YFM Regional Networks Help Leaders Do Their Best Work

Youth and Family Ministers (YFMs) are a vital part of ministry in the NOW District, leading everything from regional gatherings to intimate leadership hubs and larger conferences. They include trained and rostered Directors of Christian Education, Directors of Christian Outreach, Deaconesses, and many other leaders who serve “on point” for youth and families in their congregations. Most recently, they launched the Youth Leadership Initiative (take the survey here!).

On Jan. 16, the NOW District’s Director of Ministry Leadership, Dust Kunkel, hosted an online gathering focused on launching youth as leaders through regional networks. DCE Ryan Strehlow from Grace Lutheran Church in Pocatello, Idaho shared the positive growth that has happened through the South Idaho partnerships between ministries to raise up youth as leaders. You can find out more about this conversation by watching the video recording here and below. Be sure to also access the District document: Protocol to Access District Funds for Regional Youth Ministry.

In an area as geographically large as the NOW District, it is incredibly important to work together regionally. YFMs are no exception to this.

“We see schools, pastors, and congregations partnering in ministry in their regions, and now we’re seeing a movement among youth and family ministers to raise the level of their collaboration too,” Kunkel said. “We’re only as strong as our peer support networks, and it’s been a real joy to see new leaders step forward and take the lead to collaborate in youth and family ministry.”

In this video, you’ll hear:
-Strehlow shares how the South Idaho Regional Network launched their youth leadership initiative in 2023. (Click here to read the story!)
-How to access district funding to launch youth as leaders in your own region.
-Q&A and prayers together for God to raise up young people as His leaders.

One final note about the Youth Leadership Initiative: Since we launched the NOW Leadership Initiative two years ago, a team of youth leaders has been working diligently on a survey that will inform the next steps in launching youth as leaders across the district. Help us take this next important step and participate in the YLI survey. Read more about it here.

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