paul martin is a youth worker you will be hearing much more from in the years to come. he’s one of the most grounded and outside-the-box youth ministry thinkers i know. his blog is brilliant. he has an article coming out in youthworker journal, and i expect he’ll have a book published in the next two years. paul is in the nashville cohort of my youth ministry coaching program, and it was clear from our first meeting that he should be leading a cohort of his own. so he’s part of my 2011 roll-out, leading a cohort in atlanta starting this fall. here’s what paul wrote about ymcp recently on his blog.
Coaching – Why YMCP Works
For the past six or so months, I have been a part of the Youth Ministry Coaching Program with Mark Oestreicher. I knew that it was going to be a life changing experience. Being a part of a community as transparent and vulnerable as that has to mark you. What I didn’t know was how much I would learn.
We read books together, present ideas, talk about youth ministry issues and share our lives. All of these are things I have done before. Having all of these happen in a group that reflects and pushes back on each other is invaluable. I really can’t fully describe how amazing it is.
For less than the cost of two semesters of seminary, I get to be a part of something that I know will leave a legacy. Every person in this group will go on to do great things. I have no doubt about that. The knowledge alone would be worth the cost. But what YMCP really teaches is the ability to know yourself and share that with others.
Oh, and I am going to lead a group in September in Atlanta. If you want to learn more than a seminary can teach you, if you want to see a depth of character that has been revealed in the mirror, if you want to see how you are made for things beyond what you can imagine, contact me.
——
(Or read this, visit the YMCP site, or watch the video)
note: the san diego cohort was originally set to launch in may. but i only have 4 or 5 people for it at this point, and i need a minimum of 8 to make it work. so, instead of canceling that cohort, i’m postponing the launch until we have enough people (hopefully august or september). please let me know if you’re interested in that cohort.
