A good friend of mine did something very cool this week (without any prompt from me, I promise)! He shot a video of himself plugging YMV’s and posted it to Youtube!
I’ll be able to use this at the lunches I am hosting to promote Youthmark Mission Ventures!
Thanks Aaron! If you have about two minutes, check out the video!
Grace,
Brian
Okay, so the Seattle weather doesn’t quite reflect the title of this post, however, I am thinking Spring right now. Yesterday I had the opportunity to drive up north (Burlington/Mt. Vernon) to meet with a couple different friends. First I met with Mark Moder, the CEO of Youth Dynamics. We grabbed some coffee and caught up on life. You can pray for Mark, he has served as the President of Youth Dynamics for almost a year, yet, has been doing so by commuting from Idaho. He and his family have yet to sell their home in Post Falls, ID. He spends a couple weeks in WA and a couple weeks in ID each month.
Yep, this is Joe.
After my meeting with Mark, and the reason for “Thinking Spring,” I met with Joe Poppino. Joe was my worship leader for our two Spring Retreats last spring (and did a fantastic job). Well, a few weeks ago I officially made the ask for him to consider doing it again. I let him know we have three retreats in WA this spring and he jumped on board. I then let him know that we are doing one in Portland, and he jumped at that one too… then I asked the impossible. I asked Joe if he’d be interested in coming to TX, CA and CO for the three out-of-the-northwest retreats. And after prayer, consultation and more prayer, The Joe Poppino Band is officially the band for Youthmark Mission Ventures Spring Tour!
Joe Poppino is back!
I’m excited to have Joe and his band on board. With Joe coming to all seven training times I will be able to utilize his giftedness beyond the music. Even yesterday we were dreaming of what could be in the Spring of 2010! Pretty exciting stuff!
Grace,
Brian
For those of you stopping by for something deep and spiritual, I am sorry, the title may be deceiving.
Just a picture today.
Last week I got to experience my first snow of the fall/winter. I went from the picture below (29 and snowing) to sunny and 70 within about 90 minutes. Gotta love Colorado.
Near Vail, CO
Grace,
Brian
If you have friends in the great Dallas, Houston, LA, San Diego, Portland and Seattle areas, this post is very much for you! Let the post begin…
I love my job.
Years ago I discovered that I have a bit of an entrepreneurial bent. I like thinking about the risk/reward side of things.
As I walked into Starbucks this afternoon I quickly discovered the re-arrangement of the furniture, and surmised the reasons as to why they made the change. In talking to the Barista I was confirmed in my thinking. Much of the decision was based on streamlining the customer experience; from walking into the store, to seeing the merchandise to being ushered out the door (quickly) so that you come back often, but don’t stay too long–it’s all been considered. Brilliant on their part. I buck the trend though (I’ll stay for several hours).
I like thinking like a businessman. But I also love thinking like a Pastor. A great mix for me at Youthmark.
As Youthmark is expanding beyond the King/Snohomish and Pierce County boundaries, I am trying my hand at marketing. One discovery I have made is that word-of-mouth advertising is by far the best form of advertising. For instance, last week in Colorado and the YMV preview lunches; though I sent out mailings, we made phone calls and I personally sent over 150 emails, I had just a handful of people show up who were not connected to either me or one of my close friends in the area.
So, with that knowledge, I am trying a bit of a different tactic for the last six youth leader meals Youthmark is offering to preview the 2010 Youthmark Mission Venture materials and trips. Soliciting help! Specifically, soliciting help from you!
I hope you think like I do: Teens in the U.S. can/should be the best missionaries we have! Let’s train them to reach their own campus, club and community. If this is something you believe, perhaps you can partner with Youthmark in a new and creative way!
If you have friends in any of the below listed metro areas, I would greatly appreciate your w0rd-of-mouth (and/or email, text or call) advertisement to get friends and acquaintances to the meals. Specifically we are targeting the Youth Pastors (and/or Pastors if they make the decisions for the Student Ministry). If you could point people to the registry at youthmark.com I’d greatly appreciate it. Of course they can click here to get all the info about YMV’s as well. Here are the dates and times for the meals:
Greater San Diego Area: San Marcos Old Spaghetti Factory, Wednesday, October 28, Noon.
Greater North Los Angeles Area: Valencia Marie Calendars, Thurday, Oct. 29, 10:00 AM Brunch.
Greater North Houston Area: Spring TX, Stracks Restaurant, Wednesday, Nov. 4, Noon.
Greater North Dallas Area: Buca Di Beppos, Thursday, Nov. 5, Noon.
Seattle: Southcenter (Tukwila) Old Spaghetti Factory, Thursday, Nov. 19, Noon.
Portland: Old Spaghetti Factory (on the River), Old Spaghetti Factory, Thursday, Dec. 4, Noon.
If you are interested in more information or would like to send a specific invite complete with a pdf of the postcard, don’t hesitate to email me and I’ll get you the graphics for this.
So, what do you say? Can you share the love? Your prayers and your practical help is so appreciated! Let me know (comment) if you plan to send off an invite!
Grace,
Brian
One new look wasn’t enough, I thought I’d try one other new thing (sort of)…
Last week I began an 8-city mini-tour to promote Youthmark Mission Ventures. As part of the leader lunch I preview the YMV materials for the 2010 season. The end-goal is to have Youth Leaders see and understand that what we are offering through Youthmark is much more than a mission trip.
My passion is to see students (and all of us for that matter) reproduce ourself on our own campus, in our own clubs and in our communities. The idea of going outside of our own home context should be an extension of what we’re already doing in our own home-town. So, the idea of a mission trip comes out of our passion for missionship (to be a missionary at all times).
Last spring, as part of our 2009 training I debuted an idea I had, the FOF Challenge. Because I firmly believe that Christians need to be witnesses wherever/whenever, I challenged the participants to do it online as well. This was HIGHLY successful and I still am receiving emails and Facebook messages talking about the relational conversations students (and leaders) have had as a result of the FOF Challenge.
As part of our Youth Leader Lunch and preview I share about the practical things we do to prepare/train students “for a life of mission,” so, this last week and in six other cities, I will train Youth Leaders in how to use the FOF Challenge in their youth groups (and hopefully their own lives).
If you are on Facebook, I challenge you to take the FOF Challenge as well. If you’re not on Facebook, I bet a lot of your non-believe friends are, so get on and get going!
And here is what’s new:
The FOF Challenge has its own website and blog. So, rather than me explaining it here, go to the website, check it out, read about it and then do the challenge! I want to hear your stories, I want to pray for those you’re sharing with.
Check out fofchallenge.com
So, what would it look like for you?… it’s mid-October, what if you took the challenge between now and Thanksgiving? Or perhaps you want to study up on some Scritptures and you want to do the challenge for all of November? How about between Thanksgiving and the New Year? Set a time and take the challenge; maybe, just maybe we’ll see new brothers and sisters come to faith in Christ!
Grace,
Brian
I made the move…
The blog now has a simplified title… just looking out for you, the reader, I just saved you 9 finger strokes (wordpress) and you can get to the blog just that much quicker!
The new site comes with a new look; my thought is that I’ll update the header every few months just to keep it fresh!
As Youthmark continues to make strides, as I have the opportunity to write and speak a little more often, I thought it’d be fun to have a new blog and a new look.
Thanks for coming by and checking out the new site! My hope is that you’ll continue to lift us up in your prayers (the Aabys and Youthmark)!
Speaking of making strides, I will be announcing one really cool stride on Sunday as well! Stay tuned!
Grace,
Brian
It’s been awhile since I listed some specific things to be praying for for Youthmark.
I hope you’ll bring these things to Jesus on our behalf! Thanks!
Pray for the Youth Leaders lunches. I get to preview the training materials and the three different missions packages we are offering. My prayer is that Youth Leaders see the passion I/we have for our own Jerusalem and see this as a practical way to train students to reach out at home! Leader lunches remain in the San Diego area, North LA area, Houston, Dallas, Seattle and Portland.
Pray for the development of all the written materials for 2010. Including the Mission Prep Workbook, RoadGrip, HomeBase, Merge and the Leaders Guides.
Pray for the FOF. I’ll post more about this tomorrow or over the weekend, but I have a somewhat major announcement along these lines and I really believe God’s work through online witness is just beginning! I think the FOF Challenge is going to be used in a mighty way!
Pray for Kirk Petersen. He is representing Youthmark in Oregon and doing a fantastic job! Pray that he finds balance in his work with Youthmark and Alpha Ministries!
I am so thankful for what has happened thus far with Youthmark and I hope you’re praising God with me for the work He is doing!
Grace,
Brian
Coming to the end of what has been one of the more busy weeks I can remember in quite-some-time. Don’t have too much time to write, but have a couple things of note to pass on.
Have a great day!
Grace,
Brian
Even though I woke up Thursday morning with a bit of a sore throat that would later turn in to more of a real sore throat, I wouldn’t let that ruin the weekend. It was a great weekend at the Aaby home. Here are a few of the highlights.
Friday: Did some good prep work for the EXPOSED conference (btw, today is the deadline for early bird pricing). I had a great interview with a police officer who goes undercover online through MySpace and Facebook (I’ll talk about this at the conference). Took Halle to her soccer practice and Elisabeth and I caught up on a few shows we had on our DVR (we love the Amazing Race).
Saturday: Elisabeth did a few consignment sales as I spent the morning with the kids at home. Then we did a family outing to Chipotle for lunch and then off to Halle’s Soccer game (where we discovered Will is a natural). I multi-tasked and got some Youthmark postcards prepped for delivery (I’ll post about this mailing soon). We got home in time to watch the UW/ND refs give the game back to Notre Dame. Halle made her biking debut on the Soos Creek trail, she and I rode a little over 2 miles (which I was giddy to do because I hadn’t ridden in a couple days because of my sore throat). On Saturday night we were able to watch the second half of the Amazing Race premier from the previous week.
Sunday: The moment we’ve been waiting for for many, many months (but nearly as long as the long-term members of Faith Baptist). “A New Day At Faith” began yesterday. The new Lead Pastor was installed at Faith. I look forward to seeing what happens at Faith and the way God uses the leadership team with a new team member. The morning was very festive, complete with donuts and coffee prior to the service (because people were arriving early for the “all church” service), extended time of worship through song (started 15 minutes prior to the service), a message from the heart from Pastor John (did some foundational vision casting, which very much included the idea of “change” so that we’re reaching the next generation) and a lunch in the courtyard after (which was fun for us to catch up with some friends who are checking out Faith).
After Church I was able to get back on my bike for my real ride around the Lake Youngs Reservoir (about 12 miles) and then another ride with Halle on the Soos Creek Trail. We made a great connection with a neighbor (this has been a REAL answer to prayer, I have a burden to get to know our neighborhood). In the evening I started the major re-shifting to create an office space for Youthmark at our house. Though I don’t really “office” at home, the piles were starting to add up and we found ourselves in need of some office space so that the piles have a place to be organized!
As I reflect is was a fairly uneventful weekend (there wasn’t any “major” event), but it was a weekend that I cherished! Praising God for time with my family and the tasks we were able to complete!
Grace,
Brian
Next Saturday, October 10, 2009 I will speaking at an event entitled, EXPOSED. You might be able to help me with some of the content for this seminar geared toward helping parents, teachers and even teens become more knowledgeable about Teens & Tech.
So, if you are a teen or young adult who is pretty savvy on the net, please consider a way you might be able to help and contact me at my email (brian at youthmark dot com).
There are three ways that jump out at me as ways you may be able to contribute before, during and after the event.
Some of the things that could prime-the-pump to get your thoughts moving…
What do adults not know about the Internet and Technology that they should know?
What would your social life look like without the Internet or your cell?
These stories should be specific to any of the following:
Email, Instant Messaging, Gaming, Live Chats, Facebook, MySpace, Texting/Sexting, blogs, online predators/stalking, Internet Bullying & Harassment, etc.
If you are interested in helping please do let me know (I’d prefer you respond via email). The main seminar is from 1:00-4:00 PM next Saturday, however there is training seminar for the Family Academy teachers from 10:00 to Noon, so there are options for two different times to help.
If nothing else, could I solicit your prayers for this event and to help those in need gain exposure in these areas?
Grace,
Brian
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