Doug Franklin Online » LeaderTreks

Dan’s Gone Crazy Sale

Doug Franklin — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:16:21 +0000

Everything in the LeaderTreks Store is 20% off. Use the promo code below and enjoy some great savings.

Free Easter Lesson from YM360

Doug Franklin — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:39:24 +0000

Youth Workers I want to make you aware of the free Easter lesson that YM360 just posted. It’s a great resource with PowerPoint, Lesson Plan, and Student Handout. Of course I think it’s a great way to equip teachers to have a real transformative time on Easter Sunday, but also create a strong environment around their teaching. Please check it out and use it!

http://youthministry360.com/free_stuff/free-easter-bible-study-lesson/

The Staples

Doug Franklin — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 19:45:30 +0000

Angie Franklin (my wife) wrote this post for the international LeaderTreks staff – I wanted to share it with you.

We just did an exercise at LeaderTreks today, where we identified what the “staples” were for developing leaders…the things that were foundational, necessary and vital. Its funny because so often we get caught up in the add-ons, the extras, and the presentation, that we forget about the staples. Eventually, we spend so much time in the small things, that they become more important than the core of what we do.
Its good to step back every now and then, and identify the staples of your ministry, so you can ask yourself how well you are doing with them. If mentoring is a staple for your ministry, how well are you doing at developing and recruiting mentors. If donors are a staple to your ministry model, how well are you communicating with them. Don’t pay more attention to the add-on aspects of your ministry than the staples.
Take this a step further. What are the staples of your family life? time, communication, love? What about your Spiritual life? prayer, trust, quietness?
Jesus was great at bringing the staples back into focus whenever people got side-tracked. I love it when the Sadducees and the Pharisees test and question Jesus, trying to catch him in a trap, because Jesus never plays their game and always takes the opportunity to teach about the staples of following him. Read Matthew 22: 34-40 this weekend, and reflect on the staples of faith.

Simply Youth Ministry Conference is coming soon!

Doug Franklin — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:02:03 +0000

Hey the Simply Conference is coming up the first weekend in March. This is my favorite youth ministry conference because of the relationships that I have built over the years. I love how they give you time to connect and build relationships with other people. If you just to looked at the schedule you might think that it’s the same as other conferences but it’s not – the difference is attitude. The leaders of the conference have asked youth workers from around the country to actually shape the conference, create the feel and drive the fun. This makes all the difference.

I will be speaking at this conference, training and coaching on the following topics:

Friday, March 4th
Pre-conference: The Disconnect, Bridging the gap between sr. pastors and youth pastors
Youth pastors and senior pastors each have their own values systems built on different criteria. Senior pastors want respect for time served, and youth pastors want to respect people who have impact. These value systems create a divide and it’s hurting the church. This track will focus on building a bridge over this divide by focusing on five key areas where youth pastors and senior pastors can agree, work together, and serve each other.

Get more information on pre-conference options at http://conference.youthministry.com/SessionsSpeakers/PreConferenceOptions/tabid/105/Default.aspx

Saturday, March 5th
Mentoring Student Leaders: new ways to think about leadership development
Most youth ministries doing student leadership focus on student leadership teams. While teams are effective, they are not the only option. A mentoring program can help you overcome problems with traditional leadership teams. Come discover how a mentoring strategy can transform your students’ leadership.

Sunday, April 6th
Student Leadership 101: Foundations for Developing Student Leaders
In the first session of this highly interactive Half-Track, I will lay out the three foundational principles that every youth worker must teach students for them to grow as healthy leaders. You will experience these principles through fun activities, leadership assessments, and learning exercises. You will leave equipped and confident to teach your students leadership. In the second session you will learn the process of starting a student leadership team. We’ll talk about the best practices and available resources to help you get off to the best start possible.

To sign-up for the conference go to http://conference.youthministry.com/

Being Humanly Connected

Doug Franklin — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:26:09 +0000

There is real power in being connected with other people. Especially with people we lead. By being connected I mean we understand each other and we have gotten to know someone for who they are and not for what they do. By being connected we are able to care for each other at new levels and we are able to forgive small mis-steps. When I think about the people I lead here at LeaderTreks, I treat the ones I am connected with differently then the others. So I have been asking myself why am I not connecting with more people if connection is so powerful? Pride, lack of maturity and stupidity come to mind. I need to change, by connecting on a human level I can influence more people and live at peace with more people. I got work to do….

International Leadership

Doug Franklin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:50:02 +0000

I have a passion to develop leaders overseas. There are lots of leadership development resources in this country but so little outside of the US. The church overseas is desperate for help in developing leaders. My wife and I have been working with organizations outside the US to help in this effort. To be honest it’s been the best part of my ministry the past few years. We have developed leadership training programs in Latin America, Africa and China. We feel very strongly that God is calling us to spend more resources overseas so we have created LeaderTreks International. We are going to be using part of the revenue generated here at LeaderTreks to provide leaders and organizations with the tools they need to develop leaders. We hope to learn a great deal about leadership development in the developing world and we want to use that knowledge to help the Kingdom of Christ grow.

Check out LeaderTreks International’s blog at http://leadertreksinternational.com/

In and Through

Doug Franklin — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:07:58 +0000

I’m driving over to Mason, OH today to run a youth worker training event called In and Through. It’s an entire day training event designed exclusively to help volunteers in a youth group. I’m always excited when I get to do this training event because adult volunteers are the life blood of any successful youth ministry, and training these adult volunteers is key to that success. I’ll be covering three topics tomorrow in our training: Friend vs Youth Worker, Four Cries of a Student’s Heart, and How to Develop Students Spiritually. These trainings are always a great time because it allows me to go deep with a team of volunteers who are passionate about serving students, but may not have had the full time professional training that comes with a youth ministry degree. When volunteers receive training they are more equipped for youth work and more excited to do it.
Whether you choose to meet with your adult volunteer staff and do your own training, or you choose to bring someone in to train your staff, know the power volunteer training has for your youth group. You can’t do it alone and your well trained staff are your biggest asset when it comes to developing students.

Encouragement

Doug Franklin — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:36:22 +0000

This is my final post about what I am going to focus on in 2011. I want to encourage at a deeper level this year. Encouragement is the most powerful tool I have to grow people. When I tell someone specifically how I see God working in their lives, incredible things happen. Encouraged people work harder, dream bigger and serve longer. If you want to make encouragement part of your focus for the coming year, remember the following:

1. Encouragement needs to be specific.
“Way to go,” and “Good job,” are nice things to say, but if your encouragement to be powerful, be specific. Specify exactly what that person did well. Let them know how their actions helped others, and how their work grows the kingdom. This type of encouragement is memorable and will fuel growth.

2. Never repeat.
Each word of encouragement needs to be for that moment. Don’t repeat yourself over and over. If you repeat it twice, it is not special. Don’t use encouragement as an after thought, but as a true feeling from your heart.

3. Name.
Use the person’s name as you speak. This helps them realize how much thought you put into your words. This helps them know that the words are meant specifically for them, rather than something you say to everyone. Using the person’s name will cause their face to light up.

Listening

Doug Franklin — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 16:00:58 +0000

For the next few days, I want to write about what I am going to be working on as a leader in 2011. The first leadership skill I want to grow in is listening. I often think I know what the person is saying, and I cut them off with my answer to the question they have not asked. This is bad on so many levels. It doesn’t show value for the person speaking or show care to understand what they are trying to communicate beyond the words. I want to listen until they are finished, and care an extra second or two to think not only about what they are saying, but why they are saying it. I believe if I am able to grow in this area I can convey how much I care about them and grow my influence with the people I lead.

New Freebie – Christmas Challenge

Doug Franklin — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 21:21:17 +0000

The Christmas season is a great time to challenge students to grow in their understanding of servant leadership and sacrifice. Use these activities to encourage your students to step out in leadership this Christmas.