Mark and Julianna kick off a series on how context impacts youth ministry by talking about some key features of identifying the context of your youth ministry.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com.

Over four hundred youth, adults, and ministry supporters attended the 2021 National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference in Houston. Participants and speakers from the conference join the podcast to discuss takeaways and highlights from the event. Learn more about the National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference at lcmsgathering.com/national-2021. Find more information on YouthLead at lcms.org/youth-ministry/youthlead.

Guests:

• Rev. Jacob Heine — Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas
• Heather McCormick, DCE — Faith Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas
• Isaiah Duport — YouthLead Executive Team
• Leah Abel, DCE — Denver, Colorado
• Cassie Moore, DCE — St. Mark Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas

Being a youth leader means taking on many different roles depending on your youth’s needs and the situation. As we look at another chapter of Connected for Life, Mark and Julianna discuss key roles of the youth worker with Pastor AJ Mastic.

Bio: AJ Mastic is the Highlands Campus pastor at Renewal Church, a multi-site congregation in Denver, CO. He is a 2007 graduate of Concordia University Texas and previously served as a Director of Christian Education in Arkansas and Colorado. As a DCE at St. John’s Lutheran in Denver, he entered the Specific Ministry Pastor program with Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and has served as a pastor since 2013, planting Renewal Church in 2018. He is married to Megan and they have four young children.

Find the LCMS Youth Ministry resource website at youthesource.com and your copy of Connected for Life at cph.org/p-31891-Connected-for-Life-Essential-Guide-to-Youth-Ministry.aspx.

The LCMS Youth Gathering is far more than the five days. We want the Gathering to be just one part of your ongoing healthy youth ministry. In our final episode of this starter pack we will talk about how to bring the Gathering home.

Bio: Alan Wunderlich is a rostered teacher in the LCMS and serves as Assistant Principal and Youth Director at Immanuel Lutheran Church and School in Washington, MO. He has taken numerous groups to the LCMS Youth Gathering and for the 2022 Gathering serves on the Adult Leader Support Team who has been working diligently to put together great resources for adult leaders planning to attend the LCMS Youth Gathering.

LCMS Gathering Online Resources:

• LCMS Youth Gathering Website lcmsgathering.com
• In All Things Adult Leader Resource, including Things to Do in Houston lcmsgathering.com/resources
• LCMS Youth Ministry Facebook Leader Group facebook.com/groups/LCMSYouthMinistry

As adult leaders, it can be easy for our sole focus to be on our youth and their experience. But you and your adult leader team need to care for yourselves at the LCMS Youth Gathering. This episode will look at how adults can stay healthy and energized to make the most of their whole group’s time at the Gathering.

Bio: Anne Franklin has led youth groups to three LCMS Youth Gatherings as a lay leader at Our Father Lutheran in Centennial, CO. She now serves on the Adult Leader Resource Team.

LCMS Gathering Online Resources:

• LCMS Youth Gathering Website lcmsgathering.com
• In All Things Adult Leader Resource, including Things to Do in Houston lcmsgathering.com/resources
• LCMS Youth Ministry Facebook Leader Group facebook.com/groups/LCMSYouthMinistry

As we continue the Gathering Starter Pack, we are going to talk about how the many different program elements of the Gathering can help every young person explore their unique vocations.

Bio: Rhonda Palmersheim serves at Concordia University in St. Paul MN where she has held positions in admissions and university advancement over the last 20 years. NYG 2022 marks her sixth gathering experience. As a member of the Adult Leader Support Team Rhonda and her teammates strive to provide resources and mentorship to the thousands of adult youth workers and lay leaders that will be attending the gathering. Rhonda is married and has two teenage sons. They reside in Plymouth MN and have been lifelong members at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Plymouth.

LCMS Gathering Online Resources:

• LCMS Youth Gathering Website lcmsgathering.com
• In All Things Adult Leader Resource, including Things to Do in Houston lcmsgathering.com/resources
• LCMS Youth Ministry Facebook Leader Group facebook.com/groups/LCMSYouthMinistry

Parents are important partners for your Gathering team! As you begin to plan, this episode of a Gathering Starter Pack is designed to help you think about how to work with and support parents as they play a critical role in the Gathering experience for their teens.

Bio: Amanda Jahnke is a DCE at St. Paul Lutheran in Fort Worth, TX. She is finishing a Masters in Family Science in Concordia St. Paul and is a certified parent coach. Amanda is a member of our 2022 Gathering Planning team working on Adult Leader Resources.

LCMS Gathering Online Resources:

• LCMS Youth Gathering Website lcmsgathering.com
• In All Things Adult Leader Resource, including Things to Do in Houston lcmsgathering.com/resources
• LCMS Youth Ministry Facebook Leader Group facebook.com/groups/LCMSYouthMinistry

We pray congregational groups have a positive, healthy, and impactful experience at the Gathering. However, we know that during the Gathering a teen may experience or express a struggle or crisis. Rather than being reactionary, we hope this podcast will help all supportive adult leaders to prepare to care for young people in difficult experiences.

Guests:

Amanda Jahnke, DCE at St. Paul in Fort Worth, TX. Amanda is a member of our 2022 Gathering Planning team working on Adult Leader Resources.

Karen Merritt is a licensed professional counselor in TX and the school counselor at St. Paul Fort Worth.

LCMS Gathering Online Resources:

• LCMS Youth Gathering Website lcmsgathering.com
• In All Things Adult Leader Resource, including Things to Do in Houston lcmsgathering.com/resources
• LCMS Youth Ministry Facebook Leader Group facebook.com/groups/LCMSYouthMinistry

We have just over a year before the 2022 Gathering. The list for preparation is long, so Mark and Julianna talk you through some key things to do with guest DCE Annie Anderson.

Bio: DCE Annie Anderson is serving a congregation in the East Valley of Phoenix. 2022 will be her 8th Gathering and in this Gathering cycle she is serving as a planner on our Adult Leader Resource Team.

LCMS Gathering Online Resources:

• LCMS Youth Gathering Website lcmsgathering.com
• In All Things Adult Leader Resource, including Things to Do in Houston lcmsgathering.com/resources
• LCMS Youth Ministry Facebook Leader Group facebook.com/groups/LCMSYouthMinistry

The 2022 Gathering will bring us together in Houston. In the next part of our Gathering Starter Pack, we talk about traveling to the Gathering and highlights of the Houston area with Meredith Whitefield.

LCMS Gathering Online Resources:

• LCMS Youth Gathering Website lcmsgathering.com
• In All Things Adult Leader Resource, including Things to Do in Houston lcmsgathering.com/resources
• LCMS Youth Ministry Facebook Leader Group facebook.com/groups/LCMSYouthMinistry