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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (July 26, 2010) — Youth in Ministry (YiM) impacts the lives of hundreds of teenagers in the Tri-Cities and across the country each year through its programs.
Launched in 2002 through a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., YiM encourages teenagers to find their vocational calling and consider how to apply that calling to a lifetime of servant-leadership. It is a ministry of Milligan College.
This week (July 25-31), YiM is hosting a weeklong conference at Milligan designed to challenge teens to discover God’s call and prepare for lives of servant-leadership. The Student Leadership Conference (formerly called “The Big Picture”) has a record attendance this year — 80 students from 13 states.
“We want to give students a better idea of what God is calling them to do and how they can serve in their churches and communities,” said Phyllis Fox, Milligan’s director of church relations who heads up YiM.
The Student Leadership Conference is now in its eighth year. Many of the teenagers who have attended past conferences have graduated from college and are now working in their chosen professions and making a difference in their communities.
Christian Thompson, a resident of Unicoi, Tenn., attended the inaugural YiM conference in 2003.
“At that time, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” said Thompson, a part-time staff member at Boones Creek Christian Church in Gray, Tenn. “The conference helped me look at myself and realize what I was good at and how God had wired me to serve.”
Thompson continued to explore his calling as a student at Milligan College, where he majored in communications. He graduated in 2007 and spent one year as a full-time student ministries resident at Mountain Christian Church in Joppa, Md. He returned to the Tri-Cities and is now pursuing a master’s degree in storytelling at East Tennessee State University.
“I want to do full-time public speaking to youth and schools, perhaps as a motivational speaker or as a speaker at camps and conferences,” Thompson said.
Since his formative experience at the YiM conference, Thompson has returned multiple summers to serve as a counselor because he believes in the ministry of YiM and has seen first-hand how it changes lives.
“I really don’t feel like there’s any other conference out there like YiM,” Thompson said.
Also returning as a counselor this week is Katy Fox, of Johnson City, Tenn.
“The conference was a week that defined my walk with the Lord,” said Fox, who has served as a YiM counselor for four years. “It makes you look at ministry in a whole new light. The call to minister is not just defined by being on a church staff or setting. It’s a lifelong call, no matter your vocation.”
Her experience as a student at the YiM conference shaped her decision to work in family ministry. She graduated from Milligan this year with a degree in child and youth development and is serving as a part-time staff member at Grace Fellowship Church in Johnson City. She also serves with Doe River Gorge Ministries and is pursuing a master of divinity degree at Emmanuel School of Religion.
The Student Leadership Conference features ministry skills workshops in leadership, visual arts, performing arts, church planting, missions, worship, counseling, children’s ministry, youth ministry and preaching.
The week also includes a special performance of “The Legend of Wiley Jake,” a musical comedy based on the biblical story of Jacob and Esau. Co-written and performed by Tommy and John Thomas Oaks, the musical will be performed on Wednesday, July 28, at 7 p.m. in Milligan’s Seeger Memorial Chapel. It is free and open to the public.
Marc Imboden, author of the popular Christian contemporary song “You are Holy,” will lead the students in worship throughout the week. Speakers include Sherri McCready of Highland Christian Church in Asheville, N.C., and Laura Buffington of SouthBrook Christian Church in Miamisburg, Ohio.
Curtis Booher, Milligan’s assistant professor of Bible and Christian ministries, is dean of the conference. The conference planning team includes YiM director Phyllis Fox; Kit Dotson, student minister at Crossroads Christian Church in Gray, Tenn.; Dori Gorman, of Emmanuel School of Religion; and Dave Robinson, the lead minister at Community Christian Church in White Marsh, Md.
YiM is also gearing up for its next local events, two seminars (Sept. 10-11) co-hosted with Grace Fellowship Church. The seminars, to be held at Grace Fellowship, will be led by Dr. Chap Clark, vice provost and professor of youth, family and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif.
The ParenTeen Seminar on Friday, Sept. 10, is designed to help youth ministers, sponsors and parents understand and nurture their children in a constantly changing cultural environment. On Saturday, Sept. 11, the HURT seminar will take educators, mental health professionals, chaplains, social workers, youth workers and parents inside the world of today’s teenagers. Participants will gain fresh insights on the contemporary adolescent experience.
These upcoming seminars are some of YiM’s many workshops and events throughout the region and eastern U.S. designed to help teens. Earlier this month, YiM was the producer of the North American Christian Convention (NACC) Student Convention held in Indianapolis, Ind. YiM has produced the student convention since 2005.
For more information about the Student Leadership Conference or other YiM events, contact Phyllis Fox at 423.975.8021 or visit www.youthinministry.org.