Dear Youth Pastor,
I hope your fall is going well. I’m praying for you as you are involved in the day in and day out ministry to students. The fields are ripe for harvest!
This winter, we are again hosting the Ignition Middle School Conference in East Moline, IL. I love this simple weekend of sharing the love of Jesus with middle school students and I want to invite you to join me in doing just that.
I know it’s not easy to get a group of students to a weekend event, but here are the steps:
1) Add the event to your calendar (January 25-26, 2013).
2) Personally invite the middle school students in your church and their friends to register. Click here for individual form. And here’s the group form for one leader to fill out.
3. Collect the registration forms (quite possibly the hardest part!) Click here for 9 free ideas for getting forms in on time.
4. Send in their forms, the registration fees and the group form (you just need to fill this out). This may be something you can delegate – sign an adult up as the key leader for this weekend and invite them to take care of the details of registration. Here’s a job description for a Volunteer Event Administrator.
5. Arrange transportation to and from the event in East Moline (there is a really great deal on the registration rate for sponsors / adults) – this a great opportunity to invite some people to spend the weekend, investing in the students from your church and building memories!
6. Pray for the hearts of students as they attend this special event.
The weekend will consist of worship led by Harvest Ministry, speaking from Trevor Bartolomucci, small group, seminars, recreation, snacks, meals and tons of fun!
All the meals and program costs are covered in the registration fee. If your students would like a t-shirt, the will be available for purchase at Ignition.
Overnight housing is not provided at Ignition, but in addition to the area motels here are some other possible housing scenarios for your group:
1) If you are close enough, drive back to your church and spend the night. You might want to set up the schedule as more of a retreat than a lock in. Maybe even have the air mattresses / cots set up and ready to go before you head out for the event.
2) If you are close enough to East Moline, IL, spend the night in a home (or a couple homes) or your church members. Maybe have the girls go to one house and the guys to the other. This also adds a retreat feel.
3) If you are coming from a distance, motels are really fun, but if you want to save money, contact a local church about the possibility of staying there for the night.
Pray with me as we reach middle school students with the hope of Jesus!