I was a proud big brother on Saturday at Reload NY/NJ (a/k/a Storm), introducing and then watching Eden Martinez teach the three-hour Teen Track at the conference’s Montclair, NJ, location.

I first met Eden ten years ago when she was a precocious twelve-year old visiting YW8? Youth Ministries, where I was youth director at the time. It was just before Christmas, and we were doing some goofy youth group activity for the holidays. I don’t remember if it was a game or a skit night or something else; I just remember that this guest stole the show as she volunteered to take the stage and blew us all away with personality and humor.

This summer, shortly after her 22nd birthday, Eden succeeded my brother Jonathan as YW8′s third youth director. Still precocious, still funny, still exuding enough personality for a dozen people, the soon-to-graduate college senior has added wisdom and knowledge to an already gifted package. And on Saturday, I had the privilege to watch her teach as she’s been taught, modeling for others the extraordinary gifts that happen when students are given space to lead.

Eden and I co-wrote “We Got Next” with Vanessa Medina and Daniel Sanabria, our counterparts at the Brooklyn venue, with the goal of crafting a student-led student leadership experience in the spirit of Reload 1.2.3, Kickin’ It Old Skool, Generation Xcel, and God Belongs in My City. Below is the workshop description. MP3s and video will be available soon as well.

Thanks to Storm organizers and collaborators Urban Youth Workers Institute and Battlecry for the gift of watching Eden “shine like stars … as [she] held firmly to the word of life” (Philippians 2:15-16). Shout-out to Vanessa Medina of God Belongs in My City for representing student leaders in Brooklyn too!

“We Got Next: Youth Leadership by Youth for Youth”

Goliaths fall when adults like Saul get out of David’s way. Learn from student leaders how and why they’ve been empowered as youth to reach youth and transform their communities. For TEENS serious about creating change, AND ADULT youth workers who are ready to relinquish real authority for exponential Kingdom impact.

• Brooklyn Speakers: Vanessa Medina, introduced by Daniel Sanabria
• New Jersey Speakers: Eden Martinez, introduced by Jeremy Del Rio

If you missed the national broadcast of Reload 1.2.3, here’s a flavor of the opening general session, introducing both the technology innovations and the concept of plus-1′s.

Broadcast Intro

Emcees: Ryan Schlachter & Jeremy Del Rio

[VIDEO INTRO: River Rush]

Ryan:

“Welcome to the national broadcast of RELOAD 1.2.3. My name is Ryan Schlachter and I’m a Plus-1. Yeah, I am contagious.

Whether you’re joining us live in Manhattan, Jersey City or watching online around the country, you’ll meet many other Plus-1’s today. Hopefully, we’ll infect a lot more of you before the day is over.

What’s a Plus-1?

We are the next generation leaders, the fruit of the seeds planted by urban youth workers. That’s right. A chosen generation. A royal priesthood. Empowered by God to represent God’s Kingdom Legacy. Wow…I like that.

We’re the future of youth ministry, and our future is NOW.

The Kingdom we represent upends convention and transcends what’s normal. It proclaims good news to the poor and sets free the captive. It restores what’s been stolen and populates empty streets with homes that flourish. It mends broken hearts and fixes broken systems.

And it trusts people like me to change the world.

My generation has already changed the world. That’s why this year, we have revolutionized Reload. Here’s how.”

[VIDEO 2: Social Media Revolution]

Ryan:

Thank you for helping us make youth ministry history today!

RELOAD 1.2.3 is the first multi-site, multi-state youth ministry training event ever.

One Conference. Two States. Three venues that marry the energy that comes when people of like mind and heart convene face-to-face … WITH the real-time interactivity social media provides when face-time isn’t always possible.

No budget + high profile hostility
+ lousy weather + despondent adult leaders
+ inspired student leaders + 2 weeks notice
+ a community greatly loved + supportive adults
+ viral technology + a God idea
= one of the most amazing youth ministry experiences of my 23 year youth ministry career.

Best of all, for a veteran youth worker: I had nothing to do with organizing it.

All I had to do was show up, with a faith-filled heart and eyes to watch it happen.

In case you missed the memo (or the 100s of #GodBelongsInMyCity Tweets last week), 1,500 people marched through the streets of Manhattan on Saturday, November 14, from 96th Street in the North to Battery Park in the South, with shirts that proclaimed, “God Belongs in My City.”

“March” is actually a misnomer. There was no hostility or militancy. It was more of a walk with a purpose: to radiate love and affection for God and neighbor, while praying that God would be glorified in our City by lives that love others well.

The catalyst for the day was a dismayed youth pastor who asked some of his student leaders why Christians were publicly silent after atheists launched a citywide ad blitz claiming 1 million New Yorkers reject the existence of God. They responded as only youth can — by launching a movement.

Despite a Noreaster bearing down on the Northeast, with flash floods forecast throughout the day, a 1,500 person Flash Mob showed up at the two rally points at 9 am.

God smiled on them. The sun began to shine, and the rains held for four hours, just long enough to convene on the TKTS steps at Times Square for an impromptu worship service followed by a silent prayer meeting beneath the Zodiac mural in the Main Lobby of venerable Grand Central Station.

In the process, adults like me experienced the awe-inspiring joy that can happen only after we have gotten out of David’s way long enough to watch Goliath topple.

Some of the highlights (a sampling of play-by-play tweets from the day, with links to photos):

• The largest silent prayer meeting ever at Grand Central because #godbelongsinmycity http://twitpic.com/pixo7
• At 110 1500 teens will pray silently in Grand Central for 5 minutes because #godisinmycity http://twitpic.com/pi91r
• A choir of angels, a/k/a youth, because #godbelongsinmycity: http://pic.gd/96e3ad. His Kingdom belongs to them
• http://pic.gd/c91920 “they all have God on their tshirts” because #godbelongsinmycity
• Overwhelmed wat happens when youth lead #godbelongsinmycity http://pic.gd/48d618
• http://pic.gd/a049a0 who are these people? #godbelongsinmycity http://tinyurl.com/viralcity
• This is why @mikebloomberg closed the streets to cars http://pic.gd/e66ae4 #godbelongsinmycity
• Thanksging Parade comes early to Macys because #godbelongsinmycity http://pic.gd/9c1a7d
• Hark the Herald (Sqare) proclaims #godbelongsinmycity http://pic.gd/172690
• Hustler: you da bloods they da crips? Nah u got God on ur shirts #godbelongsinmycity
• At Madison Square #godbelongsinmycity http://pic.gd/0c6bd5
• Unity at Union Square because #godbelongsinmycity http://pic.gd/37d0bd
• Three generations wear it proudly because #godbelongsinmycity http://pic.gd/90eb1e
• Mr Mayor: #GodBelongsInMyCity http://twitpic.com/phkln
• We will never forget: #GodBelongsInMyCity. Esp at Ground Zero http://twitpic.com/phiyw “Buried in the rubble r the seeds of revival”
• Even on Wall Street #GodBelongsInOurCity. http://twitpic.com/phhl3 Romans 5:20
• #GodBelongsInMyCity Battery Park rally prayer http://twitpic.com/phg6i
• In case you missed the memo #godbelongsinmycity. Some of the student organizers http://twitpic.com/phg0w

More Viral Videos

Google Video is picking up new “God Belongs in My City” videos each time I search. Watch the first two here.

One Youth Group’s Journey

Here’s another perspective from the North route. (Please comment if you know which group this is. Thanks!)

Sights and Sounds from Times Square

RELATED

+ Goliaths Fall When Students Lead
+ Embrace the Mess: Why Youth Must Lead Now
+ Confessions of a Youth Pastor Hypocrite on Loving the Least of These: Meeting Jesus on the Lower East Side
+ Young People are NOT the Future: Embracing the YW8? (Why Wait?) Generation

The Southern Route

4.3 miles from The Battery to Times Square

The Northern Route

Almost 3 miles from 96th Street to Times Square

God Belongs In My City (NYC) from Calvary Christian Fellowship Inc on Vimeo.

Go here for background on God Belongs in My City.

November 14. New York.

Web // Facebook

Goliaths fall when adults like Saul get out of David’s way.

The Biblical character David was an untested teenager, a shepherd boy with no military training, when he simultaneously proved to be the only man among soldiers courageous enough to confront the giant Goliath.

For 40 days, Goliath’s taunts paralyzed Israel’s army with fear. Then David overheard the mockery, witnessed the cowardice of the adults around him, and was moved to action. The rest, as they say, is history.

On Saturday, 12 student leaders rejected the contradiction that “student leadership” events could only be led by adults, and hosted 68 student leaders for the first student led student leadership conference in my memory of 21 years of youth ministry and youth development here in New York.

I was blown away by their poise, dedication, and — yes — leadership, despite inexperience and a lack of proven models for what such an event could look like. I was also impressed by the dozen adults who voluntarily stepped back to follow their lead, and provided the support necessary to allow them to shine, especially the visionaries at Latino Pastoral Action Center whose generosity and innovation made the day possible.

I’ll be posting more about Kickin’ It Old Skool throughout the week. Stay tuned. Meantime, check out some Twitter highlights from the event (including Twitpics and more) here.

If you think that a student led, student leadership conference sounds too good to be true, be amazed on September 12.

The planning retreat with the conference’s student organizers last week was unquestionably the professional highlight of my summer. These teens are legit. (Too legit … too legit to quit.)

More Info and Register.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION COMING SOON

Teen Entrepreneurs Tell It Like It Is

“There are few things I enjoy more than moderating a panel, and there are few panels that are more interesting than those made up of entrepreneurs, and there are even fewer panels more interesting than those made up of entrepreneurs who are all younger than twenty-five years old. This means that this panel of entrepreneurs at the Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup was just about pure joy for me.

“This video is approximately one hour long, but if you want insights into how young entrepreneurs think, it’s worth your time. This is something very empowering and exciting about young people. If teens are your market, you’ll learn something about how they think. If teens are your competition, you’ll learn how they are coming after you. Both are valuable insights.”

Article. HT: Guy Kawasaki via Twitter.

Not!!!

HT: YS Blog