Conference Podcasts

In case you didn't catch them over on Out of Ur, we've now posted the three podcasts recorded at Shift 2008 a few weeks back , including interviews with Mark Yaconelli, Mark Miller, and Drew & Jerome from Switchfoot.

Check 'em out in the Podcasts section of the site.

Podcast 09: Switchfoot

An interview with band members Drew Shirley and Jerome Fontamillas, recorded a few hours before Switchfoot's Q&A session and acoustic performance at Shift 2008

Podcast 08: Mark Miller

An interview with breakout presenter Mark Miller, recorded on day two of the SHIFT 2008 conference

Podcast 07: Mark Yaconelli

An interview with author and speaker Mark Yaconelli immediately following his session at the Shift 2008 Conference

"Center" and Re-Centering

I’m actually typing this little blog post outside. Those of you who came to Shift traveled to Chicago a week too early - it’s 71 degrees outside right now!

Even though the weather was less than desirable last week, I felt like I was able to leave behind some of the clouds that have been hovering over my heart recently. I was able to “re-center” my soul with God and my calling as a youth-worker.

The first day of sessions were crazy intense for me. And from the vibe in the room I could tell that many of you were sitting with the weight of the work that we have ahead of us. From Brian McLaren’s opening charge to live out the kingdom of God right now in this broken world – to Mark Yaconelli’s simple, honest reflections on spiritual formation in students – to Shane Claiborne’s unashamed fire for justice ... it was enough to make even the most complacent of us sit on the edge of our seats.

That first day set the tone for the rest of our time together. I could feel it in the air. And I hope that you could feel it too. You and I have a very important calling on our lives. As we sang the song “Center” together on Friday morning ... I was struck once again with the reminder that we must re-center our lives on Christ every day. And in that moment, in those last hours, I felt that hundreds of us were united with Christ and his call to return to our communities and live a re-centered life.

I hope that your time with us was energizing and inspiring. I’m really looking forward to the days ahead. See ya next year.

[Brandon Grissom is worship leader at Elevate, Willow Creek's Junior High Ministry. brandongrissom.net]

Shift 2008 Recap

We had a great time, how about you?

Thanks to everybody (that’s you!) who made Shift 2008 what it was.
From main sessions to breakouts, Cups of Coffee to the Thursday Night Experiences, we feel like this year’s event would truly have been different without each and every one of you there.

If you weren’t a part of Shift, check out the rundown of the event over at Out of Ur, who covered our 2 1/2 days together from start to finish.

If you were there, we’d love to hear from you. What was a highlight? Any session, speaker, idea, artist, or experience stand out?

The Shift experience is definitely continuing beyond last week (see Bo’s previous post here). Let’s keep the conversation going...

[Thanks to Gavin for the photo. Check out his amazing Shift 2008 flickr photostream here.]

Online Experience

For the next 3 days, you can follow all of the happenings at the SHIFT 2008 conference over at the Out of Ur blog. April 9-11, we’ll be partnering with Out of Ur to live blog the event, post video highlights from each session, as well as a couple of podcast interviews with conference guests.

If you like the RSS sort of thing, subscribe to Out of Ur here.
Otherwise, check their blog often throughout the conference for regular updates.

Starting April 14, all things SHIFT will be back here at shiftexperience.com.

Until then, we’ll see you over at Ur...

Beyond the Conference

As you can see from the new site, SHIFT is more than just a conference. It’s an identity. It’s a movement, a way of approaching student ministry.

It’s also a commitment. We’ve spent much of the last year looking at statistics showing that the majority of today’s students will leave the church–and many of them leave their faith completely–within the next 10 years. Youth ministries’ ineffectiveness in students’ spiritual transformation must stop.

As youth workers, you’ve seen the stats, you’ve heard the stories, and you’ve probably seen students from your own ministries who’ve walked away from God, and have made this problem more real to you than just a statistic. I know it has for me.

It all begs the question: Who’s going to do something about it?

At SHIFT, we’re committed to inspiring youth leaders to literally shift the future of youth ministries and to write the next 10 years of church history as a decade when an entire generation of students discover God’s amazing love through his son Jesus, and their place in His story—and in the process, change the world.

How?

First, we’re going to help you identify the shifts taking place in today’s culture, including the barriers (inside and outside of the church) that are keeping students from following God.

Next, we’re going to host experiences that explore these shifts, helping us all discover the changes needed in our own ministries to better meet the needs of the students we serve.

We’re also going to provide resources that expose student ministry leaders to the best thinking, ideas, questions, and practices being offered by those actively shaping the future of the Church and youth ministry.

And finally, we’re going to do everything we can to foster relationships that allow student ministry leaders to learn from one another, and find leadership, mentoring and coaching from experienced veteran youth leaders.

It’s going to take all of us. Really. It’s going to take student ministry leaders, churches, and families all working together to make the shifts needed to help our students become life-long followers of Jesus Christ.

It can be done. With God’s help, together, we can shift the future of student ministry.

[Bo Boshers is the Executive Director of SHIFT / Student Ministries of WCA]

Shifting the Future DVD

Rapid changes in culture and technology surround us. How should these changes influence our communication and ministry? How might we connect with students today and inspire them to change the world?

We are continually searching for resources to help youth leaders navigate ministry in a shifting culture. We pulled together some of the best teachings we could find and put them on one DVD to encourage and inspire you. Sessions include:

Donald Miller – Sharing the Gospel without Wierding People Out
Dan Kimball – They Like Jesus But Not the Church
Darren Whitehead – Culture: Where It Is, Where it's Going, and What We Can Do About It
Brian McLaren – Shaped by Our Stories
Louie Giglio – Awake to My Journey

Order HERE - RETAIL: $29.99 MEMBER: $23.99

Breakout Handouts

Chances are you've already received an email, or noticed the new link on the bottom left of the site, but just in case...

In an effort to "go green" this year, we've decided, for the first time, not to print paper copies of breakout handouts for the conference. While some speakers may choose to personally bring print handouts of their own for their breakouts, the only handouts the WCA will be making available will be in PDF format and are now available here.

Please check to see if a PDF is available for the breakout you plan on attending. If you desire a paper copy of the handout, please print it out ahead of time and bring it with you, as there will not be an opportunity to do so once on site at the conference.

We hope you'll appreciate our efforts to conserve paper and print resources, as well as make a number of the handouts available in a convenient digital form.

6 days and counting...