Check out the final cover deign of Jason Ostranders NEW Book “99 Questions Jesus Asked”! Be on the look-out for this in late May!

Click Here to check out all of the 99 Thoughts Series Resources.

Thanks for loving students
- Justin

P.S.
Click Below to Learn more about Jason and his writing process.
Book Writing 101 w/ Jason Ostrander
Book Writing 201 w/ Jason Ostrander

Youth Ministry Nation, you should really check out a film called “October Baby”…great message, great heart-pull, great film!

PLUS the producers of “October Baby” have assigned 10% of the profits of the movie to the Every Life is Beautiful Fund, which will distribute funds to front line organizations helping women facing crisis pregnancies, life-affirming adoption agencies, and those caring for orphans.

- Justin

Do we need to explain further?

Click the above image and start searching the depths of the SimplyYouthMinistry.com website for the promo codes!

Congrats to Michael Green our Champion! You just won a $200 shopping spree on www.SimplyYouthMinistry.com!

Jonathan Horton came in 2nd as he lost due to the tie-breaker, which was guessing the total combined score of the National Championship game.

Congrats to all that played…minus those of us who would rather forget our failed attempt this year!

Thanks for loving students
- Justin

DISCLAIMER: I’m not a Pinterest person…its a great resource for artists, construction gurus and youth workers to grab interactive teaching examples or home ideas from. The below item may of may not be on Pinterest but we think its pretty rad! Graffiti that GROWS…send us a picture if you try it out!

We Proudly Introduce to You…the faces behind the re-vamped Simply Youth Ministry Blog Network! Our hope and prayer is that your soul is encouraged, challenged and pushed to grow through these in-the-trenches youth ministry voices!

MarriedToAYouthPastor.com – Amanda Maguire, Irvine, CA

About the author - I’m Amanda Maguire and I have been “Married to a Youth Pastor” for almost 12 years now. We have 3 kids, Dylan (8) and Molly (6) and Scotty (3). I worked in full-time youth ministry for 4 years, got married and got a “real job”, allowing me to continue to be a volunteer in youth ministry for another 4 years. We started having kids and now I’m just married to the Youth Pastor. I have great friends and a fun life! I have a passion and a calling for wives just like me, married to a Youth Pastor. I love to write. I love to do creative activities. I love to run. I love to shop. I love to dine out. And I would love time to do any of these things more.

MoreThanDodgeball.com – Joshua Griffin, Lake Forest, CA

About the author - I’m a pastor. My first calling is to the church and I’m honored to fulfill my life purpose as a youth worker. As long as they’ll have me, I’m in. Being in the trenches of leading a youth ministry is where I want to be and where I thrive. I’ve had great experiences in a little rural church in Michigan and blessed to be a part of of the high school team at Saddleback Church in the suburbs of LA. (check out the “More Than Dodgeball” book published by Group/Simply Youth Ministry.)

YMTechStuff.com – Brandon Early, Rockford, IL

About the author - I have been serving in youth ministry for nearly 20 years, am currently the Pastor of Student Ministries at First Evangelical Free Church in Rockford, IL, and am on a first name basis with several Best Buy employees. My wife Keri and I have been married over ten years and have three great boys. My four favorite things are Jesus, Chicago Style Pizza, my wife, and fighting off our boys with sweet ninja moves.

MoreThanGossip.com – Neely McQueen, Redmond, WA

About the author - Neely McQueen has been working with teen girls for over 15 years. She works at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond, WA. She is also married to a pastor and the mom of 3 cute kids. Neely is also the author of “99 Thoughts Every Girl Should Know” published by Group/Simply Youth Ministry.

JuniorHighMinistry.com – Kurt Johnston, Lake Forest, CA

About the author - Kurt Johnston leads the student ministries team at Saddleback Church in Southern California. His ministry of choice, however, is junior high, where he spends approximately 83.4% of his time. Kurt is also the founder of SimplyJuniorHigh.com, and he writes, speaks and looks for opportunities to encourage other youth workers. He likes to surf, ride dirt bikes and hang out in coffee shops. He is married to Rachel, and they have two teenage children, Kayla and Cole

SimplyInsider.com – Justin Boling, Loveland, CO

About the author - Justin Boling is the Marketing Coordinator for Simply Youth Ministry. In short, I was a full-time volunteer youth pastor for 10 years working with Junior High, High School and College age students. I was born and raised in Fort Collins, CO, but have been privileged to live in Wichita, KS and Manchester, UK before moving back to Colorado. Where I currently live in Loveland, CO with my wife Elaina and 1 year-old son Hazen.

YouthMissionsInsider.com – Jeff Thompson, Greeley, CO

About the author - Jeff Thompson, a veteran of youth ministry, serves as the Director of Youth Missions for Group Mission Trips – Workcamps, Week of Hope and The Big Day of Serving.

CollegeMinistryThoughts.com – Chuck Bomar, Portland, OR

About the author - Chuck Bomar is pastor of Colossae Church in Portland, Oregon and founder of CollegeLeader (CollegeLeader.org). He travels frequently speaking around the country to youth and leaders and serves as a consultant with churches and denominations, seeking to help leaders, in every context, care for and include college-aged people in everything they do. He’s author of 5 books with the most recent being Worlds Apart: Understanding the Mindset and Values of 18-25 Year Olds (Zondervan, 2011). He and his wife, Barbara, have three beautiful daughters: Karis, Hope and Sayla.

SimplyUrbanMinistry.com – Jeffrey Wallace, Decatur, Georgia

About the author - In the trenches of local youth ministry for nearly a decade, Pastor Jeffrey Wallace brings a fresh and relevant approach to how to develop and maintain an effective, healthy, relevant youth ministry within the local church. His straight-forward, illustrative and in your face style of ministry has impacted the lives of thousands of students and youth leaders around the world. His transparency, compassion for others, passion for students, love for ministry, and experience makes him an asset to the body of Christ and to leaders looking to take their ministry to the next level and beyond the box. He understands the importance of being a balanced communicator by having an inspirational and creative delivery to capture and captivate the audience in which he is ministering to.Pastor Wallace is often described as a mentor, motivator, and a friend. He is the President & CEO of Front Line Urban Resources, which focuses on training and mentoring other youth pastors and leaders and providing life-changing youth ministry resources to help build, establish, and maintain a vibrant purpose-driven youth ministry within the local church. He serves Pastor of Youth Development at Peace Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia and is author of “Urban Ministry from Start to Finish” published by Group/Simply Youth Ministry.

SmallChurchYouthMinistry.com – Stephanie Caro, Houston, TX

About the author - Stephanie Caro has been involved in ministry to youth and youth workers in the local church since…well, a long time – 30+ years. Her humorous, straightforward style keeps her busy presenting and coaching at conferences, training events, camps, mission trips, retreats, churches, etc. Her latest books are, “Thriving Youth Ministry in Smaller Churches” and “99 Thoughts for the Smaller Church Youth Worker,” published by Group/Simply Youth Ministry. Stephanie is a contributing author to several youth ministry resources in addition to her regular column “Smaller Church Youth Ministry” in Group Magazine. Stephanie is a lead consultant for Mark DeVries’ Youth Ministry Architects and the Director for their new division, Small Church Ministry Architects. She and her hubby, Steve, live in Houston, TX. All 7 kids are grown and out – praise God!

To be honest I have not read nor do i plan to read this book series. Not because i have an issue with it, but more so because I’m not a reader of this style of book. The movie I may watch at some point but I’m a little cheap so Red Box please! However, Scott Firestone, the Associate Editor of Group Magazine, is going to go watch the film today, and review it for those of you that are unsure of the spiritual nature of the book series and the movies.

How can you help?
Write up a 400 word review of the movie, books, or both and upload it to YouthMinistry.com by clicking here. We want to provide Youth Ministry Nation, ie YOU, with as much information on this cultural phenomenon that is ‘The Hunger Games’. The more reviews, thoughts, view points, resources we can put in your hands to help you talk to your students about what they are most-likely immersed in the better. In other words, help youth workers around the world by simply sharing your thoughts about this book/movie.

If you have any questions please email Scott Firestone at SFirestone@Group.com

Current Resources in reference to ‘The Hunger Games’
“The Original Hunger Games” – By Lane Palmer of Dare2Share Ministries
“The Hunger Games: The Story Behind the Bestseller-Turned-Blockbuster” – by David R. Smith of TheSource4YM.com

Thanks for loving students
Justin

Well…at least we think its the APP of the Century! Now you can get everything “Simply Youth Ministry” in your pocket. Actually, it works better in your hand, but you get the point. This app provides access to the latest training articles on YouthMinistry.com and the freshest episodes of the Simply Youth Ministry Show in audio and video format. Boom! Now what?! While you’re at it, shop the entire Simply Youth Ministry resource catalog on your iPhone or iPad. Life is good, friends.

Youth Ministry Nation meet Leneita Fix!
Leneita Fix meet Youth Ministry Nation!

Leneita is the author of a new Everyday Youth Ministry book titled “No Teenager Left Behind“. When we publish a NEW book we also ask the author for a short author video, which we then upload and place on the books product detail page at SimplyYouthMinistry.com. We normally get solid straight forward videos from our authors, but Leneita created the below video and sent it to us. We were floored! Enjoy!

Click Here to Learn How to GET PUBLISHED!