Ministries Gathering with NNYM president Paul Fleishmann; Group Workcamp Foundation 1st ever volunteer reunion

2/23 Saturday 5-6:00 pm Various denominational gatherings: Catholic Church; United Methodist; Lutheran (Missouri Synod); Salvation Army, Christian & Missionary Alliance (dinner)

2/23 Saturday Late Night 10-11:00 pm  PDYM (Purpose Driven Youth Ministry) Community Gathering 

Thanks to Josh and his blog, More then Dodgeball, there is growing list of bloggers that are going to be at the conference.

Check out the list building in the comments of that post. Are you blogging? Hit that post (or the link below) and let Josh know.

Check out some of the cool things they are doing for the bloggers at the event and for bloggers’ respective sites. A lot of it involves food and prizes…can’t beat that!

The red couch is going on a road trip soon…Josh and Jake are taking it to Cincinnati. Hope it makes it. Just in case they run into problems, I decided to order a few more red couches to be shipped ahead straight to the convention center. On Friday I stopped by the local furniture store where we’d originally found the red couch, and saw the owners had posted the conference brochure on the wall in honor of the couch. They said they are starting a contest about stories inspired by their furniture. It’s a little weird, but it could be cool. We could do that at the conference. Hmmmmmmm….