It’s [kind of] crazy what happens when you put yourself out there to see what happens and what God will do,” Les Bradford said.
What did Bradford do? He and co-worker Andy Blanks left steady jobs and stepped out in faith to start a new business to reach teens through Bible studies.
Bradford, a member of The Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, and Blanks, a member of Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, worked for Student Life in Birmingham for years. They led the publishing team in creating the Student Life Bible Study and developed the Just Like Christ series of Bible studies, as well as other youth ministry resources. But in 2010, both felt called to start their own resourcing ministry.
“[Andy and I] have a strong desire to see teens grow in relationship with Christ because of understanding and application of God’s Word,” Bradford said.
He and Blanks resigned from Student Life and a short time later, were informed that the publishing division, the division they had worked in, was to be sold to NavPress.
“We had already pursued this new vision, and the selling to NavPress was a pretty good confirmation on what God was leading us to do,” Bradford said.
In March 2010, the duo co–founded youthministry360 (ym360). They spent six months creating materials, and ym360 opened for business in the fall.
It provides something not many have seen in youth ministry curriculum — Bible studies for teens that allow churches and youth workers to pick and choose which studies they want to invest their time and resources in, Bradford said. Other curricula are based on a multiyear plan, meaning a church would have to invest and commit one year at a time.
But ym360 thinks outside the box. It currently provides five 24-week studies. A new one will come out in January.
The studies come with some form of media, promotional material, student handbooks and parent information. Ym360 also provides free resources on a blog that is updated daily and has had tremendous feedback. It uses social media — mostly Facebook with nearly 4,000 “likes” — to help answer questions and provide a virtual community for both experienced and new youth workers.
Blanks brainstorms the topics for and flow of the studies and then pitches them to a writer. Even though each writer has his or her own writing personality, one thing rings true in every study: God’s Word.
“Our distinctive as an organization is that we hold Scripture in the highest regard,” Blanks said. “All our resources have God’s Word at [their] center.”
One of ym360’s core goals is to equip and serve youth workers in the local church, who, in turn, reach teens. It focuses on four areas to do just that: Bible study resources, training, community and networking.
And churches are taking advantage of the help.
Currently more than 1,000 churches are using the curriculum nationwide, and people in 27 countries are downloading the free resources online. About 100 Alabama churches are using the Bible studies and resources.
First Baptist Church, Russellville, has used several of ym360’s resources.
“The studies make sense to the youth here,” Minister of Youth/Education Richard Parker said, adding, “Many have said they really enjoy getting heavier into the Scriptures,” especially after they studied The Pause: Learning to Seek God, a four-lesson discipleship Bible study.
Parker said he likes how “everything you need for a lesson is all on one DVD” and appreciates the blog where he can see some helpful hints on how to handle certain situations as a youth minister.
Although ym360 mainly produces Bible studies, Bradford and Blanks plan to expand the ministry to provide free one-day training courses for Alabama churches.
Ym360 plans to release Bible studies and devotional books sometime this fall in Christian bookstores including LifeWay Christian Stores.
“This is a true calling for us, and we love youth workers, teenagers and God’s Word, and we are laser-focused on serving and equipping those in the local church,” Blanks said.
For more information, visit www.youthministry360.com or call 888-969-6360.
Share with others: