Marathon Youth Ministry The Book?

Courtesy of matryosha/Creative Commons License

As some of you know I’m in the process of writing a book.  It originally started as a compilation of posts from this blog; however, it’s evolved.  Recently my pastor, Michael White and our associate Tom Corcoran wrote a book about making the local Catholic church matter.  What Marathon Youth Ministry looks to do is compliment their book with a youth ministry perspective.

While I have 8 years of youth ministry under my belt, I know there is much still so much I have to learn.  With that said, I also feel like there is so much I need to share.  My goal with this blog is to simply share with you all the strategies, systems and wisdom that I’ve acquired throughout the years.  This book is:

1. A Reminder to other youth ministers that they are not alone in their journey
2. A Field guide filled with tools, tips and insights on how to face failure, build vision and live out the mission of God.
3. My personal story, written by a guy who is in the trenches.

 While my target audience is going to be Catholic youth ministers, I strongly believe anyone in youth ministry can benefit from it.

So, why am I sharing this with you all?  I NEED YOUR HELP and as loyal readers here are three ways in which you can do that:
HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE 
This isn’t the first time I’ve said, “I’m going to write a book.” A few years back I started on a book idea and that idea is pretty much just that, an idea.  While I have a lot of this one already written, I want to give you permission to ask me about it.  You can shoot me a tweet, email or comment asking me, “How’s it going?” If it’s been too long (I’ll let you be the judge of that) call me out on it.  Your accountability is the motivation I need to make sure this book doesn’t just become another lost idea.

SHARE WITH ME WHY 
I’m currently writing up the last chapter where I talk about why being a youth minister is worth it.  While I can think of my own examples and stories, I would love to hear your reasons.  There will be times in a marathon when you just have to focus on the glory of finishing to keep you moving.  In youth ministry you need to do the same, you need to remind yourself why it is you do what you do.  So, why do you do youth ministry?  What makes it worth it? Your stories will inspire others.  So shoot me an email or leave a comment below.

SHARE WITH ME WHAT YOU NEED
While I’m covering a slew of subjects in this book I know I won’t be covering everything.  In fact I’m hoping this isn’t the last book I ever write.  While I appreciate the ability to share my thoughts through this blog, my intention is to make it more of a conversation.  So, what I need from you are the unanswered questions, the worries, and confusion that you are experiencing.  While I might not have the answer I would love to connect you with the people who do.

Again, I want to thank all of you who take the time to check out this blog.  I’m very excited about this book and hope to give you more updates as it gets closer to completion.  Honestly, I hesitated about writing this post because I didn’t want to come off pompous, like, “Look at me I’m writing a book…save up now to buy it!”

I just want to thank you again for your support and let you know how excited I am to share this part of my journey with you.

Why are you in youth ministry?

What questions are unanswered for you when it comes the long haul of youth ministry?