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Enroll now for Boot Camp 2008
The Western Territorial Youth Department has announced the second ever Boot Camp event, to be held January 23-27, 2008 at southern California’s Camp Mt. Crags and Gilmore.
“We want youth workers and corps officers to come and be trained, encouraged, connected and renewed,” said Jim Sparks, territorial youth development and leadership director.
Boot Camp is an intensive youth leadership-training seminar that seeks to “train, develop, equip, motivate and revitalize Salvationists to be more effective in reaching young people for Jesus.”
The territory held the first Boot Camp in 2005, responding to the need to provide affordable yet quality leadership training for youth workers.
“We want these leaders to go home and change the world with better quality and bigger quantity youth programs at their corps,” said Captain Kyle Smith, territorial youth secretary. “These are biblical concepts—Jesus wants quality believers and more of them. I want to see the world saved and I want to see it start with us right here, right now.”
The five-day training will offer sessions and workshops from a diverse group of guest speakers, including:
• Commissioners Phil and Pat Swyers – Western Territory leaders.
• Kara Powell–executive director of Fuller Theological Seminary’s center for youth and family ministry, which exists to translate research into resources that transform youth and family ministry (cyfm.net/index.php).
• Walt Mueller–founder and president of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, which is committed to building strong families by bridging the cultural and generational gap between parents and teenagers (cpyu.org/Default.aspx).
•Jim Burns–president of HomeWord, which seeks to advance the work of God in the world by educating, equipping, and encouraging parents and churches to build God-honoring families from generation to generation (homeword.com).
• Fred Lynch–founder of UrbNet, a national network of urban youth workers.
• Larry Acosta–the President and Founder of the Hispanic Ministry Center, Urban Youth Workers Institute and KIDWORKS (uywi.org).
• Richard Reising–founder and president of Artistry Marketing, a national firm that helps churches and ministries increase their effectiveness through strategic marketing, design and technology and author of Church Marketing 101 (churchmarketing101.com).
The variety of workshops will be geared towards both new youth workers and seasoned leaders.
The territory will again offer a full scholarship to one non-officer from every corps, covering travel, accommodation and registration fees. Applicants must be at least 18-years-old, either a volunteer or employee, and willing to apply what they learn at Boot Camp to their corps youth programs. Corps officers are encouraged to attend as well.
“Working in youth ministry is ever changing, as leaders we need to be relevant and willing to learn and seek wisdom from peers as well as those who have been around the block a few times,” Sparks said. “It doesn’t matter if you are just starting or you have been doing it for 40 years, everyone needs to learn and discover new ways to minister to our youth. Boot Camp is just that place.“
To learn more about being trained to equip The Salvation Army youth, contact your corps officer.
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