At the National Youth Workers Convention in Cincinnati in November I was asked to assemble a group of young leaders to sit down with the Executive team from YouthWorks who were in the process of buying Youth Specialties. I asked Ginny Olson, Andy Root, Lilly Lewin, and Scott Rubin to join me in this dialogue about the future of Youth Specialties. I was really impressed with the humility of the YouthWorks team which is reflective of YouthWorks' Founder and President Paul Bertelson character. We all spent some time telling our stories, why we loved YS and what we thought was important for the future of YS. My first comment about the future of YS was the need to rehire Tic Long and keep several other key YS personnel. It seems that they have heard this message from many.
Anyway, I am thrilled to hear that Tic Long is back in the saddle at Youth Specialties, rested, renewed, and ready to try some new things. This is good news. Retaining other important YS staff like Mark Matlock and Michelle Fockler bodes well for the desire of YouthWorks to return YS to a financially viable role of shaping the future of youth ministry.
My dear friend and associate Karla Yaconelli, Mike's widow weighs in here.
Tic shares his thoughts here.
Another point our group made to YouthWorks about the future of Youth Specialties and the training of youth workers was the importance of serious theological reflection. I really like and agree with Tony Jones and his thoughts on this newest development with YouthWorks, Youth Specialties and Tic Long. I especially like his story of meeting with Mike Yaconelli. He describes the Mike Yaconelli I remember and loved and desire to be like, fearless - read here.
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