Introducing "The Youth Ministry Grapevine"

A few of you might have noticed a lot of changes going on at this particular web address lately.  I started this blog for Lent of 2010 to use it as the home of my devotional series, The 40 Day Adventure.  After that my plan was to use it as a home for posts about grace, the occasional rant, and anything else I felt didn't really fit on my primary blog- I'd Laugh- But All This Happened To Me!  That never really happened. It just sat here all lonely and unattended for a year until Lent of 2011, when I did "The Adventure" all over again.  I then changed it back to The Grace Spot for a couple of weeks while I prayed about what to do with this site.  I now have an answer- and I truly believe this change is going to stick!

In the late 1980's I was the editor of a newsletter several of us put together to help the part-time Youth Pastors and volunteers who were trying to do student ministry in tiny Quaker Meetings all over North Carolina.  We called the publication The Youth Ministry Grapevine.  It's been defunct for many years now, but I have decided to resurrect the name for this new incarnation of my #2 blog.  The stories I did this past week about youth ministry seemed to strike a chord with readers- in fact, more people read my What Does A Youth Pastor Do All Day? post than read all 40 of my Lenten devotionals- combined!  So maybe I'm on to something...

I've been telling stories about my own experiences from 28 years of youth ministry over at "I'd Laugh" for nearly 2 years now (with over 75,000 customer served!), and I would love for you to go read them.  This blog will be a little different.  I will not post every day. I am going to deal much more with concrete ideas and philosophies and less with stories and anecdotes- although I am sure there will be plenty of those as well.  I have been away from the professional ministry since 2007, so the ideas I share come from the vantage point of experience and a little separation.  We will just have to see where God takes us, won't we?

I would love to hear your thoughts on what would be helpful. In the meantime, I'm going to get started in the next few days with a series on Summer Ministries, offering my thoughts on why they are hugely important as well as some suggestions of programs you might want to try.  Stay tuned! 

And remember- this grapevine only works when we remember Jesus is the vine- we are merely branches!  Have a blessed day!