Advice to Small Group Leaders

Posted on: 03/6/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last weekend I had a great time with Doug Fields, Mark Matlock and Megan Hutchinson training 700 youth workers at YSPalooza in Chicago!

One of the sessions I taught was “How to Lead a Small Group without Losing Your Mind.” This was a fun session where I offered 5 tools that help small group leaders (one of them was duct tape).

Before the session, I went around with my phone and filmed people in the lobby, asking them, “What advice would you give a newbie small group leader.” I synced my phone with my laptop really quick, threw the responses together using iMovie (gotta love Mac) and showed the crowd what advice they had to give to newbie small group leaders.

Here’s that video Continue reading “Advice to Small Group Leaders”

Hot Topics

Posted on: 02/27/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m really excited about the training labs I’m teaching this weekend at YSPalooza Chicago, because the two topics I’m teaching are addressing two of the biggest training needs I notice in youth ministries across the U.S.

I know that might sound a little dogmatic. Don’t get me wrong—I really don’t think I have some unique sense of what American youth ministries need. I just make a habit of listening to people on the front lines all over North America, and I have noticed some common denominators that surface when it comes to training needs. The YS leadership team looks at these as well so they know what training and resources to provide. This year, these two topics were among that rose to the top Continue reading “Hot Topics”

A Simple Little Contest

Posted on: 02/12/13 1:17 PM | by Jonathan McKee

WINNERS POSTED AT BOTTOM NOW.

I’ve got an exciting speaking schedule in the next few months, starting with the East Coast this weekend at this church in Raleigh, NC. I always like to let you know when I’m coming to your area, and I can do that more efficiently when I know where you’re from.

So here’s a quick and easy little contest for those of you in the U.S. You simply update your subscription profile information… and I will draw 3 random winners and give them a copy of one of these 3 new books from YS. So….

IF YOU ALREADY SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG: Just scroll down to the bottom of the email you receive from any one of my blog or eZine posts, and you’ll see the words “update subscription” underlined at the very bottom of the email. Click on that and you can add your name and zipcode to your subscription (zipcode is a brand new field we added, so I’ll know who has updated preferences by looking at the new zipcode entries).

IF YOU HAVEN’T YET SUBSCRIBED TO MY BLOG: Then click HERE and enter your email address, subscribing to my blog and/or our other free newsletters. Once you do this, then check your email inbox and you will receive an email with a button that says, “Yes, subscribe me to this list.” Once you click that, it will take you to a page that has an option to “Manage your preferences.” Click there. YOU MUST add your name and zipcode to those preferences to enter the contest.

That’s it. It’s that simple. I’ll randomly draw 3 winners one week from today, AND I’ll let you know if I’m ever coming to your area.

Here’s some of my upcoming trips this spring:

Raleigh, NC: If you’re within driving distance of Raleigh, NC… I’ll be flying there this weekend, speaking in the morning services at Highland Baptist Church Sunday, then teaching my Parenting the Texting Generation workshop from 2:30 to 4:30 (more details on their website here).

Then my spring calendar really starts to get crazy. See if I’m coming to a city near you:

March 1-2, 2013 (Chicago, IL)
Youth Worker Training, YS Palooza Chicago

March 10, 2013 (Hartland, WI)
Preach, Parent Workshop, Westbrook Church

March 15-16, 2013 (Des Moines, IA)
Leadership Training, IGNITE Youth Leadership Conference

March 17, 2013 (Norwalk, IA)
Preach, Parent Workshop, Fellowship Community Church

April 6, 2013 (Fridley, MN)
Connect Workshop, Grace EV FREE Church

April 7, 2013 (Fridley, MN)
Preach, Parent Workshop, Grace EV FREE Church

April 12-13, 2013 (Philadelphia, PA)
Youth Worker Training, YS Palooza Philly

April 14, 2013 (Philadelphia, PA)
Preach, Parent Workshop, Ridley Park Presbyterian Church

April 15, 2013 (Sewell, NJ)
Parent Workshop
, Gloucester County Community Church

May 5, 2013 (Kingsburg, CA)
Preach, Parent Workshop, First Baptist Church

May 12, 2013 (Carmichael, CA)
Preach- Mother’s Day, Christ Community Church

May 16-18, 2013 (Azusa, CA)
Parenting Workshops, the FAM Conference, Azusa Pacific University

June 12-14, 2013 (Irving, TX)
Youth Leadership Training, Student Leadership Conference 2013

CLICK HERE TO REQUEST TO BRING JONATHAN TO YOUR CITY

WE HAVE SOME CONTEST WINNERS:
The following three are the randomly selected winners. If this is you, use the comment feature of the blog to tell me which book, of the three books linked, that you want. It’s first come first serve, I have one of each book to give away. I’ll email you and confirm address, etc. once I see your response.

WINNERS:
Rodrigo Morales

Renee Jones
Nancy Chao

The Power of Stories

Posted on: 01/16/13 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This weekend I speak to hundreds of junior highers at one of my favorite camps, Timberlee in Wisconsin. Someone just asked me, “How do you keep the attention of today’s junior highers?”

“Easy. Just tell em’ a story.”

It’s amazing the impact a story can make. And story-based talks are some of the best:

  1. They’re easy to memorize. Once you hear a story, it’s pretty easy to repeat.
  2. They hold the attention of most young people, because everyone wants to hear the end of a story.
  3. It’s tapping into a technique that Jesus used all the time!

If you want a sample of what I’m talking about, I just posted a brand new story on our web site from my book MORE 10-MINUTE TALKS. The talk is simple. It’s a story, a quick explanation connecting it to the scripture, and a wrap up. I even included small group questions so that your kids can discuss it (Click here to see this ready-made talk).

IF YOU LIKE THIS TALK, GRAB A COPY OF JONATHAN’S BRAND NEW BOOK RIGHT NOW, AUTOGRAPHED BY JONATHAN AND 25% OFF!

Coming to Your City

Posted on: 01/10/13 12:17 PM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m starting to book some travel for my upcoming speaking and training, and I found a few gaps in my speaking calendar where some of you might want me to speak, train, or do a parent workshop at your church… for no travel cost.

Here’s some of the upcoming openings I have:

CHICAGO- March 3rd
I teach at YS Palooza on March 1 and 2, but don’t have anything booked for Sunday. So if any of you greater-Chicago area churches would like me to preach and/or teach one of my parent workshops… or train your adult leaders… I can stay an extra day.

DES MOINES- March 17th
I teach at a Youth Leadership Conference called IGNITE on March 15 and 16, don’t have anything booked for Sunday. So if any of you greater-Des Moines area churches would like me to preach and/or teach one of my parent workshops… or train your adult leaders… I can stay an extra day.

PHILLY- April 14th
I teach at YS Palooza in Philly on April 12 and 13, but don’t have anything booked for Sunday. So if any of you greater-Philly area churches would like me to preach and/or teach one of my parent workshops… or train your adult leaders… I can stay an extra day.

SOUTHERN CA- May 19th
I teach the parenting track of the FAM Conference at Azusa Pacific University on May 16-18, but don’t have anything booked for Sunday. So if any of you Southern California area churches would like me to preach and/or teach one of my parent workshops… or train your adult leaders… I can stay an extra day.

Email me at [email protected] if you would like to talk about one of these dates. Let me know what kind of teaching/training you’d like me to do, and what’s in your budget. All the money from these workshops goes directly to providing free resources and training for youth workers around the world.

When Words and Actions Collide

Posted on: 11/15/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

What is evangelism really supposed to look like today?

Feeding the poor?

Knocking on doors and sharing the Gospel?

I’m amazed how polar Christians become when discussing evangelism methodology. Half the group is passionate about sharing the Gospel with words; the other half has boarded the very popular social justice train.

Which is the correct method to point people towards Jesus? With words… or actions?

In my Real Conversations workshop at the National Youth Workers Convention this year I’m asking this question, posting each extreme point of view on opposing walls and asked people to stand in the room where they “stood” on the issue. When I did this in San Diego, people stood all over the room.

One youth worker objected. “The question is misleading!”

I smiled. Sure, we tend to favor one or the other. But the answer isn’t Continue reading “When Words and Actions Collide”

No Voice

Posted on: 11/5/12 9:48 AM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s been a long time since I’ve lost my voice… but it’s gone!

This is a scary thing for me, especially when I’m scheduled to speak. It happened last Wednesday night about 8:00 PM. I spiked a fever and my throat started hurting. Thursday morning I woke up with a sore throat and a raspy voice. I worked for a few hours that morning… because I’m a man! Men don’t get sick!

By noon, I admitted I was mortal, tapped out, and went to bed.

My biggest fear was Continue reading “No Voice”

Highs and Lows

Posted on: 10/16/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This past weekend Lori and I packed up my girls (Alec had to work) and took them with us to the National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC) down in San Diego, about an 8-hour drive south of us.

As always, the weekend was rewarding on so many levels… here’s just some random highlights for me personally… and a lowpoint.

MY HIGHS OF THE WEEKEND:

Lunch with Greg Stier: Our first day there, the four of us connected with my good friend Greg Stier for lunch. You have to know Greg or have heard him speak to understand what a blessing he is. Greg ministered to the four of us more than he will ever know in that hour lunchtime.

Worship on Sunday morning: On Sunday morning, NYWC provided a 1 hour worship service featuring the band Brilliance, with David Gungor, who apparently is Michael Gungor’s Continue reading “Highs and Lows”

This Weekend at NYWC

Posted on: 10/11/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Someone recently asked me how long I’ve been teaching workshops at the Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC)… and I couldn’t even remember. It was back when NYWC was pretty much the only convention!

I mean, I’m no Jim Burns… Jim had Noah in his junior high group… but I started teaching workshops at NYWC back when I was working full time with Youth for Christ, and that’s over 11 years ago. I’m guessing that this is probably my 13th year??? And I’ll be teaching two workshops this year in both San Diego and Dallas.

It’s fun digging out some of my old training PowerPoints (I keep all of that stuff). One of the first workshops I taught at NYWC was Continue reading “This Weekend at NYWC”

Flying Pie Pizzaria

Posted on: 10/7/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

As a true lover of pizza, I have to give a shout out to a small little place called Flying Pie Pizzaria in Boise. Tonight I ate there for the second time, and the experience actually surpassed my expectations… which wasn’t an easy task, because I loved the place the first time.

Last year was my first trip to Boise. I flew out for the weekend to preach in a small downtown church and teach a parenting workshop. Matt, the youth worker, booked me again this year to come speak to the congregation and do another workshop.

When he booked me I told him, “We’ve gotta go to that cool little pizza joint again!”

So not even an hour after I landed Continue reading “Flying Pie Pizzaria”