ELCA Youth Ministry Network
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Director’s Report January 30, 2014 Hyatt Regency - at the Arch St. Louis, Missouri
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Rev. Todd Buegler Executive Director
ELCA Youth Ministry Network
11821 98th Pl. N., Maple Grove, Minnesota 55369 T 612.597.6565
todd@elcaymnet.org
www.elcaymnet.org
ELCA Youth Ministry Network
Welcome to St. Louis I am so glad that you are here! I believe that God’s Spirit is going to move in this place this week. There is high energy and excitement for the E and the Network. I’m looking forward to spending time with you as we think ahead about the future of the Network!
1. Box Scores Date
Current Network
Final Extrav
App
Total in
Membership
Registration
Likes
Followers
Downloads
Database
April, 2013
664 (paid)
540
1820
1247
1065
5503
October, 2013
589 (paid)
215 (to date)
2286
1539
1065*
8460
January, 2014
658 (paid)
646
2522
1660
1529
8487
* = New app downloads suspended since May, 2013.
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Extravaganza History: 2001
2002
2003
San
Houston
Atlanta
Diego
773
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
New
Anaheim
Phoenix
Tampa
Anaheim
Orleans
656
704
522
2009
2010
2011
New
Charlotte
Orleans
592
486
511
556
595
362
2012
2013
2014
Kansas
New
Anaheim
St. Louis
City
Orleans
525
647
539
646
Extravaganza Trends 800 600 400 200 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
! Director’s Report - January 30, 2014
ELCA Youth Ministry Network
2. Financial Report As per our usual practice, I don’t normally provide a financial report at the winter board meeting. Our financial status literally changes during the couple of weeks around the Extravaganza, almost day by day as payments and invoices are both received. At the moment, we have more in receipts than we do in bills. And that’s a good thing! I will have a complete financial report for the board at our April meeting, after the books have closed on the Extravaganza.
! 3. Extravaganza 2014 We’re very excited for this event. There has been great energy, and some of the format changes that the team is trying are, I think, very exciting. These include: • The TED talk style keynotes • A stronger focus on recruiting exhibitors. We have over 60 exhibitor organizations present with us. • Crowdsourcing our main stage music will, we think, be really fun and a unique way of involving folks in a different level of participation. We’ve had some challenges. Working with the hotel to maximize space while minimizing our costs is always…complicated. The Hyatt has been good to work with. We (again) oversold our hotel room block. This year we’re in three hotels total. While it’s good that we’ve had so much interest in the event, we do know that it affects the experience of the participants. There are not words to describe how grateful I am to the entire E-Team. They are committed and focused. The tone of the team is set by Scott Maxwell-Doherty. He is a gift to the church, and we are blessed by his leadership.
! 4. Extravaganza 2015 We’re already very excited about Extravaganza 2015. We will be at the Marriott at the Renaissance Center in downtown, Detroit, which is a very large hotel property. We are working to make sure that those who want to get information and preparation for the ELCA Youth Gathering are able to do so, while at the same time, making sure that the Gathering doesn’t become the primary focus of the event. This has always been a thin line that we’ve needed to tread. Things we know so far: •The theme will be “Story.” This theme was developed in partnership with the Practice Discipleship Initiative, and the ELCA Youth Gathering, so that hopefully the
Director’s Report - January 30, 2014
ELCA Youth Ministry Network
three elements will all complement each other. We’ll be centered around where God’s story and our story intersect. • Bishop Eaton will be present with us and will preach. • We have increased our room block at the Marriott, hoping to avoid the rooming problems we had last year and this year.
! 5. The Practice Discipleship Initiative The Practice Discipleship Initiative is going well! Coaches for our next “cycle” from almost all of our synods have been identified, and there are 67 people here for Practice Discipleship Coach Training even as we meet. The curriculum is based around the theme “Frame.” Coaches will be identifiable this year by name badges, similar to the Network badges. If you see a coach, please thank them for the work they’re doing! Catherine, Lisa and Tammy have done a tremendous job leading this initiative. Beginning this week, Tammy is stepping out of her “head coaching” role, and will be focusing more on marketing the PD Initiative. Rachel Alley will step into leadership as a Head Coach in her place.
! 6. The Network App The Network’s app is live, up and running again. The company with whom we’d worked, iGivings, has been very good through the process of the transition. They plan on developing a whole new platform, with a target date of a March 1 for a launch. iGivings is one of our Gold Partner organizations, and are again present at the E this year.
! ! 7. Partnerships Our list of partner organizations continues to grow. it’s been fun to see interest in this continue to develop. Our current Network partners include: Silver Partners
Gold Partners
Augsburg Fortress Publishers
ELCA Youth Gathering
Lutherans Outdoors in South Dakota*
iGivings
LutheranColleges.org
Lutheran Retreats, Camps & Conferences*
Director’s Report - January 30, 2014
ELCA Youth Ministry Network
Silver Partners
Gold Partners
Lutheridge+Lutherock
Luther Seminary
GSB - Mike Ward
Mission Investment Fund
Trinity Lutheran College
Thrivent Financial
Wartburg Theological Seminary Youth Encounter Youth Leadership Augsburg College Trinity Lutheran Seminary Luther Crest Bible Camp Sky Ranch Bible Camp
8. Thrivent Sustainability Grant At the Extravaganza, we will implement the work based on the Thrivent grant. Mike will step into his new role at the event, and will work to develop new organizational relationships and partnerships. If you see the Thrivent folks at their table, in particular, Sue Madigan, please thank her for their genuine partnership and support.
9. Membership Director At our October meeting, we discussed and approved the addition of a membership director to assist as we grow in membership towards our strategic goal. It was a busy fall, so I decided to hold off on working on this until the E, when I’d be able to have conversations with different folks about this position.
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10. Things That Matter In October I told you about our co-sponsorship of “Things That Matter,” Nebraska Synod youth ministry podcast. We’re excited to help grow this podcast, and to give them a larger platform, and to create another channel for renewal, education and connection. The TTM folks will be present at the E, and will be recording some of their podcasts live in the exhibit area. The schedule for the interviews will be posted online and in the app once it is finalized.
Have a great experience at the E. Renew, Educate and Connect. Talk some, and listen a lot. The E is a great opportunity for the Board and all our leadership to become smarter about our membership and their thoughts and needs. Blessings!
! Director’s Report - January 30, 2014