Youth Encounter

Things are so exciting here! We have already received our very first Rock the Campus and EDGE registrations! Huge props go out to Peace Lutheran in Hazen, ND for being our very first EDGE registration for this year. And applaud now for Ascension Lutheran in Minocqua, WI for being our very first ever in all of history registration for Rock the Campus! Both churches are two months before the Early Bird Deadline. There is also a church in Minnesota that has called and wants to register 60 students for EDGE and the extended mission trip before Christmas. That means the spots are really starting to fill up early this year. If you want to make sure to reserve your spot for EDGE and the extended mission trip with Habitat for Humanity, or even just to make sure there is still room at Rock the Campus, don’t forget these deadlines:
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What's New for Events in 2007
Exciting Improvements for Quakes and Zones
Jeromy Dorsing

Good times await at Quakes and Zones

As we get ready to get into the full swing of the fourteenth year of middle school Events and the thirty-sixth year of high school Events, Youth Encounter continues to expand and involve our programming to better serve you, the pastors, youth directors, volunteers and youth! Based on the great feedback and comments we have received from you, exciting improvements have been implemented for Events this year!

- Training sessions for adult leaders written by Tiger McLuen of Youth Leadership!
- Youth Treks that help kids go deeper into their faith, written by authors such as Tera Michelson, Cathy Pino, Amber Harder, Theresa Johnson, and many more!
- Increased production value!
- Custom programming videos!
- Feed My Starving Children sponsorship challenge!
- Zone challenge course!

These are just a few of the ways we are striving to keep our Christ-centered Events relevant and exciting for both junior high and senior high youth. We look forward to seeing you at an Event in your area soon! On behalf of the Event Department, Merry Christmas and blessings on the ministry that you do in your own community!

For more information about our regional Events, please visit www.youthencounter.org/quakes or www.youthencounter.org/zones.

Spotlight Artist: Micah Taylor
Minnesota Musician Releases First Full-Length Solo Album
Kate Tripoli

Micah Taylor has long been a behind-the-scenes force in the Twin Cities music world, creating websites, producing albums, and taking the stage to back up his favorite artists. Now releasing his first full-length solo album, Build to Suit, Micah talks about his love of serving God by serving musicians.

YE: What's your history with Youth Encounter?

MT: I was on the first Captive Free team to the South East in 1998-99. I think I had seen a team when I was young and living in Atlanta, but I didn’t really pay much attention to who Youth Encounter was at that time. When I was in college, a pastor friend told me that I should check out this ministry. I called on a Monday, and by that Friday, I was on my way to camp to be trained! After team, I served on training staff for a few years, and I was a featured musician at some of the Events. I moved to Minneapolis in 2000, and that summer I got to tour a bunch of camps and outdoor festivals and give concerts as I talked up Youth Encounter and did some recruiting, which was a pretty great experience.
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This Community Has Shown Me a Better Way to Live
Read Excerpts from Lifeline's Online Journal
Lifeline

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:19)

I turned my head and looked out at the parking lot. Dark and grey. The overcast skies hiding the sun so effectively that it would make one think that the sun would never shine in that place again. I blinked and turned my attention back to the person who was sitting in the chair across from me. Her name is Annie. She told me how she doesn’t know what she should do. Should she stay here and continue to study at South Dakota State University and get an apartment with a friend of hers, or should she go to Honduras for a year?

I love Annie. By far, she is one of the most encouraging people that I have been able to meet in Brookings. Annie is a searcher. She searches for truth, she searches for the best in others, and she searches for the heart of God like very few people I have seen before. And so as she sat there recounting the many things, both great and small, that were on her mind, I wasn’t surprised when she began mentioning how she had been talking to God about all of it for a long time, but had gotten no response. She was frustrated, and all she wanted was for God to say something.
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God Has Already Blessed Us Abundantly
Read Excerpts from New Vision's Online Journal
New Vision

New Vision and the Alassippi service project youth

Let me think back over the last month or two for some highlights…

We had our ministry to the Friendship House, and some assisted living facilities those were an incredible blessing to us, and clearly to those we played for and hung out with. The Friendship House is an after-school program for impoverished youth. There we just played some fun sing-along music and did a puppet show, but what really had us knowing that they appreciated it, beyond their great involvement, was hanging out with the kids beforehand. Then we’d had our instruments out and were fooling around, and some of them came up and asked if they could just strum once, or hit the drums... and eventually it turned into about 15 kids all crowded around different instruments asking if they could have a turn and us getting to show them what to do, and just seeing the joy on their faces! The assisted living was similar, but there we spent some time talking to people beforehand and we really had a stellar time chatting and singing to them.
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Youth Encounter Receives Thrivent Grant
The Proclaiming Christ/Changing Lives Scholarship Fund
Hal Stoa

We are pleased to announce that the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation has approved a $71,000 grant to Youth Encounter. This grant comes from their Charitable Gifting Initiative Fund. It is a competitive application process, and Youth Encounter is grateful and blessed to be among the chosen projects supported. Our project is entitled "Proclaiming Christ/Changing Lives Scholarship Fund." This planned project is part of our Campaign and will seek to establish an endowment fund for scholarship purposes. The basics of our project are to hold planned giving seminars in ten key areas of our support base. We will plan to sponsor giving seminars' working with select congregations, key Thrivent agents, and Youth Encounter donors. In these seminars, we will tell the story of our ministry, establish relationships with supportive congregations, and solicit participation in and financial support for this ministry.

Through this grant, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans enters into a vital partnership with Youth Encounter and with our supportive churches. Thrivent professionals will join us in providing information and encouraging Christian stewardship through planned giving. We are blessed to have their support in jump-starting this program and their expertise in helping us, as well as helping Lutheran congregations establish their own planned giving programs.

For more information, contact Hal Stoa at hal@youthencounter.org.

Event T-Shirts, Beanies, and Sing-Along Resources On Sale
Use the Coupon Code and Save!
Ryan Veil

It’s Event season here at Youth Encounter! Is your youth group attending one of our Quakes or Zones? Well, you can order your Event t-shirts ahead of time and save 20% on your entire order of 10 or more t-shirts. Just go to store.youthencounter.org, enter coupon code EV2ddm, and save today!

Don’t forget to get your Youth Encounter beanie cap! These visor beanies are warm AND stylish. Also, our best-selling items, the Sing-Along CDs and Songbooks, are now only $10, down from $12. Pick up just one or buy the whole set! They make great resources for churches, praise bands, VBS programs, or just something fun to sing along to in the car.

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